Mystery: Lucky One

At this moment, Alice realized that she had truly experienced death in Tingen City.

There are three deaths in a person's life.

The first is biological death, which occurs when the individual's heart and breathing stop and physiological functions cease.

The second is social death, which is not what we often call "social death", but refers to the moment when the individual's social identity ends after the funeral.

The third is death at the level of memory, which is also the most profound one. When the last person who remembers the individual also forgets the individual or disappears from this world, all traces left by the individual in this world will disappear.

On the surface, she experienced the first kind of death, but in fact, she experienced the second kind of death - the little girl in Tingen City had already died completely.

At this moment, she is Miss Destiny, she is an angel, she is the favored one of the goddess of night, but she is not the original Alice Kingsley.

——She was a deity, and Alice Kingsley at the time was an ordinary little girl, a mortal like them.

Tears flowed down like a broken dam, but Alice's mood gradually calmed down. The long-standing depression was vented in tears. The fragile emotions flowed out of her body along with the tears, until a voice sounded:
"Alice, you..."

Dunn called Alice's name softly in his still familiar voice and tone. The voice was as light as a sigh, but Alice still heard it. She quickly raised her head, but her eyes were obscured by tears.

Alice reached out to wipe away her tears. There was a hint of worry and concern in Dunn's eyes, but it disappeared the moment Alice saw it. She saw Dunn lower his head and asked again:
"Your Mightiness?"

Alice suddenly felt like crying again.

This was different from just now. Just now she was pure sadness and emotional breakdown, but now - she couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad.

But Alice didn't let herself cry.

She held back her tears and forced a smile, as if she was returning home for the first time after being away for a long time. She said with a smile and a light tone:

"I, I'm fine, I just couldn't help myself...

"Captain, let me tell you, I'm much stronger now... I've really grown up.

"Don't worry about me...if you still worry about me."

There was a subtle choke in her words, but Alice did not try to hide it. She just took a last look at Dunn, then looked at the Church of the Night behind her, and then disappeared from the spot.

Alice didn't leave, she just hid her existence - she still had to see the outcome of this matter.

Just as she said, she had grown up a lot, so she still remembered that Klein's grave was next to hers, and this matter was not suitable to be exposed for the time being.

Because the goddess had no intention of exposing this matter.

Dunn did not choose to go back. He stared deeply at the place where Alice disappeared. Alice was not sure whether he knew that she did not leave, but Dunn did not plan to go out again. He returned to the church with his people.

Alice followed into the church. She was very experienced in doing this kind of thing, and she found that Bishop Dunn, who had been on duty all year round, finally left his post today.

Alice was actually very familiar with the following process, which was to appease the people in the know and, if they were suitable, invite them to become civilian staff - there was no such step here because neither the florist nor the gravekeeper were suitable.

After the florist and the gravekeeper had left, Dunn began to do his own thing. Alice saw him first turn on the telegraph machine to send a telegram, and then start writing a letter.

Without the telegraph code, Alice couldn't figure out the content of the telegram, so she just looked at Dunn who was writing a letter and began to hesitate - ah, isn't it impolite to peek at someone writing a letter?

After struggling for who knows how long, Alice saw Dunn folding the letter and realized that the letter was probably finished.

She opened her eyes wide, considering whether to find an opportunity to peek, but Dunn did not put the envelope away or mail the letter as she expected, but instead arranged a ceremony.

Alice watched as Dunn prepared the herbs and essential oils related to the realm of the dead, and then lit a candle.

Then Alice heard an ancient Hermetic spell:

"I!"

Following closely were two incantations in the Hermetic language:

“I call upon you in my name!
"A spirit wandering in the void, a creature from the upper world driven by humans, and a messenger belonging exclusively to Daly Simone."

The Captain is contacting Ms. Daly…?
Alice had to admit that she was confused for a moment.

She certainly didn't suspect that Dunn had told Ms. Daly about her information. From what she knew, the captain was not the kind of person who would not abide by the code of confidentiality.

Anyway, Dunn would definitely not tell anyone without permission.

So what Dunn would do now - judging by common sense, he would probably want to talk to someone close to him.

Alice knew that the captain had a good relationship with Ms. Daly, or it might be that the relationship was one-sided on Ms. Daly's side, because in her memory, although Ms. Daly had been transferred, she would still come back to see the captain often.

And the captain... The captain didn't mention Ms. Daly very often, but in Alice's impression, the captain seemed to always praise Ms. Daly.

It was the kind of praise that was very unfamiliar and distant.

...So their relationship is so good?!
Alice took a breath in surprise, and at the same time she was certain that Dunn would not dig up her and Klein's graves.

She felt relieved, and after thinking for a moment, she did not leave, but harassed the respected Mr. Fool on the spot:
“Mr. Fool…if I’m depressed, can you call a psychiatrist for me?”

This was of course a joke. Alice was not actually that depressed. This little stimulation was not as harmful as the birthday gift given by the "Key of Light".

——But, without any warning, at her happiest moment, her self-righteous arrogance was torn to pieces.

This time, Alice had actually anticipated Dunn's attitude. As early as when Evelyn called out "you", the fact that she had always been unwilling to face appeared.

——There has long been an impenetrable barrier between her and “mortals”.

"Klein..." Alice called out softly, "Will our future be like this?" This was a question that she didn't expect to get an answer to. While asking the question, Alice only glanced at the Holy Emblem of Night behind Dunn and thought of the goddess with a strange attitude.

