Ch.364[Episode 364] Alice in Gacha Land

Lady Alice was able to be released thanks to Sir Dominic’s personal guarantee.

Though she looked somewhat different from what Sir Dominic remembered, she was definitely Lady Alice.

Of course, she had to pay a small fine.

It was a fine for the assault incident.

Sir Dominic and Alice left the police station and began walking through the streets of Gachaland.

An awkward atmosphere lingered between them.

“Um, my lord.”

“Uh, yes?”

Sir Dominic had many questions he wanted to ask Alice, but the title he hadn’t used in a long time somehow felt unfamiliar.

Alice seemed to feel the same way, as she jumped at the word “my lord” and looked at Sir Dominic.

Sir Dominic looked at Alice and repeatedly opened and closed his mouth.

He had many questions, but for some reason, the words kept getting caught in his throat.

Sir Dominic didn’t know what to do for a long time, and only after quite a while was he finally able to utter a short sentence to his long-lost comrade and lord.

“…Have you been well?”

At Sir Dominic’s words, Alice seemed to think about something as she gazed into the distance, then nodded.

“Well, I’ve been fine. You?”

“I’ve been well too.”

With those words, an awkward silence fell between them once again.

They walked silently down the street.

Where they were going wasn’t important.

They were just walking for now.

Sir Dominic suddenly spotted a café he frequented.

Perfect timing. Sir Dominic spoke to Lady Alice to break the awkward atmosphere.

“Would you like to have a cup of coffee at that café?”

“Coffee? Ah. Sure.”

Alice nodded at Sir Dominic’s words.

The awkward atmosphere between them seemed to ease slightly.

…

“Here’s your caramel macchiato and iced café latte.”

“…Thank you.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

The feeling that the awkwardness had eased was just that—a feeling.

The awkward silence still hung between them and continued until the coffee arrived.

Except for the words they uttered when receiving their coffee, silence continued.

It was truly a suffocating situation.

In the end, it was Sir Dominic who couldn’t bear the uncomfortable silence and spoke first.

“By the way, I heard you’re a Star. What happened during that time?”

Sir Dominic voiced one of the questions he had since meeting Lady Alice.

Lady Alice seemed to choke on her drink at Sir Dominic’s sudden question and began coughing with her hand over her mouth.

She knew Sir Dominic would ask about this issue, but she didn’t expect him to ask so suddenly.

“J-just a moment…”

Lady Alice kept saying “just a moment” to Sir Dominic until her coughing subsided.

And after a short while, when her condition calmed down a bit, Alice took a deep breath in and out to stabilize her breathing and looked at Sir Dominic.

“So where should I start…”

“Please tell me in detail. That-“

“Starting with why I became a Star?”

“…Yes.”

Sir Dominic wanted to hear everything that happened after his death, but he decided to first listen to why she became a Star.

He thought he could hear the rest slowly.

Alice tapped the table with her index finger at Sir Dominic’s words.

Tap tap, periodically, as if thinking about something.

Finally, as if her thoughts were organized, Lady Alice spoke.

“Actually, becoming a Star was a coincidence. I was recognized for saving Feralant and became a Guardian Spirit. After that, I was chosen by the White Crow… sir and began my life as a Champion. Something like helping whenever Feralant was in crisis.”

Alice took a sip of her iced café latte, then spoke her next words as if it were nothing special.

“I worked like that for about 200 years. Thanks to that, I became quite a well-known Star in Feralant.”

“…?”

Sir Dominic felt a strange sense of dissonance at Alice speaking of 200 years as if it were nothing.

200 years, no less.

Sir Dominic thought about when he had come to Gachaland.

Even at the longest, it was only 1-2 years.

Sir Dominic realized the time gap between Feralant and Gachaland and became confused.

“By the way, 200 years have passed, but Sir Dominic looks the same? No, I even feel like you’ve gotten younger. While I’ve grown old with white hair all over.”

Lady Alice smiled bitterly as she touched her skin.

To Sir Dominic, she still maintained the beauty of her youth, but she didn’t seem to think so herself.

“Not 200 years, but 2 years.”

“Huh?”

“Even at the longest, it’s been 2 years. The time I’ve lived in this Gachaland.”

