Vol. 2 Chapter 3: Alice in Not-So-Wonderland

**Yuuki**

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh..."

"There are more applications coming, Lady Henrietta," Lady Yanari smiled as she dumped pile after pile of adventurer profiles before Temaire's table in her small corner in our dormitory. Based from the elf lady's expression, she was enjoying making our team leader suffer.

"Do I really have to go through all of these?" Temaire asked, almost about to cry. "I'm not even interested in them!"

"Then, why did your family announced you're looking for applicants?" the elf lady shot back. "Because of that, we ended hiring nearby hotels just to accommodate the influx of platinum band adventurers coming here to apply!"

"My family will reimburse everything the Philippine branch of the Adventurers' Agency used!"

"You really don't understand the problem, Lady Henrietta! Quit creating issues for us without our prior knowledge, is what I'm asking! This is something that can't be fixed by money—a-ahem, well, it can be fixed, but only a little. Anyway! Notify us first before dragging us into it!"

"Urk..." my childhood friend fell silent. She knew the blame was all on her. But, as the elf lady stared daggers at her, she had to defend herself. "I made our butler do it, okay? You know Lady Teriel, the secretary of the Adventurers' Agency in France? She won't give me permission to leave for the Philippines without compelling reason!"

Lady Yanari considerably mellowed. She told us, "Well, personally, I understand your reasons. Government people are really a pain to deal with; especially those who are protective of their mages. But you still told a lie to the agency; as its secretary, I'll have you suffer the consequences of your actions. You already burdened us with the extra accommodations, this is alongside the issues with Miss Rico, and the search for Mister Lerin."

"Isn't it you voluntarily 'gone the extra mile' for my husband—"

"Let's talk about the applications, shall we, Lady Henrietta?" the elf interrupted, quickly turning her face away from me.

"Well, it's not like I can't work with new members," Temaire reiterated, though she did glance at Rico. "But the paper works bore me to death!"

"Do we really have to get new members?" the scout asked with an anxious face. "Is there no hope of getting Kikyo, Lucille and Rachelle?"

"It depends on them," my childhood friend replied, sorting through the applications. "If they still want to party, I will welcome our old teammates and will always prefer them over some newbies."

I felt Rico's spirit sank with Temaire's statement. But I had to agree with my childhood friend; adventuring was also a social activity. If one person deems he/she didn't like his/her teammates, the doors were always open for them to leave. Adventurers' Agency policies said so.

Alice tapped our scout's shoulder. "Look on the bright side, Rico. We meet new people if we get new members. We can't force Kikyo, Lucille and Rachelle to join us again if they are determined to leave adventuring for good!"

I threw stare at our brawler.

"W-What's with the weird look, Yuuki?"

"You do realize, I already retired in adventuring but you guys still dragged me back."

"Pft!" Lady Yanari and Temaire quickly stopped themselves from laughing.

Really? Temaire? Of all people, you're laughing at Alice?

"O-Of course, it's a different matter if it's you, Yuuki," the brawler defended her actions. "Again, I won't consider partying up with the rotten croissant if not for you, my fiancée!"

Fiancée, huh? It seems I got a new nickname!

"And I won't create a new party if my Yuuki—my husband—isn't fighting beside me," Temaire put an emphasis on the word 'husband,' clearly taunting Alice for her 'fiancée' remark.

As competitive sparks flew between our team leader and our brawler, I turned to check on Rico.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, and smiled. Yet, there was sadness in her eyes. "Well, I understand the possibility of forming a new party with new members. Though, if we can get the other back, it will be really nice..."

Lady Yanari entered our conversation. "About that, actually, Lady Henrietta's announcement can help you recruit your old teammates again. The media coverage has global reach, and many reporters treat this like those popular 'reality TV' shows. After all, your team leader is a famous mage and adventurer. Not to mention, these are also broadcasted within the agency news networks."

"I see..."

"So, I guess it will really depend on our friends if they still want to get back to Oyasumi," I gave our scout a head pat. "Wait for a few days or weeks, Rico. Then, if nothing, we will decide from there."

"Yes!" she replied, trying to encourage herself. I could only hope that she took that well; Rico's slump would severely affect our group's performance again.

"Hmm..." At that moment, I felt intense looks directed at me. Temaire and Alice watched us and glared at me.

"W-What's up?"

"Recently, aren't you just focusing on pampering Rico?" my childhood friend accused, narrowing her eyes. "And I mean, it's only Rico. Just. Rico."

"Yeah, I noticed that, too!" the brawler added, pouting.

Why are you two only agree at the strangest moments? Any case, taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh of resignation, I offered, "You want me to give you both head pats as well?"

Though flustered, Temaire and Alice sheepishly nodded. I love ruffling my childhood friend's hair because it was soft and fragrant; our brawler's—though she was often active—was fluffy...touching it reminded me of the teddy bear I had when I was young. It gave me that warm and safe feeling for some reason.

Heh, it's like I'm taking care of three needy and spoiled puppies...

"..."

