Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 709: The first step towards the dream?

The building that Olvera was looking for was located on the east side of Wright Street, near the Hundred Years' War Memorial. It was a two-story house with a classical and elegant shape. The exterior walls were painted in a striking blue and white color. There was a green mailbox in front of the door, and the porch was decorated with two blue, white and green flags on the left and right. The left flag was printed with the royal emblem, the Queen's profile and the symbol of a red dragon holding a sword, while the right flag was printed with a crossroads pattern and a simple one-penny black stamp. Walk in a little further and you will see the houseplate read: 32 Wright Street, Seven Stars Branch of the Royal Post Office, Renwitting.

Sister Livia asked curiously, "Miss Olvera, do you want to send a letter?"

The princess nodded vigorously, but soon shook her head vigorously: "No, I'm not going to mail a letter, I want to submit an article!"

"Submission?"

Sister Livia looked at the girl in front of her in surprise. After a while, the surprise turned into respect, just like a person who knew nothing about the literary world would be in awe when hearing the names of Shakespeare or Dickens for the first time: "I didn't expect Miss Olvera to be a writer. It's really rude. If there is a chance, please let me read your masterpiece."

"this--"

Her serious attitude made Avra ​​a little shy. She avoided her gaze and explained in a low voice: "I, I'm not a writer yet. This is just the first work I want to submit. Besides, it's not a masterpiece. It's just a fairy tale for children..."

"I see. However, you are able to complete your creation independently and have the courage to publish it. Just this point alone shows that your perseverance and determination are better than 99% of people. Besides, who says fairy tales can only be read by children? Please don't belittle yourself. Miss Olvera, do you know who is the most popular writer in the city of Lunwiting now?"

Sister Livia said seriously, "It's not Charles Dickens, the great writer famous for his realistic style, nor is it Mr. Conan Doyle, who wrote the best-selling detective novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". It's Mr. Andersen, the fairy tale writer who focuses on depicting dreams for children. It is said that his "Andersen's Fairy Tales" sold more than two million copies in just half a month after it was published. Almost every child in Renwitting has read his book. Isn't this a great achievement?"

Rorona, who was always looking around to see if there were any alchemical materials she needed in the shops on the street, turned around after hearing their conversation and said with a smile: "As for me, I prefer the story 'The Little Mermaid'. Maybe it's because the ending is sad. Don't people often say that tragedy is more likely to touch people's hearts and arouse emotional resonance?"

"I prefer the story of Snow White." Metien also expressed her own thoughts, with a look of longing on her face: "It would be great if there was a girl as beautiful and noble as Snow White in real life."

“I don’t like The Little Mermaid.”

"It seems that Metien and I have the same aesthetic taste." The elf Shemi, who was sitting on her head, said proudly, and pointed out seriously: "Perhaps the seven dwarfs who helped Snow White were actually seven fairies. We fairies have always been regarded as the symbol of truth, goodness and beauty, so it is reasonable for us to appear in fairy tales."

"Yes, yes!" Olvera's eyes lit up. "I've also read Andersen's Fairy Tales, which he wrote. It's really wonderful. My favorite part is Cinderella, where Cinderella, who can only become a princess at midnight, wins the prince's love with her purity and kindness. This passage is so well written!"

Leticia crossed her arms and snorted, "That prince is so abominable. It's not a good story if the mermaid princess doesn't teach him a lesson!"

Everyone: "..."

She was still so extreme - no, she had become much milder, at least she just gave him a lecture. If it was before, she would definitely yell at the mermaid princess why she didn't kill the prince, right? After a round of discussion, Ovilla was surprised to find that everyone had read the fairy tale written by Andersen. So, just as Sister Livia said, even if it was a childish fairy tale, as long as it was well written, it would still be popular with people, right?
The princess quietly hugged the small package in her arms. It was obviously only the weight of a few books, but at this moment it became so heavy, as if it held a small dream of hers. That was a feeling she had never experienced before as she grew up loving reading under the loving eyes of her father, the gentle gaze of her mother and the loving gaze of her teacher. She gradually understood the sorrows and sufferings of the world.

It was also at a certain moment when she left the ancient castle in Mount Sosen and was reborn that a young man asked her, "You have read so many books, but you always quote others. Have you ever thought about writing a book yourself?", and she felt a small throbbing along with shame and resentment.

She never thought that she would take this path, but she did so with the help of many people: her father who allowed her to develop her hobbies since she was a child, her mother who encouraged all her actions, her teacher who truly taught her, this incredible journey that provided her with inspiration, the various companions or enemies she met on the journey... and of course, the most indispensable one was the young man who planted this seed for her.

So, it is time to let the seeds germinate, bloom, and bear abundant fruits, just like the violet seeds that the teacher left for me, which will surely germinate and bloom as long as they are planted. Although this seed has been buried for a long time, but... who says that seeds planted a long time ago cannot bloom?

Ovella took a deep breath, then said to her companions seriously, "I'm going to submit my work!"

Everyone was encouraging her, whether it was Metien clenching her fist to cheer her up, Shemi raising her thumbs high, or Rolena's approving smile, they were all full of their most sincere emotions. Even the little bat, who was least good at encouraging others, said to her, "I want to read your book after it is published." Although the tone was a little stiff, the concern in it was not false. This moved the princess greatly, and she finally mustered up the courage and took the first step towards her dream towards the door of the post office...

"Uh, wait a minute!"

Sister Livia's voice broke the inexplicably touching atmosphere. When Avra ​​turned around blankly and others looked at her in doubt, she said hesitantly, "Although I know it's not appropriate to say this at this time, but I noticed that there seems to be no stamp on your envelope, Avra. Let me ask you, you don't know... that you need to put a stamp on the letter, right?"

“Ugh!!?”

"Ah, ah! Don't look at me like that. It's okay. It doesn't matter if you forget to put the stamp on. There is a stamp counter in the post office. It's very cheap. You can buy the cheapest stamp for only one penny. Wait, let me ask you one more question. You don't... even have a penny, do you?"

"Ouch!!!"

"I, I, I know. I'll buy stamps for you! Can I help you mail the letter? Oh, by the way, which publishing house do you want to send it to? There are many well-known publishing houses in Renwitin, such as the Northern Order Publishing House, the Royal Education Publishing House, and the Renwitin Geographic Publishing House. You can submit your manuscripts to any of them. But I don't really recommend you to submit to the Northern Order Publishing House. After all, it is a joint industry of the Order... Uh, you seem to want to say something, Miss Olvera?"

After an awkward silence, Sister Livia asked tentatively, "Submit it to the Northern Order Publishing House?"

Olvera looked away embarrassedly and nodded silently.

The nun said a lot of things but it seemed to have no effect at all: "..."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)