Eileen followed Maris to the entrance of the little shop on the street corner. Before the rippling Light Screen, the blonde Eileen tilted her head up and saw the sign above the entrance bearing the shop's name—
Alice and Duncan's Antique Shop.
The sign looked very old, but the characters on it were clear. To Eileen, the ordinary line of text seemed to glow faintly, radiating a wonderful, warm power through her mind.
"This is the most important place in every assembly hall. The dolls call it 'Alice's Home,'" Maris said from the side, as the Clockwork Maid patiently explained. "Back when the Ancient Holy Spirits had not yet left, Alice, the Ancestor of Dolls, kept her mental body connected to the Garden Network for long periods. She would sit in this shop and receive the dolls who came to visit her.
"There is an antique shop like this in every assembly hall, but Assembly Hall No. 18 is an exception. Assembly Hall No. 18 is a huge mansion whose physical body floats in the gap between the Garden Network and the real world. Its 'front hall' is projected onto the upper layer of the network, where the Headless Butler and the attendants manage the place.
"Also, it is said that only very lucky Alice dolls can see Assembly Hall No. 18. In any case, my mistress has never seen it."
Eileen listened very seriously to the Clockwork Maid's explanation, then looked up at the street-corner shop blocked by the Light Screen again. Her tone carried a hint of disappointment. "But it's closed now."
"Yes, it's closed," Maris said softly. "Everything I just mentioned happened a very long time ago. After the Ancient Holy Spirits left, the Garden Network and the assembly halls continued operating as usual, but Alice's Home