Mystery: Lucky One

The first thing Alice saw was an island.

The picture zooms in, and a magnificent bell tower appears on the island. It should be a church, and the holy emblem is that of the "Lord of Storms". The architectural design of the bell tower is very bold, with red, blue and yellow interwoven, which makes people feel bright.

The picture moves back along the bell tower, and finally turns to an alley behind the church, freezing on an ordinary house.

This was not a bridge tunnel. Alice was confused when the noise of reality came in. She realized that the divination was over. She could only watch in confusion as the picture disintegrated before her eyes.

"What do you mean..." Alice frowned, full of confusion, "I, I'll go find that room first?"

She pursed her lips, walked forward, and whispered as she walked: "Maybe I should look for that church..."

Alice returned home with her mind wandering. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to draw the scene she saw first.

This was not difficult, but most of the painting supplies, including paints, had been moved to Klein's Source Castle. If she was not going to solve the problem with a sloppy sketch, she would probably need to ask Klein for help.

Alice didn't hesitate to ask Klein to bring her things down. After all, Klein knew that she was going to set up a stall under the overpass.

What's more, Alice didn't think that a line drawing alone could help people recognize the origin of a church - after all, many churches actually look similar.

She talked about this with Klein. This afternoon was Klein's rare free time. He had finished his messy classes and appeared at the banquet for the first time. He was now waiting for an invitation.

Klein leisurely came above the gray fog and listened to Alice's request. After feeling his remaining spiritual energy, he did not call Alice up directly because that meant that his remaining spiritual energy would not be able to guarantee his safety.

After agreeing with Alice on the ceremony time of 8 o'clock in the evening, he went back to rest and recover his spirit, while Alice lay down to sleep.

Alice woke up on time at 8 o'clock in the evening, and then got up to prepare for the ceremony. Klein also appeared above the gray fog at 8 o'clock in the evening. After waiting for a long time without seeing Alice, he tentatively asked:

"Alice? What are you doing? Are you asleep?"

Alice looked at the ceremony she had half-finished and told him the truth:

"Didn't you say eight o'clock? I'm preparing for the ceremony..."

Klein withdrew his spiritual power blankly above the gray fog and looked forward, his heart filled with confusion.

——Mr. Fool, who has never gone out with a procrastinator, cannot understand that arriving at 8 o'clock and leaving home at 8 o'clock are the same thing.

Fortunately, the preparation time for the ceremony was not long. Klein finally waited for Alice above the gray fog. He threw down the things Alice wanted. At the end, he suddenly remembered and shouted to Alice:

"By the way, give me the 'Puppet' extraordinary characteristic, and then I will take you to transfer the bicycle shares when I have time."

This was something they had agreed on early in the morning. Alice suddenly remembered it. After packing her things, she asked directly:

"So should I arrange the ceremony now? Well, you'd better take me to transfer the shares quickly, because I don't know when I will forget about this matter."

This was a rather euphemistic statement. Klein was dismissive after hearing it. He felt that Alice would forget about it completely in the next second.

"Let's arrange the ceremony now," he responded, "I will take you to transfer the shares tomorrow."

So Alice set up the sacrificial ceremony again. While placing the essential oils, she couldn't help but ask Klein:
"Why did you choose these herbs? Did you like their taste?"

Klein replied silently:
"Do not.

"Actually, I just try to pick the most relevant herbs I know."

Alice was silent for a moment, then took the initiative to change the subject:

“You know, sometimes I feel that the process of arranging a ceremony is a lot like mixing perfume… although I’ve never seen a perfumer.

"I sometimes wonder if naming herbs when chanting a spell is like introducing perfume to the spirits. If so, why can't we just say..."

She paused, then cleared her throat and continued:

"This is the perfume I prepared for you. The top notes are nightshade and moon flower, the middle notes are deep sleep flower and rose, and the base notes are lemon and mint..."

Klein lowered his head above the gray fog and began to ponder.

The herbs Alice mentioned were exactly the ones the goddess liked. It was obvious that she was very familiar with them. She was not as perfunctory when performing the ceremony as she was when it came to him. Klein had seen her use the wrong herbs many times.

I always feel like she uses whatever she has, whatever is cheaper... Klein shook his head and quickly thought of a response:
"But if you do this, no god will respond to you."

Oh yes, whether the gods are willing to respond is actually the key to a ceremony... Alice sighed and gave up her previous inspiration, concentrating on arranging the sacrificial ceremony, and then threw the extraordinary characteristics of the "puppet" into it.

"I'll wait for you to come see me tomorrow." Having said this, she lay down on the bed with peace of mind.

Alice didn't go out much during the day the next day. She was trying to draw what she saw yesterday.

To make it easier to identify, Alice painted the picture in great detail and with as realistic colors as possible. She not only painted the clock tower, but also a miniature version of the island, the alley, and the house.

After a little thought, Alice decided to start with the islands, because she found that the thumbnails of the islands she saw could actually show the shapes of the islands.

Maps of this era are not as common and convenient as those in modern society, nor are they detailed enough, and they are not updated quickly enough, but they still exist.

After comparing the map, Alice finally found her target and circled the island of Oravi.

Oh, by the way, she was in Mr. Fool's study right now - she couldn't possibly spend money to buy books.

In order to avoid being discovered by mistake, Alice told Klein about this matter. I don’t know how Klein explained it, but in the end, no one came to the study when Alice was looking through the materials.

This was perfect. Alice read it carefully and found some geography magazines, from which she found the introduction to Olavin Island.

Olawei is located northeast of the Rorsted Islands. The straight-line distance is not far, but the safe waterway is winding, adding hundreds of nautical miles.

