With Alicia… Alice's heart regaining its original strength and hope,
Makina's goal was accomplished. After that, she continued to fight with
Alice for a little while, before she stopped attacking because "her line of
fire overlapped with Kaito", which ended the battle.
There was no way that she, who had almost omnipotent power even in
the body of Eden, couldn't avoid attacking Kaito. However, there was no
reason for her to continue fighting Alice any longer, so she used that as
an excuse to end the fight right there.
After that, she apologized for getting her child, Kaito, involved, and after
she told Alice that she was Makina, her goal would have been
completed.
Yes… As far as she was concerned, that should have been where the
story ended.
Her only miscalculation was that Kaito had turned his fangs against
her… possessing the qualities of her "beloved child", someone she had
been waiting for for so many years, and the being who deserved her
overflowing love.
This brought her, Makina's tension to an all-time high. At any rate, even
though the situation wasn't completely resolved yet, her best friend
Alicia was able to regain her hope and she was able to find her beloved
child.
At the peak of her happiness, she adopted the name Eden, just as she
had thought before coming to this world.
Yes, to put things simply… She forgot to tell Alice that her true identity
was Makina.
When Alice discovered her true identity, she judged that "rather than
her having that one important factor, it's more like she has a screw
loose", and exactly just as Alice thought, Makina was just so excited by
the appearance of her beloved child that the most essential part as to
why she even visited Trinia.
Makina only realized this as soon as she left. However, while that might
be the case… It wasn't in line with the dignity of a god for her to just go
back and say "I'm actually Makina" after having left with such a posed
look on her face, so she was greatly troubled.
And in order to tell her who she is again, she thought of "visiting Alice's
miscellaneous goods store".
Makina thought that by going to Alice's miscellaneous goods store, she
could also see her beloved child, and tell Alice her true identity, which
she had forgotten the last time she saw her… It truly was like killing
three birds with one stone.
However, when Makina visited Alice's miscellaneous goods store,
inwardly excited, but a big miscalculation occurred at that moment as
well. As soon as she arrived, the words she heard from Alice…
[…Immediately leave, go home!]
…If she were to say it, "she was extremely shocked"… She was so
shocked that she almost lost her connection to Paradise for a moment.
No, of course, Makina understood in her head that it couldn't be helped.
Since Alice doesn't know her true identity, Makina couldn't blame her
for being hostile to her like that…
However, she was shocked to see her best friend, whom she loved more
than she could ever imagine, glaring at her with eyes full of hostility,
that she slightly panicked.
In such a stormy situation, she worried about how to tell Alice who she
really is, and as a result, she got stuck in "a vicious cycle where her
responses to Alice became more and more curt".
In addition, she had to deal with her love for her beloved child and the
sudden intrusion of Kuromueina, and before she could even recover
mentally, those few words suddenly arrived.
[…Kaito-san, I hate her.]
If she were to say it this time too, she was extremely shocked. She was
so hurt by her words that if the main body had been the one in that
place, she would have cried.
(…Alicia told me that she hated me…)
Her facial expression hadn't changed, but she was honestly close to
mentally blowing up…
[It's not like I wanted to be liked by you. Being liked by you doesn't have
any use at all.]
——-that she ended up replying with something that, now that she
thought about it, sounded really strange. At such a time, it was Kaito
who came to her rescue, and him, telling her to "get along with Alice"
truly was a helping hand for Makina.
Thanks to this, her evaluation of Kaito was even higher than before,
further doubling in greatness, but fortunately or unfortunately, there
was no one who noticed it.
Even in the miscellaneous goods store, thinking about it again, Makina
is also acting in a way that one would consider strange.
When she was asked by Kaito to get along with her, she gave a large
sum of money as a token of friendship. Yes, it was the fact that "she
understood what Alice, someone who shouldn't have been her child,
would be happy to receive".
After that, her overflowing love for Kaito almost got out of control, but
she was able to recover some of her relationship with Alice. However,
just before she left the store, she was actually feeling a great amount of
guilt.
(…I'm sorry, my beloved child. I will definitely make it up to you… so
please forgive me for being a bad mother who uses you as an excuse.)
Yes, when she left the store, she bought a lot of Alice's goods from the
miscellaneous goods store for a reason… and if she were to be asked
why, it was because "she just wanted it".