Sir Dominic explained the time difference between Gachaland and Feralant to Lady Alice.

“It seems there’s a 100-fold time difference between Gachaland and Feralant.”

“…I see.”

Lady Alice nodded at Sir Dominic’s words.

She was now a Star, and Feralant, after 200 years, was quite scientifically advanced.

That’s why she could understand the problem of time differences between dimensions.

“Come to think of it, it’s amazing. According to records, you were described almost like a proxy of god, achieving such great feats in just 2 years… wait.”

Lady Alice was amazed at Sir Dominic’s achievements but suddenly felt a chill.

“Oh my goodness. I almost got into big trouble.”

“…? What happened?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just submitted my vacation request based on Gachaland’s standard, not Feralant’s.”

Lady Alice said she wouldn’t have been able to stay even a few days if she had submitted it based on Feralant’s time.

Since Feralant’s time was 100 times that of Gachaland, one day in Gachaland was 100 days in Feralant.

It’s unclear how long she planned to enjoy her vacation, but she could have faced the misfortune of having to return to Feralant as soon as she got off the train.

Lady Alice sighed in relief and said to Sir Dominic.

“You know what?”

“What?”

Lady Alice said to Sir Dominic with a seemingly serious expression.

“This is paid leave.”

“…?”

“It’s an opportunity to rest with pay for decades in Feralant’s time! Hurray for Gachaland!”

Lady Alice cheered, forgetting that they were in a crowded café.

“Are you using the café alone? Hurray for Gachaland!”

“Hey, that sounds fun! If everyone’s doing it, I’ll join in! Hurray for Gachaland!”

“Uh, yeah? Hurray for Gachaland!”

Fortunately, the people of Gachaland were quite kind and cheerful, so they joined in with Alice’s cheer.

Sir Dominic smiled at Lady Alice, who was acting just as he remembered.

“Oh, you smiled? Am I funny, Sir Dominic?”

“No, my lord.”

“Then why are the corners of your mouth turning up?”

“It must be my mood.”

Sir Dominic began to act as he did when he was under Lady Alice, lost in old memories.

The same seemed true for Lady Alice, as they now shed the awkward atmosphere and increasingly returned to their past dynamic.

And so, Sir Dominic and Lady Alice exchanged somewhat cheerful but not particularly nutritious small talk.

Sir Dominic, caught up in this cheerful atmosphere, smiled broadly as he drank his coffee.

And suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

Sir Dominic immediately voiced that thought.

“By the way, you just mentioned records?”

“Yes. The Book of Saint Dominic. It’s a bestseller.”

Sir Dominic frowned at the name of a book he had never heard of.

What on earth was that?

Lady Alice seemed to read Sir Dominic’s thoughts from his expression and began to explain about The Book of Saint Dominic.

“It’s a book written by Saint Arkus, who was invited to the Hall of Warriors, recording what he saw there with his ogre escort. Originally, it was titled ‘The Complete Book of the Hall of Warriors,’ but because it contained so many records about Sir Dominic, everyone calls it The Book of Saint Dominic.”

Lady Alice said this as she pulled out a few sheets of paper from her trunk.

“This is the original. Want to see?”

Sir Dominic looked at the paper Lady Alice handed him.

On it was an image of Sir Dominic subduing a dragon with two women on either side, with red wings spread behind his back, making him look like an angel or a saint.

“…What on earth is this?”

“Who knows? If Sir Dominic doesn’t know, who would?”

Sir Dominic felt uncomfortable with this strange-feeling picture.

The figure clearly resembled Sir Dominic, but he had no idea what this picture was based on.

“…I’ve seen enough.”

Sir Dominic handed the papers back to Alice.

Still not shaking off his uneasy expression.

Lady Alice took the papers Sir Dominic handed her and opened her trunk again to put them back inside.

“Ah, right.”

Lady Alice exclaimed as if she suddenly remembered something while closing her trunk.

And then she looked at Sir Dominic and said:

“Um, I came without booking any accommodation. So, I was wondering if you could let me stay at your place?”

Lady Alice continued, subtly watching Sir Dominic’s reaction.

“…Just for about a month until I find a place to stay.”

She mentioned a longer period than expected.