I Became a Spirit in Date A Live, but I Refuse to Date

"Waaah... What on earth is going on!?"

Startled by the whirlpool that had suddenly appeared in the water, the staff member playing the kappa finally spoke like a normal person. A moment later, the whirlpool swallowed him.

A few seconds later, the whirlpool vanished, and the kappa floated back to the surface.

The whirlpool had disappeared soon after he fell in, so the kappa was unharmed. He had merely passed out.

Seeing that the kappa was unconscious, Lingmeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. She climbed back onto the bridge and discovered that her clothes were soaked through.

"Ah, my clothes are completely wet..."

Rather than heading straight to the other side, Lingmeng lay flat on the bridge and panted for breath.

Several minutes passed before someone finally appeared a short distance below Lingmeng. It was Shiori, of course.

"Lingmeng, are you okay!?"

Seeing Lingmeng lying on the ground in her soaked clothes, Shiori immediately ran over, crouched beside her, and asked with concern.

"Shiori..." Lingmeng murmured his name, then clung to him as though he were her lifeline.

"Shiori, you're finally here... I was so scared... Those two were bullying me just now..."

Lingmeng buried her face in Shiori's chest. Her body trembled as she spoke through tears.

"Those two?" Shiori asked in confusion, frowning as he looked around.

Then he spotted Sakurako and the kappa floating on the water. Both were foaming at the mouth, their eyes rolled back, looking half-dead.

Who was bullying whom here...?

Shiori's mouth twitched, and his expression relaxed. Now he was more curious than ever about what Lingmeng had been through.

"Don't be afraid, Lingmeng. I'll protect you."

His feelings were a little complicated, but he still needed to comfort her.

Shiori gently stroked Lingmeng's head as he spoke. His reassurance helped her calm down.

Once Lingmeng seemed more or less back to normal, Shiori spoke again.

"Let's hurry to the other side. You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"

"Mm..." Lingmeng answered obediently, and Shiori took her hand and pulled her up.

"Let's go." Holding Lingmeng's hand, Shiori smiled warmly and led her toward the other side.

When they reached the far side of the pond, Shiori led Lingmeng to a table, picked up a key, then walked to the iron gate and unlocked it.

As the gate opened, dazzling light spilled in from outside. Lingmeng's heart leaped. She was finally leaving this awful place.

She stepped through the gate with Shiori. Suddenly, a sound rang out.

Pop! Countless tiny pieces of colored confetti rained down.

The young receptionist in the pumpkin head, whom Lingmeng had spoken to earlier, stood there holding the party cannon she had just fired. She congratulated them.

"Congratulations to you both for making it through!"

"Uh... thanks," Shiori said awkwardly, scratching his cheek.

"To celebrate your successful escape from the haunted house, our entire staff—including the ones who dressed up as monsters to scare you inside—will take a commemorative photo with you!"

At first, Shiori had barely reacted. But when he heard they would be taking a photo with the staff from inside, his eyes widened.

After what Lingmeng had put them through, those staff members were still unconscious. If anyone found out, there would be trouble.

"Sorry, let's skip the photo! Lingmeng, we'd better go."

"Oh..."

Shiori gave the receptionist an apologetic bow, then quickly took Lingmeng's hand and left the haunted house.

"What's wrong? It's just a photo."

The receptionist tilted her head in confusion.

But she did not dwell on it. Since Shiori had declined, she had no intention of forcing them. She simply shut the iron gate again and returned to her post.

"Well, the haunted house wasn't much. It would take a lot more than that to scare me."

Lingmeng was walking down the street with Shiori, speaking without a hint of embarrassment, as though she had completely forgotten how she had acted earlier.

"Have you already forgotten what happened? You were so scared you were practically crying."

Shiori was speechless at Lingmeng's complete change of attitude. He thought the Lingmeng in the haunted house had been much cuter than this one.

At Shiori's words, Lingmeng frowned. He had clearly struck a nerve.

"Scared? No way! I was just..."

Lingmeng stopped halfway through, unable to think of an excuse.

"If you weren't scared, what was it?" Shiori asked with a smile, his eyes half-lidded.

"I..." Lingmeng patted Shiori's shoulder. "Shiori, you're too shallow. A spirit doesn't get scared. I was being cautious! That's right."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Shiori said in the tone one might use to humor a child. "But you should change first, Lingmeng. Your tracksuit is soaked through, isn't it?"

"Ah—" Only then did Lingmeng remember.

Her tracksuit was indeed far too wet to keep wearing. It clung to her skin and felt uncomfortable.

"Ah, looks like I really do need a change of clothes," Lingmeng muttered, nodding in agreement.

