Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 376: Yieta’s Happy Diary?

So in the afternoon, when Olvera came to the field next to the windmill tower and prepared to start her flower-planting business, Yieta, who had just taken a bath, lay by the window and watched curiously.

A faint scent of sawdust floated in the newly renovated room. The feathers on the wings were washed to be as soft and white as the clouds in the sky. When the wind blew, the snow-white hair that was neatly combed with a silver comb fluttered along with the curtains. A white feather hair accessory was pinned on the bangs.

If you sniff closely, you may be able to smell the fragrance of rose petals from her temples and eyebrows, as well as a more refreshing and clean vitality like morning dew. That is the fairy dew collected by the proprietress Xiesta. It is said that it condenses the essence of the stars and the moon. It takes three hundred nights to make a small bottle. She used up half a bottle for Yieta at once, making the legitimate sister Xiemi a little jealous.

In the hanging flowerpot beside the window frame, a small purple flower is slightly opening. Lush green vines climb along the window frame into the house. The palm-sized leaves are like small parasols, bringing some coolness in the afternoon.

Olvera borrowed several tools necessary for gardening from Shesta, including a small shovel, a pair of gardening gloves, and a silver watering can with a rose pattern carved on it. It is said that the latter was also a tool used by the Tree Lady. She used this watering can to water the magical plants in the garden. While watering, the little sun suddenly gained its own consciousness.

To put it simply, she has become a spirit.

After Alice knew about this, she asked Olvera seriously to take good care of Little Sun's mother and not let her suffer any grievances, as she was now being chased and beaten by Little Sun.

But that was her own fault, so the others ignored it.

Yieta lay on the windowsill, curiously watching Olvera working in the long-abandoned fields. This was the first time for the princess of Beman to do such physical work, but she felt that she had learned a lot of gardening skills from her teacher, so it shouldn't be a big problem.

Olvera seemed to be thinking about something. She stood up, brushed off the dirt on her skirt, and said to Yieta, "Wait a moment, I'll be back soon!"

As an ordinary farm girl in the countryside of Saizeriya, she was best at farming. Although she used to grow primroses, and Ovella wanted to grow violets, there shouldn't be much difference.

She rambled on and on for a long time, and the more Aoweila listened, the more headache she had. She muttered quietly, "So there are so many things to pay attention to when growing flowers?"

Yieta said something philosophical at this time: "No matter what you do, if you want to do it with your heart, there must be a lot of details."

After saying this, she felt a little regretful: "It's a pity that I can't go out, otherwise I can help you plant flowers."

"..."

"Ah?" Princess Beman turned around, as if she had just discovered that there were other people here, and showed a surprised expression: "I'm planting flowers."

She thought that as long as she buried the seeds in the soil and watered them every day, she would be able to see clusters of blooming violets in no time.

Although they were seeds from long ago, Ovilla believed that they would be able to germinate, grow, and eventually bloom into beautiful flowers, because no one had ever said that seeds from long ago could not bloom.

Yieta was silent for a long while before she spoke: "Although this is the correct order, planting flowers is not such a simple matter. In addition to sowing and watering, there are also steps such as seed selection, loosening the soil, fertilizing, and pest control. Each step has many details. For example, when digging a hole, how deep should the hole be dug? If it is too deep, the space below will be too cramped, and the seeds will be crushed by the soil and difficult to germinate; if it is too shallow, the roots of the seeds after germination will not be able to absorb nutrients from the ground, and more energy will be consumed to grow. In addition to the depth, it is also important to control the distance between the pits. If the two pits are too close, the seeds will compete for nutrients with each other, which is not conducive to good growth; if they are too far away, it will waste space, and the efficiency will also be reduced during watering, fertilizing and other steps..."

"How is that possible?" Olvera said with a look of disbelief: "I remember that the gardeners in the palace used to do this: dig a hole, put the seeds, cover it with soil, and then water it. If there is a lack of light, use magic to create a light source, and then the flowers will grow well. Is there any other way to grow them?"

She solemnly took out a violet seed from the wooden box, put it in the hole, and carefully re-covered the hole. She even stepped on it twice. After making sure that the seed was buried very tightly, she nodded with satisfaction, picked up the watering can next to her, and prepared to water it.

Don't you think this statement can be applied to any plant? Even if you want to plant a world tree, you can do it this way, but can you really grow it? I'm afraid it's a bit difficult.

She couldn't help asking, "What are you doing, Olvera?"

“…That’s not how you grow flowers.”

She put on gloves, rolled up her sleeves, and grunted as she pulled up a large area of ​​weeds and bushes nearby. Then she used a shovel to dig a hole in the cleared space and took out a wooden box from her arms, which contained the violet seeds that Mrs. Tree had left for her.

Yieta, who watched the whole scene, said: "..."

"Do you mean, I want to find someone who can plant flowers to help me?"

Then she turned and ran away, without even taking the lantern and book on the ground. Yieta watched her leaving, opened her lips to say something, but in the end, she couldn't utter a single word.

Actually, I can guide you.

She thought to herself. …

A few minutes later, Olvera came back, but not alone. She was followed by a chubby stone guard. Its body was probably made of pebbles at the bottom of the river, so it looked very round, and was covered with some plants similar to algae and aquatic moss.

