Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 924: Not surprised at all?

"I think you may have some misunderstanding about me, Mr. Ling."

Xino put down the teacup and said softly, "As a knight, I certainly crave the glory of victory, but I am not willing to sacrifice myself. In fact, the knights fight from beginning to end to realize their ideals, not just to enjoy the feeling of fighting. If there is a way to achieve peace without swords, I am also happy to accept it. Just like my ancestor Hibernton once said, knights will disappear on the battlefield one day, but he hopes that the reason for the knights' disappearance is not because they have lost their ideals, but because there is no reason in the world for them to fight for."

She looked at Linge and said meaningfully: "That's what I think, too."

The young man was silent for a while before nodding and saying, "I understand. It seems that my previous thoughts were too superficial. Miss Xinuo, I should apologize to you."

"No need to apologize, Mr. Linger, it's just human nature."

Shino smiled, then his expression became serious again: "However, there is one more thing I must state in advance: Even if I am willing to accept this approach, it does not mean that I can stand idly by when my companions are in danger. That goes against the ethics of a knight. Therefore, if you really encounter a powerful enemy that you are unable to fight, I will never hesitate when it is my turn to take action. I hope you can understand this."

"I can understand that."

Ling Ge said that he not only understood, but even thought it was natural. This was equivalent to finding a final insurance for Yunjingkong Island. If they really needed to use this insurance, it would only prove that the enemy they encountered was so powerful that it was desperate and could bring about a catastrophe at any time. At this time, if they still cared about sacrifice and forced Xinuo to restrain himself, it would not be a question of caution, but a question of rationality.

However, so far, they have not encountered such a situation. The most desperate battle was when they were surrounded and blocked by the army of the cult in the city of Lenwitin, and they also faced the might of the real witch Tiantis and the steam engine god Alexander. However, with the concerted efforts of everyone and the help of Alice's magical game console and cassette, the crisis was finally successfully overcome without any casualties.

Of course, we must also consider the fact that Tiantis seemed to have shown mercy to them. Logically, she didn't need to reveal so much information to her enemies, which gave them a chance to turn defeat into victory. In the end, the cult jointly dispatched the Wingsuit Mobile Force, the Dragoon Force, the Night Watch Force and the Balance of Order Force. The massive encirclement and suppression operation ended in a whimper. The young man recalled the experiences of that night and still felt that it was the result of Tiantis's deliberate indulgence. The girl who called herself the Witch of Reality was shrouded in a fog and was the only person he could not see through.

In addition, another possible desperate situation is that the goddess stands on the opposite side of them. But by that time, let alone Xino alone, even if all the young royal powers of order have restored their strength in their heyday, it is estimated that it will not have any effect, so it can be directly ruled out.

In Alice's words, this is a plot-driven killing. If you can't beat it, just enjoy it.

Although Lingge didn't know what was so enjoyable about it.

"In this case, I should be considered as your companion." Xinuo stood up and extended his hand to Lingge: "Please give me more guidance in the future, Mr. Lingge."

Ling Ge stood up and shook her hand: "This is what I want to say."

Xino smiled slightly, took back his hand and said, "According to the normal process, I should have gone to Yunjingkong Island to get to know everyone again. Although we have had contacts before, if we want to establish a partnership, it is better to be more formal. But unfortunately, I may not be free recently, so I can only trouble you to wait patiently for a few days."

In addition to the funeral ceremony for the old patriarch, there were also issues such as the reception of visiting guests, the division of family property, and how to deal with the knights who were still loyal to the Gustave family. All of these were waiting for the young girl who had just taken over the position of the head of the Whitethorn Flower family to deal with. Although Xino was quite talented in handling family affairs, it still took some time to adapt.

Being able to sit here and talk with Lingge alone at this time is enough to prove her sincerity.

Knowing this, Lingge did not force it.

