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16 Surrender

"Witch?" This was obviously an unfamiliar word to the brown-haired woman, and she repeated the word in confusion.

Alice ignored the brown-haired woman as she recalled the face of the woman she first saw lying in the room.

In the first glimpse, the woman had long black hair, a pair of blue eyes hidden under her open eyes, and her facial features revealed a sense of familiarity. Alice searched through her memory and a slightly familiar face appeared.

—Selwyn Muggeridge.

The man with black hair and blue eyes was once defrauded by Sylvia. At the end of Sylvia's story, he took the "Assassin" potion.

Although Sequence 7 "Witch" of the "Assassin" pathway can indeed cause a person to change their sex, isn't it a bit too fast? It's only been a short time... and how did he... how did she get together with "Cassandra"?

Alice frowned as she tried to remember when Selwyn Muggeridge might have taken the potion.

It should have been at the end of February... Yes, February 28th. I saw him that morning. He should have just taken the magic potion and his spirituality hadn't been restrained yet...

It's been almost two months, just a few days, a little fast but not too fast... Is it really not too fast?

Logically speaking, she should have come here earlier...

Alice's smile gradually disappeared from her face, and she vaguely realized that Selwyn Muggeridge might be the "protagonist" of the new story.

She raised her eyes to look at the brown-haired woman with yogurt pimples standing beside her. She was in no mood to pay attention to her wet clothes. She just said coldly:

"Let's go."

Having said that, she stepped past the brown-haired woman and headed towards the door.

Let's quickly resolve this matter, and then come back to take a look... Although it sounds strange to say this, "Cassandra" might have left me some message... After all, its behavior is like fishing, so there must be bait, right?

I remember Arrodes said that it was playing the role of a "prophet"... But to play the role of a "prophet" there is no need to keep getting close to me, right? It can't be the influence of the law of aggregation?

The law of aggregation can't just focus on it and aggregate!

Moreover, it seemed to know me...it also had a name referring to me...

Alice thought as she walked away, the brown-haired woman following behind her, responsible for turning off the lights and closing the door.

She didn't seem to have any intention of running away, so Alice led her down two streets and finally stopped in front of an ice cream stand and licked her lips.

Several ceremonies and promotions took up too much time. Now it was already bright, various stalls were set up, and people who got up early were on their way to work or had already started working.

Although there was a lack of local specialty food, Backlund, as the capital of Loen, gathered delicacies from many places. Alice was surrounded by the tempting aroma along the way, which healed the trauma she experienced in the "God-forsaken Land" very well.

But it was a little too strange to take Ella Sylvan out for dinner, and most importantly, she had no money on her - she forgot to ask Crane to send her some down.

But, ice cream...

Alice couldn't help licking her lips again and looked pitifully at the ice cream on the stall.

"...Do you want to eat this?" the brown-haired woman asked tentatively.

Without a doubt, the answer was yes, but Alice swallowed her saliva, took a regretful look at the ice cream on the stand, then looked away with difficulty, shook her head, and said to the brown-haired woman:

"I don't have any money."

The brown-haired woman looked at her hesitantly.

Is she wondering why I am so well-behaved... Alice blinked and glanced quickly at the ice cream stand, then quickened her pace away from there - after all, she couldn't really steal or rob an ice cream from me.

She is not Amon... No, Amon stole the entire stall that time.

Speaking of which, can Amon steal the chef's skills... steal all the cuisines? In this way, raising an Amon is equivalent to raising an all-round top-class chef...

Alice lowered her head and thought seriously while continuing to move forward.

It was very easy to make people not notice them. In fact, the quickest way was to grab the brown-haired woman and appear directly in front of the police station. Moreover, Alice had plenty of ways to prevent people from being surprised by their sudden appearance.

But Alice hadn't been in such a popular place for a long time.

She could walk for half a day in the "Land Forsaken by Gods" without seeing a single person. If she was unlucky, she might run into Amon. The residents of Moon City and Silver City were full of awe towards Alice. In the "Land Forsaken by Gods", she had no way of blending into the crowd.

Alice asked casually as she walked along the road with the brown-haired woman:

"By the way, what's your name...or rather, what should I call you?"

What I mean is, do you mind me using a pseudonym? No, never mind. Let's not take the risk.

The brown-haired woman paused for a moment, glanced at Alice, and gave her name:

"Ella Sylvan."

"Ella Sylvan..." Alice repeated her name and started a new topic. "You said you've seen people like me... You mean you've seen extraordinary people?"

"Yes," Ella Sylvan said without hiding it, "that gentleman is as elusive as you are, and he can tell whether what I say is true or false just by flipping a coin."

"Eh?" Alice looked over curiously. "Divination and mobility… But these conditions are not enough to determine the route… Is this why you don't run away?"

"...Well," Ella Sylvan responded honestly, "You should be able to find my location - that's what the adult revealed."

That was true. For Alice, she had enough contact with Ella Sylvan, so it was not difficult to find her.

However, Alice was not sure whether the person Ella Sylvan mentioned could be found, after all, she was not involved in the matter.

"Very cautious... well," Alice praised him halfway without any sincerity, then suddenly frowned, "I feel like I should be wearing a monocle and applauding you right now... that kind of slow, one-by-one applause."

Ella Sylvan looked at her with a hint of confusion.

Alice shook her head, turned around and muttered as she walked away, "Anderson should be fine... I remember... I'll get his monocle back when I get back."

Alice habitually skipped Klein's name.

She obviously didn't speak to get a reply from Ella Sylvan, and in fact, Ella Sylvan didn't know what she should say. They walked the rest of the short distance in silence.

Alice pushed open the door and entered the police station in charge of the northern district of Backlund. According to custom, it might be called a police station. Ella Sylvan followed closely behind her.

As soon as she entered the door, Alice frowned and looked surprised.

The police station in the other world was very different from what Alice remembered. Although Alice had never set foot in a police station before, she also believed that it was impossible for her to see the police on duty playing Landlord when she stepped into the police station one day.

Oh, yes, there were three policemen standing in front of the reception desk and shouting "Fight Evil". Documents were scattered around, as if this was not a police station but some entertainment venue.

When they entered the room, they attracted the attention of the police. One of the police looked up, frowned, looked at them impatiently and asked:

"What do you do?"

"Uh," Alice paused instinctively and moved one foot back, "I...I'll call the police."

This aroused the interest of the other two, but they did not stop fighting against evil. They just looked up at Alice, and the policeman who had just spoken asked:

"Call the police? What's going on?"

His tone suggested he should get out of here right away.

Alice swallowed her saliva and said:

"I, I was out for a while, and when I came back, I found that someone came to my house to steal things..."

She was choosing her words, ready to tell the story of Ella Sylvan and conceal everything about "Cassandra", but her pause seemed to be misunderstood by the police, who continued to ask:

"What's missing?"

His tone seemed to soften a little, and the other two policemen put the cards in their hands face up and finally began to listen attentively.

