The food stalls that lined the cobblestone streets gave off an atmosphere of the good old days, making it seem as if the time had rewound.
As the sunset and the lanterns lit up, Alicia and Makina walked along the street, illuminated by the faint glow of the lanterns.
[Well~~ We had quite the great timing. I didn't know there was a festival happening nearby...]
[There sure are lots of people... Along with this yukata clothing, this place has quite the mysterious atmosphere to it.]
[Well, the atmosphere around here certainly is unique.]
After a few days on a boat, the two of them arrived in Japan and first went to a luxury onsen resort recommended by Alicia. When they heard that there was a festival going on nearby, they left their luggage and came to visit.
Dressed in the yukata that Alicia had prepared, Makina walked along, her eyes scurrying with curiosity. Although she was omniscient and had immediate access to knowledge, it must have been a different feeling to come to the place itself and walk around like this.
After watching Makina with a smile, Alicia bought some food at a nearby stall.
[Alicia, what's that?]
[Takoyaki. Do you want some too, Makina?]
[H- Hmmm, I'd like to but... After having eaten lots of food brought by Alicia, I found out that I have a cat's tongue, so I think I'll wait until it's a little cooler.]
(T/N: If you have a cat's tongue, you can't handle hot food.)
[Fumu... Makina, ahhn.]
[Eh?]
Makina refused to eat because she has a cat's tongue, but immediately afterwards, when Alicia said this with a teasing smile on her lips, Makina reflexively opened her mouth.
And there, with really brilliant control... Alicia threw the piping hot takoyaki into her mouth.
[Ginyaaaahhhh!? Affuhhh, affuhhhhh!?]
Of course, Makina, whose mouth had hot food tossed in it, wasn't able to bear it. With a scream, she threw away her shame and outward appearance, and rolled on the ground. But even so, she put her hands over her mouth to keep the takoyaki from spilling out, which may have been her last resistance as a woman.
After a few moments of rolling around on the ground, Makina stood up and furiously came at Alicia.
[What are you doing!? That's so mean, Alicia!]
[Arehh? Makina, you have a cat's tongue? Well`~ Sorry, sorry, I didn't realize it.]
[I just told you! I just clearly told you that I have a cat's tongue!!!]
[Ahh, it's alright, so don't worry. I made sure to block their recognition, so no one will notice Makina's silliness!]
[...If you have cared placing that magic, you should have just cared more about something else... When I learn to use my divine powers, the first thing I'll do is definitely to cure this cat's tongue.]
[Ahaha, that's quite the extravagant use of divine powers there.]
[Mnghhh~~]
Seeing Alicia happily laughing at her, Makina pouted. It's not that she's mad at her, but she felt that she mustn't let this go unanswered.
Quickly taking the container of takoyaki that Alicia was holding, Makina returned what Alicia did to her earlier.
[Alicia, ahhn.]
[Ahhn.]
[.....]
[Hmmm, it's quite delicious.]
[Why do you look so composed!?]
[Well, I don't have a cat's tongue after all...]
[Muuuuu... You! Take this!]
[Ahh, w- wait! I still have takoyaki in my mouth...]
Unfortunately, her counterattack didn't work on Alicia. However, the counterattack of pulling her cheeks apart, which she did with half-hearted desperation afterward, seemed to have some effect.
[...Ahaha, well, sorry, sorry. I've already healed your burnt tongue, so let's eat something else. They also have lots of stuff that isn't hot.]
[Hmph. Alicia... you meanie.]
[I'm sorry already. Ah, look, Makina, they sell cotton candy over there! That should be fine since it's not hot!]
While apologizing to Makina, who looked like she's sulking rather than angry, Alicia bought some cotton candy from a nearby stall and handed it to Makina.
With a displeased look on her face, Makina took a bite of the cotton candy... and her eyes lit up.
q in
[This tastes good! It's amazing, Alicia! It's so fluffy!]
[...And you're in a good mood again. Rather than easy to deal with, you're more like cheap to please...]
[Unnn? What did you say?]
[No, nothing. Come on, let's go around!]
[Wawawa, wait, don't pull me... This clothing is hard to move in, so I might fall over.]
After enjoying the festival, we went back to the onsen resort and had onsen together before dinner.
