Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 781: Have we finally arrived?

As if she noticed that Lingge was in a heavy mood, Saint Xia Liya, who had fallen behind, took a step forward calmly. She quietly reached out her hand where no one could see and poked the young man on the back, telling him in this way: You are not fighting alone, and if necessary, I will face it with you.

Although it might be an illusion, she vaguely heard Ling Ge sighing lightly, and the aura between his brows was not so serious. Was it because of her comfort that made him feel at ease? After this thought emerged in her mind, although she knew that the occasion was not appropriate, the shepherdess couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, raising a shallow arc that would be invisible if you didn't look carefully.

Obviously, she was also in a much more relaxed mood. Linger did not comfort her, but as long as Linger himself could feel at ease, then others would also feel at ease, because he had this ability. If you don't believe it, just look back at the other companions. They all knew that the current situation was very critical, but no one showed any worry or anxiety. This confidence came not only from the game console and cassette in Alice's hand, not only from the various difficulties they had experienced in their past adventures, but also from his back, who was standing in the front of the crowd and remained straight and motionless.

"I am truly honored." The young man seemed unaware that he was confronting the Queen of this country, and his tone remained calm. "I never thought that a nobody like us could attract the attention of His Majesty and the leader."

"Nobody can be considered a nobody."

The queen smiled slightly. "Even if we put aside your great achievements in stopping the destruction of the God of Conception in the Saria Field and saving the Wind City of Avion, your identity as the last priest of the Goddess of Creation left in the Western Continent is enough to make us look at you differently. Moreover, I don't think that a mere nobody can escape from the hands of Lady Times. To be honest, this news is even more surprising to me than the fact that Gloria brought her lover to sneak into the professor's party."

At the end of her words, she looked deeply at the silver-eyed countess, and was then glared back fiercely by the little bat behind the countess.

The queen smiled at her gently, not caring about the offensive behavior. Perhaps because there were so many people around, she only exposed Ling'er's identity, and did not mention anything about the young royal power including Leticia. Ling'er did not think that the mysterious leader was targeting him, and it was obvious that the young royal power was her target.

Never held her granddaughter's head and pushed her to the side of Lorena, leaving her to the care of Princess Haiqi. She looked up and met the queen's gaze, without any evasion. If Ling's indifference was because of his nature, let alone facing the queen, even facing the goddess who was said to have created the world, he would probably have the same attitude. The confidence of the countess came from her past identity. In its heyday, the territory and national strength of the Metosh Empire far surpassed that of the Great Britta Kingdom of the same period. As one of the founders of Metosh, a close comrade-in-arms of Saint Junnio, and the millennial head of the Valenhild family, Never obviously had full qualifications to communicate with Her Majesty the Queen on an equal footing.

"So you still remember this identity." The queen shook her head slightly. "I don't expect you to take on the responsibilities of a royal family member. With your... personality, this is not realistic, but at least be obedient and don't cause us too much trouble. Do you think that after this precedent, we will still let you do whatever you want?"

"Yes."

Her eyes sparkled, and she looked around like a thief, then lowered her voice and said, "Construct mecha?"

Even the night sky along the Tavier River was blocked by steamboats on the water and the magical field covering the entire area of ​​water.

Gloria then retracted her gaze and said in a pitiful manner, "I can't help it. After all, I am just the third princess who is ignorant of worldly affairs, does not care about political affairs, and never interferes in the affairs of the royal family."

"It seems that there are many things she doesn't know." Her Majesty the Queen's words were not without profound meaning.

Her Majesty the Queen had good hearing, and her eyes were immediately fixed on Olvera who was gossiping in the crowd, which startled the latter and she stammered to defend herself. But since the Queen didn't care about Leticia's direct offense, how could she care about the unintentional words of a weak girl? She explained intriguingly: "Not everyone can be a witch, and qualifications are very important. Moreover, although I joined the Witch Association, I only represented the Kingdom to reach a partial cooperation relationship with the association. I will not interfere in the real core affairs of the association. Therefore, the identity of a philosopher is just right for me. Why, didn't Gloria mention it to you?"

Gloria pursed her lips and said nothing more.

Her Majesty the Queen nodded slightly. "Among the seven witches, Lady Times's power of the end is not the most powerful, but it is definitely the most dangerous. Being able to escape from her is something I can be proud of. You are worthy of being the Silver-Eyed Countess."

