H14~15

Chapter.14 "Happiness" is a process, not a goal (page 1/2)Previous ChapterbookshelfTable of contentsSave BookmarkNext Page    "However, Ms. Danitali, like her father, is a little too idealistic. Her requirements for applicants are that they must know their native language, be able to understand at least one foreign language, be able to quickly complete currency calculations within 10 pounds within five seconds, and must quickly remember the specific brewing methods of more than ten different flavors of coffee after taking up the job.

    In addition, she also has requirements for the applicant's character, facial features, and figure, and will ask the applicant to guarantee that they must take a shower every day on weekdays to ensure personal hygiene. If they have facial blemishes, they must wear makeup when they go to work... and so on."

    Benson listed the conditions that he thought were unreasonable in a somewhat long-winded manner, shaking his head as he spoke.

    If it were the previous Klein, he would probably still feel confused. These are obviously very basic requirements. Why do they become unrealistic in Benson's eyes?

    But he has initially adapted to this world and knows that this place is not as severely involuted as the 21st century Earth where he used to live... Or should I say that people who have the conditions to meet the above requirements that he thinks are reasonable are definitely not "lower-middle-class" women.

    What's more, facing cash transactions that far exceed their consumption levels, not everyone can maintain their original intentions and not be tempted by money.

    Melissa also said, "So that's why we always see recruitment information for that cafe in the newspaper."

    "I heard that many of the waiters working at Deville Cafe are maids in Lord Deville's family..."

    As if realizing that he had gone off topic, Benson coughed lightly and turned the topic back to Klein.

    "In short, although Miss Alice said that she only planned to do a short-term job for one to two weeks as a way to experience life, Klein, if you get off work early in the afternoon and have more time, it would be better to go to Hall Street and pick her up on the way home... Do you understand what I mean?"

    I understand, but I would rather not understand...

    Klein smiled awkwardly, drinking the sweet iced tea brought back by Alice, and nodding his head to perfunctorily answer Benson and Melissa's joint preaching. He felt like a super bad student who failed the exam caught by the head and deputy head teacher.

    It was not easy to wait until the brother and sister who were worried about his smooth love career went away and continued their unfinished study plan for the day. Klein had already finished the cup of refreshing and sweet iced drink, and was bored to play with paper cups.

    Seeing that he was finally free, he didn't delay and said he was going upstairs to read. After throwing the paper bag on the table, he ran to the second floor. Of course, before going upstairs, he didn't forget to take a look at the mailbox outside his house.

    Very good, there is no black letter.

    Klein breathed a sigh of relief and walked up the stairs to the second floor. Then he moved his feet and stopped at the door of the guest room at the end of the corridor.

    Knock knock.

    He bent his fingers and knocked on the door twice, and called her softly:

    "Can you chat for a while, Alice?"

    After a few seconds, Klein heard footsteps coming from far away in the room, and the second after the footsteps stopped, the door was opened from the inside.

    "What's the matter?" The girl blinked her beautiful green eyes, letting them be filled with doubts. "Don't say you're not used to living alone and want to chat with me... This is only the second day since I moved out, right?" Klein

    subconsciously wanted to reply to her, don't make such a ridiculous joke. But the words were on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't say them.

    The girl leaning against the door had her golden hair tied up with a hair tie, most of it into a neat ponytail, and the rest of it was just hanging down in front of her body, falling on her soft and plump curves. She was wearing a loose long dress for home leisure, the style was conservative, but for some reason, it had a kind of magical charm that made people's heart beat.

    Stop, stop, wake up Klein! Don't forget to stay alert when facing the witch, don't let her charm you so easily again!

    Klein took out 120,000 points of perseverance and barely calmed down:

    "Well, there is something, something very important."

    Alice glanced at the corridor behind him, and then opened the door a little more and gestured:

    "Since it is an important matter, then come in and talk... or should we talk in your room?"

    If possible, Klein really hopes to solve all his doubts in the corridor. After all, if he and her were in the same room, he really didn't have much confidence that he could resist her charm or illusion ability.

    But that was not a topic that Benson and Melissa knew after all. Klein had no choice but to bite the bullet and nod his head, walked into the guest room now assigned to Alice, and turned around to lock the door.

