Chapter 716: Introduction ③
Chapter 716: Introduction ③
In the middle of the introduction between Alice and my parents, Eden-san, wearing a maid uniform, suddenly appeared…… I was stunned for a while, unable to comprehend the situation, but I managed to gather my resolve and spoke.
[……E- Eden-san? W- What in the world are you doing……]
[I have two purposes. One is to bring more tea for my beloved child. This clothing is just something like a mood enhancer. The second one…… is that I have business with those two.]
[ ! ? ]
As soon as Eden-san said that, with her gaze directed towards Mom and Dad, Alice disappeared from my side and appeared in front of Eden-san’s gaze holding two knives, one black and one white, as if to protect Mom and Dad.
Glaring towards Eden-san, Alice quietly muttered.
[……What are you going to do?]
[Rest assured. It wouldn’t be the same as you thought…… “I am the one who created their bodies”. Thus, the two of them are also “my child”.]
[……I see.]
Hearing Eden-san’s words, Alice looked relieved as the knives in her hand disappeared and she returned back to my side.
It’s just a guess, but Alice may have thought that Mom and Dad’s bodies were created by Shiro-san, and thus, she thought that Eden-san doesn’t consider them as her child.
However, it seems that Eden-san was the one who created Mom and Dad’s bodies, and thus, Alice was relieved when Eden-san called them her children.
Eden-san is very open-minded to the people she calls her children after all……
[Before we talk, let me make a cup of tea for my beloved child. Ah, for my two children too…… Here.]
[T- Thank you.]
With a gentle…… That’s a gentle one, right…… Well, let’s just think of it like that. With a gentle smile on Eden-san’s lips, Eden-san poured tea for me, Mom and Dad.
[……Oiiii, Eden-san? What about mine?]
[Quickly relying on others, you should be ashamed of such a thought, Alice. If you have the time to complain, stop acting spoiled and pour your own tea.]
[T- This bi……]
Showing a harsh response to anyone other than her children as usual, Eden-san looks at Mom and Dad.
[I believe this is the first time we’ve met, Miyama Akari, Miyama Kazuya. My name is Eden. I am your world’s God and your mother.]
[……Ahh, errr…… Nice to meet you?]
[W- We are in your care.]
Hearing Eden-san’s high-pitched proclamation that she was their mother, the two of them responded, looking slightly drawn away. Unnn, Mom and Dad’s confusion was understandable…… Still, there’s something I’d like to say.
The Eden-san you’re seeing right now is still in a good state, you know!? She’s usually much worse!!!
[Even if you have to live in this world, it doesn’t change the fact you are my children…… if you have any problems, you can always rely on Mother, alright?]
[ [ Y- Yes. ] ]
As a content smile appeared on her lips, Eden-san lightly patted Mom and Dad on their heads. Seeing such an Eden-san, looking like a decent and benevolent God, not going on a rampage unlike when she was with me, makes me feel strange.
[…..So, Eden-san? Is that the only thing you came here for?]
[Yes, that’s right. Besides, I can also show off my good points by preparing tea in a maid uniform like this.]
[It seems that the words “good points” have a different meaning in your world than in mine. You’ve sufficiently shown off how dangerous you are, so please leave already.]
[By the way, my child, I’ve prepared some sweets for you to enjoy.]
Alice sarcastically replied to Eden-san, but Eden-san brushed her off! Isn’t Eden-san quite invincible in arguments? Not holding any interest in the other party’s words, and completely ignoring them…… It was probably only when she was dealing with Eden-san that her irritation could be clearly seen on her face……
In the end, occasionally goading Alice, Eden-san stayed until the end of the meeting.
The next one that my parents would be meeting is Kuro, so I left the room to pick up Kuro who was waiting in another room.
After Alice’s introduction to my parents ended, Eden-san also disappeared…… I could honestly only see a future where she would be quarreling with Kuro if they’re in the same room, so her leaving was the right choice.
