Shallow Vernal, the God of the World, was coming to the Founding Anniversary Festival. Hearing those words from Laguna, Lilia felt her consciousness nearly slip away.
Only minutes earlier, Lilia had been pleading to go home, driven by a nagging premonition. But now that Shallow Vernal’s name had been uttered, fleeing was out of the question. To leave now, after being informed of the Creator God's arrival, would be branded as supreme disrespect—an act of lèse-majesté. Even with Lilia’s high standing in the God Realm, such an insult would not go unpunished.
The option to return home had vanished. Feeling a sharp, familiar pang in her stomach, Lilia questioned Laguna.
"S-Shallow Vernal-sama? Is she... officially attending the ceremony?"
"No, it doesn’t seem she’ll be attending the state functions. Apparently, she just wants to sightsee."
"...And she won't be doing that alone, will she?"
"Yes. Naturally, she’ll be with Kaito."
"......Of course."
Shallow Vernal rarely visited the Human Realm outside of the Hero Festival. Consequently, there was no record of her ever attending a previous Founding Anniversary Festival.
There was no way Kaito, the World's Singularity, wasn't the catalyst behind this. Lilia’s face twisted into an expression that defied description.
"The Goddess of Time appeared late last night with a look of profound apology and broke the news," Laguna explained. "Since then, it’s been absolute chaos. For that matter, most of the High and Low-ranking Gods are already here in the capital, operating under various disguises. The Goddess of Fate has used her power to ensure no one can detect their presence."
"I understand perfectly why you look so exhausted, Your Majesty Laguna."
Lilia’s mind flashed back to the previous date between Shallow Vernal and Kaito. She remembered vividly how a massive host of high-strung Gods had descended upon the capital of the Kingdom of Sinfonia, establishing an Impregnable Formation.
The Gods lived by the code of Shallow Vernal Absolutism; they would tolerate no disrespect toward her. To ensure they could respond instantly to any situation, they had fortified the festival venues overnight, with the three Supreme Gods taking command.
"I truly empathize with your gastric distress, Lady Lilia," Laguna sighed. "We’re essentially paralyzed. If we move carelessly and accidentally interfere with her date with Kaito, we risk offending Shallow Vernal-sama herself."
"Exactly. Besides, Shallow Vernal-sama’s behavior when she's with Kaito-san is completely unpredictable... Oh, why did it have to be like this...?"
"Even so, judging by your reaction, you were in the dark as well, Lady Lilia. I thought it was a terribly sudden announcement, but knowing Kaito’s personality, I assumed he would have told you in advance. Though, I suppose I’m the one who invited Kaito. I asked him to come and told him to bring someone along. I did say that, but... I never imagined he would bring Shallow Vernal-sama..."
Laguna clutched her head. Even as her stomach churned, she knew she couldn't complain, seeing as she was the one who had pushed Kaito to attend the festival. Watching her, a question suddenly occurred to Lilia.
Lilia also recalled Kaito telling her beforehand that he would be visiting the festival with someone. However, she had completely forgotten who that person was until this very moment.
Did I really forget despite being told he was going with Shallow Vernal-sama? No, that’s impossible... Unless the shock was so great that I subconsciously buried the memory just to protect myself from the stomach pain?
Still unaware that they were currently in a parallel dimension, both Lilia and Laguna reflexively pressed their hands against their aching stomachs.
While Lilia and Laguna were wallowing in their shared misery, Kaito was...
"...Um, Shiro-san?"
"Yes?"
"Why are we starting the day in the Sanctuary?"
"Because today is Pattern B."
"...Huh?"
For some reason, before the Founding Anniversary Festival had even begun, Kaito found himself having breakfast with Shallow Vernal in her Sanctuary.
Serious-senpai: "Even in another dimension, a Stomach Pain Warrior is still a Stomach Pain Warrior. Moreover, because they’ve inherited the memory of hearing the plan from Kaito and consenting to it, they can't even complain... Well, since they'll return to the Regular Dimension once the festival is over, the stomach pain will technically be erased as if it never happened, so maybe they'll be okay...?"