An hour later, on the streets of Misaki City.
Emerging from a women's clothing store, Ayaka, carrying a bag of new clothes, looked at the two people waiting for her in front of the shop.
"Sorry for troubling you both to accompany me shopping."
Ayaka hadn't come to Misaki City unprepared, but all her preparations—including her suitcase—were now left behind in a small alley in another world's Misaki City. As a result, she had no personal belongings in this world. The pajamas she wore last night after her shower belonged to Naoki, and the clothes she was wearing now were Touko's.
To avoid inconveniencing others, after breakfast, Ayaka suggested going shopping to buy some clothes.
And who accompanied her? Naturally, Naoki. Who else? Touko was too lazy to move, and Ciel had to prepare to deal with Tatari.
"No problem, it's not a hassle. We were going out anyway, right, Arcueid?" Naoki, leaning against the side of the street, said while glancing at Arcueid beside him.
After deciding to take down Tatari for ruining her plans, Arcueid had met Touko and the others under Naoki's lead—though, in truth, they already knew each other. During the incident in Misaki City, Touko and Ciel had been involved. Ayaka had also met them in her parallel world.
Though they wanted to defeat Tatari, it wouldn't appear during the day. It only showed up at night. Moreover, it was merely a phenomenon and would only fully manifest during the night of the full moon. Any attacks before then would be pointless.
So, until the night of the full moon arrived, especially during the safe daytime, some of them could only wander around Misaki City to pass the time.
For Arcueid, who wasn't familiar with human society, this kind of time on the streets was something she couldn't get enough of. Especially with Naoki, she was more than happy to keep wandering like this.
Hopping off a railing, Arcueid, with her hands behind her back, smiled and said, "Alright, now that Ayaka has bought new clothes, where should we go next?"
"Up to you. My day is entirely for accompanying you two." Naoki said, casually spreading his hands. He didn't have any particular hobbies or pastimes. If it weren't for Ayaka and Arcueid wanting to go out, he'd have spent the whole day in the living room, watching TV, scrolling on his phone, or playing on the computer.
After all, that was his only hobby.
Ayaka's response was similar. "Wherever Miss Arcueid wants to go is fine. Naoki and I will accompany you."
Initially, Ayaka had gone out just to buy clothes. Now that she had them, she had nothing else to do. While going back to the apartment with Naoki would be nice, since Arcueid was also with them, she had to consider her wishes.
Hearing that neither had their own suggestions, Arcueid clapped her hands. "Great, then please keep me company! Misaki City is actually pretty big. I've been here for two days, but I haven't even finished exploring one district—today, my goal is here."
"Here?"
Naoki and Ayaka looked around.
"This street?"
"Yeah, I want to visit every shop on this street. And if possible, the street next to it and the one across the intersection. Basically, let's hit those three places today!"
Exploring three streets in one afternoon? And every shop on each street?
Exchanging glances, Naoki and Ayaka could see a mix of shock and exhaustion in each other's eyes.
"I'm just saying… Arcueid, are you sure you have enough energy to wander around that much?" Naoki asked.
"Of course! My energy is always full! Besides, stop talking and let's go! Follow me, Naoki, Ayaka!" Arcueid said, already jogging lightly into the next shop.
Watching her enthusiastic figure, Naoki felt a nostalgic sensation, like when he lived with Mordred. From another perspective, Arcueid was still like a child.
(In that case… am I the dad, and Ayaka the mom?)
Naoki's gaze shifted slightly toward Ayaka. Whether she noticed his look or simply wanted to look at him, as he turned, Ayaka also glanced at Naoki.
"Naoki, what's up? Why are you suddenly staring at me?"
"Nothing. What about you? Why are you suddenly staring at me?"
"No… I was just thinking that Miss Arcueid really has boundless energy. If I wander around three streets with her, by the time we get back to the apartment, I probably won't want to move a finger."
In fact, in her own world, Ayaka would feel exhausted just shopping with Reines. People say women have limitless energy when shopping, so why was she different?
"In that case, tonight when we get back, want me to give you a massage?"
"A massage? Naoki, you can do that too?" Ayaka was slightly surprised.
"Not really. But I can massage your back and legs. That counts as a massage, right?"
"Oh, that's what you meant… In that case, I'll trouble you later. For now, let's catch up with Miss Arcueid—"
Before Ayaka could finish, Arcueid, who had entered the shop just a minute ago, came back out. Seeing the two still standing in the same spot, she waved her hand. "Naoki, Ayaka, why are you still there? I'm already bored with this shop. Let's go to the next one!"
"You were only in there for a minute, right? You didn't plan to buy anything?" Naoki asked.
"Nothing in that shop caught my interest."
Hearing this, Naoki looked up at the shop's sign—okay, it was a clothing store. Most shops on this street were clothing stores. It made sense that Arcueid lost interest after a minute. She probably just glanced at each outfit and left.
With her Imaginary Manifestation, she could create any kind of clothing whenever she wanted, so she didn't need to buy anything. Just looking at the styles was enough.
"If it's like this, we might finish exploring one street pretty quickly." Ayaka said, slightly relieved. If Arcueid was like Reines, spending ten minutes in every shop, it would be utterly exhausting.
With that thought, Ayaka followed Arcueid's steps. But before she left, her peripheral vision caught Naoki staring across the street.
"Naoki? What's wrong?"
"I felt like someone was over there… Well, maybe it's just my imagination. Since my senses aren't working, I'm a bit paranoid. Let's go. Where's the next shop?"
"Right here~"
Arcueid waved her hand as she walked toward another shop not far away.
Across the street, someone hidden in the crowd stared at the figures entering the shop with Ayaka and Arcueid.
"So that's Natsukawa Naoki…"
"He's a bit different from what the Headmaster described."