Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1153 Why Don’t You Want to Tell Me?

The big, round apple was cut horizontally and vertically into four neat pieces, which were placed on a silver plate. Such simple knife skills and a calm expression made Gloria, who was trying to imitate the boss lady and carve flowers on the fruit flesh, look pale in comparison. Seeing her sister sweating profusely but cautiously, Saint Charia could not help but remind her, "Don't use too much force, Gloria, be careful not to cut your hand."

"Don't worry, Sister Xia, my hands are steady, I won't cut... Wow!"

The blade of the knife just missed the white and tender fingertips by a hair's breadth, but it frightened the gray-haired girl and made her scream.

Listening to someone's disdainful sneer in her mind and looking at Saint Shallia's helpless expression, Gloria blushed, but still said stubbornly: "It was just a, uh, small mistake. I won't do it again next time, absolutely not!"

Saint Shalia blinked: "Next time?"

"That's right, because it's done this time!" Gloria proudly raised the apple in her hand: "Look, I carved a rose on the apple. How about it, isn't it beautiful, Sister Xiaoxia?"

Saint Xia Liya looked at the apple in her hand and remained silent. In a sense, this thing has indeed become a work of art, but the style is more trendy, the appearance is a bit rich, and the temperament is quite abstract. She wanted to say something to evaluate Gloria's work, but only then did she realize that her vocabulary was so limited that she couldn't even describe it one ten-thousandth of it. After a little contemplation, Saint Xia Liya picked up the fruit plate and stuffed it into Gloria's hand, saying casually: "Help me pass the fruit plate over, Gloria. Well, by the way, let others appreciate your work too."

Huh?
Gloria's eyes lit up, this was a good idea. So she happily took the fruit plate and put her own work on it, and placed it in the center, the most visually impactful position, hoping that everyone would be able to see its uniqueness at a glance and be deeply fascinated by Miss Gloria's artistic style and aesthetic ability. In this way, her hard work would not be in vain - although she only studied it for more than ten minutes.

This proves that I am gifted!

Ignoring Bai Ye's sarcasm, Gloria walked towards the front hall with a fruit plate in hand, humming a little tune. When she reached the door, she happened to meet the young man's eyes. Her eyes lit up and she greeted him happily, "Ah, Ling Ge, you're back? You're just in time. How about it? Do you want to try the cooking skills of Xiao Xia and me?"

What kind of skill is cutting fruit? I can do this kind of thing!

Ling Ge subconsciously waved his hand: "No need, I'm in front... um"

He wanted to say that he had already eaten it before, but Gloria did not give him a chance to quibble. She directly picked up a piece of cut apple from the fruit plate and stuffed it into the young man's mouth. Ling Ge was caught off guard and subconsciously opened his mouth to take it. The sweet flesh mixed with abundant juice instantly filled the young man's lips and teeth. This should be the fruit ripened by the proprietress using fairy magic. According to her, "this has more fairy flavor." As for what the fairy flavor tastes like, Ling Ge is not sure. According to his current feeling, it should be sweet and sour, and with a mellow aroma like fermented wine. The taste is indeed unique.

Saint Xia Liya stood there, holding a kitchen knife. After seeing this scene, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. Bai Ye, who was watching the show in his consciousness space, couldn't help but feel a chill, as if something bad was about to happen. But the next moment, the shepherdess noticed that the apple that Linger ate was exactly the one she had just cut, and after eating it, she commented that it tasted "good". Immediately, her brows relaxed again, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

The chills disappeared, as if they had never appeared. Bai Ye was confused in his consciousness. What was going on? My body was clearly controlled by the little idiot Gloria, so why did I have this palpitation, while Gloria was not affected at all? It couldn't be because she was an idiot, right?
She guessed correctly.

Gloria, who had no idea what was happening, was still showing off to Ling Ge with a smile: "Well, I told you, Sister Xiao Xia and I are unbeatable in our cooking skills! If you miss out on something as delicious as this once, there won't be a second time, okay?"

So, what does the skill of cutting fruit have to do with its taste? Could it be that you are a top chef who put all your emotions and skills into cutting the fruit to make this golden fruit platter that is so delicious that it moves the heavens? But it doesn't glow like Alice said.

"Actually, I should have let you taste my masterpiece, but I have to show it to other people, so you just have to wait." Gloria winked at the young man again, not acting like a nun at all. "Of course, if Metien and the others want to eat it, you can only wait until next time."

How come you're also playing the game of "masterpiece"? Isn't that the specialty of the bartender? And... looking at the unrecognizable apple in the center of the fruit plate, Linger sincerely hoped that Metien and the others would have a good appetite and finish it. Otherwise, it would be his turn to face this postmodern art work that challenged the limits of human aesthetics.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Lingge and Saint Xia Liya slandered, it could not affect Gloria's confidence in her work. Watching her happily leave the kitchen, the young man couldn't help but shake his head slightly, thinking that the character Gloria randomly picked this time didn't seem to match her identity. She was obviously a nun, but she didn't look like a clergyman at all.

However, it may not be a bad thing.

He retracted his gaze and said to Saint Shallia, "Can we chat for a while? I need to discuss something with you."

"Of course." The shepherdess put down the scary kitchen knife in her hand and asked, "Is it about Mr. Carson and the Ash Guerrillas?" "Yes."

The young man nodded, then repeated in full the conversation he had just had with Carson Borg, including the origins of Assyria in Paradise Township, the suppression and persecution suffered by the Church of the Goddess of Creation in the Eastern Continent, the defeat of the Assyrian Holy War and the rise of the new rebel army, and the most crucial point: he wanted to prepare for future contact with Assyria in Paradise Township and the Church of the Goddess of Creation by supporting the Ash Guerrillas.

