Chapter 87

Chapter 87

"Alright then... The First Official Meeting of the Mystery Investigation Club will now commence. Let's give it a round of applause."

"Yay~!"

Clap clap clap...

We're in the club room.

Today, we've set a time for this to answer the kids' curiosities.

Ha-rim stands beside me, writing "1st Official Meeting" on the board.

Though we already had a ridiculous amount of meetings back then, she said she forgot the count, so we're starting fresh.

Ha-rim takes her seat, and four pairs of eyes turn to me.

"From now on, it's question time. If you have any questions, raise your hand and ask."

As soon as I say this, Kyeong-min raises his hand and asks the first question.

"Ella, why did you become Alice?"

First question. About Alice.

Of course, it would be this.

I figured this would be the first question.

But it's a tricky one because I don't have a straightforward answer for it either. I only have some guesses, so I can't really say "Because of this!" to them.

"I don't know for sure either. But I'll tell you what I think. First, there are beings in this world called devils. You all know that, right?"

Everyone nods.

We've met devils before.

Of the two we faced, the one that showed itself was the radio-head devil.

Now, it's no longer a devil but a pure monster who helps me, but back then, he was running towards us with his huge body trying to kill us, which was quite terrifying.

"According to what I heard from James, devils are born when a story or narrative (context) is fulfilled. For example... Imagine something that barks and walks on all fours. You would think, "This is a dog.", then a Dog Devil will be born. Of course, an evil offering might be needed too, but you get the idea."

This... Even I think it's such a strange explanation.

And I'm not even joking!

But I can't think of a better example.

The kids also look confused.

"So Ella fulfilled the context of the Alice in Wonderland series and became a devil of Alice? And that's why you're called Alice?"

I nod.

Honestly, I don't know what part of what I did was similar to the Alice series.

Aside from the blonde hair, there's not much in common.

"You probably don't understand. Actually... I don't understand it either."

"It's hard. It definitely seemed like you used up all your strength trying to save us and disappeared... But you were actually in the process of turning into a devil?"

I denied.

"That's not true. I definitely died back then. Only my soul remained and I left the stage of life."

The kids looked even more confused.

I tried to explain it to them properly.

I continued my speculations while talking nonsense.

"Hmm... Maybe I needed to die once to be reborn. Or maybe the victory over the half-devil triggered it later... However, one thing is certain. It wasn't my intention."

"So, you were forced to become Alice. It feels too artificial. Alice couldn't accidentally fulfill the context and become a devil. Maybe someone intended it."

As expected, Ha-rim is sharp.

First of all, it's certain that I became a devil by someone's intention.

The half-devil back then.

The guy I now call Jabberwock asked me for the seed.

The seed planted in me probably sprouted, and all the monsters, including those that flowed in from outside, became the offerings that gave birth to me now.

At this point, you might be wondering who planned this.

Of course, I know who.

That person is my school senior and the game developer M.P.

And his other name is Mephistopheles.

Was he the devil from the book Faust?

A fairly high-ranking devil, no doubt. But what is his goal?

Why create devils of fairy-tales?

Pinocchio. Jack. Ariel. Peter Pan. And me.

We're all fairy-tale devils.

When I was in danger after being stabbed in the back by Pinocchio, Mephistopheles appeared and told me that the fairy-tale devils were created to stop the Rulers.

Why me of all people? Why did it have to be devils of fairy-tales?

And what does the devil Mephistopheles gain by stopping the Rulers?

Is he trying to save people?

"That's right. The mastermind exists. And I know his name."

"!"

The children are surprised by the sudden declaration of the existence of the mastermind.

The children's expressions became more serious and they started paying more attention to hear his name.

"His name is Mephistopheles. He's the devil from Faust."

"What! He's real?"

The children are surprised by the familiar name.

Of course.

If things that were only told as stories actually come to light, it would be shocking.

"I just thought it was a play!"

In many ways, it will be an opportunity to expand your inner worldview.

It breaks the limits of your imagination and prepares your heart to face more things.

