"Trade"

Alice's eyes widened in surprise.

She understood what a Sealed Artifact meant. Even if the one on the other side was most likely not a True God but an Angel, if even They could not deal with the Sealed Artifact, there was no way she had the ability to handle it either.

This was absolutely not a simple transaction—was it goodwill? Or a trap? And why her?

Only now did Alice realize that she had placed herself in a rather passive position—she had followed an unfamiliar Beyonder into an area familiar to him.

This served as a warning to Alice. In the end, she lacked experience in this regard and was not vigilant enough; that was a fact. Fortunately, she had noticed before making an irreversible mistake, and there was still time to correct it... There should still be time, right?

The thoughts in her mind lasted only an instant. Charlie King merely saw Alice fall briefly silent, her face full of confusion and stunned disbelief, before she asked, "A Sealed Artifact? I simply don't have that kind of ability! They're at least an Angel. What could They possibly need my help with?"

"No, you do," Charlie King replied with a smile. "You must."

Looking at his smile, Alice suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. "...Do I still have the right to refuse this transaction?"

Charlie King merely smiled without answering. Alice forced herself to remain calm as she met his gaze. After a long while, she was the first to yield. "...A Sequence 6 Potion Formula is not enough to match whatever you want me to do."

"This is an advance deposit," Charlie King said, his smile becoming a little more genuine. "Letting you see that Sealed Artifact is itself part of the compensation."

Alice's breathing caught. In an instant, she understood the hidden implication of those words—she had a special connection to that Sealed Artifact.

Combined with her previous bizarre experience, Alice suddenly formed an extremely dangerous guess, one that made her spirituality tremble for an instant. She hurriedly suppressed that dangerous thought and continued, "Can I know anything about that Sealed Artifact?"

"No." Charlie King rejected the request Without Hesitation.

The refusal was only natural. Alice had not expected an answer to begin with. Seeing that Charlie King was still waiting for her to speak, she continued probing for more information with the mindset that she could not refuse anyway. "You... no, the person behind you—how did They know I... know that I could do this?"

"I really Don't Know that." Charlie King Shrugged. "I'm just an errand runner."

"...Then, if I want to negotiate, do you have the authority to make decisions?" Alice fell silent for a moment. Realizing she might not be able to uncover any more information, she began trying to bargain.

"You can state your demands first." Charlie King did not give a clear answer.

"I need an Extraordinary Item that can alter my appearance—one I can carry long-term—as well as proof of identity." Alice stated her demands.

"Is there something wrong with your identity?" Charlie King was briefly Stunned. He Frowned as he scrutinized Alice. "Don't tell me you're a Wanted Criminal?"

"No, it's a little more serious than that." Alice suddenly put on a smile. Anyone familiar with her would have recognized that smile at once. "I accidentally died before, and I just Crawled Out of my grave."

"?" Cracks began to appear in Charlie King's expression.

"Didn't the person who sent you tell you about that?" Alice looked at him in surprise, feigning concern with false sincerity.

"...What requirements do you have for your proof of identity?" Charlie King ignored her words.

"Briel Rose." Alice gave him the name. "You can handle the rest as you see fit... How long will you need?"

"About three days... Once I have what you need ready, How About I contact you?" Charlie King was not particularly surprised that the name Alice had initially given was an alias, and continued asking.

"..." Alice Stiffened slightly. She suddenly realized that she did not have a suitable address to leave him.

"How about this?" Seeing Alice's expression and recalling what she had said before, Charlie King felt that he understood everything. "Once I have what you need, I'll place an advertisement like this on page eight of the Backlund Morning Post..."

So there was a way to contact people like this... Charlie King carefully arranged the Secret Code with Alice. While marveling In Her Heart, Alice memorized its contents.

After leaving Pritz Harbor, Alice used the Remaining loose change on her to book a room for two nights at an inn that provided three meals—at extra cost. Now, Apart From the remaining 190 pounds, she only had a single one-penny coin left.

"Then, the next thing I should do is rent a place... Uh, perhaps find a job as well?" After lunch, alone In the Room, Alice suddenly realized that she needed to start supporting herself.

How was she supposed to find work? How was she supposed to rent a house? What did she need to watch out for? After a brief spell of confusion born of her lack of life experience, Alice began to call Klein... No, she began praying to Mr. Fool.

This was clearly extra work Klein had not expected. After seeing Alice, he could not help asking, "What exactly did you do before you transmigrated?"

"...I might have been in school," Alice Replied hesitantly.

"Huh?" Klein was briefly Stunned. "Even if you were in school, you shouldn't have... Wait, you're not Not Yet Adult, are you?"

"I Don't Know." Alice Blinked Her Eyes and Explained, "I only remember that the last school uniform I saw was the loose athletic kind, with a School Emblem printed on it. It seemed to say something like some middle school..."

"..." Alice's words made Klein fall silent. He suddenly understood Alice's previous actions and mindset... What else could he say? Good luck with your College Entrance Examination?

"What's wrong?" Alice looked at Klein in confusion.

"I just Didn't Expect..." Klein looked at Alice with a Strange Expression. "Why are you actually underage? How old are you? You Cannot Possibly still be in junior high, right?"

"I should have been in High School." Alice Frowned as she searched through her memories. "My name is Shen Yinghuan. Mm, I should have been in High School."

"...Then what can you do?" Klein asked seriously.

"I... I can draw?" Alice looked at Klein somewhat uncertainly.

"You can draw? An art student? What is your work like... No, if you draw Comic Books, what if you become famous?" Klein began considering Alice's possible options.

"There's no need to worry about that for now. I found a way to solve my identity problem... As for how well I draw... uh." Alice suddenly choked up. She did not know how to describe her drawing skills—she could not possibly show Klein that pile of things she Remembered, could she?

The hand holding the knife was shaking; even the one handing over the knife was laughing.