Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 85 Is this something everyone knows?
The rooms in the Fairy Sleep Inn are simply furnished, without luxurious decorations, and even the lighting is still based on the old fireplace and candles. Whether it is the neatly folded bed, the round table with tea sets and vases, or the display shelf with a few miscellaneous books... they all look quite old, but they don't look old, instead they have a faint warm feeling.

Beside the mahogany window frames, the curtains opened automatically even without wind. Looking out from the glass windows of the fence grid, one could see the scenery of the park: grass covered with fallen leaves, lush bushes, unknown wild flowers, swings under the trees, public fire hydrants, and benches where the travelers had just taken a short rest. After being magnified countless times, they seemed to constitute the living entity of the giant kingdom, or like a clearly defined circular mountain range with a unique style.

The afternoon light was bright, and the green plants by the windowsill were sparkling. At least in terms of being close to nature, the fairies in the real world were exactly the same as those described in the novel. Alice walked over and gently touched their leaves, and immediately felt a gentle touch, as if they were greeting her.

These are also magical plants, but unlike the ones in the lobby on the first floor, they don’t seem to be able to speak.

I originally thought that a room that had not been occupied for six years would be cold and lonely, but the travel fairies cleaned it very well, so even the most inconspicuous cracks in the wall were filled with warm sunlight. Alice was very satisfied with this. Although it was not a luxury suite, it was at least much better than the small room she had in Tianxin Church.

"What's next?"

She talked to herself, feeling quite empty and idle.

Go harass Metien? Go harass Linger? Or go harass Miss Shemi, who is also a maid? Wait, why is there only the option of harassment? Can't I do something more serious?

Alice suddenly came to her senses and set her eyes on the SLP game console and cartridge storage box on her waist.

Being a maid is just a side job, her true identity is a genius gamer!
The game console had recovered its power while the train was running, but Alice had never started it again. Because there were so many people on the train, it was difficult to operate, and after arriving in Rostin City, she was busy traveling and playing... I mean, she was busy looking for the location of the Fairy Sleep Inn, so she didn't have much time, so she was delayed until now.

"It's me!" Metien's voice came from outside the door, with a hint of excitement: "Miss Shemi is going to the hotel's underground garden to pick ingredients for tonight, and she said she can take us with her. Sister Alice, do you want to go?"

The pink-haired girl greeted Alice when she saw her, and then said, "Wait a moment, Sister Alice, I'll ask Ling Ge if he wants to go."

Linger glanced at her and said, "I just went to ask Miss Xie Liya a few questions."

Now that we have time, why not...

"Dong dong!"

Alice instantly forgot what she was thinking: "I'll go, I'll go!"

The door of Ling'er's room was pushed open. After the two talked for a while, an undisguised expression of loss appeared on Metien's face. Seeing this, Alice was about to show her foresight by saying "I told you so", but suddenly she saw Ling'er close the door and then walked over behind her sister. She was a little surprised: Did he change his mind?
"You want to go to the fairy garden with us?" Alice looked her employer up and down, as if she had gotten to know him all over again. She exclaimed in amazement: "I didn't realize you were quite childish."

"I didn't say that."

Alice curled her lips when she heard this: "I don't think there's any need to ask, he definitely won't go."

"Oh."

But Metien didn't care what she said. He ran to the next room and knocked on the door. The rooms chosen by the three were connected. Alice, who liked to play pranks, deliberately chose her room in the middle to separate the brother and sister. It was hard to say that there was no dark intention behind this.

She pushed the door open excitedly. Metien and Shemi were waiting outside. The latter was holding a hand-woven basket in both hands, the kind used to hold sandwiches at a picnic. There was a white tablecloth at the bottom and a pink bow tied on the edge. It looked very girlish.

Someone suddenly knocked on the door of the room, and Alice subconsciously asked, "Who is it?"

Go to the fairy's underground garden to pick ingredients! ?

Now, Alice can finally say what she wanted to say just now -

"I'll just say it."

…When we arrived at the first floor, the noise had died down a lot. The proprietress, Shesta, had gone somewhere, and the only person behind the counter was the bartender, Ms. Shelia. She had already cleaned the floor, tables and chairs, and was mixing the wine for tonight's banquet… The wine glass in her hand gently shook, and the liquid made a crisp sound when it hit the glass wall.

The magic plants gathered in the corner and discussed in a low voice whether the music for the opening of the banquet should be classical or lyrical. A few Mr. Rabbits stood on chairs, stretched out their forelimbs, and posted banners and decorations on the flower racks with hanging vines and green ivy. There were also some lanterns in the shape of fruits: apples, oranges, lemons, watermelons...

This scene really gives people the illusion of being in a fairy tale.

Xie Mi greeted her second sister and took Metien and Alice to the back door, which led to the kitchen. From the kitchen, there was a path leading to the underground garden. She had to collect the ingredients before the banquet began. But her own strength might not be enough, so she invited two guests to help her. In theory, it was to let them experience the feeling of picking magical ingredients.

Although she appears to be weak and naive on the surface, Miss Shemi can be cunning sometimes.

The three girls left the hall through the back door, and Ling sat down at the counter. Out of politeness, he did not speak for the time being, not wanting to disturb Shelia who was concentrating on mixing water.

After the young man waited quietly for a few minutes, the sound of shaking the wine glasses gradually stopped. The handsome bartender poured the prepared water into the wine glass, pushed it in front of Lingge, and said confidently: "Please taste it. This is my life's masterpiece. I decided to name it: Tender Heart."

Perhaps because she was worried that Lingge would do the same thing as Alice, she deliberately emphasized: "It is impossible to replicate it. Even if I come here in person, I can't reproduce it."

Lingge did not refuse, took the wine glass, and asked again: "Since it cannot be reproduced, what about the banquet?"

"Hmm." Xie Liya fell into thought after hearing this: "This is a serious question, but it doesn't matter. I will show you other masterpieces at that time, which will surely satisfy you."

Lingge immediately understood that the "masterpiece" she mentioned was probably the same as the "genius player" Alice mentioned.

He took a sip of the water in the wine glass - it seemed a little strange to say this, but it was true - and then asked the question that concerned him most at the moment: "When will Miss Saint Xia Liya come back?"

"I don't know." The bartender shook her head honestly. "Xiao Xia is always elusive. If she doesn't want to be discovered, no one can find her. Maybe you can ask the eldest sister... But she is in the kitchen preparing the menu for the evening banquet, so she probably doesn't have much time."

Linger nodded silently. He had expected this answer, so he was not too disappointed. After taking another sip of water, he asked the next question: "What is a night watchman?"

He had heard this term from Shemi before, and he also knew that the Fairy Inn had some connection with this group of people - to be precise, it was a festival, and Saint Shallia played a key role in it, so he wanted to learn more about it.

Of course, his reason was very realistic. It was not to lend a helping hand, but because he did not want to be involved in some inexplicable fights under inexplicable circumstances.

Just like the time in Linville, he was inexplicably involved in the fight between the City Parish Council and the Religious Mutual Aid Association. If it weren't for Alice's game console, his body would probably have been lying in the Etney Cemetery in the suburbs.

Shelia, who was thinking about the name of her masterpiece tonight, heard his question and said "Huh", and asked in surprise: "Don't you know the Night Watchman?"

Linger frowned slightly: "Should I know?"

"of course."

The bartender's tone seemed matter-of-fact: "Everyone who has come into contact with the mysterious world, even if only by hearsay, should have heard of the name of the Night Watchman."

"Of course, for those of us who are different from humans, we are more accustomed to calling it——"

"Black Death."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)