“Turing, drink less... you're drunk.”

After meeting Diana, Turing spent his days doing nothing, drowning in alcohol.

She piled bottles of rum and brandy that she bought from the shop on the table and drank them one after another.

Empty bottles piled up on the floor, exaggerating like a field of transparent pebbles.

Turing remembered that he couldn't hold his liquor well.

He also remembered Merka's advice, that getting drunk wouldn't solve his problems.

But she couldn't remember who was the one to smile and flip ropes with her on the day when the meteor fell.

Turing intoxicated himself, trying to retrieve that clear dream.

But he couldn't find it, nowhere to be found.

"…Isn't getting people drunk your job."

"Don't touch me."

Number 667 sat by Turing's side, obviously trying to take advantage of Turing's emptiness, but even after drinking so much, Turing did not give him a chance.

"..."

"Sorry... Do you think I'm dirty? I won't touch you."

The hand that 667 reached out to Turing's shoulder trembled for a moment, then lonely withdrew.

"No, I don't mind... Whatever you think."

Picking up the brandy, another bottle went down, Turing's way of drinking was extremely dreadful, directly facing the bottle and pouring it down his throat bottle by bottle.

This way of drinking, let alone a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, even a thirty-year-old man couldn’t bear it.

But unfortunately, even so, Turing couldn't get drunk.

"If you have any troubles... Can you talk to me? It's what I do anyway."

"Even if you have good alcohol tolerance, you shouldn't drink like this, it's too much for your body."

"Talk to me, let me replace the bar... Though someone like you probably looks down on someone like me as a drink. Hehe..."

667 smiled, the smile tranquil like broken pearls on a sandy beach, weak and warm like the glow of fireflies at midnight.

"I have nothing worth mentioning."

"You can leave, I won't drink myself to death."

Turing had drunk over a dozen bottles, yet his face remained unchanged, showing no signs of drunken flush.

667 was also puzzled, in this magic-restrictive prison, Turing could still do so many incredible and unthinkable things that many others using magic couldn't do.

It was as if... as if Turing really was some kind of perfect magician. She seemed like she could really do anything, unafraid of anything.

Bitting his lip, lowering his gaze, 667 secretly watched Turing's beautiful profile, hesitating repeatedly, as if wanting to say something.

Finally, he took a deep breath and mustered the courage to speak.

"Miss Turing... they say there's no distinction of nobility at the drinking table."

"Although I may be insignificant, I truly want to share your worries."

"The things that trouble you, are you referring to the band members?"

Turing glanced at number 667 in surprise, straightening her head. It was the first time she looked directly at 667.

"I'm not troubled by the band, but how did you know about the band?" Turing asked 667.

"Hehe... I'm terribly sorry. That day, when I left the visiting room, I saw that you were not in a good mood and have been hoping to do something for you."

"But feeling lost without any leads, I had to spend some money and bribe the prison guards to retrieve the transcripts of your conversation with your friends for me to read."

"I'm sorry... I'm only telling you this now, are you angry?"

"But! Don't be deceived by my appearance, I'm actually proficient in several musical instruments."

"Though they are just some tricks to please the nobility, but I am confident in my stage performance as well!"

"What about... considering me as well?"

The gem-like eyes of number 667 slowly swirled in his eye sockets. Inadvertently, Turing and he locked eyes.

Those two eyes, like twin stars that never parted, made Turing's head ache.

【He might be a good candidate.】

【But I know he wants something from me... things that I simply cannot give him, nor promise him.】

【Should I use his affection for me to deceive him?】

【Build a castle in the air for him, an illusion? And then discard him once he fulfills my purpose?】

【If that's the case, he... would be too pitiful.】

【If I really did that... then how am I any different from my mother?】

【All the efforts I've made to surpass my mother, would they be meaningless?】