Chapter 8
Where's Alice?

For another day, the morning sun shone from beyond the forest, spreading its light through the trees to cast long shadows to the west. A new, exciting day began. Across the world, people in human settlements clasped their hands in a praying manner as they revered the Goddess, while monsters woke up in their own homes, either embracing the men they caught before or leaving to hunt for their own men.

However, not everyone had a good day. As the number of people who were happy about the new day increased, so was the number of people who simply wished for this new day to never come… And one of those people is currently being shaken left and right by a purple-haired midget.

"Wake up, Alex." The purple-haired boy shouted, trying to forcefully wake up the young man below him.

"Fuck me." The man groaned in annoyance, as he was being shaken awake by a pair of small hands. The man swore under his breath in a tired tone while also getting up from his bed and sitting with his legs crossed.

'Why did morning come so soon?' The young man thought to himself as he looked up in the sky, seeing the white clouds floating across the blue firmament. If his memory is correct, this was probably the first time he ever hated seeing this kind of scenery.

"Don't die on me, Alex." Luka's familiar voice ringed on his ears, carrying a joking tone. "I've made breakfast, clean yourself up."

Alexander rubbed his sleepy eyes, trying to lighten the weight of his heavy eyelids. A second small groan escaped from his mouth as he could feel his sleepiness clutching on his body like heavy shackles. That's what happens when you sleep for what probably felt like four hours and wake up with shouts and pushes.

"Give me some minutes." Alexander told Luka with a tired voice as he stretched his body and stood up on his feet, trying to recover the energy and mental state to keep himself awake.

"What a pathetic sight." Upon hearing that unfamiliar voice, Alexander casually glanced around and saw a Lamia with a very large red tail extending from her hips, while her upper body carried an unusually-colored purple skin. That is to not talk about her white long hair.

Who was this monster? And why was she sitting near the campfire, eating Luka's food?

'...Oh, it's just Alice.' He had almost forgotten about it since he wasn't used to her presence, but in a few seconds, he was able to recognize the monster as their most recent member of the group: Alipheese Fateburn the 16th, or just simply Alice if one wants to avoid saying that mouthful of a name.

Anyway, he was too tired to even retort to her words, so he simply ignored her and looked at Luka, who was handing him a dish with fried eggs and salad in one hand and a small loaf of bread in his other hand.

Alexander gladly took these two things and thanked Luka for cooking breakfast, before sitting down with his legs crossed.

As the three of them: Alexander, Luka, and Alice, were having breakfast, Alexander glanced at Luka and asked him a question. "Did something happen while I was sleeping?"

"No." Luka replied after swallowing a bite of his own eggs. "Nobody came. It was just us three for the whole night until now after those Slug Girls left."

"Hmm, I see…" Alexander nodded in understanding as he continued to eat.

When Alexander was halfway through to eat his dish, he suddenly spoke out: "By the way, I've decided to follow you instead of going on my way."

"Huh?"

Both Luka and Alice stopped eating their food and looked at Alexander with raised eyebrows, the former being more surprised than the latter. Luka, with an understandable level of curiosity, asked him: "Why?"

Alexander shrugged and gave a short summary of the self-reflection he went through the night of the day before.

"So, basically, yesterday night, I came to realize that it would be more beneficial for me to stay with you two for a longer time rather than going on my way." Alexander told them before he took a deep breath to continue talking. "I don't exactly have the support of the church of Ilias now that I can't get baptized. So, until I have enough money and power, I thought that it would be better to stick together with you. After that, I think I'll be able to look for my father even by myself."

"Umm… Are you sure about that?" Luka asked, knowing that any matter related to Alexander's father is really important to him. "I'm not telling you that I mind. In fact, I am very happy to have you along for much longer, but still…"

Alexander shook his head, making Luka stop talking. "I've already reflected and decided, don't worry. I don't think I will regret my decision."

Luka smiled in excitement upon hearing Alexander's confident words and told him: "That's awesome! We'll go to fight the Monster Lord together!"

'I don't think I will follow you that far…' Alexander thought about those words, but he didn't say them out loud. Still, when Luka mentioned that, he couldn't help but think about such a scenario.

