Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 972 Do You Actually Hate Me?
In the afternoon, Lingge brought Leticia back to Yunjingkong Island. He first threw the unruly little bat to Countess Nevi'er, and told her everything that happened on the top of the mountain word for word, emphasizing her eavesdropping and rebellious attitude.

The countess first thanked Lingge in a friendly manner for taking care of Leticia and not indulging her in doing whatever she wanted. Then she said to her granddaughter with a fake smile, "You will not have any vacation for the next week. Stay in Tianxin Church and learn how to be a good person... uh, be a good vampire."

Leticia naturally fought to the death, but her small arms and legs were temporarily unable to shake the majesty of the Countess. Seeing the unwillingness and frustration in her eyes when she was dragged away, as well as the expression of "How dare you betray me", the young man felt that at least until the next reincarnation, the little bat's attitude towards him would not be very friendly.

Although, it wasn't very friendly originally.

Later, he learned from Sister Livia that Saint Shalia had already gone to find Olvera in advance, probably to borrow her royal power to find some necessary information. In this case, Lingge did not bother her anymore, but changed his target and went to the alchemy workshop in the forest to find Rolena.

But just as he walked out of the door, before he had time to knock, he heard a noisy noise coming from inside. The noise was so loud that it could be heard outside, disturbing the peace of the woods. A few gray-tailed sparrows flapped their wings, jumped up from the branches, and flew away chirping.

With his hand that was about to knock on the door frozen in mid-air, Linger listened attentively to the movements inside the house - of course, he did not have any habit of eavesdropping, but since everyone on Yunjingkong Island except him was a woman, young people had to be extra cautious every time they entered the house to ensure that no embarrassing accidents would occur, or in Alice's words, "welfare incidents."

For example, a beautiful girl is changing clothes, a beautiful girl is taking a bath, a beautiful girl is sleeping in bed and is defenseless... Why does Alice speak so clearly? Of course, it's because she has tried it herself. Unfortunately, she has tried several times but never encountered such welfare events. Instead, because of its elusiveness, it scared some timid girls and made her grumble for several days, complaining that she is not the protagonist and cannot trigger events.

At this moment, the sound coming from inside the house indicated that this was not a welfare incident, but rather a bit like bullying——

"Please, give it back to me, oooooo!"

"I can give you anything, but I really can't do without this thing!"

"Oh, I'll do anything as long as you give it back to me!"

Well, he was crying and expressing his feelings, and he was shouting at the top of his lungs, which made those who heard him sad and those who saw him cry.

The only weird thing is that the owner of this voice is Alice.

Alice, who did all kinds of evil and was considered the tyrant of Sky Island, would actually fall to this point? Rorona might have a way to cure her, but it wouldn't be to this extent, right? Ling Ge's curiosity was aroused. He coughed twice to signal the people in the room that he was coming in, and then pushed the door open. At a glance, he saw Princess Kaisu, who was sitting behind the workbench, watching the fun with a smile, and the two parties involved.

One is the golden-haired maid Alice, who is hugging the other's thigh shamelessly, crying loudly but without emotion. She gives people the feeling that she is a bit like the court actor in the famous play "The Injustice of Farrow" who threw himself at the door of the court and shouted "I am innocent", of course, his acting skills are much worse; the other is Gloria, who is still dressed as a big pirate, holding a musket in one hand and pressing the black muzzle against Alice's forehead to stop her from rubbing her nose on her trousers from time to time. In the other hand, she holds a silver cassette and points it at the wall lamp, admiring its beautiful shape in the soft light. Her posture and movement are elegant like an artist admiring gems.

Lingge was silent as he watched this scene, then turned around and asked Rolena, "What are you doing?"

Even if it's performance art, isn't it a bit too advanced?
Princess Haiqi, who had been watching the fun, was about to explain for Lingge when suddenly an abnormal blush appeared on her cheeks. She quickly turned her head away, covered the part below her nose with her palm, and began to cough softly. Every time she coughed, her chest rose and fell slightly. She coughed several times before she stopped.

The two people who were confronting each other seemed to be used to this situation. They didn't even look back. Linger frowned slowly. He noticed that Rolena was no longer wearing those glasses. He immediately realized: "Your illness... has changed again?"

