After being protected by the army, Alice was essentially a walking corpse.  That condition remained unchanged up until she was 12 years old.  Her life was at a crossroads with the

undoubtably being the crux of that divide.  Whenever Alice contemplated over it, she could not help but split hairs.  Had she gone wrong somewhere?

What was done was done, though it still lingered in her mind.  One day, Alice arrived at a military facility’s training ground.  Her passing was merely coincidental.

That training ground was primarily for spear training.  In order to ventilate the hot air within the training area, the doors would often be left wide open.  The intimidating shouts of those training inside were loud and clear from the entrance.

It was not that she felt particularly happy seeing them train, rather she felt a sense of security being within the training grounds.  Furthermore, as long as she diligently practiced, she would not end up like how she was before.  Her lingering regrets were a constant source of torment and suffering.

When Alice was by herself, that vicious cycle laced her thoughts.  It would surface in her mind like an ominous premonition.  She was supposed to forge on ahead, but was instead being stubbornly tripped up by her past.  She was incapable of moving on.

Alice was currently leaning against a tree trunk enjoying the breeze during a period of rest when all of a sudden, a girl with red hair fluttering in the wind came into her sights.  Her red hair possessed a dazzling radiance that captivated Alice.  She could not help but be fixated by her.

Alice was aware the other person had noticed her gaze since she unexpectedly came towards her.  At a glance the girl was most likely around her age.  Even though Alice hurriedly diverted her eyes, the red-haired girl kept pressing forward.  For a brief moment, Alice even contemplated escaping the area.

The red-haired girl swiftly made her way before Alice, puffed her chest, and said:

“I do not think we have met before.  My name is Tesfia Fehbel.  I heard from the people at the training ground that you are a disciple?”

Alice could not utter a word, not even headshake to refute.  ”However…” the red-haired girl said with a puzzled look while pointing to Alice’s uniform.

“I-I am not a formal student.  I am only an apprentice.”

“Oh I see.  Excuse my lack of manners.  I had not seen anyone around my age here, so I got a bit excited.  May ask for your name?”

“Alice…T-Tylake.”

For some reason Alice felt her clouded mind clear up a bit the moment she announced her name.  Quite a long time had passed since she last said her full name.  Alice could not help but mull over whether she was indeed [Alice Tylake].  She then finally thought of and became aware of an obvious matter, of those who bestowed that name upon her.  Despite the short duration, Alice had received a lot from her parents.  One was her name, which was kept in its entirety.  After losing both of her parents, she felt alone with nothing to her name and resigned to her fate.  However, that was not the case.  By saying her name, she could feel her parents’ wishes through the name they entrusted to her.

The red-haired girl probably had no idea to Alice’s internal struggles.  She simply replied:

“What a cool name.  Your hair is also very pretty.”

Certainly, that honey color hair of hers was inherited from her parents too.  She uncontrollably squatted down and started crying.  The red-haired girl eyes widened in surprise.  She bent over to look at Alice and asked:

“Did I say something to offend you…!?”

“N-No, it’s okay.  Really…”

“A-Are you sure?”

Alice once again waved her hand to indicate to the red-haired girl that everything was okay and then slowly stood up.  These would probably be the last tears to flow from her eyes.  At least, it will not be how it was before, crying an endless stream of sorrow…  The current Alice had that inconceivable feeling.  She straightened herself and faced the red-haired girl.  With clear voice she said:

“…Mmhmm, my name is Alice, Alice Tylake.”

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<SS1: The Distance to that Pursued Figure
SS3: