Finding this Miss Sylvia wasn't an urgent task.
Alice rolled up the portrait and put it away, then smiled at Audrey and said:
"Thank you, Miss 'Justice.'
"Good luck."
There was no usual cheerfulness in Alice's smile or tone, nor was there that overly formal seriousness. Instead, it was uncommonly gentle and calm. Audrey was momentarily stunned and before she could respond, she saw Alice pull Evelyn along and vanish.
Miss Destiny suddenly felt a bit like Mr. Fool just now... This thought flashed through Audrey's mind. She suddenly realized something about Alice seemed different from before.
She seemed quieter than she used to be.
...
Alice brought Evelyn back to her home.
"Go to the Church of the Night, understand?" Once they reappeared, Alice turned to Evelyn and asked.
Of course, Evelyn wouldn't argue with Alice about something like this. In fact, when Alice mentioned that the former Night's Past was her attendant, Evelyn had already given up resisting.
—Unless she was ready to immigrate and convert, and to a rival church, at that.
After watching Evelyn leave, Alice hesitated for a moment before dialing Klein's number:
"Are you under a lot of psychological pressure recently? Or do you just have some... unspeakable hobbies?"
—She was still a bit curious why Klein went to scrub the toilet.
Klein, now in the gray fog, fell into deep thought when he heard Alice's question. He thought for a moment but didn't reply. Instead, he returned to the real world and responded to Alice's question via prayer:
"Weren't you the one who just called for a psychologist?"
—This way, when Alice replies, he wouldn't have to open his computer... no, he wouldn't have to check in the gray fog.
Alice rubbed her chin and abandoned her plan to spare Klein's dignity:
"Why were you scrubbing the toilet earlier?"
Klein fell into a deeper silence.
—You have to understand, the first thing he wished for when picking up the toilet brush was: Please, let Alice never find out about this.
Thinking of that, Klein suddenly remembered the time he disguised himself as the red-haired Elaine.
Although he really didn't want that incident to get out, the crazy adventurer Gehrman Sparrow disguised as the red-haired Elaine to assassinate 'Vice Admiral Disease' Tracy...
That story was definitely going to spread, wasn't it?!
Klein swallowed hard at the thought. Then, he heard Alice's next question:
"By the way, the 'Faceless Man' can't transform into a target with too great a size difference — but can they change gender? No internal changes needed, just the appearance... hmm, not just the face, and not just the body shape, you know what I mean, right?"
Klein painfully closed his eyes. He didn't know that Alice was just wondering whether the "Faceless Man's flavor is actually quite nice" could actually be realized.
But failing to satisfy Alice's curiosity could lead to even more trouble — like her appearing the next second and dragging him off to do a live demonstration.
Klein even suspected Alice might try to strip him herself — though more likely, she wouldn't even need to use her hands, just some extraordinary power or spirituality.
Relying on his understanding of Alice, Klein cautiously answered:
"A 'Faceless Man' can't truly change gender, nor can they significantly adjust... adjust their body shape or size. If I were fat enough, maybe it could work... you get what I mean.
"As for what you just asked... that's really not possible. At least not right now. A true gender transformation is even more impossible. Stop thinking about things like that!"
After hearing his answer, Alice held her chin thoughtfully and murmured:
"So, at most it would just look like a beauty, but once it comes to the final step, you'd discover..."
The thought made Alice shiver slightly. She shook her head hard, tossing out those strange ideas. She decided to keep her expectations grounded and focus on selling a few more copies of 'The Taste of the Iron-Blooded Knight is Quite Nice' first.
After copying five pages of 'The Taste of the Iron-Blooded Knight is Quite Nice', Alice blinked, pulled out another sheet of paper, and wrote her honorific name in Ancient Hermes at the top.
Staring at her handiwork for over ten seconds, Alice pondered:
"By the way... can Ian read?"
Compared to five months ago when she first arrived in Backlund, Alice had undoubtedly improved by leaps and bounds.
Not only had she realized the potential risk lurking in Ian, but she'd also learned to consider whether Ian could even read Ancient Hermes — or read at all, for that matter. She even thought about how not everyone in this world was literate.
"Actually, that guy named Winfried can barely be considered a clue... hmm, are there any other clues?"
Alice seriously thought about who else might be a lead to finding her.
"Amon... no, that doesn't count. Who could possibly interrogate that guy... And even if they did, who would dare to believe it?!"
Terrified, Alice shook her head furiously, trying to toss out that name — only to pick it back up again. After thinking for a moment, she asked Amon:
"If I want to find someone who might be a 'Fraudster,' what should I do?"
It didn't sound like a big deal. Amon didn't even bother playing tricks and just gave her a straight answer:
"'Fraudsters' take pleasure in deception. If the person you're looking for is a 'Fraudster,' don't worry — they never stop committing fraud.
"So, which unlucky 'Fraudster' pissed you off?"
The expert advice prompted Alice to put that issue aside for now. Out of courtesy, she still answered Amon's question:
"Actually, I'm not even sure she's a 'Fraudster'... To be honest, I just have a suspicion."
After a pause, she suddenly asked a strange question:
"What would happen if I tried to divine the 'Lord of Storms' right now?"
A few seconds later, Alice first heard a soft chuckle, then saw a figure quickly materialize in the air.
Alice blinked twice, looked at Amon's smile, and hesitantly asked:
"Am I supposed to scream right now to match your vibe?"
"If you want," Amon said with a slight lift of his brow.
Alice made a few attempts but, realizing she couldn't conjure up the emotion, silently closed her mouth and stared at Amon.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hmm…" Amon gave a mischievous smile. "Actually, I just happened to be nearby, looking for ingredients."
Alice paused, then quickly understood what he meant. She couldn't help but ask in confusion:
"Don't you have lots of Time Worms? Why not use your own?
"I remember your avatars are just transformed Time Worms…"