"Senpai, you're not wearing a kimono today?"
Although he felt sothing was a little off, that alone was not enough to decide that Mikoto had been replaced by Natsumi.
"Mm. I picked this out when I went shopping with a friend a few days ago. Does it look good?"
Mikoto obediently spun once, then asked with a cheerful smile. When she went shopping with Origami, the other girl had said, "This outfit suits you very well, Mikoto", so she bought it.
"Mm… it suits you really well, senpai."
Looking at how cute the girl looked, Shido nodded with a red face.
"Ehehe. Girls work hard too, you know, so Shido won't get tired of seeing the sa style all the ti."
Mikoto playfully stuck out her tongue, then said:
"So… where are you planning to take , Shido?"
"Ugh… senpai, you like places with lots of people, right?"
Shido thought for a mont, then said.
Stare—.
As a result, the girl fixed him with an adorable half lidded stare.
"I'm kidding. Actually, we're going to watch a movie. A horror movie."
Stare—.
"Sorry… I went too far with the joke."
Being stared at like that put him under enormous pressure, so Shido could only put his hands together and apologize.
That was right. On his first date with Mikoto, the girl had said she did not like crowded places, and supernatural horror movies were also her fatal weakness. If that was the case, perhaps Mikoto really was not Natsumi in disguise.
[No… if she investigated carefully, senpai's dislike of crowded places and horror movies wouldn't be hard to find.]
Shido shook his head and went with Mikoto to the bookstore the girl often visited.
"Yo… here with your boyfriend again, Yakumo-chan?"
As soon as they entered the shop, the owner, who recognized them, imdiately greeted them warmly.
"N-no, we're… never mind…"
Shido had been about to explain, but when he noticed Mikoto's face filling with a very familiar dark, mischievous expression, he realized what the girl was about to say and gave up on defending himself.
Using a bookstore as a date spot was a little strange, but…
[Yakumo-senpai likes books, so there's nothing wrong with it.]
Watching Mikoto stand beside the shelves and flip through a book in her hands, Shido thought that to himself.
"Senpai, what book are you reading?"
He walked over beside Mikoto and asked.
"Eh? Um… it's not the kind of book Shido would be interested in."
For so reason, Mikoto's face turned red. She carefully hid the book against her chest, refusing to let Shido see it.
[That's suspicious. She normally never hides the book she's reading.]
Shido thought.
"What kind of book is it? Maybe I'd be interested too."
And so, Shido said with a smile.
"Ugh… if you insist… it's this…"
Mikoto raised the book's cover to hide her flushed cheeks. Her watery eyes peeked over the top of the book as she secretly watched Shido's expression.
"Let see… pfft!"
Shido looked at the book's cover, then imdiately choked.
It was a not too thick hardcover book. On the pink cover were several large words: [Girls Must Learn to Care for Themselves: A Private Must Have Book for Young Ladies.] (TL:holy gooning)
"Is Shido interested? Ah, could it be for Shiori-chan?"
He was not completely certain, but Shido felt that aside from embarrassnt, there was also a faint little devil wickedness in the girl's eyes.
"I-I'm going to look over there."
"Mm."
With his face red and his head almost steaming, Shido walked alone to the section where the cookbooks were displayed.
"Nagasaki castella, huh…"
Shido picked up a book that taught how to bake delicious cakes and flipped through it. A couple of days ago, Mikoto had brought over a cake she bought from the shopping district. The sweet honey flavor had earned high praise from both him and Yoshino.
[I'll try making it myself next ti.]
As a result, Shido's cooking spirit was awakened.
[If it turns out well, I can invite senpai over to taste it.]
Thinking that, Shido picked up the book and returned to the place where Mikoto had been earlier.
"Senpai?"
However, the girl had already moved to another shelf. She was now absorbed in reading a book with a green cover.
"Uwawawa!"
Noticing Shido's arrival, the girl panicked. Flustered, she hurriedly hid the book behind her back.
[…Suspicious…]
Looking at Mikoto, whose face was red and whose whole body was full of panic, Shido thought that to himself.
"Um… senpai, what are you reading?"
He scratched his cheek and asked.
"It's nothing… ahaha… nothing at all…"
The girl laughed dryly in response. If one looked closely, they could see a fragrant bead of sweat running down Mikoto's face from nervousness.
[Definitely suspicious…]
If this had been any other day, Shido would not have pushed the matter this far. But today was different. In order to confirm whether Mikoto was Natsumi in disguise, he could not let any suspicious detail slip by.
"Ah! Senpai, there's a scary blood covered floating spirit behind you!"
Shido worked hard to make an expression of terror like the male lead in an Ito J*nji manga, pointing behind Mikoto as he shouted.
"Eek!"
The girl was startled and hurriedly turned around. As a result, the book hidden behind her back was exposed.
"Got it!"
[A senpai who's afraid of ghosts is a good senpai.]
Thinking that, Shido swiftly snatched the book with sharp eyes and quick hands.
"Eek! You can't look! Shido, you can't look!"
Realizing that she had been tricked, Mikoto turned around to try to take the book back. However, Shido raised his arm high, and even when she stood on tiptoe, she was still just a little short. (TL:cute~)
"Let see…"
Shido raised his head and checked the title of the book. Written on it was—[How to Make a Herbivore Boy Fall for You].....…The instant he saw the title, his face turned as red as a boiled crab, and even his head began to give off hot steam. (TL:holy)
Thwack!
His hand went slack, and the book fell straight onto Shido's face. Even so, Shido remained as still as a statue.
"Auu… that's why I said you couldn't look… Shido… Shido, you big idiot!" (TL:baka~)
Only the girl's tearful, embarrassed voice echoed through the entire bookstore.
_________________
8:30 at night.
By now, the sky had already darkened. There were not many people in the park. Only lonely streetlights illuminated the quiet world.
"I'm sorry!"
"Hmph!"
Mikoto walked ahead, while Shido followed behind the girl.
"I'm really sorry!"
"Hmph!"
He apologized desperately, but it had no effect. The girl let out dissatisfied hmph while stomping hard against the ground.
[She's just like an angry rabbit.]
Shido thought with a wry smile. Of course, he would absolutely never say that out loud.
"Ugh…"
"Hey, Shido, do you rember this place?"
Looking at Shido as he racked his brain trying to say sothing, Mikoto could not help laughing. She sat down on a bench in the park, patted the space beside her, and said.
"Ah, of course I rember."
Shido nodded. It was the place where he and Mikoto had rested during their first date. Back then, Fraxinus had shown him an option that made him give Mikoto a lap pillow. It was such a deep mory that he could not forget it even if he wanted to.
[But… she actually rembers these things. Yakumo-senpai really isn't Natsumi in disguise.]
He thought that to himself.
"Mm-hm. Anyway… I'm angry, so I'll only cheer up if Shido lies down on my lap."
The girl placed a finger against her lips and gave him a sly wink.
This ti, it was Shido's turn to enjoy Mikoto's lap pillow. (TL:lucky bastard)
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