Chapter 91: Shopping with Yumiko!
According to his agreement with Miura Yumiko, Luke hurried nonstop to the appointed location.
Since she had said he would be carrying bags, the destination was naturally a shopping center.
After crossing the pedestrian bridge on foot, Luke arrived at the entrance.
This shopping center could be considered the largest one nearby. It gathered all kinds of stores, along with a cinema and a large event venue. Basically, everything that should exist was here, and the indoor facilities could even be described as quite luxurious.
When he reached the outside of the department store, people were coming and going in thick crowds. If a child let go of their parent's hand, they would probably disappear in an instant.
Following the location information Yumiko had sent him, Luke glanced around.
Yumiko stood there holding her phone, her long legs straight beneath her skirt. Even among the crowded flow of people, it was hard not to notice her.
So even in the sea of people, Luke spotted her at a glance.
"Good afternoon."
Luke quickly came to Yumiko, who had been standing in place waiting for him.
His gaze briefly swept over her outfit.
Today, Yumiko wore a yellow long-sleeved top with a white camisole, paired with a pleated skirt, thigh-high socks, a small shoulder bag, and casual shoes. Overall, she had a somewhat ladylike air.
"You're so slow!"
Yumiko folded her arms and stood sideways in front of him, turning her face to look at him.
"Hm?"
Luke glanced at her face, which did not seem to have any makeup on, then quickly took out his phone.
Eleven ten.
"Isn't it not even the agreed time yet?"
Yumiko stared at him for a while before finally letting out a defeated sigh.
"…Haa. If you come early, we can shop for longer, right? Also… you're the servant today."
"That makes a lot of sense."
Luke nodded heavily.
This shopping center was too big. If one was careless, it really was easy to lose an entire day here. If they came early, they could indeed browse more interesting stores.
He glanced at the dense wall of young people.
"In short, let's go in first."
Luke stretched out his hand.
"Give me your bag. I'll carry it for you."
"Eek! How could I hand over a personal bag like this to someone else?"
Yumiko turned her body slightly away.
"Hm? Didn't you ask me to carry your bags today?"
Luke felt quite confused.
"That doesn't mean this kind of bag."
Yumiko fled into the shopping center as if escaping.
In any case, he could not tell the difference. Luke followed closely behind.
The inside of the shopping center was just as crowded. Everyone had big and small bags in their hands.
Couples in the middle of passionate love could be seen everywhere, and rows of young people filled the entire path, shouting and flirting as they walked.
Yumiko looked at the facility map in the center of the first floor, her eyes constantly roaming over the sections that interested her. She folded her arms and kept thinking.
Luke, who had caught up, also pulled a guide pamphlet from below the map and opened it.
Mm. In this kind of huge shopping center, if one did not make a plan in advance, it was easy to get trapped inside, wandering around like a headless fly and failing to buy what one wanted.
It seemed Yumiko was still pretty reliable in this regard. They probably would not need to walk too much meaningless distance.
However…
"Haa, forget it."
Yumiko moved her gaze away from the facility map.
She looked east, then west. In the end, she simply pointed in a random direction.
"Let's start from over there."
Looking at her, she did not seem like someone who had made any plan at all.
"Yumiko-san, if you don't plan first, it's easy to end up not buying what you want."
Luke reminded her.
"Oh? Is that so…"
Yumiko stopped and turned her head to look at him. After thinking for a moment, she asked in confusion.
"…But when it's your first time coming to a huge shopping center like this, isn't it more fun to explore by feeling and accidentally discover things you're interested in?"
Good. He took back his earlier praise for Yumiko.
"Fine. You're in charge today anyway."
Luke said casually.
Yumiko glanced at him and did not say anything else. She walked straight toward the inner side of the first floor.
Luke opened the guide pamphlet and looked.
That direction seemed to be the women's goods area.
Once they walked in, sure enough…
The area was a sea of clothes, accessories, socks, and cosmetics—not to mention a vast array of lingerie. For Luke, this was an alien world. Mikasa and Annie usually handled all the shopping, even for his own personal needs; he never had a say in the matter.
Yumiko walked straight into the nearest clothing store, impatiently picking up item after item and comparing them carefully.
Luke followed her into the store, found a chair, and sat down casually while watching a crowd of girls choose goods.
Yumiko was busy looking here and there, seeming very interested. Judging from the relaxed smile on her face, at least she did not seem bored.
