In the time that followed, Klein experienced several incredibly convoluted and tumultuous ups and downs.
To uncover the truth behind the Antigonus family notebook incident, he used dream divination in the Gray Fog to reconstruct the events surrounding the "original owner's" death.
Haynes Vancent and another man in his fifties—these two might both be members of a secret organization. Considering that the captain saw the image of the "true creator" in the former's dream, they were likely followers of this evil god…
In any case, these two conspired to sell the notebook to the "original owner's" classmate, Welch, leading to a series of bizarre deaths and indirectly affecting his time travel and awakening in the "original owner's" body.
Klein's first thought was naturally to find the old man from the dream revelation.
But a coincidence occurred—after running around for almost half a day, gathering information everywhere, he finally encountered this key figure in the library and found himself in a situation where he had no choice but to shoot and kill him.
Although Klein successfully obtained the recipe for the "Clown" potion through ritual magic, and the letters found on the old man indicated that he seemed to have inadvertently thwarted a terrible conspiracy targeting the entire city of Tingen,
he felt a vague sense of frustration despite his exhaustion.
The perfectly timed encounter and the perfectly timed kill felt like a carefully orchestrated drama, where he had once again become a tool, falling into the hands of the mastermind.
Fortunately, the divination on the gray fog showed that the coincidences involving Alice were not guided by any supernatural factors or interfered with by external forces; they were truly just pure chance...
Not having to include the witch in those terrible coincidences was a huge relief for Klein.
The ritual magic had taken a toll on him, so after finishing the follow-up work, Klein went home and fell asleep immediately. When he woke up, it was almost dinnertime.
Remembering that he planned to make tomato and oxtail soup today, he jumped out of bed, quickly washed his face, went downstairs to the kitchen, put on an apron, and began to busy himself.
Hoping that a certain witch might return for dinner, he washed and chopped the extra oxtail and tomatoes he had bought at noon, poured them into a pot, added other ingredients, covered the pot, and turned to cook the other side dishes. "
I feel like a housewife, waiting for my busy husband to come home for dinner..."
Klein muttered to himself inexplicably as he looked down at the apron hanging on his body.
Unfortunately, by 8 PM, the delicious food on Moretti's table was completely devoured, and Klein had to regretfully admit that his efforts were like casting pearls before swine.
Clearly, Alice would still be late tonight due to her so-called "work."
...While it wasn't entirely useless, Melissa and Benson both praised his cooking, claiming that Blackthorn Security Company had caused Tingen City to lose a master chef. "
Okay, cheer up, Klein. You didn't make dinner specifically for that unpredictable and wicked witch; there's no need to be disappointed about such a small thing."
He told himself this, patting his full belly contentedly, then slumped back in his chair, chatting with his family and enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Just then, he noticed Melissa and Benson's gazes were fixed on him.
"Klein, I think we need to talk," Benson said, clearing his throat and adopting a serious expression when he looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Yes, Klein, that's what I think too," Melissa chimed in, glancing at her brother's bewildered expression and wanting to sigh.
Klein, however, looked completely bewildered:
"Talk...of course, no problem,
but what should we talk about? What happened?" After exchanging a glance, Benson and Melissa turned to the oblivious, slow-witted guy and began asking questions.
"Tell me the truth, did you and Miss Alice have a falling out?"
"Klein, haven't you told Miss Alice about Sunday night's dinner yet? Haven't you explained to her that you and Elizabeth just chatted for a while, and there was absolutely no other meaning?"
--Wait, wait. Klein felt like he was about to lose his composure.
Benson's understanding... wasn't wrong, and it was within the realm of possibility.
But sister! Why would you say something like that! It's as if Alice knew what happened at the dinner that day!
In his confusion, he heard Benson raise the same question, and then he saw Melissa calmly look up at them a few times.
"I told Miss Alice, is that not allowed?"
...
At the same time that the Moretti family was holding a family meeting, several blocks away on Besick Street, the door of a private detective agency was pushed open.
A voluptuous, fair-skinned, elegant woman, supported by a young servant, was led into the agency's office by a detective dressed in a white shirt and black vest.
"Your Excellency, we've gathered all the animals in the vicinity that match your description. Please take a look, is there the one you're looking for...? This way, please." Detective Henry said, gesturing obsequiously to the sofa set in the reception area.
But before he could add anything, the woman, who was easily three times his size, suddenly shrieked with delight, breaking free from the servants' support and charging towards the reception area like a steam train.
The young woman sitting quietly on the sofa had beautiful, long, light blonde hair. Even upon seeing the woman's exaggerated sprint, her expression remained calm and composed. She even had time to reach out and stroke the heads of several small animals beside her, soothing them.
