When she finally set foot on land in Bayam, Alice felt a moment of disorientation and a long-lost sense of security.
The last few days of sailing were as calm as before. The only ripple came from Bernadette's letter:
"Miss 'Fate'?"
Alice didn't reply to this letter. She wasn't sure if Bernadette was more probing or cautious in it, or if other emotions were mixed in, but she understood that now was not a good time to reply.
Or rather, for her, now was not a good time to do anything.
If she had to say what she was struggling with... she was actually very confused about why nothing had happened to the Saint Fioran yet.
Alice carried her luggage off the ship. Although she hadn't seen this new skin called Gehrman Sparrow before, she still easily found Klein in the crowd.
After all, only he had nothing visible on him.
Her steps faltered for a moment. In the end, she didn't run over, but walked quickly with slightly accelerated steps.
Alice didn't comment on Klein's new skin, nor did she talk nonsense like she did in the gray fog. After staring at him for a few seconds, she said with some melancholy:
"Long time no see."
-- They really hadn't seen each other in reality for a long time.
The atmosphere seemed to become solemn because of this greeting. Danitz, who had been standing by as a bystander, finally couldn't bear it anymore and broke the strange atmosphere:
"Shit, how long are you going to keep staring like that!"
As he said this, he even shuddered.
This successfully drew Alice's attention. After looking Danitz up and down, she turned to Klein thoughtfully and asked:
"Is this the pirate you kidnapped who's been to the 'Red Theater'?"
At this moment, Danitz finally realized something. He stared wide-eyed and asked: "Wait, what do you mean!"
"Ah..." Alice only then realized that this hostage wasn't aware of her identity. She asked in confusion, "You didn't tell him? I thought hostages were different from objects and should have the right to know."
Klein didn't respond to this, but after thinking for a moment, he reached out to Alice and said concisely: "Luggage."
Alice withdrew her confused gaze from staring at that hand, suddenly realizing: "Oh right, there seems to be such an etiquette..."
Saying this, Alice handed over the suitcase in her hand, then asked again: "So did you really kidnap a pirate who's been to the 'Red Theater' for me?"
Klein took the suitcase without hesitation and walked away, to avoid damaging his image. Alice was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.
As a hostage, Danitz still hadn't given up trying to join this conversation. He followed along and asked:
"Wait, what do you mean exactly? Aren't you... aren't you Gehrman's friend?"
"Yes," Alice nodded, "What's wrong?"
"Why are you..." Danitz stared at Alice blankly, still maintaining the shock and confusion he had when he first saw Alice, "a woman?!"
Alice looked at him in confusion, then turned to Klein and asked: "Did you tell him I was a man?"
"No." Klein walked in front, still concise.
"...You've become so taciturn," Alice complained, then turned back to Danitz, "In that case, why did you think I was a man?"
After thinking for a moment, Alice added: "Although, I suppose I could also be..."
Danitz opened his mouth in surprise, unsure which question to ask first.
After over ten seconds, he finally managed to suppress his surprise and struggled to organize his words:
"I never thought Gehrman would have... have a friend like you.
"Or are you actually secretly in love with him?"
Klein, walking in front, paused for a moment, then suddenly quickened his pace.
This time Alice didn't rush to keep up, but turned to look at Danitz and asked thoughtfully:
"Did he tell you...
"That I'm actually Sequence 5?"
Danitz froze in place. He watched Alice take off her hat, revealing the face of an obviously underage girl, smiling brightly and saying in a playful tone:
"And, I've killed a demigod~"
Shit, a madman's friend is indeed also a madman! Danitz looked at the figure ahead, suddenly understanding why he had quickened his pace earlier.
Danitz's vivid expression satisfied Alice's mischievous tendencies. She briefly appreciated it, then looked back and saw that Klein had stopped after walking a distance. Feeling reassured, she pursued her questioning:
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm wondering which of you is secretly in love with whom..." Danitz blurted out instinctively, then saw Gehrman Sparrow in the distance turn back, his face showing the familiar cultured smile.
Alice stared at him and asked thoughtfully: "Why can't it be you secretly in love with him?"
"How could I possibly be in love with him!" Danitz almost jumped up excitedly, "The one I'm in love with is..."
The voice suddenly stopped. Alice blinked twice and asked: "Who?"
"No one!" Danitz defended emotionally, "There's nothing like that!"
Alice stared at Danitz for two seconds, then asked curiously: "Is the object of your secret love a man or a woman?"
"Of course it's a wom..." Danitz instinctively started to say loudly, but his voice cut off halfway.
Alice nodded and continued asking: "In that case, why are you embarrassed to say it?"
"I'm not embarrassed!" Danitz started shouting like children arguing over who could be louder.
"Oh," Alice didn't accept this, still calmly asking, "Then why won't you say? Why don't you confess if you like someone? Do you... do you have some unspeakable difficulty?"
Alice's gaze imperceptibly lowered, then asked again in Danitz's shocked eyes:
"It seems men care more about this... But wait, if that's the case, why did you go to a place like the 'Red Theater'... Are you curious about what it's like inside, just like me?"
Danitz's expression became dazed. Klein finally decided to step in and save the situation. He walked up to Alice and said: "You're much more suited to be a 'Provocateur' than him."
"No," Alice shook her head, "If I were a 'Provocateur', I would have been beaten to death long ago."
This clear self-awareness made Klein silent for a moment. After a few seconds, Klein said to Alice with a straight face:
"You're quite self-aware."
Alice turned her head and looked at him seriously, saying:
"I think if you drank the 'Provocateur' potion, you'd probably be beaten to death too."