#03: Flowering Night
– "Hey! You're fifteen minutes and thirty seconds late!"
The next day at the usual place, it was Renko who seized the rare first word.
– "Forgive me, Renko. I overslept."
– "Well, I just got here five minutes ago myself, so I can't complain."
Merry carefully sat down at their table on the terrace and patted her velvet dress flat against her lap.
– "Have you ordered the usual for me yet?"
– "The usual: that is, the holiday special that changes every year."
– "It's fun to have a tradition that stays the same, yet changes."
– "For example, you being late this time made for an interesting change of pace."
– "Sorry, sorry! Like I said, I was busy."
– "Busy? I thought you said you overslept."
– "Ah, well, that is..."
– "Mɪss, ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ɪs ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ!"
The café's artificial waiter rolled up to their table, carrying a pair of steaming teacups on the tray that formed its head. Merry involuntarily wrinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of the contents, while Renko peered forward curiously.
– "What do we have here?"
– "Oᴜʀ ʜᴏʟɪᴅᴀʏ sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ɪs: ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ᴛᴇᴀ ɪɴꜰᴜsᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʀᴇᴅ ʟʏᴄᴏʀɪs."
The girl who hated exactly one flower in the world let out a dissatisfied groan.
– "Huh? Lycoris, of all things!"
– "Merry, don't be mad at the waiter! It's only doing its job."
The small robot's digital smile flickered and contorted into a worried expression, vibrating subtly.
– "You're right. It's no one's fault. Anyway, Renko is the one paying today."
The default smile returned as its cylindrical body spun and sped back toward the kitchen, the perfectly elegant servant of the future. The simulation of human emotion was a key part of its futuristic elegance.
– "Pʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴅʀɪɴᴋ! Mᴇʀʀʏ Cʜʀɪsᴛᴍᴀs!"