The Cider Pavilion, true to its name, was a tavern where cider was the house specialty.
But nobody actually ordered the cider—they'd order ale and the like instead.
Maybe it was because the owner was a former delver, but delvers frequented the place.
It was a tavern, but it had a generous selection of snacks and meals, and plenty of people came just to eat, like me.
The Cider Pavilion also had a second floor.
The second floor was all private rooms, designed so each one was set apart from the others.
That meant there were no rooms directly next to each other. Six rooms in total, if I remembered right.
Not just anyone could use the second floor.
First, the fee was steep. Second, it was referral-only. And third, you needed a certain level of status and renown.
And this was the most important requirement: you had to be accompanied by a woman.
I lacked every single one of those qualifications, but if I asked the owner here, I could use it without any hassle.
The owner, Burns, had been a tremendous help when I first came to Hydrangea.
At the time, I'd given him a few cooking tips drawn from memories of my past life.
It wasn't anything major. But for Burns, it seemed to make a real difference.
As thanks, he'd given me the right to use the VIP room on the second floor for free whenever it was open.
That didn't mean I was going to use it all the time, though.
I hadn't used it at all recently, and I didn't expect that to change.
Or so I thought.
"What an interesting room."
A pure-white beauty surveyed the room enclosed by red wallpaper, taking in every detail from top to bottom.
A rare white tea table had been folded up and placed in the corner of the room.
"Um... Shiro. What would you like to eat?"
"Hmm. Do you have anything white?"
She asked while looking at me with those stark white eyes.
They weren't silver. Her irises were a strange, pure white.
My heart skipped a beat, just slightly.
Shiro—White—Vie... her ridiculously long name aside, she was a First-Class Delver.
In appearance, she was a late-teen girl who was pure white from head to toe, beautiful as if frozen in ice.
If not for the tea table strapped to her back, that lovely appearance would have captivated anyone.
But looks probably don't equal age. Her race was probably the same as mine—Universal Human.
Either way, she was older than me.
Right now, she sat elegantly across from me on a black sofa, legs crossed.
This sofa—it was the same kind as the one in the witch's house.
"White food, you say?"
"And I don't care for meat."
"In that case, white-sauce pasta or cream stew?"
"That will do."
"...Ah, wait. We had that, didn't we? Milk cheese rice."
"That sounds interesting."
"Then I'll have that."
I went with butter rice and orange juice.
Shiro ordered white liqueur. Alcohol, huh. Well, this is a tavern, so naturally.
I opened the soundproof box installed next to the room's door and spoke my order into the small crystal.
This crystal is a legendary item used for communication, connected to the large crystal in the kitchen.
It's a treasure that the owner, Burns, obtained in a dungeon when he was young.
It had been damaged, though, and he'd had a witch repair it.
There are small crystals and a large crystal — multiple small crystals exist, but there's only one large crystal.
All the small crystals are connected to the large crystal, and that enables two-way communication.
So, why am I in the second-floor VIP room with Shiro?
There's no deep reason for it.
Just a few dozen minutes ago.
When I got hungry and headed to the Cider Pavilion, the place was more crowded than I'd ever seen it.
The reason was obvious. Agaro was here.
At the same time the venue for the Great Browns was announced, the first-class rank promotion was also revealed.
In that instant, Agaro became the most popular person in Hydrangea.
The man who's a skilled fighter but has a drinking problem and got banned from countless taverns over drinking contests — a hero, huh.
"Hmm. Can't get in like this."
"That's a problem."
"Oh."
"Oh my."
We turn around at the same time. It's Shiro.
A pale beauty. Unbelievably white, the whole of her.
"Shiro."
"You. The witch's apprentice... Wof, right?"
"Yes. Shiro, are you here for Cidrel Inn too?"
"Mm, that was the plan, but this isn't going to work."
Shiro sighed.
I had been about to give up too, but only because I was alone.
And because I was a boy.
"......It's not like there's no way in, though."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
And that's how we ended up here.
I chat with Shiro while we wait for the food.
Shiro was a talker, despite her cool appearance.
"Still, this is the VIP room, isn't it? You got in just like that — that's not what I'd expect from your looks."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean it's for women only. If you didn't know, I'm telling you now."
I thought I saw something sinister flicker in Shiro's white eyes.
"No thanks."
Shiro feigned disappointment with a joke.
"By the way, how much do you know about witches?"
"Even as her disciple, there's a lot I don't know. Are you friends with the Witch, Shiro?"
"Friends… Has the Witch never told you anything about me?"
"She hasn't, no. The Witch doesn't really talk about that sort of thing."
"You said 'friends.'"
"I did. Was I wrong?"
"Wrong. That Witch doesn't have friends."
She said it so flatly that I was taken aback.
"Huh?"
"We're old acquaintances. That's all. Nothing more."
"……"
"That Witch always intended to live alone forever. That's the kind of woman she is… I never expected she'd end up with a man."
"I'm her disciple, though."
"You. You're a man, right?"
"I am. But a disciple isn't a boyfriend."
"Then let me ask you this, Wof — do you like the Witch?"
"I do."
"Then it's no mistake that she ended up with a man."
"No, I'm her disciple, though."
I wished she wouldn't mix those two things up.
Shiro murmured "Stubborn, aren't you," then suddenly made an expression as if something had caught her attention.
"Do you like the Witch?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Really, nothing—she was so kind, she worried about me, thought things through for me, cooperated with me, taught me, lectured me. Okay, sure, some of that was because I'm her disciple, but she went that far for me. There's no way I wouldn't like her."
Shiro stared at me, utterly dumbfounded.
Her mouth hung open like she couldn't close it.
"Kind...? That's not the Witch I know."
"Is that so?"
"So she really did find a man... When a woman finds a man, she changes."
"Oh, enough with that already—wait. Shiro. Are you worried about the Witch?"
The atmosphere in the room stopped. No, it shifted. Turned cold.
Shiro kept staring at me, not blinking, not looking away.
I couldn't look away either.
Being stared straight in the face by someone whose exquisite beauty held both a cuteness and a hint of something bewitching.
Probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Still, just how white was this woman, really?
It was like her beauty didn't belong to this world.
Her white-painted lips moved smoothly.
"………Wof-kun. You say the most unexpected things. Like a witch."
Shiro finished speaking and averted her gaze from me.
"I'm flattered…"
Well, I'd only said what I honestly felt, so I couldn't really complain about being thought of that way.
And right on cue, the food arrived.
Milk cheese rice was set down in front of Shiro.
Actually. That's risotto, isn't it.
Shiro immediately took a bite with her spoon and murmured softly.
"A gentle flavor. I didn't know such a gentle flavor existed."
Both her words and her voice were warm. She seemed to truly love it.
After that, we chatted while eating and enjoyed our meal.
We ate our fill, left the Cider Hall, and were about to part ways when—
"I've decided."
"Huh?"
"Shiro has decided on you."
"Decided what?"
"Well then, see you again. Wof-kun."
Shiro didn't answer. She simply walked away from me.
It would be some time before I understood what that statement truly meant.