Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 122, Part 3 of the Madman series: "Shido's Date"

"Hmm... test test, can you hear me? You dreamy lecherous old man who's cheating on three women on your important date."

Kotori's teasing on the ship reached Jinshido's ears through his earphones.

"Hey! Wasn't it you who stopped me from going back to make the call and refuse?"

At this moment, Shido was standing on a bridge near the station in Tengu City, surrounded by people coming and going, which was quite lively.

“Going back on a promise will lower Tohka’s favorability, and Origami Tobiichi from AST will be even more suspicious.” Kotori, sitting in the Ratatosk Commander’s Chair with a jewel dangling from her arm and her legs crossed, said this to the grumbling Shido.

"Don't worry, now that things have come to this, we at Ratatosk will do everything we can to help you. No, Shido, you need to act according to the timeline~"

...A ten-minute countdown lit up on Fraxinus's display screen.

"Commander, the battle is about to begin."

"An aquarium?" Shido suddenly looked at the aquarium tickets Tohka had given him yesterday and muttered to himself.

"Start the countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4... Let's begin our war."

As Kotori finished speaking, Tohka's lively voice suddenly came from the other side, "Shido!!" Shido turned around and saw Tohka running towards him.

In Shido's eyes, Tohka was particularly eye-catching today. She was wearing a pink dress and looked as beautiful and charming as a peach blossom in spring.

The pink dress was well-tailored, perfectly outlining her slender waist and long legs, and further highlighting Tohka's unique simplicity and cheerfulness.

“Toh…Tohka…” Shido stared at Tohka with wide, unwavering eyes, looking somewhat dazed and incredulous.

"I picked it out, isn't it great?" Reine's calm and even voice came through the earphone, and Kotori, who was standing next to her, couldn't help but give Reine a silent thumbs up.

"Shido?"

Looking at Shido, who was staring intently at her with her cheeks slightly flushed, Tohka's small eyes were filled with great confusion.

"It suits you perfectly, so cute!"

'Uh...ah!'

Upon hearing Shido's praise, Tohka's face quickly turned as red as a ripe apple. "Alright, let's go!" After barely recovering, Tohka tried to ease her embarrassment by turning around and walking away.

"Wow! Do you really know the way?!" Shido quickly chased after Tohka, who clearly didn't know the way at all, after she left.

Kotori, who was watching Shido and Tohka's interactions on the screen and had a good feeling about them, commented, "It's so-so."

At this moment, on the screen above Ratatoskr, Origami had already arrived at the agreed location ten minutes ahead of schedule, and Kotori didn't seem to care. On the other hand, Kurumi's side was also quite normal.

The camera pans to Ming, who is watching Kurumi from nearby. Kotori can't hold back anymore. "Huh?! What is that..." Kotori murmurs, very puzzled.

I saw Ming leaning against the wall, quietly observing through binoculars, which was normal enough, but... why were there four cats on his body?! Is that really something a human could do?!

Kotori rubbed her eyes, thinking she was seeing things. She zoomed in on the image, and sure enough, Ming was indeed carrying out a surveillance mission while wearing four cats.

"What's wrong with this guy? He's monitoring Kurumi while she's with four cats?" Kotori whispered into Ming's earpiece.

"It's nothing, just taking a walk with a few 'old friends'."

Kotori shook her head helplessly, "You'll easily expose your position like this." Ming, however, didn't care. "Meow—" A cat meowed, as if responding to Kotori's words.

With the communication ended, we switched the main perspective back to Ming's side.

"Oh my gosh~ So Gangfeng called us out early this morning just to see these things, huh? That's quite interesting," Gan San teased, standing to the side with an umbrella.

As the perspective zooms in, the four kittens that were originally beside Ming all transform into human form, becoming four Kurumi.

Starting from the far left, the first thing that catches the eye is Tokisaki Kazuzo, dressed in an exquisite kimono. Her traditional Japanese attire seems to transport people back to the ancient streets of Kyoto, with every detail exuding a rich, old-world Japanese charm.

Standing next to Tokisaki Kazumi was Tokisaki Kanzo, dressed in a stylish and elegant manner. She carried an exquisite umbrella and wore a gorgeous dress, exuding the temperament and style of a Western aristocrat in every gesture.

Looking further to the right, near the group stood Tokisaki Enmi. Her long, glossy black hair cascaded down to her waist like a waterfall, but what was striking was that she wore a medical blindfold, which added to her air of mystery.

Finally, on the right, is Tokisaki Yasuzo. She wears a bright red miniskirt, and her hands are wrapped and bound with white bandages, making her look both sexy and unique.

