Alice in the Land of Steam

The dining table of the Goblin Sleeping Inn has become a place where everyone gathers together happily. At dinner time, everyone sits around the table, tasting the proprietress's cooking, marveling at the wide variety of dishes that are always unique, and chatting about all kinds of things, sometimes business, sometimes interesting things that happened that day, with all kinds of small episodes in between, such as a little bat who doesn't like to eat vegetables being chased all over the hall by his grandmother, a little goblin who finishes his own snacks and steals other people's snacks, or a bartender who starts to promote her masterpiece... and so on.

Such an atmosphere is undoubtedly comfortable, making people feel the warmth of home. In the past, when Lingge and his sister sat across a dining table, there were only two lonely figures in the huge church, and the sound of tableware colliding from time to time echoed silently, he would never have thought that one day he would be able to adapt to such a noisy scene. The nature of young people is like a tree hole, always listening quietly, and occasionally giving a brief reply or two. If the person sitting opposite was not Metien, he would definitely complain that he was too inconsiderate and boring.

But as the journey progressed step by step, more and more people were sitting at the table. The young man felt a little awkward at first, but later he got used to it. One day, if someone was missing from the table, he would feel a little strange, as if the world had changed. For example, when everyone first landed on the East Continent, due to the departure of Themis from the heaven, the atmosphere at the table was very dull, without any laughter. Some people were even unwilling to go downstairs for dinner, such as Alice who hid in the room playing the game console, Olvera who was so worried about the plot in the novel that she couldn't eat, or Ieta who locked herself in the windmill tower room out of some kind of guilt.

At that time, Lingge seemed to have an illusion that he had returned to the past, but he was not referring to the time when he and Metien had dinner alone in the church, but the time long ago when he was wandering alone in the streets and alleys of Linville. Would these two feelings be similar? Once something is missing, will the world of young people no longer take shape? What can he do about it?

For an adopted homeless boy, the concept of blood relationship never entered his mind. The meaning of home is the connection between people. If possible, Lingge thought at that time, I want to maintain this connection. It was the first time he admitted his inner thoughts and found that it was not the world that had changed, but himself.

From that day on, it became the young man's mission to ensure that no one was absent from the table of the Fairy Sleep Inn. He always used the time before dinner to fulfill this responsibility: he went to the room on the second floor, opened the door and startled Princess Beman who was immersed in her creation. When she was puffing up her cheeks to blame him, he could solve all the complaints with a sentence "Today's dinner has your favorite snacks"; he went to Tianxin Church to remind the three little girls who were still studying game skills not to waste time playing, and by the way, he changed the fake nun Miss Gloria from a real nun He was saved from Miss Livia's prayer teaching before meals; in Rolena's alchemy workshop, he patiently waited for her to finish the last job, and remained calm even after the latter came to her senses and complained in surprise, "Oh, Lingge, when did you become so considerate?"; he knocked on the wooden door of the windmill tower room, and was pestered by the most difficult Miss Angel, who insisted that he take her there in a princess hug like last time, otherwise she would not go out, and even did not want to eat dinner. After much persuasion, he reluctantly agreed, and when he returned to the hotel, everyone looked at him with strange eyes...

Everyone could notice his change, but no one said it out loud, as if it was the most natural thing for them. If Lingge didn't change today, he would definitely change tomorrow, whether it was becoming more considerate, gentler, stronger, or something else, it was the look they wanted to see, that unique young man.

Only Saint Charity would occasionally complain to him in private, saying that you are taking away my responsibility, which is what I should do as the eldest sister.

"In that case," Ling Ge suddenly had an idea after listening to her complaints, which were more teasing: "How about we take turns? I'll go and call them for dinner today, and it'll be your turn tomorrow?"

Saint Xia Liya didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this. She found that the young man in front of her had indeed changed a lot. The only thing that hadn't changed was that he was still very slow in some aspects, even stupid, and stupid in a cute way.

"Forget it."

She stood on tiptoe and patted the young man's hair gently, and the latter did not resist because he could feel that it was a kind of intimate emotion. In Ling'er's life, many people used to express their feelings for this young man in different ways, trust or love. Mr. Yanke often patted his adopted son's shoulder and placed high hopes on him; Meidian liked to hide behind his brother, like a young bird that left the nest for the first time, curiously sticking his head out to observe the world; and for the shepherdess in front of her, it seemed that patting hair was her favorite way. This can be traced back to a long time ago, when they did not have so many companions around them, and the restaurant of the Fairy Deep Sleep Hotel was still deserted, she reached out and gently stroked the young man's hair, and saw the lonely look on his face by the campfire overnight.

Sosen's mountain witnessed everything, and he personally said to the girl: "You must have been a very good sister before." It was these words that made Saint Xia Liya firm in her belief. She wanted to respond to this man's feelings, even if she didn't before, she would definitely be in the future; even if she didn't when she was alone, she would definitely be when she was with him; even if she didn't after losing her memories, she would definitely be after creating more memories with him.

"You've made me fail as a sister."

She smiled and said, "But it doesn't matter, that way I can take on other responsibilities in the future."

Linger looked at her and felt that her smile had a special meaning. He asked tentatively, "What responsibility?"

"You'll find out later."

She gently pushed Linger from behind and said, "Okay, continue doing what you should do, Linger. Call everyone back for dinner. Tell them that if they don't come back early, I will give all their snacks to the lamb."

