All in all, while Itsuka Shido was spending time with Tobiichi Origami and Yatogami Tohka, Tenki Sanluo and Tokisaki Kurumi remained waiting inside the lingerie shop.
Since Kurumi wanted to have a bit of fun before enjoying her grand meal, and Sanluo had plenty of time anyway, she didn't mind keeping her company.
Incidentally, after Shidou left, Tenki Sanluo grabbed the "Maji Pantyhose Trio" by their bodies and threw all three of them into the garbage bin outside.
Of course, those who had cast strange looks at Sanluo along the way were also remembered one by one — and had their memories physically erased in the same manner.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kurumi..."
Finally, after having lunch with Tohka and returning briefly to Kurumi's side, Shidou spoke while rubbing his very full stomach.
"It's all right. More importantly, are you okay?"
Kurumi's voice carried genuine concern.
"Keep acting, Tokisaki Kurumi. Go on, keep pretending."
Tenki Sanluo watched from the side, amused.
By the way, Kurumi was still holding the paper bag from the lingerie shop.
"Ah… thank goodness— Um, you didn't actually buy that lingerie, did you…?"
"Yes— because Shidou-san said it suited me perfectly."
"...!"
Shidou suddenly felt embarrassed and scratched his cheek.
Trying to change the subject, he glanced left and right, scanning the surroundings… but really, peeking around in front of a lingerie store like that just made him look suspicious.
At that moment, Kurumi looked into Shidou's face and softly parted her lips.
"By the way, Shidou-san."
"Hm…? What is it?"
Shidou tilted his head. Then Kurumi's face lit up with an innocent smile as she spoke words filled with despair.
"You must be hungry, right?"
"Heh."
Just from Shidou's face — that constipated expression — Tenki Sanluo could tell that this guy had definitely already eaten lunch during his other dates with the Spirits.
And by calculating the time, if he had only gone on a date with one Spirit during this period, it would've been too unfair to Kurumi.
In other words, Itsuka Shidou was dating three Spirits at once.
"Well, well, Itsuka Shidou… a triple date, huh? I can't believe you actually thought of that."
From Tenki Sanluo's sane point of view — at least when she wasn't in one of her psychotic moods — the strange developments in Tenguu City over these two days were far more entertaining than wiping out an entire city elsewhere.
"Let's see what kind of nonsense you'll pull next, Itsuka Shidou."
...
"Phew… Shidou-san, honestly. It's such a rare chance for us to go on a date, yet you seem so busy today."
Sitting on a park bench, Kurumi let out a soft sigh.
The time was 3:30 in the afternoon. By now, Shido had gone to the restroom thirty times.
Five hours had passed since the start of their date, but the time he actually spent with Kurumi amounted to only about a third of that.
"Don't play dumb — you know perfectly well why this is happening."
Tenki Sanluo, sitting beside Tokisaki Kurumi, muttered with half-lidded eyes.
Ever since she descended into this world, she'd been talking a lot more these past two days than usual.
"Hehe, Miss Tenki, I didn't mean to hide anything — but this is fine too."
Kurumi rested her chin in her palm and smiled.
Indeed, to Kurumi, this was all trivial. At best, it was just part of the process.
"In the end — he'll still become mine."
As she tapped her cheek lightly with her finger, she hummed a tune.
Closing her eyes, Shidou's face naturally surfaced in her mind.
Perhaps this feeling was what humans called love.
"Don't tell me you're actually enjoying this so-called date?"
Tenki Sanluo looked in the direction where Shidou had just left.
To be honest, she had never experienced such things — and had no interest in them.
At least for now, that was the case.
"—Hehe."
Kurumi's smile deepened. She stood up and stretched lazily.
The idle thoughts swirling in her head made her body feel warm, so she suddenly wanted something cold to drink.
If she remembered correctly, there was a vending machine along the way here. Shido wouldn't be back anytime soon, so stepping away for a bit should be fine, right?
"Where are you going?"
"To buy something cold to drink."
"A cold drink?"
Tenki Sanluo thought for a moment before realizing what she meant.
"Get one for me too… Actually, forget it, I'll go with you."
"All right, Miss Tenki."
And so, the two Spirit girls walked side by side through the park.
Then—
"…?"
As they crossed the park and reached a quiet alley where the vending machine stood, Kurumi raised an eyebrow. Her good mood was shattered by an unpleasant sound that suddenly reached her ears.
"Is that… a cat meowing?"
Tenki Sanluo heard it too.
Turning her head casually, she noticed Kurumi's expression growing darker and raised her own brow slightly.
"Oh? Miss Tokisaki, it seems you…"
Kurumi didn't answer. Silently, she walked straight toward the direction of the sound.
Sanluo, wanting to see something entertaining, followed after her.
In front of them stood four adult men. Each one was holding a model gun, all pointed toward the end of the alley.
At the very end of the dead-end, there was a small, trembling shadow.
It was a cat.
A newborn kitten, barely able to walk, was dragging itself forward and mewing weakly while being pelted with rubber bullets from the model guns.
At that moment, Kurumi understood.
Were they test-firing the guns? Or just venting their frustrations? Whatever the reason, it was one of those.
Kurumi narrowed her eyes, her aura growing increasingly dangerous.
"How interesting."
Tenki Sanluo leaned casually against a tree, watching the scene with keen amusement.
"...What the hell, don't scare us like that!"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing… there are two girls over there…"
Only then did the men notice Kurumi and Tenki Sanluo's presence.
"Ah… sorry. This place is being used. Could you go to the other side?"
He waved his hand as if to shoo them away.
However, Kurumi stepped forward and gave a charming smile.
"Oh my, actually I'm quite knowledgeable about firearms myself. Why not let me join you?"
At that point, Tenki Sanluo was already wondering whether she should start digging graves for these men in advance.
At the same time, the camera monitoring Kurumi suddenly went dead, the screen turning into buzzing static.
...
"Hah…! Haa…! Haa…!"
Weighed down by exhaustion spreading through every part of his body, Shidou finally made it back to the park bench where he had last seen Kurumi.
Although none of the date locations were far apart — and Shidou wasn't a normal human — he had already run back and forth over thirty times between Tohka, Kurumi, and Origami. His body was near its limit.
But as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, he scanned the area and frowned slightly.
"Strange…"
"What's wrong, Shidou?"
"Kotori, where did Kurumi go?"
Indeed, the bench was empty. Kurumi was gone.
Not just Kurumi — Tenki Sanluo, who had been with her, was nowhere to be seen either.
"Huh? Filming crew, where's Kurumi?"
"Uh, sorry, Commander, the footage was interrupted — looks like the camera's malfunctioning…"
"What?"
At that moment, one of the crew members spoke up:
"Commander! The signal's weak, but we're detecting a Spirit reaction nearby!"
"Where?"
"In a small alley near the park's east exit! The reading… there's no mistake, it's Tokisaki Kurumi!"
"...!"
Shido's entire body tensed, and he quickly looked toward the park's east exit.
"…Hmm. Did something happen? Shidou, can you go check it out?"
"Ah, right…"
Hearing those unsettling words, Shidou swallowed nervously and ran across the park.
Guided by
Then—
"…Huh?"
The moment he arrived…
Shido's eyes widened in shock. He froze where he stood.
"Uh… Aaahhhhh—!"