Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 929 Isn’t it a reward?
"I heard you found a clue, Olvera?"

This was the first sentence Lingge said when he entered the room, which fully proved that he was a very career-oriented person. In his mind, there were only thoughts related to the main task. As for love affairs, he did not take them to heart.

This might be an advantage for some people, but it was a big deduction for Avella. She sat at the desk, gently closed the thick book, then raised her eyebrows and glanced at the young man, saying meaningfully: "Before that, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"Anything else?" Ling Ge was stunned when he heard that. Then, a certain genius player's habitual greeting came to his mind, so he asked hesitantly, "Have you eaten?"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

Olvera was so angry that she almost wanted to flip the table, but she finally restrained herself and managed to stay calm. After all, she was a princess of the Leslie royal family, and she had received royal education since she was a child, so she shouldn't do such a disrespectful thing. Of course, the main reason was that she didn't have the strength to flip the table. If her weak arms and legs were suppressed by the table, wouldn't it be a huge loss of face?
Being calm and composed is the quality of a princess.

Olvera convinced herself.

Linger watched her expression change from expectation to anger and finally back to calm. In just a few seconds, it seemed like she had gone through a complicated life. He wanted to ask her if she was sick and needed treatment. But considering that the princess was in an extremely unstable mood, he decided to avoid angering her and ask Metien to diagnose her later.

The young man didn't expect that this incident was originally caused by his good sister, because Metien spent a lot of effort to appease Olvera's emotions, and promised that Lingge would apologize the next time he saw you, and maybe he would care about you more! By then, the two of you will jointly create literary works and discuss literary concepts, then your favorability will not increase rapidly, right?
Olvera blushed at that moment, and said, "Oh, I don't want to improve my favorability with Lingge", and then asked, "Then Medien, when will you ask Lingge to apologize to me?" Her inconsistency made the pink-haired girl speechless.

Then Lingge did come, but he neither apologized nor showed any concern, which was different from what we had agreed!

Metien is so cute, she definitely wouldn't lie.

So, it was Lingge who was wrong!
Thinking of this, Ovilla couldn't help but glare at the young man again - strange, why did he say again?
Unfortunately, Lingge did not receive this deterrent signal, because he had already found a chair and sat down opposite the desk. Then his eyes fell on the heavy book, which was the Library of Truth: "So, now can you tell me what clues you have found?"

“Yes, yes,” Ovella responded unhappily, “I’ll tell you right away, considerate Mr. Ling.”

She deliberately emphasized the word "considerate", but Lingge did not notice her implied meaning. Instead, his eyes fell on the pile of papers scattered beside her. They were densely covered with ink words in beautiful lace fonts. However, because the writing was rather casual, the overall look was quite messy. Princess Berman must have written them down in a hurry.

Thinking of this, Lingge couldn't help but say, "Thank you for your hard work, Avella."

He stared at Olvera steadily, his golden eyes filled with sincerity and seriousness.

"Ah? Ah, nothing, nothing, actually it's fine." For some reason, Avella's face turned red. She turned her head away, her ears a little hot: "For me, it's just a relaxing thing. Anyway, I don't need to sleep... Okay, okay, let's not talk about these irrelevant topics. Take a look at this."

Although he didn't apologize, at least he said thank you!
Princess Bemang felt much better and handed him the nearest page. Linger took it and glanced at it, quickly catching a few key words: "The Chronicles of Ardes, Raetia Region, the top of Mount Nalaril?"

"That's right. The three keywords you gave were too vague and covered too wide a range. I searched through a lot of information for a long time before I found this ancient book."

When the princess mentioned her hard work, she complained, but was more contented. "That should be an ancient book written when the city of Guardes was just established. Most of its contents have been lost now. The only remaining records mention that Saint Tumi once climbed to the top of the world, observed the flight path of a magnificent creation, and successfully entered it to see the true appearance of this creation. When Saint Tumi integrated spiritual theories and proposed the idea that all things have spirits, he revealed some information to his students, the twelve saints in historical records, and the believers of the twelve saints pieced together some fragments from their words. The author of this book is one of them. Although it was just hearsay, he still used his best words to describe its grandeur and magnificence, saying that it was 'not like a building that can appear in this world'. Based on the route left by the saint during his early pilgrimage, he inferred that the place where he observed the creation should be the top of Mount Nalaril in the Raetia region."

Olvera paused and added, "Of course, both names are ancient."

Ling Ge asked as a matter of course: "What is the name now?"