So Xino said goodbye and left, still going back to the lobby of the mansion to receive the guests who came to mourn. But before leaving, she seemed to remember something important, stopped, turned around and asked the young man a question: "By the way, Mr. Lingge, if you don't mind, can you tell me about your next itinerary? Although I already know that your destination is the Holy Temple of Heaven, I have no idea where it is. If you need any help, I can prepare in advance."

This question stunned the young man. He was speechless for a long time, as if he was unable to react.

Because he actually didn't know where the Holy Temple of Heaven was, let alone how to get there.

After rescuing Olvera in the Sosen Mountains and learning from her royal power that the only way to remove the golden apple is to rely on the goddess, who is sleeping in the Temple of Heaven in the distant universe, Saint Shallia took the opportunity to propose a plan to gather the seven royal powers of the girls and open the door of the temple. Lingge had no choice but to accept it. So in the following series of journeys and events, the young man was always immersed in the question of how to find the royal powers of the girls and how to win them over to join the group. Later, it evolved into how to gather the seven royal powers of order under the strict blockade of the Witch Society, so that the two most critical questions: Where is the Temple of Heaven? How can they get there? The young man had never thought about it.

Maybe in his subconscious, these two problems are actually easy to solve: because the Holy Temple of Heaven is the home of the young royal families, is it possible that the young royal families cannot find their way home?
In fact, it is possible because they all lost their memory.

Although with the help of Bai Ye, the girls are gradually recovering their memories of their past lives, they are still incomplete, and those memories do not seem to include the specific location of the Holy Temple of Heaven and how to get there.

When he thought of this, Ling'er couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth - this is really a blind spot in thinking. If Xino hadn't pointed out this problem from the perspective of an observer, they would probably have to wait until they officially set off before looking at each other in bewilderment, right?

The good news is that it is not too late to realize it now. The bad news is that Xino may feel that the small group she joined is not so reliable. Although the existence of Alice has nothing to do with the word "reliable", she can't let everyone equate the image of her in her mind with Alice. That would be too terrible.

In order to save everyone's image, Ling Ge had to make a decision that went against Mr. Yang Ke's teachings. He coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment, and then replied calmly: "The Holy Temple of Heaven is the residence of the goddess. It is not on the mainland, but in the distant universe. You need to travel through the ancient road of the stars to reach it. In this regard, the power of the White Thorn Flower Family should not be of much help, so don't bother with it. We will take care of it."

His tone was calm and composed, as if he was 100% sure, so much so that outsiders could not tell that his knowledge of the Holy Temple of Heaven and the Ancient Road of Stars was limited to just their names - the latter of which he had heard from Fei'er!
"Really? That's a shame."

Xino sighed lightly, not doubting him. Perhaps in her mind, young people are the kind that won't lie. If it were Alice, she probably wouldn't have that kind of credibility. Then she said goodbye again and left. This time, she really left. Seeing her back disappear at the corner of the corridor and her footsteps gradually fading away, Ling Ge breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got up. He decided to return to Yunjingkong Island immediately to discuss with Saint Xia Liya how to solve this most important and fatal problem.

If the problem cannot be solved, Alice will be punished by not being allowed to eat snacks for a week.

The young man hurriedly left the Shadoly Manor, but he did not notice that after he left, a suppressed laugh with a little joy and ridicule suddenly came from the corridor that should have been empty.

"Pfft!"

……

When Lingge found Saint Shallia, she was teaching little girls in Tianxin Church. The text they were teaching today was "Sangil and the Witch in the Forest". It was not a fairy tale, but an ancient legend circulating among the Moryas. It mentioned that when the great witch Sangil was a child, he heard adults say that there was an evil witch living in the forest who liked to use human blood and animal bones to make potions. Anyone who encountered her would die. It once became a nightmare for children.