Well, not that I hate it.

"A-Ahem...I...I'd like one as well, Mister Lerin..."

"Eh?"

I saw Lady Yanari, standing beside me, ready to ignore the fact that she was someone higher than me—both in age, in position, and even in height.

"C-Come on! D-Don't just look at me; give me head pats, too! I know you like doing that!"

Right...she can read my thoughts. Now I got four puppies!

-----

Any case, since I had background in clerical work, I offered to help Temaire sort out the applications. But like any other sorting process, I needed to be clear with the criteria in which to base my elimination.

"What do you have in mind, Temaire?"

"Many Yuukis!" she replied without any hesitation.

"Impossible. Be realistic."

"I don't want boys in Oyasumi!"

"But you just said you want me—"

"Eh, we already got you, that's why!" she pointed out. "And to think, I'm working so hard to form this harem...just for you. Yeah, but I still get to be the wife!"

"No, I don't think it's okay."

"Besides," she continued, albeit with a more serious tone. "These are adventurers we're talking about. Once you blink, they will try to make a girlfriend out of any female members of their party."

Makes sense. Rico and I exchanged meaningful glances.

"Also, I'm afraid partying with someone whose intention is to just find a girlfriend," Alice explained, showing me a file of a platinum band adventurer. "Look, platinum ranks aren't easy to reach, so guys like him must've already accumulated a lot of confidence in themselves to approach and seduce ladies. Meanwhile, I know of a porter who won't get horny even when pretty ladies fawn over him."

"What are you taking me for? A perverted simp?"

"I did not say any names!" She stuck out a tongue to me.

I felt bad for the adventurer as well, getting judged by our brawler without the chance to prove her wrong. But, at this point, I was just a 'clerk' helping with the sorting of documents.

"Okay," I took out my notebook and wrote Temaire's criteria. "So, without the male adventurers...then!" I gave Alice all the files of the male adventurers. Honestly, there was some feeling of regret because, as the lone guy, I had no one to talk to about my issues as a man. But I'd defer to my childhood friend; though adventurer parties get support from their respective governments (where they registered), her family shouldered the bulk of our equipment whenever we were on a quest. With that, we eliminated about two-thirds of all the applications sent to Temaire.

Ugh, this leaves a bad taste for me. I mean, these people flew from all over the globe just to have a chance to party up with the world's leading mage...

"I'll check the rest of the files tomorrow," my childhood friend opened her dimensional storage and flung everything inside, as if she were throwing trash. Of course, with such contemptuous treatment of the applications, I told myself I would teach this French brat the proper safekeeping of important documents.

"Yuuki," Alice called my attention and showed me the rejected applications. "What should I do with these?"

For rejected party applications, the Adventurers' Agency retrieves the documents so the Recruitment department could find the party-less adventurers a match among the parties in need of particular roles and ranks. It was common sense that when an adventurer wanted to party-up with another, they would leave their previous team. But, with approximately 4 million adventurers active in the world today, it was possible to have one spot having multitudes of applicants—just like the case of Temaire. So, when the adventurer was rejected, he would have the option to return, provided his old teammates agree to accept him again.

Also, in case a party broke up because all its members quit to pursue grouping with other teams but they failed to get accepted, all of them were given the choice to re-form their party, just like our case in OyasumiSe7en.

-----

Well, I knew Alice possessed a magic that gave her superhuman strength. Magic could sometimes grant the mages exceptions, see? What we call 'talent.' Temaire was one, having reached the rank of Sage—the highest—in the rosters of Society of Mages at the age of 10, which was a historical record. This was all thanks to her overwhelming magic affinity, and huge mana reserves.

That old man from before said someone powerful resides within her, an existence akin to a god. But...nah, I only believe in one God, and He was the one introduced to me when I was young.

"..."

And uh, while I trust Temaire with my life, I won't trust her with the fate of the world if she is really a goddess as she claims. Too much at stake...and I don't like my face in every nook and cranny of the globe.

For Alice, the 'talent' was her abnormal physical strength, which she could activate at will. It was really helpful whenever I go on supply runs in the past. But of course, nowadays, I didn't like the idea of pushing all the heavy lifting for her, so I took some of the files as we head down to the Recruitment office.

As we went through the hallways, we encountered groups of platinum-ranked adventurers going around the balconies and the main lobby. There were also a few looking around the corridors of the dormitories, assisted by employees of the agency with their baggage.

"This sure is a whole lot," Alice commented. "Rotten croissant is really popular, huh?"

"Can't help it; she established herself as a celebrity after our disbanding."

"Yeah, she sure is."

"But, aren't you popular as well?" I mean, having did some 'tour guide' stuff before, many adventurers were interested in OyasumiSe7en's history. One of the more famous members was Alice herself, mainly because, appearance-wise, she looked like those cute Japanese idols whenever she presented herself to media.

And yes, I do appear along with them back then; I would ask Kikyo to cast a disguise spell on me to appear as 'Yukie.'

