After talking with Nimue, Shiro eventually decided on something cute but cosy for the outfit.
For the shirt, Shiro chose a black turtleneck jumper along with a dark purple blazer. While Nimue chose a knee length white skirt and a pair of tights.
Picking out a pair of black knee-high boots with heels, Shiro gave a small twirl in front of the mirror.
"Yup looks cute." Shiro nodded with a smile.
"Do you think I should get some ribbons in my hair? Change the hairstyle a bit since it is a date." She asked curiously.
[Obviously. Lyrica has waited over 70 years for a date of course you should dress up a little. Make it worth the wait you know?] Nimue encouraged as Shiro nodded her head.
Thinking about it for a moment, Shiro decided to tie her hair up into a ponytail with a purple ribbon. Brushing her long fringe to the side, she admired her new look and smiled.
"Any more accessories I should get?"
[Hmm… nope looks good.]
Getting the thumbs up from Nimue, Shiro made her way to the door and froze up. The realisation was setting in now and that she was going out on a date.
[Don't tell me you're getting embarrassed.] Nimue blinked her eyes.
'Shut up. I don't exactly go on dates often!' Shiro clicked her tongue before quickly making sure everything was okay once more.
'Should I apply make-up? No, I should look good enough without makeup.'
Watching Shiro suddenly fret over more stuff, Nimue face-palmed.
[Just go already! You've prepared plenty. Plus, it's just a walk around the city and exploring some areas.]
'Tsk, fine.'
Sending a message to Lyrica telling her to meet up at the bottom of the tower, Shiro made her way through the corridors. A quick scan of the tower gave her all the information she needed such as the med bays and the different rooms.
Finding the elevator down was rather simple.
While on her way down, her new appearance attracted several glances her way but thankfully, they didn't bother her.
She could sense several research wings that had samples of the puppets. Since they couldn't access the codes like she could, reverting them back to the soul form and helping them was much harder. But even so, they were doing the best they could.
'Maybe I should make something that'll help them with changing the puppets. But even if I do, they still need to fight against them first.' Shiro thought to herself.
Reaching the bottom floor, she could see a large holographic map of the world displayed in the centre, showing changes in the world, their mana has shifted and so on. It shows the current location and situation of every safe house that had been marked.
Tall pillars engraved with protection runes surrounded the room as Shiro could sense that it doubled as a camouflage.
Once she made her way out of the tower, she was surprised by what she saw.
Fidgeting on the spot, Lyrica couldn't help but feel a blush creep up on her face. She was currently wearing a black asymmetrical off shoulder shirt with long sleeves. A silver necklace adorned with a turquoise gem, a pair of black jeans and some boots.
Due to the nature of the shirt, Shiro could see Lyrica's shoulder and collar along with her stomach area since the shirt was rather short.
"D-does it look weird? I think I may have gone a bit overboard." Lyrica coughed with a strong blush on her face. Feeling embarrassed from being stared at by Shiro like this, Lyrica cursed herself in her own mind for getting too excited with her choices.
Shaking her head, Shiro chuckled.
"Nope, it looks good on you. I was a bit surprised though since I haven't seen you wear something like this before."
Hearing the compliment, Lyrica felt happiness surge in her heart as she finally had a good look at what Shiro was wearing.
Seeing Shiro tie up her hair with a cute purple ribbon, Lyrica felt like she was about to die of a heart attack.
'!"£&^$!! WHY IS SHE SO DAMN CUTE!' Lyrica shouted in her mind while clutching her chest.
"Are you okay?" Shiro raised an eyebrow.
"Ahem! Err yes ahaha. Shall we get going?" Lyrica laughed nervously while trying to compose herself.
"Don't be so nervous and let's just enjoy ourselves."
Grabbing Lyrica's hand, Shiro created a 'screen' around them so that other people would ignore them. Naturally, this was done because of the 'lurkers' hiding themselves in the corner. Turning towards their hiding spot, Shiro smirked before disappearing.
