Iris, Come Here for a Sec.
Theo was despairing to himself, thinking that even clapping alone in his mind wouldn't make a sound, when Estelle called Iris aside.
"What is it?"
Iris's tone was unusually calm compared to usual, which still felt strangely unfamiliar to Estelle.
"Why do you keep acting like the crown princess, Iris?"
"...I'm acting like the crown princess because I am the crown princess. I don't know what the problem is."
"No, of course I get that. I know you're the crown princess, Iris. But why are you suddenly acting like one in front of us too?!"
Estelle let out a frustrated yell. She knew well how Iris usually behaved around others—the princess persona was completely different from the real Iris. That's why this behavior felt like she was drawing a line, acting purely as the crown princess, and it was making Estelle increasingly frustrated. She'd just realized that moments ago.
"...It's not a big deal."
"Don't dodge my eyes."
"... "
"I said don't dodge!"
Estelle relentlessly pursued Iris, who kept averting her gaze and lying.
"...Give me some space. I need time to think."
In the end, Iris was the first to yield.
"There we go. That's the Iris I know. Honestly, I don't care if you're in princess mode or Iris mode. But Theo's uncomfortable with it. I can't just sit back and watch that, right?"
"Theo doesn't see us as romantic prospects, Estelle."
"I know that too."
While Iris had been spacing out earlier, Estelle had a similar talk with Theo. And in that conversation, she'd intuitively confirmed he didn't view them that way.
"So you're giving up on Theo, drawing a line to show a different side? Is that it?"
"...Not exactly."
"Then what? You're making Theo uncomfortable without even having a plan? I'd love for you to stop that."
Estelle's mind was filled with images of Theo looking uncomfortable, and knowing it was because of Iris was starting to piss her off. Even if he didn't see her as dating material, the fact that he thought of her, encouraged her—it made her feel considered, and that was the best scenario. But watching Theo unable to even properly think about her because of Iris naturally made her mad.
"Anyway, I have no idea why we're even having this conversation like it's normal."
But Iris was just as annoyed by Estelle's behavior. She knew today's outing together was thanks to Estelle. She'd seen Estelle suggest going to the mart first and had jumped in herself. So she'd planned not to snap at or pick fights with Estelle today.
"I think apologizing directly to Theo for making him uncomfortable is my business. So if you're done, I'll be going."
But with this woman constantly picking fights and getting on her nerves, Iris couldn't hold back.
"Theo says he's not thinking about dating right now, but once he sorts out the stuff right in front of him, he's not against it. No, he even said he kinda wants to?"
"What? Really?"
"Yeah. So I'm planning to help him tackle those immediate issues one by one and slowly let him know how I feel. As for you, Iris, if you wanna distance yourself, go ahead. It'll actually make things easier for me."
Iris could tell right away that wasn't Estelle's real intention. If she truly wanted Iris out of the picture, she wouldn't bring it up—she'd just watch her struggle.
"...I'm genuinely grateful for today. Thanks, Estelle."
"Ugh, goosebumps. Let's head back quick. Theo'll panic if he notices we're gone."
Estelle definitely dreamed of dating Theo, but for now, having time with Iris too was pretty nice. They were united on Theo, at least—it was novel having a friend who clicked so well, even if she was a rival sometimes, and occasionally they teamed up. It was fun.
"Theo!"
"Y-yeah, Estelle! Iris! Where'd you go? You vanished suddenly—I was worried!"
"Sorry, Theo. Iris said she had to go big, so to the bathroom..."
"When did I say that...? Estelle, you were the one who said you had to go big—did you handle it okay?"
"Oh my, I live on dew alone, so I don't do that stuff."
Their bickering started up again, but for some reason, Theo felt relieved seeing it.
'Let's Do Our Best Together'
A notification popped up right in front of his eyes, recording an achievement. Something must've gone down between them.
'That was a close call to a bad end. Can't leave those two alone, no way.'
Anyway, if he'd been there, things would've gone smoother for sure. It felt risky this time, but he couldn't help feeling a bit proud that they'd handled it themselves.
"So, shall we head to that studio we rented earlier and try cooking?"
"Yeah, definitely. We bought all this—might as well learn to cook."
And Iris's mood seemed clearly lifted after their talk.
"Great! Let's go! I'll handle the mains and show you how."
Theo felt quite a bit better too.
'Ha... Dating, marriage. Can I even pull that off? By the time I block all their bad ends, I won't be some lonely old geezer, right?'
Of course, thoughts of dating and marriage kept swirling in his head. The game's normal ending was before they graduated the academy, but things kept getting tangled. They didn't seem to have 'love' feelings for each other no matter how he looked, which was starting to make Theo uneasy. Not that he had any way to fix it right now.
The rented studio for hands-on cooking was small but fully equipped—a proper cooking studio. He'd considered just buying ingredients and using the academy's practice kitchen, but that would've drawn crowds with the saintess and crown princess cooking. So they rented this for some quiet time.
"First, I'll lay out everything we'll use up top."
For cooking, pull out ingredients, organize, set the order, prep tools, and you're done.
"Today's simple sandwiches, so it won't be too hard."
It used some fire, but not for long, and no fancy techniques needed for good taste. That's how he settled on sandwiches.
"One's egg mayo sandwich, the other's club sandwich. Let's all make the egg mayo first?"
"Yes!"
"Sounds good."
Unlike outside, they fidgeted excitedly at actually cooking with their hands—Theo couldn't help smiling at how cute it was.
Ahem, thinking they're cute... that's fine, right?
He'd sworn off such thoughts before, but what could he do? Pretty girls acting cute—if that didn't seem adorable, you'd be the psycho. That was his self-justification as he decided to accept it this far.
"Egg mayo sandwich—so what's most important?"
"Bread!"
Estelle declared it confidently, making him burst out laughing. Ah, true, bread's key in a sandwich. No bread, no sandwich.
"Yeah, bread matters. But I meant the filling."
"Oh, then mayo!"
Estelle kept missing on purpose—it was just cute.
"Hm, 'egg' mayo, so probably eggs?"
"O! Iris, correct!"
Messing around with Estelle's airheadedness and laughing, but Iris nailed it. She proudly lifted an egg nearby like a ceremony... Ah, seriously, why are they both this cute? Driving me nuts!
Spending every day like this might raise his standards so high he'd end up a forever-alone mogul, unable to date or marry... but these everyday moments passing by had become precious, even with the world-ending fears.
Eh, whatever. If he can't date or marry, he'll just make them take responsibility.