Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1085 Can’t do it?
When she walked into Tianxin Church again, it had changed a lot. There were those bulky and suspicious machines everywhere. The dark electronic screens were illuminated by the moonlight coming in through the windows, and from time to time, one or two strange streams of light flashed. Xinuo sometimes wondered if there was a living person hiding in it, secretly spying on her. But when she turned her head, she found that it was her own face that was reflected on the screen. Her long ponytail was as white as winter snow, and her curious eyes were filled with a warm wine-red luster.

"Are these...the game consoles that the goddess has collected?"

she couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah." The young man who walked to the front paused, then nodded imperceptibly: "According to Alice, they are all extremely valuable machines, and some are even out of print."

"Out of print... does it mean unique?"

"I think so."

"The goddess is amazing." Xino exclaimed, but he didn't know what he meant.

Ling Ge stopped in front of the altar, turned around and said to the girl: "If you have time, you can try it. The so-called electronic games may have a special charm that can make people addicted to them."

Including the goddess, including Alice.

"Does that include you, Mr. Ling?" Xino asked unexpectedly. She looked around. Each game console was either clumsy or light, with a large or small screen. Even the operation methods were different. There were flexible handles, as well as built-in joysticks and buttons. It is said that each game represents an independent world. It was inspired by this that the goddess came up with the idea of ​​creating a world for herself. It is hard to imagine that the aliens would go to such great lengths just for entertainment, and even create a world based on electricity and numbers, just to satisfy their own fantasies and curiosity.

She withdrew her gaze from the game consoles and looked at the motionless back, and asked tentatively: "You have experienced the charm of the game yourself, so you said that to Alice?"

The cosmic genius player encouraged Alice to continue to treat the world with a gaming mentality, which was undoubtedly an escape, but perhaps it was exactly what that guy needed, so she would hold on to it like a life-saving straw and repeatedly emphasized it in front of everyone. It was as if if everyone did not recognize this title, she would immediately lose all support and drown in the water, unable to struggle.

The young man remained silent in front of the statue of the goddess, which was considered as his tacit agreement with her guess.

“I don’t think this is the right approach.”

Xino shook his head slightly, clearly expressing his opposition. The oak benches that were previously placed in the church for believers to sit and pray were moved away by the stone guards under her command in order to make room for Alice's game console. Fortunately, the genius player did not go too far and still left a row of seats in the middle, facing the altar and the statue of the goddess. The young knight chose a seat in the middle and sat down. When she raised her head, her eyes met those compassionate and pitiful eyes.

This statue is carved from wood, not stone, and the carving technique is not superb. Some traces of roughness and rushing can be seen in many details. But perhaps because of this, it adds a natural sense of sacredness to it. The purity and innocence of the goddess of creation cannot be depicted by ordinary people. Only the most simple and innocent heart can make the goddess in the heart descend here and entrust the purest faith.

The girl bowed her head slightly, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and offered a pious prayer to the great goddess of creation. She might not be a believer of the goddess of creation, and she didn't even know that this goddess existed until a huge whale landed in the forest of Loser. She never believed in gods, but simply worshiped Joan of Arc who brought the Republican era, and firmly followed the footsteps of the ancestors of the Gustave family.

However, when she prayed in her current identity, there was no one more pious than her. All things in the world, whether living or not, were the offspring of the goddess, but she was the one who inherited the soul and perhaps the ideal.

The young man stood under the altar, staring at the praying girl quietly and deeply. In the past, he used the same gaze to stare at the believers who came to Tianxin Church to participate in the seven-day ceremony. But at that time, his position was higher up, standing above the altar, next to the goddess. Now that he is no longer a priest, standing at the same height as the believers, he seems to be closer to his god.

The shadow of the long white candle on the brass candlestick had shifted to the corner of the wall at some point. Only moonlight was flowing in the prayer hall, silently flowing through the window frames, soaking into the floor, and casting a layer of frosty cold color on the figure sitting on the bench with her eyes closed in prayer. In Ling's eyes, she seemed to possess a sense of sacredness that was no less than that of the church itself.

The young man silently counted his breaths. After about 120 breaths, Xinuo opened his eyes, loosened his hands, and ended his prayer. Although he was no longer a pastor and knew that this behavior was not right, Lingge still couldn't help but ask, "What did you pray for just now?"

He wanted to know what a confident and determined girl like Shino would pray to the gods for.

"victory."

Shino smiled slightly, with a hint of teasing in her smile: "I pray to the goddess for victory, but it does not belong to me, but to you - to Alice. I hope Alice can fulfill her promise and bring us a glorious victory from the Dark Witch even without my help."

Lingge didn't know how to answer for a moment. After a brief silence, he asked, "Are you still angry, Xinuo?"

For what just happened in the hall.

"Would it be petty if I said I was still angry?"

Xinuo's eyebrows curved, and he didn't look angry. "Just kidding, I wasn't angry from the beginning to the end. After all, it's just an ordinary discussion. It's normal for everyone to have different opinions. So, instead of saying I'm angry, it's better to say I'm worried, right?"

"Worried?"

"Well, Ling'er, haven't you ever worried about Alice's current condition?" Xino looked straight at Ling'er, with no trace of smile in his eyes. He asked seriously, "You should know that the so-called game is just an excuse to escape, but you didn't point it out, and instead helped Alice escape. Let her go to the battlefield in this state. Even if she can win in the end, she will definitely pay a heavy price, right?"