"Hehe, this brings me to another ancient book I found." Olvera pulled out another piece of paper, but did not hand it to Lingge. Instead, she held it in her hand and flicked it proudly. The thin paper made a crisp sound under her fingertips. "Two hundred and fifty-two years ago, a Mindelias man named Kabaik Feng wrote a travelogue called "Duden River Observations". It mainly describes the beautiful scenery and wonders he saw while traveling along the Duden River, one of the three major rivers in the southern border of the Westland. In the third chapter of this book, he spent a lot of time and effort to describe an area in the Duden River basin called the North Ashok Mountain Belt. The name of North Ashok means 'a place of high mountains and steep ridges'. If translated into ancient characters, it is Ratia!"

Ling'er's expression changed slightly: "So, Mount Nalaril is in the North Ashok region?"

"That's right. However, although the North Ashka region is not as large as the White City or Mindrias, it has a unique feature. That is, the entire region is crossed by the same mountain range - the Alps."

The Alps?

Ling Ge said thoughtfully: "If that's the case, it might be difficult to find Mount Nalaril."

Because the Alpis is the largest and most magnificent mountain range in the entire Western Continent, there were even rumors in ancient times that all the mountains, peaks and plateaus on the Western Continent originated from this mountain range, so it is also called the "Father of Mountains". In the Alpis, there are more than 170 peaks with a height of more than 6,000 meters, widely distributed in dozens of small countries such as Alois, Irun, Purnia, Shuriman, Shanbao, and Vazar, with complex humanities and varied geographical features.

In addition, we must also take into account the various impacts caused by crustal movement and land mass evolution during the breakup of the Pangaea continent. It is still unknown whether the ancient Mount Nellaril still retains its past appearance.

To sum up, trying to accurately find Mount Nalaril, which Saint Toumi had climbed, from among the more than 170 mountains is as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

"I knew you would say that."

A proud look appeared on Olvera's face, and she shook the paper covered with words in her hand. "So I finished reading the travelogue in advance, and indeed found some useful clues. In the sixth section of the third chapter, the author mentioned that he came to a small country called Alois in the northern Ashok Mountains, and heard an interesting legend in its capital, Heidebrusburg, claiming that Saint Tumi was inspired by the gods on a mountain here and realized the law that all things have spirits. This time point was even earlier than when he founded the Spirit Prayer Society in Aldes, the hometown of all spirits. At the same time, Alois is also the only country in the northern Ashok Mountains where the deeds of Saint Tumi are circulated. This point is even recognized by believers of animism. Therefore, many people traveled thousands of miles to make pilgrimages and pay homage to the saint's relics in the early years."

However, in modern times, there are fewer and fewer such people, so that the reputation of Heidelbrusburg has gradually faded. Except for some senior religious figures, no one knows this secret. As for the reason for the decrease in pilgrims, there is no other reason except the "Religious Decree".

Hearing this, Ling'er's pupils shrank slightly: "What is the name of that mountain?"

"Osor." Olvera pressed the page in her hand on the table, and her fingertips pointed to these three words: "Osor Mountain is located in the extension of the Eastern Alps to Heidebrusburg, and it is also the highest peak in this mountainous area. According to the author's records, someone in the area seems to have preserved the manuscript left by Saint Tomi, but at that time, Saint Tomi had not yet summarized the spiritual laws and the doctrine of animism, so the manuscript is unlikely to be related to animism."

"I see." Ling Ge understood what Ovella meant.

Saint Tomi observed the stars on the top of Mount Nalaril and calculated the orbits of the stars to obtain the accurate coordinates of the Temple of Heaven. The manuscript he left behind was undoubtedly the original calculation formula and data. If Lingge and his team could get this manuscript, they might be able to follow Saint Tomi's example and calculate the location of the Temple of Heaven again, thus opening the final chapter of the story.

The road ahead, which had been somewhat blurry, seemed to become much clearer all of a sudden.

"This is important information. Thank you so much, Olvera."

Linger thanked her again earnestly, feeling that the week-long wait was worth it, and perhaps he had some feelings in his heart: In the past, the burden of searching for information and analyzing intelligence was on his shoulders, and others had no such awareness and could not help much. Unexpectedly, Ovella brought him such a surprise today. Could it be that as her novel writing gradually improved, her reading, extraction and analysis abilities also increased, and she was no longer the princess who could only study and quote famous quotes stiffly.

Alice once said: With great power comes great responsibility. With Ovella's current ability, she is obviously worthy of being entrusted with greater responsibilities.

