Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 533: Have things and people changed?

Chapter 533: Have things and people changed?

The architecture in the suburbs of Helgoland is of typical harbor style. Most of the houses are built with gray-white long stones, which are rough and sturdy. The walls are covered with green vines and ivy leaves, and the rocks under the leaves have been scarred and mottled by years of sea breeze.

In order to block the sea breeze, a silver pine, which is common in the coastal area of ​​Mindelias, is planted in front of each household. It is usually planted when the house is first built. Today, the youngest tree is more than 20 years old. Its branches are like giant arms, and its crown is like an open umbrella. The leaves with a hint of silver in the fiery red are like silver fires blooming all over the tree. They sway in the sea breeze and fall gently, forming a soft carpet on the ground. It extends along the street, replacing the original role of the street trees, and slightly reconciles the impetuous and noisy temperament of this coastal city, adding a sense of heaviness that comes from years of precipitation.

Some common coastal plants, dwarf trees or shrubs, were planted on the windowsills, balconies and flower beds along the streets. But Alice didn't know whether it was due to lack of care or purely psychological effect, but she always felt that they were listless, either withering due to lack of water, or silently huddled in the shadows waiting to rot, especially against the gray sky above, they looked even more lifeless.

Going along this street, on the right is a dam to prevent waves, also built with long stones, but it is very low, probably because it has not been hit by waves, and its value as a tourist attraction is far greater than its actual value; on the left is the market area they saw when they looked out at the sea, with a vegetable market, a garden market and a slaughterhouse, etc. It is their existence that weakens the joy that the city should have. After all, you can't expect tourists to have a leisurely vacation in a place full of garbage, sewage, and all kinds of loud shouting and bargaining, right? If there really is such a person, then he is not mentally strong, but pure mental abnormality.

Lingge didn't want to go to those crowded places to get information, so Alice could only settle for the next best thing and look around the breakwater, looking for a target... no, looking for a suitable person. However, there were not many people on the beach, only the whistling sea breeze and the dirty tide roaring continuously. After they walked along the street for more than ten minutes, Alice finally found a person who looked suitable for getting information, and her eyes lit up immediately.

She was a young girl with an outstanding and unique temperament. She was thin and wore a loose robe that didn't fit her well. Her hands were hidden in the sleeves which were too long and almost reached the ground. Her pointed hood with strange patterns hung limply on her back, making her look like one of the eccentric magicians or alchemists mentioned in folk tales.

At this moment, this strangely dressed and melancholy girl was standing on the breakwater, quietly looking out at the distant sea. Although only her profile could be seen from this distance, one could still feel her melancholy mood. Alice walked closer and found that she not only had a unique temperament, but also had a very beautiful appearance, not inferior to any other girl she had seen so far.

She had long crystal blue hair, which was extremely rare among the locals of Lotdan, and it was easy to remind people of the color of the blue sky and the sea - of course, it was the unpolluted sea water in the outer sea area, not the turbid waves in front of her that were surging with filth and garbage. However, the girl didn't seem to want people to pay too much attention to her hair color, so she wrapped her hair from the middle with a simple handkerchief with a pattern, leaving only a few naughty strands sticking out, fluttering gently in the sea breeze.

Alice winked at Ling Ge and Saint Xia Liya, asking them to wait there, and she would definitely be able to get the answer by asking in person. Ling Ge didn't really trust her language ability, but after all, it was Alice who volunteered, so he didn't speak to stop her, mainly because he felt that Alice might not listen if he stopped her, so it was better to save his words.

So, under the silent gaze of the two, Alice walked to the side of the girl, raised her hand, and greeted her in a familiar manner: "Hi, beautiful, are you alone? How about I come and chat with you?"

Ling Ge: “…”

Saint Shalia: “…”

Where did this gangster come from?

Ling Ge felt that he was really stupid for believing this guy.

The girl probably didn't expect that someone would use such an old-fashioned routine to strike up a conversation, and the person who struck up a conversation was also a girl. She turned around in a daze, and her pair of unusually clear blue eyes reflected the playful smile of the golden-haired maid. After a few breaths of embarrassment from the perspective of bystanders, Ling Ge and Saint Xia Liya suddenly showed a gentle smile and replied in a somewhat gentle voice: "Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

It actually succeeded?
Linger no longer doubted Alice, but began to doubt himself. Saint Xia Liya reached out and patted his shoulder, conveying her silent comfort. Alice was also overjoyed, thinking that her personal charm had played a role. She immediately held her head high and said proudly: "Then let's get to know each other first. It's like this. My name is Alice, and the two people behind me are my companions, but their names are not important. You don't need to care. We are here to travel in this city..."

"Tourism?" At this point, the girl widened her eyes slightly and interrupted Alice's narration in surprise: "Is this true? You come to this city for tourism, come--" She looked around, standing on the breakwater, looking down, taking in the piles of garbage on the beach, the dirty and filthy sea water, and the reefs that have been corroded beyond recognition: "Tourism in a place like this? Cough, cough cough cough!"

As if she was speaking too hastily, she suddenly turned her head and coughed violently twice. A sickly red appeared on her slightly pale cheeks, and she looked as fragile as glass. Alice asked hurriedly with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay." The girl gently placed her right hand on her chest, smiling gently and calmly, "It's just some minor problems - but are you really here to travel? It's not that I don't believe it, I'm just a little surprised, because I haven't seen tourists come to this city for many years."

She changed the subject without leaving a trace, and Alice, who was carefree to begin with, didn't notice it. She continued with her words in a depressed tone, "We originally planned to come here for a trip because we heard that Lotterdana was one of the top ten livable cities selected by the Westland Times, and it was highly recommended by travel magazines, so we wanted to come and see the world. We didn't expect it to be like this. It's so disappointing!"

She cursed indignantly. The girl did not think that the guy in maid outfit was rude, because she could actually understand his feelings. A few years ago, some tourists who did not know the truth came to the city of Rothdana and found that the huge gap between ideals and reality was like a chasm. The curses they used were much more unpleasant than Alice's.

She blinked her azure eyes, the smile on her lips remained unchanged: "Excuse me, I'm sorry to ask, how old is the edition of the travel magazine you are reading?"

"Uh."

Alice had never really thought about this question, because the book "Travel Guide to Cities in the Land and Sea Region" belonged to the hotel, but she could deduce the answer. It was known that the hotel was run by a traveler fairy, and most of the books kept in the hotel were collected by the proprietress or Shelia during their pilgrimages. It was also known that the night watchmen had a very tight surveillance network in Rostin City, and they could not have gone to a human store just to buy a travel magazine. So it could be concluded that this travel magazine was obviously obtained by the proprietress or Shelia when they were young. For these two traveler fairies, the concept of youth is actually very general, but considering the actual situation, the scope can probably be narrowed down to——

"Decades ago?" She gave her reasoning cautiously.

Why are travel magazines from decades ago still preserved today? And why do you insist on reading travel magazines from decades ago instead of buying the latest ones? Questions like these flashed through the girl's mind, but she didn't ask them out loud. Instead, she smiled and said, "That's right."

"Decades ago, the city of Rotdanha was indeed the best tourist city in the Land-Sea region."

"But not anymore."

 Give me some meow
  
 
(End of this chapter)

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