Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1283 Are You Really Envious?

The banquet was held in a primrose field. The summer night breeze blew gently, and countless pale pink and pure white primroses swayed in the twilight, like a carpet spread to the sky. The air was filled with the sweet and slightly astringent scent of plants, a bit like an unbaked vanilla cake.

When Xino arrived, the proprietress had already prepared everything for everyone, including a long table piled with food - soft and delicious white bread, a variety of jams, and golden roasted poultry oozing with tempting juice, colorful fresh vegetable salads, and steaming stewed soups; dessert trays that were six or seven layers high were stacked with delicate cream cakes, soft puffs and cookies sprinkled with icing sugar, the sweet aroma seducing the taste buds and stimulating the appetite on the tip of the tongue; of course, a happy banquet is inseparable from those fruit wines, wines or meads that exude a slightly intoxicating aroma in oak barrels, and under the half-open barrel lids was a clear liquid like water, which was flickering with tiny lights under the hanging colorful lights and bonfires.

Although not all members were present yet, the fairies who loved the fun had already started celebrating on their own. They gathered together, singing and dancing, their wings reflecting warm light, and their laughter and noise spread far away in the evening breeze.

As the protagonist of the banquet, Metien undoubtedly received the most care, especially her experiences during this period, which made everyone feel relieved and distressed. They all surrounded the girl and asked about her well-being, wanting to help her get rid of her bad mood and become the optimistic and cheerful girl she used to be. Leticia and Shemi even stuffed her plate with all kinds of bread, cakes, roast meat, nuts, biscuits... They almost wanted to eat all the food for her.

This overly enthusiastic attitude made Metien a little amused and helpless. She didn't even have the chance to speak. She could only desperately eat the food that everyone fed her while listening to them talk about what interesting things happened on Yunjingkong Island during the time she was away, such as a little bat's plan to become an adult, a story about a certain alchemist playing tricks behind the scenes, and how they were scolded and punished by the iron-faced and selfless eldest sister when the matter was finally exposed...

The magical thing is that in this noisy process, the haze that had always lingered in Metien's heart did gradually dissipate, just like the long rainy season finally passed, the sky became clear again, the sunlight and the slightly cool breeze after the rain passed through the lungs, refreshing and peaceful.

This is probably what home feels like, right?

The girl put down the heavy plate, held up a huge wine glass with both hands, and slowly drank a mouthful of light red fruit wine. The sour and sweet taste of fermented juice flowed through her throat, just covering up the rust and fishy taste from the battlefield on the tip of her tongue, implying that everything was in the past, and today she just needed to enjoy the banquet. Under the light of the fire, two bright red flowers floated on Metien's cheeks, and the whole person looked dizzy. It was obviously not a strong fruit wine, but she was already a little drunk.

At this time, Rolena brought fireworks from her alchemy workshop, a large wooden box with stars and moons printed on it, as an entertainment for the party. Shemi and Leticia immediately became excited, and without saying a word, they dragged Metien to the small field outside the primrose field and set off fireworks with great interest.

The fuse was lit, making a small "sizzling" sound, followed by a whooshing sound and a crackling sound. The sky was lit up by colorful fireworks, sometimes they were blooming flowers, sometimes they were drifting snowflakes; sometimes they were stars that gradually fell in all directions, and sometimes they simply drew the shapes of squirrels, rabbits or flying birds. Alice became interested and wanted to join in the fun, but she felt that she was already this age, and if she still imitated little girls to set off fireworks, she would be laughed at, so she simply dragged the reluctant Ovella and the even more reluctant Gloria (actually she was quite interested, the real reluctant one was Bai Ye).

Well, as long as we bring in those who laugh at her, she won’t be laughed at anymore. This solves the problem from the root.

