I decided to stay at Alice’s miscellaneous goods store for a while to get to know her.
After forcing the puzzled Alice to agree to stay over, I put my bags in the room Alice had prepared for me, and then returned to the living room.
[……By the way, Kaito-san. How long do you plan to stay?]
[Hmmm. Until I got to know Alice better, I guess?]
[Are you talking about where my pleasu—— Fugyaaahhh!?]
[…….Did you say something just now?]
[I said nothing.]
Then, I ate the food I had bought for dinner with Alice, and since there are lots of stuff that happened today, I went to bed right away.
Alice was acting the same as usual, but I still feel like there was something strange about her……. It looked like she was deliberately trying to act upbeat and divert away the topic.
No, maybe that’s just something I didn’t realize until now, and she’s always been this way……
The 9th day of the Light month. I decided to start this morning by observing Alice’s workshop to see how she makes things.
Well, actually, Alice is usually with my guards, so it’s her clone that makes her merchandise for her miscellaneous goods store…… but this time, I asked her main body to build one for me, and Alice agreed.
[……Ummm, Kaito-san?]
[Unnn?]
[I- If you stare so intently at me like that…… It’s kinda making it difficult to make them……]
Holding the forging hammer in her hand, Alice glances at me, as if she’s uncomfortable being stared at.
Is she making a sword now? I’ve never seen blacksmithing work before, but it looks kind of cool. Thanks to Shiro-san’s blessing, I don’t feel the heat of the fire, so I can genuinely enjoy watching her work.
[……Somehow, even though this is the first time I’ve ever seen Alice seriously working on something…… You somehow look really cool.]
[!? Ahhh……]
[Ahhh……]
As I complimented her with a smile, a loud clang rang out, as Alice broke the sword she’s making in half.
[K- Kaito-san, what in the world are you suddenly saying!? Alice-chan has always been cool and cute, you know!?]
[Well, I guess you’re right.]
[Ugghhh…… N- No, no, Kaito-san? That’s the part where you would tsukkomi, you know!? This is the part where you would hit me in the head, saying “What kind of stupid things are you talking about!?”, you know!!!? Why in the world are you normally complimenting me!?]
Even though I complimented her, for some reason, she started complaining…… I can’t understand her.
Well, aside from that, Alice actually had lots of no good areas…… If her no good areas were to be gathered, I bet you could make a mountain out of it already. While she’s a troublesome girl who would quickly fool around, what is certain is that she’s a strong, knowledgeable and dependable woman.
Moreover, while the impact of her mask tends to blur it out, Alice’s unmasked face is as cute as a doll, so I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to say that she’s cool and cute.
[……Hmmm. Well, there’s that part of you that really likes to fool around every so often but…… Alice is reliable, and I certainly think you’re cute.]
[Wha!? Wha!? …… Uuuuu…… I- I’m feeling a little out of sorts……]
Hearing my words, Alice blushed so red that I could tell even with her mask on, and tried to continue forging to regain her composure.
Seeing her reaction, which hadn’t been very common before, I felt like I got to know a new Alice, even if it was only a little side of her, and that thought is making a smile naturally appear on my lips.
Then, I continued to watch Alice work for a while.
Nothing in particular happened until the sun went down. We spent the day relaxing, chatting, and watching Alice. Then, we ate dinner and took a bath afterward.
It had been a day since I had barged into Alice’s home, and while nothing big particularly happened, I think I had achieved some small ones. The times when she feels embarrassed when complimented, and when she would flusteredly divert the topic…… Seeing a girlish side of Alice feels refreshing, and it somehow makes me feel happy.
But unfortunately, I still haven’t even gotten a clue regarding my original purpose. Alice doesn’t seem to want to talk about it either…… No, she would sometimes look at me for no reason, so Alice may not be sure of whether she should talk about it or not.
I’m not in a position to step into Alice’s life any more than I am now, so I should wait for her to open up herself.
Thinking about this, I get out of the bath and move to the living room, where Alice should be.
[Alice, I’m done……?]
[…………….]
[Is she asleep?]
When I returned to the living room, I found another scene that I saw for the first time…… Alice was asleep with her hands on the desk and her mask off.
Hmmm. After what happened with Eden-san, no matter how strong Alice is…… She really would get tired.
Even when she was exhausted from the fight with Eden-san, she had become flustered after my sudden intrusion…… I guess she let down her guard and fell asleep…… Should I have intruded later in the morning?
