And so, I found myself alone after Alice had whisked Kuro and Fate-san away. I imagined some kind of ridiculous battle—or rather, a brawl—akin to a final boss fight was playing out in subspace, but the real problem was what I, the one left behind, was supposed to do now.
As I was pondering my next move, the scenery suddenly shifted, and I found myself in the Sanctuary.
"...Huh? The Sanctuary?"
"Since you looked bored, Kaito-kun, I, your thoughtful lover, invited you here for tea so you wouldn't be plagued by tedium."
"I-I see... Thank you."
She really went out of her way to emphasize the "thoughtful lover" part. I couldn't be sure, but she seemed to be looking a bit smug. Still, the fact remained that I'd been wondering what to do after being abandoned, so I appreciated the invitation.
I took the seat Shiro-san had prepared and sipped some black tea. It felt as though I might lose track of our original objective: the search for the potential of baby castellas.
"Is it not fine to simply forget it?"
"No, well... I’ve come this far, so I intend to see it through to the end."
"Then allow me, a God, to offer a prophecy. At first, she will make them with sincerity, but she will soon begin mixing multiple methods and ingredients until everything descends into chaos..."
"Please stop with the depressing prophecies. What’s truly terrifying is how likely you are to be right."
In truth, I could easily see it playing out that way. When the time finally came to start cooking, she would probably begin with something sensible, like using rice flour... but then, halfway through, she’d start babbling about "pursuing infinite possibilities" and start mixing all sorts of nonsense together. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that my life might depend on whether I could successfully restrain her during the tasting phase. I needed to brace myself and prepare for the worst.
"In that case, as you prepare to walk this treacherous path, let me serve you some baby castellas as a snack with your tea."
"...I can’t tell if you’re being kind or just teasing me—Wait, this is delicious!?"
Despite knowing I'd likely be eating a mountain of them later, I was a little hungry. One bite left me stunned. It was incredible. It wasn't that the flavor was particularly exotic; it just seemed to hit my personal preferences perfectly.
"What is this? These are amazingly good."
"It is a baby castella that transforms into the eater’s favorite flavor. I created it just now."
"..."
If that was the case, couldn't we just call this the "ultimate" version and be done with it? In a sense, it was an all-too-perfect answer...
"I once offered these to Kuro as well," Shiro noted. "But she began asking things like, 'Does being the most delicious really make it the ultimate?' before launching into a long-winded philosophical lecture. I believe I tuned her out."
"That sounds like her. I can easily picture her talking for hours."
"It was truly tedious, so I stopped listening entirely halfway through."
"A wise choice."
I had a vague feeling that what Kuro sought was something like an "ultimate concept." Her goal likely included the time spent exploring and the trial and error involved. That was why she wouldn't be satisfied even if a perfect snack appeared through almighty power. She would probably argue that it was insufficient because it lacked the journey required to reach that destination.
"I suppose for Kuro, improving these snacks is a hobby of sorts."
"Perhaps. Though even I do not quite understand why she is so obsessed with them..."
"I doubt I’d understand even if she tried to explain it to me."
"Indeed."
Shiro-san gave a slight, wry smile. Having known Kuro for so long, she likely viewed the other's antics with a mix of exasperation and endearment. Suddenly, a black vortex spiraled into existence, and Kuro stepped out.
"Honestly, Shiro! If you’re going to spirit Kaito-kun away, at least say something! I was shocked when I got back and he was gone. Well, my magic couldn't find him, so I knew immediately he was here in the Sanctuary..."
As a side note, the Sanctuary nullified all forms of external detection, making it impossible to find someone inside using magic. However, in my case, Shiro-san’s Blessing normally nullified those kinds of spells anyway, meaning only Kuro and a select few could ever track me. Since those who could track me were well aware of my close relationship with Shiro-san, they knew "undetectable" was synonymous with "he's in the Sanctuary."
"Whatever," Kuro sighed. "I was planning to visit Shiro after Fate-chan’s place anyway..."
"Hmph. And what is your business? I shall listen, provided it does not involve the potential of baby castellas."
For the moment, I had only one concern: whether another fight was about to break out right here...
Serious-senpai: Well now, I think we've heard from just about everyone. In the light novel version, mixing everything resulted in something safe and boring... but this time, there are so many opinions that mixing might be impossible. Will the story take a different turn?