Chapter 349: Are All Members of the Zoroaster Family Actually Zoroaster?

Chapter 349: Are All Members of the Zoroaster Family Actually Zoroaster?

Alone in the empty room, Alice burst into laughter. She had even activated a spiritual barrier beforehand to prevent anyone from overhearing her.

"Hmm, I definitely can't let Klein see this..." she mused. "I wonder if Miss 'Justice' knows me?"

After her laughter subsided, Alice began to seriously consider how she would submit this piece.

As for Amon seeing it... well, it wouldn't be the first time!

Setting aside the parts Amon had arbitrarily stolen from her mind, Alice had deliberately provoked Amon with such things on multiple occasions.

The fact that she hadn't sent Amon an author-signed hardcover edition as a souvenir was already out of consideration for Leonard's potential exposure.

However, Alice felt her actions might not make much difference either way, at most just accelerating the timeline. Perhaps she should...

Alice's inner desires stirred restlessly.

No, she couldn't... Alice firmly restrained her reckless urges.

Investigating the identity of the "Thief" angel within Leonard wasn't a difficult task for Alice. Previously, she might have needed to visit the church, but now...

Alice pondered for a moment, then went to her dressing mirror. She dipped her finger in ink and drew the symbol left by Arrodes.

"This should work on the mirror, right?" she thought.

Alice stared intently at the mirror. The reflective surface, which had been illuminating the surroundings, began to be infused with a bright white light from the point where she had drawn the symbol. Blood-red text appeared on it like spreading ink:

"Thank you for your summons, great Lady of Destiny."

Before Arrodes could project an expression to match the text, Alice curiously asked:

"Can't you change the font?

"You can change the background and add emojis, so why not change the font?"

Seemingly faced with such a request for the first time, Arrodes remained silent for a while before slowly displaying the text:

"It is possible.

"What kind of font would you prefer?"

The following sentence appeared with each letter in a different font and color.

"Oh, so you can change it," Alice blinked and shook her head. "Your original font was fine. It suits the mirror well.

"I was just asking."

Arrodes seamlessly continued:

"Thank you for your praise!"

"Impressive..." Alice thought, eyeing Arrodes like a rare treasure. She licked her lips and said:

"Leonard has a 'Thief' pathway angel parasitizing him...

"Who is it?"

This question posed no challenge to Arrodes, who took the opportunity to report:

"They are from the Zoroaster family of the Fourth Epoch and once tampered with my questions."

"Zoroaster..." Alice rested her chin on her right hand, completely missing Arrodes' subtle accusation. "Are all members of the Zoroaster family actually Zoroaster?"

This question clearly stemmed from Alice's stereotypical impression of "Thieves" based on Amon.

Equally clear was that this was a redundant question.

"Of course all members of the Zoroaster family are Zoroasters," the mirror responded. "Forgive my ignorance, but could you rephrase your question in a more understandable way?"

"I can," Alice replied.

Evidently, Alice was far more adept at dealing with rules than Klein. Arrodes, seemingly not expecting the apparently naive Alice to be so cunning in certain aspects, hesitated briefly before continuing:

"Then what is your question?"

Alice, who had been silently keeping count, blinked and asked her real question:

"In the Fourth Epoch, the Amon family seemed to consist entirely of Amon and his avatars...

"Does a similar situation exist with the Zoroaster family?"

This time Arrodes understood and answered:

"At the very least, the Zoroaster family does not have only one member."

It seems their ancestor wasn't as malicious as Amon... or perhaps they simply couldn't achieve the same feat. After all, the Thief's extraordinary characteristics are limited, while Amon's are infinite...

An infinite number of Amons consuming the finite extraordinary characteristics of the Thief pathway!

Alice shook her head and looked at the question that popped up on the mirror before she could speak:

"Have you conveyed my request to my great master?"

Alice stared at the text on the mirror, tilted her head slightly, and said:

"I have.

"But it's useless, isn't it? First, your great master isn't in Backlund, and second, your great master is currently... enduring humiliation for the sake of resurrection."

Alice swallowed the words "scrubbing toilets," though she suspected the mirror could easily deduce this.

After a pause, Alice rubbed her chin and asked the mirror:

"You're trapped in... no, never mind. The donation box is one thing, but stealing a sealed artifact would definitely get me scolded...

"How should I get you out?"

Arrodes immediately became excited:

"You can directly ask the 'Heart of Mechanical Prowess' about this matter."

That makes sense, she could just ask directly... Alice rubbed her chin and solemnly patted the mirror:

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to redeem you. In the future, you can just follow me!"

...?

The odd choice of words successfully made Arrodes realize what was wrong with this situation:

"Don't you intend to hand me over to my great master...?"

Alice replied matter-of-factly:

"If I obtain you, why would I give you to someone else?

"Using you occasionally is fine, but you'd definitely be mine, right?

"But in that case, I suddenly don't want you as much... After all, you keep calling someone else 'master,' which sounds strange...

"But if you suddenly started calling me 'master' now, that would be even stranger, right? It feels like... well, it feels even more fickle than the followers of a certain someone..."

Alice successfully put the mirror in a position where any response would be wrong. Finally, looking at the mirror that dared not speak, she concluded:

"You'd better wait for Mr. Fool to come himself!"

While Arrodes' true feelings were unclear, Alice saw only a line of text without any emoji:

"I look forward to your next summons at any time.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Hmm..." Alice bit her lip and began to think.

But Arrodes didn't give Alice much time to ponder, or rather, the "Heart of Mechanical Prowess" didn't allow Alice much time for contemplation.

Before Alice could thoroughly consider what she should do next, Arrodes rapidly flashed a line of text on the mirror surface, completely different from its previous slow, letter-by-letter approach:

"Great Lady of Destiny, I need to leave for a moment. The people of the 'Heart of Mechanical Prowess' are calling me.

"I will always look forward to your next summons!"