Carrying a golden spear with a legendary glint on its blade, wearing a great and powerful-looking armor that reflected the light of the sun like a mirror…

"Oh right." As he thought about armors, a particular thought that he almost forgot about passed through his mind. He pulled his backpack and dug into it, until he found the thing he was looking for.

"Hey Luka."

"Yes?" Luka, who was about to eat the rest of his breakfast, paused and looked at Alexander, who pulled out a small white vest from the bag.

"I had this thing when I came here in Iliasville back when I was 12, so it doesn't fit me anymore. I thought that this may fit you better now, since you are quite small in stature."

Alexander handed over Luka the Dragon Skin, the light-weight armor made of white dragon scales retrieved from the Fossil Mines near Grand Noah. Upon seeing it, Alice looked at it with disgust and commented: "Don't bring that stuff out while I'm eating, it's disgusting!"

"?" Alexander looked at Alice with a raised eyebrow, not understanding what she was talking about. "Calm down, it's just armor."

"Made of dead scales." Alice added with a disgusted expression. "Would you like it if I brought out a chainmail made of human hair while you are eating breakfast?"

"...Fair point." Alexander gave up as he continued to eat, while Alice grumbled under her breath. "People these days don't have any ounce of respect…"

Meanwhile, Luka stared at the Dragon Skin with an intrigued expression as he touched its surface. "What is it?" He curiously asked Alexander for an explanation.

"As I said, this is a vest I used to wear when I was 12 years old. I didn't have the opportunity to properly use it since I was always protected by the hired mercenaries, but it is a very solid armor that is as flexible as a chainmail and grants a way better protection than a simple leather armor, both from swords and from magic. It's called Dragon Skin due to the fact that it is made of dragon scales and it's thinner than actual armor."

"That's… that's awesome! Are you really giving it to me?" Luka stared up to Alexander in excitement while picking up the dragon scale vest. However, his excitement quickly died down when he felt a piercing stare on his face.

Turning around, he saw Alice glaring at him, and immediately realizing what he just did, he apologized profusely while covering the Dragon Skin with his small figure. "I-I'm sorry!"

Alice merely scoffed as she put her empty dish down and simply commented with an annoyed tone. "I'm done here, finish quickly so we can leave."

Then, she stood up on her tail and slithered off, although she still remained visible to the two humans who were still sitting around the campfire. While she was waiting for them to finish their things, they quickly devoured the rest of their breakfast before Alexander started to clean up everything in the surroundings, including turning off the campfire as they didn't need it anymore.

Meanwhile, Luka gave a quick prayer to the Goddess Ilias once he was done eating, before he was entirely focused on the new armor set that Alexander gifted to him as he wore it under his shirt.

"It's quite easy to move around with it." Luka commented as he twisted his shoulders around. "It's a bit stiff at the extremes, but it is also as light as a jacket… Kind of like leather armor."

"You know, it's impressive that a suit for 12 years old boys fits you like a charm." Alexander casually spoke with an amused expression.

Upon hearing Alexander's words, Luka stared at him in indignation and rebuked. "I'll get my growth sprout soon!"

"You won't be able to use the armor anymore if you grow up now, you know? Hahaha." A chuckle escaped from Alexander's mouth as he finished setting up his backpack once again. Along with the ax and Tempest ─ which he didn't find an opportunity to use yet outside of the "spar" with Luka ─ he wore his backpack behind and asked the boy: "Are you ready?"

Luka nodded back. "Yeah, I am. Let's go now, I really want to sleep in a bed there."

Of course, with 'there', Luka was referring to Iliasburg, the town they were supposed to go in. And thus, with nothing else to do, the two of them, along with Alice who was waiting at the side, started their march to the north.

And immediately after, the most terrible of the questions was spoken…

"When will we arrive there?"

"No idea." Fortunately, the one who asked that question was Alice rather than a child, so they shouldn't expect that same question coming out every quarter of an hour. The one who answered her was Alexander. "I always used the wagon to go there, so I don't know how long we'll take on foot. Still, since we crossed the bridge yesterday, I think we will be there by… Well, by today, we'll get there. Chances are that we will arrive a bit late though."

"That better be it…" Alice commented with a bothered tone, in which Alexander added on his own thoughts.

"Trust me, you're not the only one. I just want to jump on an actual bed and sleep the remaining hours that I deserve to have."

