Chapter 6
Alice’s gaze fell upon a familiar face… or rather, it would be a lie to call it familiar. More accurately, the rough shirt and the solid build of the man before her jolted her memory.
How could he show up in such a careless state, being invited into someone’s home? Alice wondered if his sloppy attire was a way to prevent any altercations.
Of course, that was just a hypothesis.
The truth would need to be confirmed from here on out!
“Hey—”
“I was expecting more guests, but it seems there are only two?”
The man didn’t shy away from Alice’s gaze.
What she thought had been black eyes yesterday turned out to be a deep brown, almost like brown sugar, partially hidden beneath heavy eyelids.
“Haah. I was hoping to take advantage of the crowd to sneak some of Madam Adelaide’s brandy.”
“Show some respect for your guests, Fiore! And besides, these ones are more polite than usual.”
Hearing the name ‘Fiore’ made Alice’s grip loosen just before she was about to confront him. ‘Flower’? That name really doesn’t suit such a large man.
At that moment, the man named Fiore looked at Alice and winked.
‘Huh?’
As their eyes met completely, Fiore pointed to his pants pocket, where something bulged noticeably. Could this action mean just one thing?
That he had her wallet and would soon return it to her?
Alice relaxed her grip.
Thinking it over, there was no guarantee that confronting him would result in getting her wallet back. If he played dumb, she would become the problematic guest before even adapting to this village.
‘Auber… are you there?’
Alice glared at Fiore’s pocket before turning her gaze away; she still needed to greet the other villagers.
The first person to approach her was a child who looked around twelve years old. Beneath unkempt hair lacking luster, his round eyes sparkled like candy.
“Hello.”
“Hi there.”
His voice was husky, possibly due to puberty, and he blushed slightly as he lowered his head.
“I’m Gon…”
The child introduced himself and immediately ran off after saying hello. Alice chuckled softly as memories of her own childhood surfaced while watching him flee.
Another villager clung to Arno—a woman with striking red eye makeup.
“It’s been so long since we’ve had guests! I’m Cherry! Mr. Arno? Arno? What a cute name!”
“Ahem! Could you step back a bit…?”
“Where are you staying? At the clinic? Can I come visit?”
“Cherry.”
Madam Adelaide’s stern voice made Cherry’s eyes widen; she puffed out her cheeks and stepped back.
“Madam and Fiore won’t entertain you anyway.”
“Of course! Someone so frail has no business clinging to others to play. Go ask that frail-looking young lady over there to play with you instead!”
Cherry finally turned her gaze to Alice, her blue eyes scanning her up and down with a hint of disapproval.
“You look like you just study all the time.”
…Not the most pleasant personality, but she has some insight. Alice greeted her casually.
“I’m Alice Boucher. I’ll be working at the clinic as Professor Nathan’s assistant. Nice to meet you.”
“So, you’ll be playing too? The professor has been sick for quite a while and hasn’t opened the clinic.”
“I don’t plan to just play around. Thank you for your kindness.”
Cherry didn’t respond and walked away with light, fluttering steps. However, Alice felt a greater sense of relief that her self-introduction ordeal was finally over.
Now it was time for that supposedly tasteless meal Nathan had mentioned—
“Aren’t we going to introduce ourselves?”
Ah, damn it. The most bothersome guy sat down right next to her, the chair creaking under his weight.
“My name is Fiore. A proud worker of the village ‘Reki.’ And you?”
“Alice Boucher. I’m Professor Nathan’s assistant.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s it. And if I’m not mistaken, I assume you know more than that.”
It would be a luxury to expect that a pickpocket wouldn’t have looked into her wallet. He probably knew all about her personal affairs stored inside it.
Fiore’s lips curled into a smirk, and they soon approached Alice’s ear, preparing for what she anticipated would be some trivial taunt…
He threw out the worst insult instead.
“Fool.”
“What?”
“You should have given up and left back then.”
His voice was heavy like lead. Fiore leaned back, but a whirlwind began to stir in Alice’s mind.
‘Should I have left back then?’
‘Did he steal my wallet to keep me from coming to this village?’
It wasn’t a playful tone; there was no hint of jest in his voice. Overwhelmed by confusion, Alice looked at Fiore, but he had already turned his back on her and was chatting with Arno.
They exchanged jokes and laughed together.
‘I’ll have to tell Mr. Arno about this later.’
But first, she needed to get her wallet back.
Soon, Adelaide’s cheerful voice rang out.
“Dinner is ready! Would you please finish your greetings and take a seat?”
On the table were black bread, pale carrot soup, and jerky—nothing more. The emergency rations stuffed in her travel bag seemed to promise a more diverse taste than this meal.
Still, not being picky about food, Alice expressed her gratitude but was taken aback when she looked at the other villagers’ plates.
“Aren’t others eating?”
On Gon’s plate were only a few unidentifiable plants that looked edible or not. Next to him, Cherry had nothing but a syrupy brown liquid on her plate. At the very end, Fiore was spinning an empty plate around as if playing with it.
Adelaide smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it. Everyone came to see our new guest; they’re not here just for the meal.”
