Uh… so after all that, she meant that she just wanders around during the day, and plays a few notes on the piano when the mood strikes?
That's not witchy at all… from the perspective she chose, she's even a bit like a bodhisattva.
Klein was dumbfounded and quite surprised.
But the emotions Alice expressed were genuine, and the scenes she described in her words were presented as if they were real, sometimes making him, the listener, feel inexplicably heavy-hearted, as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest.
Klein might not have personally witnessed those tragic, seemingly hopeless lives, but Melissa had often told him and Benson how difficult life was for her former classmates after their fathers lost their jobs and their families moved to the slums.
Presumably, unless one had truly witnessed such a scene, even the most skilled at creating illusions and knowing how to deceive could not express such touching emotions.
Klein had actually considered how to shield himself from Alice's influence, so as not to be bewitched, have his perceptions altered, or be deceived by illusions again.
His initial thought was to bring her to the gray fog that could isolate her from external interference, so they could talk face-to-face.
But he quickly abandoned this plan.
First, it would expose one of his biggest secrets, and might even expose "The Fool's" true identity at a future tarot gathering... the thought was too vivid to bear.
Second, he couldn't guarantee that bringing Alice to the gray fog would isolate her influence. If he connected her star to the gray fog, and her strange abilities infiltrated it, ultimately leading to the collapse of the only thing that could shield her from her influence, it would be a huge loss.
Considering all these factors, Klein had no choice but to abandon the idea and make another plan.
However, to his surprise, he was moved by Alice's calm narration and found it difficult to be harsh and treat her with the same look he had towards a con artist.
...Well, if her deception and acting skills were truly so sophisticated that she could even fake "genuine feelings," then he could only admit that he had misjudged her.
Klein nodded slightly, making his decision.
He hadn't even noticed when he sat down next to the girl, simply staring intently into her eyes.
"I believe what you're saying… but I need an explanation."
"?" She tilted her head slightly, her eyes conveying her confusion.
While silently cursing the allure of beauty, Klein gritted his teeth, determined to maintain his stance, and brazenly asked,
"Tell me honestly, have you ever seduced me before? Have you altered my perception of you? Have you used illusions or hallucinations?"
—Ultimately, the reason he suspected she was a "pleasure witch" was precisely because she seduced others without reason, making them feel favorably towards her, and then needing to obtain "pleasure" in return!
If these questions weren't present, he'd be happy to believe she was a magician from another world; perhaps she could even help him find his homeland.
Alice blinked, giving him a "how did you find out?" look.
"Can I not answer this question?"
"Then I'll take that as a yes." Klein forced a calm facade.
"But I'm not answering for your sake… I'm afraid if I say too much, you'll be shy and embarrassed."
Klein took a deep breath.
"No, you don't need to worry about that. I only care about the truth now… and your reasons for doing this."
His bluntness clearly bothered Alice.
She turned from sitting to lying down, her long, beautiful hair spreading a pale gold across the sheets, her upturned eyes reflecting Klein's image.
"Actually," Alice spoke in the silence of the room,
"I have to say, your face… well, it's not my type at all." "…Oh." Klein said blankly.
"But many times, your reactions are so cute that I can't help but want to do something to see your next reaction."
…Don't make your wicked sense of humor and mischief sound so natural! Klein silently retorted.
"Of course, I don't mean that I've exerted any kind of mental influence on you for some purpose… and it's not directly related to the illusion I've been maintaining."
"…So you're going to bring that up specifically?" Klein couldn't help but retort.
Alice wasn't angry, but after a few seconds of pause, she spoke again:
"Then let me ask you another way... Do you think I'm pretty?"
...What a death trap question!
Klein frowned deeply, but he was too embarrassed to admit it to her face, so he could only nod very slightly.
Before he could finish the gesture, Alice flashed that familiar, wicked smile:
"Alright, I know what you're going to say... Pretty, right? What a coincidence, that's what I thought too."
Narcissistic! Klein rolled his eyes inwardly.
"Klein, you know, my illusions are never used to deceive or trick anyone. To achieve those purposes, I wouldn't even need these magical tricks... Besides, you've got the order of a certain question wrong."
Klein frowned slightly at her words.
"Wrong order?"
"Yes, because the 'charm' ability you perceive isn't actually my intention. It's more like... a kind of uncontrollable negative effect. Do you understand?"
After a moment's thought, Klein nodded somewhat laboriously:
"I can understand part of it... but you call it a negative effect?"
In his view, this was clearly a powerful and terrifying ability, capable of effortlessly dispelling others' wariness and making them see her as an ally—practically a console cheat.
Alice glanced at him.
