Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 937 Are there any other reasons?
When Xinuo tactfully suggested that she could help, Lingge also tactfully rejected her kindness, because he knew that she could not help much and would only make the problem more complicated.

Life is already so difficult, so let’s all retain a bit of innocence.

Although her good intentions were rejected, Xinuo did not force it, but she felt a little regretful. She felt that Ling Ge had helped her a lot, but when he encountered difficulties, she could only stand by and watch, which was not what a friend should do.

Looking at her regretful expression, Ling Ge thought to himself that it was a good thing that you couldn't help. If you could help, that would be troublesome.

After that, the two of them fell silent, both of them didn't know what to say. Lingge was still thinking about how to face the girls on Yunjingkong Island in the future, while Xino looked up at the night sky. The autumn night was particularly clear, and the deep curtain was dotted with shining stars. Among them, the Delos Triangle formed by the Ursa Major, Gamma and Armorus was the most dazzling. It was a signal of late autumn. In the ancient legends of the Rosetta people, it was also the temple in the sky of "Eperitch", the "Lord of the Four Seasons" and the symbolic god of the Frostgrass Constellation.

Whenever the Delos Triangle appears in the night sky over the White City, it means that the world is getting colder and the season is gradually changing from autumn to winter, which is also called the "entry of the cold period" by astronomers and meteorologists.

"Time flies so fast."

Xino said with emotion: "When you came to Saint-Denis Province, it was still August, and now it's October. In these two months, you have really experienced a lot."

After she said that, Lingge realized that they had been in Grindelwald Field for two months. This was probably the first time they stayed in the same place for such a long time since they started their journey.

And…it’s October again.

Lingge seemed to remember something and suddenly asked Xinuo: "What day is today?"

The girl was a little slow to react, and replied subconsciously: "Number 16."

"How many days are left until the 25th?" Ling Ge also looked up at the sky, as if talking to himself: "I wonder how long I will stay here."

Xinuo asked curiously: "October 25th, is that a special day for you?"

"I guess so, but...it's not special enough to warrant a commemoration."

This statement was a bit vague, but Xino nodded slightly, as if he understood what he meant: "I see."

"I still have some things to deal with here." Xino said, "Although most of the manor properties have already found agents, and the properties to be donated have been entrusted to the church for joint coordination and supervision, there are still some fixed assets that are difficult to deal with due to historical issues. For example, Loser's Forest and Shadoli Manor require me to go to the city hall a few more times and sign a notarized agreement before I can entrust them to Weber. This will take some time. Even if everything goes well, we can't set off until after the 25th."

This is special treatment that the Gustaf family received because of their good relationship with the municipal government. If the normal process was followed, it would probably take two or three months, let alone more than ten days.

Lingge said nothing more, just quietly looked at the starry sky. This magnificent sight could only be seen in the beautiful Grindelwald Plains. In the city of Linville, which was shrouded in the bleak coal clouds spewed out by factory chimneys all day long, it was difficult to see the stars, let alone the sky.

But that was his first hometown, the city he had stayed in the longest. He had stared at the sky indifferently in the narrow and cold orphanage, wandered alone in the dark streets full of sewage, and watched indifferently as figures walked under the eaves and windowsills on the streets in the heavy rain. Everyone was so alienated, as if they had never lived in the same world, until a hand reached out from the crowd and opened an umbrella for him.

Later, in a snowstorm that swept the city, he lost the most important person in the world forever. He thought he would inherit his long-cherished wish and stay in the same place for the rest of his life. However, the clever trick of fate eventually made him deviate from his original track.

On August 1778, 8, the United Churches and the Kingdom's Ministry of Religious Affairs jointly promulgated the "Decree on Restricting the Operation and Preaching Rights of Illegal Church Organizations Such as Spiritual Prayer Societies and Druids", referred to as the Religious Decree, which prohibits the 12 religions mentioned in the decree from establishing churches and spreading their beliefs in the Western Continent. Violators will be arrested by the United Churches and various countries.

