Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 857: Are you starting to get excited?
Today, there is no peace at the dining table of the Goblin Deepsleep Inn.

Although every day was restless, today was particularly outstanding. The "outstanding" here did not refer to the lively sharing of their favorite food between the two good friends, Metien and Shemi, nor did it refer to the endless struggle between the little bat Leticia and her grandmother Nevi on the issue of "whether the vampires should be vegetarians". Instead, it was a sad and unwilling ghost that was hovering over the dining table, telling those creepy words -

"I want it so badly... Let me... go... Please... Just once, just once... I swear... I won't do it again... I feel so uncomfortable now... I feel like there are... ants crawling on my body..."

If you don't know, you might think there is a drug addict from Motoshu hiding under the table.

Not to mention that other people couldn't bear to watch, even Lingge, who was able to eat calmly at the beginning, was a little upset by this guy. He always felt that what he ate was not food, but some kind of indescribable resentment. He had no choice but to put down the spoon in his hand, frowned at the overage kid who was throwing a tantrum across the table, and said lightly: "If you make a fuss again, you will go to Tianxin Church to accompany Metien and the others in class."

"I don't, I don't, I just want... eh!?"

The blonde maid's expression froze for a moment, then she turned her head with a click, and happened to meet Saint Shallia's kind and gentle gaze. She instantly sat up straight with a start, placed her hands neatly on her thighs, lowered her eyebrows and looked submissive, with an appearance of "I'm very well-behaved".

Wouldn’t it have been better if you had done this earlier?
You are already so old, and you still think that being a spoiled brat will work? People ignored you because they were busy eating, but you were so excited. Are you being taught a lesson now?

Nevile patted her granddaughter on the head and taught her earnestly, "When you grow up, you must not become an adult like Alice, Leticia."

The little bat felt a little scared when he thought about that kind of future. He nodded hurriedly and shouted, "No way, grandma, I am a noble Dark Night Blood Clan. How can I become someone like Alice!"

Alice can make a fortune? I'm afraid it will happen in dreams.

"Really? Then as a noble Dark Night Vampire, why don't you finish this vegetable salad first?"

Ah, after his true nature was exposed, he didn’t quibble but took his anger out on others?

The golden maid once again set a new low for universal morality. Everyone agreed that it was useless to reason with such a person, so they all withdrew their gazes and put their attention back on the food on the table. Eating was more important. As for Alice, she didn't look like she had given up yet, but with Saint Shallia watching her, she didn't dare to continue throwing tantrums and rolling around. She could only turn her grief and anger into appetite, grabbed the bread next to her, and took a vicious bite: "Ah!"

Lingge put down the spoon he had just picked up.

"No." He refused outright, without any room for compromise.

"That sounds nice, but you just said what's really in your heart." Avella pouted: "Big house, private villa, pool party, party every night, debauchery...right?"

Why? Don’t you have any idea?

Ling Ge was too lazy to explain to her, but Meidian kindly reminded her: "Because you don't know how to play the wind flower ball, Sister Alice."

"Eh……"

But it is not possible.

Alice kept her head down not because she felt ashamed after being taught a lesson by Lingge. When did you hear that these two words were in the dictionary of a golden maid? Rather, she was imagining how she would spend her 500,000 pounds prize money. A big house, a private villa, a pool party, partying every night, a life of debauchery... When she thought of these words, she felt hot all over and became more energetic. So she suddenly raised her head, ignoring the look of expectation in Avra, staring at Lingge with her eyes, and said again what she had said ten minutes ago: "Lingge, I want to participate! I want to participate in this year's Wind Flower Ball Competition Championship!"

Regardless of how intense the psychological activities that Leticia went through when she looked embarrassed at the vegetable salad in front of her, at least a certain rogue golden-haired maid has become a living negative example. Except for a few kind-hearted people with sympathy, everyone else showed an expression of gloating. Olvera, who had a long-standing grudge against her, didn't even eat her meal. She just stared at her fiercely, expecting to see what she wanted to see from her lowered face, such as grievance, unwillingness, anger but not being able to speak... These were the expressions she often showed when facing Alice.