Meanwhile, Lyrica felt her brain explode as she didn't expect Shiro to grab her hand out of nowhere.
One could almost see smoke coming out her head from how much her brain was working right now.
###
Suddenly losing track of Shiro and Lyrica, Nitha jumped out in frustration.
"How did she find us?!?! Stupid dragon I thought you said this was the perfect camouflage!" Nitha raged as Vuldrin scratched his head.
"It should've worked." He muttered.
"Well clearly it didn't. They're gone now! Hmph I won't give up! Let's split up and search. I will peek at Lyrica's date if it's the last thing I do!" Nitha declared as she felt like Shiro was issuing a challenge to her.
The smirk after finding out their location was the icing on the cake as it ignited Nitha's competitive spirit.
###
Once they were away from the lurkers, Shiro looked back at Lyrica and noticed that she was trying to process everything.
"Ah sorry, was it uncomfortable?" Shiro asked as she was about to pull back her hand.
"No! It's very comfortable!" Lyrica shouted as she noticed what she said and cursed herself in her mind.
'Very comfortable?!?! Did you have to say it like that???'
Seeing how nervous Lyrica was once more, Shiro couldn't help but chuckle.
"Don't be so nervous ahahaha. Now would you like to lead the way? I'm not familiar with this city after all." Shiro smiled, gesturing for Lyrica to take the lead.
Taking a deep breath, Lyrica mustered up the courage and nodded her head.
Holding onto Shiro's hand, Lyrica started to show her around the city. At first, Lyrica was still very nervous and stuttered a lot. But soon, she managed to find her confidence and the date went rather smoothly.
During this tour, Shiro could see how much effort Lyrica had put into this place. Similar to how Asharia is set up, Lyrica had tried to accommodate everyone's needs. Whether that be entertainment or jobs, the city had it all.
Naturally, there were a few times where Nitha came close to finding them, but a subtle cast of the camouflage was all she needed to hide their location. Thankfully, Lyrica was focused on Shiro so she didn't notice Nitha trying to intrude on their date.
Once the full tour of the city was finished, Lyrica bought some snacks that were unique to the world of creation and gave Shiro some to try.
"That's pretty much everything in this city. So what do you think?" Lyrica asked with a happy smile.
"It's impressive. I can tell how much care you put into this." Shiro chuckled while taking a bite of the snacks. The taste reminded her of the mana stones she used to eat when she first reincarnated into the world of destruction.
Leaning against the bridge railing, Lyrica opened her mouth.
"Honestly, I miss everyone back home. But I can't leave this world just yet. Not until I finish helping mum and dad." Lyrica smiled as Shiro froze up. Widening her eyes, Shiro turned towards Lyrica.
"The reason why I haven't gone back yet despite spending over 70 years in this place was because I found out that there was a way to reach The Watchman's locker. If I can find the entrance, there's a chance I can rescue mum and dad's soul." Lyrica explained as she clenched her fists.
"Is that so…" Shiro narrowed her eyes. She could still remember her battle, when she almost became a fallen of her own power.
Her hatred for The Watchman had never decreased. She would tear him to shreds for what he did. A million thoughts rushed through her mind but she was able to calm herself.
"We'll find her together. Let's talk to Shiro. C and find out why we shouldn't look into the deadly zones. If we can find out why, I can use my new powers to find the gateway." Shiro smiled as Lyrica nodded her head.
Seeing that Lyrica was hesitating on the spot, Shiro rolled her eyes.
"If you want to hug you can just tell me dummy." Shiro chuckled as she hugged Lyrica and patted her back. She could imagine how frustrating it was to not be able to find the gateway despite knowing her parent's soul is just on the other side. Especially when she had been this close for over 70 years.
"Say Shiro, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. What's on your mind?" Shiro tilted her head slightly as Lyrica took a step back.
Opening her mouth, she wanted to ask the question that had been on her mind all this time but hesitated. Every time she opened her mouth no words came out.
Furrowing her brows, she summoned all the courage she could muster.
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