"Haha, judging by that look on your face, I was just kidding," Alice waved her hand with a laugh. "Just keep playing the role of Klee's dad. I'll handle the rest."
Although it seed like Alice was rely "requesting" this, Lucas knew full well that rejecting her would likely have so unpleasant consequences. It was better to accept and earn her goodwill.
"Understood," Lucas nodded. "After all, I do genuinely like Klee."
"Don't worry; I never leave debts unpaid." Alice reached out, pinching Lucas's cheek with a playful smile. "I'll make sure you're well-compensated."
Lucas, with his cheeks squished, could only manage a garbled reply, "Th-thank you..."
"Let's see... how about a little treat?" Alice said, and then, suddenly, she leaned in and gave Lucas a gentle kiss on the lips.
There was a faint scent of cinnamon.
[Talent Acquired: "Witch's Prank"]
[Rank: S]
[Effect: Once per day, you may randomly cast a spell as a "Witch." The level, effect, and power of the spell are entirely unpredictable.]
"Muah!"
Alice wiped the corner of her mouth, smiling slyly. "Take it as a small gift from . Maybe it'll co in handy if you're ever in a pinch."
Alice's explanation was far simpler than the system's description of the talent.
This was less a "reward" and more of a prank on Alice's part.
Random magic? It sounded like a recipe for chaos.
Any D&D player knows that a wizard's spell list is vast, with effects as varied as they are strange. Who knew what odd occurrences might result from using Alice's magic?
Still, to grant an S-rank talent with just a casual kiss—Alice's power was... truly terrifying.
"Since you've accepted my gift, the contract is now complete. You Liyue people value contracts, don't you?" Alice looked mischievously at him. "If you dare break our contract, I'll just have to pay a visit to Zhong... I an, to the Geo Archon himself to discuss it!"
Wait... did she almost say Zhongli just now?
Does she actually know that Zhongli is the Geo Archon?
"Don't worry, Miss Alice," Lucas replied, feeling both amused and helpless. "Even if I had the guts, I'd never dare to ss with you."
"Wrong," Alice wagged a finger playfully. "Our relationship is that of husband and wife now, rember? How should you address ?"
"Um... Lady? Mada?" Lucas guessed, unsure.
"Those are much too formal," Alice giggled. "Just call wifey. Go on, give it a try."
Lucas's face turned a deep shade of red as he mumbled, "Wif—wifey..."
Alice found it amusing to be called that by a young boy, though... she didn't dislike the feeling.
Though her marriage to Lucas was sothing that had happened in a parallel world, those dreams and mories felt almost like they had been real experiences. So, in her heart, Alice did hold so special affection for Lucas.
"Well, I'm counting on you, then," Alice whispered into Lucas's ear, her voice sultry, "my dear husband."
Lucas felt his ears turn hot, and mories from the Simulator flooded back to his mind—mories of the things he and Alice had done there.
For him, that had been far more than just a dream.
---
"Mom! Dad!" As the two returned, Klee ran over to them with curiosity, asking, "What were you two talking about?"
"Oh, just a little chat," Alice pinched Lucas's cheek with a smile. "After all, it's been a long ti since I last saw your dad."
"Is that so?" Klee pondered, rubbing her chin. "I thought maybe you two were doing so 'grown-up things.'"
At Klee's words, Jean's expression shifted, and she quickly asked, "Klee! Who told you about that?"
"Brother Kaeya!" Klee replied without hesitation. "Brother Kaeya said that when husbands and wives don't see each other for a long ti, they do grown-up things together. But... what are grown-up things?"
"This Kaeya..." Jean muttered with a frown. "Telling Klee things like that..."
Then again, it was just like Kaeya to make such jokes.
"Oh, it's just... kissing," Alice said, picking Klee up and planting a kiss on her soft, squishy cheek. "Just like this."
Klee giggled with delight, but then her eyes widened with surprise as she looked at Alice's hand. "Mom, what's happening to your hand?"
Alice glanced down and saw that her hand had begun to dissolve into particles of light, along with the rest of her body.
"It seems my ti here is up," Alice said with a helpless smile. "I was summoned here, after all, so now it's ti for to go back."
"But Klee doesn't want you to go!" Klee's eyes filled with tears as her happy expression faded.
"Mom will co back to see you again, and..." Alice glanced at Lucas with a smile, "you'll have your dad with you. Be good, okay?"
"Klee... Klee will be good!" Klee's words were brave, but her tears still flowed despite her best efforts to hold them back.
After all, she was still a child, and it was hard for her to part with her mother.
"Oh, I almost forgot—I have a gift for you, Klee." Alice held out her hand, and a soft, fluffy stuffed toy with a big tail appeared as if by magic. "If both Mom and Dad aren't around, you'll have this to keep you company."
"Wow! I love it!" Klee hugged the toy with joy. "I've decided—I'll call you... Dodoco!"
"Thank you, everyone, for always taking care of Klee... Goodbye." Alice's voice faded as she disappeared along with the light particles.
But before vanishing completely, she gave Lucas one last, aningful look—a ssage that needed no words.
Farewells always carry a hint of sadness. Alice's departure left everyone quiet for a mont, especially Klee, who turned her back to the group, her usual cheerfulness dimd.
Just as the three were about to go comfort her, they saw Klee wipe her eyes, then turn back around with her usual, carefree smile.
"Let's keep adventuring!" she said with a slight redness still in her eyes but a bright smile on her face. "Mom was right. I'm already so lucky to have you all with !"
