Chapter 218 – Andusia: ???

Alice decided to pass all responsibility for negotiating conditions with the catkins to Luna and Hatter.
If nothing unexpected happened, she should be able to visit Ciel's tribe in a few days and study their taboos.
Although catkins didn't have many unique taboos in their possession, it was better than nothing.
There was no saying whether she would have a use for them in the future.

It was just like the elves' taboos.
Even though the elves didn't have as many taboos collected as the March Academy, the elves' taboos still came in handy for Alice.
For example, if Alice hadn't learned the elves' “Hubert's Tree” taboo, she would have needed to expend much more effort to capture Andusia.

Speaking of Andusia, she was still in a daze after learning about Ciel's perverse and shameless behavior.
Even after Alice had brought her back to the dorm, Andusia remained silent.

Alice understood what kind of mood Andusia was in.
The main reason the Ninth Demon King had targeted humans all those years ago was to retaliate against the humans and erase the existence of the humans' slavery system.
Yet, a couple of thousand years later, even though humans had already gotten rid of the slavery system, someone was actively looking to be treated like a slave.
It was only natural that Andusia would have difficulty coming to terms with reality.

Of course, that wasn't the whole reason why Andusia was shocked.
Alice didn't know that the reason Andusia hated the slavery system so much was because of one of her beastkin friends.
So, when Andusia saw that Ciel, a catkin, was the one carrying out such behavior, the magnitude of the shock she felt increased exponentially.
If Alice knew about this matter, she would probably have a better understanding of why Andusia was so shocked by this situation.

The March Academy's class schedule had four class slots in the morning and three in the afternoon.
Alice had attended classes from slots 1 to 3 in the morning, while Zauna had attended classes on slots 1, 3, and 4.
Hence, when Alice returned to the dorm, Zauna was still stuck in the teaching block.

Meanwhile, Luna had left to convey the catkins' demands to Hatter, so Alice was the only person in the dorm.

Mhm… There was also a figurine, but this figurine was currently sitting silently on Alice's desk while trying to sort out the jumbled thoughts in her head.

Alice had originally wanted to ask Andusia about the Demon King's Power.
However, seeing as the other party was still fighting a tough mental battle, she decided not to disturb Andusia for now.

Since the catkins were conducting negotiations with Hatter and Luna right now, and Alice had already asked Rosa to convey what she needed from the dogkins to Elodie, all that was left was the Rhine Kingdom's Royal Magic Tower.
However, since Alice still hadn't found a breakthrough point for the Royal Magic Tower, she decided not to consider it for now.

So, by the looks of it, Alice didn't seem to have anything she could do.

After ensuring that there wasn't anything she needed to do, Alice turned on her computer and searched for Magical Girl Hikari's Season 2, Episode 1.
The anime was quite interesting, and Alice had a slight urge to continue watching the show after finishing Season 1.

However, as soon as Alice opened her web browser, she saw a message window pop up from her instant messaging software.
The instant messaging software used in this world resembled those found on Earth, so Alice guessed that it was probably developed by some unlucky transmigrator from Earth.

Blonde Twintails: Hey, you there?

Blonde Twintails 2: No.
Scram.

The person with the ID of “Blonde Twintails” was a well-known anime blogger on LINK.
Alice had come across this person half a month ago while browsing LINK with her sub-account.
Although she hadn't watched any of this world's animation works yet at the time, watching anime was one of her hobbies back on Earth.
So, she decided to follow the user and acquired the other party's chat group ID.

Afterward, Alice took the opportunity to register an account on the instant messaging software called “WW” and joined Blonde Twintails' chat group.
Apart from lurking in the background, she would also chat with the people in this group from time to time.

Meanwhile, because Alice would often use strange and novel terms different from this world's anime lingo, the user “Blonde Twintails” quickly became conversation buddies with Alice.
As Alice had also been arranging her hair into twintails at the time, she decided to give herself the ID of “Blonde Twintails 2.” However, even though she had gotten along well with the people in the group, nobody knew that she was actually a layman when it came to this world's anime culture.
Even until now, the only anime she had watched in this world was the first season of Magical Girl Hikari.

Blonde Twintails: Hmph.
Is there a need to be so heartless? It's not like I'm showing you advertisements.

The other party wasn't actually angry.
After all, it was common for acquaintances on the internet to greet and talk to each other in a more boorish manner.
In fact, Blonde Twintails would also frequently talk to Alice without caring about manners.
Though, Alice would often wonder what kind of expression Blonde Twintails would make when the other party discovered that she was the Hero.

Blonde Twintails 2: What business do you have, then? Other than advertisements.

Alice replied.
Although the other party's ID was Blonde Twintails, Alice wasn't exactly sure whether the other party was actually someone with blonde twintails.
Similar to the situation on Earth, everyone was shrouded in a layer of anonymity on the internet, and nobody could really tell who they were talking to unless they employed less than scrupulous means.

Blonde Twintails: There's going to be a comic convention here in the Rhine Kingdom.
Do you want to come? I'll treat you to a meal.

Alice was stunned by the other party's words.
She had been troubled by the fact that she lacked a breakthrough point to get in touch with the Rhine Kingdom's Royal Magic Tower just a moment ago.
She didn't think she would come across a potential breakthrough point so soon.

Blonde Twintails 2: Are you studying in the Royal Magic Tower?

Alice remembered that Blonde Twintails had subtly mentioned that she was studying in her country's best magic academy during a conversation in the group.
Judging by the message Blonde Twintails just sent, it would seem that the other party was a citizen of the Rhine Kingdom.
Meanwhile, when one talked about the best magic academy in the Rhine Kingdom, it would definitely have to be the Royal Magic Tower.

Blonde Twintails: That's right.
What's the matter? Interested in me? I'll have you know that most of the people who tried to lay their hands on me have all met with terrible fates.

Find the original at *hosted* novel.

Blonde Twintails 2: I'll pass.
I'm not interested in crossdressing men.

Alice responded with a cheeky reply.
However, after receiving the other party's invitation, she couldn't help but have the urge to have an offline meeting with Blonde Twintails.
Based on Blonde Twintails' interactions with the chat group's other members, Alice was certain that the other party was a relatively friendly and reasonable person.
It would also seem that Blonde Twintails had treated many people to meals, so the other party should be a generous person.

If Alice negotiated with Blonde Twintails, the other party might just agree to take her into the Royal Magic Tower to look around.

Although Alice could easily gain access to the Royal Magic Tower so long as she put in a request as the Hero, the Rhine Kingdom would be paying attention to her every move if she did that.
There'd be no way she could conduct a proper investigation in that case.

Moreover, the person impersonating Prince Etoria to communicate with the demons might be lurking among the Rhine Kingdom's royal family and nobles.
If she tried to visit the Royal Magic Tower in the name of the Hero, there was a real possibility that her identity would get leaked to the demons.

Blonde Twintails 2: Where's the convention being held?

After sending this message, Alice recalled her previous behavior had seemed a little indifferent.
Yet, now, she was showing interest in attending the event.
To avoid giving herself the image of a tsundere, she quickly sent a follow-up message.

Blonde Twintails 2: I have an extremely rare and unusual figurine that you will definitely be interested in.