Chapter 73

Just as Tonamachi was about to voice his guess, Shido interrupted him before he could finish.

Tonamachi scratched his head, speaking with embarrassment.

"Haha... that's true, after all, You don't have the guts at all, Itsuka."

"Even though what you said is true, why does it make me feel so uncomfortable?"

Shido was speechless with exasperation.

As if to change the subject, Lingmeng spoke up.

"By the way, Tonamachi, did you listen to the internet radio that Shido sent you this morning?"

Lingmeng had a mischievous smile on her face.

As if in response to Lingmeng's question, Tonamachi revealed a meaningful smile.

"Oh, that? Of course I saw it. What was it? It was so interesting!"

"That belongs to Shido— "

"Waaaaahhhhhh..."

Lingmeng was about to reply to Tonamachi's question, Shido suddenly Shido and covered her mouth.

To this, Tonamachi simply tilted his head in confusion.

"What about Itsuka?"

"No! It's nothing! Don't worry about it!"

"Um... okay then."

Intimidated by Shido's unyielding demeanor, Tonamachi gave up on asking questions.

"Hey, hey, suddenly covering someone's mouth while they're speaking isn't a good thing, Shido."

Having broken free from Shido's grasp, Lingmeng frowned slightly, her expression showing a hint of displeasure.

Shido replied, feeling ashamed.

"Do you have the right to criticize me when you publicly expose other people's dark past?"

Lingmeng casually shrugged.

"Please forgive me, considering how cute I am?"

"..."

Seeing Lingmeng suddenly acting cute in a malicious way, Shido didn't know what to say for a moment.

Although Lingmeng was telling the truth, knowing that she used to be a man Shido made me feel somewhat complicated.

What are these two guys even talking about?

Completely unaware of the situation, Tonamachi thought to himself.

To break the awkward silence, Tonamachi suddenly ran to his desk drawer, took out a magazine, and placed it in front of Shido and Lingmeng.

"Itsuka, Lingmeng, if you had to choose, what would you pick?"

"Choose what you need?" ×2

Shido and Lingmeng then noticed that the magazine in Tonamachi's hand was a voting event.

"Hmm... it seems the outfits for the next issue's color photos will be decided based on the readers' votes. This is really a headache!"

Hey, nurse, shrine maiden, Maid... which one do you like!?

Clearly, this is a voting event to gather fan opinions and decide on the costumes for virtual characters.

"Ah... this..."

Overwhelmed by the opponent's extraordinary aura, Shido's back was covered in a few beads of sweat.

Lingmeng, on the other hand, showed a rather interested expression.

"Only children make choices; as an adult, I want them all!"

Lingmeng answered loudly.

Well, although she thinks not wearing anything looks best.

"Ah~ I'd like to do that too, but the illustrator doesn't think so."

Tonamachi gave a wry smile, then turned his gaze to Shido.

"And what about you Itsuka?"

"Forehead..."

Shido looked troubled. Although he felt it didn't matter what he wore, given the current situation, it seemed he had to say something.

If I absolutely had to choose... Maid Outfit, perhaps?

Perhaps it was because he wore Maid Outfit once when he was trying to win over Lingmeng? Shido subconsciously chose it.

"Oh ho ho, so Shido likes this kind of thing?"

Lingmeng covered her mouth and chuckled.

No, I just--

Just as Shido was about to refute Lingmeng's words, Tonamachi interrupted him.

"I never imagined you'd like Maid. Sorry, our friendship ends here."

"Clam?"

Shido was stunned for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"Alright, alright, Lingmeng, let's ignore this guy."

"Oh, I don't care."

With a casual wave of his hand, Shido seemed to want Tonamachi to stay away from him.

"Hey? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden!"

"Hasn't our friendship already ended?"

"Then what do you mean by telling Dream-chan not to talk to me?!"

"Hey, hey, if you're going to call me by my name, just say it properly, don't add 'sauce' after it!"

Lingmeng rejected the title Tonamachi had given her.

After all, for a man to use the word "sauce" to describe something like that is utterly inappropriate!

However, if Lingmeng 'Shido idea, Shido would probably yell at her.

"Since that's what you think, then explain to me what's going on with Shiori-chan!?"

"..."

Then, Tonamachi fell into deep thought—

"Itsuka, don't you think a world where Maid fetishists and nurse fetishists can coexist peacefully would be nice?"

To persuade Shido to stay, Tonamachi said this. It seems he's a nurse-complex guy.

"When did I ever say I was Maid fetishist?"

Shido frowned slightly.

"Oh dear~ You've clearly experienced it firsthand, yet you still claim it didn't happen to you?"

Lingmeng's teasing voice rang out, Shido immediately blushed.

"That was out of desperation—"

Just then, Shido suddenly sensed that someone was watching him.

Turning his head to the right, Shido realized that the gaze was coming from Origami Tobiichi next door.

Holding a heavy book in her hands, Origami stared at him with a cold gaze.

"Yo~ Good morning, Origami."

"..."

Lingmeng waved at Origami, but she ignored her.

Lingmeng had long anticipated Origami's reaction.

Given Origami's personality, Lingmeng was already thankful that she hadn't suddenly pulled out Light Sword and a Gatling gun to attack her, the spirit.

"Hello... Good morning, Tobiichi."

After Lingmeng, Shido also greeted her.

"Good morning."

Origami answered in a completely flat voice, then tilted her head slightly.

"Maid?"

"... No... it's nothing, don't worry about it."

Realizing that Origami had overheard his conversation, Shido waved his hand in a panic.

"Yeah?"

As she spoke, Origami turned her gaze back to the book.

Although Tonamachi greeted her afterwards, she was ignored, just like Lingmeng.

"It's always like this! Why does Origami only greet you? Ugh, ugh!"

"I... how should I know! Stop!"

Tonamachi shrugged vigorously, then pressed his hand against Shido's side abdomen and rotated it continuously.

To this, Lingmeng simply shook her head and muttered softly.

"Because you're the Protagonist!"

Then, just as Lingmeng finished speaking, the school bell rang.

Chapter Nineteen finally gets to the main storyline.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of the fourth period and the start of lunch break.

Students usually eat lunch during this time. Of course, Shido and the others are no exception.

"Shido, since you seem to have so much free time, how about we have lunch together?"

Holding a bento box in her hand, Lingmeng walked up to Shido and asked.

Shido simply nodded and took out his own lunchbox.

"Okay, let's eat together."

Then, at that moment, two tables suddenly appeared on Shido's left and right sides, joining Shido table.

"Shido, Lingmeng, I want to eat with you too!"

"..."

Without a doubt, the owners of these two tables are Tohka and Origami.

"Oh dear, looks like I'll have to sit in the back?"

Looking at the spot that had been taken up by the two of them, Lingmeng casually shrugged.

Well, it doesn't really matter where I sit.

However, it's a different story for Tohka and Origami.

They seemed to have noticed each other, and the sharp gazes they were casting made Shido, who was stuck in the middle, very uncomfortable.

"... Um, what is it? It's you again. You're bothering us!"

"That was my line."