Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1264 Is he also a math teacher?
Xinuo fell silent. She carefully observed the young man's expression. After making sure that there was no joking in his words, she nodded slowly: "If necessary, I will take action, but you should know the price of doing so, Lingge..."

"kindness."

The young man's voice was a little low, and it was obvious that admitting this fact was not easy for him: "I will explain the situation to everyone in advance. I just hope they don't think that I am doing something meaningless."

Is it really necessary to go to this extent for a war that does not belong to you? Ling Ge has never had such an idea, but he is not sure whether others have. After all, this matter was originally a one-sided wish of the young man. He was too soft-hearted and could not bear to see others sinking in the darkness and struggling, so he sincerely wanted to do something for them. But in the end, the price had to be borne by everyone, which was a bit selfish.

"do not think too much about it."

Xinuo saw through Ling's thoughts at a glance, perhaps because the two were actually very similar. Ling's current emotions were what she had experienced many years ago. The same self-blame, the same doubt, the same confusion and loneliness. It's just that the similarities are often superficial, and the core is different. The death of the two fathers changed everything and took the two to different paths. The death of Mr. Yang Ke made Ling choose to go with the flow and live only for himself and his sister. Although he seemed indifferent, he had warmth and kindness in his heart that he himself didn't even realize. The death of the paranoid Leonard seemed to make Xinuo get out of her heart knot and become the optimistic, cheerful and generous girl she used to be. But people who knew her said that her heart was still living in winter. That polite but distant smile built an invisible line of defense, and no one could get close to her anymore.

Life often goes back and forth between similarities and contradictions, sometimes going up, sometimes going down, but generally speaking, it is still moving forward. Although Xinuo feels that she is not yet at the age to discuss the philosophy of life, her past experiences have made her think that she has some insights and can calmly express her feelings to the young man: "We don't choose to support you because we indulge you, Lingge. On the contrary, it is you who has been indulging us."

"So, to say the price is too high is too serious, to say it is selfish is a bit cold, just treat it as-"

The girl thought about it and suddenly smiled: "That's our reward to you."

"Repay?"

Lingge was puzzled. He was usually very smart, but now he looked a little stupid. Xino couldn't help but burst out laughing. She looked very happy, and even the heavy atmosphere just now disappeared. "Yes, reward. Aren't there always similar plots in the fairy tales that Leticia read? The goblins or fairies who were helped by humans gave back gold, silver, treasures, power and status, or a sincere thank you. I remember that the ancient legend of Grangenia also mentioned that when a hunter released a white deer, the aliens in the forest would bless him and make him lucky. Even children understand this truth, how can we not understand it?"

Although such rewards may seem heavy at times, like tangible mountains of gold and silver, or invisible and intangible at times, like ethereal blessings, their nature is the same, all based on the purest gratitude and the simplest love, and perhaps a bit of yearning that the person involved has not noticed. All of these are interwoven together to form a beautiful fairy tale.

Ling Ge roughly understood what Xinuo meant, but he was still a little confused: "Reward... Although I said that, I don't think I have done anything to deserve such trust from everyone, or even to be willing to give my life as a reward..."

"Linger."

Xino's expression suddenly became serious. She looked directly into the young man's eyes and said word by word with an unprecedented solemn tone: "I don't know what others think, but dying for the lord is the honor of a knight."

Just like when the synthetic monster Chimera was about to awaken, the knights of the Godafu family put on their armor and went into battle, vowing to fight the enemy to the death. Even the alien leaders in the Loser Forest were no exception. Even when the lord Shino proposed to fight alone, they were still excited and regarded it as a great shame. Perhaps in the current era of declining chivalry, the so-called lord's responsibility and knight's glory can only be found in novels, but a true knight will never give up his persistence because of the changes of the times. Shino is such a person.

There seemed to be a glow on her body, which made Lingge afraid to look directly at her. He was not a person with low self-esteem, but sometimes he could not help being moved by the brilliance of others. Perhaps he saw something in her that he wanted very much but could not get.

"That being said," the young man said in a complicated tone, "but you are not my knight, so you naturally don't have to do anything for me..."

"Do you want me to swear allegiance to you, Lingge?" Xino interrupted him and asked seriously, "Become your knight?"

"That's not what I meant..." Ling Ge wanted to explain, but when he looked up, he saw the half-smile on the girl's face. He immediately realized what was going on and was a little speechless: "Don't joke about this kind of thing, Xinuo."

Your chivalry will cry!

"Who said I was joking?" Xino said with a smile, "What if I'm serious?"

Ling Ge was choked and didn't know how to answer. Fortunately, Xinuo didn't intend to continue teasing, so he stopped while he was ahead: "Forget it, just treat it as a joke. But I just want to tell you, don't blame yourself casually. Including me, everyone has always felt that you have done well enough."

She raised her head and looked at the distant sky. The boundary between Yunjingkong Island and the Black Forest was like the contrast between a colorful picture and a blank canvas, which was impressive: "Ignoring the atrocities happening before your eyes, deciding to do nothing out of fear, and just hiding in the safe area you have designated... Anyone can do something like that, right? But it's meaningless. Lingge, you know what is meaningful, and of course we know it too."

"..."

The young man was silent for a while, then nodded gently: "Then I'll leave it to you." Xino gave him a determined smile: "I will prepare for the worst and do my best."

What he meant was that he didn't believe the Kingdom's navy could stop the reinforcements of the Crusaders. In fact, Lingge didn't believe it either, but he still had some hope in his heart, as if he was expecting a miracle to happen.

