Chapter 689: The Lifespan Issue of Takamiya Mana

"Waaah—"

Facing the girl who suddenly pounced toward him, Itsuka Shido opened his arms in a panic and caught her. The sofa beneath him let out a groan, but it ultimately managed to support the weight of the two of them.

"What 'big brother'! Shido's little sister, there is only me!" Watching the girl who had pounced into Shido's embrace and was rubbing against him fiercely, Itsuka Kotori jumped up with a 'swoosh' and forcibly pulled her away from Itsuka Shido's arms.

"Wrong, big brother only has me as a little sister, you are definitely not big brother's little sister!" Takamiya Mana broke free from Itsuka Kotori's hands and said loudly.

"You are the one who isn't!" Itsuka Kotori looked at Takamiya Mana and said coldly. "What evidence do you have to say that Shido is your big brother?"

"Of course I have evidence!" Takamiya Mana stretched out her hand and took out a photograph.

"Eh, what is this?" Seeing this photograph, Itsuka Kotori couldn't help but be stunned.

On the photograph was a group photo of two children; one was a miniature version of Takamiya Mana, and the other was none other than a miniature version of Itsuka Shido.

"No, no, no, there is something wrong with this!" Itsuka Kotori looked at Itsuka Shido in the photo and suddenly shook her head. "Shido had already come to the Itsuka family when he was this big!"

"Hmph, who knows if you are lying to me with that statement!" Takamiya Mana put away the photo and looked at Itsuka Kotori with a provocative expression.

"You, you bastard!"

Watching the atmosphere between the two gradually become heavy, Itsuka Shido wanted to intervene, but he discovered that an invisible aura had formed between Itsuka Kotori and Takamiya Mana, and he was completely unable to step in.

"Hmph, just someone who was stuffed into a box and sent over, yet you dare to snatch big brother in front of me!"

Suddenly, Itsuka Kotori caught a glimpse of the delivery box on the side, her eyes rolled, and she said coldly.

"What, you actually dare to say that to me!" Hearing Itsuka Kotori say this, Takamiya Mana jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I-if it weren't for encountering the Nightmare, how could I have become like this!"

"Nightmare?" Hearing this name, Itsuka Kotori's eyes narrowed instantly.

"Hm, you know the Nightmare?" Seeing Itsuka Kotori's expression, Takamiya Mana seemed to have sensed something and asked hurriedly.

At the same time, a trace of doubt couldn't help but well up in her heart; the matter of Spirits was not something just anyone knew. But the girl in front of her who claimed to be her big brother's little sister actually knew about the Nightmare, which was highly suspicious.

"Hm, are you from the DEM company?" Itsuka Kotori caught a glimpse of a logo on Takamiya Mana's clothes and asked suddenly.

"You, how did you know?" Takamiya Mana's tone was filled with confusion.

"Big brother, the people in the DEM company are not good people at all; you must stay far away from her in the future!" Itsuka Kotori said.

"You, what are you saying?" Hearing Itsuka Kotori speak this way about the DEM company, which she regarded as her benefactor, a trace of anger couldn't help but appear in Takamiya Mana's tone.

"Wait, you said you met Miss Kurumi?" Just at this moment, Itsuka Shido suddenly interrupted to ask.

"Kurumi? You mean the Nightmare?" Takamiya Mana looked at Itsuka Shido with some confusion.

"I understand, this kind of thing cannot be explained clearly no matter how we talk about it here, but I know of another place that will definitely be able to solve our current problem!" Itsuka Kotori said.

"What place?" Takamiya Mana asked.

"Kotori, are you talking about Mr. Lingyun's place?" Itsuka Shido asked.

"That's right, that's the place! Tohka, let's go, I'll take you to meet Sister Asuna!" Itsuka Kotori said to Yatogami Tohka on the side.

"Go meet Asuna? Alright!" Yatogami Tohka jumped up excitedly.

"Kotori, what are you thinking about?" Walking on the road, Itsuka Shido looked at Itsuka Kotori beside him with some confusion.

"Nothing." Itsuka Kotori shook her head and said.

When she left the house, she had already given orders to the people on the Fraxinus to use their means to conceal their movements. Ever since she learned that people from the DEM company had come to this place, this behavior had become the norm.

However, there was one question that kept circling in Kotori's mind, and that was the instruction manual she had seen earlier. On that instruction manual, it was clearly noted that the usage time was less than ten years; could it be that it meant Takamiya Mana's lifespan was less than ten years? But she clearly looked like she was about 14 years old, how could she have less than ten years of life left?

"We're here!" Itsuka Kotori felt something ripple beside her, so she spoke up.

"This place is the Mysterious Shop you were talking about?" Takamiya Mana looked at the small shop in front of her, which could be considered somewhat ordinary, with a confused expression.

"Ara, everyone, we meet again!" Tokisaki Kurumi emerged from the shadows and looked at the people in front of her with a grin.

"Nightmare?"

Seeing Tokisaki Kurumi appear before her, Takamiya Mana felt the hair on her body stand on end. She stepped forward immediately and subconsciously blocked the way in front of Itsuka Shido.

"Ara, Mana-chan, there's no need to be so nervous just seeing me!" Tokisaki Kurumi said with a smile. "By the way, Lingyun is already waiting for you; if you have any questions, he will solve them for you!"

"Let's go, let's go find Lingyun!" Itsuka Kotori took the lead and walked into the small shop.

"You want to ask about the relationship between Takamiya Mana and Itsuka Shido?"

"That's right!"

"In a certain sense, Takamiya Mana can indeed be considered Itsuka Shido's little sister!" Lingyun said.

"This..." Hearing Lingyun's words, Itsuka Kotori couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and finally asked another question. "Then, I saw an instruction manual in the box containing Takamiya Mana earlier, and it said the usage lifespan was less than ten years. What does this mean?"

"You should know, right? I previously destroyed the DEM company's Nilier Island together with Kurumi!" Lingyun did not answer this question directly, but instead brought up another matter.

"Destroyed Nilier Island? Are you, the Swordsman?" Takamiya Mana's expression couldn't help but change drastically.

"Could it be that you discovered something on Nilier Island?" Itsuka Kotori's expression changed slightly.

"That's right, we rescued a Spirit from there, the same one you saw earlier, that salted fish." Lingyun said. "At the same time, I also discovered another matter: the DEM company, in addition to meddling with the power of Spirits, is also conducting human body modification experiments! Don't you find it strange why Mana, at such a young age, possesses the ability to contend with Kurumi's clones? You must know that even if all the members of the AST were to attack, they would be no match for Tohka at all!"

Hearing Lingyun's words, the expressions of Itsuka Kotori and Itsuka Shido both changed.

"Mana, you come back with me immediately! Kotori, I need the help of the Fraxinus to give Mana a full-body checkup!" Itsuka Shido suddenly reached out and grabbed Takamiya Mana's hand.

Watching the group led by Itsuka Shido who were about to leave in a hurry, Lingyun leisurely threw out a sentence: "If you have any needs, you can come find me! After all, I accept commissions here too!"