"Machine Heart is looking for it? What for... Huh, wait a second!"
Alice habitually let her imagination run wild for a moment, then realized Arrodes had left.
Though she regretted not being able to keep chatting nonsense with Arrodes, Alice didn't dwell on it too much. After all, she'd already asked what she wanted to ask.
That was about it anyway... So what exactly was Machine Heart planning to do?
Ignoring her curiosity wasn't Alice's style. She blinked her eyes, lay down on the bed, and began peeking in.
The Machine Heart members clearly hadn't considered shielding themselves from the gaze of such a high-level existence. Alice saw three people: a man who was obviously their leader, his teammate, and an acquaintance—Winfred.
The slip of paper Alice had drawn eyes on and written an honorific name upon sat openly on the table in the center of the room. Alice watched as the man placed Arrodes's true body on the table, then exchanged greetings with Winfred.
From the way they addressed each other, Alice learned that this man was Iconther Bernard, a deacon of Machine Heart.
Never heard of him.
Alice rubbed her chin and watched him gently stroke the silver mirror three times before asking aloud:
"Honorable Arrodes, my question is: who left this paper behind?"
Alice blinked her eyes and understood why Machine Heart had only sent deacon-level members to investigate an incident that might involve a High-Sequence existence.
Clearly, the vanguard's sole purpose was to use Arrodes.
Alice felt that she understood everything. She looked toward the mirror's surface, somewhat curious about how Arrodes would handle this question.
Arrodes's surface rippled twice like water, and a Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card emerged within the mirror.
This... seemed fine too...
Alice fell into deep thought.
During the silence, Arrodes