"Times?" She raised her eyebrows slightly and asked with interest, "Is that the witch's name?"

Then everyone looked at Her Royal Highness the Third Princess. She was still leisurely and contented, her eyes wandering, pretending to look around at the scenery, as if there was something really interesting on this bridge surrounded by magic armored vehicles, airships and mechanical troops.

"Is Her Majesty the Queen just a philosopher?" Olvera hid in the crowd and muttered, "I thought someone like you would be at least a witch or something. Ah, of course, I'm not saying that you look like a witch, I'm just, just making an analogy!"

However, she escaped because of the other party's softness. And until now, Nevelle still couldn't figure out why the Witch of the End, named Times, suddenly retracted her power at that time? Could it be that she was frightened by Leticia's sudden attack? Or did she realize Leticia's royal status and couldn't bear to see the sisters kill each other, so she let them go?
No matter what, it has something to do with my lovely granddaughter.

Everyone knew that the so-called precedent should refer to the incident in which Gloria sneaked into the Witch Society and spied on many confidential information. But since the Witch Society has already found out who the criminal is, why didn't they punish him? Even if the society would be concerned about Gloria's identity as a princess, wouldn't it be justified for Her Majesty the Queen to discipline her? If they had reacted in time after the incident, they probably wouldn't have given Gloria a second chance, which would have led to what happened today, right?
Whether it was the Witch Society, Her Majesty the Queen, or Gloria, they were all mysterious, as if they were hidden behind a thick fog, making it difficult for people to see the truth. But with Alice's personality, since she couldn't see clearly, she simply didn't look at it. In comparison, she was more curious about something: "You've all asked questions, now it's my turn, right? Your Majesty, what is the Ladist you mentioned just now? Could it be--"

Nevile glanced at Leticia obliquely, and the little bat, who was staring at the queen angrily, suddenly raised its head and gave her a big smile, which made the countess speechless: Sometimes he is very sharp, and sometimes he is silly, and I don't know who he resembles.

Although they were standing on the enemy's side at this moment, out of courtesy, other people used "you" when talking to Her Majesty the Queen. Only Alice was special. She still used "you". Her tone was no different from usual. No one could tell whether she did it on purpose or was just so careless in her daily life. But perhaps even she herself was not aware of the difference.

"good."

Her Majesty the Queen didn't seem to mind revealing the information of the association to this group of people. She nodded and acknowledged directly: "The Sky Dragon Nest - Ladist, it is a machine produced in the same batch as the Earth Witch - Feiyemente you have seen. It is currently used as a large mobile base of the association. The environment there is beautiful, the view is wide, and most importantly, there are many outstanding talents, like the commander of the wing suit mobile force, Xin, the commander of the mechanized force, Yelena, or the commander of the night watch, Edward, who appeared in front of you today, have all studied on the Ladist. Mr. Ling, your friend Langning Ravel is also said to be expected to be awarded the title of philosopher in advance because of his recent outstanding performance. Are you happy about this?" She looked at the young man, who frowned slightly, but did not answer the question, but denied: "Mr. Langning is indeed an excellent person, but he is not my friend."

The Queen was not surprised by this answer: "Then I suppose Rochelle is not your friend either?"

Lingge didn't answer, but silence itself was an answer.

The queen noticed his reaction and couldn't help but think of the leader's evaluation of him. She thought that he was indeed a very interesting young man. Although he appeared to be very calm and realistic most of the time and seemed to be a pragmatist, in essence, perhaps he was the most naive one of the group.

However, she did not express this thought in words or expression, but just smiled and said: "In short, the Ladist is a good place, with a style that is very different from the current era. I am looking forward to the day when you will visit us. I believe you will like it soon."

It was certain that Lingge and his group had no way to escape and could only surrender.

In reality, this is indeed the case.

"The Sky Dragon's Nest - Ladist, the Earth Witch - Feiyemente, they both sound pretty cool." Alice pinched her chin and thought: "How did you come up with such cool machine code names? In addition to these two constructed mechas, there should be other models, right? I heard that they all belong to the same series, called the Creation Machine. Can you tell me the code names of the other machines?"

She stared at Her Majesty the Queen with her sharp eyes, her eyes burning with an unconcealable desire for knowledge.

