Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1093: Are they similar?
Two figures walked one after the other on the tree-lined avenue, silently walking towards the direction of the flickering bonfire. Neither of them spoke - or to put it more accurately, they both wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say, nor did they know how the other would react, so the atmosphere was a little weird for a moment, like sour berries mixed in a cream dessert.

But time and distance would not stop because of their silence. Soon they reached the end of the tree-lined road. The warm orange-red firelight had completely replaced the light of the street lamps, illuminating the forest and the night sky with incomparable brightness. Turning another fork in the road ahead was the venue for the banquet, which was the primrose field carefully cared for by a certain angel lady. This was the location that the proprietress took the initiative to propose and determined after seeking the consent of Yieta, because she believed that this banquet was not only a farewell to the Holy Church of Heaven and the beginning of another difficult journey, but also a farewell for the aliens on Yunjingkong Island to this home where they had lived for more than a year and the beginning of another paradise in the distant universe. Naturally, it had to be held more lively.

To this end, she not only invited the companions of the Fairy Deep Sleep Inn, invited Themis of the Heaven Realm, but also invited the aliens who had decided to stay in the Holy Temple of Heaven, and the latter accepted the invitation without exception. Perhaps for those aliens, the time they lived on the Cloud Whale Sky Island was very short, even less than one percent of their long life, but it was also the most comfortable. Here, they no longer need to worry about the ubiquitous death sickle of the Night Watch, no longer need to worry about the gun of judgment that may fall at any time in the hands of the Scales of Order, and no longer need to worry about each other fighting for survival in a severe situation...

On this leisurely wandering island, people and lives have picked up the warmth and touch in their memories for the first time in a long time, but they all know that this peaceful life is not given by fate, but comes from the hard work of others. Now, those people have decided to challenge an enemy that is absolutely impossible to defeat not only for themselves, but also for all the lives in the world that are suffering and oppressed. They can't help but think: Even if I can't fight side by side with you, please at least leave you a warm memory before leaving.

In those darkest and most helpless years, the proprietress Shesta ignored other people's opinions and held empty banquets. Now she has ushered in the grandest banquet. Even if tomorrow, the travelers will go their separate ways, some decide to stay, and some decide to go far away, but after all, there are some things that will be passed down as she hoped, right?
Lingge vaguely heard the crackling sound of the burning bonfire, the laughter of the crowd, the clear singing of the flower fairies... and all kinds of other sounds.

Although I haven't seen it, I can already imagine what a lively scene it is.

He held a box filled with the highlight of the party - fireworks and fireworks - and turned to the silver-haired girl who had been following him closely and said, "It's right in front. Alice and everyone else are waiting for you there - why don't you come with me?"

When he saw Celestial Themis stopped, he thought she was thinking of running away again. If she was still thinking of running away even after changing into her formal attire for the banquet, he didn't know what reason he could use to persuade her to stay this time - although that outfit was just one of Metien's daily clothes and was far from being a formal outfit.

But this time, Lingge was thinking in the wrong direction. Themis from the Heaven suddenly stopped, not because she wanted to escape, but because she felt that there was one thing she must emphasize to the young man before entering the banquet venue.

"I just cried," the girl said with a straight face, her lips pressed into a thin line, and she looked extremely stubborn. "You are not allowed to tell Alice or anyone else."

Ling Ge suddenly realized, then showed a puzzled expression: "Did you cry just now? I don't remember."

Themis was stunned when she heard this. She was about to remind him of what had just happened in the hotel, but when the words came to her lips, she suddenly came to her senses and nodded seriously but with hidden satisfaction: "It seems that you have a bad memory, which is an advantage, Mr. Linger."

"I think so too." The young man laughed at himself, "It's a pity that there are too few people in the world who share the same idea as me."

This sentence was quite meaningful, but the girl didn't care what it meant. She was afraid that if she kept dwelling on this topic, it would remind the young man of the shameful scene before, so she hurriedly urged, "Then let's go, don't keep everyone waiting."

She didn't notice that her words and actions were unconsciously getting closer to those of a normal girl, as if once she put on this set of clothes, even her inner self would change. In an endlessly repetitive time, tears and pain had long left her, and emotions such as shame, satisfaction and fear had never stayed in her mind for a brief moment, but at this moment they all returned, and the girl who once hated them, rejected them, and finally longed for them was completely unaware of this. This just shows that sometimes people are not chasing emotions, but being chased by emotions, because only the chaser can see the back of the chased.

Lingge turned around and continued walking towards the end of the tree-lined avenue, but he slowed down his pace intentionally or unintentionally so that the silver-haired girl behind him could catch up with him even with her short legs. And before she knew it, the two of them were walking side by side, passing through the shadows of one white paulownia tree after another, from one memory to another.

……

"Brave young men went to the mountains,

The Fairy Queen gave him her blessing—

Let the stars fall on your sword,
To you be forever blessed with victory! "

The flower fairy wearing a wreath on her head and a straw cape sang in the flickering flames of the bonfire: "Ah - the light of the holy sword, the brilliance of the stars!"

The group of fairies dancing and laughing around her - there were fairies of all races, water fairies, leaf elves, and even Shemy - also spoke up one after another, echoing her tone with chaotic but energetic voices:

"Ah - the light of the holy sword, the brilliance of the stars!"

"Bring us the glory of victory!"

"Hehehe, you're out of tune! How embarrassing!"

"You're the one that's out of tune!"

After the singing, they dispersed, playing with each other. Another group of fairies who had been waiting for a long time in the primrose bushes quickly filled the empty seats. For fairies who are playful and like lively occasions, a banquet is the most ideal playground, and chorus is their favorite celebration. So, having the best chorus at a banquet will naturally give them double the joy. All the little ones flocked to it, and even quarreled over a chorus spot. Finally, the proprietress stepped forward and made the final decision: take turns singing, and whoever finishes singing will be replaced.