[Haahhh... This is great~~]
[Fuahhh~~ Onsens are so nice... Even so, they have quite a great room. They even have a small garden and an onsen in it.]
[It's a top-quality super-luxury inn after all. The dinner would also be top-notch, so you can look forward to it.]
[Fufufu, I see. I'm looking forward to it then.]
Seeing Alicia talking cheerfully as they soak side by side in the onsen, Makina naturally smiled too. The fact that they were sitting so close to each other that their shoulders naturally touched in the spacious onsen shows how close they were.
[I'd really like to have some sake here, but Makina is still too young to drink, and I can't be the only one drinking~~]
[Geez, that's not true. You see, thinking about it, Alicia. I'm a god now, and I'm not subject to human laws and regulations. That's why, it's perfectly fine for me to drink alcohol.]
[No, that's not the case.... What I meant is that I can definitely see you saying that it was bitter and not tasty.]
[...You wouldn't know until I try it.]
[Then, want to try it?]
Makina, who took Alicia's provocation without hesitation, received the sake cup Alicia handed her.
[Look here, okay? I'm an adult now, so something like sake is easy peasy!]
[That would be great~~ Well then, drink up.]
[Thanks. Then, without delay————!?]
Holding back a giggle, Alicia poured some sake into the sake cup, and after thanking her, Makina drank it down in one gulp. Before she drank the sake, Makina had a relaxed expression on her face, but after a little while, she bit her lip as if she was enduring something, before she started to tremble.
After a few seconds like that, Makina finally couldn't hold back anymore and looking like she had experienced something scandalous, she spoke.
[...B- Bitter... The heck is this, i- is this really alcohol?]
[It's Japanese sake. Just so you know, this isn't actually a dry alcohol, okay?]
[...A- Alicia... I- Is that bitter thing really delicious?]
[Sake, you see, is a drink that you enjoy mainly for its aroma. The trick to it is not to drink it all at once, but to enjoy both the aroma of the sake as it is poured into the sake cup, and the aroma as you slide it around your tongue, letting the air escape from your nose.]
[H- Heehhh...]
Seeing Alicia tipping her own sake cup and drinking the sake, looking like she's familiar with it, Makina imitated her movements and tried to practice what Alicia had told her.
Thereupon, she certainly could still feel the bitterness of the sake, but she could also faintly sense the two aromas that Alicia had mentioned.
[...Fuuu... Hmmm. It's still bitter... but I guess I understand how to enjoy the aroma a bit more?]
[Well, you'll get used to it. I think you 'd be able to enjoy it after drinking a few times?]
[Why say it like a question?]
[It's still a matter of personal taste after all. Also, sake tends to give you a bad taste, so it's better to drink it alternately with the same amount of water. And so, here. Water.]
[Thanks... Hmmm. Is it because I've become a god? I don't feel like I'd get drunk... A- Also, I guess it's because I'm not used to it? Drinking that makes me think that water tastes better.]
[Ahaha, you're cheap to please as usual.]
The expressions on their faces as they laughed together were as if they were truly having fun.
After getting out of the onsen, it was time for dinner at the table in the luxurious Japanese-style room. It would have been natural if they were sitting facing each other, but they were sitting side by side. It's not that either of them said it, but they just naturally felt more comfortable sitting next to each other like this.
[...H- Hmmm.]
[Makina? Are you not going to eat?]
[N- No, I know that this sashimi is a proper dish and it really is edible... But you see, I've never eaten raw fish before... so I need some courage to eat this.]
[Ahh~~ I see.]
It needs not be said, but the most Makina has eaten in her life is jelly drinks, followed by military canned food. Since getting to know Alicia, she has eaten a variety of food, but she seemed a little hesitant eating the sashimi, as this was her first time eating raw fish.
After smiling at such a Makina, Alicia used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of sashimi and held it out to Makina.
[Here, Makina. Ahhn.]
[Uuu... Unnn. A- Ahhn.]
[...What do you think?]
[...Delicious! I thought it would smell more fishy.]
[Well, I can't blame you for being hesitant since it's your first time eating sashimi. Well, it would still have a fishy smell, so if you don't like it, you can always just scald it.]
