This is not the date I wanted.

"My name is Ryougi Yumezuki. Is that okay? Shiori... Lady Orihime of Amanamiya Castle?"

"Hi! Lord Mengyue, right? I'll remember that."

"Just call him by his name!"

Ignoring Mengyue's complaints, Shizhi secretly encouraged himself in his heart.

OK... Now you know the name. Then according to the content in the book, the next step is...

"Lord Mengyue, can you agree to one of my requests?"

Meng Yue looked at the princess outside the city who was rumored to be so extravagant. After weighing the importance of her sudden serious attitude, she slowly nodded.

"...Okay. You've helped me once. As long as it's not too difficult, I can consider it."

After getting Mengyue's answer, Shizhi couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes. He put his little hand on his chest, took a deep breath, and then kowtowed to Mengyue, who was confused, and begged.

"Lord Mengyue, would you please be my friend?!"

"……what?"

————————————————Small Theater——————————————

In the morning, when Mengyue woke up from Qinli's room feeling refreshed, she vaguely felt something strange.

Shidou didn't know why he was preparing breakfast in the kitchen with a red slap mark on his face. He asked about it with a little concern, but the other party kept avoiding his gaze and was evasive in his answers.

Tohka had a happy expression on her face and seemed to want to say something to him, but Kotori, who suddenly appeared from nowhere, covered her mouth with a red face, refusing to let Tohka speak.

There is a problem. Something must have happened while I was sleeping.

After confirming this inference in her mind, Meng Yue secretly called Ju Ya out and asked her what had happened.

"I'm sorry, I'm silenced."

The white-haired girl rejected Meng Yue's request in a very calm tone. It seemed that Qin Li and the others had anticipated that he would ask Mariya about the situation, and had given Mariya a gag order before he came.

"…What is it that needs to be hidden to this extent? This makes me even more curious."

Meng Yue touched her chin, a thoughtful expression in her eyes.

Looking at Meng Yue's expression that seemed like she wanted to get to the bottom of things, Ju Ya was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"…Although I cannot reveal specific information,…revealing some information does not violate the agreement with Gokawa Shido."

——Huh? Meng Yue couldn't help but be a little surprised. She thought that when Kotori went to wake Shidou up, she happily saw Tohka or Mamoru and Shidou sleeping together and caught them cheating, and then in anger, this and that happened, and she accidentally got herself involved, and out of shame and anger, she ordered Shidou and the others not to spread the news.

However, it was Shidao who asked Maria to hide the content from Mengyue... Mengyue felt a little uneasy for some reason.

Ju Ya's face showed a hint of admiration for Meng Yue.

"Ms. Mengyue, who is sleep-deprived, is very bold in bed..."

“…………………………”

The corners of Meng Yue's mouth twitched slightly. After recalling Shidao and the others' reactions in the morning, a lot of cold sweat broke out on his head. After a long silence, he asked Maria in a very nervous tone.

"This game... should be for all ages, right?"

PS: As you can see, this non-ordinary date is an ancient story about Shidao's gender change. As for whether Origami Yumezuki and others have gender changes... considering various issues, I will not explain it clearly in the article, so you can imagine it yourself (laughs).

17 Dream Moon Line 3rd Day (Wednesday)

==============================

Today, after finishing his etiquette and music course, Shiori returned to his room to rest as usual.

However, the lonely and empty feeling on his face had disappeared, replaced by full of joy and anticipation.

From that day on, after meeting a thief named Ryogi Yumezuki, Shiori found that his world had changed.

The monotonous black and white world, which seemed to be frozen in time and space, is now gradually beginning to show colors.

I have made friends~ Shizhi was preparing tea for the guests with tea sets while humming a light tune.

"Hey, girl, here I come again."

"Mr. Mengyue! Welcome~"

Looking at Mengyue who slowly poked her head out from the ceiling, Shizhi showed a surprised smile on his face.

"Really? That samurai named Tobiichi is really strict in his search. If I hadn't asked my brother to help attract his attention, I would have been thrown into prison right now."

