Chapter 9: Triss,

Chapter 9: Triss

After Klein proposed a ritual that could grant leave (which plagiarized Alice's prayer), Alice returned to reality.

So, should she do it? Maybe not, there are still two other people… Alice tapped on the desk, looking at the requests she had noted down, lazily thinking.

…

The next day, Alice went to the Blackthorn Security Company as usual.

After completing today's learning tasks, Alice, who was leaning on the counter chatting with Roselle, was caught by Dunn who was preparing to leave.

"Alice? Good timing, you should also learn how to go on missions, come with me."

Thus, Alice was forced to give up her leisure time and followed Dunn.

By the time they arrived, the people from 'Steam and Machinery's Heart' were already waiting on-site. Seeing them, their eyes lit up: "Dunn, you finally came… Oh, who is this?"

"This is Alice, you know her." Dunn didn't introduce too much, after all, Alice's process of becoming extraordinary was no secret among the three major churches in Tingen City.

"Oh!" The man indeed showed a look of amazement, he sized up Alice and then laughed, "This is really… Well, let's not talk about that, you don't know what happened, do you?"

Although it was a question, he didn't wait for their response and continued: "A few days ago, a tragedy occurred on the Musso ship, suspected to be the work of an extraordinary person. This is the address of one of the victims, we need your help to inquire about him."

Alice could only watch the following events; she watched as Dunn entered the dream to inquire - a capability she was familiar with, as she had been questioned herself.

Next was the process of praying through a ritual to draw a portrait, Alice watched this scene and suddenly remembered Audrey and Alger 'expressing' their diaries.

"Can the object of such a ritual prayer only be a deity?" Alice asked curiously.

"Correct," Dunn explained, "It's a little trick that allows us to draw things from our minds with the help of deities. Common uses include portraits of wanted criminals, as well as revelations from divination."

As he finished speaking, Dunn handed over the portrait to the team from 'Machinery's Heart': "Triss, a suspected extraordinary person, preliminarily assessed as Sequence 8 'Instigator', and we cannot rule out the possibility that he comes from the 'Spiritual Knowledge Society'."

"Is it him?" The person in charge was surprised to receive the portrait, "During the day when we inquired, someone said he was the hero who saved the survivors…"

He paused for a moment, then added: "If it's him, he might still be in Tingen City. There are eyewitnesses who prove that he came to Tingen City after leaving Enmat Harbor."

This was obviously not good news.

A wanted criminal had entered Tingen City… Dunn returned to the Blackthorn Security Company with this heavy news and told the other night watchers about the warrant.

…

It was not a very peaceful night.

In the deep darkness, a nimble figure floated down from the third floor like a feather, not even stirring up the dust on the ground.

The figure turned a corner and abruptly disappeared into the alley… Wait, why did he run up there? Alice blinked, observing the figure's progress from this strange angle and perspective, she finally realized, this seemed to be the perspective of a shadow.

As she approached the dock, her view became high and overlooking - this time, she was the sea breeze.

She clearly saw the round, affable face - it was… Triss!

What was he doing at the dock? But the surrounding scene suddenly twisted, Alice couldn't make out the distorted scene, she could only see a bright red blood color, and could only hear the chaotic cries, pleas, and weeping from within.

It was a terrible disaster.

In the shadow of blood, she saw the figure of Triss.

She was wearing a long black dress that fit well, showing off her figure, her face was round and soft, very affable… Wait, why was it her? The dream shattered, and Alice sat up from the bed, checking the time - it was only early morning, and the sky was not yet bright.

Alice pinched her brow with a headache, prophetic dreams were not strange, but this dream was too absurd, she couldn't even interpret it - could it be that Triss caused the Musso tragedy because he was a woman in his heart? Alice's mouth twitched, she shook her head, discarding this bizarre idea, and began to think about what to do.

Divination? No, with her knowledge of Triss being almost nothing beyond a face and a name, even if fate favored her, she couldn't find a way to get a revelation - the best outcome would be like that absurd dream just now.

So Alice had to get up, sacrificing her sleep time to run to the headquarters of the professionals.

"What's this…?" Leonard, who had just come out of the Chanis Gate, looked at Alice in surprise.

"Leonard? Morning…" Alice greeted him listlessly.

She obviously knew Leonard, after all, he was there when Dunn entered the dream.

Leonard had apparently never seen Alice like this, he looked at her in surprise and asked, "You're rushing over here so early in the morning, it can't be that something happened to the church, right?"

This not-so-funny joke didn't make Alice laugh, she just sighed listlessly.

So Leonard became worried, he looked at Alice uncertainly and asked, "Did something really happen?"

"No, I just had a ridiculous dream." Alice pinched her brow and answered.

"A dream scared you like this?" Leonard's expression seemed somewhat amused, Alice suspected he might be planning to mock her a few words.

"It's not that I was scared, it's…" Alice twisted her expression as she organized her words, "I had a prophetic dream, but in the dream, Triss turned into a woman!"

"?" That was Leonard.

"?" That was Dunn passing by.

"Captain, morning…" Alice also saw Dunn and greeted him weakly, "Did you hear?"

Dunn nodded and signaled Alice to follow him.

After saying goodbye to Leonard, Alice followed Dunn into the office, closed the door, and heard Dunn's calm voice: "Tell me about your dream."

"His figure was very agile, he jumped down from the third floor, heading straight for the dock…" Alice began to describe her dream, "Then, the scene suddenly twisted, turning into a blood-colored disaster, at the end of the disaster…"

Alice's expression twisted, she ground her teeth several times before continuing: "I saw Triss in a black fitted long dress, um… I even thought she was pretty! Then I suddenly remembered she was a man, and I woke up frightened."

(End of Chapter)