Arc 15Fortune on the Future

Alice handled prayers in Mr. Fool’s place, confronted Sylvia in Amon’s mausoleum, and joined Klein aboard the Future as it investigated a mysterious deep-sea well. The well’s call seemed connected to the Western Continent, while Audrey was redirected to Alice for help divining a notebook’s origins.

  • Alice took over prayers for Mr. Fool, helped Alger win exactly thirty pounds, and offered a troubled man a chance to seek Fate’s help with a ritual.
  • Amon transported Alice to his mausoleum, where she questioned Sylvia about Cassandra and learned how Sylvia had become a Swindler.
  • Alice put Sylvia’s body in the coffin, later published a story under the name Rita Skeeter, and joined Klein on an excursion through Nas.
  • Alice and Klein met Cattleya aboard the Future and encountered Frank Lee and Heath Doyle as the ship headed east along the dangerous Whaling Route.
  • Alice sailed with Cattleya and Klein toward the Deep Sea Giant Well, where Nina found submerged steel structures and described an eerie call from the well.
  • Alice sensed a call from the Western Continent and warned that Nina might have melted if she had remained in the well, so Klein advised against entering it.
  • Audrey sought Mr. Fool’s help with Magic Mirror Divination, but Klein directed her to Miss Fortune, and Alice eagerly agreed to assist.
Chapters 357–381 Vol. 4 Read

Ch. 357Why Not Ask Mr. Fool?

At a Tarot Club meeting, Alice’s unusual suggestions and the World’s warning revealed that her rule about a past carried deeper significance. She asked Cattleya how to pass information without attracting the Hidden Sage’s attention, but Cattleya admitted she did not know.

  • Alice rejected the World’s suggestion, prompting the Tarot Club members to realize her rule was more than an eccentric whim.
  • The members recalled Alice’s strange proposals, including asking Mr. Fool to deliver food to the City of Silver.
  • Emlyn asked what past Alice and the World were hinting at, and Alice praised him as the Sanguine’s prophesied savior to distract him.
  • Alice asked Cattleya how to communicate without attracting the Hidden Sage’s attention.
  • Cattleya said she did not know and admitted that being drawn into the Tarot Club had helped her find traces of Mythical Creature Blood.

Ch. 358Roselle's Famous Saying

At the Tarot Club, Alice claimed she could handle her own problems and explained how members could recognize the two pages of Roselle's Diary she had written. When Audrey asked what Roselle's famous saying meant, Klein offered a cryptic translation to help Alice avoid revealing the truth.

  • Alice insisted she did not need Klein's help, and Cattleya encouraged her while Audrey privately questioned the change in her behavior.
  • Alger asked how the Tarot Club could identify Alice's pages in Roselle's Diary, and Alice told them to remember the two pages and compare them.
  • Fors explained that memorizing the diary's Roselle Script was difficult, so Alice asked whether they could tell if they had already submitted a page.
  • Klein reminded Alice that the pages contained a line adapted from one of Roselle's famous sayings, and Alice taught the club the original and two variations.
  • Audrey asked what “The Taste of a Witch is Quite Good” meant, and Klein helped Alice by translating it as “All things are false; all things are permitted.”

Ch. 359Derrick's Request

At the Tarot Club, Alice explained away her trouble translating a Roselle quote, then discussed Derrick’s patrol teams suffering strange bad luck near some ruins. She offered charms while warning Derrick that future help would come at a price, and was startled when he called her merciful.

  • Alice claimed she had read the quote but did not know how to translate it into Loenese, ending the others’ questions.
  • Derrick told the Tarot Club that patrol teams near some ruins in the City of Silver’s surroundings were struck by dangerous bad luck.
  • Alice said she could not reach Derrick and advised him to avoid the ruins until she or Mr. Fool could help.
  • Alice offered to provide charms to dispel bad luck, but refused Derrick’s offer of Beyonder materials for this first incident.
  • Alice warned Derrick that future help would not be free, and Derrick solemnly thanked her as the merciful Miss Fortune.
  • Alice wondered in surprise whether Derrick had really called her merciful.