These four Kurumi characters, each with their own unique characteristics, are known as the "Four Heavenly Kings of Kurumi".

"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be assigned to such a weird mission." Bao San said, striking a chuunibyou pose.

“Alas, things really don’t go as planned,” Kazumi chimed in, “I” wanted to eat that womanizer with as little guilt as possible, but he’s here to monitor you. How interesting, how interesting!” Kazumi chimed in with a Japanese accent that Kazumi found hard to understand.

Seeing this, Yan San asked Ming curiously, "Well, that's really interesting~ Without relying on the power of angels, you can actually make others subconsciously see us as cats when they're not looking at us."

"It's just a little psychological suggestion; it's just that magicians of this era can't do it."

Ming said calmly, and he wasn't just bragging. As the only legitimate successor of Merlin's magic, he was probably the only one who could use magic in this era of mysterious depletion.

Incidentally, Ming has created a severable domain around himself, and the fact that the four avatars of the Madman are monitoring him is currently unknown to his main body.

Meanwhile, Shido is on his way to the aquarium with Tohka.

"Speaking of which, Shido, what is an aquarium?"

"Why are you asking this? Didn't Tohka ask you to come?"

"Don't get me wrong, I just want to go on a date with you."

Shido was clearly unprepared for Tohka's direct attack, so he coughed and explained to Tohka.

"An aquarium is a place with lots of fish."

"What! Is it salt-grilled fish?"

Shi Xiang immediately perked up at the mention of food.

"no..."

"Is that braised fish? Fish simmered in tomatoes? Steamed fish?"

"All you ever think about is food? Well, you'll see when you get there."

After the explanation, the two went into the aquarium together.

While looking for an excuse to temporarily send Tohka away, Shido took the opportunity of going to the toilet to run towards Kurumi.

"Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo, sorry, I'm late!"

"Hey, Shido-san, I've never been late for a date before. It's not very gentlemanly to keep a girl waiting. Anyway, where should we go?"

Kurumi asked elegantly, appearing to Shido like a noble lady.

"Now comes the main event of today. Everyone, start making your choices. Choose carefully."

With Kotori's command, three options were displayed on the screen.

1. Enjoy leisurely shopping at the mall.

2. Let's go watch a sweet romantic movie together.

3. Go to a women's lingerie store to admire how she tries on clothes.

"I think we should choose option 2. In the dimly lit space, their hands unconsciously intertwined, hahaha~"

Kawagoe Kyoji slumped on the dilapidated, rickety recliner like a lump of mud, panting heavily, and what was even more striking was the silly grin on his somewhat obese face.

"I still think the only option is number 1. Girls love shopping the most!"

Shiizaki Chikako's idea is really good! Shopping is an irresistible must-do task on a date for every girl!

"While both options are good..."

Just as Kotori was struggling to make a decision, Kannazuki, with his serious and gentlemanly expression, raised the most difficult problem at the moment:

"Both the movie theater and the shopping mall are near Qwinted (the plaza name). Although the chances of running into Tohka are very low, it's best not to take the risk."

Kotori began to hesitate, "But a girls' changing room is too..." Just as the proposal was stalled, a reliable Murasame analyst spoke up:

"A few days ago, Kurumi readily accepted the invitation to look at her underwear."

Kotori seemed to suddenly understand after hearing this, and then she took out the precious pearl from her mouth, revealing a slight mischievous smile, and issued a command to Shido through the earpiece.

"It's a lingerie store!!!" Shido's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

"You said it out loud, you pervert," Kotori reminded him from the other end of the earpiece.

Kotori's reminder startled Shido, who quickly covered his mouth with his hand, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment as he looked at Kurumi.

Kurumi's exquisite and beautiful face showed not a trace of anger.

On the contrary, a faint blush was quietly rising on her cherry blossom-pink cheeks. She lowered her head slightly, as if struggling with inner turmoil for a moment, and then she parted her lips slightly, revealing a smile.

"If Shido-san could let me choose..."

"Then... let's go."

Faced with Kurumi's agreement, Shido was at a loss and could only follow Tohka's example and lead the way, trying not to look back along the way to avoid embarrassment.

"Do you guys think that Kurumi blushing just now was somewhat like acting?" Ming teased the Four Heavenly Kings.

"Three points?"

"It's hard to say. Someone like 'me' who understands human nature so well might as well be acting it out entirely."

"Who knows... The timelines are not consistent, so even I can't say whether the future 'me' will be better off."