I like crossing the most

Chapter 1040 The Last Routine 219
Meanwhile, the rabbit 'Kobayashi' continued his harassment, urging and asking, "If the color is nice, what about the material? Or can I take a look first? Maybe, Miss, your underwear is the best underwear you've ever had?"

"Th-that...this..." Alice blushed. She had only said that to get the rabbit 'Kobayashi' to stop, and now she was too embarrassed to show her underwear.

Just then, a figure appeared before the two. He immediately berated Kobayashi, saying, "That troublesome white rabbit who never shows up at the appointed time! It was only because of my intervention that I managed to get the premium tea... um?" He looked at Alice, somewhat puzzled, and said, "Oh dear, a little girl I've never seen before. What brings you to this perverted white rabbit?"

"Ah, it's Mr. Barnier!?" Alice smiled happily when she saw the top-hatted 'masked man' who had spoken to her. "I didn't expect to see you here!"

“My name is Hat House. I don’t know the name you’re talking about,” the top-hatted 'masked man' said, somewhat puzzled, while also indicating that he didn’t know Alice.

"How could this be? This person too...!?" Alice looked at the two of them in surprise. They looked very similar, but there was a striking difference between them, which puzzled her. "What happened...?"

"Hmm, little girl, so you're lost." The man in the top hat and mask seemed to have noticed something. He nodded and then invited Alice, "If you have nowhere to go, how about joining my tea party?"

"tea party?"

"Well, they're all just a bunch of crazy guys anyway, so it's not a problem if some little girl I've never seen before wanders in, right?"

"Is that alright? Then I'll gladly accept your offer...!"

Alice really had nowhere to go right now, and most importantly, she wanted to see what was going on with Kobayashi and Banir, and what had happened here.

"Well then, let's go!" Barnier said to Alice and the rabbit 'Kobayashi,' "Let's go to that chuunibyou tea party with all the weirdos out of their heads!"

It's getting interesting with my brother and Mr. Barnier... but what a crazy, chuunibyou tea party...? Alice was a little confused, but she followed the two of them to the tea party anyway.

Meanwhile, in the royal palace of this kingdom—

"Ahhh...ahhh...!" someone exclaimed happily, "While using the crystal to monitor the useless white rabbit, I unexpectedly stumbled upon an incredible encounter...! How adorable, how adorable...! I must add her to my collection!" With that, she began issuing orders to the soldiers around her, shouting loudly, "...Poker soldiers! Seize that blonde, blue-eyed beauty and bring her here immediately! This...in the Queen of Hearts' palace!"

Of course, Alice was unaware of all this; she was currently attending a chuunibyou (delusional) tea party with Barnier and the others. Familiar faces and unfamiliar people—guided her, Alice arrived at a chuunibyou tea party full of oddballs—

This was a very clean and spacious place. A wooden cabin looked very peaceful and serene. When Alice saw the scene, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah... there's a dining table deep in the forest...!"

"Hehe, isn't it exquisite?" Rabbit 'Kobayashi' said boastfully, but then quickly added with a hint of helplessness, "But it's still under preparation. If you're wondering, the decorative underwear can also be used as decoration."

"Underwear can be used for this?!" Alice exclaimed in surprise, then shook her head and said, "I had no idea...!"

Seeing the empty table, the top-hatted 'masked man' Barnier said with some surprise and dissatisfaction, "The most important things, tea and snacks, haven't been served yet. Did we arrive too early?"

"—No, everyone is right on time." Suddenly, a voice came from the small house, and then she slowly appeared in front of everyone.

"Rain!? Why are you here...!?" Alice panicked upon seeing her, waving her hands to explain, "Um, I didn't escape from the palace...!"

She tried her best to explain, but the rabbit 'Rain' in front of her didn't seem angry at all. Instead, she said in a strange way, "Excuse me, stranger, my name is March Hare, and I am the host of this tea party."

"Eh...it's someone else again...!?" Alice looked closely at the woman in front of her who looked exactly like Rein, except that she was now wearing a pair of rabbit ears on her head, as well as a brown long dress and a white apron, which was almost identical to Alice's attire.

Rabbit 'Xiaolin' shrugged and said, "It's not so much about other rabbits, but about other rabbits. This guy holds tea parties here every single day, it's endless and gives me a headache." Despite complaining, he still came to participate, clearly not because he disliked the trouble as he thought.

The rabbit 'Rain' said with a smile, 'Hehe, do I look that much like that person named Rain?'

“It’s more than just similar, because—” Alice recalled what had happened to Rein before.

——In memory——

"Lady Alice, you're not concentrating."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Hearing Rein's words, Alice lowered her head awkwardly in apology, then patted her cheeks and said, "It's also a duty of royalty... I need to study harder!"

"...Take a break, and rest after you finish this page." Seeing how hard she was working, Rein smiled and patted her head, saying, "I'll prepare Alice's favorite black tea and snacks."

"Thank you all this time, Raine." Alice returned the smile.

—End of flashback—

"—Not only in appearance and mannerisms, but also in preparing tea and snacks, you're exactly the same!" Alice said incredulously. "You're almost identical!"

“I see.” The rabbit ‘Rain’ nodded in realization. She explained, “Although I don’t know if I can entertain you like that person, please be sure to attend the tea party. The finest Da Hong Pao… Enjoy the supreme fragrance of amber and the concerto of sweet discs!” Just as the rabbit Kobayashi had said, she really loved hosting tea parties and invited Alice to join in. In fact, her voice was incredibly passionate and energetic, completely unlike the gentle Rain she remembered, which startled Alice.