(T/N: Alicia talked about Yubiki, a technique involving pouring boiling water over the cleaned fish, then rinsing it in cold water.)
[Scald? ...Ahh, putting the sashimi in this little pot huh...]
Makina tilted her head once at the unfamiliar word Alicia said, but as if she studied it with omniscience, she immediately nodded her head. Then, doing as she learned and cooking it in hot water, looking like she liked it better than eating it raw, a happy smile appeared on Makina's lips.
[...That thing you had on your sashimi, is that wasabi?]
[That's right... but I don't think Makina should use it though? You see, Makina has the taste of a child after all~~]
[Mnhh, that's wrong! I'm a respectable adult... so I'm perfectly fine with just wasabi!]
[Ahh, no, that's too much———–]
[ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~!?!? ]
[————-I don't know if I should say I knew that this would happen, or perhaps, in a way, you didn't disappoint my expectations...]
Makina, who was pissed off at being told that she has the taste of a child, ate the wasabi and immediately looking astonished, she fainted in agony with tears in her eyes. Smiling at the sight of this predictable scene, Alicia handed Makina a glass of water.
However, the expression on her face was somehow kind and gentle... Even their most trivial of meals can be enjoyed like this. It seemed like Alicia too was trying to grasp on that happiness.
Alicia's spur-of-the-moment plan to travel around the world... They didn't have a specific goal in mind, but they went sightseeing around the world together... which actually lasted for ten years.
Alicia and Makina harmoniously traveled to many places and enjoyed many things, but their journey couldn't last forever... The island that was their starting point and their end goal, now uninhabited with no one to manage it, has now become the end of their journey.
In a corner of the artificial island, where the grass looks much thicker than it did ten years ago, the two stood side by side, gazing at the star-filled sky, just like on the day they first met, talking with each other.
[...By the way, Alicia, in the end, do you really not need this core?]
[Hmmm, even if I have it, I don't really have any use for it.]
[I see, well, I don't really need it anymore, so I don't mind even if it's destroyed... but perhaps, there may come a time when Alicia needs to use it, so I'll keep it "sealed on this island".]
Although her form hasn't changed since she became a god, she has been able to use her divine power to a certain extent during her ten-year journey, and as the Great Evil god, used in the process of becoming a god, is not used now, within this place filled with their memories... She placed it in the building that used to be Makina's house, and lightly waved her hand.
Thereupon, a number of magic circles appeared, and Makina's house turned into a small iron box that could be in the palm of her hand, before sinking into the ground.
[...Then, well, if I ever need it, don't mind if I "steal" it away.]
[...Steal, you say, it was originally Alicia's though.]
[Ahaha, well, I've already given it to Makina, so it belongs to Makina now.]
[Fufufu, now that you mentioned it, I guess you're right.]
Happily laughing as they looked at each other, a lonely expression then appeared on Makina's face. Seeing this, Alicia also sensed that the time of their parting was drawing near, and her expression changed to a serious one.
[...Are you leaving soon?]
[...Unnn, I'm thinking of doing that. But before that, I have a favor to ask you, Alicia.]
[A favor?]
After a preamble, Makina looked Alicia in the eyes with a serious expression on her face, created a small gear in her pal and presented it to Alicia.
[...I'm going to travel around the world to become a real god. I think I'll see lots of things and experience lots of things. And, I don't know how long it will take but... one day, I will create my own world.]
[...]
[I'm going to try my best not to... but still... if I ever forget my origins... If I forget about love and become a merciless god... I'd like you to "destroy" me, Alicia.]
This is the heartfelt wish of Makina, who is walking towards becoming a true god. If she were to change in the process of knowing and seeing various things... If she heads down a path that she doesn't want to, she's asking Alicia to destroy her...
Hearing her words filled with strong determination, Alicia smiled as she accepted the gear that Makina offered to her.
[Alright... In return, if you can become a god without forgetting your origins, then help me with that god power, okay?]
When Alicia received the gear Makina handed to her, it glowed for a moment before it disappeared as if it had been sucked into her body. Understanding that this gear was the key to destroying Makina, Alicia still accepted her best friend's wish.
[Fufufu, unnn, it's a "promise" then... When we meet again, if I, "Makina", is still here... that would be for sure.]
