Well, no matter what happens, the date must go on.
As for whether Kannazuki will meet the kind of end that Apocalypse Sanluo mentioned… forget it, let's just throw him into the labor camp.
"All right, once we get back, I'll make sure to deal with Kannazuki properly," Kotori said as she stood up, tossing the plastic stick from her finished Chupa Chups into a nearby trash bin.
"Well then, Tohka, let's continue having fun."
"Umu… but, if the same thing as before happens, and we lose Yoshino again…"
It seemed Tohka was still brooding over the earlier commotion, even though it hadn't been her fault.
Seeing her expression, Kotori shrugged.
"...Sigh, it's only natural you're not familiar with this place, since this is your first time coming somewhere like this. I remember there's a rental counter over there for swimming rings—why don't I go borrow one for you?"
"Swimming ring?"
Tohka tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, seeing is believing. It'll be faster if you witness it yourself—let's go."
After saying that, Kotori started walking ahead. Seeing this, Tohka and Yoshino stood up and followed her.
"Hey, Kotori, wait for me…"
Shidou quickly stood up to catch up with them—but just as he did, a black-and-red silhouette flashed past his eyes. Apocalypse Sanluo took three strides in two and swiftly caught up with the girls.
Although Sanluo didn't know what exactly a "swimming ring" was, from Kotori's earlier words she could roughly infer that it was some sort of aid for swimming.
Aside from that one time in her previous life when she was thrown into an icy pool and flailed for a few seconds, she had almost no experience with swimming. If she were to embarrass herself now because she couldn't swim, the violent and fearsome image she'd worked so hard to build would crumble completely.
Her power wouldn't be affected, but the collapse of that image would undoubtedly cause her many troubles later on.
Sanluo absolutely could not allow that to happen.
"Uh… Miss Apocalypse?"
Shidou blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Sanluo to show such eagerness for a swimming ring—her quick reaction made it seem like she really wanted one.
"What is it?"
"Ah, nothing, it's just…"
Before he could finish, a cold glance from Sanluo's eyes silenced him instantly.
"Less nonsense."
"Uh… yes, ma'am…"
Unpredictable.
That was Shidou's newly added impression of Apocalypse Sanluo.
Just moments ago, she had been calmly sitting and chatting with him about random things. Now she looked ready to kill him for talking too much.
He couldn't help wondering—what could have happened to turn a girl barely in her teens into someone like this?
While Shidou pondered, Kotori and the Spirit girls had already reached the rental counter that displayed swimming rings and beach balls.
Seeing the inflated rings, Sanluo's eyes widened slightly.
"How are these things supposed to be used?"
They didn't look like handles or boards—just inflated circular objects. How was one supposed to use them?
But Sanluo was still Sanluo.
Even though she had never seen such a thing before, the moment she received her own black swimming ring from the staff, she compared its size to her body and immediately understood how to use it.
"So, this thing is meant to be worn around the body, huh?"
She tried slipping the swimming ring over herself—and indeed, it fit perfectly.
At that moment, three men suddenly approached Kotori and the others, who had just finished the rental procedure.
They had very light-colored hair, sun-tanned skin, and looked like typical playboys who liked to fool around.
"Eh?"
From not far away, Shidou was the first to notice. These men didn't seem to have good intentions.
The men waved with grins on their faces and struck up conversation.
"Hey there! So, where are you girls from?"
"Only the four of you? What a pity."
"If you'd like, how about hanging out with us?"
A cliché pick-up line—so textbook-standard that it was like something out of a school reader. Every generation of low-level playboys seemed to recycle the same lines.
"W-What's going on here?"
Shidou tapped his ear reflexively, but there was no metallic click. Then he remembered—Apocalypse Sanluo had crushed his earpiece earlier.
These three men had appeared almost out of nowhere, and at just the right moment to approach the Spirits. It was hard not to suspect they were from Ratatoskr.
However, since his attention had been focused on the Spirits, he hadn't been watching his surroundings carefully. Maybe they really were just random troublemakers?
Still, no matter which it was, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
Not only for the sake of the date with Kotori—but also for these men's own safety.
After all, while Spirits like Tohka and Yoshino were powerful yet reasonable and could be communicated with, there was one among them who was… very dangerous.
If they angered Tohka or Yoshino, it wouldn't be too bad. But if they angered her...
"Umu, who are you people?"
"...Th-that…"
As the men began speaking, Tohka's face hardened into a wary frown, while Yoshino hid timidly behind her.
That reaction was perfectly natural for strangers suddenly approaching them.
Kotori, on the other hand, fixed the men with a cold stare—a far rarer and more intimidating response.
As for Sanluo, she crossed her arms and scrutinized the men like a judge evaluating contestants, her expression unreadable.
Just as Shidou was hesitating about what to do, one of the men smiled and grabbed Kotori's wrist.
"Come on, it's fine, we'll just have a little fun! It'll be great!"
At that moment, Shidou—who had resolved to intervene—noticed that another of the men was gesturing at him, beckoning him to step in.
It seemed like they were signaling him to come and "save" the girls.
Since there was no one else around, Shidou could now be sure—these were Ratatoskr operatives.
"Guess I've got no choice but to step in," he sighed, taking a deep breath.
"Hey, excuse me, these girls are—"
"—Itsuka Kotori. Is this really the level of acting your organization's so-called professionals can manage?"
Sanluo's voice rang out casually from the side.
"W-What are you talking about, miss…"
"Ah, sorry about that, Miss Apocalypse," Kotori said with a wry smile before turning to the man holding her wrist.
"—Amano Fumio, Third-Class Executive Officer."
"Eh—"
The man froze, completely stunned by the dead-on callout.
Kotori seized the moment and turned her sharp gaze to the other two.
"And you—Shirogane Ryoji, Third-Class Officer. And Kawanishi Takashi, Third-Class Officer. Hmm, not bad disguises. But your acting could use some work—you were exposed right away by a Spirit. Who wrote this script, anyway?"
Kotori narrowed her eyes as she spoke, and sweat poured down the men's faces as they instinctively took a step back.
"W-Why would you even know who we are… we're nobodies—"
"Nobodies? What do you mean by that? Anyone under Ratatoskr command, anyone who serves in my division, is my family. How could a parent ever forget her own children's faces?"
"...!"
At her words, the three men dropped to their knees on the spot, tears of manly shame streaming down their faces.
"C-Commander…! You…"
"How disgraceful! Get out of here!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
With a small wave of Kotori's hand, the three men straightened up and performed a perfectly professional bow—completely different from their earlier flirtatious demeanor—before quickly retreating the way they came.
"Ratatoskr, huh? So that's the name of the organization backing Itsuka Shidou," Sanluo murmured.
From the very start, she had seen through the clumsy acting of those three men, guessing they were probably plants arranged by Shidou's organization to smooth along the 'date.' So she had simply watched with an amused expression, knowing they wouldn't actually cause any harm.
Even if they hadn't been plants, and had truly tried something, she could have just incinerated them in three seconds and scattered their ashes into a trash bin—no one would ever know.
"Seems you've got some capable people… Ratatoskr. What exactly are you planning?"