Date a Live:This is not the date I wanted! Chapter 41 41: Those Willing Will Take the Bait

"Mm— I should probably leave soon as well. After all, staying too long and getting discovered would not be good either."

With a light stretch, Ryougi Yutsuki stepped out of the hot spring a little reluctantly.

"Hm?"

The mont she left the bath, Yutsuki sensed sothing strange.

The ground was trembling faintly.

An earthquake? No, compared to an earthquake, this vibration felt more like the shaking caused by machinery in operation. Although extrely subtle, Yutsuki still sensed it very keenly.

However, regarding the source of that vibration, Yutsuki already had so idea.

Had Tobiichi Origami already infiltrated the inn?

With that thought, Yutsuki raised her brows in mild surprise.

This inn, as one of Ratatoskr's seaside inns, could of course not possibly be just an ordinary inn. Not only were there nurous guards and anti intruder traps stationed around the exterior, but the interior was also full of transforming chanisms designed to stop enemies. The mont they were activated, the building's structure would instantly beco a maze of interlocking passages, and it was filled with all kinds of dangerous traps.

In a certain sense, this inn could be used as a fortress.

When Yutsuki first saw the inn's blueprint, she knew that without relying on Spirit powers, even she would probably find it difficult to infiltrate.

"Hm? I was in the bathhouse taking a shower, what is it… huh, what did you say you were going to do? I had a bit of ringing in my ears just now and didn't catch it… what was that?"

As she was walking toward the changing room, Shido's muttering, which had sounded a bit like he was talking to himself, gradually beca clearer. When Yutsuki opened the door, she just happened to see Itsuka Shido setting down his phone with a blank look on his face.

"What is it? A phone call?"

"Oh! Yu—Yutsuki! C-cough, sorry, are you getting ready to go out?"

After noticing Yutsuki's presence, Shido flailed his arms in a panicked, helpless manner, hurriedly ran back toward the hot spring, pulled the door closed, then cald down and coughed awkwardly.

"Honestly… this is the n's changing room to begin with. I'm the one who's mistaken, so why are you the one acting guilty?"

At that, Yutsuki gave a soft laugh and began changing her clothes.

"T-tha—that's true."

Hearing Shido's slightly stamring voice from the other side of the door, Yutsuki let out a soft sigh. After putting on her dayti casual clothes, she was just about to leave.

But her gaze inadvertently swept over Shido's phone on the counter. Her steps ca to a halt, and her expression instantly turned grave.

At that mont, since Shido had just put the phone down, it had not yet gone into lock-screen mode. The screen was still displaying the call log.

"...Shido, did you just speak to Origami on the phone?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. Just now, I wanted to check the ti, so I looked at my phone and happened to see Origami's missed call. In case there was so urgent matter, I called her back…"

"…You didn't tell her you were in the shower, did you?"

The corners of Yutsuki's mouth twitched.

"Mm, I did say that. Why? What's wrong?"

"..."

Remaining silent, Yutsuki relied on her keen senses and heard bursts of explosions rapidly approaching from sowhere nearby. Letting out a deep sigh, she covered her face with her hand.

Shido, that move of yours has sold out your teammate in a way so divine it's practically legendary. By now Kotori is probably already being absolutely crushed by Origami's assault…

Well… I bear so responsibility too.

"Shido… may I borrow your clothes for a mont?"

"Oh… huh?"

Shido responded reflexively at first, then let out a puzzled sound.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to use them for anything weird. And I'm only borrowing them a little while you're in the bath—I'll definitely return them before you're done."

After explaining that, Yutsuki silently added in her heart, "That said, if it's Shiori, that's a different matter."

"Uh, if that's all, then I don't really mind… I was going to soak a little longer anyway." Shido scratched his head in confusion. After thinking for a while, he chose to believe Yutsuki's words. "But what are you going to do with my clothes?"

"Mm… how should I put it?" Yutsuki tapped her chin, organized her thoughts, and then answered seriously, "A bait trap, for the safety of your chastity."

"Hah?"

————————————————————————————————

Accompanied by a low rumble like an earthquake, the inn's hallway transford like a puzzle. So sections ran to the right, others to the left. The ceiling, walls, and floor kept shifting endlessly in all directions, giving the place a surreal charm.

