As the sun dipped below the horizon and the darkness of night settled in, Shia and Heart sat in a room within the Royal Castle, their expressions weary.
"I thought we would have most of this wrapped up by today, but things didn't progress nearly as much as I’d hoped."
"It couldn't be helped. Thanks to that idiot, the God of Fate-sama’s mood soured halfway through. Even though she didn't technically intervene because the Phantasm King handled it, there aren't many among humankind who have the nerve to speak up to the God of Fate-sama when she's in a foul mood. It was inevitable that the meeting would drag on."
"I suppose you're right..."
Indeed, they had been participating in the assembly just as they had the day before, but the discussions had not proceeded with any semblance of efficiency.
Watching Fate yesterday, they had assumed everything might be settled within the day, but shortly after noon, Fate’s mood had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
The cause was the Assault Incident that Kaito had nearly been caught up in. Although she hadn't stepped in specifically because Alice was on the scene, from Fate’s perspective, she was irritated by an act she viewed as an attempt to steal her fun. This left her in an exceptionally foul mood.
Naturally, when the highest-ranking being in the room was radiating displeasure, the assemblymen were too terrified to speak carelessly. Furthermore, news that an attack had targeted the Hero-role threw the proceedings into further chaos. As a result, the discussions had barely moved an inch.
"Still, Miyama-sama has it rough. It's been one disaster after another since he arrived."
"One disaster after another? He was only caught up in that one attack, right?"
"Have you already forgotten, Senpai?"
"Forgotten what?"
Hearing Heart’s words, delivered with a look of profound pity, Shia tilted her head curiously.
"First, he was dragged here by the God of Fate-sama without a word of choice. Then, upon his arrival, some Evil-senpai vented all her frustrations on him with open hostility..."
"Wait—no, I didn't exactly intend to..."
"Even if you didn't intend it that way, Senpai, it must have been a terrible ordeal for Miyama-sama. Ah, the poor thing. He’s still a boy of about twenty, being bullied by such a Scary-senpai."
"What? That’s not—!"
"I'm certain he spent last night 'wetting his pillow with tears.'"
"..."
As she listened to Heart’s dispassionate, venom-laced commentary, Shia’s face grew increasingly pale.
It was true that Shia had taken her frustrations out on Kaito, but she was fundamentally soft-hearted. To be honest, she had been feeling guilty about it the entire time.
However, Shia was terribly awkward with words, and even now, she hadn't managed to offer a proper apology or any form of amends. Having it pointed out so bluntly by someone else—that she had genuinely hurt Kaito—made her complexion worsen by the second.
"There really are some horrible goddesses in this world. It’s not like Miyama-sama was at fault for the God of Fate-sama’s whims, yet he was subjected to such blame by a complete stranger. I wonder why?"
"I... I’m going out for a bit."
"Certainly. Take care."
Shia understood that Heart was teasing her and spitting her usual brand of venom, but that didn't change the fact that her actions toward Kaito wouldn't simply vanish.
Standing up in a flustered rush, Shia muttered a few words and disappeared. In the now-empty room, Heart gave a slow, casual wave of her hand.
The hectic day had finally ended, and I was relaxing in my room at the inn.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Thinking Fate-san had come by just like yesterday, I moved away from the front of the doorway and reached out with only my arm to pull it open. I certainly wasn't in the mood to take a Solar Plexus Headbutt two days in a row.
"Wait, huh? Shia-san?"
"..."
However, the person standing outside wasn't Fate-san, but Shia-san.
The hood of her robe was pulled back, revealing her white hair. Even after I opened the door, she remained silent and made no move to enter the room.
Seriously, this person stubbornly refuses to meet my eyes. What is it? Is her mortal enemy located at a forty-five-degree angle toward the floor?
It seemed Shia-san’s favorability toward me was as low as ever. Well, we'd barely spoken, so I suppose that couldn't be helped.
"Shia-san? Is something the matter?"
"This."