What was lost...did she not have time to steal it?

"Uh," Alice was confused for a moment. She really didn't think of checking this question. She turned her head to look at Ella Sylvan, and only answered after she shook her head, "No, nothing was lost."

"If nothing was lost, then what are you doing here?" The policeman who spoke suddenly became impatient again.

The other two policemen looked at them, and the one sitting closer to the inside suddenly laughed and stopped his colleague:

"Wait, Reed.

"She seems familiar..."

So Reed and another unknown policeman looked at him, and Reed asked:

"Have you seen her, Brooks?"

"I'm not sure...well, let me look for it," Brooks replied.

After he finished speaking, he gathered the scattered documents on the table, as if looking for something. Alice watched him flip through the pile of documents for a while, then he pulled out a document from the middle, opened it, and took out a sketch from it.

He walked out from behind the reception desk, holding the sketch, and stood in front of Alice. After looking around, he whispered,

"Bryer Rose, 36 Welsh Street... Is that you?"

He showed Alice the portrait.

It was a sketch, and Alice recognised at once that the face in the drawing was the one she had created, and she suddenly had a very uneasy feeling.

"What's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

Brooks didn't say anything. In Alice's blank eyes, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, put one end on Alice's wrist, and gently buckled it. With the sound of "click", he smiled and said to her:

"You are under arrest, miss."

"?" Alice's eyes widened instantly, "Why!"

It wasn't difficult for Alice to break free from the handcuffs, and it certainly wasn't difficult to escape. She could even make no one remember that she was here today - but she wanted to know why.

What do you mean she was arrested...?

"Oh," Brooks glanced at Alice with a half-smile, flipped through the document and said to her, "The owner of 36 Welsh Street reported to us that her tenant was in arrears with the rent. We went to look for him and found that no one had lived in the house for several days. After we investigated, we came to the conclusion..."

He paused before continuing, "You might have run away to avoid paying the rent."

"...Ah?" Alice looked at him blankly.

"But we have received direct orders..." he continued, "All decisions regarding 36 Welsh Street need to be made first with... well, with the people from the Church of Evernight first."

Alice blinked.

Brooks smiled and continued to tell the subsequent developments:

"You know what I mean - we reported it and the result was that you ran away to avoid paying the rent."

"?" Alice felt a question mark slowly appearing above her head, "I... your mother's."

In her extreme consternation, she replaced the curse word with a more civilized one.

However, this quintessence of Chinese comes from her real mother tongue, which is Chinese. Brooks seems not to understand nor care about the connotation of this sentence - after all, anyone with a discerning eye knows that it is a swear word.

Anyway, Brooks smiled and said to her:

"I'm sorry, miss, but you may have to stay here for a while. We need to report your case and contact your former landlord... Well, I believe this is a misunderstanding. You are not leaving just to avoid paying the rent, right?"

It was a reasonable request. Alice opened her mouth but said nothing in the end. She turned to Ella Sylvan in anger and said angrily:

"Get lost!"

Ella Sylvan paused after saying these words, and said hesitantly:

"yes."

After saying this, she obeyed Alice's wishes and turned to leave the police station.

After Ella Sylvan obediently rolled out, Alice gritted her teeth and said,

"Uncuff me!

"I'm assuming you know that if I wanted to run you couldn't stop me."

This was true, Brooks smiled and uncuffed her, then apologized to her:

"Um, sorry... do you want to come with me to... uh, to the reception room?"

Alice accepted the offer and followed Brooks into the reception room. Before leaving, Brooks asked her,

"Would you like a drink?"

No, I don't need it. You adults all like to drink coffee and tea... By the way, did I miss breakfast? Uh, forget it, I'll talk about it later...

Alice blinked and made an impossible request to Brooks:

"Do you have ice cream?"

"...No." Brooks gave her a questioning look before answering.

This was an unsurprising answer, and Alice waved him out, then fell headfirst onto the sofa in the reception room.

After looking at her with hesitation, Brooks turned and left the reception room. (End of this chapter)

17 Interpersonal Communication Experience

Alice fell on the sofa and looked at the ceiling, her eyes dull, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.

...How on earth did they come to the conclusion that I ran away to avoid paying the rent?!

Let me know who came up with this idea and I will…wait a minute, this shouldn't be the goddess' decision, right?

By the way, I wanted to ask the goddess if she was willing to be my "mother", but I didn't have time…

She cleared her mind in random thoughts and breathed slowly on the sofa.

She had just fallen asleep when she was awakened by a crimson light. In the gray mist, she heard Klein's voice:

"Alice? I forgot to ask you just now, are you free now?"

Klein is looking for me? What's the matter... Alice blinked in confusion. Out of trust in the Church of Evernight, she came above the gray fog.

"What's wrong?" she asked puzzledly.

"Hmm..." Klein looked at her carefully, "Where are you now?"

"Backlund," she tilted her head, "I'm at the police station... I'm waiting for the Nighthawks to take me into custody."

"?" Klein looked at her in surprise, his eyes asking what trouble she had gotten herself into again.

"It's not me this time... uh," Alice pinched her brows and frowned, skipping over the things related to "Cassandra" and Selwyn Muggeridge, Ella Sylvan, which was no longer meaningful, and went straight to the point, "They think I ran away to avoid paying the rent, and the church also agrees with this possibility!"

"…?" Klein looked at her in surprise. "Why does the church think so too?"

"Is this my fault?" Alice slapped the table with her hand. "Who knows what the Nighthawks' internal files say about me?"

Klein looked at Alice with pity and gave her an idea: "I remember you said before that you wanted to return to the church..."

"Uh," Alice paused, "But, but you should know that I just said it casually at the time... It's actually very embarrassing for me to go back in my current situation, right?"

Klein shook his head and said to her, "I mean, why don't you go back and take a look at your own file?"

He paused, looked at Alice again, and asked thoughtfully:

"How should you go back in your current situation?"

Alice lowered her head in thought.

Although she claimed that Hei Ye was her favored one, these words were ultimately more of a joke - after all, how could it be possible for her favored one to become a god while she herself did not?

Actually, if I really want to talk about the current relationship between the goddess and me, if the goddess is willing, I can be considered as the goddess's favorite. If the goddess is not so willing, I can be considered as repaying a favor...

So, although the goddess usually doesn't say anything and even indulges me, she actually doesn't really want to pay attention to me… If I ask the goddess to be my "mother", will she think I'm asking for something in return…

Alice lowered her head and pondered for more than ten seconds, then raised her head and asked Klein, "Do you have any experience in socializing between True Gods?"

Klein the Fool Moretti looked at Alice in silence for more than ten seconds, then calmly replied,

"Yes.

"I once spied on the Eternal Blazing Sun and the True Creator as the Fool, and repeatedly sabotaged the True Creator's plans, which eventually led to the True Creator's pursuit."

...You really know how to talk.

Alice stared at Klein in astonishment, swallowed her saliva for a long while, and replied cautiously,

"I don't think this is the kind of experience I want.

