Just as Shido was about to push open the glass door of the dessert shop, which had a bell hanging on it, he suddenly realized a serious problem.
— The Astral Dress Tohka was wearing, which was impossibly extravagant, was simply too eye-catching!
If they walked in like this, they would definitely become the center of attention, and might even attract unnecessary trouble.
"Wait, wait a minute, Tohka!"
Shido quickly stopped the girl who was about to rush inside, pointing awkwardly at her clothes.
"Um... that outfit of yours might be a little... too special here. Could you... change into something more ordinary? Like what the other girls on the street are wearing."
Tohka looked down at her amethyst-colored dress, then looked up at the everyday clothes worn by the surrounding pedestrians reflected in the glass window, and her face showed a look of sudden realization:
"Oh! Shido thinks this isn't suitable? That's simple!"
Before she finished speaking, an extremely faint, almost invisible light of spiritual power emanated from her.
The next second, the gorgeous Astral Dress was quickly altered and restructured, as if erased by an eraser, turning into a deep-blue based uniform, paired with a light-colored shirt and a red tie — the Raizen High School girl's uniform!
"!"
Shido widened his eyes; although he knew Spirits could change their spirit dresses, seeing such an instantaneous transformation firsthand still felt incredibly wondrous.
Moreover, Tohka, wearing the school uniform, lost some of her sacred, untouchable distance, gaining instead a fresh vitality of a young girl, as if she truly belonged to this ordinary world.
"Is this alright?" Tohka tugged at her skirt, asking curiously.
"Y-yes, it's perfect!"
Shido quickly nodded, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. This way, at least they wouldn't cause a commotion because of their clothing.
He pushed open the door again, and the clear chime of the bell rang out. Shido, feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation, walked into the dessert shop filled with sweet aromas, accompanied by Tohka, who was wearing the uniform and looking around with curiosity... Almost the instant they entered, Kotori, who was sitting by the window, secretly fixed her gaze on them.
Her gaze first sharply swept over Tohka, her pupils contracting slightly, but immediately afterward, she displayed an expression of extreme confusion once more.
(This girl... looks exactly like [Princess]! But... this school uniform... and also, there is absolutely no Spirit Wave detected?!)
She immediately whispered into her miniature communicator: "Fraxinus! An individual suspected to be target [Princess] has been detected, location: dessert shop, wearing a school uniform! Is there any Spatial Quake alert or Spirit Wave reaction?"
[This is Fraxinus. Confirmation: No Spatial Quake alert. Initiating remote scan on the target individual... Scan complete. No Spirit spiritual power fluctuations detected. Repeat, no spiritual power fluctuations detected.]
"What?!" Kotori was completely stunned. No Spirit Wave? This meant that the girl who looked exactly like the Spirit Princess was, theoretically... an ordinary human?
She watched Shido nervously lead that "Tohka" toward an empty seat. That "Tohka," meanwhile, looked around curiously, showing great interest in the shop's decorations, the menu, and even the desserts on other customers' tables. Her demeanor seemed completely genuine.
Kotori held her hand to her forehead, feeling her CPU was overloaded, and couldn't help but mutter to herself: "If that's really the case... then that means big brother is out on a date with a normal girl who happens to look exactly like a Spirit~"
She compared the two scenarios: "A Spirit silently manifesting" versus "Shido managing to pick up a beautiful girl," and her mouth twitched before she came to a conclusion.
"Compared to the situation where a Spirit silently manifests, if I had to choose which one is more unrealistic... the former wins by a slight margin~"
(What Miss Kotori meant was that she thought Shido managing to arrange a date with such a beautiful, ordinary girl on his own was even more unrealistic than a Spirit silently manifesting.)
Just as Kotori was lost in her chaotic deduction, the back door of the dessert shop was quietly pushed open a crack, and two sneaky heads peeked inside.
It was Koushi and Hiroto!
After confirming that Shido and Tohka were seated and their attention was entirely focused on each other and the menu, the two acted like trained ninjas.
Crouching low, they slipped into the shop with lightning speed, precisely locating a corner booth that allowed them to observe Shido's table while being partially obscured by decorations, and quickly sat down.
"Heh heh, successful infiltration!"
Hiroto lowered his voice and excitedly made a victory sign.
"Shh—keep your voice down!"
Koushi motioned for him to be quiet, then picked up a menu from the table to cover his face, revealing only a pair of eyes twinkling with the light of "watching a good show."
He intently watched Shido, who was struggling over how to order, and Tohka, who looked innocent and seemed full of questions about everything, not far away.
Inside the dessert shop, the following were currently gathered:
Shidoand Tohka, who were on their first, and highly unexpected, date. The sister Commanderand the analyst, who were caught in cognitive confusion and observing secretly. And two wingmen (bad friends) lurking in the corner, ready to provide "fatherly" support (mockery) at any moment.
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