Tale of Discovery

Chapter 279: Snoop ; Revelation

"Shido," Tohka calls out while we're on the way back home, "Are we really not going anywhere today?"

Hearing her words, I release a sigh and say, "Come on, now. You can't expect me to take you out on a date every single day."

As a response to my statement, Touhka pouts and says, "But it's boring to stay at home all day..."

"I am aware of that, but there isn't much I can do regarding that."

"Am I being a hindrance?" Origami suddenly chimes in and asks.

"Of course, not," I respond, "It would've been impossible for me to take her out on a date either way.

"If anything, you might be the one that will brighten our day at home. At least, I hope so."

Origami nods her head once and says, "I'll do my best."

Finding her adorable at the moment, I subconsciously reach my left arm out to pat her head.

The second my palm contacts Origami's head, she tilts her head in my direction, in a way that makes patting it easier.

A wry smile forms on my lips as I begin to gently rub her head while deliberating on what's needed to be done once we're home.

---

"We've returned!" Tohka exclaims as usual as she rushes in through the front door, over to the living room.

Origami and I follow along and soon reach the living room as well.

Expectedly, Yoshino is sitting on top of a sofa while watching the usual soap opera.

If there is something unexpected, it would be the fact that Natsumi isn't present within the room.

Where could she be?

Curious about her whereabouts, I utilize my senses to look for her throughout the house, only to find her in my room, looking through the few drawers available.

"Take a seat here," I say while pointing at an empty sofa, "I will be right back."

Heeding my words, Origami walks over to the sofa I pointed at and proceeds to take a seat on it with her expression remaining as impassive as ever.

Letting out a small sigh, I turn around and walk in the direction of the staircase.

Shortly, I reach the door of my room, which is shut.

Placing my hand on the door handle, I slowly open it and push the door forward before stepping inside the room noiselessly.

Natsumi, who seems to be looking for a 'hidden' object of sorts inside my closet, is unaware of me as I continue to approach her.

Seeing that she is in her adult 'form' while doing whatever she is doing, a grin forms on my lips as I get close behind her.

I wonder if this transformation of hers allows her to feel what an individual would feel.

With that thought in mind, I swiftly wrap my arms around Natsumi's torso and grope her melons, earning me a shrill scream from the attractive snooper.

"So, you can feel things despite it being just a form made of your energy, huh?" I whisper into her ear while squeezing her breasts.

"Stop!" Natsumi screams before a burst of energy escapes from within her, resulting in her form to break down and return to normal.

Once the light covering Natsumi's figure fades, I am met with the sight of her glaring at me with her arms covering her now nonexistent breasts.

"Why did you do that?" Natsumi says in a loud voice induced with blame.

"What is this?" I say with a grin, "Did you honestly presume that there would be no consequences to secretly looking through my belongings?"

"I just wanted to..." Natsumi says before her voice fades away as she seems to not know what excuse to make.

Shaking my head in exasperation, I approach Natsumi, causing her body to flinch, but I ignore that and proceed to directly embrace her.

"What were you even looking for?" I say while rubbing my palm against her back.

"Nothing in particular," she responds somewhat meekly, "I just wanted to find more about you."

"Is it related to the matter with me being a male spirit?" I curiously ask, to which she doesn't respond but remains motionless.

Shifting the position of my head a bit, I kiss Natsumi's exposed left shoulder and say, "You don't need to do that. All you had to do was ask me, and I would answer your queries to the best of my ability; the same way you did yesterday.

"At most, I would ask for some compensation for answering your questions."

"What kind of compensation?" Natsumi says after a brief moment of consideration.

"This," I say before swiftly aligning my face with hers and giving her a few seconds long peck on the lips.

During the brief duration of the kiss, Natsumi didn't react in any way, as if she had already expected me to do that.

"If this is the compensation, then it's fine," she says after a short while pressing her fingers against her lips, surprising me, "Surely, you won't stop doing this, so I might as well take advantage of it."

...

...

"Is that so?" I say while maintaining my composure.

"Yes," she responds in a solemn tone.

Silence ensues as the two of us peer into one another's eyes for a minute or so before I let out a sigh and say, "We should head downstairs. There is someone that I would like you to meet."

--

After having changed into some casual wear in front of Natsumi who didn't shy away from watching me do so while grinning, the two of us exited my room and made our way to the living room.

As such, the two of us are now seated on the same sofa that Origami had been sitting on.

Origami is sitting to my left, while Natsumi is lying down to my right with her eyes focused on the TV.

"So," I say, "Origami, what do you think of everyone present within the room?"

It's unfortunate that Kotori has not returned home yet due to an urgent call from her higher-ups, or so she claimed the moment we exited the school building. Anyhow, the rest of the spirits here should be enough of an example for what I have in mind anyway.

"Peaceful," she responds almost instantly.

"Oh?" I utter while looking over at each one of the girls before needing my head in agreement with her statement.

Presently, Yoshino and Tohka are watching the TV with fascination, most likely because some interesting plot twist occurred or something. As for Natsumi, she seems to be uninterested in anything as she stares at the TV screen expressionlessly.

"You probably recognize her and her, right?" I say while pointing my finger at Tohka, then at Yoshino

As a response to this, Origami nods her head and mutters, "Princess and Hermit."

"That's right," I say, "These girls, who are so caught up with the events in that drama played on TV are the very same spirits you and your teammates were so inclined to kill."

"Is this why you called me over?" Origami asks monotonously, making it hard to discern her thoughts.

"Not exactly," I reply, "I want you to understand. If you don't, you're most likely going to have to battle against me in the future. Trust me when I say that is something you should absolutely prevent from occurring."

After all, I am sure that I would wipe the organization behind her out solely out of annoyance.

"Mmn," she hums as confirmation.

"Alright," I say as I get up from the sofa and offer my hand to Origami, "Come on, let's head upstairs. There are a few things that I would like to discuss with you."