“So, what exactly does ‘dating’ mean?” Tohka asked, looking utterly bewildered.
“Well…” Qianye began. A mischievous smile played on her lips as she subtly nudged Shido from behind.
“Of course, Shido should explain it! After all, he’s the one who invited both of us out!”
“What? Me?” Shido exclaimed.
While Qianye’s words weren’t incorrect, Shido couldn’t shake the feeling that she was betraying him with the kind of camaraderie typically found between boys.
‘Why do I feel this way? Isn’t Qianye a genuine girl?’
“Um, it’s hard to explain in words right now,” Shido said, scratching his head. “How about I just show you what it means?”
‘Wait, this line sounds incredibly familiar. Haven’t I said this before?’
“Hmph, never mind that!” Tohka huffed. “Shido, the important thing is to go on a date! A date, a date, a date!”
Tohka gave a soft hum, repeating “date, date, date” several times in her distinctive cadence.
“Alright, alright, I get it now,” Shido responded. “So please, stop repeating that word.”
“Huh? Why… Is it because, Shido, you’ve taken advantage of my ignorance to teach me some lewd words that are too embarrassing to say?”
Tohka’s face flushed crimson, and her brow furrowed slightly in a frown.
“Pfft, hahaha!” Qianye burst out laughing. As Qianye couldn’t hold back her laughter, Shido hurriedly tried to explain to Tohka.
“N-no, nothing like that at all!” he stammered. “It’s a perfectly wholesome word!”
Despite his assurances, the word ‘date’ could indeed carry different connotations depending on who used it, some of which were far from wholesome.
“Don’t worry, Tohka,” Qianye reassured her. “If someone else said it, it might have other meanings, but coming from Shido, it’s definitely a wholesome word.”
Qianye spoke up to dispel Tohka’s confusion, though she silently added a thought in her mind.
‘But if I were involved, that would be a different story.’
“Um, perhaps we should discuss this somewhere else,” Shido suggested.
He turned slightly, trying to avoid the multitude of bewildering gazes fixed upon them.
“Hmm?” Tohka hummed.
Tohka, too, noticed the unusual attention.
Unbeknownst to them, a group of elderly women, out shopping nearby, had gathered. They were all looking their way, chuckling to themselves with expressions that clearly found the situation amusing.
Among them, some gazes simply held curiosity, drawn by Tohka’s rather unique attire.
“Shido, Qianye, who are those people? Are they enemies? Should I eliminate them?”
“Wh-what?” Shido stammered.
Tohka’s dangerous declaration made Shido’s shoulders tremble involuntarily.
“No, no, why would you think that?” he quickly clarified. “They’re just ordinary elderly women!”
“Shido, I should be asking you why,” Tohka countered. “Their piercing gazes are no different from those of wild beasts. Such behavior can only be interpreted as an intent to attack me. If left unchecked, it will cause unnecessary trouble, so it would be best to eliminate them.”
‘The elderly women’s eyes really do look like that, but it’s only because they’ve stumbled upon an interesting topic.’ Qianye silently ribbed them in her mind, having seen countless such elderly women in her previous life.
“Relax,” Shido said, trying to soothe her. “I told you, only a select few would ever try to hurt you.”
“Hmph…” Tohka grumbled.
Although Tohka remained highly vigilant, she finally reined in her urge to pounce and attack.
“Alright then, that thing called ‘dating’…”
“Can we… can we just leave here first before we talk about it?” Shido interrupted.
Seeing Tohka’s casual disregard for their current predicament, Shido quickly quickened his pace.
“Huh? Hey, Shido, where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it too much right now, Tohka,” Qianye interjected. “Just follow him.”
Qianye immediately led Tohka to catch up, and the three walked shoulder-to-shoulder, with Tohka occasionally sporting a disgruntled expression.
Shido led Tohka and Qianye into a secluded alleyway, only exhaling a sigh of relief once they were well out of sight.
“Oh, here? It seems like no one comes here,” Tohka observed. “If Shido wants to do something to us, no one will disturb him.”
