Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 413 Is Little Red Riding Hood looking for her grandma?

Olvera walked at the end of the group.

The dim environment in the swamp was a severe test for her. The weak light of the lantern could not penetrate too far in the thick and humid fog. The shadows of the branches and roots of the mangroves made her feel like she was back in the dark castle, facing the prying eyes of the ubiquitous shadow beasts.

Although she is no longer as fearful and cowardly as she was in the past, the not-so-nice memories left by the darkness still exist, like a heavy stone pressing on her heart, making her feel depressed.

Perhaps it was because of this that the girl was very sensitive to any unusual movements in the dark: the sounds of fish swimming beneath the turbid water could not escape her ears, the cold wind blowing through the messy aquatic plants and vines seemed to be audible, and even a gray iguana camouflaging itself on a tree trunk in the distance could be seen clearly by her, and a cold light reflected in its slow and stiff gray eyes.

So, when she heard an unnatural rustling sound coming from the top of the mangrove behind her, she immediately turned around and raised the lantern to shine, but she saw nothing. Only the tips of the branches were still trembling in the wind, and the leaves on the branches seemed to be about to fall off, floating on the water, creating ripples.

Is it a bird that lives in the trees, an eagle owl or a night gull?

Olvera hesitated. She stood still and stared in that direction for a long time. There was dead silence and everything was shrouded in an eerie silence. She was finally sure that it was her illusion, so she slowly withdrew her gaze and took a step as if she was going to catch up with her companions in front.

A dark shadow flew out from the treetops, passing through the foggy night sky like a ghost. After learning from the lesson of being almost discovered just now, she moved more cautiously this time, not even disturbing a leaf when she passed by the treetops. However, Olvera, who was walking at the end of the team, turned her head as if she had predicted the future, and happened to see the scene when the shadow passed by. She couldn't help but exclaimed "Ah", attracting the attention of her companions.

"What's wrong, Sister Olvera?" Metien asked, "Did you find anything?"

Ling Ge: “…”

How could such a coincidence happen?

Lingge shook his head helplessly, and just when he wanted to calm his sister down, he suddenly heard a hesitant call from deep in the mangroves: "Metien?"

The cold wind whistled past, and the atmosphere was dead silent. The shadow that was following them seemed determined to compete with these people in patience, and remained hidden and refused to show up. If it didn't show up, Ling Ge and his companions naturally couldn't turn around and leave, exposing their backs to the dangerous enemy. So the two sides fell into a strange stalemate, and only the occasional swamp fish and one or two shrill bird calls from afar were still stirring their nervous heartstrings.

"kindness!"

Olvera nodded vigorously and raised the lantern in her hand. The golden-red flame formed a blurry halo around the glass wall, and also illuminated the surrounding fog, making it a little distorted, like the background in a watercolor painting. She lowered her voice and said, "Something is following us."

Hearing this, everyone suddenly became alert and looked around with suspicion. The place that seemed normal before suddenly became a dangerous place with shadows lurking; any sound under the water plants and cage-like aerial roots was like a sign that the monster peeping in the dark was about to attack. The huge monster of the swamp seemed to have begun to show its fangs, showing its dangerous and cold side to the outsiders who dared to go deep into this place.

A few seconds later, a head popped out from under the dense branches. It was a petite girl with short silver hair and blood-red vertical pupils. She had a pair of black bat wings behind her waist. Her appearance basically matched the description of her new friend by Metien. Her appearance was very special. She was hanging upside down on the branch, and her crimson cloak and hood strangely violated the normal laws of mechanics and did not fall down.

Everyone formed a circle, protecting Metien and Shemi in the middle. Ling Ge cast the magic of [Agility] on himself in advance, and asked Ovira: "Did you see what it was?"

"No, I only saw its shadow."

"Leticia!" Metien waved to her happily.

Bat wings? Could it be a vampire?
The same thought came to everyone's mind. Metien even thought of a possibility. His eyes lit up and he shouted happily, "Could it be Leticia?"

Olvera carefully recalled the scene when she caught a glimpse of it, and then said uncertainly: "But I saw that it seemed to have bat wings on its back?"

Leticia was calm. She nodded to her and then looked at Ling Ge. A trace of reminiscence flashed in her eyes. After a while, she finally remembered: "Are you Ling Ge?"

"kindness."

"Are the others also Metien's friends?" Before Lingge could answer, Metien said, "Yes! This is Sister Saint Xia Liya, the one who just found you is Sister Ao Vera, this is my good friend Xie Mi, oh, and Sister Alice."

"What do you mean by 'and' Sister Alice!? Am I just a byproduct?"

"Mmmm, Hu, Hu, you want to rub my face..."

The scene seemed to have turned into a farce.

"Oh." After confirming that the group of people in front of her posed no threat to her, Leticia slowly climbed down from the tree - yes, although she could fly and hang upside down on the branches in a cool way, she crawled down when she landed, like a slow-witted sloth.

Metien wanted to go over and reunite with her new friends, but Linger stopped her with his hand and asked a very unpleasant question: "Why are you following us?"

Since you know Metien, why not come out openly? Acting furtively makes you look suspicious.

It’s not that he doesn’t trust her, but Ling Ge needs to be responsible for the safety of his companions.

Leticia was silent for a while, then suddenly muttered something in a low voice. Lingge didn't hear it clearly: "What did you say?"

The vampire girl raised her head, her eyes seemed a little helpless: "I am here to save Metien."

"Save Metien?"

Including the pink-haired little girl, everyone had a strange expression on their face and soon figured out the truth of the matter: to put it simply, Leticia thought that Medien was held hostage by these "suspicious humans", so she followed them all the way, intending to find an opportunity to rescue her.

Although it was a ridiculous misunderstanding, the fact that Leticia was willing to take the risk to "save" Medien showed that she really regarded the pink-haired little girl as a good friend. Although the two had actually only met once, sometimes, friendship between little girls is that simple.

After figuring out that her new friend was not in danger, Leticia put on her hood again to cover her short silver hair, and said to Metien, "Although I don't know why you want to enter the swamp, it is very dangerous here. You should leave as soon as you are done. I'll leave first."

She flapped her black bat wings and was about to fly, but Metien stopped her and said to her in confusion, "But we are here to find you, Leticia."

"Looking for me?" The vampire girl frowned slightly: "Why?"

"Because you just said that the swamp is very dangerous, so I want to take you away and not let you get involved in Silver Moon's conspiracy." The pink-haired little girl said seriously.

Ling added: "Besides that, we have something else we want to ask you."

News about the Fang of Eternal Life, the movements of the aliens in the swamp, and the attitude of the Valenhild family.

"That's it."

Leticia seemed to understand a little. She nodded, then shook her head: "Thank you for your kindness, Metien, but I can't leave here for the time being."

"why?"

"Because I want to go find my grandma."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)