Evening, as she placed the fruit on the counter of the bar in the basement under Kaito’s mansion, Alice talked with Iris.

  [……So, in the end, what were the effects of that fruit?]

  [I’ve tested it, and it seems to be increasing your physical abilities and magic power by 1.5 times for about an hour.]

  [……That’s it huh? There are plenty of Support Magic with better multipliers than that, so the effect looks rather unassuming.]

  [……However, it isn’t that simple.]

  Although a 1.5 multiplier to all abilities seemed powerful, there were many Support and Strengthening Magic that was more powerful than that, so the effect seemed rather lackluster compared to the original Fruit of the World Tree that healed all wounds.

  However, shaking her head at Iris’ words, Alice paused for a moment before speaking.

  [……When I tested this out…… “even my ability was multiplied by 1.5”.]

  [……You mean, without using ?κατ?γχειρε?’s Ultimate Battle Form?]

  [Yeah.]

  [I see, I take back my previous statement. That’s quite an outrageous item……]

  Hearing Alice’s words, Iris retracted her earlier statement that the effect was lackluster. Alice has trained all of her abilities to its limits, and they basically never grow any strong unless when she uses her ?κατ?γχειρε?’s Ultimate Battle Form that allows her to infinitely evolve.

  Based on this assumption, the Fruit of the World Tree created by Nebula……


  [……The 1.5 increase in ability caused by this fruit could allow the user to exceed their limits. Moreover, it seems like this enhancement is “applied after any other kind of enhancement”, so if you include other ability-enhancing techniques like Strengthening Magic with this fruit’s 1.5 ability increase, this would be quite the outrageous item.]

  [With that being the case, wouldn’t that raise the possibility that Nebula really was that Ultimate God?]

  [Hmmm, I think…… that might be the case.]

  [What’s with that? You sound rather curt today.]

  Seeing Alice’s hesitant tone, Iris spoke, feeling as if she had seen something unusual. It goes without saying, but Alice is overwhelmingly smart. It’s no exaggeration to say that her thinking speed and intellect are the best in the world.

  Iris expected that Alice has already formulated a rough hypothesis, but it seems like Alice doesn’t look happy about this hypothesis of hers.

  Sensing this, Iris decided to proceed with the conversation with Alice by asking her one question after another.

  [You already have a hypothesis, don’t you?]

  [Well, I have some ideas…… but I think that child is definitely the one who was once called the Ultimate God.]

  [Fumu. But she’s not a Spirit, she was a God, right? How do you explain that?]

  [It’s completely speculative, but when Eden-san once talked about Epilogue, she glancingly implied that Shallow Vernal-sama could apparently resurrect those she brought to their end. With that being the case, I think it is highly likely that Shallow Vernal really could resurrect those that she brought to their end with Epilogue.]

  Having said that, Alice took a sip of the cocktail that Iris offered her and continued her explanation.

  [However, just being able to revive someone she’s brought to their end wouldn’t be advantageous for Shallow Vernal-sama…… I expect that when she resurrects them, she’s able to affect the target in some way.]

  [What do you mean?]

  [For example, I was wondering if it was possible for her to add restrictions to the target’s abilities or make it impossible for them to deft Shallow Vernal-sama…… If that’s the case, it makes sense that she had become a Spirit and that her abilities are clearly lower than what I’ve heard. Anyhow, I heard that even Makina is too powerful to come to this world normally, so I don’t think it’s possible for a being more powerful than her to manifest in this world without downgrading her abilities.]

  [……I see.]

  Although it was just a guess, Alice arrived at an answer that was almost correct, and she was almost certain that Nebula was the same as the Ultimate God.

  [The other factor would be my intuition. I’ve already lived long enough to know intuitively whether I can win against someone or not.]

  [Fumu…… and you felt that you couldn’t win?]

  [No, I think I could beat her normally. I was under the impression that even if Nebula uses her full potential, she would still be Quasi-Omnipotent, and even if she attacked Kaito-san by surprise, Kuro-san and I should be able to handle her.]

  [……but if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be more likely that she was another person?]

  [Yes, that was what I thought at first…… but I don’t really know why. For some reason, “I then felt like it would become a one-sided fight”…… and I feel like I will lose. When I tried to simulate the case where I judged Nebula-san to be a dangerous being and tried to eliminate her…… I know I don’t have any basis, but for some reason, I don’t feel like I could win at all. Well, it’s really just a hunch, so that really might not be the case, but I feel like her ability to encompass everything has been restricted.]

  [I see…… It can only be activated in a battle where the opponent is at fault huh……]

  Alice had a vast amount of combat experience, and thus, her intuition was quite accurate. And such an intuition was unilaterally telling her that it would be dangerous to try to eliminate Nebula.

  [……Well, now that I have some idea, I’m going to check with Makina once. I’m sure Makina will know the truth.]

  [Fumu…… Even though most of it was just guesses, it seems like you’ve firmly thought about it…… In that case, why do you look so unsure?]

  [No, you see……]

  In response to Iris’ question, a complicated expression appeared on Alice’s face and taking a sip of her cocktail, she spoke.

  [……The first impression I got with my intuition, the feeling I get while talking to her, and her usual actions…… All of that combined, no matter how much I think about it…… I just couldn’t help but think that Nebula-san is a “good guy at heart” and “as good-natured as Kaito-san”.]

  [Unnn?]

  [She doesn’t seem to be out of touch with common sense, as is often the case with Gods on the level of World Creators, and she doesn’t seem to be unable to read the mood, but rather, she seemed to be very attentive…… For a God who apparently reigned at the top of several multiverses has such a personality…… How is that possible?]

  [……I see, I kind of understand your doubts. She certainly is kinda different from what I imagined.]

  [That’s right. She’s extremely decent…… I mean, she is indeed an outrageously powerful person, and I don’t think I can win against her if I’m the aggressor…… but I don’t feel like she’s dangerous at all. So, on the contrary, it makes me feel uneasy……]

  Yes, what Alice was troubled was the obvious irregularity, for despite the fact that she was dealing with someone who she expected to be extremely powerful in terms of ability…… she couldn’t feel much vigilance around her.

  The fact that she was currently not a problem at all, or rather, the fact that she seemed to be one of the high rankers within the good people Kaito knew really puzzles her.

  However, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with an answer, so with a complicated expression on her face, Alice concluded that she should ask Makina for more details about this.

  **********