These are the helpers that Olvera borrowed from the landlady Shesta. Although these stone guards look clumsy, they are actually excellent gardeners. They are good at using simple earth and stone magic to complete heavy tasks such as weeding, plowing, planting, watering and fertilizing. They can even drive away pests, birds and animals, decompose rotten wood debris, add nutrients to the soil, etc. In addition to flower fairies, tree spirits, goblins and other races, they are the most suitable helpers for taking care of nurseries and gardens.

The dozen or so stone elves in the underground garden were basically from the same tribe, and had lived in the suburbs and mountainous areas of Rostin City for generations. When the Night Watchmen launched a brutal campaign against the aliens in the surrounding areas of the city, the peaceful and harmonious Stone Elves tribe was also affected, and the tribe was instantly torn apart, with only a few remaining wandering and fleeing. Witnessed by Madam Tree, the proprietress Shesta signed a contract with them, hiring them as gardeners for the hotel and providing them with a place to live.

However, the lifespan of the stone spirits is not as long as that of the traveler goblins. Therefore, the stone spirit elders who signed the contract with the proprietress have all turned into soil and stone and returned to the earth. Now these stone spirits are their descendants. They have been with the inn through thick and thin for two centuries and have long been accustomed to the current life. Even without the contract, they probably won't leave.

The stone guard invited by Olvera to help quickly showed the qualities of a professional, and skillfully used earth and stone magic to complete a series of heavy physical work including weeding, plowing, reclamation, and leveling the land. Soon, the abandoned field became a decent nursery, and the violet seeds sown began to absorb nutrients from the soil, waiting for the day to sprout and bloom.

Before that, they need to be watered, fertilized, and pest-free regularly. If no one takes care of them, even the most beautiful flowers will become dust in the storm and under the ravages of insects and ants.

The stone guard gestured with his hands and feet, indicating that a simple fence could be built around the nursery to prevent small animals such as rabbits and squirrels in the forest from running out to eat the seeds and seedlings. The materials were also very convenient, and the ivy and yew trees growing on the island were good. Olvera thought it made sense, so she waved her hand and asked it to do it. She took out a glass test tube filled with emerald green liquid from her arms. It contained the nutrient that the teacher had used to cultivate magical plants, and now it came in handy.

Yieta watched her curiously as she uncorked the glass test tube and asked, "What is this?"

"It's the plant nutrient developed by the teacher!" Olvera's tone rose, and she was in a good mood. "All the magical plants in the hotel garden use these nutrients, so they grow so fast. I also want to use them on my violets."

"Really? Then I advise you not to use it."

"Eh!?" The princess's hand trembled, and the test tube that was tilting downwards almost spilled two drops of nutrient solution. She hastily put it away, then turned back and swallowed nervously: "Why don't you use it? Will it die?"

Because ordinary plants can't withstand their potency?

Olvera had already thought of an explanation for Yieta, but the latter replied lightly: "No, but if you use it now, it will probably bloom tomorrow."

Avella was startled: "That's good."

She couldn't wait to see the violets her teacher had left for her bloom. It must be a beautiful sight, something the princess wanted to see even in her dreams. Unfortunately, she couldn't dream, so it would be best if she could see it tomorrow.

"Really?" Yieta looked at her steadily, speaking slowly but firmly: "But, did the person who left you those seeds really just want you to see the scene when they bloom? Or did he want you to experience more? For example, the sprouts in spring, the new leaves in summer, the flowers and fruits in autumn, and the fallen leaves in winter... If you don't experience these, you won't be able to understand that person's feelings, right? Or, the feelings she wants you to experience."

Miss Angel's eyes flashed with memories: "A long time ago, I also thought so. It would be great if primroses didn't need to sprout and grow, and they wouldn't wither. They would always be so bright and beautiful. But later I realized that this was also a kind of greed, so I stopped thinking so. Olvera, you are my friend, and I don't want you to think so, okay?"

Her eyes were clear and she looked at the princess beside the nursery sincerely. The princess pursed her lips and suddenly recalled the time when she and her teacher had afternoon tea in the violet garden, the time when she looked through the misty glass in the room at the raindrops that damaged the branches and leaves, and the memory of her turning back and smiling at her in the rain of flowers falling all over the sky... She suddenly understood what the meaning of planting these flowers was.

Not blooming, but growing.

She put away the nutrient in her hand and said softly, "Well, I won't think so anymore. And——"

After a brief pause, he emphasized: "Thank you, Yieta."

Thank you for telling me this.

Miss Angel was slightly startled, and when she reacted, her eyebrows and eyes curved into crescents. She nodded vigorously through the window, and the white feather hair accessories on her bangs swung back and forth, as if they were about to fly into the wind: "You're welcome!"

……

"On January 1, the wind was a bit strong and the windmill was blowing all the time. Miss Shesta and Miss Shelia cleaned my room for me and took me to take a bath. I thanked them and they were very happy."

"Olvera wanted to plant flowers and wanted them to bloom quickly. I told her that this was wrong and that it would be better to let them grow on their own. She accepted my advice and thanked me, which made me very happy."

“So, thanking others and being thanked by others will make people feel very happy!”

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)