Kapitel 119: Chapter 119: Amon in Life
Chapter 119: Amon in Life
Alice returned home, unaware of anything, and lay on her bed. She did not attempt to sleep but instead stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
What exactly... is wrong?
It started from the moment she stepped out of Charlie King's house.
The monsters emerging from the depths of darkness... subtle yet seemingly omnipresent.
The lingering sense of unease even after escaping.
The sudden calmness she felt while sitting in the carriage.
And the words of that coachman...
Playing cards with oneself.
The recently popular "Fighting Evil."
Living in a remote, sparsely populated area.
Driving a carriage as a hobby.
And finally, the gesture of pressing his right eye socket...
A familiar voice echoed in her mind.
...
"Don't be fooled by how grand the 'Error' pathway sounds... it's just thieves and liars."
"Thieves and liars?"
"Yes, from stealing money at first to later stealing thoughts, memories, abilities, fate, and even personas... from deceiving people to deceiving the laws of nature... in essence, they are just thieves and liars!"
...
Thieves and liars?
Recalling Song Shu's description, Alice's eyes gradually filled with horror—if he could steal thoughts and memories, could he also... steal her unease?
Alice jumped up and rushed outside. The street at the door was empty and silent, with only Evelyn, who happened to be returning, greeting her: "Morning?"
"Morning." Alice nodded, retreated back into her room, and closed the door.
Reflecting on her experiences along the way, Alice reached a conclusion: even if that was really Amon, she should still be interesting in his eyes, and he had no intention of killing her yet.
As for how he found her... is that even a question? There is an Amon right next to the Little Sun in Silver City!
Alice seriously pondered what to do if it was indeed Amon and decided to deal with it when the time came.
She slept soundly through the morning and then went out for a pleasant lunch. Afterward, she bought an ice cream from her usual stall.
The vendor skillfully made an ice cream and handed it to Alice. She took a lick and frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" the vendor asked, noticing her frown.
Alice licked the ice cream again and, still unsure, replied, "It just doesn't taste the same as before..."
"What's different?" the vendor asked curiously.
"Maybe..." Alice hesitated, "maybe it's not as good as before?"
The vendor looked at Alice in surprise and said, "How could that be?"
Alice shook her head and said, "I don't know... maybe it's just an illusion?"
With that, Alice shrugged, took the ice cream, and left.
Behind her, the vendor made another ice cream, mimicked Alice's action, and took a lick.
He frowned, pressed his right eye socket, pulled out a monocle from somewhere, put it on his right eye, made another ice cream, and took another lick.
Finally, he put down the ice cream with a frown, packed up his stall, and left thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, back at home, Alice started a video call with the Fool she had forgotten.
The Fool, who had been unable to figure out what was wrong with the extraordinary characteristic, eagerly asked, "What's wrong with that extraordinary characteristic?"
Alice realized that Klein had misunderstood why she had given him the extraordinary characteristic. She rubbed her temples and replied, "There's nothing wrong with it."
"?" Klein looked at her with an expression that said, "You better give me an explanation."
"...Maybe the problem isn't with the extraordinary characteristic but with me," Alice pondered.
"What do you mean?" Klein frowned.
"Well..." Alice didn't speak but gestured for Klein to take out the extraordinary characteristic from the pile of miscellaneous items.
Klein, puzzled, took out the extraordinary characteristic and looked at Alice, about to say something, but then he saw her expression.
—It was one of obsession and longing.
"Alice?" Klein called out tentatively.
He saw Alice's gaze waver for a moment but ultimately not move away from the coin.
"Alice!" Klein couldn't help but shout.
"...I'm here." Alice responded.
She finally snapped out of it but wasn't fully awake. Her gaze still occasionally fell on the coin, eyes filled with an unquenchable obsession and desire.
Klein opened his mouth to remind her of something, but Alice had already closed her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and pressed her fingers hard on the table, saying with her remaining strength, "Quick, put it back."
Klein obediently put the coin back, frowning as he looked at Alice and asked, "What's going on with you?"
Alice opened her eyes, supported her forehead with one hand, and made a "shh" gesture with the other, saying, "Shh, let me think."
Klein fell silent.
Alice propped her head and began to recall.
At Charlie King's house, she had forced herself to look away as soon as she felt the attraction, not daring to recall or explore what exactly was attracting her.
Above the gray fog with Klein watching, she could finally relax and explore the secret behind that attraction.
In her memory, the initial "Lucky" extraordinary characteristic emitted a tempting glow.
In the "Calamity Priest" potion, she saw the rolling waves.
And in the "Winner"... in the "Winner" extraordinary characteristic, she finally saw clearly what had been attracting her all along.
It was a river.
Beautiful and dreamy, it branched out from an indistinct source, with dreamy ripples surging from that unseen origin, submerging each branch and turning them back into part of the main stream.
Then, the ripples continued forward, submerging the next section of branches, which again turned into a river with countless branches.
But what flowed in that river was not water, but the same dreamy ripples as before.
She longed to approach that river.
Alice opened her eyes, looked at Klein, and said in a distant voice, "I am longing for it, them, or something related to them."
Klein was slightly stunned.
Recalling the appearance of that river and her experiences, Alice finally made a judgment:
"Maybe, I am longing for destiny itself.
"Maybe, destiny itself is longing for me.
"Or maybe we are one and the same...
"Who knows?"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein