After spending some time playing badminton and other games in the plaza, the evening approached. As promised, Alice and I headed out to grab dinner together.
It might just be a personal quirk of mine, but I’ve always felt that certain foods naturally suit certain people better than others.
Take Lilia-san, for example. Even though her own tastes were surprisingly common, she looked every bit the noble daughter. Because of that, refined, high-class cuisine seemed perfectly natural on her.
Aoi-chan and Hina-chan, perhaps due to being high school students, looked best with things like parfaits. In Hina-chan’s case, it might have been because parfaits were her absolute favorite and I often saw her eating them.
Kuro always seemed to look best when she was snacking on street food while walking, whereas Isis-san seemed more at home sipping black tea than sitting down for a heavy meal.
Setting aside a person’s actual likes and dislikes, I really did believe everyone had a particular type of food that complemented their image.
“…Munch, munch. Ah, Kaito-san, this piece is done.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
And among all the residents of this world, I had never met anyone who looked more at home in front of a yakiniku grill than Alice. Honestly, considering she was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, you’d think stylish Western food would be a better match for her appearance.
However, her personality was simply too strong. The sight of her devouring grilled meat was so fitting that it defied description. If I ever had a sudden craving for yakiniku, Alice would undoubtedly be the first person I’d call.
“Man, you really can eat.”
“Food tastes the best when someone else is paying for it!”
“You really do have a piece of work personality, don’t you?”
“Oho, I’m honored by the praise. Please, feel free to keep it coming.”
“Well, you look cute when you’re eating, too.”
“Pfft—! Cough, hack… Hey… what’s with that… all of a sudden…?”
Alice had been riding high on her own arrogance, but she choked violently at my casual remark. As usual, she had zero resistance when it came to that sort of talk.
“I’ve noticed lately that I can actually hold my own when you start acting up, Alice.”
“Could you please stop poking at my weaknesses? I mean, isn’t this weird? I’m Kaito-san’s lover! We’ve been on plenty of dates, and I should be getting used to this and growing as a person! So why am I losing more and more ground with every passing day!?”
“Isn’t it simple? Just as you’re getting used to things, I’m getting used to you. I’ve just figured out the best way to catch you off guard.”
It was true; we had been on quite a few dates by now. However, far from feeling like Alice had grown more composed, I had reached the point where I could tell exactly when she was vulnerable to a counterattack.
At least when it came to this specific kind of banter, I felt confident enough in my understanding of her that I wouldn't let her get the upper hand.
“What’s with that smug look? That ‘I’ve already won’ face that looks down on me from on high…!”
“I didn't realize I was making a face like that, but… Hmm.”
Seeing her look so flustered and cornered, a sudden impulse for mischief welled up inside me. I decided to test her a little.
Moving slowly, I reached across the table toward her face. I gently stroked her cheek before tracing my thumb softly across her lips. It wasn't as if she actually had yakiniku sauce on her mouth; I just wanted to do something that would clearly embarrass her.
“Wha—!? Wh-wh-what are you doing all of a sudden?! Wh-wh-what exactly are your intentions here?!”
Her face instantly turned as red as a boiled octopus. She looked utterly panicked, her eyes darting frantically back and forth.
“…Nothing in particular. I just wanted to see how you’d react. You don't seem like you’ve gotten used to this at all.”
“Kaito-san, please do not underestimate my status as a romance bottom-tier! My total experience points are so low you’d need to put a dozen zeros after the decimal point to find them!”
“…Is that really something you should be saying with such pride?”
The sight of Alice shouting with a bright red face was incredibly adorable, but it made me suspect that the day she finally grew accustomed to romance might never actually come.
“By the way, Alice.”
“W-What now?”
“Changing the subject, remember the festival in that dream we had—”
“STOOOOOOOOOOP!!!”
“Whoa!?”
“Listen to me, Kaito-san! Do not casually bring up that incident! I will explode! I’m seriously going to blow up!”
“Wait, what will?”
“Me! Out of pure shame, I will literally, physically explode and then have to regenerate! If you don’t want to witness a grotesque scene that would put you off yakiniku for the foreseeable future, drop that topic immediately!”
“…That’s a pretty extreme threat.”
“I… I do remember it… properly… so just… just give me a little more time.”
Her voice trailed off into a tiny, disappearing mumble at the end. To cover her embarrassment, Alice began devouring meat at an even more incredible speed than before.
It was an alarming pace. Was she seriously trying to eat the restaurant out of stock?
Serious-senpai: “Waaaaaaaah?! I knew it! I knew the middle part would be like this! Dammit, you’ve got to be kidding me… you’ve got to be kidding me!”