"Huh? Huh!? Um..."

"It's just about enjoying black tea and cookies." The top-hatted 'masked man' Barnier sighed and rubbed his forehead, exasperated. He explained, "Didn't I just say it was a tea party for idiots with screws—"

"Hahaha!!" Rabbit 'Kobayashi' burst into laughter. He sat down at the table first and shouted, "Come on, let me see the March Hare's hospitality!"

"Can you handle it!? Those who receive my leniency are half grateful, and the other half are also grateful!!" Rabbit 'Rain' declared loudly. This statement was practically nonsense, feeling no different from Lu Xun from another world.

Alice was slightly surprised: Does that mean everyone is very grateful? Even so, she is indeed somewhat different from Rein.

The top-hatted 'masked man' Barnier spread his arms wide and shouted, "Come on, the tea party has begun! The overture is about to start!!"

And everyone, your tone is just like Megumin's. Is this the style of a brain-dead, chuunibyou tea party?
“Well then, that concludes the greetings. Time to get back to preparations. We still need to make one more serving of refreshments.” The rabbit ‘Rain’ said with a smile, then went back into the room to bring out a tea set, saying to Alice, “Excuse me, could you please help us, guest over there? Please come this way…”

“Okay, of course!” Alice replied with a smile, but the rabbit 'Kobayashi' immediately corrected her, shouting, “No, that’s not a normal greeting! You need to be more crazy!”

"Um... Hahaha! Okay, I'll help! ...Is this feeling okay?" Alice said somewhat awkwardly.

But the rabbit 'Rain' said with great satisfaction, 'That's good, just like that.' Her eyes were full of encouragement as she said to Alice, 'Then, let's give these sweet offerings to the guests!'

"Sweet, sweet...?"

"You mean the snacks. Here, let me get the tea set over here."

"I know... no, wait! Hahaha! I get it!"

Alice also tried her best to act more like a chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), which, to be honest, was quite embarrassing.

“You think you can do it?” The top-hatted 'masked man' Barnier nodded with satisfaction, pleased with Alice’s reaction, and then said loudly, “Then hurry up and offer these sacrifices to us!”

"Dedicated to? That, that..."

"It means to put the snacks on the table. Um, what's your name, sir/madam...?"

"Ah, my name is Alice!"

Alice quickly introduced herself, and the rabbit 'Rain' nodded and said, "Well then, Miss Alice... thank you for this encounter! Today will be the most wonderful day ever!"

“Hmm.” The top-hatted, masked man, Barnier, nodded in agreement and said, “You and Alice have been having countless tea parties, haven’t you? First, let’s hear my specialty, the Song of the Junk Shopkeeper!”

“Before that, listen to my special talent,” Rabbit 'Kobayashi' seized the opportunity to steal the show at the banquet and began to sing loudly.

Alice exclaimed in disbelief: "What an amazing piece of music... It has the same theme as the name of this tea party, but..."

"What's wrong, Miss Alice?" Rabbit 'Rain' asked curiously when she saw Alice lost in thought. "Are you bored?"

"No, that's not true..."

Alice waved her hand dismissively, her expression slightly stiff. She didn't find the tea party boring, but she was worried about what the real Rhine and Claire were doing. Maybe they were still angry...

"Yes, sir!" The playing card soldier stood at attention, chest out, head held high, and reported, "The weather around the palace is unstable right now. Strong winds are blowing the paper pieces, making it impossible to advance as planned."

"Hey! Then move forward sideways! Go and bring Miss Alice back as soon as possible!!" Hearing her angry shout, the playing card soldier quickly ran out of the palace and organized a group of people to bring Alice back.

Delicious tea and tasty snacks, a pleasant yet somewhat chaotic tea party—time flies by.

"This, this delicious tea, I've encountered it again!"

"Another cup, please."

Alice said this in a very angry tone, and the rabbit 'Rain' quickly understood her thoughts and poured her another cup of tea.

"Oh, how delightful!" said the top-hatted 'masked man' Barnier in a lighthearted tone. "It seems Alice is quite used to these tea parties."

“Indeed,” Rabbit 'Kobayashi' nodded and said, “She’s so pretty, her underwear must be really nice too.”

“Mr. White Rabbit is always like this. I hope you only have a problem with your head at tea parties.” Rabbit 'Rain' rebuked him in a harsh tone, but the top hat 'masked man' Barnier remained unmoved and even comforted the somewhat angry woman.

"It's no use talking to the March Hare," he said with a grin. "That guy has a natural fondness for underwear, otherwise he wouldn't have done such vulgar things in the Queen's castle."

"Queen...?" Alice was very surprised to hear this title and quickly asked, "I remember you mentioned it when we met in the forest..."

“Ahhhh——————”

"Whoa! What happened!?"

Alice was terrified when she heard the rabbit 'Kobayashi' suddenly shout. Kobayashi immediately clutched his head in despair, as if he had remembered something terrible.

"Oh, right, Your Majesty, I forgot! This isn't the time to leisurely sip tea here!!" He was sweating profusely and trembling all over as he said, "I need to find the Supreme's underwear! Has anyone seen the Supreme's underwear?!"

“Who knows?” Top hat 'masked man' Barnier shrugged and said, “I’m the Hat House. If it’s about hats, that’s one thing, but how would I know about underwear?”

“Me too.” Rabbit 'Rain' shook her head indifferently and said, “I only know about black tea and snacks, nothing else.”

"Oh my god..."

With that, the rabbit 'Kobayashi' ran off again.

(End of this chapter)