Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 193 Are You the One I Want to Find?
In the decaying garden, the flourishing golden tree burned with a sacred flame, illuminating the dark sky. Under the tree, Alice, who seemed to be suffering from ADHD, was waving the pink star wand that she had just unlocked, and kept muttering inexplicable words such as "the key to the hidden dark power", which seemed to be a spirit of self-entertainment.

The goblin Xie Mi finally came back to his senses from the universal problem of "Who am I?" and was now riding on the lamb's head, looking at Alice's madness with disdain and making sharp comments from time to time. Alice, of course, retorted unhappily, and the two would start quarreling, often interspersed with the lamb's "baa baa" sound and cheerful tone, as if urging them to quarrel more fiercely, fully interpreting what it means to watch the fun and not mind making trouble.

Lingge and Metien were standing under the tree chatting, and Metien was listening to Lingge telling her about what happened before. The pink-haired girl was very disappointed when she heard that she had missed so many fierce battles and touching plots, but she didn't complain, because this was the result of a random draw, and at most, she could only blame her bad luck, and she didn't even win two out of three. She was so unlucky.

Alice, who was arguing with Shaymi, interrupted and said, "Africans are like this, their faces are darker."

"Nonsense!" Shemi snorted coldly: "Metien is so white, not black at all!"

“That’s right!” Although she and Alice are close allies, when it comes to the image issue, girls cannot back down. The pink-haired girl also loudly refuted: “My skin is very white! Well, although not as white as Lingge’s, and not as white as Sister Xiaoxia… but it’s not dark at all!”

“Pfft! Do you mean Ling’er is a gigolo? Hahaha!” Alice’s expression was distorted, and she couldn’t control her joy. Although she covered her mouth tightly, her weird laughter still leaked out from between her fingers: “Pfft, pfft, hahaha, little gigolo Ling’er, I can’t stand it anymore, hahaha!”

Metien didn't understand what was so funny about this: "What does pretty boy mean?"

Xie Mi fanned the flames: "I don't know, but Alice is laughing so happily, it must be something bad!"

Metien thought about it and decided that judging from the golden maid's previous character, this statement was not pure slander but was most likely true.

Beside her, the morning glory vines that seemed to have withered in the winter, their slender branches drooping casually on the fence, their withered leaves curled up and huddled, lifeless. However, because of the sunlight touching their hair, they seemed to have the possibility of rejuvenating, pursuing new hope between life and death and prosperity in this world.

Ling Ge, who was inexplicably dragged into this, said: "..."

Olvera nodded gently, folded her hands and placed them on her knees, acting very well-behaved, but her twitching fingers still exposed her inner uneasiness, and even her tone seemed to become lighter: "Miss Saint Xia Liya, can I ask you a question?"

"Aren't you going to go over and chat with them?"

The Princess of Beman sat on a broken, dusty wooden board of the fence, with her head slightly tilted, quietly watching her companions playing with each other. Her delicate face was illuminated by the golden tree, as if covered with a soft veil. Her platinum hair fell gently along her waist, and was almost transparent at the end, highlighted with the color of sunlight.

Not far away, someone was watching this noisy scene and also smiled.

Is it the arrogance of self-righteousness? Or the alienation of being out of tune with others? Perhaps it is a little bit of both, but neither is accurate enough. If I must describe it, it should be the blindness and impulse accumulated while wandering in a strange world. They don't understand this world, so they can only watch from the sidelines.

"Of course, what's the problem?"

"Yeah."

"kindness."

So the pink-haired little girl formed an alliance with the little goblin to denounce Ellie's unscrupulous mocking behavior and help Ringer get justice.

Suddenly a voice asked, and Olvera turned around and found that it was Saint Xia Liya who had come over at some point and was looking at her with clear and bright golden eyes, which reflected a cluster of bright stars. At first, Olvera was stunned for a moment, thinking that the numerous stardust seemed familiar, and then she suddenly remembered that they were her own eyes.

"If you change your mind and want to talk to them, don't be afraid." Saint Xia Liya said: "Ling Ge, Metien, Alice, and Shemi... They are all very good people and will definitely take care of you."

Saint Charitya did not think there was anything wrong with her answer, because she was the same most of the time. She had traveled a long distance in the mortal world, perhaps farther than the wind's wanderings; she had seen all kinds of things, perhaps more diverse than the variety of flowers. But most of the time she just watched, observing from afar, and did not interfere with the joys and sorrows of the world.