Ch. 360"Mother!"

After the Tarot Club ended, Klein questioned Alice about the Sequence 2 book Cassandra and worried whether she could handle it. Alice teased him by calling him “Mother,” then reassured him that she could seek the Goddess’s help.

  • Klein asked Alice why she had not told him about Cassandra, and Alice explained that the book was a cursed Soothsayer at Sequence 2.
  • Alice argued that Klein’s Church was making her, his Angel-level Blessed, do child labor, then refused his suggestion that she go to high school.
  • Klein wondered whether Cassandra would simply find its way to Alice, and Alice joked that things had already been delivered to her before.
  • Alice called Klein “Mother,” making him fall off his chair, then laughed as he complained and threatened to educate her.
  • Klein asked whether Alice could handle Cassandra, and Alice said she could call the Goddess Mother instead, though she hoped the Goddess would still acknowledge her.

Ch. 361Is Miss Fortune's Surname Yelolian?

After returning to the Real World, Alice handled Alger’s prayer and helped him win thirty pounds at a casino. Alger misunderstood her joking name “Princess Yelolian” as a meaningful royal surname, while Alice remained unaware of his guesses and received another prayer from someone she had marked.

  • Alice returned to the Real World furious after Klein warned that the Goddess might beat her to death, then discovered she had to handle prayers in Mr. Fool’s place.
  • Alger prayed to Alice, praised her help with the diary incident, and conversed with her about acting and the Church of Storms.
  • Alice altered Alger’s fate, told him to win thirty pounds at the casino, and warned him not to win too much.
  • Alger left the casino with thirty pounds and speculated that Yelolian was a royal surname tied to Alice’s unpleasant memories.
  • Alice heard another prayer from someone she had specially marked.

Ch. 362Inevitable Failure

Alice heard a believer explain that repeated failures had stopped him from drinking his Potion, and she offered to help in exchange for a price. She then considered Sylvia’s Potion path and the possible outcome of exploring Amon’s Mausoleum.

  • A man prayed to Alice for courage and help drinking a Marauder Potion, explaining that repeated mishaps had prevented him from becoming a Beyonder.
  • Alice saw that his likely futures mostly involved losing control and asked whether he was prepared to pay for Fate’s help.
  • Alice sent him the Sacrifice Ritual instructions and waited for him to offer a price.
  • Alice wondered whether Sylvia had obtained her Swindler Potion through fraud and whether she could acquire the Cryptologist Potion.
  • Alice reasoned that exploring Amon’s Mausoleum could make Sylvia a Demigod whether she succeeded or failed.

Ch. 363Weaving the Web of Fate: Elegy of the Red Moon

Alice reflected on Cassandra’s influence and the world’s gods, then imagined a tragic love story between Klein and Ince Zangwill. She gave the unwritten story the title “Weaving the Web of Fate: Elegy of the Red Moon.”

  • Alice wondered whether Cassandra had deliberately or unknowingly shaped Sylvia’s fate and concluded that Sylvia had been treated as a toy.
  • Alice speculated that gods grew more like fixed puzzle pieces as they advanced in Sequence, and imagined the world as a building-block game.
  • Alice remembered Ince Zangwill and began outlining a love story in which he and Klein became entangled through revenge and fell in love.
  • Alice imagined Ince sacrificing herself during Klein’s ascension, leaving Mr. Fool to become a lonely god who eventually fell into slumber.
  • Alice named her imagined story “Weaving the Web of Fate: Elegy of the Red Moon.”

Ch. 364Are Worms of Time Tasty?

Klein read Alice’s prank confession about Ince Zangwill, copied it for possible future use, and worried about the rumors Alice might invent. Alice dreamed she found a treasure hoard that turned out to be Worms of Time, then heard a familiar voice ask if they were tasty.

  • Alice sacrificed pages to Klein, including Ince Zangwill’s supposed confession of love to Mr. Fool.
  • Klein tore up the pages, copied their contents, and considered showing them to the Goddess.
  • Klein imagined how Alice might turn his life into an outrageous story, then abandoned the idea.
  • Alice was disappointed that Klein had not scolded her and decided to deal with it after waking.
  • Alice dreamed she found a treasure hoard, bit into a gold coin, and discovered the treasure was a mass of Worms of Time.
  • A familiar voice asked Alice, “Are Worms of Time tasty?”