As a person who can truly create miracles, after Xinuo finished chatting with Lingge, she turned back to the court. She clapped her hands lightly, making a snapping sound, and called everyone to gather. The students who had not heard the bell for the end of get out of class cast puzzled glances at her, wondering what the teacher wanted to do.

Facing those innocent eyes (except for a few troublemakers), Xino considered her tone before speaking slowly. The difficulty of making this decision was actually no less than when she confessed to her teachers and classmates that she wanted to drop out of school: "... Because of some, uh, complicated reasons, I may have to leave for a while and won't be able to take you to physical education class."

"Eh?"

"why is it like this?"

"What a sudden incident, Mr. Shino, where are you going?"

"Teacher, how long will you be gone? Will you come back?"

"Is there anything we can help you with, teacher?"

There was a sound of sighing from the audience. It was obvious that Xinuo was very popular among the children, and her popularity was even second only to Lingge and Saint Xia Liya. This was not only because she was a physical education teacher, but also because of her personality and image. Who would dislike a big sister who always had a smile on her face, was good at riding and playing volleyball, and was gentle, kind, and heroic? Xinuo was such an image in the children's minds, so when they heard the news that she was leaving, everyone was very sad.

Xino himself didn't take it to heart. He still smiled and answered their questions one by one: "Where are you going? This is kept secret for the time being. It's not something you should know. How long will you be gone? Well, at best a week, at worst a month, and you'll be back (it depends on the distance and the fighting power of the Crusaders)? I don't need your help. If you stay here and study hard, and don't cause trouble for the teacher, that will be the biggest help. Oh, by the way, while I'm away, there will be no physical education class for the time being. Let's switch to math class..."

Xinuo thought that this bad news would cause a lot of grief, but unexpectedly, the children were stunned for a moment, and then the scene fell into an eerie silence. It was not until a few seconds later that a little girl reminded weakly: "But, Mr. Xinuo, our math... is also taught by you?"

"Uh."

……

Ling Ge watched the young knight interacting cordially with the children, and suddenly he regretted it. He didn't regret giving this task to Xinuo. She was the only one in the entire Yunjingkong Island who could undertake such a difficult task. Others were either weak in strength or unreliable in character, and were not suitable candidates. What he really regretted was letting Xinuo enter the school, become the teacher of these children, and even form a deep bond with them - the so-called bond is both an involvement and a burden.

Don't forget, the curse of the victorious kingship is that every victory will come at the cost of the sacrifice of those close to you.

So, have these children become Xino’s close friends?

This is an unimaginable question, because once you imagine it, the young man will feel an immense guilt. Before this, he had never thought about this aspect. Inviting Xinuo to be a teacher was only out of good intentions - not only for Xinuo, but also for these children. No matter who was hurt, it was not the young man's original intention.

But on second thought, even if I had thought of this problem at the beginning, could I have stopped it? Shino is not a puppet at the mercy of others, but a living person with his own emotions and will. The school is on this empty island, and the children are studying in the school. For a day or two, maybe they can live in peace, but over time, the two sides will always meet again. With Shino's personality, even if he is not a teacher, it must not be difficult for him to become a friend of the children, right? If I think this way, the situation does not seem to change at all.

The intertwined emotions between people are the most difficult things in the world to eradicate. Unless Xinuo completely closes his emotions and completely isolates himself from the outside world, there may be a possibility of avoiding the curse. But this is not absolute. No matter how hard the rock is, it cannot resist the power of the seed germination, just like the girl resolutely gave up her studies, said goodbye to her friends and teachers, and dismissed all her retainers and servants. She cut off all her attachment to the world with an almost ruthless attitude and lived in seclusion in the remote and deserted Xiaduoli Manor. There was no happiness, no sadness, no things worth being happy about, and no thoughts to confide. At the most blooming age, she lived like a poor hermit. Even young people with similar experiences would feel that such a life was too lonely and too sad.

But did she completely give up her interpersonal relationships at that time? No, she still had her grandfather, the old housekeeper, and the aliens in the Loser Forest as her bonds. Even an accidental reunion could make those friends who had gradually faded in her memory return to her life. The torn wound will heal over time, so the severed line can naturally be reconnected. That's why the girl was timid and never dared to face her mission and fight the synthetic monster Chimera.

After experiencing the death of her parents, her friends, and her grandfather, the knight of the Gustave family was finally able to walk out of that lonely state of mind and live under the sunshine of the world again. She was the white thorn flower of the land of Grangenia, always blooming in midsummer and withering in late summer. Even though she only had one season of life, she was extremely gorgeous. Linger had no right to deprive her of her lost and regained emotions, and it was even more impossible for him to turn her into an emotionless fighting doll for this reason.

The witches may be able to abandon emotions, forget the past, and cut off ties. Once they have different ideas, they will be completely hostile and fight to the death. They can even kill their former sisters. Ling Ge didn't know whether they had been entangled before making this decision, and whether they regretted it now, but it seemed that even the witches' coldness was not thorough enough. Otherwise, how could the dark witch Caraboss be deceived, seduced, and blocked by the heavenly Themis? I just don't know if there was a moment of sadness in her heart when the heavenly Themis closed her eyes.

Although the goddess always says that sincere emotions will not hurt anyone, it seems that the emotions in this world are always distorted by reality and turned into fatal pain?
The young man's mood suddenly became heavy until he heard a familiar voice ringing in his ears.