On a certain day in April.
"It's a little depressing having two men shop for
rings in Ginza"
Toujou Basara can hear Takigawa by his side
complain as the two of them wait at a crosswalk.
The two of them are in a first-class neighborhood
in the center of town.
At this most luxurious crosswalk of Japan,
"Don't say that. The number of people who
know about me and the girls are limited. And I
don't have a girl to accompany me to shop."
"I think Sheila-dono or Lucia-dono would be
more than happy to help. If you had told them, they
would rush over from the demon realm to here"
"I have gotten plenty from them… I don't want
to impose ring shopping on them too"
Besides, says Basara.
"With how we've tied the vow, we will be
together for life… It's a ring for that purpose. I
would be troubled if they add in some "charm" or
"arousal" effect into it"
"That's true… If it's those two, they'd consider
you and add that kind of effect into it"
"That's why. I decided not to ask them"
"And so, the ball is in my court huh… Damn"
"Don't grumble so much about it. Because of
you, I was able to finish my shopping. I owe you
one, Takigawa."
"That's fine. Anyways, where are we going now?"
"A sushi shop I've booked. We talked about it
before, right?"
"Really… I thought you wouldn't go for it. That
shop is hard to get into, right? You would need
someone with inside connections."
"My old man worked for them as a photographer
before. The boss liked my old man's work, so they
gave a special number for reservations"
"He's so strong he's known as a war god, but he's
also a top-class photographer… He seriously seems
like a monster"
As Takigawa speaks, the light turns green and
they begin to walk.
"Well, since you've gotten it, I'd take it gratefully.
You had the shops in mind, so I'm glad we could
get it done without walking around too much.
When will the rings be finished?"
"In about a month. They're simple in design, so
all the sizes should be available in their storage"
The reason why they can't just buy it is because
they have engraving on it.
Even if it's a ready-made ring, it'll make it one of
a kind.
"As it is, it seems like there's a lot of weddings in
June, so they have a lot of orders around this
period"
"I see…"
Takigawa says softly, understanding.
"—By the way, how many rings did you buy?"
He grins cheekily as he asks the question, and in
exchange Basara smiles softly.
And then –he says, in an almost prideful way.
"…Well, I wonder how many rings it would be?"