"kindness."

Princess Haixi picked up the handkerchief on the table and wiped her nose gracefully before nodding and answering. Her voice was originally very ethereal and clear, but now it seemed a little dull because of her illness: "But it's just a minor cold, it's not a big problem."

After a pause, she continued, "I don't know why, but this time the symptoms don't seem as severe as before."

Since Lingge met her, Princess Haiqi has been infected with lung disease, calf muscle atrophy, aphasia and blindness due to the curse. Compared with these, a cold with such mild symptoms is really not worth mentioning. The fact that she may not be cured will make her feel worse than an ordinary cold patient, but it will not affect her normal life.

The young man knew in his heart that the effect of the curse was beginning to weaken with Bai Ye's help.

"Speaking of which, I've been having weird dreams lately. I always dream of a girl named Lorelai. She looks a lot like me, and there are a group of familiar companions around her. But I can't remember the content of the dream very clearly, so I don't remember their names either." Lorena put down her handkerchief and blinked her crystal blue eyes at the young man: "Mr. Ling, do you have any clues about these dreams?"

Ling Ge silently looked away: "How can I understand your dream?"

"That's true." Rorona smiled slightly and didn't ask any further questions.

Ling pointed at the two people who were still confronting each other on the field: "So, now can you tell me what's going on?"

"Well, it's no big deal."

After Princess Umisu's explanation, the young man quickly understood the cause and effect. In short, after many days of hard work, Rorona finally completed the enhancement work of the "Sky Orbit: Type-0 Behemoth" cartridge, and notified Alice in advance to come and take it away. As a result, this matter was somehow known by Gloria, and she intervened and took the cartridge away before Alice and took it for herself.

As for your question about why Gloria stole the cassette...needless to say, it's because she's a pirate!
It's natural for pirates to rob things, but as a big pirate, Gloria has a discerning eye and doesn't look down on ordinary gold and silver treasures. Only those treasures that are rare in the world can win her favor.

She took a fancy to Alice's cassette.

Of course, there may be revenge as well: in her previous identity, Gloria, as a polo player, was tricked by Alice several times, but she had no aggressive personality, so she could only endure it silently. Now that she has a strong personality, shouldn't she take advantage of it and take this opportunity to teach Alice a lesson?

Do you dare to defy me, a great pirate? Gloria asked, and Alice said no, mainly because she was afraid of the gun in her hand. No one could be sure whether the gun was loaded with roses or bullets. If the bet was right, it would be fine, but if the bet was lost, wouldn't her life be gone?

But Alice didn't want to lose her cassette, so she chose the most cowardly method: kneel down, hug her thighs, and then cry.

"That's the situation." Rorona said, spreading her hands with a mischievous smile on her face: "So, do you want to stand up for Alice, dear Mr. Ling?"

Hearing these words, the two people confronting each other in the field looked at each other at the same time, but Gloria's gaze was full of deep meaning, while Alice's gaze was full of expectation. She blinked her eyes vigorously, indicating that it was time for the savior to appear. If you can save me from the dire straits, Ai-chan will be so grateful that she will repay you with her body... Well, it's a bit disgusting.

Lingge was silent for a moment, then simply turned around, ignoring the gazes of the two, and said to Rolena: "Let's talk business."

Gloria showed a satisfied smile, while Alice fell into despair, shouting at the top of her lungs: "Gua, Lingge! You can't just stand by and watch someone die! You can't, you can't do this!!!"

very noisy.

Ling'er had a blank expression on his face. Rorona seemed to see through his thoughts. She snapped her fingers lightly and several alchemy fairies flew over. They lowered the door curtain, separating the alchemy area from the workbench and isolating Alice's shouting outside. The whole world suddenly became a lot quieter.

"This is more suitable for conversation." Lorena smiled playfully, then signaled the alchemy fairies to set the tea set for Lingge and brew tea. With their hard work, the sweet and fragrant aroma of black tea like jasmine soon filled the room.

