Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 1096 a little closer?

"Why are you saying thank you to me?" Ling Ge thought for a moment and said, "I haven't done anything worthy of your thanks, have I?"

"some."

Where the young man couldn't see, Themis pursed her lips slightly, her face full of seriousness: "Thank you for saying these words to me. This is something I never imagined."

"So, before you came here, what kind of things did you imagine you would hear?"

Themis didn't answer, but the fire of the fireworks reflected in her eyes seemed to dim a little. Linger said gently, "In fact, Alice really didn't want to give up on you at the beginning. She wanted to keep trying, and seemed to insist that as long as she was sincere enough, she could impress you. Even if she couldn't impress you, it didn't matter. She creatively proposed a plan: get you drunk at this banquet, and then take you away directly while you were asleep. Even if you want to regret it afterwards, it's too late."

When Metien, one of the insiders, heard this, she subconsciously covered her face, feeling ashamed. The corners of Celestial Themis' mouth twitched slightly, and her originally serious expression was about to fail, but fortunately she managed to hold it together in the end. She said expressionlessly, "I don't drink."

“So,” Linger chuckled, “that’s why she finally gave up the plan.”

The silver-haired girl couldn't help but sigh: "It sounds very Alice's style."

"She is just like that, but we are used to it. No one will mess around with her, so you can rest assured." Ling Ge said, "In fact, the person who really stopped the plan was Saint Xia Liya. She asked Alice to respect your choice and not to put too much pressure on you. She also reminded everyone not to mention words like leaving or saying goodbye in front of you. She didn't want to see you sad."

That's why, although it's clearly a farewell party, the atmosphere is so cheerful and lively. Those who stand here today will go in the opposite direction tomorrow, but at least before the sun rises and the ashes of the fireworks fall into the dust, no one will deliberately mention this. They just want to remember the mood and feelings at the moment, which will become the most precious memories of this journey.

Themis from the celestial world could not help but look towards the white windmill tower. Amid the primrose petals raised by the fireworks, she saw Saint Shallia sitting on the highest step, gently clapping her hands to accompany the fairies' singing and dancing performances. Her eyes kept roaming around the scene, sometimes on Olvera and Ieta, watching them discuss at the long table whether to eat fruit or dessert first; sometimes on Rosina and Leticia, watching the former standing on the ridge of the field, smilingly teaching the latter to inject more magic into the fireworks so that they could fly higher, explode louder, and shine brighter, preferably to overshadow Alice; Xino took her beloved horse Brandi and strolled leisurely on the edge of the forest, enjoying the rare leisure time in the joyous banquet; Gloria stood on the rooftop of the windmill tower, reaching out her hand to the night sky where fireworks were blooming, and the snow-white birds fluttered on her arms, and the flying feathers in the sky and the corners of her clothes fluttered in the cold night wind...

The night, the banquet, the bonfire, the crowd, the fireworks, and the beautiful girls, all these elements together form a perfect picture, and also constitute the girl's tracing back to the distant past. She couldn't help but remain silent, and seemed a little sad, and said: "She is a very gentle person, everyone is."

The only thing that is not gentle is this world.

Lingge knew that the "everyone" she was talking about probably included not only the girls in front of her, but also other girls far away. The girl's memory of them was one, as if inseparable, but the fact was that she could only watch this memory being torn apart. If Alice still required her to be one of the participants, it would be too cruel.

However, she had absolutely no ill intentions.

"Alice is just worried that you're too lonely," Ling said.

"I know." Themis's gaze slowly moved upwards and landed on the low night sky. In the past 120 million years, the unchanging universe she saw was being ignited by a magical power, just like spilling paint on a blank piece of paper. There was a breathtaking beauty: "So, she is also a very gentle person."

Metien couldn't help but arch her eyebrows: "Sister Alice will definitely not like such comments."

"why?"

"Because she thinks gentleness is a bad label, and prefers others to say that she is... decisive and ruthless?"

"I do not understand."

Themis of the Celestial Realm honestly spoke her mind, but it didn’t matter because: “I don’t understand it either.”

Metien smiled like a cunning little fox: "No one in this world can understand Sister Alice, right?"

This is true.

Celestial Themis nodded in agreement, and the two little girls reached a surprising consensus on this matter.

At this time, Lingge stretched himself, then slowly sat up from the grass and said to the silver-haired girl: "So, you don't need to worry too much, just enjoy this banquet with peace of mind, and enjoy your future life with this mood. You will no longer be alone, and this city will welcome many residents, who will accompany you through this long period of time. You have to live like a mortal and do what you want to do. It's good to dance with the fairies, sing praises to the beautiful life, and continue today's feast under the flickering bonfire; it's also good to stand alone on the roof, without worries or burdens, and occasionally look up at the starry sky, and miss the past when you see the stars in the sky, which is also good. Whatever choice you want to make depends only on your own will."

"I..." Lingge's long words made Themis at a loss. She had never imagined such a future, no longer alone, but living in this city with many people? But they were neither the goddess nor the girl's royal power. In other words, they were not an anchor in her memories, which could bring many familiar feelings. They were strangers, but one day they would become familiar, so did the young man mean for her to create new memories? She hesitated and could not be sure of her feelings for a while: "I don't know. I think it's good now, now, I just want to see the fireworks..." She looked up, a new firework was rising into the night sky, and quickly dispersed into shining stars all over the sky, dragging an arc-shaped tail flame, slowly falling into the ocean in her eyes, the sea that had been silent for tens of millions of years finally began to ripple.

"That's good too."

The young man smiled and said, "But no matter what decision you make, never forget that you are not alone. Someone will pray for you."

Who will pray for me?

