Here we are, at a café located on a street in Tengu City nad "La Pucelle" (French for "The Maiden").
From the outside, it looked like a nice establishnt. It appeared to be an independently owned shop rather than a chain franchise. The storefront featured warm, wooden decor with a French signboard hanging above, and a board displaying today's recomnded nu was placed near the entrance.
At one of the tables inside, a brown-haired girl enveloped in a pitch-black trench coat sat face-to-face with a tall, sowhat androgynous looking girl (?) wearing a stylish sumr outfit. At this mont, the two beautiful girls sat in complete silence, emitting an incredibly awkward and subtle atmosphere.
Stare——
"Um... Yutsuki-san"
Feeling the continuous, piercing gaze directed at him, Shido set down his cake, looked up, and offered Yutsuki an awkward smile.
"!"
The very mont their eyes t, Yutsuki's face suddenly turned as red as a boiled crab. She violently snapped her head down, grabbed the large milkshake in front of her, and began slurping it frantically.
"Haha..."
Faced with this reaction, Shido could only let out a helpless, bitter laugh.
"Hahahaha! That reaction looks exactly like soone staring at their first love!" Kotori's entirely undisguised, roaring laughter echoed through his earpiece. "Be proud, Shido! Your cross dressing is so flawless that it's even managed to captivate a Spirit!"
There is absolutely nothing to be proud of!
After silently grieving in his heart for a mont, Shido got back to the main issue and whispered:
"What do I do now? If this keeps up, we won't be able to hold a conversation at all."
Ever since the date started, Yutsuki had been secretly sneaking glances at him the entire way. Yet, the mont he tried to talk to her, she would imdiately blush, lower her head, and refuse to say a single word.
Under these conditions, forget about going on a date; they couldn't even manage the most basic level of communication.
"Well... true." Kotori also began to think seriously. "Honestly, Yutsuki's affection level for you has already reached the threshold required for sealing. However, her emotional state still seems extrely unstable. Just to be safe, try initiating a conversation with her... Oh, perfect timing, the options are out."
As if also taking issue with the current lack of progress, the AI on Maria Arusu's monitor displayed three choices:
① Geez... drinking so fast like that. — Smile and pull out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth.
② How do you like this café? It's my personal recomndation. — Ask in a calm, composed tone.
③ So? Do you want to go sowhere fun with Big Sis next?~ — Tease her with a bewitching, seductive expression.
"All personnel, choose!"
The result: Option ① had the most votes, followed by ②, with ③ receiving the fewest.
"Eh? Why not ③? Since her affection level is already this high, wouldn't it be better to just throw a straight curveball and end this quickly?" Kawagoe-Bad marriage asked in total confusion.
"No... If he did that, Shido's cross-dressing disguise would be exposed instantly. Speaking of which, Kawagoe, this exact line of thinking is probably why your wife dumped you."
Massaging her forehead in exasperation, Kotori pressed the microphone button and spoke: "Shido, go with Option ①."
"Option ①... But there isn't anything stuck to Yutsuki's face."
"Minor details like that don't matter! The crucial part is setting the mood. Co on, Shido! Awaken the hidden 'Yamato Nadeshiko' aura resting deep within your soul!"
Who the hell would awaken sothing like that?!
Despite roasting her in his mind, Shido obediently pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his shirt. He leaned forward to wipe the corners of Yutsuki's mouth while ntally hypnotizing himself, offering a gentle, purely feminine smile as he said:
"Geez... drinking so fast like that!"
Yutsuki froze entirely at Shido's action. Slowly, massive amounts of steam began to visibly rise from the top of her head. If Yutsuki's face had resembled a half-ripe red apple before, it had now completely transford into a fully ripened tomato. Her mouth opened and closed, letting out incomprehensible, muffled groans of "Ah... uh... gyah..." As if desperately trying to cool herself down, she ripped the plastic lid off her milkshake cup and started pouring the icy drink directly down her throat.
