Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 851 Will She Believe It?
"How long will you stay here?" Xino asked tentatively, "Until we find that person?"

Linger nodded slightly and asked, "Is there any inconvenience?"

"I don't have any." Xinuo paused and said meaningfully: "But there are many strange creatures living in Emerald Lake..."

She stopped talking and didn't continue, but everyone understood her implication. The Cloud Whale Sky Island anchored on Emerald Lake was equivalent to occupying the living space of the original lake residents, which would inevitably cause their dissatisfaction, not to mention that the news of human presence would also cause their vigilance and panic. In the short term, it might not be a big deal, and it could still be suppressed by Xino's reputation among these aliens, but over time, I'm afraid some accidents will happen.

"Please rest assured about this."

After understanding Xinuo's concerns, Ling Ge knew how to respond. He looked at the girl deeply and said, "I think we won't stay here for too long."

After all, the person has been found.

The only thing left was how to convince her.

"That's good." The girl smiled slightly and inadvertently avoided Ling's gaze.

The young man noticed her reaction and frowned slightly.

But the young man also vaguely realized that it was not just this reason, she seemed to have other concerns.

The first six female royals joined the team on their own initiative. Either Lingge took the initiative or they took the initiative. The former included Ovira, Ieta and Leticia, and the latter included Saint Xia Liya, Rolena and Gloria. Basically, every female royal after reincarnation will have her own emotional needs. As long as those needs are met, it is not difficult to convince them. However, Lingge knew too little about Xino. For a moment, he really couldn't think of any reason why she needed to leave her hometown and embark on a journey, but he could think of many reasons why she had to stay.

Ling Ge: “…”

"puff!"

How should I start? Or should I start by getting to know her?
"Mr. Linger?"

Alice: "…What does this have to do with me!?"

Avella looked at Alice on the left, Saint Xia Liya on the right, and finally looked at Ling Ge. After thinking for a while, she stood on Alice's side, which was rare. Perhaps because she had long been dissatisfied with Ling Ge, her tone was also full of anger: "Who said it wasn't true, Sister Xiao Xia, don't be fooled by Ling Ge, he must be that kind of person!"

If that's the case, it will be difficult to convince her.

"Linger is like this." Alice groaned, "His true nature is revealed."

Although the time of contact is still short, it is undeniable that Xinuo is a smart girl. Not only is she very considerate in dealing with people, but she also has a keen intuition. She probably guessed from Alice's change of attitude that the person Lingge and the others were looking for was her. But she still pretended to be confused and did not make things clear. This can be explained as being wary of strangers. After all, she did not know the identity and origin of the group of people in front of her, so it was impossible for her to confide everything to them.

You keep saying "that kind of person", but please tell me clearly, what kind of person are you talking about?

Rorona on the side added with a smile: "Even if Mr. Lingge is not that kind of person, he may have that kind of thought."

However, it is also possible that the curse is hidden and cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as Saint Shallia's confusion about her fate, or Gloria's constant switching between different identities and memories... But this goes back to the question at the beginning: Xino cannot fully trust these strangers in front of her, so even if there is an invisible curse that is bothering her, she probably won't tell it to outsiders.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here to protect you!” Leticia made a vicious gesture, and it was obvious what method she meant by protection: “People like Linger have no value in living in this world anymore, die with Alice!”

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, the girl who was smiling happily blinked her eyes, and then she realized that she seemed to be a little rude. She quickly loosened her hand covering her mouth, and by the way, she smoothed the ponytail at the back of her head, letting it settle down and stop swinging. However, there was still a smile that could not be suppressed at the corner of her mouth: "Sorry, everyone, I didn't mean it, I just felt that...you all have a really good relationship, which makes people envious."

For example, she is the only heir of the Godafu family. Although the Whitethorn Flower has declined in modern times, the glory of the ancestors and the family's connections still exist. Her future is bright, which is different from Olvera, whose country was destroyed; for example, she is also the oath-bearer and guardian of all aliens in the Forest of Lother. Once she leaves here, the Forest of Lother will lose its dual masters in the legal and historical sense, and it is likely that it will no longer be as peaceful as before. This is different from Nevill and Leticia, the grandparents and grandchildren, who are carefree, alone and live very freely; finally, she looks very healthy, and does not seem to be troubled by the curse, so naturally she will not be eager to lift the curse. Compared with Lorena, who left her hometown and studied alchemy despite her injuries in order to lift the curse, she cannot be generalized.