But the young Sangil did not believe the rumors, but went deep into the forest to find the whereabouts of the witch, and finally learned that her true identity was actually the previous great witch of the Moriah, Messanice. The latter was moved by his courage and wisdom and decided to accept him as an apprentice. When she was dying, she baptized Sangil with her own blood, so that he inherited all the wisdom and grew into the new great witch. It is said that the prophetic poem about the king of elves and the disaster of destruction was written unconsciously by Sangil when he was baptized by Messanice's blood. Afterwards, he was also shocked and terrified by this prophetic poem, and spent half his life studying it, but to no avail.

"The blood baptism ceremony, in the ancient tradition of the Moryas, not only has extremely serious symbolic significance, but is also a mystical ritual related to the soul. It is said that it can create a mysterious connection between the baptizer and the baptized, greatly enhancing their spiritual perception at that moment, so that they can make certain accurate predictions. The principle is still unclear. The old wizard who taught me witchcraft told me that this is most likely a revelation from the Lightless Sea. The souls of the sages are guided by the stars and meet in the distant ocean. Through their eyes, we can trace back all kinds of incredible wonders from the past to the future... The essence of Morya astrology is reflected in this."

Saint Shalia, who was giving a lecture, saw Lingge walk into the church and immediately interrupted the lecture and assigned homework: "Let's stop here for today's class. What do you think and understand about the story of how Great Witch Sangil ignored rumors when he was a child, verified the truth of the rumors himself, and was recognized by Great Witch Messanis because of his courage and wisdom? Please write down your opinions and give them to Miss Livia tomorrow - remember to write no less than 800 words."

The little bat and the little goblin, who had been absent-minded the whole time and had not listened to her lecture at all, and had not even finished reading the text, immediately changed their expressions when they heard the last sentence. They quickly cast a pitiful look at the teaching assistant Sister Livia next to them, as if begging and trying to please her, but the latter just smiled gently and shook her head firmly. The two of them suddenly became like gray statues, standing in their seats blankly, as if they had completely lost confidence in life. As for Metien, who was sitting in the front row, he had already started writing furiously.

It is really easy to tell the good students from the bad students.

When Lingge passed by the two people's seats, he heard them whispering, discussing how to find an opportunity to plagiarize... Oh, borrow from Metien's homework. This shameless character reminded him of the brief time when he took history classes at St. Lowood National School. At that time, there seemed to be such a problem student in his class, and the nature of the problem student was much worse, because she could even copy the elementary school students' homework incorrectly - who can use mathematical formulas to solve history problems? It's only you, Alice!
That's it.

Trying hard to drive away the unpleasant memories in his mind, Lingge came to Saint Xia Liya. At this time, the shepherdess had just sorted out the lesson plan and put it back in the drawer. She raised her hand to smooth her slightly messy bangs on her forehead, turned around and said to Lingge: "Okay, let's go."

Ling Ge was stunned for a moment: "Where to go?"

Saint Xia Liya was also stunned for a moment: "Don't you have something to ask me, Lingge?"

"I do have something to talk to you about, but you don't need to go anywhere, just here."

"Oh……"

For some reason, I felt that Saint Shalia's tone sounded somewhat disappointed.

But she soon cheered up and asked, "What do you want from me, Lingge?"

"Well, I want to ask, do you know where the Holy Temple of Heaven is?"

"Where is the Holy Temple of Heaven?"

After hearing this question, Saint Shallia tilted her head in a slightly silly manner and looked at the young man with a very clear and simple gaze, as if wondering why he would ask such an obvious question: "Isn't it in the sky?"

"I'm not talking about that. I mean, where exactly is it and how can we get there? The universe is so vast, we can't search every corner, right?"

In that case, it would be difficult to reach the Holy Temple of Heaven in your lifetime.

After he said this, Saint Shalia finally understood the true meaning of the question, so she blinked and thought for a while. After about half a minute, she spoke under the young man's silent gaze and replied slowly: "Sorry."

"I do not know."

Ling Ge: “…”

Should I say this is a disappointing answer? But for some reason, I am not surprised at all.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)