Chapter 688: Itsuka Shido's Delivery

"You're saying that Kurumi had you bring the items back first, and that she still has some things to do, so she'll be back later?" Lingyun looked at the Kurumi clone before him, his brows involuntarily twitching.

"That's right, that's right!" The Kurumi clone held the items in her hands and nodded vigorously at Lingyun.

Afterwards, the Kurumi clone moved closer to Lingyun, her eyes full of eagerness. "While the main body isn't here, let's do something fun!"

"Uh?" Looking at the Kurumi clone who had suddenly pressed in on him, a bead of cold sweat involuntarily appeared on Lingyun's forehead, and he then pointed behind her.

The Kurumi clone was a bit puzzled and looked in the direction Lingyun was pointing. From the shadow behind her, a slender, fair hand reached out at some unknown moment, grabbed her shoulder directly, and pressed her down into the shadow beneath her feet.

"Kya—" The Kurumi clone let out a startled cry, and her entire person instantly sank into the shadow and vanished, leaving only the items Kurumi had bought lying on the ground.

Inside the Shadow World, Kurumi, who had reached her palm into a patch of shadow, let out a cold snort. "I knew it, these guys would definitely take advantage of the time I'm away to secretly do something out of line. Trying to get ahead of me, don't make me laugh! Tell me, how should I deal with you?"

The Kurumi clone who had fallen into the Shadow World saw her main body; how could she not know that her little schemes had already been discovered? She let out a startled cry, then dissipated directly in the Shadow World, clearly having returned to her own timeline.

"Hmm, it seems we've arrived!" Just at this moment, Tokisaki Kurumi suddenly raised her head, a strange smile appearing on her face.

"Ding-a-ling—ding-a-ling—"

The doorbell rang incessantly, and Itsuka Kotori frowned as she walked toward the door.

"Could it be that Shido is back? But didn't Shido just go out with Tohka? Could he have forgotten his wallet again? Hmm? Could it be some bad person?"

However, even if it were a bad person, Itsuka Kotori felt not the slightest fear; after all, she was not some weak, delicate schoolgirl, but the commander of the Fraxinus, and also a Spirit with the codename Efreet!

After opening the door, Itsuka Kotori was stunned. The person appearing before her was not Itsuka Shido, nor was it some bad person, but someone dressed in a courier's uniform. It was just that this courier was a bit strange, wearing a peaked cap. The cap was pulled very low, making it impossible to see his face clearly.

"Excuse me, is this the Itsuka residence?" the courier asked.

"That's right." Itsuka Kotori nodded, but her gaze fell on a large box behind the courier.

"May I ask what your relationship is to Mr. Itsuka Shido, little sister?"

"Itsuka Shido? I am his sister."

"So that's how it is. There is a delivery here for Mr. Itsuka Shido; could you please sign for it?" The courier pointed to the box behind him and said.

"Shido's delivery? How come I've never heard of it? Could it be that he bought something behind my back?" Itsuka Kotori's eyes rolled, and she muttered to herself in her heart.

After signing her name on the form the courier handed over, the courier bid farewell to Itsuka Kotori and turned to leave.

Itsuka Kotori looked at the delivery before her, and when she wanted to lift the box, she involuntarily frowned. The weight of this box was somewhat beyond her expectations.

It took quite a bit of effort for Itsuka Kotori to move the box into her home.

"What on earth did Shido buy? I'm really quite interested!" Itsuka Kotori's eyes were full of interest. "Why not open it and take a look!"

No sooner said than done, Itsuka Kotori immediately began to unpack the box. Before long, the outer box had been dismantled by her.

Inside the courier box, there was another box. This box looked to be sealed quite tightly, but it also had some small holes, seemingly for ventilation.

"Hmm, what is this?" Itsuka Kotori's gaze first landed on a piece of paper on the box.

There was a line of large characters on this paper, which looked quite conspicuous.

"'Product Manual, service life, less than ten years'?" When Kotori read this line aloud, she couldn't help but frown, clearly not understanding the meaning of these words.

"I'm really getting more and more interested in what's inside!" Itsuka Kotori moved both hands, and before long, she had also dismantled the inner box.

After lifting the lid, Itsuka Kotori curiously cast her gaze into the box. When she saw the contents of the box, she couldn't help but let out a startled cry. Inside the box was actually a young girl who was fast asleep.

"No, Shido's delivery, how could it possibly be a girl? That courier has a problem!" Itsuka Kotori was startled and immediately ran toward the door.

However, the doorway was already empty; within her line of sight, she could not find a trace of that courier at all.

"Kotori, what are you looking at?" Just at this moment, a voice came over.

Itsuka Kotori looked up and saw Itsuka Shido and Yatogami Tohka appearing before her at some unknown moment.

"Shido, why are you back?" Kotori asked. "By the way, have you had any deliveries lately?"

"Ah, the two of us were halfway there when we realized I'd forgotten my wallet, so we came back," Itsuka Shido said. "As for deliveries, I haven't had any lately. Could something have gone wrong?"

"Then when you and Tohka came back, did you see anyone dressed as a courier?" Itsuka Kotori asked again.

"Someone dressed as a courier?" Itsuka Shido's brows furrowed slightly. "No!"

"That courier definitely has a problem!" Itsuka Kotori said.

"A courier?" Itsuka Shido's tone was somewhat puzzled.

Ten minutes later, Itsuka Kotori and Itsuka Shido sat on the sofa in silence. On the sofa in front of them lay the young girl who had been packed in the box. Only Yatogami Tohka was happily munching on bread to the side, as if nothing other than the bread had anything to do with her.

"Kotori, you're saying this girl was sent by a courier, and it was specifically addressed as my delivery?" Itsuka Shido asked.

"That's right, and when I realized something was wrong and chased after him, that courier was already gone." Itsuka Kotori nodded.

Just as the two were still feeling puzzled, the young girl lying on the sofa suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in one motion.

"Nightmare—!" An angry shout came from her mouth.

However, very quickly, the girl realized that the place she was currently in was not the alleyway where she had been fighting before, but a living room. Her gaze swept around the living room, and then it landed on the somewhat astonished Itsuka Shido.

The girl rubbed her eyes, seemingly surprised at the person appearing before her. But very quickly, a hint of joy appeared on the girl's face; she leaped up from the sofa and pounced in the direction of Itsuka Shido, simultaneously blurting out a sentence that shocked everyone present.

"Brother—"