She shook her head gently: "I'll just watch from here."

In this respect, the two young queens have the same origin, so they are not connected by blood, but by some closer bond.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

As Avella spoke, she shifted her gaze unconsciously, not daring to look her in the eye: "I asked Lingge this question before, but he asked me to ask you after I leave the castle, saying that you would explain it to me. But... I can't wait any longer, I want to know the answer now, okay?"

Saint Xia Liya was silent for a while, and then replied softly: "You should listen to Lingge. It is not appropriate to think about these things before the battle is over. They will distract you and make you unable to concentrate, Ovira." In other words, you still can't tell yourself?
An undisguised disappointment appeared on the princess' face and she said "Oh" in a dull voice.

Saint Charity saw her disappointment and felt guilty for some reason. Driven by some impulse, she reached out her hand without thinking and placed her white palm on the princess's soft hair, stroking it gently, conveying the warmth that belonged only to her.

Olvera was stunned at first, because in her memory, no one had done such an intimate thing to her for a long time. How long had it been? Probably, it was from the moment her illness was determined to be a curse? Miraculously, she did not resist, but felt very relieved. She felt like she was settled in the river of time, feeling the breeze of time blowing past her. So she squinted her eyes slightly, revealing a happy expression like a young animal.

"Do you believe in past lives and present lives, Olvera?" The shepherdess whispered, her voice as quiet and ethereal as the distant afternoon sunshine. "I have seen your memories, so I know that your teacher once mentioned to you about life and death, and the rise and fall of life. You also believe in it, right? What if you had a very good friend in the past, and one day she disappeared and was reincarnated as another soul in the world; and although you have forgotten many things, you have never forgotten your relationship with her. Then, would you want to travel the whole world to find her trace?"

Avella was slightly touched by her question, but then she felt confused again: "But, the teacher also said that trees have their own destiny. A person's past life cannot affect the trajectory of this life. Everyone should move forward and gain new encounters instead of indulging in the ocean of the past... right?"

She was a little hesitant when she gave her conclusion, and Saint Xia Liya nodded to confirm her words: "Indeed, you have a great teacher, Olvera, and what she taught you is the indisputable truth in the world."

"But……"

“But I still want to find that person.” Saint Xia Liya’s hand slowly moved down along the path of sunlight between the platinum-gold hair, stroking Olvera’s cheek, and then lifted it up. They looked at each other at a very close distance, and each other’s face was reflected in each other’s eyes, conveying her determination and her confusion: “Because for me, this is a new encounter, a unique encounter that I will never want to lose in this world.”

The warm touch was fleeting, and she quickly let go of her hand and apologized to Avra. The feeling of emptiness in her heart made the princess feel lost. She pressed her cheek, feeling the lingering warmth of her palm, and murmured, "What if I'm not the one you're looking for, Miss Saint Charia?"

"..."

"If I'm not the one you're looking for, would you still be so nice to me?"

"..." A trace of confusion also appeared in the shepherdess's eyes. She shook her head slowly, but the answer was not "no", but "I have never thought about this question, so I don't know."

I don't know, she habitually answered, as she usually did to most of the questions that she was confused about.

Hearing this answer, Avella was obviously a little disappointed, but she quickly cheered up and said with a smile: "It's okay, Miss Saint Xia Liya, my question was too abrupt, you don't have to take it to heart!"

"Yes." Saint Xia Liya suddenly remembered something and told her: "There is one more thing: Didn't you call me by my name before?"

"Yes, well, is that really too rude? I will pay attention next time, Miss Saint Charlia..."

"No, I mean, you should call me that from now on." Saint Xia Liya said in a soothing and calm tone: "This is good. I feel very happy."

Aoweila was stunned for a moment, then the smile on her face became even brighter, and she nodded vigorously: "Okay!"

……

【After chatting, you feel that your relationship with your companions has deepened. 】

[The favorability with your companion Alice increases. 】

[The favorability with your companion Lingge increases. 】

[The favorability with companion Saint Shallia (and her sheep) has greatly increased. 】

[The favorability with companion Metien increases. 】

[The favorability with companion Shaymi increases. 】

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)