The second person I drew was Machina-san... a woman who reigned supreme at the very top of my list of concerns. During the last birthday party, she had presented me with an outrageous "gift" by suddenly kissing me, which had prompted Kuro and the others to attack her in dead earnest.
"As expected, my beloved child has wonderful luck! Drawing your mother now... My child, you must have been looking forward to my birthday present, and I’m sure you’re thrilled to receive it so soon!"
"I... I suppose so."
Honestly, since she was the first person who sprang to mind as a source of anxiety, I did want to know the contents of her gift as soon as possible. If someone were to ask if I’d been hoping for her to get an early turn, they might actually be right.
"Now, I’ll say this just in case, but if you try anything as stupid as you did last time, we’re going to gang up on you and beat you to a pulp before you can even finish the act, alright? Canalis-san, I’m asking for your help as well," Alice warned.
Fortunately, not only was I on edge, but Alice, Kuro, and the others were also on guard regarding Machina-san's eccentricities. Since they weren't being as careless as last time, there was a high possibility they would stop her before she could act. And as Alice had called for assistance, the presence of Canalis-san made the safety level feel quite high.
"Yes, of course," Canalis replied. "Plus, a very strong friend just happened to come by, so I’m sure they’ll lend us a hand if it comes to that."
"S-Stop! Even I’d be at an 8:2 or 9:1 Disadvantage against that god... I mean, I’d lose ninety percent of the time even if I went all out. I’ve properly prepared a gift this time, so please don't call that Ultimate Evolution Form of the Physical-punching Type."
"The fact that there is even a ten percent chance of you winning against that child means your ability is among the top tier even for a World Creator, Machina-san. Tahaa~ Well, since that's the case, please provide a present with some moderation."
I didn't really understand what they were talking about, but since Machina-san looked genuinely troubled, it seemed a truly powerful god was lurking nearby. If that was the case, the party felt even safer than before.
While I was mulling that over, Machina-san cleared her throat lightly to switch gears and produced a single book.
"Once again, my beloved child, happy birthday! This is a present filled with your mother’s love!"
"Th-Thank you... but is this a book?"
"Hehe, it’s an album! I’ve carefully selected and compiled photos of my beloved child from your infancy to the present day. It was such a struggle! My child, you are ultimate and supremely cute in every single moment, so narrowing it down to just a 200-page Album was so, so difficult... This is the result of endless agony, and I pride myself on having completed the Ultimate Album. Though, I had to build a museum to vent all the frustration that built up while making it..."
So that’s the backstory behind that House of Curses?! In other words, while narrowing down photos for this 200-page Album, her Madness Gauge hit its limit and overflowed, resulting in that sanity-shattering House of Curses—a place filled with her heavy, unbridled love and every obsessive thought she’d ever had.
I could see the logic there, and for what it's worth, the gift actually made me quite happy. When I was taken in by my relatives, many of the items from the house where I lived with my parents had been disposed of. Between that and how chaotic everything was, I didn't have many albums or old photos left. My uncle or aunt might have kept some somewhere, and they probably would have told me if I’d asked... but either way, I was genuinely glad to have an album that let me look back on the old days.
"This is wonderful. I’ve forgotten so much about when I was little, and since I didn't have an album to look back on like this, seeing it brings back so much nostalgia... nostalgia..."
I flipped through a page at random, coming across a photo of myself when I was about five. There I was as a little kid, along with my young mother and father... and Machina-san was right there with us.
Wait... uh, how should I react to this?
It wasn't a composite. There were photos that clearly showed Machina-san lifting my younger self up. When I stole a glance at her with indescribable feelings... she was beaming with a broad, radiant smile.
What am I supposed to do? It felt like my past memories were being encroached upon—or rather, fabricated. Was this album actually a concentrated dose of madness and obsessive love?
Serious-senpai: "What’s truly terrifying is that the person who gave this to you could easily rewrite history if they felt like it. That’s the most frightening part of all."