First Player

 The dungeon was opened on the eighth day, at noon.

 It started to rain.

Visibility is extremely low in the foggy air, lightning dances like silver snakes in the sky, and the rain curtain is mixed into black and gray colors.

 In the rain, two gray-black figures came.

Su Mingan’s black hair was wet and stuck to his head. He carried Alice on his back and walked forward step by step.

The mechanical wheelchair needed to be recharged. After eight days of use and no place to recharge it, it was temporarily decommissioned. Su Mingan walked on two legs to find the Holy See. Fortunately, after using the teleportation talisman, the distance was not far.

"...Alice." Su Mingan whispered: "Is it still cold?"

　　　…”

 Alice did not respond. Except for the fact that Su Mingan asked her if she wanted to go back and she nodded lightly, she remained asleep the rest of the time. Her soul mark is in the hands of the Holy See, and now she is like a vegetable.

The black cat rolled an umbrella with its tail and held it over their heads, but it couldn't block the drizzle.

Su Mingan saw many mass graves belonging to the war along the way.

Thousands of corpses were piled on the ground in a black-gray tar-like shape and a semi-liquid substance. No one wanted to clean up these corpses. The unwillingness before death still remained on the faces of these young soldiers. They were instructed by the oracle to launch war, and were driven to the battlefield by the desires of superiors. They were sacrificed "willingly", just like the bricks of the times.

  【Alice: Are they bad people? 】

Su Mingan saw text popping up in the lower right corner of his vision in a trance, just like in the game.

 But he is in the real world and not in a game, and Alice is also in a coma. If he could see the text, it meant he was hallucinating. The San value has always been fixed at 50 points, but it may no longer be this number.

"They...are not bad people." Su Mingan walked forward.

  【Alice: Then why do they kill each other until no one is left? 】

Su Mingan’s foot stumbled.

 He lowered his head and saw a shabby little stuffed animal on the ground. It should not be allowed to be taken to the battlefield, but no one can punish the dead.

 He looked at the puppet and stepped past it.

 “I don’t know,” he said.

 He could have given dozens of reasons, or made a lot of sense. But he doesn't want to say it now.

  【Alice: Sir Detective, now everyone wants me to return to the Holy See. 】

  【Alice: If I go, will you be able to continue studying antiques? 】

  【Alice: I hope you can have a peaceful life, just like when I wrote the peace charm for you under the tree. 】

Su Mingan walked into Baoting City and came to the slums. Now the children are back too.

　　…“…Are you, detective?”

Su Mingan lifted the space concealment and people recognized him.

"The whole city is being hunted now. You should leave quickly! Before long, there may be indiscriminate massacres. This place is no longer suitable for staying." Wild Child Pat whispered.

 “I will protect you.” Su Mingan said.

"We are just a trap. Even if you bring Alice back, the Holy See will not let us go." Dave wiped the shotgun in his hand with a calm tone.

 At this time, Su Mingan's watch received the message.

 “Ding dong!”

  【Noel: Don’t go back to the Holy See for the time being! I'll bury it first, and you can come over later. 】

　　【Nor: Run to where there is the sea first. There are no pursuers on the sea! 】

Su Mingan raised his head. Baoting City had long been surrounded by troops, the sky was red with flames, and there was thick smoke and dust everywhere. Children from the slums crowded in the alleyway surrounded by boards and rubble, looking at him quietly.

 …Noel’s words could not be without purpose, and Su Ming’an was hesitant whether to do it or not.

"Let's go, get out of here, detective." Dave's expression was very quiet: "Even if you bring Alice back, we will not leave here. There are people here that we cannot abandon. The Holy See will not let us go, it will only Let us continue to be your clamp."

Pat also laughed softly. He flipped up his flaming red hair and put his arm around Su Mingan's shoulders. He looked like two brothers and said, "Let's go, detective. I... I've been doing things like robbing the rich and giving to the poor since I was a child." , I raised the children in the slums, and they have the same idea as me. If something happens to you and causes the world to go wrong, then we will be sad. So many adults died on the battlefield, We can’t let their sacrifices go to waste just because of a few of us.”

He pushed Su Mingan to the entrance of the slum: "Let's go, let's take Alice away from these horrible places. She is the protagonist, and so are you. The protagonist should not give up the best ending for some supporting characters who cannot leave."

 “Where is Isi…?”

At this time, Alice's voice came from Su Mingan's back. She still had her eyes closed and reluctantly called out a name.

“Issy is at his home, resisting the mob’s attack with his retainers.” Sister Rita said: “In times of war, nobles are always the target of public criticism. We don’t know if he is still alive.”

“I told you a long time ago that I want him to learn swordsmanship from me...and now I don’t even know how to use a sword...” Alice seemed to be crying, but also seemed to be laughing.

"He insists on... playing his violin... every time... the strings will be broken by me... He doesn't blame me, and he will bring me a new violin every time... Obviously, obviously I don't like... don't like musical instruments at all ah…"

“And... you too, we made a clear agreement... to live together... to grow up together... I am not an adult yet, and you just... broke the agreement..."

 “You are really... so bad, so bad...”

"Okay, Alice." Mei Mi smoothed away the wet hair from Alice's forehead: "I have already taught you the secret of spring cakes. You must make them more and more delicious in the future."

 None of them called her Tasliche, they all called her Alice.

Alice wanted to cry, but she couldn't even open her eyelids. She could only feel her former friends whispering in her ears one by one, saying goodbye to her.

 Don't go, don't go, don't go.

do not leave Me.