Seeing Klee's resilience, the others felt a wave of relief.
"Alright, I guess it's my turn!" Barbara took the dice in her hand, but she felt a bit nervous.
What if sothing strange or dangerous happened again?
Seeing her worry, Jean gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, no matter what happens, as long as we work together, we can handle it!"
Encouraged by her sister, Barbara finally mustered the courage to roll the dice.
A one and a six—seven steps.
"Wow, it's a one!" Klee exclaid. "Are we going to change back... huh?"
Before she could finish, her body had already transford from that of a grown woman back into her usual little girl self.
And the other three had also reverted to their original ages.
"Aww, that's too bad..." Klee mumbled in slight disappointnt. "Now I'm short again."
"I'm short again too..." Barbara sighed as she looked down at her chest, which had shrunk back. "I have to admit, being grown up was actually kind of nice."
Just then, a new event appeared on the board—
[The dice roller becos a giant for one turn]
"A giant...?"
All four of them looked a bit puzzled.
"L-look!" Klee suddenly exclaid. "Barbara... she's growing bigger again!"
Lucas and Jean both turned to see that Barbara's body was indeed enlarging at a visible rate.
But rather than aging up, she was simply growing in size.
Luckily, her clothing also grew with her body; otherwise, her clothes would have surely torn apart by now.
Two ters, three ters, five ters, ten ters... she kept growing until she towered over the surrounding trees.
"W-what's happening to ?!" Naturally, Barbara was the most astonished of all. She watched as her body rose further and further from the ground, while everything around her—including the others—seed to shrink smaller and smaller.
If this were the real world, a sudden enlargent of the human body would cause all sorts of issues. But here in this ga, sohow, it all worked perfectly.
Finally, Barbara's "growth" stopped, but her body had reached an enormous, astonishing size.
"Barbara, try not to panic!" Lucas called up to her. "It's only supposed to last one turn!"
However, as he tilted his head back to look up, Lucas's expression beca sowhat complicated.
Due to Barbara's enormous size, her skirt was now like a vast, dark cloud hanging over the three of them.
And, of course, the "scenery" beneath that "cloud" was also... entirely on display.
What's more, everything was so magnified that every detail was clearly visible, down to the very pores.
Barbara seed to realize this as well and squeaked in embarrassnt, "D-don't look!"
Due to her size, Barbara's voice bood louder than usual, and her sudden shout left the others dizzy and shaken.
"S-sorry, I didn't an to!" Barbara stamred, her face red with worry.
She tried to adjust her position, but, still not fully used to her new size, she wobbled and suddenly lost her balance, landing heavily on the ground with a thud.
"Klee, watch out!"
Jean's first thought was to protect the youngest among them. Using her Anemo powers, she quickly launched Klee to safety.
But a huge shadow fell over her just as Barbara's giant form was about to land on top of her.
At that critical mont, Lucas dashed forward, shoving Jean out of harm's way.
"Lucas!"
Jean's shout was cut short by the deafening thud as Barbara, seated in a ducking position, landed on the sandy ground.
And Lucas... was nowhere to be seen, seemingly buried beneath her.
"Lucas!" Jean cried out in horror. "Barbara, quick... get up!"
Even Jean herself didn't realize her voice had taken on a tremor.
"D-daddy..." Klee stared, wide-eyed, mumbling, "He really got squished by Barbara... waaah!"
"I-I didn't an to!" Barbara quickly scrambled to her feet, but she couldn't bring herself to look down.
Being crushed by such a weight would flatten even a Ruin Guard, or squish a Geo Sli into paste.
But, to their surprise, there was no bloodied corpse on the ground where Barbara had fallen.
"Eh?"
Suddenly, Barbara's face flushed crimson, and her voice trembled as she said, "L-Lucas... he's... he's still alive."
"Really?" Jean asked imdiately. "Where is he?"
"Where's Daddy?" Klee asked, her voice filled with worry.
"L-look over there first!" Barbara pointed behind them in a flustered gesture.
Jean and Klee turned to look, only to see nothing but the open sea stretching out before them, with no sign of Lucas.
"Barbara, you're teasing us! Daddy isn't... huh? Daddy!"
As Klee turned back, she saw Lucas in the palm of Barbara's hand. "Wow! Barbara's doing magic and made Daddy appear!" Klee squealed with delight.
Barbara said nothing, though her expression was complex. She carefully set Lucas down on the ground, and Klee imdiately dashed over to him, asking in concern, "Daddy, are you alright? Eh? Why do you sll funny?"
"Lucas, what exactly happened?" Jean asked as she ca over, looking baffled. "Weren't you... just crushed?"
"I..." Lucas's face flushed. "I was lucky enough to find... a gap."
"A gap?"
Jean didn't quite understand at first, but glancing at both Lucas and Barbara's faces, she seed to catch on.
In that split-second of survival, Lucas finally understood the aning behind the saying, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back."
"A gap?" Klee looked around at the patch of ground where Barbara had landed. "Where's the gap?"
The enormous weight from Barbara's body had flattened the land into two shallow oval-shaped depressions, more dramatic than anything Klee could achieve with her bombs. There was clearly nowhere to hide.
"Klee, let's not ask too many questions," Jean interjected at the right mont. "Your father just went through sothing very dangerous and needs a little ti to calm down."
Yes, he very much needed to calm down.
----
Author's Note: So many diddies
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