Alice in the Land of Steam

Braving the wind and snow, the crowd moved the stone slab at the door with some effort and entered the house. After closing the stone slab again, the sound of the wind coming from outside suddenly became much quieter. The feeling of entering a safe shelter was enough to bring a little comfort to the travelers trudging through the wind and snow.

The space inside the house was not large, but because the furnishings were relatively simple, with only a stone table and a stone chair, even if everyone squeezed in, there was no feeling of crowding. And surprisingly, although snowflakes were blown in from the gaps between the stone bricks from time to time, the atmosphere inside the house was very warm, even dry, because the snow on the floor of the stone house had been cleared, and a square kang was dug out, with some red-hot charcoal inside that was releasing heat.

In addition, on the walls on both sides of the stone house, simple rope-buckle structures were used as lamp stands, with a torch hanging on each side. Judging from the burning resin at the end, it seemed that the torch had just been extinguished not long ago.

When Alice saw the heated bed and torches, she was stunned: "Ah? Is there anyone living in such a hellhole?"

Ling Ge shook his head: "It shouldn't be living, just maintaining and repairing them."

The city government of Heidebrusburg could not have such a sense of responsibility, and they did not have the money to hire special personnel to protect these relics that had lost their economic value, so the young man first rejected this possibility. He glanced at the extinguished torch hanging on the wall and said, "From the special structure of the rope buckle, it is undoubtedly the Shatoto people. In the entire northern Ashok Mountains, only they can collect a kind of fern called silver leaf fern from the high mountains, weave it into ropes, and make various simple tools or hunting traps."

Before arriving in Alois, the young man had read a lot of information, so he knew a lot about this kind of trivia that ordinary people didn't care about.

"Is that so?" Alice didn't care how much effort the young man had put in behind the scenes to answer every one of her questions fluently. The golden-haired maid curled her lips and expressed her disdain: "The people of Xia Toto are really kind. Saint Tomi has nothing to do with them, but they even want to take care of the few shabby houses he left behind."

"I can't say there is no relationship at all."

Xino smiled and answered the question for Lingge: "If Saint Tomi hadn't left a legend here, there wouldn't be so many pilgrims and tourists coming here, and the Xia Toto people wouldn't have been able to live a good life. From this perspective, they have a close relationship."

Normal people would have stopped here, but Alice was still stubborn: "That's all in the past. Look, there are no tourists now. Don't the Xiatoto people have to go back to the snowy mountains to make a living? Even if we take good care of the relics left by the saint, can Saint Tumi crawl out of his grave and give them money?"

Do you believe that a person like you will be beaten ten times by my Saint Guards if he walks around the town of Regrum?

Shino was speechless at her stubborn attitude, while Gloria beside him sarcastically said, "That means that Xia Toto is grateful, don't you think so, Ai-chan?"

What do you mean by that? Do I not know how to repay my kindness?
Alice raised her eyebrows and was about to argue with the captain, but Ling interrupted this meaningless quarrel in time. He took out a white shell from his arms. It was the alchemical tool [Sky Sea Shell] borrowed from Lorena. It allowed the user to store items of no more than 20 cubic meters in its internal space. As long as the volume did not exceed the limit, no matter how big, heavy, or complex the ingredients were, they could all be carried with them. It was one of the few inventions of Princess Umi that had practical value.

Before leaving the Sky Island, Lingge took out the daily necessities that the proprietress had stuffed into the shells one by one, and Saint Shallia was responsible for arranging them in different categories: the cute little leaf lamps were hung on the wall, bringing precious light to this dim and dark little stone house in the wind and snow. Because the candles burning in them were flower candles made of fairy magic, not only did they not have the grease smell of ordinary candles, but they were even filled with a refreshing jasmine fragrance, which made people feel very comfortable.

In the corner, there is a cabinet with a kettle, teacups, tea sets, and some daily necessities. The fountain pen, notebook, and some important reference materials that Linger has been using are placed on the stone table, where the young man can easily use them. In the corner on the other side, the shepherdess dropped a pea-like seed, which instantly took root and sprouted, and the vines covered with green leaves entangled together to form the shape of a bed. The vines that make up the bed look soft and elastic, and it must be very comfortable to sleep on it. This is also the alchemical prop prepared by Rolena: a portable single bed, which, by the way, seems to have the effect of calming the mind.

