Chapter Forty-Five: Awkwardness
Saturday,
10:15 A.M.
Tengu City mall.
"I know it wasn't intended to be like this, but did you already know it would turn out like this?"
Looking at the pairings from behind.
Morgan let out a small smile.
Walking beside him, Ai turned with an exasperated look.
Then, releasing a tired sigh, she huffed.
"What do you take me for?"
"Honestly? Someone who can slip out of anything… and is pretty manipulative."
His words made her stumble a bit.
She felt the reputation she had painstakingly built was starting to haunt her in the most cruel way.
But never had she expected this kind of declaration from him.
If anything, this was pure slander.
Why?
She was about to ask that when she noticed Morgan nudging his head towards the front.
They had already entered Tengu City Mall.
But this wasn't their true destination, not exactly so.
In other words.
This place was only a stopover.
Ai had her sights set on the newly opened attraction that had debuted not too long ago:
Tengu Gojusou.
From the advertisements alone, she could already tell it was going to be a great hangout spot.
Especially after everything had felt so cramped lately.
Not to mention.
Concerning the disaster that happened on Thursday, no one really expected such a thing to happen.
Worse, two consecutive Spacequakes in a week was quite alarming for most, to say the least.
Even her parents were beginning to worry.
But that was not the issue here.
"Hm?"
Eventually, she lifted her gaze.
She scanned the pairs.
From the Shidou-Origami pairing to the Shinnouske-Mai pairing until her eyes landed on him.
Rather, one particular pairing.
"Wait, him?"
Tonomachi.
He was walking closely with one of Ai's friends, Mii Fujibakama.
Tonomachi's clothes were relatively casual: a shirt and trousers.
Mii wore a white, long-sleeved, off-the-shoulder shirt with a matching dark-blue skirt.
Observing them, Morgan could see Tonomachi looking at her with a smile on his face.
It seemed like they were engaged in quite an interesting conversation.
Morgan didn't know much about her.
After all, neither of them had really interacted.
Still, he knew she had a bit of smarts in her.
So if Tonomachi actually had his act together, paired with someone like her, someone a bit nerdy…
No, it was only normal that his friend would have this game in his bag.
Yes, Morgan was rooting for him.
"Yeah. He's not a bad guy, if only he talked like a normal human being…"
"Are you trying to set him up?"
Suddenly, Morgan felt a piercing gaze on him.
It was Ai's, of course.
"Well, if he keeps going like this, he'll stay single forever. I'm allowed to support a friend, aren't I?"
He said it with a casual, dismissive smile.
'Get a load of him.'
Ai almost paled.
Even if he didn't intervene..
It was bound to happen, though it was coming earlier than he expected.
Yet, even so, the fact that he said something like that right in front of her…
But she understood.
"Well, if it ends well…"
"It will."
Once again, she glanced sideways at him.
She noticed how strangely confident he seemed about things working out between those two.
And if he believed it—
"Fine then. Let's follow behind them."
Closing the distance between them, she took his hand and stepped forward a little faster.
But as she did, for the briefest moment, an eerie sensation ran down her spine.
It was as if someone were watching her.
"What's wrong?"
Ai stopped and looked around.
"Maybe I'm just imagining things…"
Shaking her head, she and Morgan continued trailing after the group.
Meanwhile,
While that scene played out below, another was unfolding above.
"Hm. So far, nothing particularly unusual about him."
Dimension Breaker adjusted his glasses, resting a hand on his chin as he studied the monitor.
Their optical cameras were set up in two remote locations.
Thanks to their enhanced optics, spying on people's private lives like this was trivial.
From what they gathered,
Morgan and Tonomachi were the main reasons Shidou had the confidence to act the way he did.
But that wasn't the point now.
Their attention was fixed entirely on someone else.
Someone who looked like a complete bundle of nerves.
And that person was none other than the Shidou-Origami pairing.
"Meanwhile, the girl seems pretty proactive."
"And that clueless idiot doesn't even notice her signals. Is he blind?"
Reine had given that simple assessment at first.
But when Kotori saw the scene on the monitor, she bit down hard on her Chupa Chups.
Krunch!
It made a crunch sound that almost echoed the bridge. Anyone could tell she was irritated.
After all—
Shidou still didn't have the courage to properly respond to Origami's boldness.
'…Looks like I really will have to force things, huh, onii-chan?'
Kotori thought, an ominous glint crossing her face.
But perhaps what made it worse was—
"Wait, that guy's handling himself better than I expected."
Across one of the shops.
Seated in the outdoor section of a cake shop where a few tables and chairs were set up.
Directly facing the bookstore looking shop from where they sat.
