Boing boing~
Sora only felt as if the sound of dancing slimes echoed in his ears. His line of sight was distorted by an indescribable gravitational pull, leaving only one thought in his mind:
"The moonlight is so white..."
If she were wearing her usual clothes, naturally there would be no fear of exposure. But Anna was currently wearing a boy's button-up shirt, which was already very loose. Now, bowing for the sake of delicious food, in her completely unguarded state, the girl's softness was instantly laid bare.
"..."
Girls are always very sensitive to a boy's gaze. Although Sora's gaze only lingered for a single second, Anna still noticed. She hurriedly straightened up, her pretty face flushing crimson as she covered her chest.
"Two dishes. Tell me when you've decided, Anna." Sora quickly spoke up to break the silence.
"Then I'll have to think about it very carefully..."
Anna's pretty face blushed slightly, tacitly skipping over the awkwardness from just now.
The two soon arrived at an intersection. Sora stopped walking. Seeing that Anna was still foolishly walking forward, he swiftly reached out his right hand and grabbed Anna's wrist.
"Watch the red light."
"Ah... I forgot." Anna hurriedly stuck out her delicate pink tongue and lightly patted her chest. "Thank goodness Sora was beside me, otherwise it would have been dangerous."
That was a lie.
In fact, Anna hadn't forgotten to watch the red light; she merely pretended not to notice, intending for Sora to pull her back.
Even though I'm not a Witch and have no magic power that needs Sora's help to purify, I totally want to be close to him too!
As they were talking, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred on the opposite side of the road, drawing their attention.
A housewife returning home late was standing at the intersection with an elementary schooler, waiting for the red light. The elementary schooler was holding a soccer ball. Somehow, the soccer ball suddenly dropped and rolled into the middle of the road.
The elementary schooler subconsciously ran to retrieve the soccer ball. At the same time, a car happened to be speeding towards them from a distance...
"Watch out!"
Anna subconsciously cried out in alarm.
The next second.
A blonde girl suddenly appeared. Dashing to the elementary schooler's side at incredible speed, she scooped up the child with one arm. Simultaneously, she hooked her right toe, flicking the soccer ball straight up into the air, catching it firmly in her hand.
Whoosh...
The car roared past, the resulting slipstream fluttering the girl's hair and skirt. Her radiant blonde hair sparkled under the lights, making her look like an angel descended to earth.
"S-So cool!"
Beside Sora and Anna, there were also two middle schoolers waiting to cross the road. Seeing the scene just now, both middle schoolers exclaimed in amazement.
But only Sora knew that Mahiru hadn't been standing at the intersection just now. Instead, after spotting the danger, she activated the Time Stop, jogged over from a distance, then ended the Time Stop and appeared to save them.
"Eh, that girl is Shiina-san?" Anna widened her eyes in surprise. "Why would she appear near Sora's house?"
Sora silently answered in his heart. "It's completely normal, because Mahiru-san lives right next door..."
"That was so dangerous just now."
"Thank goodness no one was hurt."
"That blonde girl is super cool."
"It's decided, she is the absolute coolest girl in the world, bar none!"
"..."
Hearing the discussion of the two middle schoolers, Anna felt a bit indignant. She turned to look at Sora, secretly poking him with her finger.
"Hey, hey, I'm really cool too, right?"
The two middle schoolers turned to look at her words, then looked away without hesitation.
Pfft—
Anna felt as if she had taken an arrow to the knee, almost dropping to one knee.
So painful.
That look of disgust just now was super heartbreaking, alright!
"Anna is very cool too," Sora softly comforted her.
"Sora, say no more..." Anna was disheartened, her very art style seemingly turning completely grayscale. "I've always been this lame anyway..."
At this moment, Anna suddenly felt the urge to write a diary entry.
Encountered Angel-sama on the way home. Fought with all my might but couldn't win. Tragic, tragic, tragic...
As they spoke, the light turned green.
Sora and Anna crossed the road together, happening to run into Mahiru in the middle of the street.
"Good evening, Shiina-san." Anna had already composed herself, and a bright smile reappeared on her pretty face. "I didn't expect to run into you here."
"Good evening, Yanami-san, Izumi-kun."
Mahiru looked up, her voice gentle, wearing her standard social sweet smile. Her gaze lingered on Sora for a brief second before subtly moving away.
"Good evening."
Sora gave a slight nod, greeting her casually.
Clearly, Mahiru didn't want to appear too familiar in front of others.
"Shiina-san, you were super cool just now." Anna didn't hold back her praise and compliments at all. "I didn't even see clearly when you appeared."
"I was standing in the shadows just now. If it were you, Yanami-san, you would definitely be very cool too..."
Mahiru still maintained her gentle smile.
After a brief, casual chat, the two parties quickly parted ways.
Crossing the road, Anna quietly fell silent. With her left arm crossed over her chest and her right hand supporting her chin, her expression was serious, and she didn't say a word.
Sora felt inexplicably guilty.
(Could she have discovered my relationship with Mahiru-san?)
(Probably not.)
(We only exchanged greetings from start to finish. Besides, even if Anna really did notice something, there's no need for me to feel guilty, right?)
"What are you thinking about, Anna?"
As they were nearing Anna's house, Sora finally couldn't help but break the silence.
"Eh?"
Anna snapped back to reality and tilted her head in response.
"I'm thinking about what to eat tomorrow."
Sora: "..."
You were actually just thinking about such a trivial matter?
Just deciding what to eat tomorrow, why did you agonize over it for so long!
Sora exhaled helplessly. "How about Cola Chicken Wings?"
Anna's eyes sparkled brightly.
"I want to eat that!"
Sora added, "Do you want Mapo Tofu?"
Anna raised a hand and wiped the corner of her mouth.
"I super want to eat that!!!"
"Very well, no need to agonize anymore." Sora said straightforwardly. "I'll prepare these two dishes tomorrow."
Anna hesitated. "But I haven't ordered a single dish yet..."
"Then should I scrap the two dishes I just mentioned?"
"Don't do that!"
Anna pressed her hands together and looked over pitifully.
"Let me order one more dish, please?"
That moist gaze, resembling a Nara deer begging a tourist for crackers, was truly impossible to refuse.
Sora remained expressionless. "This is really the last dish."
"Ehehe~"
A bright smile instantly blossomed on Anna's pretty face. Even the dim streetlights seemed to brighten.
"I knew Sora was the best."
Sora urged, "Hurry up and say what you want to eat."
"Umm..." Anna extended a slender, jade-like finger, gently tapping her delicate lips, her expression hesitant. "How about grilled Pacific saury?"
"I agree." Sora stopped walking and looked at the single-family house in front of them. "Now, Anna, you can think about how to explain things when you get inside."
"Eh... we're already at my house?"
The happy smile on Anna's face quietly froze.