บท 6: Chapter 6: The Secret’s Out
Chapter 6: The Secret's Out
Alice couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth at this melodramatic statement. Considering Old Neil was watching, and to avoid drawing his attention, she quickly skimmed over Emperor Roselle's adolescent musings, his legendary exploits, and various laments, searching for useful content.
"January 3rd, the choices I made back then were too hasty. Looking back now, whether it be 'Apprentice,' 'Fortune Teller,' or 'Thief,' all would have been better choices. Alas, there's no turning back."
Alice silently noted these three paths in her heart, suppressing the urge to ponder why they might be better.
"January 4th, why are my children so foolish? I've said it a thousand times, don't be fooled by those charlatans. No, perhaps the charlatans are deceived themselves. The essence of the potions is not in mastering them, but in digesting them! It's not about unearthing, but about embodying! And the name of the potion is not just a core symbol, but a concrete image, and even more so, the 'key' to digestion!"
Digestion and embodiment, the name of the potion is the key… Alice briefly considered her own sequence name, but with Old Neil present, she quickly reined in her thoughts and returned the diary to him.
"Is this all we have?"
"Mystical events are rare in themselves," Old Neil shook his head, "Your case has been the most extraordinary event in Tingen City in recent years."
Alice chose to remain silent.
"What were we discussing? Oh right, I remember you should have already learned meditation and clairvoyance?" Old Neil inquired.
Alice nodded, then shook her head: "A monster's eyes often see more than clairvoyance."
Old Neil nodded in understanding, then said to her, "I think, as a monster, you should be fully aware of the importance of curbing your curiosity."
Alice nodded, though she didn't take it seriously—after all, without personal experience, it's hard for others' words to convey the true horror. In fact, hearing too much had caused the young Alice to develop a bit of a rebellious streak.
Of course, Alice wasn't ignorant of restraint; her principle was that as long as her spirit didn't warn her, she could be carefree…
"I'll start by teaching you how to divine…" Old Neil sighed deeply, "You were supposed to learn with Klein. Why did Dunn separate you two?"
"Perhaps the captain thought it wasn't a good idea to learn with eyes closed." Alice also feigned a sigh.
"What do you mean?" Old Neil looked puzzled.
"When Klein approached me, my spirituality frantically warned me not to look at him…" Recalling the morning's frantic screams of her spirit, Alice rubbed her brow.
This was clearly beyond Old Neil's expectations—after all, his Seer's eyes hadn't seen anything. But considering that a Seer's gaze seeks knowledge, while a monster's eyes see things mostly related to fate due to the influence of the spirituality, he found it understandable.
After all, Klein was also a survivor of an event that should have left no survivors. It was unclear if he had truly escaped that incident—judging by Alice's reaction, it was likely he hadn't.
…
After leaving the Nighthawk headquarters, Alice returned to her bedroom. Mimicking the girl from her memory, she assumed a prayerful posture and chanted in ancient Hermes language: O Fool that does not belong to this era,
You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog,
The king of yellow and black who wields good luck.
Mr. Fool was startled.
He looked towards the deep red stars from where the voice emanated and saw Miss Alice praying under the holy emblem of the goddess of night.
Of course—Mr. Fool didn't realize there was anything wrong with this act. He was startled mainly because Miss Alice, who had just asked him who the Fool was during lunch, recited a prayer that even he didn't know could summon him!
"Could there be another Fool?" Mr. Fool pondered as he pulled the casually praying Alice up.
A deep crimson light surged like a tide, and Alice calmly let it engulf her. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a grand temple above the gray fog.
Alice was about to look towards the main seat, but the screaming of her spirit made her hesitate. She closed her eyes and turned her head, "Klein?"
"?"
Mr. Fool was now very afraid. He had no idea how this lucky lady knew the prayer, nor how she connected him with the Fool. But his bewildered silence confirmed Alice's guess.
"So, you are Zhou Mingrui, and also the Fool."
This soft, almost declarative statement calmed Klein down—if he was going to be exposed, at least it was to a fellow townsman and colleague like Alice, who might even help him keep the secret, better than being discovered by a stranger…
…
After temporarily placating Alice with a promise of an explanation later and having her draw the Wheel of Fortune card from the tarot deck, Mr. Fool brought up the Hanged Man and Justice.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool—oh, who is this?"
Miss Justice, or rather, Audrey, was about to greet Mr. Fool and the Hanged Man when she suddenly noticed a girl sitting beside her, leaning back in her chair with her eyes tightly closed.
"This is Miss Destiny," Klein introduced to Justice and the Hanged Man, then looking at Alice with her eyes closed, he realized something, "Miss Destiny… um, you can try to materialize a pair of glasses in front of you."
So Alice tried to materialize a pair of glasses as Klein suggested. The frantic screams of her spirit stopped, and she opened her eyes for the first time to look at Klein—then realized she couldn't see his face clearly.
Alice fell silent for a moment, then looked at Justice and the Hanged Man, who had stood up, and decided to follow suit.
"These two are Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man."
After Klein finished the introductions, Miss Justice cheerfully began to greet, "Good afternoon, Miss Destiny~"
Alice blinked and responded in a similar tone, "Good afternoon, Miss Justice~"
After briefly making eye contact, they turned in unison towards the Hanged Man and in chorus said, "Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man~"
Young, female, seemingly from a family where she doesn't need to worry about living, but probably not nobility…
Alger Wilson, observing Alice, was startled by the "good afternoon" duet of the two girls, withdrew his gaze, and returned the greeting.
Klein: How could you trick me.jpg
(End of Chapter)
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