"Ku... Kurumi!? Why are you here?"
Turning around, Shido saw the girl in her usual black dress—the most terrifying Spirit he knew, Tokisaki Kurumi.
"Kihihihi, why? To enjoy the festival, just like you, Shido-san," she replied with a smile.
"Is that so."
Hearing Kurumi's answer, Shido let out a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't here to eat him, it was fine.
"Co to think of it... a few days ago, you and Yakumo-san spent a very passionate night together, didn't you?"
Watching Shido let his guard down, Kurumi smiled and dropped an absolute bombshell.
"Eh!? H-How do you know about that... Wait! Don't tell that shadow was you!?"
Shido instantly started panicking. Back when Mikoto couldn't sleep because of the horror movie, she did ntion seeing a strange shadow.
"Mhm, that's exactly right."
Kurumi stepped closer to Shido as she spoke.
"That's no good, you know. You're my prey, Shido-san, yet you sneak into another girl's bed. Ahh, it breaks my heart. It really does."
Kurumi leaned in close, whispering seductively into Shido's ear.
"T-That's only because you scared Senpai!"
The girl's warm breath tickled his ear, making Shido's voice go weak.
"So, what should I do? Should I eat Shido-san's Spirit energy? Should I take Shido-san's virginity? Or maybe... I should eat the cotton candy Shido-san is going to buy for ?"
Ignoring Shido's defense, Kurumi continued whispering in his ear.
"C-Cotton candy? Wait..."
Realizing he had no choice, Shido bought a stick of cotton candy from a nearby stall and handed it to Kurumi.
"Kihihihi. I'll forgive you this ti, Shido-san. Well then... please take good care of yourself until the day I finally eat you."
Taking a small bite of the cotton candy, Kurumi gave a playful bow and disappeared into the crowd.
"Honestly, what exactly did that girl co here for?"
Even though he was worried about why Kurumi was here, she didn't seem like she was planning to do anything bad. Was she really just here to enjoy the festival? With that lingering question, Shido continued checking out the stalls.
"Huh? Is that..."
Suddenly, Shido spotted a large group of familiar faces gathered around a stall not too far away.
"The crew from Fraxinus! Which ans... the stall owner must be..."
Shido gave a wry smile. When it ca to the idol of the Fraxinus, it had to be his little sister, Kotori. Walking over, he saw bouncy red twin tails right in front of him.
"Ah... Onii-chan!"
Seeing Shido, Kotori's eyes lit up.
"Are you selling... candy apples, Kotori?"
Shido looked around the stall, seeing rows of candy apples that looked as glossy and perfect as rubies.
"Mhm! They're super delicious candy apples! Co on, Onii-chan, pick one!"
"I pick it myself? Alright... then I'll take this one."
Shido picked up a candy apple, peeled off the wrapper, and then...
"Wait! This is just a Chupa Chups!"
Holding it up to the light, he clearly saw that there was no apple inside at all—just a single Chupa Chups lollipop coated in a thick layer of hardened sugar. It was a Chupa Chups candy apple.
"Ooh! As expected of Onii-chan, you pulled the Grand Prize on your first try!" Kotori hopped up and down, holding two regular candy apples.
"Grand Prize? That ans you hid other things in here too, didn't you?"
Shido stared at the neat rows of candy apples. Under Kotori's ticulous planning, this stall had basically been turned into a minefield.
"Mhm! We have strawberry, hawthorn, pineapple... Oh, right! We also have durian!"
Kotori proudly showed off her masterpieces. Looking closely, the sign above the stall read: Heart Pounding Candy Apples: Russian Roulette Showdown!
"By the way, Shido-kun. I highly recomnd the Surströmming (fernted fish) flavor! Yes, the unimaginable taste hidden beneath the sweet candy coating! As expected of the Commander! Truly brilliant!" Kannazuki stepped forward, praising her enthusiastically.
All around him, the rest of the Fraxinus crew pinched their noses and took a step back.
"I absolutely do not want that flavor! And please, stay away from !" The overwhelmingly pungent sll made Shido scowl.
"Honestly, you shouldn't play with food."
Durian was one thing, but hiding fernted fish inside a candy apple was no different from finding the loaded round in Russian Roulette. Its destructive power was insane.
"I'm sorry."
Seeing Kotori obediently apologize, Shido couldn't help but sigh. It had been so long since he'd seen this side of her. His little sister, who was almost always stuck in Commander Mode, was finally showing her playful, spoiled side at the festival.
"The candy apple is really good, Kotori." He reached out and patted her head.
"Ehehe..." Kotori smiled brightly.
Carrying his "Grand Prize" from Kotori, Shido reached the very end of the food stalls. There, he saw a completely pitch black tent.
"Dark Evil God Yakisoba... What the heck is this?"
Looking at the stall's na, Shido got a very bad feeling.
"Kukuku, you have finally co to partake in our banquet, Shido!"
"Welco. Kaguya and Yuzuru's stall sells yakisoba."
Walking closer, he saw the Yamai sisters hard at work. Despite the stall's bizarre na, it had attracted quite a few custors murmuring, "Chuunibyou is so cute" or "The twins are so cute."
[As expected of Kaguya and Yuzuru.]
Watching the two of them hustle, Shido was genuinely impressed.
"First, the magic circle!"
Kaguya quickly stir-fried the noodles, then arranged them into a strange shape. The pitch black noodles looked like squid ink pasta.
"Kukuku! The dark magic circle shall summon the terrifying Ancient Evil God! Do it, Yuzuru!"
"Cooking. The atballs are ready."
Yuzuru carefully placed takoyaki balls on top of the black noodles. Whether intentional or not, pieces of octopus tentacles were sticking out of them.
"And finally, the blood of the Ancient God! Kukuku, tremble! For this is a al that only we, the Children of the Typhoon, can offer!"
Finally, Kaguya drizzled spicy red sauce over the takoyaki and handed it to Shido.
"I see... squid ink pasta with takoyaki?"
Although it looked completely sinister, it tasted surprisingly delicious. The massive contrast between its cursed appearance and amazing flavor was a really pleasant surprise.
After finishing the Yamai sisters's yakisoba, Shido checked the ti. Mikoto's Kagura dance was about to start.
"Alright, ti to go."
He headed straight toward the Kagura Hall.
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