After chatting with Shiro-san for a while, my next stop was Machina-san. Or rather, I should say it was where Machina-san and Eden-san were waiting.
Both of them were attending the party today. Even though they were technically the same person, she was operating two terminals at once—likely because the people of this world were far more familiar with her Eden form. I didn't fully grasp the logic, but I figured it was something similar to Alice’s split bodies and left it at that.
"My beloved child, welcome! Your mother is so happy you came to see her!"
"Hello, Machina-san... though we did just see each other before the party started. And, uh, hello to you too, Eden-san?"
"To think you would greet this side of me as well. My child truly is kind."
Wait—was it just my imagination, or was the Eden terminal unusually composed? Even in her Machina-san Mode, she called me "my beloved child" regardless of whether she was losing control, so it was usually hard to tell the difference. However, as long as the version of her appearing as Eden didn't use that specific endearment, she seemed quite steady.
As I was pondering this, Alice—who was standing right beside Machina-san—spoke up with an exasperated look on her face.
"I can pretty much guess what you’re thinking, Kaito-san. You’ll probably be annoyed once you hear the details, but I’ll explain. See, the Eden terminal over there has met with the former Hero-roles and others from your world. She’s trying to stay calm to keep from ruining their image of her."
In other words, since people like Kaori-san and Akane-san didn't know about Eden-san's tendency to run wild, she was playing the part of a calm goddess. If she was capable of that, though, why couldn't she just restrain herself all the time?
"That’s exactly right, my beloved child! Mother doesn’t want to destroy the image my children have of me. But don’t you worry. I’ll make sure to express my love for you to the fullest on this side! If you want to be pampered, come to this version of me! In fact, you should just dive into your mother’s bosom right now. Go on, dive in and let mother's love—Ow!?"
I see. So she was using Machina-san as a pressure valve for her rampages. Since Machina-san had been doing most of the talking, it seemed she intended to handle our conversations with this terminal—the one most likely to spin out of control.
Alice didn't hesitate. She slammed her fist into Machina-san’s face the moment she started saying something ridiculous.
"A-Alice... that hurt... You said I couldn't come to the party unless I lowered my power levels, so this terminal is currently weakened. It actually hurts when you hit me that hard, you know?"
"I hit you specifically so it would hurt! I’m already stressed enough knowing I’m basically the Machina-handler for the rest of this party. If I see even a hint of a relapse, I won’t show any mercy."
"Eek... her eyes are serious..."
I was truly grateful for Alice’s presence. Since they were best friends, Machina-san was naturally soft on her. Alice’s attempts to keep her in check were far more effective than any reprimand from Shiro-san or Kuro.
Until now, Alice had been careful to respect the fact that my memories of Machina—and her relationship with Alice—had been temporarily sealed so Shiro-san wouldn't find out we were meeting in my dreams.
But now that the seal was gone, Alice could openly step in as her handler. It was incredibly reassuring. I knew it was a heavy burden for her, but a rampaging Machina-san was genuinely dangerous. I really needed her to hold the line.
"Listen up, Machina. If you lose control even once, I’m giving Kaito-san every single photo from that luxury cruise we took together."
"Stop! Anything but that! My image as a calm and dependable mother will be ruined! I mean, you still have those?! I told you to get rid of them ages ago!"
I wasn't sure what kind of photos they were, but I'd never actually viewed Machina-san as a "calm and dependable mother," so I doubted there was much of an image left to ruin.
"...To me, they’re precious memories of a happy day spent with my best friend. How could I ever throw them away?"
"...Oh. I-I see. Well, if you put it like that, I can’t really force you. B-But they’re embarrassing, so promise you won't show them to anyone else!"
Machina-san had been protesting at the top of her lungs a second ago, yet she folded instantly the moment Alice pulled the friendship card. She really was a pushover when it came to her.
Alice, for her part, was wearing a devious smirk. That was definitely a calculated move. Still, as long as Alice was on the job, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief regarding Machina-san’s behavior.
Serious-senpai: She really is a top-tier Machina-handler. Then again, Machina is syrupy-sweet toward Alice in a completely different way than she is toward Kaito. Alice might be the only person in existence who can actually control her... She’s officially stuck with handler duty for life.
???: Give it a rest. How much more do you want to pile on poor Alice-chan...