Both Ai and Morgan sat at one of the tables there with a plate in hand.
Fortunately, they could still observe the situation inside thanks to the floor-to-ceiling glass.
"Honestly."
Morgan gave a faint smile.
He had always believed in Tonomachi's ability not to remain single, and at this moment.
It couldn't be helped.
A dramatic tear slid down his cheek as he pinched his nose before wiping it away.
Shidou may have beaten Tonomachi to the first move, but the difference in their stats was obvious.
To begin with,
Someone as shameless as Tonomachi wasn't going to shrink away from a girl.
As ironic as it was.
When they first met, Morgan had seen him as the type who preferred 2D girls over dealing with 3D ones.
But now…
Watching this now genuinely made him happy for his friend.
Truly.
"What's with that..."
Ai nearly cringed watching him, though Morgan paid it no mind.
Tonomachi's un-straight jokes have been getting a too serious lately.
It was finally then she turned toward him, leaning closer to the table.
"Say, what about you?"
"What?"
"Anyone you're interested in?"
Morgan looked at Ai, scrutinizing her for a moment.
Her eyes showed simple curiosity, nothing more, unsurprising.
Ai was that kind of person.
With her attitude, it isn't strange she'll be interested in things like this.
Even now, Morgan could tell she was invested in how things would end between her friend and his.
"Curious?"
"Well, yeah?"
Morgan leaned back, setting his plate on the table with a soft clack.
Then, he reached for his teacup, lifting it toward his lips as he fixed his gaze on her.
"I will have to dissapoint you then."
"…ugh."
Ai nearly collapsed onto the table.
Yes, yes, Morgan was a tsundere who refused to admit anything easily.
But still, she had assumed things were different.
"I thought you'd be into someone like Haruka-senpai."
With the piercing gaze of an interrogator, she leaned in with her brows knit as she questioned him directly.
"Cough—"
Morgan, in the middle of sipping his tea, almost choked and tapped his chest.
"Huh? Where did that even come from?"
"Am I wrong?"
"Yes. Haruka's just a friend."
Ai didn't believe it entirely.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you clearly mentioned it yourself that your type was-"
Before Ai could finish,
Morgan had leaned in quickly, as even before she could even register it—
Across the table, a hand was firmly placed upon her lips.
It was none other than Morgan, who had a cringe-worthy expression on his face.
"Ai... where did you hear that from?"
For a moment..
Her brows raised slightly, but in the next moment, her eyes narrowed at him.
It was such a sly gaze that anyone could read the intentions behind it.
"Mama, mama, look at those people, they're flirting."
"Shhh, don't look at them, and where did you learn those words?"
While they paused like that—
A passing mother and daughter duo passed, with the girl pointing fingers at them.
However, in the next moment, the mother pulled her daughter back, walking away.
Both Ai's and Morgan's expressions froze before Morgan quickly retracted his hand.
Ultimately plopping back onto his seat.
He let out a languid sigh, pinching his nose.
The only person he remembered telling was Tonomachi and Shidou.
Somehow, Ai knew now.
That smug face practically graced her features. And obviously, such a thing...
No matter which angle he looked at it from…
"It was Tonomachi, wasn't it?"
Morgan's face darkened, and even Ai understood not to push further.
"I see. Should've figured."
Praise that fool once and he'd ruin everything the next moment.
Ai, seeing Morgan's mood dip, looked toward the bookstore with closed eyes and a half-hearted, silent apology.
'Tonomachi… good luck.'
Inside the bookstore,
Standing beside the girl he'd somehow gotten paired with, he took a side glance at her before looking away.
He was glad she got so engrossed in the book he recommended to her.
'As expected, you do know your stuff, huh, Tonomachi?'
Thinking that, he vainly praised himself with a self-satisfied nod.
By the time he would bob his head for the third time, the male suddenly felt a chill.
'Brrrr—!'
An instinctive one that only activated whenever he knew he'd done something wrong.
For a moment, he paled.
'I don't understand, I sense danger, but from where?'
Originally, he'd been enjoying time with her.
Turns out, she was a book lover.
As an otaku, his range of expertise wasn't limited to just anime, manga, and the like.
Funny enough, they'd hit it off surprisingly well.
But at this moment, he wasn't focused on her.
His gaze instinctively drifted towards the window, which displayed the outside.
Its range was limited, but the other side of this shop could be seen.
Sitting at one of the tables was someone he recognized all too well.
Morgan.
The male was giving him 'that' look.
An empty, hollow expression.
Half of a sweet smile, half of a murderous smile, with his head tilted in a particular manner.
"What have I done now?"
Blood and color drained from his face.