"Eeeeh?"
Hearing Shido's words, Tohka… no, Natsumi's expression beca extrely colorful.
"Why did you figure it out? My disguise should have been perfect!"
Unlike the other Spirits, Natsumi, who specialized in disguise, had genuinely been acting out Tohka's personality. There was no reason Shido should have been able to tell.
"If I had to say why… maybe it's because Natsumi's disguise was too perfect."
Shido thought for a mont, then answered.
At first, he had only felt confused and puzzled. The Spirits's personalities had all beco slightly different one after another. Although he had considered whether everyone was playing so ga where they disguised themselves as other people…
"That was way too perfect."
Whether it was Yoshino pretending to be Kotori, or Miku pretending to be Tohka, they were all simply too perfect—so perfect that it did not make sense.
"So I started thinking. Maybe it wasn't that everyone was pretending to have soone else's personality. Maybe everyone had actually been turned into soone else."
Shido nodded seriously.
"Well, to be honest, I only figured that out not long ago."
At that, he gave an awkward laugh.
Because the encounters with the Spirits had co one after another, he had not had ti to think carefully. It was only when he encountered Yoshino, and spent ti with the calm natured girl, that Shido had ti to consider the cause and effect of this incident.
"And then, seeing Tohka's personality acted out so perfectly, I thought—only Natsumi could pull it off to that extent, right?"
Finally, he said that.
"What… so Shido already knew."
Natsumi sighed in frustration.
"Wait. In that case, were all those things you said earlier just to cheer up?"
Then, as though she had thought of sothing, she asked nervously.
"Huh?"
Shido froze for a mont, then realized that Natsumi was referring to whether he thought she was pretty or cute. Co to think of it, disguising herself as soone else to ask another person's opinion of her did feel very Natsumi like.
"So… it really was like that?"
Natsumi asked timidly.
Originally, the girl had more or less accepted her appearance. But because of today's program, a tiny doubt had sprouted in her heart—if makeup was so powerful, did that an she only looked cute because of makeup? Was she actually still ugly underneath?
That thought was like a tiny seed. It found fertile soil inside the heart of an already deeply insecure girl, then took root, sprouted, and grew out of control.
"What the heck…"
Shido looked at the girl who had the exact sa appearance as Tohka, yet wore an expression only Natsumi would make, as if she were hiding inside a tiny nutshell and peeking outside. He could not help finding it a little funny.
"Ah, you really do think that, don't you?"
Seeing Shido laugh, Natsumi said anxiously.
"Honestly. In that case…"
Shido took Natsumi's hand and led her to a crowded intersection. Then he took a deep breath and shouted toward the crowd:
"Everyone—! Natsumi is cute—!"
"Eh? Eeeeeeeh—?"
Natsumi, who had never expected Shido to do sothing like this, froze completely.
"She really, really is cute—! Whether she wears makeup or not, she's still that cute—!"
However, Shido completely ignored the stunned Natsumi beside him and continued shouting toward the crowd. He paid no attention to the series of looks people threw at him—baffled, amused, understanding, and even wistful gazes that seed to say youth sure is nice.
"Natsumi really, really is cute—! She's a very cute, pretty, and charming girl—!" (TL: great move to glaze my best girl ,I'm still mad but not that much anymore now)
"Enough! I get it! Hurry up and stop!"
Faced with Shido's passionate shouting, Natsumi felt as if her face were burning like fire. She grabbed Shido's hand and hurriedly ran into a nearby alley.
"Honestly, what are you trying to do?"
"To tell everyone—and Natsumi herself—that even without makeup, Natsumi is still a very charming girl."
Faced with Natsumi's question, Shido answered as if it were only natural. In truth, shouting like that in the street had been so embarrassing he had almost died, but to help Natsumi gain confidence, Shido had carried out that plan with the resolve of leaping off a cliff.
"Hah… I give up on you."
Hearing Shido's words, Natsumi gave a quiet sigh. After being shouted about by Shido like that, the version of herself who had grown doubtful because of makeup felt like a fool. All her unease vanished like mist.
"I was thinking that if Shido really believed I was only pretty when I wore makeup, I'd turn Shido into Shiori."
Natsumi raised her head and said seriously.
"Ahaha… please don't do that."
Hearing Natsumi's words, Shido scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Anyway, I'll consider you passed."
Perhaps because she was maintaining Tohka's appearance, the current Natsumi was not as negative and self-deprecating as Shido had imagined. The girl smiled mischievously, then turned and left the alley.
"There's only one person left. Hurry up and go find her, Shido."
Before leaving, Natsumi said that.
After parting with Natsumi, Shido walked alone down the street.
"Only one person left…"
Even by process of elimination, Shido could guess who the remaining girl would be, and who was waiting ahead of him. Precisely because of that, his heart could not help beating faster.
"Ah…"
He had not gone far before he saw a girl sitting on a street bench. She wore a cute frilled dress, and her erald green hair was tied into twin braids.
That appearance was exactly how Natsumi had looked after everyone dressed her up together.
However, at that mont, the girl was sitting there quietly, watching the passersby as if she were waiting for soone.
Even though she had the sa appearance as Natsumi, her aura was completely different. She looked as though she had transford from a timid little animal into a young lady from a distinguished family.
"Um… Yakumo-senpai…"
Facing a Mikoto who was utterly different from usual, Shido nervously walked forward and greeted her.
"Oh my, I was exposed right away."
Mikoto turned to Shido and smiled.
"Well, I won't stay fooled forever."
