Bringing up old matters, Klein could not help but glare at Alice as he spoke indignantly:
"How has this not blown over with you yet?!"
"It really is very much like it..." Alice defended herself. "Look, performing... Tell me, when the time comes, won't your Sequence 4 Acting Method involve running a circus?"
"How could it be possible?!" Klein snatched the paper back. "What does a 'Trickmaster' have to do with a circus?!"
This was indeed a serious question. Alice thought seriously for two seconds before tentatively saying:
"...A Supernatural Circus?"
Klein lowered his head and fell into deep thought.
After sitting quietly for a few seconds, Klein suddenly came to his senses. He raised his head and shouted at Alice:
"No, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about!
"I wanted to tell you... I saw Zaratul in there!"
"In there?" Alice sat up straight. "Zaratul?"
Telling stories above the gray fog had its own unique advantages. Klein began with the unknown Angel behind Chanis Gate and continued until he left that mysterious little town, occasionally adding a few illustrations along the way.
Alice tapped her fingers against the tabletop and occasionally asked about things she did not understand. Rarely, she did not derail the topic midway through and persisted until the end of the story—Klein attributed that to his profound storytelling skills.
Only after Klein finished did Alice say to him thoughtfully:
"That Angel you encountered... Hmm... I might know who They are—though perhaps not in the way you know Them."
Klein looked at Alice. Alice tilted her head and began recounting something that had happened a long time ago:
"Do you remember the Great Smog Event in Backlund? The time when I consumed the 'Winner' Potion."
How could he forget? Klein nodded, and Alice continued: