Underground Market's "Monster"

Dunn said nothing, merely acknowledging that he understood before gesturing for Alice to leave.

When Alice came out, Leonard was still waiting for her—judging by his slightly excited expression, he probably just wanted to ask about her dream.

As expected, the moment Leonard saw her emerge, he smiled and waved her over.

Alice gave him a rather speechless look and asked, "Are you going to ask about my dream?"

"Yeah, tell me about it. This is the first time I've heard of something like this..." Leonard readily admitted.

"You..." Alice looked him up and down. Only after he unconsciously straightened up did she Lowered Her Voice and advise him, "Your figure isn't suited to wearing a Dress."

"?" Leonard's eyes widened.

"I'm serious." Alice swore solemnly.

"...I don't want to try it myself!" Leonard defended himself with emotion, though he kept his voice low.

"I understand. You have a friend who wants to try it." Alice swiftly cut in.

"?" Leonard glared at Alice. A moment later, Alice could no longer hold it in and doubled over laughing against the counter, making Leonard worry that she might fall.

—Even an idiot should have Realized she had been joking.

"Fine, but there really isn't much to say... Triss, who appeared in my dream, was a very beautiful woman. That's all." After laughing enough, Alice explained helplessly.

Leonard looked somewhat disappointed. "That's it?"

"What else did you expect?" Alice asked in return.

"Because you said 'turned into,' I originally thought..." Leonard Shook Her Head and changed the subject. "Interested in taking a walk through the Underground Market with me tonight?"

"?" Alice Blinked Her Eyes, Raised Her Head, and once again looked him up and down several times with the gaze of someone inspecting merchandise.

"...What exactly are you looking at?" Leonard finally snapped.

"Hmm... You're inviting me on a date... Ouch!" Alice's eyes widened after getting rapped on the head.

"I'm not a pervert," Leonard said through gritted teeth. "You're not even an adult yet... And I invited Klein too!"

"Oh~" Alice nodded with some understanding and summarized, "The one you really wanted to invite was Klein."

Thus, their already fragile friendship was declared broken once more. Leonard raised a hand to whack Alice hard—but she had been prepared and dodged.

"Alright, I was joking. What I mean is, did you forget that I can't Opened Her Eyes to look at Klein at all?" Alice explained as she dodged.

Leonard stopped moving. He had clearly remembered the matter he had overlooked, frowning hesitantly. "I was just thinking, since I was taking both of you to see the Underground Market anyway, I might as well take you together, but I didn't expect..."

"Come to think of it, Do You Know?" Leonard suddenly Remembered something and scrutinized Alice with a frown. "There's also a 'Monster' in the Underground Market. He was born Half-Monster, but unfortunately, the Three Churches don't have a corresponding potion."

"So, you didn't find a Potion Formula on that unlucky courier after all?" Alice asked thoughtfully.

"Courier?" Leonard looked confused by the made-up term.

"Oh dear, sorry, it just slipped out—what I meant was that unlucky Lucky One." Alice explained her slip of the tongue.

"That's the strangest part." Leonard looked at Alice, his eyes holding a meaning she Couldn't Understand. "That Lucky One only left behind the Sequence Name and Sequence Characteristics. There's no information on anything else, as though..."

"As though he appeared there that day solely to deliver a Beyonder Characteristic of the Lucky One to me." Alice took over.

Leonard frowned at Alice, while Alice calmly met his gaze. After a moment, he Spoke First. "You had guessed already?"

"A Lucky One falling to his death by bad luck—however you look at it, that isn't normal, is it?" Alice rolled her eyes. "But what use is guessing? I already accepted the gift. I had no other choice."

"Then why did you initially..." Leonard stopped halfway through. He suddenly Remembered that the girl before him had no memories from before that. "Forget it. Then I'll take you tomorrow night?"

Alice readily agreed.

The next day, Klein, who had returned from the Underground Market, found Alice.

"I think I know what happens when you see me," Klein said as soon as he arrived.

"You met that Monster at the Underground Market?" Recalling what Leonard had said, Alice Realized something.

"You know? Right, Leonard should have told you too." Klein had clearly thought of that as well.

"So, what happened when he saw you?" Alice pressed on curiously—judging by Klein's attitude, that unlucky fellow was probably still alive?

"He let out a scream, then his eyes started bleeding..." Klein recalled.

"That's it?" Alice was A Bit Surprised—this was far milder than she had expected. She had thought that unlucky fellow would at least go blind.

"Hm?" Klein looked a bit surprised.

"Right, he isn't a real Beyonder after all. Maybe his spirituality isn't high enough..." Alice Talked to Herself.

"You mean, the consequences aren't serious?" Alice's muttering made Klein Realized something, and he pressed on.

"I told you from the start. If I see you, I might die." Alice gave him the answer with a smile.

"But what kind of thing would make someone..." die just from looking at it?

"Have you Heard Of a saying?" Alice asked softly. "One must not look directly upon a god."

"What?" Klein looked at Alice in shock. He wouldn't think Alice was hinting at his impersonation of an evil god—after all, he wasn't really an evil god. Taking a look at him wouldn't matter, right?

"I just suddenly thought of it. After all, you are..." Alice Paused, ultimately not saying it aloud. "See? How coincidental Fate is."

Klein fell silent in thought. He had clearly understood what Alice had left unsaid—see, you just happened to be impersonating an evil god. What a coincidence.

But Klein had thought of far more than Alice had—his greatest Special Nature lay in that Gray Fog Space. If eyes from the Monster Pathway could see something extraordinary, it definitely had something to do with that space... Then where had that space come from?

But Alice's airy words interrupted his train of thought. "Do You Know? I once Heard Of a saying."

"What saying?" he asked cooperatively.

"The countless coincidences of Fate gather into a book beneath a Writer's pen."

Alice was the type who Didn't Even Know anything yet guessed everything right. Part of it was her high Spiritual Perception, part was good luck, and another part was... she just didn't like using her brain. It wasn't that she had no brain (...)