"Baa, baa, baa!" the lamb jumped up happily.

Although Lingge was confused, he did not continue to ask questions and turned away.

Looking at his back as he left, Saint Shallia couldn't hide the smile on her face.

She felt very happy, probably because she finally saw the growth of young people. This does not mean that young people in the past were naive, because growth is not only about changing from naive to mature, but sometimes it can also change from special to normal. For most people, they pursue uniqueness, and normal means mediocrity; but it is not the case for Lingge at all. Even if he grinds away the lonely and sensitive edges on his body, he is dazzling enough and does not need anyone to recognize his ability and quality. Saint Xia Liya often feels like a craftsman who strives for perfection. After accidentally picking up a plain rough stone, she carefully carves it into the most perfect shape. Her expectations for the young man, his ideals, and the subtle dependence on him were finally responded to. Is there anything more joyful in the world than this?

The only regret is that I am not the only one who wants to polish this rough stone. I heard that many people are quietly working hard to shape young people into their ideal image.

Bai Ye hopes that Lingge can become colder, but her personality is too awkward and she always speaks in a roundabout way. This simple and rough method is doomed to fail to resonate with a sensitive soul; Xino hopes that Lingge can become stronger. She keenly sees the weakness hidden under the surface of this young man, but this seems to be just advice between friends, and her method is not focused enough; Lorena hopes that Lingge can become stronger. Princess Kaisu has rich experience in how to shape things, but her joking personality is doomed to cover up her sincerity, and the half-hearted carving method is a taboo; Yieta hopes that Lingge will become more selfish. Among all people, she seems to be the most cared for by Lingge, but it is hard to say whether the young man only regards her as his second sister. Relying on this identity, she can certainly act coquettishly without restraint, but it will also overdraw the young man's emotions for herself. In the end, it will only hurt herself if she tries to cover up her guilt.

As expected, in the end, the only person who can carve this rough stone wholeheartedly and consistently is yourself, right?

This conclusion brought Saint Charity a good mood for the whole day. Anyone could see how happy she was today. She even didn't care when she saw Yieta being brought in by Lingge in a princess-like manner during dinner, saw Olvera yawning as she came down from upstairs, and saw Leticia sneaking into the kitchen to eat snacks... She didn't show her sister's majesty and scold her as usual.

Something is wrong with Sister Xiaoxia today.

At the dinner table, the girls exchanged glances and reached a unanimous conclusion.

As for the reason, it's better not to ask. What if it backfires and makes Sister Xia unhappy again? What's more, even if I don't ask, don't they know? Most likely it has something to do with a certain young man. This guy is the best at pleasing Sister Xia on the entire Yunjingkong Island. Sometimes, even if it's just a normal chat, he will suddenly burst out with a few cheesy love words, making the girl's heart beat fast, but he has to pretend that nothing happened. Doesn't he really know what he did? What a hypocritical guy!
It seems that Sister Xiaoxia fell into his hands again today.

Pity.

Why isn't it me?
Someone thought in his heart.

Lingge, who had just returned to the hotel, was greeted by such a weird atmosphere and the girls' unanimous attention. He was a little puzzled, and couldn't help but reflect on it. He thought, I didn't do anything today. I took Metien to visit the camp of the Ash Guerrillas, visit her good friends, and discuss future plans with the Ashhill Eagle. I didn't even stay in the hotel for a long time. I can't blame me for everything that happened, right?
Thinking of this, he felt at ease.

At the dinner table, Linger mentioned the content of his conversation with Carson Borg today. The most important piece of information was naturally the unusual movements of the Axis countries. If this news was true, it would greatly change the situation of the war. As for the impact of this change on Linger's original plan, whether it was good or bad, it was still uncertain.

Ling Ge also put forward his own conjecture about the cause of the change, that is, it was caused by the split within the Witch Society, which triggered a heated discussion among the crowd. But most people were just happy about the news. After all, the Witch Society was a huge shadow for them, always looming in their hearts. Now that this enemy has started to fight among themselves, isn't it worth being happy?
Leticia was even more outspoken, wishing these guys would fight in the West Continent as soon as possible, so that the war would be more intense! However, this guy's antisocial personality was quickly corrected by his grandmother. The internal strife of the Witch Society was one thing, but the war that affected the entire West Continent was another. If things developed to this point, could they stay out of it in the East Continent?

Some people who grew up in an environment that exposed them to politics were more sensitive. For example, Xino was very surprised by the news and made a guess: "If it is just a struggle within the faction, it should not evolve to the point of causing a war. However, it is an undeniable fact that all countries are withdrawing troops to return to their homeland. As far as I know, the rulers of secular regimes have always been the best at compromise, and their struggles are only to achieve their own political goals. If the losses brought by the struggle far exceed its rewards, then even the queen or the monarch will have to think carefully about their choice."

Is the secular government of the Western Continent strong enough to defeat the Witch Society? Even if we exclude those constructed mechas that were born for war, it may not be the case. Therefore, they chose to cooperate instead of subverting.

The secular faction represented by Queen Victoria could not fail to understand this truth, but they still prepared for civil war instead of compromising as usual. Does this mean that the contradictions within the Witch Society are not simply political differences, but a more serious, irreconcilable contradiction that will even turn the two sides into hostile ones once it exists?

Lingge was thoughtful.

With Xino's reminder, he felt that he had grasped the most crucial point.

Eden Project and Reality Project. (End of this chapter)