Chapter 24: Three-Person Date (Part 2)

“Teacher, what is that?”

“An escalator….”

“Then what is that? Are they selling wooden training dummies?”

“No, that’s a mannequin….”

Himari, who had ridden the motorcycle with such flair, was now wide-eyed, overwhelmed by the sheer number of new things she was seeing in the shopping mall.

“Oh my, look at that child. So cute.”

“Wow, is she a Hunter? I thought she was a model….”

“Honey, were you just checking out that girl’s legs?”

Ruah, on the other hand, couldn’t lift her head. Despite her resolve, she shrank back, overwhelmed by the number of people staring at them. The stylish Himari and Juju, and the weapons they carried, naturally attracted attention.

‘I thought I was getting used to it….’

It seemed Ruah wasn’t quite ready for the harsh outside world yet.

It would be best to finish their business quickly and return before she reached her limit.

“H-Hey, Juju.”

“Yes, teacher?”

Juju, walking beside her, looked back.

“Is there… a particular reason you wanted to come to the mall?”

“Ah, w-well….”

Juju hesitated. She scratched her cheek and looked away.

Ruah realized Juju was being mindful of Himari, even though Himari herself was too distracted by everything around her to notice.

“Teacher… could we… go somewhere… just the two of us…?”

It was rare to see Juju blush.

“Why? Is it something you can’t tell Himari?”

Ruah lowered her voice and asked, and Juju nodded.

After a moment of thought, Ruah looked at Himari.

“Himari, would you mind looking around for a bit? Juju and I will be back soon.”

Although she was worried about being without Himari, her shield, in such a crowded place, she had come to the mall to fulfill Juju’s request.

Ruah was thinking of a way to persuade Himari, but,

Himari’s reaction was unexpected.

“Alright. I’ll look around by myself. How much time do you need?”

“Huh?”

Ruah had expected Himari to insist on staying with them, but surprisingly, she readily agreed.

“O-One hour should be enough.”

“Understood. Juju, please take care of the teacher.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Then, I’ll see you later.”

Himari bowed to Ruah and walked back in the direction they had come from.

‘There must be something she wants to look at closely.’

Finding Himari’s attempt to hide her true intentions a little cute, Ruah chuckled inwardly.

“Juju, now can you tell me?”

“Ah… y-yes.”

Juju fidgeted nervously, twisting her arms.

“Um, teacher, this is a difficult request, but….”

“Yes?”

Juju closed her eyes and blurted out,

“I-I want you to… make me a woman…!”

‘I apologize for deceiving you, teacher.’

Himari walked away from Ruah and Juju with determined steps.

The curious gaze that had been taking in everything around her was gone, replaced by a focused stare straight ahead.

‘Actually, I was waiting for you to say that.’

She hadn’t wanted to ruin their fun time, but Himari had noticed.

That someone was following them.

‘They tried to hide their presence, but it was obvious.’

At this moment, Himari’s sharp senses rivaled a detection skill. It was because she thought the unknown presence following them might be a threat to Ruah.

Just like the moon pulls in meteors heading towards Earth, Himari, who considered herself Ruah’s moon, had a duty to protect her.

Himari casually walked past a large pillar.

“…….”

Glancing sideways, she saw a person wearing sunglasses and a coat with the collar turned up, keeping an eye on Ruah, about to move.

—Dash.

Himari darted forward like lightning and grabbed the person’s wrist.

“?!”

“Stay still. If you resist, I’ll subdue you.”

The stranger struggled, but couldn’t break free from Himari’s grip.

“L-Let go!”

“A woman…?”

Moreover, the voice sounded familiar. Searching her memory, Himari realized who it belonged to and stared at the woman’s face with a dumbfounded expression.

“Senior Han Suah, what are you doing here?”

“Oh….”

—Clink.

Just then, the sunglasses fell off during the struggle, revealing Suah’s face.

“Oh my, what a coincidence, Ms. Hoshikawa!”

“That greeting seems a little late for this situation.”

“…I guess this isn’t working….”

Himari released Suah and handed her the sunglasses. There was no need to subdue her now that it was clear she wasn’t a suspicious person.

