I finished my lunch and paid an amount of money that I didn’t think I’d be able to spend for just one meal, we then walked out of the restaurant.

  [Well~~ That was delicious!]

  [I- I see…… It certainly was worth more than me hurting my arm…… I guess?]

  [That is where you say “If I was able to see the cute Alice’s smile, that’s rather cheap *smile smile, sparkle sparkle*.” or something like that.]

  [……Looking at the amount of food you ate, it doesn’t make you look cute at all.]

  Letting out a sigh as Alice started fooling around again, we began walking with our hands naturally holding the other.

  I’m not sure if Alice is getting used to holding hands or not, but she doesn’t seem to be as nervous as she was before the start of our date. Well, she still has a faint blush on her cheeks though……


  [Hmm~~ This makes me suddenly look forward to our dinner! Which restaurant are we going to for dinner?]

  [We just finished lunch, and you’re already talking about dinner?]

  [Ahaha, after all, I’m looking forward to it.]

  [Rather than that, I think we need to decide where to go in the time we have before dinner.]

  The area we are currently in is quite far from where I usually hang around in, and I honestly don’t know what’s around here.

  As a man, I wanted to be the one leading her in our date, but unfortunately, I can’t lead her to an area I don’t know about, so I decided to honestly talk to Alice about it.

  After hearing what I said, Alice thought for a moment…… And it feels like she came up with some sort of nonsense again, as a devilish grin appeared on her lips.

  [That should mean that, right? Kaito-san wanted to know where the “inn district” was…… This is what you meant, right!?]

  [……Huh?]

  [You probably wanted to release your beastly instincts all over my body and have some after-meal workout…… It can’t be helped, the inn district was on the opposite street.]

  […………………..]

  I’m somehow feeling a déjà vu. Ahh, speaking of which, when we were talking back in the Archlesia Empire, she joked around with something like that too, where I tsukkomi’d by having Bell slap her, didn’t I?

  ……Fumu, I could end this here with a smack on the head, but I’ve already learned that there are also more effective ways to attack Alice when she’s doing these kinds of shenanigans.

  [……I see, let’s go do that then.]

  [Ehhh!?]

  [It was in that street, right? Let’s go~~]

  [Ahh, wahh, wait…… T- That’s won’t do!?]

  Pretending to get along Alice’s antics, I began walking while holding her hand, and as I expected, Alice became flustered.

  [……Unnn? What’s the matter? We’re going to the inn district, right?]

  [T- T- T- That won’t do! I- I- It’s still early for that kind of thing or rather…… m- my heart isn’t ready yet……]

  [Isn’t Alice the one who suggested that?]

  [T- T- That might be true, b- but I was just joking……]

  Alice, who looks understandably shaken, is really cute and I can’t help but keep teasing her.

  As I dragged her along, Alice’s face was as red as a boiled octopus as she flapped her free hand about, desperately trying to convince me.

  [O- Of course, I- I think we would do t- that kind of thing…… I- I’m a former human after all, I- I- I understand what you do in that area, b- b- but…… I intend to take t- t- that kind of thing step by step……]

  [Fumu, step by step, like what?]

  [T- That is, you know…… A- As expected, my first time…… We would be illuminated by the moonlight, just the two of us in a cottage by the sea…… or in a situation like that……]

  [………………..]

  Alice was surprisingly quite the romanticist…… She has been trying to find a relationship for a long time, so she may be yearning for that kind of great, over-the-top atmosphere.

  It’s just a guess, but she’s probably the type of person who would definitely prefer a seaside church for our wedding.

  [Hmmm. As expected, I can’t think of a place that fulfills that requirement right away.]

  [I- Isn’t it!? T- That’s why, let’s go find it together…… Taking it slow, deepening our l- l- l- l- love……]

  I’m not sure if saying the word love feels really embarrassing or not, but she repeatedly stammered and desperately told me that we should take our time to deepen our love.

  To be honest, I agree with what she said, and since I’m only teasing Alice at the moment, I have no intention of forcing her to do anything if she isn’t ready for it.

  Thinking that I should end the teasing there, I stopped walking and called out to Alice.

  [……Certainly, it is as Alice says. There’s no need for us to rush, right?]

  [T- That’s right! W- We have lots of time…… ummm, that’s why…… F- For today…… Please be content with a kiss for now.]

  [Eh? A- Ah, okay.]

  Looking at Alice, who tells me that it’s fine if it’s a kiss, while fidgeting with her embarrassed face looking down, my heart greatly leaped.

  I was just supposed to be acting, but I’m strangely starting to feel embarrassed…… This is bad, I don’t think I can look straight at Alice’ face at this rate.

  [……Speaking of which, Alice.]

  [W- What is it?]

  [Alice is much stronger than me, so if you really don’t like it, you could have easily shaken my hand off……]

  [ ~ ~!? ]

  Yes, I was trying to drag Alice along a moment ago, but when I think about it, if she seriously resisted my pull, there was no way I could move her at all.

  However, Alice still ended up being dragged by me…… which should mean that she was hardly resisting……


  When Alice heard my question, she lowered her head once and whispered in a voice that I wasn’t able to hear.

  [……I- It’s not like I say that I- I didn’t want to……]

  [Eh?]

  [I- I said nothing!?]

  [Alice, what did you say just now?]

  [I- I don’t know what you’re talking about!]

  [Wait, Alice!?]

  Speaking really quickly, Alice turned her face away.

  Her reactions were just so cute, and coupled with her faintly audible remarks earlier, I felt like our hands that held each other were getting hotter and hotter.

  Dear Mom, Dad———- As expected, now that we are lovers, even if we had such a conversation like that earlier, the result will be different…… I don’t know if my recognition of her has changed or not, but somehow———- It seems like I was strangely becoming aware of Alice as a woman.

  **********