Abnormal Contact

Ted Riel sat down beside Anomaly 077.

"Really not having any?" Anomaly 077 grinned, shaking the beer bottle in his hand before pointing toward a corner. "I've got another bottle over there—good stuff for internal circulation like this won't be easy to come across again once you miss it. As far as I know, Lightwind Harbor doesn't have this... Give it a try. If you're still soaked in the chill of Subspace, alcohol might help."

"...Since you know so much about 'saints,' you should know alcohol is meaningless to me," Ted Riel said, glancing at the mummy before looking away and shaking his head. "There's something I'm curious about."

Anomaly 077 shrugged. "Ask. Doesn't mean I'll answer."

"...How does an 'anomaly' with a complete mind like yours view this world?" Ted Riel asked seriously. Perhaps feeling that the question was a little abrupt, he thought for a moment and added, "I've dealt with many people, and I've encountered the thoughts on the world left behind in books by many sages. I understand the perspective of mortals, but when I saw you, I suddenly became curious about what the world looks like through the eyes of a rational 'anomaly' like you..."

"Aha, starting right off with such a philosophical question. No wonder you're a Truth Keeper," Anomaly 077 smacked his lips. "But haven't you met Miss Alice? Why not ask her?"

Ted Riel fell silent for a moment. "...I feel like she has no opinion about the world."

"...Aha, then it seems you really have met Miss Alice," the "sailor" said with a delighted laugh. He took another swig of beer, letting the liquid drip onto the deck as he raised his head. "You want my opinion? I think this world might as well be destroyed."

Ted Riel instinctively frowned.

"That's