I managed to calm Alice down eventually, but the whole situation was mortifying.
“I-I’m sorry for that unsightly display…”
“Y-Yeah. Anyway, let’s just forget about what happened.”
Feeling the lingering awkwardness, I tried to change the subject. Food arrived at the perfect moment to save us.
“Thank you for waiting. Your appetizer: Glowshrip and Vegetable Aspic with Zoodshell Marinade.”
The waiter set the plates before us, announcing a dish that sounded like it belonged in a high-end French bistro.
I assumed Glowshrip and Zoodshell were some kind of shrimp and shellfish, but I had no idea what an aspic was.
“...Alice, what’s an aspic?”
“It’s a dish made by chilling bouillon from meat or vegetables into a savory jelly.”
“I-I see...”
I didn't fully grasp it, but the star-shaped jelly on the plate seemed to be the aspic in question. Looking closely, I could see what looked like shrimp meat suspended inside.
I glanced over at Alice. She offered a smile and gestured toward the food. “Please, go ahead and try it.”
I’d been in this world for nearly six months now. I was completely used to eating with a knife and fork, and I’d even learned to navigate a full-course meal with some elegance—or at least, I was passably respectable.
Lost in those trivial thoughts, I took a bite of the aspic. I see. It was a refined flavor, though perhaps a bit subtle...
“Kaito-san, I think it’s better if you dip it in the sauce first, don’t you?”
“...Y-Yeah.”
I really wished she’d told me that before I took a bite.
I tried again, this time using the sauce drizzled decoratively across the plate. The flavors immediately sharpened, the sauce elevating the refined taste and making it several times more delicious.
As I savored the meal, I looked over at Alice again. She was dining with an elegance that was impossible to reconcile with her usual personality.
It was frustrating, but her manners were impeccable—if you could ignore the mask on her face.
“Speaking of which, Alice. Kuro and Isis-san have seemed really busy lately. I assume it’s the Six Kings Festival preparations?”
I brought up the festival as a conversation starter, knowing Alice was also involved.
The truth was, Kuro’s daily visits had been getting shorter. Usually, she stayed for over three hours to chat or practice magic, but lately, she was heading home after barely an hour.
Well, she still came every single day, so I couldn't complain.
Isis-san had also been out the last two times I tried to visit. I figured it was the festival, but Alice, despite being one of the Six Kings herself, seemed to have plenty of free time.
“Ah, I know what you’re thinking, Kaito-san, but I’m actually quite busy myself.”
“You are?”
“Yes. At this very moment, about twenty of my Split Body Alice-chans are working.”
“I-I see...”
So Alice was delegating the labor to her clones so her Main Body could hang out with me.
“Kuro-san is the one who proposed this and acts as the General Director, so her being busy is unavoidable.”
“Right. And Isis-san too?”
“Ah, well... Isis-san is, um... she’s doing her b-best, you know?”
“Wait, what’s with the hesitation?”
Unlike when she spoke of Kuro, Alice seemed to be choosing her words carefully. When I pressed her, she gave me a strained look.
“Well, in a sense, Isis-san is even more fired up than Kuro-san. Aside from the Hero Festival, she’s never really been on the hosting side of an event like this. She was so incredibly happy to be involved.”
“...Isn’t that a good thing?”
“The thing is... Isis-san is a master of destruction, but she is shockingly bad at creating or fixing things.”
“Oh...”
Hearing Alice’s troubled murmur, I remembered our trip to the Demon Realm to see Magnawell-san.
I recalled the time she tried to help Lilliwood-san repair a collapsed mountain. Instead of fixing it, she had accidentally pulverized even more of the rock...
“She’s especially motivated this time. She told us, ‘I’ll help... a lot,’ which are basically words of doom to the rest of us.”
“...”
“And Kuro-san couldn't just turn her away. So, things were built and broken, fixed and broken, in a never-ending cycle.”
“I see. So that’s why they looked so exhausted.”
“Yes. Eventually, Kuro-san said, ‘Isis, you are hereby appointed as Lilliwood’s exclusive assistant!’ That’s the only reason work is finally progressing. Though I heard Lilliwood-san was in tears...”
Poor Lilliwood-san.
Still, it was heartwarming to know Isis-san was trying so hard. I could easily picture her beaming with excitement, even if she was making life difficult for Lilliwood-san.
“Well, regardless of the chaos, I’m really starting to look forward to the festival.”
“I’m glad. Kuro-san is working herself to the bone specifically for her ‘festival date with Kaito-san.’ Though from your perspective, Kaito-san, having ‘most of your schedule already filled’ might be a bit overwhelming.”
“...Wait. What did you just say?”
“Eh? Like I said, during the Six Kings Festival, you’ll be spending your time accompanied by the host King of the day. Didn't you hear that from Kuro-san?”
“...I did not.”
Wait, what? I was scheduled to go around with the hosting King every day?
If I remembered correctly, each of the Six Kings produced one day of the festival. And I’d be walking around with the host? Wouldn't that draw an insane amount of attention?
“Well, Magnawell-san is out because of his size. And Megiddo-san said, ‘You won't be able to enjoy yourself with me tagging along. I’ll welcome you, but I won't stick to you,’ so he won't be accompanying you either. That leaves Kuro-san, Isis-san, Lilliwood-san, and me.”
“...Lilliwood-san actually agreed to this?”
“Yes. She said she’d be delighted to, provided you didn't mind the company.”
“I see...”
“Resistance is futile, Kaito-san. You might as well give up!”
“You sound like a movie villain!”
“Ahaha! Well, I’m sure it’ll be fun. Everyone is planning a celebration that reflects their own personality.”
“...Could you at least tell me what they’re planning?”
I was starting to accept the inevitable. In this world, resisting these kinds of developments was a waste of energy. And as Alice said, it did sound like a lot of fun.
“Kuro-san is planning a traditional, orthodox festival. Megiddo-san’s is—as you’d expect—a martial arts tournament. Lilliwood-san’s will be similar to the Treasure Tree Festival. Magnawell-san is focusing on interaction with magical beasts. For Isis-san... it seems like it will be something like a flea market. As for mine, that’s a surprise for the day of.”
“A flea market? That sounds nice, but how are the other guests taking it?”
“Expectations are through the roof. Word got out that items from Isis-san’s personal collection will be for sale. You probably know, Kaito-san, that Isis-san has a hobby of collecting things she finds in her favorite books.”
“Yeah, she told me about that.”
She collected flowers and gems that appeared in the stories she liked. She’d shown me the room where she kept them, and the sheer volume was staggering.
“Some of those are extinct plants or legendary-grade ores. But for this festival, Isis-san declared she was letting go of ‘all’ of them.”
“What? Why!?”
I leaned forward, nearly forgetting my meal. Those were her memories—her treasures. Why would she just give them all away?
Alice looked at me with a soft, knowing smile and spoke slowly.
“...‘I don't... need them... anymore... From now on... I will fill this place... with many... memories... with Kaito.’ That’s what she said. After she cleared the storage room, she started carefully displaying the Ice Crystals you two gathered together. You’re certainly a loved man, Kaito-san.”
“...Isis-san.”
“For Isis-san, the future she’s going to build with you is worth infinitely more than the tens of thousands of years she spent alone.”
The tension left my body all at once. An overwhelming sense of happiness filled my chest.
I wanted to live up to her feelings. I hoped to make so many memories with her that her treasure room would overflow with tokens of our time together.
Dear Mother, Father—I heard more about the Six Kings Festival from Alice. It seems it’s been decided that I’ll be spending the event accompanied by the Kings themselves. As for that—yeah, I’ve given up resisting.