To put it taphorically, it was like being inside an enormous clock or a machine with an incredibly complex structure. A normal person thrown into sothing that huge would probably be immobilized by instinctive fear.

But today, Origami was an existence that surpassed even an Asura.

Her mind was unusually clear, her consciousness was sharp, and every cell in her body seed full of vitality. A sense of unprecedented fullness dominated her entire being.

"There!"

After muttering softly to herself, Origami threw the backpack from her shoulders and began leaping forward.

Then, to reach another route, she grabbed the wall with one hand, sprang again, and swiftly entered deeper into the corridor.

Her movents were simple, smooth, and utterly free of unnecessary motion—as if she completely understood the inn's transformation patterns.

Even Origami herself was startled by it. She could feel it. By sensation. By instinct. By intuition. It was as if soft, glowing fur had been laid across the path she was ant to take, allowing her to see through the gaps in the transforming chanisms.

—Shido is taking a shower.

Needless to say, wearing a towel in the bath was against etiquette. In other words, during bathing, only the hot water was obscuring Shido's body. If she could only soak in the sa bath, it would be the sa as wearing the sa clothes together. Just imagining that scene made Origami feel her blood vessels rapidly expanding.

Her ntal and physical synchronization rate had broken through 400 percent. This was the first ti she had fought in such a state, and Origami declared that she was now unstoppable.

As if trying to obstruct Origami's advance, the inn's hallway began transforming, sealing off the path.

"..."

However, Origami did not panic. She reached toward her waist, pulled out a hand grenade, removed the pin with a fluid motion, and threw it forward.

—The mont a huge explosion rang out, the path of glory once again appeared before Origami's eyes.

Then, following the light, Origami leapt continuously forward—and ultimately arrived at the sacred land she had sworn to reach.

Although there was a sign at the entrance reading "Under repair, no entry," Origami kicked it aside without hesitation.

"Shido— we are about to beco one—"

Passing through the blue curtain, Origami removed the ruined clothes she had been wearing, along with the final-attack lingerie she had originally prepared to wear for him.

Looking like a newborn baby, Origami hopped forward step by step toward the bathhouse.

"...!!?"

Along the way, Origami held her breath when sothing in her line of sight caught her attention.

In one corner of the spacious changing room, a thin string connected the ceiling to a certain object, swaying gently left and right in midair.

It was a pair of n's underwear. Since there was only one locker being used in the n's changing room, the owner of this item was already beyond dispute.

And more than that, a girl's instincts told Origami that the item had already been used. A familiar scent faintly brushed past her nose—absolutely not the sll of a brand-new, unopened item.

That item was hanging at a height Origami would have to jump to reach, and beyond that position was a blind spot in her vision. What sort of danger might be lurking in the shadowed corner there was impossible to predict.

It was a trap—her rational mind kept sounding alarms in her head.

—However!

"Shido's underwear… is in danger!"

After glancing at the basket holding the clothes and discovering that its contents were exactly missing the item in front of her, Origami clenched her fists tightly.

Shido's clothing is the greatest treasure in this world, more valuable than the elusive "One Piece" buried sowhere in the Grand Line that pirates are chasing—worth not billions of Beli, but an amount so priceless it cannot even be estimated! No, it is an absolutely invaluable treasure! If it were ruined in the hands of so unworthy thief, that would be an unforgivable sin. For that reason, that item must be in her hands. It absolutely must be placed by her own hand into a titanium-alloy vault and kept in cold storage!

So what if it is a trap? To protect it, even if she were crushed to pieces, she would not hesitate!

After frantically generating countless reasons in her heart to justify her actions, Origami made up her mind and drew a breath.

Like a gazelle in full stride, she leapt up. After calculating the timing and position perfectly, Origami used precise movents to take Shido's underwear down without a scratch.

Then, the mont she landed in the blind spot she had identified, Origami instantly acted.

Breathing in deeply—Beautiful. Ahhh, the world is so beautiful, and life is so wonderful!

Origami let out a satisfied breath.

"Even if I anticipated this outco when I set the trap… now that I'm actually seeing it, I really want to say—are you a genius, an idiot, or a pervert?!"

A voice ca from behind her. The next mont, a powerful numbness spread through her entire body, and she collapsed into unconsciousness like a broken puppet, unable to resist.