Mystery: Lucky One

“Cough, cough, cough!” The wine that the boss drank and the words that Klein was about to utter were stuck in his throat. Amidst the violent coughing, the boss’ face turned red.

What should a human being do? She should go up and pat the boss on the back. But Alice looked down at the counter between her and the boss, and finally decided to do something else.

After seeing the boss stop coughing and "spit" the wine back into the bottle, Klein finally realized what had happened. He stared at Alice, who responded with confusion:
“Why are you looking at me like that?
"I just thought that sharing mistresses was a custom only in Intis..."

"I think," Klein tried to organize his words, "this is just a metaphor. Men in Feysac cannot live without alcohol. Do you understand?"

"Oh~" Alice nodded in sudden realization and turned to the boss, "You like drinking as much as you like your mistress? Um, do you like your mistress very much?"

"..." Klein didn't want to talk to her. He looked at his boss and said, "You don't have to pay attention to her."

It seemed a bit strange to discuss the issue of mistresses with a girl who looked like she was not yet an adult, even though it was rumored that this girl was supporting the crazy adventurer German Sparrow.

The boss finally accepted Klein's suggestion and did not answer Alice's question. Instead, he asked Gehrman Sparrow:
"Who introduced you here?"

At any rate, after this episode, he looked like he wasn't going to touch his drink for the time being.

“Ms. Gertmuth,” Klein replied.

The boss exhaled, staggered to his feet, and looked clumsy.

The smell of alcohol permeated the air. Alice frowned and glanced maliciously at the brown-green wine bottle that was still on the table.

So when the boss finished instructing the clerk and led them away, Alice fell behind, picked up the bottle and poured a sip into her mouth.

"Pah, pah, pah!" She spat out the wine and put the bottle heavily on the counter.

The noise successfully startled the boss and Klein and made them turn their heads back, but Alice didn't pay attention to it. After vomiting twice, she realized that this would not eliminate the unique spicy taste of high-concentration alcohol. After hesitating for a moment between restarting and drinking water, she put on Amon's monocle.

Very useful.

Klein, who understood everything, had the urge to put his hand on his forehead. He didn't dare to look at his boss's eyes. He just shouted at Alice expressionlessly:
"come over."

Alice paused. She glanced at Klein's expression cautiously and whispered:
"I just wonder why they like to drink so much..."

It smells bad after all.

Klein turned his head to look at his boss. After staring at him for a few seconds, the boss seemed to have received some wrong instructions, turned around and continued to stagger forward.

...You can't argue with a drunk person.

Klein silently looked away and looked at Alice.

…Forget it. You can’t argue with a child.

He sighed helplessly, turned around and followed his boss.

Alice blinked twice, thinking that this was a sign that Klein didn't want to bother with her, and she trotted after him.

They followed the boss all the way to a small room on the second floor of the warehouse at the back, and then saw the boss squatting down, swaying.

"Let me look for it, let me look for it..." he muttered.

This scene made Klein have the same doubts as Alice for a moment - is it really that delicious?
Maybe I should have tasted it just now... Damn, I won’t be infected by Alice, right?
He glanced at Alice, who had been standing in a very awkward position, and she stood up straight immediately. The drunken boss finally found a crystal ball from the pile of sundries. He rubbed the crystal ball with both hands, and Alice heard a difficult and awkward ancient Hermes language.

The room gradually became dim, and all the dark corners suddenly became dark, seeming to emit a strange attraction.

The crystal ball became brighter in this atmosphere, and the figure of a woman in a black classical robe emerged.

She has an oval face, very fair skin, and dark eyes with a slightly purple hue, full of mystery.

Ms. Hermit…?
Alice tilted her head and said nothing. Klein took a step forward and took the crystal ball from his boss.

Cattleya, who was standing opposite the crystal ball, also saw Gehrman Sparrow's appearance clearly. She fixed her eyes slightly and asked hesitantly:

"Gehrman Sparrow?"

She had already decided not to explore the true identity of "The World". So Cattleya was a little surprised when she saw Gehrman Sparrow, but she quickly remembered a rumor that seemed too bizarre in this situation.

I heard that the crazy adventurer Gehrman Sparrow was kept by an underage girl. Could it be... ?
Alice, who had just driven the shop owner away, appeared beside Klein at this moment, completely answering Cattleya's doubts.

"Ms. Hermit!" she called out gleefully.

This title suddenly made Klein realize something. In order to prevent Alice from suddenly calling out "Mr. Fool" in front of others one day, he turned his head and reminded her:
“Call by name.

"To prevent being heard."

"Ms. Cattleya." Alice changed her words obediently.

She actually understood Klein's hint, but Klein's distrust made Alice very angry, and she decided to do something.

After staring at Cattleya for a few seconds, she reached out and pushed the monocle on her right eye. Before she could say anything, Klein patted her head hard.

The plan to pretend to be Amon and greet him was forced to end. Alice angrily took off her monocle and suddenly asked Klein as if she remembered something:
"The monocle I asked you to make for me before..."

“I’ll give it to you when I get back.” Klein said calmly.

Alice then fell silent, and Klein asked Cattleya:
"When do we leave?"

Their relationship is very good... much better than I thought. At least, Miss Fate seems to be really obedient...

Cattleya felt a little relieved, and she answered Klein's question:
"Tonight at eight o'clock, Pier 6."

“Okay.” Klein nodded slightly, then realized that he couldn’t lift his head.

——Alice was standing on tiptoe and reaching out to push his head down.

The light in the crystal ball dimmed quickly after Klein finished speaking, and Cattleya disappeared in an instant.

It was obvious that even the "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya did not want to get involved in this farce. She even gave up asking about the origin of the bizarre rumor.

But looking at it this way, some people think it is normal for Miss Destiny to keep Gehrman Sparrow as her mistress...

On the "Future", in the captain's room, Cattleya looked at the crystal ball and thought slightly absentmindedly. (End of this chapter)