I lolled on the cushion beside Fate-san, the two of us chatting idly. We were spending such a peaceful time together that it was hard to believe there was even a festival going on outside, but the hour of my appointment with Chronoa and the others was fast approaching.
"Um, is it almost time? Chronoa-san and the others said they had something for me. Where should I head?"
"Ah, right here is fine. I already let the God of Space-Time and the God of Life know you were here, Kai-chan."
"Oh? Really?"
"Yup. But I also made sure to tell them not to even think about disturbing us until exactly 5:45 PM."
"A-Ahaha..."
"Man... is it really that time already? I wanted to lounge around with you for much longer, Kai-chan."
Spending this lazy time with Fate-san was, in a way, like a date, so I found it equally regrettable that our hour was already up.
Then again, if I stayed on this comfortable cushion any longer, I was genuinely afraid I’d lose the will to do anything else for the rest of the day. It certainly lived up to its reputation as the "Cushion that Ruins People."
"Laziness aside, I agree that the time went by fast," I said.
"Right? An hour feels like nothing when we're together."
"Next time, let’s go somewhere else properly."
"I'd love that! Somewhere quiet where we can just relax. We could stay overnight and just go wherever the wind takes us without a set schedule—maybe go for a stroll or play some games if the mood strikes us. Just a nice, slow trip."
"That actually sounds wonderful."
Planning a trip to a famous tourist spot was one thing, but as Fate-san suggested, finding a quiet, secluded getaway seemed just as appealing.
A slow day filled with trivial conversation like today seemed like it would truly heal the soul. I’d have to make sure we made it a reality. I’ll start looking for some quiet, hidden gems.
With that decided, I reluctantly stood up from the cushion and tidied my appearance. I smoothed out the wrinkles in my clothes that had formed from lying down for the past hour.
I checked the clock: it was 5:42 PM. Three minutes until our appointment...
"Kai-chan. Hey, Kai-chan."
"Yes?" I turned back toward her, only to find her leaning in. "Mwah—!?"
Before I could react, Fate had caught me by surprise with a light kiss on my cheek.
As I stood there, stunned by the sudden gesture, Fate-san flashed a sweet, playful smile.
"...Thank you for coming early to spend time with me. It made me really happy."
That felt like a very low blow. Seeing her look so incredibly adorable made me want to pull her into my arms then and there, but I remembered that Chronoa and Life would be arriving any second and firmly held myself back.
Then again, Fate-san could be quite shy herself. She probably chose a moment when I wouldn't have time to counterattack before the others arrived.
Just as my heart was racing with a mix of joy and embarrassment, the door creaked open, and Chronoa and Life entered the room.
My face still felt flushed, but I cleared my throat and turned to face them.
"Good evening. Chronoa-san, Life-san... You mentioned you had something for me?"
"Ah, apologies for the sudden intrusion, Miyama. It isn't anything quite so formal," Chronoa replied.
"We weren't sure if we would have time to speak with you later tonight, so we chose to meet now," Life added. "This is what we wanted to give you."
After the brief exchange, Life-san handed me a fairly large, heavy bag.
Inside, I found a collection of boxes in various sizes.
"Inside are assorted confectioneries that the Gods crafted as mementos of the festival. To put it simply, they're souvenirs. However, the creators asked if you wouldn't mind providing your feedback on them, Miyama."
"We've provided a sample of every variety for you to share with your friends. If any of them catch your fancy, please let any member of the God race know. Your input will serve as a valuable reference for the festival's specialty goods in the coming years."
"I see. In that case, I'll gratefully accept. I'll be sure to give you my impressions later."
In short, they wanted me to act as a test monitor for potential "White God Festival Specialty" products. While this festival was likely the catalyst for the God race to interact more with Demons and Humans, they currently had very few ties to the other realms.
There were probably very few people they could turn to for an outside opinion... though I suspected they also valued my perspective because I held Shiro-san's Blessing.
Regardless, it was a win for me. I’d sampled plenty of street food from the stalls, but I hadn't bought many souvenirs yet. I looked forward to sharing these with everyone back home.
Giving my thoughts to Fate-san whenever we met wouldn't be much trouble at all, and it would provide a good conversation starter. It was a perfect arrangement.
"For the record," Life added, "these were primarily developed under the supervision of the High-ranking Gods."
"I see... Were there any sweets supervised by Shia-san in there?" I asked, a sudden wave of apprehension hitting me.
"The God of Calamity?" Chronoa's expression soured. "There were... but they were lethal enough to kill an ordinary human on the first bite, so we scrapped them."
"...I think that was definitely the right call."
I’d asked out of a nagging sense of worry, and Chronoa’s bitter response confirmed it. She’d probably made something incredibly spicy.
She might have even used those dangerous ingredients I’d given her before... At any rate, I was just glad they hadn't made the cut.
???: Three episodes until Senpai's recovery... That aside, as for those spicy sweets... I imagine Megiddo would actually be quite pleased with them.