Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 530 Can’t Make a Choice?
"Woo~~~"

A long train whistle-like sound was heard from the sea, and then a huge steel ship sailed towards the distant land amid billowing smoke and the huge roar of the steam engine. The shuttle-shaped bow, as sharp as a knife, split the oncoming waves, dividing the sea water beneath it into two fierce waves, which surged past both sides of the hull.

The schools of fish on the seafloor scattered and fled, avoiding this whale that was even more terrifying on the surface than in the sea. At a distance of about one kilometer, the travelers also silently watched its huge shadow go away, and soon disappeared from the edge of their sight. Its speed was even faster than the Yukikaze, which was blessed by the power of the Iyeta Kingship.

"This is the power of technology!" Alice stood on the bow and rode the waves. After seeing the Snow Wind lose to this unknown steamship, she pretended to sigh: "It's much more useful than the power of the king."

The oncoming waves splashed the golden maid's hair with water droplets, which hung on the ends of her hair and clothes. The slightly moist breath made people feel very refreshed. The sea breeze carried a salty smell, which people living by the sea may have long been accustomed to, but for inland people it is a novel experience, so it is no wonder that Alice likes to pose on the bow so much.

Maybe she would return to normal when her excitement passed, but when would her excitement pass? This was a question that Saint Shallia could not explain clearly.

Lingge ignored Alice's self-entertainment and stared at the back of the receding steamship, while silently reciting a number in his mind: the seventh.

This was the seventh large cargo ship that had passed through their sight. Four of the first six ships were more traditional three-masted sailing ships, and two were even larger and more impressive steamships. No matter how you look at it, this number is a bit too much. Rotdan is a tourist city. Although the business is also very developed, it is basically based on luxury goods trade, and these goods are obviously not in line with the specifications of large ships. In this case, what is the reason for these large ships to rush to Rotdan?

From here, you can already see the shadow of the city of Rotdanha. The city is shrouded in gloomy clouds and looks like it is about to experience a violent sea storm. Every year from April to June, natural disasters frequently occur in the land-sea area. The overall characteristics of these natural disasters are fast formation time, short duration, small scale and frequent occurrence. Therefore, this rainstorm is not unexpected, but it will bring some bad mood to those tourists who plan to spend a wonderful vacation in the city.

However, once he connected the thick gloomy smoke spewing out of the towering chimneys of the steamship with the dark clouds, Ling'er had an inexplicable feeling in his heart, as if what was pressing down on the city at this moment was not cumulonimbus clouds formed by air movement, but the black shadows produced by burning coal, or the acid mist evaporated by rusting steel.

This strange association always makes him think of another city, his hometown, the sad city that is gradually submerged in the increasing number of factories and the endless steel jungle, Linville. At this moment, the images of the two cities overlap strangely, as if they have the same characteristics in some aspects. But this is really strange. One is a city surrounded by the sea that is highly praised by tourists and is rated as "one of the top ten livable cities in the mainland" in the "Westland Times", and the other is a sad city with nothing but history, and even history can only make people shed tears. Why do I associate them together?
Linger couldn't figure it out, so he slowly looked away, lowered his head and stared at the sea water that kept passing by the side of the boat. He saw the white foam tightly surrounding the boat like a wreath, but it was soon crushed by the next wave, thrown away, and left far behind. As he watched, his eyes gradually became solemn.

Alice, who was still wandering on the bow enjoying the sea scenery, might not have noticed it, and Saint Shallia, who was trying to persuade her to give up such a dangerous move, might not care either. Only Linger could see that the color of the sea water in front of them did not seem as pure and clear as when they first set out. If it was a transparent and flawless sapphire before, now this sapphire has lost its original brilliance and has become dull and silent. Moreover, as they moved forward, the dark color lingering in the sea water became more and more obvious.

Even though Lingge is not a professional in this field, he knows one most obvious truth: the clarity of seawater is directly related to the water quality and pollution level of the sea area.

Ling Ge said succinctly: "Be mentally prepared."

Linger glanced at the golden-haired maid who was still posing excitedly at the bow, and suddenly called her name: "Alice."

The gray clouds hanging over the city, the endless stream of large cargo ships, and the seemingly polluted sea water... Putting all this together, one can naturally come to a conclusion, although it is not a very happy conclusion.

"Ah?" The golden-haired maid cast a puzzled look: "What's the matter?"

"What kind of mental preparation?"

Lingge didn't explain, perhaps because he felt there was no need to explain, and she would understand when she saw it with her own eyes.

"What? You're so mysterious." Alice muttered, expressing dissatisfaction with Ling's mysterious behavior. The Riddler already has Xiao Xia, so why are you, a male protagonist of Yasashi, competing with others for the character setting? Do you know the rules? Saint Xia Liya looked at Ling deeply, as if she realized something.

But like Lingge, she said nothing, because Alice would understand soon.

……

When Alice is about to arrive at her dream holiday destination, Rotdana, on Cloud Whale Sky Island, a pink-haired little girl is in her potion workshop, facing an important decision in her life.

"Make your decision, Metien!"

"Make your decision, Metien!"

Two people said in unison.

On the left, Leticia was able to skip classes because her grandmother was supervising the construction of the classroom. She came to invite Metien to accompany her to the forest to pick fruits. Although she knew that her leisurely life would no longer exist the day the classroom was completed, it was precisely because of this that she had to seize the time and enjoy herself in time! In this way, when she faces boring classes in the classroom in the future, she can proudly say that she has no regrets in her life!
On the right, Xie Mi skipped her daily cleaning job while her two sisters were chatting with Yieta. She wanted to invite Metien to go to the vegetable garden with her to pick ingredients for today's dinner. Although she knew it was just a last-ditch effort, her eldest and second sisters would be furious when they came back because she didn't finish the cleaning, and they might even hang her up and beat her. But so what? As the youngest of the three traveler fairy sisters, she could do anything to have fun with her friends!

Unfortunately, however, the two people's ideas collided with each other.

There was only one Metien, and two people, so it was obviously not enough.

So, Metien, which side will you choose?

Between me and her, who is your best friend?
Both of them (actually, neither of them was a human) stared at the pink-haired girl, waiting for her answer.

"Uh."

Metien's mouth twitched, and her smile was a little awkward: Can she say that she doesn't want to choose either side? Because she still has homework left by her brother to complete. If Ling Ge returns from Lotterdana City and finds that she hasn't even finished her homework, will she be angry and call her a "bad kid"?

I don't want that kind of thing!

and so.

"How about," she asked tentatively, "you guys stay and help me with my homework?"

"Eh!?" X2
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)