Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 580 Can Mermaids Run?
After six years, Lorena saw her mother again in this familiar room. She was still so beautiful, as if the years had not left any traces on her face. This beauty sometimes reminded Lorena of her father, because according to people around him, that man was the most beautiful mirror elf in the Azure Mirror. His appearance was so stunning that people felt that the word "beautiful" seemed to be appropriate to describe a man. It was because of this that her mother fell in love with him at first sight and later had Lorena, the fruit of love and life.

She often said to young Rorona: Your beauty is not inherited from me, but from your father. This sentence made Rorona know that her mother had never let go of that man in her heart. Their feelings were deeper than the sea water and as transparent as crystal, which was enviable.

"You're back, Lorena."

A gentle and surprising call interrupted the girl's thoughts. Queen Emilia of the Nierid royal family stood up, swept across the desk like a gust of wind, and came to Rorona. She looked up and down at her daughter sitting in the wheelchair carefully with her blue eyes, and finally came to the same conclusion as Rorona just now: her daughter was still so dazzling, no different from the past, as if she had never been stained by the industrial machinery of the human world.

This made her feel relieved.

The most typical features of the mirror elves are their crystal blue hair and eyes as blue as the sea, but there are subtle differences between them. For example, the Nierid family, the royal family of Nereids, has eyes that are transparent in the azure blue, like crystals illuminated by sunlight. Although Rolena drank the potion she made and disguised her appearance as a human, this feature was not changed by the potion.

Therefore, facing her excited mother, she could still bend her blue eyes like before, smile and say: "Well, I'm back."

"Mother."

……

A few minutes later, Lorena sat by the fireplace in the reception area, quietly watching her mother put a cup of silver-colored Gendron juice in front of her, and then sat down opposite her. It seemed that she had temporarily put aside the tedious government affairs and planned to have a good chat with her second daughter who had not been seen for a long time. So she gently reached out her hand, picked up the cup and took a sip, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up a little nostalgic: "I haven't had Gendron juice for a long time, and it tastes the same as before."

"Will I lose you, Mother?"

Queen Amyra was obviously very concerned about this "curse", so she spoke for a long time, and it was unclear whether she was comforting her daughter or comforting herself. Lorena did not interrupt, and waited patiently for her mother to finish her words before she whispered, "That's not a curse, mother."

"This is not something you should be proficient in. After all, it is too cruel for you." Emilia sighed softly and said, "For the past six years, Lord Sandro and I have been reading the classics passed down from generation to generation in the library, hoping to find a way to dispel the curse. Although there is no result for the time being, you should not be too disappointed. The mirror elves are the oldest race in the world. Our ancestors once landed on land and coexisted with dragons and giants. In the wisdom they left behind, we will definitely be able to find a suitable method to dispel the curse and let you return to normal life."

After the words fell, the room seemed to fall into a brief silence. Neither side spoke, perhaps not knowing how to answer or how to prove it. After a while, Emilia said to her daughter in a helpless and disappointed tone: "You are still so stubborn, Lorena."

"It depends on what you said." Emilia shook her head. "It's nothing more than the juice squeezed from the fruit and leaves of the Gend tree. Even if six years have passed, what changes should there be?"

Rorona smiled and did not refute her mother's words.

Queen Aimi stopped talking and stared at Lorena, who said word by word, "That's a disease."

The Gend tree is one of the few marine plants that can be planted by deep-sea races. Although the word "tree" is in its name, its appearance is more similar to ferns among terrestrial plants, but it is larger in size. Almost every Gend tree can grow to more than 20 meters. They are also the most widely distributed, fastest-growing, and oldest plants in the deep sea. It is said that they are 12,000 years older than the ancestor of all terrestrial plants, the golden fern, and their life form is very stable. The Gend tree that people see now looks like the Gend tree that is 12,000 years old, and it is even possible that the original Gend tree looked like this.

"……Won't."

Queen Aimi didn't care. She set her eyes on her daughter's legs and frowned slightly: "Is it the legs this time?"

"Yeah." Rorona nodded gently. "But fortunately, I have adapted well in the past six years, so now I am very familiar with using a wheelchair, and it basically has no impact."

"I'm not stubborn." Rorona blinked deliberately. Her tone was completely different from her mother's. She said cheerfully, "It's just a little persistence."

"You have lost a lot for this little persistence." Emilia said: "You may lose more in the future."

They never change, nor do they need to change, so Emilia thinks her daughter's sigh is meaningless: how can a tree that has not changed in twelve thousand years become unrecognizable in just six years?

"Will I lose Galene, my dearest sister?"

“…I don’t know.”

"Then I have nothing to lose!" Lorena said with a bright smile.

……

"What!? Rorona is really back!?"

Galene's loud voice echoed throughout the entire Shell Street. The sea water seemed to freeze in an instant, and the atmosphere fell into an unprecedented silence. The next moment, an even more violent explosion came -

"The Second Princess is back!?"

"What! Princess Rorona is back? Where is she? Has she entered the city?"

"Is that the legendary Princess of the Sea? I heard that she went to the human city. Could she have returned to the Nereids?"

"Don't talk nonsense. There's no way Her Highness Rorona would go to a human city!"

"That's right, those humans are greedy, despicable and shameless. They are not worthy of Princess Haiqi's favor at all!"

"Uh, I just said it casually, is there any need to get so excited?"

The little elf Xie Mi, who spoke casually, hid behind Metien with a sullen expression.

But Medien had no time to comfort her friend. She was shocked by the bustling scene in front of her. The whole Shell Street, from vendors to residents, from the elderly to children, had completely forgotten their original purpose. They were whispering and discussing the news of Her Highness Lorena's sudden return. There was also some prejudice and bad words against humans... But these were all insignificant matters, and Medien didn't care.

She had heard from Galene a long time ago that the Princess of the Sea enjoyed a high reputation among the people of the Mirror of the Azure Sea, but after seeing her influence with her own eyes, she still couldn't help but be amazed.

He must be a very good person, right? Because only such a person can be loved by so many people sincerely.

The pink-haired little girl couldn't help but think.

On the other side, the Wolf Rider Katins, who personally delivered the message to his pitiful student, looked helplessly at the impetuous student in front of him. He knew very well that she was not an impulsive person, but when it came to matters involving her family, especially her sister Lorena, she always seemed a little... straightforward, and her body's actions were faster than her brain's thinking, just like now.

Galene quickly realized that she had done something stupid. She quickly covered her mouth, as if doing so could take back the words she had said without thinking. Then she looked at her teacher carefully. Seeing that he didn't seem angry but just helpless, she slowly moved her hand away and asked tentatively, "Then I'll go to the Ice Water Palace to see Lorena first, Lord Katins?"

"Go ahead." Catins nodded slightly: "But stay calm, Princess Galene, you are not only the sister of Princess Lorena, but also the eldest princess of the Nieride royal family, do you understand?"

"understand!"

In fact, Galene didn't understand the deep meaning of this sentence at all. She just agreed casually, then turned her head to look at the guests with eager expectation. Olvera looked at her quietly for a while, until Metien began to pull the corner of her clothes, she finally reacted, said "Oh", and replied slowly: "It doesn't matter, you go, anyway... we have to go to find Lingge."

"That's great! I'll let Lord Katins take you to the Blue Coral Palace! That's all for now, see you later!"

After saying this, Galene ran away in a hurry. Katins didn't even have time to call her and ask her to go to the nearby city defense army base to exchange for a seahorse beast to ride.

"Wow——" Leticia opened her eyes wide and said in surprise: "The mermaid runs so fast!"

Everyone: "..."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)