Being omniscient, Makina naturally knew that all of the goods in the
miscellaneous goods store were handmade by Alice, so she wanted to
somehow buy them and take them home.
However, as the God of a world, it wasn't a dignified act to make a large
purchase just because "they were handmade by her best friend", so she
had to do it in a roundabout way.
Thanks to that, she is able to buy some of Alice's handmade goods, and
she left the miscellaneous goods store feeling inwardly happy, thinking
that she would take good care of the plushies… but her shoulders
slumped down as she realized that she had forgotten to introduce
herself again.
Once she had missed the right moment, it's very difficult to say
something, so it would take a long time before she was able to tell Alice
that she was Makina.
After taking a break while reminiscing about the past, Makina slowly
stood up from the edge of the building they were sitting at and smiled.
[Well, let's stop talking about the past and get started, shall we?]
[Ahh~~ Guess you're right. I've already had my fill, so let's get started.]
After Alice nodded at Makina's words and stood up, the scenery
switched to a completely white space again. Floating through the space,
Makina landed a few distance away from Alice before she spoke.
[Are you ready? Have you activated Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle
Form?]
[Yes, well, I may not be as strong as I liked in the times I needed to
protect Kaito-san, but I'm ready to fight.]
[…Ready to fight… huh… Fufufu.]
[Wha!?]
Hearing Alice say that she's ready as she quickly activated
Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form while Makina moved a little
further away, a serene smile appeared on Makina's face.
Her smile was gentle, and there was no hint of hostility in it… but in the
next moment, Alice found herself down on her knees.
[Hmmm… I might have been a bit "naive in my perception".]
[Kuhh, this is…]
She couldn't feel magic power being used, but she couldn't feel any
strength in her body and wasn't able to stand up. Alice is confused by
the inexplicable situation she was in, but Makina just continued to
speak with a smile on her face.
[I want you to think of something. Alice, the people you think has high
combat power… Ahh, Epilogue is on a whole another realm, so exclude
it, but you can add Shallow Vernal without it, or Kuromueina, or even
the Eden me. Anyway, imagine all the powerful people you can think of.]
[......]
[…Were you able to imagine it? Then, I'll tell you something important.
The powerful people that Alice has just imagined… In terms of combat,
"even if all of them worked together, they would still be no match for
me". You should first change your perception about that first… Lest "you
won't even be able to stand before me".]
Hearing the words Makina gently said, Alice fell silent for a while. She
wasn't making light of Makina, nor was she underestimating her. But
even so, her perception towards her is still naive.
As soon as she understood this, Alice slowly stood up, desperately
putting strength into her legs.
[…Aryaa, as expected of Alice. Have you already noticed what the
"cause" is?]
[Cause… However, I'll say this now. "You didn't do anything". You didn't
even emit the slightest bit of magic power… That was simply a case of
"my body yielding on its own even with just the meagre sight of you
taking on a battle stance", right?]
[Correct. If one had to describe it, it's just that the "pressure of my very
existence" makes Alice's body "unconditionally accept defeat".]
[I see, so… my perception is still naive.]
[That's right… Even a little bit, don't let your guard down. Squeeze
every bit of strength you can out of your body, pour every bit of your
feelings into your body, and push yourself beyond the limits… So that
finally, you can stand before me.]
With a smile still on her face, Makina hasn't even released a shred of
magic power from her body. But even so, Alice can feel a pressure that
would crush her if she were to relax even slightly.
She is that strong. Alice, who possesses power that could be described
as quasi-omnipotent, tried to muster her everything… and she was only
able to reach a level where she could stand against her…
[…Haahhh… Good grief————]
[ [ Omniscient and omnipotent Gods sure are outrageous huh.] ]
[......]
[Unnn, of course, I'm perfectly "omnipotent" and "omniscient". Now
then, let's start with the intensive training… Of course, I'll take it easy
on you, but still, do your best. I'll say this now though, because there are
no other ways to describe my abilities, so omnipotent and omniscient
might perfectly fit me… but I'm way stronger than those omnipotent
and omniscient gods out there.]
Saying this, the Machine God, one of the most superior world creators
in the vast multiverse, smiled at her best friend. Hidden within that
smile is a slight provocation, asking Alice to at least make her use a
little bit of her power…
In a corner of the empty white space, Alice was lying on her back,
exhausted. Looking at such an Alice with a smile, Makina lightly held up
her hand.
[For the time being, I think I'll leave it at this for our first battle… I'll
heal you know, okay?]
