Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 280: Won’t a rational person go crazy?
On December 12, the last day of the Snow Moon and the second day of the 31th Nimsher World Expo, Ling checked out early in the morning, hired two carriages, and set off for Avion, the "City of Wind" located in the northwest suburbs of Nimsher, in the slightly cool morning breeze.

As for why they hired two carriages, nominally there was a difference between men and women, and to avoid suspicion, Ling Ge took one, and his sister and maid took the other. In fact, the real reason could be seen from Saint Shallia sitting opposite him and a certain arrogant little sheep.

In fact, Alice had raised objections to the option of checking out. When she learned that Avion was only an hour's drive from Nimser, she immediately started to have evil ideas. She thought that they could go to Avion to investigate in the morning and return to the city to visit the World Expo in the evening - after all, the exhibition halls were open to the public 24 hours a day.

Although it sounds tiring, for the sake of her own travel experience, ah, I mean, to closely participate in the progress of human civilization and feel the influence of the magnificent history, the golden-haired maid feels that being a little tired is acceptable.

Then Lingge rejected it on the grounds that it was "too expensive". You have to travel between Nimsher and Avion by carriage every day and stay in a hotel. Do you think you are a young man from Lenwitin? Your poor family can't afford such a disaster, so don't be so delusional.

Alice, feeling disappointed, could only vent her frustration by muttering, "I'll do this and that when I find the treasure."

At a time when tourists from other places were flocking to Nimsør to visit the 11th World Expo, Linge and his group were undoubtedly the outliers as they took the initiative to check out and leave this "international city". As the carriage rolled over the cobblestone streets covered with snow last night, the wheels made a rumbling sound, and they struggled upstream in the noisy crowd, like sardines struggling to escape from the huge mouth of a whale.

After entering the west district, the traffic situation improved slightly, but the road conditions became worse because this is the suburb of Nimsher City and the infrastructure is not yet complete. Going west along Congers Avenue along the Mabry River, passing through the suburban villages and towns, you can enter the Saizeriya Plain. Avion, known as the "City of Wind", is located in the plain, with a beautiful pastoral scenery.

It was deep winter, the grass and trees were withered, and a snow had fallen last night, covering the streets and staining the eaves and roofs along the street. When the window was opened, the cold frosty wind poured into the carriage, making people shiver. As the wheels of the carriage rolled, the scene in front of them gradually changed from the glass windows of tall buildings to the water pipes of townhouses, and finally to the simple roofs of diagonal rubble. The shadows of domestic garbage and debris began to appear in the gurgling river, and the river water was a little dirty, indicating that they had entered the suburbs.

Residents in the urban area still retain their primitive belief in spring water, or rather a habit. Coupled with the public health services of the "International City", the river they live with day and night will not be turned into a dirty black river, such as the "Devil's River" that the people of Lunwitting often talk about. However, ordinary citizens living in remote suburbs who work hard for their livelihood every day do not have so many concerns.

"Eternal Summer Palace."

The young man replied, "It is the summer residence of the ancient Kreisov royal family and the most famous ancient building in Nimser... No, it is the most famous ancient building in the entire Reisenburg."

Linger nodded, then shook his head: "It's more than that."

"Is that the place where so many treaties were signed?"

Lingge looked at the palace and gradually became absorbed in it. Seeing how focused he was, Saint Xia Liya couldn't help but cast a curious glance at him and asked softly, "What is that?"

At this moment, Linger saw a magnificent building in the Baroque classical style. It covered a vast area, so large that the carriage could not escape its boundaries even after running for ten minutes. The architectural style and exterior decoration were extremely luxurious and gorgeous. There was even an artificially dug river running through it, and majestic and lush trees and evergreen gardens could be vaguely seen. It was clearly a cold winter, but it felt like the palace was still in the vibrant summer season.

"So," Saint Xia Liya listened and thought: "Is this why you are in a hurry to leave, Lingge?"

"kindness."

A puzzled look appeared in the shepherdess's eyes, so Linger told her the hidden history, the truth about the Hundred Years' War, the War of Purification, magicians replacing extraordinary people, wizards persecuting magicians... including Rochelle's advice to him to leave Nimsher City as soon as possible.

"kindness."

"Then why don't you tell Alice and the others?"

