Mystery: Lucky One

Klein looked up at Alice, who was also looking at him with a rare serious expression.

Obviously, they all remembered the civilization that had disappeared before the First Age.

Klein opened his mouth to say something, but he saw Alice licking her lips and frowning.

"How on earth do they manage to blend sweet, salty, and sour flavors together without any sense of disharmony?"

...What was she thinking just now?
Klein began to hesitate about his judgment. While he was hesitating, Alice noticed his daze and thought for a moment before asking:

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"...Okay." He silently stuffed a piece of smoked beluga meat into his mouth, and watched Alice lower her head again and start eating.

Alas, fate...

Klein felt a little melancholy. He soon discovered that the topic of adventure had turned into meaningless gossip again, which made him even more melancholy.

——At least you could tell who spread that damn rumor!
Klein angrily stuffed a large piece of smoked whale meat into his mouth.

…It’s really delicious.

Until they finished lunch, Alice picked up the bottle of the strongest liquor and looked at it with hatred. No adventurer at any table talked about anything valuable. However, more and more people came to the "Lodar" bar.

Suddenly, the heavy door flew open and slammed against the wall.

A young man wearing a top hat and with obvious Loen ancestry rushed in and shouted nervously:
"Is there anyone from the Adventurers' Mutual Aid Association?"

Alice turned her head and looked at Klein.

Before Klein could react, three adventurers stood up in different corners. Alice turned her head to look at the one with the longest shadow and found that he was over two meters tall.

...Is there really anyone in this world who is three meters tall?

Alice looked down at herself and felt a moment of worry.

She turned to Klein and found that he was staring at the direction of the bar door. Alice thought about it and turned her head away as well.

A man wearing a linen shirt and a brown jacket soon appeared there. He was of medium build, with purple lips, and his brown eyes contained a strong malice that he tried hard to suppress but could not conceal.

Alice took a moment to recollect and recognized that this was Gilchias the "Slayer", the second mate of the "Undead King" Agaritu.

"9500 pounds!" she blurted out.

The five people at the center of the incident all looked at her. In the awkward silence, Alice thought for a moment, pointed at Gilchies, turned to Klein and asked:
"Can you beat him?"

Before Klein could decide how to respond, he saw Gilchias's gaze move between the two of them and finally land on Alice.

He looked at Alice cautiously, took a tentative half step back, and after confirming that Alice had no intention of stopping him, he turned around and left the "Lodar" bar calmly but quickly, if his legs hadn't been shaking.

It was not until he stumbled over the threshold and fell flat on his face, then got up without hesitation and continued walking that Alice murmured to herself:

"No wonder he can live to 9500 pounds..."

The three adventurers sat back in their original seats in silence. The atmosphere in the bar was quieter than ever before. Alice frowned slightly, looked at her almost finished lunch, jumped up holding the bottle of wine, and turned to Klein and said,

"let's go?"

Klein then stood up as well. He signaled Alice with his eyes to walk ahead. Alice looked at him suspiciously and took a step forward. Klein lagged behind her and walked out. It was not until their figures disappeared that the temperature in the "Lodar" bar began to rise again. There was a murmur of discussion:
"Who is that?" "I don't know. I just heard that she is supporting Gehrman Sparrow..." "Hush, she seems to be a demigod."

The "Lodar" bar fell silent again because of this sentence. After all, demigods - that is an existence at the level of the Four Kings.

After a long time, a voice asked with some doubt: "She, she doesn't look like an adult yet..."

At 7:30 in the evening, after Klein adjusted the extraordinary items on his body, they went to Pier 6 together.

After waiting for a while at Pier 6, Alice saw a huge sailboat slowly emerging in the distance.

Above the dark sea, the ship moved slowly towards the glowing lighthouse.

As the sailboat got closer, the flag became clearer, and the crimson but faint moonlight allowed the people in the port to see ten self-colored stars of the same size on it, and those stars surrounded a pair of cold eyes without eyelashes.

"Admiral of the Stars!"

"Future!"

The pirates and sailors guarding the ship started to stir, and Alice kicked the ground in displeasure in the atmosphere.

...What a boring cutscene CG.

Ten or so seconds later, the coastal defense guns on the mountains on both sides "nervously" adjusted themselves and aimed at the huge sailing ship that was not disguised in any way.

when!when!when!
The church in the distance rang with melodious and ethereal bells. It was exactly 8 o'clock and the "Future" stopped at this time.

It's finally over... Alice pouted and raised her head.

A lady in a black classical robe had appeared at the bow at some point. Her clothes were covered with different symbols and magical signs, making her look like a powerful wizard in ancient legends.

Under the crimson moonlight, the area in front of her suddenly lit up, and the bright starlight fell down and condensed into a long transparent bridge.

The long bridge continued to extend forward and landed on Pier 6.

This is still a bit of a feeling... Alice nodded with a hint of satisfaction, stepped onto the long transparent bridge, and skipped over in the slight surging of the sea, under the aiming of the coastal defense guns, and under the gazes of unknown sights.

Klein stood there and noticed that Alice was still holding the bottle of liquor that she hadn't finished drinking.

When did she take him out?

No matter what he was thinking, he finally stepped onto the long transparent bridge made of starlight without changing his expression and followed Alice's footsteps.

...So, such a big fuss, is it just to please Alice?

Klein's eyes inadvertently swept across the shore and realized that with such a commotion, everyone would know that they were on board the ship of Admiral of the Stars Cattleya today.

Although I don't intend to keep this identity any longer, but...

As Klein thought about it, he quickened his pace, approached Alice, and asked her in a low voice:
"Was this striking welcome your idea?"

"Of course not," Alice shook her head decisively, "I didn't... I didn't communicate with her alone."

“Then,” Klein, who had changed back into his suit, reached out and pressed his hat, “she acted on her own initiative.” (End of this chapter)