Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1095 Do you want to say thank you?
The sky was lit up by colorful fireworks, sometimes they were blooming flowers, sometimes they were falling snowflakes; sometimes they were ripples that gradually spread out in all directions, and sometimes they simply turned into squirrels, rabbits or flying birds, allowing these tiny creatures to touch the starry sky at such a close distance for the first time in their lives.

The goblins sang and danced around the bonfire, and the magic herbs that didn't like fire but loved to join in the fun cheered from a cautious distance. After the empty plates that had been licked clean were taken away, new food soon appeared on the table. The fine wine in the oak barrels gushed out like streams, gathering into sweet lakes on the grass, but they would never reach the bottom, as if they were all endowed with magical powers. The clean plates would replenish their own food, and the empty barrels would be filled with fine wine.

The banquet was gradually reaching its climax, but the grand and lively scene still lacked some gorgeous embellishments. So Alice, who had been rejected by Themis in heaven, finally remembered her original purpose. She angrily snatched the wooden box containing the fireworks from Linger, and then took a few guys who loved to join in the fun - Shaymi, Leticia, the lamb and the little sun - to the edge of the primrose field and started launching fireworks into the night sky.

They seemed to treat this as an interesting game, or a competition. From a distance, you could hear them bragging about who launched the highest, farther, and louder fireworks. There was also a little bat's angry accusation of Alice's cheating. Although no one knew how the genius player cheated in setting off fireworks, it was in line with her nature, so everyone could only sigh that she was a person without bottom line.

Lingge sat on a small hill, quietly appreciating the fireworks display at night. Fireworks always bloomed in an instant, and extinguished so suddenly. The flickering light fell into the young man's eyes, flickering, and it looked like many stars were twinkling in them at the same time. On his left and right, the pink-haired girl and the silver-haired girl were still competing with each other, but when the crackling sound of fireworks continued to come, they gradually quieted down, and learned to look up like Lingge, watching this unique scene in their memory with curious or shocked eyes.

Metien knew about fireworks and had seen similar descriptions in books, but the night sky of Linville City was always covered with dust and haze, and few people wanted to celebrate with fireworks, so it was her first time to enjoy a fireworks show and she was curious about it; Themis in the celestial world had her gaze extended to the two ancient universes and had witnessed scenes that were miraculous to mortals, but she didn't know about fireworks, so it was also her first time to enjoy a fireworks show and she was deeply shocked.

Curiosity comes from life's tracing back to all the familiar things in memory, and they are searching for themselves in the blood of the previous life; and the sense of shock comes from a wonderful concept that is difficult to imagine in itself, no matter how small, humble, or insignificant it is, as long as it has never left any trace in your life, it will always surprise you.

Therefore, when mortals listen to the teachings of their elders, they can't help but imagine what the mountains, cliffs, and oceans they are talking about are. It is not until they see them with their own eyes that they suddenly realize and feel proud that they have already known them in another way. This is the known unknown; therefore, when mortals explore this vast world, they must give a name to everything they see, until they dig out a small insect they have never seen before from the soil, even if they can kill it with a light pinch, they will still feel a sense of panic, trembling and awe of the power of God from the bottom of their hearts. That is the known unknown.

The known, the knowable, and the unknown together constitute the entirety of our universe.

However, in the end, no matter how lyrical or philosophical the words were, they could not match the unanimous praise from the two little girls:

"What a nice view."

That is to say, when life faces a known unknown or a knowable unknown, their emotional expression far exceeds their ability to think rationally.

After realizing that they had said the same thing to each other, Metien and Celestial Themis turned around at the same time and glared at each other. The young man caught in the middle couldn't help but laugh.

"You should be good friends," he said.

This is not groundless conjecture, nor is it some kind of unrealistic expectation, but a judgment based on a deep understanding of both parties. After all, a pair of girls of similar age (at least in appearance), similar personality (at least they both have a side of not admitting defeat), and even similar life experiences (they have both lost the most important person in their lives), will naturally become very good friends. In many fairy tales and picture books read by young people, the story develops in this way.

"If there really comes such a day." Themis from Heaven had no expression on her face.

"Either we are dreaming or you are dreaming, Lingge." Metien looked at his brother with sympathy.

Well, what's not mentioned in the story is that they could also legitimately become a pair of arch-enemies.

After realizing this, the young man smiled helplessly.

"Well, I won't ask you to be very good friends." He readjusted his words, and while speaking, he stretched out his hands and touched the heads of the two little girls, gently stroking the silk that was softer than starlight. Metien squinted her eyes comfortably, like an otter enjoying a sunbath; Celestial Themis struggled at first, as if she was a little uncomfortable, but after seeing Metien's expression, she seemed to be aroused by some strange sense of competition, and silently endured the strange feeling.

The young man seemed not to notice their reactions. He still looked up at the fireworks in the night sky and said softly, "But tonight is the time of separation. Tomorrow we will go our separate ways. A couple who are about to separate, even if they are just strangers, will wish each other well in a friendly way. Besides, you two shouldn't be that unfamiliar, right?"

In fact, their relationship is much closer than others see.

After all, one is the last offspring of the goddess, with the same appearance and the same name as him; the other is the key left by the goddess, entrusted with all her wishes and hopes. If the story is not deceiving, then in the long years in the past, in addition to secretly observing the direction of world civilization and paying attention to the actions of the witch society, the celestial Themis should also be constantly monitoring the whereabouts of the golden apple, right? She was familiar with her since the birth of Mirror Star, so why is she showing obvious hostility now?
The same goes for Metien. She is usually so warm and friendly, and can make friends with anyone. Even Beimin, the youngest of the three photon elves whom she met in the Gospel Academy, hates humans so much, but she never said a bad word about her. Why is she so keen on competing with Themis in the celestial world today? It can't be that she really thinks she wants to take her brother away, right?