[…Thanks… Rather, Makina, you're too strong…]
[Fufufu, well, even like this, I'm still a god, you know? Even so, as
expected of Ἑκατόγχειρες's Ultimate Battle Form, your growth rate is
really fast. You were even able to attack properly at the end.]
While restoring Alice's exhausted vitality and magic power, Makina
spoke words of praise. In fact, from her point of view, Alice's growth
isn't a bad thing. Compared to before their battle started, she has
clearly grown a lot.
[…Just out of curiosity, what percentage of power did Makina use in our
earlier fight?]
[Hmmm… Errr, zero point…"a lot of zeroes after that", I guess?]
[I knew it's around that level huh. Good grief, you're seriously strong.]
Makina's words that she hadn't exerted even 1% of her power seemed
to have been something Alice expected, as after she raised her upper
body, Alice dumbfoundedly looked up at the skies.
Smiling at such an Alice, Makina sat down next to Alice and spoke.
[Well, under the current condition, whether it's a hundred or a
thousand battles, I'm sure I'll win all of them. However, if I'm trying to
harm my beloved child and Alice is trying to protect him, I can't say I'll
win. I think that's part of Alice's strength.]
[Now that's quite the high evaluation you have of me.]
[Fufufu, Alice is my hero after all.]
After praising Alice with a smile, Makina put a finger over her mouth,
looking as if she's thinking about something.
[Hmmm… Let's see, I guess we should set some immediate goals for the
time being.]
[Well, it certainly would be easier if I have some target direction in
mind.]
[Unnn, that's why, your immediate goal… How about powerful enough
that you could use "my Heart Tool"?]
[…What did you say?]
Alice was clearly taken aback by the word "Heart Tool" mentioned by
Makina, but the intelligent girl immediately thought of the reason,
clapping her lightly a few moments later.
[…Ahh, I see, come to think of it, I did use my Ultimate Battle Form
when Makina was a human… In other words, you were in contact with
my Heart Tool back when it was fused with me.]
[That's right… Well, for the omnipotent me, it's not really a power I
need to bother using. Even so, being able to use my Heart Tool with
Ἑκατόγχειρες proves that you're somewhat close to my power, so
wouldn't that be a good goal?]
[I guess you're right. Well, even so, the Heart Tool of the Makina who
became an omnipotent and omniscient god huh… It must have quite the
outrageous power.]
[......]
Hearing what Alice thoughtlessly said, Makina quickly looked away
with an awkward expression on her face.
[…Makina?]
[Ah, no, errr… My Heart Tool… when you're able to use it… i- it's
convenient.]
[…Ahh, I see, it really isn't that strong huh.]
[…But it couldn't be helped. The ability of a Heart Tool isn't determined
by its user's personal strength, and besides, the abilities you get from
Heart Tools weren't necessarily suitable for combat…]
From the way Makina said it, Alice had guessed that Makina's Heart
Tool doesn't have a fighting ability. However, I guess it couldn't be
helped. The Heart Tool is just based on the heart of the user, and the
user's own combat power wouldn't affect its ability.
[Fumu, well, that's right. Incidentally, what's its name?]
[…"Factory Gear".]
[That's a very production-oriented name.]
[It actually is a production system. If you want some spoilers, well, as
long as it's a non-living thing, "you can duplicate it by consuming magic
power". Well, there are a lot of restrictions to it, so you can't just
duplicate anything.]
[I see, that certainly sounds convenient… It's not an ability needed by
Makina who had the power of creation though.]
[Well, that's right.]
Even when it has limitations, the ability to replicate any non-living
things is still amazing, but for the omniscient and omnipotent Makina,
its ability was something she can do without using her Heart Tool, and
as a result, her Heart Tool is useless for her.
As they were chatting while taking a break like that, it seemed like Alice
suddenly thought of something and called out to Makina.
[Makina, ahhn.]
[Eh?]
As Makina reflexively opened her mouth, hearing that Alice would feed
something to her, Alice took out a "hot oden" and threw it into Makina's
mouth.
[Fugyaaaahhhh!? Afhuuu, afhuuuu!?]
[…Well, well, it seemed like you didn't cure your cat's tongue huh…]
Makina, who had been rolling around while holding onto her mouth,
just like that time Alice saw back then, immediately stopped moving
and got up, as if she had just used her power to fix her cat's tongue.
