Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 65: Does it only take one afternoon to consider?

The atmosphere at lunch became very strange. Except for Lingge who was concentrating on his meal as if he was not affected by anything, the two girls seemed a little absent-minded. They were always secretly glancing at Lingge, as if they wanted to read some hidden information from his subtle changes in expression.

This strange atmosphere lasted until the end of the meal and when they started to clean up the dishes, Metien, who was urged by Lingge to go back to the second floor to review, walked to the kitchen door and finally couldn't help but turned back and asked, "Lingge, will you go to Rostin City?"

Ling Ge said without turning his head: "I'm still considering it."

"I think you should go."

Metien said seriously: "Sister Saint Xia Liya is the offspring of the goddess. I don't think she will deceive us. Moreover, you are the one chosen by the golden apple. Just like Sister Alice is the messenger of the goddess, you have also received the revelation of the goddess. Shouldn't you do something? In this way, father will not be disappointed in us!"

After meeting the genuine goddess messenger Saint Shallia, the pink-haired little girl was still willing to believe that Alice, the fake messenger, was also a messenger, which really moved her deeply.

Ling Ge stopped what he was doing, turned around, and said to his sister: "First of all, there is no evidence whether she is the offspring of the goddess. We cannot draw a conclusion based on the words of one person. Secondly, the goddess has other believers in the world. We just need to do what we can, such as spreading Her gospel in the world..."

"But, we can't do what we can do, right?"

Metien interrupted his brother, looking a little aggrieved.

Metien and Alice may be dreaming of an incredible adventure, but Linger is no longer naive.

Alice wanted to say that you are the protagonist, but she stopped talking. She snorted, "You said we are children, but how old are you?"

When her footsteps faded away, Alice, who was pretending to wash the dishes, came forward and said slyly, "Actually, I think you should go, too."

"In fact, you are more suitable to go with her." Ling Ge suddenly said: "You are also the goddess's messenger, you have a magical game console and cassettes, and you are born with an adventurous personality... To be honest, I am quite surprised that you did not ask to leave with her."

"What do you mean!" Alice immediately got furious. One of her hairs stood up suddenly. She stared at him with a vigilant look: "You said you wouldn't chase me away? So you're going to chase me away after all? You're a traitor!"

After the Blood Moon Incident, the negotiations between the Religious Mutual Aid Association and the City Parish Committee were probably in vain, and the closure of Tianxin Church was inevitable. How could I, no longer a priest, spread the gospel of the goddess?

"I still need to think about it." He said, "Metien, go upstairs and review first. Don't forget that the pharmacist qualification exam is next month."

Even so, Ling's answer remained unchanged.

"That's not much older than me!"

"Don't be like a child and always indulge in some ridiculous stories." He said: "There is only one protagonist, but it may not be us."

Ling Ge was stunned for a moment, then realized that it was indeed the case.

"Oh."

What people call "what they can do" is often just a psychological comfort for themselves. Once the world changes, they will no longer exist.

"I'm not trying to chase you away, but I feel like you don't have any reason to stay in Tianxin Church."

"twenty one."

Alice was quite angry and thought that Lingge had double standards and that this behavior must be criticized, but considering that he was her employer after all, she had to give him some face, so she did not do so.

She shook her head and said with emotion: "After all, this is the main storyline of the game. If you don't even accept the main quest, how can you continue to play this game? I can tell from the looks of it that you are an amateur, tsk."

Metien replied sullenly, then left the kitchen with his head down.

Lingge didn't understand what the "main quest" was. He only knew one thing: "This is not a game."

You can be resurrected after death in the game, but not in reality. After accepting Saint Shallia's invitation and embarking on a journey to follow the guiding line, what kind of danger will you encounter? What kind of fate is waiting for you in another strange city? These are all unforeseen things.

"Who said there wasn't one?"

"Oh? What's the reason?"

"I'm your maid!" Alice puffed out her chest and said confidently, "A maid should have the professional qualities of a maid. How can I abandon my employer and walk away before you fire me?" Hearing this, Linger stared at her for a while, and finally sighed, "So, when Metien wanted to hire you as a maid, I should have refused long ago."

"Hey, what does this mean!?"

"..."

"Don't be silent, explain it to me clearly!"

"Let's wash the dishes first."

***
No one knew how long Linger's consideration would last. Saint Xia Liya did not appear again after she left. Metien returned to her room to continue reviewing the materials for the pharmacist qualification examination. After finishing her housework, Alice immersed herself in tinkering with the game console that could not be started temporarily, trying to figure out whether it was broken or replenishing energy.