It seemed that the goddess was not very close to her... Although her tolerance of her behavior could almost be described as indulgence, her attitude when speaking to her was not actually intimate.

...Are all gods like this?
Alice blinked blankly, and suddenly remembered a very childish saying: Growing up sometimes means loneliness.

...a bit too childish.

Alice shook her head, but did not leave Tingen City immediately. Instead, she quietly left a trace of concern on the captain, then wandered around Tingen City while waiting for Klein's reply.

Come here.

Tingen was a place full of memories for Alice. After all, she had stayed here for three years. She walked through the streets and alleys. Before she got feedback from Klein and Dunn received a reply, she bought a Dixie pie and a cup of sweet iced tea.

Alice is actually not sure what she wants to do, or rather, she has never known what she wants to do - she has always been pushed around, pushed around by fate.

If the embodiment of fate was the long river of waves that she saw, she had probably been drifting with the flow. Now she was unwilling to go with the flow, and she tried to stand firm - but she had no idea what to do next.

Alice took a deep sip of the sweet ice tea in her mouth. Amid the sweet and sour taste, she suddenly remembered that there was a real "natural monster" in Tingen City.

The man's name is Admisor. He has been active in the underground market of Tingen City for many years. He is a natural half-monster, but he has never had the chance to take the potion.

She suddenly wanted to take another look at this "natural 'freak'".

This idea came to her very suddenly, but Alice accepted it. She stepped into the underground market of Tingen City with a pack of Dixie pie and sweet iced tea - in fact, she had already finished eating them, and she just bought another one.

Admisol was actually not difficult to find. This guy who was always mumbling was very famous in this area. Alice, who was about to cross the road, had no worries about being discovered - well, she wasn't too worried about that in the first place.

She showed up at the entrance of the underground market and stopped in front of a random stall owner. While picking up the obviously fake amulet on the stall, she asked with a smile:

"Boss, have you seen that 'monster'? I just walked around and didn't seem to see him. This is a rare thing."

This was a lie; she had actually just walked in.

The boss didn't know it was a lie, or rather, he didn't care whether her words were true or not. Instead, he avoided answering and smiled as he recommended the things on his stall:

"Oh, are you looking for that 'monster'? It's not a lucky thing. It will be unlucky if you run into it. Why don't you buy two amulets and then go look for it?"

"Ah?" Alice blinked blankly. "He is only born half a 'monster', not a 'disaster priest'. How can it be unlucky to run into him?"

"That's hard to say..." The boss shook his head mysteriously, "But, 'Disaster Priest'? Hey, do all of you educated people talk like that? I have to say, he is really unlucky, and he is crazy all the time... But, priests are not necessarily crazy, right?"

Oh, he didn't know what a "disaster priest" was... Alice touched her chin.

As Alice looked at him with a slightly puzzled look, the boss smiled and continued:
"But you'd better buy an amulet before going to see him, right?"

Alice met the boss's gaze in confusion. After half a minute of staring at each other, she suddenly had an idea and understood what the boss meant - he was telling her that if she wanted to find out the information, she should buy something first.

Alice lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

This was a very reasonable thing to do, so Alice asked the prices of all the amulets on the stall, preparing to choose the cheapest one. When she asked the price for the thirty-second time, the boss finally lost his patience and shouted at her:
"over there!"

Without hesitation, Ellie put down the amulet in her hand, stood up, and walked in the direction the boss pointed.

She walked in that direction to the end of the underground market, but couldn't see Ademisol, so she turned back in confusion. When she returned to her original place, she found that the boss had disappeared.

"......?" After standing there in a daze for two seconds, Alice guessed that she might have been tricked.

She opened her eyes wide, thinking whether to go to the boss to settle the score, when she suddenly heard a cry of joy and tears:
"I, I can't see!"

Alice looked towards the source of the sound. Not far from her stood a pale young man.

He was wearing a worn linen shirt and blue-gray trousers. His eyes were distracted and crazy. His gaze was fixed on her, but it seemed as if he was looking through her at something else.

Alice heard his numb and joyful voice continue to ring out:

"I can't see! I don't see anything!"

That was Admitsol.

During Alice's hesitation, Admisol walked forward excitedly, his unfocused eyes gradually focused, and he looked at her with joy.

After looking her up and down for several times, he seemed to have finally made up his mind. He circled around her and gradually choked up:

"I can't see anything..."

Of course he couldn't see anything, after all, the person standing in front of him was an angel from the "monster" path.

But such an excited attitude made Alice feel a little complicated, especially since she had just cried and was still emotional. After a brief silence, she closed her eyes, adjusted her face, opened her eyes with a gentle smile, raised her head slightly and said:
"You were born with this pair of eyes from fate, and they became the source of your misfortune.

"And now, I have an opportunity here. Choose to accept it, and maybe you will end your bad luck and become the 'lucky one' who stands out.

"Perhaps after that, you will face even greater misfortune and become a 'disaster star' in the eyes of others...

"If fate favors you enough, perhaps you can find true luck in the disaster and become a 'winner'. In the joy of victory, you can stay calm and find the real turning point of your destiny. Maybe you will truly control your bad luck and usher in hope.

“Of course, this is just an ideal direction, and the greater possibility is that you will usher in a deeper misfortune in the process and eventually die from it.

"And if you choose to refuse, you will continue to live here as the 'monster' Admisol here, but... at least in peace.

"Do you... choose to accept?" (End of this chapter)