Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 4: Will the beautiful girl who falls from the sky come from another world?

The office of the Municipal Parish Council is located at No. 24 St. Anton Street, a three-story red brick building. The green courtyard, ivy-covered gables and exquisite verandas together create the solemnity and elegance of the classical era. It is also one of the few old-style buildings on this street.

The city is rising so fast that the creations of the previous century have to give way to commerce, and more and more large hotels, office buildings and apartment buildings have replaced the original narrow lanes and bungalows, using fine limestone, polished bricks and terracotta. Only the united orders still hold on to their traditions and carefully treat the memory of the past.

But in reality, they are the ones driving the most change.

Lingge had no intention of exploring the deeper meaning of this contradiction. He explained his purpose to the reception clerk in the lobby on the first floor. As he had not made an appointment in advance, he waited in the reception room for about ten minutes before he received a clear reply: Mr. Ronning was free, and he would wait for him in the sixth office on the third floor, on the left corridor.

Lingge drank the last sip of black tea in the cup, thanked the clerk in charge of the report, followed his instructions, came to Mr. Langning's office on the third floor, and gently knocked on the half-open door.

"Come in." A low and majestic voice came from the room.

Lingge pushed the door open and found that the furnishings in the office were extremely simple. Except for the guest reception area with finely woven carpets, high round tables and soft leather sofas, the rest of the place was occupied by cabinets piled with files. In addition, there was a desk in front of the window, and on the desk were also piles of files, all of which were stamped.

I don't know how many of the documents involve the supplementary decree. The non-orthodox churches in Linville City include not only the Holy Goddess Church that Lingge believes in, but also the Red Prayer Society, the Divine Providence Church, the New Cross Society, etc. The scale of any of them is larger than that of the Holy Goddess Church. Will they obediently accept the restrictions of the decree? I'm afraid it's not optimistic.

But this had nothing to do with Lingge, so his eyes swept over the documents and then fell on the owner of the room, Mr. Langning. He was walking towards Lingge, a rather imposing middle-aged gentleman, about thirty years old, with slightly curly brown hair, a straight and broad nose, dark and majestic eyes, and wearing a black uniform modified from a church priest's robe, which was also the uniform of the kingdom's tribunes, with both religious solemnity and secular authority.

Linville City belongs to the fourth-level United Diocese, under which there is also the fifth-level Patriarchate, which is based on villages, towns or streets. As the tribune of the City Parish Committee, Mr. Langning has the right to inquire and interfere in all secular affairs in these dozens of Patriarchates, including the implementation of the "Religious Decree".

Lingge naturally would not refuse, so the two of them sat down on the sofa and exchanged a few words of greeting. Only after the maid served them tea and closed the door and left did they get down to business.

It is indeed sensible to give up hope and accept reality.

The so-called trouble is actually very simple, it’s money.

Young and... sensible.

"I personally hope that you can accept my invitation. The City Parish Committee needs a young and rational guy like you to join." Lang Ning smiled and said, "Of course, I respect your choice more."

"I hope this doesn't bore you."

No matter which job he accepted, the subsidy plus salary would allow Lingge to not worry about his future life, and it would even be easier, after all, he would not need to spend most of his money to buy food and help the poor. When he was no longer the resident pastor of Tianxin Church, he would not have to bear the corresponding responsibilities.

If the church is closed, these incomes will certainly be gone. How to maintain future life is what Lingge cares about most, even more than the survival of Tianxin Church.

But this big shot was not arrogant. He took the initiative to extend his hand to Lingge to show his goodwill and said in a calm voice: "Hello, Mr. Lingge, I have been looking forward to this meeting for a long time."

The Holy Goddess Church is not a big church, but it still has a certain influence in the Holy Cross District and the white-skinned areas. In addition to the spontaneous donations from believers, as a resident pastor, Linger can also earn income by presiding over weddings, baptizing newborns, and even being invited to attend various community competitions. Most of the money is used to purchase food and help the poor, and the remaining small part is enough for Linger to support himself and his sister, and even allow her to stay at home and prepare for the exam wholeheartedly.

