When the two of them stepped into the herbal medicine shop, what greeted them was a shelf lined with countless medicinal ingredients and strange things that looked like aphrodisiacs.
"...Ugh, this place reeks of the underworld."
I blurted that out the second I saw it.
The vibe coming through the screen was just too strong.
[What do you think, Origami?]
At Itsuka-kun’s question, Tobiichi, who had been looking around the shop, answered with a troubled expression.
[Sorry, Itsuka-kun. I really don’t know much about this store....]
[Oh, I see. But Origami, what’s that...?]
Itsuka-kun looked at Tobiichi with a puzzled expression.
Then the screen shifted to her, and before I knew it, she was holding a pile of random medicinal ingredients I couldn’t even identify.
"Her words and actions don’t match up at all..."
"Could that be leftover behavior from the Tobiichi in the previous world?"
That was the only explanation I could come up with.
Everything she’d picked out looked like it was related to male virility.
[W-What the heck!? Why... why am I holding all this!?]
Whiiiiir-! Whiiiiir-!
Apparently she hadn’t realized she was picking out those kinds of ingredients, because Tobiichi’s emotional readings shot up wildly.
[W-Wow.... She’s bold enough to pick stuff like that....]
[They’re all good for virility....]
According to Marina and Miss Maria’s analysis, they really were all good for virility.
...Seriously, how do you unconsciously pick out stuff like that?
With that question in mind, I kept watching their date.
The next place they went was a perfectly ordinary clothing store.
It was a normal choice, so I didn’t think anything unusual would happen, but since the opponent was Tobiichi, I still had to be ready for the possibility.
[Why am I like this.... Why am I carrying around all this weird stuff....]
[Don’t worry about it. I’m the one who suddenly dragged you into a weird store. As an apology, I’ll buy you an outfit. What do you want?]
"...Tch."
At Itsuka-kun’s offer to buy her clothes, the commander clicked her tongue and popped a different-flavored lollipop into her mouth.
Still jealous, apparently.
I had a feeling Itsuka-kun was going to have a rough evening tonight.
[Eh!? You can’t just do that! Then I’d feel bad!]
[It’s fine, leave it to me. In exchange! Show me how it looks on you first. Let’s call that even.]
"Oh, so that’s what this is. Personal gain."
At that clearly self-serving line, Tobiichi smiled faintly and said,
[Itsuka-kun... you’re pretty good at making girls cry, aren’t you? You seem kind of skilled at that sort of thing.]
[I-I’m not!]
Considering that Itsuka-kun had to win over the spirits, he really was skilled at making girls cry.
[You’re one to talk, Hai.]
[Should I start counting right now? Me, Maria, Yoshino, Miku....]
"Okay. That’s enough."
I cut her off before I had to hear any more of Maria and Marina’s follow-up attacks.
...I wanted to argue, but it was also true that there were a lot of women around me.
So I shut my mouth and kept watching.
[Then I’ll accept the favor.... Since I have the chance, I should pick something Itsuka-kun would like.]
Saying that, Tobiichi walked into the clothing store.
And the commander immediately started laughing.
"Puhuh! Making girls cry and running around like that~? She saw right through him!"
"Commander...."
She’d been holding back her jealousy, but the moment she found something to tease him about, she jumped on it and started mocking him right away. She looked like a little kid, which was pretty fitting for her age.
I sighed beside her, thinking she looked a little pathetic, and the commander’s heavy hand slammed into my head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"I didn’t like the sigh."
"...You’re quick to notice."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Young, but annoyingly perceptive.
"...Shin. It looks like Origami went into the fitting room in the back of the store. Be careful not to lose sight of her."
[Ah, yes!]
While I was getting hit by the commander, Murasame-san relayed Tobiichi’s location to Itsuka-kun.
After hearing where Tobiichi was, Itsuka-kun went into the store and ran toward the fitting room where she was.
[Kyaaah!]
[Origami!]
Then came Tobiichi’s scream.
Hearing that, Itsuka-kun ran even faster and reached the fitting room where she was.
[What happened, Origami!]
[W-Why am I wearing this...?]
[Sorry, I’m opening it!]
At Tobiichi’s flustered voice, Itsuka-kun apologized and pulled the fitting-room curtain open.
[N-No! Itsuka-kun!]
Clatter-!
The curtain opened with the sound of the metal rings scraping against the support pole.
When we saw what was inside, all we could do was gape.
"W-What is that――!?"
