Rewinding time a bit to when the preparations for the shipboard party had just begun, Kaito was in his room working on the guest list while chatting with Alice.
"Kaito-san, Kaito-san."
"Yeah?"
"I was just thinking... I basically live at your house anyway, don't I?"
"Well, put that way, I suppose you're right."
Alice was essentially my guard on a twenty-four-hour rotation, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say we lived together. Granted, she was usually invisible or lounging on the roof at night, so it rarely actually felt like we were cohabitating...
"I mean, I even have my own rest room here and everything..."
"Why are you sliding my wall aside and revealing mysterious secret rooms like it’s the most natural thing in the world? Seriously, I need a detailed list of exactly how many hidden features I don’t know about in this room..."
"Ahaha, well, let's put that aside for now..."
"...I'd prefer if you didn't just brush it off, but fine. What were you saying?"
I really needed to get to the bottom of the hidden functions in my room at some point, but since I knew she’d just give me the runaround, I decided to hear her out first.
"Basically, what I'm getting at is that I'm practically part of Kaito-san's family!"
"Are you offering to help? If you're bringing it up now, I assume you mean something other than the actual party prep?"
"Oh, as expected of Kaito-san! You catch on quick. I could help with the setup, but that would drift away from the style you and the others are going for."
I knew her well enough by now. If she had intended to help with the logistics, she would have proposed it back during the planning phase. Mentioning it now definitely pointed toward something else.
She was considerate in her own way; she didn't want to rain on the parade of Anima and me while we were working hard as the hosts. In fact, if Alice got involved in a major capacity, we’d likely end up dumping everything on her, which would have just been a repeat of what happened during the housewarming party.
"No, I was thinking you could let me handle the entertainment for the party! I won't do anything weird, I promise. It'll just be musical performances, an exhibition of some of my secret works of art—that sort of thing. I'll make sure to clear the details with you beforehand."
"I see. It's true that we haven't quite reached the point of deciding on the entertainment yet. It would be nice to have something to break up the eating and chatting... All right, can I leave it to you? Naturally, I'd want you to consult with me and Anima to finalize the content."
"Understood! Leave it to me... Since it's a special occasion, maybe I'll break out Alice-chan's Secret Collection."
"Is that stuff actually... normal?"
"Hey, it's nothing weird. Look, Kaito-san, you've probably noticed by now, but I operate under a bunch of different names. Smithing, music, art... the reasons vary from money to just killing time. I've got plenty of things I've made but never actually shown to the public. Don't you think revealing them would be fun?"
Ah, so she intended to frame the display as the "Phantasm King's Secret Collection." Almost everyone attending knew Alice and I were close—or more specifically, lovers—so it wouldn't be particularly odd.
"Is there any risk of it causing an uproar?"
"Hmm. Well, I have a lot of famous works in different fields, so people might be shocked, but I don't think it'll go too far. It won't be framed as items owned by Kaito-san; they'll be treated as the property of yours truly, the Phantasm King."
"...I see. That should be fine, then."
If the collection were attributed to me, it would spark another uproar. But if it was just the Phantasm King showing off her private collection as entertainment, it shouldn't be a problem.
Alice was sensible about these things. I didn't think she'd cause a catastrophic disturbance, but since she did enjoy surprising people, I expected she'd put out items that would leave the experts in the crowd absolutely shell-shocked.
"As for the music, I was thinking of doing what I did for your birthday—playing it during the intervals."
"Having music would certainly liven things up. Okay, I'll take you up on that. But again, make sure you clear everything with me and Anima first."
"Yes, yes, I've got it covered."
And so, the entertainment for the party was left in Alice's hands. I trusted her, and I was sure it would turn out well, but...
"...By the way, why the sudden urge to help?"
"Well, I have many deep, sophisticated reasons, but to put it simply... I'm bored."
"Not a shred of depth to be found..."
Serious-senpai: "Everyone used to be so wary of her pranks, but since they became a couple, she's often the one acting as the stopper for the Outrageous Bunch. Kaito's trust in Alice has really shot up, hasn't it?"
Machina: "Alice is devoted and kind, after all. Still, the fact that those outrageous people are causing trouble for my child and Alice... as his mother, perhaps I should gather the lot of them for a lecture."
Serious-senpai: "Wait, you're literally the head of that Outrageous Bunch!?"