Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 84: Isn’t it just a welcome banquet?
With Shesta's call, the whole hotel became lively.

The sliding doors of all the cupboards, wine cabinets, shelves and cabinets clanged open, and the plates, wine glasses and bowls inside flew out by themselves, floating happily in the air; the tea cups on the wooden table in the hall, led by a silver high-legged teapot, lined up in a neat row, jumped off the table in an orderly manner, and moved towards the counter; the plants in the potted plants in the corners began to whip their pots or the floor or the wall next to them with their branches, making all kinds of noisy noises, expressing their happy and joyful mood at the moment.

The light from the chandelier overhead flickered again and again, and the ivy that had not yet bloomed played a melancholy melody. Immediately, a sharp voice rebuked it: "Hey, our party doesn't need such complaining music as yours!" Alice looked in the direction of the voice, and found that it was the crabapple tree that had just wanted to run over to shake hands with them that was speaking. It held up its lush leaves, and its commanding appearance looked like the chief conductor of an orchestra.

The hanging vines on the wall spread apart to the sides, revealing the rabbit holes behind. Furry little white rabbits came out of the holes and began to get busy. Some grabbed the tableware floating in the sky, piled them on their heads, and then hurried to the kitchen in the back; some jumped to the side of the counter, took out tea bags, sugar, coffee cubes and other things from the drawer, and threw them into the teacups and teapots waiting in line; others gathered in a circle, whispering, as if they were holding a serious meeting. Alice vaguely heard them discussing tonight's banquet, "Should it be called a welcome banquet or a celebration banquet?"...

A little white rabbit with dark circles under its eyes dazedly jumped to Shelia's side and tried to take her drinkware. The bartender grabbed its ears and lifted it up, saying angrily, "How many times have I told you, Bill, this is not a kettle."

She casually threw the little white rabbit toward the back door and said, "Go to the kitchen and wash the dishes. Remember, don't steal the ingredients."

The rabbit named Bill landed lightly on the floor, raised his short little paws, saluted Chelia seriously, and then hopped to the kitchen.

"This——" Alice stared at the lively scene in front of her, stunned: "What are you doing?"

"As you can see, this is the preparation for the banquet." Shesta put away the bell with a smile and said to the three guests, "Music, refreshments, tableware, delicacies... The joyful banquet is about to begin. Before that, please wait patiently."

She turned to her two sisters and said, "Xelya, please come and clean up this hall. Let the mops and rags accompany you. It would be best if it looks exactly like when it was newly built. Xie Mi, after you take the guests to choose a room, remember to pick some ingredients from the underground garden. The common ones should include: scared beans, crying mushrooms, and picky radishes... As for me?"

"..."

There was a hint of confidence in her eyes, but a rabbit next to her, pouring sugar into a teacup, curled its lips subtly, indicating that this might not be the case.

Is there no normal food?

Alice couldn't help but think.

Alice, standing at the stairs, picked her ears and asked casually, "Are they always this noisy?"

Xie Mi's eyes wandered, and his tone was hesitant: "No, I can't say it's often, it's just that, relatively speaking, the frequency is indeed a bit high..."

Miss Xie Mi, who had to accept the fact, forced a smile and said to the three guests around her, "Please come with me to the third floor to choose a room."

A little high?
Alice didn't seem to notice her embarrassment and asked, "How high?"

The three travelers who hadn't figured out the situation were dragged up to the third floor by her in a daze. But even standing there, they could hear the lively sounds in the lobby on the first floor, along with the chirping of rabbits and the mutual accusations of potted plants: "You're disrupting my rhythm!" "You're too anxious!" "Do you want us to embarrass ourselves in front of the guests?" "Hey, guys, calm down, don't forget that this is a symphony." "Unfortunately, I haven't learned the skills to play the violin yet." "Is only the timpani okay?"

The fairy maid groaned, then stretched out her thumb and index finger and made a tiny gesture: "Really, really not as often as you think. Probably, maybe, maybe, only once every two or three days?"

