Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1097 Don’t you understand at all?

The next day, Yunjingkong Island rose into the sky in silence and flew towards the end of the city, just like a traveler bidding farewell to his hometown, always so quietly. He would not hum the ballads of his childhood, nor would he long for the familiar figures who bid farewell to him. He just drank the first mouthful of spring water from the ancient well, put the first handful of soil from the new buds behind the old house into his pocket, and then embarked on the journey away from home without hesitation. How far will he go? Where will he go? What will he do? When will he come back? At least at this moment, the people who witnessed this scene could not know such a distant future.

Themis in the heaven stood on the highest corridor, looking at the pedestrians passing by through a transparent glass curtain wall. The golden morning light was illuminating the city, spreading over every corner of the forest and ruins. However, in the farther distance, the universe was dark and deep. On the deep purple curtain, countless huge spheres were suspended in silence. How much indifference, cruelty and cannibalism were hidden in their shadows? When she thought of this, the girl couldn't help but tremble, feeling deep fear and sadness.

She would not say that everything was destined, but there was indeed a hand controlling everything, plucking the strings of the story, and making the plot finally reach the point today. She had many opportunities to stop it, which was easy for her, but in the end she threw them away one by one. If people who waste opportunities are to be punished, then today, it is only natural that she is abandoned here.

No one knows that of all feelings, girls are most sensitive to loneliness and hate it the most.

For a moment, she even wanted to chase after them and stop the whale in front of them, either to persuade them to stay, even if she had to use tough measures; or to ask them to take her away with them, even if she had to become an enemy of the past that she couldn't bear to look back on. But she took a tentative step, but then pulled it back as if she had been electrocuted. She whispered to herself, it's impossible.

It is impossible for you to undo all this, Themis of the heavens. All you can do, the only thing you can do, is just watch.

This is the responsibility you have to take for your past self, a self that was naive, weak, and powerless.

The first rays of morning sun shine through the glass and fall on the long corridor, making the floor, walls and ceiling present a dazzling reflection, as if the shadow here was touched for the first time in the long time. The girl stared at the back of Yunjing flying away, and somehow recalled the banquet last night. She slowly and weakly sat on the cold floor, curled up her legs, and put her knees to her chest. Only this posture can bring her a little sense of security.

At the same moment when Yunjingkong Island disappeared in the city's skyline, she lowered her head and buried herself in the darkness.

Long, cold, deep...is it the same feeling as my mother?
She couldn't help but think, using that title for the first time.

……

On Yunjingkong Island, there were also people looking into the distance, trying to capture the enemy's movements in the vast sea of ​​stars. But the distance was still too far, and the fleet of the Witch Society was very cautious, so there was no gain. However, the young man was sure that in the shadows of those huge celestial bodies, behind the slope, and even in the depths of the meteorite belt bound by the gravity of the star ring, a number of steel warships were probably already in formation, waiting for the enemy to fall into the trap.

The Witch Society's space fleet is the sharp blades and spears they use to hunt extraterrestrial disaster beasts. In modern warfare, they are as unstoppable as gods. Fortunately, the opponent did not deploy this force on the battlefield of the East Continent. Forces such as the Colonial Resistance, Paradise Assyria, or the Thirteen Hermits should be grateful for this. However, for Ling and others who are about to face the power of the sharp blade, it is not such good news.

The only thing that could comfort him was that their mission was to break through, not to annihilate the enemy. Under this premise, as long as the deployment was appropriate, there was still a lot of room for maneuver.

The most important thing is your attitude.

Lingge put down the telescope in his hand and looked back. A certain angel lady was pacing back and forth on the rooftop, looking very anxious. The pair of traditional Avion-style sandals that accompanied her on her long journey, the wooden teeth repeatedly hit the stone bricks of the rooftop, making crisp clicks, mixed with various vague murmurs, which seemed to be an instinctive reaction, because the girl herself did not notice that her mouth was constantly emitting noise. The young man walked a little closer and heard clearly that she was cheering herself up, "It's okay, Yieta, you will definitely win", "No one is afraid, you don't have to be afraid", "And Lingge is with you" and so on.

But the actual situation was that she was so nervous that her whole body began to tremble unconsciously, and the six large wings behind her also began to tremble. She shook off her feathers as she walked, and after a while, a snow-white carpet formed under her feet. It looked quite soft and must be very comfortable to step on.

But this impolite thought only stayed in the young man's mind for a moment, and was soon forgotten. Lingge spoke, trying to calm Yieta's emotions: "Calm down, Yieta, you don't need to be so nervous."

"Nervous!? I, I'm not nervous at all!"

Yieta raised her head reflexively and shook her head repeatedly to deny: "Look, I'm very relaxed now, aren't I? Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale... It's normal!"

Nonsense, if you don't breathe you will die.

Ling Ge was speechless for a while, and then he said after a while: "If you are really nervous, just close your eyes for a while, don't look at anything, don't think about anything, just follow my instructions."

"This..." Yieta was slightly moved when she heard this, but she quickly realized that she was too weak to think so, so she hurriedly shook her head and rejected Ling's proposal, fearing that he would find out that she had wavered in her heart: "How, how can this be! Don't underestimate me, Ling! Since I have decided to step onto the battlefield, I will never be afraid. I said, I can also, I can also fight!"

She clenched her fists and placed them in front of her chest, staring at Lingge with her eyes piercing, as if any doubt he said would be the biggest insult to her. But Lingge never thought so. He was not denying Yieta's fighting spirit, but just thought: "Growing up is a very difficult thing, so it needs to be done step by step. You should understand this truth, Yieta."

