You Are Only Acting

Alice woke with bewilderment written all over her face.

Those drawings had been drawn for that unknown friend—that was the only thing Alice could be certain of.

So she not only knew about "Monster," but also knew The Fool, Klein, Zhou Mingrui, and...

Alice's expression twisted for a moment. She shook her head violently, trying to drive those naked images from her mind while restraining the urge to draw them out and show them to Klein.

Even so, Alice could not help wondering who the other man in those pictures was... Klein's lover?

...That did not seem right either. Alice silently suppressed the speculation, burying those memories that had seemed absurd and wrong from beginning to end, and began considering what would happen if she asked Klein whether he was gay.

No, she could not jump to conclusions like that. Maybe he was bisexual...

With her head full of chaotic thoughts, Alice slipped back into the crowd. Sica noticed her and smiled. "Hi, Alice. Do you have one of those drawings you gave Rosanne for me?"

"Yes." Alice forced the chaotic images in her mind into a corner and smiled. "Actually, I drew Q-version figures for everyone. If you like them, I can cut yours out for you."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!" Sica answered at once. "So they're called Q-version figures? I saw the one you drew of Rosanne. It was so cute that I almost wanted to ask you to illustrate my work!"

Illustrations... The chaotic images Alice had forcibly suppressed showed signs of reviving. Startled, Alice hurriedly stopped her. "I-I don't think this style is very suitable for illustrations, haha."

But the style she had just seen was actually pretty good... Oh dear, she could not think about it anymore! Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it...

Muttering to herself in her mind, Alice hurriedly fled from Sica. For some reason, she had a premonition that what she had remembered so far was not even the most absurd part. She was worried that if she kept talking to Sica, she would remember even more outrageous things.

Thus, over the following days, everyone at Blackthorn Security Company discovered that Alice was always avoiding Klein. Although she had always gone out of her way to avoid him before, recently, even hearing Klein's name made Alice look as though she had done something she ought not have.

Yet Alice was unexpectedly tight-lipped about the matter. No matter how everyone probed, she stubbornly refused to reveal a single word. No one knew the reason behind her strange behavior.

By restraining herself from thinking about anything related to it, Alice naturally overlooked the answer that should have already shown traces of itself—she really did seem to have entered a book.

"The preparations to find Megose and take her away proceeded far too smoothly. Although Mr. A encountered official Beyonders during the process, he keenly noticed that they had not been trying to stop him in earnest, which made him suspicious."

"After investigating, Mr. A confirmed that the official Beyonders of Tingen City had been luring him into taking Megose to Backlund. Considering the strength of Backlund's official Beyonders, Mr. A ultimately decided to have Megose give birth to the divine child in Tingen City and use that to summon the True Creator."

"Mr. A's continued stay made the official Beyonders of Tingen City anxious. They realized that Mr. A might already have become wary, and with their plan having failed, they decided to send someone to lure Mr. A away and deal with Megose directly."

As the new plan was finalized, the time for the next Tarot Club meeting arrived.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Audrey, who was in Backlund, immediately looked toward Alice. "Miss Fate, the Fallen Creator's offspring..."

"Mr. A and the official Beyonders have both changed their minds. It should not appear in Backlund again anytime soon." Alice shook her head and gave Audrey a soothing smile, though inwardly, she grew increasingly worried—if it would not approach Backlund, that meant the bomb might explode in Tingen!

Audrey let out a sigh of relief. She also noticed the concealed concern in Alice's expression, but she did not press on. Over the past week, she had already had some guesses. Alice might be near the Evil God's Offspring, or perhaps even one of the official Beyonders handling the matter—this also explained the source of her information.

Not pressing further was Audrey's respect for the members of the Tarot Club.

The Hanged Man, who had likewise had some guesses about Alice's identity, was much more at ease after hearing this answer. At the very least, it meant that the matter of Qilingus would not be disrupted by another incident in a short time.

Audrey then smiled at Klein. "Mr. Fool, I have another page of Emperor Roselle's diary here."

After Mr. Fool finished reading it, Audrey swiftly turned to Derrick. "Mr. Sun, have you obtained the potion formula for Mind Reader?"

"I have obtained the potion formula for Mind Reader." Little Sun, who had spent every last penny in exchange for the potion formula, answered as such.

Under Klein's guidance, Derrick held the quill pen beside him and successfully expressed the potion formula for Mind Reader before handing it to Audrey.

With Klein thoughtfully translating for her, Audrey also gained a formula she could understand and praised him, saying, "Mr. Fool, you are truly learned."

Next, Audrey offered three hundred pounds in compensation for Mr. Fool's nonexistent Blessed. Alice had been eagerly watching Klein, hoping to see how he would gracefully utter words like "Backlund Bank" and "anonymous account," but she was disappointed to discover that Klein merely manifested the relevant information before Audrey.

Klein then smiled at Derrick. "What compensation do you wish to receive?"

Derrick thought seriously for a moment. "I do not have any item I urgently wish to obtain at the moment... I should be able to digest the Bard potion very soon. Let the compensation remain there, um, in preparation for the corresponding Sequence 8 formula, or the necessary materials."

Alice keenly noticed the word "digest," and her brows furrowed slightly. Does he know the Acting Method?

Audrey had already begun phrasing her question carefully. "Mr. Sun, have you mastered the Acting Method?"

Derrick looked at Audrey in confusion and answered frankly, "Isn't that something normal? The General Knowledge Class in the City of Silver teaches the Acting Method."

The General Knowledge Class taught the Acting Method... Alice, Audrey, and Alger, all of whom lacked such knowledge, looked at each other.

"Then did your General Knowledge Class tell you about the precautions of the Acting Method?" Alice asked, blinking.

"Yes." Derrick nodded without hesitation. "Our General Knowledge Class explained it very clearly. There is only one precaution for the Acting Method: 'Remember, you are only acting.'"