Far away from the center of the hustle and bustle, Saint Charlize watched her sisters setting off fireworks on the ridges of the fields with a smile (the sound of a certain angel lady's wailing of "Don't burn my primroses, ahhhh"), while controlling the rhythm of the entire banquet: she walked lightly between the long tables, helping the rabbit gentlemen put away the empty plates, the plates made crisp sounds when they collided, and then put new food on the table. The freshly baked pastries exuded tempting heat, making the long tables seem to be blessed by magic, no matter how much food was eaten, it would be replenished immediately; a certain bartender was wandering around stealthily nearby, as if she wanted to replace the fruit wine and mead in the barrel with homemade drinks when no one was paying attention, but she was caught by Saint Charlize before she could act, and the shepherdess just looked at her gently, and made her freeze where she was, not daring to act rashly. But the former did not choose to teach her a lesson, but handed her over to the boss lady Shesta. The moment she saw her sister, the bartender immediately wilted like an eggplant hit by frost; a few naughty flower fairies sneaked into the oak barrel to play hide-and-seek, but accidentally got drunk and almost drowned in the wine. Fortunately, she rescued these little guys in time and sent them back to their companions. As for how they will be ridiculed after they sober up, it is none of the shepherdess's business...

She seemed to be at ease when doing these things, as if she was born with the ability to take care of others. But only the girl herself knew that this ability actually came from acquired training. She carefully observed every change in daily life, gently cared for the moods of others, and treated them as her most sincere emotions. All of this originated from something the young man said to the girl. He said, "You will definitely be a very good sister." So she took this sentence as her goal and kept moving forward, and eventually became what she is now.

She wanted to respond to his expectations, perhaps it was that kind of feeling that pushed her forward, so she didn't feel it was hard, but rather enjoyed it.

"Shino."

Seeing her most worry-free sister coming over, the light of the bonfire dancing between her snow-white hair and the knight's armor that she had not yet taken off, the shepherdess raised her eyebrows like a crescent moon: "You are finally here, everyone has been waiting for you. Today's banquet is held to celebrate your and Metien's return. You are the protagonist of the banquet, you must enjoy it well, okay?"

"Ah...yeah, I will."

Xinuo seemed a little absent-minded, and was slow to react, nodding slightly to show that she understood. Saint Xia Liya was so perceptive that she naturally noticed that there was something hidden in her emotions, and asked with concern: "What's wrong, Xinuo, you don't look very happy, did something happen?"

While asking, she looked at the girl with a worried look, as if she wanted to see something from her. Although Xino has always been the sister that Saint Shallia has been most worried about, it is because she is too worry-free that she sometimes feels uneasy. If she keeps all the problems to herself and bears them alone, she, as a sister, will also be very sad.

"No, it's not me." Xinuo waved her hands awkwardly, with a hint of discomfort on her face. She had always been the one who treated others warmly, but today when it was her turn to be treated warmly by others, especially her nominal sister, she felt a little uncomfortable: "Ling Ge should be the one in a bad mood."

As she spoke, she cast her gaze towards the direction of the cemetery in the distance, where the night seemed particularly dark.

"Linger?"

When the young man's name was mentioned, Saint Shallia's brows furrowed even tighter, like two willow leaves, tightly knitted together.

"Well, I just saw him in the cemetery, but... like I said, he didn't seem to be in a good mood, and he said some... weird things."

"What?"

"..."

Xino didn't dare to say it, for she was afraid that if she repeated her words, the good-tempered elder sister would get angry. After all, whether it was her, Metien or Lingge, they only wanted to bear the weight of the deceased on themselves, but didn't consider the feelings of their companions at all. If it was Saint Xia Liya, she would definitely not want to hear such words from them.

So, she avoided the question by talking about something else: "It's for some reasons, well, you know, Xiao Xia."

Upon hearing this, Saint Xia Liya fell silent. Just like what Xinuo said, she might not know what Lingge's original words were, but she vaguely guessed the reason for his sadness. After all, there were not many things in the world that could make the usually calm and gentle young man sad, and they all happened to be concentrated in this period of time. "I originally wanted to comfort him, but I found that I didn't seem to be that kind of person."

