In the Forest Area of the massive amusement park in the Demon Realm created by Kuromueina and Alice, there stood the one member of the Six Kings for whom the forest was the most natural home: Liliwood Yggdrasil.
She was there, of course, because she had been invited by Kuromueina and Alice to experience the park. She was not alone; all Seven Princesses, the high-ranking executive subordinates of the World King, were also in attendance.
"This is incredible! Everything we see is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before!"
"I agree. In other words, it is truly magnificent and feels entirely fresh. I can sense the various layers of ingenuity... meaning every attraction is built on a fascinating concept that sparks real excitement."
Tilutania spoke with obvious delight, and Erial, walking beside her, nodded in agreement. Although they had only visited one or two attractions since entering, everything was unfamiliar to them, and they were enjoying the profound sense of novelty.
"This humble one considered herself an Otherworld Expert, yet I was still far too naive! To think that such grand entertainment facilities exist in the other world!"
"Y-Yeah... Um, Blossom? Could you please lower your volume? It’s a bit frightening when you suddenly shout like that..."
"Oops, my apologies."
Blossom, who loved all things from the other world, was just as thrilled as Tilutania and seemed to be having a wonderful time at her first amusement park. However, Blossom naturally had a booming voice, and when her excitement spiked, it grew even louder. Rosmiel, who was standing nearby, jumped in surprise before asking Blossom to keep it down.
"The concept of this area is a forest, which is straightforward enough, but when you consider that it’s split into upper and lower levels with even more attractions up there, the scale is simply overwhelming."
"Right, right! It seems the other world is especially superior to ours in terms of construction, so I’m sure they have plenty of massive buildings and facilities. Truly, truly, everything I see is so unique that I’ll never grow tired of it, I’m tellin’ ya!"
There were several massive structures of a scale rarely seen in Trinia, and Camilia murmured with a look of admiration at the sight. Smiling as she agreed, Jutia also looked around at the surrounding attractions and shops with great interest.
Behind the Seven Princesses as they walked happily along, Lilirie, the head subordinate, spoke to Liliwood, who was walking with a gentle smile.
"...Still, it is rare to see you in a place like this, Liliwood-sama."
Liliwood was fundamentally the type who rarely indulged in leisure. In a sense, she was stoic; while she acknowledged the existence of entertainment and luxury, she deemed them unnecessary for herself, preferring a lifestyle that others would describe as frugal. For food and drink, she partook only of water, never treating meals as a hobby. While she acquired necessary knowledge, she did not enjoy books or plays for recreation. It was not a matter of conscious restraint or asceticism; she simply did not feel these things were required. It was her natural state.
Even when invited to festivals as a guest of honor, she might inspect the event, but she would never participate in the festivities herself. As for entertainment facilities like this park, she might attend a ceremony, but she would never personally experience the attractions... or so one would have expected.
However, this time, when Kuromueina reached out to her, she had accepted immediately and come here of her own accord, even going so far as to actually experience the few attractions they had encountered so far. Even to Lilirie, who had known her for a long time, this was an extremely unusual occurrence.
『True. The old me would have deemed this unnecessary for myself. I would have encouraged all of you to participate out of courtesy to Kuromueina and the others, or perhaps just sent a congratulatory note and been done with it. Indeed... you could call it a change of heart. Perhaps the fact that I have had more opportunities to realize the narrowness of my own vision is the reason my mind has changed.』
"The narrowness of your vision?"
Lilirie could not read the surface thoughts of Liliwood, who was overwhelmingly superior to her, so she tilted her head in confusion. Liliwood gave a gentle smile and spoke with a deeply moved tone.
『If I were to tell myself from just ten years ago about the current state of the world, I surely would not have believed it. That is how much the things I thought would never change have shifted; a great transformation has come to the world. Kuromueina, Isis, Megiddo, Magnawell, Shaltier... all of them have, to varying degrees, been influenced by Kaito-san and changed their way of life. And I, too...』
"..."
『Yes. Perhaps I am envious of Isis and the others. Perhaps I wish to change more myself. Or perhaps I am simply enjoying the person I am becoming. The fact that I can naturally think it might be good to experience things I once dismissed as unnecessary... that, too, is thanks to Kaito-san.』
"He truly is... a remarkable man."
She used to think it wasn’t necessary. No, looking at Liliwood—who seemed to be saying that she was enjoying the very process of expanding her knowledge and changing by touching upon things she had once dismissed within her narrow vision—Lilirie also nodded quietly with a smile.
『Though, I doubt I am the only one being influenced by Kaito-san.』
"Kaito-kun-san? Are you talking about Kaito-kun-san?"
"Now that you mention it, Kaito-kun was obviously invited too, right? Since we’re here, there’s no way Kaito-kun wouldn't be..."
"I agree. In other words, I believe he was certainly invited and is participating."
"Right, right! Since we’re here, I’d sure love to meet him, I’m tellin’ ya!"
"...If it's Kaito-san, we might just run into him by chance while walking around... No, normally the probability of a chance encounter in a place this large would be minuscule, but since it's Kaito-san..."
"Master’s power to weave bonds is the best in the world, after all!"
Seeing the Seven Princesses react to Liliwood’s words and start getting excited about Kaito, Lilirie gave a somewhat amused, bitter smile.
"...Just the mention of his name gets them so stirred up; he certainly has a profound influence on them."
『Are you... not the same?』
"I am no match for you, Liliwood-sama. Yes, to the point where I reflexively considered connecting my consciousness with Sympathy Magic to search for him... although it seems he was close enough that there was no need."
『It appears so. However, that is quite a large group.』
Liliwood shifted her gaze while murmuring, and in the direction she looked, she saw Kaito walking toward them along with more than ten other people.
Serious-senpai: "I see, I see. Her affection for Kaito is through the roof, and that's why she's at an amusement park she never would have set foot in before... So in the end, it really is Kaito's fault after all!?"