"Hmm... personally, I like ramen, but maybe because most people associate noodles with pasta, it hasn't really taken off that well."
"Yeah... more importantly, how many bowls are you planning to put away? You're a glutton, as always."
Alice had led me to a ramen shop, of all places. Now, I like ramen, so I didn't have a problem with it, but... for a girl on a date, I wondered if this was the best choice. Well, I certainly didn't mind. I liked girls who could enjoy a bowl of ramen with me—provided it was a sane amount.
Currently, Alice was working on her forty-third bowl.
"Kaito-san, you've got it all wrong."
"Eh?"
"I’m not a glutton! I just happen to love food more when someone else is paying for it! Please, don't misunderstand that!"
"That’s even worse!"
Naturally, I was the one footing the bill. This wasn't just hunger; it was a binge calculated on the fact that I wouldn't use my Black Rank privileges to get it for free and that, in the end, I couldn't bring myself to turn her away. Truly, Alice was Alice.
I watched her with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief, then tilted my head as I scanned the shop.
"By the way... are we the only ones here?"
There were no other customers. In fact, I couldn't sense anyone else nearby. Ramen was still being delivered to the table, so there were clearly staff members, but the number of employees seemed far too low for the size of the establishment.
"Ah, right. I actually had a few things on my mind, so I reserved the whole place."
"Thoughts on your mind?"
"Yes. Well, more accurately, there's something I wanted to ask you. By the way, the employees are all my Split Bodies."
"...So this is serious then."
Alice’s expression and the shift in the air told me that whatever she was about to ask was of the utmost importance. My back straightened instinctively.
After a few seconds of silence that felt agonizingly long, Alice stared directly into my eyes.
"I'll be blunt. Kaito-san, did something happen between you and Shallow Vernal-sama?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Shiro-san? Why was her name coming up now?
"Maybe not a fight, but... did something happen?"
"Even if you ask me that..."
"Let me rephrase. For example... did Shallow Vernal-sama give you a trial? Or present you with some kind of task? Did anything like that occur?"
"..."
Was she talking about... that? The time Shiro-san called herself the Last Boss and told me she was preparing a trial for me.
I hadn't told anyone else about that. There were several reasons, but the main one was that I didn't fully understand her goal, and I hadn't been able to sort out the details in my own head yet.
More than that, though, I think I felt a strange, indescribable anxiety regarding the whole thing.
I didn't know how Alice had caught on or why she wanted to know, but... I felt like I could tell her.
She was a jokester, sure, but she wasn't the type to gossip about sensitive matters. I trusted her with all my heart. And maybe, if I told her, I would finally understand. I might finally grasp the nature of that unsettling feeling that had kept me from sharing this with anyone else.
"Actually... back when I visited the God Realm..."
I decided to tell her everything that had happened with Shiro-san. Alice didn't interject with her usual quips; she listened with a grave, focused expression.
When I finished, she rested her chin on her hand, looking deep in thought.
"I see... a trial..."
"Is something bothering you?"
"No, nothing particularly strange. I'm not sure why Shallow Vernal-sama would make such a proposal, but she is fond of you, Kaito-san. I doubt it'll be anything unreasonable. In fact, she might just be calling it a trial for the sake of appearances while intending to grant your wish from the very beginning."
"I see..."
Alice didn't look agitated. If anything, she seemed relieved. I had been worried that the price of this trial might be something immense, but according to her, that wasn't likely.
Maybe I was overthinking it. Shiro-san was eccentric, but she was kind. Perhaps the trial would be something simple after all.
Dear Mother, Father—I spoke to Alice about the trial Shiro-san mentioned. She told me it likely wouldn't be anything unreasonable. I think I should be able to relax... but for some reason, the anxiety lingering in my heart refused to fade.
Alice smiled as she watched Kaito resume his meal, appearing to have found some peace of mind. Internally, however, her thoughts were moving at a frantic pace. She made sure Kaito didn't notice, using Sympathy Magic to mask her true feelings with a layer of artificial calm, but her mind was currently a storm.
(This is even more troublesome than I anticipated. Worst of all... a trial that Shallow Vernal-sama would spend over six months preparing... It’s highly likely that the person who looks exactly like Kaito-san’s mother is involved in this.)
She felt the exact opposite of the reassurance she had just given Kaito. She had said those things purely to keep him from worrying, but in her own estimation, the situation was anything but optimistic.
(It’s unfolding exactly as that person said it would. I need to be as prepared as possible.)
Alice let her mind drift back to a conversation she had a few days prior—the very conversation that had prompted her to question Kaito today.
It was a few days before the start of the Six Kings Festival. One of Alice’s Split Bodies was tending the general store when an unexpected visitor arrived.
"Arrival. Content. Important."
"Eden-san? Kaito-san isn't here today. And seriously, could you drop that cryptic way of speaking?"
"I know my child is not here. I have come to speak with you, Alice."
"Wait, what's this about? A barrier? You don't want anyone else hearing this?"
Eden’s words caught Alice completely off guard. Alice felt she understood the being known as Eden to some extent; she was a woman who viewed everyone except her "child" as nothing but trash. There was no obvious reason for her to seek Alice out.
"Even so, I evaluate you to some degree. While you are an existence far inferior to my child, you possess enough value for me to remember your name. You are better than the other lumps of talking meat."
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence... What's this about?"
"Keep a close watch on Shallow Vernal's movements. That is, if you do not wish to lose my beloved child."
"What? What do you..."
"I can say no more. To do so would violate my contract with Shallow Vernal. I cannot speak to my child directly, but Shallow Vernal likely assumed that since I view every inhabitant of this world as trash, I would have no reason to speak to any of them. There was a slight loophole in our agreement. I am using it to warn you."
"A contract?"
"I cannot provide the details... but in the not-so-distant future, my beloved child will confront a God."
"What!?"
Alice couldn't ignore Eden's indifferent words, but the Goddess refused to elaborate.
Having delivered her message, Eden turned toward the exit of the shop. Alice watched her go, stunned, but Eden paused at the door and whispered without turning around.
"How curious. She who was once called the God of Destruction of the End is now called the Creator God. One never knows how things will turn out."
"..."
"But even so, has her essence truly changed? She still stands at the terminus of the story."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Epilogue... That is the essence of Shallow Vernal. I do not understand her true intent either. But tell me... the chicken or the egg? Which do you believe it is?"
"In reference to what?"
"Did Kaito Miyama come to this world because the Hero Summoning existed? Or did the Hero Summoning come into existence so that Kaito Miyama would come to this world? For that matter... who created the Hero Summoning Magic Circle in the Human Realm to begin with? You might find it interesting to investigate."
"..."
"Is he truly a miraculous being encountered by chance? Or is he a being sought out by someone who sees the future? I wonder... who was the true beginning?"
With those parting words, Eden vanished from the shop, leaving Alice with a massive, haunting question.
Serious-senpai: "I believed... I really believed that the top of the God Realm was a wonderful, noble existence..."
???: "Wait, didn't you call her your natural enemy or something...?"