This is not the date I wanted.

Meng Yue turned her head away and answered in a somewhat self-deprecating tone.

Shidou noticed that Mengyue's face was already red at this time.

"And... by the way, if you can successfully defeat Kurumi... that kind of maid outfit... I might try to wear it again."

"real?!"

Shidou's eyes suddenly widened, he walked in front of Mengyue and confirmed aggressively.

"Maybe! I'll just consider it! And it's too close! Too close, Shidou!"

Meng Yue explained hurriedly.

"Yeah... I understand. That's all."

Slowly taking a few steps back to distance himself from Meng Yue, Shidao clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination as firm as diamonds.

"For a man, just the slightest possibility is enough."

"..."

Under Mengyue's somewhat timid gaze, Shidao left the rooftop in silence.

(Sorry, Kotori.)

Shidou apologized silently in his heart.

It was not until today that he realized that Gokawa Shidao was much more superficial than he had imagined.

He didn't want to see other people's desperate and lonely expressions, he wanted to protect everyone's daily lives from being violated, and save innocent elves - compared to those upright and noble principles, a goal composed of selfish desires and evil thoughts gave him unprecedented motivation at this moment.

We must win! Gokawa Shidao has never been so eager to win as he is today.

After packing his bag and leaving the classroom, Shidou saw the beautiful black-haired girl waiting for him at the school gate.

"Ah, are you finally here? Mr. Shidou."

"Ah, sorry for the long wait, Kuang San."

Staring at Kurumi's face, Shidou smiled slightly and said so.

"Then let's start our date. I must make you - shy for me.

32 Dating in Progress

==============================

"Then let's start our date. I must make you - shy for me."

"Oh?"

Seeing Shidao's imposing manner, Kurumi was a little surprised, but soon, she regained her smile.

"Hehe~ Is that so? Then I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Shidou."

……

Standing on the roof of the school, Mengyue watched Shidao and Kurumi gradually go away through the iron mesh fence.

"It's begun."

Meng Yue sighed softly, her expression slightly complicated.

Ever since Kurumi showed up, she would go on a date with Shidou almost every day in the name of "competition".

Although those dates did not produce any results, they were undoubtedly preparations for Valentine's Day. If nothing unexpected happens, Kurumi should be planning to conquer Shidao in one fell swoop today.

I'm afraid Shidao has the same plan.

To be fair, she certainly hoped that Shidou would win. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given him such embarrassing photos and encouraged him to stay and wear a maid costume to boost his morale.

After all, it would be fine if we won the game, but if we lost, the price we would have to pay would be too high.

But at the same time, somewhere in Mengyue's heart, she didn't want Kuang San to fail.

During the short five days of cooperation to repel the DEM attack, she saw many sides of him that had never been shown to others.

Every prophecy represents the reversal of time, and every look back represents a failure of her in the future.

Regret due to failure,

The anger that arises from powerlessness,

Showing off one's strength because of fatigue.

In front of Shidao, she behaves like an extreme seeker of truth, and in order to achieve her goal, she puts a huge shackle on her emotions. As if she has no sadness or pain, she plays the most attractive woman in the hearts of men.

But in front of Meng Yue, she was like a survivor trapped in a desperate situation. The retreat route behind her kept collapsing, forcing her to keep moving forward without stopping. If she relaxed for a moment, she would fall into the abyss.

(Go back thirty years and wipe out the first elves...?)

Meng Yue couldn't help but think of the goal that Kurumi had always insisted on. Although she had raised her doubts to Kurumi the night before, in fact, if she really succeeded in changing history, the fact that Shidao was "eaten" by Kurumi would no longer exist.

“…Forget it. There’s no point in thinking about this.”

Meng Yue let out a long breath. After all, the people who really decided the outcome were not her, but Kurumi, the person involved, and Shidou, who was dating her.

"But now that I think about it... the party that falls in love first will lose. This competition is really weird."

Meng Yue complained with a weird look on her face.

Not to mention that in Mengyue's opinion, there are countless ambiguities in the rules of this game, such as the basis for determining the conditions for falling in love, the final time limit for winning or losing, and what to do under the special circumstances where Shidou and Kurumi have never fallen in love. These are not explained clearly. Just the content of the game itself is full of contradictions.

In the past, in order to capture a Pokémon, Shidou only had to increase the Pokémon's favorability and make the Pokémon fall in love with him.

But this time, both parties must not only find ways to improve each other's favorability, but also be careful not to fall in love with each other.

What does this mean? It's almost like the scumbag who frankly says "I want to seduce you, but I don't want to like you" when pursuing the opposite sex.

Only if you like someone will you want them to like you.

If you don't open your heart, don't expect others to open their hearts for you.

