Eating lunch with her eyes closed was clearly not a wise choice.
Sitting opposite Klein, Alice, who had wrapped a strip of cloth around her eyes to keep herself from accidentally opening them, regretted her decision for the umpteenth time.
What troubled her most was not being unable to find the food—she didn't know why, but she was almost adept at moving around with her eyes closed.
In fact, what Alice hated most was being unable to see what the food looked like. To be honest, although Loen was not a country known for producing fine cuisine, Alice still believed that at least half of one's appetite came from a dish's appearance.
...Then again, considering the standard of Loen's food, opening her eyes would probably only affect her mood while eating, right?
Of course, that did not stop Alice from being angry about it. So she viciously tore off a piece of bread as though she were treating it like an enemy, as if she were ripping flesh from an enemy's body.
There was no denying that this performative act of revenge had, In A Sense, frightened Klein. He Hesitated to Speak several times, but unfortunately, it was like winking at a blind person—Alice's eyes were covered, after all.
"I thought you had something to say to me." Alice Spoke First after viciously tearing off another piece of bread.
Klein was clearly thrown off by the name Alice had blurted out. He had been thinking about this all morning, and At This Moment, he naturally asked the question he had been wording all morning without hesitation. "That name... where did you Hear Of it?"
"I Don't Know." Alice spoke as she tore off another piece of bread.
The answer froze the atmosphere. Klein was unsure whether he should continue asking, and could only stiffly make the sound people most often made when confused. "...Huh?"
"You Heard Of my amnesia, right?" Alice Gave Up fighting the bread and turned her covered eyes toward Klein—though of course, she could see nothing.
"Then why..." Klein looked at Alice in confusion. He had certainly Heard Of how this lucky Miss Lucky One had lost her memories of the past, but there couldn't possibly be someone named Zhou Mingrui in Loen. She must have learned that name elsewhere—what if she could remember?
"In my last... Or Rather, earliest memory," Alice said, putting down the bread and sitting upright with a rare serious expression, "there was a girl wearing one of those ugly, baggy tracksuits with a school emblem printed on it. She called me 'Huanhuan'... I remember we were probably classmates." (The words in quotation marks were spoken in Chinese; the same applies below.)
"...'Huanhuan'?" Klein froze for a moment as a guess surfaced in his heart—after all, this was clearly not a Loen-style name.
"Yes, and the language she spoke seemed to be another language..." Alice put on a thoughtful expression. "A language completely different from Loen's linguistic system."
"Chinese?" Klein could no longer hold back. He decided to lay his cards on the table first—after all, this amnesiac Miss Lucky One probably could not remember much, and from her description, he suspected she was not very old.
"You really do know." The corners of Alice's lips curved upward in delight. Even without seeing her eyes, Klein could sense her happiness. "You must be connected to that place... so, can you tell me who Zhou Mingrui is?"
"...It's me." Klein admitted helplessly.
Alice seemed even more excited. "Then have you Heard Of cars? Have you Heard Of Neon Lights? Have you Heard Of the Internet? Have you Heard Of..."
"I've Heard Of all of them." Klein interrupted Alice. He Finally Realized this Miss Lucky One's purpose—she was like duckweed searching for something to anchor herself to. The world in her memories was different from Loen, yet she could not remember the people and events related to it—even, perhaps, her own name.
How much better off am I than her? Klein laughed at himself, Shook Her Head, and said to Alice, "Perhaps we came from the same place, a place called Earth."
"Earth." Alice repeated the word, then instinctively recited a passage. "It is the third planet from the Sun, 150 million kilometers away, and the only celestial body known to humanity that has given birth to and supports life..."
Klein ruthlessly interrupted her recitation. "Stop!"
Alice stopped.
"Do you still remember how you transmigrated... uh, do you know... do you still remember what transmigration means?" Klein tried to steer the topic back on track.
"I don't remember, but I can imagine," Alice replied. "If I remember correctly, I should have died? Um... I remember I was talking to the girl who called me 'Huanhuan,' then she suddenly looked terrified and screamed for me to be careful. After that, all I felt was an intense pain..."
Remembering death was obviously not a pleasant experience. The pain that seeped into her soul made it impossible for Alice to distinguish any spiritual warning within it, so she stopped and did not continue.
Klein also realized there was something wrong with how he had asked. Pressing On was clearly inappropriate, so he changed his approach. "I mean, did anything unusual happen to you?"
"Could you be more specific?" Alice asked in confusion. She would High Probability not remember, but perhaps a reminder might make her recall it.
"I mean, something that Looks related to mysticism? Like strange incantations or rituals And So On... it could also have been an item?"
"..." Alice frowned and began to think.
"There is one thing... I'm not sure about it."
"What?"
"I... the last thing I heard her say was that she said I was like a Naturally Born Monster."
"A Naturally Born Monster?"
"...Sequence 9 of Lucky One is called Monster."
Klein did not make a sound for a long time—he truly didn't know what he should say. Alice's words sent chills through his entire body, and he did not dare think any further.
Alice likewise did not choose to break the awkward silence. Or Rather, she had no energy to do so right now.
"Fool Not Belonging to This Era,
"Mysterious Ruler Above the Gray Fog,
"Yellow-Black King Who Holds Good Luck,
"I pray for Your hearing,
"I pray for Your gaze..."
Within the dense white mist, that familiar Young Girl stood with her hands clasped together, reciting those words in an exceedingly affected posture and tone—of course, still in Chinese.
She seemed to be demonstrating it for me.
Alice Quickly Realized what was happening, but when she prepared to keep thinking, indistinguishable murmurs and ravings intruded into the white mist, making her face turn pale. Then the mist dissipated.
"Have you Heard Of... the Fool?" She blankly turned her face toward Klein and asked in an ethereal, uncertain voice.
Actually, this book came from me rambling when I couldn't sleep in the middle of the night. Yesterday, I woke up and found it had passed review, and I immediately regretted it so much that I wanted to delete my account and run away... But then I discovered that people were actually reading it? (tactical lean-back) Well, anyway, since people are reading it, I'll keep trying to write it...
Before you continue