Meng Yue landed on the ground quietly, patted the dust off her body, and complained about a headache. Shi Zhi couldn't help but pursed his lips and smiled.

"Well, Valet Tobiichi is the most outstanding samurai that father is proud of, so this is only natural. Hi~ Please have some tea."

"Why don't you praise me for being able to sneak past that guy's guard so many times?"

"Hehe... With Lord Mengyue's cunningness, I believe this difficulty will not be a problem for you."

Shizhi couldn't help but cover his mouth with his long sleeves and chuckled. In response, Meng Yue rolled her eyes unhappily, drank the tea in one gulp, and muttered "not bad". She put the package on the table.

"Here, here's what you want."

"This, this is!?"

Shiori's eyes couldn't help but shine brightly.

"Introduction to the Ten Must-Visit Snacks in Osaka Castle", "Self-cultivation of a First-Class Manzai", "Index of Forbidden Books with Mysteries of the Past and Possible Futures", "Fox Demon of the Past", "The World's Greatest Love"! And more! Oh oh oh——!"

"Hey, hey! My Lady Orihime, you're going to attract the guards if you're so loud."

Seeing Gokawa Shiori in a frenzy, who had lost all her dignified and virtuous image as a princess, Meng Yue couldn't help but be speechless. She wondered in her heart whether this princess was simply attracted to the outside world or whether her interests were originally so wide-ranging.

"Ah...I really am...making Master Mengyue see me in such an embarrassing state."

After hearing Meng Yue's reminder, Shi Zhi realized his mistake and coughed dryly with a red face. He put away the messy books on the table and put them in the secret compartment of the bookcase that Meng Yue had renovated.

Shizhi didn't plan to read these books now. He just asked Mengyue to bring them because he wanted to kill time when he was bored. Now, Shizhi hoped to enjoy this precious and rare time with his friends.

"Master Mengyue, did you encounter anything interesting outside today?"

Sitting elegantly on the tatami, Shiori's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Interesting thing... Well, today when I was passing by the mountain road, my friends and I robbed a local tycoon of his goods. Then we distributed part of it to the villagers in Poor Street."

"Ohh, is this what they call robbing the rich to help the poor? That's awesome."

"It's just throwing the uncarryable share onto the street. You know, greed is also quite deadly to thieves."

…………

"Lack of food in autumn?"

"Well, a city once had no harvest due to drought. The city lord was greedy and didn't open the granary, so many villagers starved to death."

"This is really too much! Father always distributed food during droughts."

"In this respect, the mayor of this city is still a good person... But I couldn't stand it at the time, so I took some action."

"Did you steal the food and distribute it to the people?"

"I can't move so many things. I just found out that the city lord was having an affair and threatened his wife to open the warehouse to release the grain."

"...Lord Mengyue is unexpectedly a sinister person."

"I'll take it as a compliment."

…………

"Excuse me, what is the relationship between Lady Mengyue and her companions? I am very curious!"

"Well... basically they are either idiots or perverts. But they are undoubtedly people you can trust with your back."

"Trust your back to him!? In my impression, I always thought that Meng Yue was the stronger one. But, it seems that the strong-minded shou and the weak-minded gong are also quite good, hehe——"

"…It seems that it is necessary to limit the types of books that can be selected."

…………

"Meng Yue, which do you think is more delicious, oden or daifuku?"

"Hmm? Is it a question of sweet or salty? I can accept both. But if I have to say, I still prefer ramen."

"…Sweet? Salty? Ramen?"

"Ah——I have to start from there..."

…………

"But then again, according to rumors, Lady Orihime of Amagi Castle is extremely beautiful, like a fairy reincarnated from heaven, but in reality..."

"Eh hey hey? Why did you fall silent in the middle of the conversation?! Could it be that I am actually ugly in the eyes of ordinary people? Is that why father doesn't dare to let me go out to meet people? Is that right?!"

"It's not to this extent... I just wanted to say that ordinary ones are cute."

"Please, please don't make fun of me, Lady Mengyue!"

