Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1230 Is it an important family member?

While Rorona was humming a light and cheerful tune and happily performing alchemy, Lingge felt a little uneasy. He repeatedly asked and begged, trying to get some information from Princess Umi, but was always brushed off by the latter with a mysterious smile and a meaningful look. He waited for a long time but Saint Shalia did not show up, and there was no hope for others, especially someone who was also a princess. She was probably still complaining in her room about why he didn't go to sleep with her today. It was really useless (this was not Lingge's slander, but Alice's own words)!
The young man wanted to save himself, but the door and window - any place where he could escape - were firmly guarded by fully armed alchemy puppets, ensuring that not even a mosquito could fly out. It seemed that he had no way to escape today, Ling Ge thought pessimistically, and he only hoped that Rolena would not abandon her conscience and stick to the bottom line, otherwise, she would probably end up badly.

That's right, he was not worried about himself, but about Lorena.

After all, no matter how magical Princess Umisu's alchemy is, she is still just a younger sister on this island. The woman whom Alice fears so much that she dares not even mention her name will let her know why she can only be a younger sister.

But then again, what exactly was written on the note that Rorona had the alchemy doll deliver to Saint Shalia?

The young man couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

This thought lasted until late at night. When everything was quiet and even the night owls stopped crowing, Rorona, who had been busy in front of the alchemy cauldron, finally stopped her work. After putting the unused materials aside, she opened her hands and stretched her body vigorously, stretching her bones that had become stiff from maintaining the same posture for a long time. Then she turned around and said to Ling Ge, "Okay, it's almost time, let's go."

"Leave?" The distracted young man was startled by the sound of her stretching and subconsciously asked, "Where to?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Princess Haiqi said, "Just take a walk. Just think of it as taking a walk with me?"

Going out for a walk at this time?

Ling Ge felt that there must be something wrong with her daily routine, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. Since she just wanted him to accompany her for a walk, he just agreed. What if Princess Haiqi got angry and did something beyond her bottom line after he refused? Although Ling Ge didn't know where her bottom line was, this was exactly what made people most afraid.

"Just a walk?" The young man confirmed it again vigilantly before leaving.

"It's just a walk." Rorona replied with a smile.

Let's just believe her for once.

The two of them went out. For some reason, Rolena also brought two alchemy dolls, one floating on her left and one on her right, just like maids accompanying the noble princess on a trip, although she was originally in that position. Because he had to lock the alchemy workshop, Ling Ge stopped and waited for a while. Although it was basically impossible for thieves to appear on Yunjing Sky Island (except for snack thieves), Rolena argued that locking was a sense of ritual. Only a locked place is a home, and an unlocked place is just a temporary resting place during the journey.

If she said that, the proprietress and Ieta would definitely have an opinion, after all, the Fairy Sleep Inn and the Windmill Tower Room were never locked. But everyone has their own experiences and opinions. Princess Umi's understanding of home probably comes from the years she lived in Lotterdana City. Living alone in a strange city, the residents around are friendly but not the same kind. The huge alchemy workshop is so empty, as if I will die completely after I leave and become an empty grave. In this case, it is better to lock it up to give myself a false sense of security, as if there is someone waiting for me to return at any time in that empty house.

After leaving the alchemy workshop, Rorona led the way, and Linger followed her footsteps. The two walked along a forest path filled with fallen leaves and humus, deep into the forest at night. The nearby woods were full of ancient white oaks. These old and dense tall trees, like silent giants, guarded the sanctuary below. Each white oak tree represented a complete ecosystem: giant owls living in the canopy, bird nests built on branches, ants working hard under the bark, mosses and ferns clinging to the roots, and insects digging nests in the shadows of the roots, followed by lizards preying on flying insects, and glimmering plants emitting a light blue sheen...

It is said that the white elves regard this tree as the resting place of the soul after death, and plant saplings on the graves of each of their relatives, regarding it as the other's legacy in the world. When you witness the things that grow rapidly under the tree, you will find that this statement is not groundless.

Although the forest was deep, it was not dark. In addition to the glowing plants that could be seen everywhere, there would occasionally be beams of moonlight that would squeeze through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting one after another of swaying light spots in the woods. The two figures passed through these light spots one after the other, and the light flickered, just like walking in a huge maze of light and darkness, which was quite childlike and wild.

Suddenly, the view in front of him became brighter, and the young man realized that they had walked out of the forest and came to a river. The top of his head was no longer the lush and dense canopy of white oak trees, but it was as if someone had deliberately stretched it out to form an arc-shaped zenith, so the moonlight fell without any hindrance, like pieces of silver-white fragments spread on the river surface, trickling down with the stream. The river was not deep, and the flow was not large. It should be said that it was a very common forest stream, but the young man stood upstream and looked downstream, and saw a silver ocean, which seemed so sacred and quiet under the reflection of the moonlight.

"I've been to this river before, and also at night, but it wasn't as...special as it is now." The young man tried not to use overly subjective words to evaluate it, but his tone was still full of praise and hidden joy, because aesthetics is originally the most subjective emotion that humans possess.

Rorona asked, "What do you think is the reason, Lingge?"

The young man thought for a moment and answered seriously, "Because the moonlight is beautiful tonight."

