Chapter Thirty: Nonsensical Encounter
Trivial:
Did you know during the scene after the day Tohka initially first appeared, Shidou thought about blackmailing Origami to have his way with her when she confronted him?
The scene from the last chapter was when it happened.
However, because, well, Shidou is Shidou, it didn't work out.
But knowing Origami, it would be the same as threatening her with a good time with Shidou.
Tengu City Mall.
Once again,
It was indeed a coincidental meeting.
Perhaps, it might be a stretch to say that since this was the third time such a thing had already happened.
Regardless, it was completely so.
At the spacious center of the first building,
Right where the escalator rose toward the upper floors of the Mall.
Surrounded by small decorative setups and lit by both ceiling lights and soft ambient illumination.
Morgan stood frozen for a brief moment.
It was with an incredulous expression, his eyes alternated between Kurumi… and Maya.
Worst possible outcome.
Indeed, yes.
It had been a while since they last met, yes.
But why does every single encounter seem to be triggered by something far beyond his understanding?
No matter how he thought about it.
–Despite being armed with his knowledge and all, he could only come to such an unreasonable conclusion.
"My, my~"
In contrast to the fearsome expression on Maya's face, Kurumi only responded with a gentle smile.
Her delicate fingers rested on her lips, with a smile that felt so deliberate.
Now, one would probably wonder how such a situation had came to be.
Well, it wasn't anything serious that needed an overglorified explanation or flowery words to patch.
It all started after they'd left home.
10 A.M.
Fairly early.
He couldn't exactly spend the entire afternoon wandering around, after all.
The faster they finished, the sooner they could head home, and the sooner he could make other preparations.
After all, he still had to go through the [Confidential Document] he would be receiving before the end of today.
…and make corrections or necessary adjustments if need be.
With all that in mind, he'd hoped for that.
Genuinely so.
And, fairly enough, they arrived quite some time after many minutes of walking.
The target was the Women's Clothing Store.
Everything else could come after that, since he was sure that Maya wouldn't be satisfied with this one visit alone.
That was exactly the plan.
He'd factored even that possibility in.
But…
Just as they had entered the huge City Mall,
Towards the entrance, rather, path towards their destination, they crossed paths.
"What are the odds.."
Genuinely, he muttered under his breath, with a tinge of helplessness leaking into his tone, pinching the bridge of his nose.
…throwing his head back as he did that.
Though Mana didn't exactly catch the words however, his expression said more than enough.
She patted his back twice, shooting him a expression that seemed to urge him to 'endure'.
It wasn't that he was afraid of Kurumi or anything, nor that he didn't want to encounter her.
Rather, it was the fact that she (Kurumi) and Maya, not to mention Mana, had crossed paths.
Mana being the obvious reason.
Though it wasn't like Maya wasn't enough trouble on her own, too.
Again, he couldn't be sure of his own aunt's relation to DEM, so he was simply just worried, since two arch-enemies where literally in front of each other.
But despite his worries.
Morgan didn't let it show on his face.
Instead, he kept his focus on the two in front of him.
"You... who are you?"
"Oh~ I'm just an acquaintance of his,"
Kurumi then turned her gaze to him.
Slowly and then teasingly, she narrowed her eyes on him.
Painted on her lips was that lithe smile, almost provocatively.
"Clair, was it~? Ufufu… how charming."
Her head motioned up slightly, still smiling with eyes closed, but this only made things worse.
Maya took a step closer, crossing her arms beneath her chest.
The expression on her face had darkened, so much so that it seemed her eyes were glowing just from that.
"I don't think you have the right to say that name."
Maya's tone was harsh.
So much so that Mana beside Morgan shrank backwards a little.
It was instantly concluded by her that Maya was slowly reverting to her commander mode.
Normally, with this harsh tone and treatment, most would feel pressured.
Mana was proof.
While Maya wasn't much of a combatant, her body had been augmented in a different way than even hers.
