October 24th.
Unlike the pleasant weather, Shido's mood right now was a bit heavy.
Two days had passed since Shido received Natsumi's letter. And during these two days, under Reine's arrangents, Shido had been going on dates with nine of the people in the photos Natsumi sent.
Tohka, Yoshino, Tonomachi, Yuzuru, Kotori, Kaguya, Ai, Mai, and Mii. Although so of them did act differently than usual—like Tohka not eating much at a buffet because she saw on TV that "won who eat a lot turn n off"; Yoshino changing her usual shy and timid deanor to lick syrup off Shido's face while eating pancakes with him; and during a sauna trip, Reine ordering him to have skinship with Tonomachi, which resulted in the other party turning pale with fright and running away—just based on these things, it was very hard for Shido to judge if they were Natsumi in disguise.
At the sa ti, Natsumi was also using actual actions to show Shido what the phrase "until everyone disappears" on the postcard ant.
Every day that passed, one person would disappear at night. And if Shido guessed the wrong person that day, another person would disappear.
Last night, facing Natsumi who suddenly appeared before him, Shido nad the person he felt the most out of character over the past few days—Yoshino.
And today, Ratatoskr inford Shido that last night, two girls—Yoshino and Ai—were kidnapped by Natsumi's Haniel.
"Yoshino... and Yamabuki (Ai)... this is all my fault—"
Shido mumbled to himself, full of self-bla.
"That's not true. With such limited information, you've already done very well."
Through the earpiece ca Reine's voice. Although it was her usual lethargic tone, from the content, she seed to be comforting Shido.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I know being depressed here won't solve anything. Even if I give up, Natsumi won't kindly tell the answer. On the contrary, I'd probably get scolded to death by Yutsuki and Kotori."
After taking a long, deep breath, Shido's emotions gradually cald down, and he spoke in a slightly joking tone.
"Is that so... Shin has matured a lot too. I was a bit worried these past two days of setbacks would hit you hard. It seems my worries were unnecessary."
Saying that, Reine let out a slightly relieved breath.
Hearing Reine's praise, Shido scratched his cheek a bit embarrassedly.
"Alright, let's start today's dates."
After slapping his cheeks hard, he spoke with renewed motivation.
The first person he needed to observe today was Miku.
The two went to the central plaza of the Tengu City Amusent Park, where a Halloween masquerade ball was being held. Miku and Shido both cosplayed as characters from a shoujo ani. Because they were wearing masks, Miku didn't have to worry about being recognized and causing a commotion.
However, while they were taking pictures, they accidentally tripped and fell. Miku's mask fell off, and the surrounding area instantly went into an uproar. Add to that Miku accidentally twisting her ankle. Due to a series of careless factors, Shido had no choice but to carry Miku princess-style and run all over the amusent park.
After breaking through the heavy encirclent of Miku's fans and security guards, Shido, without taking a break, went to find the next person specified in Natsumi's photos—Tama-chan sensei.
Originally, Reine had Shido et with Tama-chan sensei under the pretense of "career counseling," but it seed that after the series of events earlier, Tama-chan sensei had completely misunderstood Shido's intentions on her own. As soon as they t, she pulled out magazines recomnding wedding venues and books on parenting. She had even prepared a marriage registration form with her signature and seal already on it, babbling about how she would wait for Shido to graduate so they could et each other's parents together. These statents made Shido feel imnsely pressured.
Finally, understanding the imnse pressure carried by an unmarried woman nearing thirty, Shido apologized and ran away.
And then, it was 7 PM.
"Hah..."
Shido let out an exhausted sigh.
"Shin, can you still hold on?"
"Yeah, no problem."
Shido nodded, indicating he was fine.
"Then, the only ones left to investigate are Origami and Yutsuki, right?"
"...Shin, about Origami, there's sothing I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
After a mont of silence, Reine slowly spoke.
"Just yesterday, Tobiichi Origami suddenly submitted an application to transfer schools. And then her whereabouts beca unknown."
"Origami transferred?"
This unexpected news made Shido's eyes widen in surprise.
"Rather than transferring, it's more accurate to say she dropped out. Tobiichi Origami didn't say which school she was transferring to."
"Why so suddenly..." Shido frowned in confusion. He took out his phone and called Origami's number, but the only response he got was the automated ssage, 'The number you have dialed is powered off.' Shido couldn't help but feel worried.
"Could Origami also be because of Natsumi...?"
"No, that shouldn't be it," Reine denied. "If she explicitly ntioned 'disappearing,' Natsumi could have just used Haniel to kidnap her. If this Origami was Natsumi in disguise, such an action would pointlessly increase the suspicion on herself. I don't think Natsumi would purposely do sothing so suspicious. I'm afraid Natsumi herself didn't expect this situation either. The most likely possibility is that Origami suddenly left for so personal reason."
"I guess..."
Hearing Reine's deduction, Shido nodded, feeling slightly relieved.
Although he was a bit worried about what happened to Origami, Shido was currently troubled by the Natsumi problem, so he had to put this matter aside for now.
"Shin, you're almost at the destination."
"...Ah..."
