Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 667: Is there a new friend?
The petite girl clenched her teeth, as if she would rather break her gums than let out a weak groan. The silvery moonlight passed over the chimney and hit her pale face. Dark red blood oozed from the corners of her mouth and slowly flowed down, as if gorgeous poppies were blooming under the moon.

The body that couldn't help but tremble, the pupils that were dilated to the extreme, and the wrists that had lost their color due to too much force... The breath of death was lingering. The little girl on the roof easily reminded people of the thin ceiling of the hospital, the pungent smell of disinfectant, the sheets as white as snow, and the doctors in white coats of the same color. She was like a leukemia patient, waiting for the final judgment in emptiness and torment.

Lingge was the only person who witnessed this scene. He knew that he was powerless and could not change anything, but there were things he could do, which was the meaning of his standing here at this moment. So he made the same move as last time and slowly reached out his hand towards the roof. The little girl who was dying under the woods, flowers and green ivy, and the little girl who was curled up behind the chimney to avoid the moonlight, the two figures overlapped, once again showing that there is no reincarnation of memory, only rebirth.

"So," he said in a calm, serious, and powerful voice, "Do you want me to pray for you, Miss Leticia?"

Leticia was suddenly stunned, and for a moment she forgot the pain and despair of being on the verge of death. She had never felt so familiar in her short memory, as if she had not heard these words at this moment, but had a vague impression of them a long time ago, and they were always spoken by the same person on the same occasion and for the same reason.

If I remember correctly, the man should have said something else.

For example, everyone needs someone to pray for him, whether it is a homeless person on the street, a nobleman in the manor, a worker in the factory, or a girl falling down in front of me at this moment.

For example, it is the duty of a pastor to cleanse the souls of the dead and purify their impure memories and deep grief.

as well as--

The voice of the soul can bring blessings, and the voice of piety can communicate with the Holy Spirit.

There are so many words, inexplicable words, words that I don't want to remember but I keep remembering. Why do they keep echoing in my ears? Who is that person? Is it my grandmother? No, that's not right. It's the voice of a young man. Is it someone I know? It must be, right? Otherwise, how can I feel familiar with him? I feel a little disgusted, but also a little happy. Why do I feel so complicated? Should I agree to him? Should I refuse him? Will I... always remember him?
In the gradually blurred memory, the girl grinned in a place where Lingge couldn't see, and said in a low voice: "It doesn't matter - just say anything."

"Hypocrisy in the name of goodness led me to forgive a person who was suffering."

“All joy and longing return to her dream.”

“All the pain and anxiety are engraved in my heart.”

Linger slowly closed his eyes, erasing the girl's weak and helpless posture from his sight. At the same time, his upper and lower lips touched slightly, and a prayer sounded from his lips and teeth. At this time, the whole world seemed to have lost its sound and became as quiet as the moonlight, allowing his prayer to cross the barriers of memory and reality and be deeply imprinted in the soul of the person being prayed for.

“I—” She took a quick breath. The oppressive feeling coming from her heart made her feel a little suffocated. Something that was not sure whether it was sweat or tears hung on her long eyelashes, blurring the girl’s vision: “I will listen, I can hear it, so—

Leticia didn't say anything, but she let out a whimper from her throat like a wounded cub, which was considered her agreement.

The souls of the dead who are not prayed for cannot ascend to the goddess's heaven and receive her comfort and recognition.

……

"My God in heaven, I owe you my honesty."

"So," the young man took over calmly, "let me pray for you."

"From now on, I will pay for her sins, along with those she has hurt."

He prayed for her on the ground, and she listened to his prayer on the roof. On the edges of the broken stained glass windows, there seemed to be traces of red roses and blue roses growing.

Time passed by, in the clear night, under the cold moonlight, outside a church that was once watched by the goddess and now only guides the wisdom in people's hearts to enlightenment, a young man who was once a priest but took off his white robe on his own initiative whispered the last prayer: "May she and the innocent live in your carefree kingdom."

"We mortals are with the goddess." When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pair of clear ruby ​​eyes hanging upside down under the eaves of the church. Like the stray cats that can be seen everywhere in the streets, they were wary and distant towards strangers, but at the same time revealed a bit of curiosity, as if wondering why this human appeared here and in front of him.

"Who is you?"

She asked, her voice clear and pure as if she had just come into the world for the first time.

"Lingge." The young man introduced himself with two simple words, and then asked her: "Do you want to go find your grandma?"

“No.” Leticia wrapped her body tightly with two black bat wings, as if she was wearing a black windbreaker, and shook her head vigilantly: “Grandma asked me to wait here, so I won’t leave.”

It seems there is no need to worry about her making a scene after not being able to find her grandmother.

For some reason, Leticia became much more well-behaved after this reincarnation, and did not even show obvious hostility towards the stranger in front of her, which made Lingge feel relieved.

"So," the girl hanging upside down on the eaves asked again, "Who are you?"

Wasn’t this question just asked?

Linger looked at her strangely and had to repeat his answer: "Linger, this is my name."

"I didn't ask your name." Leticia's tone was slightly impatient. She looked at the young man suspiciously: "What I asked is, who are you? Why do I feel that you are very familiar? And your voice sounds very familiar, as if I have heard it often before?"

This was the first time Ling Ge had encountered such a situation. He was stunned for a moment, then he opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but at this moment, a surprised shout came from behind him: "Ah! Leticia, you are here!"

Lingge and Leticia looked in the direction of the voice at the same time, and then saw the pink-haired girl jogging over with a goblin on her head. She seemed to be in a hurry, and before she could stand still after running to the church door, she panted and said, "Finally, I found you, Leticia! Huh! Where did you go? You made Shemi and I worried to death!"

"I'm not worried!" Xie Mi, who was sitting on top of her, snorted coldly, with the words "I'm very arrogant" written on his face.

"Okay, okay, don't say that, Shemy. After all, finding someone is a good thing. Leticia, don't be so impulsive next time. You suddenly broke the window and flew away, scaring me and Shemy!" said the pink-haired little girl, looking at Leticia with expectant eyes, hoping to get a promise from her friend, or even a perfunctory agreement.

However, the girl hanging on the eaves tilted her head and asked, "Who are you?"

"Eh!?"

Medien was stunned. She looked at Leticia, then at her brother. After a while, she realized what had happened. The light in her eyes gradually dimmed, and her expression became depressed. She looked listless, which made people feel very distressed.

Lingge was silent for a while, then suddenly put his hand on his sister's shoulder and gently pushed her towards Leticia.

When the pink-haired girl showed a panicked look on her face and tried to turn around and ask her brother with her eyes, he held her head and said calmly: "Don't be afraid, Metien, come and meet your new friend."

"Her name is——"

"Leticia."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)