"I have had this experience myself. For example, I once called myself Ouroboros, the angel of destiny under the watchful eye of the True Creator."

Klein the Fool Moretti raised his head and glanced at his Angel of Destiny. After two seconds of silence, he replied,

"Actually, I don't mind exchanging with Him."

Alice's eyes widened.

"I have something to talk to you about," Klein quickly said, trying to divert her attention. "I might be in danger next. A deadly danger from the Rose School..."

This name was not unfamiliar to both of them. Alice had seen Cynthia being used by the "Rose School" before, and she also knew the existence of the "Mother Tree of Desire" behind it. In fact, she might know more than Klein - such as the Pillars, the Old Ones, and the Source.

She turned her head and looked at Klein. As revenge for Klein's actions, Alice raised her eyes and asked,

"Why, you are unwilling to accept the failure of the Mother Tree of Desire, and you are running away from her from now on, and you..."

Her voice gradually faded under Klein's expressionless gaze, and finally turned into a calm explanation:

"But I'm in the police station now.

"I don't want to be arrested for not paying rent and then arrested for escaping prison..."

The corner of Klein's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but frowned and asked:

"But, in that case, can't you just pay the rent and leave?"

Alice looked up at the pile of junk beside her before answering:

"I want to know which night watchman confirmed the police's speculation - I won't let this person go."

After Klein mourned for two seconds for the Nighthawk he had never met, he shook his head and said:

"In fact, I have already called Renette Tinicole. Besides, if you don't follow me, you probably won't be able to come here earlier. After all, you don't have your own Poké Ball like Renette Tinicole."

Having said that, Klein glanced at Alice, who was trying not to laugh, before continuing:

"But I'm afraid that if you follow me, the people from the Rose School won't come, or the Mother Tree of Desire will deal with you as well... Mainly for the latter reason."

This is indeed a serious reason, and Alice can't come up with a good idea, because the influence of the "Mother Tree of Desire" is still troublesome for her at this stage, and she doesn't want to face the "Mother Tree of Desire".

Alice stroked her chin and said thoughtfully,

"No, actually I don't have to go there... You haven't used the seven doom spells I left behind, right?"

The essence of a spell is to pray to the provider of power. Alice is actually able to sense that the spell she made with her own power is being used.

She had always known that Klein had never used the seven "doom charms," ​​but this kind of thing... the materials were provided by Cattleya, and her strength would return after a rest, so she didn't mind giving it to Klein.

However, Klein should still give her some of the money he got from this incident.

Or compensate her in other ways...

Alice blinked, and after Klein nodded, she continued:

"You can use those seven 'Doom Charms' so that I can sense them, and then I can pay attention to the battlefield and assist you remotely.

"By the way... did you give that spell a name? Did you call it the 'Doom Spell'?"

Klein glanced at Alice and shook his head,

"No.

"I usually call them by the opening spell you set."

Opening spell? What was the opening spell I set at that time?

Alice frowned slightly, and after thinking hard, she remembered the answer and said a phrase in ancient Hermetic language:

"Let good luck come here..."

After a pause, she switched back to Chinese: "Good luck?"

I guessed her meaning right... Klein's mouth twitched for a moment, remembering how he felt when he first heard this spell, and shook his head.

"In a way, you're actually pretty good at naming.

"This name not only fits the purpose of the spell, but also has a deeper meaning and is related to another language...

"I can't come up with a name of this level anyway."

Alice was silent for two seconds. Her limited emotional intelligence came into play at this moment. She asked hesitantly:

"Are you praising me or scolding me?"

"They should all be there," Klein commented objectively. "Have you heard a joke?"

Alice looked at him curiously.

Klein glanced at her and told her a joke expressionlessly:

"There were three foreigners learning Chinese. After they had learned almost everything, the teacher gave them a question to test them."

"What's the problem?" Alice blinked.

"Give me a four-character idiom that expresses happiness." Klein asked the question expressionlessly.

"This isn't difficult, is it?" Alice stroked her chin. "What's wrong with this?"

Klein glanced at her and continued with an expressionless face,

"Yes, so the three students gave their answers in turn. The first student answered with a smile on his face, the second student answered with a grin on his face, and the third student..."

Having said this, Klein paused and looked at Alice.

"Hmm…" Alice looked at Klein, who didn't continue speaking, in confusion. After hesitating for a moment, she tried to be a qualified supporting actor. "It's actually quite normal to be happy and cheerful, right? Smiling and laughing is a little… a little strange, but it's okay. At least it's not funny enough. Hmm… So the problem lies with the third student? What did he answer?"

Klein glanced at her and continued to answer expressionlessly:

"Smile in your grave."

this...

Alice opened her mouth in shock. She looked at Klein, who had a blank expression and a calm voice throughout the whole process. After holding her breath for a long time, she gave a comment:

"As expected of the Joker, he doesn't even smile."

"No," Klein glanced at Alice, "because I don't think it's as funny as you. Although Chinese is your native language, you seem to be the kind of person who would use "smiling in the grave" to describe others as happy."

Alice had nothing to say. After being silent for more than ten seconds, she asked Klein:

"Do you need me to wish you a happy afterlife?"

"No, that's not necessary." Klein rejected her proposal without hesitation.

After they were silent for a few seconds, Alice slapped her head and said to Klein:

"By the way, I may need to ask you for some money later - the money I deposited with you, you should be fine."

"You'd better ask me in advance," Klein reminded him tactfully, "After all, I'm probably being hunted."

"Oh yeah, 'Rose School' and 'Mother Tree of Desire'..." Alice was in a daze for a moment, "This plot is missing something, what about the plot of unexpected pregnancy and running away with the baby? You can't just fall in love with each other after a one-night stand... No, you didn't even have a one-night stand, and He wants to have a baby with you right away."

Klein looked at Alice, pinched his brows with a slight headache, and sighed,

"Your previous teacher must have had a headache with you... Forget it, do you have anything else to do?"

Alice shook her head.

So Klein took the initiative to end the meeting. Alice fell out of the gray fog and woke up in the real world again.

Their conversation ended too quickly, and the people from the Church of Evernight had not arrived yet. Alice thought about it and lay down again.

This time she slept for a while, and when she woke up again, she was not in the real world, but in a dream. The surrounding scenes disappeared quickly under her drive and turned into a hazy white mist. In the mist, Alice saw Archbishop Anthony wearing black and red bishop's robes.

"Alice?" he called her.

"Archbishop!" Alice was startled and struggled to wake up from her dream.

"No, no need," Archbishop Anthony said gently, "I know everything. If you come to St. Samuel's Church... no one will stop you."

Alice nodded, and then took the opportunity to ask:

"Do you know who confirmed that I might really be running away because I didn't want to pay the rent?"

Archbishop Anthony looked at her, and after two seconds of silence, he replied calmly:

"…It's me."

