The series of exchanges finally came to an end, but looking around, the situation was still quite chaotic. With my group, Lilia-san and the rest, plus Elis-san, Cornelia-san, their guards, and now Fate-san and Fortune-san, we were a large crowd. Standing around in the middle of the path was bound to be a nuisance to others.
That being said, with Fate-san present, the responsibility of deciding our next move usually fell to me. I shot a look at Lilia-san just in case, but she shook her head vigorously as if reading my mind. It seemed I was on my own.
"……By the way, Fate-san, what are you planning to do now?"
"Hmm, I’ve already met Kai-chan, so I could just go home... but Shaltan told me to try at least one attraction~. Which one are you heading to now, Kai-chan? Is it somewhere close?"
Asking if it was "somewhere close" was quintessential Fate-san. If it were in a different area, I had a feeling she might ignore her promise to Alice and head home out of sheer laziness.
Fortunately, our destination wasn't in some far-off area; it was the attraction right in front of us.
"We’re planning to visit the attraction right there—Forest Castle."
"「「！？！？」」"
For some reason, Elis-san and Cornelia-san both wore looks of visible surprise at my words. Did we happen to have the same destination?
"Heh~ I see. Eririn and Conecone too?"
"Eh? Ye-Yes. It is a coincidence, but we were also planning to head to the attraction called Forest Castle."
It seemed Fate-san had also noticed their reaction, and Elis-san nodded when Fate-san asked her.
"……Hmm. In that case, the God of Luck and I will go with you!"
"You too, Fate-san?"
"Yeah. It’ll be fun if I’m with Kai-chan, and if I play at one attraction, I’ll have fulfilled my promise to Shaltan. So I’ll go with you, and then I’ll go home when it’s over."
From the moment she asked where I was going, I could have predicted this to some extent, but it appeared Fate-san was coming along to Forest Castle as well.
I wasn't sure what kind of attraction it was, but as long as I was the one looking after Fate-san, things should be fine. It was unlikely to be a single-person attraction... Well, putting that aside, Fortune-san had a face that said, "Eh? Me too!?", but her expression quickly shifted to one of resignation, as if Fate-san's whims took priority no matter what.
"……Help me, God of Calamity... I feel like I'm about to have the gap between me and that monster of luck shoved in my face... B-But, it’s still much better than trying to convince the Goddess of Fate-sama, who wouldn't move an inch from the entrance..."
Fortune-san was muttering under her breath, a certain melancholy drifting about her. It sounded like she had been tasked with getting Fate-san to experience at least one attraction, but had been struggling to deal with her when she refused to move even a few steps past the entrance. She really seemed to be having a hard time.
For now, I nodded to Fate-san's request and moved away from her to approach Elis-san and Cornelia-san to offer a brief apology.
"I'm sorry, Elis-san, Cornelia-san... for things turning out like this."
"Oh, no, being able to accompany the Goddess of Fate and the Goddess of Fortune is a joyful occasion for us as well."
"……Or rather, are you certain it is alright for us to join you?"
Elis-san and Cornelia-san were clearly nervous, but Fate-san was generally quite lax toward humankind. In the past, she had been indifferent born from a lack of interest, but now she interacted with them lightheartedly due to her naturally easygoing personality. In fact, among the Supreme Gods, she might be the most generous when it came to these kinds of casual interactions.
At the very least, she wouldn't get angry over things like lèse-majesté, so in a sense, she might be a safe bet. I figured Elis-san and Cornelia-san would settle down or get used to her after a little while.
"……Hm? Shaltan? Why are you drinking wine?"
"Earlier, I didn't feel like drinking because of a mysterious sense of pity, but regarding this matter, I can drink normally... Ah, let me on the cushion."
"Okay~ Give me some wine too... So, does what you mean by 'that' have to do with... 'the person approaching the attraction ahead'?"
"Hehe~ Kaito-san really is something, isn't he? If he hadn't met Fate-san and stopped, he wouldn't have encountered them."
"Even though this amusement park is so huge~. Kai-chan really is amazing, after all."
Before I knew it, Alice had appeared and was sitting on Fate-san's cushion, the two of them drinking wine together. The atmosphere between them seemed friendly, but... although I couldn't hear the details, they whispered something and then looked over at me with amused expressions.
Sugar (Serious-senpai) "You mean to tell me you're still going to land a follow-up strike on my stomach... What more could you possibly want...?"
Machina "……Well, it is a 'Forest', after all."
Sugar (Serious-senpai) "There she is. The one member of the Six Kings they haven't met yet, who would likely be there..."