Chapter 215: Lingerie
Vigne froze, quickly realizing who the little girl meant by "Mommy and Daddy." Her face instantly flushed red, steam practically rising from her head as she stammered in panic:
"N-no, it's not like that…"
Click!
Right at that moment, Kanna pressed the button, and the photo froze.
"I'm sorry," the woman said awkwardly, bowing slightly to Kouya and Vigne. "We didn't mean to cause trouble."
"It's fine…" Vigne wanted to crawl into a hole, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry at a two- or three-year-old child.
The woman chuckled softly. "You're both high school students, right?"
"Yeah." Vigne nodded.
They were both in uniform, so it was obvious.
"What a coincidence. My husband and I were also high school sweethearts." The woman smiled fondly as she held her child's hand. "We started dating back then too."
"W-we're not dating…" Vigne's face turned crimson, tears almost welling up.
Seeing her so red-faced and flustered, the woman blinked and chuckled, but didn't tease further. She simply gave Kouya a quick "Good luck" look and left with her daughter.
"Haa~" Vigne let out a long breath. Her heart was pounding so hard she had to press a hand against her chest.
To be mistaken for a mom… how humiliating! She wanted to disappear!
They were high school students! Kanna-chan was in elementary school! Did that mean she'd had a child back in grade school?! That was impossible!
But she knew it was just a child's innocent words, so she bit her lip and glared at Kouya.
"Here." Kouya shrugged, ignoring her embarrassed look, and handed her one of the printed photos.
Vigne took it—and froze.
It captured the exact moment she'd heard the word "Mommy and Daddy." She thought it would look awful, but the shy, flustered expression somehow made her look… cute.
Her heart skipped, and she quickly hid the photo, then snatched the one from Kouya's hand.
"You're not allowed to look! I'm confiscating this one too!"
'Hey, that's not fair!'
'I'm in that photo too—are you confiscating me along with it?!'
"Kanna-chan, give the photo to onee-chan," Vigne said, pressing her lips together. "We'll take another one later."
Kanna blinked, then shook her head. "No."
"I'll buy you ice cream later." Vigne raised a finger.
Ding—
Vigne successfully captured one blue-eyed dragon.
After taking another purikura photo, a lively voice rang out from behind.
"So this is where you guys were! I wanna play too! Don't think you can leave me out!" Satania's voice echoed.
"Me too," Rikka raised her hand.
...
While the others were busy taking photos, Kouya suddenly felt a poke on his back.
Poke, poke, poke—
The familiar rhythm and pressure made him turn around.
Standing there was Gabriel, the lazy angel herself, peeking around nervously at the others.
Seeing that Vigne and the rest were distracted, Gabriel finally relaxed, lowered her voice, and said:
"Come with me."
They walked over to a quiet corner.
"What is it?" Kouya asked.
"Obviously, I've got something to talk about." Gabriel pouted, her cheeks puffing up. "You still owe me for what happened over the weekend! Just thinking about it pisses me off!"
'It was just holding your hand! If you're that upset, you could've held mine back.'
'It wasn't even pleasant, okay? Your hand was sweaty!'
"Anyway, I need your help with something…"
"Say it."
Gabriel's eyes darted around, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks. After a long hesitation, she blurted out:
"I-I need you to buy underwear for me!"
"..."
Kouya froze.
'He didn't mishear that, right? She said underwear—not snacks or games, but underwear.'
'This lazy angel had to be an imposter.'
Gabriel's face went red, but once the words were out, she forced herself to keep going. It's just underwear… no big deal!
'Not like she was actually going to wear it anyway!'
'What else could she do? Gacha spending had drained her wallet dry!'
"Come on, let's go already," she said, grabbing his arm. "The faster we go, the faster we're done."
The first floor of the mall was for food and daily goods, the second for arcades, and the third for clothing.
Gabriel dragged Kouya up to the third floor, wandering around until she found a lingerie store with few customers. Looking guilty, she pulled him inside.
"Welcome!" A young saleswoman in uniform greeted them with a bright smile.
"What can I help you with, miss?"
"I-I'd like to buy some underwear…" Gabriel muttered, her face turning pink again.
"Of course. Right this way," the saleswoman said politely.
Kouya coughed awkwardly. "I'll wait outside—"
"No!" Gabriel grabbed his sleeve. "You're coming with me!"
The saleswoman gave Kouya a strange look but said nothing. After all, it wasn't unheard of—some guys even came to buy panties or stockings for their girlfriends.
"So, what kind of lingerie are you looking for?" the saleswoman asked with a smile.
"I-I don't know…" Gabriel mumbled.
"I see…" The saleswoman thought for a moment, then picked up a black lace set. "How about this one? It's a sexy lingerie design. The material is—"
"Eh?!" Gabriel's eyes widened. "S-sexy lingerie?!"
"Yes. Perfect for you two to enjoy together," the saleswoman said warmly.
Because of cultural norms, high school relationships in Japan weren't frowned upon—in fact, they were often encouraged.
Studies even showed that more than half of such couples eventually married.
So a little hugging and kissing between teenage couples? No big deal.
Naturally, the saleswoman recommended sexy lingerie.
Besides, the higher price meant a better commission.
After her enthusiastic pitch, she noticed Gabriel's reluctance and turned her attention to Kouya.
"What do you think, sir? It's quite lovely, isn't it?"
'Hey! Why are you asking me?!'
'She's the one buying it, not me! What, do you expect me to wear it as a mask?! I'm not that kind of pervert! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!'
"It's fine, I guess," Kouya said after a pause. "But it's too big. She doesn't even have—"
Before he could finish, Gabriel's fist came crashing down.
"You bastard! Go die!" she shouted, teeth grinding.
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