But of course, such strength didn't come without side effects.
She very much knew Maya's side-effect was.
"...Mhm~? Is that so?"
However, Kurumi only cutely, yet almost cluelessly, tilted her head to the side.
Then, her left hand rested on her tilted head while clutching her handbag.
"Now that I think about it, we've never formally introduced ourselves, have we?"
With that single, airy statement, Kurumi turned the weight of Maya's glare into something almost trivial.
Maya was visibly stunned, her eyes slightly widened for a beat.
It wasn't even concerning what she had said being that both hadn't properly introduced each other.
Rather, it was the fact Kurumi wasn't reacting at all to her verbal intimidation.
Weird?
Maya even tilted her head, opening her mouth to speak again when,
"Hey, did you—eeeh!?"
A sudden startled scream escaped Maya's lips as she was suddenly yanked backward.
Having been dragged by the collar of her own clothes.
"My, what a rough way to treat a lady."
It was Morgan who had yanked Maya back by the collar.
If he left them alone for even a moment, he feared Mana would get too close to figuring Kurumi out.
By this time,
Relatively little was known about Kurumi Tokisaki.
In fact,
The only reason Ratatoskr and the AST even knew was because she allowed herself to be known.
because of that iconic, theatrical introduction of hers.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have had a clue.
To add this on top, if someone only compared outward behavior.
Just looking at the girl in front of them:
A refined lady with such elegant poise versus a ruthless maniac.
No one would ever believe both roles belonged to the same person.
But there were other factors…
Subtle details one would only notice after speaking with her long enough:
Her voice, her speech patterns, the rhythm of her phrasing, and so on.
Because Mana was right there,
Morgan had no choice but to defuse the looming disaster.
Something about Shura fields?
That didn't apply here.
"C-Clair!? Suddenly pulling your aunt like that in public is embarrassing!"
Maya protested.
"You're the one embarrassing me."
He slapped those words onto her face without mercy, dragging her along for a moment before she soon trailed behind him in defeat along with Mana.
Alas, even as they trudged.
There was another presence tagging along, one far more amused by the display ongoing right in front.
"...and?"
Morgan turned slightly, and sure enough.
Trailing right behind Mana was Kurumi.
"I don't really think there's anything wrong with accompanying an acquaintance."
A faint giggle followed.
"Besides, I never did get the chance to explore this place."
Of course,
Morgan didn't buy her innocent tone.
But she had openly expressed her desire to join them, which,
..was honestly more trouble than it was worth, regardless.
"Fine then."
He sighed.
Mmmmm~
At Morgan's agreement, Maya beside him puffed her cheeks in an exaggerated pout,
glaring daggers at Kurumi.
Once more, Kurumi responded with nothing but a gentle, serene smile.
They soon turned and began walking through the crowd, weaving past shops and clusters of people.
As they did, Kurumi didn't even try to be subtle anymore.
While Maya was busy glancing at the stalls and their displays
Another person was intrigued by the person walking beside them.
Kurumi matched Morgan's pace, walking right beside him, casting quiet, curious glances his way.
"By the way, shouldn't you be at school around this time~?"
"As you can see, she's one of the only two family members I have left. So I took the day off to be with her."
..right.
She remembered him saying his parents were now in the sky.
However, he never mentioned relatives, but that detail didn't bother her.
If anything, it simply surprised her.
She tightened her hold on her handbag.
Leaning forward slightly, enough for him to notice her, her lips curling into a delicate smile.
"Then, here?"
"…Well, to buy some casual clothes for her. And for my friend."
Saying that, he nudged his head to the back, no doubt referring to Mana.
But, the moment he said that,
Kurumi's eyes lit up almost immediately in delight.
Well, more of a mischievous smile than delight. But still, he could feel the quiet intensity.
And that beautiful smile of hers deepened.
"Hou? What are you two talking about over there?"
Maya asked, already noticing their interaction as she turned toward them.
