As Alice and I continued our tour of the Founding Anniversary Festival, we stumbled upon a truly bizarre sight. A group of people stood before a series of long wooden troughs, their heads encased in massive spherical objects—too large to be called helmets—while they brandished wooden poles at the water.
From a distance, it looked like a scene of pure madness. Was this some kind of new game?
"That’s... quite a sight. What are they doing?"
"They’re fishing," Alice replied.
"Fishing? Fishing... Oh, is it that VR thing?"
Anyone else’s explanation would have left me skeptical, but Alice’s information was always spot-on. Besides, she had no reason to feed me lies when I was genuinely curious.
If she was right, then those oversized helmets were VR goggles, and the poles were controllers.
"Exactly. Remember when I unveiled some new technology at the first Six Kings Festival? This is a product of research into that VR tech. Well, the version I showcased back then was closer to a Space Isolation Barrier, whereas that fishing game over there is an application of Phantom Magic. Strictly speaking, they’re different, but the inspiration definitely came from my VR."
"I see. The Hydra Kingdom really is innovative. They’ve already integrated the new tech..."
"Well, it’s still in the early stages, so the content is simple and the hardware looks like... that. But it’s essentially the pioneer of what you’d call gaming in your world, Kaito-san. Since they’re using magic to build it here, the mechanics are different, but I’d say we’ll see some truly authentic stuff in about ten years."
"I’m looking forward to that. I’d love to try it once it matures."
For now, it was likely just a wooden box using Phantom Magic to simulate a fishing spot, but as Alice said, if the technology progressed, this world might develop its own unique gaming culture. The prospect was exciting, and I definitely wanted to see where it went.
The Hydra Kingdom’s festival was full of surprises, and with Alice there to explain every curiosity I encountered, I never felt out of my depth.
Still, this was technically a date, and I found myself wanting to do something that felt a bit more... romantic.
As I scanned the rows of stalls with that thought in mind, my eyes landed on a booth draped in an excessive amount of pink. The sign read: Couples-only Special Drink.
"...Huh."
It was a bit of a cliché, but maybe that was exactly what we needed. I had shared drinks with Kuro and Shiro-san before, but there was something uniquely "couple-like" about sharing a single drink between two people.
When I looked over at Alice, I found her staring at me with a look of utter horror, her eyes darting between me and the stall. She had clearly read my mind.
"...Kaito-san, are you in your right mind? Do you intend to humiliate me in the middle of this crowd?"
"Don’t make it sound so scandalous. I just thought it would be a nice, romantic thing to do."
"Haaaaah... Good grief."
Alice let out a sigh so exaggerated it had to be intentional. Then, she fixed me with a sharp glare and spoke in a firm, authoritative tone.
"Kaito-san, we’ve been together for quite a while now, so I really think it’s time you learned just how much of a bottom-tier romanticist I am!"
"Is that really something you should be saying with such confidence?!"
"Listen closely: when it comes to romance, Alice-chan's mentality is as fragile as a microscope slide! I am a total, absolute loser at this. Don’t you dare underestimate my weakness!"
"To think you’d be even worse than I imagined... I’m almost impressed."
She was making a lot of noise, but her argument boiled down to one simple thing: she was embarrassed. I knew how shy she could be, and I had expected this exact reaction when I made the suggestion.
"Do you understand now? Do you realize how reckless your suggestion was? If you’ve learned your lesson..."
"But you love this kind of thing, don’t you?"
".................."
Alice’s words died in her throat. She looked away, her face twisting into an awkwardly conflicted expression. It was a rare sight—she was completely stunned into silence, the very image of someone who couldn't find a single word of protest.
She was shy, yes, but she was also a romanticist. She had a deep-seated longing for the kind of "lovey-dovey" situations you’d find in a romance manga.
"If your only concern is the crowd, we can just move somewhere else after we buy it. You can create a subspace for us, right?"
"...T-that... well, I mean, technically..."
"Look, if you really hate the idea, I won’t push it. What do you want to do?"
"Ugh... ah... err... W-well, I suppose I am Kaito-san’s lover... so if you say you absolutely must have it, then I suppose I’m not entirely unwilling to fulfill your request. I-I mean, I don't really have a choice, do I?!"
Her face was beet-red, but the longing for the experience won out. I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at her adorable reaction. I looked her in the eye, told her I "absolutely must," and officially proposed we share that special drink.
Serious-senpai: "Hie... S- Sugar content is starting to rise... H- Help..."