The young man looked at the princess deeply, his eyes full of meaning. Olvera was a little scared by his look, and subconsciously wanted to dodge, but then she thought, I have done a great deed, why should I feel so guilty? Then she became tough again, raised her chest slightly, and met the young man's gaze without dodging, with an expression of "I am so awesome".

Well, it seems that she has no objection to taking on greater responsibilities. Instead, she is very positive about it.

Ling Ge stood up, gathered the papers on the table, folded them neatly, and then tucked them under his arm. He said to Avella, "Then I will go and discuss the next itinerary with Saint Xia Liya and the others. I need to take these materials with me. Is that okay?"

"No problem, no problem..."

Avella waved her hand nonchalantly, and reacted a little later: "Wait, are we leaving now?"

"kindness."

The young man didn't think there was anything wrong. He came here for business, and now that the business was over, why should he stay instead of leaving?
"No, you can't leave." Olvera stopped him with a serious face.

Lingge always felt that this conversation was familiar, but he did not delve into it. After all, everything on this island was repetitive. For example, if you entered Alice's room today and saw her playing games, you would still see her playing games tomorrow. You could not help but suspect that you were trapped in a time loop. However, this was just the most normal thing. If you were surprised by this, it proved that you were not very mature yet.

He asked, "Anything else?"

"Of course." Aoweila's eyes flashed: "Let's talk about the issue of compensation."

"Reward?" Lingge couldn't help but be stunned. It had been a long time since he heard this word, and the feeling of bargaining. In an instant, he was back in the Garden Market in Linville City, hesitating for a long time over two pieces of milk pudding for a penny at a street vendor, until he remembered his sister's smile and made up his mind.

"That's right, reward." Ovella emphasized the two words and said righteously, "I helped you, of course I can ask for reward. Lingge, you are not the black-hearted employer that Alice mentioned, who makes people work but never pays them, right?"

Ling Ge shook his head slightly: "I haven't thought about it that way... Never mind, this request can't be said to be unreasonable. In this case, what kind of compensation do you want?"

He compromised.

Avella was delighted but remained calm. She cleared her throat and said, "You don't have money or anything else. I don't think you have it, and I don't really need it. In that case, why don't you come to my room tonight and sleep with me... I mean, help me lift the curse. Look, you haven't been to my room for a long time, and the bedding under my bed is still there..."

After listening to this obviously concealed speech, Lingge could not help but fall silent. Aoweila secretly glanced at his reaction, feeling anxious: Is my request too much? It shouldn't be that serious. I just asked you to sleep with me, not to play games with Alice. Is it necessary to be like this?

After the silence in the room lasted for a few seconds, she finally heard Lingge's answer. The young man's voice was like running water, flowing lightly through the cool autumn air and reaching the girl's ears: "First of all, it's not that I haven't been with you for a long time. It seems that I came once three days ago. Secondly, the bedding under your bed is left. I won't use it either. You can take it to Miss Shesta to wash it. Finally, think carefully about the reward you want and tell me next time."

Does this mean...you disagree?
Avella's heart suddenly sank. She felt lost for some reason, and perhaps a little aggrieved: I spent seven days searching for information without sleep, and hurriedly sorted it out, and then sent it to you. Is this the only outcome? Alice was right. Lingge, you are a heartless guy...

"Also, remember to leave the door unlocked tonight."

"Eh?" The princess raised her head, her eyes flashing with surprise, confusion and disbelief: "What did you just say?"

"Didn't you say that you wanted me to accompany you at night? Are you regretting it?"

"No, no, no! But you clearly refused the reward I asked for."

"Because this is not a reward." The young man glanced at her and said as if it was a matter of course: "It's just what I should have done."

"!?"

Avella's breathing stagnated, and she felt as if she was hit in the heart by some sharp object. She just sat there in a daze, not knowing what to say. Linger waited for a long time, but she didn't come back to her senses, so he assumed that she agreed. So he said, "See you in the evening," turned around and left the room, and gently closed the door.

When the door lock clicked shut, Olvera finally returned to reality. She slowly reached out her hand and pressed it against her chest, feeling the powerful beating of her heart in her chest. A drunken blush gradually appeared on her fair face. In the past, the girl's pale complexion, which had been caused by staying in the old castle for a long time, seemed to have gradually become healthier as she returned to normal life. As for now, she felt even healthier.

I obviously succeeded in getting what I wanted, but why do I have a feeling that... Lingge is the winner?
It's incredible.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)