Chapter 92: Only What You Can't Return To Is Called Home
The scene fell into an awkward silence. Finally, Bernadette decided to give the little girl some face: "So, what is your honorable name?"
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era. The mysterious ruler above the gray fog. The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck. Alice recited smoothly.
After memorizing this, Bernadette asked, "Can you give me your address?"
"Can't you find me without it?" Alice asked, confused.
Bernadette suddenly regretted her attempt to ease the atmosphere.
Alice "Give-Me-An-Inch-And-I'll-Take-A-Mile" Kingsley lowered her head to look at her toes and obediently gave her address.
Bernadette, who hadn't dealt with children for many years, felt powerless in the face of this mischievous child. She took a deep breath and said to Alice, "I'll give you the summoning ritual for my messenger."
"What's a messenger?" Alice looked up from her toes.
"You can send me letters through the messenger," Bernadette explained.
"Oh~" Alice nodded thoughtfully. "Can I have a messenger too?"
"Do you have a way to contract a messenger?" Bernadette asked in return.
Alice sighed disappointedly, "Alright, I understand. So what's the ritual?"
Bernadette began to explain her messenger's summoning ritual with a headache:
"First, choose herbs and essential oils from the realm of the dead. This part is no different from normal ritual magic, but you only need one candle to represent yourself.
"Then comes the incantation part. It has three sections. The first is 'I,' shouted softly in Ancient Hermetic, Giant, Dragon, or Elvish. The second is 'I summon in my name,' which can be changed to Hermetic. The third is the specific description of the messenger: An invisible being roaming the upper realm, a strange spirit friendly to humans, a messenger belonging solely to Bernadette Gustav.
"Lastly, and most importantly, if you find a way to contract with the messenger, write to me or find a reliable person to supervise. Don't casually summon a messenger on your own."
Alice lowered her head to study the shape of her shoe tips.
Bernadette, watching Alice's actions, suddenly felt that Caladria was too obedient.
"You... never mind," Bernadette, who hadn't dealt with children for a long time, struggled to organize her words. "Followers are indeed the 'anchors' of deities, but this method probably won't work for you."
"Why not?" Alice asked humbly.
"You don't have the conditions to receive prayers," Bernadette explained.
"Is it divinity? No, should I say, life level?" Alice paused slightly, realizing something.
Bernadette nodded, confirming this. Even though Alice had given her a very dangerous feeling several times, as Alice said... she was only at Sequence 7, and whatever connection she had with uniqueness couldn't change this fact.
"I see," Alice nodded, thought seriously for a moment, and concluded, "I'll go get the uniqueness back."
"?" Bernadette looked at Alice, losing her ability to speak.
"Is there a problem?" Alice blinked.
"...The item solidified from uniqueness is a sealed artifact beyond Sequence 1," Bernadette replied with complex emotions.
This time, it was Alice who fell silent.
She remembered she had a deal with the Mercury Snake where the other party had already paid - they needed her to seal a sealed artifact.
...Was she going to seal that artifact, or was she going to be sealed inside it?
Recalling the dream where she was swallowed, Alice was almost certain that the sealed artifact must be the uniqueness of the "Fate" pathway.
Was she a part of the uniqueness? Or could she, or some quality of hers, help the other party contain the uniqueness?
As long as she came into contact with the uniqueness, this could be achieved...
Alice realized this was a straightforward trap set for her.
Eager to explore her past, upon learning of her connection to the uniqueness, she couldn't possibly not try to contact it. And as soon as she did, the other party's goal would be achieved...
Was this puzzle unsolvable?
Alice recalled that dream where she climbed the tower alone and was swallowed unsuspectingly by the Mercury Snake at the top... Wait, unsuspectingly?
But she... was already on guard, wasn't she?
And... being coerced into advancing didn't seem to fit the information about climbing the tower alone...
Alice had a sudden thought, realizing this might be the key to the whole matter.
However, now wasn't the time to think about this... Alice lowered her eyelashes and chuckled softly, "Thank you for your reminder. I suddenly know what I should do."
Bernadette scrutinized Alice for a few seconds, her brows furrowing again, until Alice gradually showed a bewildered expression under her gaze. She then warned, "Be careful of your state."
"...Thank you," Alice said with complex emotions, starting to wonder what kind of image she had presented to make the other party remind her as soon as she appeared calm and rational.
She wasn't... uh, she did seem quite different from her usual self just now...
This time, Alice began to study the material of the wall.
"Tell me your name," Bernadette said, looking at Alice's actions with great resignation.
"Brielle Rose," Alice answered without hesitation.
"I have one last question for you," Bernadette said, looking at Alice with lowered eyes, "What does 'hometown' mean?"
"Hometown..." Alice murmured, repeating this word that held special meaning in Chinese, feeling a sudden ache in her eyes.
She turned her head, scanning the items in the display case one by one, recalling her initial thoughts when she saw Roselle's diary - like a traveler far from home, desperately seeking familiar traces in a foreign land.
Finally, Alice let out a long sigh and said softly:
"'Hometown'... This word has a very special meaning in our language.
"When we can return, 'hometown' is the place where we were born and grew up.
"When we can't return, 'hometown' is... the refuge of our souls.
"And we have a special habit.
"When we can still return to our 'hometown', we never call it 'hometown'.
"For us, only what we can't return to is called 'hometown'."
Bernadette suddenly fell silent. After a long while, she asked, "So, he was looking for a way to return to his 'hometown', wasn't he?"
"I don't know," Alice shook her head, "But I know I'm here, He's here, we're all here."