Alice lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

"I'm sorry," Archbishop Anthony apologized quickly, "Although no matter how you look at it, this is an impossible thing, but... uh, you..."

He tried to organize his words, but Alice didn't give him a chance. She bit her lower lip with her upper teeth and asked with accusatory eyes:

"Is this how I look to you?"

"…I'm sorry," Archbishop Anthony continued to organize his words, "I really thought you…after all, fate is always unpredictable."

He paused, sighed and said:

"Please come to the church, Miss Destiny, who has become very famous recently in the Five Seas."

As soon as he finished speaking, Alice felt him withdrawing from her dream, so she struggled to wake up from her dream and walked out of the reception room.

After realizing they can't hold her captive, the three cops seem to give up - Alice opens the door to find them "fighting evil" again.

Emperor Roselle, you have done so much harm to others.

Alice shook her head and decided to go over and say hello. She approached the three people who were playing cards and waved her hand.

"I'm leaving now?"

The three people who were concentrating on playing cards only noticed her then. They were not at all vigilant. After listening to her words, they casually waved their hands to indicate that they understood, and then shifted their attention to the card game in front of them.

...So irresponsible?

Alice was once again shocked at the extent to which the police in the other world were not doing their job.

She suddenly understood why she was easily considered to have run away because she didn't pay the rent, and why no one looked for her - probably because the landlord didn't offer a reward.

(End of this chapter)

18 Disposable Elf Ball

Alice left the police station with mixed feelings and walked towards St. Samuel's Church.

She had stuffed "Matilda" back into her pocket. After all, the relationship between Alice and Briar didn't seem to be a complete secret. Oh, and there was also Miss Fate who kept Gehrman Sparrow on the Five Seas...

Alice covered her face with her hands.

A few seconds later, she figured everything out and put her hand down - in this kind of situation, the one being kept should be the one who suffers more socially.

...No, wait, they are obviously not in that kind of relationship!

Alice closed her eyes and continued walking towards the church.

She did not call a cab, chiefly because she had no money—perhaps she could have chosen to pay on delivery, if she had not felt sufficiently ashamed of herself.

Oh, actually, she has another option which is to go to the Church of Storms and rob money again. Just use "Matilda" to change her face and remember to wear the monocle before leaving...

After all, it would take time to report to the "Lord of Storms". As long as she ran fast enough, she wouldn't have to worry about being…wait, in that case, why didn't she just go to the church?

Alice stood there in silence for two seconds, then her figure flashed and disappeared from where she was, appearing outside St. Samuel's Church.

…

After contacting Alice, Klein felt more relieved. He breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the suitcase and cash above the gray fog with satisfaction, and returned to the real world.

After returning the potion ingredients and "Matilda" to Alice as she had instructed, Klein suddenly discovered that the telegraph had picked up another signal.

He hurried over, recorded it quickly, and then used the code book to translate it into corresponding letters to form words.

Not long after, the contents of the telegram signal appeared on the paper, in deep black ink:

"I see you."

This startled Klein. He had been planning to leave, so he immediately packed up his things, placed his suitcase and most of the cash on the gray fog, and prepared to flee.

But this was not enough, he also needed a bodyguard who could guarantee his own safety, the stronger the better. After much thought, he thought that only Alice and Renette Tinicole could be called upon at any time.

——Although Alice did many things that challenged his "clown" control, whether it was the time when she pretended to be Admiral Amyrius or the time when she set out for the ruins, everything did end "smoothly" in the end...

Klein chose to believe Alice.

But Alice was about to take the potion materials, and it was obvious what she was doing. Klein first contacted Renette Tinicole. After agreeing to the asking price of 10,000 gold coins, he had his first bodyguard on call and was determined to go find Alice.

——Alice would never ask him for money.

It's just that she would make some particularly embarrassing requests... By the way, did she also say that she wanted to touch my mythical creature form?

Klein lowered his head and thought seriously.

He quickly gave up thinking about it, because he realized that it didn't matter at all, because even if he didn't agree, Alice would probably try her best to make him come out to see it, and then touch it...

He closed his eyes, went above the gray fog, found Alice, and explained what had just happened.

After receiving Alice's affirmative answer, Klein checked the seven "Good Luck" charms on his body, and suddenly couldn't help laughing, muttering:

"Now it seems that 'Good Luck' really is coming... Speaking of which, is this considered a disposable Poké Ball?"

He shook his head, dealt with the traces, went to the hotel front desk to pay the bill, and took a carriage directly to the edge of Bayam, out of the city and up the mountain, apparently going to the cemetery prepared for the local natives.

Halfway through the walk, he suddenly turned into the woods and headed straight for the edge of the cliff, where a huge sea creature was already waiting below!

Insects were crawling in the woods, and small wild animals occasionally ran by. Klein walked very quickly on the humus-covered ground.

Along the way, he could see mushrooms growing after the rain, and rags and other garbage left behind by some Bayam citizens during their picnics. Everything was so peaceful, and accompanied by the fresh morning air.

A leaf fell down, and Klein dodged it easily without stopping.

At this moment, the leaf suddenly accelerated, and even turned strangely, sticking to his mouth and nose.

It was like an adult's palm, tightly covering Klein's nose and mouth, making it impossible for him to breathe.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Branches from trees all around fell off and shot toward Klein like sharp arrows.

And the fragments, papers and other things left over from the picnic also had their own vitality. They connected together to form an impenetrable strange net, and "pounced" over!

Suddenly, Klein had a feeling that every tree, every leaf, every stone, and every blade of grass around him wanted to kill him.

Seeing that the strange net made of debris, paper and other garbage was about to pounce on him, his body suddenly collapsed and became thinner, turning into a paper man.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The arrow-like paper strips pierced through the paper man and fell far away, and the strange net immediately wrapped everything there completely, twisting it into a ball and gently squirming.

Klein's body appeared seven or eight meters to the side, knowing that the attack he had worried about had finally come.

Without any observation or hesitation, he raised his right palm and reached into his pocket to touch the "Good Luck" talisman.

The situation he had just encountered made him realize that the attacker was most likely a demigod from the "Rose School", an enemy he was currently unable to defeat!

At this moment, the paper figures in his pocket suddenly flew out and stuck to his face, one after another, layer upon layer!

At the same time, Klein's sleeves tightened up, restraining his arms and forearms, stopping his palm from reaching down.

His shirt and jacket were pulled inward, as if a giant python had identified them as food and was currently entangled with him, hunting him.

In just a second or two, he was bound in place by his own clothes, pants, and shoes, his face was covered with paper figures, his ribs were about to break, and breathing became extremely difficult.

Klein was mentally prepared and had extensive combat experience, so he did not panic at this moment. He pressed the thumb and middle finger of his unaffected right hand together, making a snapping sound.

Red flames suddenly rose up at the bend of his legs, burning the trouser legs tightly around his knees clean, and then spread upwards and downwards.

Seizing this opportunity, Klein straightened his knees, bounced up with difficulty, and pounced to the right like a cannonball that had just been fired and fell to the ground without any strength.

