Chapter 413: Devil Alice, Mana the Canary's Savior
Inside the shoe store, an invisible tension settled as Alice and Nakiri Mana stared at each other. Ren and the others watched the unfolding scene with keen interest, none more so than Courage.
Having recently found herself on the cusp of a new relationship, Courage was in a particularly playful mood, her usual inhibitions cast aside. She leaned forward slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes, thoroughly enjoying the drama about to unfold with her big sister.
Nakiri Mana let out a soft sigh, pressing a hand to her forehead as if nursing a headache. "Alice," she said, her voice a mixture of fondness and exasperation. "You've grown so big..."
That was all it took. The dam broke. Alice's eyes instantly reddened, welling up with tears that threatened to spill over. Her phone clattered to the floor, forgotten. She launched herself forward, wrapping her arms around Nakiri Mana in a desperate, tight embrace.
"Aunt Mana!" she cried, her voice muffled against Mana's shoulder. "I've missed you so much!"
Mana gently stroked Alice's silver hair, her touch soothing. "How old are you now, still so clingy," she murmured. "Alright, alright, you're going to get snot on me again."
"No... no way!" Alice sniffled, her denial utterly unconvincing.
A corner of Mana's mouth twitched. This incorrigible child. Alice slowly pulled back, her face blotchy and her nose running. "Aunt Mana," she hiccuped, "where have you been all these years?"
Mana subtly checked her clothes, breathing an internal sigh of relief when she found them clean. She opened her mouth to speak. "Because…"
"I know," Alice cut in, her voice thick with emotion. "It's because of the God Tongue, isn't it…?"
Mana's eye twitched. 'Good heavens, Alice, are you a devil?'she thought.'You knew, and you still asked?! Do you think this is some television drama? And this plotline is a bit too cliché!'
Despite her inner monologue, Mana's expression softened into one of gentle melancholy. "Come, sit down and we'll talk. Really, you're a grown woman now, and Ren is here too. This is very impolite."
Alice obediently sat on a nearby chair, nodding. But the effort to contain her emotions was too much. A low, keening sound escaped her, like the whistle of a boiling kettle reaching its peak.
Alice had always been a clingy child, pampered and doted on. Her life had been a smooth and easy journey, nurturing a personality that was more akin to a perpetually cheerful young girl than a woman her age. The sudden flood of emotion was overwhelming. "But… but I can't control it!" she wailed, fresh tears streaming down her face. "Waaah…!"
Mana sighed again, a sound of pure resignation. "Control yourself," she said firmly but gently. "Then we can talk."
Hearing this, Alice looked up, her red-rimmed eyes wide with fear. "Aunt Mana, are you leaving again?"
"Auntie isn't leaving this time."
"Really?" The wailing subsided into a hopeful sniffle.
"Really," Mana confirmed. "If you cry any more, you'll turn into a little crybaby. Erina might find out later, and she'll laugh at you. Besides, if you keep crying, you'll become ugly, and no one will want you."
As Mana gently wiped the tears from her niece's cheeks, Alice's shoulders continued to tremble. "Then… then I won't cry," she whispered.
As if her own words were a command, the tears stopped. The abruptness of it made Anne and the others stare in admiration. Pandemonica pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, her crimson eyes analytical. 'Fascinating. To freely control one's emotions and lacrimal glands on command... this human girl is not simple.'
Mana herself was momentarily stunned. It was confirmed: Alice was definitely some kind of devil. If her niece had cried for one more second, Mana was certain she would have broken down herself. This girl was simply too tormenting.
Alice sniffled one last time, composing herself. "Aunt Mana, Erina misses you very much, too. Where exactly did you go?"
"Do you know of the WGO?" Mana asked.
"Of course!"
"I am the sole Special Executive Officer of the World Gourmet Organization," Mana stated, her voice carrying a quiet authority. "I possess the highest level of authority within it."
