Tenqi Sanluo's agreement to join Shidou and Kotori's date made everyone on the airship collectively breathe a sigh of relief.
Truth be told, what Shidou had just done was nothing short of suicidal. In the past, the only ones who dared to stand in Tenqi Sanluo's way were the fearless AST soldiers — and their outcomes had been clearly recorded in the Spirit Database.
Even so, Shidou still stood in front of Tenqi Sanluo, relying solely on his reckless courage, and tried to persuade her again with that ridiculous reasoning of his.
Although Tenqi Sanluo still sneered at Shidou's theory, she couldn't help but acknowledge his mental fortitude — that he could withstand her oppressive aura without relying on anger or hatred.
At the very least, in all her lifetimes, she had never met someone like that.
Tenqi Sanluo still couldn't understand what this guy was thinking. Even after learning what she had done in the past, he still insisted on saving her.
Was this man named Itsuka Shidou's brain filled with water, just like his surname suggested?
Still, seeing his persistence, she thought — perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to accompany them for a while.
Especially now, when she herself was in such an awkward situation in this so-called "Ocean Park."
"Fine, Itsuka Shidou — for today only, I'll accompany you two on this so-called 'date.'"
Tenqi Sanluo's lips curved upward slightly as she spoke.
"Ah, thank you, Tenqi-san…"
"Shidou!"
Kotori, who hurried over, cut him off, her twin ponytails bouncing up and down.
"Shidou, are you okay…? Oh, hello, Miss Tenqi. I'm Itsuka Kotori."
The moment Kotori arrived, she heard Tenqi Sanluo's agreement to join the date. She let out a sigh of relief, dismissed the spirit equipment she had been about to summon, and cautiously greeted Tenqi Sanluo.
"...By the way, Itsuka Shidou, you and Itsuka Kotori are siblings, right?"
Tenqi Sanluo glanced between the two of them with a half-smile.
"Ah, well… Kotori and I aren't blood-related. I was adopted by the Itsuka family when I was little. Kotori is my foster sister…"
"I see."
Tenqi Sanluo shrugged. She had only asked casually — whether they were blood siblings or not made no difference to her. If they were real siblings, that might actually make things more amusing.
"..."
After that, since Tenqi Sanluo didn't seem inclined to continue the conversation, Shidou and Kotori were at a loss for words, and the atmosphere fell into an awkward silence.
No matter how many Spirits Shidou had faced before, standing this close to Tenqi Sanluo still made his heart pound uneasily.
"...Hmph, you two were the ones who invited me here, and now you expect me to break the silence?"
Tenqi Sanluo cracked her neck lazily and smirked mockingly.
"How useless."
"S-sorry…"
Shidou immediately bowed his head in apology.
"Hmph, whatever. If things ended like this, that'd be too boring. — By the way, what's that you're wearing?"
"Ah? Oh, this? It's a swimsuit. You need to wear one in the indoor water park here."
"Swimsuit?"
Tenqi Sanluo had no concept of such a thing. To her, it looked like these people were walking around in something not much different from underwear — in public, no less!
Still, since everyone around them was dressed that way, she found herself a bit confused.
"Yes, a swimsuit. Um… if you want to join our date, Tenqi-san, you'll need to wear one too…"
Shidou scratched his head awkwardly as he spoke.
"Oh, is that so? Then tell me — which swimsuit do you think would suit me best?"
Raising an eyebrow, Tenqi Sanluo gave him an innocent, almost teasing smile.
In truth, that question was her way of confronting her new, unfamiliar gender.
Until now, Tenqi Sanluo's existence had revolved around killing and amusement — activities that had nothing to do with gender. She could conveniently ignore it.
But she knew she couldn't keep avoiding reality forever. Sooner or later, this difference would matter — and if it caused irreversible consequences, she'd have nowhere to vent her frustration. (Not that she'd ever really had such a place since her previous life.)
So, when Shidou invited her on this so-called "date," she decided it was a good opportunity to face her gender reversal head-on.
And what better way to test that than by confronting something as embarrassingly feminine as a swimsuit?
"Um… well…"
Shidou scratched his cheek awkwardly — and just then, the familiar voice of the decision-selection system rang through his earpiece:
"Gentlemen! It's showtime!"
Aboard the airship Fraxinus, floating high above the Ocean Park, the deputy commander — Kannazuki Kyohei — shouted energetically beside the captain's chair.
Although Kotori had just ordered Kannazuki to "go dig a hot spring," he was still the deputy commander. All major operations required his oversight.
So, the two strong crewmen who usually dragged him out just gave him a quick beating this time and let him return to the bridge.
Apparently, Kannazuki didn't even mind.
As he spoke, a screen showing the pool area lit up, displaying three options:
① A simple, modest swimsuit like Kotori's.
② Something more daring — covering only the essential three points.
③ Swimsuits are too much trouble! A beautiful girl's naked body is the best swimsuit!
"Alright, everyone — vote!"
Kannazuki shouted. A moment later, the results popped up on the terminal beside him.
① — unanimous vote. Options ② and ③ received zero votes.
"So, everyone picked number one? Reasonable enough."
Kannazuki rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
From the lower deck, crew voices followed:
"No offense to the commander, but when facing the 'most violent Spirit,' it's safer to stay conservative."
"Right. If we made her angry over something like a swimsuit, we'd be doomed."
"Exactly. The other two options are just… too much."
For once, the usually rowdy crew actually sounded sensible.
"Hmm… I see."
Kannazuki pondered for a second — then leaned toward the microphone.
"Shidou, choose option ③! Option ②'s fine too if you prefer!"
"Eh… Huh?!"
That was the synchronized reaction from both Shidou and the rest of the bridge crew.
"Deputy Commander…! Are you insane?! We're dealing with Genie (the Asura)! You can't just say nonsense like that!"
"Didn't we just agree that option ① was the safest choice?!"
The bridge was filled with cries that were more like despair than complaints.
But Kannazuki didn't care. His face flushed red, his eyes glittering as he stared at the image of Tenqi Sanluo on the screen.
"That's exactly why! Because she's the 'most violent Spirit' — Genie, the Asura!"
"Huh?"
"Look at her — sure, her height's a bit disappointing, but that slender, beautiful body hidden beneath that blood-red dress! The perfect blend of tenderness and lethality! If such a divine body appeared before us naked — no, even just in a tiny three-point bikini — nothing could compare! Except perhaps the commander's own naked glory!"
"So this is just your personal fetish after all! If you say things like that, forget the Spirits — the commander will kick you herself!"
"Eh?"
Kannazuki blinked, then suddenly widened his eyes in twisted delight.
"If… if that's the case, being punished by the Spirit… or by the commander… that would be the ultimate bliss… Ahaha…!"
At that point, Kannazuki had fully sunk into his own masochistic fantasy of being scolded by Kotori.
"That's… exactly why this guy is hopeless!"
Time ticked by, and they could no longer afford to argue.
Tenqi Sanluo, on the other hand, was surprisingly patient — curious to see what kind of "good idea" these people behind Shidou could come up with.
"Shidou, choosing option ③ or ② is entirely up to you~"
Though the crew frantically slammed their microphones to stop him, the captain's mic — connected directly to the command line — overrode all others.
And so—
"Sw-swimsuits are too much trouble! A beautiful girl's na-naked body is-is th-the be-best swi-swimsu-u-uuitttttt—!"
Shidou shouted in complete despair.