After a little time had passed after I woke up, I got out of bed, washed my face, and went to the living room of the cottage to find Alice had prepared coffee for me.
[It’s our morning coffee!]
[……I don’t think it’s morning anymore though?]
[Whose fault do you think it is!? Anyway, morning is the time when one wakes up! It’s time for us to drink coffee while watching the sun rise over the horizon!]
[H- Hmmm. Is it really my fault though…… Isn’t it more like you and your half-asleep mumbles’ fault? Well, whatever, thanks for the coffee. While we’re at it, let’s drink it on the veranda.][Right.]
Alice, who complained about that time when we just woke up, when she was a blushing mess while we were making out…… about how we got late from the supposed time we should be getting out of bed, but in the first place, I feel like it all started with Alice talking while she’s half-asleep.
Well, though I said that, I didn’t really see any point in arguing against it, so I just decided not to mind it, accepted the mug and went out on the veranda with Alice.
[It’s already noon-time, but the sea breeze feels so nice.]
[The temperature is warm, but the breeze feels nice. Ahh, Kaito-san, after we drink our coffee, let’s eat something. I’ll cook for us this time, so please let me know if you want something you’d like to eat.]
[Ahh, I don’t really have anything I particularly want to eat, but I want to help out in the cooking. Well, with Alice cooking, I guess I’d be more of a hindrance.]
[No, n, that is…… d- doing it together is also fun……]Looking at Alice, who seemed a little embarrassed but said such a thing with a shy smile, I felt that she might have overcome some of her extreme shyness.
No, of course, I understand that she wouldn’t just change instantly, so if I surprised her with some kind of approach, she’d most probably get flustered and cause a commotion again……
[……Ummm, Kaito-san? You’re making a mean look over there, you know?]
[No, it’s just that you seem to have this composed air about you, but it doesn’t seem like you’ve fully overcome your shyness yet…… so I was wondering if you’d get flustered if I surprised you with something again.]
[You’re thinking of doing mean things with that mean look!? That’s a terrible hobby, making fun of how much of a sh*tty noob in love I am! Shouldn’t a good man pretend not to notice in that situation?]
[Rather than me pretending not to notice, how about you look at how you yourself are boldly declaring it……]
I smiled back at Alice, who seemed to be enjoying herself despite her complaints. Even though our relationship has progressed significantly, I still enjoy this kind of dynamic between us.
Being able to exchange light banter like this might be one of Alice’s good qualities.
[Speaking of which, are we going home right after our meal?]
[Hmmm. The cottage is still available for the rest of the day.]
[Fumu…… Come to think of it, this place was on a private beach?]
[Yes. Rather, the area visible to your eyes are all part of the private beach.]
[……It’s very spacious.]
The cottage was simple, but as to be expected from a luxury cottage, the private beach it was in seemed to be quite spacious.
[Then, how about we go for a light swim?]
[Oya, I see Kaito-san wanna see his cute girlfriend in a swimsuit.]
[Yeah, I’d really like that. When we went to the beach before, you were all stiff and guarded after all.]
[Uehh!? Ah, I- I see…… W- Well, if Kaito-san wants to see, a- as your girlfriend, I won’t strongly deny you either…… Errr, will you take a look then?]
Though Alice had this somewhat measured cuteness when she asked this, she still seemed to be struggling with a fair amount of shyness, so it seemed like she had no composure to tease me.
Of course, my response to that was already settled, so it was decided that Alice and I would play at the beach before returning, and after talking about this, we headed back into the cottage.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Wait right there! Doesn’t it seem like this arc’s still gonna continue!? We’ve already reached ⑫!!!]
Makina : [Ah, you’re back…… Wouldn’t it be good if the sub-title was changed? Well, it’s also possible that it just looks like the arc still continues, but they’re actually going back home already in the .]
