Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, stirring up sand between the three of us who had frozen in place since moments ago.
And the one who broke the silence, only to push the atmosphere into an even more awkward territory, was a certain pink-haired girl who never learned her lesson and subconsciously took two steps forward, causing me to stumble along with her.
"...Um, Shiroko, you know," Hoshino said, stopping in place. She coughed lightly and straightened her expression, as though trying to salvage something that had never existed to begin with, or perhaps clinging to some unrealistic possibility. "Why are you wandering around outside so late at night? What if you ran into something dangerous?"
"I was out night riding. And whether I would run into danger, I don't know. But..."
The wolf-eared girl, who had absolutely no intention of playing along, dismounted her bicycle and pushed the "sensei model" over toward us.
"Thanks to senpai, I now know that going out at night gives you the chance to witness entirely new things."
Though her tone remained as calm as ever, anyone could hear the dissatisfaction hidden within her words.
"Uwahhh! What are you talking about!? This ojisan was just doing a nighttime patrol with sensei!"
Shiroko nodded.
"Mm. I understand. Since it's a patrol, wearing a collar is only natural."
Hoshino's face instantly turned bright red with embarrassment. She raised her hand halfway before dejectedly lowering it again, probably realizing that trying to remove the collar now was already far too late. All she could do was avert her gaze from her junior while secretly tugging at the corner of my clothes.
Unfortunately for her, even though the gesture was subtle, there was no way it could escape Shiroko's notice.
As a result, the way she looked at a certain someone became even colder.
"Not only are you taking advantage of sensei's kindness and forcing him to play this shameful game with you, now you want him to lie for the sake of preserving your dignity too?"
"Hold on a second!? What do you mean forcing him!? And I only wanted sensei to help explain things. How did you immediately jump to assuming I wanted him to lie!?"
Hoshino widened her eyes in disbelief, so flustered she forgot to even be embarrassed anymore.
"Shiroko, since when did I become this kind of person in your eyes!?"
Tilting her head in confusion, Shiroko asked:
"What do you mean 'become'?"
Instantly understanding the hidden meaning, Hoshino choked on her words before immediately switching tactics.
"Uuuu... sensei, look! This ojisan is being bullied so badly by her junior!"
Fake crying, she threw herself into my arms and rubbed against me repeatedly.
That move was extremely effective against Shiroko.
Without saying a word, the wolf-eared girl frowned deeply and came over to pull Hoshino away.
And through her actions, the pink-haired Abydos girl perfectly demonstrated what it meant to become smug after gaining the upper hand.
The Hoshino who had been impatient just moments ago now simply buried herself against me and shamelessly acted spoiled, even letting out silver-bell-like laughter.
This only made Shiroko angrier, her movements becoming increasingly forceful, though all of it was ignored by the whale-like durability of Hoshino.
Caught in the middle of the two fighting over me, I tried to mediate a little while also enjoying the spectacle, but both of them were too emotionally invested already. My words were far too soft to reach their ears.
I originally thought their struggle would continue until one side eventually gave up first.
However, Hoshino's laughter suddenly stopped and was replaced by a cry of pain.
Then Shiroko froze in confusion, stepped back half a pace, and immediately moved forward again.
"Hoshino-senpai, are you okay?"
"Hiss... I'm fine, I'm fine."
Finally willing to let go of me, Hoshino waved her hand and rubbed her side.
"Geez, Shiroko, why'd you use your elbow? That hit just now was completely merciless."
As someone who wasn't directly involved, I only now realized what had happened and quickly reached out.
To rub the spot for her.
Seeing this, Shiroko's wolf ears drooped as she apologized guiltily:
"...Sorry, I accidentally... no, wait, wasn't this Hoshino-senpai's own fault to begin with?"
"Well, that's true enough," Hoshino admitted with a shrug. "But this means you've calmed down now, right, Shiroko? Sorry about that. I just made the same mistake every student makes."
Shiroko spoke quietly.
"But we promised we'd advance and retreat together, and that nobody was allowed to sneak ahead alone..."
Personally, I felt that given the Foreclosure Task Force's excellent tradition of following the example set from above, none of them really had the right to accuse the others with that line.
Clearly, though, they themselves didn't think so.
Hoshino awkwardly scratched her cheek, hesitated for a moment, then sighed.
"Sigh, then how about this? Since you saw it too, you get a share. We'll take turns. Your turn now."
The wolf ears that had just been drooping immediately shot upright.
"...Really?"
"Really."
Shiroko's eyes sparkled brightly as she immediately accepted before anyone could change their mind.
"Deal!"
The two girls who had just resolved their tiny conflict looked at one another with a sense of mutual understanding and admiration, moving even outside observers with the sincerity of their friendship.
However, there remained one issue that seemed to have been completely ignored.
Did nobody intend to ask for my opinion?
Not that I objected, but who exactly was it earlier that mocked Hoshino for taking advantage of my kindness and forcing me to play this sort of game with her?
In any case, now that an agreement had been reached, Hoshino didn't waste any time and began unfastening the pink collar around her neck.
"Hold on."
I raised a hand to stop her.
Then, under the puzzled gazes of both girls, I turned around and searched through the briefcase I had brought with me.
Very quickly, after finding what I needed, I smiled and showed it to them.
"Actually, there's no need to take turns at all."
What I held was another accessory identical to Hoshino's, except slightly larger and blue in color.
Shiroko accepted it, but instead of immediately putting it on, she shot me a questioning look.
Fortunately, I had already prepared an excuse and remained perfectly calm.
"Actually, when I went to buy them, there happened to be a buy one get one... hey, what are you doing!?"
Before I could finish explaining, Hoshino suddenly snatched away my briefcase and tossed it aside. Shiroko instantly displayed perfect teamwork by catching it and dashing away. While Hoshino blocked me, Shiroko rummaged through the bag and pulled out three more collars, green, yellow, and red.
Including the one Hoshino was currently wearing and the one Shiroko had yet to put on, there were exactly five in total.
The cold wind swept through once again, and the atmosphere became awkward once more.
Only this time, I could no longer maintain the detached mindset of someone merely enjoying the show.
Shiroko suddenly asked:
"Buy one get four?"
Hoshino smiled.
"Hehe, and the colors even match up perfectly too. What a coincidence."
"What's wrong with being prepared!?" I protested loudly. "Didn't they come in handy!? Sooner or later there'll be a day when they all get used anyway!"
Fortunately, neither of them seemed interested in teasing me any further.
"Uheh~" Hoshino giggled. "That's not impossible, I guess."
That agreement noticeably improved my expression.
Soon afterward, Shiroko put on the collar, adjusted it into a more comfortable position, then wrapped her scarf back around it before silently handing the leash to me.
And so, the late-night patrol resumed once more, now with a new member added to the group.