Chapter 193: Chapter 197: The Sunshine is Bright
The sunlight outside the window was bright and cheerful, as if the atrocious weather of the extreme before was but a distant dream. Only the water stains on the windowsill and the damp ground in the streets confirmed that late last night, a heavy rain had indeed fallen—the sunny weather that followed seemed just right for indulging in sleep at home.
However, Sherry had already slept enough. She had never slept this long in one go, and the hint of hunger nudging at her stomach was urging her to get up.
Because lying in bed on an empty stomach was an unpleasant memory for her—at a younger age, she had used sleep to get through the hungriest of nights. If it weren’t for A-Dog’s waking and support, she might have left this world on one of those cold, hungry winter nights.
When hunger crossed a certain threshold, one could brush shoulders with death in their sleep. This was one of Sherry’s precious life experiences.
She left the soft and comfortable bed, got dressed, and just then, a series of brisk footsteps came from outside the door.
“Sherry! Are you awake? I heard some noise!”
It was Nina’s voice.
Sherry paused for a second, and hurriedly replied, “I’m awake.”
The door was pushed open, and Nina appeared at the doorway, garbed in a white shirt, short jacket, and a light brown plaid skirt. She immediately noticed Sherry, who had just changed her clothes, and a smile spread across her face, then she quickly walked over, “You really slept a long time! How are you feeling now? Does your back still hurt? How about your wounds… let me see, let me see…”
“The consumption was quite large, so I slept for a long time… I’m fine, really,” Sherry awkwardly dodged the overenthusiasm of Nina, but the usually mighty Sherry’s dodging and resistance seemed utterly feeble in front of Nina. In the end, she obediently turned around, allowing Nina to check the injuries on her back and arms, “They are just minor wounds. I… have strong regeneration ability, and also… eh, that tickles, don’t… ahaha… stop, it tickles!”
“It’s really all healed!” Nina finally released Sherry, who had started hopping and dancing to the side to evade. She looked at her friend with astonishment, as if observing some rare creature, “There was such a big wound just last night, and now not only has it disappeared, but there isn’t even a scar left… How did you do it?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I have Demon Symbiosis with a Profound Demon. A-Dog’s trait includes a tough body and Regeneration Ability,” Sherry was straightening out her dress—her clothes from yesterday had been damaged in the fight, and the one she was wearing now was another old piece brought from home, also one of the few belongings she had rescued after that attack, “Actually, my regeneration ability could be even stronger, but A-Dog said I’m malnourished which discounts the regeneration…”
“Then you should eat well while you’re here. Uncle’s cooking has really improved,” Nina immediately said, and then became curious, “Um… Are all those like you… I mean, those with Demon Symbiosis, are they all this powerful?”
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“It specifically depends on which demon one is symbiotic with—if it’s an Abyssal Hound, it imparts toughness and regeneration ability, as well as a certain enhancement in perception. Symbiosis with a Scare Demon results in willpower and resistance to mental tarnishing. Then there are all sorts of other demons, I don’t know the specifics… In any case, those who have Symbiosis with Profound Demons are the most disorderly among Transcendents. Those demons, in order to act in the physical dimension, are always very generous to their symbionts…”
At this point, Sherry suddenly paused, her expression becoming serious as she looked into Nina’s eyes, “That said, I suggest you not get too involved with this field… You should already know, under normal circumstances, the symbionts with Profound Demons are the crazies from the Obliteration Sect. They’re not like me, and their demons are not like A-Dog.”
“I know, I know, I’m not a kid,” Nina hurriedly waived off the comment, but her curiosity was still evident, “But have you seen other Demon Symbiosis individuals? I mean, those Obliteration Believers…”
“Haven’t seen them, and I don’t want to. Just hearing A-Dog describe them is disgusting enough. If I did see them, I would certainly b… well, beat them up and then report them to the marshals,” Sherry said, frowning, “Nina, you’re asking so many questions today… You didn’t ask this much when you saw A-Dog before. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be at school today?”
