Because he had spent too long talking with Eriri, by the time Sato returned to the club room, everyone had already left.
After picking up his commuter bag, Sato headed toward the apartment.
The sky was filled with fiery clouds, and the afterglow of the setting sun painted it in dazzling colors, as splendid as a dream.
The distance from the private comprehensive high school to Aoyama Apartments was not far, only about a ten-minute walk, so Sato was not in a hurry to get home.
It was just that at this hour, buying vegetables was no longer possible. He could only eat outside first before going back…
Hmm?
Sato suddenly remembered that his second brother's family was now living upstairs. Maybe he could go and get a free meal?
After thinking it over, he quickly dismissed the idea.
At this hour, his sister-in-law had probably already finished cooking. If he went now, there likely wouldn't be enough portions.
"So I can only eat outside before heading back? What a pity Yukihira Restaurant is closed, otherwise that would have been a good choice."
Sato muttered to himself, unable to help sighing.
"Woof woof!"
"Y-you think I'm scared of you? Who do you think you are!"
As he walked, the sound of barking and a girl's tense voice suddenly came from the intersection ahead.
What's going on?
Sato's expression shifted slightly as he quickened his pace toward the corner.
At the intersection, to the right, he saw a white dog and a red-haired girl.
The red-haired girl stood there, nervous and frightened, confronting the dog in front of her, tightly clutching a melon bread in her hand.
"That uniform… is from Maiten High School?"
He recognized the uniform the girl was wearing, since Gabriel and Vignette wore the same style and color.
Sato did not act rashly. He stood at the corner and quietly observed.
The white dog facing the red-haired girl was likely a stray from the area. He had seen it around many times before. It had always been well-behaved and had never bitten anyone, and nearby residents occasionally fed it.
The white dog wagged its tail as it looked at the red-haired girl. It did not seem like it intended to attack her.
"No! This is my last melon bread!"
Satania looked at the dog in front of her with fear as she spoke. You already stole my bread this morning, are you going to take my last one too?
"Woof woof!"
The white dog barked at her. Thinking it was about to attack, Satania instinctively stepped back a few paces.
But after she steadied herself, she realized the dog had not made any move.
She immediately felt embarrassed and annoyed. Stepping forward with her right foot, she waved her hand grandly and pointed at the dog. "Do you know who you're facing? Before you stands the future ruler of Hell, the great demon Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell. Now step aside at once!"
"Woof woof!"
Not only did the white dog not retreat, it seemed to think the girl was playing with it. Its tail wagged even more happily, and it even stuck out its pink tongue, staring at her with bright eyes.
"Damn it! It's not working?!"
Looking at the increasingly bold "enemy" in front of her, Satania felt a bit afraid. She hugged the melon bread tightly.
This was her dinner for today. She absolutely could not let the enemy in front of her take it!
Watching this scene from not far away, Sato felt speechless. Could this somewhat silly-looking girl also be a chuunibyou?
Seeing that the "enemy" would not budge, Satania thought for a moment and decided to retreat for now, choosing to take a detour back to the apartment.
"Hmph!"
She snorted, then pointed at the white dog with imposing force. "I'll let you off this time. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"
After delivering her threat, Satania decisively turned and fled.
"Woof woof!"
Hearing the barking from behind, Satania instinctively turned her head, only to see the white dog happily running toward her. Her eyes widened, her expression turning to terror.
"W-what are you trying to do?!"
She stepped back a few paces, but accidentally tripped over her own feet and fell onto the ground with a thud.
"Ow!"
The pain from her backside brought tears straight to her eyes. She held her bottom, feeling extremely wronged.
Even Sato's eyelid twitched. That had to hurt!
The hard road was secondary. The key point was that when the red-haired girl fell, her short skirt had lifted slightly, and she had landed bottom-first!
"D-don't come any closer!"
Satania's voice trembled as she looked at the white dog slowly approaching.
The dog's originally small figure suddenly grew terrifyingly large in her eyes, like the legendary three-headed hellhound Cerberus walking toward her.
The white dog stopped in front of her, then slowly lowered its head. Following its movement, Satania looked down as well, and her expression changed drastically.
"My melon bread!"
The white dog picked up the melon bread in its mouth, glanced at Satania, then quickly turned and ran off into the distance.
Holding her sore backside, Satania raised a hand toward the direction the dog ran, tears streaming down her face as she cried out at the top of her lungs.
"My melon bread!!"
Her voice was so sorrowful that anyone who heard it could feel the deep grief within.
"Waa… waaah…"
The red-haired girl sat in the middle of the road, bursting into loud sobs. Large, crystal-like tears rolled down her cheeks, and no matter how she wiped them, they would not stop.
She actually started crying just like that?!
Sato stared at the scene, dumbfounded. After a long moment, he could no longer hold back.
He quickly stepped out from the corner and walked over to the red-haired girl. She seemed completely unaware of his arrival, still crying loudly about how her melon bread was gone.
Since when did melon bread carry so many human emotions?!
Sato felt a headache coming on. He crouched down and asked, "Are you okay?"
The red-haired girl seemed startled when she looked at him, then hurriedly wiped her tears. But no matter how she tried to control herself, the tears kept falling in large drops.
So she simply stopped trying to hide it and cried openly, "My melon bread was stolen…"
Sato's expression stiffened, his head pounding…