025. Date (2)

A man couldn't take back his word.

And besides, I didn't really see any need to take it back.

So...... I decided to just go through with it.

A date.

Well, 'date' was a generous term; it was nothing special.

I was simply going to cater to Laika's whims—

"Commander! CommanderCommander! Isn't that some kind of weird shop over there~? ...Euh-eh? Life-four-cuts? Sticker photos? You take photos and they turn into stickers? How is that even possible~? Did humanity steal that kind of technology from the Legions too?"

—walk around and sightsee a bit,

"Speaking of which, Commander, what's that next to it...... Euh-what?! It's packed with ridiculously cute dolls......? Could that be the claw machine I've only ever heard about?"

—and do just that much.

"Ah, ah, hold on, hold on, Commander, there's something even more amazing right next to it~? A game center? A game center?! There's no way we can pass that up~?"

......or so I'd thought.

But come to think of it, nothing was harder than trying to keep a girl happy.

And not just any girl. This was a girl visiting Metropolis for the first time in her life, on the first date she had ever been on.

Just keeping up with her energy level was overwhelming.

Still, well.

"......I guess it's better than her being low-energy the whole time."

The purpose of this date was to give Laika a final rest and boost her motivation.

Considering that objective, seeing her bounce around like this was actually reassuring.

So I kept following Laika around without complaining.

We'd been at it for nearly three hours.

As expected, Laika seemed tired too. She tapped her narrow shoulders and said:

"Euh-heh~ So tired~ Let's rest a little~"

It wasn't a declaration to stop; it was just a request for a break.

Clearly, she wanted to keep going for a few more hours.

To replenish our energy, we ducked into a nearby restaurant.

The menu: gukbap.

......In my defense, I didn't pick the menu.

I'm not the kind of tactless person who would suggest a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gukbap joint for what was supposed to be a date.

If anything, I was the one trying to talk her out of it.

Laika was just firm on this point.

"Seriously, gukbap? You can pick something a bit more fitting for a girl to eat on a date. Like pasta, for instance."

"Laika likes something hearty."

So she said.

In fact, Laika did have an old-fashioned palate. Even when it came to sweets, most girls would go for sugary macarons, while Laika preferred red-bean bungeoppang.

Similarly, when choosing meals at the base, she often opted for stir-fried pork or tonkatsu instead of things girls usually liked.

But in this particular case, that didn't seem to be the whole story.

After she finished off her bowl of gukbap, Laika had quietly asked me this:

"...And anyway, that kind of thing doesn't suit Laika, does it?"

"Huh?"

"Things like pasta."

What was she talking about now?

As I looked at her, baffled, Laika's face flushed bright red.

Then she began to ramble.

"No, it's just...... Laika's kind of bad at dressing up, you know? More than that, I don't really know about that stuff...... I'm kind of a country bumpkin....... So, um...... i-i-i-if I went into a place to eat pasta looking like this, wouldn't people think it was weird......?

"E-even if that's okay, wouldn't people look down on you, Commander, thinking, 'Oh, that Commander is walking around with such an unattractive girl'......? Laika wants to make you look good, Commander...... that's what she's worried about."

Hmm.

I understood what she meant.

In short, Laika had lost her confidence as a girl.

It wasn't hard to guess the reason.

The central streets of Metropolis we had been wandering were absolutely swarming with beautiful and glamorous girls.

...Of course, Laika was a beautiful girl who was no less lovely than them.

But setting aside her cute face, her glossy hair, and her clear, white skin, if you looked only at the 'styling'... honestly, Laika was a mess.

Her outfit was a grubby military tracksuit, sagging white socks, and worn-out sneakers with the soles rubbed smooth.

Her hair was clearly beautiful, but it was just long, unstyled strands grown out without any particular cut to speak of.

Her face was completely bare, without a trace of makeup.

In summary, her 'girl power' had plunged past zero into negative figures.

Of course, Laika probably hadn't realized just how abysmal her own girl power was.

She couldn't have been. Krädel was full of girls like her, all somehow out of step with trends.

It was only now, on a date in Metropolis, that Laika finally grasped her relative position.

And she must have thought to herself: that she wasn't the kind of being who could enjoy the things girls were supposed to enjoy in this dazzling central district of Metropolis.

......Still, the fact that this realization made her worry not about becoming prettier herself, but about me being mocked for walking around with a girl who couldn't dress herself, did seem a little unhealthily dependent.

At any rate, Laika's remarks had just determined our next move.

"Laika, come with me."

"...Euh-heh?"

Though puzzled, Laika followed behind me.

The place we arrived at was the largest, most glamorous, and most magnificent building in all of Metropolis.

A department store.

"Euh-heht...?!"