Gloria stroked Xiaobai's feathers, looking thoughtful: "If Mr. Ling is that kind of person, should I keep my distance from him?"

A puzzled call brought Ling Ge back to reality. When the young man looked up, he found that Xino had stopped walking at some point. His beautiful wine-red eyes blinked slightly, and his expression was a little strange: "You have been staring at me since just now. Is there something on my face?"

Suddenly, a laugh could not be suppressed from the side. Everyone turned their heads at the same time and found that it was Xino who was covering his mouth with his hands, his eyebrows curved into two crescents, and the ponytail behind his head swung back and forth like a pendulum.

Is there such a thing?

"No." Saint Xia Liya stood up to speak for the young man: "Ling Ge is not that kind of person."

Which eye did you see that with?

Ling suspected that she was just being polite, but Alice took it seriously. She patted her chest and said shamelessly: "Yes, this is the friendship and bond of our Gransefa Air Cavalry!"

No one paid any attention to her. Xinuo tried to suppress the curve of her lips, but failed. So she could only look up at the young man with a playful and teasing smile: "Well, Mr. Lingge, you have enough time to react. A smart person like you should have figured out how to explain what happened just now, right?" Lingge frowned: "I just remembered a question."

"Oh? What's the problem?"

"Regarding the issue of safety," Linger said, "There are so many aliens living in the Forest of Loser. Hasn't this attracted the attention of the religious community?"

Lingge didn't ask this to change the subject. He had similar doubts in his mind when he followed Xino and came into contact with the aliens in the forest. According to Xino's description, a rough estimate is that there are at least thousands of alien groups living in the Loser Forest, and the number of individuals is even more difficult to estimate. In this era of strong suppression by humans and the decline of aliens, this is definitely a very astonishing number. Among the places Lingge has visited, perhaps only the Sosen Mountains and the Void Root Swamp before it was devastated can be compared with it.

But the Sosen Mountains have accumulated for twelve centuries to reach their current size, and the Virtual Root Swamp is the shadow of the glorious period of the Metosh Empire. The descendants of the five major families took away many clansmen and servants when the empire fell, and hibernated in it waiting for the opportunity, hoping to restore the rule of the empire one day. But these two places have been suppressed by the combined forces of the church, especially the Inquisition Church. Silver mad dogs appear in the Sosen Mountains from time to time, harvesting the lives of aliens regularly like harvest season, and the Virtual Root Swamp has been thoroughly baptized by the final fire that fell from the sky. Now if you want to find the shadow of an alien, you may have to dig three feet underground.

For the success of the Eden Project, the Order has always spared no effort in suppressing and cleaning up the aliens. Based on the experience of the judges and arbitrators of the Balance of Order, it is not difficult to see that the forest of Loser, which retains its original appearance and is rarely visited by people, is the most suitable place for aliens to hide. But will they turn a blind eye and allow the mountain centaurs, gray-feathered harpies and the Biborgs to reproduce and thrive there? Although the forest of Loser is legally the private land of the Gustaf family, Linger does not believe that those guys care about such things.

In particular, it is close to the city of Sumya.

The city of Sumya, where the United Church Williard is located, was a holy city before the construction of the Holy Glory Cathedral. It was the headquarters of the United Churches during the Steam Holy War. Although it is now desolate, its influence remains undiminished, and the influence of the United Churches here is still strong.

This question made the smile on Xino's face fade a little. After a brief silence, she replied, "I have also heard a little about the deeds of the Inquisition Church, so I understand your worries, Mr. Ling. But the fact is just the opposite. The United Churches have never sent anyone to search the Loser Forest. They even helped in this matter. Thanks to the support of the previous Archbishop of the Williard Church, Lord Enoin, the Gustaf family was able to negotiate with the city government and finally successfully bought back the land. After the transaction was completed, it was also the believers of the United Churches who publicized the matter to the outside world, so that the residents in the countryside knew that the Loser Forest was owned by the owner, and no one would trespass in without permission. If it weren't for their help, I'm afraid that the strength of my grandfather, father and I alone would not be enough to manage this land well."