Finally, Linger even took out a professional-looking astronomical telescope from the shell, which took up most of the space in the house, forcing the others to move a few steps towards the door. Alice watched the two people busying around in the house, and suddenly turned the originally deserted and simple stone house into a warm shelter in the snowstorm. She couldn't help but be stunned: "Are you going to live here?"

As soon as she said this, everyone looked at her with strange eyes. Ling Ge was speechless: "Didn't I tell you before we set out? Saint Xia Liya and I will stay on the top of the mountain for the next period of time and will not return to Yunjingkong Island for the time being."

"Ah? Is that true?" Alice was dumbfounded. When she set out, she was thinking about all sorts of random things like snowball fights and treasure hunting in the snowy mountains. How could she have the time to listen to what Lingge said? Besides, what's the point? Just because you and Xiaoxia want to spend some time alone, should everyone stay away?

She spoke bluntly, and Saint Sharia heard her and secretly glared at her, saying, "Ai-chan, don't talk nonsense," but she didn't seem to be angry at all, so Alice was not afraid at all, and looked at Lingge eagerly, waiting for his explanation.

The young man pointed to the astronomical telescope next to him and said, "Because I want to emulate Saint Tumi's deeds, observe the celestial phenomena on the top of the mountain, map the stars, and try to find the route that Saint Tumi took to cross the sea of ​​stars."

"Oh, I see. You want to change your job to become a stargazer, right?" Alice said with certainty, "But can you stargaze? I remember that you are not an expert in this area."

In fact, he should be called an astronomer, but Ling Ge was too lazy to correct this mistake and simply replied: "So I have learned a lot of knowledge about astronomy during this period, and I have a certain understanding of it. At least the most basic observations and calculations are not a problem. In addition, Saint Xia Liya has learned Moriya astrology, and she will stay to help me."

Saint Xia Liya nodded slightly, and her chest raised slightly inadvertently, indicating that I didn't stay to accompany Lingge to spend some time alone as Alice said, but I have important things to do.

Alice looked at Linger on the left, looked at Saint Xia Liya on the right, and then looked at Xino and Gloria who looked indifferent. Suddenly, she came up with a brilliant idea: "In this case, isn't Xino a top student in the Department of Mathematics? How about asking her to help as well?"

After hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment. After that, Ling Ge showed a thoughtful expression: "I didn't expect that you can occasionally come up with some reasonable suggestions, Alice."

After saying that, he looked at a certain young knight who hadn't reacted yet and asked, "What's your opinion, Shino?"

"Me? If you really need my help, I'd be more than happy to help you, but..." Xino hesitated and glanced at Saint Shallia. Sure enough, he saw that the shepherdess's face had become gloomy, with anger hidden between her brows. However, she was not directed at Xino, but at a golden-haired maid who had come up with a bad idea and was still complacent about it. He immediately smiled bitterly in his heart.

In fact, Shino also felt that Alice's idea was completely unnecessary. Didn't she know that her mathematical knowledge could be useful? But the relationship between Saint Charlia and Ringer seemed very complicated. It should be said that the relationship between the young royal powers and Ringer was very complicated. Shino had only been on the island for less than two months, and he had already seen through this fact.

Shino, who only wanted to defeat evil and defend justice, had no intention of getting involved in these complicated emotional conflicts, so he deliberately avoided them and kept silent. Unexpectedly, Alice, who was so smart, took the initiative to tear the veil. What on earth did she want to do? She just wanted to watch the fun, didn't she?

But in fact, Alice didn't think so much. She didn't even notice Saint Xia Liya's angry eyes with a hint of murderous intent. She just wanted to take advantage of the topic to achieve her own goal: "Since Xinuo can stay to help, can I stay too, dear Mr. Ling?" She rubbed her hands excitedly, with a look of expectation on her face. She thought this was a very fun thing: camping on the top of a snowy mountain, observing the sky at night, mapping the stars, isn't it fun enough? Such a fun thing, I must get involved!
She probably equated it with a snowball fight.

Saint Xia Liya’s fists stiffened: That’s it?

