In the middle of my parents' meeting with Alice, Eden suddenly appeared wearing a maid outfit. The situation was so absurd that I couldn't even begin to process it. I stood there in a daze for a long moment before I finally managed to pull myself together and speak.
"Eden-san? What... what in the world are you doing?"
"I have two objectives. The first is to bring a refill of tea to my beloved child. I chose this outfit to help set the mood. As for the second... I have business with those two."
The moment Eden turned her gaze toward Mom and Dad, Alice vanished from my side. She reappeared instantly, positioning herself as a shield between my parents and the goddess. She gripped two knives—one black, one white—and intercepted Eden’s stare.
Alice glared at her, her voice low and dangerous. "What exactly do you intend to do?"
"Rest easy. It will not be what you are imagining. I was the one who fashioned the physical bodies of those two. Therefore, they are my 'children' as well."
"Is that so?" Hearing Eden’s explanation, Alice looked visibly relieved. She made the knives vanish into thin air and returned to my side.
Alice had likely worried that because Shiro had handled the resurrection, Eden might not view my parents as her own. However, knowing that Eden had physically created their bodies changed everything. Eden was remarkably indulgent toward anyone she considered her child.
"Before we talk, let us first brew some tea. My beloved child, and my two other children... please, enjoy."
Eden wore what I hoped was meant to be a gentle smile as she poured tea into the cups for me, Mom, and Dad.
"Heeey, Eden-san? Is there none for me?" Alice asked.
"Relying on others immediately is a shameful mindset, Alice. If you have time to voice such pointless complaints, stop being a spoiled brat and pour your own."
"You...!"
While maintaining her characteristically harsh treatment toward anyone other than her children, Eden turned back to my parents.
"This is the first time we have met like this: Akari Miyama, Kazuya Miyama. My name is Eden. I am the World God of your home, and I am your mother."
"Oh... um, nice to meet you?" Mom stammered.
"I look forward to getting to know you," Dad added, his voice stiff.
Watching Eden loftily declare herself their mother, the two of them looked more than a little creeped out. Their confusion was perfectly justified, but I really wanted to tell them: Believe it or not, she’s actually being well-behaved right now! She’s usually ten times worse!
"Even if you are to live in this world, you are my children. If you find yourselves in any trouble, you must rely on your mother, understood?"
"Y-Yes."
Eden wore a satisfied smile and lightly patted their heads. Since she wasn't currently in the middle of one of the obsessive rampages she usually displayed around me, she actually looked like a decent, benevolent goddess. It was a strange sight.
"So, Eden-san? Did you really come all this way just to say that?" Alice asked.
"Indeed. Furthermore, by devotedly serving tea in this maid outfit, I can also appeal to my own daintiness, can I not?"
"It seems the definition of 'dainty' is very different in your world than it is in this one. You’ve sufficiently demonstrated how dangerous you are, so please, just leave."
"By the way, my child, I have also prepared some sweets. Please, enjoy them."
Alice tried to get a jab in with her sarcasm, but Eden ignored her with practiced elegance. Eden was practically invincible in an argument, mainly because she completely tuned out anything she wasn't interested in. Eden was probably the only person capable of making Alice look so visibly irritated.
In the end, Eden stayed right where she was, occasionally provoking Alice until the formal meeting concluded.
Next was the final meeting: Kuro’s turn. I moved to go fetch her from the separate room where she had been waiting. Eden had vanished the moment Alice’s session ended. Since I could only imagine her and Kuro getting into a massive fight, I figured her departure was for the best.
As I walked, Alice followed me. She had remained manifested, wearing an uncharacteristically pensive expression.
"A lot happened, but I'm just glad Fate-san's meeting and yours ended safely," I muttered.
Alice remained silent for a moment before speaking with a heavy, solemn tone. "Kaito-san, I am sorry, but... to be honest, I still do not trust your parents. Or rather, I am on guard against them."
"I know that."
"You do?" Alice blinked, her serious mood momentarily broken by my casual response.
"I mean, it’s not really possible to trust them yet, right? This is the first time you’ve met them. Even if they are my parents, it would be weirder if you trusted them completely right away. It wouldn't be like you."
"Umm... well, that’s true, but... are you really okay with that, Kaito-san?"
"Yeah. You said it yourself just now, didn't you? You said 'still.' And besides..." I looked at her. "Earlier, even though it turned out to be a misunderstanding, you were ready to protect them from Eden-san, weren't you?"
Alice fell silent.
I had noticed her guard was up without her having to say a word. In fact, I thought it was more in character for her to be cautious. Alice was smart—for better or worse. She was the type to analyze every worst-case scenario. In that sense, being too intelligent was its own kind of burden.
