Kitasan Black and Almond Eye both froze for a moment. Almond Eye blinked, a strange look entering her eyes.
"Boyfriend energy...? But..."
She looked Kitasan Black up and down beside her.
"Senior Little Kita... is a girl..."
"Hmm, boyfriend energy..."
After recovering from her surprise, Kitasan Black looked thoughtful, then nodded with a smile.
"It sounds pretty nice. And... I think Diamond-chan has said that about me before. Maybe some other friends have too.
"I guess it means they feel especially at ease when they're with me."
"Eh? Is that so...?"
Almond Eye was surprised, but after thinking it over carefully, she nodded in agreement.
"I think... that's true. When I'm with you, Senior, there are so many things I don't need to worry about. You get everything done right away and even plan ahead of time, just like on this outing.
"Right, Mikki?"
She instinctively asked Mikki Rocket, but received no response. Almond Eye could not help turning toward her in confusion.
"Mikki...?"
"Mm... Ah? Y-yes, sorry, my mind wandered for a moment..."
As though snapping out of deep thought, Mikki Rocket hurriedly smiled.
"What were we talking about again...? Ah, right, I think it's almost our turn... I mean, it's our turn to buy taiyaki!"
As she spoke, she pointed at the shop in front of them.
Following her gesture, Kitasan Black and Almond Eye realized that, while they had been chatting, the three of them had indeed reached the little shop's counter. The owner was already looking at them with a gentle, questioning expression.
They quickly ordered three red bean paste taiyaki. Once they were ready, Kitasan Black took them, hissed at the heat, then carefully handed them to Almond Eye and Mikki Rocket.
"Here, they're ready. But don't rush to eat them yet—they're really hot..."
The