Chapter 120: How Should Ice Cream Be Made?
"Fate itself..." Klein felt a moment of disorientation, recalling their initial conversation.
When deciding on a codename, Alice had drawn the "Wheel of Fortune" from the Tarot deck but found it too wordy, so she shortened it to "Fate."
Was that a coincidence?
Of course, for Alice now, the most important issue was probably another question.
Realizing the problem, Klein frowned and asked, "So how do you plan to prepare the potion? You can't even stay near that thing, right?"
Alice shrugged and looked at Klein seriously, "I don't think I can live until then."
"Why?" Klein was momentarily stunned.
"Guess what the ritual for the 'Winner' is?" Alice propped her chin with her hand.
"What is it?" Klein asked cooperatively.
"You have to drink the potion at a sufficiently lucky moment," Alice answered earnestly.
"Huh?" Klein felt confused. "What if you're never lucky enough..."
"Then it means you're not suited for this path," Alice replied expressionlessly.
"Logically, the higher sequences of the 'Fate' pathway should have the ability to grant luck to others, right?" Klein speculated.
Alice nodded in agreement, then answered under Klein's expectant gaze, "Indeed, but those who completed the ritual this way all lost control."
"Huh?" Klein was stunned. "Then how do you determine if it's a sufficiently lucky moment..."
"Simple," Alice smiled, "You drink it, and if you don't go mad or lose control, it was a sufficiently lucky moment."
"?" Klein's eyes widened.
"…You really believed that?" Alice showed an innocent expression.
"..." Realizing he had been tricked, Klein glared at Alice without speaking.
Alice shrugged and explained, "The method to judge is... you can feel when you should drink the potion."
Klein frowned as he listened and hesitantly asked, "Isn't this style of ritual consistent for you?"
Alice shrugged and replied, "I don't know... but honestly, it sounds like fate is selecting the right person and then announcing through a loudspeaker that you can advance..."
Klein fell into deep thought, then realized the topic had been sidetracked by Alice. He tried to bring it back, "What do you mean by saying you can't wait until then?"
"Oh," reminded, Alice remembered what she initially wanted to say, "I think I encountered Amon."
"...Huh?" Klein was bewildered. "Isn't he supposed to be in Silver City?"
"The Amon family," Alice reminded.
Oh right, Amon has many avatars... thinking of the Little Sun entangled by Amon in Silver City, Klein asked, "Is it because of 'Sun'?"
"Probably?" Alice blinked.
Seeing Alice's expression, Klein suddenly realized that he was more worried about this matter than Alice.
...Why does she seem to not take this seriously at all?!
Klein felt a surge of exhaustion, like taking care of a child.
Luckily, he didn't know that Alger and Audrey had already assumed that "The World" was actually a nanny sent by Mr. Fool to take care of children. Otherwise, he would realize... Mr. Fool himself seemed to be acting as a nanny too!
Alice looked at Klein's expression and said seriously, "Actually, I know the gravity of the situation, really."
Klein's left eye wrote "disbelief," and his right eye wrote "you're lying."
Alice began to seriously consider if there was any room to salvage her image.
Seeing Alice deep in thought, Klein decided to give her one last chance, "So what do you plan to do?"
"...I think, even if I die, I shouldn't die at Amon's hands." Remembering the suicidal Charles King, Alice answered ambiguously.
Klein was slightly taken aback.
"I don't have the right to decide my own death," Alice said softly, "Amon... Amon might have, but his avatars certainly don't. At least it has to be his main body."
...
After the conversation with Klein, Alice spent an afternoon rushing her manuscript.
After dinner, Alice decided to take a walk outside and buy an ice cream from the place she went to at noon...
After wandering around for a while, she felt she could eat again, so she went to the familiar ice cream stand, only to find it empty.
Why did the owner leave early today?!
Alice left disappointed.
The next noon, Alice returned to the ice cream stand and saw the owner. Her eyes lit up, and she walked over to ask, "Why did you leave early yesterday?"
"Hmm? Did I?" The owner smiled.
"Yes!" Alice nodded solemnly, "I wanted to buy an ice cream after my walk last night, but you weren't there!"
The owner looked at Alice and chuckled, saying something that left Alice puzzled, "It seems you really like walking."
"Huh?" Alice was momentarily confused.
"Never mind," the owner shook his head, "The same flavor as yesterday?"
"Uh... sure." Alice nodded.
The owner skillfully made an ice cream and handed it to Alice, "Try it."
Alice hesitantly took the ice cream, feeling something was off but couldn't pinpoint what.
She took a lick and frowned slightly.
"What's wrong?" the owner asked again.
"Uh... the taste still seems a bit off..." Alice cautiously glanced at the owner's expression as she answered.
The owner didn't seem angry—who knows—he stared at the ice cream in Alice's hand and the ingredients on the stand for a moment before asking, "Still not as good as before?"
"Uh..." Alice's eyes wandered, "It's still better than yesterday's."
This consolation prize didn't satisfy the owner. He looked down at the stand, thought for a moment, then smiled and asked, "What time do you usually go for a walk in the evening?"
Alice felt even more uneasy.
She wanted to throw the ice cream and run, but her intuition told her not to, so she stammered, "Just... after dinner..."
The owner nodded thoughtfully.
"Um... can I leave now?" Alice asked cautiously.
"Hmm?" The owner raised an eyebrow, glanced at Alice with a half-smile, then pressed his right eye socket and said with a smile, "Go ahead, remember to come by after dinner."
Alice opened her mouth but said nothing, quietly leaving.
Alice: I feel like this ice cream tastes off, but I can't say why, it should be bad... wait, why does this owner seem like Amon?