It seems that Ai-chan has been living too comfortably lately and needs some serious re-education.

But right now, business is more important, let's save her life first.

The shepherdess let out a long breath, calmed herself down, and then gave an answer without any personal grudges: "Xino can stay, she can really help a lot, but Alice can't, because she can't help."

Well, the real reason is that Shino was dragged into this after all, and she is my biological sister, so I should be gentle with her. As for Alice? Haha, the re-education course of Tianxin Church is on the way.

This was also Ling Ge's idea, so he nodded: "That's it, Xinuo, you stay too."

Since Lingge and Saint Xia Liya have both passed this resolution, Xino will naturally not object: "I have no objection."

"I have an opinion!" Alice jumped out, looking angry: "Why do you say I can't help? I, Alice, am the Grand Marshal of Sky Island, how can I allow you to look down on me?"

Is there such a position?

Ling Ge said expressionlessly: "Then you will be responsible for delivering meals to us every day."

"Ah this!"

Alice thought about the mountain road and the snow on the way here, and then thought about how she had to spend an hour every day rushing to deliver meals to them. She immediately became timid, shrank her neck, and laughed, "It's just a joke. Actually, I suddenly remembered that my new game is not yet developed. I'll talk about helping later!"

Just change with the wind.

So the person who stayed behind was decided. Gloria knew from the beginning that she could not help, so she did not humiliate herself like Alice did. Of course, she had a better reason: as the captain, she naturally had to stay on the ship and take charge of the situation. Have you ever heard of a captain who left the ship?

She just thought it was troublesome. "Mapping the stars will take a lot of time, right? So when will our Zero Arus be able to set sail again?"

Lingge replied: "Back then, Saint Tumi took 33 months to complete this great feat. Although we have more people now, we may not have his wisdom and experience in this matter, so conservatively speaking, it may take longer."

Thirty-three months, that is nearly three years? Even the most thorough preparations for the voyage would not take that long, and wouldn't everyone become lazy if they didn't go out to sea for three years? Then what should I do about my revenge? Captain Gloria, who had great ambitions, was a little anxious: "Isn't there a more efficient way?"

Linger nodded: "Yes."

Oh? Really?
"What method?" the captain asked without hesitation.

Ling explained: "When Saint Tumi attained enlightenment on Mount Osor and founded the Spiritual Prayer Society, some devout believers came here to follow the saint's footsteps and found some manuscripts left by Saint Tumi, including his observation records and calculation data of the starry sky. After obtaining these manuscripts, those believers felt like they had found a treasure and decided to stay and study the saint's handwriting carefully to understand the mysteries. It would be even better if they could cross the sea of ​​stars like Saint Tumi and glimpse the ultimate law of the universe. These believers who stayed behind later became one of the branches of animism. If we can get Saint Tumi's manuscripts from them, I think this will not be difficult."

In fact, Lingge originally wanted to obtain the manuscript through Olvera's royal power, but it seemed that the manuscript only contained simple data and formulas without specific theoretical support. Therefore, it was not judged as knowledge by the [Library of Truth] and could not be searched.

The young man paused for a moment and continued, "After the promulgation of the Religious Decree, there were rumors that the sect had fled overseas in the disaster. Others said that they had not left, but were hiding in the Eastern Alps Mountains to avoid the persecution of the combined sects. In fact, before leaving Sky Island, I had already told Miss Nevill and Miss Shesta to inquire more about the aliens living here when they were patrolling the surrounding environment. It would be best if they could get in touch with this sect to show our sincerity. But at the moment, the hope is not very great."

Although Lingge said that there was little hope, his words still gave everyone some confidence. At least the young man had arranged everything properly, and the rest was left to luck. Alice was very confident. She believed that her luck had always been good. For example, when playing games, she could always find hidden props before she died. Isn't this the best proof?

What? You said we should understand it from another angle, that one actually dies after finding the hidden item?

Drag him away and behead him. The crime is to offend Grand Marshal Sky Island and he must be executed!
anyway.

"You've always been this sect and that sect," Alice asked curiously, "so what's its name?"

Ling Ge thought about it, and under the equally curious eyes of others, he slowly uttered an answer from his mouth -

"The Fog Mountain Hermitage." (End of this chapter)