"Hey, Yutsuki-san... drinking that fast is going to make you choke..."
"—Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Before Shido could even finish, the drink went straight down Yutsuki's windpipe, sending her into a violent coughing fit.
"Are you okay?! Does it hurt?!" Shido frantically stood up, rushed to her side, and began gently patting her back.
"T-Thanks..." After gradually recovering, Yutsuki whispered softly to Shido, then lowered her flushed face, refusing to say another word.
Seeing the atmosphere plunge back into silence, Shido found himself at a complete loss for what to do.
"I honestly never expected this... To think Ryougi Yutsuki was actually this shy of a type."
Kotori sounded genuinely baffled through the earpiece. Shido, too, was deeply bewildered.
The last ti they hung out (when he was dressed as a guy), Yutsuki had constantly given off an incredibly bold and uninhibited vibe. Even when they accidentally made physical contact a few tis, she acted completely unfazed and oblivious. It was nothing like right now, where rely making eye contact left her so embarrassed she couldn't speak.
Could it be that...
"Eh? Are you two custors alright?"
"Wow! What two gorgeous beauties! Are they a Yuri couple?!"
"That's la~~"
The sudden voices interrupted Shido's thoughts. Turning his head to look, Shido panicked instantly.
"Ai, you guys work part-ti here?!"
Standing right in front of him was the trio of girls from his class at school: Ai, Mai, and Mii. Currently, they were dressed in waitress uniforms and walking toward his table.
Hearing Shido's words, the trio exchanged bewildered glances and asked in confusion:
"How strange, do we know you?" "Now that you ntion it, this young lady's face does look a bit familiar..." "I seriously can't stand this?"
It was only then that Shido rembered he was currently wearing won's clothes. Realizing the trio hadn't recognized him, he hurriedly and frantically explained:
"I-I'm Itsuka Shido's cousin, Itsuka Shiori!"
"What?! Shido's cousin?" "I can't believe that scumbag actually has such a beautiful cousin." "That's la~..."
"Haha..."
Shido let out a dry, bitter laugh. Even though he already knew his reputation at school was absolute garbage, hearing it said straight to his face still caused a sharp pain in his chest.
"Shiori-chan, your skirt..."
Yutsuki suddenly spoke up, looking surprised. Shido looked down and realized that the milkshake Yutsuki had coughed up onto the table was currently dripping drop by drop onto his frilly skirt.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault..."
Hearing Yutsuki's apology, Shido offered a comforting smile.
"It's fine. A little stain like this will co right out in the wash."
"No! This is my responsibility, and I must take responsibility for it."
However, to his surprise, Yutsuki looked at him with an incredibly determined gaze and declared in an absolutely unquestionable tone: "I will take responsibility and lick Shiori-chan's skirt... No, I an, I will buy you a new skirt as compensation."
I feel like I just heard sothing incredibly concerning slipped in there... It must be my imagination!
"Accept her offer, Shido."
"Kotori?"
"Yutsuki's affection level for you just increased quite a bit again, but her stress levels are also rising. It seems staying in this café any longer is a bad idea. Plus, if you stay here, there's a high risk your identity will be exposed. Move to the clothing section at the shopping mall. I'll dispatch personnel to provide you with backup."
Kotori's assessnt was spot-on. Looking at the highly curious glares the trio of waitresses were giving him, Shido worried that if he stayed any longer, he might accidentally slip up and expose his true identity.
"Understood. Let's head to the shopping mall, then!"
Seeing Shido agree, Yutsuki visibly breathed a sigh of relief. After paying the bill, she grabbed Shido's hand and pulled him out of the café.
"Have fun on your date!" "Yuri is a million tis better than marrying a scumbag like Shido! We support you!" "That's la~!"
Faced with the enthusiastic cheering from Ai and the others, Shido could only maintain a stiff, dry smile.
----- Location transfer divider line-----
"Phew... sorry to keep you waiting."
