Mystery: Lucky One

Klein couldn't help but glance at Alice.

If she hadn't known the sequence of the "audience" pathway, a writer, her words would have been complete nonsense, just like every word Alice had said before.

He shook his head, looked into Alice's eyes, and said something that seemed a little incoherent:
"The sedge daisy symbolizes happiness."

Alice was slightly startled, realizing that this was an answer to her earlier question.

This is a kind of chrysanthemum that comes in many colors, including yellow and white. The most common variety is golden yellow. As Klein said, this flower symbolizes happiness.

But this is not a flower that is commonly used when sweeping graves - although in theory chrysanthemums are indeed very suitable for sweeping graves.

However, Alice remembered this flower. She accompanied Klein to meet Benson and Melissa before leaving Tingen City, and Klein gave them this flower.

Before she could ask any questions, Klein changed the subject: "Alice, besides... uh, do you want any other reward?"

Alice shook her head.

She didn't have anything she desperately needed, or rather, there was nothing she desperately needed but couldn't get.

After all, she had just experienced something as outrageous as being given extraordinary characteristics.

Alice frowned and thought hard for a while, then suddenly came up with a good idea:
"By the way...can you help me sell something?"

“What?” Klein was stunned.

Alice shook her head and explained, "Can you help me sell the equipment that the demigod who wants to kill you exploded?"

Explosive...explosive equipment? Klein was stunned for a moment before he realized that this should refer to Beyonder characteristics.

She's really amazing... Klein looked at Alice with a slight headache, shook his head, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

——Compared to the 10,000 gold coins that Renette Tinicole asked for, the price Alice asked for was really too light.

This is obviously a special care for him, a special preference...Speaking of which, can Alice represent fate?
Klein suddenly shuddered.

——If Alice can represent fate to some extent, then, as the one favored by fate, what does he need to pay?

Even if she couldn't... Even if she couldn't, according to what Alice said, she seemed to be placing a bet...

Although she herself may not really have any ideas, but in terms of how successful she is...what kind of benefits does the fate that guides her to place a bet hope for her to get?
For no reason, Klein thought of Alice's call of "Mom".

He felt unwell all over, and looked at Alice with a horrified look. In Alice's puzzled gaze...he responded to her words:
"it is good."

Alice blinked blankly and was about to ask something before Klein took away her authority and she returned to the real world.

Above the gray fog, Klein looked at the place where Alice's figure disappeared. After being silent for more than ten seconds, he sighed helplessly.

"If this is the request, it would be the most ideal outcome..." He whispered to himself, "After all, I can't really ignore her... If things really come to that, I will definitely agree... Uh, is this also part of fate's plan?"

The usual silence was maintained above the gray fog, and no one answered him. He could only sigh, and after sending some money to Alice, he returned to the real world.

Taking the money stored with the Great Fool, Alice reentered the police station and asked the three police officers who were still playing cards:

"Um... can you help me transfer the overdue rent to the landlord?"

The three policemen looked at each other, as if it was the first time they saw someone take the initiative to return the money.

Alice stared at them and thought for a few seconds, then asked hesitantly:

"Do you need any money for running errands?"

The policeman who spoke to her the most took a breath.

Although they themselves were not Beyonders, as frontline police officers in Backlund, they were somewhat familiar with Beyonders and Beyonders—they were a group of people who could create "gas explosion"-level cases on their own.

In other words, it was dangerous, so dangerous that they suspected Alice could sweep the police station by herself as long as she didn't care about the consequences.

It sounds outrageous that such a person would run away just to avoid paying the rent, but since the church has acknowledged it, they can't say anything and can only find a way to perfunctorily deal with the landlord.

As a result, now that the landlord has rented out the house without complaining, this lady said...she wants to pay back the money?!
Even have to pay them for running errands?

They looked at each other, and finally Brooks, who had spoken the most to Alice, said:

"What are you talking about? This is our duty, our responsibility - just leave the money here."

"Ah," Alice suddenly realized. She nodded and thanked them sincerely. "Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome," Brooks replied with a polite smile.

So Alice left the overdue rent, bought an ice cream on the street, and found the subway station to go to Pritz Harbor.

The sack-style school uniforms she had left behind had become a small hit in Backlund. The loose and lightweight style, rough fabric, and dull gray color had become the favorite clothing for people doing manual labor. Alice saw that many people who pulled horse-drawn carriages and delivered packages liked to wear them.

When she got off the subway and arrived at Pritz Harbor, she was even more silent, because this kind of uniform was not uncommon on the cargo workers at the docks. In fact, Alice saw that this kind of school uniform even had some slightly slim-fitting styles...

Following Intis, Backlund's clothing moved towards modernization from another direction. It was not mainly about appearance, but more about ease and comfort. Alice had already seen similar hooded sweatshirts on the street.

"It really feels like I'm back home..." Alice boarded the ship to Enmat Port with mixed feelings.

This was the nearest port to Tingen City. She could have taken a steam train to Tingen City, but considering that she had come to Backlund by ship, she finally chose to return by ship.

She got off the boat at nightfall. There were carriages available at that time, but the flower shop was closed. Alice did not choose to go to the cemetery, but found a hotel nearby to stay.

The next morning, Alice got up from bed, checked out, took a carriage to Tingen City, and entered a flower shop.

"Welcome," a lady put down a pot of flowers and looked at her with a smile, "Is there anything you need?"

Alice looked around the flower shop, observed the varieties of flowers, and then said:
"I need a bunch of Seville daisies... No, wait."

Her eyes swept across the golden daisy and she noticed the daffodils next to them.

"Can daffodils and daisies be used for flower arrangements?" Alice asked.

