It may have been a completely spur-of-the-moment idea born from the fact that the Eternal Flower ranked first in the Phantom Item Rankings, but taking photos of Sanctuary’s flower field seemed to have made Rosemary-san very happy. So much so, in fact, that in a burst of excitement she impulsively hugged me, an unexpected incident.

When something like that comes at you completely out of nowhere, it leaves a strong impression along with the surprise, so even after Rosemary-san came to her senses a moment later and hurriedly stepped away, I still somehow felt the lingering sensation of her soft body.

Well, I decided not to dwell on that too much and instead focused on looking at the photos of the Sanctuary’s flower field again.

[I’m so excited! Sanctuary’s flower field…… I’d only heard about it from Kaito-kun, and imagined it in my head, so I’m really happy I actually got to see it for myself.]

[I’m glad you’re happy. W- Well then, I’ll get the photos out.]

[Mm!]

……Isn’t she a bit close? Her face is right next to mine…… Errr, so this is…… not the kind of setup where I put the photos on the table and Rosemary-san picks them up, but rather, I’m holding the photos and she’s leaning in to see them directly from my hand?

Rosemary-san has this habit of her sense of personal space breaking down a bit with people she trusts, so right now she’s got one hand resting toward me and is peering down at my hands with a cheerful look.

She’s probably not even aware of it, but her face is so close it’s practically right beside mine, and her body is pressing lightly against my back. How should I say this…… I can tell exactly which parts of her are touching me, and that’s making me weirdly tense.

A- Anyway, let’s just hurry up and show the photos……

[T- This is Sanctuary’s flower field I’ve dreamed about…… Woooow, it’s so beautiful! And every flower here doesn’t exist in either the Human Realm or the Demon Realm, and they’re all so beautiful they almost seem to be shining!]

[Y- Yeah, that’s right. Um, Rosemary-san, your face is a bit……]

[Ah! This! This is the flower you told me about before, isn’t it, Kaito-kun?!]

[Ah, y- yes, that’s right.]

……It’s basically like she’s hugging me from behind now!? Our cheeks are so close they’re practically touching. Honestly, Rosemary-san is completely defenseless and her sense of distance is so out of whack with people she trusts that it’s worrying.

What’s more, she seems to be having this closeness unconsciously, as there have been a few times in the past when I’ve pointed it out, and she’d usually blush and hurriedly step away…… But right now, she seems so excited from seeing her long-admired Sanctuary’s flower field that she’s not really listening to what I’m saying.

And while she herself might not think so, Rosemary-san is incredibly beautiful. She has shining golden hair with soft, loose curls, stunning red eyes, and remarkably well-proportioned features. At first glance she gives off the impression of a noble, sharp-looking beauty, but she’s also shy and has this side of her that feels like a cute little animal, and often shows a gentle expression to those she trusts. That combination makes her come across as a beautiful and kind yet adorably charming older-sister type.

And of course, maybe because she’s a Rose Spirit, she smells wonderfully of roses, so when she’s this close, my heart can’t help but race.

[Kaito-kun, which flower do you like? For me…… From just a glance, I think I like this red one.]

[Ah, it’s gorgeous and beautiful. The shape is different, but it has a bit of a rose-like feel to it, so I like it quite a lot too.]

[I see, it makes me happy that you like the same one as me. I don’t know, it’s like sharing this happy feeling with you makes me feel a bit giddy. Just being able to look at Sanctuary’s flower field together with Kaito-kun, who I like so much, already makes me happy, but when we find little things we have in common, it feels like a small bonus that makes me even happier.]

She’s probably just completely caught up in the excitement and the wonder of the flower field, with almost no deeper meaning behind it, but hearing her say she likes me so naturally still takes me by surprise.

Or rather, so this is what Rosemary-san is like when her excitement peaks, even though her sense of personal space is already a bit broken on a normal day…… she’s pressing up against me even more than before, and now our cheeks are completely touching. Isn’t her guard way too low!?

I mean, I do get that it’s probably just because she’s extremely shy and only lets a very small number of people get this close, but guys can be pretty simple creatures. At this kind of distance, it’s dangerously easy to start misunderstanding and think that Rosemary-san might actually like me in that way.

Well, I’m pretty sure she does like me in the sense of the word……

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Afterword

Serious-senpai : [They’re flirting about three times more than I imagined!? And I’m pretty sure, no, without a doubt, that’s not just "like", that’s more "love" kind of feel!!!]

? ? ? : [It’s true that with people like Camellia-san or anyone she’s comfortable with, she tends to close the physical distance, but with Kaito-san in particular, there’s also their personality compatibility and the fact that she enjoys talking to him. She already had a good impression of him and was interested in him, and on top of that, there’s that massive Spirit Favorability Boost constantly stacking…..]

Serious-senpai : [Oh right, there was that hellish system where, if someone of the Spirit Race likes you, a favorability boost for the Spirits in their entirety applies…… Since he's been racking up favorability with other Spirits like Jutia, Rosemary’s favorability has been going up too……]