"Or," she changed the subject, "do you think that no matter what the price is, it will not be greater than the price of letting me go to the battlefield?" Because the victory of the Victory Kingdom must be accompanied by the sacrifice of relatives and companions. But after the death of her grandfather, Shino no longer has any other relatives in this world. Therefore, she suspected that Alice and Lingge stopped her from going to the battle because they did not want to see the sacrifice of their companions - it was reasonable and more in line with the current situation.

The young man looked at her deeply and did not answer directly. Instead, he said, "It seems that you are still a little angry."

Shino was stunned for a moment, but after she reacted, she realized that it was true. Although she could convince herself and try to understand her companions' choices, she still felt a little resentful in her heart. If it weren't for this, she wouldn't have to gallop on the streets with Brandi in the middle of the night to dispel her unhappiness in this way.

"Even if that's the case," she raised her heroic eyebrows, unwilling to be outdone: "I'm angry because of you, Mr. Ling."

"Why?" The young man was puzzled. The person who was arguing with you was obviously Alice, so why are you blaming me?

"Because I always thought you would stand on my side."

Shino pointed out bluntly: "I thought you could understand the meaning of fighting and the necessity of sacrifice, just like you promised when you wanted to take me away from home. Besides, you have always been the leader of this team, the backbone of everyone, and the person who should bear the most responsibility. But you thought of a reason for Alice to escape, and even chose to help her continue to escape at the most critical moment. Do you know what you are doing, Mr. Ling?"

"..."

For a young knight, this is a very sharp and realistic accusation, but Lingge is powerless to refute it. He can't say that Alice's choice to fight is not escaping, right? In fact, even if Alice chooses to fight, she is still escaping, but she is escaping in the form of fighting. She thinks that she is a genius player of the universe. She doesn't need to consider the strength of the enemy, her own morale, or even any realistic conditions. As long as she goes on the field, she can win, and if she wins, she can continue the main storyline. If the main storyline reaches the end, there will definitely be a happy ending. If you insist that this wishful thinking is not escaping, then Lingge's approach is naturally no problem, but he can't convince himself.

The church suddenly fell into a long silence. The young man didn't speak, and Xino kept staring at him, as if he wanted to see something from that dim face. But after a long time, the moonlight was still as cold as frost flowers, dripping in the hearts of the two people. Xino looked at the shadow of the young man shrouded by his god, so thin that he seemed to be helpless, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Was he too harsh on him? In the past, the young man was a priest, and he was also the one who was eager to do something on this journey, so it was natural for him to take responsibility; but now that things have come to this, he is no longer the priest of the goddess, and the fight between the Girl Kingship and the Witch Society has nothing to do with him. He could have stayed in this secluded church safely until everything was settled, as Tiantis said, but he still chose to embark on this journey. What was the reason? Was it to stand here and be accused of being an irresponsible man by himself?
Just like his own father.

A blurry face suddenly flashed through the girl's mind, and then became clearer in the gradually surging memories. She once thought that the man was irresponsible: he betrayed his grandfather's expectations, abandoned the mission of sealing the beast without authorization, and did not take on the responsibility of being a descendant of the Gustaf family; he betrayed the expectations of his ancestors and ran to participate in an unjust war without authorization, and did not take on the responsibility of being a knight; he betrayed his wife's expectations and could not accompany her when she needed him most, and did not fulfill his responsibilities as a husband; he also betrayed her own expectations, gave up without authorization, and then sealed the beast at the cost of his own life, causing the young girl to lose a complete family forever, and did not fulfill his responsibilities as a father... She thought that after going through all this, she would never be able to forgive him.

But later, when she finally mustered up the courage, she realized that she had no right to forgive him. The only thing she could do was to reconcile with her paranoid and fragile childhood.

Now, I seem to be experiencing the same mistake.

Will those who expect things without permission and those who go against things without permission eventually reconcile?

The girl sighed inwardly, and when she spoke again, her tone was no longer as tough as it was at the beginning: "Sorry."

"Feel sorry."

The two spoke almost at the same time, and were stunned at the same time, looking at each other, as if they had never expected the other to apologize. After a while, Xinuo asked with a strange look on his face: "I apologize because my tone just now was indeed a bit aggressive. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you, Lingge. But why did you apologize to me? Could it be that... you think I'm a girl, so you give in to me?"

Having said that, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up, outlining a somewhat subtle smile, as if to say: I didn't expect you to be such a male chauvinist, I really misjudged you, Lingge.

"I think it's not what you think." Ling Ge also chuckled, but it was a helpless and tolerant laugh. He was not annoyed by the girl's joke. He explained seriously: "Because your accusation is reasonable, I apologized. I should have taken responsibility, but I didn't. This is my mistake, and I let everyone bear this mistake on my behalf. Therefore, I should not only apologize to you, but also apologize to Saint Xia Liya and the others."

this--

Her words did work, but the effect was too good. Xinuo, who was already a little soft-hearted, was even more ashamed, wondering if she had put too much pressure on the young man. In fact, he had done a good job. If it were anyone else in the world, they probably couldn't do better, right? She couldn't help but say, "Actually, you don't have to..."

There's no need to be too hard on yourself.

"However," the young man interrupted her and said, "I need to clarify something to you, Xinuo."

The young knight was slightly startled, and subconsciously asked, "What do you want to clarify?"

"You seem to think that I intentionally helped Alice escape because I couldn't bear to see her shutting herself in. But from this perspective, my feelings are actually the same as yours. I hope that she can get rid of her naivety and face reality. However, the only problem is——"

"I can't do this."

He said word by word, very seriously: "I am not capable of doing it."

Give me some meow