The reason, naturally, was the same as what he had told Carson Borg: in order to fight against the Witch Society, they needed the help of the Assyrians in Paradise Township and the Goddess of Creation; in order to get their help, they had to increase their weight and have more say; the reincarnation of the Seven Saints might be a bargaining chip, but it was hard to say whether the other party was willing to admit it. Since Solomon had paved the way for Lingge, no matter what he was thinking, at least, before finding a second suitable path, the young man wanted to try to go on this path.

"The Ash Ranger is a very suitable candidate."

Linger said: "As a leader, Carson Borg has strong beliefs and awareness, and is deeply trusted by his companions. His personal charm has made the Ash Guerrillas grow into a team with self-assertion and firm will, just like the Holy Salvation Army led by Joan of Arc in the past. There is no need to worry about being betrayed or deceived when cooperating with them. Secondly, the Ash Guerrillas have just experienced a tragic defeat. If we lend a hand at this time, we will have a psychological advantage. In addition, the most important point is that the betrayal of the former Night God Roglia has made the Ash Guerrillas full of disgust and hatred for local gods and traditional religious forces. Only they can accept the teachings of the goddess and even be further absorbed as believers. If we leave the Ansus area, I don’t know if we can find an equally suitable person elsewhere. In fact, our support for the Ash Guerrillas does not require too much cost. If we can exchange a very small sacrifice for a huge reward, there is no reason not to do it. From this point of view, cooperation with the Ash Guerrillas is necessary and beneficial to us."

The young man made a long speech, which was rare, and argued the rationality of this matter from various angles. Anyone with basic rational logic would have to deeply agree with his argument. But during this process, Saint Shallia remained silent, just staring at the young man in front of her with her beautiful golden eyes. Only occasionally, a trace of confusion and hesitation flashed in her eyes, as if she was wondering whether the young man in front of her was Ling Ge, or was he secretly replaced by Rolena and was actually a puppet with Ling Ge's appearance and voice?

Otherwise, how could I hear so many unfamiliar words in his speech.

Betrayal, deception, cooperation, benefit, sacrifice, return... and so on, as if there is a scale in his heart, with different chips placed on the tray of the scale, on one side is "lending a helping hand to the Ash Guerrillas", and on the other side is the price the Ash Guerrillas can pay, their failures, their ideals, their beliefs and awareness, and even the fact that they were betrayed by the gods and lost their faith, are all chips that can be calculated in the eyes of young people. Can they try to keep this scale in a fragile balance?

But it shouldn't be like this.

In Saint Shalia's impression, Ling Ge should never say such a thing.

and so--

"Why lie, Ling?" When the young man finally finished his long speech, Saint Xia Liya responded with a short and direct sentence. This sentence was like a young swordsman stabbing an unexpected sword in a duel. The young man was caught off guard and felt his heart suddenly tightened: "What did you say?"

"I asked you why you lied, Lingge." Saint Xia Liya stared at him straight, neither retreating nor looking away, as if to say, if you don't answer my question, I will keep staring at you.

The shepherdess's eyes were so clear that they seemed to have a power that could see through people's hearts. The young man couldn't help but feel that he was almost transparent in front of her, unable to hide any secrets. He suddenly felt guilty and even helpless, as if he had returned to the time when Mr. Yang Ke asked him, "Don't you have anywhere to go?" Of course, he had nowhere to go, so he could only wander in the streets and alleys of the city. The young boy had long been accustomed to this kind of life and disdained the criticism and ridicule of others. However, when the man asked him this question simply without any malice or pity, he suddenly felt extremely ashamed and panicked, as if something that was natural was suddenly broken. For the first time, he realized that he was not living in a closed eggshell, but was living with the sadness and loneliness of the world.

How similar were the feelings then to now?

At that time, the stubborn boy told the man in front of him: "I just prefer to be alone."

Now, the young man, who still has some stubbornness in his heart, tells the girl in front of him: "I am not lying."

He insisted: "This is indeed necessary for us. I have analyzed the interests involved very clearly, Saint Xia Liya..."

"But why don't you say that you chose to cooperate with the Ash Guerrillas because you wanted to help them?" Saint Chariya took a step forward and approached Lingge. Because of her height, she had to stand on tiptoe and look up to stare at the eyes that wanted to escape, and fix them firmly in her eyes, questioning or interrogating: "Why do you have to put forward those insignificant reasons? They are of course logical and in line with our current interests. But you didn't decide to lend a hand to the Ash Guerrillas because of the so-called interests, rewards and voice, right, Lingge? You clearly saw the happy smiles on Mitch and Kadora's faces when they were playing games, and you clearly admired Carson Borg for sacrificing his life rather than giving up this race against time and God. You clearly hope that the Ash Guerrillas' cause will succeed from the bottom of your heart, because you know better than anyone that even those who have lost God are entitled to happiness. You want to witness, want to support, and even want to personally promote such a future, so you asked the other party for cooperation, right?"

"You are obviously kinder than anyone else, gentler than anyone else, and more worthy of a warm and bright heart than anyone else..."

The girl reached out and gently placed her palm on the young man's chest, feeling the touch of the fabric and skin so close to him, and the heart beating because of nervousness and confusion, or perhaps because of the long-lost throbbing and desire. Between its pulse and breath, she searched for the beautiful qualities that the boy had that were not understood by the world but that he insisted on preserving since he had memories. It was like feeling the sun's rays, so warm. She asked softly, word by word, "Why don't you want to tell me?"

Give me some meow