    What topic should I start with...

    Klein knew that he had too many doubts and puzzles now. All his understanding of Alice came only from her self-narration and the short time they had spent together in the past few days.

    If all of this was fake and untrustworthy, then Alice in front of him was just a familiar stranger.

    "Is the cake delicious?"

    Alice was the first to speak. She lay back on the bed without any hesitation, picked up a book that was upside down next to the quilt, and seemed to be reading silently with her eyes down.

    "Not bad..."

    Klein glanced at the words on the spine of the book and found that it was a book introducing the festival culture of the Feysac Empire.

    ...She is interested in the Feysac Empire? Is there her next target there? He retracted his gaze and couldn't help but think wildly.

    "It's good. I was a little worried at first. Would such sweet snacks and drinks not suit your taste..."

    Alice didn't seem to care about his absent-mindedness. She supported her head with a smile and casually turned over a page of the book, saying at the same time.

    "Now it seems that you should like most of the desserts served in that cafe. If you have a chance next time, you can come over during my working hours to try them, and you can also use my employee benefits to get a discount."

    "... No, no, that's not the point, right?" Klein finally recovered and expressed his shock and confusion to the girl, "How did you think of going to... find a job? And what is going to go to, a maid cafe..." Did

    n't this witch set up a noble lady persona in front of him? Going to work is fine, but she has to dress up as a maid? !

    This, if this is not for the purpose of playing the role of gaining "pleasure", Klein can't think of any other reason.

    "Maid cafes, what's wrong with that? I've always wanted to try to dress up as a maid, but unfortunately there haven't been any good opportunities before."

    After hearing this question, Alice just shook her head and smiled, squinting her eyes that seemed to be filled with mist, with a very happy expression on her face.

    Klein couldn't help but look away and no longer look at her, so as not to let his mind and spirit slide into some kind of irreversible abyss along with the strands of long hair that fell into her collar.

    "So you go to work for fun... for happiness?"

    He tried to make his words sound more normal, so that the other party wouldn't think the wrong thing.

    ... No, in this case, should I say it to prevent her from thinking in the direction of the correct answer?

    Alice obviously couldn't hear the struggle in Klein's heart.Chapter.14 "Happiness" is a process, not a goal (page 2/2)Previous pagebookshelfTable of contentsSave BookmarkNext Chapter    She just looked up at him, then chuckled and said,

    "You can probably say that? After all, my original intention was just to experience life, and I will resign when I'm done."

    So, is she really a "Pleasure Witch"?

    Klein was a little confused.

    "To experience life... I pretend to be a maid?"

    There should be no connection between witches and maids, right? !

    "What else? Acting is also a kind of fun." Alice raised her head from the book, always feeling that this person was weird today.

    ...Wait a minute.

    Klein used his meditation skills to withdraw his spirituality from the current chaotic conversation, and tried to review the process from entering the room to now with a calm and objective perspective.

    Alice believed that acting itself was a kind of fun, not a means to gain "pleasure"...

    Is this still the potion acting method he thought of! Why does it feel like the two of them are completely on different channels?

    No, no, whether it is "acting" or gaining "pleasure", it should not be his focus now.

    What he should understand most is why Alice used charm on him, whether she was using illusion to deceive him or tamper with his cognition.

    With this thought in mind, Klein paced back and forth in the room for a few steps, and finally considered his words and prepared to speak:

    "Alice, you--"

    Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his eyes away, and his attention was attracted by something on the desk, and he was speechless for a moment.

    Alice did not behave like him, just glanced at it, and said casually:

    "By the way, this letter suddenly appeared on my desk before you knocked on the door just now. Hmm--from the look of you, you seem to have some clues?"

    "This is probably, a letter sent to you."

    Klein said word by word, and after confirming that she did not show any abnormal emotions, he slowly recounted his previous attempts and discoveries in detail.

    During this time, he also took out the junk advertisements that were put in his pocket to support his statement.

    "It's really strange."

    Alice nodded, and at the same time changed her movements from lying down to sitting up, and she put the book about the festival customs of the Feysac Empire aside with some seriousness.

