My discomfort may have shown itself on my face from time to time. However, it wasn’t until after Eden-san left that it took a definite form on my face.
[……Kaito-san. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m a little bit tired…… So, can we have our date in another time?]
[Eh? Y- Yeah…… Are you alright?]
After Eden-san left, Alice said that to me with a wry smile pasted on her face.
There’s nothing strange about the words themselves. Just a few minutes ago, Alice was seriously battling the powerful Eden-san, so it’s natural that she would get tired.
However, somehow…… There was an uncomfortable feeling buzzing within my chest, an uncomfortable reason that I couldn’t explain.
[Ahaha, I’m totally alright! It’s just that even the special Alice-chan can get tired sometimes.]
[I- I see……]
I wonder why? Even though it looks like Alice is laughing…… Why does it look like she’s “crying”?
Come to think of it, it was the same just now. Alice should have been very angry at me, but for some reason, she wasn’t…… It felt like she was shaking in fear.
Though I say that, it still doesn’t explain what exactly is wrong with her…… That’s why I don’t know what to do.
[Well then, I’ll attach a clone to you and leave her as your guard…… I’ll be excusing myself then.]
[……Yeah.]
As Alice cut the conversation short at that moment and left, I wanted to call her and make her stop walking away…… but I couldn’t find the words to say. Reaffirming that I knew nothing about Alice, in the end, I could only nod my head.
Alice is like a friend I can let my guard around…… A close friend who would sometimes be considered as bad company. She’d show up out of nowhere, interject with the conversation, and mess around…… Such a scene had become normal in my everyday life before I knew it.
I had thought I knew Alice…… No, it may just be that I was trying to convince myself that I knew her.
Alice rarely talks about her past. She had a clear wall around her, as if she is imploring others not to step in…… Staying in a situation where no one knows anything about her.
But today, Alice has expressed her fury for the first time. I’ve been thinking about Alice’s face at that moment…… And I had one thought, sticking in my mind so much that it hurts.
It isn’t that I didn’t know anything about Alice…… It’s just that “I didn’t try to know” her……
Alice treats me well and laughs with me…… I think I’ve been taking advantage of that, thinking that I know her and avoided making any effort to know her.
After all, I…… At that time…… I don’t even know why “Alice lost her composure and got angry”……
I can’t just let this continue. At least…… I couldn’t forgive myself for not even being able to say anything sensible to Alice as she left with a sad-looking back.
Returning to the grocery store where there wasn’t a single customer, Alice lowered the CLOSE tag on her door and walked into the door…… she struck her “shaking hands” on the wall.
[……I had been naive. That Teleportation Magic in the beginning…… I was being completely negligent and was caught off guard…… If that person had the intention to kill Kaito-san…… I have…… I would have……]
Covering her face with her trembling hands, Alice’s entire body trembled in fear.
Her wail of sorrow disappearing in the void…… The outcry of a girl frightened of the worst future.
[……I don’t want it…… such a future…… I will definitely……]
Muttering in a grieving voice, Alice stared into the dim darkness with tears streaming down her face.
[……I won’t let anyone steal him away…… Those who have budding resentment to Kaito-san…… I’ll kill all of them…… I won’t let anyone steal him away…… I will never let anyone steal him away…… I will never…… lose Kaito-san……]
Those words aren’t meant for others, but words that she say to herself.
She’s suffering and grieving, but she’s still unable and unwilling to let go…… With these thoughts in mind, Alice’s unforgiving heart severely tortured her worthless self.
[……It hurts…… What am I supposed to do? Iris…… Iris…… How could I remove this…… “This curse you put on me”…… I don’t know anymore…… Answer me…… Partner.]
There is no one that could answer her call for help. Within the quiet dim light…… Only the voice of the sobbing girl could be heard.
[……Sorry. I don’t think I can help you much with that either.]
[……I see.]
I knew I couldn’t let this continue, so I decided to get to know Alice first. That said, she has been hiding it from him all this time. I didn’t feel comfortable asking her about a topic that she didn’t want others to step into.
So, I figured I’d ask elsewhere, and the first person I turned to was Kuro…… However, after Kuro listened to me, she apologetically shook her head.
[I don’t know that much about Shalltear either…… Hmmm. I do know something about her to some extent, but I don’t think I can say that I really know her.]
[You don’t?]
I asked Kuro, thinking that she was her family and have been friends with her for a long time, so she might know something, but she told me that she didn’t know Alice well. And, I tried asking her what she meant by that and……
[When I first met Shalltear…… I felt like she was quite the mismatching child. She had great combat techniques, so I thought that she had quite a considerable battle experience…… But it feels as if she “suddenly became very strong” and didn’t know how to handle her power.]