"This 'charm' isn't just effective on humans and intelligent beings; it works on other creatures with reproductive instincts, and it doesn't discriminate by gender... Next time, if we have the chance, we can go fishing together. I'm sure I can catch more fish than you without bait... Wanna bet?"
...And you still say you didn't cheat! Are you really not some kind of sentient sealed artifact?!
Klein was dumbfounded and repeatedly waved his hands to decline her "kindness"—judging from her tone, it seemed she had actually tried it before… He'd have to be as stupid as a baboon to agree to her suggestion!
However, Alice immediately pointed out that under her deliberate control, the range of this charm wouldn't exceed five meters around the person, and the emotional influence wouldn't be strong, at most just a slight degree of attraction.
And once the person left that range, they would gradually return to normal.
"Why didn't you say so sooner!"
Upon hearing this, Klein's alarm bells went off immediately, and he was about to run to a corner of the room to distance himself
from her. "...I haven't finished yet." Alice shook her head with amusement, while adding insult to injury, "Besides, after so many days, those who were going to be influenced have already been influenced. Even if you're standing more than five meters away from me now, it's too late."
...So this was the experience of that Night Watch squad? Completely bewitched by her "negative effects"? Klein nodded as if he understood.
"As for the perception modification you mentioned...it should be another spell."
Alice briefly summarized a spell she had modified for him. Its specific effect was to correct the subjective perception of those around her—especially non-intelligent beings—and amplify the negative impression.
In short, the spell's function was to counteract the previously mentioned "charm ability."
As for intelligent beings, this "anti-charm" spell also had an effect, but it was less pronounced, and they were still more likely to develop a certain degree of goodwill towards Alice under the influence of the charm effect.
Finally, she stated,
"I've tried my best to minimize my influence on you. If you still develop feelings for me, it's not my problem, it's your own... Well, actually, even if you do develop feelings for me, it's not a big deal. It's human nature to appreciate beauty, and beautiful people always receive more goodwill from others. Besides, I wouldn't deceive anyone's feelings because of that."
...Alright, let's leave her twisted
logic aside for now. Klein couldn't find anything to refute her theory, so he could only ask,
"Then... how do you explain illusions and magic?"
He was still thinking about the questions he had divined in the gray fog.
"What's there to explain? I've been maintaining the illusion on myself all along, otherwise I'd have to recast it every time I go out, which is too troublesome."
Alice waved her hand, quickly moving on from the topic, and got up to walk to her desk, which made Klein, who was still thinking of asking about "pleasure," give up the idea of speaking again.
"So, I really don't think I'm being targeted by anyone…"
She pointed to the quiet black letter on the table, then turned back to him to confirm if there was anything bad inside.
Klein himself wanted to prove his suspicions, so he took a few steps closer, took out the citrine pendulum wrapped in his left sleeve, and suspended it above the black letter, silently reciting,
"This letter contains a harmful influence on me."
Alice had never seen him use his supernatural abilities in front of her before, so she didn't disturb him, but simply watched his actions with curiosity.
After a moment, the citrine pendulum, guided by spiritual power, began to rotate clockwise at a considerable speed.
Klein, his face grim, carefully put away the pendulum and turned to her, saying,
"There's something bad in here! And it's probably quite ominous!"
"Is this your 'diviner' ability?" Alice nodded slightly, then asked, "So, do you have any good suggestions, diviner? You see, I'm just a weak poet who knows little about the supernatural world, and I've never experienced anything like this before..."
...You're weak and helpless? What about the original owner who was pitifully "opened" back then? A helpless infant?
Klein thought to himself, the correct first reaction to a similar supernatural event should be to report it to the Night Watch...
However, Alice was wanted by the church, and he couldn't persuade her to go out with him to report it, nor could he take the letter away from this area.
He couldn't exactly call the captain out, could he? That would be difficult to explain later...
Klein rubbed his temples, a headache forming, rejecting several proposals without coming up with anything better.
Just then, he heard the girl beside him let out a soft "ah."
"You have a plan?"
Alice nodded and then shook her head upon hearing this.
"A plan, I wouldn't call it. I just suddenly thought of a possibility, maybe...maybe I can guess who sent this letter."
Klein's spirits lifted immediately: "Who sent it?"
Alice didn't answer him immediately, but closed her eyes as if recalling something. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and said with slight uncertainty:
"I always thought that coming to this world was an accident caused by a spell going out of control...but no teleportation spell going out of control would send someone to a stargate leading to another world. So, perhaps there is a possibility—that my coming to this world was not an accident or a coincidence, but the result of someone deliberately calling and guiding me...
If that's the case, then the person who called me might have a motive for sending this letter."
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