Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 114 the right choice?
When leaving the theater, Linger heard faint melodious music coming from the direction of the stage, probably a new play had begun. Every play in this world has a protagonist, but some people are destined not to be the protagonist.

The street was as quiet as when he came here, with few pedestrians, which formed a sharp contrast with the hustle and bustle outside. As soon as Ling Ge walked out of the iron gate, he suddenly stopped and found something unusual: the simple shrine built by Rochelle, a walker from the Fertile Soil Sect, in front of the theater had disappeared without a trace.

The original location is clean and without any traces, as if it never existed. This reminds people of the past history, when the ancient church dedicated to the spiritual spring Sadler was demolished, the water source was filled in, and the current Central Theater was built on its old site, causing people sitting in the audience to enjoy the performance at this time to find it difficult to imagine what kind of sacred faith was buried under their feet.

At this moment, their shadows overlap, forming a kind of fateful image.

Seeing Ling Ge standing there without moving, Saint Xia Liya, who was holding the lamb, asked, "What's wrong?"

"nothing."

Ling Ge retracted his gaze, turned to the girl and said, "Go back."

Saint Xia Liya's eyes flashed: "Go back and think about it?"

"kindness."

"I think you should agree." She whispered: "Don't you like this story?"

"Meh?" What's the matter?

"Sorry, I got distracted."

However, Lingge couldn't understand its language, so he ignored it.

"What?"

Unfortunately, that unromantic human just walked forward without even looking back.

"It has nothing to do with whether I like it or not. It's about whether it will be dangerous, whether it can be avoided, and whether it is the answer I want in the end... These are the questions I need to consider."

"Anyway, let's go back first." Ling Ge said, "Don't let them wait too long."

Saint Xia Liya said nothing more, but nodded silently, so Lingge walked back in the direction he came from. The lamb seemed to be dissatisfied with being ignored, so he chased after him and wanted to argue with him. But after taking two steps, the gray rope around his neck suddenly tightened, causing him to almost lose control of his front hooves, and stumble.

The lamb looked back in confusion, only to find that his master was still standing there without moving. The girl, who was always gentle and calm, was looking up at the theater in front of her, lost in some melancholy thinking, and could not come back to her senses for a long time.

The slightly raised smooth chin and white neck formed a perfect arc. Anyone who saw it would be amazed and want to paint her in a three-foot square frame, leaving behind a classic masterpiece that would be passed down through the ages, like "Madame Milosa" or "The Girl from Avion".

The lamb disagreed with his point of view and expressed his objection.

She gave an apologetic look: "I thought of something."

"Bah!"

"It's something that happened a long, long time ago..." She said softly, as if talking to herself, "The princess was sleeping in the castle, guarded by an evil monster. She knew nothing and spent many years in confusion. Suddenly one day, a brave man defeated the monster, broke into the castle, and gently kissed her awake. Don't you feel... envious, little lamb?"

envious?

The lamb secretly despised his wooden head, then bleated twice to urge his master back from his trance.

The "they" here mainly refers to Metien.

The lamb tilted its head. It didn't think there was anything to envy. Of course, if the brave man who broke into the castle brought the princess the freshest grass in the morning, perhaps it would be envious.

"Ah."

Taking its reaction into consideration, Saint Xia Liya chuckled and suddenly felt better. She pulled the rope in her hand and said, "Let's not talk about the past. Let's go. Don't let Ling Ge wait too long."

"Meh!" That guy won't wait for you!
He would have gone away by himself a long time ago! He has no consideration for girls at all!

They don’t even care about small animals!

Loveless guy!
The lamb was indignantly speaking ill of Lingge and speaking up for his master, but when he turned around, he was surprised to find that the young man was standing at the end of the street waiting. He had his back to that direction, and his tall and thin figure was like a flagpole standing in the wind, straight yet a little lonely.

"He actually cares about the people around him." Saint Xia Liya half squatted down and gently touched the lamb's head: "He's just not good at expressing it."

really?
The lamb was still skeptical.

The girl had already picked up its rope and was walking towards the young man at the end of the street.

In the alleys, the long-awaited sunlight poured down, dyeing the outer walls of the theater.

***
After walking in the herb garden for about ten minutes, Metien discovered its uniqueness: the magical herbs here seemed to have more normal personalities?
They don't shout and make noise like the magic vegetables, nor do they have special hobbies and cultivate elegant sentiments like the magic potted plants in the hall. They just stay in their own soil quietly, quietly take root and sprout, and quietly harvest fruits. If someone doesn't accidentally touch their branches and leaves when passing by, they probably won't say anything, and look exactly the same as ordinary plants in the outside world.

When she told Xie Mi about this discovery, Xie Mi curled his lips, saying that you were wrong: "They are not that honest, they are just pretending. Look at the little sun guarding the gate, isn't it very strange? She likes to sleep in and ask for gifts from people. She hasn't returned the bow I gave her last time!"

The fairy maid was very upset about this incident and could not forget it.

Metien was curious and puzzled: "Why do they pretend to be so good?"

"Because Mrs. Tree is here."

Xie Mi replied as a matter of course: "With Madam Shu watching over them, these guys dare not act recklessly! If they dare to disobey, Madam Shu can discipline them with just a glance! I think it would be best to move the potted plants in the hall to the herb garden and let Madam Shu discipline them, so that they don't stay up late playing the violin there and wake me up three times a night!"

She had been holding a grudge for a long time, so her tone was quite indignant. Metien laughed dryly twice, but did not agree with her. She asked again, "Is Mrs. Shu so powerful?"

"Of course she is." Xie Mi came closer and whispered to the little girl, "I think she is more powerful than my elder sister, because my elder sister said that Mrs. Tree is several times her age!"

Metien counted on his fingers: the traveler fairy had a pair of butterfly wings every hundred years, and the proprietress Shesta had three pairs of butterfly wings, which meant she was at least three hundred years old. Three hundred years could be multiples of two, six hundred years old, and three times as many, nine hundred years old... No matter how many times it was, it was an exaggerated number.

For Metien, who was only sixteen years old, it was so exaggerated that it was unimaginable.

"Wow, that's amazing!" she was shocked.

"hey-hey!"

Xie Mi straightened her back proudly, and if you didn't know better you would have thought she was the one being praised.

After walking for a few more minutes, we passed several lush medicinal fields and beautiful gardens. Finally, the end of the road was blocked by countless tall shrubs, green tree walls and thorn bushes. This magical combination was like the will of the forest itself refusing outsiders to enter, full of fairy tale style.

Xie Mi walked forward and shouted loudly: "Mrs. Tree, we are here!"

Then, the tall bushes parted to the sides, the dense green tree wall shook its branches to form a path, and the thorn bushes all over the ground silently flowed into the deep grass like the tide, and a secret road leading to the dream world appeared in front of the two little girls.

"Let's go, Metien!"

Xie Mi took his friend and walked to the other end of the road to visit the most mysterious guest of the hotel.

And deep in the secret realm, under the most majestic oak tree, watching the visitors coming, the old hunched back slowly sighed: "I hope my choice is the right one."

"your Highness……"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)