Chapter 109: Audrey's Probing
Audrey looked at Alice, who was failing miserably at hiding her emotions, and smiled politely. "Please, call me Audrey. How should I address you, Miss 'Fate'?"
Alice eyed Audrey warily and replied, "Brielle."
Realizing Alice had no intention of revealing her true name, Audrey felt a bit disappointed. She decided to change the subject to something Alice might be less guarded about:
"Alright, Brielle. Can you secretly tell me if Andre in your book is actually the legendary Great Sage? I promise I won't tell anyone!"
"Ah..." Alice blinked, visibly relaxing a bit. "While it might be a spoiler, I suppose most people could guess by now... Andre is indeed the legendary Great Sage."
"Wow," Audrey exclaimed. "Then, is the sealed person really the Demon King?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Alice asked, confused.
Audrey shook her head and explained her doubts:
"Based on the earlier plot, humans have a very intense attitude towards demons. Although a few students have questioned it, the overall attitude is still to kill on sight. Even half-breeds, when discovered..."
"But in the final scene, the Demon King and the Great Sage seem to know each other, and even appear to have a good relationship..."
"Especially the Demon King's last question. I remember... um, she?"
"They," Alice supplied the appropriate pronoun.
"I remember they seemed to cry," Audrey continued. "'Andre, have you come to kill me?' It sounds like..."
"Like there's some emotional entanglement?" Alice blinked. "Like the most common trope in romance novels..."
Audrey's gaze wavered.
Understanding Audrey's thoughts from her expression, Alice firmly denied: "It's not the cliché plot you're thinking of! The war between humans and demons didn't start because the Demon King and the Great Sage had a romantic fallout!"
"Ahem," Audrey coughed twice to cover her embarrassment. "In that case, why did you name this manga 'World Observation Diary (3)'? What about 1 and 2?"
"That would be a spoiler," Alice winked. "Well... wait until I finish drawing the Millennium Chapter, which is the plot before the slumber. Then I can start explaining this part."
As she spoke, Alice finished her ice cream and pushed the cup towards a bewildered Audrey.
"Um..." Audrey hesitated, looking at the cup. She tentatively asked, "Shall I have someone bring you another serving?"
"Thank you~" Alice flashed a sweet smile.
As the new ice cream arrived, Audrey watched the happy Alice and uncertainly asked, "Brielle, you... didn't come here specifically for the ice cream, did you?"
Alice paused guiltily, then answered after some thought: "Not... not really. I was actually curious about what parties in this era look like..."
"This era?" Audrey repeated Alice's choice of words. This was the second time she had heard such a description from Alice.
Alice paused briefly, then sighed and said, "Perhaps I come from a very distant past."
Audrey stopped and met Alice's gaze as she looked up. She had considered this possibility, but Alice's behavior was full of childlike innocence and naivety.
Audrey subconsciously felt that a powerful transcendent, a strong figure revived from the past, even if not comparable to Mr. Fool, should be powerful and mysterious. At least not like Alice, who wore her emotions on her face.
Not only in the world of transcendents, but even among peers her own age, Alice was unbelievably naive.
At least Audrey herself wouldn't behave like that at the Tarot Gatherings... Wait a minute.
Audrey suddenly realized that if Alice truly came from a distant past, could she have known Mr. Fool, who also didn't belong to this era?
Remembering Miss "Fate's" behavior at the Tarot Gathering and Mr. Fool's intentional or unintentional indulgence, Audrey probed: "Then... you and Mr. Fool...?"
Alice paused slightly, knowing that unavoidable question had come again.
However, "Justice" was now a "Reader," so she needed to be careful with her words...
Alice stirred the ice cream in her cup, her gaze falling on the table as she softly replied, "When I knew him... He wasn't Mr. Fool yet."
"!" Audrey was briefly excited as her guess was confirmed, but soon more questions arose. "But you... uh, how did you..."
Audrey simply couldn't connect Alice with a revived ancient god or powerful transcendent.
Mr. Fool could be a revived ancient deity or a wise elder, but Alice made Audrey unable to form such associations. Even with the answer right in front of her, she had to doubt it.
In the short months since becoming a transcendent, Audrey had already recognized the cruelty and terror of the transcendent world and quickly matured. This made it even harder for her to understand Alice's situation.
Alice shook her head and said softly:
"I don't know. In fact, I've lost most of my memories... I think this might be the price of resurrection? Or perhaps those memories hold great danger for who I am now..."
"Resurrection?" Audrey repeated the term in shock.
Revival could mean waking up after a long slumber, but resurrection implied true death.
Alice smiled slightly but didn't explain further. Instead, she asked, "Do you think I act too childish for a powerful transcendent or even a deity?"
Audrey didn't speak, but her expression revealed her answer.
Alice rested her chin on her hand and said thoughtfully, "Have you considered... supposing I really was once a powerful transcendent or even a deity, maybe I wasn't very old at the time?"
"But how is that possible?" Audrey's eyes widened in disbelief.
"In the face of fate, nothing is impossible," Alice chuckled. "Some things may seem illogical, but perhaps fate enjoys watching such absurd stories?"
*If any true god were most likely to be a child, it would definitely be Fate (sigh)*