The distance between ME Corp and Senba Academy was neither particularly far nor especially close. It was the kind of distance where taking a bus felt unnecessary, yet walking all the way would leave one slightly tired.
But Hikari Aoi, now possessing a Stigmata, naturally didn't mind such a level of exertion.
He walked briskly along the road, his thoughts wandering—thinking about the Honkai, thinking about Raiden Mei and the others—somewhat absent-minded.
"Hey~ little brother, where are you rushing off to? It's getting dark soon. If you've got nowhere to go, how about coming home with us? We'll take very good care of you~"
As a result—
On a path bathed in the colors of dusk, Hikari Aoi was stopped by three girls who looked like delinquents.
Judging by the way they stared at him intently, and the teasing, excited tone in their voices—
They didn't seem like they were after money.
What did it feel like to be targeted for that by girls?
Hikari Aoi's emotions were… complicated.
Thirty percent helplessness.
Thirty percent surprise.
And forty percent philosophical contemplation.
If he actually went along with these three girls—who were clearly delinquents, yet still quite attractive, and likely only had yuri relationships due to the scarcity of men—
Would he be at a loss… or not?
Practice was the sole criterion for testing truth.
Hikari Aoi believed that without investigation, there was no right to speak.
But unfortunately—
He wasn't in the mood for such experiments.
Compared to exploring philosophical questions with these irrelevant passersby, he cared far more about not breaking his promise to Raiden Mei.
"No thanks. I have something to do. Can you move aside?"
"You think we'd just let you go that easily after finally spotting a young, handsome boy?"
One of the delinquent girls smirked.
"Besides, you're a bit unlucky. This street is pretty secluded—no matter how loud you scream, no one's coming to save you."
After saying that, the trio let out a series of strange giggles and began stepping closer.
As expected of the Honkai world—
Girls saying things like this to a boy wasn't surprising here.
If they were rough-looking and unattractive, it would be one thing.
But from Hikari Aoi's perspective—
All three of them could be considered pretty girls.
"…Actually, the unlucky ones are you."
Although Hikari Aoi felt that his earlier self-training hadn't been particularly useful—after all, public materials only taught basic human-to-human combat, not how to fight the Dead, Honkai Beasts, or Herrschers—
This situation, at least, was within that scope.
Letting out a sigh—
Hikari Aoi suddenly burst forward with speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.
In an instant, he crossed the short distance between them, appearing behind the three girls.
Three swift strikes.
Clean and precise.
Each one landed on the back of their necks.
Without any chance to resist, the delinquent trio collapsed limply onto the ground.
Looking at them, Hikari Aoi fell into thought.
"…Is it really safe to just leave them unconscious here?"
After thinking carefully—
He shook his head.
Although there probably weren't any male criminals in this world, what if they ran into something like human trafficking or organ harvesting?
He would feel at least a bit guilty.
After all—
Being targeted by pretty girls didn't really make him feel any hostility.
And since they weren't enemies, it was only right to be a bit more considerate.
His gaze swept over the unconscious girls before settling on their sneakers.
Two minutes later—
Hikari Aoi woke them up early by pressing their philtrum points, preventing what would have been a long period of unconsciousness.
The girls slowly regained consciousness.
After glancing around at the unchanged surroundings, they stared blankly at Hikari Aoi for a while before finally snapping back to reality—
Completely unable to understand why he had knocked them out, only to wake them up again.
"You… what are you—"
"I thought about it carefully. Knocking you out and leaving you like that wasn't very considerate. For your safety, I woke you up. You should be grateful. Bye—I've got to go."
Seeing Hikari Aoi turn to leave, one of the girls finally reacted and shouted:
"You think you can just knock us out like that and walk away?! Sisters—grab him!"
The three of them stood up with momentum, ready to chase—
Only to immediately stumble and fall again after taking a single step.
"Oh, right."
Hikari Aoi's voice came from ahead as he continued walking away.
"To prevent you from causing trouble after waking up, I tied your shoelaces together with a few tight knots. Take your time undoing them—be patient."
With those final words, his figure gradually disappeared into the distance.
Only then did the girls look down at their feet—
Their shoelaces were all tied together.
With more than five tight knots.
"…That guy looked so bright and handsome, and yet he uses such underhanded tricks."
One of the girls grumbled while trying to untie the knots.
Another girl beside her spoke softly:
"Boss… I actually think he's kind of nice. We were the ones with bad intentions, but he still went this far to consider our safety. I mean… even if nothing dangerous happens, just lying there in the wind could make us catch a cold…"
"And what? Should I thank him too?!"
The leader snapped in frustration.
"Ugh, why are these knots so tight?! Help me undo them! This is so annoying!"
Five minutes later—
The shoelaces were finally untied.
The three disheveled delinquents stood up.
Their leader stared silently in the direction Hikari Aoi had disappeared for a long time, until the two girls beside her couldn't help but ask:
"Boss… should we chase him?"
"Chase? He's long gone…"
She paused, then murmured:
"Do you think… we'll run into him again?"
"Huh?! Even if we do, we still wouldn't be able to beat him. My neck still hurts…"
"…Yeah."
She let out a small sigh.
"…You're right."
"Let's go."