[…………………….]
[Well, so I accompanied her in practice and gave her advice, and so, we ended up getting along…… but how should I say this? There’s something that always feels out of place.]
[Feels out of place?]
Kuro doesn’t seem to know much about Alice’s past either, but Kuro was able to tell me her impression of Alice from her point of view, and after she drank some coffee from her teacup, she continued.
[Unnn. Shalltear looks so bright and cheerful but……. I wonder why? I can’t think of a better way to describe it, but it feels as if she was “acting” the role of “Shalltear”, and this feeling may be vague, but I feel like she’s isn’t smiling deep within her heart. Though I say that, I’ve only recently found out about it.]
[……Eh?]
[I’ve certainly felt something out of place. However, that feeling was quite vague…… But after Kaito-san’s shape, it began to take a definite shape.]
[Since I showed up?]
[Unnn. I can’t really explain it that well…… but she’s somehow different. Those times when she’s with us, and when she’s with Kaito-kun……]
Kuro doesn’t know about Alice’s past either, so she’s just basing it on conjectures…… but Kuro is saying that Alice looks different when she’s talking to Kuro and when she’s talking to me.
I hadn’t seen Alice talking to other people that many times, so I didn’t feel anything out of place but…… if Kuro, who has known her for a long time says so, she’s probably right.
[Shalltear, who has always had a thin film covering her true feelings and was calmer than anyone else, when it comes to Kaito-kun, she would sometimes show violent emotions.]
[………………]
[This is just my guess, but I think Shalltear is terrified of losing Kaito-kun. However, I don’t know why she is so attached to Kaito-san. She looked so different from the Shalltear I know……]
[……………….]
[That’s all I can tell you…… I’m sorry I can’t be of much help.]
[No, thank you. You really helped me.]
In the end, I still didn’t know the details…… but I was sure of one thing.
The discomfort I felt with Alice, the fury she showed at that time with Eden…… The key to knowing the answer to that question, as I thought, would be lying in the past Alice was hiding.
However, it would be difficult to investigate that…… If Kuro herself doesn’t know about it, how could other people know about it?
I wonder if Shiro-san, who can read minds, would know about it? No, although it might be a bit of a stretch, I really feel like Alice has a way of not letting Shiro-san read her mind as well.
Someone who Alice would spontaneously talk about herself…… What about Fate-san? I heard that Alice and Fate-san are good friends, so Fate-san might know something about Alice.
Dear Mom, Dad———– Seeing a side of Alice that I’d never seen before, I realized that I really didn’t know anything about her at all. That’s why, in order to talk to Alice now, I think what I need to do first————- is to know Alice.
In the upper levels of the Divine Realm, one of the three temples of the Supreme God…… In the temple of the God of Time and Space. While Chronois was working in her office, the God of Fate, Fate, appeared in front of her.
[God of Time and Space, do you have a moment?]
[God of Fate huh…… What is it? We’re busy because of the visit of the God from another world. If it isn’t something urgent, you can just……]
[I’m going to the Human Realm for a bit.]
[……Huh? W- Wait, stop fooling around, didn’t I say we’re busy!? You’ve also got a lot of work to do……]
[I’ve already done them. Here. This should be everything.]
[……What?]
Hearing Fate’s words, telling her that she’s going to the Human Realm, Chronois thought that she’s going to slack off again and tried to angrily scold her…… But right after, Fate-san puts a large number of documents on Chronois’ desk.
The sight of Fate working voluntarily…… It would normally be possible under normal circumstances, making Chronois stunned as she looked through some of the documents.
[……I- Indeed…… All of them are properly……]
[Then, there shouldn’t be a problem, right? I’m going to the Human Realm. I have something important to do, so I don’t want any interruptions, okay? I even went out of my way these freaking troublesome work……]
[……Y- Yeah…… As long as the work assigned to you are done. There’s no problem but…… What in the world happened? What is something that is so important that she even did her work……]
[………………..]
Giving a glance at Chronois, who was quietly muttering to herself while still looking like she couldn’t believe it, Fate turned away and “walked” towards the entrance.
Then, she stopped once in front of the door, and as if she was saying this only to herself, she softly muttered.
[It’s nothing. I’m just going to visit a “stupid friend”…… and punch her for worrying about something stupid……]
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai: [My spring has finally come! Alice’s arc is the best ever! You can clearly see that!!!]
<It really has nice seriousness. It’s impressive…… However, it’s just a prelude (The second half of Alice’s arc is even sweeter that you would vomit more rainbows than before)>
Serious-senpai: [……………………..]
T/N: 25/185+10