 …

  【Pat: I won't go with you. Detective, the 39 kelms you gave me in the past saved the lives of children in the slums, so it is considered repayment. Get out of here and work harder in the future. 】

　　　　　　　　　　……Go to a place without war. There, you will definitely not need to be a goddess. Next time...remember to control your breath and stop scaring the rabbits away while hunting. At that time, I won't be back to help you refill your guns. 】

Meimi: We definitely can’t leave this city, I will have a good meal at the end... Alice, the lily in your back room, although you haven’t taken care of it for a long time, it is still blooming well! The secret of Chun Xin Cake must be remembered. 】

Rita: As a nun, I will live and die with the local church and protect this land of sheep. Alice, you are a good child, go away from the place where the gods are watching you. 】

　　【Josh: Don’t lose the gloves I gave you! Come on, you deserve a better future. Go see the further world for me, Alice. 】

 …

 The future is full of thorns and blood.

 But when they look back, those old friends are decreasing one by one.

At this time, the sound of an airship was heard in the air, and a girl with flaxen hair stood on the airship. 【Princess Evitina: Detective, Alice, get on the airship, let's go! 】

The airship was traveling very fast, and Su Mingan quickly grabbed the rope ladder swinging in the sky with quick eyes and quick hands. He tried to grab a companion by the way and save at least one, but was pushed away.

 It was Pat who pushed him away.

"If there is a day when the war ends, we may still be here, waiting for you to go home. There is no need to take us with you, we are just a drag." Pat smiled and waved: "Goodbye, Alice, detective."

 He raised his head high, his red eyes filling their reflection. The scarf around his neck fluttered in the wind, and the thin strips of cloth were full of noise.

“Click, click, click—” The airship flew high, and Su Mingan carried Alice up the rope ladder and boarded the airship.

Evetina was the only one on board this small airship. She steered the helm, struggling to avoid the javelins.

 “Princess.” Su Mingan called.

"You don't have to call me princess." Avetina's smile looked bitter: "The country no longer exists because of the war, I am just Avetina. Avetina wanted to save her childhood honorary knight Alice, so she opened the Private airship coming, that’s it.”

Su Mingan leaned against the side of the boat and placed Alice under the awning. Her forehead was a little hot, and the rain had made her body temperature very low.

 “Alice.” Su Mingan said.

　　　…”

 “Don’t be afraid.” Su Mingan put his hand on her forehead.

　　　…”

 “It will definitely be okay.” Su Mingan wiped the rain off her face.

 Her hand pressed tightly against his.

she cried.

 …

 …

 Due to restrictions on high-altitude flying at the seaside, Avetina left. Su Mingan and Alice got on a lifeboat and entered the sea.

 He didn’t know where to go. This was the first time he felt so confused since the dungeon was opened.

 Perhaps he should send her back to the Holy See, just like Su Wensheng said. Perhaps he should listen to the words of the gods, stop interfering with this very complicated copy, and wait patiently until he completes the level.

But…

 He chose to take her into the lifeboat, amidst the swaying waves, hoping to wait for a better way.

 Noel lost his voice after he spontaneously sent the message. Su Mingan held on to the edge of the lifeboat and tried his best to keep Alice lying flat. She had been given antipyretics, but she was still a little confused.

 The rain was falling heavily, and in the fierce wind and waves, it was almost impossible to see anything clearly. The lifeboat is like a helpless boat that may capsize at any time. This feeling of not being able to see any ground is enough to make anyone feel scared and confused.

If there was no Alice in this copy, Su Mingan couldn't imagine what his current mental state would be like if he were alone, at least he would definitely not be as sober as he is now.

 “Detective…my lord,” said Alice.

"Um."

"Actually, when I first saw you, I felt... we might be separated one day." Alice said with a bump.

"I also thought that in general development games, big events would happen when the protagonist turns eighteen. But I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Even though your stats are not that strong yet, you ended up becoming a goddess. "Su Mingan held the umbrella above her head: "Later, I gradually realized that this was not a game. Reality never follows logic like a game."

“—We are all protagonists in our own world.” Alice said.

 “Yes, we are the protagonists.” Su Mingan said.

"The protagonist will... get through this difficult time. We will also... go back to reunite with Pat and the others after the dust settles..." Alice said in a low voice.

 “The goddess and the base will strike their fate.”

 “You are not...a despicable person.”

  “This is a complimentary word that describes a person who is the protagonist.”

 “Despicable… person.”

"Um."

  “—Send…to…you.”

 Alice raised her hand.

 There are very few flowers left in the world. So along the way, Alice just pulled out a handful of grass.

 At least, for such a fateful reunion, she must at least give the detective a gift. Even though she was extremely poor, she could only pull grass and give it to him.

Su Mingan lowered her eyes slightly and looked at the gift in her hand.

—That was a dogtail grass that Alice picked up casually on the road.

Su Mingan took over the foxtail grass. It looked wilted and lifeless.

 He put it in the inner pocket of his chest.

 Alice was already a little confused from the fever. She said this and that. From the bow she picked up when she was a child, to the detective's antiques, from the bullets that Diff gave her, to the palace ball she attended when she was fourteen.

He just listened quietly to all her nonsense and helped her block the rain.

—At last it dawned on him.

It seemed like a long, long time ago that he had never seen the audience barrage of the World Game again.

He looked to the upper right corner of his field of vision and saw nothing. It's like the computer has a virus.

 The cold rain slapped on his back, goosebumps appeared all over his body, and he smiled softly.

 …should he despair?

 But Alice is still here.

 Drifting at sea, my whole body was so cold that it was almost frozen, and my five senses were unclear. The overwhelming rain was so heavy that even the wet clothes on my body felt like boulders.

 …should he feel cold?

 But Alice is still here.

 He ​​had no special feelings for her, because she was the protagonist in the Dream Patrol game, so he would care about her so much... Is that really the case?

 But Alice is still here.

　　　…”

He took out his knife and cut off the rain-proof clothes on his body bit by bit.