"Oh, goddess! How can there be so many adorable creatures!"
The wealthy woman momentarily forgot her reserve and elegance, her expression a mixture of surprise and strange satisfaction, her eyes shining as she surveyed the six or seven cats on the sofa.
"Jasmine, my Jasmine… every single one of them looks just like my little Jasmine!"
Seeing this, the bespectacled girl readily picked up a long-haired cat lying on her lap, purring softly, and smiled as she presented it to the noblewoman.
"Your Excellency, look, isn't this the Jasmine you've described? She has the brown fur you've shown, white fur on her paws, pink paw pads, and a short, powerful tail…"
"Oh, dear, you're such a sweet little kitten…" The noblewoman seemed to reach out to hug the yawning long-haired cat, then suddenly hesitated, "But, but my Jasmine's fur isn't this long…"
"Oh… it's alright, madam, you can hug her. I've cleaned and dewormed all the cats here; they're very clean, you don't need to worry about getting them dirty." Without the girl needing to say anything more, the woman, delighted with the cat, immediately took the docile long-haired kitten and hugged it tightly, giving it a loving kiss.
Meow—meow—
the other cats also started meowing one after another, and the entire office was suddenly filled with cat meows of various tones, rising and falling in a lively atmosphere.
The young woman grabbed a mischievous kitten that had climbed onto her lap, trying to climb higher. She poked its head with her finger and snorted, "Quiet!" Instantly, all the cats quieted down, allowing her to pick them up one by one and show them to the noblewoman.
By the third cat, the noblewoman was already somewhat impatient. She gestured for her servants to pick up the remaining cats, then, holding one in each arm, she haughtily raised her head and said,
"Alright, your case is now complete. I've decided to take all these little darlings with me. You should have no problem with that, right?"
Detective Henry, who was struggling with how to deal with these persistent cats clinging to his assistant, naturally nodded in agreement upon hearing the woman's suggestion. He chuckled and said,
"Of course, of course, no problem, madam. You are such a kind and loving lady."
Having reached an agreement with his client, Detective Henry happily accepted the generous reward from the noblewoman, cheerfully listening to the cats' pitiful howls as they were forcibly carried out of the agency's doors, seemingly reluctant to leave.
The young assistant, who had played a crucial role in finding the lost pet, gracefully rose, a hint of helplessness on her face, as she brushed off the cat hair that covered her.
"Mr. Henry, I'm sorry, I might need to use the upstairs restroom for a while… and I haven't had time to clean up after bathing the cats…"
"Go ahead, Alice. We're about to leave work. You can use the upstairs restroom as you like. Oh, and I'll remember to leave the key to the office door on your desk. Don't forget to lock it before you leave."
Detective Henry smiled, took out his pipe, and watched her walk through the partitioned employee work area towards the stairwell.
As the girl passed the desks of two other employees, the previously quiet colleagues relaxed after the client left, exchanging a few jokes with this "agent's ace pet-finding assistant," to which she responded with equal humor and tact.
Alice quickly bid farewell to her two enthusiastic and friendly detective assistants, slowly making her way up the narrow wooden stairs to the third floor. Entering the restroom, she locked the door and went straight to the mirror by the sink.
She placed her hand on the mirror's surface, paused for two seconds, and the mirror changed like the surface of a lake. She then submerged her right hand in it, causing ripples to spread across the surface.
Alice silently closed her eyes, using the isolating properties of the mirror world, and employing the blood and hair she had previously obtained as a medium, to cast a spell to examine the hidden arrangements she had laid at the bottom of the witch's cult.
There were no noteworthy changes on Lady Beatrice's side; there was still no news or contact with the "Lady of Mourning"
...
After roughly reviewing the other woman's experiences over the past few days, Alice let out a slightly surprised "Eh."
This former "assassin," now a woman, was remarkably efficient. Within two days of returning to Tingen, she had uncovered information about "Claire Sibley," even going so far as to search the cemetery where the real Claire was buried and dig up the grave.
Of course, Alice had already anticipated this.
Triss dug up an empty grave; the original body had mysteriously vanished, buried alongside Edward Barton, who was buried halfway through the cemetery.
However, Triss clearly couldn't know the truth hidden beneath the grave. Upon seeing the empty coffin, she acted like a fanatical madwoman, raising her shovel with a mixture of joy and rage, smashing the coffin until splinters flew everywhere.
After that, she seemed to have forgotten "Claire," disguising herself as a lonely, destitute girl from out of town, luring and murdering an unfortunate bachelor, then moving into his house and devoting herself to playing the role of a "witch."
