[Discontinued] Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 30 - Game

"Umm. So then who's next?" Shidou asked his earpiece.

A couple seconds later, Reine replied, "...Mm-hmm. Next is Tonomachi Hiroto."

"Tonomachi?" Shidou said, with a sigh of relief. Tonomachi had been his friend for ages and was also the lone boy in the group of suspects. This investigation was maybe less of a date and more hanging out.

"...You sound happy about that."

"Ha-ha-ha! Well, Tonomachi's a boy and everything. It might just be easier is all."

"...Mm. That's great then. We might be able to finish this one faster. A text has already been sent to him in your name. You're scheduled to meet in an hour."

"Got it. Where are we meeting?"

"...Oh, that's-"

Shidou's face paled when she told him.
About an hour later, Shidou and Tonomachi were sitting next to each other on a sauna bench.
Yes. The meeting place Ratatoskr had specified was in front of the large-scale spa in the neighborhood.

"..."
"..."

They had sat down next to each other a few minutes earlier, but they hadn't spoken at all. Even though Shidou hung out with Tonomachi all the time, he was more nervous than on a date with a girl. The whole thing was just too awkward.

"H-hey. Tonomachi?" he said, at last, unable to stand the silence, and Tonomachi's shoulders jerked up.

"...! Wh-what's up, Itsuka?"

"Oh...Just like... Sorry." Shidou bowed slightly and turned away from his friend. "Reine, why did you pick a place like this?!"

"...It's two guys at last. I thought it would be nice if you could spend some quality time naked together." The high-performance, precision-manufactured Ratatoskr earpiece transmitted Reine's sleepy voice with a clear quality even in the extremely hot and humid sauna.

"What is that absurd logic? And like, the timing is so completely wrong. I don't know exactly what happened, but I do know that Natsumi said something to Tonomachi when she was pretending to be me. I feel like he's being super cold, or like on guard or something."

"...If he was hostile toward you, he wouldn't have accepted the invitation to start with."

"I'm not talking hostility. It's more like he thinks I've got some wild kinks or something. Or like he's got some weird ideas about me." As he spoke, Shidou glanced over at Tonomachi. He was sure that his friend's cheeks were red only because of the heat in the sauna. Obviously.

"...And there is actual meaning in the selection of that place." Reine continued, quietly. "Natsumi's a woman. She no doubt has some resistance to being naked with a man, regardless of whether she's transformed or not."

"Oh." He nodded. "That actually makes sense."
Reine might have been exactly right. If Tonomachi were Natsumi, she would have come up with some reason to decline an invitation to the spa.

"So then, the fact that he's here means that Tonomachi isn't Natsumi?"

"...I think it's a strong possibility. Although, well, we can't rule out the possibility that Natsumi has the sort of kink where she gets excited showing off her own private parts."

"..." Shidou remained silent. Well, it was true that if that were the case, this wouldn't be much of a reference point.
"So then what should I do? I guess asking about stuff from way back that Natsumi wouldn't know is the reasonable thing?"

"...Yes, that's fundamental. I'd also like to see his reaction and numbers for one other thing. Could you touch him a little?"
"Huh?" Shidou's pupils shrank into stunned dots.