Chương 10: Chapter 10: The “Monster” of the Underground Market
Chapter 10: The "Monster" of the Underground Market
Dunn didn't say much, just quietly acknowledged and then gestured for Alice to leave.
When Alice came out, Leonard was still waiting for her—judging by his slightly excited expression, he probably just wanted to ask about her dream.
Sure enough, as soon as she appeared, Leonard beckoned her over with a smile.
Alice gave him a somewhat speechless look and asked, "Do you want to ask about my dream?"
"Yeah, tell me about it. It's my first time hearing about such a thing…" Leonard admitted cheerfully.
"You…" Alice sized him up and down, and after he unconsciously straightened up, she lowered her voice to advise him, "Your figure isn't suited for wearing a dress."
"?" Leonard's eyes widened.
"I'm serious," Alice affirmed solemnly.
"…I don't want to try it on myself!" Leonard protested in a hushed but agitated tone.
"I understand, you have a friend who wants to try," Alice quickly took over the conversation.
"?" Leonard stared at Alice, and after a moment, Alice couldn't help but lean on the counter, laughing so hard that Leonard worried she might fall over.
—Even a fool would realize she was just joking.
"Alright, but there's really nothing much to say… Triss in my dream was just a very beautiful woman, that's all," Alice explained, resigned, after she had her laugh.
Leonard looked somewhat disappointed: "That's it?"
"What else did you expect?" Alice retorted.
"Because you mentioned transforming, I thought…" Leonard shook his head, changing the subject, "Are you interested in joining me for a walk in the underground market tonight?"
"?" Alice blinked, lifted her head, and once again scrutinized him from top to bottom as if appraising goods.
"…What exactly are you looking at?" Leonard couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hmm… you're inviting me on a date… ow!" Alice's eyes widened as she got a knock on the head.
"I'm not a pervert," Leonard said through gritted teeth, "you're not even of age yet… and I also invited Klein!"
"Oh∽" Alice nodded with some understanding, concluding, "The one you really want to invite is Klein."
Thus, their already fragile friendship declared another rupture, and Leonard reached out to give Alice a good knock—only for her to dodge, having been on guard.
"Come on, I was joking. What I mean is, did you forget that I can't even open my eyes to see Klein?" Alice explained while dodging.
Leonard stopped his action, obviously realizing this oversight, and frowned in hesitation: "I was just thinking, since I'm taking you to see the underground market anyway, why not take both of you at once, but I didn't consider…"
"Speaking of which, did you know?" Leonard suddenly remembered something, frowning as he scrutinized Alice, "There's a 'monster' in the underground market, born half a monster, but unfortunately, none of the three major churches have the corresponding potion."
"So, you mean the potion formula wasn't found on that unlucky courier?" Alice asked thoughtfully.
"Courier?" Leonard looked puzzled by the made-up word.
"Ah, sorry, I misspoke—what I meant was that unlucky lucky one," Alice corrected herself for her slip of the tongue.
"That's the strangest part," Leonard said, looking at Alice with a meaning she couldn't understand, "That lucky one only left behind the sequence name and characteristics, no other information, as if…"
"As if, he appeared there that day just to deliver to me the extraordinary characteristics of a lucky one," Alice took over the conversation.
Leonard frowned at Alice, and after a calm exchange of looks, he spoke first: "Did you have a guess already?"
"A lucky one dying unluckily in a fall, that's not normal, right?" Alice rolled her eyes, "But what's the use of my guess? I've already accepted the gift; I have no choice."
"Then why did you initially want to…" Leonard stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that the girl in front of him had no earlier memories, "Never mind, shall I take you tomorrow night?"
Alice readily agreed.
…
The next day, Klein, returning from the market, found Alice.
"I think I know what would happen if you saw me," Klein started with this statement.
"You saw the monster in the underground market?" Alice realized something, recalling what Leonard had said.
"You know? Right, Leonard must have told you too," Klein also thought.
"So, what happened when he saw you?" Alice asked curiously—judging by Klein's demeanor, that unlucky fellow must still be alive?
"He screamed, and then blood flowed from his eyes…" Klein recalled.
"That's it?" Alice was surprised—that was much lighter than she expected; she thought the unlucky guy would at least go blind.
"Hm?" Klein was surprised.
"Right, after all, he's not a real extraordinary being, maybe his spirituality isn't high enough…" Alice mused to herself.
"You mean, this consequence isn't severe?" Klein's realization prompted him to ask.
"I said it from the start, if seen, I might die," Alice answered with a smile.
"But, what kind of thing would…" cause death upon sight? "Have you heard a saying?" Alice asked softly, "One must not look directly at a god."
"What?" Klein looked at Alice in astonishment, he wouldn't think Alice was hinting at him pretending to be an evil god—after all, he's not really an evil god, just looking wouldn't do anything, right? "I just thought of it, after all, you are…" Alice paused, ultimately not saying it out loud, "You see, how coincidental fate is."
Klein fell silent in thought, clearly realizing what Alice left unsaid—you see, it's such a coincidence that you're pretending to be an evil god.
But Klein thought of much more than Alice did—his greatest peculiarity lay in that foggy space. If the monster's eyes could see something extraordinary, it must be related to that space… So, where does that space come from? However, Alice's light words interrupted his train of thought: "Did you know? I once heard a saying."
"What saying?" he asked, playing along.
"Countless coincidences of fate converge into the books written by authors."
Alice belonged to the type who knew nothing but guessed everything correctly—a part was high inspiration, another part was good luck, and another part was… she just didn't like to think, not that she really had no brain (…)
(End of Chapter)
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