Chapter 20: Warning
"So, you've divined that all the coincidences you've experienced were arranged?" Above the grey fug, after hearing Klein's description, Alice was once again reminded of the fear she had already quelled.
She quickly realized why Klein had sought her out—when it came to coincidences, what could be more coincidental than her own process of becoming an Beyonder? Moreover…
Alice suddenly realized that even though she was desperate to find her memories and past, she had never thought of divining clues in this regard, even though she was aware that it was not a simple matter.
If she… The sudden scream within her spirituality halted her thoughts, and she realized that divining this matter hid great dangers—this also explained that the coincidences on her were not of the same origin as those on Klein.
Alice gathered her thoughts and looked at Klein, who was waiting for her to think, and said softly, "The target should not be you."
"Not me?" Klein was incredibly surprised. In fact, before calling upon Alice, he had considered several possibilities, one of which was related to his transmigration. Now Alice was telling him that he was a bit self-conceited, which made him feel somewhat subtle.
"Wait, how do you know it's not me?"
"Because the captain… Eh, wait," Alice, who had blurted out, suddenly realized that this was a place where speaking the truth wouldn't get her targeted, and she became confused about the origin of this place again, "What is this place?"
Klein answered with an expression that he didn't know either.
"…Alright," Alice sighed helplessly, frowning as she organized her language, "Let me think about how to tell you…"
"I first noticed something wrong with the captain… Hmm, starting from a certain day three years ago, I don't know how to describe that feeling, it's like a shadow or transparent silk thread, in short, something ubiquitous yet invisible entangled the captain. The master behind it guided the captain's fate, making death the only possibility in the captain's future."
"So, the person who arranged all this, their target is the captain?" Klein asked, "Why didn't you tell others, yet…"
"Because when I was outside, I had a premonition that as soon as I spoke, I would be discovered!" Alice explained her reasoning with a frown, "But I feel that the person behind it all may not necessarily target the captain…"
"What is it then?" Klein pressed.
"I don't know, uh, it's just my feeling, intuition, you know?" Alice tried to explain her unique way of reasoning to Klein—most of the time, she was looking for evidence with an answer in mind, rather than reasoning based on evidence.
Reason told Klein that this was quite an unrigorous way of reasoning, but the intuition of an Beyonder was sometimes not just simple intuition. He decided to place a certain amount of trust in it, after all, Dunn didn't seem like someone who would have such deep hatred that an enemy would secretly plan for many years just to make him die without a trace…
"By the way," Alice looked at the silent Klein, feeling that she should still remind him, "I don't know why speaking out here won't be discovered by the person behind it, but you better be careful here… Have you ever thought that you are now like the person in your metaphor, the one who sneaked into the castle, and the guards don't even know where to hide."
Klein stiffened slightly. Although he wasn't like Leonard, who was proud of his uniqueness and considered himself the protagonist of the era, he wasn't particularly vigilant about the Sefirah Castle… In fact, he sometimes even relied on it.
Alice sighed helplessly and asked Klein, "Do you remember how I became an Beyonder?"
"Cough." Klein coughed lightly to control his expression.
"Okay, it seems you do remember," Alice didn't mind, as she was used to it, "What does this remind you of?"
"Hmm?" Klein looked at Alice puzzledly, not understanding the purpose of her bringing this up.
"That unlucky courier—I mean, the dead lucky one, his entire history was unremarkable, he was like a courier specially picked out just to deliver this extraordinary characteristic to me!" Alice described to Klein her feelings all along, "But have you ever thought about who the sender is?"
"…Related to the truth of your transmigration? That girl?" Klein asked uncertainly, still unable to forget Alice's initial words—the girl who told her, "You're simply a born monster."
"I don't know," Alice replied, "But the most terrifying part of this matter is not this, in fact, until today, I had never thought of divining it, even though I care a lot about it—guess why I didn't think of it?"
"Spirituality, sounding the alarm?" Klein made a reasonable guess, which was the most likely answer for an Beyonder, but it also made him more fearful—what kind of existence would it be that even attempting to divine was not allowed?
"Every gift from fate is secretly priced." Alice said softly, but even as she advised Klein, Alice still hadn't realized that her reliance on intuition and luck was also a testament to her complacency in enjoying the "gifts of fate."
Nevertheless, Alice issued a final warning to Klein: "Not just the guards, but also the true master of the castle… You sit in the master's seat, dressed as the master, both Justice and The Hanged Man see you as the master of the castle, but if one day the true master replaces you, will they know?"
This chapter is shorter… I'm not feeling well today and can't write anymore, actually, the last chapter was also written yesterday… Anyway, that's it, let me rest for a while.
(End of Chapter)