He was in mid-air and snapped his fingers again, this time igniting the sleeve at the joint of his right arm!

Where he was standing, the green grass suddenly withered, and the black ground turned white in an instant, as if it had been weathered for a long time.

The attack came without warning, but Klein's rich combat experience allowed him to first untie the restraints on his legs and quickly move away from his original position, avoiding the fatal blow.

With a snapping sound, two spots on Klein's sleeves caught fire. His right palm finally had room to move. He reached into his pocket and grabbed the "Good Luck" talisman.

Plop!

He fell to the ground, rolled over, and immediately used his right hand to prop up his body, and then snapped his fingers with his left palm wearing a human leather glove.

This time, his target was the paper people that were stuck to his face, making it impossible for him to breathe or make a sound.

The paper man burst into flames, and the red flames almost burned Klein's hair.

At this moment, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind: a thin arrow made of ice crystals and dyed dark green was rushing towards his head at an extremely fast speed!

He couldn't dodge it... The clothes that still bound his movements made Klein realize this. At the critical moment, he touched the talisman with his spiritual power without thinking, and at the same time, he loudly recited the spell in ancient Hermetic language:

"Good luck!"

…

As soon as she landed, Alice felt the spell being triggered.

Without hesitation, she extended her spiritual power over. With her special perspective, nothing on the scene could be hidden from her "eyes". She easily caught a glimpse of the thin arrow that was about to arrive in an instant.

This is trust - trust in putting your life in her hands.

Alice couldn't describe her mood at the moment, and she didn't have time to think about it. Time was too urgent. She let her thinking be completely rational, and then she quickly came up with the best solution.

——After releasing the "Good Luck" spell, Klein staggered and fell diagonally to the right. The cold, tiny ice arrow hit his right chest in the process. His clothes shattered and flew around, revealing a dark brown-covered book underneath.

It was Alice... This strange coincidence made Klein realize this. He relaxed a lot, but still maintained his image and used the extraordinary ability of the "Joker" to avoid falling.

Alice paid no attention to the book; after all, they could talk about it later, so she just scanned the area, searching for any source of danger.

It was not difficult to find the "Blood Admiral" Senior, who was hiding in the form of a vengeful spirit, but since he was not a demigod, he was not enough to make Klein panic and ask for help in a life-and-death crisis. Alice spread her spirituality and continued to search for the real target.

When she was several hundred meters away from Klein, she finally saw a figure from behind a green tree.

He was an old man with gray hair and deep wrinkles. Alice briefly judged his sequence and chose the most brutal solution in calm anger.

"Close your eyes." For safety reasons, she reminded Klein.

Klein closed his eyes obediently without any hesitation, and Alice turned her attention back to the demigod of the "Rose School" hiding in the tree.

A giant white, scaleless snake appeared next to the tree, holding its tail in its toothless, bloody mouth. It half turned its head and stared at the person hiding in the tree with its cold, blood-red pupils.

Waves of light were drawn from the spirit world and crashed into the spirit of this demigod of the "Rose School". The old man forgot to close his eyes in a trance and stared blankly at the scene in front of him.

Ten seconds later, a dry, brown-black puppet broke away from the tree and fell to the ground.

The white, scaleless giant snake transformed into a girl. She picked up the dried puppet from the ground and tossed it around while slowly walking back to Klein. She patted him and said,

"You can open your eyes now."

Klein opened his eyes and looked at Alice.

Alice blinked, but did not choose to speak at the first opportunity. Instead, she looked into the air and blinked at the vengeful spirit on a certain bounty order and asked:

"Aren't you coming out yet?"

Admiral of Blood, Senior, appeared in the air. After a few seconds of silence, he faced Alice's slightly curious eyes and spoke his opening remarks:

"I can serve you, too, Your Highness.

"I can do better than German Sparrow."

"...?" Alice was shocked. She looked at the rumored "Blood Admiral" in surprise, then turned to look at Hermann. "What do you think?"

Klein was also greatly shocked. He glanced at the Blood Admiral Senior, who was worth 42,000 pounds, and made a reliable suggestion:

"Your Highness, I am still short of a servant."

...Who taught him to call me His Highness!

Alice felt an indescribable sense of collapse. She made the decision without hesitation. A silver-white river surrounded the area where the three of them were. The already pale face of "Blood Admiral" Senior became even worse.

"You had a chance to escape," Alice said, looking for trouble. "I didn't intend to chase you... um, wait."

Alice seemed to have suddenly realized something and paused. She turned her head to look at Klein and asked,

"Who shot that ice arrow at you? Was it him?"

"I don't know," Klein answered honestly, "but he should have the ability to shoot ice arrows."

So what happened next happened naturally. The "Blood Admiral" Senior, who was worth 42,000 pounds, became the secret puppet of the new strongest hunter German Sparrow without any resistance.

"Then…bye?" Alice looked at Klein tentatively. "Or should we deal with the scene?"

"...Do you have any solution?" Klein asked tentatively.

Alice looked at Klein with a half-smile, and declared in a solemn tone,

"One minute after I leave here, a huge meteorite will fall here and destroy all traces of the scene."

As Klein looked at her in shock, Alice's figure disappeared from the spot. Klein was stunned for two seconds, then he ran away, hoping to get away from the area where the meteorite was about to fall as quickly as possible.

——He believed Alice's words without hesitation.

After dealing with Klein's affairs, Alice did not immediately ask about the things she was curious about, such as admiring Klein's new doll, asking for compensation from Klein, or asking about the origin of the book... because she still had something crucial to do.

——She still has to go to church.

Alice, who was called home by her parents, shook her head and sighed, playing with the little doll in her hand, stepped into St. Samuel's Church and walked underground. (End of this chapter)

19 Secret Watch

The underground of St. Samuel's Church still looked familiar to Alice. In fact, the layout here was not much different from the underground layout of the church in Tingen City, except that it was much larger in scale and there seemed to be more people.

Alice's entry made the place suddenly quiet for a moment. She blinked at the door, then took her foot back and knocked twice on the non-existent door very politely before asking,

"Um... I'm looking for Archbishop Anthony."

She paused, and without waiting for anyone to respond, she changed her foot and stepped in, pushing open a door as if she was familiar with the place and walked in.

Archbishop Anthony raised his head from behind the desk and watched her close the door quietly without speaking.

The quiet atmosphere brought Alice a sense of tension, but she quickly remembered what had just happened to her and became confident again.

She closed the door, walked to the table, looked down at Anthony, and shouted as fiercely as possible:

"What's the matter!"

This made her seem guilty. Anthony did not take her attitude seriously. He just smiled at her gently and asked her patiently:

"Miss Destiny... Is it okay for me to call you that?"

You...?

Alice was stunned for a moment. She could actually feel that when Archbishop Anthony addressed her like this, it was not like when she called Amon like this. On the surface, it was respectful, but in fact it was sarcastic.