Ch. 365Amon in the Coffin

Alice woke from a dream of countless Worms of Time and found Amon waiting in her room, where He gave her a grand gift by taking her to a tomb chamber. Sitting in a coffin beside a lifelike portrait of Amon, Alice realized she might be playing the role she had once planned for Him, but she did not know where He had gone.

  • Alice screamed when she recognized the Worms of Time, then woke in her bedroom and saw a crow that changed into a white crow after her passing thought.
  • Amon appeared beside Alice and told her He had counted 345,726 Worms of Time in her dream and prepared the feast because she had wanted to taste them.
  • Amon offered Alice a grand gift, took her hand, and transported her to an unfamiliar place.
  • Alice found herself sitting in an open coffin inside a new tomb chamber, with a vivid portrait resembling Amon nearby.
  • Alice recalled that she had once asked Amon to hide in a coffin and startle Sylvia, and suspected she had been brought to take Amon’s place.

Ch. 366Dolly Amon

Alice fell asleep in Amon’s coffin and dreamed of searching for treasure before waking to find Amon and Sylvia at the mausoleum. After Amon let her claim Sylvia’s Ocean Blue Covered Book, it escaped Alice’s grasp, and Alice suggested Sylvia had failed to solve a riddle tied to her stolen and fraudulently acquired potions.

  • Alice disguised herself as Amon, climbed into his coffin, and fell asleep.
  • Alice dreamed of searching a ship for treasure, then awoke when Amon opened the coffin.
  • Amon introduced Sylvia to his mausoleum, and Sylvia collapsed in terror as the Ocean Blue Covered Book fell from her hand.
  • Alice asked Amon for the book, and he agreed before teasing her as his best friend who had tasted the Worm of Time.
  • Alice reached for the book, but it vanished; Amon denied taking it and said he had only added some fun to her life.
  • Sylvia accused Alice of making Cassandra abandon her, and Alice taunted Sylvia for getting stuck at Sequence 7 and failing to solve a riddle.

Ch. 367This Child Must Not Be Kept

Alice confronted Sylvia over Cassandra and offered her a choice between a dagger and candy, but Sylvia chose the candy before stabbing herself. Alice performed Spirit Channeling to question Sylvia about Cassandra, learning how Cassandra first won Sylvia’s trust and beginning to investigate whether she had influenced Sylvia’s fortune-telling scams.

  • Alice questioned Sylvia about why Amon had left her alive, and Sylvia offered to reveal secrets about Cassandra in exchange for her life.
  • Alice told Sylvia to choose between a dagger and candy, and Sylvia ate the candy before taking the dagger and stabbing herself.
  • Alice began a Spirit Channeling ritual and asked how Sylvia had first met Cassandra.
  • Sylvia recalled that Cassandra had claimed Fate chose her and had made prophecies that later came true.
  • Alice asked why Sylvia had pretended to be a Soothsayer, and Sylvia said it was to act as a Swindler and that Cassandra had not suggested it.
  • Alice asked whether Cassandra had ever told Sylvia a story about posing as a fortune-teller to swindle people.

Ch. 368New Pen Name

Alice disposed of Sylvia’s corpse, encountered Amon in crow form, and returned to Backlund to begin writing a story about Amon and Leonard. She published under the pen name Rita Skeeter, while Klein offered her a surprise gift at the Tarot Club meeting.

  • Alice put Sylvia’s corpse in the coffin, then carved a mark around her right eye with a dagger.
  • Alice teleported into a forest, where she met Amon in the form of a crow and asked him for a fluffy avatar to raise.
  • Alice returned to Backlund and drafted a story about Amon and Leonard’s first meeting, also weaving in Amon and Pallez.
  • Alice finished the first part of her manuscript and signed a contract with a magazine publisher under the pen name Rita Skeeter.
  • At the Tarot Club meeting, Klein offered Alice a gift if she stayed quiet, and she eagerly asked what it was.