[…I forgot.]
[It seemed like you have klutzy parts just like usual huh… Well, even
though you have grown tremendously powerful, I'm relieved to see that
your appearance and such small details haven't changed.]
[…That's not true. I've splendidly grown over the years and have
become a mature lady brimming with magnanimity…]
[Mature lady… How can you say that when your body is as petite as
mine?]
[…Huh?]
When Alice lightly told her about this, as if she had just talked about a
subject she had been ignoring, Makina glared at Alice. Thereupon, she
stood up and puffing out her chest, she proudly proclaimed.
[…It would be troubling if you lump me with you. There's a big
difference between me and Alice, you know?]
[Big difference? Is it about that mature lady brimming with
magnanimity part?]
[Yes! Fufufu, haven't you noticed? Listen here, okay? My breast size is
"B", and Alice is an "A"… Which means, there's a big difference between
us!!!]
[…B?]
Seeing the smug look on Makina's face as she confidently told her that,
Alice dubiously looked at Makina. The expression on her face clearly
showed that she was thinking "What the heck is this woman talking
about?".
Then, Alice stood up and staring at Makina's breasts, she tilted her
head.
[…Hmmm, this is B? Isn't this more like an A?]
[They're B! It's a perfect B, an overwhelming B! No, rather, you could
even say that they're a B close to reaching C!]
[Hmmmmmmmmmmm.]
[The omniscient me is telling you they're B, so they're definitely B!]
[No, isn't that just your self-assessment…]
[Haaaahhh!? If you're going to say it like that, why don't you try
measuring it yourself! They're definitely a B!!!]
It was unknown whether they knew each other's dispositions because
they're best friends, but Alice suspiciously looked at her, while Makina
got pissed and declared.
Thereupon, Alice lightly nodded and gently grabbed Makina's breasts.
[…Fumu, hmmm. This is quite difficult to assess.]
[No, no, what are you saying with that self-satisfied look on your face
while clutching on my breasts…]
[No, you're the one who told me to measure them, Makina…]
[Visually measuring them is something Alice can easily do, right!?]
[Ehh~~ but there might be a margin of error with that.]
[Then, use this.]
Makina created a measuring tape and handed it to Alice. After receiving
it, Alice looked like she was thinking of something before she spoke.
[…Then, please strip.]
[…It's not like I need to strip though, since Alice should be able to
calculate after subtracting my clothing's thickness. If you don't know, I
could also teach you how.]
[…I see…"She must have some kind of padding inside huh."]
[Whaaa? You… Then, this should be fine, right!!!?]
After Makina heard Alice's taunting murmur, she spoke a little
desperately before she erased her upper body clothing.
[…You're wearing a one-piece dress, yet only your upper body is in a
nude, what a maniac you are…]
[It's not like I have to take off my bottom, right? Come on, measure
them.]
[Yes, yes, let's see…]
After chuckling at the blushing Makina, Alice used the measuring tape
in her hand to measure the size of Makina's breasts… and a complicated
expression appeared on her face.
[…Mnhh.]
[See!? They're a B, right?]
[They certainly are a B but… It's just barely reaching B. It's almost at an
error level.]
[But a B is still a B.]
[…Were you trying to puff out your chest just now?]
[No, I didn't!]
When Makina triumphantly smiled, Alice looked quite unsatisfied… It
was true that her breast size was barely B, but as Makina had said, that
doesn't change that she's a B-cup.
Putting her dress back on her upper body with a satisfied look on her
face, a really smug smile appeared on Makina's face as she continued.
[You understand now, right? I think it's already safe to say that I have
bigger breasts here. Fufufu, with my overflowing adult charm and
magnanimity, the day where my beloved child will love me will come
soon!]
[…No, sorry to pop your bubble, but you shouldn't be smug there… Your
B-cup still doesn't mean you have big breasts, you know?]
[Ehh!? N- No way… N- No, but you see, it's a B that's close to a C so…]
[What are you nonchalantly talking about now? Your B-cup is almost an
A, you know… No, even if your B-cup is close to a C, you still can't call
your breasts big, you know? After all, even if we limit it to people near
Kaito-san… For example, Lilia-san has a D-cup.]
After hearing the words Alice said with a dumbfounded expression on
her face, Makina looked shocked for a moment, before she crossed her
arms and started thinking.