Archbishop Anthony really meant it with respect.

This was very strange—for our Archbishop Anthony was sitting on a chair, and his esteemed Miss Fortune was standing.

But it would seem strange if he got up to move a chair for me or offer me a seat... Alice came to this conclusion after staring at Archbishop Anthony and the Holy Emblem of Night behind him for a few seconds.

Alice looked around subconsciously, but there were no extra chairs in the room. She had to give up the idea of ​​being self-reliant and turn her attention back to Archbishop Anthony.

"But, is it okay?" She looked at the holy emblem and her tone subconsciously became uncertain.

Compared to her initial reckless prayers under the Holy Emblem of Night, Alice now knew that the holy emblem still contained the power of the true God, and that the gods could cast their gaze and influence on her through the holy emblem.

Therefore - if she said some nonsense here like "The night is my favorite" and "The magic wolf feels really good", she might see a real magic wolf.

Alice had no intention of trying this yet, so she just asked hesitantly:

"Um...what do you want me to do?"

It's impossible that he's apologizing for that misunderstanding...

While Alice was daydreaming, Archbishop Anthony looked at her gently and told her his original purpose:

"Ms. Fate, what do you think...if you were to be included in the canon of the Church of Evernight, how would your story be written?"

"Ah?" Alice looked at Archbishop Anthony in confusion, as if she couldn't react.

"According to the procedure, I shouldn't be the one to contact you about this matter..." Archbishop Anthony continued to talk to Alice, "But among the church members you are familiar with, I currently have the highest status, so..."

Alice tried to understand.

Hmm... Archbishop Anthony is just a saint, so he doesn't respect me enough? No, it actually depends on the attitude of the goddess towards me. If she regards me as an equal god or a being who has favored her, then she should at least send her agent on earth - the current Pope of Night.

But the goddess didn't... This is not necessarily disrespectful. Judging from what Archbishop Anthony said, it is also very likely that he took my feelings into consideration. For example, His Holiness and I have never met...

Then why doesn't the goddess come and talk to me in person… Well, I'm not worthy.

Alice glanced at the holy emblem behind Archbishop Anthony and realized her own status again - after all, she was now a half-baked angel who could only cry for help from the goddess mother when encountering problems.

However, Alice had one question that she was very curious about:

"Is this an oracle? I mean, why didn't you do this before? Why didn't the goddess mention this before?"

"This is an oracle. As for your question... I don't know." Archbishop Anthony gave a frank answer.

Alice didn't say anything. She lowered her head and thought about how she was different from before.

If the goddess knows everything about my situation...wait, why don't I feel anything when the goddess is looking at me?

Alice suddenly realized the question.

Did the goddess never cast her eyes on him? No, it was impossible. Alice would never believe it.

But she had never felt the gaze of the goddess before, and before this, whether it was the gaze from Adam or the gaze from the "true creator", it brought her a heavy sense of oppression.

Let's not talk about the "real creator" for now. After all, his mental state is not very good, so it's hard to say… Adam…

If the goddess could watch her without being noticed, then could Adam, who was suspected to be the "ancient sun god" who almost became "God" in the past, have a way?

Alice suddenly felt a sense of panic. She looked around and was relieved when she saw the Holy Emblem of Night in front of her.

Unless Adam and the Goddess were sitting and pouring each other tea and discussing arrangements for her, Adam shouldn't be watching right now... Well, could this really not happen?

Alice suddenly fell silent.

She remembered what Archbishop Anthony had told her, that she should make her own decisions regarding her affairs. Combined with her previous speculations, she suddenly had an extremely frightening thought - was the decision she made really her own?

You know, it's not like she hasn't experienced something like this before—that's what "0-08" did.

However, arranging for me is a very troublesome matter. Adam should not have enough energy to arrange for me. His focus should still be on the general trend of the times. If he really wants to arrange for me, it would probably be... to prevent me from causing trouble?

This gave Alice some psychological comfort. She collected her thoughts and focused her attention back on the most pressing issue.

Assuming that the goddess noticed me after returning from the "Forsaken Land of Gods", then...what is the difference between me and before?

The answer is obvious. Putting aside the "Dice of Probability", she has now truly become a demigod.

This is undoubtedly a decisive change, at least for the "destiny" path - she seems to have real capital to resist fate.

Alice suddenly remembered what she had said to "Sun" Derrick before:

"Congratulations, Mr. Sun.

"You are now qualified to be a chess piece."

Alice was in a trance for a moment, and suddenly murmured: "So... am I only qualified to sit at the gambling table and become a gambler now?"

Alice clenched her fist and looked at Archbishop Anthony who was doubtful about her words. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate on his question.

"Write me into the church's canon… uh," Alice stroked her chin, "In that case, can you write that I'm a newly ordained saint…"

"...Okay." Archbishop Anthony did not comment on this.

"Hmm," Alice paused, and then became a little more excited as if she suddenly realized something. "By the way, in this case, can I get the salary of a saint?"

"...In theory, that's right," Archbishop Anthony agreed with her guess and added before she started to get excited, "Then, can you fulfill the duties of a saint?"

Archbishop Anthony looked at Alice with a gentle gaze. Alice became inexplicably alert and asked alertly:

"…What duties?"

Archbishop Anthony looked up at her and explained gently:

"It's nothing, actually. I just need to come to the church on time to handle some church affairs, such as reviewing various applications from the branch churches in the area under my charge, things like the transfer of seals, personnel transfers, and promotion arrangements, as well as statistics on extraordinary events and extraordinary people in the area, communication with other churches, etc...."

Alice swallowed, "No, thanks. I don't think I need a salary."

"Hmm?" Archbishop Anthony stopped talking and looked at her gently, "Is it not necessary?"

"No, no need!" Alice firmly refused.

"Well," Archbishop Anthony did not ask any further questions. He just smiled at her and brought up another topic. "In this case, I need to confirm another thing with you..."

He paused, and after Alice had completely focused on his words, he asked gently,

"Miss Fate, do you plan to appear in your true form in the future?"

Alice paused, met his eyes, and vaguely realized the question she wanted to ask - her original appearance and the identity she represented should have been dead according to the Nighthawk's files.

But the lady of destiny at sea is actually her original face. If a portrait is sent back...

Alice vaguely recalled her conversation with Klein.

…What would happen if the people who cared about her found out that her death was actually faked?

She suddenly became flustered.

Archbishop Anthony saw her helpless look. He sighed gently and asked:

"Do you need to go back and take a look?

"Not long after you left, the captain of the Tingen Night Squad was promoted to Sequence 6, but he refused the transfer and applied to stay in Tingen City.

"Taking into account what happened before, the higher-ups finally agreed to his request, allowing him to stay in Tingen and be promoted to bishop.

"From now on, the highest level in Tingen City is no longer just the captain level, but a bishop level..."

Alice was in a trance for a moment, and met Archbishop Anthony's gaze. After his voice gradually stopped, she said in a hoarse voice:

"I want to go back and take a look."

