Alkaid stared at his smartphone, his expression turning grim.
A message from the Big Dipper Group Captain, Dubhe, had been sent to his phone: “Gounon should be in Natsuki City, right? I’m already here. Lock down his location quickly. When I arrive, I’ll work with you to capture him and bring him back.”
Alkaid hadn’t expected the Captain to come personally. This suddenly made the time he had left feel extremely tight.
‘I was planning to take things slow, but the Captain isn’t giving me any time at all. Looks like I need to act fast. But there are other Reincarnators here—they might get in my way.’
A headache began to throb in his temples, and Alkaid couldn’t help but rub his head.
Beside him, Gounon asked, “Alkaid, what’s wrong with you?”
Even a mental patient could see that Alkaid was troubled.
Alkaid glanced at Gounon, his mind churning.
‘Regardless, I’ve already secured Gounon’s support. That means I don’t necessarily have to use this mental hospital as the battlefield. I can simply change locations. That way, I won’t have to worry about the other Reincarnators interfering.’
Having made up his mind, Alkaid said to Gounon, “It’s time for us to leave. We’re heading to the true battlefield to prepare to deal with the Great Devil God.”
Gounon was momentarily stunned, then nodded. “I understand. War is coming, isn’t it? Let’s go then.”
…
Tsukiyomi Ruri and the other three had already made their way onto the streets.
All four of them were youthful, beautiful, cute, and sweet. Walking down the street, they drew a considerable number of glances from passersby.
However, since the other three believed Tsukiyomi Ruri was an ordinary person—the most delicate and helpless among them—Inoue Keiko had been assigned to keep a constant watch over her for protection.
Inoue Keiko walked alongside Tsukiyomi Ruri up front, while behind them, Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Izumi Shirayuki whispered amongst themselves.
“Senpai, do you think the target has followed us yet?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki asked in a hushed voice.
“I’m not sure either. But we can stroll around a bit longer, try our best to let the enemy spot us and track us. In other words, for the next ten minutes or so, let’s just shop like we normally would,” Izumi Shirayuki whispered back.
“Sure, sure!” Mizuhashi Yuzuki was, naturally, very satisfied with this plan.
And so, the four of them soon arrived at a shopping mall.
The mall was filled with a dazzling array of clothing. One beautiful dress after another immediately captivated the gazes of the girls.
Everyone, that is, except Tsukiyomi Ruri.
However, even if she didn’t care about these things, the others kept dragging her around, asking endless questions.
“Ruri Ruri, what do you think? How does this one look on me?” Izumi Shirayuki pointed at a one-piece dress.
“It looks good, looks good,” Tsukiyomi Ruri replied.
“Ruri Ruri, how about me in this one?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki pulled Tsukiyomi Ruri over to ask about a different skirt.
“Mhm, looks good,” Tsukiyomi Ruri could only answer again.
“Ruri, I… I…” Inoue Keiko held up a skirt.
“Looks good, looks good, super good,” Tsukiyomi Ruri answered numbly.
In just the blink of an eye, everyone except Tsukiyomi Ruri had bought multiple outfits, their hands suddenly full of several paper shopping bags.
Seeing that Tsukiyomi Ruri hadn’t bought anything at all, Izumi Shirayuki pulled Mizuhashi Yuzuki aside and whispered, “Yuzuki, why do you think Ruri isn’t buying anything?”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki pondered for a moment. “Could it be the sizes don’t fit? The smallest sizes here are all for a teenage girl’s build. For her… maybe we’d have to go to the children’s section to find something that fits?”
Izumi Shirayuki suddenly had a moment of realization, followed by a pang of guilt.
How could they have been so focused on buying little dresses for themselves, forgetting about their companion’s feelings?
‘Ruri must really want to buy new little dresses too, and wear new little dresses. She just didn’t bring it up so she could stay with us. We can’t just pretend not to notice!’
Thinking this, Izumi Shirayuki and Mizuhashi Yuzuki exchanged a look, each understanding the meaning in the other’s eyes.
As for Inoue Keiko… she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and hadn’t quite picked up on this aspect of the situation yet.
“Dragging Ruri directly to the children’s section might be a bit awkward. What do you think we should do?” Mizuhashi Yuzuki whispered.
“The children’s section is on this floor too, right next to the women’s section. Let’s head over to the edge first,” Izumi Shirayuki suggested.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki nodded.
With the two of them subtly steering the group, the four of them soon shifted to the edge of the women’s clothing area.
As soon as they arrived, Izumi Shirayuki’s gaze landed on the children’s section. She nudged Mizuhashi Yuzuki with her elbow. “Look, what do you think of that skirt over there for Ruri?”
“Not bad, not bad, but the color on that one next to it seems even more vibrant,” Mizuhashi Yuzuki said, her interest thoroughly piqued.
The two of them started picking out clothes from a distance, commenting on this skirt and that skirt, and very quickly, they reached a consensus on a particular one.
Tsukiyomi Ruri let out a yawn. She found shopping rather boring and couldn’t understand why the others were so interested.
Just then, Mizuhashi Yuzuki came over, grabbed Tsukiyomi Ruri’s arm, and said with a beaming smile, “Ruri, come here a moment.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri tilted her head, confused.
She let Mizuhashi Yuzuki pull her along until they reached the door of a changing room, where she was dragged inside.
Izumi Shirayuki was already waiting in the changing room. Seeing Tsukiyomi Ruri arrive, she said happily, “Little Ruri, we picked out new clothes for you, too! Hurry up and take off what you’re wearing now, okay?”
As she spoke, Izumi Shirayuki reached out her hands, attempting to pull off Tsukiyomi Ruri’s clothes.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki hugged Tsukiyomi Ruri from behind, laughing. “No resisting, okay?”
“Wait, don’t just strip people’s clothes off,” Tsukiyomi Ruri quickly protested. She hadn’t expected Izumi Shirayuki and Mizuhashi Yuzuki to pull something like this.
She couldn’t help but glance at Inoue Keiko, hoping she would say something.
Catching Tsukiyomi Ruri’s gaze, Inoue Keiko blinked, then said, “I’ll help you take them off, too.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri: “…”
Was this not-so-bright Reincarnator really capable of misinterpreting the meaning in someone’s eyes that badly?
If Tsukiyomi Ruri had wished, she could easily have broken free. Three mere girls couldn’t do anything to her.
But she couldn’t expose her identity. She could only struggle with the strength of a normal girl. And so, the outcome was obvious.
“Whoa, Ruri’s skin is so pale!”
“Even though you look so tiny, your waist is already so slender. Your figure is surprisingly good.”
“Your legs are so beautiful, too—long, pale, and flawless, without the slightest blemish.”
Under the scrutiny of three pairs of eyes, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt a bit self-conscious.
What kind of feeling was this? Back when she was that wind-and-rain-summoning Reincarnator, she had never experienced an emotion like this. Why did it feel so strange, making her heart beat faster and her body temperature rise?
Was this… what it felt like to be shy?