Alice even saw, through a magical illusion, that she was buying various dark magic materials at the extraordinary materials market at the docks, and quite by chance, bumped into Klein along the way.
—But this was merely a facade.
In Alice's perception of her, the frequency with which she thought about "searching for Claire" almost matched the density of her thoughts about witch role-playing.
However, as expected, the witch cult didn't care about the secrecy of the "role-playing method," and would even proactively inform promising junior members like Triss of this technique… Moreover, Triss was actually a member recruited by that Mrs. Sharon!
No matter how you look at it, this world is too small!
However, despite her感慨 (feelings of deep emotion), Alice still couldn't find any breakthrough with this transgender witch—the mysterious "Lady of Mourning" seemed to have forgotten this discarded pawn and never tried to contact her again.
As for the dim altar that appeared in Triss's dream memories, Alice tried every means to find its original location, but unfortunately, with little success.
With a soft sigh, Alice stopped casting her spell, withdrew her hand from the mirror, and opened her eyes to look at the ventilation window above the bathroom.
A small bird had somehow taken flight and perched on the narrow windowsill. It blinked its tiny, beady eyes quietly, occasionally turning its head, its gaze fixed intently on the girl in the mirror.
Seeing that she had finally noticed it, the white-bellied bird flapped its olive-green wings, emitting a melodious chirping, and swooped down towards her, finally landing steadily on her raised right hand.
The bird's chirping, whose meaning would be incomprehensible to others, sounded to her like the lively, almost noisy chatter of a child.
"Alice, Alice, how was my performance today! Were those horrible, bearded, paw-pad-covered brown-furred beasts the 'Molly' you were looking for?"
"Hmm, not bad, but the number you brought back was a bit beyond my expectations..." Alice teased the small bird's fluffy head with her index finger, her words and tone becoming increasingly incoherent, beyond human comprehension. "Luckily, the client took the cats with him, otherwise I was really worried that the detective would make me figure out how to get rid of them myself, which would have been difficult."
To ordinary animals with limited intelligence, her allure was like a deadly drug, easily addictive and hard to quit...
She deliberately maintained her magic to prevent this from happening.
Because the creatures she attracted in the city would be a truly terrifying group: stray cats and dogs, and birds were relatively harmless, but the combination of various flying insects, crawling insects, and rats was far too lethal for most people to handle.
But to make the cats, who were struggling desperately in the water, behave, Alice had no choice but to abandon her charm and transform into a human catnip.
The little bird, enjoying the gentle caress of the girl's fingertips, was oblivious to her dilemma and excitedly chirped again:
"So, so, I helped Alice today, right? I did what Alice asked for, so when can you do what Alice promised me?"
The girl stopped rubbing the bird's head.
"Tonight, but only if you've really thought it through… After becoming my official familiar, you'll lose many things, including your freedom. It's not too late to back out now. The 'Intelligence Awakening' effect I've applied to you will last approximately six to twelve months. During this time, if you want to return to your previous state of confusion and chaos, just tell me—"
"No! I think it's great as it is! I've never felt so clear-headed about myself as I have these past few days!" The little bird chirped and flapped its wings, landing on the girl's shoulder and nuzzling her ear affectionately with its wingtip. "And since meeting Alice, I get to eat delicious berries every day, and I'm very happy and have a lot of fun. I've made up my mind, I want to be Alice's robin!"
Unable to find the distinctive orange-red breast feathers of a robin on this tiny bird, Alice could only silently reach out and touch the little creature that insisted on calling itself a robin.
She had tested the little thing's intelligence level, and the results showed that its thinking ability was roughly equivalent to that of an eight- or nine-year-old human child. Logically, it shouldn't be mistaken about its own species…
Oh well, a minor issue.
"Since you've thought it through…" Alice softened her voice, her tone gentle, "then prepare yourself and come with me to a place where you will undergo your transformation—well, during the journey, you can think carefully about the choice of sequence potions. Remember, you can only choose one from the sequences I provide; you cannot choose more than one."
"Chirp…" Upon hearing this, the robin let out a mournful cry, instantly becoming dejected.
…
The Mirror World.
Whenever the visitor from another dimension, who called herself Alice, left this dimension, strange changes would unfold.
A world, miraculously fragmented, would gradually crumble, slowly dimming, returning to a chaotic and distorted state devoid of order.
Yet, in this scene that seemed to herald the end of the world, in the darkest and most obscure corner, a single observer calmly and indifferently witnessed the entire process, taking it all in.
In her silver eyes, as vast as the ocean, seemed to hold the ebb and flow of destiny.
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