Ch.54Date with Taiga (3)

Anyway, it was when Shota was in the middle of his confrontation with the motorcycle gang.

There was a woman who witnessed the scene.

She was a doll-like beauty with light blue hair.

It was Saito Kana, the young lady of the Saito family, a great house that extended its influence beyond the Japanese kendo world and into politics.

She was the granddaughter of Saito Tetsu, known as the “Fighting God.”

“How interesting.”

Saito Kana had clearly observed Shota’s swordsmanship. She took in the technique that broke the wooden sword with a single precise strike.

It wasn’t broken by brute force. He had accurately grasped the wooden sword’s rhythm, targeting only its weak points to properly amplify his strength. This was something only someone of exceptional skill could do.

Though crude and full of unnecessary movements, that technique was unmistakably Issem, the technique of Kiryu Gonzaemon.

“Gonzaemon… I heard he took in a new disciple, must be this guy.”

Saito Kana said with a slight smile.

“I thought there wouldn’t be anything interesting in this countryside, but I found something entertaining after all.”

Saito Kana chuckled.

At that moment, a bodyguard in a suit approached Saito Kana.

“Miss, I bought the takoyaki from the shopping district as you requested.”

The bodyguard said.

“Ah… street food from a rural town with no taste to speak of. This is what I wanted. Now I can experience the life of a commoner.”

Saito Kana picked up the takoyaki.

Nom nom-!

Saito Kana ate a piece of takoyaki, cutely munching away.

“To sell something like this for money… Do they have no conscience? Or are they just ignorant?”

Saito Kana muttered, more curious than displeased.

“Commoners are satisfied with this kind of taste.”

The bodyguard answered diplomatically.

“Hmm. How curious.”

Saito Kana soon finished all six takoyaki balls. Though they weren’t tasty, she followed her family precept of not leaving food behind.

Afterward, Saito Kana threw the paper box that contained the takoyaki into a nearby trash can.

“Good. Now let’s go meet Gonzaemon. I have some questions about his new disciple.”

Saito Kana then headed toward the Kiryu family dojo, accompanied by her bodyguards.

“That guy… he might be interesting in the Fighting God tournament.”

Saito Kana wore a crooked smile.

——–

Anyway, back to Shota’s perspective.

“Hey… you must be tired from fighting. How about we go to a hotel and rest?”

Taiga seemed to have some switch flipped inside her.

“Taiga!! We agreed to go to a restaurant!!”

I grabbed Taiga’s shoulders and shook her, trying to calm her down.

“Hnnnngh…❤”

Even from this small physical contact, sweet moans naturally escaped from Taiga’s mouth.

This girl is in serious trouble.

“We finally have time alone with Taiga… it would be a waste to just do lewd things.”

That’s right. Since this was a date, it would be too disappointing not to enjoy some innocent sweetness.

“We can do plenty of that at home. I want to do things that actual couples do with Taiga.”

I added another comment.

At those words, Taiga came to her senses.

“Really… you adorable little brat!!”

Taiga immediately pulled me into her chest. Then, she stroked my head with tremendous vigor. I thought my hair might catch fire from the friction heat of her palm. That’s how intense it was.

“You wanted to go on a date with this big sister?”

Taiga frantically kissed my face.

“I swear… be prepared to get devoured when we get home.”

Taiga didn’t even try to hide her eyes glistening with desire.

I regretted saying anything. Honestly, I was starting to have second thoughts.

——–

Anyway, Taiga and I headed to the restaurant. It had a 4.5-star rating. At least there was a high probability it wouldn’t be a disaster.

“Damn… these names are hard to pronounce…”

Taiga sighed as she looked at the menu.

Well, there were certainly a lot of foreign words. The entire menu was a katakana paradise.

“Leave it to me, Taiga. Italian cuisine is my specialty.”

I immediately took the menu.

“This guy claims everything is his specialty. Hehehe.”

Taiga giggled.

Hey now. Seems like she doesn’t trust me.

However, it was true that I had a deep knowledge of Italian cuisine. I was most impressed by the Italian food arc in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 4. I studied Italian cuisine every day in preparation for the day I might awaken to a Stand like Pearl Jam. Of course, my studies were limited to wiki articles.

“This dish is aglio olio. In Japanese terms… it’s like stir-fried udon with garlic oil. It’s pasta that’s yellowish in color like a mutt.”

However, my explanation was crude due to my superficial research.

“Stir-fried udon, seriously? Kuhehehe! Yellowish like a mutt… you could just say it’s brown. Puhehehe!!”

Taiga trembled with laughter.

“This is… risotto. Just sticky fried rice.”

“And this is gambas. It’s like a soup dish with lots of broth, but it’s all oil. Very divisive.”

I gave my best explanation of various Italian dishes.

“So? What are we ordering?”

I immediately passed the choice to Taiga. Though somewhat crude, my explanation was perfect.

“Let’s just get tomato pasta, pizza, and striploin steak.”

Taiga chose a safe, unimaginative selection. You’re not being adventurous at all!!! At least escape the East Blue!!!

“You… Axe-Hand Morgan!!!”

If this was your choice, I shouldn’t have bothered explaining!!!

