After we finished eating our coppepan in the dream world, Machina and I settled into our usual idle chatter. The conversation eventually turned toward the shipboard party I was currently planning.
It wasn't surprising that she knew about it; after all, she was omniscient, so it was practically a given.
"A party on a ship, huh... How nostalgic."
"Have you ever been to one before, Machina-san?"
"Yes. It was on a luxury cruise ship. Honestly, it was so grand, it really left an impression on me..."
"...Machina-san?"
She was likely referring to a time from before she became a goddess. She looked wistful for a moment, but then she suddenly trailed off, her expression twisting into one of indignation.
She wasn't angry with me; rather, it seemed like she had recalled some past grievance from that trip that made her blood boil.
"My beloved child, listen to me, okay? As your mother, I must warn you—you can't be too trusting, even with those closest to you! There are wicked people in this world who will lie to your face without a second thought!"
"I-I see... Is that so?"
"It is! She completely took advantage of the fact that I was a total novice at casinos. She told me things like, 'It's a breach of etiquette to bet more than one chip on a single spot in roulette,' or 'In poker, there’s a silent agreement to always bet your lowest chips first, and failing to do so is shameful.' She fed me all those lies with a face that looked like she was acting out of the kindness of her heart!"
"I-I see..."
"I thought it was so strange! Even though I was using my omniscience to ensure total victory, I still lost by a landslide... I actually sat there wondering if I was just a clumsy amateur who didn't know how to bet properly... Gununu."
...Yeah, that was definitely Alice's doing. I'd heard they were best friends, so they must have gone on a cruise together before Machina attained godhood.
They must have made some kind of wager back then. Knowing it would be impossible to win a fair game against an omniscient opponent, Alice probably realized her only chance was to exploit Machina’s inexperience and the trust she held as a best friend. She’d fed Machina a bunch of nonsense to rig the match in her favor.
"That’s... well, that’s incredibly shady."
"I know! It’s horrible! And after all that, she demanded a penalty game like it was her god-given right! At the time, I genuinely thought I’d just lost fair and square, but once I realized I’d been duped, I was just..."
"That was... well, it was definitely Alice, wasn't it? It certainly sounds like her. Did you ever call her out on it once you found out?"
"O-Oh, I did. I got angry and told her off for tricking me. But then she said, 'I just wanted to have a fair match with my precious best friend Machina. I only told you those things as a handicap against your omniscience, but I guess I overdid it a little. Sorry.' When she puts it that way... well, I mean, using omniscience is technically cheating, and it was my fault for not suggesting we play without it in the first place. Besides, she is my best friend. I can understand her wanting us to stand on equal ground... Ehehe."
"............"
Seriously, she’s such a pushover! Alice had her wrapped around her little finger. Machina even seemed genuinely happy to have been called a "precious best friend."
This likely wasn't the only time, either. Machina was clearly an easy target when it came to Alice; I could only imagine how many other things she'd been talked into over the years.
As I watched Machina beam and chatter happily about her past travels—her anger from a moment ago vanished without a trace—my perception of her shifted. I usually thought of her as the single most dangerous person I knew, but seeing this side of her was almost endearing.
Serious-senpai: "I see. Since she practically never uses her omniscience against Alice and trusts her implicitly as a best friend, she basically swallows everything Alice says hook, line, and sinker. And even if she catches on later, she’s so soft on Alice that she’s easily pacified with a few sweet words..."