It was an unprecedented event for all three Supreme Gods to gather in the Human Realm outside of the Hero Festival.
As an immense pressure of magic power split the clouds and made the earth tremble, Life, the God of Life, quietly touched the ground.
"...Hear me, O countless lives. Be my eyes, be my ears..."
Each of the Supreme Gods had been granted a single ability by the Creator God, Shallow Vernal, that transcended all other logic. The power Life wielded over existence was known as the Wisdom that Sees Through the World. Humans, animals, insects, plants, the very soil itself—Life could gather information from every living thing in existence.
A torrent of information flooded into her mind like an avalanche. Life sifted through it, searching for any sign of the abducted Kaito. If even a single bird or a lone insect had laid eyes on him, she could track him down. However, finding one specific person within that unfathomable volume of data normally took time.
But there was another God whose power could bridge that gap.
Fate, the God of Fate... the authority granted to her allowed her to determine destiny itself. She could take any possibility that might occur in the future and lock it in as an absolute certainty.
"...The God of Life 'will find Kai-chan immediately.'"
"...! I have found him. God of Space-Time... transmitting the coordinates."
"Very well."
Because Fate had determined the outcome, Life discovered Kaito’s location in an instant and relayed the information to Chronoa.
"...Chronoa-sama..."
"Fear not, Lilia. In this world, save for Shallow Vernal-sama herself, there is no one... faster than I!"
With those words, Chronoa vanished.
The power granted to Chronoa, the God of Space-Time, was absolute. She presided over the fourth dimension, manipulating time at will. Her speed existed on a plane separate from all others. By the time Lilia and the others even registered that she was gone, Chronoa had already reached Kaito’s side.
Back in the stone room, the robed figures Alice had defeated didn't seem to be dead. She had produced rope from nowhere and was busy tying them up.
"...What should we do with these guys?" she asked.
"Can't we just leave them? We can contact the Order of Knights or someone later—huh?"
"...Eh?"
Since it didn't look like they were waking up anytime soon, Alice suggested abandoning them there. I was just about to nod in agreement when, in the next heartbeat, Alice was suddenly far away. No, that wasn't right. The robed figures were still right next to her, which meant I was the one who had moved.
"...You are unharmed, Miyama."
"Chronoa-san!?"
"Wait, what? T-The Goddess of Time!?"
Hearing a familiar voice, I finally realized that I was currently being carried. I never expected Chronoa-san, a Supreme God, to show up personally. Both Alice and I let out shouts of pure shock at her sudden appearance.
"...H-How did you find us?"
"I heard the situation from Lilia and rushed here. Honestly, the worry you cause..."
"...A-Ah, um, sorry..."
"...I presume you are the one who kidnapped Miyama? I hope you have made your peace..."
"Hiee!?"
Chronoa-san spoke in a low, quiet murmur and clenched her fist. A localized surge of magic power erupted, spider-webbing cracks across the stone walls of the room. Facing the wrath of a being as overwhelmingly powerful as Chronoa-san, Alice was reduced to a frog stared down by a snake, cowering as she backed away.
"W-Wait! Chronoa-san! Stop!"
"Miyama!?"
"I mean, how do I explain this... Alice actually saved me!"
"...What?"
I hurriedly moved to stop Chronoa-san, who looked ready to pulverize Alice then and there. She looked at me with a dubious, questioning expression, and I launched into a desperate defense of Alice.
I was pretty flustered, so I doubt I was making much sense at first, but after I explained the situation for a few minutes, Chronoa-san finally nodded and unclenched her fist.
"...I see. I have the general idea. If that is the case, I suppose I cannot crush you here."
"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!"
"...Fine. I shall deal with these kidnappers myself. Lilia is worried. We are returning."
"Ah, okay."
"Naturally, you are coming as well."
"...I-I understand."
As expected of the efficient, cool-headed Chronoa-san, she handled everything decisively and made Alice agree without leaving room for argument. But... uh, Chronoa-san? How long are you going to keep carrying me? You're really tall, so being held like this is actually kind of terrifying.
Whether she noticed my inner plea or not, Chronoa-san grabbed Alice as well, and the scenery shifted in an instant. It wasn't like the sudden "cut" of Teleportation Magic; it was more like I just realized I was somewhere else before I even knew I’d moved.