Now it’s Avion’s turn, and it’s my turn too. This is your expression I want to see, hahahaha…

"Nonsense!" Alice was so well-prepared that she waved her fist in anger. "Am I that kind of person, the genius player? This is for everyone's good. When I win the championship and get the prize money, everyone on Cloud Whale Sky Island will definitely get a share. This is called selfless dedication! How dare you assume that I have selfish desires?"

While eating, he kept muttering: "Damn you, you guys who look down on others. When I get the bonus, I will definitely not give you a penny! Things may change over time, don't bully a poor girl!"

No one paid any attention to her, and no one took her words seriously.

“After all, Alice hasn’t thought about these things at all.” Princess Berman, who was a little disappointed because she underestimated Alice’s thick skin, saw a good opportunity and quickly came up to make up for it: “She only thinks about participating in the competition and getting the prize money. She really only thinks about herself!”

"Why?" Alice was disappointed.

Xie Mi next to him immediately took over the conversation: "Besides, we are not here for tourism, we have business to attend to. Since we have already found Xino, there is no need to go into the city. But you said you wanted to go to Sumiya City to participate in the competition. It sounds simple, but what if we are discovered by the people from the cult alliance?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, you bastard, for having such a good memory!?"

The table was quiet again. Apart from the chewing sounds of everyone and Alice's occasional complaints, there was no other extra noise. A few minutes later, Saint Charity, who had finished lunch but was still sitting in her seat, looked a little uneasy. She looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to her. She lowered her voice and asked Metien beside her in a low voice: "Um, Metien, am I a bad lecturer?"

Otherwise, why would Ling use this to threaten Alice?
"No way." Metien answered immediately, and stood up for Sister Xiaoxia: "It's Sister Alice who doesn't like class. It's all her fault. It has nothing to do with Sister Xiaoxia. We all like your class. If you don't believe me, go ask Shemi and Leticia!"

Of course they liked it. If they didn't, the landlady and the countess would have talked to them.

"That's good." Saint Xia Liya breathed a sigh of relief, and then a gentle smile bloomed on her face again: "In this case, let's continue with the class this afternoon. Although there was originally no class, since you like the class so much, I can't slack off. I will go to discuss it with Miss Livia after dinner, and she should agree."

Sister Livia would not come to the Fairy Sleep Inn to eat. She had her three meals a day at the Tianxin Church. According to her, she had to pray to the Virgin Mary before meals, so in order not to waste everyone's time, she chose to eat alone. At first, Metien wanted to persuade her, but after learning that the nun's prayer before meals would last at least half an hour, he immediately kept silent.

"Uh!"

When the pink-haired little girl heard this, her expression froze and she thought to herself that she had been fooled!
So the trap is here!
She doesn't really care, but her two friends probably won't be very happy when they find out about this, right?

Glancing at her friends who were working hard, seemingly unaware of their future fate, Metien couldn't help but feel pity and a little self-blame. After all, this matter was caused by her.

...How should I announce this unfortunate news to my friends?

At the dinner table afterwards, Metien kept thinking about this difficult question, so much so that like his brother, he lost his appetite. After lunch, everyone went their separate ways, doing their own things. Shemi and Leticia also came to play with Metien as usual. Since there were no classes in the afternoon, both of them had cheerful smiles on their faces. One said, "I must have a good time in the afternoon," and the other said, "Finally, I don't have to do homework," which made the pink-haired girl feel even more tormented, and the guilt in her heart became even stronger.

Fortunately, at this time, someone stood up and decided to save her from the fire!
Although, Medien didn't really want to see that person, every time she came to him on her own initiative, it meant trouble.

Yes, it is the famous——

"Genius player Ai-chan!" The uninvited guest stopped in front of the three little girls, put one hand on his waist, stepped one foot into the air, and struck a pose that he thought was very handsome: "Make a shining appearance!"

Xie Mi looked indifferent: "Oh, then can you go away, we are going to play."

Leticia also looked indifferent: "I don't want to play with Alice. She's a scoundrel and shameless."

Metien looked puzzled: "Sister Alice, what does this posture of yours mean?"

“Of course I’m shooting! Shoot!” Alice selectively ignored the verbal attacks from the two little girls in front of her. She swung the foot that was stepping on the void backwards, and then lashed out fiercely: “Swish—bang! Wow! Thank you, everyone. Thank you, everyone.”