Lingge originally wanted to leave after finishing his business, but since the host had already invited him to stay, he would not be so ignorant of the situation. Fortunately, time was not very tight, so the young man still had time to stay and drink two cups of black tea and savour the leisurely afternoon in the snowy mountains in winter.

The alchemy fairies were in charge of the process of placing the tea sets and brewing the tea leaves. After all the processes were completed, Rorona personally lifted the teapot and tilted it slightly. The steaming red tea flowed out of the spout, drawing a beautiful arc, and gradually filled the ceramic teacup under the quiet gaze of the young man. The color was very special, a bit like the red of mead, but clearer, as if melted snow was in it. The two seemingly unrelated substances blended into a transparent and flawless gem, reflecting the focused and serious face of Princess Haiqi.

As Rorona poured the tea, she introduced it to the young man: "This is the snow toon tea that Miss Nevile left behind when she was here last time. It is said to be an extremely rare tea that only grows on snowy peaks 5,000 meters above sea level. It is also a magical plant that is widely used in alchemy and potions. It seems to be sold at a high price among magicians."

She smiled and said, "Miss Nevill searched all over the snowy peaks of Osor before she found a few snow-green tea trees. She ended up using all the tea leaves she picked to make tea. What an elegant hobby, don't you think, Mr. Ling?"

Ling put it succinctly: "Old people always have quirks of one kind or another."

In comparison, Countess Nevi's hobby is the most harmless one.

"Although it's the truth, I don't think Miss Nevile would be very happy to hear it." Rorona smiled slightly, pushed the teacup in front of Lingge, then opened the sugar jar next to it and asked Lingge: "Would you like some sugar, Mr. Lingge?"

Lingge shook his head and refused. Rolena was not surprised. She said, "I have long felt that Mr. Lingge is not the kind of person who likes to add sugar to black tea. Miss Nevile also said so."

Then why are you asking me?
Linger glanced at her, and Lorena pretended not to notice. She added two sugar cubes to her cup and gently stirred it with a silver teaspoon. She watched the frosty white sugar cubes slowly dissolve in the mead-red black tea and said with a smile, "Miss Nevile also said that it was boring to drink tea with you every time, because you always liked to talk about business while drinking tea, which disturbed her good mood."

What are you insinuating?
Ling Ge raised his eyebrows calmly: "So, when you were drinking tea with her, did you not talk about business?"

"Miss Nevill and I are good tea friends~" Rorona's fingers were still pinching the teaspoon, stirring unconsciously, and the other hand was supporting her cheek, she said thoughtfully: "I am a book friend with Ovella, and a drinking buddy with Miss Shelia... Well, although she doesn't mix wine; in addition, I also exchange pharmacology with Medien, help Yieta refine various small props she needs, occasionally discuss cooking with the boss lady, and often take care of Xiaoxia's sheep for her. Oh, by the way, Xino is not on the island these days, so I am also taking care of Brandi, you know? She just returned to Sky Island and said she would thank me well."

Princess Umizu blinked her big eyes and said sincerely, "Do you think I'm amazing and can build good relationships with everyone on Sky Island?"

If what you say is true, then it is true.

But the young man couldn't know every person's interpersonal relationship on Yunjingkong Island, so he had no way to judge whether Lorena was joking or telling the truth. He silently picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then immediately frowned: compared with the sweet and fragrant aroma, the taste was slightly bitter, and this bitterness filled between the lips and teeth, like the stimulation of snowflakes falling into the collar, which suddenly made people's spirits perk up.

"Hahaha."

Seeing Ling'er's reaction, Rolena smiled as expected. She smiled happily, and even her eyes curved into two crescents: "I seem to have forgotten to tell you that although Miss Nevi'er often invites me to drink tea, I can't get used to this kind of snow toon tea because it's too bitter."

"as well as--"

She leaned forward slightly, and her bright eyes fixed on the young man's face through the misty fragrance, and said meaningfully: "I seem to have forgotten to tell you that although I can build a good relationship with everyone on the island, you are the only exception, Mr. Lingge. After all, every time we meet, we talk about some very boring topics, which are even more boring than those you and Miss Nevile talked about when you had tea."

"You don't really hate me, do you?"

"Pfft!"

Lingge, choked.

Give me some meow