"To be honest, this request makes me a little embarrassed, Miss Alice." Her Majesty the Queen smiled and said, "The information about the Creation Machine series of constructed mechas has always been the most confidential information of the association. I can't reveal it to you in front of so many people. However, if you are willing to visit the Ladist, you will see them sooner or later in the future."

"That's too long. I can't wait that long." Alice said seriously, "Your Majesty, you rule the entire Kingdom of Great Brittany and have such a broad mind. Can you satisfy my curiosity a little?"

"Haha, Miss Alice is such an interesting person. If I appeared in front of you as the queen tonight, you might not mind discussing related topics with you. Unfortunately, it's not the case. Now, as a philosopher of the association, I have to fulfill my responsibilities."

"It doesn't matter. I don't mind whether you are Queen Victoria or Philosopher Victoria. Since you have dual identities, why don't you join our Gransefa Air Cavalry? I'll make you the deputy commander. That way you'll have enough reasons to leak information to us, right?"

Alice looked like a wise general, talking nonsense, which not only made her companions speechless, but even Sir Devine, who had been silent, could not stand it anymore. He was about to scold her for not losing her respect and courtesy when facing Her Majesty the Queen, but was stopped by the Queen. She looked at Alice meaningfully and said, "If you want to know so much, why don't you ask dear Miss Gloria? As far as I know, the information she obtained through certain channels is more detailed than that of me, a philosopher of the association."

Alice was refreshed and immediately looked at Gloria, but the gray-haired girl avoided her gaze and looked up at the dark blue crystal wall above her head, which was shrouded in the night sky. She said leisurely, "Miss Alice, haven't you heard of a folk saying: Curiosity and cats can both kill people?"

Only at this moment, seeing the tone and expression of her voice, did Lingge believe that she and Her Majesty the Queen were indeed related by blood.

Although she was politely rejected, Alice was unwilling to give up and continued to try to pry information out of the Queen, but was blocked by the Queen's watertight rhetoric. Time passed, and the mysterious leader still did not appear. The voices on the Indorsis Bridge made the night even quieter and more mysterious, and a suffocating silence was about to burst out from the cold steel barrel.

Nevill observed the surroundings calmly, and after a while shook her head to Lingge, indicating that the encirclement was still tight and there was no possibility of escaping. These troops belonging to the Witch Society were like mechanical parts, calm, patient, and extremely resilient. It would be as difficult to fight a way out of their blockade as to return to the Shikilia Peninsula and fight the troops of the Balance of Order head-on. Even Gundaruf and Silver Moon failed, so could a few outsiders do it?

Linger sighed silently in his heart and decided to put his hope on the cartridge that Alice was still activating. However, due to an unknown malfunction in the game console, the activation time seemed to be a bit long, and he didn't know when it would start. Before that, he had to delay as much as possible. Fortunately, the other party had no intention of arresting people immediately and was still waiting for the leader to appear. Moreover, the leader seemed to be very interested in them. Even if she arrived, she might be able to negotiate with them through words and buy time for the cartridge to be activated... Isn't this what Alice is doing?
Lingge was startled when he thought of this, and looked up at Alice. At this time, the golden-haired maid was still pestering Her Majesty the Queen with questions, as if she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She waved one hand, using body movements to emphasize her tone, but the other hand, the one holding the game console and cartridge, was kept behind her back, using the bodies of Olvira, Saint Shalia and others to cover up the faint fluorescence emitted by the activated cartridge.

This guy……

Lingge couldn't help but think: Sometimes one can still show some quick wit, but he doesn't know whether it is really a result of quick thinking or simply a lack of nervousness.

At this moment, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the direction of Indorsis Bridge towards Westminster. The sound of leather heels stepping on the concrete bridge surface echoed in the dark and deep night, and it seemed particularly clear: click, click.

The sound of footsteps instantly attracted everyone's attention, and Ling'er's heart trembled: Is it finally here?
The mysterious leader.

The newcomer walked past the steel chariots that stretched across the bridge like small fortresses, walked under the silent but respectful gazes of every soldier, walked past several members of the A-1152 Arbitration Team, walked past Her Majesty the Queen's carriage and Sir Devine who was accompanying her... Finally, she appeared in front of Linge and the others, but before her face came into view, the first thing that came out was a leisurely and calm voice: "Oh, I seem to have come at the wrong time. Did I disturb your conversation, Victoria?"

"Perhaps I could step aside for a moment and come on stage after your chat is over. That would be more appropriate?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)