The pink-haired little girl was confused by her performance. She stood there in a daze for a few seconds before she reacted. The first whoosh was the sound of her shot, the second bang was the sound of the ball entering the net, the third was the cheers of the audience, and the fourth was Alice's speech to the fans after she imaginarily won the championship... Isn't this too abstract?

After a moment's hesitation, Metien pointed out: "Kazakura is not a football, Sister Alice."

"It doesn't matter, there's not much difference." Alice waved her hand, ignoring this detail: "As long as the genius player Ai-chan is in charge, any ball can be caught easily. Of course, the premise is that I can participate in the competition, so——"

She flashed in front of Metien, her eyes sparkling, "Metien, can you go talk to Lingge and ask him to agree to let me participate?"

After all, this was her real purpose, not to play with the little girls. Shemi and Leticia were still too superficial.

Even so, the pink-haired little girl who was the only one who saw through her true intentions was not proud at all. She just felt it was troublesome: "If you want to say it, go and say it yourself, Sister Alice."

"I did say it, but he didn't agree." Alice complained: "You are his sister, he loves you more, so he will definitely agree to what you say, please, Metien!"

"Well, even if you say so, I still..." Metien didn't think that Ling Ge would change his mind just because of his sister's status. After all, Tianxin Church still didn't have a formal pastor, only two nuns. And then again, this request was unreasonable in the first place: "Why do you have to participate in this competition, Sister Alice? Even if you get the prize money, you can't spend it, right?"

Not to mention that winning the championship would directly put her at the center of attention, and thus attract the attention of the cult union, let's talk about the prize money that Alice is most concerned about. A big house or a private villa? The last thing that Cloud Whale Sky Island lacks is land. As long as Yieta agrees, you can build a house as big as you want. Spending money every night? The Fairy Sleeping Hotel holds 15 banquets every two weeks on average. Isn't that enough for a life of debauchery? As for the pool party, I've experienced it a long time ago. Those swimsuits are still kept in the closet. Why waste money on making new ones?
So Metien really couldn't figure out what Alice wanted the 500,000 bonus for.

"Alas, you don't understand this." Alice couldn't help but sigh when she saw that Metien's comprehension ability was so low: "Is the focus the prize? Actually, it's not. The focus is on the process of the game! You know, this is an RPG game. Although the main line is important, isn't appropriate entertainment unimportant? It's okay that there are no classic events such as fishing, playing cards, and bird racing, but now I can't even play ball. What's the point of playing this game? So, I don't care, I must participate in that Wind Flower Ball Championship, my hands-"

She looked down at her hands and said with emotion, "But these are the hands of a genius player. How can they only be busy with the main quests?"

Uh.

The three little girls all understood what she meant. To put it bluntly, she was just bored.

While the genius player was feeling admiring himself, the three of them sneaked away.

Their whispers could be vaguely heard in the wind:
"Alice, she's weird, stay away from her, I don't want to be infected."

"Yeah, I think so too. By the way, Metien, you won't really go to find Ling Ge, right?"

"Of course not. How could Lingge agree to such a thing?"

"That's good……"

"Oh, by the way, Sister Xiao Xia asked me to tell you that you still have to go to class in the afternoon."

"..."

"..."

No one noticed that while they were chatting, a gray-feathered falcon was hovering in the sky, recording the entire conversation. When the little girls had gone far away and Alice was the only one left, it stopped staying and turned away, flying towards a forest not far away, gradually lowering its altitude, swooping through a dense branch, slowly folding its wings, and landing on an outstretched arm.

"Ah."

The owner of the gray-feathered falcon retracted his arm and gently stroked its soft and smooth feathers, with a cold and playful arc at the corner of his mouth: "Genius Player and Wind Flower Ball Championship? It sounds quite interesting. Let's get involved, Miss Alice."

Another worried voice of another personality came from my mind: "What are you going to do again, Bai Ye?"

"No, it's not me." Bai Ye said happily, "Perhaps, this matter is actually related to you, little fool Gloria? Haven't you noticed that your memory has started to stir again recently?"

"Eh?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)