"I'm embarrassed because there's so much I don't know, but I don't know his purpose either. I'm going to find out little by little from now on. Oh, I have one thing to correct."

"I didn't say it calmly... Anyway, it's a terrifying monster. Last time, we fought and lost, but if something similar happens next time, I will never lose."

The god of machines was turned into a cogwheel by Pinocchio's ability.

Anticlimactic, sure.

But somehow, I doubt it's over that easily.

Maybe... No.

That's too baseless a guess.

I'll have to check for myself.

"Yeah! Let's defeat it together next time!"

"Haha... Thank you."

Next question.

"Fourth question. Who is Uncle Peter?"

Fourth question. Who is Peter?

I said clearly.

"He's Peter Pan."

"You mean Peter Pan from the fairy tale?"

"Of course, he's not exactly the same. He also became a devil of a fairy-tale like me. Yeah. You could say we're the same kind."

"I see. I never imagined Peter Pan in a military uniform."

Though I appear as Alice, I'm nothing like the Alice in the story.

After all, as a devil of Alice, I'm quite different from the original.

Peter Pan was even more extreme, though.

"I think his goal was... To create a world without horrors like war. So he tried to create Neverland... Hmm. But it became quite twisted. Someday he'll appear before us, but whether he'll be an ally or enemy, nobody knows."

Ha-rim muttered, glancing at his bag.

"He doesn't seem like a completely bad person... He even gave me a gift."

"Huh? What did you say, Ha-rim?"

"Ah. Hehe... It's a secret."

"...?"

Ha-rim's vague response is super suspicious.

I also have a lot of accumulated karma, so I can't say anything.

I pretended not to know and took the next question.

"Okay. Next question. That dragon you call Jabberwock... Is it that half-devil?"

Ah, that's what Kyeong-min had asked about.

Ha-rim must have been concerned about that too.

"Yes. He's known as Jabberwock, Bandersnatch, and Frumious Bandersnatch. Of those, his strongest name is Jabberwock. Back then, it was a powerful monster that could rival the Rulers, but now it's my plaything."

"Can you summon him now?"

"No. This guy doesn't listen to me at all. When I call his name to the mirror, he's clearly listening, but he doesn't even respond."

Jabberwock, that insufferable lizard!

I thought he'd reformed when he helped us, but he doesn't even respond, so I'm mad.

If you think about it, he was destined to disappear, but he's still relying on my existence to survive.

Show some respect, you damned reptile.

"That's too bad, he seemed so strong."

"He can only be summoned when certain conditions are met, so it's not perfect. Outside of special places like Neverland, I probably won't be able to summon him again."

Why do powerful monsters always have conditions?

If I could handle even one of them freely, I wouldn't have had to fight the machine god to a draw.

"The last question is... Yeah, this will do. You mentioned devils of fairy-tales, right? So, are there more besides Peter Pan and Alice?"

Last question. Devils of fairy-tales.

"Yes. There's Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Ariel the Little Mermaid, and the backstabbing... Pinocchio."

"Alice seems mad."

"She must have been hit."

Shut up!

"The ones I know of are these. According to Ariel, there might be two more... So, no more questions?"

The kids looked at each other and nodded.

Even though they didn't look relieved, they probably had a rough idea of ​​their current situation and the dangers of this world.

"Roughly... Haa. But what should we do now? Now that we've talked about it, there's nothing we can do."

Suho looked restless.

He wants to be prepared for any danger.

Suho is a tough kid who blocks attacks with his shield.

At the same time, an all-round tank that quickly detects threats, deflects strong attacks, and dodges them.

I understand his attitude.

"Hehehe... We just have to live our lives. We don't need to wander around looking for danger, and we certainly don't need to be afraid in advance. If trials come, we'll just do our best each time."

I decided to be with these kids.

Our bond became even stronger as we wavered and wavered here and there and made wrong choices.

They'll make up for my shortcomings.

...Okay. I've waited long enough.

Pinocchio.

Isn't it time for you to make a move?

I silently looked out the window.

I sharply stared somewhere beyond the buildings and mountains.

And the next day.

My portable Alice Protocol rings.