Because there was Tobiichi, dressed in a way that even shocked the commander.
A headband with dog ears, a collar around her neck, a school swimsuit, and even a tail attached to the back.
Tobiichi sat on the floor in an outfit that could only be described as catering to some very specific tastes, staring up at Itsuka-kun.
The way her blue eyes trembled as they fixed on him made it obvious just how panicked she was.
But Tobiichi wasn’t the only one who was shocked.
[Origami...? That outfit... don’t tell me the kind of clothes I’d like are....]
Even Itsuka-kun’s voice wavered as he spoke, clearly stunned.
[No! Please don’t misunderstand!]
Probably because she’d shown Itsuka-kun such an embarrassing sight, Tobiichi teared up as she tried to explain.
[I don’t even remember picking out clothes like this――!!!]
Whiiiiir-! Whiiiiir-!
Looks like the previous-world Tobiichi that was really buried in her subconscious had taken control of her body.
Otherwise there was no way to explain a situation like that.
There was no other reason I could think of for normal Tobiichi to suddenly become this abnormal today.
Still, just how strong was her obsession with Itsuka-kun that it could seize control of her body like that...?
*******
After the whole commotion at the clothing store, they headed to a nearby restaurant.
As soon as she sat down, Tobiichi lowered her head and apologized to Itsuka-kun.
[Sorry.... It happened again.... I feel like something’s been off with me today.]
[I’m really fine. I don’t think it’s weird at all.]
[...Yeah. Thank you.]
Tobiichi seemed to think Itsuka-kun was only saying that to be considerate, but I doubt he really found it strange.
After all, considering what he’d gone through in the previous world, this was probably still on the normal side for him.
"Normal enough. Yeah."
"How is that normal...?"
"Hm? At least she’s not secretly sneaking into your house to take candid photos, or trying to make you drink some juice blended from every ingredient that’s supposedly good for virility, or knowing exactly what item was bought, when, where, and for how much. Or trying even harder to take panty shots when you’re dressed as a girl, or trying to steal your clothes. I mean, compared to that, this is pretty normal, right?"
At my words, everyone, including the commander, was so dumbfounded they couldn’t say a thing and just stared at Tobiichi.
On the screen, Tobiichi was eating her food, and just from that alone, anyone would call her a pure, refined young beauty.
But the shock of hearing that such a girl had been doing the things I described must have been pretty intense.
"...I’m giving up on trying to think about it."
In the end, the commander decided to give up on thinking about the previous-world Tobiichi.
The other crew members nodded as if they agreed with her.
"After all, that kind of thing should be inflicted on middle schoolers or younger."
Only one person seemed to be nodding for a completely different reason, so let’s ignore that.
[Ah, sorry, I’m in the middle of eating! I’m going to the bathroom for a sec.]
[Yeah. Go ahead.]
After Itsuka-kun went to the bathroom, Tobiichi turned her eyes to the food he’d been eating.
More accurately, she turned her eyes to the spoon.
"Uh, why are her eyes going black?"
As Tobiichi stared at the spoon Itsuka-kun had used, the light in her eyes gradually faded until they became dead eyes.
By the time Itsuka-kun returned from the bathroom, he was met with a shocking sight.
Tobiichi was holding his spoon with dead eyes, trying to lick it.
Seeing her stick out her tongue and drool while trying to lick the tip of the spoon, Itsuka-kun was visibly flustered and called her name.
[O-Origami...?]
At the sound of his voice, Tobiichi snapped back to her senses. She looked back and forth between Itsuka-kun and the spoon in her hand, then waved her hands frantically and said,
[N-No! This! I just saw that your spoon had fallen, so I was trying to pick it up! I didn’t mean anything else...!]
As Tobiichi stood up to return the spoon to Itsuka-kun, her leg caught on the table, shaking it and spilling the water in the cup.
And because the water happened to spill in Itsuka-kun’s direction, his shirt got soaked.
[S-Sorry!]
[Ahaha, it’s fine. It’ll dry soon anyway.]
The moment Itsuka-kun said that and lifted his shirt to wring it out, Tobiichi seized the opening and pulled out her phone, snapping continuous shots of Itsuka-kun’s exposed stomach.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
[M-My body moved on its own―! I wasn’t trying to do this! Please believe me, Itsuka-kun! Please, believe meeeee!!!]
Only Tobiichi’s screams and the sound of the phone shutter echoed through the restaurant.
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