It would be bad to wake her up, so let’s just let her sleep for a bit…… If I remember correctly, I washed the blanket Kuro and I used at the Sacred Tree Festival and put it in the Magic Box……
Smiling as I looked at the adorable Alice’s sleeping face, I took out a blanket out of the magic box and was about to drape it over Alice’s shoulders…… when I noticed it.
Glittering from the sleeping Alice’s eyes…… were her tears flowing down…… Yes, Alice was crying in her sleep.
[…………………]
……What kind of weight does Alice carry with her tiny body? It feels inexplicably frustrating not knowing that.
Gently, I reached out to Alice’s face and tried to wipe away her tears with my finger, when Alice’s blue eyes opened.
[……Eh? Arehh———- !?]
[……………….]
Opening her eyes and seeing me, Alice became surprised, and hurriedly, she rubbed her hands over her eyes and put on her mask.
[You’ve got out of the bath huh~~ Well~~ As expected of Kaito-san. You look really great even when you’re dripping with water! Ahaha……]
[……Alice.]
[……Kaito-san…… Ummm, do you really…… want to know about it?]
[………………..]
Alice immediately tried to divert the topic, but when she noticed me staring at her with serious eyes, she lowered her head and softly muttered.
[I- Isn’t it fine…… Even if you don’t know about it…… We could just stay like this…… Where I would do something stupid and Kaito-san would scold me for it…… Those times were fun and made me feel happy…… That’s why, isn’t it fine……]
[………………..]
[I’m afraid that Kaito-san…… will find out about the old me.]
It was the first time she had shown a clear weakness.
Asking to just keep doing like we’re doing back then, just so that she doesn’t waver any further…… with such a sad, frail voice…… II can understand what Alice is feeling.
I’m sure Alice thinks that me finding out about her past is going to destroy our current relationship.
I also felt that way too…… As Chronois-san pointed out to me, I was trying to get around confronting her directly because I felt the same way as Alice does now.
That’s why I wanted to know what she was lamenting about…… but unfortunately for her, I’ve already put my hand on that door. I’m ready to step into the depths of Alice’s life.
And most of all…… I began to wish for it…… a relationship more than I currently have with her……
[……Alice. I want to be able…… to “protect” Alice.]
[……Protect? Kaito-san, protecting me?]
[Yeah. Of course, I know that my power isn’t even close to Alice’s. I know that…… Alice is much stronger than me, and that you’ve gained lots of experience, and most of all, I know that you’re better than me at everything.]
[…………………]
[However, I can’t forgive myself for not being able to reach out to the suffering Alice. I hate myself for just being protected…… Even I…… want to “protect Alice’s heart” too..]
[……Why……?]
Hearing me quietly tell her that, Alice asks me back with a voice that sounds like she’s about to cry.
She didn’t say the details of what she exactly wants to ask. Therefore, I decided to speak my honest thoughts.
[……Alice is already irreplaceable to me. You said it’s okay to keep things the way they are now but…… I want our relationship to go further than that. I want to be in a relationship where we can support each other……. where I am not only protected by Alice, but where I’m also protecting you.]
[……………………]
[So…… Alice…… I want to know about you.]
[……………………]
I said what I needed to say. If Alice still refuses to do it, any more than this will just make her suffer.
……That’s why, I won’t say anything more. I only quietly waited for Alice’s response.
With her head facing down, Alice stayed silent, and a peaceful silence enveloped the both of us.
I wonder how much time has passed? One minute? Ten minutes? Or perhaps, even more than that? After a long time of silence, as if time had stopped, Alice slowly opened her mouth.
[……It won’t be…… an interesting story, you know?]
[……Unnn.]
[You might also…… regret it though, you know? You might even wish that you didn’t ask……]
[I would never do that.]
[……I understand.]
After confirming that my resolve was firm, Alice let out a sigh…… before she nodded her head.
Dear Mom, Dad———— Alice’s past, I had imagined it to be a heavy, hard door for me. It was a door that she continued to carry in her small body, for hidden behind it was her past that she still continued to hide. As I think that this is finally the starting point——– The door to Alice’s heart was quietly opened.
<Afterword>
As I mentioned in the Activity Report(which the english readers won’t be able to read), the Valentine’s Day Extra Chapters will cut off the flow of Alice’s arc, so I’ll post it all at once after Alice’s arc ends. It’s a pretty big volume after all.