So they used this natural and easy-to-understand method to resolve the dispute. As for this natural and easy-to-understand method, why didn't anyone bring it up before? Of course, it was because they were not happy. If they could have it all to themselves, why would they take turns sharing it? Although fairies are a race that symbolizes innocence and kindness, it doesn't mean that they don't have selfish emotions. It's just that because they are simple, this selfishness often manifests itself in a ridiculous form, just like a cub making a fuss, which only makes people feel cute.

The only one who didn't need to take turns was the flower fairy who was in charge of leading the singing, because her voice was the sweetest, she could most easily lead the emotions of others, and she could sing the most poems. For example, the poem just now originated from the legend of St. George slaying the dragon 20 centuries ago. It was a story about George, a young farmer from an ordinary family, holding the sword Garantia (in ancient fairy language: Starlight) blessed by the fairy queen and the fairies, slaying the dragon and eliminating harm for the people. The Gutenberg region blessed by St. George wrote it into a poem and passed it down from generation to generation with the fairies. But later, due to some well-known reasons, the flower fairy clan that assisted St. George was forced to move away from their homeland and took the original text of the poem with them. However, human memory is always short-lived. The legend that took 20 centuries to take root has been forgotten by them in half a century.

This flower fairy who led the singing might have been an eyewitness to that incident.

In addition to the goblin chorus, the most indispensable things at the banquet were fine wine and delicious food. Long tables were spread out in the open air, filled with steaming food, from simple bread, ham, stew, to whole roasted suckling pigs and roasted turkeys. The aroma of oil, spices and fermented crops quietly sneaked in the wind, suppressing the fragrance of primroses for a while. In addition, there were dessert trays stacked thirteen layers high, like small mountains, and fine wines in oak barrels, all of which were fruit wines, wines or meads that were not easy to get drunk. A traveler goblin in a bartender's uniform was stealthily opening the lid of one of the barrels while no one was paying attention, trying to replace it with the wine he had worked so hard to prepare... water; on the other side, a giant bear as tall as two stories was sitting on the edge of the woods, using the huge barrel as a cup, opening the lid and drinking, drinking barrel after barrel of mead, attracting a large group of queen bees buzzing around, as if in protest.

Such a grand banquet may not be unique in the memories of those who attended it, but its harmonious, lively and extremely cheerful atmosphere is definitely impressive.

In order to make it more harmonious, lively and cheerful, a certain alchemist lady was commissioned by the boss lady to refine some secret props that could liven up the atmosphere. However, before leaving, she forgot those props in her workshop, so she had to temporarily entrust a young man to fetch them. However, at this time, half an hour had passed since the young man left.

One can't help but wonder——

"Did Lingge secretly go to set off the fireworks?" Someone made a bold guess and was indignant about it: "Well, everyone is waiting for him here, but he went to set off the fireworks by himself. How stingy and selfish! I will never forgive him!"

I believe that after hearing this childish speculation and arbitrary tone, everyone can already imagine who this person is?

"Don't worry, Alice."

A leisurely voice came from the side. The client, Princess Kaisu, was sitting on a tree stump, supporting the edge with her hands casually, staring at the lively scene of singing and dancing around the huge bonfire, as if she wanted to deeply imprint this scene that was comparable to the royal court banquet in her mind. Her face looked a little pale due to the fatigue of many days, and there were faint dark circles at the corners of her eyes, but her lips still outlined a calm arc, and that iconic, calm, lazy, as if everything was under control smile proved that this alchemist was not overdrawing herself, and she was far from reaching her limit - the premise was to exclude the possibility of showing off in front of others, especially someone with a strong sister attribute.

"There are too many things piled up in my workshop. Mr. Ling may just be dazzled and lost for a moment."

She chuckled meaningfully, "I just hope he won't be so curious. After all, not all props can find the right owner. If some of these gadgets are not used carefully, it can lead to serious consequences, right?"

Alice immediately gave him a sharp look, obviously very interested in the so-called serious consequences: "For example?"

"Like, making wood open up?"

Alice suddenly lost interest. "How serious is this?"

No, this is serious.

It was so serious that Saint Shallia put down the lamb in her arms and let it run to the banquet venue to eat and drink. She looked at Lorena and asked word by word: "What does enlightenment mean?"

Several pairs of eyes were cast at the same time nearby, and it was obvious that they were all secretly paying attention to this topic.

"What does it mean to be enlightened——"

Rorona deliberately dragged out her tone to whet everyone's appetite before she said with a smile, "That's what you think it means."

So what does it mean? You might as well make it more interesting!
Everyone's heart suddenly felt like it was being tickled. They had an irresistible urge, but were unable to let go of their reserve and decency to ask. So their eyes darted back and forth between each other, conveying messages like "you go ask", "you should go ask", "why not you ask".

With just one sentence, she played the sisters around, and Princess Umi smiled slightly, hiding her identity and name.

At this time, someone shouted, "Lingge is here!"

Everyone turned their heads subconsciously and looked over. They saw two figures, one large and one small, walking out from the junction of the bonfire and the shadows, as if they had walked out of a faded painting into reality. The young man holding the wooden box and the girl following him closely, both had silver-gray hair, golden eyes, and the same expression; that bright color seemed to be soaked in a layer of warm color under the light of the fire. At this moment, everyone who witnessed this scene had a strange feeling in their hearts, as if... a pair of brothers and sisters were walking towards them.

A brother and sister with a very good relationship.

Give me some meow