Lingge was silent, as if he was lost in deep thought. But at this moment, for some reason, what came to his mind was not the pros and cons of the two choices, but the girl who called herself Saint Shalia that he met in the town square.

This is 1 pound 10 pence higher than the weekly salary of a history teacher and equivalent to the weekly salary of a senior worker. The church union is really rich.

"I know." Linger replied politely: "Mr. Barton has described your enthusiasm to me, and I am honored."

"Don't worry." Perhaps he was satisfied with Ling's straightforward attitude, a smile appeared on Mr. Langning's face, and his serious expression was slightly relaxed: "The kingdom will naturally reward good citizens who abide by the law. According to relevant policies, churches willing to obey the "Religious Decree" will receive a subsidy of 2 gold pounds per week; at the same time, we will introduce new jobs for these clergy. If I remember correctly, Mr. Ling seems to be a graduate of the history department? And also has a clergy certificate? What a promising young man, in that case, we are willing to provide you with two options."

The two shook hands lightly and then released each other's hands. Lang Ning pointed to the sofa in the reception area and said, "I know why you are here. How about we sit down and chat?"

The church community has divided the area of ​​faith into parishes of different sizes. Each parish has a committee, which is managed by a clergyman, a tribune and a parish representative. The tribune is appointed by the Religious Administration of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Kingdom and has an official status. He is mainly responsible for the secular affairs of the parish, such as fund management, public services and even disputes among believers.

He paused for a moment and continued, "The first option is to be a history teacher at St. Lowood National School. Haha, it's a charity school jointly funded by our church. Any child of school age can attend with low tuition or even free tuition. The weekly salary for this position is also 2 pounds. The second option is to join our Linwell Parish Council as a clerical staff member. You have a clergy certificate, so you should be familiar with this aspect of affairs. Of course, if you are willing to learn more about the teachings of our seven great gods, that would be even better. Well, I have no intention of offending your beliefs, but I just felt that the weekly salary for this position is 3 pounds 10 pence."

In other words, he was one of the three most powerful men in the religious community in Linville.

And what she said -

"I have thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to abide by the provisions of the Religious Decree and close Tianxin Church." Ling Ge did not mention that his sister had hidden the notice, and said: "However, this will cause great trouble to my daily life. I think the kingdom should have relevant policies to compensate for this, right?"

Anyone who eats the golden apple by mistake will be drawn into a destiny that does not belong to him.

***
"My God in heaven."

“I pray with all my heart.”

"I hope to get your guidance to illuminate the confusion and sin." "Engrave all the pain and anxiety in my heart."

"From now on there will be no joy, nor sorrow."

"May you and the innocent live in a land without worries."

The girl lowered her head, put two fingers together, and tapped her forehead, lips and chest to represent the sky, the earth and life.

"We, the mortals, are with the goddess."

But the stone statue was as silent as time itself and gave her no response.

After a while, a faint sigh echoed in the chapel.

Metien felt that he had never prayed so devoutly.

But what's the use? In the steam-driven 19th century, there was an insurmountable gap between the hope defined by God and the cruel reality of the world. Therefore, even the goddess could not descend to the mortal world to save her believers from suffering.

Do I really have to learn to accept reality as my brother said?

When Metien was feeling depressed, there was a sudden "bang" sound outside the house, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground, followed by a faint human voice: "Ah, it hurts... My butt hurts so much..."

There's a thief in the house! ?

Metien's ears pricked up all of a sudden, and he realized that the sound came from the backyard. There was nothing valuable there, only a few vegetable plots that his brother had reclaimed himself, where he planted vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and cilantro.

