Mystery: Lucky

Alice said as she walked into the room.

She wasn't looking forward to 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 beds made of woven vines... This room looks like a dreamy and beautiful fairy tale.

"Are you trying to please me?" she asked before Cattleya gave the answer, "Or...are you trying to test me for someone?"

This speculation stems from Cattleya's grand gesture when they boarded the ship.

Alice has not forgotten Cattleya's acquaintance with Bernadette. Even before setting foot on the "Future", she had guessed whether she would see Bernadette on the ship.

However, so far, Bernadette has not appeared.

Alice turned her head and showed a smile to Cattleya under the not-so-bright light:

“Hmm…I like this room.

"So, if you are trying to please me, or helping someone to please me, you can make a request now."

After a pause, she suddenly asked: "Are there any late-night snacks on board?"

"...Yes." Cattleya seemed a little uncomfortable with jumping into topics.

"Great!" Alice clapped her hands, "Then I want to go to the restaurant and have a look!"

——She just wanted to find a reason to go to the restaurant.

Cattleya was silent for a moment, then led Alice into the restaurant and asked:

"You need to...wait!"

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

"This mushroom is beef-flavored."

"...?" Alice's eyes were filled with confusion.

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

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

"That's enough," Alice, whose dream came true, stopped her from further introduction with a deadpan expression, "Good night."

She turned around and left, seemingly wanting to escape from the restaurant. When she reached the door, she finally couldn't help but turn around and asked:

"Are you sure these foods are safe?"

"No one has had any problems eating it so far." Cattleya replied.

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

… Spirituality says there’s no problem.

Alice moved back little by little, picked up a piece of potato that was said to be beef flavor, and took a bite.

The taste and texture are all beef, but they are indeed potatoes...

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

"fine.

"You could try ice cream with chili sauce, I think whoever came up with that idea is a real genius."

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

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

After several minutes of mental construction, she tentatively picked up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

After a few seconds, she poured the cup of ice cream into the trash can with no expression on her face.

...who came up with the idea?

When Klein saw Alice the next morning, she was in a daze looking at the fish on the plate.

"What are you thinking about?" Klein curiously chose the same fish and sat across from Alice.

"You'll understand once you taste it," Alice suggested sincerely.

Her attitude made Klein afraid to try it. Klein looked at the fish on the plate warily, raised his head and asked Alice:

"What's wrong?"

"Try it," Alice insisted.

Klein put down his knife and fork.

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

Forget it, she won’t really hurt me anyway, at most it tastes a little weird...well, actually it tastes pretty good, but, but...

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

Alice was silent for a moment, looked at him and said firmly:

"Look at you, you are already hallucinating!

"This is obviously a potato, why is it a fish?"

——This is a potato-flavored fish.

After a few seconds of silence, Klein tentatively asked:

"Did Frank Lee breed this fish?"

Alice nodded heavily, then pointed to the food counter that was divided into two halves and introduced:

"Cattleya deliberately 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.

"I haven't eaten anyone to death so far." Alice gave a similar but far different answer.

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

"Come on, don't waste food!" Alice reached out and patted Klein's shoulder, then put the fish on his plate into his confused eyes and took the plate away.

...?

Did she just... give me the leftover food?

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.

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

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

They quickly adjusted their positions and aimed their sides at this side, with cannons ready to fire.

At the same time, the whaling guns that fired javelins and harpoons with explosives also turned to the same direction. The tall and light-blond fishermen from the Gargas Islands were holding forks, guns, standing, or squatting, and were 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 trouble.

Alice sighed, and she felt bored, rolling her eyes, and slipped into the captain's room.

Cattleya was indeed inside, looking out through the window. She agreed to let Alice in, and was surprised that Alice would knock on the door, and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Alice didn't say anything, and Alice stood beside her and watched with her.

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

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