Ch. 369Wolf Fish Cans

Klein met Alice in the Gargas Archipelago, where she turned a pirate and gang fight into chaos with her Chaos Domain. The chapter left Klein shouting as Alice picked up one of the Wolf Fish Cans thrown into the road.

  • Klein arranged to meet Alice in Nas through a crystal ball and wore a wizard robe at her request.
  • Alice saw Klein's outfit and joked that it was time to return Amon's Monocle to its rightful owner.
  • Klein took Alice to watch a fight between pirates and a local gang, and Alice used her Chaos Domain to confuse everyone in the area.
  • Alice withdrew the domain when the fighters continued brawling, and Klein tried to explain why violence would not end violence.
  • A local threw Wolf Fish Cans into the road, and Alice picked one up as Klein shouted for her not to put it in her mouth.

Ch. 370Are Your Mistresses Shared?

Klein and Alice traveled to Nas, where Alice tried to watch a protest against white whale hunting and confronted an inn receptionist who tried to give them only one room. After eating at a whale restaurant, they reached Cattleya's contact shop, where the owner offered Klein a drink and Alice asked whether Feynak men shared mistresses.

  • Alice rescued Klein from the Wolf Fish Cans' attack range and gave him lemonade after he retched.
  • Klein translated the anti-whaling protesters' banners for Alice, then pulled her away when police confronted the demonstrators.
  • Alice challenged the inn receptionist for falsely claiming only one room was available, and Klein led her upstairs after they got two rooms.
  • Klein soothed Alice with a feast of white whale dishes before they visited the Frenzy Whale Dance shop on Gray Amber Street.
  • The shopkeeper offered Klein a bottle of Nibos, prompting Alice to ask whether Feynak men shared mistresses.

Ch. 371Loving Drink Like a Mistress

Klein met a drunken warehouse boss to arrange a meeting with Cattleya, while Alice’s curiosity about liquor and her attempt to impersonate Amon caused awkward interruptions. Cattleya confirmed that they would leave at eight that night from Dock 6, and the crystal-ball call ended with her deciding not to ask about the strange rumor linking Alice and Gehrman Sparrow.

  • The Boss choked on his liquor when Alice misunderstood his drinking metaphor and asked about his mistress.
  • After the Boss led them away, Alice tasted his liquor, spat it out, and put on Amon’s Monocle to understand its effects.
  • The Boss used a crystal ball to contact Cattleya, who recognized Gehrman Sparrow and noticed Alice beside him.
  • Alice greeted Cattleya as Lady Daly Hermit, and Klein told her to use names so others would not overhear.
  • Alice tried to imitate Amon with her Monocle, but Klein smacked her head and promised to give her a Monocle later.
  • Cattleya told Klein to meet her at Dock 6 at eight that night, then ended the call without asking about the rumor concerning Alice and Gehrman Sparrow.

Ch. 372Deep Sea Ruins

Klein took Alice to the Lodal bar in Gargas, where they overheard an adventurer describe a mysterious seabed discovery east of the city. The report of a deep, alluring underwater well left Klein wondering whether the ruins predated the Fourth Epoch.

  • Klein transformed his appearance to escape Alice’s grasp, then took her by carriage to the Lodal bar.
  • Alice warned Klein that he had overpaid the coachman, and Klein collected the change.
  • At the bar, Alice demanded the strongest liquor, but the newly opened bottle returned to its unopened state and she pushed it toward Klein.
  • Klein listened to the adventurers while Alice focused on her food.
  • An adventurer said Gales had found human-built steel wreckage and an immense submerged well east of Gargas, whose depths seemed to call to him.
  • Klein considered that the underwater ruins might date from an epoch earlier than the Fourth.

Ch. 373Is This Your Idea?

Klein and Alice encountered Kircheis at the Lodal bar, where he fled after Alice recognized his 9,500-pound bounty. That evening, they boarded Cattleya’s ship, the Future, via a spectacular starlight bridge, and Klein wondered why she had arranged such a conspicuous welcome.

