Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 118 Is Metien the protagonist of a cool novel?
Metien opened the box and carefully took out the dagger. It looked quite old. The surface of the dagger, which was two fingers thick, was covered with a bronze oxide layer. The wooden handle was carved with blooming flowers, and the fine and complex lines extended like a mysterious pattern. When holding it in the hand, it felt like rubbing against tree bark.

"Is this the disaster star for plants and trees?"

Alice looked at the weapon with curiosity. It was said to have a special enchantment. "It doesn't look special. Come on, Metien, lend it to me!"

She acted like a bully and tried to rob it directly, but the pink-haired girl turned around and blocked her thieving hand with her back: "No! This is an important relic entrusted to me by Madam Shu. It's not something you can play with!"

Alice was embarrassed. She took her hand back in dismay and started to complain again: "If you don't want to give it to me, then don't give it to me. It's just an ordinary dagger. It's not as fun as my game console. I won't take you with me next time I play games!"

Metien also snorted: "If you don't want to bring it, then don't bring it. I won't invite you to dinner next time!"

The once unbreakable alliance between the two men was broken.

Linger noticed that the potted plants in the corner had completely stopped making any noise since the appearance of the Plant and Tree Disaster. Looking back, he could see that they were huddled in their pots, shivering. The branches and leaves of the plants that were close together were tangled together, just like people huddling together for warmth. As for those without pots, such as the ivy and vines on the shelves, they were like hibernating snakes, curled up stiffly in the corner, motionless, for fear of attracting anyone's attention.

It's so rare to see these guys being honest and well-behaved.

It really deserves the name of "the disaster star of plants and trees".

Everyone had the same doubts, so Shemi, as Metien’s spokesperson... I mean, his friend, volunteered to explain the whole story.

When she talked about taking Metien to play in the herb garden, her eldest sister Shesta gave her a meaningful look, which scared the little elf so much that her face turned pale, her legs trembled, and she almost wanted to run away, but she still continued to talk until she got to the story that the Tree Lady told them.

Alice was amazed: "So, this Tree Lady is quite like a prophet. She knew that we needed the Grass and Tree Disaster Star, so she gave it to Metien in advance. Well, I suddenly have an immature idea. Is there a possibility that Metien is the 'teacher' that the Tree Lady mentioned?"

After listening to this, everyone had a thoughtful expression on their faces.

But why did it appear in Metien's hands?

She came to a firm conclusion. After all, genius players have seen enough of "reincarnation" and "lifespan theory" and so on, so there is no need to be too surprised even if it happens to them. The only question that needs to be considered is whether the main storyline should follow the "a god-level strongman reincarnates to kill all enemies, sleeps with all concubines, and saves the continent" style of crazy and cool Long Aotian, or the "I have lost my memory of my past life and embarked on a journey to make up for my regrets, but I can only look at the traces left by my old friends and cry alone".

"Absolutely not!" This statement was so outrageous that the person involved was the first to stand up and refute it: "Madam Shu is at least more than a thousand years old. I am only sixteen years old this year. How can I be her teacher?"

"You're right, but you're still wrong, Metien." Alice shook her head: "Didn't Mrs. Shu herself say that although her teacher has passed away, his soul is still wandering in the world, waiting to return. So, you are very likely the reincarnation of her teacher's soul, but you lost all your memories after rebirth, so you don't remember that you had a student before. Mrs. Shu knows your true identity, but doesn't want to disturb your current life, so she returned the relics to you as a commemoration of the past. Only in this way can we explain her attitude towards you!"

Considering that this is a fantasy world where steam and magic coexist, perhaps it is not impossible to run two parallel lines?

Her inference caused everyone present to fall silent. It was not because it was too absurd. On the contrary, it was too reasonable. It was so reasonable that people could not believe it came from Alice's mouth.

Is Metien really Mrs. Tree’s teacher?
Xie Mi quietly looked at his little friend. Traveling fairies have always lacked a sense of reality about life and death, because all fairies are born from natural elements. When they die, their souls will be decomposed into the purest magic power and return to the natural elements, instead of imagining, like humans, that there is an infinitely vast "Hell" at the bottom of the world that dominates the fate of living beings after death. In human legends, souls that enter the Hell will be burned by the purifying fire, burning all memories and emotions of their lives, and then thrown into a star in the vast sea of ​​stars by the Lord of the Hell. With the rotation of the sun and the moon, the tide of the sea of ​​stars gradually surges. When the light of this star crosses the boundless, endless, and infinite universe and descends to the human world, the blank soul will return to the earth with the starlight, announcing the birth of a new life...

This legend has a long history, even older than the legend of Noctus the Dark, but no one can prove its authenticity. There are many gods vying for the title of "Lord of the Underworld", trying to expand their influence by leveraging human fear and awe of death. For example, the Dead Souls Cult and the Spiritual Sacrifice Society that believes in the "Eye of No Sleep", the Mysterious Society that believes in the "Ancient God of Death", the Living Cemetery that believes in the "Black Coffin of Death", etc. Their followers all claim that the gods they believe in are the masters of the underworld, and they have even fought each other for this, which was very intense.

Strangely, the Death Prayer Society, which is also related to the fields of "death" and "soul", has never participated in the struggle for the underworld, and does not even recognize the existence of "reincarnation" in the world. Their doctrines tend to persuade believers to have a correct view of life and death, treat death equally, remember the deceased but not indulge in grief, etc.

It is obvious that the Death Prayer Society is one of the seven orthodox churches. It occupies the name of orthodoxy and its believers are spread all over the Western Continent. If other churches participate in the struggle, there is no possibility of winning.

Xie Mi's little head couldn't think of anything too complicated. For some reason, she suddenly felt that Metien couldn't be Mrs. Tree's teacher.

That’s what the fairy thought, and so she said it. When Alice asked her the reason, she honestly told her feelings: “Because when Mrs. Tree looked at Metien, there was no such feeling in her eyes.”

"What does it feel like?"

"That's right, that feeling when students look at their teachers..." She hesitated and couldn't quite describe it, but the general meaning could be understood by anyone who had more than elementary school education.

"Still don't understand."

Alice scratched her cheek. "However, if Metien wasn't Mrs. Shu's teacher, it would be fine. Because Metien is Metien, she doesn't need to be the reincarnation of someone's soul. I still prefer the original Metien."

The pink-haired girl was very moved by these words: "Sister Alice, you are so nice. I will definitely invite you to dinner next time!"

"Of course, Metien, I will definitely take you with me next time we play games!"

The two once again established an unbreakable alliance.

Xie Mi was watching this scene from the side, and his teeth suddenly felt a little sour.

This is clearly a story about three people, but she still cannot have a name...

"cough!"

Xie Liya behind the counter couldn't bear to watch it anymore. She cleared her throat, interrupting the emotional drama with poor acting from the actors to the actors, and brought the topic back: "In short, now that we have obtained the Grass and Tree Disaster Star, the last difficulty has been solved. When do you plan to enter the Sosen Mountains to look for the castle?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)