Reminded by Reine, Shido looked up. He seed to have walked quite a distance while deep in thought. It's a miracle he didn't bump into anything along the way.
After walking a few more steps, Shido saw a girl with brown long hair waiting quietly for him on a public bench under a streetlight not far away.
"Then... I'll turn off the radio for now. Shin... do your best."
Yutsuki was very sensitive to radio communications, and the girl herself didn't really like Shido going on a date with her while taking orders from soone else. Everyone knew this. So after giving Shido so unenthusiastic encouragent, Reine cut the radio.
Shido took a deep breath and walked towards Yutsuki.
"Yo, Yutsuki, sorry to keep you waiting."
The girl was currently wearing a casual pair of light blue jeans and a brown autumn shirt. Her brown long hair was tied into a ponytail because she was wearing a baseball cap. She gave off the vibe of a handso tomboy.
"Geez, making us et up for a date at a weird ti like dinner ti for no reason. What exactly are you thinking, Shido?"
Upon seeing Shido, Yutsuki imdiately started complaining.
"Haha... sorry about that. My schedule has been a bit tight lately."
"What have you been so busy with lately..." Yutsuki shook her head helplessly and let out a long sigh. "Well, I left everyone's dinner at ho. Otherwise, with the two people who cook at ho suddenly disappearing, Tohka and the others would definitely starve to death."
Even though she looked like a handso tomboy, her words sounded like a nagging mother. Shido couldn't help but give a speechless, bitter smile.
"Well, sorry for the trouble, Yutsuki."
Shido scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"You have to make up for my cooking shifts for the next few days later, okay."
"Yes, yes~ Understood."
Talking along the way, Shido didn't feel anything weird or different about Yutsuki compared to her usual self. Honestly, looking at the girl beside him who could unhesitatingly express her dissatisfaction to him and nag him about everyday things, rather than a date, Shido felt a very natural feeling like family taking a walk together. He didn't have to be overly cautious, and he felt much more relaxed.
"What's wrong, Shido? Looking at with that weird expression."
"No, it's just that I feel like when I'm with Yutsuki, it's the calst and most relaxing ti."
Shido couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"As your date, should I be happy or disappointed?"
Yutsuki scratched her hair and sighed.
"Speaking of which, what happened to Yuzuru and Yoshino? They've suddenly been missing for the past two days."
"Well... they just went to Reine's for a physical checkup."
Shido said, feeling a bit guilty.
"Is that so?" Yutsuki looked thoughtfully at Shido's expression. Just when Shido thought Yutsuki had seen through his lie, Yutsuki suddenly nodded in understanding.
"Well, putting Yoshino aside. If Yuzuru went missing mysteriously, Kaguya would probably be crying her eyes out by now because she couldn't take it."
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Shido's mood beca a bit heavy. Just as Yutsuki said, during his date with Kaguya yesterday, Kaguya purposely dragged him into an empty alley, laid her head on his lap, and cried her eyes out.
It was also at that mont that Shido truly made up his mind to find Natsumi's true identity no matter what.
"So, where are we going?" Yutsuki asked.
"Well, we're almost there. Right here..."
Under Yutsuki's confused gaze, Shido stopped walking. Then, seeing the building in front of them, Yutsuki's eyes instantly narrowed to slits.
"Speaking of which, Yutsuki, you're really good at swimming, right?"
Standing in front of the swimming pool, Shido said tentatively.
"...Shido, are you sure you're not ssing with ?"
The corners of Yutsuki's mouth twitched, looking at Shido with a fake smile. No wonder, after all, purposely bringing her to a swimming pool after knowing she couldn't swim felt exactly like he was bullying her on purpose.
Feeling Yutsuki's incredibly oppressive glare, a little cold sweat broke out on Shido's forehead.
"Sorry, I took the joke a bit too far."
Thinking about it carefully, the fact that Yutsuki couldn't swim was already exposed back when Shido and Yutsuki didn't participate in swimming class. Although Shido thought even Natsumi couldn't mimic Yutsuki's ultimate skill of running on water. If he guessed right, it would be fine. But if Yutsuki was the real deal, it would be equivalent to Shido causing Yutsuki's Spirit power to go berserk himself, which would only make things more troubleso.
After putting his hands together to apologize, Shido pointed to a newly opened conveyor belt sushi restaurant next to the swimming pool.
"Mhm... I'll trust you for now. Since I didn't eat dinner before coming, I'm getting a bit hungry anyway."
Yutsuki stared at Shido with suspicious eyes. After a mont, she nodded as if accepting Shido's explanation.
Just as Shido breathed a sigh of relief, Yutsuki suddenly turned her head and glared at Shido dissatisfiedly.
"Right. To answer your question from earlier, Shido. I am indeed very good at swimming. If I got serious, completing a 100-ter dash in a swimming competition in five seconds is a piece of cake. Even carrying a person, I could do it in under ten seconds~"
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Shido laughed dryly, secretly glad he didn't continue pressing his luck just now.
Entering the Sushi Restaurant
"Ooh! So this is Japanese conveyor belt sushi!"
