Date a Live:Date Under The Moon Chapter 43 43: Exposed

[How strange, how incredibly strange.]

Mikoto thought, tilting her head as she watched Shido, who was greeting her.

Since the date started, Shido had already gone to the restroom three tis. Logically speaking, if soone's stomach hurt that much, a normal person would have already gone to the hospital. But the Shido standing in front of her, despite looking a bit exhausted, seed completely full of energy.

[No matter how you look at it... he doesn't seem sick at all.]

Even though she didn't know exactly what was going on, she felt Shido was definitely hiding sothing.

And every ti he ca back...

[There's a grain of vinegared rice stuck to his pants.]

[There's a soup stain under his collar... ran?]

Rather than having a stomachache, it looked much more like he was running off to eat with so little glutton.

"Hey, Shido. It's about ti we grab so lunch, don't you think?" Mikoto said with a smile.

"Ah... Yeah..."

Shido rubbed his stomach in agony. Even though he absolutely couldn't eat another bite, Mikoto would get suspicious if he refused.

[What are you hesitating for? Mikoto's mood is dropping! There's a highly-rated beef bowl shop around the corner, go there!]

For a split second, the Fraxinus detected a dip in Mikoto's mood levels.

"Umm, there's a beef bowl place around the corner with pretty good reviews. How about we go there?"

"Okay."

Mikoto nodded and followed Shido to the restaurant around the corner. Just walking near it, you could sll the mouthwatering aroma, proving its good reputation. However...

"Ugh..."

Looking through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, Shido noticed that the portion sizes were clearly one of the main selling points. Bowls so large they couldn't be held in one hand were packed to the brim with steaming rice, topped with a mountain of beef and onions.

"What's wrong, Shido?"

"Ah... no, it's nothing. Let's go in."

[...Idiot Shido.]

Mikoto knew perfectly well that a beef bowl of that size was an absolute disaster for soone who was already full. Even though she briefly considered forcing him to eat the whole bowl as punishnt, seeing Shido's expression—like he was marching to his death—she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

At the end of the day, even if he forgot their date because he made plans with soone else, thinking about it calmly, it had to be either Kurumi, Tohka, or Yoshino.

If it was Kurumi, then it couldn't be helped. Using his day off to finish conquering her as quickly as possible was entirely reasonable. After all, saving Spirits was Shido's top priority.

As for Tohka and Yoshino... if he agreed to a date with them, it was impossible to cancel. Both of them were pure Spirits who could easily lose control of their emotions and go wild. If he canceled, they might need to build a new Spirit Apartnt building.

"Shido, if your stomach doesn't feel well, eating this much at is a bad idea." Mikoto sighed internally and stopped Shido from walking into the shop.

"But..."

Even though he was glad to avoid the mountain-sized beef bowl, Shido didn't want Mikoto to go hungry because of him.

"Actually, I know a really nice place nearby. Do you want to try it?" Mikoto tapped her lip with her index finger and blinked.

"Yeah."

If it was a place Mikoto liked, Shido had no objections. So, led by the young girl, the two arrived at a... traditional teahouse.

"Umm... is it okay if we only eat tea sweets?"

"Girls need to control their calories, you know. Plus, the sweets here are really delicious," Mikoto smiled, pointing at the nu.

"I recomnd the matcha and the strawberry daifuku."

"Yeah, then I'll have what you recomnd, Senpai."

[I'm saved. I am truly saved.]

Looking at the sweets being brought to the table, Shido was basking in the profound emotion of surviving a disaster. Sweet fruit paired with matcha—it was a post-al dessert that even a fully stuffed Shido could manage.

"You ordered dango, Yakumo-senpai?"

"They're really good. Do you want to try one, Shido?"

As for Mikoto, who hadn't eaten anything at all since the date started, she chose sencha (green tea) and sanshoku dango (three color dumplings).

"Yeah."

[If it's just one...]

Even though he was completely full, Shido didn't want to refuse Mikoto's kindness.

"Here, ahhh..."

"Ugh... ahhh..."

As a result, it turned into an embarrassing feeding play once again.

Even though the atmosphere of their date was wonderful, Kotori, up on the airship, wore a wry smile.

"She found out, huh."

"Yeah...she found out.." Reine nodded in agreent.

Even if Mikoto herself needed to control her calories, there was no reason to only let Shido eat two strawberry daifuku. The only logical explanation was that the girl had realized Shido already ate lunch.

"Reine, report on Mikoto's current status."

"Her mood level dropped slightly, but it's well within the acceptable range. It won't cause a Spirit energy backflow."

"Phew... Since she isn't angry, we'll consider it safe."

Hearing Reine's report, Kotori let out a sigh of relief.

On the screen, they could see the two of them returning to the street after finishing their tea and sweets.

"Kotori, Tohka's mood is starting to beco unstable" Reine reported.

"Shido, it's almost ti," Kotori sighed. Even if he was found out, the triple date had to go on.

"Ouch! Sorry, Senpai, I need to go to the restroom!"

And so, Shido's stomach started hurting again.

[Sigh...]

Watching Shido's terrible acting, Mikoto sighed internally and grabbed his arm just as he was about to leave.

"Listen, Shido. Actually... I'm not feeling too well today either. I think I caught a cold" Mikoto said with a wry smile.

"So... how about we end the date here for today?"(TL:so considerate it's sad)

Even though she had fun being with Shido, a date was supposed to be sothing both people could enjoy. For Shido right now, he probably didn't have the ntal capacity to enjoy the date at all.

"Y-Yeah..."

Hearing Mikoto's words, Shido let out a sigh of relief. Turning a triple date into a double date would lessen his pressure significantly. However...

[I feel like Yakumo-senpai is only saying this for my sake.]

During the date earlier, Mikoto hadn't shown any signs of feeling sick at all.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. It's a rare date... and because of ..." Shido scratched his cheek guiltily.

"It's fine, it's fine. I had a lot of fun today, you know."

Looking at Mikoto's smile, Shido felt like there was a tiny trace of loneliness hidden within it.

"Umm... Senpai..."

"Hmm?"

"Let's go on a date again this weekend. This weekend."

He couldn't just let the date end like this. At the very least... he had to make a new promise, Shido thought.

"Yeah. It's a promise then, Shido."

Mikoto's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, it's a promise."

Seeing Mikoto's happy smile, Shido's mood also brightened. Then, he saw the young girl raise her hand and stick out her pinky finger toward him.

"Pinky promise. If you lie, you have to swallow a thousand needles."

"Yeah, I know."

Seeing Mikoto's childish smile, Shido smiled back and reached out his hand.

"Pinky promise~, pinky promise~. If you lie, you swallow a thousand needles~, and I cut off your pinky~."

Singing the children's nursery rhy together, the two tightly linked their pinky fingers.