"Mm?"
Since the conversation wasn't going anywhere, I prompted her. In response, Shia-san produced five beautifully wrapped boxes from thin air and thrust them toward me.
At a glance, they looked like sweets, but I was lost. What was I supposed to do with these? I really couldn't tell what this woman was thinking, or what her goal was.
"I had leftovers I couldn't finish, so I'm giving them to you."
"Eh? No, but... no matter how I look at these, they're brand new..."
"I said I'm giving them to you because they're L-E-F-T-O-V-E-R-S!"
"Ah, yes, understood! Leftovers, right. I'll gratefully accept them!"
Wait, that’s strange. I was being given sweets, so why was I being yelled at?
As I stood there bewildered, Shia-san repeatedly flicked her gaze toward me before averting it again. Finally, she spoke up.
"If... if that's not enough, just state one request."
"A request?"
What was going on? I really had no idea what Shia-san was trying to say.
"It's not like I think I did anything wrong! But I am a generous god! As a reward for having endured my venting, I will grant you exactly one request!"
"...Eh? Ah, okay."
So, in other words... could it be that Shia-san was actually trying to apologize to me?
Talk about hard to read! Essentially, she was offering to do me a favor as an apology for taking her frustrations out on me. She was a type of person I had never encountered before. I wasn't even sure how to respond.
"Well? Hurry up and state your request!"
"Erm... well, I don't really need an apology or anything. But if that's the case... right! It'll be more than enough if you just treat me to a meal sometime."
"What?! You insolent man!"
"Huh? What?"
"F-F-For a mere human to tell me to go on a 'Date' with him... the sheer blasphemyyyy!"
No, I didn't say anything like that, did I?
"I didn't mean it that way... My apologies. If that's the case, let’s just forget about the apology, all right?"
"Ugh..."
"Eh?"
"So... you're saying you won't forgive me with anything else? How despicable..."
"..."
How did this woman's brain work? Was everything I said being automatically converted into something negative? Why did it feel like I was the one threatening her?
While I stood there in a daze, Shia-san lowered her head, her shoulders trembling, before she finally looked up with a bright red face.
"Fine! Just do whatever you want! I'll go on a Date or whatever with you!"
"...Huh?"
"I'll send word about the schedule later! Wash your neck and wait for me!"
"Wait, hold on—she's already gone!?"
She rattled all of that off and vanished before I could even blink.
I really didn't understand Shia-san. Wait, did I just accidentally secure a Date?
How did it turn into this?
After staring at the empty hallway for a while, I let out a heavy sigh and retreated into my room.
Feeling an indescribable sense of exhaustion, my eyes fell upon the boxes of sweets I was holding. I was tired and I wanted something sweet. Since she gave them to me, it should be fine to eat them, right?
With that thought, I opened one of the wrappers at random. Inside was an assortment of vividly red sweets.
Was it strawberry? Or maybe they were decorated to look like apples. Regardless, they looked quite tasty. I decided to start with one bite.
"!? Gah... h-hot! It’s hooot!"
The moment I chewed, an explosion of intense heat erupted in my mouth.
What was this?! Spicy?! No, it actually hurt! It felt like my mouth was being scorched by an open flame!
It was a pure, unrefined, one-dimensional spiciness, as if I had just shoved a handful of raw chili peppers into my mouth. A cold sweat began pouring from every pore in my body.
In a panic, I grabbed the water pitcher and gulped it down directly, not even bothering with a cup.
Even after drinking a massive amount of water, the burning sensation wouldn't fade. Just how spicy were the ingredients in this thing?
Why would Shia-san give me sweets that were practically a lethal weapon? Was it harassment? Or... did she actually give these to me because she genuinely thinks these insanely spicy things are delicious?
Dear Mother, Father—Shia-san is a type of person unlike anyone I've ever met, and I have no idea how to handle her. I ended up making a strange promise, but that aside, the sweets I received from her were—a fire-breathing level of spiciness.