Chapter 19: Dreamscape
Alice initially refused when she was told that she would have dinner with Klein that evening.
But there was no way around it, after all, it was a dinner party. Alice ended up appearing at the dining table, so in addition to Klein, who couldn't eat after an afternoon of combat training, there was also Alice, who protested eating with her eyes closed.
"This is Alice Kingsley. Even if you haven't seen her, you should know about her," Dunn introduced, as Alice's frequent appearances at the Blackthorn Security Company were a recent development. Before that, most people had not met her, and she indeed lacked a formal introduction.
Alice quickly noticed several gazes upon her, which was not surprising. Or rather, it would have been strange if people who knew about her didn't look her way.
Dunn picked up the glass of red wine in front of him and continued, "Let's welcome the new official member, Klein Moretti, cheers!"
Klein, enduring discomfort, picked up his champagne, and Alice also raised the juice in front of her… Ah, it was orange juice.
For this dinner, Alice had specially found a piece of white cloth with poor shading. She could make out what was in front of her in sufficiently bright light. Hmm, it seemed the requirements to see the abnormalities on Klein's body were still quite strict…
Alice's unusual attire quickly drew the attention of the night watchers who didn't know what had happened between her and Klein. Siga Tiaong curiously asked after Klein put down his wine glass, "Alice, why are you dressed like this?"
"Ha," Alice replied in a melodious and intonating chant, "Because Mr. Moretti's fate harbors secrets that cannot be looked upon directly."
The others looked curiously at Klein due to Alice's words, and Klein successfully displayed the bewildered embarrassment that Alice had anticipated.
Alice, feeling satisfied with her revenge, calmed down and contentedly drank her orange juice. At that moment, she suddenly appreciated the benefits of being a child—like being able to drink childish sweet beverages on such occasions, or expressing her dissatisfaction with Klein through such pranks, even though Klein hadn't actually done anything wrong.
When the food in front of Klein was devoured by Leonard and others, the waiter also brought up portions of pudding and ice cream—this was Alice's favorite time during a meal.
She quickly finished her portion of ice cream drizzled with blueberry sauce and was considering asking for another when Dunn suggested, "Let's stop here and have another toast for Klein."
Before he finished speaking, Klein blurted out, "Captain, may I have some dinner?"
During the silent pause from everyone, Alice followed up, "Captain, I want another ice cream!"
Everyone laughed, and after Alice finished her second ice cream, Klein's black pepper sauce steak was served.
Alice watched Klein eat his steak, licked her lips, felt disappointed for not tasting the lingering sweetness, and then looked expectantly at Dunn, mumbling, "Captain∽"
"You can't have a third ice cream," Dunn refused mercilessly.
Alice pouted, listlessly drumming on the table, waiting for Klein to finish.
…
At night, Alice suddenly woke up from her dreamscape, but unlike being startled awake, she quickly realized she was still dreaming… Uh, because she was in a room made of desserts, with walls of cake and a chocolate table, which was laden with heaps of ice cream…
Seeing Dunn sitting opposite her with an expressionless face, Alice thought she understood why she had woken up.
But Dunn remained silent, just quietly staring at Alice. Initially, Alice continued to eat the ice cream with the mindset of not wasting food, but as Dunn kept watching, eating ice cream gradually became a form of torture.
This was truly a nightmare… Alice thought to herself, regretting the words she had reminded Dunn of earlier… It shouldn't have been just her, but also Miss Daly. She wondered if Klein had reminded her…
Alice realized that the captain was still trying to find and play the role of the nightmare. Remembering her own three-year slump as the Lucky One, she suddenly felt like reflecting on her attitude.
…But reflection was useless! The "Monster" pathway wasn't like the "Sleepless" pathway; the church didn't have any potion formulas!
Eh, speaking of which, why could she remain conscious in her dreams?
Alice suddenly realized something; she remembered the first time Dunn entered her dream to inquire about her, she was actually conscious then too—like how she selectively concealed that she actually remembered the unfortunate courier was startled by her sudden awakening.
Moreover, after Dunn entered her dreamscape, the scene of the dream changed…
Such power could not possibly belong to her. Realizing this, Alice suddenly felt a fear—she had always lacked reverence for supernatural powers, and at this moment, she truly felt a hint of fear.
Who had tampered with her dreamscape? Could the unknown entity that allowed her to remain conscious in her dreams also let her die unknowingly in her dreams one day? Or fall into a coma and become a vegetable? These assumptions alone were enough to instill fear in Alice, along with her lost memories, as if she had been arranged to become an extraordinary person.
Like a puppet on strings… Alice thought, and for a moment, she even doubted whether she was a character written by someone, with all her experiences, thoughts, and actions under control.
Then, if that were the case, would her current doubt about this matter also be scripted by someone? Alice shivered, dispelling the terrifying and dangerous thought, but the dreamscape could not be maintained due to her fear and gradually shattered. She woke up from the dream to see the holy emblem of the Evernight Goddess.
Alice had never felt the holy emblem of the Evernight Goddess to be so comforting. She remembered the goddess had the authority over sleep, closed her eyes, and silently prayed in her heart:
"O"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos
and more eternal than eternity.
The Mother of Concealment,
The Empress of Misfortune and Horror,
Mistress of Repose and Silence.", please grant me restful sleep, bestow upon me a pleasant dream."
The prayer seemed to truly work, as Alice's fear slowly dissipated, and she fell back into a deep dreamscape. Judging by the slow smile rising on her lips, it must indeed be a beautiful dream.
This was the closest Alice had come to the truth (in that tone).
(End of Chapter)