On June 1855, 6, a supplementary decree to the religious decree was promulgated, expanding the scope of restrictions from the 5 religions mentioned in the decree to all religions in the Western Continent except the seven major orthodox churches. All religions, regardless of size, must complete rectification within days. If they exceed the deadline, they will be banned by force.

On October 10 of the same year, a "Notice of Deadline for Correction" was delivered to Lingge.

The young man's fate began to change from that time, and exactly one year had passed.

It has been a year since he left his hometown. Is the sad city still as cold and indifferent as before? What did he gain and lose in this year? Did he grow and understand? If possible, Ling Ge hopes to get the answer, which at least proves that he has never been lost. But in fact, the further he goes, the darker the road becomes, sometimes even so dark that young people can no longer see their true heart.

On October 1855, 10, he met the first girl, Saint Shalia, in the town square of Linville City; on October 25, 1856, he will take the last girl, Saint Xino, to the unknown temple in the distant universe. Every step forward can be determined, but the future is the only thing that is unknown.

No one can be sure what it will become.

I think I have disappointed you, Mr. Yanke.

Ling Ge looked away, his expression was very calm, at least from the outside he could not tell anything unusual. But the amazing thing was that Xinuo could understand his mood at the moment, and felt that he was a little lost, melancholy, and... lonely?
It’s really strange. He has so many companions around him, but he still feels lonely often?
Very similar to me.

Shino Qin Gustaf is an optimistic, cheerful, sincere and kind person, so she has many friends. With the help of these friends, her heart, which was once troubled by the curse, has gradually come out of the shadow. But until now, she still feels lonely from time to time. This may be a common problem of human beings. It is a knot that they have to spend their whole lives to eliminate since their birth, and it is also the curse that all emotional creatures really face.

In this long night, two lonely people.

Shino smiled, and for some reason, he felt a little emotional.

Neither of them spoke again, only one sat on the wooden box, staring at the ground quietly, while the other leaned against the wall, looking at the starry sky with a sense of loss. They were silent for a long time, until late at night, when the stars in the sky gradually became sparse. Linger stood up and was about to say goodbye and leave, when he suddenly heard Xino speak in a calm tone: "I just had a dinner with my friends at the Azure Arc Restaurant. I told them that I would soon leave my hometown and go to a very far place to hone myself and become a greater knight." Linger couldn't help but look back at her, but the girl was still looking up at the starry sky and didn't notice his gaze. She had a faint smile on her face. The starlight that came across the universe had become weak when it fell into the human world, but it still shone in her eyes, as if shining with the stars in the sky. "They were all very surprised when they heard about it, but they also supported my decision unconditionally. Vincent asked me when I would be back, and I said it would probably be a long time later. Phyllis said, then when you come back, let's get together at the Blue Lake Restaurant. I said to her, OK."

She laughed at herself: "It sounds like an irresponsible lie, right?"

Lingge did not answer, but he actually thought so in his heart. Because the reality was that once Xinuo left here, he might never come back in this life.

Even without mentioning the threat of the Witch Society, just talking about her identity, she is the Girl King, the controller and maintainer of the laws of the universe, and she is born with arduous responsibilities. If she can successfully achieve her goal in the Holy Temple of Heaven this time and stop the conspiracy of the Witch Society with the help of the goddess, then Xino will still need to stay there and continue to fulfill her mission as the Girl King. She may even be even busier in the future because of the crisis caused by the Witch Society, and I am afraid she will not have time to go back to her hometown to visit her friends.

Moreover, as the young queen, if she does not want to repeat the mistakes of the Witch Society, she should treat every race in the Mirror Star World equally. Even if she is a human being now, she must forget her past identity and race to be qualified to fulfill that sacred and great mission.

It sounds cruel, but if you think about it from another perspective, isn't it also a responsibility to the world? Perhaps, only those who are the cruelest to themselves can be the most gentle to the world.