[…Lilia… Errr, sorry, which "lump of flesh" was it again…]
[…You don't remember her huh.]
[Errr, she's one of them, right… One of the "traffic light trio"… I
remembered blue being Lunamaria, so she's probably either the yellow
or the red one… Errr…]
(T/N: Traffic lights in japan have blue instead of green.)
[Traffic lights trio? Ahh, because they have the hair color of blonde, red
and blue huh… That's a good way to remember them, I guess.]
[…Hmmm… I'll check it with my omniscience.]
Makina, who basically perceives everyone but her own children as
lumps of flesh, didn't seem to quite get it when Lilia was mentioned.
She seemed to remember Lunamaria, with whom she had some
conversation before, but she couldn't distinguish between Lilia and
Sieglinde.
Eventually, Makina gave up on trying to remember and just used her
omniscience to find out who Lilia is… and for some reason, covering her
eyes with one hand, she looked up to the heavens.
[…What are you doing?]
[No, sorry, I just have some things in mind…]
Alice tilted her head at Makina's inexplicable actions, but Makina just
continued to look up at the heavens for a while.
(…I see, so you've also been "swung around" by people huh. What is
this… this extreme familiarity with her… She isn't my child… but I'll be a
bit gentler with her…)
Lilia, who was working alone in her office at the Albert Duchy's
mansion in the Symphonia Kingdom, turned around in surprise when a
part of the room suddenly lit up.
Thereupon, before she knew it, a very familiar angel with twenty wings
appeared in the room.
[E- Eden-sama———– Ahh!? M- My apologies!!!]
Lilia understood that the angel before her was an extremely dangerous
person. Her danger level is also at a dangerously high level, where one
will never know what she will do to you if you casually call her name…
That's why she bowed her head with a pale face after she inadvertently
called her name. That decision was correct. In fact, she would have
incurred Eden's wrath if she had carelessly called out her name when
she wasn't her child… is what would have happened "up until now".
[…I don't mind, I forgive you.]
[H- Huhh…]
[Lilia Albert.]
[Y- Yes!?]
Lilia, who honestly had no idea why Eden appeared here, desperately
straightened her back while her forehead was profusely sweating. She
was aware that a careless gaffe would mean her death…
However, unlike in the past, Eden didn't call Lilia a lump of flesh, nor
did she have a sharp atmosphere around her. On the contrary, she
slowly approached Lilia and presented her with a bottle full of medicine
in her palm.
[…I give this to you.]
[Eh? Errr… This is?]
[They're "stomach medicine". It has the greatest effectiveness and has
no side effects on the body. If it runs low, the bottle would automatically
replenish itself.]
[H- Huhh… Errr… T- Thank you very much?]
As she accepted the bottle of stomach medicine, Lilia's mind was still in
turmoil. She wondered why it was that this extremely dangerous god
was looking at her with "eyes filled with pity"…
In front of the confused Lilia, looking as if she had accomplished her
goal, Eden turned away and disappeared in the light. Leaving behind a
few words…
[…Be strong, and you will live through it.]
[......… Yes?]
In the empty office, Lilia, who still had no idea what the heck was going
on, tilted her head in deep wonder.
~ ~ Lilia Albert ~ ~
① A genius with a rare talent, a considerably high specs, including her
appearance and ability.
② A former member of the royal family, she is now the young head of a
duchy, having renounced the right of succession.
③ She possesses a constitution unique only to her, and when she is in a
state of battle, her magic power surges like lightning.
④ She uses a greatsword as a weapon, taught herself magic, and rose
to the rank of Knight Division Commander in a short period of time.
⑤ She is close to her beautiful childhood friend Sieg and her beautiful
best friend/maid Lunamaria, and all the servants in her house are
women.
⑥ She is also successful in several businesses and has a considerable
amount of wealth.
⑦ She is the first among the Humans to receive the Blessing of Time
and is favored by a Supreme God.
⑧ The fact that she has received this blessing enabled her to use magic
to control time.
⑨ She is acquainted and highly regarded by five of the Six Kings, two of
the Supreme Gods and the three rulers.
⑩ The world's God of Creation remembers her name (at least, on
Kaito's birthday).
⑪ The God of Creation recognizes her as the representative of the
Humans, and even though she refused it, she had bestowed upon her a
castle floating in the sky.
⑫ When she grows up, she'll be the only Human who can fight against
the Six Kings and the Supreme Gods.