"How amazing!" Alice gasped. "But Aunt Mana, how did you… how did you get out? Didn't they say your God Tongue…"
The mere mention of it sent a phantom chill through Mana's body. She thought of her past self and felt a tremor of fear. She still didn't know how she had endured it. Even now, the memory alone was enough to make her tremble.
No one knew the truth. After leaving Ren's shop that first time and returning to the WGO, she had gone back to her familiar, luxurious office. But it wasn't an office. It was never her sanctuary. It was a cage. A gilded cage for a canary, a prison for a sickly, withering bird.
How many times had she been wracked by the dual tortures of gnawing hunger and violent nausea? How many times had the curse tormented her until she was a ghost of her former self, a wraith haunting her own life? How many nights had she been jolted awake by nightmares, only to sit up in the suffocating darkness and realize she was still trapped in that cage, consumed by a fear and loneliness so deep it felt like a physical weight?
Even after her recovery had begun, back in the WGO headquarters, the nightmares would sometimes return. She would dream that her healing was an illusion, that she was still that broken woman, starving in a world of flavor. But then the feeling of strength in her limbs and the absence of hunger in her stomach would pull her back from the precipice, allowing her to fall into a fitful, but real, sleep. It was a life lived in a haze—half-dream, half-reality, half-truth, half-lie—until she arrived here, in this city, at his shop. Only then did she truly feel alive.
She was free now. The cage was gone. And the one who had personally unlocked the door, who had taken her, this sickly canary, out of her prison, who had healed her ailments and provided her with food, life, and freedom… was the man standing quietly to the side, a gentle smile on his face.
Nakiri Mana cast a fleeting, grateful glance at Ren before turning back to her niece. She took a deep breath, letting the last of the shadows recede, and smiled. "Auntie's God Tongue has been cured by Ren. Although I'm still in the treatment period, I can eat normally now. I'm staying at his shop, and I just came out today to buy some daily necessities."
A brilliant, joyous smile erupted on Alice's face. She turned to Ren, her eyes shining. "Shopkeeper Ren! Thank you so much! But… what about Erina's…?"
Ren's voice was calm and reassuring. "From the first day she arrived, from the first bite of food she ate, her treatment had already begun."
Alice let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "That's great!" she exclaimed, her usual bubbly energy returning. "This damned God Tongue, it's so annoying!"
Watching the childlike relief wash over Alice, everyone smiled. They could all feel her sincerity. She might be a little devil, but her heart was pure.
Nakiri Mana patted Alice's head. "You, little girl, how did you know the secret of the God Tongue? Could it be… ah… did Father tell you?"
Alice puffed out her chest proudly. "I eavesdropped!"
Mana's mouth twitched. She reached out and pinched Alice's cheek. "Amazing, my Alice. You even managed to eavesdrop on that. Tell me, did you tell anyone else?"
"Mmm… no! No!" Alice yelped, trying to squirm away. "I didn't even tell Erina! Aunt Mana! Pinching my face hurts!"
Mana released her, her expression turning serious, though her eyes still held a playful light. "Keep the matter of the God Tongue a secret."
"My affairs must also be kept secret!" Alice shot back immediately.
"The fact that I'm staying at Ren's shop must also be kept secret!"
"Mhm!… Huh?!"
"And the fact that you've seen me must also be kept secret!"
"Huh?! Aunt Mana! Why?!" Alice cried, utterly bewildered.
Mana leaned in, a conspiratorial grin on her face. "Because it's more interesting this way, Alice. I believe you can keep a secret. Oh, right, who were you talking to on the phone just now?"
"Just now I was talking to… Ah! It was Mom!" Alice's eyes widened in horror. "Eh? Where's my phone?"
Decora pointed to the sofa where the device lay abandoned. Alice scrambled over and snatched it up. The moment she brought it to her ear, a furious, hoarse shout blasted through the speaker.
"ALICE! ANSWER YOUR MOTHER! ALICE! Cough, cough, cough! This damned girl… my throat hurts so much from yelling…"
The corner of Alice's mouth twitched. She had a very, very bad feeling she was in trouble.
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