Chapter 7: October — Halloween

“Tsumugi-san, that… that’s my girlfriend’s cosplay, right?
No—wait, you’ve become my girlfriend, haven’t you!?” 
Shingo, who had keenly spotted Tsumugi taking part in the local shopping street’s Halloween event, came running up and started talking excitedly.

Tsumugi was dressed in a frilled maid outfit.
In her hands she held a stainless tray—and upon it rested Tsumugi’s own head, adorned with a wig and a glittering tiara.
“What kind of head do you have to come up with something like that?
…It’s a Dullahan in a maid outfit.”

“Amazing! How are you doing that?”
As Shingo tried to peer at Tsumugi’s head from every possible angle, she lifted the tray and shouted,
“Too close! Back off!”

“It’s a magic trick. A magic trick.”
A curt voice came down from above.

“How are you doing it? Please teach me!”
Still looking up, Shingo leaned in, his excitement barely contained.

“It’s a trick—I’m not gonna tell you the secret!
And back off!”
Saying that, she herself took a step back.

“Got it!
I’ll become the greatest magician in the world!
And when I do—let’s travel the world together as a husband-and-wife magic duo!
So please go out with me!”
He blurted it all out in one breath, his nose flaring with enthusiasm.

“What do you mean, ‘so’? Your sentences don’t even connect.
And for the record, that’s not something I’m aiming for, so don’t get the wrong idea.”

“Ah! Maybe humans can actually survive even if their heads come off!”
“…What?”
“I’ll try it when I get home! See you!”
Before Tsumugi could even recover from surprise, Shingo dashed off like the wind.

“It’s not okay, you hear me? Don’t you dare try it!”
Tsumugi shouted after his back as he ran away.