Shido scratched his cheek and said sowhat helplessly.
"Then, as the final person at this masquerade, let us go on a date, Shido."
Mikoto extended her hand toward Shido.
"Yeah."
Shido nodded and took Mikoto's hand. The two of them strolled through the streets.
"By the way, what exactly is going on?"
Shido asked curiously. Although he understood that the Spirits had been transford by Natsumi into different appearances, he did not know what had started it.
"That? Well, actually…"
Mikoto thought for a mont, then explained the cause and course of the incident to Shido.
"What the heck… So it was because of a TV program. Thanks to that program, I've been confused all day."
After listening, Shido said with a wry smile.
"Well, wasn't it interesting too? And you know, Shido wasn't the only one who had it rough. We had it very, very rough too."
Mikoto winked and said with a playful tone.
"Huh? Why?"
"How should I put it… um… first, because Shido was an idiot, Kotori got angry. Later, Kotori said she was going to find at least ten little sister thed gal gas for Shido to play. We persuaded her for a long ti before she lowered the number to five."
Mikoto tapped her lips with a finger, organizing her thoughts as she slowly explained.
"Ahaha… that really is…"
Hearing Mikoto's words, Shido wore a tragic expression. It seed that after going ho this ti, he would once again be forced by Kotori, under the na of training his ability to capture girls, to cram a bunch of gal gas.
"Then there was Tohka. She was taken to the TV station by Subaru-san to shoot a comrcial. Because of that, Kotori had to ask Ratatoskr staff to secretly follow her and help. But since the comrcial was about sweets, Tohka herself seed very happy."
"I see. Then it looks like she's fine."
"Mm. Tohka is very likable to begin with, isn't she? So there shouldn't be any problems."
When Shido heard that Tohka was filming a comrcial, he was a little worried that sothing might happen. But since Ratatoskr was helping, it should be fine.
"Then there was Miku and Origami. To be honest, we almost thought Shido was going to be eaten. Origami volunteered to help Shido escape from Miku, but then she herself…"
Speaking of Origami before the worldline changed, Mikoto could only give a wry smile. That was a personality that was far too proactive—one might even call it overly proactive.
"But it all turned out fine in the end."
Shido also said with lingering fear. To him, Miku and Origami belonged to the super carnivorous type.
"And then, Shido… you kissed Miku and Yoshino during your dates, didn't you?"
Her tone suddenly changed, and the now loli shaped Mikoto puffed out her cheeks with a cute, sulky expression.
"Huh? Um… well…"
Seeing Mikoto get jealous, Shido was montarily at a loss.
"…I'm sorry!"
In the end, he honestly apologized.
"Hmm. What should I do about this?"
Mikoto folded her arms in front of her chest, closed one eye, and spoke with a sowhat sly expression.
"Ah, I know. Shido has to kiss too. Otherwise, cute Natsumi-chan is going to turn into sour lemon flavor!"
The girl held her hands above her head like rabbit ears and wiggled them twice, then spoke in a spoiled tone.
"Rather than sour lemon, isn't it more like vinegar?"
Shido lightly retorted in his heart.
"Even if you say that, Yakumo-senpai, in your current state, you can't reach , right? Or should I bend down?"
Shido looked at Mikoto, who had beco Natsumi. There was an obvious height difference between the two. Bending down to kiss her felt like it would completely ruin the atmosphere.
"Ugh… you're right."
Mikoto looked at herself, then scanned the surroundings. Imdiately after that, the girl's eyes lit up.
"Ah, right!"
The girl bounced over to a flowerbed and stood on the concrete edge. Then she waved at Shido.
"Shido, over here! Over here!"
Hearing Mikoto call him, Shido walked over.
"Ehehe, this way there's no problem."
Standing on the concrete edge, Mikoto barely reached Shido's neck. It was a distance where he could kiss her with just a slight lowering of his head.
"Shido…"
She gently closed her eyes and tilted her head up a little. Her cheeks, flushed from embarrassnt, her long eyelashes trembling faintly, and her moist, warm lips—every part of her tempted Shido's heart.
"Yakumo-senpai…"
Affected by the sweet atmosphere, his reason grew hazy. Shido slowly stepped forward, lowered his head, and gradually drew closer to the girl's adorable face.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing!"
At that mont, an angry shout woke the two of them up. It was a middle aged policeman, staring at Shido with a shocked expression.
Thinking about it carefully, they were on a public street, and Mikoto currently had Natsumi's appearance. In other words, she was a cute little girl. A high school boy kissing a cute little loli was, no matter how one looked at it, extrely problematic—both legally and morally. (TL:heh~ serve you right, trying to kiss 'Natsumi')
"Co on, you're coming with !"
The policeman placed a hand firmly on Shido's shoulder with a snap. Wearing a forceful smile, he jerked the thumb of his other hand toward the police station.
"Oh my."
Mikoto gave a surprised expression and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Crap!"
Realizing that things had gone terribly wrong, Shido decided to go all in. He rushed forward, scooped Mikoto up in his arms, and took off running!
"Stop right there!"
"No way I'm stopping!"
Held in the boy's arms, the girl looked at the policeman roaring behind Shido and at Shido desperately sprinting, then could not help laughing.
"Do your best, Shido."
"!!!"
Smiling, she gently raised her head and, under Shido's startled gaze, pressed her lips against his.
(TL:Interesting~,next Volu na is Spirit Dectective Yakumo: Izu Arc, seem like an original arc)
User Comments
0 comments from readers