I presented the glass interior and the cup to Sien as planned. Having achieved my primary objective for the visit, we settled in to chat over tea.
"Still, that Nebula of yours is really something else, Kaito. The pottery and glass are impressive enough, but her black tea was incredible, wasn't it? Ai-nee was absolutely raving about it."
"Yeah, it started with tea leaves and crafted sugar. Then she moved on to woodworking and ceramics, and now it's glasswork... I think she just enjoys the process of creation. She claims it's just to pass the time because she has too much on her hands, but she tends to get quite obsessive once she starts..."
Both Nebula and Illness had clearly turned their creative streaks into serious hobbies. They were both perfectionists, pouring an incredible amount of technical insight and care into everything they made.
In fact, the way those two usually failed was by over-engineering their projects to the point that they became impractical. They seemed to be the type who, once committed, felt compelled to create the absolute best version possible.
Lately, since Canaris had added her overwhelming support to the mix, the range of what they could achieve had expanded explosively. Nebula and Illness both seemed to be having a wonderful time. Just a while ago, they had even experimented with smoking food using World Tree wood; they simply seemed to enjoy the process of trial and error.
"Speaking of which, it seems like Chrome-sama has been up to something lately. Do you know anything about it, Kaito?"
"Kuro is? What specifically?"
"Who knows?"
"Tre-san, isn't it a bit strange for you to be tilting your head in confusion after bringing it up yourself?"
She had asked if I had any idea what Kuro was doing, only to shrug when I asked for details. I got the impression she was speaking based on pure intuition without a shred of evidence. Knowing Tre-san, that seemed entirely possible.
As the thought crossed my mind, Cento and Sien spoke up with puzzled expressions.
"Tre-nesama has been saying that a lot lately, but is Chrome-sama really doing something?"
"Neither Cento nor I have noticed anything strange. It doesn't really feel like there's a new product or business venture in the works, does it?"
"Hmm, when you put it that way, I guess I'm not that confident. It was just a hunch, really. I just felt like Chrome-sama was up to something. But you know, my hunches are often right."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Apparently, Tre-san didn't have any specific grounds for her claim; she was just speaking based on a vague feeling.
It was different from how I sometimes sensed things through Sympathy Magic. Tre-san’s was a hundred percent pure intuition, yet she seemed quite proud of it.
"Yep! My accuracy rate is a solid twenty percent!"
"...That’s actually quite low."
"It really is just a hunch, after all. Isn't hitting it twenty percent of the time pretty good? Well, if Kaito doesn't know anything, it might just be my imagination. Unless Chrome-sama is trying to hide it in earnest, Kaito would be the first to notice if she were keeping a secret."
"That’s true. I haven't noticed anything particularly unnatural about Kuro lately."
"Then I guess it's just my imagination~"
Just as I told Tre-san, looking back at Kuro’s behavior during her periodic nightly visits, nothing had felt out of place. Tre-san herself admitted it was just a hunch, anyway... Oh, but speaking of things feeling off, I did recall Lilia-san having a strangely exhausted look on her face a while ago.
Knowing her, I assumed it was some kind of trouble, but could it be related to Kuro?
(...)
No, Lilia-san’s situation probably had nothing to do with Kuro. Come to think of it, there wasn't really anything that unusual about how Lilia-san was acting after all.
Yeah, I'll just put it out of my mind and get back to enjoying my chat with Tre and the others.
In the Sanctuary of the God Realm, standing behind Shallow Vernal, Machina wore an unreadable expression.
"...Hmm, I feel like complaining a little about you messing with my precious child’s mind, but I suppose we didn't have a choice..."
"Yes. It is against my wishes as well... but if he realized the truth now, the sense of surprise would be lost."
"Still, for my beloved child's intuition to lead him back to Lilia's behavior in that moment—he really is something else. Hmm, for now, we should probably ensure that no one in the world can even harbor doubts regarding this matter."
"Yes, let's do that. If his intuition is sharp enough to recall Lilia's state from a single remark, there's no telling how else he might stumble upon the truth..."
Kaito's sudden suspicion had been quite inconvenient for Shallow Vernal and Machina. While Kuromueina was doing a fine job of deceiving him—even accounting for his Sympathy Magic—and Canaris and Alice were likely safe, Lilia was a different story. If Kaito met her face-to-face and started asking questions, his intuition would likely pierce right through any cover story.
Besides, Lilia was a poor liar to begin with. It was far more certain for Shallow Vernal and the others to handle it personally.
"Of course, we'll tell my beloved child eventually, but not until all the preparations are finished."
"Indeed. The creation of the world that will serve as the venue is complete. We should inform the other involved parties besides Lilia and the Kings of the Human Realm and begin full-scale preparations. After that... there is the matter of responding to those wishing to participate from other worlds."
"My beloved child is so popular... but letting the Gods of World Creation from other realms join in as they please would cause too many problems. Still, their desire to celebrate him is a lovely sentiment... perhaps we should only permit them to send gifts."
As they spoke, far beyond Kaito's knowledge, the preparations for his birthday party were steadily gathering momentum.
Serious-senpai: "I'm impressed... Not only are they increasing the number of people suffering from stress, they're perfectly setting the stage for Kaito's own impending 'stomach pain' as well."