Chapter 1657 – In the Cottage Illuminated by Moonlight ③

After the surprise cake I didn’t know I arranged appeared, leaving me perplexed, Alice looked at the departing waitress with a suspicious look on her face, before lightly sighing and murmured.

[……Good grief, she’s being strangely considerate.]

[Unnn?]

[Ahh, no, it doesn’t look like she put anything weird in it anyway…… I’ll graciously accept the surprise cake from Kaito-san.]

It isn’t really a surprise from me, but if Alice deems it okay, then it should be fine. The cake has a really cute vibe to it, feeling like it’s perfect for couples.

Alice was about to eat the cake when she started looking around, seemingly searching for something.

[Arehh? They didn’t provide any forks?]

There certainly weren’t any eating utensils provided besides the cake, but just as I was wondering about it, the waitress came up to me and handed me a fork.

[This cake is one eaten by boyfriend-sama feeding it to girlfriend-sama, so the fork will only be provided to boyfriend-sama.]

[Eh? Ah, yes.]

[……Huh? N- No, come back here, Ma———- Waitress!!!]

I feed Alice. Alice was about to complain to the waitress, who informed us that the formal way of eating this cake is feeding it to one’s date, but before she could, the waitress swiftly handed me a fork and retreated to the back.

Upon seeing that, Alice’s eyes narrowed slightly and she stood up from her chair, but I hurriedly called out to her.

[Oi, Alice?]

[I’m just gonna beat up…… that waitress for a bit.]

[Stop. Rather, can’t you calm down for a sec……. It’s not like that waitress meant any harm, that’s just the way things are…… Being attacked by one of the Six Kings, that waitress would be too pitiful.]

[No, even if I seriously beat her up, it’s not like she’s gonna die anyway…… Haahhh…… Well, I guess you’re right.]

Alice seemed to be brimming with anger for some reason, but midway through, she let out a sigh with a somewhat resigned expression on her face.

Letting out a sigh of relief knowing that Alice seemed to have stopped directing her anger at the waitress, I then looked down at the fork in my hand.

[Well, if they said the cake was meant to be eaten that way, I guess we should do that…… This is a lovey-dovey situation right up Alice’s alley anyway.]

[I- I- I- I never said anything like that! I- I was just thinking a bit, just a little bit that that might be nice……]

[Anyway, it’s hard to feed each other while we’re sitting facing each other, so let’s move our seating a bit.]

[Are you not listening at all!?]

It was good that the restaurant was practically empty, allowing for some leniency in etiquette. Gently lifting my chair, I sat next to Alice, and after removing the decorative fireworks, I moved the cake closer to us.

Forking out a bite-sized piece of the cake, I offered it to the blushing Alice, who seemed to be flustered.

[Here, ahhhn.]

[Why do you look so relaxed!? Ugh, mnghh…… I’ll have some.]

It’s not really about me being composed about this or anything, it’s just that I’ve already done this before…… Heck, I’ve fed others so much that it’s making me worried my hand might get tendonitis.

After taking a bite of the cake I held out to her with a wry smile on my face, Alice, seemingly a bit shy, shifted her gaze, but I could see a hint of happiness on her face. After swallowing that bite of cake, she immediately opened her mouth again.

Finding her gesture endearing, I scooped another bite-sized piece of the cake and put it in her mouth. At that moment, an explosive sound resounded, and beautiful lights were visible outside the window.

[……Ohh, looks like the fireworks have started.]

[Right. The fireworks in Hydra Kingdom are quite large and more spectacular than those in Symphonia Kingdom and Archlesia Empire, you know?]

[I haven’t seen much of those two, so I can’t really tell the difference.]

I had set up stalls at the Founding Festival of both the Symphonia Kingdom and Archlesia Empire, and the location of my stalls was towards the outskirts, avoiding the main venue, so I didn’t get to see much of the fireworks. I caught glimpses of it through the gaps in the buildings, but I don’t recall ever watching as beautifully as it looked now.

Watching the fireworks from what could be called prime seats like this feels luxurious, and it’s enjoyable to watch…… I should thank Alice for this.

Just as I was thinking about this, Alice suddenly brought her fingers close and held the hand not holding the fork.

When I glanced at her, Alice’s gaze was directed outside the window, so I couldn’t tell if she was feeling shy or if she wasn’t really conscious of doing this, but in response to that subtle request, I held her hand, and she gripped back tightly.

While appreciating the beautiful scenery reflected in my eyes and the gentle, soft warmth in my hand…… Accompanied by an indescribable warmth in my chest, I continued to watch the fireworks.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [……This is bad, it’s starting to feel like they’re gonna move to the cottage next chapter……]