"Shiori-chan, how does this outfit look?"
Slightly adjusting the baseball cap on her head, Ryougi Yutsuki placed one hand on her hip, puffed out her chest, and flashed a satisfied smile.
A black, short-sleeved n's T-shirt paired with dark-colored denim jeans that fell just past the knee. To comfortably wear the baseball cap, Yutsuki had also tied her long hair back into a ponytail.
As a side note, during the initial fitting, they discovered that after dismissing her Astral Dress, Yutsuki wasn't wearing any underwear. Even though Yutsuki herself insisted it didn't matter, under Shido's intense insistence, she eventually went to a won's lingerie store and picked out a light yellow tank top to act as a substitute bra to wear underneath.
"Mhm... it suits you perfectly."
After carefully inspecting Yutsuki's outfit, Shido nodded in admiration. Although the n's clothing was slightly loose on Yutsuki, it perfectly highlighted a dashing and energetic aura. Combined with Yutsuki's inherently outstanding natural features, if one looked from a distance, she completely passed for an incredibly handso young man.
However, a guy wearing won's clothes, and a girl wearing n's clothes... looking at this situation, Shido felt an incredibly complicated mix of emotions in his heart.
Did we make a horrible mistake sowhere along the line? Shido agonized internally.
"Shido, things are looking good." Kotori's voice ca through the earpiece. "Since changing into n's clothes, Yutsuki's emotional trics across the board have stabilized significantly."
"Looks like it..."
After changing into n's clothing, Yutsuki's movents beca noticeably more confident, and her expression was no longer as flustered as before. Although she still blushed when looking at him, she was now able to converse normally.
"You really like this kind of outfit, huh."
Yutsuki nodded, a look of emotion crossing her face. Adjusting her collar, she smiled and said, "Yeah, as expected, this kind of outfit makes feel the most grounded. That short skirt on my Astral Dress left my thighs constantly exposed to the breeze. It made feel incredibly insecure!"
"Is that so..."
For so reason, I feel like I completely understand where you're coming from...
"What an incredibly unique Spirit. To think she actually feels less secure in an Astral Dress than in ordinary fabric clothes..."
Kotori's completely speechless sigh echoed through the earpiece.
An Astral Dress was, without a doubt, the absolute most reliable armor a Spirit possessed; it was their most trusted, impenetrable fortress. Its defensive power and durability completely outclassed not just ordinary fabric, but even the cha armor of Realizers. Yet Yutsuki had just completely rejected the partner that had protected her for an entire year with a simple, "The skirt makes feel breezy and insecure." If her Astral Dress had a soul, it would probably be crying right now.
To this, Shido could only smile dryly and offer no comnt.
Walking down the street together, the tall, timid beautiful girl (?) and the handso, energetic tomboy ford an incredibly bizarre yet striking duo, causing pedestrians to constantly turn their heads.
"That girl is so tall! Is she a model or sothing?" "But the other girl looks great too! She totally pulls off that handso tomboy look!" "They look so close, are they Yuri? That's the best~" "No, for all we know, that tomboy might actually be a guy." "Even if it's a guy, it doesn't matter as long as it's cute!"
The endless barrage of stares completely overwheld Shido, forcing him to lower his head. Noticing Shido acting strangely, Yutsuki—who had remained entirely unfazed by the attention—asked with concern:
"Shiori-chan, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"No... I just feel like a lot of people are staring at us..."
Shido replied with a bitter smile. Hearing this, Yutsuki glanced around and let out a soft chuckle:
"Don't worry. It's just because Shiori-chan is way too cute, so everyone can't help but look at you."
If an actual girl heard this, she might have felt a mix of embarrassnt and secret delight. But hearing this as a guy, Shido felt as if ten thousand alpacas had just viciously trampled over his heart.
"I-Is that so?" The corner of his mouth twitched imperceptibly. Shido decisively gave up on dwelling on the matter and changed the subject. "So, where is Yutsuki planning to go next?"
"Oh! About that." Hearing the question, Yutsuki's eyes began to sparkle. She cheered and pointed at a storefront not too far away.
Following Yutsuki's finger, the corner of Shido's mouth twitched once again.
Right, the arcade. It seed the legends recorded just a few days ago were about to be shattered all over again.
------Perspective shift divider line------
"Holy crap! She broke the record again!" "How did she even execute that complex dance routine just now?! Even the contestants from the World Breakdance Championship couldn't clear that difficulty!" "And she hasn't made a single mistake so far! Just what kind of absolute concentration does she have?!" "Excuse , Miss, do you have any interest in entering the professional dance industry...?" "Nope!"
Watching the talent scout get bluntly rejected by Yutsuki without her even turning her head, slinking away in defeat, Shido secretly offered an apologetic smile to the poor man. He then turned to Yutsuki and said, "Yutsuki-san, keep playing. I'm going to head to the counter to buy so drinks."
"Oh! Sorry for making you do that, Shiori-chan!"
Currently attempting the "Ultimate Purgatory" difficulty on the dance machine, even Yutsuki could only manage a brief reply before fully imrsing herself back into the ga.
After stepping away from Yutsuki, Shido pressed a hand to his earpiece and whispered:
"So, how's Yutsuki's condition looking?"
"Excellent, Shido." Kotori sounded much more relaxed. "Her affection level, emotional stability, everything is maintaining an incredibly optimal state. At this rate, we should be able to seal her very soon."
