After the housewarming party at Kaito's new home... Alice's clone was having a conversation with Iris at the bar in the basement of Kaito's home.
[...Fumu, so in the end, you didn't know what's with those two Gods?]
[Yes, they didn't act strangely after that, and I doubt they'd answer if I asked them, so I could only give up.]
[Even you gave up on that?]
[Well, I have some predictions, but it's really hard to read Shallow Vernal-sama's thoughts these days. She's in the middle of a rapid mental growth, so her behavior is often unexpected.... Well, it's just that she seems to be acting with Kaito-san in mind more than before, so if Shallow Vernal-sama won in that fight of theirs, the situation won't lead to a bad development.]
Yes, in the end, they still didn't know what Shallow Vernal and Eden were arguing about. After their coin toss, neither Shallow Vernal nor Eden had taken any notable actions.
As Kaito was also greeting the guests, he didn't have much time and this event was pushed to the back of his mind.
[Well, perhaps, there really isn't much to it. It's possible that that God named Eden was trying to do something and Shallow Vernal-sama was trying to stop her.]
[That's possible.]
[...By the way, I had been curious about that earlier, but what's with that paper bag?]
[Ahh, this is a souvenir that Kaito-san handed out to the invited guests. Kaito-san asked me to give this to Iris too... Well, it's not like Iris participated in the party though.]
[I probably don't need to tell you this, but I don't really like parties like that... Even so, he's as conscientious as always.]
After receiving the paper from Alice with a small smile on her lips, Iris checked its contents.
[...Hoohhh... It's a glass... Crystal glass huh? It's beautiful.]
[Yes, it's a very durable and easy-to-use glass.]
[I see. It's a safe but good choice for a souvenir... Unnn? What about this box?]
[Eh? Box?]
In front of Alice, who was tilting her head, Iris took a small box that could fit in the palm of her hand out of the paper bag.
[...That's a disposable magic box, the ones used for random boxes and stuff like that... No, but we didn't put such things in the souvenirs, you know?]
[...Which means?]
[This is definitely Shallow Vernal's doing. How surprising... for her to do something with the souvenirs that won't be in Kaito-san's hands...]
[Fumu, you open this by pulling the string below, right? Let's see... This is... "wine" huh?]
What came out of the disposable magic box was a bottle of wine. On the wine's label, only a large letter "{strong}K{/strong}" was written on it.
(T/N: English letter K.)
[Is this that Shallow Grande wine that you were talking about before?]
[No, the design is different, and it looks different from Shallow Grande... I don't remember any wine with the same design, so it must be something she had newly created.
[Fumu, don't think I've ever seen this letter that was written on the label...]
[It's likely that it's a letter from Kaito-san's world. I think that it could be the first letter of Kaito-san's name. Hmmm, there seem to be some things written on the back. Oya? This one is written with this world's letters... Errr, "To Kaito, From Shallow Vernal, Filled with Love"... I see, so this is a wine she created for Kaito-san...]
After saying that, Alice silently looked at the wine, looking as if she was thinking about something. After thinking like that for a few seconds, Alice looked up towards Iris.
[Iris, how about we drink it?]
[I don't really mind... Wait a second, I'll get you a wine glass.]
Fortunately, this is a bar, and there are wine glasses available nearby. Taking out two wine glasses from the shelf, Iris placed them in front of herself and Alice.
Using a corkscrew to pull out the wine's cork, she poured its contents into the glasses.
[...What? It's "silver-colored"?]
[This is probably based on Shallow Vernal-sama's silver-colored hair... but it really looks like mercury, don't you think?]
[Stop that, we're about to drink it.]
[Well, I'm sure it tastes fine———–!?]
[I guess I'll try it out too———–!?]
After Alice and Iris took a sip of their wines, both of them stiffened and their eyes opened wide. After a few moments with them petrified with their glasses tipped towards their mouth, they both came to their senses.
[...W- What is this... This is wine? If so, what the heck have I been drinking before? Colored water?]
[What a taste... It's by far the best wine I've ever had.]
[By your words, does that mean that this is better than that rumored Shallow Grande?]
