The glow of the setting sun filled the room as I sat on the sofa, lost in thought. My mind was occupied with the recent introductions between my parents and my lovers. While the results had been generally positive, a few lingering issues remained.
As for Alice, it wasn't so much a problem as it was a given; I had known from the start that she wouldn't trust my mother and father upon their first meeting. Alice seemed to feel a touch of guilt about it, but her reaction was exactly what I had expected.
Based on everything I knew, Alice was likely older than Kuro, making her the longest-lived of my acquaintances after Shiro. Perhaps that was why she fundamentally distrusted anyone she met for the first time.
It wasn't just my parents, either—she had been the same way with me. She once told me herself that she was initially gauging whether I was capable of saving Kuro, so naturally, she hadn't trusted me back then. She had even considered separating me from Kuro depending on how things went. Those doubts only seemed to vanish around the time we traveled to the Arclesia Empire together.
Alice simply needed time to open up to someone new. As she interacted with them more, her cold exterior would gradually soften. When Aoi asked her to teach her Golem Magic, Alice hadn't just brushed her off; she had offered an alternative. And lately, she seemed to have come to trust Lilia to a reasonable degree.
In any case, I believed Alice would eventually find common ground with my parents if given enough time. That wasn't the concern.
The real problem was Fate. She had made an effort to reach out, but she hadn't actually managed to bridge the distance. I had explained this to my mother and father, and both of them had expressed a sincere desire to get along with her.
I felt it was my responsibility to step in and facilitate a connection, but I couldn't for the life of me think of a way to do it. I really wanted the three of them to become close, but I lacked a plan.
I eventually realized that I wasn't going to find a good answer by overthinking it on my own. It was time to ask for a second opinion. Having decided to consult someone, I slowly stood up and headed out of the room.
The first people I ran into were Eta and Theta, whom I happened to spot while they were cleaning.
"I see... Perhaps a 'fistfight' would be appropriate?"
"I agree... If you exchange blows, you will become friends..."
"..."
I had completely forgotten that these two were former subordinates of the War King—members of a group of total meatheads. Naturally, their proposed solution was incredibly aggressive. Now that I thought about it, whenever those two had a disagreement, they usually stopped arguing and started fighting almost immediately. Despite their appearance, they were muscle-brains through and through.
"I'll keep that in mind," I told them before moving on.
As I continued through the mansion, I found Lunamaria leaning against a hallway wall, her arms crossed in a bizarrely dramatic pose. The moment I saw her, I attempted to walk past and ignore her without hesitation.
"W-Wait just a minute, Miyama-sama! Why are you ignoring me?!"
"No reason, really... So, what do you want?"
As Lunamaria stopped me in a panic, I looked at her with an exasperated expression. She gave me a smug grin and pointed a finger sharply at my chest.
"I have heard of your plight! I have the perfect solution—"
"No thanks."
"—Why?!"
"Because I doubt a constructive opinion would come out of you even by accident."
"Lately, haven't you been a bit too harsh with me, Miyama-sama?!"
To be honest, I didn't expect much from her, but there was a one-in-a-billion chance she might have something useful to say.
"...Fine, I'll listen. What's your method?"
"We shall play the 'King's Game,' a traditional icebreaker passed down from another world—"
"Have a nice day."
"Hey, Miyama-sama?!"
I had wasted an incredible amount of time. Realizing this, I left Lunamaria behind as she continued to protest and headed outside.
Hoping to consult Sieglinde, I stepped into the garden—only to find various acquaintances appearing one after another. It was almost certainly Alice's doing. I appreciated the thought, but I really wished she had been more selective with the candidates.
"Yo, Kaito! I heard the news! Leave everything to me!"
"Go home, you gorilla."
First, I sent away the gorilla, Megiddo, who had appeared before anyone else and whose "solution" I could guess without even asking.
"Miyama-sama! I, the humble Pandora, shall exert my strength to assist you..."
"Go home, you pervert."
"Aaaahhh?!"
I brilliantly dodged the pervert, who was trying to pitch something with bloodshot eyes.
"...Kaito... I heard... you were troubled..."
"Isis? Uh, do you have a good idea...?"
"...No... I can't think of anything at all... In fact... I'm the one who wants to know... how to get along with people... but I came... because I wanted to help you."
"I-I see... Thank you. That makes me really happy."
I felt instantly healed by the archangel who had come to support me even though it was a subject she struggled with. But the respite was short-lived.
"Do not worry, my child. Leave it to Mother... If I beat that 'Extremely Disrespectful Meat Slab' of a Fate God until she's ninety percent dead, she will surely become obedient."
"Wait, Eden! Stop!! Kuro! Come here quickly!"
With Kuro's help, I managed to restrain the yandere goddess who had tried to go nuclear from the very first move. By the time the chaos settled, the sun had already gone down.
What a disaster. I hadn't found a single good idea, and I was utterly exhausted. Isis had provided some healing, but the stress Eden added afterward had been far greater, leaving me mentally drained.
"...Master? What is the matter? You look terribly tired..."
"Anima, save me."
"Eh? A-Ah, yes! If it is I you need, I shall assist you with all my heart and soul, Master!"
Anima had returned from her outing at the perfect moment. She truly was a refresher for my soul. She seemed to have grown significantly lately; maybe she would actually have a helpful answer.
Clearly overjoyed to be relied upon, Anima nodded vigorously, her face beaming. She was supposed to be a bear beastman, but for a moment, I could swear I saw the phantom of a puppy behind her, wagging its tail so hard it threatened to snap off.
Mystery Entity: "As a baseline, Kaito's affection for Anima is actually quite high, isn't it? He used to call her 'lit dynamite' or something, but by the time the Six Kings Festival rolled around, she'd become his 'refresher.'"
Serious-senpai: "I feel like he's even more aware of Anima's feelings than Anima is herself. If they had the right push, they'd probably get together in a heartbeat... How depressing."