Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 67 Does Alice have amnesia?

"I feel deeply guilty for this presumptuous request, but I am also very grateful for your understanding, Principal Scarlett." In the office, Linger put away the leave letter that had just been stamped with the official seal, bowed his head slightly, and said in an apologetic tone: "I hope this will not affect the school's course schedule. If so, it would be my dereliction of duty. Please allow me to express my apologies once again."

Mrs. Scarlett smiled gently behind the desk. "I don't want to lie to you. To be honest, your departure is indeed a sad news for us. I think the children think so too. Fortunately, this is only temporary. I am already looking forward to the day when you return to the classroom, Mr. Ling."

She paused for a moment, then said meaningfully, "This may not be a bad thing. I think you really need a pleasant journey to calm yourself down."

She seemed to be hinting at something, and Ling Ge naturally knew what she wanted to express. After a moment of silence, he replied softly, "I am also looking forward to this journey."

He had no intention of chatting any longer, so he politely said goodbye and left. Mrs. Scarlett did not try to keep him, but quietly watched the young man's back disappear behind the gradually closing door, her gaze inexplicably deep.

When the footsteps in the corridor died away and could no longer be heard, she took out a letter from the drawer next to her, looked at the sender's name, and fell into deep thought.

This is a letter from Mr. Lestrade, the captain of the Night Watch. What is mentioned in the letter is very simple, so simple that it seems not worth Lestrade's special letter to explain: Yesterday, when the Blood Moon anomaly broke out, Ling's figure was found near the Municipal Square not far from Saints Street, and he was suspected to be paying attention to the outcome of the negotiations.

The last sentence is the key point.

Because Lingge is still the "target" of the church union, the tribune of the city parish committee, Longning, admires his character and attitude towards faith very much, and intends to absorb him into the association. He also entrusts Mrs. Scarlett to observe him and give an evaluation.

If we consider it conservatively...

Mrs. Scarlett looked at the letter in her hand and pondered for a long time. Then a faint sigh and the sound of pen falling were heard in the office: It is still worth continuing to observe.

Otherwise, people will definitely say bad things about me behind my back.

In the afternoon, after teaching two history classes to the fifth-grade White Frost Grass class, Lingge returned home with a letter of leave. When passing by Riverside Street, he bought two milk puddings. He originally planned to give both to Medien, but considering Alice's outstanding feat of fighting bravely and saving the Lord single-handedly yesterday, he decided to give one to her.

Was the previous calmness just a disguise? Did he still have the desire to restart Tianxin Church in his heart? After all, according to the information, Lingge's adoptive father, Mr. Yang Ke, had a very important influence on his growth, and Mr. Yang Ke was undoubtedly a devout believer of the Goddess.

It was already evening when he returned home. When he opened the door of the chapel, he discovered something that shocked him.

Lestrade sent this letter to serve as a basis for her assessment. His approach did not contain any personal feelings, but was completely official. The night watchman found the target of observation near the negotiation venue, reported it truthfully, and sent it to Mrs. Scarlett, who was the judge.

Alice was actually cleaning.

The evaluation result is: unqualified.

And the wavering attitude shown by Lingge in this matter will undoubtedly make Mrs. Scarlett, who had originally been optimistic about him, feel doubtful.

However, judging from the current situation, it does not meet our needs.

***
Because he was unsure how long the trip would take, Linger applied for a month's leave, just in time to return before the start of the pharmacist qualification exam in Metien. Fortunately, Mrs. Scarlett was understanding, and with the help of Mr. Ronning, his leave application was approved smoothly. If it were in other schools, Linger would probably have to consider resigning.

She was holding a mop in her hand with a bucket beside her, and was cleaning the dirt on the floor with a huff. Although her movements were not very standard, combined with the maid outfit, she really looked like a maid.

What kind of stimulation led her to do housework?
Lingge stood at the door, lost in thought.

At this time, the golden-haired maid had already spotted her employer. She stopped what she was doing, supported the mop with both hands, and said in an unhappy tone: "What's that expression on your face? Is it a rare thing for me to do housework?" "Not really." Linger explained: "I'm just surprised that you have such initiative."

Before, Alice was forced to do housework by Lingge. If no one was urging her from behind, this guy would rather hide in the room and tinker with the game console than put in any effort. She is just a lazy dog.

"Then you misjudged me!" Alice heard this, a smug expression appeared on her face: "It was Metien who said that we were going to travel next, and the church would become dirty without anyone to take care of it, so I volunteered to make some insignificant contributions to the family. Isn't it much better than you, a stinky man who only knows how to fool around outside?"

"Oh."

Linger silently put the milk pudding he was going to give her back into his pocket, planning to give it to her after dinner. He walked into the chapel on the floor that Alice had not mopped yet, and asked casually, "Where's Metien?"

"Upstairs, still reviewing, really working hard."

As Alice was talking, she suddenly remembered something and asked hesitantly, "Lingge...Are you really not going to tell me about Mr. Yang Ke?"

Ling'er stopped in his tracks. He was about to answer when Alice spoke first: "Of course, if you think I shouldn't know, it doesn't matter if I don't tell you. But you know, Metien said something this morning that is exactly the same as what you said last night?"

What happened last night?

Ling's expression changed a little, and he heard Alice say, "The headlines in the newspaper blamed the Religious Mutual Aid Association for the blood moon incident we saw yesterday, and then used it as an excuse to say that the Religious Decree must not be repealed, and that there is probably no hope for Tianxin Church to reopen. Metien was very sad when he saw it, and said that."

"Then I hugged her. Actually, I wanted to comfort her, but I knew nothing about Mr. Yang Ke and you. So how could I comfort her? I thought about it for a long time but couldn't say a word. But it's good that you're back now. Go and comfort her as soon as possible, say a few nice words, and don't let her continue to be sad. Metien has always believed that you are a gentle person, so you should be good at comforting your sister, right? Come on, don't let me down!"

After talking a lot, she bent down and continued to mop the floor, muttering: "So I am not interested in Mr. Yang Ke's affairs at all, really not interested, you don't have to tell me, really don't..."

You're obviously very interested, right?

The corners of Ling'er's mouth curled up slightly, as if he wanted to smile, but he failed. He stopped trying and walked upstairs, saying, "You said it yourself last night."

"I didn't hear anything."

Then his footsteps went up to the second floor, leaving Alice alone in confusion.

"Eh?" She seemed to have amnesia and tilted her head: "Did I say that?"

……

When Lingge came to Medien's room, he saw that the pink-haired girl was just as Alice said, she looked listless. Although she was reading a book, her mind was not focused on the content of the book at all. She didn't even notice that her brother had walked into the room.

It was not until Ling'er's palm gently covered her soft hair that she came back to her senses: "Ling'er? When did you come in..."

"Metien." Linger interrupted her softly, with a rare gentleness in his tone: "It seems that we haven't visited Mr. Yang Ke for a long time."

"How about we go visit his grave tomorrow?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)