He actually dared to come to the goddess's church to steal. He was so bold. Metien couldn't stand it, and rushed to the backyard without hesitation, ready to catch the thief. The main reason was that she vaguely heard that the thief's voice was a woman, and she felt that she should not encounter any danger, so she made such a bold decision. However, she still felt uneasy after thinking about it, so she went around to the small kitchen, took a rolling pin and weighed it in her hand. When she felt more confident, she pushed open the back door and came to the backyard.

It was called a backyard, but it was actually just a small open space surrounded by a simple wooden fence. In order to prevent it from looking too deserted, Linger had planted several Baicheng sycamore trees himself, which were now lush and full of life. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves onto the ground, forming patches of glittering light that looked very beautiful.

But Metien had no intention of enjoying the scenery. She held the rolling pin tightly in both hands and walked around the corner step by step. She decided to act cautiously and find out the other party's background before taking action. She poked her head out from behind the wall to see what kind of thief dared to cause trouble in the Goddess Church. If she caught him, she would hand him over to the patrol police for proper punishment.

She was stunned after just one look.

Because the one who was getting up from the ground, rubbing her butt and crying in pain was actually a girl who looked about 17 or 18 years old. She had long hair as bright as gold, which reached down to her waist, but it was very messy and was tied into a ponytail at her neck. Several strands of hair stubbornly stuck up from her forehead and sides, and it was obvious that she had not taken good care of it. She wore a pair of silver-white rabbit ears on her head, with clear edges and lines, more like mechanical creations than body parts. The purpose of this pair of rabbit ears was questionable, supported by a semi-circular device of unknown material. At the end of the ring were two metal discs that were close to the ears. Could it be that they played a fixing role? But wouldn't that prevent her from hearing the sounds outside?

Whether it is the rabbit ears, the semi-circular device or the surface of the metal disc, there are mysterious blue arcs of light that flash from time to time, flickering unpredictably, full of a sense of technology that is not in line with the times.

The delicate and pretty face below, no need to describe it in words, just know that even Metien, who is also a girl, was amazed. Especially the pair of ruby-like clear and transparent eyes, like a work of art carefully crafted by a master, allowing all the light to be refracted by the facets and condensed into a deep red star cluster.

In addition, her dress was extremely strange, and it was obvious at a glance that it was not the style of the Kingdom of Brittany: a silver-gray hoodie with some inexplicable patterns printed on it, and sleeves so long that they covered half of her palms; leather shorts of the same color, revealing her white thighs, were quite immoral; on her feet were a pair of white shoes that looked extremely light and suitable for sports, with her ankles covered by a pair of black and white striped socks.

There were also various fancy but meaningless decorations: a sword-shaped pendant on the neck, a fire-patterned ring on the index finger of the right hand, a silver bracelet for tying a ponytail, and two belts hanging diagonally on the slender waist, each with a silver-white cube and a silver-gray metal box hanging on it. When they collided with the iron buttons on the belts, a crisp sound was made.

It is difficult to describe the girl's dress and unique temperament in words. Whether it is weird, mysterious, lively, or smart, it seems too superficial. The only thing Metien can be sure of is that if a girl like this is said to be a thief, even the goddess will not believe it.

So, she relaxed her hand holding the rolling pin a little, and at the same time fell into deep thought, not knowing how to communicate with this strange girl who had fallen from the sky.

While Metien was stunned, the girl found her hiding in the corner. She was not panicked, but waved her hand happily with a bright smile: "Great, there is someone here. Hi, hello, who are you?"

Metien was stunned by her familiar tone, and somehow replied: "My name is Metien."

"What?" She took off the bunny ears on her head, hung them around her neck, and scratched the back of her head embarrassedly: "Sorry, I forgot to take off my headphones just now, so I didn't hear clearly."

It turns out that thing is called headphones.

Metien thought silently and repeated at the same time: "Hello, I am Metien."

"Oh, Metien, hello, I'm Alice." She looked around at the scene and smacked her lips: "You may not believe it, but I come from another world, a world called Earth."

"I seem to have traveled through time, and..."

“I traveled through time while playing games.”

　There is a follow-up reading
　　
　
(End of this chapter)