The beautiful proprietress fell into deep thought again, muttering to herself, "I have to think about what menu to use for tonight's banquet. Would you humans like the goblin taste? Startled pie, Crybaby mushroom soup, Sparkling maple syrup, and perhaps a crackling electric fried pork steak?"

……

Miss Xie Liya, who was directing the mop and rag to sweep the floor, interrupted and said, "It is necessary to remind you that if there is no spiritual water mixed by me, the banquet tonight will be overshadowed."

Xie Mi smiled awkwardly: "Actually, they are usually very well behaved. They only get so excited when there is a banquet..."

"Uh."

"Every time?" Alice caught the key word: "Does that mean your hotel often holds banquets?"

"In short, that's it."

The three of them looked at each other in silence, and suddenly understood something.

Alice sighed, "Thank you for your hard work, Xie Mi."

The second sister is a water mixer with a strong addiction to cooking, the eldest sister is a social terrorist who likes to host banquets, and only the youngest sister, who is the youngest and the most fragile among the three sisters, can be considered reliable, but her position is also the lowest. Is this a conflict within the family or bullying in the workplace? I am afraid it is a social issue worth pondering. Although, Miss Xie Mi herself does not think so.

"You may have misunderstood."

She explained: "My eldest sister often holds banquets, not because she likes it, but because she wants to divert our attention and give us other things to do. In this way, we won't have too much pressure and hurt our bodies and moods. My eldest sister has always been a very gentle and kind person who always thinks of others, right?"

She found every opportunity to speak well of her sister and build up the character of Yasasi. Alice always felt that this routine was very familiar. When she thought about it carefully, wasn't this what Medien often did?

Poor sisters in the world.

I was suddenly filled with emotion.

Metien didn't know that she had been equated with "good sister" in Alice's mind. After listening to Shemi's explanation, she became even more confused: "Why should I let you distract yourself from other things so that you won't have too much pressure?"

Are all the people in the hotel stress-freaks? Do they like to put pressure on themselves and do weight training when they have nothing to do?

"Because the Fairy Sleep Inn hasn't had any new guests for a long time." Xie Mi recalled carefully and said in an uncertain tone: "Maybe three, four, or five years? I can't remember clearly..."

"Six years."

Lingge, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up and filled in her memory: "The last guest was in December 1799, and then it was us, with a gap of six years in between."

Xie Mi looked at him in surprise, and Ling Ge explained calmly: "I saw it in the registration book."

It turned out to be the case.

The fairy maid nodded without questioning, "That's right. As an inn, we haven't received any new guests for six years. During that time, the atmosphere in the inn was very depressing, as if it was dead. My second sister and I, Mr. Rabbit, and the magic plants all felt very anxious, wondering if there was any point in persisting."

"My eldest sister was also anxious, but she was anxious about our mood. She loved this hotel more than anyone else, and loved everyone in the hotel more deeply. If we were happy, she would be happy; and if we were sad, she would be sad too. Of course, she wanted to make us happy and gain the strength to continue. So one day, she said to us-"

Miss Xie Mi raised her head slightly, staring at the ceiling of the corridor, recalling her sister's words that day, her eyes a little melancholy.

……

"Everyone, let's have a joyful party!"

"Reason? No reason is needed."

"Isn't it the nature of us fairies to be happy when we want to be happy, to sing, dance, eat or sleep as we please, and to think only of these things at a banquet and forget about everything else?"

"Come on, use your mops and rags, and clean this place thoroughly so that the floor can reflect everyone's happy faces."

"Come on, move the tableware and dishes in the cabinet. Please serve the most delicious dishes and pass on this sweet fragrance to everyone at the banquet."

"Come on, Mr. Rabbit and the magic plants, move too. If you feel sad, your ears will droop on your head and your leaves will become listless. Isn't this what you hate the most?"

"And, Shelia and Shemi, why are you looking so sad? Come join the party!"

"I know you are still depressed about the past, but life is always full of surprises. If you can't face it with a smile and greet a hopeful tomorrow, you will definitely be disappointed with your sad self today."

"So, join me now."

“Be hopeful about the future!”

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)