We were back in the familiar garden of Lilia-san’s mansion, where a large crowd had gathered, led by Lilia-san herself.
"Kaito-san!? Are you all right!? Are you hurt? Do you feel sick? Does anything ache!?"
"Huh? Ah, no..."
"Calm yourself, Lilia. If you bombard him with questions like that, Miyama won't be able to answer."
"A-Ah, y-yes... I'm sorry."
"Miyama is unharmed."
"Is that so... Thank goodness. Truly..."
The moment she saw me, Lilia-san turned pale as she frantically checked me for injuries. Hearing Chronoa-san’s confirmation, she let out a long, ragged breath of relief. Seeing how much she had genuinely worried about me made me feel a bit guilty, but also happy.
Wait, even Fate-san was here. And... who was that green-haired woman? She seemed to be sleeping while standing up.
"...U-Um, excuse me~" Alice spoke up tentatively.
"What?! ...You!"
"Hiee!? W-Wait a second! Kaito-san, help! HELP MEEE!"
The moment Alice opened her mouth, Lilia-san’s expression sharpened, and she drew her sword. It wasn't just her; Lunamaria-san and Sieg-san followed suit, all three of them directing waves of pure killing intent toward Alice.
"Um... I’m a bit lost on the context here..." I muttered.
"Ah, it seems Lilia and the others had a bit of a scuffle with that eccentric fellow earlier," Chronoa-san explained.
Calling her an eccentric fellow... well, she wasn't wrong.
It seemed I had to go through the whole explanation one more time. For a split second, I thought about how Alice probably wouldn't die anyway and considered just letting her deal with it, but I eventually talked Lilia-san and the others down. They remained on guard for a while, but eventually accepted my explanation and sheathed their weapons.
That could have been the end of it, but even with the explanation, their opinion of Alice was clearly at rock bottom. She had technically saved me, but she was still a mysterious, unknown entity who had traded blows with them earlier. I could feel their lingering suspicion through my Sympathy Magic.
"...Alice, remember how you said you’d do one thing I asked?"
"Eh? Yeah, I remember."
"...Then there’s something I want you to investigate."
"Investigate?"
I remembered the documents the Phantasm King had given me the day before. They supposedly contained information on the person who had framed Lilia-san’s knight division. She’d mentioned that showing them to someone in the underworld might lead to hard evidence. Alice called herself a jack-of-all-trades in the underworld, and based on her performance so far, she seemed more than capable. She was the perfect candidate.
"...I want you to look into the person mentioned in these files. Apparently, they were involved in that incident with the knights four years ago..."
The reaction was instantaneous. Lilia-san, Lunamaria-san, and Sieg-san all froze, their eyes widening in shock.
"K-Kaito-san!? What... what did you just say?"
"Sorry, Lilia-san. I meant to tell you yesterday, but things got so hectic that I completely forgot. These documents were given to me by the Phantasm King. They supposedly list the people responsible for the incident four years ago."
"What!?"
"...Hoh. If the information came from the Phantasm King, it is likely reliable," Chronoa-san noted. "But if you are asking for an investigation, does that mean the files aren't enough on their own?"
"Yes. The Phantasm King said this by itself isn't proof. But she suggested that if someone from the underworld looked into it, they might find the smoking gun."
Chronoa-san seemed to hold the Phantasm King’s intelligence-gathering in high regard.
"...In that case, I would like to ask this of you as well," Chronoa-san said, looking at Alice. "I have heard the details from Lilia, but I am forbidden by Shallow Vernal-sama from interfering in the internal affairs of the Human Realm. I cannot investigate this myself. Will you do it, masked woman?"
"Huh? Oh, yes! Of course!"
"Thanks, Alice. All right, then take these files—"
"There is no need for that."
The interruption came in a familiar, high-pitched voice.
"If it is what you desire, I can provide the evidence myself—as a reward for overcoming the Fourth Trial."
"...Phantasm King..."
"Eeeh!? Now the Phantasm King-sama!? Kaito-san, just how many of these people do you know!?"
Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, a figure in a black robe—the Phantasm King—descended gracefully into the mansion garden. She stood there, audaciously claiming that I had cleared her "Fourth Trial."
So, the kidnapping was over and done with. I’d thought that by asking Alice, I could finally get the information Lilia-san needed... but then the Phantasm King had to go and show up again. Seriously though...
Is the Phantasm King just bored?