As I walked with Kaori toward Suiren, I realized we hadn't actually settled on a plan for the rest of the day. Since we were already in the Friendly City, a part of me wanted to do some sightseeing, but I also didn't want to push Kaori if she was feeling drained.
I could have gone around by myself, but that felt like a missed opportunity.
"Oh, I know. Kaori, would you like to watch a movie with me?"
"A movie? Have Recording Magic Tools advanced that much? Last I heard, three minutes of footage was the absolute limit."
As Kaori pointed out, Recording Magic Tools—the equivalent of video cameras in our world—were still very much in their infancy.
Based on what I’d heard from my mother and father, Magic Crystals were excellent for storing mana but ill-suited for video data. Even the highest-purity crystals couldn't hold much because they were constantly absorbing magic power from the air, which corrupted the stored data. Protecting the recordings required additional magic formulas that ended up eating all the available storage space.
Consequently, developers needed to create something like a BD or a similar storage medium. Various merchant guilds were currently racing to find a solution.
The profits for the first guild to succeed would be astronomical, but the technical hurdles were high. Even Kuro had been racking her brain over it, so it seemed unlikely to happen without some kind of new material or processing technology.
Regardless, that had nothing to do with my current suggestion. Recording Magic Tools were completely unrelated to why I’d invited Kaori.
"No, it's not like that. It’s understandable that you wouldn’t know, but Canalis gave me a tablet as a birthday present. It lets me watch movies from our original world. As long as I pay the fee, I can see anything from the latest releases to the old classics."
"Wait, really?! You can even see the latest movies?! I’m so jealous! I actually really love movies. There were a few romance movies I’d been wanting to see that hadn’t even come out yet when I was summoned... and there are some I just want to see again. Wait, can I really watch them too?"
"Yeah. It can project an SF-esque monitor into the air or display the film on a wall like a projector. The picture and sound are both incredibly clear."
"That’s amazing! I want to see it! If it's all right with you, Kaito, let’s watch it at my shop!"
Kaori spoke with a bright smile, looking far more excited than I’d anticipated. When I thought about it, this was likely her first chance to watch a movie in over a decade. It only made sense that she’d be thrilled.
She had mentioned before that she liked going to plays, so she clearly enjoyed narrative entertainment. Whatever the reason, I was just glad she was happy.
"Should we head straight to the restaurant then?"
"Yeah... Actually, wait! Since we’re watching a movie, we have to buy snacks!"
"Good point. It wouldn’t feel right without them. You’ve really gotten into the spirit of this, haven’t you?"
"Of course! It’s a movie! Don't get me wrong, I love the plays here, but it's been so long that I'm genuinely giddy. This world is convenient enough thanks to magic tools that I don't feel like I'm missing out on much... but when it comes to entertainment, it just doesn't compare to home. No smartphones, no PCs, no internet. Those games we played on your birthday were so much fun because they felt nostalgic."
"I see what you mean. Our original world definitely wins in the entertainment department. This world will keep developing, I'm sure, but that's just how it stands for now."
I suspected that part of the lag was due to a world-scale restriction on reproducing Earth's mechanical technology, a contract between Shiro and Machina.
Now that those restrictions were being relaxed, Recording Magic Tools and other new technologies were finally beginning to emerge. Perhaps a magic-based version of the internet would appear eventually, but that was still a long way off.
"Anyway, you can choose the movie, Kaori."
"Thank you! Wow, I can't wait. What should I pick? A new release I missed? Or an old favorite? This is hard... Do you have a favorite movie, Kaito?"
"Most of the ones I like are pretty old. I guess the things I saw as a kid left the strongest impression. For example..."
"Oh, those are classics! They used to show those on television all the time. I remember those well. And then there's..."
We continued chatting excitedly about our favorite movies as we made our way to buy snacks. It had been a spur-of-the-moment suggestion, but seeing her this happy made the invitation more than worth it.
Serious-senpai: "...So, the movie date has begun?"
???: "YES."
Serious-senpai: "W-Wow..."