If I put it that way, everyone will understand. Lingge, however, was not optimistic. Instead, he had a hidden worry: "If I tell Alice, she will definitely want to get involved again. She has a desire to explore everything and always feels that she can do something with her own abilities. It is undeniable that her game console and cartridges are indeed magical, but both the animists and the cult are huge monsters for us. It is extremely irrational to rashly get involved in the struggle between the two."

Can the magical game consoles and cartridges compete with the most magnificent, shocking, and terrifying war weapons in human history mentioned by Rochelle? Linger is unwilling to take even a one-tenth of a percent risk to try it. His expectation for this journey is not an exciting adventure, but a steady pursuit, that is enough.

Besides, Rochelle is a reasonable person.

He just wanted to take this opportunity to test the strength of the religious alliance and demonstrate the power of animism in order to achieve the goal of forming an alliance with other churches to jointly fight against the "Religious Decree". He would not go too far.

He knows that his abilities are limited, and he also knows what his real demands are.

A sane person will not make crazy decisions.

Really……

A voice in the dark asked, awakening Ling Ge from his trance. He looked hesitantly at Saint Xia Liya who was sitting opposite him, but the latter tilted her head, with a confused look in her clear eyes. The lamb bleated at the young man, warning him not to bully his master.

It's an illusion.

Ling Ge withdrew his gaze and thought so.

At this time, the carriage had left the territory where the Eternal Summer Palace was located, passed through Mariel Street, bypassed the narrow pass between Kan Mountain and Zen Mountain, and turned into a remote country road. It was surrounded by withered trees, and there was soft snow and mud under the wheels. Occasionally, there were stones blocking the way for the wheels, causing the carriage to shake and making it difficult to sit steadily.

There were withered bushes in the forest, and the pine and holly should have been in full bloom, but now the branches and leaves were soaked in snow and cold; the farther away was blocked by the valley, and the view could not extend to it. The sound of the driver's whip and the sound of the horse's hooves stepping on the snow and mud sounded in a harmonious rhythm.

About half an hour later, the view suddenly opened up. Under the cold sky, a long straight road separated the vast wilderness, which was divided into several parts by tree stump fences, looking orderly. The fields were piled with snow from last night. The primroses harvested in late autumn were now only sparse and incomplete grass roots, shivering under the cold wind and snow. It was hard to imagine that they were praised as "seven-colored miracles" by the poet Hyde in his collection of poems "Ode to Fallen Cherry Blossoms"; several country-style sloping-roof villas were scattered along these primrose fields, and there were several rows of low bungalows connected together. Looking beyond these houses, there were several fenced pastures, and cattle and sheep moved behind the fences, like white clouds floating on dry haystacks, and bleak snow in the gray haze.

Apart from cultural relics and religious sites, the most valuable tourist attractions in Leisenburg are the primroses that bloom in summer and autumn. Saizeriya Field is the best place to enjoy the primrose season. In the endless flower fields, primroses of seven colors bloom brilliantly, as if they are extending to the edge of the world. When the wind blows, the petals are all over the sky, floating like rain and snow. It was rated as one of the "Top Ten Romantic Attractions" by "Westland Travel Magazine".

Many countries have introduced primroses from Leisenburg for cultivation. Unfortunately, these unique flowers are "seven-color miracles" only in their hometown. When they are planted in other countries, they become monotonous colors and it is impossible to replicate the spectacular beauty of the colorful flowers slowly drifting across the sky.

What’s even more regrettable is that it was already winter, and Lingge and his friends had no chance to encounter such romantic scenery, which seemed to have cast a black spot on their less-than-perfect journey.

The carriage drove forward along the field road. According to the custom of the people of Leisenburg, they turned left or right according to the instructions when they saw a fork in the road with a sign, and went straight when there was no sign in the road. After the scene of the desolate and withered fields in winter passed through the young man's eyes several times, he saw the destination of this trip. The shadows of town houses began to appear on the edge of his vision, and the shadows of villagers, farmers, traveling merchants and even a touring band appeared on the road and in the fields, but the first thing that caught his eye was the white windmill.

Avion, the City of Wind.

Some people also call it: Avion, the City of Windmills, because of the ruins of a village in the Middle Ages.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)