Mystery: Lucky One

Edwina knew that Alice was talking nonsense; her expression, her movements, and her demeanor all showed that.

But she was serious:
"However, some people are special. They will receive admission letters from magic schools at the age of eleven, and some will become magical girls at the age of twelve...

"If you don't have any of these, you'll have to wait until you're eighteen and go to Kassel College or Miskatonic University based on your talents..." Note ①

Meeting Alice's serious eyes, Edwina deeply regretted the question she had just asked - she had to start thinking about which of Alice's words were true and which were false.

She decided to talk to Alice about another matter first:

"Alice, if you get bored staying on the Golden Dream, you can always leave - okay?"

Alice paused for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Did Hermann ask you to say that to me?"

"Yes," Edwina nodded frankly, "He said that his intention was not to restrict your freedom. If you really don't like it, you can leave."

Alice knew what Klein meant—the incident of the Saint-Fran had just happened not long ago, and Klein was afraid that a second Saint-Fran would appear.

In fact, even if the same thing happens, the Golden Dream will not become the next Saint-François. There are not so many ordinary people as tourists on it...

Alice suppressed the thought as it came to her mind. She knew that she must not say such words because humans did not like to hear her make such an analogy—at least Klein did not like to hear it.

However, Alice still wants to say something for herself: "Even if I do nothing, the sea is not calm..."

Her voice gradually became smaller and finally disappeared, and she suddenly realized that she seemed unable to keep such a secret at all.

Ah this.

Alice lowered her head silently and quickly ended the topic: "I know."

After getting the answer, Edwina let her go without saying anything, and Alice immediately ran off to harass the idle crew members.

Next, in the time before nightfall, Edwina was thinking hard.

Faced with this problem that could not be answered by divination, Edwina came up with a solution before the bonfire party.

She reported Alice's information about the civilization before the First Epoch truthfully, just like reporting the progress of her contact with Hermann.

At the bonfire party at night, Alice sighed in disappointment when she did not see Edwina's sad expression as she had hoped.

This was her last happy day. After finishing the mysticism class the next morning, Alice thought that this journey was too dull, so Edwina could teach the crew so peacefully.

Alice wanted to do something very much, but she couldn't go back on her word immediately after she had just agreed to something. Moreover, even if she wanted to break the contract, it should be someone else who broke it first, so that she could do things with a legitimate reason...

Time passed slowly during Alice's painful wait. This Sunday, the "Golden Dream" returned to Bayam.

To Alice's surprise, when they returned to land, the first thing the pirates did was not to go to the Red Theater to have some fun - well, that might have been because of Edwina.

It wasn't for gambling either - oh, this might also be because of Edwina. Anyway, at Alice's request, Danitz brought Alice to a Beyonder gathering.

This was different from the loose gathering last time. It was more like a "Brave Bar" gathering, but the difference was that the clothes that concealed one's appearance were already there.

Theoretically, it was not necessary to cover it, but one of the requirements Danitz agreed to was that Alice had to cover herself completely from face to body. The original words were:

"Taking a girl of your age out in Bayam - I'll be the headline in Bayam the next day!"

Alice wanted to say that she had a way to make others not notice her, but she suddenly remembered that she had appeared with Klein in Gehrman Sparrow's guise, and corrected Danitz's words:
“Well…don’t worry, you won’t become famous because of this.

"Everyone will just think that you stole German Sparrow's lover, or kidnapped his family or something..."

Anyway, after this conversation ended, at Danitz's strong request, Alice used a large wizard robe and mask to cover her face and the strange clothes, and appeared in the Beyonder gathering.

The party started at nine o'clock in the evening. As the time got closer, more people came in. Just as Alice was sitting in her seat, boredly playing the game of wrapping her hands with her sleeves and then suddenly stretching them out, her spirituality was suddenly touched again.

...Why do I feel like my spirituality is being touched in inexplicable ways every day recently?

Alice complained in her heart as she put her hands back into her sleeves and raised her head.

By chance, someone pushed the door open. The person was wearing the same black robe. Alice even suspected that they had just bought it in the same store.

The mysterious man was holding a book with an ocean blue cover in his arms. There were faint silver lines on the edges, but the specific details could not be seen due to the dim environment and distance.

It was this book that touched Alice's soul.

The mysterious man sat down at the back opposite Alice, with most of his body blocked by the person in front of him. Alice only saw the mysterious man sitting in the seat for more than ten seconds, then he put the book on his knees and slowly opened it.

Can you really see the words clearly in this light?

Alice glanced suspiciously at the dim light around her, then turned her gaze back to the opposite side. The mysterious man had closed the book, and with the hood and mask blocking his view, Alice could not see his face.

While flipping through the book, the mysterious man's hand stretched out from his sleeve, but Alice couldn't make out anything except a pair of black gloves.

Alice had no choice but to turn her gaze back to the book. The ocean blue cover was so beautiful that the more Alice looked at it, the more she found it fascinating and she was unconsciously drawn to it.

The color so close to the sea reminded Alice subconsciously of the "delicious deep-sea fish" she had eaten on the boat a few days ago, and also of the book "The Life and Lies of Russell Gustav" that she had taken a few bites of.

Maybe, maybe the bad taste is the problem of that book, like this book, this book tastes delicious at first glance...

Alice licked her lips subconsciously, and a familiar yet unfamiliar desire gradually surged in her heart.

At this moment, the second hand of the clock completed the last tick, and nine o'clock officially arrived. The initiator sitting in the middle of the party coughed lightly and announced slowly in a hoarse voice:
"Let's get started." (End of this chapter)