"Alice?" Klein looked at her with concern. "Are you all right?"
Alice came back to herself and looked at Klein, a little lost. She said softly:
"I think I'm starting to forget what I used to be like.
"It hasn't even been that long. I remember everything so clearly, so why... why can't I remember how I felt back then?"
But that was only how Alice appeared.
Unexpectedly, Alice was clearheaded. It was different from the clarity that came when her emotions were stripped away. She suddenly felt as though the dust had settled. Somewhere beyond her awareness, a voice was telling her—
Go to Bayam.
What you want is there. So are the answers you seek.
She still had a little time... The thought flashed through Alice's mind. Her expression unchanged, she lowered her eyes and asked:
"Vice Admiral Iceberg, Edwina... what kind of person is she?"
She kept the same lost, helpless tone, and Klein could not set his worries aside. Watching Alice, he answered cautiously, "She's probably a very good teacher."
Alice asked softly, "Klein, what kind of person do you think I am?"
She stressed the word "person." Klein caught it at once and pressed her. "What do you mean?"
Alice pinched the bridge of her nose and said:
"A long time ago, I started wondering why gods so far above us cared about mortals. Why did they preach? Why did they seek followers?
"Later, Bernadette told me divinity was a special kind of corruption. Those who became demigods or higher and fused with divinity had to keep fighting it to preserve their humanity.
"And followers are the 'anchors' that preserve that humanity."
"Anchors?" Klein repeated.
Alice nodded.
"Yes.
"I think that if the fragments in my memory came from my past self, and if I