From time to time, she stopped and carefully studied the clothes hanging there.
Only…
Why did this shopping center place the women's section in this position on the first floor?
Judging by shopping speed, shouldn't the men's goods area be placed here so men could buy what they needed and leave directly?
Also, why were there so many people in this section?
A chaotic pile of voices drilled into his ears. If he pressed a button that made half the Earth's people disappear, would it stop being this noisy?
"What gloomy thing are you thinking about now?"
Yumiko's voice interrupted Luke's dark thoughts.
"Nothing."
Luke turned his head and saw Yumiko standing beside him with several pieces of clothing.
"I always feel like your expression just now was dangerous."
Yumiko muttered and held a bright yellow top in front of herself.
"How's this one? Does it suit me?"
Luke swept a glance over it and gave his suggestion.
"It clashes a bit with your blonde hair."
"Eh?!"
Yumiko quickly turned the front toward herself and looked at the cute cat pattern on it.
"I thought it would suit me really well."
"Your skin is already pretty fair, and your hair is bright and eye-catching too. I think blue clothes would bring out your features better."
He insisted on the conclusion he had reached from the previous tennis match.
"Ugh—! If you put it that way…"
Yumiko puffed out her cheeks, then uncomfortably pressed her dry lips together. She weighed the bright yellow and warm pink clothes in her hands.
"Then I'll look some more."
With that, she turned and went back into the dazzling crowd of clothes.
"I'm going out to buy drinks. I'll come find you in a bit."
Luke said from behind her.
At the speed she was comparing clothing combinations, he should be able to return before she finished picking out the second batch of clothes.
But Yumiko was still looking at clothes one by one, and he did not know whether she heard him.
Forget it. He would just go. As long as he went and returned quickly, it would be fine.
He ordered two cups of orange juice.
Since he did not know her preferences, he simply bought the drink he liked.
After spending some time waiting in line and buying the drinks, he saw Yumiko once again standing in front of the clothing store with her arms folded. Her fingers tapped against her arm again and again as she waited for him.
"I thought you ran off."
Yumiko glanced at Luke as he walked over and huffed.
"Why would I run? It's just shopping. Even if an evil ghost descended, I'd still trade a few moves with it. What's there to run from in a little shopping trip?"
Luke handed her a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Orange juice is okay, right?"
"Th-thanks."
Yumiko accepted the orange juice with the straw already inserted and lightly sipped it.
"Then tell me before you go… You suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye, and there wasn't any message on my phone either. I thought something came up and you left."
"Oh. I told you before I went. You probably didn't hear me. And there were too many people over there, so I was too lazy to message you."
Luke explained.
"Don't forget to stay hydrated. I saw your lips were a little dry. Cracked lips hurt a lot."
"How did the gloomy guy suddenly turn into a warm guy?"
Yumiko muttered, touched her hair, and secretly looked away. The expression on her face was hard to tell as surprise or confusion, but a faint blush rose there.
Luke continued adding, "Mainly because I definitely wouldn't run. Shopping with a pretty girl like Yumiko is something that gives me face, isn't it?"
"Eh?! What are you suddenly saying?!"
Yumiko was startled, and the hand holding her drink nearly squeezed the whole thing out.
"I'm just saying what I think."
He nodded firmly and took out the tissues he carried with him.
Thinking about Shibuya Jun's expression of disbelief and a collapsing worldview, Kasumizuki's gaze as if looking at a scumbag, and Shiraishi Sen's admiring eyes, he felt strangely refreshed.
"Tissue."
Luke handed her a tissue and looked at her empty arms, which had no shopping bags hanging from them.
"Did you finish picking your clothes?"
"Not yet… Where's the restroom?"
Yumiko wiped the juice from her hand, but it still felt sticky.
"Go straight and turn right."
Luke pointed in a direction for her.
"Mm… Hold my bag. I'm going to wash my hands."
After thinking for a moment, Yumiko tossed her shoulder bag to him.
"Didn't you say personal bags like this… Okay, take your time."
Under Yumiko's fierce gaze, he instantly changed his words and stood in front of the women's clothing area to wait.
Fickle woman. Heh.
"Women's clothing store, women's clothing store…"
"Turn left, right?"
Standing in front of the clothing store and waiting for Yumiko, Luke speechlessly looked at a directionally challenged fool. She lowered her head and held the guide pamphlet, yet still walked straight past him.
"Turn around!"