But after tinkering with it for a long time, there was no result. Finally, Alice got discouraged and threw up her hands, just throwing it away. Anyway, this thing was developed by the Game Command Studio, and she couldn't fix it. Maybe it would be fixed in a couple of days?
Turning her head to look out the window, she found that the blood-red setting sun had overflowed the window frame and gradually flowed into the room. The depressing and dull light refracted everywhere in the room, as if it was a sea of ​​blood projected on the wall, and the height had already covered Alice's head.

Her stomach growled and she realized it was time for dinner, so she put down her game console and cartridges and went downstairs to find Linge to ask him what he wanted for dinner tonight. If possible, Alice hoped for delicious grilled pork chops and cheese ham.

The doors and windows of the chapel on the first floor were tightly closed, making it even darker. Standing at the top of the stairs, one could only see the vague outline of the goddess statue and the shadows of rows of silent oak benches. They had not welcomed the prayers of believers for two weeks, as if they had been forgotten in a corner of the world. On the silver candlesticks, next to the stone statues, in the dark corners... the dampness from the Middle Ages lingered, and moss had already grown between the bricks, making the place look lifeless.

Alice couldn't stand this lonely scene, so she ran away and headed for the kitchen. When she entered the kitchen, she found that it was empty. Could it be that Lingge had gone out to buy groceries?
At a glance, she saw that the door to the backyard was open, and Alice had some guesses in her mind. She subconsciously tiptoed to the door, held on to the door frame, and carefully looked out. Sure enough, she saw Lingge standing in the shadows of several White City sycamore trees, with his back to her.

He didn't seem to notice Alice was peeping. He held a book in his hand, looked up, and stared quietly at the branches of the sycamore tree bathed in the blood-red setting sun. He saw the few remaining leaves on the branches trembling in the cold moonlit evening breeze, and it seemed that they would fall soon, and there was still no sign of new buds sprouting.

He opened his mouth and whispered something. Alice quickly moved closer and held her breath to hear what he said.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yang Ke." The young man spoke softly, his straight back looking a little lonely: "I seem to have failed your expectations."

He was apologizing to his adoptive father.

Does the failure to meet expectations refer to the closure of Tianxin Church, or something else?
Alice was thinking, but she saw Ling Ge suddenly turned around, his eyes were so sharp in the dim backyard, fixed on her. The golden-haired maid was startled, and quickly jumped out, waving her hands and said: "Well, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, in fact, I didn't hear anything, you have to believe me..."

"You're just in time." Ling Ge said calmly, his expression as if nothing had happened just now: "Get ready, and go buy dinner with me."

"Eh? Oh, okay, okay!"

Alice quickly agreed.

Lingge walked past her, probably to get the money. Alice was still standing there, feeling guilty, not daring to move. She listened to the young man's footsteps gradually fading away, quietly raised her head, and glanced at his back. Thinking of his guilty and somewhat lonely tone when he apologized just now, she suddenly felt that Lingge was not as cold and strong as she thought.

According to Metien, Lingge was a man who loved to laugh a long time ago. Although it is hard to imagine what he looked like when he laughed, since Metien said it, it should not be wrong.

It was the death of his adoptive father, Mr. Yang Ke, that changed him.

However, if Mr. Yanke really died of illness, how could Linger become so rational and cold? Like Metien, aspiring to be a doctor and save more patients is a normal example, right?

Thinking of this, Alice suddenly felt an uncontrollable impulse in her heart, and she subconsciously shouted, "Wait, Lingge!"

The young man stopped. Although the darkness in the corridor was thick and almost covered his entire body, Alice could feel that he had turned around and was looking at her with his golden eyes.

Alice swallowed her saliva quietly. Actually, she was a little regretful. Revealing someone's scars was not something a genius player should do, especially when it came to such a sensitive issue. However, the arrow was on the string, so how could she not shoot it? Should she ask him what he wanted to eat tonight?
So, the maid could only bite the bullet and ask, "I want to, um, just want to ask, uh, about Mr. Yang Ke... Actually, Metien told me about it, but I feel that it's not right? So, um, did he really... die of illness?"

As the words fell, the atmosphere fell into a strange silence. Even the air seemed to have stopped flowing, making Alice feel as if she had fallen into a lightless ocean, feeling depressed to the point of almost suffocating.

I really shouldn’t ask this question!

She secretly groaned, but at this moment, she heard Lingge's voice coming from the corridor. However, he did not answer her question, but talked about another thing -

"I've thought about it."

He said calmly, "Let's go to Rustin City."

　Give me some meow. By the way, it seems that some readers asked if there is a group, then: 553752057
　　
　
(End of this chapter)