Alice? Tiantis? Saint Shalia? The other girl royals? And... you?
Themis opened her mouth but could not put the question into words. She could only watch the young man stand up from the grass, gently brush off the grass and dust on his clothes and trousers, and walk down the hill. Metien asked behind him: "Lingge! Where are you going?"

Ling Ge pointed to the banquet venue not far away and the noisy crowd: "I'll go and remind them not to have too much fun. We still have work to do tomorrow."

After that, he took a step and walked towards the direction of the bonfire, his shadow stretched long on the hill. Metien did not ask any more questions, still lying in the soft and warm meadow, quietly watching his back go away. The same was true for Themis in the heavens. There were only two girls left on this small hill at this time, and there was still a distance of one person between them, as if that person had not actually left. The crackling sound of fireworks came all the time, but it could not cover the breathing and heartbeats of the two people, which strangely overlapped at this time.

No one spoke. They silently watched the young man's back. He stopped at the edge of the forest and greeted Xino who was walking on horseback. The two stopped and talked and laughed for a while. The young man said something that made Xino laugh happily. He even stretched out his fist from the horse and gently bumped it with his fist. The two seemed to have a special kind of tacit understanding.

They saw the young man walk up the ridge to the edge of the primrose field, and shook his head at Princess Umisu who was watching the fireworks show, as if he did not approve of her actions to stir up trouble between Alice and Leticia. At first, Rorona pretended to be innocent and blinked blankly. When she saw that the young man was indifferent, she changed to a pitiful expression and repeatedly assured that she would never do it again, and then she got away with it. But after the young man left, her eyebrows immediately curved up, and she showed a cunning smile behind his back, as if to say: I dare you next time.

They saw the young man walk to the open space and intervene in the fight between Alice and Leticia. He severely criticized Alice's shameless behavior of bullying the weak, and promptly stopped Leticia's dangerous behavior of wanting to tie twenty fireworks together into a super-large firework. However, this also angered the little bat who wanted to win by this trick, and was bitten on the neck by her. The bat also clung to the young man's body and no matter how he struggled, he could not get rid of it. The lamb and the little sun laughed beside him.

They saw the young man come to a long table at the banquet venue and shook his head helplessly at the dessert tray that had been eaten clean. Ieta, with cream stains on the corners of her mouth, blushed and tried to explain something in a panic, but the young man did not give her the opportunity. Instead, he gently pressed her head with one hand and wiped the cream off the corners of her mouth with his index finger. Suddenly, Miss Angel seemed to be drunk. The blush on her face was even brighter than the fireworks above her head. Her steps became dizzy and she could not tell east from west.

They saw the young man walk to the corner of the banquet venue, where they could observe the crowd and the lively scene of the entire venue. Olvera sat on a small stool, with a notebook spread out on her legs. She was writing something carefully on a blank piece of paper with a fountain pen. While writing, she looked up and observed the surrounding scene, as if she wanted to write this scene into her novel. Linger sat down beside her and naturally commented on what she wrote, and gave suggestions for revisions from time to time. Olvera sometimes suddenly realized, and sometimes pouted and was not convinced, as if she didn't like her work being commented on by others. However, when the young man was about to leave, she was still a little reluctant, so she subconsciously reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes. When facing his puzzled eyes, she stammered and couldn't say a word to keep him. In the end, it was the young man who smiled gently and said something to her, and she was willing to let go. Although they were far away, Metien and Celestial Themis guessed from the shape of his mouth that the sentence should be: Good night, sleep well tonight, Olvera.

They also saw the young man walking towards the windmill tower standing at the edge of the flower field, and looked at Saint Shalia who was sitting on the steps and clapping her hands. After nodding and greeting each other, they went straight to the rooftop, where the gray-haired girl was standing alone at the edge, gently and delicately stroking the feathers of the white falcon in her arms. After hearing the young man's footsteps, she turned around, her cold face was stunned for a moment, but she quickly reacted and showed him a signature silly smile that belonged only to Gloria. The young man saw her reaction, but didn't say anything. He just walked to her side and silently shared with her the only quietness in this lively scene.

Finally, the young man walked down the rooftop and returned to Saint Shallia, sitting naturally on the same step. The latter was still beating the rhythm to the singing and dancing of the fairies. When Lingge sat down beside her, her beat paused for a moment, then turned back and showed the young man a gentle, peaceful smile. She was enjoying this atmosphere, even if she looked like a bystander, but everyone who saw this expression could not help but believe that she was the one who was most immersed in it. But the girl didn't seem to want to be the only one immersed in it, so she reached out and pulled Lingge. Her curved eyebrows seemed to be able to speak, and immediately conveyed her thoughts. Under her lead, the young man also began to beat the rhythm with both hands, and the beats of the two echoed in the harmonious music.

The flower fields and tower houses solidify as the base, the bonfires and fireworks blend into colors, and time and emotions settle into the atmosphere. This painting looks so beautiful, quiet, and full of warmth.

"That's good."

Themis in the celestial world looked at this scene and suddenly said, "It would be better if it could continue forever."

Metien was lying on the grass. She didn't see her expression, but she magically understood the meaning of this sentence through some spirituality beyond intuition. She pursed her lips gently and said, "Don't worry, I will protect Lingge and everyone else."

Themis of the Celestial Realm shook her head: "It's more than just protection."

"I know."

Metien looked up, gazing at the fireworks that were blooming all over the sky, and spoke word by word as if making some solemn, sacred, and absolutely unbreakable promise: "So, I will save everyone."

Themis in the celestial world heard her promise.

She couldn't help but think that mortals are very magical creatures. Sometimes, even though they know that promises are the most fragile things in the world, they still can't help but want to believe in them.

Am I a little closer to ordinary people?

"Yeah." She said softly, her voice drowned out by the laughter, the wind, and the fireworks: "I believe you."

Give me some meow