He said to the confused Miss Angel, "We believe that it is a kind of growth and worth encouraging when a person can muster up the courage to do something he once resisted. But belief cannot replace objective laws, so even if he has the courage, he must go through a period of adaptation and practice before he can transition to the ideal state. We call it the process of growth, not the result."

"Oh..." Yieta still looked a little confused: "It looks very profound."

"Then I'll give you a simple example." Ling Ge said, "Do you know that Avella has been practicing swordsmanship these days?"

"Ah, I know!" Yieta opened her eyes wide. "I saw it all. Sister Olvera's swordsmanship is amazing! But last night I asked her what kind of swordsmanship it was, but she refused to tell me. She even threatened me fiercely and told me not to tell anyone else about it. Why?"

She tilted her head, unable to understand.

"Ahem, she may have her own difficulties. Anyway, just listen to her. Don't learn bad things from Alice and spread other people's secrets everywhere." Ling Ge passed it over and then returned to the topic: "Ovilla suddenly started practicing swordsmanship. Her reason is the same as yours. It's to prove that she can fight and has the will to protect everyone. But she didn't want to step onto the battlefield and confront the Witch Society head-on because of this mood. That's because she has realized that her strength is still very weak and needs to continue to grow. Until one day, when she grows from a young bud to a towering tree, it will be the time to reap the fruits. The same is true for you, Yieta. It's good for you to have this mood, but don't dream of reaching the end in one step. People who put too much pressure on themselves will eventually be crushed by it. Especially the next battle, it is very important to everyone on Yunjingkong Island, so whether it is victory or... naturally, it should be borne by us together, not just you alone."

Ling Ge put his hands on the girl's shoulders and forced her to look at him, with an unprecedented seriousness in his eyes.

Yieta's heart suddenly trembled. She suddenly realized that the reason why she was so nervous might not only be because of the upcoming battle, but also because she didn't want the young man in front of her to be disappointed in her.

He had placed so many expectations on her. If she could not meet those expectations, she would no longer be qualified to receive his gentleness and kindness, right? For this reason, even though she was not good at fighting, even though she had never used her power to hurt others, even though her true desire was to become an angel who brought happiness... But before that, she was willing to use this power for him.

An unswerving sense of responsibility and mission fills her heart.

Seven hundred years ago, the Angel of Wind of Avion called for a storm, blowing the mountains toward the distant sea, but this triggered the horrific Belbanissa disaster, and countless lives died in the water. She felt extremely guilty and remorseful about this; today, she also has to take the lives of some people in order to protect others, but she has realized that the end of power is always accompanied by sacrifice, and she has begun to realize this.

Until just now, the young man whom the girl had always trusted, relied on, and even secretly admired said to her, you don't have to force yourself.

There is no need to take on so much responsibility at once; just a little bit is enough.

Each time you take on a little bit more than the last time, just like a seedling that grows a little taller with every sunrise and after every rain, gradually it will grow into a towering tree, extending its branches to shelter everyone in its arms and protect them from the outside world.

And before that, I will bear it with you.

Miss Angel couldn't help but feel a sore nose, and suddenly she had the urge to cry. She suddenly found that she was actually a very tearful person, but every time she cried, it was not because she was wronged or sad, but because of those beautiful emotions: when she saw whales playing in the sea during her wandering journey, she wanted to cry with longing; when she came to the barren land and was accepted by everyone in Avignon Village, she wanted to cry with happiness; living with her lost companions and family members, every moment she was cared for, cherished and treated gently by them, she was moved to want to cry.

You're such a crybaby, Ieta.

She laughed at herself in her heart, then reached out and rubbed the corners of her eyes, pretending to wipe away those crystal traces inadvertently. When she raised her head again, she showed a big smile to the young man in front of her and nodded vigorously: "Yeah!"

The young man also smiled and used his slender and powerful fingers to smooth out the messy bangs on her forehead.

Miss Angel blushed all of a sudden, maybe because her hair was messed up or for some other reason, she muttered, "But Lingge..."

"what happened?"

"I don't want to close my eyes."

"Really? Then you should——"

"Can you please turn around first, Lingge?"

Yieta suddenly asked.

Lingge was stunned for a moment, not understanding what she wanted to do. However, when he cast an inquiring gaze at the girl, he saw a kind of pure expectation and nervous temptation in her eyes, and he immediately laughed. He thought, why do we have to get to the bottom of everything? At this moment, what Yieta wanted to hear was probably not "why" or "what do you want to do", but a concise and powerful "yes".

Whether it is Alice or Saint Xia Liya, Olvera or Rolena, they have all said more or less that they do not understand the minds of girls, but Ling Ge thought, I now understand a little bit, it can be seen that the so-called girl's heart is actually not a very complicated thing, it's just that most people in the world like to create troubles for themselves.

He didn't ask any more questions, but hummed softly, then turned around, with his back to Yieta, wondering in his heart when she would let him turn back and witness the determined and persistent expression on her face. That depended on how determined the girl was, so he guessed it would be three seconds, or maybe a little longer, five seconds?
The answer is, the next second.

Someone gently leaned their head on his shoulder, and he felt a warm touch through his clothes.

Then, a pair of hands reached out from behind and gently embraced the young man.

"Don't look back..."

Yieta rested her forehead against the young man's back and said softly, shyly, but without question: "That's...okay."

I don’t want to close my eyes, not because I’m determined, but because I won’t be able to see you.

Even on the most dangerous battlefield, as long as I can see your back, I will feel extremely safe.

and so--

Feeling the body temperature and touch so close to him, Lingge couldn't help but think: As expected, I still don't understand the so-called girl's heart at all.

Give me some meow