With such a thought in mind, I don’t know why, but I called out to Alice who followed along with me, not seemingly thinking about anything.
[Even so, some stuff happened, but I’m glad that Fate-san and Alice’s introduction peacefully ended.]
[………………..]
Hearing what I said, Alice kept her silence for a moment, looking like she was thinking about something, before she spoke.
[……Kaito-san, my apologies…… but I still couldn’t trust your parents. Rather, I’m vigilant of them.]
[………………..]
As Alice said this with a somber atmosphere around her, I wonder what in the world she was talking about now.
[No, I mean, isn’t that obvious? After all, you’ve never met Mom and Dad before, Alice, and I don’t really think it’s right for me to tell you to completely trust them right after you met just because they’re my parents, right……?]
[……Errr, no, well, that’s true but…… are you okay with that, Kaito-san?]
[Unnn? I mean, didn’t you say it yourself? That it’s just “still”……]
[Uuuu…… That is……]
[Besides, even though it ended up being a misunderstanding…… You were trying to protect Mom and Dad, right?]
[…………………..]
Even if she didn’t tell me, I knew that Alice was wary of Mom and Dad. Rather, it wouldn’t be like her if she trusts them even when she met them for the first time.
For better or worse, Alice is a smart fellow…… I’m sure that she would think of all kinds of possibilities, including the worst-case scenario. In that sense, being too smart might also be a bad thing.
[……Ah~~ Well, that’s right. I think they’re good people. In fact, I’m 99% sure that what I thought wouldn’t happen…… However, my pessimism is acting up on me. I just can’t ignore that 1% possibility…… I think it may take a while before I can trust Kaito-san’s parents, you know?]
[You don’t really have to be in a rush to trust them…… I’m already grateful that you’re thinking about eventually trusting them.]
As we moved along exchanging such words, Alice suddenly turned to me and spoke.
[……Also, Kaito-san.]
[Unnn?]
[Please don’t be too angry with Fate-san because of her actions earlier either…… Fate-san is a God. She’s one of the beings that don’t have parents, nor children. I think the relationship between parent and child is something that she doesn’t really understand……]
[………………..]
[……I mean, putting the situation in reverse, we also can’t understand the Gods’ emotions…… We can’t understand why is it that they pledge their absolute allegiance to Shallow Vernal-sama right from their birth and unhesitantly give up their life if it’s necessary, right? That’s just the same way.]
Alice tried to cover Fate-san, but I just replied to her with a tilt of my head.
[Are you not around when it’s Fate-san’s turn to be introduced to my parents, Alice?]
[Eh? Yes, I thought that I’d be intruding…… so I just waited above the roof.]
[……It seems that Fate-san was trying to “step up” for my sake, you know?]
[……Eh?]
When Alice heard my words, she looked puzzled. Chuckling at that unusual expression of hers, I continued.
[Fate-san’s meeting with Mom and Dad “didn’t go well”…… Fate-san only talked to me and her eyes didn’t have any emotions when she looked at Mom and Dad, which I think scared the two of them.]
[……Isn’t that bad then?]
[Fufu, it seems like Alice was slow at catching up with this one huh…… I said “It didn’t go well”, you know?]
[Ahh…… Ahhhhhh!?]
When Alice heard my words, she seemed to have realized something as she looked shocked. Yes, the meeting between Fate-san and my parents didn’t go well…… hidden within those words were the proof that Fate-san tried to step up.
[Let me ask you, did you think that was originally impossible?]
[……It’s impossible. Akari-san and Kazuya-san don’t have Shallow Vernal-sama’s blessing. If that’s the case, they obviously wouldn’t be able to resist Fate-san’s authority. Fate-san could have easily determined the future where “the two of them completely trusted Fate-san” or the future “where the introduction meeting ended up with them being amicable with each other”.]
[However, the reason why things didn’t work out that way could mean that Fate-san didn’t use her powers on Mom and Dad, and agreed to meet with them on her own, right?]
