I’m currently at a swimsuit store.
Why did I come here again?
“How is buying swimsuits with these girls considered training?”
Ah, right. Murasame-san had brought Tohka and Yoshino to the women’s swimsuit store, claiming it was "training" for tomorrow’s trip to Ocean Park with Itsuka-kun and me.
“It’s to make sure you don’t get flustered no matter what kind of swimsuit you see. That goes for you too, Hiki. When you’re on a date with Kotori, you can’t go gawking at other girls, can you?”
“Kotori’s fate is on the line here. There’s no way I’d do that...!”
“You haven’t forgotten that your heartbeat is being monitored, have you?”
So that’s how they end up threatening him. I actually feel a bit bad for Itsuka-kun.
“Ah. Hiki too.”
“...Huh? Wait a second. Do I really need to do this?”
“Yep. You’re on a date with Yoshino.”
At Murasame-san’s words, Itsuka-kun grabbed my shoulder and sighed, “Hieta. It’s easier if you just give up.”
“Damn...”
I almost swore out loud, but I held it in. They said this was for Yoshino’s sake, so I had no choice. If not for that, I seriously would have caused a scene right then and there.
“Amazing, Shido! So all of these are called ‘swimsuits’?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
While browsing the store, Tohka picked up a swimsuit and questioned Itsuka-kun.
“Shido! What exactly is this used for?”
“Eh? You don’t know? This is...”
“Also known as MI-ZU-GI. One of the new anti-Spirit extermination armaments.”
“Oh.”
Gasp
Holy crap, that startled me. Tobiichi suddenly appeared beside us and started spouting nonsense.
“Once activated, the installed Realizer begins critical operation, breaking the warhead down at the molecular level before releasing it. It can easily pierce even armor and shred the target’s body tissue beyond any possibility of recovery.”
Shocked by that explanation, Tohka and Yoshino dropped the swimsuits they were holding. I quickly caught the fluttering fabric before it hit the floor, put them back where they belonged, and looked at Tobiichi.
“Haa, you scared me.”
But Tobiichi ignored me, muttering while staring at Yoshino.
“As expected of the [Hermit]...”
Hearing that, Yoshino hid behind me and warily watched Tobiichi. Tohka also took a defensive stance, stepping in front of Yoshino and me as if to protect us while keeping a sharp eye on Tobiichi.
“Why are you here, of all places! Shido! Is what she just said about an extermination armament true?!”
“No, there’s no way that’s true—”
“It’s true. He knew about MI-ZU-GI and brought you all here. He was probably planning to take advantage of your guard being down and ambush you from behind.”
Was she really going to commit to this bit all the way through? It looked kind of entertaining, so I decided to just watch.
“Don’t lie! There’s no way Shido would do something like that!”
“No, Origami’s right. I was just thinking about when I’d kill you all.”
“What did you say, Shido?!”
“Kuhh!”
Between Tobiichi’s terrible imitation and Tohka believing it completely, I barely managed to hold back my laughter. I can’t believe she actually fell for that impression.
“What is it? Why are you making that face, Hieta?”
“No, I just thought you’d actually believe that... snrk Haa, that was really funny.”
When Tohka heard me, her face started turning red with embarrassment at having been fooled. Soon she was shouting at Tobiichi, calling her a coward for tricking her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Haa...”
Itsuka-kun seemed exhausted by the situation and let out a heavy sigh. Fair enough. He was always the one stuck in the middle of Tohka and Tobiichi’s fights.
“But Origami, what a coincidence running into you here. Are your injuries okay?”
“I’m fine. But this isn’t a coincidence. I’m glad I got to see Shido. However, today I have something to say to Yatogami Tohka.”
So she did have a purpose after all. And she had something to say to Tohka, not Itsuka-kun. I wonder what it is.
“Do you remember the Spirit wrapped in flames that appeared last time? You saw that Spirit too, didn’t you? I want you to tell me what you remember.”
She must be talking about the commander. Sure enough, the commander had appeared wrapped in flames.
As I was thinking that, Itsuka-kun leaned over and whispered quietly, “Hieta, doesn’t that include you too?”
“...Huh?”
Come to think of it, yeah. From their point of view, I’m a Spirit, and I fought while wrapped in flames yesterday. If Tobiichi is looking for a “Spirit wrapped in flames,” then there’s definitely a problem.