As Xinuo spoke, she tilted her head, her snow-white ponytail falling from her shoulders, scratching across her silver shoulder armor. Her expression looked a little helpless. The young knight had always been using her cheerful personality and optimistic spirit to infect others, but this approach didn't seem to work for Ling Ge, and what had happened recently made it difficult for her to be optimistic, let alone infect others. Later, she thought about it and decided to leave professional matters to professionals. Isn't the person on Yunjingkong Island who understands Ling Ge the most and can even be said to be in tune with him standing in front of her?
"So I'll ask you to comfort him, Xiao Xia."

Xino clasped his hands together and pleaded sincerely: "He is in a very strange state now. I don't think anyone else can cheer him up again, but if it's you, maybe you can do it. Because Ling Ge will definitely listen to what you say."

"I?"

"Well, this is something only you can do." Xino added: "Besides, you don't want to see Lingge being depressed all the time, right? That would make everyone on the island very sad. So, this is not only for Lingge, but also for everyone!"

I don't know if it was the phrase "for Lingge" that moved the shepherdess, or the phrase "for everyone" that made her feel more responsible, or maybe it was both? In short, Saint Xia Liya blinked and was immediately persuaded by Xino.

"I really can't just leave it alone." She said softly, as if to confirm it with herself, and then her expression became serious, and she said word by word: "I understand, leave it to me."

"That's good."

Shino breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she stood there again, staring at Saint Xia Liya in silence for more than a minute before she asked cautiously, "Well, aren't you going to look for Ling Ge, Xiao Xia? He's in the cemetery, right?"

"Not urgent."

Saint Xia Liya shook her head and said something she didn't expect: "Ling Ge is... well, although you can't tell from his appearance, he is unexpectedly stubborn. When he decides to isolate himself, any external temptation will only make him more cautious. So now, he should want to be alone. If I go to find him, it will only disturb his thinking. We must wait until he comes out of it and is willing to contact the outside world. Only then will we have the opportunity to open his defenses and touch his true feelings. At that time, I will comfort him and cheer him up again."

"I see." Xinuo suddenly realized, and then felt a little strange: "Why does it sound like I'm dealing with a weird child?"

Just like when Chloe quarreled with her friends, she would run back home and sulk. At that time, no matter how much comfort her father, brother, or even Shino herself offered, it was useless. She had to wait until she calmed down before she could listen to other people’s opinions.

Saint Xia Liya smiled and did not answer, but thought silently in her heart: Boys are inherently awkward.

The same goes for Lingge.

"However," Xinuo just said it casually and didn't take it to heart. She then sighed: "Xiao Xia, you really understand Ling Ge."

Saint Xia Liya's eyes lit up, her back straightened slightly, and the corners of her mouth kept curling up. She tried hard to suppress it but couldn't help it. It was obvious that this sentence made her very happy. Despite this, she still maintained a reserved expression on the surface, coughed lightly, and asked calmly: "Do you really think so, Xino?"

"Yes."

Xinuo answered without any hesitation, because she felt this way from the bottom of her heart: "I feel that the tacit understanding between you and Lingge has surpassed the relationship of ordinary friends. Sometimes even I envy it."

Upon hearing this, Saint Xia Liya looked at her warily and said, "What are you envious of?"

Xinuo was confused: "This...can't I be envious?"

Saint Xia Liya thought about it and felt that her reaction seemed a bit extreme, so she picked up a plate of fragrant barbecue from the long table next to her and stuffed it into her sister's hands as an apology.

"There's nothing wrong with your idea."

She said seriously, "But don't say such things anymore. Also, the tacit understanding between Lingge and I is something that everyone knows, so there is no need to emphasize it. By the way, I'll give you some barbecue."

Shino: “…Thank you?”

"You're welcome~"

Give me some meow