As I pushed open the department store's entrance door, Laika let out a yelp.

The expression on her face at that moment was roughly that of a boy who had followed along after being promised tonkatsu, only to find himself at a urology clinic.

It couldn't be helped.

Laika had already been losing her nerve just walking down the main street because she felt so outclassed in girl power.

A department store must have looked like a forbidding, highest-difficulty mission zone.

Whether she thought that or not, I pulled Laika into the department store.

No, I pushed her in.

"Alright, you go in first."

"I-in here~? Laika~?"

Yes. You're going in.

I kept pushing Laika's back.

Then, at some point, Laika's toes crossed the stone slab that divided the inside and outside of the department store.

"...I-I've come inside..."

"What are you making such a fuss about?"

Following her in, I lightly chopped Laika on the top of her head.

Laika immediately started to whine.

"H-how do I put it...... I just feel completely intimidated...... More than that, is it really okay for a military biodroid like Laika to come in here......? What if it disturbs the public peace......?"

"It's not a problem at all, so relax."

As I said that, I pointed at the people around us.

Most were lavishly dressed rich people accompanied by equally beautiful maid biodroids, but there were military biodroids in formal uniforms mixed in too.

Of course, those others were all in perfectly formal military dress. They were incomparable to Laika in her shabby tracksuit.

But it didn't matter.

No, if anything, being shabby here was actually better.

Because from now on, I planned to make Laika just like them.

"...Euh-heh? Just like them?"

"Ah, I don't mean I'm going to put you in a military uniform."

The point was to dress Laika up so she suited this place as much as those biodroids did.

In other words.

"First, let's start by going into that store."

I pointed to a clothing shop and spoke.

Inside hung rows of feminine, old-fashioned outfits that Sion could probably have spent hours admiring if she'd been there.

That sight alone made Laika croak another "Euh-ehk......."

Then she spoke.

"L-Laika might instantly die from osmotic girl-power pressure if she goes into a place like that..."

Laika was in the middle of speaking.

Perhaps it was because she had spotted us chattering away while staring into the store.

A promotional biodroid who had been watching passersby with a hawk's eye inside the shop darted out like a ghost and started talking to us.

"Oh my, oh my— what a cute little biodroid miss— why are you just looking from afar—?"

"Y-yes......? I-I wasn't even looking......."

"Oh my, oh my— don't be like that, just try something on, just try it on—"

"W-what does 'try on' mean......."

And now she's suddenly using polite speech.

While I was distracted by that irrelevant detail, the clerk abducted Laika into the shop.

Of course, she didn't forget to send me a silent message with a wink and a smile in the process.

'Leave it to me, I'll take full responsibility and dress her up☆'

I sent a reply in the same manner.

'Thank you. Our kid is a bit lacking, so please take good care of her.'

About ten minutes later.

Laika returned.

But now she was in an incredibly cute outfit.

Specifically, a fluttery white summer dress and a straw hat.

On her feet were lace-up sandals.

And most importantly——an expression that said she was mortified, but still wanted me to look.

"Euh, eu-heh-heht... H-how is it? Isn't it weird...?"

It wasn't weird. It was the best.

More than that, I wanted to lift her right up, seat her on my shoulders, and walk around everywhere showing her off. Hey, people of the neighborhood! This girl is a member of our base! Incredibly cute, right? Jealous?

I genuinely wanted to sprint out of the department store and do exactly that.

But I barely suppressed the impulse and asked the sales clerk,

"Please let her try on some other things, too. A different style. A variety."

It wasn't because I disliked the outfit she had changed into.

I'll say it again: it was the best.

The absolute best.

Even so, I wanted her to try as many different outfits as possible.

I wanted the experience to build up her confidence.

So that she could do well, whether on a mission or off it.

Perhaps that resolve of mine had been conveyed.

The clerk began changing Laika's outfits with even greater fervor.

"Ta-dah— This time, unlike before, we've gone with a bewitching black dress and added a dash of Gothic Lolita flair—"

Again, it was the best.

"Ta-da-dah— This time, we've paired a maid outfit with black tights to emphasize the cute, dainty look—"

Of course, it was the best.

"Next, ta-da-da-dah— Tight denim pants with a white crop top— there's a reason classics stay classics! That's the vibe—"

Naturally, it was the best.

But what was best of all was that each time Laika was dipped into the fitting room and pulled back out, her reactions grew a little more natural.

The first time, she was so embarrassed she could barely stand, but the next, she could at least maintain her posture.

After that, she could manage an awkward smile.

By the last outfit, she'd built enough confidence to timidly flash a V-sign with her fingers.

Only then did I feel relieved enough to ask Laika,

"Which one do you like the most? Pick just one."

