Thick fog obstructed the scenery of Backlund's morning, as usual, hindering the vision of its residents. Fortunately, The residents are already used to the thick fog and started their morning routines, while the tourists who went to the 'Capital of Capitals', couldn't be said the same. 

Our Angel, too, was already awake and began her morning routines. 

The first thing Alice does is to take a bath and wear her maid uniform. After tidying her appearance, she went outside of her room towards the servant's cafeteria.

On the way to the cafeteria, Alice saw Annie walking several meters ahead of her. 

"Annie! Wait for me!"

She shouts to Annie while pacing faster towards Annie.

'Haahh'

Annie sighed and looked behind with a slightly annoyed face as she saw Alice 'running' towards her. And soon, Alice reached her.

"Alice...what did I say about running in the corridor? While shouting at that."

"Ehhh...but it's not running Annie, I was just walking faster. And I was too excited to see you! I don't realize that I shouted again...sorry Annie…"

".....haahh, you and your excuses. And don't look at me like that, you've won, I won't nag you again."

Annie responded, looking at the guilty eyes of her assistant in front of her. And if you looked closely, a hint of mischief could be seen in those guilty eyes, not that Annie knew it.

"And here I thought that my new junior will be a prim and proper lady."

Annie said sarcastically to her assistant, though one can tell that she was smiling positively. 

"I can be prim and proper you know. And you're the one who told me to speak comfortably!"

Her assistant–Alice huffed at her remarks. 

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm curious tho, why are you always so excited in the morning." 

Annie said. She wondered why, today's Alice particularly, as she looks more energized than yesterday.

"No, I'm not always like that okay? I only do that when I saw you."

Alice answered back with her most genuine and beautiful smile that would make both man and woman fall in love at first sight.

And true to that statement, Annie who saw it, shortly turned her head away from the bewitching smile with red cheeks and ears.

"P-please don't do that, I-I...still want to marry a man."

"Ehehehe...Annie is for me only!"

Alice said teasingly to the red face senior maid. 

Ignoring the statement she just heard with the reddest face a human could make, Annie continue her walk towards the cafeteria. While Alice keeps teasing her with a deliberately cute tone.

'I can't get used to her ever-changing antics, even after months passed by.'

Annie thought as she remembered her first impression of the beauty behind her—a prim and proper lady—that's the impression she gets from the first time she saw Alice.

Soon the duo arrived at the cafeteria and enjoyed their breakfast. 

***

Already done eating her breakfast, Alice went to her lady's room in the main building to wake up the sleeping maiden.

Walking towards the room, Alice greets the other maids and servants she passed by. The maids and servants of course greeted back Alice, their vigor instantly went through the roof, hearing Alice's morning greetings.

Arriving at her lady's room, Alice knocked on the door three times.

Knock

Knock

Knock

"My Lady, it's Alice. I will go in."

After announcing herself, Alice went straight to the room. 

In the huge room with white walls, a queen-sized bed was sighted in the middle of the room. On the Queen-sized bed, a blonde hair beauty was peacefully sleeping, not knowing the impending hindrance of her beauty sleep.

"My Lady~wake up~~"

"Wake~up~~"

With a sweet voice, Alice whispered to the sleeping beauty's ear. 

"Mmhhmmh…."

After several more attempts to wake up the lady who still didn't awake, Alice was annoyed, then she shook her lady's body. After several shakes, her lady finally woke up from her sleep, still in a daze, threatening to resume her sleep if the hands holding her let go off her shoulder.

"Huaaamm...m..m...Alice?"

"Yes, My Lady?"

Hearing Alice's reply, the blonde beauty pouted her lips and looked away from Alice. 

"...."

"Yes, Audrey?"

"Mhmm...you should wake me with my name as I told you to. That way, I will immediately wake up!"

Audrey said with a satisfied looked on her face.

"...That's just your excuse."

Alice disagreed with her.

"No, It's not."

"Yes, it is. I used your name a while ago to wake you up. And you didn't wake up."

"...no, you're not—I'm pretty sure I heard it right. You're saying it right in front of my ear—"

"So, you're already awake way before I shook your body."

Alice cut her lady's denial with a slight frown on her forehead.

"No need to frown, Alice, I just want to hear you waking me."

"Okay..okay. It can't be helped if my lady likes my voice that much."

After a while, both giggled at their antics. Then Alice helps Audrey with her preparation like bathing, choosing a dress, and combing her hair to eat breakfast in the dining room with Audrey's family.