This doesn't sound like the same Order I know.

Not only Lingge was surprised, but others also showed surprised expressions. Alice wanted to say something without thinking, but was stopped in time by Saint Xia Liya.

Linger said: "In this case, the relationship between the Gustave family and the united church is pretty good."

Hearing this, Xino chuckled and said, "Perhaps it was because of our ancestor Hiberton. Because of the White Knight, the Gustave family has always been well-known in the Province of Saint-Denis. Unfortunately, we, the descendants of the later generations, have not been able to inherit the spirit of our ancestor. I'm afraid we have disappointed him."

Although she said so, there was no regret on her face, but a hint of relief was faintly revealed between her eyebrows. This insincere attitude made the young man feel strange. Because he knew very well that when a person's words and deeds were inconsistent with her thoughts, she was either deceiving herself or deceiving others, and no matter which possibility it was, it meant hidden secrets and inside stories.

As for what Xino said, Lingge did not believe it completely. The White Knight Hiberton was indeed very famous in the province of Saint-Denis. It was said that his statue still stood in the central square of Sumia City. However, if he could make the church united to retreat and actively show goodwill, then his face was still not enough. In comparison, Joan of Arc, whom he followed, had this face, because she was not only a pioneer of the Republican era, the spiritual idol of all the people of White City, but also a philosopher of the Witch Society.

Thinking of this, Ling'er's expression changed slightly, because he suddenly realized a problem.

"Ms. Hinault," he began, "what do you think of Joan of Arc?"

When Xino heard this question, he looked at the young man in surprise, as if wondering why he asked such a question: "Are you talking about... Lady Joan of Arc?"

"Yes."

"Then you'd better not ask this question to other people in White City."

"why?"

"Because it will make them think that you have something against the Saint Lady."

"..."

Lingge was silent for a moment before he said, "It sounds like you admire that Saint Lady very much."

"You should ask, who in the White City doesn't worship the Saint, and I think the answer is probably no." Xino looked at him with a half-smile: "Marshal Napoleon is a hero of the Kingdom of Great Brittany, but the people of Linville would say he is a butcher who has killed countless people, and even worse, he is not a human being, but a cold-blooded guillotine; King Barbarossa the Red Bearded is a great monarch who unified Minderias, but the revolutionaries who were ruthlessly suppressed by him would say he is a cruel and tyrannical monarch, a dictator who developed monarchical dictatorship and personal authority to the extreme... Everyone has different opinions about the heroes who have left their names in history books, some follow the crowd, some are unconventional."

"Only the people of the White City Republic love and worship their Saint. Those who were rescued by her in distress praise her selfless character and pure sadness. The soldiers who followed her on the battlefield admired her heroic fighting posture and her compassion for the soldiers. We, the people of later generations, are enjoying the republican heritage she left behind and miss every strict but not harsh, kind but not hypocritical law that she made for us when she was still alive. That is the ideal inheritance of the Saint, and it is also the precious wealth that constitutes the common spiritual world of all White City people. Therefore, what I want to tell you is, Mr. Ling, the reverence for the Saint exists here."

She gently placed her hand on her chest, her eyes clear and sincere: "Ancestor Hibernton once said that only the Saint Lady is the most flawless person in the world."

So, here lies the problem.

Lingge remained calm on the surface, but he sighed deeply in his heart.

It was difficult for him to agree with Xino's point of view. According to the simple materialist view of history, the only correct thing in the girl's words was that everyone had different views on historical figures. For this reason, in addition to the examples of Marshal Napoleon and King Barbarossa, Joan of Arc should also be an example. Even in the land of the White City Republic, it is impossible for everyone to unconditionally identify with the saint and praise her spirit and deeds. There is no shortage of critical voices, whether in books or in the gossips in the streets.

However, for today's topic, none of this is important. What is important is Xino's attitude. Since she believes from the bottom of her heart that everyone in the White City should admire and worship Joan of Arc, the girl's attitude is undoubtedly clear and will not change no matter what the facts are.

In this case, how do you tell her that the Joan of Arc you worship is actually a member of a secret society, and that the society is planning to eliminate all magic in the world in order to create their ideal Garden of Eden?
Will she believe it?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)