Our amusement park date with Shiro-san continued as we came to a stop in front of a building with a rather complex exterior. According to the pamphlet, this attraction was called the "Trick House."
Scanning the brief description, it looked like an attraction where visitors progressed by clearing various challenges. The format seemed a little different from what I was used to, but I figured it was essentially a magical take on an escape room.
As soon as we stepped inside, the path split in three directions. Let’s see... the first was the "Family Course," the second was the "Couple Course"... and—wait, seriously? Is this third one another instance of her usual bullying of loners? "Senpai Course: Hurry Up and Go Home and Gnaw on Some Sugar." Just what was that supposed to be?
And who exactly was this "Senpai" anyway? Wasn’t that incredibly harsh? That path had a biting subtitle, and even a quick glance revealed a corridor covered in thorns... It looked like it was rigged with an absurd number of traps.
I was curious about that peculiar corridor, but it didn't seem to have anything to do with Shiro-san and me. Knowing Alice, she probably just added it as a joke. I decided not to dwell on it and entered the Couple Course with Shiro-san.
After walking through a dim corridor for a while, we reached a brightly lit room. A large door stood there, decorated with a strange pattern. I assumed opening this door was our first task.
As I looked around the room, I saw several questions written in large letters on the opposite wall. Each question was numbered, and those numbers corresponded to the pattern on the door. Ah, I see. I thought it looked familiar—it was a crossword puzzle.
"Solve all the questions and read the central letters aloud from top to bottom, and the door shall open," I read. It was a surprisingly orthodox challenge.
I had been worried that she would prepare some task that focused purely on the "couple" aspect—the kind that would shower us in embarrassment—so I was relieved to find something normal.
"Alright, let's start with the first question. I hope they aren't too hard..."
Question 1: What is the name of the Creator God who created this world, Trinia?
The question was shockingly easy. After all, that very God was standing right next to me.
"This is quite the difficult question right from the start. What shall we do, Kaito-san? There is always the option of intentionally solving the other questions first to gain hints."
"..."
Ever since her "I am happy" comment a little while ago, Shiro-san had been in high spirits. Even if her expression didn't change, I could tell immediately from her aura that she was totally into the game.
Well, setting that aside, it seemed I just had to speak the answer.
"The answer to the first question is Shallow Vernal."
"Kaito-san addressed me without an honorific. I'm blushing."
"..."
I was glad to see Shiro-san looking so satisfied, at least.
The crossword puzzle questions were all things even I could easily answer, so we made steady progress. Furthermore, through some unknown principle, the letters were automatically filled into the puzzle on the giant door whenever I spoke the correct answer.
We finished the puzzle without getting stuck, and all that was left was to read the central letters aloud from top to bottom.
"Okay, here I go... Let's see... Shi... ro... san... I... love... you... Huh?"
"I am happy that Kaito-san is so bold. Of course, I love Kaito-san as well."
"Ah, er, yes. Th-Thank you..."
It was an elaborate trap. The wave of embarrassment hit me a moment later. Because I had shouted my love for Shiro-san at the top of my lungs, the giant door swung open, revealing the path ahead.
What was this inexpressible sense of defeat? As I thought, she had indeed set up various schemes. I would have to stay on my guard for whatever came next.
Nursing my unexpected shame, I proceeded down the corridor to the next room. There, we found another large door with a sign written in bold letters:
The door will open if the boyfriend gives the girlfriend a princess carry. Furthermore, the princess carry must be maintained until the next room.
Just when I thought I had strengthened my guard, she hit us with an extremely direct task instead.
"What a wonderful attraction. I am very, very excited."
Shiro-san looked as happy as could be, which meant I couldn't avoid it or even complain.
"Ah... er, Shiro-san. This is the first time I've ever given a princess carry, so I don't know if I can do it well. Is that okay?"
"Hmm, so I am the first person Kaito-san has given a princess carry?"
"E-Er, yes. That's right."
"In other words, I am Kaito-san's 'first experience' partner. This is even more wonderful."
"Whoa, watch your word choice, Shiro-san... That’s a dangerous way to put it. Hearing a phrase like that makes me way too self-conscious, and the embarrassment just spikes."
"...Though I wouldn't mind it in that sense, either."
"Stop it, please stop saying things like that so casually... My face feels like it's going to catch fire."
"A-Anyway, I'm going to pick you up now!"
"Indeed. Then, 'this time' we shall go with that... and save the other for another occasion."
Wait, had Shiro-san always been this cute? She was already a peerless beauty to begin with, but it felt like her playfulness—or rather, her humanity—had increased, making her incredibly charming. The way she smiled bashfully while looking up at my face as I carried her was just plain cheating.
It was no use; I couldn't win. My face would definitely remain bright red until we left this attraction.
???: "We did it, Serious-senpai! Thanks to Alice-chan's thoughtfulness, we finally appeared in the Main Story!"
Serious-senpai: "No, we didn't! This is actually worse! I was insulted without even making an appearance! Well, putting that aside for a moment... isn't the story supposed to end once we get a Monologue Interlude? Why is the date still going?"
???: "Of course it's still going. Ah, that reminds me—changing the subject—about the matter with Isis-san in the previous chapter... I was curious, so I... er, Alice-chan went and asked Shallow Vernal-sama about it."
Serious-senpai: "The story about how Isis was born from the soul of an Evil God?"
???: "Yup, yup. Well, you see, Alice-chan thought the Evil God didn't have a will, but it turns out it actually did. Right before being defeated by Alice-chan, it discarded its core and fled to another world as a lone soul. And at its destination, it encountered Shallow Vernal-sama, who was right in the middle of creating her world. Its memories and such were 'ended,' and its soul alone was used to create Isis-san."
Serious-senpai: "That Evil God was way too unlucky. Just when it thought it escaped from a dangerous person, it ended up right in front of someone even more terrifying..."
???: "By the way, as a bit of behind-the-scenes lore... the reason the Evil God fled even after being reduced to a soul was because it didn't want to disappear while remaining all alone. In that regard, it was something that even Alice-chan found thought-provoking. For an Evil God who lacked words, connecting the hearts of the world to itself by inflicting despair was the only way it could connect with others—a twisted sort of expression of affection. They say love destroys the world for a reason. The reason Isis-san is more sensitive to loneliness than anyone else might be because she knows that pain deep down, even if she has no memories of it."
Serious-senpai: "...Hmm. Thinking about it that way, was reincarnating the Evil God into Isis a fine play by the Goddess? Even if it was just a whim?"
???: "I think so. Thanks to that, the lonely former Evil God... Isis-san, was finally able to meet Kaito-san."