Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 116 Can You Help Me Find It?

"The life of a tree is much longer than that of a human being, but this long life does not bring any unique meaning. Oftentimes, we just live and die in a daze. If nothing unexpected happens, I will also have the same ending."

"Ten centuries ago, human adventurers poured into the mountains of Thorsen like a herd of beasts, wanting to conquer this great mountain range, just as they had conquered other unknown wildernesses in the past. Their greed and desire would bring disaster to innocent creatures. So, during the years of the fire, the rivers dried up, the grass died, the most beautiful white deer were hunted by the lake, and the wildest wolf king died under the ruthless sword."

"That was a painful purgatory, and the weak could not escape it. If it weren't for the protection of my teacher, I would have been burned to ashes in that fire."

When she mentioned the most important person in her life, a look of warmth and nostalgia appeared in her eyes.

"She was once the librarian of the Holy Archives Temple. Her vast knowledge is more vast than the ocean. She is different from other magicians of the same faction. While those people strictly abide by the ancient commandments, stay away from the world, and maintain the purity of knowledge, she is the only one who is full of compassion for the sufferings of the world. She believes that if it cannot be used to save the world, then the knowledge we have learned is meaningless."

"She was like a saint from ancient times, wandering among the powers of various countries, hoping to unite them under one banner and restore the glory of the Glorious Alliance. However, she was not understood and instead angered the conservatives in the temple. She was stripped of her status as a librarian and expelled from the association."

“But she didn’t give up. Instead, she gathered many like-minded people and set out to change the world together with her partners. It was at this moment that she came to the Thorsen Mountains and met me.”

"At that time, I was still a newly born oak tree, without intelligence or emotions, but she treated me as a close friend and often read or wrote under my shade, or took a nap - haha, in fact, she really liked to sleep in, especially in the afternoon. She said that the warm sunlight in the afternoon would make people feel drowsy."

"With her help, I successfully transformed into a half-demon spirit. I have my own consciousness and emotions, and I can speak. She once asked me if I regretted it, because if I became an alien, I would also become a target of humans and face the most dangerous and vicious enemy in the world. At that time, I hadn't thought about how to answer, but now I think of it. If time can go back, I should tell her: Since meeting her, I have never regretted it for a moment."

"But someone like her, who carries a mission and expectations, never stays in one place for too long."

"Because, before I met the most dangerous and vicious enemy in the world, I had already touched the most gentle and kind heart in the world."

As she recalled, it was a sunless afternoon. The sky was very dark and gloomy. She was no longer in the mood to take a nap. Instead, she gently stroked her own trunk and uttered words of farewell.

"We are going to do something very dangerous, but we have to do it for the sake of this world." She looked melancholy and lost. "My sisters want to create a new world, but they stubbornly exclude all aliens from the new world. No matter how compelling the reasons are, this is wrong. So, I - we, have to stop them."

A story about how a tree grows.

She left her promise, turned and left, her back disappearing in the misty rain. It was at that moment that Mrs. Tree vaguely realized one thing: rain is the season of parting.

The old man placed his hand lightly on his chest and smiled. The oak tree behind him swayed, making a gentle sound of waves. Palm-sized leaves kept falling, as if a dark green drizzle had begun to fall. The beautiful scene stunned the little girls, who were speechless.

"You should also have a place in that world." She asked softly, "Do you think I'm right?"

At that time, she should have called her name, but the old oak tree had forgotten it because of the passage of time. It only remembered that it nodded, and then the treetops swayed, and a deep green drizzle fell from the sky, just like the rain in front of it, which has been falling until now.

"Let's stop here. Everyone is urging me to stop. When I come back, I will tell you the story I didn't finish last time."

"For her promise, I worked hard to grow, constantly extending my roots to absorb nutrients from the ground; constantly raising my treetops to bathe in the sunlight from the sky... After an unknown amount of time, I finally became a complete demon spirit, able to pull my roots out of the soil and gain the ability to move freely. This body I have now was also formed at that time."

Madam Tree showed them her hand, which was as dry as a branch. Every line on her palm was like the veins of a leaf and winding like tree rings. “I still remember her scent, so I set out on a journey to find her. But in the end, I only found one thing in the mountains that still had her scent.”

"Later, I asked a nearby fairy, and she told me that many years ago, a fierce battle took place here. I don't know who the two sides of the battle were, but sometimes there would be thunderous roars, and then the earth would shake, and the sky and the earth would be dark. It lasted for three whole months before it subsided. She also said that after the battle... many corpses were buried." "Ah!?"

Xie Mi couldn't help but shout out. Metien also opened his eyes wide in surprise, feeling that the wooden box in his arms was heavier than a stone: "So, you just said that this is her... relic?"

"kindness."

Mrs. Shu nodded gently: "But I believe that people like her are not simply gone, her soul is still wandering in the world, waiting to return again one day. So, I took this item left by my teacher and kept searching, just like I kept growing in the past."

Xie Mi asked quickly: "Did you find it?"

"I found her once, and lost her again. I wanted to fight against the evil curse, but I could never find a way, until I completely lost the strength to move forward."

Madam Tree's eyes were filled with a trace of sadness like thick fog: "Although I have transformed into a demon spirit, my body is still an oak tree. Being away from the soil for a long time has caused great damage to my roots. Not only can I not absorb magic power, but I will continue to dissipate the magic power in my body. For aliens, losing magic power is equivalent to losing the foundation of survival."

"For this reason, I have to stay in the Fairy Sleep Inn temporarily and use the magic locks here to stop the magic power from continuing to drain away. Only in this way can I linger and retain some hope of survival."

It turned out to be the case.

Xie Mi suddenly realized why Mrs. Shu stayed in the hotel and was always asleep on weekdays.

"I can't leave here anymore, so I want to entrust my teacher's belongings to you, Metien." The old man looked at the pink-haired girl kindly: "Although I don't know why, I always have a hunch that you can do what I can't, find the teacher's whereabouts, and rescue her from that dark and lonely cage."

Metien seemed at a loss: "Can I, can I really do this, Mrs. Tree?"

Mrs. Shu stretched out her withered hand and caressed her cheek lovingly: "Don't worry, and don't take the initiative to look for it. Just do what you want to do. Because fate is something that will only go against you. Being too persistent will only make it jealous. Now that I think about it, I got a disappointing result because I was too proactive. This is what is called... things go against one's wishes."

With the comfort of the old man, the pink-haired little girl gradually calmed down. She glanced at the wooden box in her arms and suddenly felt a strong curiosity. She wanted to witness with her own eyes the story that happened a long time ago.

She asked hesitantly, "Can I open it and take a look?"

"Of course." The old man smiled gently: "It's already yours."

Metien carefully opened the lid of the wooden box, and Shemi beside him also came over, wanting to know what Mrs. Tree's teacher had left behind. Then, the little girls saw that in the wooden box, there lay a beautifully shaped dagger, with a blooming flower carved on the wooden handle.

"A long time ago, when the teacher still held it, he used it to cut book pages, so it had a very beautiful name." Mrs. Tree's voice came across countless years: "Later, I held it, but I could no longer make it play its original role, so I had to change its name."

"Now, it's called—"

"The star of disaster for vegetation."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)