How could she not worry? Wasn’t she concerned they might have given away some of the village’s scarce food supply to a guest?
However, Arno had already taken a bite of bread. Seeing his face twist momentarily suggested that the taste wasn’t promising at all.
Alice braced herself and tore off a piece of bread.
“Thank you for the meal…”
Alice felt the bitter taste and the gritty texture of the bread, along with a hint of fishy water on her tongue. ‘How much emergency food do I have left in my bag?’
As Adelaide tore off her share of bread, she began to speak.
“I’ll explain about our village, ‘Reki.’ Honestly, I’m not sure if we can really call this a village since we’re sharing an old detention center building with a group of drifters.”
Fiore chuckled openly at her words but quickly received a disapproving look from Adelaide.
“Anyway, we’ve established many rules to respect each other and prevent conflicts during tough times. There won’t be anyone to punish you if you break them, but I hope you’ll try to follow them.”
“Of course. Are there many rules?”
“I’ll organize them in a notebook for you. First, let me tell you what you need to remember for your way back… Don’t smoke in the village.”
Alice nodded; she liked that rule. Arno clicked his tongue slightly.
However, she couldn’t smile at the next rule.
“Don’t light fires at night.”
“Are you talking about the stove?”
“It includes lighting and heating devices… I can see you’re trying to find an exception. But even candles are not allowed.”
“No… then is that why dinner starts so early?”
“Yes. You’ll need to return to your lodging before sunset.”
Even after hearing Adelaide’s assertion, Alice’s mind desperately searched for exceptions.
Does that mean I can’t read at night? What about late-night snacks? If I need to go to the bathroom at night? It’s late summer now, but what about heating?
The question she most wanted to ask was voiced by Arno instead.
“What if we need to pee at night?”
“This used to be a detention center. All the accommodations were hospital rooms, and there are ceramic chamber pots left behind.”
“Wow! That’s good news!”
His sarcastic tone made Fiore burst into laughter again. Adelaide smiled but shook her head firmly.
“Still, it’s not allowed. Let the night be the time for night.”
“Are we going to attract wolves if we light a fire?”
“I don’t have time to explain each reason one by one. Next important rule: even if you go to the beach, don’t go near the cliffs.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“The area away from the cliffs is dangerous too. The winds and waves are strong enough to easily turn a person into fish food.”
“That makes some sense.”
“Also, if you hear human voices from the cliffs, they’ll growl like dogs.”
“…What?”
“Sounds typical of feline animals threatening their prey works too. You know, like a ‘shheak!’ sound.”
Adelaide was serious. Alice looked around at the other villagers, wondering if they were all in on some joke together.
Cherry had already left her seat, Gon nodded seriously, and Fiore had an expressionless face as if he had just heard that “water is wet.”
“Well, this is about all the rules you need to learn today. I’ll give you a notebook with the rules on your way back. Are both of you going to use the clinic as your lodging?”
Alice nodded immediately; they were on the same team and should stick together in case anything happened.
But Arno shook his head.
“I came here to work, but I don’t plan on working 24 hours straight. Where else can I stay besides the clinic?”
“The detention center. Oh, all the decent buildings have been cleaned up, so they’re tidy enough. I’ll prepare the closest room to the clinic for you.”
“That would be appreciated.”
Thanks to the nearly empty plates, dinner ended quickly. While Adelaide went to fetch the keys for their accommodations, Alice asked Arno, “Why stay somewhere else?”
“It’s just bad luck.”
“Yes?”
“In my experience, nothing good ever comes from sticking around someone who starts blaming others the moment you meet them.”
The subject was implied, but it was clear who he was talking about.
Alice almost burst into laughter.
Arno, you’re absolutely spot on! It took me a whole year in the lab to realize that, and you figured it out in just a few minutes!
“Ah, please don’t tell that gentleman.”
“I won’t. But I’ll make sure to say it to his face someday.”
“You have a funny side sometimes.”
“That’s not exactly good news.”
However, Arno lowered his voice.
“More precisely, I thought it would be wise for one of us to stay in a different lodging just in case. I wanted to discuss the code too, but that guy isn’t leaving.”
‘That guy’ clearly referred to Fiore. He was now stacking the plates left by Gon and Cherry into a tower.
Could she tell Arno that ‘that person’ was staying because he had business with her?
Just then, Adelaide returned, carrying all of Arno and Alice’s bags in her hands.
The two of them were taken aback.
“Madam Adelaide! Let me help you with that!”
“Madam, if you’re carrying luggage, just call us!”
Adelaide lightly dodged their offers.
“It’s fine! I’m quite strong. Now, let me guide you to Arno’s lodging. Are you leaving now, Alice?”
“I…”
Alice quickly found the most convenient excuse.
“I’ll clean up the dishes since I’ve eaten and then head back on my own.”
“Oh, thank you! The moon will come soon, but since this is your first time here, be sure to leave before it gets too late!”
Leave before it gets too late?
Waving goodbye to the two of them, Alice thought about how that depended on the man approaching her from behind after putting down the plates.
