Superficial Date for a Superficial Boy

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It was a warm morning. The sun had just peeked its head from behind the horizon.

I honestly wasn't expecting her to agree to my invitation like this.

I was standing at the fountain in the city centre. I didn't realise that the time I set was a bit too early since there wasn't anyone else there. I just made a decision based on what time the shopping centre opened.

It was almost dead silent. I could hear the pitter-pattering of the water in the large yet well-kept fountain. I had wanted to stay home and rest on my Saturday, but due to the headmaster's request, I am now standing here, wearing casual clothes, waiting for a girl.

A few minutes later, Aiko slowly walked towards me from the distance.

"Hey, Aiko."

She was wearing a short beige dress with a light blue jean coat; she also had a small handbag. Her outfit was rather aesthetically pleasing—I guess she must have some decent fashion knowledge. I was just wearing jeans and a dark green shirt which was usually my go-to when it came to casual clothes.

Now that she was my focus, I noticed that she was actually quite pretty. Her pale ivory skin was exposed between her pearl-white socks and the bottom of her dress. Her light brunette hair swayed gently as she strolled toward me. She was quite thin but not without a large chest, accentuated by the curves of her body.

I held in my emotions as I struggled to keep my eyes off of her.

"Um, hey, Oliver."

"Let's go inside, shall we?"

We walked side-by-side through the large automatic doors of the shopping centre. As I was brushed by a wave of cool air, the vibrant smell of perfume filled my nostrils. It seemed that Aiko was more prepared for this than I expected.

I made a short plan of what to do. It was a bit provocative, and a normal person would probably think that I was moving things along too fast. But I had a time limit and no extensions.

It was around 9 am in the morning. I wasn't sure whether she'd had breakfast yet or not, but that wasn't too important.

My first stop was a flower shop. Whilst it may seem tacky at; first, I received some support from the headmaster when I was planning this.

The two of us walked to the location, and we were greeted by the shopkeeper.

"Hi, how may I help you today?" he asked.

"We're just having a look around," I replied.

The two of us walked through, having a look at all of the different plants on display. I looked over at Aiko, who didn't seem too interested. However, her face was red, either due to embarrassment or because she was uncomfortable. I hoped it was the first option.

"Ah! We've actually got a special event today," exclaimed the shopkeeper.

"Oh, what is it?" I asked, hiding the fact that I already knew about this.

"We've got a new flower. It can test the compatibility of couples."

"That sounds interesting," to be honest. It wasn't that interesting.

He brought a pot over to us. Inside the pot were a few flowers which were yet to bloom. He pulled one out and handed it to us.

"Both of you hold onto it. If it blooms, that's a sign that your love will blossom."

Aiko and I each held part of the stem.

We watched as the flower slowly began to open.

After a few seconds, a bright orange flower was exposed from the green bulb.

"An orange flower means that you will have a happy relationship."

I'm sure it does.

I looked over at Aiko, who was more surprised than anything.

Espers really can do anything these days, even forcing a flower to bloom.

With that, I took the flower, and the two of us made our way back into the main walkway of the shopping centre. From what I could tell, Aiko was a little bit looser now, but as expected, the flower trick didn't have too much effect on her. That didn't matter too much, though.

"Aiko, is there anything you want to do?"

"Um, n-not really...?"

I figured.

It was pretty obvious that she wasn't super interested in this date. My strategy to get her to come was pretty malicious. I guess I'd have to up the pressure if I wanted something to happen.

"Hey, Aiko, I like your outfit."

"Thanks, yours isn't too bad either," she still had an icy air around her.

I led her to the next stop on this date. It was an ice cream shop. It wasn't just any ice cream store. It was the most prestigious and expensive one in the entire town. Usually, I wouldn't have anywhere near enough money to consider going to it. However, I was quite graciously given some allowance by the headmaster.

We were greeted by a professionally-dressed attendant in a black suit and white shirt.

"Hi, do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, it's under 'Oliver'."

He looked down at his clipboard as he checked for my name.

"Ah, I see you here. You're at table 6. Someone will attend to you soon."

Aiko followed behind me as I walked to the back of the store. I didn't even realise that the headmaster had reserved the VIP seat. I guess she really had a lot of 'disposable' income. The two of us took a seat as she took down her lap awkwardly.

I would've thought an A-rank esper would have more experience with this type of high-dining, but it seemed not. The two of us chose the ice cream we wanted and placed our orders with the server.

Now was the time to talk to her.

"Aiko, you were part of the Ideal Human Project, right?"

"If you're talking about the Human Realiser Project, then yes, all of us were a part of it."

"Then you've heard the story about Misery, I assume."

"What story...?"