Going out alone with Eden-san was... well, fine. Honestly, my anxiety was through the roof, but since the conversation had already headed in that direction, I didn't feel like complaining at this late stage.
However, there was a separate point of concern: just how long Eden-san was going to last.
By the time we had even reached the point of agreeing on this outing, Eden-san had already progressed to Phase 2. Experience told me that she was roughly five to ten minutes away from reaching her breaking point and going on a rampage.
If that happened, wouldn't she lose control before we even reached our destination, bringing the whole trip to an early end?
As I worried over this, I stole a glance at Eden-san. Her expression had already shifted into a deep smile. She had entered Phase 3. That meant the countdown to her rampage had essentially reached its final seconds.
I reflexively tried to channel magic power into the necklace at my throat to signal Kuro, but Eden-san took an action that broke her usual pattern.
"……My apologies. Please excuse me for a moment."
"Eh?"
She vanished the instant the words left her mouth, only to reappear a few seconds later. As I tilted my head, bewildered by her strange behavior, she greeted me with a serene, gentle smile—nothing like the intense look she had worn just moments ago.
"I have kept you waiting. Let us depart at once, my child."
"……Huh?"
Wait, what? Why? The deep smile was gone, her speech had slowed back to a normal pace, and she was back to calling me 'my child' instead of something more intense. She had returned to Phase 0!
How was this possible? Nothing like this had ever happened before. Had she managed to suppress the rampage through sheer willpower?
"……E-Eden-san? What did you just do?"
"My love for my child was on the verge of exploding, so I created a space with a changed flow of time. I spent 'several days' there to cool my head before returning."
"……I-I see……"
She actually came up with a countermeasure for her own obsession?! I see... Eden-san probably realized that if she lost control, the date would be over. To prevent that, she was choosing to cool down while she still had a shred of rationality left.
I could certainly feel her level of commitment. I could, but...
"Um, Eden-san? Is it simply impossible for you to just... hold back so your rampa—love doesn't explode in the first place?"
"It is impossible."
"……Then I guess it can't be helped."
So, fundamentally speaking, it was impossible for her to avoid the rampage entirely. If an Omniscient and Omnipotent God declared it impossible, then I suppose even being omniscient and omnipotent didn't help.
Well, if that was the case, I had to give up on the idea of an Eden-san who didn't lose control. Still, I was grateful that she was trying to suppress it on her own; at the very least, it increased my chances of survival.
...At the time, I was naive. I felt like punching my past self for being so optimistic.
After that, we set off for our destination. Eden-san claimed that using teleportation lacked "flavor," so we traveled by flying through the sky.
She kept me levitated as we moved, but midway through the flight, she progressed to Phase 2 again.
This time, she seemed to notice it herself. She vanished for a few seconds to cool down and then returned... wearing a deep smile, with murky madness dwelling in her eyes.
"I have kept you waiting, my beloved child."
"……Eden-san, please go back and cool down again. Immediately."
"Mu? If my beloved child says so……"
I realized then that even if she cooled down, she didn't necessarily return to Phase 0. Sometimes the progression just stayed right where it was. Worse, wasn't that Phase 4 just now? That was a close call... if I had been even a second slower in sending her back, she would have certainly rampaged.
"Beloved child, is there no problem now?"
"Ah... yeah. If it's like this, then I can manage..."
This time she was at Phase 1. I realized with a start that her state likely randomized every time she returned from a cooldown. I couldn't let my guard down for a single moment. If she came back at Phase 3 or 4, I had to send her back into isolation instantly or face the consequences.
Regardless of my own exhaustion, I had to keep my nerves sharpened. If I didn't accurately judge her state the moment she reappeared, a rampage was all that awaited us.
To be honest, at first, I thought it might be better if she just lost control so we could call it a day... but seeing her make such an effort with these makeshift countermeasures changed my mind. Knowing how desperately she wanted to spend time with me made me want to help her see this through.
I couldn't do much if she hit a first-move rampage state, but otherwise, I should be able to keep things stable as long as I remained observant.
From then on, every time she vanished and returned, I went on high alert. The first thing I checked was her mouth—was it a gentle smile or a deep smile?
A gentle smile meant she was between Phase 0 and 2. It wasn't perfect, but it gave me a bit of leeway. However, a deep smile meant she was on the verge of an immediate explosion. A split-second judgment was required.
...At this rate, even when we reached the place she wanted to show me, would I even have the mental capacity to look at the scenery?
Serious-senpai: "……That’s strange. They’re supposed to just be going for a walk, so why is the protagonist in such an unprecedentedly serious state? He looks like he’s caught in a high-stakes, life-or-death gamble."
???: "……In all likelihood, it's his chastity rather than his life that's actually on the line."
Serious-senpai: "……Wait, was she actually able to suppress it on her own?"
???: "No, she’s probably enduring it with a massive amount of strain. I have a feeling that as this repeats, Phase 1 and 2 will stop appearing entirely, and she'll return in Phase 3 or 4 every single time."
Serious-senpai: "……What is that, like some kind of mechanic where she builds up resistance and status ailments become less effective the more you use them……?"