Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1297 Will it definitely melt?
The communication with the Eagle of Grayhill went smoothly. Although the latter was confident of the outcome of the war and believed that no matter what methods the Seventeenth Legion was hiding, it could not stop the rebels' advance, his years of war experience had instilled in him a cautious habit. If a powerful fighter comparable to Countess Neville were to join the fray, perhaps some casualties could be reduced.

For various reasons, Ling didn't reveal that Hino had single-handedly annihilated a Crusader fleet; after all, it was simply too astonishing and hard to believe. Therefore, even now, the Grey Hill Eagle still only considers Hino a demigod of the same level as the Countess. While the appearance of a demigod on the battlefield can certainly be inspiring and bring about a turning point, it rarely has a decisive effect.

This is determined by the unique war history of the Eastern Continent. Long ago, the war between the gods originated here, and it continued for a long time afterward. For the people of the Eastern Continent, the power of the gods is indeed immense, but not unimaginable. Perhaps only a few supreme gods who have survived from ancient times could turn the tide of a war: Bahamut, the infinite dragon god of Platinum Mountain; Abraham, the god of calamity whose whereabouts are still unknown; and those saints who are said to still exist but have never been seen…

As for the people of the Western Continent, needless to say, the force field device invented by the cult alliance was designed to deal with these "gods" whose individual strength far exceeded the limits of mortals. Perhaps some arrogant people do not take it seriously, thinking it is just a petty trick of ants. However, since the outbreak of the colonial war, the number of gods who have died due to arrogance has far exceeded the records in the war reports. Even the original night god of the ruler of Gray Hill paid the price for his carelessness, and the Gray Hill Eagle that drove him out has been restraining his power and has never stepped into the threshold of godhood.

Ironically, it was on this continent ruled by gods that human will was truly liberated.

After a brief discussion and reaching an agreement with Grayhill Eagle, Ling discussed other topics with him, such as the recent situation of Mitch and the others. He learned that they had been assigned to relatively remote areas for missions, all of which were quite simple. Given the experience the young soldiers had gained on the battlefield, they shouldn't encounter any problems. Grayhill Eagle had no intention of having them participate in this final battle, so he deliberately used the pretext of a mission to transfer them away. However, Ling thought to himself that with Mitch's stubborn personality, he probably wouldn't do as he wished.

But in this war, who wasn't stubborn?

Even myself.

Thinking of this, Ling felt somewhat disheartened. He bid farewell to the Gray Hill Eagle and then set off with Xinuo back to the Fairy Slumber Inn. He had originally wanted to discuss some things with Saint Charlotte, but when the two returned to the inn, the girl had already gone to her room to sleep.

Looking out at the night sky, Lin Ge was a little confused. It wasn't too late at this time. Given Saint Charlotte's daily routine, she shouldn't be asleep this early.

"Who knows?" Faced with the young man's doubt, the proprietress, Siesta, blinked, giving him a "I know what's going on, but I'm not telling you" look: "Maybe she's not feeling well? Do you want to go see her, Ling?"

Lin Ge always felt that her smile had a hidden meaning, so he didn't fall for it.

“Since she’s already resting, I won’t disturb her.” Lin Ge paused, then asked, “Where are the others?”

"They've gone to sleep too," Siesta said with a smile. "Everyone's probably a little sleepy today."

Is that really the case? Linger was skeptical of her statement. Saint Charlotte aside, Ovira, Alice, Gloria, and Rorona—weren't they all habitual night owls? Even Leticia, strictly disciplined by her grandmother, often sneaked out to play when she wasn't looking. It seemed the only one among them who went to bed on time was Ietta.

However, Lin Ge was too lazy to investigate the reasons. Trying to get to the bottom of these problems with these girls was useless. In most cases, their way of thinking was very different from ordinary people, and even he sometimes found it difficult to understand.

The young people at this moment have not yet realized the seriousness of the matter.

……

In the following days, Lin Ge noticed that the troublesome issues involving these problem girls had become unusually numerous, especially at night. Almost every night, someone would come to him under various pretexts, taking up his free time. And these visits would often last for several hours, by which time he would finish dealing with them around midnight.

The next evening, it was Ovira's turn. She stammered that she had recently hit a creative block and needed advice from a young person. "Whether you're available or not, you absolutely have to help me tonight," she said. As she spoke, she cautiously observed Saint Charlotte's reaction, seemingly afraid she might suddenly voice her objections. However, the blue-haired girl said nothing, her expression calm and composed. This relieved Princess Beman, but also made her somewhat suspicious. Was Saint Charlotte just a stand-in? Otherwise, why wouldn't she say a word in the face of her blatant provocation?

So Ling provided Ovira with three hours of writing guidance. To his surprise, Princess Beman's writing skills were vastly improved compared to when she first attempted to write; both the story's logic and emotional rendering showed visible progress. The young man felt he had nothing more to teach her, but Ovira insisted on keeping him in the room, refusing to let him leave.

