Marie had fainted from the shock several times, only to be mercilessly jolted back to consciousness by magic. Now, she hung her head with a look of pure, unadulterated despair.
She desperately wanted to hide from reality, just as she had while shopping with Kaito, but that had only been possible because of her dreamlike state at the time. Now, the savage pain in her stomach wouldn't let her pretend; it screamed with every throb that this was no nightmare—it was real life.
"Marie-sama... please, keep your wits about you..."
"I-I’m... glad I skipped breakfast. If I had eaten, I surely would have lost it all by now. E-Eris-sama... what... what am I supposed to do?"
Marie looked at Eris with pleading, desperate eyes. The situation had already spiraled far beyond anything Marie could manage on her own. She didn't even know how to move, let alone how to formulate a plan. That was why she turned to Eris, a high-ranking noblewoman whose brilliance as a talented woman was legendary, hoping for some advice that could shatter the current deadlock.
However, Eris only wore a deeply conflicted expression.
"I am so sorry. In this particular case, even I don’t have the faintest idea how to proceed."
Had this involved someone on the level of the Six Kings, they might have found a way. While that would still have been an extraordinary crisis and Marie’s stomach pain would have remained just as agonizing, Eris could have at least offered some tactical guidance.
But with Shallow Vernal, the scale was entirely different. To begin with, hardly anyone had ever exchanged words with the Creator God. Eris simply had no answers to give.
Furthermore, if a Golden Riple were to be offered to Shallow Vernal, the matter would transcend noble houses or national politics. It would impact the Temple and every believer of Shenism across the globe. It could very well trigger a world-scale upheaval.
In fact, Empress Chris was also clutching her head in frustration. Bestowal of the Golden Riple Tree to Marie was a certainty, and by extension, there was no way to avoid the offering to Shallow Vernal. It was impossible for anyone to step in as a middleman, and Chris couldn't think of a single way to help Marie out of this divine obligation.
"Well, I’ve actually put some thought into that. It’s not like I came here just to torment you, Marie-san."
"Ph-Phantasm King-sama..."
Marie turned toward the source of this unexpected lifeline, her eyes shimmering with tears as she looked at Alice. After offering a pitying bitter smile, Alice began to explain.
"First of all, accepting the Golden Riple Tree is unavoidable, so just give up and take it. Now, about that first harvest... give the fruit to Kaito-san."
"To Kaito-sama?"
"Yeah. I’ll explain the situation to Kaito-san on my end, and then we’ll have him deliver it to Shallow Vernal-sama. That way, Marie-san won't have to interact with her directly."
Alice paused there and looked up toward the ceiling.
"That’s acceptable to you, right, Shallow Vernal-sama? You’re obviously watching since I’m involved, so you must be listening to this. You’d be happier receiving it from Kaito-san than from Marie-san anyway, and then you two can eat it together or whatever. No problems there, right?"
The moment Alice spoke, glittering particles of light suddenly manifested on the ceiling. They coalesced into the shape of a hand, gave a firm thumbs-up, and then vanished.
"Looks like Shallow Vernal-sama is OK with it, so let's go with that. Basically, if you just dump any Shallow Vernal-related problems onto Kaito-san, he’ll find a way to make it work out."
"I-I understand."
In truth, Kaito was the optimal choice for dealing with the Goddess. Since Shallow Vernal’s interest in the Golden Riple was rooted entirely in her desire to eat it with him, she would have no complaints if he were the one to bring it to her.
Marie felt a small wave of relief now that her greatest fear—the direct offering—had been resolved. However...
"Well, you’ll still have to do your best with everything else. You'll need to consult with Chris-san and the others about what to do with the Golden Riples you grow after the first one, since they'll be incredibly rare. I’ll handle some of the information manipulation for you, but... you aren't going to be able to avoid being the center of the world's attention."
"A-Abah..."
"Worst comes to worst, you could always just cling to Kaito-san and cry for help?"
"I-I could never be so disrespectful..."
"Personally, I think crying to him is the most efficient solution... but I'll leave the final decision to you."
In reality, Alice’s suggestion was indeed the most logical path. If Marie cast aside her pride and reputation to beg Kaito for help, the situation would likely shift in the most favorable direction possible. Kaito might even take the tree off her hands entirely. But perhaps because of her inherent kindness, or because they weren't yet close enough for such intimacy, Marie could not bring herself to choose that "optimal" path.
Serious-senpai: "Hmm, but really, if you think about it, just clinging to Kaito and crying your eyes out would be the fastest and most thorough way to settle this. If Kaito acts to save her, Alice will go all-out instead of just giving tips... and there’s even a certain God who would fix everything after the fact anyway."