Then Audrey went to the dining room, leaving Alice behind as she still needs to tidy her lady's bedroom. Finished tidying the messy bed, Alice went outside the room and quickly followed Audrey towards the dining room, not forgetting to fill Susie–the golden retriever's food bowl. Soon she saw the golden retriever pop out of nowhere to eat her food.

'Susie hasn't drunk the Beyonder potion, and yet she could pop out of nowhere...how mysterious'

With that silly thought, Alice resumed her steps. 

.

.

.

You're the one who always ignores Susie's presence!!

Poor Susie...at least she didn't forget your food!

.

.

.

Woof!

***

After completing her usual routines while attending the young lady Hall, Alice's rest hours finally came. 

Stood in front of the mirror in her room, Alice wore a fine one-piece dress with a grey robe covering her whole body and a leather sling bag. Today's agenda is to attend a gathering, not just any gathering, but a Beyonder's gathering. It is her first time attending, so, she's a bit nervous and excited to take part in the trade. She even took her whole wealth and beyond weapons, she got from her pirate hunting.

She couldn't wait to finally experience the famous Beyonder's gathering in the novel.

Looking at her appearance in the mirror, Alice nodded as she was satisfied with her makeover. She didn't use her 'Ophis' getup because of the newspaper she saw months ago. Apparently, her fame as Ophis—the Headless Collector—is a hot topic in Backlund, as the news about the sea was only the disappearance of the Headless Collector and its true identity.

Truth to be told, she didn't get why they called her 'the Headless Collector', cause she only collects the heads, so, shouldn't it be the 'Bodiless Collector'? 

Continuing her agenda, without further ado, she stepped inside the mirror, and a moment later, her back can be seen inside the mirror.

As she travels in the mirror world, she's still couldn't help to be amazed at her mysterious yet dangerous new reality of hers. After several minutes of wandering, she soon found the entrance she searched for and quickly went through it.

A moment later in a cramped room, a figure wearing a robe appeared out of the mirror on the wall. Looking around the room, the mysterious figure—Alice, looked outside the small window, Backlund's Tussock River was sighted. She was in the right place.

She quietly jumped from the window with her abilities—'lightness', and 'invisibility' to avoid unwanted attention. With a place in mind, she navigated towards the area of the Backlund Bridge.

Minutes have passed as Alice finally found the place she was looking. 'Bravehearts Bar' the name could be seen on the building's signboard, canceling her 'invisibility', she soon materialized for the world to see, thankfully, there's no one in the vicinity except for the two-meter-tall brawny man with widened eyes as he saw Alice popped out of nowhere.

Breaking out of his stupor, the brawny man sized up Alice's small figure up and down. Convincing himself to accept his blunder, that maybe he was dozing off when the small figure in front of him was heading his way. 

Inside the bar, the customers make a glance at the open door, revealing a suspicious robe figure with the hood covering the face. Quickly losing interest, they resumed their own business.

The robed figure—Alice, walked towards the counter with a steady gait. Although the heat and smell of the bar are no joke, Alice quietly endure the ever-present atmosphere of many bars she visited.

"One glass of Southville beer."

Alice said to the bartender who wiping a glass.

"5 pence,"

The bartender replied like clockwork.

Taking out five pence, Alice handed them over in exchange for a large wooden cup of golden beer. The aroma of the beer was alluring.

"In front of it, many beers can't—"

"Where's Kaspar Kalinin?"

The bartender frowned with an annoyed face as he was ignored completely by the stranger.

After a moment of silence, the bartender finally spoke while pointing to the side.

"Billiard room 3."

His tone clearly expressed his annoyance. Like a sulking child-Alice thought.

Leaving an extra pence, Alice walked to the third billiard room with a beer in her hand. Seeing the extra pence, the bartender silently took it with a smile.

Opening the third billiard-room door, Alice saw two men inside looking at her.

"Kasper Kalinin. Which one are you?"

Alice said looking alternately at the two men.

The two men made an annoyed face at the fearless small figure in front of them, the figure didn't even say where she/he got the recommendations from. But, they know better where to flaunt their rules, especially if the opponent wears something to hide their identity.

As the two men didn't answer her question, Alice shook her money pouch that produce a jiggling sound. 

And to no one surprise, one of the men answered immediately. A fifty-year-old man with a big nose and a linen shirt said in a deep voice, 

“Come in.”

