After finishing breakfast, they arrived at the electronics and digital section.
It had only been a few days since they last came here, and now they were buying new phones again—not just for himself, but also one for Ikaros.
"Megumi, what's your number?"
"Ah? Let me check, it's..."
"OK, Ikaros, if I'm not by your side—"
"Master, are you going to leave me?"
"No, it's just that there might be special circumstances. If you run into any problems, feel free to contact Megumi. She's always considerate and attentive to those around her. She'll definitely help you. She's an extremely kind girl with a great personality."
"Ugh, you saying it like that doesn't make me happy at all. You're basically treating me like a servant, Yazuki-kun."
Megumi put down her phone, and her usually emotionless face showed a trace of annoyance.
"Not at all. Megumi, you're calm, rational, gentle, and approachable. You're easy to get along with and always composed. In a way, you're the ideal wife type in my eyes."
If this were said to an ordinary girl, it would probably be enough to make her quite flustered. Normally, a guy wouldn't say something that direct unless he was confessing his feelings.
As for Yazuki, the one making such remarks—he had no reservations whatsoever, since Megumi wasn't the type to be bothered by that kind of thing. Still, her subtly surprised expression on that pale face made it amusing to watch.
"Ah?"
"But, what a shame. If only you had some anime-girl attributes, I'd totally chase after you. But you're just a slightly cute, realistic girl—not my type."
Finally, Yazuki spread his hands in a dramatic gesture, expressing deep regret.
*Translator san on the side silently fuming with rage*
"Hey now, if you keep saying stuff like that, I might get angry."
She said that, but still maintained her usual calm demeanor—not a hint of emotional reaction—
Wait, Yazuki noticed something—Megumi's expression shifted ever so slightly into a faint, smiling squint. The atmosphere she gave off instantly changed. Her usual unremarkable presence suddenly became powerful and oppressive.
For a moment, it was like he saw the image of a demon queen named "Kato" behind her.
In an instant,
The surrounding mood visibly changed.
In this pastel and bright-colored space, the air was filled with floral and soapy scents. That's because they were currently in the girls' merchandise section.
Clothing, accessories, socks, kitchen goods, and of course, fashionable lingerie filled the place—definitely not somewhere a guy alone should linger.
At a women's fashion store, a girl with a bob haircut pulled along another girl with long, unevenly layered pink hair tied into two long braids with red ribbons.
"Let's try that fitting room."
"Mm."
The pink-haired girl followed the black-haired girl, occasionally glancing back as if expecting someone to appear.
As they passed by a fitting room—
"Geez, why are we picking clothes now? Are you even listening to me?"
"What's the rush? Since we lost track of them, we might as well enjoy ourselves. Still, that woman—she's definitely not an ordinary girl."
"Huh? What's so special about her? Isn't she just a girl with no presence?"
"You don't get it. The ones who seem most ordinary and unnoticeable are the most dangerous. I'm sure we were already exposed back at the station. We probably got spotted again just now and that's why we lost them!"
"Huh?..."
This conversation came from the fitting room they just passed. Katou paused slightly as she passed, then continued walking into another fitting room.
"Eh? Where did it go?"
"What's wrong, Megumi?"
"My phone's missing?"
"Huh?"
"Ikaros, could you lend me your phone? I'll call mine. It should be nearby, and if it rings, we'll be able to hear it."
"Okay~"
However, the call only showed as "already in progress."
...
As the fitting room curtain opened, Yazuki's vision was assaulted by the overwhelming image of a girl in a sukumizu-style maid outfit.
The slightly undersized, tight-fitting maid swimsuit clung to the girl's overly voluptuous figure, accentuating every curve. Especially those beautifully shaped legs, wrapped in lacy, over-the-knee stockings, sent intense signals to Yazuki's brain, which was already working at full capacity and was now on the verge of overheating.
Behind the girl were delicate, pink-colored angel wings. They seemed to twitch shyly under Yazuki's gaze and even shrunk slightly.
His eyes moved up to her face.
Due to her weak emotional expression, it was hard to see any shyness on her doll-like, beautiful face. Instead, there was only a look of confusion—slightly blank and cute.
"Master, do I look strange like this?
The girl—Ikaros—asked in a puzzled tone.
There was no denying it. The contrast between her appearance and personality hit Yazuki's buttons way too hard. A stream of heat ran from his nose.
Then, the ringtone of a phone brought Yazuki back from his fantasy.
Yes, everything up to this point had just been his delusion. In reality, he had just finished buying movie tickets and was walking toward the clothing store.
Come to think of it—what if the normally calm and emotionless Megumi wore that kind of outfit too? Would she act shy? Probably not. Then again, she would never wear something like that… right?
Still, for some reason, Yazuki suddenly found himself more curious about how Megumi would look in that kind of outfit than Ikaros.
Purely out of curiosity—like a cat's curiosity.
The phone was still ringing. Who was calling? Could it be Ikaros? That was likely.
He pulled out his phone, only to see it was a call from Megumi. He answered, but there was only silence on the other end.
Just as he was about to speak, a voice came through—not like someone speaking directly into the mic, but rather sounds picked up by the phone's surroundings.
"...Utaha, about that airhead pink-haired girl next to dumb Yazuki…"
"...Who knows... as for that scumbag…"
The conversation was muffled and unclear, but as it continued, Yazuki twitched uncomfortably.
He recognized the voices. Wait, did that senpai just call him "scumbag"? That tone of disgust with a teasing twist?
So that graceful and elegant senpai from the other day was just putting on an act to mess with his innocent heart?
And why "scumbag"? That name sounded familiar. Wait a sec—wasn't that what that pig-headed girl always called him?
Come to think of it, Kasumi Utako and Erika Kashiwagi seemed to know each other. They had ganged up on him before.
Kasumigaoka Utaha? Kasumi Utako?
Hmm? Another call came in—it was Ikaros.
He answered.
"Hello? Yazuki-kun? I seem to have lost my phone. Could you help me find it? I think I dropped it in the clothing store. If it's still ringing, you should be able to hear it if you stand near the entrance."
The caller wasn't Ikaros, but Megumi. Her usual pale tone carried a hint of frustration. Her words left Yazuki momentarily stunned.
What a coincidence…