Saying those words, Makina smiled, and after a short pause... she raised one hand to the sky. Thereupon, in the starry sky, a complex, large magic circle... a magic technique so large that exceeds the world appeared.
A technique that Makina learned with her omniscience... As Makina looks at the World Teleportation Magic with interest, Makina's body emits light and gently floats up in the air.
[...I'd love to keep talking, but I'm running out of time... It's about time... for me to go.]
[Unnn, you would be facing lots of troubles, but do your best, okay... Makina.]
[Unnn, thanks... Alicia.]
As if she was being sucked into the night sky, Makina slowly ascended, but as she got further away from Alicia, her body began to tremble and her expression that had been feigning calmness began to crumble.
And when a single tear spilled from her eye, just like a dam bursting, Makina cried out.
[Alicia! I'm so glad I met you! I'll definitely... never forget you, Alicia... and the days I spent with you! I love you, Alicia!!!]
[...Unnn... I'll also... never forget you.]
And with a shimmering light, the girl who wished to become a god left the world.
At this moment... Let's talk about one extremely ironic misunderstanding.
The being Makina, since Iris left Alicia after passing away... In the distant future, among the many people she met before she met Miyama Kaito... She was "the only being who could have saved Alicia".
This is because she was originally a human being, was compatible with Alicia... and above all, was a being that "could walk with her through what could be called eternity"...
And in fact, if she were to say the truth, Makina... "wanted to be with Alicia more than the creation of a world".
So, why did she make the choice to leave the world... This was because there were a small, but fatal discrepancies between Alicia and Makina's thoughts.
Makina never used the power of omniscience against Alicia until she left this world. This is because she loves and cares for Alicia more than anything else... The thought of using it on Alicia made her feel like it's a betrayal to know things that the other person didn't want to talk about.
And that's why, until the end... "what it is that Alicia was searching for"... was something Makina didn't know about. And that's why, she ended up making one mistake.
She was under the misapprehension that she was interrupting Alicia's goal... that is, searching for what she had been looking for for the past hundreds and thousands of years. In addition with Alicia telling her that "she has to seek the things she's looking for on her own", she felt that she, who had the power of omniscience, would become a hindrance if she continued to stay by Alicia's side.
If she had wanted to, Alicia would have stayed with her as long as she wanted. However, she chose to leave the world because she thought that this would only result in her tying up her beloved best friend and benefactor.
It is because she loves Alice, and because she values her more than anything else... that Makina left Alicia.
That was also the same case for Alicia.
If she were to tell the truth, Alicia also wanted to spend more time with Makina. For the first time since she lost Iris, Makina was the person she called her best friend, the person she felt she wanted to be with forever.
That is why... She thought that Makina was the one that she had been searching for...
That's why, she couldn't allow herself to stop her dearest best friend's dream of "creating a world". Over her own desire of not parting ways with Makina that she was unwilling to let go... She chose her desire to not get in the way of her best friend.
It was really ironic.
The both of them were wishing for the same future. However, because they cared about the other, both Alicia and Makina turned away from that future.
However, talking about what could have happened holds no meaning. What happened in reality is that Makina left this world and Alicia was left alone again.
But still, if we're going to talk about what could have happened...
What if Makina had used her omniscience and knew what Alicia was looking for...
What if Alicia had told Makina in detail what it was that she was looking for...
What if Makina had asked Alicia about it...
What if Alicia was feeling impatient at that point of her life...
And most importantly...
[...There's no way... I can say it... Even though my beloved best friend... finally found something she wanted to do... Words like "Don't go away"... or "Don't leave me alone"... aren't something... I can say.]
Staring at the starry sky where Makina disappeared, shedding large tears out of her eyes... If only she could be a little more honest...
Two girls who transcend the boundaries of humanity, harmoniously traveling together through the changing world... Such a future may have existed.
And after this day, the heart of the hero named Alicia began to fall apart at an accelerated rate. That was because she had found the being she had been searching for... the being that could have been her answer...
It could be said that the promise they made at that time may have been her "second curse". As long as the being that Alicia encounters in the future "does not exceed her criteria in the form of Makina"... She'll definitely never arrive at an answer.
And until that being... Miyama Kaito appears, an extremely long winter will continue to freeze her heart.