The young man thought about it and felt that the real reason should be related to the goddess. Before the goddess fell into eternal sleep, she only left the golden apple as the last proof of her existence. Therefore, for Themis, who was extremely dependent on her, the golden apple was not a continuation of her wishes and hopes, but a symbol of the goddess's eternal sleep. Whenever she saw her, she would think of the painful and helpless scene. And the same was true for Metien, because the news of the goddess's eternal sleep was brought by Themis. In the eyes of the pink-haired little girl, wasn't she a messenger of bad news, who would only land on the tombstone of the dead like a crow announcing mourning?

Both sides knew that their ideas were prejudiced, but they were unable to change - or unwilling to change. After all, girls of their age were all equally stubborn and obstinate.

If they want to reach a temporary truce agreement, someone with enough weight must speak up.

That person could be Saint Xia Liya, or of course Ling Ge. "Since Ling Ge has said so," Metien hummed twice, and was the first to let go of his reserve: "Then I will be friends with you temporarily. Yes, it is temporary, until we leave."

"Since Mr. Linger has said so," Celestial Themis's face was tense, and her hands were placed on her thighs obediently: "Then it's okay for me to be friends with you temporarily, but I won't return this dress."

"you--"

Meitian raised her eyebrows and was about to retort, but suddenly she saw her brother shaking his head at her. She immediately gave up the idea of ​​quarreling, turned her head away, folded her hands, and snorted angrily: "Whatever you want, I don't need this piece of clothing anyway!"

But the young man was not biased towards one side only. He looked at Themis again and shook his head at her. The silver-haired girl was startled for a moment, then lowered her head in grievance after she came to her senses. She rubbed the soft corners of her clothes with her hands, and her upper and lower lips touched lightly, making a barely audible sound: "Yes, I'm sorry, I just, just..."

I just really need this piece of clothing.

For Metien, she could easily give away some of her gifts to others, but for her, she needed to be sufficiently pitiful, sufficiently wronged, and sufficiently lonely to receive a little pity from others. She was unwilling to admit that she did not want to show her weakness in front of this girl who was very similar to her in every way, so she did not appreciate it. But for Lingge, she could not have that kind of stubborn emotion. To be precise, she was vaguely a little afraid of this young man.

Another meaning of fear is yearning and longing.

Metine was angry because her olive branch was not accepted, and Themis from the celestial world felt aggrieved because she was too embarrassed to express her true feelings. For a while, the two little girls competed with each other, and in the end, they were the only ones who got hurt.

In this regard, Lingge's method of comforting them is -

"Lie down."

The young man said, and at the same time, he set an example by slowly falling backwards and lying on the soft grass. In the grass rustling in the wind, there were small yellow flowers of unknown names blooming. When their soft petals brushed against the young man's cheeks and nose, he smelled a quiet, light fragrance, so he repeated to the girls beside him: "You lie down too."

This somewhat inexplicable invitation made Metien and Celestial Themis forget their previous conflict, and they looked at each other in bewilderment. But the pink-haired girl was used to following her brother's words, so she quickly took action after hesitating, and Celestial Themis would naturally not allow herself to lose to her old enemy. The two of them lay down beside Lingge, one on the left and one on the right, resting their heads on the soft grass and their backs on the warm grass. At the same time, they also took in the stars in the sky and the bright fireworks in their tiny eyes.

"Wow!"

The two opened their mouths at the same time. From this angle, the fireworks that were originally far away and untouchable seemed to be right in front of them, and even gave people the illusion of being in the middle of it. Every spark bloomed and then withered in the quiet night. They seemed to be able to feel its temperature, hear its heartbeat, and even see them gradually reborn in the falling ashes, just like real flowers, withering in winter and blooming again in spring, stretching stems, pulling out branches, forming buds, and unfolding new stamens...

Metien couldn't help but reach out, wanting to catch one of the sparks and experience its mood in the brief moment it existed in the world. Themis in the celestial world didn't act so emotionally, but her eyes were still shining, as if she could convey some kind of excitement.

"Individuals, civilizations, the world, destiny... everything we know is just like the fireworks we see before our eyes. If we change our angles a little, we can see many wonderful scenes." Ling Ge rested his hands on his head, showing a rare free and easy image, and chuckled: "Of course, those who set off the fireworks are also indispensable."

Alice's loud shouting could be heard again in the distance, mixed with Leticia's scolding, Little Sun's cheers, Shemy's shouting and the lamb's bleating. The hill suddenly became quiet.

The two little girls fell silent, staring at the night in silence. After a while, a low voice came from Lingge's right, accompanied by an unskilled apology: "I'm sorry."

The sound floated lightly in the wind and was covered by the crackling of fireworks. There was silence to Lingge's left again, and then someone responded softly, "Thank you."

"What?" Celestial Themis blinked blankly: "Why...thank you?"

Metien laughed and said, "Linger told me that when you want to say sorry, just say thank you instead."

Themis seemed to understand something. Was this some special emotion among humans? She was not sure, but since it was said by the young man, it must have made sense, so the girl obediently changed her words: "Then I also... thank you."

Her thanks were as awkward as her apology. After a half-second pause, she added, "And thank you, Mr. Ling."

Give me some meow