"So," Alice suddenly had a thought and turned to Danitz. "You're a 'Provoker'?"
The so-called "real Provoker" Danitz looked at the two people in front of him, and for the first time in his life, he doubted himself. He hesitated before replying uncertainly, "I think so?"
Alice sized him up and down before giving her assessment:
"Maybe only someone like you is truly fit to be a 'Provoker.'
"You can digest the potion smoothly, don't have to worry about getting beaten to death, and most importantly..."
She smirked. "You're perfect for annoying people."
Danitz instinctively wanted to curse, but Alice, with an utterly sincere expression, added, "Oh, right… Could you stop swearing? I don't like it much.
"After all, I am a lady, aren't I?"
Danitz's eyes widened. He recalled the way Alice had scrutinized his lower body earlier, and confusion slowly filled his gaze.
...A lady?
If it were just some crude pirate joke, Danitz wouldn't have been this angry. What truly infuriated him was Alice's utterly sincere expression.
She wasn't mocking him, wasn't making an indecent joke, nor was she belittling him—she just genuinely suspected he was incapable.
As she stared at him with that scrutinizing gaze, Danitz had the strange feeling that if he nodded, he might actually receive sympathy, pity, and perhaps even some heartfelt words of comfort…
The very thought made him feel like his world was crumbling. He gritted his teeth and forced out a response:
"...Thanks?"
"You're welcome," Alice nodded in satisfaction, seemingly unaware of his reluctance.
Klein, who had been silently watching, finally had enough. He called out, "Alice, do you even remember why you're here?"
Alice stood in place, stared at him for a good ten seconds, then turned back to Danitz. "What's inside the 'Red Theater'?"
Before Klein could snap at her, she quickly changed the topic. "In front of this... uh, what's your name again?"
Her gaze landed on Danitz. Reflexively, he introduced himself, "Danitz..."
At the same time, another voice overlapped with his:
"5,500 pounds."
Alice clearly saw Danitz gulp—but no, it wasn't Danitz. It was 5,500 pounds.
Alice was no stranger to bounty systems. She glanced at Danitz, then at Klein, recalling Gehrman Sparrow's persona. She continued in a thoughtful tone:
"Asking me what I'm doing here, right in front of this 'bank'… Are you planning to withdraw your deposit?"
Danitz met Alice's gaze in a daze, suddenly realizing that in her eyes, he had never been a person—just an object, varying only in worth and importance.
And right now… he seemed to have become quite valuable.
This was not a good thing. After all, anyone who found out they had a large sum of money sitting in a bank would want to withdraw it and check—especially if the bank could run away at any moment, or worse, go bankrupt...
Klein looked at Danitz's expression, barely holding back his laughter as he said kindly, "I don't plan on making a withdrawal just yet."
Alice looked a little disappointed and withdrew her gaze. "Then why did you bring him along?"
"Two reasons," Klein replied as he turned to keep walking. "One, I promised you I'd tie up a pirate who's been to the 'Red Theater' for you. Two, if I had to keep talking to you alone, I might not be able to resist punching you."
Alice was momentarily speechless. She watched Klein's retreating back before suddenly turning to Danitz with a bright smile.
"Hello! I'm Alice Kingsley. Just call me Alice."
Danitz looked at her beaming face and suddenly shuddered.
…
At No. 48 Sour Lemon Street, inside the 'Azure Wind' Inn—
Once the tormented Danitz finally left, Klein turned to Alice and asked, "What exactly do you need from the 'Red Theater'?"
"I'm not going to the 'Red Theater,'" Alice shook her head. "I need to go to a general store near it."
Klein frowned in confusion. "A general store?"
Alice nodded. "It might sound ridiculous, but… the 'School of Life' placed a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact there."
"...?" Klein gave Alice an utterly baffled look. "That general store… is it a secret base for the 'School of Life'?"
"I wish," Alice said with a fake smile.
Klein felt like he was gaining a deeper understanding of the 'Fate' pathway. He confirmed, "That Grade 0 Sealed Artifact is…?"
Alice pressed her lips together, her expression unreadable. "A Uniqueness."
After a long moment of silence, Klein, in a voice of someone who had weathered countless storms, said, "Perhaps… this is fate."
…
The 'Red Theater' wasn't difficult to find. After walking around its exterior, Alice spotted the herbal shop she had seen in her dream.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, she only stopped outside the herbalist's store for a moment without going in.
The dream had been so vivid that Alice almost narcissistically believed it was fate responding to her complaints with a hint—she remembered exactly how the chubby herbalist walked to the general store and bought the dice.
Her only concern was…
"Klein," Alice kept her gaze fixed on the herbal shop. "Can you transform into that herbalist? I'm worried the people at the general store might recognize him."
It was a reasonable request, but Klein, who had just pretended to be a customer and scouted inside, shook his head.
"I can't.
"He has too much flesh. I'm not fat enough."
Alice was stunned. "...Your ability has such a limitation?"
"Maybe at higher sequences, the restriction will lessen—or disappear entirely," Klein speculated. "But for now, no."
After two seconds of silence, Alice suddenly turned her head, looking entirely serious as she asked:
"Do you think I look like that herbalist?"
Klein glanced at Alice. Then at the herbal shop. Finally, he let out a deep, soul-crushing sigh and asked:
"...Huh?"
Alice remained unfazed and shamelessly repeated, "Do we look alike?"
"Yes. Very much so," Klein took a deep breath and forced a smile. "You two are practically identical."