Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 207: Can I increase my favorability even if I’m not present?

When she mentioned her teacher, Olvera's eyes became brighter, and the hazy clusters of stars that gathered and separated became warm and soft under the influence of the firelight: "She is a knowledgeable and wise person. Even the astrologers in the kingdom admire her knowledge. After being entrusted by my father to teach me, she taught me a lot of things, about how trees grow, how violets bloom, and how life and loneliness coexist... I once forgot all this knowledge, but now I remember it again."

At this point, she lowered her voice, a little embarrassed: "Although saying this may make my father and mother angry, I sometimes feel that the teacher is the person who knows me best in the world. Because every word she said to me at that time seemed to be what I had thought about in my heart for a long time but never knew how to say it. I even felt that she seemed to be able to see what I was thinking. She only needed a look or a gesture to guess what I was going to say and do next. You must think it's amazing, right, Metien?"

"No." Metien said lightly, "Actually, this is a very simple thing."

"Eh?" The princess was slightly surprised and asked uncertainly, "Is it that simple?"

Could it be that I am too ignorant, and this kind of thing is as simple as eating and drinking for people in the outside world?
"Of course, among the people I know, there are two people who can do this." Metien counted on her little finger. Considering that she didn't know many people at her age, this argument should be very convincing. Olvera listened attentively: "The first person is my father. He can not only see through the thoughts of Lingge and me, but also the believers who come to the church to pray. He knows what they are worried about and what they are pursuing without asking. So everyone respects him. Usually, when there is a conflict among the residents on the street, they will ask my father to mediate. My father is very powerful. He only needs two or three words to convince everyone and make them give up arguing."

Avella nodded thoughtfully: "It sounds like he is indeed a very powerful person. Who is the second one?"

Metien gave an unexpected answer: "It's Linger."

"Eh!?"

real or fake?

"what?"

Metien said seriously: "Of course, I mean the love between relatives. There is a saying that family members are the people who know you best in the world. Sister Avra's teacher must have regarded you as her closest family member and has always cared about you, so she knows you so well. Father is the same. He not only regards me and Lingge as family members, but also those believers who come to the church to pray and even those strangers he has never met. He regards them as family members and understands their thoughts..."

"this--"

That’s right, they are not even friends, but just slightly familiar strangers. It even makes people feel that once they leave this castle, the two sides will immediately go their separate ways and never have any intersection again.

She stopped here and didn't continue talking. She just looked at Avra ​​with sharp eyes. The princess quickly understood her implication and said thoughtfully: "You mean, the reason why Lingge understands me is because he treats me as a family member?"

Avella glanced at Ling Ge quietly again and found that he was still cold and distant, so she whispered her true feelings: "His attitude towards me is more like a stranger than a family member, right?"

"Ah? Ah, nothing." Facing Metien's curious gaze, Ovira shook her head decisively and found a random topic to pass it over: "I was just wondering, why do they have such magical abilities? It must be very difficult to see through other people's thoughts, right? Why can't we do it, but they can? Hmm..."

"I know, it's because of love!"

Olvera was speechless, and her mind could not help but recall what the young man had said to her during the fire break in the corridor on the fourth floor, about memory and trauma. At that time, she asked Lingge how he saw it, and got the answer of "I can empathize with her." But even if you can empathize with her, you have to know her inner feelings first, and then you can substitute your own experience into it, right?
So, maybe, as Metien said, Linger is such a person, good at seeing through the emotions in other people's hearts. The difference is that some people will gently comfort and guide them without leaving any traces, just like his teacher or Metien's father; while Linger will only expose ruthlessly, leaving people with an impression of indifference, rather than delicacy and tenderness.

At first, it was just a random topic, but as she thought about it, the princess became curious. Could it be that this was some kind of magic that was difficult to master and only certain people could use it? What was the standard? The teacher, Lingge, and Metien's father, what they had in common was...

"Why is this happening?" she couldn't help but murmur.

"But I always feel that it doesn't look like..."

"That's right! That must be the case!"

"That's not true. That's all Lingge pretending. He is actually a very good person, but he just doesn't want everyone to know it."

"I'm not lying." Metien seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and said slowly, "Few people can hide anything from Lingge, and I am no exception. When you were facing him, didn't you ever think that he knew everything? Even if you wanted to lie, you were afraid that he would see through you, so you hesitated, right?"