It was originally a primitive island with many extraordinary creatures and no human inhabitants. After the hunting era ended, the Kingdom of Loen used it as a place of exile for some criminals, and gradually villages and towns appeared on Oravi Island.

When the islands further east were discovered and colonized one by one, the convenience of the shipping routes and the abundance of natural resources attracted many new immigrants and formed relatively prosperous port cities.

While searching, Alice remembered that she had been to this island before. When Klein pretended to be Admiral Amyrius as Gehrman Sparrow, the location seemed to be here.

She tried to recall, but unfortunately, she didn't remember having been to such a church before. So Alice gave up and picked up the painting of the bell tower. She didn't choose to go to Oravi immediately. After all, she and Klein had an appointment today.

At 3:10 in the afternoon, a gray mist enveloped Alice’s eyes. She heard Klein’s voice saying to her:

"Open the door."

"Huh? Why didn't he knock on the door..." Alice was a little surprised. She got up and went to open the door, but there was no one outside.

She looked around blankly, trying to find a familiar figure. At this moment, a cat's cry from her feet made her lower her head:
"Meow~"

Alice just didn't try to argue. It was a black cat, but its fur was a dirty gray-black color, and many of the hairs were even clumping.

It was skinny, and Alice could tell at a glance that it was a stray cat, but...

"Klein?" she cried in surprise, "How did you become... No, that's not right, this is different... Is this a doll? No, that's not quite the same either..."

Alice looked at the black cat in amazement. Since Klein was promoted to the Master of Dolls, she had seen dolls before. In fact, Senior became a doll in front of her.

But this cat was a little strange. It was not like a doll. Alice could feel that it was still alive, not like a dead doll. But...

Alice suddenly thought of something, and she exclaimed:

"This is the possession of the 'ghost'!"

"That's right." A human voice came out of the black cat's mouth.

Alice raised her eyebrows after hearing this voice and asked curiously:
"What should I call you now?"

"Sherlock Moriarty," the black cat replied.

"Oh~" Alice stretched out her voice, "It turns out to be Sheriff Black Cat!"

Klein didn't respond to her words, but changed the subject coldly: "...Let's go."

Alice looked down at the cat and frowned slightly. Theoretically, if she wanted to travel with a cat, she should probably pick it up, but the black cat in front of her...

It's a bit too dirty.

Alice hesitated for two seconds. Under Klein's confused gaze, she reached out and grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck, closed the door, and walked into the room.

"What are you doing!" The black cat struggled desperately in Alice's hands.

"Give you a bath." Alice replied expressionlessly.

Klein paused for a moment after hearing this answer. Then, he began to struggle in even greater fear, shouting as he struggled:
"Alice! You're a girl!"

"This is a cat," Alice looked down at the cat and reminded him calmly, "If you care about this, then I have to remind you that your doll is actually naked in front of me now - by the way, are you a male or female cat?"

Klein, or rather the black cat in Alice's hand, stopped struggling. It did not lower its head to look, but felt it for a while. It could be said that in short, Alice got the answer to her question:
"Tomcat."

Alice looked down at the black cat, and after two seconds of silence, she said:
"No, you are a human."

“…Hurry up.” Klein gave up on communicating with her and struggling. He closed his eyes and pretended to be dead in her hands.

As the water splashed onto the cat, Alice looked down at the still compliant cat in her hands with a slightly surprised expression.

Fear of water is a habit of cats. Now it seems that the brooding cat may not have this characteristic?
Alice scratched her chin thoughtfully, then unceremoniously increased the amount of water, applied foam, and rubbed the cat in her hand as if it were Klein - although in a sense this was Klein, and she rubbed it wantonly.

After rinsing off the foam on the black cat, Alice confirmed one thing - bathing the cat in this way did not get rid of the clumps of hair.

So Alice wiped the black cat dry and took it out again, putting it aside. Under Klein's confused eyes, she went into the house and found the scissors.

“What are you doing!!!” Seeing Alice walking out with a pair of scissors in her hand, Klein jumped up in fear again.

"I want to cut off the clumps of hair on your body," Alice spread her hands. "I've already washed it, it would be a pity to give up halfway."

Klein opened his mouth, but eventually gave up trying to stop Alice. Instead, he closed his eyes and said to her:
"Okay, hurry up."

Alice nodded and completed the task quickly and hastily, leaving them with a black cat with ragged fur.

"Okay, where are we going...By the way, why did you have to turn into a cat to find me?" Alice asked as she walked out holding the cat.

“I’m worried that someone might come after me because of you…” Klein tried to explain.

Alice touched the black cat's cat in her hand, then silently withdrew her hand because of the uneven feel, and said as she walked:

"To be honest, for those who really need to monitor me, your worry is in vain."

“…How many people?” Klein asked hesitantly.

"Adam, the Goddess, Amon, Will Auceptin, the 'True Creator', Ouroboros..." Alice listed a bunch of names.

The black cat didn't speak for a long time, so Alice had to stop and remind him, "You haven't told me where you're going."

Next, Alice hired a carriage under Klein's guidance. She sat in the carriage and directed the driver to move forward. Finally, they stopped in front of an inconspicuous house in the Hillston district.

Alice reached out and knocked on the door. A man who looked like an assistant came to open the door. Before the other party could ask any questions, Alice picked up the black cat with uneven hair that had just been cut.

"I'm Sherlock Moriarty," the black cat said in her arms, "I want to see Mr. Isengard Stanton."

"Here," Alice pulled her hand back and looked into her assistant's eyes. "That's what you see."

There was a very obvious surprise in the assistant's eyes, and then he calmly turned aside to let Alice in.

Alice went in with the black cat in her arms, and the assistant closed the door on her, then said to her:
"Follow me." (End of this chapter)