"Since you knew that," Linger finally spoke, he asked, "Why did you tell me then?"

"Well, you should ask Leila and the others. Not only do you know that I'm lying, they know it too."

Lingge couldn't help but show a look of surprise when he heard this. Xinuo's mouth curled up into a smile. He looked up at the night and the starry sky and said softly, "I have never been a good liar since I was a child. Perhaps it is the chivalry taught by my grandfather that has influenced me and made me be sincere in dealing with people and things. My friends can always see through my lies easily. Claire was like this back then, and it is the same with Leila and the others now."

"But isn't this how people interact with each other?" Heno added, "Everyone is thinking about others and telling white lies; everyone can easily see through others' lies, but chooses to give good wishes. You may not feel this way at the time, but when you recall it in the future, it will surely become the most beautiful memory in your life."

Linger nodded slightly and commented: "It sounds like your major in college was philosophy?"

“No, it’s mathematics.”

Shino gave an unexpected answer. Before that, Lingge thought that mathematicians were all old-fashioned and boring guys, not much better than his history tutor.

"Philosophy is not someone's patent. Philosophers simply organize the emotions that ordinary people can feel but cannot express into a complete system." Xinuo said: "Just like you, Mr. Ling, don't you sometimes act like a sentimental philosopher?"

“It seems hard to argue with that.”

"So there's no need to stare at the night sky here in a daze. Looking up at the stars occasionally is a good choice, but most of the time we still have to keep our feet on the ground, right?" Xino blinked at him: "It is said that separation is for a better reunion, and it doesn't mean that people who feel lonely will always be lonely. Just like Leila and the others, even if they have taken different paths from me, as long as I miss them, I still often feel that they are by my side. Doesn't Mr. Ling have a similar feeling?"

The young man could not help but remain silent, unable to give an answer against his will. Those lost memories, the city always shrouded in sad tears, and the various people in that city, whether good or bad, great or shameful, or hard to let go, had indeed appeared in his dreams countless times, proving that the young man was not without longing, but was unwilling to show it.

"It seems that you already have the answer in your heart."

Xinuo nodded with satisfaction, stretched, brushed off the dust on his clothes, turned his head and said to Lingge, "It's getting late, we should all go back to bed. The mountain road is difficult to walk at night. How about Mr. Lingge staying at the Shadoli Manor for one night?"

"That's not necessary."

Ling Ge politely declined: "What you just said is very inspiring to me. Please let me think about it here for a while, and then go back to rest when I have figured it out."

Xino could tell that this was an excuse, and the young man didn't seem to want to go with her, but the considerate girl didn't feel unhappy about it, and naturally didn't ask any further questions. She just smiled and said, "Then I hope you can figure it out sooner, and don't stay up too late, otherwise your friends on Sky Island will worry about you, Mr. Ling."

She waved goodbye and turned to leave. Ling Ge watched her back as she walked into the depths of the dim street lights. He hesitated for a moment, and finally called out, "One more thing."

"Oh?" Xino stopped and turned back with a curious expression on his face: "What's the matter?"

"I'm staying here alone not because I'm lonely," the young man said calmly, "but for other reasons."

Xino was stunned. You called me just to emphasize this matter?
And why does this sentence sound so awkward?

She stared at the young man, who also stared at the girl motionlessly. After the two of them were in a stalemate for a while, Xinuo was the first to raise her hand in surrender: "I see, you are not feeling lonely, you are just staying here alone because of other things, right?"

In her heart, she didn't believe it: What could happen in the middle of the night? To play house with a little girl?

Of course, Lingge didn't know what the girl was thinking. Seeing that she understood what he meant, he no longer insisted, nodded slightly, and withdrew his gaze.

Xino also withdrew her gaze. This time no one called her. However, when the girl turned around, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but outline a crescent-shaped arc, and the corners of her mouth twitched, as if she was having a hard time holding it back.

It seems that Mr. Ling is not as... boring as I imagined.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)