They decided to refocus and get on with the movie. Kaito walked toward the wall and pressed his palm against it. Immediately, the furniture began to slide across the floor, and the room’s configuration shifted into a layout perfectly suited for watching a film projected onto the wall.
"Wait... what just happened?" Kaori asked, blinking in surprise. "I thought this world was purely fantasy, but is there some SF-esque technology involved too?"
"No, this is definitely a fantasy thing. When I touch the wall and think of 'Theater Mode' in my head, the room rearranges itself to treat the wall like a screen. It’s just a built-in function."
"I see... and, uh, can I just ask? Why on earth did you decide to install a feature like that when you were building your house?"
"Ah, well, Alice put a lot of stuff in here when she built it. There are still plenty of functions I don't even know about... but Theater Mode was added very recently."
"You can just add a feature that slides furniture around after the fact?"
"Well, the one who installed it is omniscient and omnipotent, so..."
"This boy... he's as far beyond common sense as ever," Kaori muttered, looking at him with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.
Just as Kaito said, the Theater Mode function was a recent addition provided by Canalis to make the tablet she had gifted him more convenient to use.
Kaito didn't really understand the underlying mechanism or the power source. According to Canalis, it operated on 'God Power,' making it a technology unknown to this world—it wasn't even considered a magic tool. However, between the gate in his room and the special multidimensional space in the backyard, Kaito’s home was already filled with items that defied the logic of this world because Shallow Vernal had loosened the restrictions. It was a bit late to start worrying about it now.
"Anyway, let's just watch," Kaori said, shaking off her confusion. "I picked the last one, so you choose this time, Kaito-kun. I'm curious to see what you'll pick."
"I understand. Since the last one was a story-driven romance, how about something with more action?"
"Sounds good! I like the big action blockbusters too."
As Kaito began browsing the tablet, Kaori sat on the sofa as prompted. She stole a glance at him while a thought occurred to her.
(Wait... where should I sit? How much distance is appropriate? We’re sitting on the sofa together, but what’s 'normal' for us? We aren't lovers, so it would be weird to be too close, right? But it also seems rude to sit way off on the edge when we're supposed to be watching together. I-I guess I'll stay right here and leave the rest to Kaito-kun.)
Since this was her first time sitting side-by-side on a sofa with a man, Kaori had no idea how to measure the distance.
Her dilemma stemmed from her lack of experience with romance, but whether leaving it to Kaito would result in an 'appropriate' distance was another matter entirely.
Kaito did have plenty of experience sitting on sofas with women, but his primary reference point was Kuromueina. Since Kuro had kept him at an extremely close physical distance since the moment they met, Kaito had grown to believe that such proximity was standard.
"Oh, Kaori-san, how about this one? It’s pretty famous, but I haven't seen it yet."
"Haeh? Oh, yeah... that one won some awards, didn't it? I know the title, but I've never actually seen it, so that works out well."
Having found a candidate, Kaito leaned toward Kaori to show her the tablet's screen.
(Wait... isn't this a little close? He moved in so naturally that I couldn't even react. T-This is a bit much... isn't this the kind of distance only lovers have?! N-No, he’s just showing me the screen, that's all.)
In her inexperience, Kaori agonized over whether the current distance—not quite touching, but close enough to share the glow of the screen—was acceptable.
"It looks like they have both subtitled and dubbed versions. Which do you prefer?"
"I think I’d prefer the dubbed version. Subtitles have their own charm, of course, but I feel like I can relax more with a dub."
"I usually go with the dubs too. All right, dubbed it is..."
With the movie settled, an image flickered onto the wall like a massive monitor. Simultaneously, the lights in the room dimmed automatically until it was just dark enough to see the screen clearly.
(I see... so we're sticking with this distance. I-I mean, it's fine. It's totally fine! We held hands during the play earlier, so I can handle this much. I wonder if we’ll hold hands again... N-No, wait, calm down! This isn't a date! ...Though, coming to a guy's room to watch a movie alone together is basically a date by definition, isn't it? No, no, I shouldn't think such things.)
As her mind raced, she took comfort in the fact that the room had gone dark. At least he wouldn't be able to see how much she was blushing.
Serious-senpai: "...Isn't that the reaction of someone completely in love!?"
Machina: "A date between my beloved child and my beloved child... how wonderful... the preciousness is overflowing. Oh, Serious-senpai, I'll take you as caramel popcorn, please."
Serious-senpai: "You want me to become it?! I don't transform into these things on purpose, you know! Even if you ask..."
Machina: "It's all right. I've 'decided' that you will."
Serious-senpai: "Are you an absolute devil?"