Seeing Shido disappear into the crowd, pulling the hand of the girl in the gorgeous dress, Koushi and Tonomachi Hiroto exchanged a look, their eyes burning with the flames of "The Single Aristocrat's Fury"!
"Boss! Could you hold these for us!"
Koushi shouted toward the owner of their usual small shop. Without waiting for a reply, the two tacitly dropped the large and small bags of groceries they had just bought right by the shop entrance and bolted out like unleashed wild dogs.
The moment he burst out of the shop, Koushi, quick as a flash, snatched up the two brooms leaning against the wall and tossed one to Hiroto.
Wielding their "long-handled weapons," the two men's momentum instantly climbed another notch!
"Aaargh—!!! Shido, you bastard!"
Koushi brandished the broom, his expression ferocious like a demon from hell, veins seemingly bulging on his forehead as he let out a soul-shattering roar toward the direction Shido had vanished.
"How could you secretly pick up such a gorgeous girl! And one wearing a dress! Where is the justice in this world!"
Tonomachi Hiroto was equally "vicious-looking," joining the roar:
"That's right! You owe us! You absolutely must treat us! Atone for this sin with all your cherished cooking! This is the most disgraceful betrayal of our Sacred Bachelors' Alliance! Unforgivable!"
Shouting "Traitor," "Purification," and "Fire," the two men swung their brooms, charging through the shopping street crowds like two human whirlwinds, attracting stares from passersby who scrambled to get out of the way.
Their twisted facial expressions made them look exactly like the Tea-Drinking Berserkers who had crossed over from the set of *Daily Lives of High School Boys*, brimming with exaggerated comedy and the peculiar, subtle camaraderie unique to high school students.
Shido, desperately pulling Tohka and running for his life, glanced back at the horrifying scene and was utterly terrified.
"What is going on with you two today?! Why are you so persistent—!"
Shido's voice was choked with tears. He was completely unable to grasp the Understanding of why his good friends, with whom he usually joked around, had transformed into such terrifying pursuers today for such an incomprehensible reason.
This level of persistence was even more intense than the AST hunting a Spirit!
In stark contrast to Shido's panic was Tohka, whom he was pulling along.
She was initially bewildered, but soon, the feeling of being chased, coupled with the rich, colorful expression of panic mixed with helplessness on Shido's face, made her find the situation extraordinarily novel and... entertaining.
"Heh heh..."
Tohka couldn't help but let out a small laugh, her purple eyes curving into crescents.
She did not sense any genuine malice or killing intent from the two ferocious-looking, shouting humans behind her.
Instead, their exaggerated, theatrical "anger," and Shido's extreme reaction to it, seemed to her like a vigorous "game" she had never experienced before.
The feel of the wind, the speed of their run, the tightly gripped wrist, and the noisy "chase" behind them... all of it brought her a simple, pure joy.
She even slightly adjusted her stride to match Shido's speed, making the "escape" smoother, and the smile on her face grew increasingly radiant.
"Shido! Run a little faster! They're going to catch us!"
Tohka even urged him on with a touch of excitement, treating the whole affair entirely as a thrilling recreational activity.
Shido: "..."
"Whose side are you even on?! And why do you look like you're enjoying this so much?!"
And so, a strange spectacle unfolded on the shopping street: a blue-haired boy pulling a purple-haired girl in a gorgeous dress "fleeing" ahead, his face etched with utter despair.
Behind them, two boys holding brooms, their faces hideous like demons, chased relentlessly, loudly proclaiming "Betrayal" and "Purification."
Yet the girl being pulled along was smiling happily, as if she were playing some sort of enjoyable game.
This chaotic yet energetic daily (?) interlude provided an absolutely unforgettable prelude to Shido and Tohka's first "date."
On the Fraxinus, they were likely about to be thrown into chaos once more due to these sudden stalkers and Tohka's silent manifestation.
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