Riding the momentum of our first win, Alice and I continued to stack up victories. Alice's technique was nothing short of extraordinary, but I was in a groove as well, moving more fluidly than I usually did.
Still, despite it being a necessity of the tournament bracket, seeing "Alice versus Alice" was an utterly surreal experience.
Ultimately, Anima’s struggle to fine-tune her overwhelming physical strength made her movements somewhat awkward, creating the opening we needed to clinch the final point.
As a result, Alice and I were crowned the champions of the beach volleyball tournament.
"We did it, Kaito-san!"
"Yeah, it was all thanks to you, Alice. Thanks."
"No, no, you were moving great out there. This was a victory for the both of us!"
"I suppose it was."
Since this was just a friendly game, there weren't any actual prizes, but winning still felt wonderful. As I shared a high-five with Alice to celebrate, I suddenly felt a strange prickle of tension in the air.
Glancing toward the sidelines, I saw Shiro-san and the real Alice—the main body—looking uncharacteristically stiff, their expressions tight with anticipation. It was as if they were braced to react to an immediate threat at any moment. What was going on?
Everything seemed fine, didn't it? We’d all enjoyed a harmonious game of beach volleyball, and there hadn't been a single moment of friction or hostility.
There had been plenty of legendary rallies, and none of the teams felt unnaturally overpowered compared to the others. In fact, Kuro and Isis-san were wearing bright, pleasant smiles. Only Shiro-san and Alice looked so out of sorts.
As I tilted my head, puzzled by the odd vibe, the Alice in the mascot costume called out to me.
"Well then, Kaito-san, my work here is done. I'll be heading back to my main body now~"
"Eh? Oh, sure. Good work."
"See ya~!"
With those words, the costumed Alice vanished as if she had never been there in the first place. I watched the spot where she’d stood for a moment, then looked back toward Shiro-san and Alice. The heavy atmosphere had vanished instantly.
Was it just my imagination? I’d only caught a fleeting glimpse of their faces, after all.
Before I could dwell on it, Kuro and the others swarmed me with praise. We fell into an animated discussion about the highlights of the tournament, and eventually, Shiro-san and Alice joined in with their usual lightheartedness. The brief moment of doubt I’d felt was soon pushed to the back of my mind.
As Alice watched Kaito laughing with Kuromueina and the others, she remained silent for a long beat before finally muttering a single sentence.
"...She actually went home. Just like that."
"...She really did. Without incident," Shallow Vernal added after a similar pause.
To put it bluntly, the two of them were profoundly confused.
The reason was simple: the Alice in the costume—Eden—had defied all their expectations by leaving without making a scene.
Until that very moment, they had both been on high alert, waiting for Eden to rampage. They assumed that after winning the tournament as Kaito’s partner, her excitement would reach a fever pitch. If she was going to snap, that victory was the perfect trigger.
They had wound themselves tight, prepared to intervene the second she showed a sign of losing control... but in the end, Eden had done nothing.
"In a way, this outcome makes me even more anxious," Shallow Vernal admitted.
"I know exactly how you feel. I'm in the same boat," Alice replied. "Even if she didn't lose it, I expected her to stubbornly insist on staying longer... but she didn't even put up a fight."
"Yes, it is a bizarre sensation. This should be the ideal result, yet I find myself unable to accept it."
"Well, it's her fault for being a loose cannon who flips her lid as easily as breathing. It’s a sad state of affairs when her not rampaging is what scares us."
Looking only at the facts, the day had been a total success. Eden hadn't gone on a tear, Kaito remained oblivious to her identity, and everything had concluded peacefully.
However, given her history of obsessive behavior, it was only natural that a total lack of drama felt like the calm before a storm.
"In the end, I feel like I've been jerked around even though nothing actually happened. Well, since the result is positive... let's let it go."
"Agreed. I've caused you a great deal of unnecessary stress today. I will make it up to you soon."
"Nah, it’s fine. That unhinged God was one hundred percent the problem. For now, let’s just reset and get back to having fun."
Though they still felt somewhat unsatisfied, the crisis had been averted. After a mutual look of understanding, Alice and Shallow Vernal shifted their moods and rejoined Kaito.
Machina: "Ah, that was wonderful! I haven't done that much before, but playing and moving around is quite a lot of fun! My child looked so dashing, too—it was perfect!"
Serious-senpai: "...I'm genuinely shocked. I was certain you’d lose your mind the second you won and start screaming 'My beloved child~' or something."
Machina: "Sigh..."
Serious-senpai: "Wait, why the sigh?"
Machina: "Serious-senpai, I'm going to say something very important now, so you’d better listen."
Serious-senpai: "Yeah?"
Machina: "...'Alice wouldn't say such a thing.'"
Serious-senpai: "Eep... O-Okay! My apologies! (The light in her eyes just died?!)"
Machina: "Good. As long as you understand. Now then, I think I'll turn my beloved child's heroic moments into posters to decorate my room."
Serious-senpai: "...(I see... The only reason she didn't rampage was that 'breaking character' would ruin the performance... She’s an absolute Alice stan. It’s not as obvious as her obsession with Kaito, but she’s a yandere to her very core. That was terrifying.)"