It was interesting to see this side of Audrey. I’d figured a movie like this wouldn’t scare her at all.
I wasn’t sure if it was actually helping them get along, though.
Still, Maya never messed up at work, so she probably hadn’t screwed up the reservation.
Maybe there was just something about this that guys didn’t get.
Or so I’d thought.
"Ugh, that was seriously no fun. Manager, where did you even find out about this movie?"
"...Was it that bad?"
"Yes. It was the worst."
The moment the credits rolled, the sharp criticism landed on me.
Ruby hadn’t even blinked during the brutal film, but Audrey was still sitting stiffly, her face pale even now that it was over.
Hmm. This is...
"...Kind of cute. You’ve got the same look on your face, don’t you? Did you pick this kind of movie on purpose, aiming for this...?"
"N-No, it’s not like that!"
"Manager..."
Ruby was stifling a laugh beside me, while Audrey glared at me, her eyes completely full of resentment. She normally never showed any emotion, so even a look like this felt new.
But by the same token, I could tell exactly how angry she was right now.
I couldn’t blame Maya after she’d gone to the trouble of planning the schedule, though, so I just hung my head like a traitor.
"So what’s next? Can I look forward to it?"
"Ah, well... It’ll be much better than this."
"...I sincerely hope so."
Ruby seemed, if anything, to be looking forward to how boring the next thing would be.
Audrey just gave one chilly remark and pressed her lips together tightly.
"Ahem. Let’s put our masks back on and head to the parking lot, then... Huh?"
"..."
Just as we were about to move, I felt my right arm being tugged back from behind. When I turned, Audrey was pinching my sleeve tightly between her thumb and finger.
...She really is cute.
I kept myself from smiling and deliberately slowed my steps so Audrey, still holding my sleeve, could keep up.
◆ ◆ ◆
"Explain it to me one more time, Manager."
"Uh... So, you search this room for puzzles, solve them to get hints for the next one, and repeat that until you get the key to escape."
The next stop after the theater was an escape room cafe.
Maybe because Maya had booked it in a hurry, it was a little shabby, but it had all the basics. Since it was the first time for both of them, that was probably enough anyway.
But... there was another problem.
"That’s what I don’t get."
"What don’t you get?"
"Can’t we just break locks like this?"
Ruby tilted her head and grabbed the lock hanging on the wall cabinet.
The moment she put a little strength into her wrist and gave it a light pull—
"See? Like this."
Crunch.
Along with the sound of the lock breaking apart, my heart sank too.
"Hey! What are you doing, destroying property?"
"You said it’s an escape room cafe. I was just trying to escape, like the name says."
"No, you solve the puzzles and then the lock—"
"That’s too inefficient."
"I said don’t freeze and break that, Audrey...!"
Was the whole idea of enjoying the process of escaping a locked room just beyond them?
I calmly tried, over and over, to explain the rules to them, but in the end we were kicked out by a part-timer who’d seen on the CCTV that we’d completely wrecked the place.
"Paying money to get trapped somewhere like that... it was a truly incomprehensible cafe."
"Right? Honestly, a room you can’t leave unless you have sex would’ve been more fun."
"...As if such a place exists."
We paid for the property damage, but there was no one to charge for the cost of my ruined mental state.
"Hah... Let’s just move on to the next thing..."
Next time would surely work.
I let out a weak sigh and trudged forward with heavy steps.
◆ ◆ ◆
And then the next place, and the place after that.
I followed the plan Maya had put together, but everywhere we went, we just ran into bad luck and failure.
By the time the sun was starting to set, even my will had crumbled.
I guess I’m just no good at this kind of thing.
Since I couldn’t pull off the course Maya had planned, going to the one last place probably wouldn’t change anything.
Today’s plan to get Ruby and Audrey closer... I had to admit it was a failure.
"...Should we just go eat some meat?"
"Meat is always the right answer. Yep."
"I agree."
When I stopped on the street and suggested it, they both agreed right away.
Those were the brightest voices I’d heard from them all day.
...Well, at least it was lucky Ruby and Audrey weren’t pitying me.
If I’d gotten looks like that too, I might not have been able to take it.
"Let’s go... We’ll just head into the first place we see."