Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 504 Do you like me like that?
Lingge's words startled Saint Shallia for a moment, and she gradually slowed down her caressing of the lamb in her arms. She asked hesitantly, "Are you saying that the curse on me is disappearing, Lingge?"

Ling Ge shook his head: "That's not what I meant."

He glanced at the confused girl and added, "Besides, did anyone ever say that your curse must be amnesia? Don't forget, Olvera and the others also lost their memories."

As long as the girl's royal power has been reincarnated, it will lose its memory of the past, and must be gradually restored over time or by anchors provided by believers. Before, Saint Shallia always believed that her curse was amnesia, because she felt that she had never been reincarnated, and was still the girl's royal power that maintained the balance of the universe in the Holy Temple of Heaven. However, the story told by Fei Er completely denied this possibility. In this case, amnesia is no longer a curse, but an inevitable thing that happens with the internal division of the girl's royal power.

"But," Saint Shalia's face showed a confused look: "If so, what is my curse?"

Why did my memory suddenly return?
Lingge did not answer her question directly, but asked in return: "What are you going to do next?"

"what?"

"You have heard Fei'er's story. It is inevitable that the Girls' Kingdom will have different ideologies. The Witches' Society's Eden Project is destined to cause many sacrifices to the world - or rather, they have already begun to sacrifice, whether it is their own lives or the lives of others. In the face of this situation, as a member of the Girls' Kingdom, what do you plan to do?"

Lingge's straightforward question was like a sharp dagger, piercing through a layer of hazy disguise, exposing those problems that Saint Xia Liya did not want to face and did not dare to face in the bleak sunlight. The shepherdess's body trembled slightly, she raised her head, and looked at the blue sky and blue sea in the distance with melancholy eyes, seeing the snow-colored clouds rolling in the storm caused by the giant whale, and the layers of tides crushed like foam, splashing crystal waves all over the sky. Her thoughts gradually emptied, and her vision lost focus, as if she was caught in some difficult thinking.

The lamb noticed that the owner's hand suddenly stopped stroking it, and it bleated twice in dissatisfaction, but this dissatisfaction was obviously not directed at Saint Xia Liya, but at Ling Ge. In its simple logic, if Ling Ge hadn't asked the wrong question, how could its owner become like this? Therefore, it was all Ling Ge's fault!

"So, this is your curse." Ling Ge said in a flat tone.

Just like [Truth] will be lost in endless darkness, [Freedom] will be bound in an inescapable cage, and [Eternity] will be trapped in the maze of memory and reincarnation...it's all very sad.

Lingge ignored it. After all, the lamb's dissatisfaction was roughly the same as Alice's memory and Shaymi's reliability. They were things that did not exist at all. Even if they existed for a while, they would soon disappear without a trace.

He looked at Saint Shalia, waiting for the girl's answer.

He paused, as if considering the next sentence to make it more tactful, at least not so harsh: "As a person who guides destiny, but trapped by his own destiny, always wandering in hesitation and confusion... Don't you think this is a very sad curse?"

Facing the girl's doubtful gaze, he explained: "Have you never noticed that you always say this? But every time you say this, it's not because you really don't know, but because you don't know how to make a choice, so you use it as an excuse to escape. In other words, you are always confused, unable to see the direction of your future, and don't know which path you should take..."

After a long while, Saint Xia Liya gradually came to her senses and realized that Lingge was still waiting for her answer. But how should she answer? This question was too profound and too difficult, as if she had no choice even in her fate, so in the end, she slowly shook her head and said the words she often said: "Sorry, I don't know..."

If you can't even decide your own destiny, how can you guide the destiny of others? That's why Saint Xia Liya searched all over the world for a hundred years, but didn't find even one sister. It wasn't until she met Ling Ge and handed the [Destiny Beacon] to him that she finally got something.

However, Lingge cannot help her make decisions at all times. When Lingge and no one else are around, how can the girl make a choice?
After understanding what Lingge wanted to express, Saint Xia Liya had no excuses. In fact, she should have noticed it long ago, instead of Lingge reminding her. It was just that she was always avoiding, always confused, and always saying "I don't know", so she lost the opportunity to face herself calmly. So is it the curse that affects people's minds, or is her character so weak? Thinking of this, Saint Xia Liya pursed her lips lightly, lowered her head with some disappointment, and looked at the grass and trees on the hill that were swaying in the wind absent-mindedly, without saying a word.

Seeing this scene, Lingge seemed to have just remembered that the purpose of his coming here was to comfort Saint Xia Liya, not to make her mood worse. So, he changed the subject a little stiffly: "However, if you really want to ease your curse, there is a way." Saint Xia Liya turned her head immediately after hearing this. She did not speak, but stared at Lingge quietly with her soft and clear golden eyes, but this look seemed to be a silent question, or an oppression of conscience. Lingge sighed silently in his heart, and then said to her: "Your curse is different from that of Avra ​​and others. There is a way to overcome it."

Once Olvera falls into darkness, she will be terrified, have difficulty breathing, and even gradually die; Ieta cannot leave the windmill tower where she lives, otherwise it will bring disaster to the people around her; Leticia cannot resist the call of the full moon, and will lose all her memories in pain every full moon night... These are not controlled by their own will, so there is no other way except to endure it silently.

However, Saint Shallia is different. Although her curse is also an invisible enemy that is difficult to expel or defeat by force, Saint Shallia can fight it with her own will and gradually defeat it.

"So, there is only one thing you need to do." Ling Ge said to Saint Xia Liya very seriously: "No matter when, you must be firm in your choice and make decisions based on your own will. Don't try to escape when you encounter difficulties, always say I don't know, and leave the choice to others. Doing so will only make yourself sink deeper and deeper into the maze of fate."

Saint Shalia murmured, "Can we get rid of the curse like this?"

"I'm not sure if I can get rid of the curse, but at least I'll be better than you are now."

"..."

Saint Shalia pursed her lips.

The clear wind gurgled through the meadow, making a rustling sound, and flowed all the way to the forest and flower fields in the distance. The green grass swayed gently in the breeze, and the fragrance of unknown flowers followed the flow of the wind and quietly penetrated into the noses of the two people, bringing a comfortable breath. The bright sunshine always shone on this small hill, making the figures of the two people and the sheep shrouded in warm and bright light. The naughty lamb poked its head out of its owner's arms, bit a dogtail grass that came out from under the stone, and gently tried to pull it out.

At this moment, Saint Xia Liya suddenly spoke: "Will Lingge like it?"

"What?" The young man didn't hear clearly and asked subconsciously.

So the girl repeated it word by word, clearly: "Will Lingge like me like that?"

The me who can make choices with determination.

I won’t be the one who always says “I don’t know”.

Compared to who I was and who I am now, a better me.

……

Lingge, this is the suggestion you made. So, are you saying this because you like me that way and want to see me that way?
The girl didn't know when she put down the lamb in her arms. She propped her hands on the grass, and her palms inadvertently exerted force, grabbing the messy grass leaves and a small piece of fragrant soil. Her body leaned forward slightly, her face close to Lingge, and her sparkling golden eyes looked at Lingge without blinking, just like the sun in the sky looking at the ground. At a very dangerous distance, the hot breathing sound was amplified by the heartbeat and gradually became clear and audible.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)