In this way, Meng Yue sometimes tells Shizhi about her sometimes beautiful and sometimes cruel life experiences, or answers Shizhi's interesting or boring trivial topics. But no matter what it is, Shizhi feels that it is tens of millions of times more fulfilling than the sixteen years he spent alone in the castle.

"Listening to what Lady Mengyue said about the outside world, to be honest, I feel more and more how small the world I live in is."

As he whispered this, a look of longing appeared in Shiori's eyes.

"At least once... If I have the chance, I really hope to see the outside world."

Mengyue stopped drinking tea, and after a moment of silence, she rubbed Shizhi's cheek in annoyance.

"It's a pity that a little girl like you has no common sense. If you go out into the world, you will be cheated out of your money in a minute, wandering the streets, and finally have to survive in Kabukicho by pleasing men. It's better to stay in the castle and be a spoiled princess~"

Hmm... Meng Yue poured cold water on him mercilessly. Shizhi puffed up his cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Of course I know that the world outside is not so beautiful that a mere woman like me can bear it alone. But Lady Mengyue is my friend. Can't you help me escape from the castle and then I can provide assistance in my life outside?"

"My Lord Orihime, you are joking. I am just a thief, not the prince in the story."

Meng Yue smiled bitterly and shook her head. You know, the defense here is so strict that it can be said that it is no less than that of the imperial capital. It is still possible to bring some things in. But to bring a weak woman out of the city through the siege of the guards... unfortunately, it is basically impossible in reality.

Although there seems to be something wrong with the thief who broke into the castle instead of stealing things and delivering things...

Meng Yue's answer made Shizhi's face darken, but she herself knew how unreasonable this request was, so she lowered her head apologetically.

"That's true. I'm sorry for causing trouble to Master Mengyue by making such an unreasonable request."

Then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from not far away. Hearing the density of the sound, Meng Yue knew that a large group of zombies... er, guards were approaching quickly.

"Well, I'll take my leave now. I'll come visit you next time when the guards are less strict."

"Well, Master Mengyue, please be careful on your way. I will look forward to your coming next time."

After Shizhi took a breath, his usual gentle and elegant smile appeared on his face.

After waving goodbye to Shiori, Mengyue jumped, hid in the ceiling, and slipped out of the castle.

"Being able to talk to Meng Yue-sama as a friend... this is enough to make me happy... being too greedy... is not good."

Shiori placed his hands on his chest, as if to suppress some impulse in his heart, and reminded himself softly.

The next day—

"marry!?"

"Well, you're already sixteen. It's time to talk about this kind of thing."

While they were having dinner, at the chair in the main hall, the city lord, with a look of confusion on his face, dropped a piece of news that made Shiori panic.

"It just so happens that a general named Kyouhei in Kyoto is recruiting wives and concubines. This man is not only handsome, but also admirable in both martial arts and leading troops. It is good news for you to be paired with such a wonderful person."

From the tone of the city lord with a look of confusion on his face, it is not difficult to hear that he is satisfied with this marriage.

Seeing his father, who had a question mark on his face, deciding his life's most important event without his consent and as if it was a matter of course, Shiori secretly clenched his long sleeves.

As a woman born in an aristocratic family, it is not uncommon to be used as a political marriage tool to maintain family relations. Shiori knew that this day would come sooner or later, and he was ready to accept his fate.

However, Shizhi's heart was filled with panic and resistance.

Marrying in Kyoto? What does this mean?

I will never be able to read those colorful books again, I will never be able to let Lady Mengyue taste my tea art again, I will never be able to listen to Lady Mengyue telling about the various interesting things she has seen... I will never be able to see Lady Mengyue again?

"Um... Father." Although there was a hint of timidity in his voice, Shizhi still mustered up the courage and said to the mayor who had a look of "?" seriously, "I... don't want to get married yet."

"Throat..." The city lord, who had a look of confusion on his face, sighed meaningfully, "You actually expressed dissatisfaction with your father's decision. You have grown up a lot... Then tell me, why don't you want to get married?"

"Um, because...I..."