On the morning of the day I was set to explore the Hydra Kingdom's Founding Anniversary Festival with Shiro-san, I found myself in her Sanctuary for some reason. It wasn’t exactly without cause—she had summoned me the moment I woke up, and I’d barely had time to change and get ready before arriving. Still, I couldn't quite wrap my head around why she had called for me so early, nor did I understand why a breakfast spread had been laid out before me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Well, she had gone to the trouble of preparing it, so I decided to dig in. The meal was simple but appetizing: croissants, soup, and salad. The moment I took a bite of a croissant, I was floored. It was incredible. Beyond being perfectly light and fluffy, it seemed tailored exactly to my personal tastes. Shiro-san had likely created it herself, and the sheer impact was similar to the first time I had tried her Glorious Tea.
"I am glad you find it to your liking," she said.
"Yeah, it’s amazing... But anyway, what exactly is Pattern B?" I asked, finally surfacing from my meal to address the question that had been nagging at me. Shiro-san had mentioned it when she brought me here, and if there was a B, surely there was an A.
"We executed Pattern A during our previous date," she explained.
"Which was?"
"The format where we meet at a designated location. Exchanges such as 'Did you wait long?' or 'I just arrived' fall under Pattern A."
I felt like I understood what she was getting at. It was about the scenario for the start of the date. Meeting at the venue was Pattern A, so joining up beforehand to go together was Pattern B?
"That is incorrect," she replied.
"Wait, it's not?"
"No. Pattern A is as I described, but Pattern B is the 'pattern of cohabiting and going out together.'"
".........Huh? But... we aren't living together."
"Correct."
"Then why call it that?! You can't just nod like that and leave me drowning in question marks!"
As usual, her logic was that of a total airhead. It was enough to keep my head spinning.
"Therefore, we are acting as though we cohabit... which is why we are sharing breakfast."
"I-I see... I mean, if that's what you want, Shiro-san, then I suppose it's fine. But anyway, why this specific pattern?"
"I have studied extensively in preparation for this date," she declared. "I obtained reference materials through a deal with the Earth God and committed them firmly to memory. At this point, I believe I can be considered a Romance Master."
"......Reference materials?"
"These."
With a wave of her hand, Shiro-san made several books appear on the table. No matter how I looked at them, they were romance manga. So that was her secret study method? Most of those stories were heavily exaggerated for dramatic effect—they were written to be dramatic—so I didn't think they were exactly reliable guides for real life. The mere fact that Shiro-san thought she had attained 'knowledge' from them filled me with a sudden, sharp dread.
"Naturally, these are merely references," she added. "Since they aren't written about us specifically, I intend to deal with things flexibly as they arise."
"Oh... Well, you suddenly started saying something very sensible, so the gap between that and how you were acting just now is a bit confusing... but I agree. If we try to follow a script too much, things will just get awkward. It's better to just relax and have fun."
For a moment, my anxiety had spiked, but Shiro-san seemed to have grown quite a bit compared to before. Judging by her words, I felt like I could trust her—at least a little.
...It’ll be fine, right? She’s not going to let her airheaded side explode and start doing anything too crazy, right? I really hope so.
Serious-senpai: "Hmm... What do you make of this pattern?"
???: "It’s hard to tell. If Kaito-san were being his usual optimistic self, it would definitely be a flag. However, since he’s actually on guard, there’s a chance Shallow Vernal-sama might actually behave normally just to spite his expectations."