Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 98 Is the Night Watchman also looking for someone?

The fairies' banquet is quite interesting.

The lobby on the first floor of the hotel has been cleared out and replaced with a row of clean white round tables, with a rectangular table in the middle. Each table is laid with exquisite enamel plates, silver knives and forks, and high-footed wine glasses, with all kinds of colorful and mouth-watering delicacies on the plates. In addition to the more common steaks, mashed potatoes, turkey, stewed beef, lamb leg pie, ham, salads and cream cakes, there are also dishes with strange names such as "Never Picky Carrot Soup", "So delicious that you want to cry" and "Egg Tarts that Explode When You Eat Them".

Alice, who was a little drowsy at first, immediately regained her spirits and appetite after taking a bite of "Never Picky Carrot Soup". She walked back and forth between the tables with a large plate in her hand, searching for food. After a while, the food on the plate piled up into a small mountain, and she stuffed a lot of it into her mouth. This vicious look made Metien feel ashamed. He was embarrassed to hang out with her, so he quietly moved away and ran to the other side of the hall.

The fluffy-haired rabbits lined up neatly between the kitchen and the hall, using their short paws to pass the empty plates back to the kitchen, and pass the freshly prepared dishes from the kitchen to the hall. They looked very busy, without a moment's rest. But when they passed the dishes, they would always secretly grab a bite of food from the plate and put it in their mouths when others were not paying attention, chewing it with a smacking sound, so there was no need to worry about these guys being hungry.

In the corner near the window, a crude platform had been built at some point, and potted plants were playing music on it: the flowers that had already opened were trying their best to stretch out their petals, and the sound emitted from the stamens was clear and pure, reminding people of the Sur people's recorder; the trees with lush branches and leaves were beating their trunks with their branches, making a heavy sound similar to that of a timpani; a plant similar to a morning glory, its flowers were shaking slightly, and suddenly it rang like a bell; there was also a green vine climbing on the flower stand, with a baton rolled up at the end, solemnly directing the rhythm of the orchestra, and the shaking of its head made people feel very funny...

But they are not just playing randomly. From the beautiful melody, one can hear a certain free will and unrestrained enthusiasm. If you close your eyes and use your ears only, you will think you are in a magnificent theater, listening to the wonderful music about St. Bartholomew's Day.

In fact, in the "prosperous city" Rustin, its "prosperity" and "luxuriance" can indeed refer to the "prosperity" and "luxuriance" in art in a sense, but Lingge did not expect that this symbolic meaning was actually seen from these strange magical plants in front of him.

When he heard that this special orchestra had started playing Flynn Coleman's "Serenade Under the Moon - Chapter 4", he silently took a sip of the "Dew of Life" carefully prepared by Master Shelia, and calmed down his surprise a little.

After all, this is a magical world, and there are naturally all kinds of strange things.

Shelia handed the last glass of water to Bill the Rabbit standing at the counter, asking him to serve it to the distinguished guests, inviting them to taste her masterpiece. After seeing Bill the Rabbit skipping away, she turned and walked towards the kitchen. As the proprietress and cook of the hotel, and the initiator of the banquet, the eldest sister Shesta was cooking dishes in the kitchen.

Metien and Shemi huddled together, the two little girls hiding in a remote corner, whispering about something. If you get closer, you might be able to hear bold phrases like "herb garden", "sneak in", "it's okay as long as you're not discovered". Fortunately, neither the eldest sister Shesta nor the second sister Shelia had the leisure to pay attention to their younger sister at the moment.

As soon as she pushed the door and walked into the kitchen, Xie Liya heard a conversation.

"I said, you should be gentler here. You have to know how sensitive this part is for a cabbage - especially a talking cabbage."

"Sorry, I'll pay attention." Shesta, who was peeling the cabbage, smiled gently and asked, "Then please ask Mr. Cabbage, do you want to be made into vegetable soup or salad?"

She would prepare many different dishes for every banquet, although in fact they could not be finished because magical plants did not need to eat and the rabbits had very small appetites. Could it be that the three fairy sisters had to consume them all?
But it doesn't matter, because the uneaten vegetables will eventually become nutrients for the underground garden. Using the magic vegetables in the underground garden to cook, and then using the dishes made from magic vegetables to supplement the nutrients, this cycle is very reasonable and very environmentally friendly, and basically in line with the life philosophy of the Rostin people.

"If I can, I'll choose vegetable soup." Mr. Cabbage, who was left with only one stalk, expressed his opinion seriously, "But I noticed that you added onions to the soup, which reminded me of my experience in the vegetable garden dealing with the hot onions in the field next door. They were all a bunch of arrogant and unreasonable guys. I would rather be made into salad than associate with them. This is my personal insistence, and I hope you can respect my opinion!"

The onion that was being stewed in the pot immediately responded: "Bullshit!"

This strongly proves Mr. Cabbage's point. Shelia: "..."

No matter how much time passed, she could never figure out why the underground garden of her own inn could grow so many magical plants with strange personalities.

"Oh?"

At this time, Shesta had noticed her presence, looked up, smiled and greeted her, with some confusion in her eyes: "Xie Liya, why are you here? You should stay in the hall to entertain the guests. You can't let the guests feel that they are being left out, okay?"

"I know. I'll be back right away." Xie Liya closed the door and blocked out the music from the hall. "But before that, there is something I want to ask my elder sister for her opinion on."

"I see. What is it?"

Xie Liya glanced at the back door and asked, "What's the situation with the magic maze in the underground garden?"

"Of course, it's just a minor problem. It's been fixed now. I promise that it won't happen again. Xie Liya, just believe in your ability." She looked at her sister with a smile: "You will believe it, right?"

"Uh."

The bartender's tone paused, and then she looked away with a guilty look: "That being said, we can't completely relax. After all, the activities of the Night Watch have indeed become more and more frequent in recent times. Almost the entire city is covered with traps they set, and it seems that their goal is very clear. The activity of these pathogens is not so much about searching for traces of aliens as it is about searching for something else... To be honest, I have a bad feeling, big sister."

"You're right, but," the cabbage in the proprietress's hand suddenly interrupted, "according to conservative estimates, there are at least 21.44 night watchmen in Rostin City, while there is only one stone spirit guard in the underground garden. If the night watchmen decide to attack the hotel, then on average each vegetable will have to run kilometers to escape their pursuit. From this point of view, the effect of vegetable soup is obviously more obvious than salad, because the concept of healthy living dictates that each of us has the obligation to refuse to eat onions!"

Before it could finish its words, the proprietress threw it into the pot and stewed it with the hot and spicy onions it hated the most. The onions, which had long held a grudge against it, quickly surrounded it and launched a fierce attack, causing the soup to splash everywhere and the fire to run wild.

Xiesta ignored the weird screams and howls coming from behind, and frowned: "You mean, they are looking for Xiao Xia?"

"I think it should be..."

Xie Liya paused for a moment, then changed her words and said, "No, I should say that this is the only possibility."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)