"Ugh—!"
Yukino and Yui both stiffened, their backs going rigid.
"I didn't hear wrong, right~?"
Yui asked Yukino quietly.
"No. It's him."
Yukino nodded in defeat and turned around.
"What are you two doing here?"
Luke looked at them in confusion.
"Cough, cough. This is a public place, so anyone can enter, correct?"
Yukino coughed twice to hide her embarrassment, recovered her normal state, and said that calmly.
So Luke turned his gaze toward Yui.
"You explain."
"Ah."
Yui looked at the shoulder bag in his hand, suddenly stood up straight in realization, and hurriedly said, "I was the one who asked Yukinon to come out. I asked Yumiko about her schedule. A-after all, you're taking the punishment on behalf of the club, so…"
"And Yukinon and I also wanted to buy some things."
"Oh."
He nodded casually.
"So you two were worried and planned to stalk us?"
"Worried, yes! But don't call it stalking!"
Yui rubbed her head.
"Oh, right. Yumiko didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"
"No."
Luke looked at Yumiko, who had finished washing her hands and was coming back.
"Yui? And… Yukinoshita?"
"Hellooo~ Yumiko!"
Yumiko walked back and scanned Yui and Yukino with a puzzled gaze.
"What are you two doing here?"
Yukino nodded to Yumiko and said softly, "No matter what, he is accepting the punishment on behalf of the Service Club. Naturally, I have to watch over him so nothing excessive happens."
Yumiko's eyes sharpened.
Yui hurriedly grabbed her arm.
"That's part of it, but mainly, we haven't really been to this shopping center before either, and we wanted to buy some things too~!"
"There are so many types of things here. Just looking at the guide pamphlet is already making my head spin."
"That's true. Next time, let's find a chance to bring Hina too!"
Looking at Yui, who was looking around while swaying her head, Yumiko said that with interest.
"Of course!"
Yui answered firmly.
"Then what are you buying next, Yumiko?"
Yumiko tugged at her hair.
"I don't really have a plan. What about you, Yui…"
"Me? I want to buy a plushie. My favorite plushie was bitten and torn by Sable!"
Yui seemed a little angry.
"In that case, let's go to the toy area first."
"Ah~ You don't need to mind me. Just follow your own ideas."
"Geez! Didn't I already say I don't have any plan either…"
Yumiko muttered.
Luke cooperatively nodded at Yui.
She really did not have a plan.
"And for the toy area, I was also planning to buy a cat plushie…"
Yumiko swept a glance over Yukino and Yui, then helplessly continued, "Anyway… let's go together."
"A cat plushie?"
Yukino's eyes also lit up.
Just how much did this girl like cats?
"Then okay."
Yui winked at him and Yukino.
And so, they walked toward the toy area.
So you're not buying clothes anymore, Yumiko?
Luke watched Yui and Yumiko start chatting noisily, but he did not remind them.
With all members of the Service Club gathered, and with him joining in, they finally did not get lost. Before long, they arrived at the toy area.
The inside of this huge shopping center was decorated very luxuriously, and every area showed its own unique traits. Together with the dreamy feeling of the toy specialty stores and their endless variety, it looked almost like a scene from a dream in their eyes.
"I'm going to pick a plushie."
Yui looked at a plushie nearby that was almost as tall as a person and excitedly ran over.
Yukino also silently walked into the toy area.
"You go pick something. I'll wait for you here."
Luke said that to Yumiko, his gaze sweeping toward the glasses rack nearby.
Yumiko, who had originally planned to follow Yui, looked at him.
"You're not coming too…?"
Luke asked her back, "Do you think I'm someone who would be interested in toys?"
"True."
Yumiko nodded in confirmation, believing that as an exorcist, he really did not match the image of toys and similar things.
But she also did not go find Yui, who had already vanished into the toys.
Luke picked up a pair of glasses and put them on in confusion.
"What's with these glasses?"
Seeing Yumiko still there, he turned to look at her.
Yumiko looked at the strange glasses on his face.
She hurriedly covered her mouth lightly with one hand, but the corners of her lips instantly rose. Her nose wrinkled slightly, and her eyes curved into crescents.
She tried hard to hold back her laughter, but a muffled giggle still escaped her mouth.
"Mmf!"
"They're weird enough, right?"
Luke took off the glasses and looked at them speechlessly.
How could there be glasses shaped like this?
O.o
…
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