"Yes, this is the power of love!"

Avella's first reaction was suspicion. She secretly glanced at Lingge who was not far away, and seeing that the young man was still cold and distant, she shook her head frantically in her mind and said it was impossible.

"Love?" Upon hearing this, Ovilla seemed to be reminded of some common plots in chivalric literature. A shy blush appeared on her cheeks, and she looked as cute and adorable as if she was drunk.

"Why not?" Ovella's eyes were full of confusion.

"Well, because, because..." Metien pondered over it, and finally Alice's words suddenly flashed through his mind, and he blurted out without thinking: "Because Lingge is a tsundere!"

"...Tsundere?" "Yes, it refers to someone with a weird personality. Even though they are doing it for your own good, they are unwilling to say it directly, and instead help you in various ways."

After hearing the pink-haired little girl's explanation, Olivia was amazed: "There are people like this in the world?"

"Of course, isn't it Lingge?" Metien quickly came over and whispered to the princess before her brother noticed: "Don't be deceived by appearances, Sister Ovira. Although Lingge always looks so cold and likes to say things that make people unhappy, he doesn't really think that way. You have to learn to listen to his words in reverse or break them down, then you will find that he actually cares about you."

"It sounds like getting along with Lingge is a very complicated thing."

Olvera sighed, finding it more complicated than the court etiquette courses she had taken as a child.

"Don't say that, Sister Olvera. You can try to understand Lingge better, and then you will change your opinion!"

"Well, I'll try my best..."

At this point, Ovella suddenly felt something was wrong. They didn't seem to be talking about this topic. She looked at the pink-haired girl beside her thoughtfully and asked tentatively, "Metien, you came to talk to me on purpose. Could it be... to say something good for Lingge?"

"Alas!"

Metien's expression froze, as if her secrets had been exposed. If it were Alice, she would have pretended to be nonchalant, but she was not so shameless, so she looked away awkwardly and nodded, "Yeah."

"Because Lingge is not very good at speaking, and he doesn't know how to interact with girls." The little girl grabbed a lock of pink hair hanging by her ear and played with it casually, while explaining in a low voice: "I was afraid that he said something rude to you during the time when I was unconscious, so..."

After hearing her explanation, Ovilla felt mixed emotions. It wasn't that she thought Metien was so scheming. On the contrary, such scheming made her even cuter. Rather, she felt that the positions of the brother and sister had been reversed. Generally speaking, the older brother should worry about his younger sister, right?

It's really hard to describe.

She pursed her lips, reached out and stroked the girl's soft pink hair, and said, "Don't worry, Ling Ge takes good care of me, and I rely on him a lot. The situation you described didn't happen."

"Really?" The little girl's eyes lit up: "Then would you like to know more about Lingge?"

"Uh……"

Why did the topic come back again?
However, facing Metien's sparkling and expectant eyes, Ovella couldn't say no after all, so she nodded gently and said, "Okay."

The little girl was so happy that her eyebrows curved into crescents.

The princess silently added in her heart: The premise is that they can leave the castle smoothly; and after leaving, the two sides will not go their separate ways.

If we are destined to be separated, no matter how much we understand each other, it will all lose its meaning in the end, right?

She thought about it in her mind but didn't say it out loud. She continued to chat with Metien about random things, such as Alice falling from the tree, Saint Shallia's lamb liking to eat meat, Shemi having never traveled before even though he was a traveling fairy, the proprietress and bartender in the Fairy Deep Sleep Inn, etc. Although these topics had nothing to do with the adventure they were experiencing, they did ease Olvera's tension and allowed her to face the upcoming battle with a relaxed mind.

A few minutes later, everyone who had finished their rest set out on the road leading to the corridor on the last floor.

After finishing the [chat] at the fire source, a few system prompts popped up as usual:
【After chatting, you feel that your relationship with your companions has deepened. 】

[The favorability with your companion Alice increases. 】

[The favorability with companion Lingge has greatly increased. 】

[The favorability with companion Saint Shallia (and her sheep) increases. 】

[The favorability with companion Metien has greatly increased. 】

[The favorability with companion Shaymi has greatly increased. 】

kindness?
Did someone sneak in?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)