Mystery: Lucky One

Alice said as she walked into the room.

She didn't expect much from Cattleya's answer. For now, she was more interested in the furnishings of the room than where the long bridge came from.

The mushroom-shaped tables and chairs look like a bed woven out of vines... This room looks like a dreamy and beautiful fairy tale.

"Are you trying to please me?" she asked before Cattleya could give an answer, "Or... are you testing me for someone else?"

This speculation came from Cattleya's ostentatious behavior when they boarded the ship.

Alice had not forgotten that Cattleya and Bernadette knew each other. Long before she boarded the "Future", she had guessed whether she would meet Bernadette on the ship.

However, so far, Bernadette has not appeared.

Alice turned her head and smiled at Cattleya in the dim light.

“Well…I like this room.

"So, if you're trying to please me, or helping someone please me, you can make your request now."

After a pause, she suddenly asked, "Is there any midnight snack on the boat?"

“…Yes.” Cattleya seemed a little uncomfortable with the new topic.

"Great!" Alice clapped her hands, "Then I'm going to go to the restaurant and take a look!"

——She just wanted to find an excuse to go to the restaurant.

Cattleya was silent for a moment, then took Alice into the restaurant and asked:
"You need to...wait a minute!"

When she noticed Alice reaching out to a mushroom, Cattleya nervously stopped her:

"This mushroom tastes like beef."

"......?" Alice's eyes were full of confusion.

After meeting her eyes and staring at her for a few seconds, Cattleya walked to the counter where the food was placed and introduced them to her one by one:

"This potato also tastes like beef, this fish tastes like wheat, and these..."

"That's enough," deadpanned Alice, whose dream had come true, stopping her from introducing herself further, "good night."

She turned and walked away, looking like she wanted to escape from the restaurant. When she reached the door, she couldn't help but turned back and asked:

"Are you sure these foods are safe?"

"So far, no one has had any problems eating it." Cattleya replied.

This answer did not give Alice any sense of security. After a moment of silence, she decided to trust in her own spirituality.

…Spirituality says it’s okay.

Alice moved back little by little, picked up a potato that was said to taste like beef, and took a bite.

The taste and texture are all beef, but it is definitely potato...

Alice chewed it carefully, then turned to look at Cattleya and gave her own evaluation:

"fine.

"You can try ice cream with chili sauce. I think whoever came up with this idea is a true genius."

Cattleya's eyes were full of confusion. Alice didn't want to explain to her how many strange attempts humans in the 21st century had made on food. She walked away with the potato in her arms.

Behind her, Cattleya frowned and thought for a moment, then served herself some ice cream, found some chili sauce and poured it on top.

After preparing herself for several minutes, she tentatively scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

A few seconds later, she dumped the ice cream into the trash can with a blank expression. ...Who came up with this idea?

The next morning, when Klein saw Alice, she was staring at the fish on the plate.

"What are you thinking about?" Klein curiously chose a similar fish and sat opposite Alice.

"You'll understand once you try it," Alice suggested earnestly.

Her attitude made Klein afraid to try. He looked at the fish on the plate warily, raised his head and asked Alice:
"what happened?"

"Try it," Alice insisted.

Klein put down his knife and fork.

After Alice stared at him for a few seconds, Klein silently picked up his knife and fork.

Never mind. She won't really hurt me anyway. At most, it just tastes a little weird... Well, it actually tastes pretty good, but, but...

"What kind of fish is this? This is the first time I've eaten... fish with this kind of taste." Klein raised his head and asked.

Alice was silent for a moment, then looked at him and said firmly:
"Look at you, you're already hallucinating!
"This is obviously a potato, how can it be fish!"

——This is a fish that tastes like potatoes.

After a few seconds of silence, Klein asked tentatively:

"This fish was bred by Frank Lee?"

Alice nodded heavily, then pointed to the food counter that was split in half and introduced:
"Cattleya specially separated the food cultivated by Frank Lee from the normal food."

"...Is she sure the food is safe?" Klein hesitantly asked the same question as Alice.

"No one has been killed by it so far." Alice gave a similar but very different answer.

Klein swallowed hard and looked down at the fish on the plate, struggling.

“Come on, don’t waste food!” Alice reached out and patted Klein on the shoulder. Then, in his confused eyes, she forked the fish on the plate into his plate and took the plate away.

...?
Did she just...give me the leftovers?

Klein looked at the two fish on the plate and fell into deep thought. After a while, he picked up the knife and fork again.

Having solved her biggest problem, Alice walked onto the deck. The sea breeze blew across her face. She squinted comfortably, stood on tiptoe, placed her right palm flat on her forehead, squinted her eyes and looked into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, two whaling ships appeared ahead. As soon as they noticed the star and eye flag flying on the "Future", they immediately reacted nervously.

They quickly adjusted their positions, aiming their sides towards this side, with their cannons ready to fire.

At the same time, the whaling guns that used explosives to fire javelins and harpoons also turned in the same direction. The tall, blond fishermen from the Gargas Islands were either holding forks or guns, or standing or squatting, extremely alert.

If I suddenly appeared on their ship now...

A dangerous idea came into Alice's mind, but she gave up after just a moment's thought.

After all, Klein said he didn't want to cause any trouble.

Alice sighed, feeling bored, rolled her eyes, and slipped into the captain's room.

As expected, Cattleya was inside, looking out through the window. She agreed to let Alice in, and while she was surprised that Alice would actually knock on the door, she asked:
"what happened?"

Alice said nothing, she stood beside her and watched with her.

After more than ten seconds, Cattleya finally couldn't help it and turned around and asked:

"What are you doing?" (End of this chapter)