"So I came here for our first date."
"Wow."
"So..what do we do?"
"Should we go eat something first?"
For some reason, I was the one who got excited about going on a date. So here we were—me and Rice—spending a quiet holiday together.
I had even dressed up more than usual.
"It's not the same as usual."
"Right."
It was tea time, just like always.
Thanks to the fan club support, I finally had some pocket money to spend. Not that I used it recklessly—wasting money still felt wrong. But today was special.
Still, as I nibbled cake from a tiered stand, I couldn't help but feel like I was being swept along by Rice-chan's financial instincts.
"What are lovers supposed to do?"
"Go on dates?"
"We always do this on dates."
"Always together?"
"You always do it."
"Chu or something?"
"You didn't do that."
So… is kissing the only difference?
What even is a sweetheart, anyway?
"What's a lover?"
"A promise, maybe?"
"Promise?"
"To always be together."
"I see."
It's true—we don't know how long this will last.
What happens when Rice retires from the Twinkle Series?
What happens when we graduate?
What if I go to university? Or get a job?
A lover is someone you promise to stay with—no matter what changes.
"If that's the case, doesn't that mean nothing changes now?"
"That's what it is."
I understood.
I wanted to be with Rice forever too.
"Yes, uh."
"…ahhh."
But I still wasn't used to how Rice-chan could set the tone so easily.
"Well, isn't that what it is?"
"?"
"I don't think becoming lovers is the end."
"Yeah."
"In romance manga, dating is the ending. But in real life, it's the beginning."
"Certainly."
We couldn't stop here. Rice hadn't even made her makeup debut yet.
"So I think we should start a relationship of our own."
"A relationship between the two of us?"
In this world—with horse girls and humans, with traditions I barely understood—I didn't know what a "normal" family looked like.
Some horse girls were girly, some boyish. Some things didn't match my old-world common sense.
But even if we clashed sometimes, we'd figure it out.
We'd build something that was ours.
I sipped my tea, thinking about all of it.
It tasted bitter.
But the moment was sweet.