    "Do you... have any friends who would send you letters in this way?"

    Although she didn't show any dissatisfaction with his previous attempts, Klein couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and asked carefully.

    "No. Let's not consider whether cross-border letters can be delivered... here, no one will write to me."

    Alice denied it very straightforwardly.

    Klein had no choice but to ignore the information in her words and suggested that she recall whether she had overlooked any details, such as where she went and what she did last week to be targeted by an unknown Beyonder, and even had her residence found out by the other party, and sent this strange and weird letter.

    "You said before that you felt that there was something not good in the letter."

    Facing Alice's solemn expression that gradually faded away from her smile, Klein nodded.

    "And this letter, every time it disappeared beyond a certain distance, it would reappear in the mailbox downstairs, until the last time... it was 'delivered' directly to my hand."

    Hearing this, Klein could only nod again.

    "But, I don't think I have done anything that would cause others to have bad intentions..."

    After she said this, she turned around and saw Klein's face with a look of "Really? I don't believe it". She felt a little funny, but for some reason, she suddenly felt a sense of loss that was stung.

    "You don't believe me?"

    Alice finally realized the alienation he showed today.

    Klein could predict that he would waver when her suspicions were discovered, but he didn't expect that what made him hesitate the most was the lonely look in her eyes that she had never shown before. The mist in her eyes seemed to pierce through the sharp blade of armor, stabbing hard into the heart of everyone who saw this scene.

    ...Well, Klein had to admit that beauty is really a woman's most powerful weapon.

    He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said ruthlessly:

    "...I have my own judgment criteria, Miss Alice, and I know too little about you."

    "That's true." The girl nodded with her eyes downcast, and then fell silent.

    Just as Klein was thinking about whether his tone was too heavy, Alice spoke again:

    "It just so happens that what I have seen and heard these days is not suitable for telling in a relaxed and happy environment. It's better to say that the atmosphere now is just right and feels good."

    "...What did Miss Alice see and hear?" Klein was a little stunned.

    "Since you lack understanding of me, and I also lack understanding of you and the world, then why not listen, Mr. Klein."

    The blonde girl smiled again, but it was no longer a joke or a bad teasing smile, but a very light and shallow smile that seemed to be a sigh.

    "After listening, I'm sure you will understand that what I saw and what I am doing... although it may not be called a good deed, it will not fall to the point of being despised by others."

    ...That's not what he meant! Klein opened his mouth, but he couldn't explain it.

    Because the girl had already looked away, turned her memory back to a few days ago, and began her story -

Chapter.15 Alice's Journey (Page 1/2)Previous ChapterbookshelfTable of contentsSave BookmarkNext Page    The first place chosen by the alien traveler who goes by the alias Alice after escaping the predicament was not Tingen City in Ahowa County.

    The young magician in a white robe with gold edges stopped her spell in a village far away from the town. Her exquisite leather boots stepped on the muddy road that had just rained, and she almost splashed herself with mud.

    But it didn't matter, because clothes with automatic cleaning spells were not afraid of such dirt.

    She maintained the illusion spell on her body and observed the village with only about ten households for a few circles. Then she realized that this was a dying village that had almost become an empty village.

    Why did she use the word "almost"?

    The farmland belonging to this village was obviously mostly abandoned, but not all of it.

    A pair of elderly farmers and women were the last residents of this village.

    They worked from sunrise to sunset every day, and worked diligently to cultivate, water and fertilize, and feed the few chickens, ducks, cats and dogs left in the village.

    This was a village that was so quiet that it was almost dying.

    The young magician used magic to disguise herself as an ordinary traveler, and cast a spell to make the old couple ignore her strange "Lune" accent. She received their warm hospitality without paying anything.

    And all she did was just chat with them for a few hours.

    The Joneses haven't seen any guests in the village for almost two months.

    Of course, the people who originally came from this village moved away from their hometown and went to big cities long ago.

    According to the Joneses, since the grain grown in the village is no longer easy to sell, many farmers have given up their fields and gone to big cities to work as workers because they can't make ends meet and can't support their families.

    If they were a few decades younger, they would probably make the same choice.

