[<u>Protagonist''s POV</u>]


    「Have you eaten?」


    「Yes, I''ve already eaten...」


    「Okay... So just a drink bar?」


    「Eh, ah... Okay...」


    Shiratori-san, without a hint of concern for my confusion, holds up two fingers to the waitress whoes to take our order, with her usual sullen expression on her face.


    「A clubhouse sandwich and two drink bars」


    After reciting the order to the waitress recites, and she leaves, I ask a simple question.


    「Um...why are we going to a family restaurant?」


    「I don''t think it''s strange to have a cup of tea since we are on a date. I haven''t had dinner yet」


    **a


    I raised my eyebrows.


    If I want to exin why this is happening, I must go back a little in time.


    When I asked her about "the two mistakes Shiratori-san herself had made" on the bench in the open-air concert hall, she squinted her eyes slightly and said.


    「Follow me... I won''t hurt you」


    The color that surrounds her words is blue.


    She wasn''t lying.


    So, I follow her back as she moves ahead of me while I reveal my wariness.


    （Where is she taking me? Has she fallen into the hands of some other nobleman of the demon world? Or is she being manipted? Is it a trap? No, she didn''t lie when she said, "I won''t hurt you"...）


    It takes about ten minutes to walk with a sense of tension in my cheeks, preparing to open the "door" and call the maids anytime.


    Eventually, we arrived at a family restaurant on Suematsu Park Street.


    「A family restaurant? Um, Shiratori-san?」


    Without looking back at my puzzled look, she stepped into the restaurant, and I hurriedly followed her.


    It is a very typical chain restaurant. They are currently holding an autumn taste fair, and the Mont nc is their specialty.


    The restaurant is brightly lit, and there is a murmur ofughter.


    Perhaps because it was rtivelyte in the day, there were not many family customers but couples and groups of women.


    I was shown to a window seat and sat down across from Shiratori-san... and here we are.


    「So, what do you mean "I won''t hurt you"—」


    「—I''ll treat you to a drink bar」


    「...Thank you」


    **b


    I feel like I''ve been getting the short end of the stick all day. It seems as if she knows I''m wary of her and is making fun of me.


    （Is the reason why she brought me to the public ce to prevent me from using my power? Maybe she knew that I was keeping the maids at a distance...?）


    She must not know I can use udia''s <Eyes of Truth>. That should be my advantage, I thought.


    However, with the words, "I won''t hurt you," she has taken advantage of me.


    （Maybe she knows about the <Eyes of Truth>?）


    But not many people know that I have this power.


    （Or maybe... she was watching my reaction to her earlierment about the twins? No, no way... that''s just...）


    「Hey, Shiratori-san, about the mistake you made...」


    When I start, she gives me a serious look.


    「I believe that criticizing a woman''s mistake is like flipping up her skirt, don''t you?」


    「Flipping up skirts is nothing to me. I''ve done much more than that」


    When I said this to her, she looked somewhat impressed.


    It was a look that said, "Heh... very impressive".


    **c


    「No wonder. Then, as for the first mistake... was it Hanabusa-san? There was another basketball yer in her ss」


    「Another?」


    「Yes, this Mangi girl should not have been involved. I was surprised when Sato brought her to me」


    「Sato? She brought her?」


    「Yes... that''s just a minor detail, so don''t worry about it. Then, Ritsuko Sakon, you heard she was the only basketball yer in Hanabusa-san''s ss, right?」


    「I heard that... who told you?」


    「Ritsuko Sakon herself. She said she was the only one in her ss. But no, she just had forgotten there was another one and was not interested. And the other mistake is that devil Lili, I didn''t expect her toe back at a time like this」


    My expression tightens again.


    「How did you know that Lili came back?」


    「Because there''s no other exnation」


    What kind of picture does Shiratori-san see?


    「The King confines Ritsuko Sakon, trains her, and that''s the end. That''s the way it was supposed to be. But now, this girl Mangi and Ritsuko Sakon arepeting for the King. I was like, "Oh, no!"」


    （What? Does it mean that Shiratori-san was trying to trick Sankon? But what in the world does Shiratori-san have to do with Sankon if Sankon herself is the one being questioned?）


    「Well, this girl Mangi is aplete mess. I felt sorry for her, so I helped her to avoid the worst possible situation... or maybe it''s more correct to say that I tried to push her out of the way」


    Her lips twitch as she maintains her already sullen expression.


    **a


    「Besides, udia was in contact with Hanabusa-san, and I thought it would be better to just drop the matter in hand and go down」


    （Hey, udia, she knows you''re involved!）


    After all, Shiratori-san was much better than udia.


    「That''s why I dared to show the King that I was with Ritsuko Sakon and asked you out on a date. And that''s the end」


    「The end...? I still don''t understand the story at all」


    As I was saying this, the waitress brought us clubhouse sandwiches.


    Shiratori-san wipes her fingertips on a napkin, takes one of the sandwiches, looks at me, and says.


    「No, you can see it. You''re just not trying to understand」


    I can''t help but snicker at her frank tone.


    Then she puts the clubhouse sandwich in her hand on her te, saying, "I can''t help it."


    Then she looks me in the eye and said.


    「It''s not just the King, though. We''re all "too used to being consumed by the story"」


    .


    Thanks for reading.