The place Lilia-san led me to was the otherworld Eden-san had gifted her. Calling it a "world" was almost an understatement; it was roughly the size of the Human Realm, meaning Lilia-san had essentially been given an entire planet. The scale was, frankly, more than a bit overwhelming.
"It’s beautiful, but there’s nothing here. Just a vast prairie?"
"It seems this is the default setting. I can change various aspects by operating it like this..."
As Lilia-san spoke, she waved her hand, and an SF-esque operation panel materialized in midair. It was a fascinating sight—it felt like a unique Authority she could exercise as the owner of this world.
Though the interface was slightly different, it reminded me of the VR control panels back on Earth, and Lilia-san seemed to have grown reasonably accustomed to using it.
"Eden-sama apparently prepared models of dragon species from other worlds here. I haven't had the chance to look at them at my leisure yet, but it’s a wonderful place filled with so many unknown dragons!"
"Otherworld dragons, huh? That sounds pretty interesting. I’m curious to see what kind of species are kept here."
"I had a feeling you would say that, Kaito-san. To rest one's heart, I believe it's best to look at things you love... and... with... s-s-s..."
"S-s-s?"
"...With someone you... well, like... going on a date... I thought that would be effective. S-so, I look forward to your company."
"I see, that makes sense. I’m actually pretty wiped out after that long session earlier, so this sounds like exactly what I need to relax."
Watching Lilia-san grow flustered as she suggested that spending time looking at things she loved with someone she liked would be healing, I couldn't help but smile at her sheer cuteness.
When we had gone to the Dragon Carnival together, she had been incredibly excited. Now that her secret obsession with dragons was out in the open, her mindset had clearly shifted toward wanting to enjoy her hobby with me. That was a development I was more than happy to welcome.
"Well then, let’s go see them."
"Ah, yes. Let’s go!"
"Oh, wait. Lilia-san, since we're on a date, would it be all right if we held hands?"
"Eh? Oh... yes. Of course..."
When I made the suggestion, she timidly reached out her hand. I took it, lacing our fingers together in a lover’s hand-holding. Then, Lilia-san activated the transfer, and we warped.
Our destination turned out to be a truly colossal structure. It looked like a warehouse with no real ornamentation, but its scale was mind-boggling. It stood at least a hundred meters tall, and its width was so vast I couldn't even estimate it at a glance.
"This place is enormous..."
"It seems that many dragon species are quite massive, even in other worlds. According to Eden-sama, there are hundreds of these storage facility structures scattered across this world."
"Wait, hundreds this size? That’s incredible. Though, I suppose if you’re housing life-sized models of every dragon species from multiple worlds, you’d need that much space."
Trinia, the world Shiro-san created, was relatively small. In contrast, Eden-san’s world—including its universe—was staggeringly vast. Simply cataloging the organisms that fell under the category of "dragon species" from those reaches would result in an astronomical number. Given that the size of individual worlds varies so much, the total number of models in existence had to be staggering.
As I pondered this, I approached the building's entrance with Lilia-san. I noticed a sign resembling an instruction plaque mounted next to the door.
"Let's see... 'This storage facility contains dragon-type organisms from a planet where machines and organisms fused and evolved together.' Heh, so they’re like robot dragons?"
"By 'machines,' do you mean things like the cars we saw in the virtual space? Dragon species that fused with technology... Iron dragons?"
"Well, let’s find out."
"Right. Let’s head inside."
Lilia-san nodded happily at my suggestion and touched the entrance. The massive doors slid open without a sound, allowing us to step into the interior.
The inside was brilliantly lit. I had no idea how the lighting worked, but since this world was a collection of mysteries powered by godly power, I decided not to overthink it.
"Wow...! This—this is incredible! They're so cool...!"
Inside the warehouse, just as the description promised, was a row of dragons that had evolved by merging with technology. They had a distinctly mechanical appearance.
Some were constructed entirely of machinery, while others had only specific body parts mechanized. Detailed descriptions were posted in front of each massive model, explaining the specifics of the species.
It wasn't just the final forms of these dragons either; there were models showing the step-by-step process of how they evolved alongside machines. It felt as though the entire history of a planet’s dragon species had been preserved here.
As expected of Eden-san, the scale of her work was immense. It truly was the perfect gift for Lilia-san. Seeing her eyes light up like a child’s was a deeply moving and adorable sight.
Serious-senpai: [K-Keep it together... This is a watershed moment, Kaito! Listen to me: transition straight into a 'sightseeing style' tour with heavy focus on the dragon lore! Do not, under any circumstances, neglect the dragons and turn this into a romance-heavy date! You hear me!?]