  • Alice and Klein discussed lunch at the Lodal bar before a young man asked whether members of the Adventurers Mutual Aid Society were present.
  • Kircheis, Agalito’s second mate, entered the bar, and Alice recognized him as the Butcher with a 9,500-pound bounty; he fled after seeing her.
  • Bar patrons whispered that Alice was a Demigod who was keeping Gehrman Sparrow, and Klein and Alice left the bar.
  • Klein and Alice waited at Dock 6 until Cattleya’s ship, the Future, arrived at eight o’clock.
  • Lady Daly conjured a transparent bridge of starlight from the Future to Dock 6, and Alice and Klein crossed it aboard the ship.
  • Klein asked whether Alice had arranged the conspicuous welcome, and Alice denied it, so he concluded Cattleya had acted on her own.

Ch. 374Frank Lee

Klein and Alice boarded the Future and met its captain, Cattleya, as the ship resumed its dangerous eastward voyage. They encountered the first mate, Frank Lee, whose unusual agricultural experiments prompted Alice to suggest even stranger ideas before Klein stopped her.

  • Alice accidentally drenched Cattleya in liquor when the bottle exploded in her hand, then Klein introduced himself and Alice to her.
  • Cattleya led Klein and Alice aboard the Future and explained that few sailors traveled east along the Whaling Route because it was extremely dangerous.
  • Alice hid behind Cattleya as sailors watched her, and Klein threatened to throw her into the sea if the crew all died.
  • At the cabin entrance, Alice asked Frank Lee if she could pull out one of his arm hairs, and he introduced himself as the Future's First Mate.
  • Frank Lee explained that the Mother God church had nearly taken him to court over his attempt to grow calves from the ground like wheat.
  • Alice proposed chicken-leg, steak, and ice cream trees, but Klein covered her mouth and introduced himself to Frank Lee.

Ch. 375Money Tree

Alice and Klein boarded the Future, where they met the ship’s second mate, Heath Doyle, and learned how he had become a Rose Bishop. Cattleya showed Alice to her room, and Alice asked whether the Starlight Bridge had been her Extraordinary Ability.

  • Alice urged Klein to make a money tree, and he reminded her not to forget her promise to wait until the return trip before acting.
  • Alice met Heath Doyle, the Future’s pale second mate, and recognized him as the Bloodless from a wanted poster.
  • Frank Lee explained that Heath had become a Rose Bishop after potion materials accidentally seeped into him, without passing through the Listener stage.
  • Alice questioned Heath about whether he had encountered anything connected to a Soothsayer, and warned that such attention could be dangerous.
  • Cattleya showed Alice her childlike room aboard the Future, and Alice asked whether Cattleya had created the Starlight Bridge.

Ch. 376The Future's Dining Hall

Alice explored the Future, sampled Frank Lee’s bizarre cultivated food, and watched two whaling ships prepare to defend themselves from the ship. She resisted the urge to appear aboard the whalers and joined Cattleya in the captain’s cabin, leaving her reason for visiting unexplained.

  • Alice asked Cattleya for a late-night snack and went with her to the dining hall, where she cautiously tried a potato that tasted like beef.
  • Alice recommended chili sauce on ice cream, and Cattleya tried it before throwing the dish away.
  • The next morning, Alice told Klein that the fish on his plate was actually a potato, then gave him the fish from her own plate.
  • Alice saw two whaling ships turn their weapons toward the Future but abandoned the idea of appearing aboard them.
  • Alice entered Cattleya’s cabin and silently stood beside her to watch outside until Cattleya asked what she was doing.

Ch. 377Have a Sip

Alice waited with Cattleya aboard the Future, then joined her and Klein in investigating a nearby Fourth Epoch ruin called the Deep Sea Giant Well. Frank Lee showed them a fish whose blood had become red wine, and Alice tasted it before suggesting other drinks he could try.

