Chapter 123: Do I Seem More Even-Tempered Than The Fool?
"?"
This was the shared sentiment of Amon and Alice at the moment. While it wasn't uncommon for a Time Angel to possess a female body, this situation seemed entirely different.
Even without fully understanding human behavior, Amon could sense from Alice's thoughts that this wasn't a good thing.
When Alice commented that "female Amon is quite cute," the Time Angel finally concluded—this behavior was absolutely blasphemous! Absolutely!
In the awkward silence, Alice finally remembered her predicament. She carefully observed the Time Angel's expression, but unfortunately, Amon's face remained impassive, revealing nothing.
...Wait, wasn't it strange for a Time Angel to be expressionless in the first place?
"Um... may I explain?" Alice weakly raised a hand.
Amon continued to stare at Alice without expression.
Alice began to carefully choose her words:
"Sometimes, when we particularly like a... a person... well, you understand. At those times, we start creating images of that person in different situations. For example, animal versions... or drawing you as a cute girl..."
"Or drawing me together with others in a..." Amon struggled to find an appropriate word.
"Doujinshi," Alice helpfully suggested.
"?" Amon glanced at Alice and remarked, "You really are suited to be a 'Provocateur.'"
"...Is that your way of complimenting someone?" Alice pondered.
"..." Amon stared at Alice for a moment, then suddenly laughed, shaking his head. "Honestly, if I hadn't seen those things, I might have invited you to become one of my followers."
"Eh?" Alice blinked in surprise.
"You're quite interesting," Amon said with a smile.
"Then why can't you after seeing those things?" Alice asked, puzzled.
"...I'm worried that one day those drawings might be mistaken for reality," Amon replied with an ambiguous smile.
After some serious thought, Alice inquired, "I know the gender-swapped version is problematic, but I'm actually curious... do you really like men?"
Amon's smile vanished.
"I'm really tempted to give you a 'Provocateur' potion," Amon said coolly. "Why don't you ask the other main character in the drawing?"
"I don't dare," Alice answered honestly.
"..." Amon pondered for a moment. "Do I seem more even-tempered than the Fool?"
"But he hasn't seen those drawings yet..." Alice hesitantly replied.
"So, the Fool is someone called Klein?" Amon asked with a smile.
Alice's smile disappeared as well.
They looked at each other in silence for a while. After a long pause, Alice spoke up: "So, are you implying that you do like men?"
"...I take back what I said earlier," Amon said, looking at Alice. "It's best if you don't direct your interesting nature towards me."
Alice tilted her head and continued to ask: "So you..."
"Shut up," Amon interrupted Alice. "Now, go back to sleep."
Alice obediently went back to sleep. They didn't speak another word until Alice was preparing to take a bath. Suddenly, she realized something.
"Um... Lord Time Angel," Alice asked thoughtfully, "Do you have a female form?"
"?" Amon couldn't help but recall that drawing.
"Uh... that's not what I meant," Alice explained. "It's just... I need to take a bath, and although you might not have a concept of gender as a primordial mythical creature... it would be awkward to have a man watching me while I bathe!"
"How is that my problem?" Amon retorted.
"...Do you want me to treat you as a gay man?" Alice asked, bewildered.
Amon fell silent for a moment, then vanished from the spot.
As she lay in bed, Alice continued to ponder in Chinese.
She didn't believe that Amon truly had such a good temper and wasn't bothered by her repeated provocations.
It was probably true that he found her interesting, but Amon... must have a reason for not killing her.
Was it that he didn't dare kill her? Or did he want to obtain something from her?
If he didn't dare kill her, why not? Well, the answer seemed quite obvious.
If he wanted to obtain something from her...
Was the answer in her memories?
Also, as the God of Deception and Mischief, could the conclusions she had drawn be intentionally misleading, actually part of his deception?
Just like how he initially guided her to lower her guard.
...Come to think of it, could the earlier events have been intentional as well?
Hmm, why does this sound like a nested doll scenario...
Alice decided to abandon this line of thought and go to sleep first.
The night passed dreamlessly. The next morning, Alice got up groggily to wash up, then rubbed her eyes as she entered the living room to find the Time Angel sitting on the sofa.
She stopped in her tracks. At the same time, Amon turned around, resting one hand on the back of the sofa while waving a potion bottle with the other.
He smiled at Alice's confused expression and said, "Look, the 'Provocateur' potion."
"?" Alice's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"
"I stole it," Amon said nonchalantly, tossing the potion in the air.
Alice looked at Amon and suddenly thought of a question: "Hey... does the knowledge from the 'Thief' potion include lockpicking?"
"It does," Amon looked at Alice with interest as she gradually approached. "Why, do you want to learn?"
"No, I was wondering..." Alice stopped and hesitantly asked, "I've seen people pick locks with a strand of hair before. Can you do that? Could you show me?"
"?" Amon frowned, asking in confusion, "I'm curious... what exactly do you take me for?"
Alice closed her mouth and quietly ate a piece of black bread and drank a glass of milk for breakfast before heading out to the church.
"Wait," Amon called out to her after she had walked for a few minutes. "Where are you going?"
"To... to pray?" At this point, Alice hadn't yet realized what was wrong with the situation.
Amon pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you think I should let you go to church?"
Alice stopped in her tracks, finally realizing: "Ah... but why didn't you stop me when I left the house?"
"Because I thought you were right, it might get boring if I always knew what you were thinking," Amon said with a smile. "Guess whether that's the truth or a lie?"