The amusement park date with Kuro and Alice was proving to be quite a lot of fun. Kuro was intensely curious about everything, treating the rides like exotic Otherworld artifacts as she excitedly hopped from one attraction to the next.
Since Alice and I were already familiar with theme parks, we mostly just followed wherever Kuro wanted to go and enjoyed the rides alongside her.
"Hey, Alice. Is the timing going to be okay? Kuro looks like she’s in the mood to play for a while yet."
"Oh, don't worry. I’ve warped the flow of time in this space, so as far as the outside world is concerned, we’re fine. We can just keep going until Kaito-san gets hungry enough for sukiyaki. If we really wanted to, we could even eat here; I can just use the kitchen in the restaurant area."
"Having sukiyaki at an amusement park feels a little weird, doesn't it?"
"Well, I can’t argue with you there."
As we strolled through the park chatting, Alice’s expression suddenly shifted. She began to look—well, the best way to describe it would be a mix of dread and anxiety.
I tilted my head, wondering what was wrong, just as Kuro held up a pamphlet and spoke with a bright smile.
"Next, let’s try the Trick House up ahead!"
"…Ah, I knew it. Please, I’m begging you… just be a good girl and settle for the Path for Families…"
Hearing Alice’s desperate mutter, I finally realized why she had been looking so uneasy.
The Trick House… if it was anything like the one Shiro-san had made, it was a building designed like an escape game. It featured three distinct routes: the Path for Families, the Path for Couples, and the Path for the Mysterious Senpai.
I remembered that despite the "riddle" branding, the Path for Couples involved things like princess carries and other typical romantic games.
"Kuro-san, please listen. There are three routes in this Trick House. Well, one of them exists solely to torment a certain Senpai, so for all intents and purposes, there are only two."
"I see, I see."
Seriously, Alice, what exactly is your grudge against this "Senpai" person? Well, regardless, it looked like Alice was trying to steer Kuro away, but my intuition told me she was fighting a losing battle.
"There is the Path for Families and the Path for Couples."
"Then we’re taking the Path for Couples, right?"
"No, see, that’s where we have a problem."
"A problem?"
"The Path for Couples is strictly for two people. If we choose that one, at least one of us has to wait outside until the others are finished. It’s a fairly long attraction, so the wait would be significant. On the other hand, the Path for Families allows all three of us to go in together…"
So, she was trying to use the group size as an excuse. Still, I had a feeling her resistance wasn't just about the logistics—she seemed genuinely embarrassed.
Kuro looked at Alice with a puzzled expression before speaking up.
"Can't we just take turns?"
"…I mean, we could, but… if we do that, Kaito-san would have to go twice…"
"I don't really mind," I chimed in.
"Guh… Well, uh, see… it’ll get late!"
"Time is warped here, so that's not an issue," Kuro pointed out.
"…Right."
Having her own explanation from earlier thrown back in her face, Alice looked up at the sky with a look of pure resignation. I wondered why she was so hell-bent on forcing us into the Path for Families. She’d originally remodeled this place with the intention of going through it with me—wait a minute.
"Hey, Alice."
"Ah, I have a bad feeling about this. W-What is it?"
"Did you remodel this Trick House from Shiro-san's version?"
"…I did, but what of it?"
"The Path for Couples, too?"
"……I did."
I’ve got it. I figured out exactly why she wanted us to avoid it so badly. Alice had personally updated the Path for Couples. And since she’d done so assuming she’d be the one going through it with me…
In short, there was a very high probability that the challenges in that route were based on "romantic acts Alice wants to do with me." That was why she was being so incredibly shy about it.
"W-What’s with that look!? Why are you looking at me with those warm, knowing eyes!? Look, if someone is going to remodel something, it’s only natural for their personal tastes to be reflected in the final product, okay!?"
Alice shouted, her face turning a deep shade of crimson. Of course, her outburst only made the whole situation that much more adorable.
Serious-senpai: "Don't you dare give up!! It was the same during that drink with Illness the other night, but if you've come this far, stick to the title until the bitter end! Also, I have a terrible feeling about this 'we're fine until Kaito gets hungry' time limit being removed… My anxiety is through the roof!"