What I realized from experience was that a person had to take responsibility for their words, and that there was a vast gulf between saying something and actually doing it.
What I was trying to say was... one hundred times was, as expected, a very long time.
"Well, I'm glad you seem satisfied, Shiro-san, but... don't you think it's about time we got this gondola moving again?"
"It is moving even now. It is simply that time is being stretched out, so its progress is merely infinitesimal."
"If we've spent this much time and haven't moved an inch, I don't even want to imagine how long it'll take to reach the end. Let's get going."
"Very well. Once I have finished my return gift, I shall restore the speed to normal."
"...Return gift?"
Huh? Wait, there was more? Judging from her words, she meant a return for the affection I’d shown her earlier, but that realization brought with it a wave of anxiety.
After all, Shiro-san was visibly in high spirits. She was absolutely beaming. In her mind, she had likely shared more than enough lovey-dovey time. While that was incredibly cute, I couldn't help but worry about what an excited Shiro-san might do next.
"I mean exactly what I said. Like this..."
"Whoa!? Ah, wait—is this the return gift...?"
No sooner had she spoken than Shiro-san wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me flush against her. It was a perfect recreation of what I’d been doing to her just a moment ago, and her divine strength made it effortless to pull me into her embrace.
But hold on. I understood the concept of a return gift, but wasn't this going to be a problem? If Shiro-san intended to swap roles entirely, there was one major anatomical difference between us.
Specifically, the chest. If things played out the same way, Shiro-san was going to pull my head close and cradle it against her. If she did that, my face was going to end up buried right in her bountiful breasts.
My mind was racing with panic, but none of it was making it to my vocal cords. I couldn't even manage a "wait a minute."
Since she could read my mind, she surely knew exactly what I was thinking, but given the way she placed her free hand on the back of my head and pulled me in without the slightest hesitation, she seemed intent on ignoring my internal protests.
"—!?!?"
Her chest loomed in my vision for a split second before my world went dark, my face enveloped in something incredibly soft and warm.
A sweet, pleasant scent tickled my nostrils, and my head began to swim instantly—but it didn't end there.
"...I love you, Kaito-san."
Her voice, whispered so close to my ear that I could feel her breath, was laden with sweetness. Chills of pleasure ran down my spine.
Just as the world had ASMR, the pleasure derived from sound was not something to be scoffed at. Especially when the person speaking was Shiro-san, whose voice was a cheat in its own right—the very definition of celestial beauty.
And above all, it wasn't her usual flat, monotone delivery. It was a voice filled with genuine emotion and heat. My head was truly starting to spin. I could understand why she’d taken such a liking to this; the impact was far beyond anything I’d imagined.
"...Now then, that leaves ninety-nine more times."
"...Wait, what? No, hold on—"
A significant distance from the gondola containing Kaito and Shallow Vernal, the Supreme Gods watched on and let out weary sighs.
"Can we finally rest our minds for these twenty minutes? We cannot let our guard down, of course, but..."
"Indeed... Oh? God of Fate? What is the matter?"
They had thought they might finally have a moment's respite from the crowds and stalls—even though they still had to handle things like the Stereoscopic Text whenever Shallow Vernal's excitement peaked—but right at that moment, Fate’s face began to drain of all color.
"Oh, this is bad. This is really bad... Some incredible power is moving... No, no, no! I can't stop this! My power isn't enough! Shallow Vernal-sama's excitement has reached a critical level! Something on a completely different scale is coming!"
"What!?"
"No... how could... what is this!?"
Just as Chronoa and Life turned pale at Fate's desperate warning, the sky was instantly transformed as if painted over by a brilliant night sky, and a Glowing Meteor Shower of 'Happiness' filled the firmament.
The festival attendees stopped in their tracks, looking up at the sudden transition from day to night and the spectacular meteor shower that crowded the heavens.
Given the distance, most likely saw them as ordinary falling stars rather than characters. Even if someone with extraordinary vision looked up, they wouldn't understand the meaning, as it was written in Japanese. While most crowds were moved to tears by the breathtakingly beautiful, multi-colored celestial display—something far beyond the capabilities of any Magic Tool—the three Supreme Gods watched the streaking lights with dead-fish eyes.
"...It's over. This is a world-scale event."
"How do we cover this up? How do we even begin? For that matter, is this even something we can manage...?"
"...At this point, unless we frame it as a Special Arrangement from Shallow Vernal-sama, deceiving the public is going to be impossible."
Fate, Chronoa, and Life muttered their laments, expressions of deep, sorrowful longing etched onto their faces.
At that same moment, Laguna and Lilia, who had arrived at the ceremony venue, looked up at the sky with identical looks of despair. Fortunately, since this was clearly a situation beyond human intervention, they had no choice but to leave the management to the Gods... though that realization did absolutely nothing to soothe the pain in their stomachs.
Serious-senpai: "My stomach is taking tremendous damage... This lovey-dovey stuff is hard on the gut..."
???: "Could you stop adding weird new settings like taking stomach damage from seeing lovey-dovey stuff?"