    "In previous years, seeing so many empty fields, the old Thompson who loves to take advantage of others must have been very happy and rushed to plant his oats on the empty fields." Mrs. Jones said so, pointing to a large field of weeds outside the window, with a look of regret on her face, as if she was reminiscing.

    "At first, we thought, with the price of grain dropping to that level, we couldn't even make back the cost, so who would be willing to sell it? After a while, the bigwigs in the city found that no one was selling grain anymore. At this time, we sold the stock in the granary to them, and we would definitely make some money back. Who knows..."

    Old Mr. Jones took her to visit a sealed granary. The wrinkles on his face were vicissitudes and deep, and there was no sadness or joy in his tone.

    "The best grain was not sold until it became moldy and rotten. In the end, it was little John who took a torch and burned all the stinking rotten things inside... We old guys probably never dreamed that the things we grew with our own hands would be burned by our own hands in the end." "

    Where are your children?" she heard herself asking.

    "We have eleven children in total. Three of them died young and didn't live past the age of five..."

    "The eldest son went to Jianhai County to transport coal for the factory owners there. The second daughter had a difficult delivery when she gave birth to her fourth child several years ago and didn't make it..."

    The old couple Jones counted on their fingers. Every time they counted a wrinkled finger, it was a statement of fate.

    "...The sixth child joined the army a few years ago. He may be floating on a ship now. As for the seventh child..."

    "Old man, you are confused! The one who joined the army is the seventh child. The sixth child went to fight underworld boxing a few years ago and got into trouble."

    Mrs. Jones corrected her husband in a hoarse voice.

    "Oh, oh... It seems so. I'm old and my memory is not good..."

    Mr. Jones, who was over 70 years old, touched his gray hair and shut up obediently, letting his wife continue the story.

    "...Our little daughter left the village last year, saying she was going to the north to find a job in Tingen. I don't know how she is doing now."

    The young magician was silent for a while, and then asked:

    "Have you considered letting one of your children stay, or go to the city with them?"

    Let their children stay? The old couple Jones shook their heads after hearing this.

    "They have their own lives and their own choices. What are they doing staying with old guys like us?"

    It is even more unrealistic to follow their children to the big city to make a living.

    The old couple Jones said that they don't know anything except farming, and going to the big city will also hinder their children. It is better to stay in the village, at least they won't starve to death.

    "It's actually quite good this way. We have a lot of work to do every day. When we're done, we wait until dark, drink some homemade beer together, and read the newspaper. Life is very comfortable."

    The young magician knew that the old couple meant reading newspapers, which meant spreading out two or three newspapers that had been out of date for who knows how long, reading them word by word, and who knows how many times they have read them over and over again.

    So after a night's rest, she said that she was just on her way to the northern city of Tingen to visit the youngest daughter of the Jones couple, Mary.

    When the girl arrived in Tingen and found Mary Jones, who had become a textile worker, she saw her black and white photo in the cemetery.

    According to her co-workers, Mary was too sleepy and tired one night, and didn't pay attention to the unravelling of her headscarf. In the end, her hair was accidentally caught in the machine and she was gone.

    All her savings were just enough to buy the small piece of land that now holds her ashes, and this tombstone without an epitaph.

    Mary didn't leave any other relics.

    When she was alive, she lived in a cheap hotel on the lower Iron Cross Street in the slums. There was almost no privacy in the rooms there. A dozen people were crowded in a room full of bunk beds, like a group of mice in a cage.

    In the end, the girl had to find a way to "copy" a black and white photo on Mary's tombstone, returned to the dying village, and gave it to the old couple Jones.

    "She is living a good life, she is in love, maybe she will get married next year or the year after."

    She said so.

    There is no need to bring bad news to these two old people who can't see the future too far, right?

    But before leaving, she seemed to hear suppressed crying coming from the only house in the village with lights on.

    ...After that, the young magician returned to Tingen.

    She stood in front of the camera shop, quietly thinking about how to return the film she "borrowed".

    At this moment, she felt the gaze.

    The young girl visitor from another world met a young man named Klein Moretti.