"Of course," Archbishop Anthony nodded gently, "Do you need any help, such as..."

"No...wait, I need help," Alice refused subconsciously, but suddenly changed her tone as if she remembered something, "I...I haven't completed the mission to join the Nighthawks yet."

Archbishop Anthony pinched his brow and began to ponder.

There is no explicit regulation on the mission of joining the Nighthawks; it is more like a tradition or a custom.

It is an unwritten custom for night watchmen everywhere to complete a task independently to prove their ability and gain recognition from their colleagues.

Archbishop Anthony certainly knew this, or rather, he was very familiar with the group of night watchmen in Tingen City back then - after knowing Alice's identity.

He looked at Alice, pondered for a moment, shook his head, and rejected Alice's request:

"I think that doing this in my capacity may not achieve your goal."

My purpose...? What is my purpose?

Alice was stunned for a moment, looking blankly at Archbishop Anthony's eyes, and after more than ten seconds, she vaguely had an answer.

She was missing the time she was in Tingen City, missing the time when she was just a little girl with amnesia, but at that time, she shouldn't have known someone of the archbishop's level.

It's been different for a long time... Alice suddenly felt a little sad. She lowered her brows and sighed, and said to Archbishop Anthony:

"...In this case, let's talk about it after I come back."

She paused, and suddenly remembered something crucial. Considering that she had just dealt with Klein, she hesitated for a moment and asked Archbishop Anthony tentatively:

"By the way, about the fact that I ran away without paying the rent...should I go and pay the rent?"

"...It should be." Archbishop Anthony replied.

Alice was silent for more than ten seconds before she mustered up the courage to ask:

"Can you lend me some money?"

"I, I will pay it back..."

Archbishop Anthony glanced at Alice, and after a few seconds of silence, he replied:

"Okay, but I don't have that much money..."

He paused, and as if remembering something, he added:

"I don't want to see news and wanted posters about Amon or anyone else robbing the donation box of Storm Church."

Alice lowered her head.

It would be too much to stop such a thing. Archbishop Anthony only warned him and did not pursue him. Instead, he continued the previous topic in a gentle voice:

"If you don't mind, you can wait until I get off work..."

This made Alice look up in surprise, and she asked in a shocked voice:

"So you have a time off from work?"

Archbishop Anthony looked at her hesitantly.

Alice's view came from a wonderful misunderstanding. She knew that the "Sleepless" in Tingen City also had to be on duty at night, and "Sleepless" sounded like a way to not need to sleep, so...

She had always thought that "Sleepless" was 006's working hours, which meant working six days a week, twenty-four hours a day...

In the slightly confused look of Archbishop Anthony, she quickly apologized:

"I'm sorry, uh, I..."

"It doesn't matter," Archbishop Anthony shook his head gently, not getting angry about this little thing, "However, I'm not referring to my off-duty time, but the normal off-duty time for people who haven't taken the 'Insomniac' potion." (End of this chapter)

Chapter 20 Candidates

Oh, not his off-get off work time, but normal off-get off work time, that is to say...

Alice's brain raced, helping her come to a reasonable conclusion, and she blurted out:

"So you really don't get off work!"

This was reasonable. Archbishop Anthony said nothing about it, but just half raised his head and looked at Alice gently.

Such a calm and peaceful expression was extremely lethal to Alice. She quickly became flustered and said quickly:

"I, I remembered that I have other ways to get the money!"

Archbishop Anthony frowned slightly at her.

Alice subconsciously shrank her neck, and as if she realized something, she emphasized:

"I'm not talking about the donation box at Storm Church!"

Archbishop Anthony was speechless. He looked at Alice, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Alice felt a subtle uneasiness, and she quickly found an excuse to escape:

"I, I have to go back and pay the rent. I'm leaving now!"

Archbishop Anthony nodded subconsciously, but before he could say anything, Alice ran away without looking back.

Running made Alice realize that something was wrong. After leaving the church, she tugged at the hem of her skirt and realized that she had forgotten "Apollo".

This skirt was actually an illusion. As for the school uniform that she had been wearing for a long time, it was torn after she turned into a mythical creature.

"From this perspective..." Alice sighed and muttered as she walked, "Angels should all be able to create 'clothes' on themselves."

Otherwise, the angels can't tear their clothes every time they transform into mythical creatures, right?

This is a very serious question, at least for Alice, because she just realized that angels may not really wear clothes - it's okay to turn some random things into clothes, but what's the difference between using special effects like her and not wearing clothes? Alice

shook her head and comforted herself: "Think positively, at least, what I'm wearing should not be the 'Emperor's New Clothes'... uh, wait a minute."

She paused, thinking of Cattleya and Bernadette, whose skills were very fairy-tale-like, and suddenly a guess popped up in her mind:

"Hey, has this world really worn the emperor's new clothes?"

This question could not be answered. Alice was not in a hurry to get an answer. After wandering on the road for a while, she could no longer bear it and flashed to find her "Apollo".

Fortunately, during the time she was away, there were no new witches visiting and no strange books. Alice easily came to her room and saw "Apollo" thrown on the sofa.

Although she no longer needed that stupid special effect after leaving the "Forsaken Land of the Gods", judging from the behavior of the residents of Silver City and Moon City, this special effect might be very suitable for pretending to be a charlatan.

Of course, it does not rule out the possibility that the residents of Silver City and Moon City have never seen other gods.

It is even possible that this is the main reason.

Alice shook her head and pinched the hem of her robe to harass Klein.

Klein was not there, which was as it should be, because Alice left an accurate prophecy at the place where he was. If Klein believed the prophecy, he should still be running for his life at this moment.

Alice shook her head and sighed:

"It's so troublesome. Why do I have to wait for the president when I go to the bank to withdraw money... Well, he doesn't seem to be the bank president. He is at most the lobby manager. The president should be..."

She paused and didn't say the name.

Alice's thoughts didn't dwell on this for too long, because she soon came up with a new question:

"Speaking of which, Klein is much more reliable than a bank. At least it won't declare bankruptcy..."

In Loen, and of course not just in Loen, Alice was most familiar with the laws of Loen, so she knew that under the laws of Loen, banks did not have to pay compensation if they went bankrupt.

In this situation, it would be fine if it was a big bank, but small banks make people feel uneasy about depositing money in them.

But Sefirah Castle is different. Unless... there is no unless!

Alice immediately interrupted her thoughts.

Waiting for someone is a long process. Alice was too lazy to wait so she just lay down on the sofa, closed her eyes and fell asleep peacefully, waiting for Klein to wake her up.

A deep red light entered her dream. Above the gray fog, a figure looked down at her and asked:

"What do you want?"

The voice was obviously not as superior as his shadow, but instead revealed a familiar impatience.

This was exactly Klein's response to Alice harassing him several times a day.

Alice didn't feel embarrassed at all when she heard that. She immediately ran to the top of the gray fog and waved to Klein, who hadn't left yet.