Honestly, in Meng Yue's opinion, until yesterday, Kuang San had never seriously intended to win.

After all, if someone really wants to win, he will never admit at the beginning of the game that liking me means death, nor will he fight to such an extent for someone who will be killed by himself.

"Then... I'll work harder and help clear the DEM of pests."

——————————————I am the dividing line for shifting perspectives——————————————

At this time, Kurumi was being held hand by Shidao, walking leisurely on the street as if taking a stroll.

To be honest, before the date, Kurumi never thought that Shidou would take the initiative to hold her hand.

(Shidou-san's hands...are so big.)

Kuang San couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Feeling the warmth wrapped in her palm, looking at the slightly nervous but very gentle boy beside her, Kuang San felt very relieved.

Just like that, after walking for about ten minutes, the boy and the girl walked into the building next to Tiangong Station.

"We're here, Kurumi."

When he arrived at a store, Shidou stopped.

"Ok?"

Kurumi looked up curiously.

At the beginning of the date, Kurumi confessed that there was a place she wanted to go, as if to test Shido, but she deliberately did not reveal the specific location, leaving Shido to guess it himself.

And here is the answer that Shidao came up with.

"Lingerie shop?"

Looking at the dazzling array of women's underwear displayed in the window, Kuang San couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth and asked with a smirk.

"Fufufu... I see. Mr. Shidou, do you want to see me in my underwear?"

Hearing what Kurumi said, Shidao quickly waved his hand to deny it.

"Eh? No, no! No - although I do want to see it, this is not the reason why I'm here... Eh? The reason... I feel like it's here."

Looking at Shidou who was in a panic because of her joke, Kurumi couldn't help but laugh happily.

“That’s the correct answer.”

"Eh?"

After answering Shidao like this, Kurumi looked towards the store again with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

This is where she, or more precisely, the 'she' who had a crush on Itsuka Shido in the past, first dated Shido.

"This is the place I wanted to come to - one of them to be exact. Mr. Shidou remembered to talk about this place with 'me'. I'm so happy."

"..."

Looking at Shidou who had fallen into silence, Kurumi felt a little lonely and continued to speak.

"In fact, I have always been curious about what the 'me' who fell in love with Shidao and chose to leave was thinking and feeling on that day, in this place."

"Kuang San, you..."

Looking at Shidou who was hesitant to speak, Kurumi replied with a wry smile.

"…Although they are all immature children, they are still me."

(No, that's slightly wrong.)

Kuang San thought helplessly in her heart.

(Even now, I am still an immature child...)

"...Great. The answer is exactly the date route we took back then."

At this moment, as if to dispel the somewhat sad atmosphere, Shidou said with a smug look on his face.

"I am the man who conquered you. Then let me repeat the route we took that day and make you think of me."

Having said that, Shidou took Kurumi's hand and strode into the lingerie store.

"Mr. Shidou..."

After looking at Shidao with a helpless look, Kurumi still followed him obediently.

After a while, Kurumi walked into the dressing room with the underwear that Shidou had chosen.

(Hmm... Mr. Shidou, do you like this type of underwear?)

Looking at the pure white cotton bra in her hand, Kuang San felt a little surprised. After all, when they first went on a date, he had chosen a rather revealing pure black silk bra for "herself".

(Well... he was probably deliberately trying to show off. Shidou-san is really cautious.)

However, even though she thought so, Kuang San readily took off her school uniform and underwear and changed into this pure-style underwear.

(Hmm… not bad.)

Looking at herself in the fitting mirror, Kuang San couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction.

Perhaps it is because of the contrast brought by the impression, the Kuang San in the mirror looks pure yet charming, delicate yet gorgeous.

(I wonder what Mr. Shidao’s reaction would be when he sees this?)

With a hint of curiosity, Kuang San pulled open the door curtain.

As expected by Kurumi, when Shidao saw her, his cheeks turned red and he was speechless with surprise.

"How is it... Mr. Shidou?"

With a bit of shyness and secret joy, Kuang San asked in a low voice.

"... Meng Yue... maid... garter stockings..."

Ok?

Under Kurumi's puzzled gaze, Shidao came to his senses and suddenly covered the pocket of his school uniform, his lips moving slightly, as if he was muttering something.

Afterwards, Shidou saw that the shyness, passion and desire in his eyes gradually disappeared, leaving only pure and flawless praise.

"Beautiful, so beautiful! This bra suits you very well. To be honest, it suits you to a dangerous degree."

"Well... then choose this one."

Although she was in a good mood after being praised like that, when she thought about Shidao's actions just now, Kurumi felt inexplicably concerned.

After putting on her clothes, Kurumi walked up to Shidou and handed him a piece of black cloth.