"There's a clothing store nearby. Why don't you change there before we continue our date?"

"Well, I guess that's our only option."

Lingmeng shrugged and followed Shiori to the clothing store...

A Spirit Maid Café ### Swish. The fitting-room curtain slid open.

"What do you think, Shiori? Does this look good on me?"

Lingmeng was the one speaking. She and Shiori were now in the clothing store, and she had changed clothes. She was asking him what he thought of her outfit.

She wore a white T-shirt under a black jacket, with a silver metal necklace around her neck.

Below that were jeans and white sneakers. She had casually tied her waist-length hair into a ponytail with a hair tie.

The somewhat androgynous outfit made Lingmeng look less like a young woman and more like a delicate-featured tomboy, the sort who could charm anyone.

"Looks great, looks great. You look good in anything, Lingmeng."

Shiori looked at her outfit, smiled, and clapped.

"Come on, Shiori. Is that the only thing you've been able to say this whole time? You're so boring."

"Is it...? Sorry. I really can't think of any other way to describe it."

Seeing that Lingmeng seemed a little unhappy, Shiori apologized.

Lingmeng had actually tried on several outfits before this one. Like this one, though, they had all been men's clothes.

At first, Shiori had wondered why Lingmeng would not try on women's clothes.

But then he remembered that Lingmeng used to be a man, and the question suddenly seemed foolish.

He was a man who hated the idea of wearing women's clothes himself, let alone Lingmeng, who was still a man at heart. If he asked her outright why she would not wear them, her affection for him would probably drop.

That was not even the most startling part. While Lingmeng was trying on clothes, Shiori had happened to discover that she was not wearing a bra.

The discovery had left Shiori stunned. When he asked her why, she had simply answered, "It feels too embarrassing, and I don't know how to put one on."

After that, it had taken all Shiori's effort to persuade Lingmeng to wear a camisole instead.

"Well, if you don't have any objections, Shiori, I'll buy what I'm wearing now."

"Mm... sure..."

When Lingmeng decided to buy the outfit, Shiori nodded weakly in agreement.

"I might as well throw out the old tracksuit. One sleeve is already torn off, and I don't even know where it went. There's no point keeping it."

Lingmeng glanced at the tracksuit in the fitting room as she muttered.

In the past, Lingmeng would never have discarded it so readily. She had been poor then and could not afford to waste money on new clothes.

But things were different now. Ratatoskr had given Lingmeng five hundred thousand yen to keep her... uh, for living expenses.

In short, she had money. Now that she did, surely she could afford to be a little extravagant for once?

"Oh, right, Shiori."

"Hmm? What is it?"

When Lingmeng suddenly called his name, Shiori tilted his head in confusion.

"Since we're already in a clothing store, why don't you try on some other women's clothes? Don't worry, I'll pay."

Lingmeng gave her chest a confident pat.

"Uh... well..."

At first, Shiori wanted to refuse the suggestion outright.

He had only just managed to get used to what he was wearing. Suddenly changing into another outfit would only multiply his embarrassment.

But if he agreed, Lingmeng might like him a little more. For the sake of the mission, he decided to sacrifice his dignity.

"O-okay." Blushing, Shiori asked, "What do you want me to wear, Lingmeng?"

"You want me to choose?" Lingmeng stroked her chin thoughtfully. "How about a school swimsuit and white stockings?"

A wicked grin spread across her face. Shiori's face went bright red, and he promptly refused.

"No! That's too embarrassing!"

"You don't like it? How about a bunny-girl outfit?"

"Who wears that on a date!?"

"Then... a nurse's uniform?"

"That's hardly any better!"

"A maid outfit?"

"Are you even listening to me!?"

"Then a shrine maiden outfit! That's my final offer! (;｀O')o"

"Lingmeng, are you actually trying to help me choose?"

Several more minutes passed. Lingmeng kept suggesting outfits no normal person would wear on a date, and Shiori rejected every one of them.

After all that discussion, Shiori finally understood: Lingmeng was suggesting those clothes purely to satisfy her own desires. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Forget it... I'm not changing into anything else..."

Shiori was panting as he spoke. All that arguing had worn him out.

"Aww, don't say that. I'd settle for a racing suit,,?^?,,"

Lingmeng looked dejected when Shiori gave up.

"There's no helping you..." Shiori's mouth twitched. "Lingmeng, let's just pay and go somewhere else for our date, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Lingmeng sighed and gave a casual shrug.

It was a shame she would not get to see Shiori play dress-up, but since he did not want to, she would not push him. She obediently followed him to the register to pay for her clothes.