Let’s start by making sense of the situation. In the album Machina-san had handed me, she was right there with me, my mother, and my father. In fact, if I didn't know better, she fit in so naturally that she looked like an older sister with a significant age gap.
Knowing her, creating these photos was likely a trivial task, but it left me wondering if this could even be called an album.
Yet, aside from Machina-san's presence, nothing seemed out of place. The picture I was looking at now was from a childhood trip to a ranch. My memories of it were faint, but as I stared at the photo, the past began to resurface in my mind...
—Look, my beloved child, there’s a cow!
—Do you want some ice cream? Hmm, how about you share it with Mother so you don’t get a tummy ache?
—Oops, is my beloved child getting sleepy? Mother will hold you, so it’s okay to sleep.
...This was strange. Memories that shouldn't have existed were rushing back with incredible clarity. They were so vivid that I would have believed a video was playing in my head. I could even recall every word of my conversations with Machina-san.
"...Um, Machina-san? Memories I’m not supposed to have are coming back to me. What exactly is this?"
"Oh, you noticed! Ah, don't worry, I haven't altered my beloved child’s past or manipulated your memories. Of course, if I felt like it, I could actually go back in time and join your memories for real, but every memory belonging to my beloved child is supreme regardless of its nature. I wouldn’t dare interfere with them in such a crude way. Besides, I'm sure Shallow Vernal or someone else would have stopped me if I tried... In fact, you can still tell that the scenes coming to mind aren't actually real, right?"
"N-now that you mention it, while they’re incredibly vivid, I do understand that these are memories of things that never actually happened."
For a moment, I felt relieved that my past hadn't been rewritten and my mind hadn't been tampered with without my knowledge.
But if that was the case, what were these "memories" of Machina-san?
"Fufu, that is the effect of the 200-page Album. When you hold it and think about the story behind a photo, you’re able to vividly imagine a scene of possibilities where I was there with you! In other words, the photos of my beloved child and mother in that album are glimpses into a world of possibilities. It’s easiest to think of it as something you can only see while you're holding the album. You could say you're able to recall happy memories with Mother whenever you wish... That blissful time is my gift to you!"
"...I see."
Was this some kind of brainwashing tool? Still, I understood the gist of it. Essentially, as long as I held this album, I could experience a world of possibilities where I had known Machina-san since I was a child.
Wait, it wasn't influencing my behavior in these thoughts, was it? When I tried to recall the ranch trip again, all the scenes involved me being incredibly attached to Machina-san... Well, putting her madness and her tendency to go out of control aside, she was a kind and friendly person. If I assumed the Machina-san in this world of possibilities didn't go off the rails, it wasn't that surprising that my younger self would have taken a liking to her.
"...Shaltan, what do you make of that?"
"...She managed to find a loophole right in the gray area. Since she didn't actually interfere with Kaito-san's memories or rewrite the past... and if it's just a fabricated image playback device that Kaito-san recognizes as fake... then it’s barely safe."
Alice muttered with a very complicated expression, but she seemed to accept it. It was certainly an item with an overwhelming amount of emotional weight, but since the scenes only appeared when I chose to look at the album, the choice was mine. It wasn't forcing anything on me.
As I considered this, Shiro-san nodded slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"...I see. By using that method, you can insert yourself into Kaito-san's past without actually altering it. I see you’re capable of more than just piggybacking on my ideas."
"Heh, I’d be troubled if you underestimated me."
Shiro-san looked genuinely impressed, almost as if she were thinking, "Darn, why didn't I think of that?" Meanwhile, Machina-san wore a proud Doyaaa Face, looking quite satisfied with herself.
...Yeah. Well... it certainly was a very Machina-san-like birthday present.
Serious-senpai: "Basically, isn't that just a fabricated album where everything, including the photos, is fake..."