"Euh, eu-heht...?"

As if shocked, Laika asked back,

"You're buying it for me?"

"Of course I'm buying it."

It would be bad manners to make her try on all those outfits and then leave without buying a single one.

Setting manners aside, I also just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wanted to buy her at least one.

"...R-really? Then what should I do? Give me a moment to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think..."

"Take your time. So you don't have any regrets."

"O-okay."

Laika did just that.

And a moment later, Laika came back to me holding the first outfit.

The white dress, straw hat, and sandals combination.

"Wouldn't something a bit more flashy be better?"

"N-no..."

Laika shook her head from side to side.

"This much is good for now."

I liked that answer.

Because it meant she was ready to gradually start dressing herself up.

"Alright. Then this one it is."

"Okay. This one."

At that moment, the clerk butted in.

"Then what about the underwear—? Naturally, we should go with something to the boyfriend's taste—?"

"Eu-eu-heet...! He's not my boyfriend yet...!"

The shopping continued.

***

The shopping finally ended in the early evening.

Listing everything we'd bought by that point would have been endless.

Starting with the full outfit set, we'd also bought underwear, basic cosmetics, and even a phone case and key ring for her PDA.

In short, we had assembled a 'starter pack for a girl who knows how to dress up.'

Laika equipped every piece of that starter pack.

And after that, as if it were the final course, we went into a café and ate parfaits.

This place, just like the pasta restaurant—no, more so than the pasta restaurant—was a spot with an extremely high girl-power requirement.

No doubt, the Laika from before we'd visited the department store wouldn't even have been able to enter.

"Euh-heh-heh."

But clothes really did make the woman. Though she was still glancing around warily, Laika was able to set foot inside the parfait shop.

Soon, we ordered parfaits together and nibbled at them.

And just as she was nearly finished with hers,

"Commander, here."

"Huh?"

"I'll give you my Pepero."

Laika said that as she held out a stick-shaped snack.

It was the one that had been stuck into the parfait as a decoration, and judging by Laika's standards, it must have been quite a tasty treat. That was why she was offering it to me with such a magnanimous look on her face.

On the other hand, it wasn't worth much to me. I didn't really like sweets.

With that in mind, I figured it was better for Laika to eat it, so I refused.

"It's fine. You eat it. I don't really care either way."

"No. I want to give it."

Laika was stubborn.

If she was going to be like that, I had a way of my own.

"Then let's split it half-and-half."

I took the stick snack as I said that and bit off about half.

I was about to hold the remaining piece out to Laika when... I noticed her expression had turned round-eyed and flushed.

What was it? Why was she suddenly like this?

Figuring out the reason wasn't hard.

"Ah, sorry. My mouth touched it. It'll probably gross you out, so I'll just finish it."

"Euh-eh, eh."

For a moment, Laika gave no answer at all.

Taking that to mean she really didn't want it, I moved to finish the rest of the snack.

Right at that moment, Laika let out a shriek.

"S-stop......! Stop......!"

"You startled me."

What was the big deal?

As people stared, Laika clamped her own mouth shut.

Yet her gaze remained fixed on the stick snack in my hand.

In that state, Laika protested.

"Y-you said you'd give me half......! Don't eat it on your own......!"

"Yeah, but my mouth touched it."

I pointed that out.

"Besides, you said you didn't want to eat it."

At that, Laika snapped.

"W-who? Who said that? Who said I didn't want it?"

"You did."

"No! Laika wants it too! I wanted it, but I gave it to you because I like you, Commander......!"

Aha, so that was it.

But didn't something kind of weird slip into the middle of that sentence?

Regardless, Laika snatched the stick snack from my hand.

She then carefully placed the snack—which probably cost about a hundred won—into her mouth with both hands, treating it like a precious treasure.

Soon she was chewing it, savoring it.

For some reason, her face was even redder than before. Her eyes blinked, glistening as if she were nearly on the verge of tears.

Omul-omul-omul-omul——

"...What on earth is it?"

Laika never answered me.

***

And at the tail end of the date.

Before we boarded the train to return, I spoke to Laika.

"Don't go onto the platform yet. There's one last place we need to stop first."

"A place to stop by?"

I nodded and answered.

"I told you earlier, remember? There was another reason I came all the way to Metropolis. There's somewhere I need to stop by because of it."

"Wait, that wasn't just something you made up because you wanted to go on a date with Laika...?"

As if.

At my dumbfounded look, Laika's shoulders slumped as if she were disappointed, for some reason.

But it was okay for her to be disappointed.

Because once she found out what that reason was, no matter how great her disappointment, she wouldn't be able to help but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forget it instantly.

I spoke.

"Seo Se-rin left a gift for you."