"You were being praised by Clair over here."
Kuruni replied.
"Eh—!?"
Kurumi was observant.
Very much so.
And the fact she didn't resist being dragged by the collar earlier told her plenty about what kind of person Maya was.
…she knew what sort of person Maya was.
As long as she won over Maya, then, the aunt wouldn't be much of an obstacle.
"Hehehe~"
And she was right.
Maya instantly wore a pleased, almost smug expression.
Seeing that, Kurumi tilted her head with a graceful flick as her lips curled.
Into something way beyond a smile.
One that seemed to say:
Too Easy.
And Morgan had to admit.
Yeah, Maya was too easy.
One of her greatest weaknesses was that she couldn't handle compliments from people she liked.
And if someone added,
"This person said this", and that "person" happened to be her favorite person.
She'd let one or two things slide without a second thought.
But then—
Throughout the entire walk, Mana's face twisted deeper and deeper into disbelief.
Forget "escort."
At this point, she was basically the third wheel trailing behind them like a lost child.
In the first place, she was much shorter than even the elegant, refined girl walking beside Morgan.
She did look to be a child compared to them.
Her face darkened.
'Just get me out of here. I know how this ends… I'll be carrying all their shopping bags, won't I? I have human rights, you know.'
Yet, despite all these internal complaints.
There was no way to table it.
And just when she thought the situation couldn't possibly get any worse—
"We're here."
The four of them stopped in front of a women's clothing store.
Naturally, and without a shred of hesitation,
Both women strode confidently inside, immediately drawn to the displays.
Leaving Morgan and Mana standing at the entrance like abandoned baggage.
Noticing her slightly gloomy expression, Morgan shot her a sidelong glance.
"What's the matter?"
Mana jolted, snapping her head up, looking at him before forcing an awkward smile.
"No, it's nothing."
"Then go in. Don't worry, I'm covering the cost. Just treat it as a thank-you."
As he said that, he glanced through the glass entrance.
Maya was already examining clothes with a bright, satisfied expression on her face.
She looked a lot more matured at that moment than anything Mana had seen.
Even Kurumi stood beside her,
And from what they could see, both of them were already hitting it off in a suspiciously smooth fashion.
Naturally, Mana had an inkling.
It was concerning Maya, huh?
For someone with such a complicated personality…
she really did have a good and considerate nephew.
Wryly, she thought.
Shaking her head, Mana stepped into the store as well, approaching Maya and Kurumi when—
"Mhm, Auntie… what do you think about us trying on some dresses for Clair to see?"
Maya, who had just picked up an outfit from its hanger, froze when she heard those sagacious words.
Her eyes parted in two different directions.
It was like the secrets of the universe had just revealed themselves to her in the most nonsensical way.
Why hadn't she considered it.
"Your name?"
Maya asked immediately, almost way too serious.
"Kurumi, ma'am~."
She answered, folding her hands neatly in front of her skirt with a small bow.
"…I'll reluctantly acknowledge you for now."
Kurumi's smile deepened.
"Fufu~ how generous of you."
Having said that, Maya snapped the cloth back to its pace, her shoes clicking against the tile as she went front.
Towards the entrance, where Morgan stood with his face to the shops on the other side.
"Clair, come over here."
"Mmhm—?"
All of a sudden.
Before he could even finish a sound, a hand latched onto him and yanked him inside.
Maya watched with an expression of absolute satisfaction as he was dragged into the store despite the resistance.
Sure enough…
it felt terrible to be the third wh—
"Oh my~ you're not exempt from this either, miss."
Mana stiffened at the words spoken behind her.
Slowly, with an almost audible creak, she turned her head seeing Kurumi with a kind smile directed at her.
"Come now~ it wouldn't be fair to leave you standing all alone out here, would it?"
It was the type of smile that had hidden agendas to it.
'…aaah… not good… the women around this guy are all nuts!'