“If you’re going to live with us from now on, of course I need to know more about you. I heard from Uncle that your house was destroyed by a gas explosion and you have nowhere to go…” Nina said seriously, all the while pulling Sherry by the hand toward the direction of the kitchen, where the aroma of food was drifting in. She noticed that the entire second floor was silent, and couldn’t help but become curious, “Is Mr. Duncan not in?”
“Uncle has gone downstairs; he said he was receiving some guests and asked us to eat on the second floor first,” Nina explained as she pulled Sherry to the kitchen door, then seemed to remember something and quickly veered toward the bathroom, “Oh right, wash hands. We should wash our hands before eating, or Uncle will nag again.”
“Oh… oh.” Sherry was confusedly dragged around by Nina, not knowing if it was because she was hungry or had slept too long. She felt dizzy, but… this feeling seemed not too bad.
At the same time, by the counter on the first floor of the antique shop, Duncan was carefully explaining something to the person opposite him. Seated across from him was a young lady dressed in a refined and elegant long gown, wearing a fine mesh veil, with blond hair, and a face that was dignified and beautiful.
Dignified and beautiful blond lady (×)
It was Alice wearing a wig (✓)
“…That’s about it. There are many, many common senses you need to understand to live in human society, but as long as you grasp the most basic parts, that’s enough for your current range of activities. Also, there’s not much for you to do in this store. Start by becoming familiar with the simplest tasks, like cleaning and organizing the shelves,” Duncan finally finished explaining what to be aware of here, but still looked at the blond girl sitting upright with concern, “…Do you also remember the things I taught you on the ship?”
“I remember, I remember!” Alice quickly nodded with vigor, but after nodding twice, she seemed to remember something and quickly reduced the amplitude of her nods, giving a very dignified and graceful bow, “Please rest assured, I remember clearly!”
“Yes, the amplitude of your nod should be small, it seems you at least remember that,” Duncan breathed a sigh of relief and his gaze immediately scanned over Alice, checking the details one more time.
Golden wigs were used to cover her original silver hair, a bit of makeup was applied to adjust the details of her features, and a veil was used to cover the lower half of her face. She wore silk long gloves on her hands and a lace-decorated collar around her neck to conceal the special joint details.
Basically, everything that could be disguised was managed.
Of course, if someone who was extremely familiar with the Frost Queen Lei Nora or someone who had closely observed Transcendent 099 were standing here, they might still notice something suspicious about the features of this “blond girl,” but the likelihood of such an occurrence was negligibly small.
The Frost Queen had been a figure from half a century ago, and those who had come into close contact with Transcendent 099 were almost certainly no longer alive.
Ordinary people, even the guardians of the church, would definitely not recognize that the Alice they saw at this moment was the out-of-control cursed doll.
Duncan couldn’t help sighing softly in his heart.
He had originally planned to wait a while longer before bringing Alice to human society to “see the world.” He thought of spending a few more days teaching the doll aboard the ship properly. However, he couldn’t bear the doll’s wistful gazing into the distance while idling by the railing and her restless murmuring when she had nothing to do, so he moved up the schedule.
Still, within his capabilities, he had urgently crammed her with common knowledge and instilled the most basic “norms,” hoping it should be enough.
Probably.
Now, Nina and Sherry were eating upstairs, and he had found the timing to let Ai Yi escort the doll from the ship to the shop to get acquainted with the environment. The first thing Alice did upon arriving here was to curiously touch and look around everywhere. He had to work hard to get her “pinned down” next to the counter, but even so, he could tell that this doll was hardly paying attention to his lectures.
She began to look around again, maintaining as much of a dignified posture as possible, but the darting glances and the moving neck couldn’t fool anyone.
Duncan could only say, putting together the poised sitting posture and the restless gaze, that it was truly Alice—elegance and silliness were two states that seemed to coexist in a superimposed state within one individual…
And after a series of looking around, her attention finally returned to Duncan with an unmistakable focus and… curiosity.