“Did you come to see the teacher? You could have just come and said hello.”

“Oh, no, no. I was just shopping and happened to see you…! I didn’t want to interrupt your fun weekend…!”

“Senior.”

At Himari’s low voice, Suah looked at her, like a puppy that had done something wrong.

“Tell me the truth.”

“I… followed my sister… I was worried.”

Suah finally confessed, slumping her shoulders.

“Worried?”

Himari tilted her head. Suah made a complex expression, then pulled Himari to the side.

“This seems like a long story, why don’t we sit down somewhere and talk? Would you like some coffee?”

“Cof…fee? That black tea?”

Himari’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to try it.”

Another new experience awaited Himari.

The cafe was quite crowded since it was the weekend, but Suah and Himari managed to snag a nice table by the window. The men who had been occupying the two seats had moved together to make room for them.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome….”

The men couldn’t take their eyes off Suah and Himari. Himari looked bewildered, while Suah, accustomed to such attention, waved at them and turned to sit down.

“Don’t mind them too much. Men are all wolves.”

“Wolves…? They don’t look like monsters.”

“…Never mind, just forget it.”

A moment later, Suah returned with their drinks and placed a warm mug in front of Himari.

“Here’s your Americano.”

“I asked for coffee…?”

“Yes, Americano is a type of coffee.”

Himari nodded in understanding.

“Then, I’ll try it.”

“Okay.”

Himari politely lifted the mug with both hands and brought it to her lips, her posture a perfect example of Japanese tea ceremony etiquette.

—Sip.

“…….”

Himari quietly put down the mug.

“Ugh….”

Even Himari, who rarely showed her emotions, couldn’t hold back this time. Suah couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of her sticking out her tongue.

“It’s… awful. Senior, are you getting revenge for me being rude earlier…?”

“No, no. Coffee just tastes like that.”

Suah switched it with the smoothie she had ordered.

“I ordered something sweet just in case.”

“Thank you….”

After a few sips of the smoothie, Himari seemed to have calmed down.

Suah crossed her legs and sipped the Americano Himari had given up on. She didn’t take off her sunglasses, even though they were indoors.

“Senior, let’s go back to our earlier conversation.”

“Okay.”

“You said you followed the teacher because you were worried?”

“Right. As you know, my sister is a bit… unique. Both in appearance and personality.”

“…Indeed.”

Himari couldn’t deny it. Her elementary school-like appearance despite being twenty-five, and her unusually timid personality, were unique, as Suah said.

“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so either. It’s just that this is the first time she’s interacting with other people like this.”

Suah replied with a faint smile.

“So I secretly followed her in case something unexpected happened.”

“…I understand.”

Himari nodded.

“It’s natural to worry about a family member.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No, I was once a younger sibling myself.”

“Once…?”

Himari waved her hand dismissively with a bitter smile.

“It’s in the past. But, senior, were you planning to follow the teacher all day?”

“W-Well, yes.”

Suah said, sipping her coffee. The men from earlier, who had made eye contact with her, smiled, and she waved back perfunctorily.

“My sister is cute, so men might approach her.”

“Men might approach….”

Himari glanced at the men who were still stealing glances at them. Their persistent stares were annoying.

“I see. The teacher would be even more flustered.”

“Yeah, right?”

Himari pulled her chair closer.

“And also… forgive me for being disrespectful as the teacher’s moon, but I agree that the teacher is cute.”

“……!”

Suah’s eyes widened slightly.

“R-Right? Especially when she fidgets with her fingers when she’s embarrassed.”

“Indeed. Her shy smile is also very cute.”

Suah also pulled her chair closer.

“Right, right. And the expression she makes when she’s making excuses… I sometimes tease her on purpose just to see it. I just want to bite her.”

“It’s cute how her feet don’t touch the floor when she sits in a chair.”

“It’s twice as cute when she’s padding around barefoot in her room.”

“…! I want to see that.”

The conversation between the two women heated up. Ruah would be horrified if she heard them, but to outsiders, they looked like two beautiful women engaged in a refined conversation.