He had a huge, twisted scar running from the corner of his right eye to the side of his mouth, and his nose was a typical brandy nose, one that was almost completely red. All that completed the funny-scary-looking old man-Alice thought.

The other men quickly left the room after he put the cue he was holding aside and soon after, close the door.

Kaspar Kalinin asked after the door closed.

"What do you want?"

"A gathering for the kind that only extraordinary human can attend. I know there's one in here, take me there."

Alice said as she took out five pounds from her pouch.

Kaspars rubbed his red nose and his eyes turned cold, he carefully examined Alice and the five pounds in her hand. A hint of greed couldn't be hidden in his eyes.

"Ten pounds and I'll take you there."

"Six pounds."

"Nine."

"Six pounds."

Alice finalized with a stern tone in her voice. 

"Okay. One extra pound sounds good enough."

Kaspar Kalinin shrugged off his shoulder as he stretched his hand to confirm the deal.

Alice looked at the outstretched hand, and take it with her hand, somewhat annoyed at the old man in front of her.

"Here."

".....The kind of people attending that gathering is dangerous you know, lady."

Kaspar Kalinin said after he kept the pounds in his hand. 

"H-how—"

"You let out your feminine voice in that stern tone of yours and your small stature. No need to mask your voice in front of me, lady."

The fifty-year-old Kaspar Kalinin said with a grin on his face. 

Taking off her robe's hood, Alice's silky dark brown hair and pale lilac-colored eyes unveiled in Kaspar's eyes. A beauty. An angel. He was stunned.

In his long fifty years of life, Kaspar Kalinin can confidently say that the beauty in front of him is not a beauty puny mortals could have. A beauty that could make men instinctively protect her and make women doubt their gender. 

"Humph!"

Alice pouted and looked sideways not knowing Kaspar's stupor.

Thump—

A cute Angel has descended in this tainted land, making a critical blow to Kaspar Kalinin's fragile heart.

***

"Mister. I already paid you, so where's the gathering room?"

The annoyed lullaby-like voice entered his ears, waking him from his stupor. 

'I should've kept silent about her disguise'

Kaspar regretted his action as soon as he saw the cutest pout in his fifty years of life. Shaking his head at the thought, Kaspar looked at the small figure in front of him. Not knowing that he was silent more than five minutes straight.

"Oldman! Are you deaf?"

The little lady asked, concern filled with her every word.

"Be patience okay?"

Though he answered it calmly, his heart was stabbed at the sudden reality.

'O-old man...right...I'm already fifty-year-old, an old man, a deaf old man. Ughh.'

With a saddened thought, Kaspar Kalinin wished he was younger for the first time.

"..."

"Right. Follow me, you're lucky today is the day of the gathering, Lady. Cause the gathering is open irregularly."

Kaspar said to the little lady behind him as he walked towards the bar’s kitchen, and from there, entered the back alley and circled around a darkened house. 

He took out an iron mask that could only cover half a face, handed it to Alice with a complicated face.

'I got six pounds for this when I only got two pounds usually. Now I'm feeling guilty, even if she's the one who proposes five pounds first..'

Hahh

Kaspar thought at the same time sighing.

By now, Kaspar wondered if the beauty in front of him deliberately took off her hood to control his feeling. Then, he also handed five pounds to erase his guilt, earning a puzzled face of his source of dilemmas. 

'She looks genuinely confused? Damned me, how come I thought that horrible thing of suspecting an innocent angel!?'

Kaspar Kalinin thought while looking at Alice who's already wearing the iron mask and covering her head with the hood.

Seeing that she was ready, Kaspars knocked on the door rhythmically, turning his back on Alice. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the grinning Alice as she looked like having a hard time controlling her lips.

Seven or eight seconds later, a small wooden board on the door was suddenly pulled open, revealing a pair of brown eyes behind it. 

A man wearing an iron mask stood there and handed Alice a hooded robe, but seeing Alice already wear her hooded robe, he retracted his hand. 

“Next time, remember to tell me in advance. Otherwise, hmph!”

He said to Kaspars in a hoarse voice. Then he closed the door, turned, and led Alice through the darkened living room into the activity room on the first floor.

After Kaspar heard the threatening 'hmph' from the man, he only felt utter disgust. He already heard the cutest 'humph' after all, even if the tone and purpose are different.

'Maybe I could see her again if she keeps attending that gathering…..and I hope she won't be so mean to this lil ol'me'

With that wishful thought, Kaspar Kalinin went back to play billiards.

***