That night, Alice sat at the bar in the basement of Kaito's house, talking with Iris as she set the fruit down on the counter.
"So, what did you discover about the fruit’s effects?" Iris asked.
"My tests show that it increases physical abilities and magic power by fifty percent for about an hour."
"Is that all? There are plenty of support spells with better multipliers than that. It seems a bit underwhelming."
"Actually, that isn't the case at all."
At first glance, a fifty-percent boost to all stats seemed potent, but many strengthening spells offered much higher returns. Compared to a true Fruit of the World Tree, which could heal any wound, this new version felt modest.
Alice shook her head at Iris’s assessment. After a brief silence, she spoke again.
"When I tried it... my own abilities increased by fifty percent."
"Without being in your Hecatoncheir’s Ultimate War-Form?"
"Exactly."
"I see. Then I take back what I said. That is a stupendous item..." Iris retracted her earlier dismissal. Alice had already trained her abilities to their absolute peak; under normal circumstances, she could no longer grow. She only ever increased in power when utilizing the infinitely evolving Hecatoncheir’s Ultimate War-Form.
With that context, the fruit Nebula had produced was terrifying.
"The boost from this fruit pushes the user's abilities fifty percent past their current limit. More than that, it seems to be applied after every other enhancement. When you consider that it multiplies stats that have already been boosted by other magic, it becomes an absurdly powerful tool."
"In that case, the likelihood that Nebula is indeed the being once known as the Ultimate God has increased, has it not?"
"I think so, but..."
"What is it? You're being unusually vague today."
Iris watched Alice’s hesitant expression, struck by how rare it was to see the girl so conflicted. It was no exaggeration to say that Alice possessed the finest mind in the world, yet she looked genuinely troubled. Sensing her friend's unease, Iris decided to lead the conversation one question at a time.
"You've formulated a hypothesis, haven't you?"
"Well, if my theory holds, that girl is undoubtedly the entity once called the Ultimate God."
"Hmph. But she is a Spirit now, not a God. How do you explain the discrepancy?"
"It's purely speculation, but Eden-san once hinted that Shallow Vernal-sama might be able to resurrect those she has brought to an end. From that, I suspect Shallow Vernal-sama used her power, the Epilogue, to bring the Ultimate God back."
Alice took a sip of the cocktail Iris had slid over before continuing.
"However, Shallow Vernal-sama wouldn't gain much by just bringing someone back. I suspect she can exert some kind of influence on the target during the process."
"Meaning?"
"Adding restrictions to their power, for instance, or making it impossible for them to defy her. That would explain why her race has changed to Spirit and why her power levels are significantly lower than the legends suggest. After all, Machina mentioned that her own power is so great that it’s difficult for her to manifest in this world normally. I doubt Shallow Vernal-sama could bring an even greater being into this world without significantly lowering its rank."
"I see."
Alice's deduction was nearly perfect. She was practically certain that Nebula and the Ultimate God were the same person.
"The rest is just intuition. I’ve seen enough battlefields to know at a glance whether or not I can win."
"And? Did you feel you couldn't beat her?"
"No, I felt like I could win easily. My impression is that even if Nebula-san exerted her full potential, she would only reach the Quasi-Almighty Class. Even if she tried to ambush Kaito-san, Kuro-san or I could handle it."
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be more likely that she’s a different person altogether?"
"I thought so too at first, but... it’s strange. For some reason, if I imagine a scenario where I'm the one initiating the attack—say, if I judged Nebula-san to be a dangerous element and tried to eliminate her—I feel like I wouldn't stand a chance. I have no evidence, but I can't shake the feeling that I simply couldn't win. It might just be a hunch, but I suspect there's a restriction on her ability to encompass everything."
"I see... A power that can only be activated when she is the victim of an unprovoked attack, or something of that nature?"
Alice’s vast combat experience lent incredible accuracy to her instincts, and those instincts told her that trying to eliminate Nebula unilaterally was a dangerous mistake.
"Well, I've gathered my thoughts for now. I'll check with Machina later. She should know the truth."
"Hmph. Your logic seems sound, despite the guesswork. So why the long face?"
"Well, that’s the thing..." Alice made a complicated face and took another sip of her drink. "Based on my first impression, our conversation, and her behavior today... no matter how I look at it, Nebula-san seems to be a good person to the core. She’s every bit as softhearted as Kaito-san."
"What?"
"She doesn't have the common sense disconnect you usually see in high-tier gods. She isn't tone-deaf; she’s actually quite attentive and thoughtful. Could a god who once reigned over countless worlds really have a personality like that?"
"I see. I understand your dilemma now. It certainly doesn't fit the image of a supreme being."
"Exactly. She’s too normal. Even though she’s an outrageous existence that I feel I couldn't beat if I were the aggressor, she doesn't feel dangerous at all. That’s what makes me so uneasy..."
Alice was struggling with a clear irregular. Nebula possessed terrifying hidden strength, yet Alice couldn't find a reason to be wary of her. The fact that she seemed to be one of the kindest people among Kaito’s acquaintances—perhaps even more so than Kaito himself—was what truly baffled her.
Realizing that thinking about it further wouldn't yield answers, Alice decided to put the matter to rest until she could speak with Machina.
Serious-senpai: "I think I'm starting to get it."
???: "Right? No matter how you analyze her, she’s so pure that you just end up concluding she’s a nice person. It’s actually more confusing that way."
Serious-senpai: "She has the crazy fruit and the hidden power, but with a personality like that, she’s basically a non-issue. She really is just a good person."