Chapter 117: The Death of Charlie King
Charlie King paused suspiciously.
For a moment, he felt as if he hadn't opened the door to find an enemy crouching at the entrance but had instead picked up a little girl with nowhere to go in the middle of the night.
However... this preference seemed somewhat familiar. Could it be that those suited for the "Fate" pathway all liked eating ice cream? How could such a trivial thing determine one's suitability? Charlie King couldn't help but laugh at his own thoughts. Shaking his head, he said to Alice, "Sorry, I don't have that here."
Alice's face scrunched up. She hesitated as she walked to the sofa, finally making a choice, "Then... coffee, please."
Charlie King felt a bit bewildered as he watched Alice actually start to place an order.
After making the coffee, he watched Alice add sugar cubes and prepare to take a sip. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried I might poison you?"
...
Alice looked at Charlie King, who seemed to recall something amusing, and laughed. Then she said, "Sorry, I don't have that here."
Alice felt a bit disappointed because neither coffee nor tea was to her liking. She hesitated but eventually chose coffee without further complaints.
When Charlie King placed the brewed coffee with added sugar and milk in front of her, she added two more sugar cubes before picking it up to taste.
She heard Charlie King ask in confusion, "Aren't you worried I might poison you?"
Alice seriously considered this grave question.
When Charlie King handed her the "Disaster Priest" potion formula, she hadn't doubted him because it hadn't crossed her mind.
When Charlie King invited her in, she hadn't doubted him because her intuition hadn't warned her.
Was she relying too much on divination and spiritual warnings? It seemed to be a habit she had developed over the years. However, trusting in warnings and reminders from an uncontrollable source seemed inherently dangerous.
Especially with a lurking mercury snake waiting at the end of this path.
Ultimately, Alice didn't take a sip of the coffee. She just held the cup, feeling its warmth, and asked, "What do you want?"
...
Charlie King looked at Alice, who had become wary because of his words.
She still held the coffee but didn't drink it.
After a moment of thought, Alice looked up and asked, "What do you want?"
What did he want? What could he do? Charlie King sighed and asked, "Can I choose a less painful way to die?"
Alice was stunned.
She carefully observed Charlie King's expression. His demeanor was calm and serene, and he even smiled as he spoke.
Alice recalled the expression on Charlie King's face when she first saw him—from countless thoughts to final tranquility.
Alice finally understood his attitude from the beginning until now.
A complex emotion surged in her heart. She felt she had many things to say, but when the emotions reached her throat, she couldn't form a complete sentence.
In the end, Alice put down her cup and asked, "Why not struggle a bit more?"
This question was directed at Charlie King and also served as a reminder to herself.
She feared that one day, she might end up like Charlie King, asking someone else, "Can I choose a less painful way to die?"
Charlie King's resignation seemed to foreshadow her future.
Charlie King gently shook his head and asked Alice, "Would you like to hear a story?"
Alice quietly listened.
From his journey to becoming an extraordinary being to being deemed unsuitable for the "Fate" pathway, to three years of hopelessness, to the joy and fear of finally advancing, and then to his attempt to resist by reporting her existence to the church.
Finally, Charlie King asked, "Can you tell me how you found me?"
Alice bit her lip and looked at him with some reluctance, "I am a favored one of the Night."
"...Haha, hahaha." Charlie King suddenly laughed, laughing so hard that his body bent unnaturally, and tears streamed from his eyes.
Finally, he sighed, "Fate, you are truly... unfair."
"No," Alice shook her head and softly denied his words, "The fairest thing about fate is that it is unfair to everyone."
"The fairest thing about fate is that it is unfair to everyone..." Charlie King murmured, his eyes showing a fleeting emotion.
Alice quietly watched him, lost in her thoughts, until—
Charlie King pulled a gun from under the coffee table, put it in his mouth, and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot was so abrupt in the silent night that Alice's eyes widened in shock as the gun fell to the floor, no longer held by its owner.
...Was he crazy?
When a glowing coin slowly formed on Charlie King's corpse, Alice instinctively stood up, picked up the coin, and felt its texture. She finally understood the situation.
"Clink—"
The coin fell to the floor, rolled a short distance, spun a few times, and finally stopped.
Alice stood still, pinched her arm hard, forcing herself to look away and focus on Charlie King's corpse.
...Don't get close, don't look.
She closed her eyes, letting her breathing calm down, and softly chanted in ancient Hermes:
"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."
..."
Klein, who had just fallen asleep, was awakened by the prayer. He grumbled as he ascended the gray fog, but couldn't help but worry.
Although Alice was indeed a bit troublesome, she wasn't usually this inconsiderate... right?
When he saw the corpse beside Alice through the crimson star, Klein wasn't sure if he felt relieved or tense.
He reached out to the crimson star and heard Alice's voice, "I want to offer Charlie King's extraordinary characteristics to you. Please keep them for me."
Was there something wrong with this item? Did she have to offer it to me in the middle of the night?
Klein frowned and responded to the crimson star, "Okay."