Chapter 157: A Particularly Lucky Moment
Alice suddenly awoke, instinctively struggling to break free from her dream. The priest did not try to stop her, maintaining a gentle smile as he and the entire dreamscape dissolved into fragments.
In the dark bedroom, Alice bolted upright in bed, clutching her chest and trying to calm her breathing.
"Damn!" she thought. "Can prophetic dreams be detected?"
After some time, Alice got out of bed, put on a robe, and turned on the light to recall the details of her dream.
First, the location was definitely Backlund, likely the East Borough based on the economic conditions and surrounding architecture. A thick fog had brought a plague. Was the woman at the center of the fog its source? Alice couldn't make out her features clearly, but spreading disease immediately made her think of a witch.
But what about the priest at the end? Alice murmured "The cross..." as she thought of two deities associated with that symbol - the ancient sun god who was Amon's father, and the "True Creator" worshipped by the notorious Aurora Order.
"No, I'm overlooking something..." Alice mused, recalling how the ordinary-looking priest had commanded her attention, leaving the rest of the room a blank in her memory. Was this part of the revelation?
Alice's conversation with Amon suddenly came to mind:
"If I were a 'writer'..."
"An interesting idea, but not one a 'writer' would have."
"Deliberately leaving traces is something a 'provocateur' would do."
Alice sat up straight as the anonymous "writer" and the unremarkable yet attention-grabbing priest overlapped completely in her mind.
"Adam?" Alice asked tentatively, scanning the room. All was silent, including spiritually.
Reassuring herself that no one was hiding in the air, Alice turned off the light and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Alice drowsily poked her head out from under the covers, then quickly retreated from the cold air. "It's getting colder..." she grumbled, fumbling for her clothes to warm them under the blankets before getting dressed.
After retrieving the newspaper and mail, Alice pondered the situation. Evelyn's letter was expected, but why was Glaint throwing parties so frequently?
As she ate breakfast and read the paper, layered gray fog appeared before her. She heard Klein's voice:
"'The Hanged Man' has found a buyer for the 'Luck-Bringing Charm'. Your auxiliary materials are also ready."
Alice perked up at the news that two major issues would soon be resolved. However, she recalled the charm's recent unsettling behavior. Should she really sell it?
Alice pulled out the charm she had angrily tossed in a drawer the day before. "I've found a buyer," she told it. The charm remained unresponsive.
After some consideration, Alice remembered the 200 pounds she owed Klein. Well, might as well sell it, she decided, sacrificing the charm to Mr. Fool the courier.
"Once it's sold, it shouldn't be my problem anymore..." Alice mused as she tidied up. Then she paused. "Wait, why didn't I just use the Beseeching ritual?"
She closed her eyes to sense her spiritual state. She was indeed in a "sufficiently lucky moment" and had been for some time. So why hadn't she used the ritual?
A memory surfaced of Alice playing mahjong during New Year's celebrations. She won game after game with ease, even getting a perfect hand. But after too many wins, she was kicked off the table.
Emerging from the memory, Alice realized: "So even though I'm always in a 'sufficiently lucky moment', I can wait for an 'especially lucky moment'? When will that be?"
The answer seemed obvious. Given the scale of the plague in her vision, Alice was certain the "especially lucky moment" was connected to that event.
Her first thought was to consult Klein. "But if I tell him, he'll want to prevent the plague, won't he?"