I stood there in a cold sweat, focusing intently on the conversation between the two of them.
“Hmph! I’m not telling you anything, Altera-don!”
“Please.”
When Tohka refused, Tobiichi clasped both hands together and pleaded. Everyone there was stunned. Tobiichi always picked fights with Tohka, so seeing her ask so earnestly was shocking.
“D-don’t do that! What’s your goal here?”
“I want you to tell me about the Spirit of flames. Please.”
This time, she even bowed her head. Tohka grabbed Yoshinon, who had been hiding behind me, and started trembling. Was Tobiichi basically a cosmic horror from Tohka’s perspective?
“A-alright! Fine, so raise your head already! You’re giving me the creeps!”
At Tohka’s words, Tobiichi lifted her head and stared at Tohka.
“The Spirit of flames, right? I definitely saw her.”
At that, my cold sweat intensified, and Itsuka-kun’s eyes widened slightly.
“She was, yeah. Bright red.”
“And?”
“Huh? And... right, she was really strong!”
“That’s it?”
“Um... it felt like, ‘Pwoosh—!’ like that!”
“Useless.”
Tobiichi’s tone changed instantly at Tohka’s completely useless answer. Still, useless to Tobiichi or not, it was a lifesaver for Itsuka-kun and me. Thanks to that limited vocabulary, my identity and the commander’s identity remained hidden.
“What?! I finally answered you, and that’s your attitude?”
Tohka started moving in to pick a fight over Tobiichi’s reaction, but Yoshino barely managed to stop her by grabbing her around the waist.
Tobiichi ignored the angry Tohka and looked at Itsuka-kun, mentioning that she only had her school swimsuit, so if they went to the pool or the beach like this, she’d be in serious trouble.
“Uh, yeah... then since we’re at a swimsuit store, can’t you just buy one...?”
“When it comes to swimsuits, other people’s opinions matter too. Especially men’s opinions. They’re helpful.”
“Eh?”
“Men’s opinions are helpful.”
“Um...”
“They’re helpful.”
Nope. That girl was basically demanding that Itsuka-kun pick her swimsuit for her. People like that just ignore whatever you say if they don’t get the answer they want.
“I-I mean, if it’s just giving my impressions...”
Realizing he was dealing with someone he couldn’t reason with, Itsuka-kun finally agreed to help pick a swimsuit. And Tohka, unwilling to lose, insisted he pick one for her too.
“Listen, Tobiichi Origami! The one who makes Shido’s heart race more gets the right to date him!”
“The result is obvious. I cannot hand over my date with Shido to you.”
And so the swimsuit battle began. The prize was a date with Itsuka-kun. What an incredible prize.
“Why did this suddenly turn into a battle?”
“Isn’t that good? It’ll be training for you too.”
As Murasame-san said, it might be training for Itsuka-kun, but it certainly wasn't for me, so please leave me out of this.
“I don’t think this has anything to do with me...”
“No. Hiki needs training too. We can’t have another incident like last time, when you collapsed after seeing Tokisaki Kurumi in her underwear. Shido wasn’t even that bad.”
At Murasame-san’s words, Itsuka-kun looked at me as if to say, Did that really happen? I felt my face burn with embarrassment and covered it with both hands before pleading with Murasame-san.
“Please don’t bring up what happened then. I’m so embarrassed.”
“I’ll think about it.”
The answer I got back was far from satisfying.
“Huh? Isn’t that Itsuka-kun and Hieta-kun?”
“What are they doing in the women’s swimsuit store?”
“That’s so lame~”
At the sudden voices, I pulled my hands away from my face and looked toward the sound. There, I saw Ai, Mai, and Mii in swimsuits. Their outfits were incredibly revealing, so I quickly covered my face again. How can they walk around in something like that as if it’s nothing?
“Well...”
“Whatever. Let’s pick something else.”
“How about school swimsuits this time?”
“That’s so lame~”
“Master, record broken. At this rate, those girls are going to take the date rights. And Hiki too. Your heartbeat seems to be 1.5 times Shido’s. At this rate, your heart might actually burst. It’s amazing you’re still alive.”
I can feel my face getting hotter and hotter from the shame. Seriously, why did I even come here?
Anyway, just as Murasame-san finished speaking, one of the curtains opened and Tohka stepped out.
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