This answer seemed to satisfy Her Royal Highness the Princess. She smiled silently, then walked to the river and waved to the young man. The two sat down on a meadow that was not soaked by the river water. At this time of year, the water lilies and gourd flowers by the water were growing well. Sitting on them was like sitting on a soft and warm cushion. It was hard to imagine how sharp and vigorous they were in midsummer. Rolena did not speak, and Lingge was also silent. The two quietly admired the river under the moonlight for a while, as if indulging themselves in these useless and meaningless scenery. Finally, the young man could not help but ask, "So, what is the special treatment you mentioned before?"

"Well... don't be in a hurry." Rorona winked at him mischievously: "Wait a little longer."

Wait? Young people naturally have the patience to wait, but what are they waiting for? Wait until dawn?

Lingge suddenly noticed that the two alchemical dolls following Rorona were gone.

Could it be that……

"Ah!" Princess Haiqi suddenly cried out in surprise. She grabbed the young man's arm and pointed her other hand to the night sky above which was not blocked by branches and leaves: "Look, it's coming!"

Ling Ge looked up subconsciously, but before he looked up, he had no idea what he would see.

That's a shooting star.

A light blue meteor, with a brilliant tail flame, flashed across the dark purple curtain. Through the arc-shaped trajectory, the young man saw it falling to the other side of the forest, as if it fell into a black tide, and then went out with a puff. But before he could feel sorry for the disappearance of this meteor, soon, the second, third... and more meteors followed one after another, streaking across the sky, just like a meteor shower.

The young man was stunned: "How could there be a shooting star?"

Of course there can be meteors at night, but how could it be so coincidental that they fell when he and Lorena were out walking, and so many meteors fell together, forming a meteor shower. When was the last time people in the Gray Hill area saw a meteor shower? Ling Ge naturally didn't know, but he was sure that this must be an incredible memory for the ancient and silent Black Forest.

"Yeah, how could there be a shooting star?" Rorona also pretended to say, "What a coincidence, Lingge."

As she spoke, she tried to hold back her laughter, her eyebrows curved into the crescent moon in the sky. But in the end, she broke down under the silent gaze of the young man and burst out laughing. Then she waved her hands and said, "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore. Yes, this meteor shower was summoned by me. Of course, it is definitely not a physical entity, but an illusion... Well, it doesn't seem to be accurate to describe it as an illusion. Just think of it as... a memory."

"Memory?" This statement made Ling Ge feel a little strange: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I didn't summon a real meteor. I just used the alchemical tools to replicate the meteor in my memory." Rorona supported herself on the grass with both hands, looked up at the still flashing meteor shower, and a look of nostalgia appeared in her eyes: "I remember a long time ago, when my sister and I were still children - ah, I'm not talking about sister Xiaoxia, but sister Galene. I told you before that sister Galene is not actually the child of mother. Her blood comes from the surname Julius. She became the child of mother because her hometown was destroyed by the combined forces of the cult. Although later, she behaved no different from the real Nereids, but at the beginning she was a withdrawn and sensitive person, resisting unfamiliar environments, resisting the care of others, and even resisting her own memories... Yes, just like you in the past, Lingge."

Ling Ge didn't expect the topic to be about himself. Although he knew that Rolena was right, the young man's expression was still a little unnatural, as if she had hit a sore spot: "Yes, is that so? Maybe it's your illusion."

"Oh, are you denying it now? It is said that when everyone grows up, the first thing they want to do is deny the things they did when they were a child, thinking that this is very mature, but in fact it is a childish reaction, right?" Lorena teased, and before the young man could refute, she forcibly changed the subject. Of course, it can also be considered that she turned the subject back: "At that time, Sister Galene lost her relatives, her hometown, and even her motherland. It was a great sorrow. The love we could give her was not enough to offset this sorrow, so she was always sad and lonely, and occasionally she would sneak onto the sea alone to watch the shooting stars pass by. Night sky, miss the deceased relatives. Once I found out, she was very panicked, probably because she was afraid that I would complain to mother. Of course, I didn't do that, but watched the shooting stars with her. Miraculously, from that day on, my sister became cheerful, and gradually accepted her new life, new identity, and new family. So, shooting stars really have an incredible power, right? They can soothe people's hearts and calm every heart lost in the world. Maybe my sister also thinks so, so later, every time she was in a bad mood, she would sneak to the sea to watch the shooting stars, and occasionally she would call me to join. "

Princess Haiqi, immersed in her memories, slowly reached out her hand to the meteor shower in the sky, as if she wanted to grab the beauty that was so close. She murmured, "But meteors don't appear every day. Even the chief priest of the White Sea Tower, Lord Andrew, the greatest wizard in our Nereides City, can't predict the arrival of every meteor. My sister and I were lucky to see a meteor once or twice, but later we always failed and got nothing. Because I couldn't bear to see my sister disappointed, I created a prop called "Memory Crystal" to simulate the meteor that my sister and I saw on the sea that night. My sister scolded me at first, saying that I shouldn't risk deepening the curse by refining such a useless prop, but I know she was actually very happy in her heart. I am also very happy. I cherish every experience of watching meteors with my sister. For me, it is the most precious memory between me and my family - more precious than meteors from the universe."

"In that case," Ling Ge took over her words and asked curiously, "Don't you think it's a pity to use such a precious prop on me? The promise to watch the meteors with your sister should be very important to you, right?"

“It’s not a pity.”

Rorona shook her head gently. She shifted her gaze from the meteor shower to the young man's face. At that moment, even though the whole world went dark, the young man was still sure that he saw a light brighter than a meteor in those eyes, as well as a warm smile: "Because Lingge is also a very important family member to me."

Give me some meow