After walking into the sushi restaurant, Yutsuki seed to have forgotten her earlier displeasure. She looked left and right around the inside of the sushi restaurant, her eyes shining brightly.
"Yutsuki, is this your first ti eating conveyor belt sushi?"
Shido couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Mhm! Although I've had sushi before. But sothing like conveyor belt sushi is a first for ."
Yutsuki nodded excitedly.
Indeed, since being sealed, Yutsuki's als were all taken care of at the Spirit apartnt complex or Shido's house. Shido basically never saw Yutsuki having a habit of eating out. And conveyor belt sushi wasn't a place one would normally choose for an everyday al.
"Shido, what is this faucet for?"
Yutsuki sat in her seat, looking around curiously while asking Shido with great interest.
"Oh, that's hot water for making tea. There are tea bags in the box next to it. Be careful, it's very hot."
"Ooh, a service where the custors make their own tea? That's quite interesting."
Yutsuki nodded in realization.
Unlike the girl's usual calm and cool deanor, Yutsuki's eyes right now were full of anticipation and curiosity.
Co to think of it, Yutsuki always seed interested in holiday events and Japanese culture. Shido thought casually.
"Ooh, there's even pudding on the conveyor belt! It's different from what I saw online."
Looking at Yutsuki making a bit of a fuss over nothing, Shido, for so reason, suddenly felt a little urge to tease her.
"Yutsuki, this conveyor belt suddenly turns the other way sotis, be careful not to get caught in it."
"Eh!? Really?"
Yutsuki, who was cautiously reaching her hand out, quickly pulled it back in a panic.
"That's dangerous. Thanks for the warning, Shido."
Seeing that Yutsuki actually took his words seriously and did such a cute action, Shido turned his head to hold back his laughter, and said softly in embarrassnt,
"Sorry, Yutsuki... What I just said. I was ssing with you."
"...Shi—do—."
Yutsuki pulled Shido's cheek with a bright red face, yelling in anger from embarrassnt.
"Sowwy! Ahm wong, noh moar jowking!"(Sorry! I'm wrong, no more joking!)
Shido hurriedly apologized.
"Well, so as not to ruin the mood for eating. I'll forgive you this ti. Is it okay for to take the things from up there and eat them?"
After all, unlike the joke just now that seed like a provocation, Yutsuki knew Shido was just purely having fun with her this ti. Although it was very annoying in another sense, in the end, Yutsuki didn't hold it against Shido too much.
"Yeah, whatever you like."
Rubbing his slightly sore cheek, Shido answered helplessly.
Hearing Shido's confirmation, Yutsuki took a deep breath and grabbed a plate from the conveyor belt in one go.
"Ooh! Look, Shido! Fatty tuna sushi!"
Yutsuki very happily held the plate up to show Shido. Although Shido didn't know if Yutsuki was happy because she picked sothing she liked or simply because she successfully took a plate down. Shido hesitated for a mont and decided not to ask such a mood-killing question.
"Shido, aren't you going to eat sothing?"
"Now that you ntion it... I am a bit hungry too."
These past few days, because he was busy investigating Natsumi's true identity, he hadn't been eating properly. Although he didn't care much at first. But seeing this unexpectedly fresh side of Yutsuki, how should I say it... his tense nerves relaxed, and his stomach started to rumble emptily.
"Boss, could I get one order of flounder and sea bream sushi, please."
"Sea bream and flounder, right! One mont!"
"..."
Hearing the conversation between Shido and the chef in the kitchen, Yutsuki froze for a mont, looked around, then looked at the sushi in her hand, a slight confusion appearing on her face.
"Shido, conveyor belt sushi... aren't you supposed to take the food from the conveyor belt?"
"Hm? Well, although you can do that too, a lot of places recently also let you order directly. So places even provide a nu."
"Ugh... Is that so."
For so reason, a disappointed expression appeared on Yutsuki's face.
"Well, if there's anything else you want to eat, Yutsuki, you can just order it directly."
"...No, I ca to eat conveyor belt sushi. Not just sushi!"
Yutsuki puffed out her cheeks, complaining stubbornly.
"Is there a difference..."
In the end, Yutsuki seed to be competing with so unknown entity. After swallowing the fatty tuna sushi in a few bites, she locked her eyes back on the conveyor belt like a hunter tracking prey.
"Mhm~"
Looks like the sea bream sushi tastes good.
"Ugh..."
Well, cucumber rolls always have a sowhat disappointing feel.
Perhaps because she wasn't used to the conveyor belt yet, the sushi Yutsuki grabbed wasn't always what she wanted. But even so, Yutsuki still obediently finished the sushi, and then prepared to grab the next plate.
Watching Yutsuki like this, Shido couldn't help but cover his mouth and chuckle.
"...Yutsuki, I have sothing to say, I don't know if I should say it?"
"What?"
Yutsuki, who was busy looking for Pacific saury sushi, said without turning her head.
"Since when did you beco such a cute creature? Could you be soone else in disguise?"
Smack!
Answering Shido was Yutsuki bringing a paper fan down on his head.
User Comments
0 comments from readers