"Me too." Luka also joined the conversation, not wanting to be left out. "As soon as we reach Iliasburg, how about we book a room in an inn there?"

"Sure, sounds like a good idea." Alexander agreed with his suggestion before he threw a glance at Alice, just taking notice of how different she looked compared to other monsters.

"Alice… I've been meaning to ask you something for some time."

"Hmm?" Alice merely looked back at him and listened to Alexander's question. "Where do you come from? No offense, but I've never seen or heard of a Lamia like you, especially with those horns on your head."

"I live in Hellgondo." She spoke with such casualty, even though her answer was very surprising for both Alexander and Luka, who stared at her in shock.

"Wait, Hellgondo? Like, the place where the Monster Lord lives too?" Luka asked with a surprised tone, while Alice replied with a mocking way. "Of course, do you know any other Hellgondo in this world?"

"...If you came from Hellgondo, then what are you doing here? You said that you wanted to travel around the world, but in the Ilias Continent? Really?

Not to talk about the sheer distance between Ilias Continent and Hellgondo, but why would a monster voluntarily head into Ilias Continent? This is the land where Heroes are born and grow before traveling to Sentora to gather experience against monsters before fighting the Monster Lord, and because of the blessing of the Goddess, her magical energy should have been weakened a lot.

"As if I would unironically travel to the Ilias Continent, what kind of sick person do you think I am?" Alice was clearly on the same note as Alexander, as shown by her large frown, yet that still didn't answer his question.

"The reason I am even here is because of that bitch…" Alice answered with a seething tone while also clenching her fists, clearly showing her hatred against the 'bitch' she spoke of. "Tch… Just talking about her pisses me off."

'I wonder who she is.' Alexander thought for himself, but he didn't bring himself to ask that question. After all, Alice did basically confirm that she is a very powerful monster by saying that she once lived in Hellgondo, so it wouldn't be wise at all to enrage a monster like her if just bringing up this mysterious person in a conversation made Alice so angry.

"Hey, Alex." Suddenly, Luka called out Alexander, who turned around to look at the boy. "Yes?"

"Do you see what I am seeing?"

"Seeing what?" Alexander curiously asked as he looked at the direction Luka was staring at, just now noticing a peculiar scenery in front of him.

"...?" The two boys were taken aback when they saw a sprout of comically massive sizes, with two large leaves on the top of it that were larger than an average person's face. The strangest thing about the plant wasn't its massive size, however, but its position in the middle of the road made up of flattened soil.

Of course, it's easy to see that something was very wrong here.

"...Must be a monster." Even if Alexander was physically and mentally exhausted from the few hours of sleep he got last night, he could see it coming from a mile away. There must be a Mandragora sleeping under the plant.

Why was she sleeping there out of all places?

"Huh? A monster? Isn't that just a plant though?" Luka asked for a clarification, even though he was supposed to know about this kind of stuff just as much as Alexander, considering it's the neighboring area around his hometown he was talking about.

"Have you ever heard of Mandragoras?" Instead of an elaboration, Alexander asked him a rhetorical question.

Fortunately, Luka didn't embarrass himself too much as he understood what Alexander was talking about. "...Oh!"

Mandragoras, they were a type of alraunes, plant-based monsters, that liked to sleep underground for most of the year, more alike to plants rather than monsters. However, if you accidentally pulled one out of the ground and disturbed their sleep, they will release a powerful shriek capable of paralyzing anybody who hears it and will attack whoever wakes them up. They were mostly present around Iliasville along with Imps, Slugs, and Slimes.

Upon knowing what the mysterious plant was, Luka looked at the massive sprout in a new light. "But what is a Mandragora doing here?"

"I've got absolutely no idea. Hey, Alice…" Alexander turned around to Alice to ask her opinion on this matter. Unfortunately, much to his surprise, there was no Alice there…

Where did she go? Did they accidentally lose her behind? Or did she continue going forward? Alexander looked around to check both ways, but there was no trace of her. The only answer he could think of is that she vanished out of nowhere, because there is absolutely no way he could miss a chromatic-challenged creature that weighs half a ton in his field of view.

"Alice?" Noticing that she completely disappeared from the surroundings, Alexander was left in complete surprise. "How the fuck did I miss her leaving?"

"What?" Upon hearing Alexander's words, Luka turned around with curiosity and took notice of Alice's absence. "Where did she go?"