  • Alice reflected on the Key of Light and decided its unpredictable game might give her a chance to make it lose.
  • Cattleya spotted pirate ships, which scattered as the Future approached, and explained that she was slowing the ship to investigate the Deep Sea Giant Well.
  • Klein joined Alice and Cattleya on deck, where Frank Lee greeted them and Alice healed Klein with a pat.
  • Frank Lee demonstrated his fish with red wine for blood, and Alice took a sip before proposing that he try making fish with tea or grape juice.

Ch. 378Can I Touch It?

Frank Lee showed Alice his experiments aboard Cattleya’s ship, while Nina prepared to dive into the sea. Alice sensed that Bernadette might be approaching, and Nina later returned with strange artifacts, prompting Alice to ask if she could touch her chest.

  • Frank Lee described plans for drinks made from plants and fruit infused with medicine, and Cattleya interrupted to ask whether Nina was ready.
  • Nina emerged from the shadows, exchanged questions with Alice about her relationship with Gehrman Sparrow, and Alice called him her Blessed.
  • Nina dove into the sea with several sailors, and Alice sensed that a guest might soon arrive through a forest of pea vines.
  • Alice asked how long it would take to reach the sea, and Cattleya said her secret route would get them there in two or three days.
  • Nina returned with a corroded metal bar and a piece of porous black mud, complained that there was no Deep Sea Giant Well, and Alice asked if she could touch Nina’s chest.

Ch. 379Kids Shouldn't Ask About These Things

Gehrman Sparrow introduced Alice to Nina as one of his Sealed Artifacts, and Alice awkwardly abandoned her request to touch Nina’s chest after noticing Bernadette watching. Nina then described the ruins she found on the seabed, while Klein tried to stop Alice from asking about her suggestive remarks by telling her fate would reveal the answer later.

  • Alice asked whether a man could have breasts as large as Nina’s, and Gehrman Sparrow introduced her as one of his Sealed Artifacts.
  • Alice decided not to touch Nina after sensing Bernadette watching, then manually restarted herself and returned to her previous position as if nothing had happened.
  • Cattleya asked Nina to explain what she had found, and Nina described a deep-sea well surrounded by collapsed steel structures.
  • Alice asked Klein what Nina meant by saying the structures had shrunk, and Klein explained it with a sponge analogy.
  • Klein told Alice that fate would reveal the answer when the Wheel of Fortune turned to the right position, leaving her confused.

Ch. 380Why Wasn't She Screaming?

Alice examined a rusted metal bar from the ruins and learned that a deep well had called to Nina, while something in the Western Continent seemed to call to Alice. After Alice frightened Nina by warning that she might have melted in the well, Nina recovered with alcohol, and the crew decided not to investigate the well.

  • Alice traced the metal bar to collapsed steel buildings and a deep well, then heard whispers that no one else seemed to notice.
  • Nina described finding the well and feeling an eerie call from its dark interior.
  • Alice sensed something calling to her from the direction of the Western Continent and warned Nina that she might have melted if she had stayed in the well longer.
  • Nina fell silent in fear, and Klein told Cattleya that entering the well was a bad idea.
  • Nina recovered with alcohol and invited Alice to drink, while Alice left to calm herself with ice cream.

Ch. 381Why Not Ask Miss Fortune?

Audrey suspected Michel Dyett's war notebook had a hidden connection to a Dragon and decided to use Magic Mirror Divination to investigate it. When she prayed for help, Alice eagerly agreed, leaving Audrey dismayed that she could no longer ask Mr. Fool instead.

  • Audrey reviewed Michel Dyett's Twenty-Year War Notes and suspected the notebook's significance lay in its connection to a knight and possibly a Mind Dragon.
  • Audrey considered how to divine the notebook's origins and decided to ask Mr. Fool to serve as the third-party power for Magic Mirror Divination.
  • Audrey asked Susie to guard the door and performed a ritual after receiving permission from Mr. Fool.
  • Klein answered Audrey's request by telling her to ask Miss Fortune instead.
  • Audrey reluctantly prayed to Alice, who happily agreed to help with the Magic Mirror Divination.
  • Audrey heard Alice's cheerful reply and realized she could not turn to Mr. Fool after all.
Arc 15 of 29