With the help of Kuro, Alice, and a bit of teleportation magic, we managed to gather all the ingredients for the sukiyaki. I even had the pot ready and waiting.
All that was left to do was eat, but it was still far too early for dinner. Since my cooking skills weren't exactly up to the task of "culinary finesse," Alice pointed out that the actual preparation wouldn't take very long anyway. With time to kill, the three of us decided to go on a date.
As for the location... we ended up in a subspace Kuro had created. Alice was the one who suggested it.
"Oh, wow! This is amazing! So this is an amusement park? You don't see recreational facilities on this scale very often in this world."
"Well, trying to replicate this scale and variety with magic tools is just too expensive," Alice explained. "The overhead is so high that you’d likely end up in the red, so nobody really bothers to build them."
"I see... So, did you get this from Shiro-san?"
"Yeah, though I remodeled it afterward to make it safe for normal humans. I’ve been wanting to test it out..."
It made sense now. The amusement park Alice had brought out inside Kuro’s subspace was the one she had previously received from Shiro-san. When Shiro-san first created it, the attractions were demonic machines designed for someone with Lilia-san’s durability, but Alice had apparently tuned them down.
And just as she said, the remodeling had changed the attractions quite a bit.
"...By the way, Alice, what’s the deal with the kigurumi group?"
"They’re the staff and mascots. You can’t have a theme park without mascots, right?"
"I feel like you could have come up with a slightly cuter design..."
"That’s strange. I get the feeling you’re indirectly telling me those mascots aren't cute."
"That’s exactly what I’m telling you." Why were they all so subtly creepy and uninspired? You could maybe call some of them "ugly-cute," but most of them just looked irritating.
"Heh, there really are a lot of options. Hmm, which one should we pick? It’s hard to decide!"
"You seem to be having a great time, Kuro."
"It’s Kuro-san’s first time at an amusement park, after all," Alice noted.
"Have you been to one before, Alice?"
"A long time ago. I went with a best friend and kept tossing them onto the scream machines."
"I feel sorry for your friend..."
That "best friend" was likely the other one she mentioned besides Iris-san. Based on what I’d heard, that person spent a lot of time being dragged around by Alice, so I couldn't help but sympathize. If Alice "kept tossing" them onto the rides, she must have forced them onto the roller coasters despite their protests.
"Well then, since we’re here, I think we should go in whatever order Kuro-san wants."
"Yeah, I have no objections to that."
"In that case, Kuro-san, where should we go first?"
"I was torn... but I think I’ll go with this 'Largest Jet Coaster' thing."
"Ho, you have a good eye. That’s a masterpiece I remodeled and expanded to be the biggest attraction in the park. Though, for you, Kuro-san, it might feel a bit slow."
Actually, it was probably slow for Alice, too. I was likely the only one who would experience it as an actual roller coaster. For Kuro and Alice, it probably felt more like a gentle sightseeing tour through the park.
"Alright, it’s decided! Let’s go! Kaito-kun, let’s hold hands!"
"Hmm? Oh, sure. It’s a date, after all."
"My, my, Kaito-san has a flower in each hand with two beautiful girls," Alice teased.
"Honestly, that's exactly how it feels."
"..."
"Hey, don't go blushing in embarrassment from your own self-destruction. You're the one who brought it up."
I started walking, holding hands with both Kuro and Alice. Alice had spoken to me with a smirking, teasing grin, but as usual, she seemed to get flustered the moment I played along. She turned her eyes away, her cheeks tinged with a faint red.
Serious-senpai: "Hey, make the sukiyaki... Hey... Why are you on a date... Make the sukiyaki already!!!"