"Well... you're right. I do think they are good people. In fact, there is a 99% chance that the things I'm worried about will never happen. But I'm a cynical person by nature. I can't just ignore that 1% possibility. It will take time before I can truly trust your parents."
"There's no need to rush. I'm just grateful that you're willing to try."
As we continued toward the waiting room, Alice suddenly stopped and turned to me.
"And, Kaito-san."
"Yeah?"
"Please don't be too hard on Fate-san either. She is a God. She has no parents, and she doesn't give birth. The concept of a 'parent-child relationship' is something she fundamentally doesn't understand."
"..."
"Conversely, we can't understand the feelings of the Gods either. We don't know what it's like to be born and immediately swear absolute loyalty to Shallow Vernal-sama, or to be ready to throw our lives away without a second thought. It’s the same thing."
Alice was trying to cover for Fate-san, but I simply tilted my head. "Alice, did you step away during Fate-san's meeting?"
"Eh? Yes. I didn't want to interfere, so I was up on the roof."
"Then you missed it. It seemed to me like Fate-san was trying to reach out."
"What?" Alice wore a blank, stunned expression. I gave her a small, wry smile and continued.
"The meeting between Fate-san and my parents didn't go well. She only talked to me, and the way she looked at them was cold—emotionless. My parents were definitely scared of her."
"Isn't that exactly the problem?"
"You're usually quicker than this, Alice. I said it 'didn't go well' on purpose."
"Wait... oh!" Alice’s eyes widened as she realized what I was implying.
Yes, the meeting had been a failure. But that failure was the very proof that Fate-san had been trying her best to bridge the gap.
"Let me ask you this: should a failure like that even be possible for her?"
"No... it shouldn't. Your parents don't have the Blessing of Shallow Vernal-sama. That means they have no resistance to Fate-san's Authority. She could have easily determined a future where they trusted her completely or where the meeting was perfectly amicable."
"But it didn't happen that way. It went poorly because Fate-san chose not to use her Authority on them. she wanted to face them as herself, right?"
Normally, Fate-san—who could literally lock in a successful future—would never fail a social interaction. Honestly, I had expected her to just manipulate destiny to make everything go smoothly.
"To my parents, she probably looked like she had emotionless eyes. But her magic power told a different story. Through my sympathy magic, I felt her tension and her confusion. And when the meeting ended, I felt her regret. I couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, but I bet you could figure it out, Alice."
"Yeah... hearing that makes it clear. Fate-san probably understood that Akari-san and Kazuya-san were 'special' to you, even if she didn't understand why. So she intended to be friendly—at least at first."
"But it didn't work."
"No. A personality built over tens of thousands of years doesn't change just because you want it to. When she looked at them, she simply couldn't feel any interest. They probably looked like mere stones on the side of the road to her. She knew that was wrong, but she couldn't force herself to care, and that confusion threw her off."
So the tension I felt... was likely the pressure she put on herself to try and be friendly. Those cold eyes—eyes she never showed to people like Lilia-san—might have actually been a manifestation of her extreme nerves.
"Fate-san has never had to strive to be interested in something that bored her before. She didn't know what to do. She probably stayed quiet because she was afraid that if she spoke freely, she’d accidentally say something dismissive or cruel. Like I said, they probably looked like pebbles to her."
"But she is trying to change that, isn't she?"
"Yes, definitely. Just as Shallow Vernal-sama has started paying attention to the world around you, Fate-san is trying to do the same. It takes a long time or a massive catalyst for values to shift, so it won't happen overnight."
"I see. So that's why she looked so down when it was over..."
"Trying something new is always like that. You find yourself regretting things afterward, thinking you should have done this or tried that. Honestly, it's a bit of a surprise, but it seems even Fate-san is trying to change."
Alice fell silent for a moment, her expression thoughtful. As I watched her, I resolved to do whatever I could to help Fate-san and my parents get along. Finally, Alice spoke up.
"I suppose I shouldn't be so cynical all the time either. Kaito-san, please bring Akari-san and Kazuya-san to my shop sometime."
"Alice..."
"I'll make an effort to get along with them too. I don't know if it'll work out, though."
"If it doesn't, I'll be there to back you up."
"I'm counting on that. Honestly, Kaito-san... you've really grown. You've made me realize how stubborn I was being."
"Can I take that as a compliment?"
"Yes. I think I've fallen for you all over again."
They were all trying to change. But after living for so many eons, that change was slow and difficult. Shiro, Fate, Alice... they were all struggling to reshape parts of themselves that had been set in stone for ages.
There might not be much I can do, but I truly hope I can be the help they need.