Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 369 Do you need me to accompany you?

The moonlight tonight was exceptionally bright, with its cool silver glow sprinkled on the boundless sea of ​​clouds, and milky white spray squeezed out from the edges of the rolling waves. A large flock of unknown birds flew through the clouds, with the ends of their wings and tail feathers stained with a delicate glow, shining like a school of fish swimming on the bottom of the sea, and the rustling sound of their wings was clearer than the sound of the tide.

Suddenly, a huge monster swam in from the depths of the sea. Its heavy shadow was like an ancient deep-sea monster foraging for food, bringing a sense of oppression as if facing a bottomless abyss. The tiny fish were startled and scattered, and the rustling feathers instantly turned into fireflies floating all over the sky.

Then, the huge white whale slowly emerged from the sea, flapping its huge wings on the rocks, and soaring freely in the vast night. Sometimes it wandered in the soft and continuous waves, feeling the gradual moistening changes of clouds and mist, as if injecting new blood into this body of rock and soil; sometimes it jumped up and leaped towards the silver full moon hanging in the sky, drew a graceful arc and then sank into the sea again, but it did not make the travelers on its back feel bumpy.

If someone witnessed this scene, there would probably be another legend in the world about "a huge whale swimming in the clouds, playing with birds and the moon."

However, this is just an island that looks like a whale, not a real whale, so it naturally won't do anything like playing or frolicking. The one who controls it to do this is actually another person.

If you ask her why she did such a thing, it’s probably because... she’s bored?

"Ugh."

Sitting in her windmill tower room, Yieta sighed in boredom.

Looking out the window, across the quiet flower fields and deep woods, you can see the rolling sea of ​​clouds on the distant skyline. With the continuous refraction of clouds, moonlight and starlight, a dreamy curtain is gradually drawn, in which are surging all kinds of strange and gorgeous colors: gorgeous and bright fiery red, low and deep dark red, mysterious and dark purple, beautiful and beautiful light pink... bunches of them, like fragments of the aurora, pass through the gaps in the clouds and gradually sprinkle on the unknown land.

The initiator of the banquet was naturally the proprietress Shesta. Even Ieta in the windmill could hear the sound of her shaking the bell clearly, and it soon received a response from everyone. However, this time everyone's enthusiasm was not pretended, but came from the heart.

The more she thought about it, the more lonely the empty room became. Yieta suddenly missed Alice. Although she was very noisy when she occupied her room to play games, and always blamed her for disturbing her after she died, that kind of noise was precious compared to now. If she was willing to come back, it was not impossible for her to play games with her. Yieta thought.

She must be very happy, otherwise she wouldn't have a happy smile on her face even when she was talking nonstop. Yieta also had the same happiness and joy as her, but the girl didn't learn to be content, so she lost them forever in the end. All the misfortunes she encountered in her life, the loneliness that followed her like a shadow, were perhaps just a punishment for her greed.

Which country's territory was it? Greater Brittany? Lessenburg? Lisde? Lessenville? Or Roggeburg? Ieta had no idea. She had only heard of these names from Linger, but she had no idea about them. Even Lessenburg, where she had stayed the longest, was just a small village in Avignon. Everything else could not leave a more vivid impression on her.

The girl leaned her head against the wall in a daze. From the distant forest, melodious music could be faintly heard. It was the hotel where everyone was holding a banquet to celebrate this memorable day.

Yieta also wanted to attend the banquet, but she couldn't do it because she couldn't leave the windmill tower. Although she had made the earth free, she was still not free.

Shemi had come to ask for some primroses from the flower fields on behalf of her sister, saying that they would be used to make snacks for the evening party. Ieta heard a lot about the party from her, such as the music played by the potted plant orchestra, the delicious dishes made by Miss Shesta, the impromptu duel of the rabbits, Alice's gluttony performance, and Miss Shelia's masterpiece.

As long as you leave the familiar world, everything else is unfamiliar.

Of course she was very envious and wanted to be part of it, but she didn't say it out loud in the end. She just pursed her lips, nodded silently, agreed to Xie Mi's request, and then watched her cut a few bundles of primroses from the flower field, held them in her arms, and flew away happily and lightly.

But it was useless to miss Alice. Maybe she was still enjoying the delicious food at the banquet to make up for her ascetic life in the past half month. So she missed Saint Shalia again. She missed how she would always sit on the steps in front of the door, combing the lambs while chatting with her about the young queen and her mother. She had forgotten it, but she would definitely keep it in mind in the future.

I missed the serious back of Metien as he was doing his homework on a tree stump, I missed the suspicious look of Ovilla circling around her windmill, I missed the carefree posture of Shemi riding a lamb and playing in the flower field, and finally I even missed Lingge a little. The angel shook his head and threw away such a terrible thought. Why should I miss Lingge? It was clear that he had not accompanied me once in the past half month, and he didn't care about me at all.

It seemed that the only meaning I had for him was to be one of the seven keys needed to open the Holy Temple of Heaven. If I were not the Girl King, would he still be willing to help me? Yieta always thought so, although she could not get an answer. But these thoughts were superficial, just a temporary expression of loneliness that was indescribable and could not be relieved. What really made Yieta's nose sore when she thought about it was those people who used to make fun of her for getting her face smeared with mud while working in the fields, being chased by sheep when she went to herd sheep, and accidentally falling down when harvesting; but at the Harvest Festival, all the good harvests of the year were attributed to her, and she was unanimously decided to nominate her as this year's "Harvest Girl", which made her feel at a loss but very moved.

Half a month after leaving her hometown, their faces still flashed before her eyes from time to time, with smiles that were either kind or loving, or childish or concerned, still vivid, as if they had never left. At this moment when everyone was immersed in the joy of the banquet and only the girl was alone in her room in a daze, she would miss them especially, more than usual.

Aunt Fasu once taught her a ballad, which was said to be a tune passed down from generation to generation by the villagers of the Saria Plain. The shepherds who had to leave their hometown and chase the wilderness and vegetation would sing this song on the starless and moonless nights with only their sheep for company.

"But I'm afraid our little Yieta will never have the chance to sing this song." Aunt Fasu said so at the time. Perhaps it was because she felt that with everyone's company, Yieta would never be lonely and would never need its comfort.

Who knew loneliness would come so quickly, like the tide of the sea, coming so violently, leaving people with nowhere to retreat.

The girl leaned against the wall, quietly gazing at the endless night, the vast sea of ​​clouds and the eternal moonlight outside the window. She slowly opened her mouth and sang:

The wind blows across the fields of Salia.

I see you flying,
You said you wanted to return to your hometown.

When I miss you, the fallen leaves float down and blend into the dark soil.

It is your silent whisper,

Invisible wishes,

And the endless distance.

……

The song drifted to the sea of ​​clouds sprinkled with endless moonlight, echoing between the clouds and the waves. When the tide rose and fell, the moonlight also spread back and forth in the primrose field in front of the house, flickering faintly in the girl's eyes, illuminating the empty night.

Suddenly, there was a slight noise outside the door, and someone's footsteps stepped on the flowers and fallen leaves on the ground, gradually approaching. Yieta's singing stopped suddenly, and she asked from a distance: "Who is it?"

"It's me, Ieta."

A familiar voice came from outside. The angel opened his eyes wide in surprise. He dragged the chain on his ankle and walked over to open the door. He saw Olvera standing at the steps of the windmill with an exquisite bamboo basket in her hand.

After seeing Yieta, she raised her head, showed a somewhat restrained smile, and shyly raised the bamboo basket in her hand to indicate: "Well, Lingge and Miss Shesta, let me bring you something to eat, and by the way... accompany you."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)