“Axe-Hand Morgan?! What kind of nickname is that for a woman?!”

Taiga immediately got angry.

What’s wrong with Axe-Hand Morgan? Do you think I’m referring to King-Cutting Morgan who sliced Vice Admiral Garp with an axe?

——–

Anyway, we ordered the safe choices as planned.

“Oh, customers. So that’s tomato pasta, pizza, and striploin steak?”

A genuine Italian came to take our order.

Snicker-!

The Italian chef gave a slight smile.

“Verry well. Enjoy your time~”

The Italian headed back to the kitchen.

“This bastard… he’s laughing at us for making such a cowardly, basic choice…!!!”

I immediately started trembling.

Our culinary choices had exposed our lack of sophistication!! I couldn’t help but feel defeated.

What an inhuman sense of defeat!!!!

“He was just smiling at customers as a courtesy!!! You’re obsessing over the strangest things?!”

Taiga objected, seemingly dumbfounded.

“I… I’m never coming back to this place. He’ll laugh at me every time…”

I immediately added this restaurant’s name to my internal blacklist.

I can hear it… the Italian chef’s mockery…!!

‘Oh~ You’re back, cherry boy. Mamma mia~’

He’ll definitely say something like that!! I’m certain!!!

“Hieeeek…!!”

Prepare for a scream ahead!!!

Smooch-!

Before I could scream, Taiga immediately sealed my mouth with her lips.

Honestly, I thought she would hit me to stop my screaming, but I didn’t expect a sudden kiss.

“Don’t scream.”

Taiga said, her face slightly flushed, seemingly embarrassed about kissing so casually in public.

“Maybe I won’t scream if you kiss me one more time?”

I said.

“Really… can’t be helped.”

Taiga shared another kiss with me.

While we were talking, the food arrived one after another.

Tomato pasta, pizza, and steak. Really safe choices.

I felt an inhuman lack of individuality that threatened to make my very existence bland.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

Taiga twirled some pasta around her fork and offered it to me.

“Aahn~”

Taiga acted cute, enduring her embarrassment.

“I should eat.”

Whatever. I immediately accepted the food from Taiga like a baby bird. Mommy!! More please!! Kieeeek!!

Since Taiga was feeding me so one-sidedly, I felt a bit guilty.

“Let me feed you too, Taiga.”

I said, sitting beside Taiga.

“No. I’m going to feed you.”

Taiga immediately disarmed me by taking away my fork and knife.

Somehow… Taiga seemed to have discovered the joy of feeding someone.

“Shota, just keep your mouth open. I’ll feed you properly.”

Taiga cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and offered it to me.

Well, what could I do? I just ate the food as Taiga gave it to me.

Still, with my hands being idle, I enjoyed this time by maintaining physical contact with Taiga.

Though I had just dismissed the safe choices, honestly, they were fine. Hmm. Safe is best.

Anyway, after enjoying our meal, we went outside.

It was disgustingly expensive. Even with splitting the bill, the damage was significant. However, I decided to think of it as a necessary expense. If it was fun, then okay.

———

Taiga and I headed to our next destination. It was supposedly a trendy café on social media.

“There are a lot of people…”

Taiga muttered, looking at the people in line.

“Want to wait?”

I asked calmly.

“No!!!”

Taiga shouted unusually loudly.

“Oh, you don’t like waiting…?”

That startled me for a moment.

“N-no… I heard on the internet that if you wait in line during your first date, you’ll break up early.”

Taiga blushed slightly and mumbled.

Ah… there is such a saying. The theory was that waiting in line for too long makes things awkward and boring, giving the overall relationship a dull impression.

There were many such sayings, like how amusement parks are forbidden for first dates.

Taiga seemed to be trying hard to maintain a good relationship with me. That was really endearing.

Then I should respect that.

“Let’s skip the café then.”

I answered coolly.

“T-then… we’ve walked around a lot… and got involved in a fight too. Let’s go somewhere quiet and rest.”

Just as I was feeling touched, Taiga immediately revealed her true colors.

“Uh… in broad daylight?”

“I’m… so tired. I feel like I’m going to faint.”

Taiga pretended to feel dizzy and staggered.

Taiga… you’re not a good actor.

“Then it can’t be helped, princess.”

However, I decided to go along with Taiga just for today. Today, I was a prince for Taiga.

Swoop-!

I immediately picked Taiga up in a princess carry.

“W-wait!! This is embarrassing…!”

Taiga’s face instantly turned red. She was the type to enjoy these things but still feel embarrassed.

“Hold on tight, princess.”

I smiled and carried Taiga to a place where we could rest. Thanks to my trained body, carrying one woman wasn’t heavy at all. If anything, she was so light that I was concerned.

Does this child… know what it feels like to have a full stomach? A famous charity organization’s advertisement played in my mind. She’s really light. I need to feed her better. I unconsciously made such a resolution.

——–

For some reason, Taiga knew of a love hotel that even minors could access, and we rented a room.

As soon as we entered the room, Taiga revealed her true colors.

After that, I was thoroughly and one-sidedly devoured by Taiga.

“She wasn’t a princess but a witch!!!!!!”

The sorrowful cry of a prince deceived by a witch echoed throughout the room.