Yes, the introduction of Fate-san, which can normally determine the future, shouldn’t have ended in failure. I’m not going to lie. I also thought that Fate-san would manipulate fate and make sure that their meeting peacefully ended.
[From Mom and Dad’s point of view, I’m sure it would look like Fate-san is looking at them with emotionless eyes…… but I could feel her emotions from her magic power, you know? The emotions I felt from Fate-san’s with my Sympathy Magic were “nervousness, embarrassment”…… and at the end of the meeting, “slight regret”…… just from that, I don’t really understand what Fate-san was thinking…… but you should know, right, Alice?]
[Yes, hearing what you said, I understood clearly. Fate-san probably still didn’t understand the relationship between the parents and their child, but she did understand that Akari-san and Kazuya-san were “very important people” to her. That’s why she was trying to be friendly with them…… or at least, at the start of the meeting.]
[But it didn’t work.]
[Yes…… A personality that had been formed over tens of thousands of years of living probably couldn’t be changed as quickly as how one feels. Fate-san looked at Akari-san and Kazuya-san and couldn’t get interested in them at all…… I guess she felt that they were just the same as the pebbles on the roadside. She understands that such a thought isn’t right, but she couldn’t get herself to get interested in them…… That’s why she felt embarrassed.]
In short, her nervousness…… was her being overwhelmed with the feeling of needing to somehow get along with them…… And her emotionless eyes…… Those eyes, which she had never even directed at Lilia-san and the others, might have been a sign of nervousness.
[Fate-san has never had the “experience of trying to get interested in something she isn’t interested in”, so she probably didn’t know what to do. Perhaps, the reason why she didn’t talk to them was that she was afraid that if she responded to them, she would say something that would sound like “she’s pushing them away”. It’s just as I said before after all, Fate-san probably saw the two of them as nothing more than pebbles on the roadside.]
[However, she’s trying to change that, right?]
[Yes, definitely. In the same way that Shallow Vernal-sama started looking at Kaito-san’s surroundings, Fate-san is probably trying to look at Kaito-san’s surroundings too…… Well, it takes a certain amount of time or a big trigger to change her sense of values…… though I guess it would take her some time to achieve that.]
[……I see, that’s why she was a little depressed when the meeting was over……]
[That’s what it’s like trying something new. There are always regrets that come up later, like “I should have done that” or “I should have tried a different approach”…… Well, it was honestly a bit unexpected, but it seems like Fate-san is also trying to change huh.]
Saying that much, Alice became silent, looking like she was contemplating about something for a moment. As I stared at her and thought about helping Fate-san get along with Mom and Dad as much as possible in the future, Alice, who seemed to have finished contemplating, spoke.
[……I guess I shouldn’t be so doubting about people either. Kaito-san, please bring Akari-san and Kazuya-san to my miscellaneous goods store the next time you visit.]
[……Alice.]
[I’d also like to make some effort to get closer to the two of them…… I still don’t know if it will work or not though.]
[If it doesn’t work out, I’ll make sure to support you, you know?]
[……I’m counting on you for that then. I mean, I guess it should be obvious, but Kaito-san seems to be growing too huh…… To be honest, this meeting reminds me of how stubborn I am.]
[Can I take that as a compliment?]
[Yes…… I’m falling in love with you all over again.]
Trying to change, but it’s not easy because of their life spent for so many years. That’s obviously the case for Shiro-san, but Fate-san and Alice too…… are trying to change something that has remained the same for an extremely long time.
There may not be much I can do…… but it would be great if I can help them in some ways.
<Afterword>
? ? ? : [Alice-chan’s stuffed costume Ver. 2 has been released in the Activity Report!]
Serious-senpai : [……Why the heck are all your stuffed costumes so creepy?]
? ? ? : [Aren’t they cute?]
T/N: Only one chapter. Converge acted up yesterday.