At that moment, however, Alice suddenly twitched, as if I hit something I shouldn't. Is she telling me she isn't? But OyasumiSe7en aside, just like in the world of online gaming, girls were popular in adventuring, especially platinum ranks. And while Alice may not match the fame of Temaire, she was a pretty lady, even without make-up.

"W-Well, wh-when Oyasumi went separate ways, there were...offers," she answered; I noticed her voice was lowered, as if she didn't want me to hear that. Our brawler also averted her face from the eyes of curious adventurers, who were attracted to her curly, pink twin-tails. "I accepted some of the party invites under a different name, but ultimately decided to go solo. That's when I met Rico once again."

"I see..." I could tell Alice didn't want to talk about her past between the first Oyasumi and now. So, I refrained from digging deeper. But, to protect her from the prying eyes of our fellow adventurers, I told her, "Come on, let's hurry! I want to return as soon as possible; I'm the one in-charge of our lunch."

"Right..."

-----

On our way back, I took Alice to another route. Our brawler was getting uneasy from the presence of other platinum ranks, so we went via a less conspicuous path to the upper floors. The elevators were well-used by the adventurers; in contrast, the fire exit stairs were empty. It was meant for emergency use, but heck, everyone's going there whenever in a hurry.

Obviously, this wasn't the nicest way up. The incline was a bit too steep; one wrong step and we could go rolling all the way down the previous floor. The metal steps made clanking and creaking noises whenever we put our weights to it. And the air-conditioner didn't reach that part of the building, so it could get hot. While we were used to heavy physical activities and movements, Alice and I still found ourselves panting the moment we reached the third floor.

"Why did you bring me here?" Alice asked between our breaths. "God, I hate climbing this place!"

"Can't help it! Would you like to go back at the lobby, and present yourself for all adventurers to see?"

"What are you saying?"

"Don't lie to me; I'm always observing you guys," I countered. "You are uneasy being seen by those people."

That shut her up. We also stopped to rest for a moment. Alice pulled on my clothes as if she didn't want us to return to our dormitory soon.

"You...really care for those little things, huh?" she muttered; her head still looking down. "The 'cooking lunch' thing is also a lie, you know? It is Rico's turn today."

"W-Well, I'd like to help in—" our brawler never let me finish; she suddenly hugged me from behind and buried her face in my back.

I hope I don't smell. I haven't taken a bath yet!

"I really love how you take notice of the small things around you," Alice's muffled voice said, sending little tickles down my skin.

"Come on, you still saying that? We've been through a lot together for years! It's the best I can do to help you guys focused."

"Mhmm...yeah, don't belittle your efforts, you know? Not everyone can do what you're doing." Then, she let go of me, her face turned away. There was a faint hint of redness in her ears.

I guess she's happy, huh?

Eventually, we reached the dormitory hallway on the third floor. As it turned out, a few platinum adventurers were staying in some of the rooms. They got their dormitory doors open, and were chatting together with another group on both sides of the corridor. There was no other way around; if Alice and I wanted to avoid being seen, we'd have to go all the way down through the hated fire exit stairs, walk through the main lobby, and take the elevators. And of course, most of the platinum adventurers were loitering in those areas.

"..." I could see the change on Alice's face. For some reason, she wanted to back away; I saw her retreat for a bit. But our brawler steeled her determination, took my hand, and pulled me along.

"There's no way we can get back to our room without passing through them," she whispered, though her hands trembled. "I can't be afraid by this! I've face worst enemies!"

I don't know what's going on, but Alice doesn't have to push herself.

The adventurers moved aside when they saw us approaching. Alice never let go of my hand; her grip tightened as we neared the group. My worry turned from Alice's apprehension to myself. I still wore the uniform of a green band adventurer; these guys might make an issue of me hanging with high ranks.

Green, bronze, and silver ranks are required to wear prescribed uniforms inside all Adventurers' Agency branches after all. And higher-ranked adventurers can be cocky.

"Oh hey, aren't you Klubnika?" one of the adventurers suddenly asked our brawler as we passed through.

"I-I'm sorry! I do-don't know who are you t-talking about!" she replied, but hiding her face by looking down.

Alice, you're making the answer obvious by doing exactly just like that!

"Eh, no! You're really Klubnika!" another insisted. "We can't mistake that fluffy pink hair for someone else! And that voice of yours, too!"

"Ei, Klubnika's here!" Someone shouted. "And she's hooked herself with some green horn!"

"What? She's aiming for green adventurers now?"

Alice's grip on me became stronger, and she was literally dragging me. Bewildered by the scene, I was silent as I listened to the adventurers calling out to her.

"You're trying your luck with Lady Henrietta?"

"I don't think she's going to like Klubnika's mouth."

"Who can say? She grabbed one of the clueless greens for herself."

What the hell are these guys saying?

Once we reached our room, Alice didn't knock. With her key, she just burst inside, nearly tackling Rico, who came to greet us. Then, our brawler hurried to her divider, making it clear to everyone she didn't want to be disturbed.

"..."

All of us were dumbfounded, wondering what was that all about.