"Send me some money!"

After a pause, she raised her chin with a righteous attitude and questioned the arrogant Mr. Fool: "I helped you, shouldn't you thank me? Why do you speak in such a tone!?"

Klein glanced at Alice.

Why do I speak like that? Don't you have any idea? Can't you just say everything you want to say at once?

While he was muttering to himself, he asked Alice, "So what kind of reward do you need, Miss Fate?"

Alice lowered her head in deep thought.

This was undoubtedly a difficult question for her, because she really didn't know what reward she wanted. After hesitating for a moment, Alice risked making an extremely unreliable suggestion:

"...Mom?"

Klein looked at her expressionlessly.

Alice then realized that Klein would not be able to accept her proposal for the time being. She pinched her brows and remembered that she had not yet asked the goddess whether she agreed.

"But..." She murmured absentmindedly, "If the goddess concealed her gaze... She just revealed this to me, so She probably wouldn't agree..."

The reason why Alice would not agree to her request to be her "mother" was not just a matter of benefits and costs, because she remembered what Archbishop Anthony had said to her.

It's up to her to decide.

Alice thought this was one time when the goddess did not interfere with her destiny, and although some minor requests for help seemed to be passively agreed to, becoming a "mother" still had a huge impact.

But this was her decision, right?

Alice pinched her brows, and suddenly realized that this was inappropriate, because she had not actually decided who she would choose to be her "mother" in the end - she was still asking around.

"Oh," Alice sighed, "It's so hard to find the right person..."

Klein began to look at Alice with a look that seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Alice's sigh made him pause for a moment, and he began to think about the feasible candidates at present.

The goddess...well, judging from what Alice said, the goddess would probably not agree to this.

Or maybe we should look at the members of the Tarot Club...

Miss Justice... No, that doesn't seem appropriate.

If Audrey, a noble and "justice", suddenly became pregnant, it would obviously be a big problem - she would become big news in Backlund and even in Loen.

Magician Fors could handle this kind of trouble, but Klein frowned after just thinking about it—her sequence was too low.

The sequence of the Hermit lady is quite high, but it would be better to choose Hermit Cattleya in one go and directly use this as a condition for the transaction with Bernadette... Hey, why not do this?

Klein's eyes lit up, and he asked Alice, "Have you mentioned this to Bernadette?"

Alice blinked, shook her head, and looked at Klein and reminded him:

"Do you remember why I was looking for a 'mother'?"

Klein was slightly stunned, and Alice continued:

"I may be facing a real death. Although theoretically, I can find a 'mother' at random, but is such a 'mother' really safe?

"If the hidden danger has not completely disappeared, if the enemy is still looking for me, if I am forced to 'reboot' because my condition is too bad...

"In this situation, what kind of 'mother' do you think can ensure my safety?"

Klein met Alice's eyes and realized the core of the problem.

——Although the strength of the "mother" may be important, what is more important is that she will not betray you.

This person cannot have any risk of betrayal... Uh, wait, let me put it this way...

Klein lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

In that case, am I the only one who meets both the conditions of strength and not betraying... No, I should say that it is only me after I was promoted to an angel...

Klein looked at Alice with horror.

Alice blinked twice in confusion and asked hesitantly:

"Why do you suddenly look like this?"

Klein didn't say anything. He glanced at Alice, pondered for a moment, and suddenly said:

"...I should work hard to become an angel first?"

After a pause, he asked tentatively: "Can you see...see how long it will take for you to die?"

Alice was silent for two seconds, then hesitantly confirmed, "...You just accept it?"

"No," Klein shook his head. "I will try to be promoted to an angel as soon as possible while trying to find a suitable 'mother' for you. If there is really no other way, then I will consider…"

His expression twisted for a moment before he spoke the last line:

"Be your 'mother'."

He gritted his teeth at the word "mother" and was extremely unhappy.

But even so, it was enough to surprise Alice. She looked at him in surprise and was silent for a long time before she asked quietly,

"...Are you really not worried that I'm betting on both you and Amon?"

"Very worried." Klein answered honestly.

Alice touched her chin, and Klein continued:

"But at most you can let Amon give birth to a child for me...wait, it can't be you, right?"

Alice felt a question mark slowly appearing above her head.

She looked at Klein in surprise, and Klein stared at her hesitantly. After more than ten seconds, Alice blinked and asked:

"…Is this a one-night stand and then run away script?"

Klein looked horrified.

But Alice's creativity went far beyond that. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and described a horrifying scene to Crane:

"Just imagine, just imagine, I don't mean anything!

"If one day, Amon sits here and says to you...

"Mr. Fool, I want to have a child with you…"

Klein reached out to hold onto the table in front of him and gritted his teeth as he called out her name:

"Alice!"

"So," Alice glanced at Klein's expression and came to the final conclusion, "You still have to give birth to a child for Amon!"

"Alice!!!" Klein gave up on controlling his expression and yelled at her.

Alice avoided the topic without changing her expression:

"Let's talk about something else.

"Give me the money I deposited with you. I need to pay the rent, and then I have to go back to Tingen City..."

"...You're going back to Tingen?" Klein was stunned by this long-lost, familiar name. He looked at Alice hesitantly.

"Well, goddess... Anyway, I might really have to go to the church to become a saint," Alice shook her head, "but before that, I want to go back to Tingen City... I understand, I'm going to sweep my own grave!"

"…Ah?" Klein looked at her blankly.

"Would you like me to sweep your grave, too?" Alice asked solemnly.

Klein stared at Alice with his mouth open, a look of confusion in his eyes.

Alice thought about it and said sympathetically, "It seems that maybe you prefer to sweep your own grave."

"…I don't have this hobby." Klein said expressionlessly.

He glanced at Alice, paused, and suddenly had an idea: "If you burn paper money for me, can I get rich?"

"...I haven't tried it," Alice was stunned, "but do you still remember the original function of the 'Get Rich Accessory'?"

Klein fell silent.

But since she mentioned the "accessories for getting rich," Alice had to mention another person:

"Where is Anderson now? Hasn't he found the Church of Night yet?"

"Oh, well, we encountered some problems before..." Klein was reminded and suddenly remembered what happened in Groselle's Travels. "Do you still remember that Travels of Groselle?"

Groselle's Travels? Oh, it was the book written by that failed writer, the unfinished travelogue... Alice nodded.

"Your prophecy has come true," Klein sighed, "and its former owner has truly become the protagonist of the book."

Alice was stunned on the spot. She took a few seconds to react to Klein's words. Then, she said in a daze,

"So, when I saw the book, it was not finished yet. It was because...

"The protagonist of the story hasn't killed the dragon yet?"

"To be precise, it's because of lack of strength..." Klein shook his head and recounted his and Anderson's experiences in the world of the book.

Alice lowered her head and listened to Klein's story. Finally, she said a conclusion that sounded like nonsense:

"This is... This is supposed to be a book written by an 'author'."

(End of this chapter)