"Is that so?" Shido gave a brief response, then fell silent, deep in thought.
"What's wrong, Shido? Is there a problem?"
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a problem..." Shaking his head, Shido hesitated for a mont before speaking. "I just get the feeling that... Yutsuki doesn't seem to view herself as a girl."
"What makes you say that?" Hearing Shido's assessnt, Kotori frowned.
"I can't point out anything specific... It's just a feeling I get."
Despite this highly irresponsible explanation, Kotori didn't scold him. Instead, a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Now that you ntion it... During your first date with Yutsuki, her affection level rose, but hit a cap and stagnated. It really did feel like she didn't view you as an opposite-sex romantic interest. But this ti, after you cross-dressed, the increase in her affection level has been unnaturally high. At first, I assud Yutsuki was simply a Yuri who preferred girls. But considering how her emotional state completely stabilized the mont she changed into n's clothing... your theory is actually highly plausible!"
"So we need to change our strategy?"
Reine, standing next to Kotori, spoke up slowly.
Kotori nodded firmly. If Shido's assessnt was correct, and Yutsuki severely lacked awareness of her own gender as a female, then they couldn't treat her like a Yuri character during this conquest. Instead, they had to treat Shido as the "Heroine," and conquer Yutsuki as if she were the "Male Lead."
Do not underestimate the massive difference between the two; otherwise, the visual novel (Galga) market and the maiden ga (Oto Ga) market wouldn't be split into two entirely different consur demographics.
"You've got to be kidding ... I'm just a guy wearing won's clothes! Do you really expect to act perfectly like a female heroine?!"
The corner of Shido's mouth twitched. This last-minute cross-dressing act was already pushing his absolute limits; asking him to perfectly transform his words and actions into those of a girl was completely impossible.
"Actually, there is another conquest route. You act as the male lead and force Yutsuki to awaken to the fact that she is a woman. However, we realized this way too late. If you suddenly switch routes at a critical mont like this, you'll definitely trigger a Bad End."
"Ugh..." Shido was completely speechless. He had to admit that Kotori's analysis was absolutely correct.
"We will adjust the AI's paraters accordingly. Don't worry! Rember, the entire Fraxinus crew is backing you up!"
Even though they're incredibly unreliable sotis...
After a brief internal complaint, Shido sighed. Carrying the drinks he bought, he walked back to Yutsuki, who had just flawlessly cleared the ga.
"Thanks a ton, Shiori-chan." Taking a sip of the carbonated drink, an expression of pure bliss crossed Yutsuki's face. Then, as if realizing sothing, she hurriedly apologized, "I'm so sorry, I got completely carried away. I just left Shiori-chan totally ignored on the sidelines."
"No... I didn't mind. As long as Yutsuki-san had fun, it's fine."
"But I can't just be the only one playing, I feel really bad..." Yutsuki didn't drop the issue just because Shido brushed it off. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her, and she suggested: "How about we go wherever Shiori-chan wants to play next?"
"Eh? I..."
"Shido, the options are out!"
① Then... I want to go take purikura (photo booth pictures) with Yutsuki.
② Let's go to the claw machines; there's a toy I really want.
③ I'm getting a bit hungry, can we go eat?
"As expected, the options are entirely generated from a female perspective." Chuckling lightly, Kotori issued the order: "All personnel, choose within three seconds!"
The result: Option ① took first place by a narrow margin.
"Shido, choose ①. Rember to use a heroine's tone of voice when you say it!"
"Even if you say that, I've never played an Oto Ga before!"
"For this kind of thing, believing in yourself is enough. Just picture the heroine of a Korean drama! You can do this, Onee-chan!"
Do not believe in at a ti like this! And I'm your older brother!
"What's wrong? Have you decided, Shiori-chan?"
"Mhm, if it's okay, could you co take purikura with ...?" Endlessly hypnotizing himself into believing he was a heroine, Shido's face blushed slightly. Acting sowhat shy, he pinched the hem of his skirt, looking as if he were incredibly embarrassed to speak. Finally, summoning his courage, he perfectly mimicked a girl's tone and shouted: "I-I want to t-take pictures with Yutsuki-san, so I can treasure the mory of this date forever!"
—Ba-Thump!
It seed an incredibly bizarre sound effect had just triggered.
"...Shiori," Yutsuki said with sudden, intense seriousness after a mont of silence.
"Y-Yes!" Shido stamred back in a panic, looking exactly like a lowly private who had just been called out by an officer for making a mistake.
Completely ignoring the surrounding crowd, Yutsuki suddenly dropped to one knee, tightly grabbed both of Shido's hands, looked him straight in the eyes, and declared in a tone of absolute, solemn devotion:
"Please marry ! I will dedicate my entire life to making you happy!"
Clang! Crash! Boom—! The sound of celebratory gongs and drums echoed in Shido's ears, symbolizing the beautiful, sacred union between Shiori and Yu... Wait, no! It symbolized the affection level breaking past its maximum limit!
At this very mont, Itsuka Shiori... Ahem! Itsuka Shido, faced with the first—and presumably last (?)—marriage proposal of his entire life, naturally, completely blanked out.
original author's PS: Although you probably won't believe in this situation, I really have absolutely no intention of making Shiori (♂) marry Guan ng (♀) →_→...
User Comments
0 comments from readers