“What is Shido going to do to us? Is it a date?”
“No… well, not exactly,” Shido corrected himself, flustered. “Let’s put the ‘date’ topic aside for a moment, Tohka. You need to change your clothes first.”
“What?” Tohka exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise at Shido’s words.
“What are you saying?” she demanded. “This is my Astral Dress! It is both my armor and my domain. I will not allow you to insult it!”
“No, I mean, your current attire is far too eye-catching,” Shido explained. “It makes you an easy target for the AST.”
“Ugh…” Tohka grunted. Her face twisted into an expression of distaste.
“Then what am I supposed to change into?” she asked.
“Just change into a different set of clothes!” Shido replied.
While Shido said this, the nearest clothing store was quite a distance away, and his wallet was far from plentiful.
“No problem,” Qianye suggested. “Tohka, you just need to change into a school uniform!”
She then added a crucial detail.
“A *girl’s* school uniform, of course. Otherwise, it’ll still draw too much attention.”
“A girl’s school uniform? What does that look like?” Tohka asked anxiously.
“Well…” Shido pondered for a moment. Although he saw school uniforms every day, his descriptive abilities were limited, and he struggled to articulate what one looked like.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Shido’s mind.
“Like this!” Shido declared, pulling out a photograph. It was the very one Origami Tobiichi had given him, depicting her in her school uniform, complete with her autograph.
“Is this what it looks like?” Tohka asked.
Tohka took the photo and examined it, scrutinizing the uniform’s appearance.
Perhaps Tohka had never seen Origami in a school uniform before, as she surprisingly failed to recognize her.
Qianye, on the other hand, instantly recognized it. Her eyes lit up. “It’s the Master!” she exclaimed.
“Well, there’s no helping it then,” Tohka conceded. “I’ll just create a set of clothes based on this image!”
Having said that, Tohka snapped her fingers with a soft ‘snap’. Instantly, her Astral Dress, previously a magnificent gown, dissolved into shimmering particles of light, which then swirled around Tohka’s body.
This meant Tohka was momentarily in a state of nudity, though conveniently obscured by a ‘holy light.’
‘Who brought the paladin to the party?’ Qianye mused.
A few seconds later, Tohka reappeared before Shido, now dressed in the Raizen High School uniform, just like Origami in the photograph.
“Ah… what just happened?” Shido gasped.
“Nothing much,” Qianye explained to Shido. “She just dispelled her Astral Dress and reconfigured it into a different kind of attire.”
Then, Qianye leaned in close to Shido’s ear and whispered, “Which means Tohka was completely naked just now. How do you feel about that, Shido?”
“Uh…” Shido found himself unable to answer. Although Tohka’s vital areas had been covered by the ‘holy light,’ he had undeniably seen her naked form.
However, Shido couldn’t possibly respond to such an embarrassing question, so he had to change the subject.
“Right, Tohka, how do you like this school uniform?”
“Hmph! Since I only saw it in a photograph, there are probably many slight differences in the details, but it shouldn’t matter too much, right?” Tohka said, crossing her arms and looking rather pleased with herself.
“Hey, Shido, did you forget something?” Qianye whispered, nudging him again.
“What did I forget?” Shido asked.
“Idiot! Compliments, of course! Can’t you see Tohka practically begging to be praised?”
With Qianye’s reminder, Shido finally remembered the importance of praising a girl.
If Kotori were here, she would surely have given Shido a good scolding.
Still, it wasn’t too late to give a compliment now.
“Tohka, that’s truly amazing!” he exclaimed.
“Hmph, of course it is!” Tohka boasted. Her cowlick perked up, and she smiled with an air of absolute triumph.
“Mm-hmm, Tohka is the best!” Qianye affirmed.
Smiling, Qianye reached out and gently patted Tohka’s head.
“Mmm!” Tohka hummed contentedly. She wore an expression of pure bliss, her cowlick twitching happily under Qianye’s touch.
“Excellent! Now, as a reward, I’ll treat you to some delicious food!” Qianye announced. As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Shido.
“And of course, Shido will be paying.”