We had set aside a fair amount of time between the live performances, and I had been using those breaks to spin the garapon and collect my presents.
Even so, the vibe was just... wonderful. I had my doubts when everything first kicked off, but this birthday party was turning out to be more fun than I had ever imagined.
The best part was that despite the star-studded guest list and the sheer spectacle of the venue, it didn't feel stuffy or rigid. Everyone was just milling about, chatting and laughing, enjoying themselves as they pleased.
Because of that, I didn't have to deal with any unnecessary nerves. I could just relax—alternating between the gaming tournament and the live shows, receiving my gifts, and enjoying some lighthearted conversation.
I had a feeling Alice’s fingerprints were all over the logistics. It was likely all by design, carefully calculated so that I wouldn't feel stiff or awkward.
Feeling grateful for that, I spun the garapon lottery machine.
"Megiddo Argetes Borgness."
Ah, Megiddo-san was next. He had seemed really into the video games earlier, which had left an impression on me. As for the gift... it had to be alcohol. No doubt about it. Honestly, if Megiddo-san gave me anything other than booze, I’d be more shocked.
Just as I was thinking that, Ein-san led Megiddo-san over to me, but... hold on, why was he in the form of a little girl? When I had seen him just a bit ago, he was in his usual form—the ten-meter-tall magic beast. Why did he go out of his way to transform? Does he seriously think that little girls are my type? I was definitely going to have to sit down and have a long talk with him later.
"Yo, Kaito! I'm here!"
"Hello, Megiddo-san. Thank you for coming today."
"It's a special day, so don't worry about it. Not that I was actually involved much in the setup. I tried to help out, but Shaltier told me I was in the way and to just stay quiet."
"Ah..."
Megiddo-san... it wasn't that he lacked taste, exactly, but if you left him in charge, he’d probably make everything revolve around his own specific interests. He’d turn the whole place into a rowdy banquet hall rather than a party venue. Alice probably told him to back off because his ideas wouldn't have meshed with the overall concept.
"Well, Shaltier is better at this sort of thing anyway, so I just went along with it. Still, that group of Gods of World Creation is something else. This venue alone is packed with materials we could never reproduce in our world."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Even that chair you're sitting in is made of a completely unknown material. Looking at it up close, even I can't tell what it is."
He said it so casually, but... what? This chair was that incredible? I knew it was comfortable and didn't make my back ache, but if even Megiddo-san couldn't identify the material... Shiro-san or Machina-san must have whipped it up from scratch.
"Well, doesn't matter! More importantly, let's celebrate! Here, Kaito, I brought you some top-tier booze."
"Thank you very much. It’s exactly what I expected, but I’m glad it’s alcohol."
"With so many people here, you’re going to be swimming in presents. In the end, things you can consume are the most convenient, right? You can never have enough alcohol, after all."
"Ahaha, that’s very like you, Megiddo-san. But you’re right."
It was alcohol, just as I’d predicted, but I had to agree with his logic. Consumable gifts were easier to accept. Looking at the bottles, it seemed like incredibly high-quality stuff. Megiddo-san knew his spirits, so I was sure he’d picked something that suited my tastes. I was really looking forward to drinking it.
"By the way, Megiddo-san, you seemed really focused on the video games earlier."
"Yeah, that thing was well-crafted. I was impressed. Using a pseudo-game format to impose restrictions... it's a clever way to let people with massive power gaps fight on equal footing. But trying to recreate that with magic tools would be far too complicated."
"Alice made those VR games during the Six Kings Festival, though the format was a bit different..."
"That was something else entirely. I tried those too, but the principle behind them... see, they were closer to that Heart Match Magic I used on you before. It’s like pulling just the mind into a separate space. But most spells of that type have very strict requirements."
"Requirements?"
"Yeah. For instance, the Heart Match won't trigger unless both parties agree to it. The games Shaltier made were likely the same."
"You mean Alice’s VR games had some sort of condition?"
"Most likely. I bet the users got an explanation beforehand, and then the act of 'choosing to wear' the kigurumi—which was loaded with magic crystals and formulas—established the consent via formula contract. Still, even ignoring that, the cost of creating a pseudo-space to project a consciousness is astronomical. It's not something you can just mass-produce."
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered Alice saying those VR games were too expensive to make under normal circumstances. She only pulled it off because Shiro-san acted as a sponsor and gave her unlimited access to materials.
Games were incredibly complex; trying to replicate programming logic through magic formulas must be a nightmare. In terms of that kind of intricate internal processing, machines might actually have the edge over magic tools.
Serious-senpai: "Alright, why don't you explain yourself?"
Machina: "Eh? Explain what?"
Serious-senpai: "What exactly do you mean when you call people 'Meat Slabs'?"
Machina: "I mean exactly what the word implies. Hmm, how should I put it... maybe it's the state someone is in before I've recognized their value as an individual? From my perspective, the physical difference between most beings is just a rounding error. Anyone below the Quasi-Almighty Class is so similar that I can't really tell them apart. To me, they're just slabs of meat with no unique traits or physical distinction."
Serious-senpai: "So, even the gap between an ordinary person and a Peerage-class High-ranking Demon is just an error to you?"
Machina: "I don't really feel like bothering to categorize them as humans or demons based on whatever world they're from. So, I just lump them all together as 'Talking Meat Slabs.' It's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Being a Talking Meat Slab just means you're in a state where I haven't evaluated you yet. If I find something about you that stands out from the rest, you stop being a Meat Slab and become a being with the added value of a personality. For example, with Lilia—she started as a Talking Meat Slab, but then I felt bad for how hard she works, felt some sympathy for how she gets dragged into things, and she even did me a few favors. I started seeing the parts of her that were different from everyone else, so I recognized her value."
Serious-senpai: "I see... Well, if we ignore the 'Meat Slab' part, it's basically the same way Shiro used to think. You just view most things as having the exact same value, so you have no interest in them."
Machina: "There are exceptions, of course. My Children were born with the immense value of being 'My Child.' Besides, I'm blatantly biased toward My Children, so I've always viewed each of them as special individuals. I'll admit that bias exists, but that doesn't mean I'm saying the otherworld children are worthless. It just means that as long as I'm calling someone a Meat Slab, they're in a pre-evaluation state where I haven't found their value yet. Once I recognize someone's value and learn their name, I'll call them by that name. I'm even generous enough to overlook a bit of lèse-majesté from them. That's how it is with Lunamaria, too."
Serious-senpai: "...Yeah, yeah... I guess even a Yabai God has their own set of standards. What about that noble you threatened earlier?"
Machina: "Hmm? No, I actually spoke to that Meat Slab. As for the trash beneath that level, I simply gave them a strict lesson. Especially those beyond redemption—the ones who think they can use My Beloved Child for their own gain or look down on him... well, you know?"
Serious-senpai: "Ah, right..."