    From that day on, part of her life was just as Klein knew. She would occasionally talk to him about topics of a supernatural level, but more often she would tease him for fun. At night, she would sleep in the space behind the mirror, and her life was casual and comfortable.

    What Klein didn't know was that Alice didn't do anything special during the day.

    As she had stated to him, she was a magician who was also a part-time bard.

    However, she never sang, nor did she tell lyrics and poems about heroic stories. Whenever she arrived in a new city, if she felt interested, she would take her musical instrument to visit the streets and alleys, and then compose improvisations.Chapter.15 Alice's Journey (Page 2/2)Previous pagebookshelfTable of contentsSave BookmarkNext Chapter    Alice had not forgotten the bad experience when she first arrived in this world.

    She carefully isolated herself from the sight of most people. Even the native extraordinary people in this world would forget her specific appearance in a short period of time.

    Therefore, this also allowed her to observe this small town from the perspective of a passerby, like an invisible person.

    She saw that the elderly and solitary people would rather cover themselves with damp quilts and eat moldy black bread than go to the poorhouse, because it was almost the same as hell. The people sleeping in the next bed might be infected with a malignant disease, and the dirty and smelly courtyard never saw the sun all year round...

    She saw that the workers walking on the docks carried heavy goods on their backs, and their spines were bent for the transportation that might not cost half a penny per trip, draining the remaining vitality in their bodies. Many male workers began to decline in physical strength when they were nearly thirty years old. They had to stop and take a break after moving a few trips of goods, otherwise unfortunate accidents might happen.

    She saw that in the cheap cafes in the slums, greasy and dirty workers sat on equally greasy and dirty tables and chairs, wolfing down dry bread with tea. Everyone ate with relish in the food scraps left by the previous customer, not caring about these indecencies.

    ...

    She played the seven-string harp in her hand in the square, on the street, and on the simple lawn in front of the school.

    Although she downplayed her presence, there were still children who followed the beat and started dancing to her impromptu playing.

    They had amazing vitality that was hard to see in adults. Whether in the slums or the rich areas, the dance of the dirty and ragged children was not necessarily worse than those who had received dance lessons.

    But only children under ten years old and her colleagues who were also wandering artists would respond to her music.

    When these children grow up and become young men and women, they from the slums will wake up from the nightmare called reality, and the hope and smile of their childhood will be taken away by poverty and harsh environment. Those stunted and hunched bodies can no longer enable them to dance with the light and cheerful steps they once did. Instead, they become a burden, accompanying them as they leave their homes and go out to the streets to make a living.

    She often played music at the town square near the intersection of Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street.

    So she knew that some people would stop to listen to her music from a distance, but would not come near and would just leave.

    She knew that they were worried that if they listened for a while longer, they would have to pay a few pennies for the artist playing the piano...even though she never placed objects to collect coins where she played.

    Of course, in addition to the group of people living in the gray, she also silently watched the middle class and even the aristocracy in this world.

    They lived a decent life, drank coffee or tea elegantly, and traveled by carriage.

    Gentlemen all wore top hats, vests and shirts, and their collars and cuffs were neatly arranged without a wrinkle, while ladies wore dresses or trousers of various styles, conservative and noble, or heroic.

    They discussed fashion, knew how to enjoy holidays, and lived a planned life, which was taken for granted by most people.

    But similar to the proportion she observed, the number of poor people far exceeded those of the rich.

    When walking on the street, people always subconsciously ignore those who hide in the shadows.

    They are cooks, coachmen, and workers who can only get off work and go back to cheap hotels to rest near midnight.

    They are clearly human beings like everyone else, but they seem to have a strange filter and are often forgotten in the corner.

    As for the bright and beautiful ones, they enjoy the pursuit of their own eyes and the focus of the daylight on themselves.

    They are the bright spots in the paintings, the few people who have wealth and status, and the upper-class elites who hold their heads high and do their best to show their dignity.

    And Alice...

    Alice actually didn't think about what she should do.

    She knew that she was just a passer-by, an outsider, and had no right to judge the good or bad of this land and these people.

    But she couldn't help but turn out a comment from a corner deep in her memory:

    - This is the best of times, this is the worst of times.