Date a Live:Date Under The Moon Chapter 7 7: Exchanging Phone Numbers

The Chupa Chups in Kotori's mouth dropped to the floor with a clack. The crew mbers on Fraxinus also froze one by one, stunned like wooden dolls.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"It is too late to play dumb now, Shido."

Mikoto's smile at this mont looked full of force.

"...How did Yakumo-senpai notice?"

Shido gave a bitter smile.

"First, the earpiece. From ti to ti, Shido would make movents like he was listening, or talking to soone else. I noticed it during the date, because Shido's hair isn't long enough to cover his ears."

Although Shido had noticed that Mikoto would look at his side profile during the date, he had not expected that she was checking whether an earpiece existed.

[Shido, after you get back, I want you to read all of the An Actor's Self-Cultivation book from beginning to end. Thoroughly. Within one day.]

"Um... what if I can't do it?"

[Secret Art!! Roaring!!! Flash!!! Blast!!! Wave!!!]

From the earpiece ca the voice of Shido when he was little, secretly practicing his finishing move. It was an embarrassing mory so painful that rely rembering it could make him unable to stand back up.

"Another piece of dark history?"

[That's right. If you can't do it, Baka Onii-chan's special move performance will appear on all the major video sites.]

Kotori's voice sounded cold and pleased.

"Also, there was the fish shop. Salmon that fresh would never be sold at only thirty percent of the original price."

Mikoto continued. Usually, ingredients put on discount sale were close to their expiration date. If there was no special event, there was no reason to sell the freshest salmon so cheaply.

[Why does Miko even understand the nature of discounted food so clearly!?]

Mikimoto who had already returned to the airship, let out a cry of despair. Compared with Tohka, who completely lacked common sense, this Spirit before them was far too familiar with human society.

"Most important of all, when I leaned my head on Shido's shoulder, I heard the voice from the earpiece. It wasn't very clear, but I think it ntioned... kissing and... sealing?"

Mikoto tilted her head and tried hard to rember the conversation she had heard then.

[We got played.]

This ti, Kotori was completely speechless. She knew her idiot Onii-chan had no talent for acting. Against a pure and innocent Spirit like Tohka, that was still fine. But Yakumo Mikoto was clearly the type who paid close attention to small details.

"So, when you said you were sleepy, it was to confirm that?"

Shido asked.

"That was an unexpected gain. My original thought was that in a park with few people, if the target fell asleep, and if soone wanted to act, that should be the best chance."

Mikoto shook her head. After confirming that there might be an organization behind Shido, she had been testing them the whole ti, trying to figure out their purpose.

The greatest possibility should have been that they wanted to kill her. If so, in an empty park, using a long-range shot against a sleeping target should have been a good plan.

Although she had prepared to activate her Astral Dress at any ti while pretending to sleep, unexpectedly, nothing happened in the end.

"No wonder her affection didn't rise. She was on guard from the very beginning."

Kotori looked at the data on the screen. Mikoto's affection toward Shido had basically stayed at the level of "strangers who t for the first ti" the whole ti.

"Guh..."

Shido gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so hard it seed like his nails might pierce his skin. In his heart, he blad himself for being naive and careless. How was this completely different? The Spirit before him was not different from Tohka at all.

If Tohka's rejection of humans was like a castle ard with cannons, then Mikoto had laid layers of traps under a friendly disguise, waiting for Shido to foolishly jump in.

[I should have thought of it sooner... How could Yakumo-senpai, who thinks she isn't accepted by the world, open her heart to soone so easily?]

Shido secretly blad himself.

"In short... can I ask you not to involve yourself with , Shido?"

"I don't know what your goal is, but I promise I will not do anything that goes against human common sense while I am manifested. So please, don't make things too hard for either. Or do you believe... I have to die here?"

Mikoto sighed and said that.

She did not want her life with Tamako Obaa-chan to be disturbed. No matter what goal the organization before her had, their way of doing things was different from the cha-girl that followed the rule of "kill first, ask later." Perhaps, through communication, the worst result could be avoided.

"Wait! Ratatoskr's goal isn't to kill Spirits. I only want to save you, Yakumo-senpai!"

It was that expression again. When she said, "Do you believe... I have to die here?" Mikoto's face once again turned into one of despair and confusion. And that was an expression Shido could not ignore.

"Save ?"

"Yeah! That's right. Just like what you heard earlier, I have the ability to seal a Spirit's power. If I do that, Yakumo-senpai won't cause spacequakes anymore, and you won't hurt anyone. You'll be able to live a normal life!"

"A normal... life?"

"Yeah! Exactly!"

The future Shido described was impossible for Mikoto not to yearn for.

If she compared "a walking nuclear bomb and disaster to the whole world" with "an ordinary high school student," Mikoto could say with one hundred percent certainty that what she longed for was the latter. However...

"I'm sorry. I can't agree."

"Why?"

"This sealing you speak of ans making powerless, doesn't it? After that, instead of letting beco an ordinary person, killing directly or capturing and using as a test subject would be the more realistic choice, right?"

Mikoto shook her head.

"I promised to that person that I would live properly. Even if I beco a natural disaster, even if I beco the enemy of all humanity. If people hate , I don't mind kneeling down and apologizing. But letting myself be cut up by others for a beautiful promise... I can't do that."

"Why? I truly want to help you, Yakumo-senpai!"

Shido shouted unwillingly.

"Even if you say that, wasn't the date earlier a lie?"

"Guh."

Mikoto's retort left Shido speechless.

"That's enough. I'm going ho."

"Please wait!!!"

"Mm?"

"Give one more chance! I'll definitely make Yakumo-senpai believe what I'm saying! Please!!!"

Shido bent down and pleaded. His sincere attitude made Mikoto feel confused. Judging from the date earlier, the boy in front of her was not good at lying.

[Maybe... what he said is true.]

A small light of hope rose in Mikoto's heart. Perhaps she should try to believe him.

"Phone."

"Huh?"

"At the end of a date, aren't we supposed to exchange phone numbers?"

She took out the phone Tamako Obaa-chan had bought for her, winked at Shido, and said.

"Uh..."

[Idiot... she's telling you that if you find a way to make her believe you, contact her by phone!]

Noticing that Shido had not understood what Mikoto ant, Kotori's impatient voice ca from the earpiece.

"I... I understand."

Shido sowhat hurriedly took out his phone. The two of them exchanged email addresses and phone numbers.

"Then... I'll be waiting for your ssage, Shido."