Anna's Prince and... ATM Machine No. 1

Following the long, dark staircase, Bai Zhi went straight to the top floor.

Thanks to the Notebook he found in the Underground Library, he had roughly figured out half of the situation in this Dungeon. The previous Investigator had also figured out what he was currently speculating about, which was why he plunged headlong into the Illusion of the Past without hesitation.

... but the other side failed.

However, it must be said that the Notebook that the other party had deliberately left behind was a great help to him, saving him a lot of time.

In the Solitude of the Void, what is real, and what is false?

The weather is not good today; large patches of dark clouds are gathering in the sky, making it look gloomy as if it's about to rain.

When Bai Zhi arrived at the top floor, he saw Anna sitting at a round Four-Sided Table with a steaming teacup in front of her. She was resting her chin on her hand, gazing absently at the scenery outside the castle, seemingly lost in thought.

The enormous Plush Cat was lazily dozing off in an open space not far from Anna. When it saw him come up, the Plush Cat opened its eyes and glanced at him before closing them again.

--On this entire rooftop, only Anna and her Plush Cat exist.

The so-called tea party was attended by her alone.

"Prince Your Highness, you've arrived?"

Anna seemed to be lost in thought until Bai Zhi walked onto the table, which snapped her out of her reverie.

When she saw Bai Zhi sitting down in front of her, her eyes immediately lit up.

"Well, since I have some free time... what's so interesting about this scenery?"

Sitting in the chair, Bai Zhi turned his head to look at the desolation outside the castle and smiled slightly.

"It's a gloomy, rainy day, and it looks like it's going to rain soon. Don't you even want to open an umbrella?"

"An umbrella...?"

After a moment of silence, without Anna making any move, a large, pure white umbrella appeared out of thin air beside the table, completely obscuring their heads.

And coincidentally, at this very moment, the rain quietly arrived, pattering against the umbrella.

After getting up from the ground, the Plush Cat glanced at Anna with a seemingly resentful look, then got up and hid under the eaves.

"Uh... I shouldn't have to pay any price for this umbrella, right?"

Looking up at the umbrella above him, Bai Zhi's suspicions grew clearer, and he asked Anna with a slightly strange expression.

"Of course it's necessary. In return, Prince Your Highness, please keep Anna company while you speak."

Anna tilted her head slightly and gave a slightly mischievous smile.

"Prince Your Highness is the first person in all these years to attend Anna's Tea Party."

"The first one?"

Bai Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly as he watched the teacup appear automatically in front of him.

"Yes, because none of the previous people were qualified. Only His Your Highness the Prince has the right to come up to the top floor to participate in the tea party. Without Anna's invitation, they would not be able to come up."

With her hands supporting her chin on the table and her legs swinging, Anna began to speak, seemingly quite happily.

"Prince Your Highness, would you consider staying by Anna's side forever? Not as a Doll, but as a human like you are now. Then, Prince Your Highness will also be the Master of this manor, won't you?"

"Let's talk about that later. I'm more curious about something else..."

Without hesitation, Bai Zhi picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea, and smiled.

Why do you think I am His Your Highness the Prince?

"Because Prince Your Highness is Prince Your Highness."

Anna looked completely at ease.

"Catherine told me Your Highness Prince are all incredibly handsome. You're so good-looking, you must be Your Highness Prince I've been looking for."

"Catherine... is she your Maid?"

Bai Zhi put down his teacup and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Of course! Catherine has been my personal Maid since I was little, taking care of my daily needs. I love the stories she tells me about His Your Highness the Prince."

With her hands clasped together in front of her chest, Anna's eyes seemed to sparkle with stars.

"Whenever the Princess encounters difficulties or is in Life danger, a very handsome Prince always Your Highness in her time of need to rescue Princess, and in the end, the Princess and the Prince always live happily ever after."

"Really? That's a beautiful Fairy Tale..."

Bai Zhi's eyes flickered slightly, and he exhaled.

"By the way, didn't you say you'd introduce me to your parents? Where are they?"

"Their movements are somewhat restricted, so they usually stay in their rooms... I'll take Your Prince Your Highness their room to greet them."

After thinking for a moment, Anna jumped off the chair and reached out her hand to Bai Zhi.

"I'll take Prince Your Highness with me."

"OK."

With a gentle smile, Bai Zi reached out and took the other's outstretched hand.

"There's no way to get up here... Is it because we weren't invited?"

At the top of the stairs, looking at the long spiral staircase in front of him, the Steel Bones, blocked by an invisible wall, seemed lost in thought.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to the silent Young Girl beside him and asked her a question.

"I think we should forget about it. Since we've already decided to step into that Illusion of the Past together tonight, I think we need to prepare in advance. Is it really necessary to go up?"

"... If someone who used to have long hair suddenly cuts it short after a long period of not seeing each other, wouldn't it be difficult to recognize them?"

After a moment of silence, the Dead Zero suddenly spoke up and asked him this strange question.

"Huh? No way, it's just a haircut... wait, you know him?"

Looking at the Young Girl beside him, Steel Bones suddenly realized what was happening and looked surprised.

"Elementary school classmate? Childhood friend? Former neighbor? Childhood sweetheart?"

Based on what the other party said, Steel Bones made several guesses in a row.

"Since you haven't seen each other for a long time, it's understandable that you didn't recognize each other at first glance, after all, so much time has passed... By the way, how long has it been since you last saw each other?"

"Girlfriend, about four months along."

The Dead Zero, calmly answered the question posed by the book.

"Cough cough cough... wait, girlfriend!?"

After hearing the Young Girl's answer, Steel Bones nearly choked on his own. He looked at the Young Girl in front of him with a face full of doubt.

"Haven't seen each other for months? Haven't you two been in contact at all during these months?"

"No, because I couldn't get through on the phone, and he didn't write any letters."

Looking at the steps in front of her, the Young Girl remained calm.

"I thought he was dead."

Steel Bones: "????"