This was a sudden thought. One reason was that she knew Klein had lived on Daffodil Street before, and the other was the special nature of this flower. Daffodils bloomed in early spring, symbolizing new life and hope. In a sense, it was actually very appropriate. After all, the people in these two graves had crawled out...

Alice kept her facial expression calm, and the woman who seemed to be the owner readily agreed to her words:
"Of course...what are you going to do?"

'That's great,' Alice laughed. 'I'll have two handfuls—I'm going to visit the graves.'

"Ah..." The shop owner was stunned by the answer. "It seems that you have good news to bring... Whose grave are you going to sweep?"

While chatting with Alice, she took out a pair of scissors and other tools to prepare the flower arrangement.

"Mostly my own," Alice answered honestly.

The shop owner paused for a moment, glanced at Alice subconsciously, and finally laughed:
"Haha, you, you really love to joke..."

She subconsciously glanced at the sun outside the window. Unfortunately, the sun was covered by dark clouds at this time. She just exhaled, and instantly took it back, and the movements of her hands became much faster.

Alice quickly got the two bouquets of flowers she needed.

White daffodils are placed in a higher position, and their slender stems and elegant flower forms serve as linear elements of the bouquet, adding a sense of space.

The golden yellow Seville chrysanthemum is placed in the lower middle part of the bouquet. The plump flower heads and dense petals make the bouquet look fuller, more three-dimensional and full of layers.

Green leaves or twigs serve as a backdrop for the bouquet, adding a natural feel and balancing the colors, making the overall look more harmonious.

Alice took the bouquet from the silent and quick flower arrangement owner, held one in each hand, and poked her head out from the middle and said:
"Thank you... um, can you hold it for me? I can't pay like this."

Her bright smile diluted many of the shadows in the shop owner's heart, so the shop owner subconsciously looked out the window again, and the sun that had been blocked just now had now appeared.

So the shop owner was relieved, took the bouquet with a smile and said, "Okay."

"How much?" Alice asked, blinking.

"Freshly made bouquets will be more expensive, costing you 8 pounds each..." the shopkeeper replied.

"Hiss," Alice took a breath, "So expensive..."

She shook her head, took out banknotes and coins from her pocket, counted out 16 pounds and handed them over, muttering:
"Luckily I asked for a little more money... Oh, if only I could really get the paper money."

The owner's expression hesitated again. She took the money hesitantly, returned the bouquet to Alice, and then looked at the sun outside the window.

Fortunately, it was still too... The warm sunshine made her feel a little relieved. However, after Alice stepped out of the flower shop, the dark clouds seemed to sense something and covered the sunshine again.

Just at this moment, an unknown wind blew up and blew into the room. The owner shuddered subconsciously. She looked in the direction where Alice left and found that she had disappeared into the crowd without her knowing.

So fast……?
The shop owner shuddered with fear, and hurriedly moved the flowers that had been moved to the door of the shop back, closed the door, and hurried towards the church.

Alice didn't know what the shop owner did behind her. She mixed into the crowd with two bouquets of flowers, found a lucky coachman, and took a carriage to Raphael's Cemetery.

Alice stood in silence for two seconds at the cemetery gate, then decided to give up on looking for her own grave. She came to the door of the gravekeeper's hut, knocked on it with difficulty with her elbow, and then shouted:
"Is anyone here?"

An old man came out. Alice saw his gray hair and wrinkled skin. He was wearing a black robe and asked her in a hoarse voice:

"whats the matter?"

"I want to find the graves of Alice Kingsley and Clayne Moretti," she said.

The old man glanced at her. It seemed that this was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. He said to Alice in a voice that sounded quite old:

"Well... please wait a moment."

The old man then returned to the hut and pushed the door open after a while. Alice saw that he was holding a dim lantern in his right hand and a booklet in the other, which seemed to be a route map.

"Follow me." The old man said to her.

Alice followed immediately, and as she walked, she asked curiously from behind:
"Isn't it daytime now? Why do you carry a lantern?"

The old man led the way and responded:

“This is for peace of mind.

"After working in a cemetery for a long time, you will always encounter some strange things... Are you here to sweep the graves?"

"Yes." Alice nodded, then remembered that the old man couldn't see.

As they walked, the old man continued, "Look at the flowers you prepared... Are the people in the tomb important to you?"

Alice was stunned for a moment, and looked down at the flowers in her hand blankly, and an idea popped into her mind.

...So, the flowers I prepared are expensive = I have a good relationship with the people in the tomb?

This was indeed a sound deduction. Alice choked and decided to confirm the gravekeeper's speculation:

"Yes...very important. One is my former colleague and now a very good friend, and the other is myself."

The gravekeeper paused and looked back at her.

She was alive, with smiling eyes, a rosy face, and full of life. The gravekeeper just glanced at her, then looked at the sun in the sky, and continued walking.

"It's better not to play such jokes in the cemetery," the gravekeeper warned unhappily.

Alice opened her mouth, wanting to say that this was not a joke, but she thought for a moment and closed it again - it sounded strange.

Led by the old man, they walked for a while and finally came to a row of graves.

"This should be it..." The old man walked in along the road, stopped in front of two tombs, and got closer to look at the names and photos on the tombs.

“Klein Moretti… Yes, that’s it,” the old man nodded and continued forward to the next grave. “Alice Kingsley…”

He moved closer and saw the name on the tombstone and the black-and-white photo above the name with his cloudy eyes. Then, he paused for a moment and turned around to look at Alice.

——The only difference between this vivid face of a young girl and the black and white photo on the tombstone is the difference between black and white and color, and between flat and three-dimensional. (End of this chapter)