[No, it's on a completely different level. I mean, I could clearly see it after drinking this, Shallow Vernal-sama... "When she's making Shallow Grande, she was trying to cut corners as much as she could".]
The taste of the wine was simply incredible. Even Alice, who remembers the taste of every wine that exists in this world, was rendered speechless by the taste... It was so great that it would be appropriate to call it the wine of God.
Shocked by the taste, Alice held her head for a while.
[...Seriously, how fast is that God going to grow... For her to start using a "scheme" like this...]
[Mhmm? A scheme?]
[Yes, if one just literally looks at it, this just looks like Shallow Vernal-sama is making wine for Kaito-sama's sake and distributing it to his guests, but in reality, this is an incredibly sophisticated scheme.]
Describing Shallow Vernal's mental growth as tremendous, Alice began explaining Shallow Vernal's actions.
[First of all, it was a good idea to sneak this within the souvenirs without telling Kaito-san. If she had asked him in advance, Kaito-san would have refused after all. But if she secretly planted it like this, Kaito-san won't know about it until "after the wine is handed to the guests", and it's not like he could just ask them back now.]
[...I see, that makes sense.]
[ And since there is no clear standard of value for a wine that hasn't existed until now, Kaito-san would just think that "Shiro-san made some very tasty wine and distributed it to the participants", which makes it that he would easily accept it.]
Pausing there for a moment, Alice held the bottle of wine in hand and continued.
[...Secondly, this being imbued in memories is a given, but you see, the first thing that comes to mind would be the ones that have the strongest impression. A wine this good will definitely leave a strong impression... but "with the words written on the back of the label"...]
[In other words, for the participants of this party, when they thought "Who is Miyama Kaito's lover?", the first thing that comes to their mind would be Shallow Vernal-sama huh...]
[That's right. That alone puts Shallow Vernal-sama at a great advantage, but there's also something hidden within her scheme.]
[...There is?]
[Yes, rather, you could say that this one is her real target. For Kaito-san, although he would be surprised by Shallow Vernal-sama's actions, he would easily accept it. "The guests who received it are happy about it" after all... "This is such a great wine." These words will definitely be written by the participants when they send their thank you letters to Kaito-san.]
As she was about to hear the intricacies of Shallow Vernal's scheme, Iris nervously waited for Alice's next words.
[Then, given Kaito-san's personality, he would just say "I was surprised, but everyone is happy, so I guess it's fine?". Moreover, what's important to note here is that Shallow Vernal-sama did it secretly... She's using this to appeal that she was modest and devoted.]
[I see, so you're trying to make a good impression to Miyama Kaito...]
[Yes, but the hidden secret is the next part. With Kaito-san's personality, what pops up next in his mind would be to "thank Shallow Vernal-sama"!]
[Indeed, with that guy's personality, that could happen.]
Thereupon, Alice clenched her fist and with a somewhat frustrated expression on her face, she continued.
[That's exactly what Shallow Vernal-sama wants! The situation where Kaito-san feels grateful to her means that even if she makes a request that Kaito-san would normally refuse because of embarrassment... "This feels embarrassing, but I'm thankful to Shiro-san.... and if it's to make Shiro-san happy..." is what will happen! In other words, Shallow Vernal has gained "the right to demand something from a Kaito-san with a much looser guard than usual"!]
[...I- I see... That's amazing. However, would it really work that way?]
[It's highly likely. At any rate, the wine has already been distributed to all the participants, so even if this wine was kept secret because of how good its taste is... If even one of the guests tells Kaito-san "Thank you for the wonderful wine", such a flow would occur. Moreover, no one would be unhappy. The participants are happy because they got great wine, while Kaito-san... would be happy that his acquaintances were happy, while Shallow Vernal-sama would be happy that Kaito-san thanks her... It's a flawless plan.]
It was a well-calculated plan that one could say that this was indeed God's scheme. Shallow Vernal had grown so remarkably mentally, that she was finally able to think of a plan to get the people around Kaito on her side.
[...So, why do you look that frustrated?]
[I should have done this myself!!!]
[...I see...]