As the two boys looked at their surroundings trying to find a shadow out of Alice with no success for a whole minute, Luka ultimately stopped his search and suggested: "Maybe she went to… pick flowers?"

"Huh?" Alexander didn't understand Luka's meaning underneath those words and looked at him in curiosity, while Luka elaborated with a hesitant tone, trying his best to not make it sound rude. "You know… she may be doing stuff behind the bushes now, so she split off for a bit."

"Oh."

Now understanding what Luka was talking about, he asked the following question: "Are you sure she won't get lost, though?"

"Well, she did find my home after… smelling me?"

Alexander blinked in surprise with an expression filled with stupor, while Luka filled him with what had actually happened in the short span of time between their separation right after leaving the Ilias Temple and their meeting back to the northern exit of Iliasville.

As Luka walked back home, an expression of disappointment and misery formed on his face. He spent five years doing his best to learn swordsmanship using the various tips of his fellow Apprentice Heroes and try them out in a sparring match with a friend, Maki, who was part of the military army of Iliasville.

All the money he spent on medical supplies for the various injuries, all the efforts, sweat, and blood he put on this… All of that, and yet he still couldn't get himself baptized for some reason. Was the Goddess ignoring his efforts? Just like in the incident of 10 years ago, was she abandoning him once again, even after he prayed for her with all of his heart put in each prayer?

He contemplated those questions as he returned back home, but when he opened the door, he was taken aback when he saw a familiar figure standing in front of him.

"You're slow." Alice's words ─ filled with boredom ─ rang into his ears, making him jump in surprise when he took notice of her presence in his living room. However, that surprise lasted very little, and he immediately acted out once he realized what kind of situation he was in, starting with closing his door and then his windows so that nobody would notice that a monster entered the village without anybody's notice.

Once he was done, he stared at her with stupor and asked: "W-What are you doing here?! How did you even find my home?!"

"By scent." Alice replied, as if that explained anything at all. "Smelling your unsophisticated scent once was all it took."

"W… What?" Luka was left utterly confused. Unsophisticated scent? Smelling? How does that even explain anything? If he left his smell around while walking here, then what about the body odor of his customers who left here in the early morning to wait at the temple to get baptized?

Also…

"Nevermind that, why are you even here?! This is Iliasville! Everyone will raise pitches and forks as soon as they hear about you!" Luka entered in a state of panic once the confusion was pushed aside, but Alice didn't seem to care about the consequences of her actions as she simply scoffed at his words.

"As if a bunch of farmers can hurt me. Anyway, I'm hungry, give me food."

"What?" Alexander stopped Luka's narration with a bewildered expression. "You're kidding, right?"

"No!" Luka immediately shouted in self defense. "I swear to the Goddess that this was the first thing she asked me!"

"This is fucking ridiculous… What did you do then?"

"Well…" Luka scratched the back of his head at that question. "I don't really remember, as if I lost my memory of that event. Anyway, after that, she apologized for what she said in the forest… I think?"

"You think? Luka, it was literally yesterday, how can you forget that?" Alexander pinched the spot between his eyebrows in disappointment and shook his head.

"Look, she literally told me this, quote unquote: 'While your childishness is idiotic, it's a good thing.' She told me that she said that to 'comfort' me, but tell me if that was a way to apologize or an insult."

"...Fair enough." Alexander couldn't help but give a point to Luka, while he continued his explanation. "Anyway, she then said that she would follow me to see how my journey to achieve coexistence would go, and that she looked forward to seeing me fail."

"I understand… Anyway, back to the point, she can smell us then? In that case, let's just wait for her to return, or something like that."

"Sure." Luka agreed with Alexander's suggestion before his gaze fell on the Mandragora. "What should we do about the Mandragora, though?"

"..." Alexander merely stared at the massive sprout coming out from the ground as he thought about Luka's question.

Should they leave it here and ignore it? What if it was a trap? There are a lot of thoughts wandering through Alexander's mind, each one using different points to come up with different solutions. Ultimately, Alexander reached a decision.

"Let's talk to her first, we don't know anything about her yet."

Luka agreed with his decision, but as he looked at the Mandragora for a few seconds, he felt like asking a rather curious question…

"How do we wake her up?"