The discomfort itself may have shown its face from time to time, much longer ago. However, it wasn't until after Eden-san left that it took on a definite form.

''........Kite. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a bit tired.......can we have a date another time?
'What?　Uh, oh ... are you okay?

　After Eden-san left, Alice said that to me with a bitter smile pasted on her face.
　There's nothing funny about the words themselves. Just a few minutes ago, Alice was fighting seriously against the powerful Mr. Eden, so it is natural that she would be tired.
　But somehow........there was an uncomfortable feeling that buzzed deep in my chest, a feeling that cannot be explained by logic.

''Haha, it's totally fine!　But even the special Alice can get tired sometimes.
Yeah, well...

　Why is that?　Alice is laughing....why does she look like she's 'crying' when she's laughing?
　Come to think of it, it was the same just now. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I felt........scared and trembling.
　But that doesn't mean I can't clearly explain what's wrong with it... that's why I don't know what to do.

''Well then, I'll put the alter ego on guard so you'll have to excuse me.
Yeah.

　I wanted to call Alice to stop her as she left after putting together a short story... but there, I didn't have enough words to stop her. I reaffirmed that I didn't know anything about Alice, and in the end I could only nod my head.

　Alice is like a friend........a bad friend.......to me, a friend I can forgive. She would appear out of the blue and try to play along with my comments, or joke around..........such a scene had become the norm.
　I thought I knew Alice...or maybe I was trying to convince myself that I did.

　Alice rarely talks about her past. There seemed to be a clear wall there, like she was implicitly appealing to me not to step in...I didn't understand anything.
　But today, Alice expressed her passion for the first time. I couldn't get that look out of my mind and it pained me to see her face as she made me feel that way.

　It's not that I didn't know anything about her, it's just that I wasn't trying to know her.
　I think I've been taking advantage of Alice's good-naturedness and her smiling at me, and I've been avoiding the effort to know, because I didn't know why she was angry with me, because I didn't know why she was losing her cool.
　Because at the time, I didn't even know why Alice was losing her cool and getting angry.

　I can't go on like this. At least I........I couldn't forgive myself for not being able to say a single witty word to Alice, who was leaving with such a sad-looking back.









　Returning to the grocery store where there was not a single customer, Alice, who lowered the CLOSE tag on the door and entered the store....and put her 'trembling hand' on the wall.

''........I was naive. ...I'm........

　Covering her face with her trembling hands, Alice's entire body trembled in fear.
　



　Alice muttered in a sad voice and stared into the dim darkness with tears streaming down her face.

....I won't let you take.......or lose......Mr. Kite.......

　These were not words to tell someone else, but words that I would tell myself.
　

''........It's hard.......What am I going to do?　Iris Iris how did you put the curse on me in the first place? I don't know ... answer me ... buddy.

　There was no one to answer the voice that seemed to be asking for help. Only the voice of a sobbing girl was heard in the quiet dimness.








I'm sorry. I don't know if I can be of much help in that regard.
I see.

　I knew I couldn't let this go on, so I decided to get to know Alice first. That said, I've been hiding it from him all this time. I didn't feel comfortable asking him about a topic I didn't want him to step into.
　It's a good idea to ask someone else, and the first person I turned to was Kuro... but after listening to me, Kuro shook his head apologetically.

I don't know much about Chartier either........no. I know her to some extent, but I don't really know her well.
Not sure?

　I asked him if he knew anything about Alice, but he replied that he didn't know her very well. But Black replied that he didn't know Alice very well, and that he wasn't sure.

When I first met Chartier, my impression of her was that she was a very stubborn girl. I thought she had experienced a lot of battles, with her fighting skills and such, but she didn't know how to handle her own power, or she was being swamped by it... It was as if she 'suddenly became very strong' and had no control over her power. It was like he didn't know how to do it.
....
'Well, so I went along to practice and stuff and gave advice and stuff, and we became friends... what do you say?　It just didn't feel right.
Strange?

　Black doesn't seem to know much about Alice's past either, but he seems to be able to tell me his impression of Alice from Black's point of view, so he continues to speak while drinking coffee in a teacup.

''Yeah. Chartier is so cheerful and energetic........but what is it?　I can't think of a better way to describe it, but it was as if I was 'playing' the role of 'Chartier' and I was vaguely but not laughing deep down. But I've only recently found out about it.
...What?
I think I felt a sense of discomfort. But I only felt it vaguely... it wasn't until Kaito-kun showed up that it took shape for it to become certain.
Since I showed up?
Yeah. I can't explain it well, but it's different. The difference between being with us and being with you, Kite...

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world and what's going on in the world.
　I'm not sure I've ever seen her talking to anyone else, so I didn't notice the difference, but if Kuro, who has been with her for a long time, says so, it's probably true.

''Chartier, who has always had a thin film on his true heart and was more calm than anyone else until now, sometimes shows great passion when it comes to Kaito-kun.
....
I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but I think Chartier is terrified of losing Kite, and I don't know why he is so attached to Kite. But I don't know why Chartier is so obsessed with Kite, I don't know why. It's just that she's so different from Chartia before...
....
That's all I know, and I'm sorry I can't help you much.
No, thanks. You're very helpful.

　In the end, we didn't know the details, but I'm sure of one thing: the uncomfortable feeling of discomfort I felt from Alice, the passion I showed Eden-san at that time, the key to knowing the answer to that question lies in her past, which Alice is hiding.
　The discomfort Alice felt, the passion she showed to Eden, the key to finding out the answer to that question lies in the past that Alice is hiding.
　But it's difficult to find out... who else knows what even Black doesn't know?

　I wonder if White, who can read minds, would know?　No, I really feel like, somehow, Alice seems to have the art of not letting Shiro-san read her mind as well.
　That's exactly who Alice seems to be talking about herself spontaneously... what about Fate-san?　I heard that Alice and Miss Fate are good friends, and Miss Fate might know something about Alice.

　Dear Mom, Dad - I saw a side of Alice that I hadn't seen before, and I realized that I really didn't know anything about Alice at all. That's why I thought that in order to talk to Alice now, I had to know - I had to know Alice first.









　Upper Divine Realm, one of the three temples of the Supreme God... the Temple of the God of Time and Space. Klonoa was working in her office when Fate, the god of fate, appeared to her.

''God of Time and Space, do you have a moment?''
"The god of fate... what?　I'm busy, even if it's just a visit from an otherworldly god. Unless you're in a hurry....
I'm going to the human world for a bit.
"...What?　Well, wait, wait, don't be silly, I told you I was busy!　You have a lot of work ahead of you...
It's already done. Okay. That's all there is.
...what?

　Hearing Fate's words telling him that he's going to the human world, Kronor thinks it's the usual slacking off and tries to scold him with anger on his face... but right after, Fate puts a large amount of documents on Kronor's desk.
　


Well, that's all right then. I'm going to the human world. I have some important things to do, and I don't want you to interrupt me, okay?　I went all the way out of my way to do that, and I've gone to all the f*cking trouble of working for it...
No problem ... but what the hell is wrong with you?　What business do you have to go to work for...
....

　With a single glance at Kronor, who was quietly muttering to himself while still looking like he couldn't believe it, Fate turned away and 'walked' towards the entrance.
　Then he stopped once in front of the door and muttered to himself, in a small voice, as if muttering to himself.

'It's nothing. I'm just going to go beat up my 'stupid friend' who's bugging me about some stupid thing.......