Chapter 116: Completely Stunning
Inside a women's clothing store, Shido stood awkwardly near the changing rooms, waiting for Kurumi, who was trying on outfits behind one of the curtains. Surrounded by racks of dresses and the soft hum of pop music, he couldn't help but feel completely out of place.
He felt quite awkward in this situation because he could see that the female customers and even employees are staring at him with strange looks.
A few women even approached him, trying to strike up conversations or flirt outright. Although Shido was dressed casually, he was still handsome and was clearly catching attention. With a gentle smile and polite tone, he declined each advance, explaining that he was on a date. Surprisingly, none of them reacted with annoyance. Instead, they simply nodded, looking a little dazed, clearly charmed by his mesmerizing smile.
Actually, it was the first time Shido had ever been openly hit on by older women. He had to admit, it felt kind of nice. After all, most of the time, he was the one watching guys hit on girls, not the other way around.
Still, when Shido casually glanced to his right, he noticed the silhoute of two suspicious figures lurking nearby. They quickly ducked behind a mannequin, striking stiff, awkward poses in an attempt to blend in with the display.
Shido blinked. 'Were they... trying to pretend to be mannequins?'
Sure enough, the two girls had frozen mid-pose, their limbs locked in unnatural angles as they imitated the mannequin's stance. One of them even had a purse balanced on her shoulder like a prop. It might've been convincing, if not for the fact that one of the "mannequins" was breathing heavily from the effort, and the other's shoe was sticking out from behind the display stand.
Shido was truly at lost for words when he saw their clumsy action, even Origami who was pretty clever and cool headed was doing this dumb way of hiding. However, he didn't expose their location since for now, he had to give all his attention to Kurumi who he was having a date with. Shido was afraid that a little mistake would make this Spirit explode and trigger a Spatial Quake.
"How is it, Shido-san?"
Kurumi's voice floated from behind him, pulling Shido out of his thoughts. She had changed into the outfit he'd picked for her earlier—something he'd thought would suit her, but even in his wildest imagination, he hadn't expected this.
When he turned around, his breath caught in his throat.