Stepping out of the changing room looking incredibly awkward, Shido truly realized sothing: changing into won's clothes inside a won's locker room induced an unfathomable amount of guilt.
"That's great!" Yutsuki nodded in relief and said, "Ms. Minowa—who was in disguise—just took your stained skirt to get it washed. Wait here while I go pay for this new skirt."
She completely saw through the disguise, didn't she?!
The corner of Shido's mouth twitched. Now that he thought about it, Kotori had ntioned that Yutsuki had hacked into the Fraxinus mainfra long ago and knew the identities and profiles of every single crew mber. She was probably entirely aware of Ratatoskr's "covert backup" for this date.
Does backup like this even have any aning?
When their eyes t, Yutsuki imdiately blushed and turned her head away.
Honestly, if Yutsuki hadn't entered this bizarre, overly-shy state, this date would have undoubtedly ended in absolute failure.
Watching Yutsuki pull a wallet out of her trench coat pocket, Shido suddenly realized sothing and asked softly:
"Speaking of which... Yutsuki-san. That outfit you're wearing, it's your Astral Dress, isn't it?"
"Hm? Yeah, it is. What about it?"
Yutsuki looked at him in confusion at the question.
"Uh... well, it's just that. Your outfit stands out quite a bit. If possible, could you change into sothing else?"
Even though Yutsuki's Astral Dress was much simpler compared to the dazzling outfits worn by Tohka and the others, a pitch-black trench coat paired with sothing resembling a girls' school uniform still drew plenty of stares from pedestrians.
In fact, on their way here, soone had even shouted, "Why the hell is a Tokiwadai uniform paired with a Midnight Cloak?! Are you mocking cosplay?!"—a complaint filled with completely baffling resentnt.
"True... Wearing an Astral Dress in public is very conspicuous, and for a date outfit, it's quite impolite." Yutsuki cupped her chin, striking a thoughtful pose, before looking up with an expectant expression. "In that case, how about you help pick out an outfit, Shiori-chan? Aside from my Astral Dress, I don't own any other clothes."
"Eh?"
"Shido, the options are out."
Inside the airborne battleship, the Fraxinus AI displayed three new choices on the screen:
① A pink one-piece dress paired with a white sun hat and feminine sandals. — A sumr lady's outfit.
② A matching low-cut white tank top, dark green shirt, and a colorful frilly skirt. — A couples' outfit.
③ A red-and-white armpit-exposing Shrine Maiden outfit with a massive ribbon. — An outfit completely lacking moral integrity.
"I feel a deep, profound malice radiating from that last option... Whatever. All personnel, comnce voting!"
Her mouth twitching slightly, Kotori strictly issued the command.
Well, aside from Nakatsugawa picking ③, and the two female crew mbers, Shiizaki and Minowa, picking ①, everyone else chose ②.
"A couples' outfit... Well, I suppose that's fine!" Driven by so inexplicable emotion, Kotori let out a faint, subtle sigh before preparing to press the microphone button.
However, suddenly, the background on the live feed drastically changed. The two of them had abruptly left the won's fashion section and were moving rapidly in a different direction.
"What's going on?!" "Commander, the situation has changed!" "Ryougi Yutsuki is currently leading Shido away from the won's fashion departnt." "Target has stopped. Location is... Eh?"
...
"Shiori-chan, which one of these do you think suits better?"
Standing in front of a fitting room mirror, Yutsuki held two outfits up against her body, frequently turning her head to ask Shido with a cheerful smile.
"...For now, let's just ask the clerk to bring over the right sizes."
Looking at the two oversized, dark-colored n's button-up shirts in Yutsuki's hands, and feeling the incredibly weird stares from the surrounding custors, the corner of Shido's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Their current location: The n's Fashion Departnt.
I get the feeling that sothing has gone horribly wrong. Was the way I started this date incorrect from the very beginning?
Original author's PS: Why does Mii only ever have one line in the ani, which is "That's la~"? (Puzzled)
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