With the Founding Anniversary Festival just around the corner, a sense of restless excitement seemed to permeate the capital. With all Six Kings officially participating this year, the royal family was clearly pulling out all the stops. Every day, massive quantities of construction materials and supplies were hauled into the primary ceremony venue.
I’d finished my own stall preparations down to the last detail. All that was left was to wait for the festivities to begin—or so I thought until an unexpected issue cropped up.
It wasn't a crisis that affected me personally or put the stall in jeopardy, exactly. Rather, the cause lay in a comment Eden-san had made when I told my various high-profile acquaintances about my plans. She’d mentioned she would "find a way" to be there.
From her perspective, since her "children"—namely me, Aoi-chan, and Hina-chan—were running a stall, she felt a parental urge to go and see how we were doing. Well, let's go with "parental love" for the sake of argument. Regardless, that was her motivation.
The problem was that Eden-san stood out. Her beauty was one thing, but those massive wings were impossible to ignore. On top of that, she’d said something truly chilling: she was worried she might "accidentally" purge the local residents—whom she called "moving meat slabs"—if they got in her way in a crowd.
She couldn't exactly show up in person, but she was desperate to be there. This was the conclusion she’d reached.
"...And that's why you've come to this world, Amaterasu-san?" I asked.
"Yes... I was told to arrive a day in advance, so here I am."
Standing before me was a woman with long black hair, draped in a layered ceremonial robe. She looked every bit the noblewoman from the ancient courts. She was the same person who had assisted Eden-san by providing various explanations to my aunt and uncle, as well as Hina-chan's family.
"It must be rough, having to cross into another world on your boss's orders."
"Indeed. She is a boss of sorts... though her true station is far, far higher. Regardless, I shall be visiting your stall tomorrow, so I have come to offer my greetings ahead of time."
"I see. And the person next to you?"
"Yes! I am Mana. I was sent here by Paradise (Eden)-sama under the same orders. You may simply think of me as Amaterasu-sama's assistant... right?"
"Y-Yes! She is my assistant!"
The woman calling herself Mana had wavy, long brown hair and gray eyes. She wore a white one-piece dress paired with a cardigan. Unlike Amaterasu-san, her outfit was entirely modern, and she spoke with a vibrant smile.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Amaterasu-san seemed incredibly flustered, and I had a hunch that Mana was actually the one in charge.
The two of them left after some brief pleasantries. I was still a little surprised; I hadn't expected Eden-san to give up on visiting the stall in person so easily.
Within Trinia lay the Boundary of the Worlds—a place belonging to neither the Human, God, nor Demon Realms. It was a space Eden used as a staging area with Shallow Vernal's permission.
Currently, Eden and Amaterasu were there, both kneeling with their heads bowed before Mana.
"Then, as planned, No. 76812 will handle the operations for Paradise (Eden) on the day of the festival."
"Understood."
"And Amaterasu will accompany me to my beloved child's stall... Try to act a bit more naturally, okay? You were a little stiff today."
"M-My deepest apologies! I will do better tomorrow!"
Mana—or rather, Machina—spoke to the gray-eyed Eden and Amaterasu, who both bowed deeply again. A moment later, everyone tensed as they sensed a presence entering the space.
While this was a restricted space that even Shallow Vernal couldn't peer into, beings of her or Kuromueina's level were still capable of physically entering. Eden moved to stand up, preparing to resume her role, but Machina stopped her with a hand. She’d already realized who was coming.
"...Machina."
"Welcome, Alice. What do you ne— Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!?"
Alice appeared and approached the smiling Machina, lifting her off her feet with a brutal Iron Claw.
"Wait, Alice! I made this body extremely weak, so if you use too much force, it’ll break!"
"What on earth do you think you're doing after everything I told you...?"
"N-No, look, I did exactly what we agreed! I gave up on going as Eden... and since my contract with Shallow Vernal prevents my main body from coming here... I figured making a brand-new body would be a perfectly fine loophole! Ow, ow, ow! Why are you squeezing harder?!"
"...I figured you might try something like this, so I'll let that slide. However, I clearly need to have a much more thorough talk with you to ensure you don't cause Kaito-san any trouble tomorrow."
"...That's strange. You don't look like you want to 'talk'; you look like you're going to beat me to a pulp. Like I said, this body isn't strong at all, so please go eas— Gyaaaaaaaa!"
Machina's screams echoed through the void for a while before she was subjected to a very long lecture from Alice.
Serious-senpai: "I see, so that's the play... Just how 'not strong' is this body Machina mentioned?"
???: "It's about on par with the Six Kings. Since it doesn't even qualify as Quasi-Almighty Class, Machina considers it 'weak'."