On the third evening, it was Rorona's turn. At the dinner table, she smiled and explained that she had recently been studying alchemy and had accumulated many inspirations, but she needed someone's assistance to put these inspirations into practice. While she didn't mind who her assistant was, she said it would be best if it were Linger. As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Saint Charlotte beside her, but the latter simply continued drinking her soup, seemingly oblivious to everything. Princess Haixi appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was becoming somewhat uneasy.

Although he didn't quite understand why Rorona insisted on choosing him as the experiment assistant, considering her alchemy skills were indeed valuable and could always come in unexpected ways, Ling agreed. However, he later discovered that the so-called experiment assistant was just another way of saying laborer; he was simply called over to move materials. If that was all, he felt Alice could do it too, so why specifically choose him?
On the fourth night, it was Leticia's turn. The little bat was very arrogant, and didn't even bother to give a reason. He directly said, "I need to talk to you. You're not allowed to go anywhere tonight." Then he gave Saint Charlotte a look that was, to put it nicely, a test, but to put it bluntly, a provocation. However, the latter probably took it as a child's joke, and her expression remained calm. She didn't even return his gaze, which made the little bat both surprised and suspicious: "Has my domineering aura reached such a level that even Saint Charlotte is being suppressed by me?"

Although he didn't understand why, out of concern for the mental and physical health of teenagers, Ling agreed to Leticia's request (if such an arrogant attitude counts as a request). The result was that he stared at the little bat in his room for hours until late at night when she finally nodded in satisfaction and left. Ling still didn't know what she wanted. The fifth night was Alice's turn. The genius player's excuse was rather comical: she said she wanted to discuss the true meaning of the Goddess's teachings with Ling. The young man almost thought he misheard. "Are you sure you want to discuss doctrine and not a game?" Alice immediately straightened her face and retorted righteously, "Can't I discuss the Goddess's doctrines?" Since she said that, Ling had no reason to refuse, so the two played games all night in the Heavenly Heart Church…

When Ling felt he had been tricked, the genius player still confidently declared that in the Goddess's teachings, games were also a very important part. Only by understanding games could one understand the Goddess's state of mind and emotions when she created the world. As the Goddess's priest, you don't even understand this principle. You disappoint me too much!

On the sixth night, it was Gloria's turn. The imposter nun came to find Ling to play Wind Flower Ball, saying that although she was no longer an athlete, did she need any special reason to like the sport? When Ling asked her why she didn't go find Hino if she wanted to play Wind Flower Ball, she confidently replied that it was because Hino was too strong, and she always got completely crushed when playing against her, so it wasn't fun.

Ling thought what she said made a lot of sense, so he beat her up on behalf of Xinuo. Although the young man was not a master of ball games, Gloria, who had lost her athlete personality, was even more of a noob. She was bad at the same time, but she loved to play. Even though Ling defeated her by a large margin every time, she still enjoyed it.

On the seventh night, it was Ieta's turn. The angel's request was quite normal; she simply wanted Ling to accompany her for a walk after dinner. After witnessing the strange and unusual reasons given earlier, the young man even found her incredibly kind and agreed without hesitation. However, during the walk, the angel's attention seemed completely elsewhere. She often walked in a daze, lost in thought. Had Ling not stopped her, she might have bumped into a tree by the roadside.

Although Miss Angel is usually quite dazed, she seemed a little too dazed today. Lin Ge couldn't help but ask her if something was on her mind, but she hurriedly waved her hand in denial. Her cautious demeanor left Lin Ge speechless. He wondered if he was really that scary, so why was she afraid?

Only Ieta knew why, because she wasn't afraid of Linger, but of Saint Charlotte.

Not only her, but everyone else was quite frightened, including Rorona, who had initially proposed the plan. She knew that their methods were actually not sophisticated, even clumsy. She had imagined how Sister Xia would react to their challenge, and had even prepared contingency plans for various scenarios. But she hadn't expected Sister Xia's reaction to be so... indifferent.

The only word to describe it is bland. There was no scolding of the younger sisters for their almost nonsensical behavior, nor any intention to stop them. It was as if they were being deliberately let loose.

To be honest, this is hard to understand.

Because love is inherently selfish, even if Xia loves both Lin Ge and her sisters, shouldn't she at least feel some jealousy or annoyance? Her silence and inaction are what make her even more frightening.

Are they holding back, waiting to settle scores later?
Thinking about it this way, it really does send chills down your spine.

However, the girls decided to face the challenge head-on and not give up because of temporary fear. Just like in the novel, love always has to go through some tests.

Perhaps only Saint Charlotte knows why.

Lin Ge was too lonely.

It was a loneliness misunderstood by everyone, not simply a feeling of solitude and sadness. Saint Charles touched the young man's heart in a subtle way, trying to melt away that loneliness, only to find in the end that she had only gotten a little closer to him. Countless times, with a firm tone, sincere eyes, and persistent attitude, she told the young man that she would always be by his side, but in that endless night, she still heard him whispering in her ear, pleading softly not to leave. What was it that made him so afraid, and what kind of sorrow kept appearing in his dreams? Saint Charles had no idea, but a premonition was stirring within her, and everything made her so uneasy.

If she couldn't help but think that if it was because the love she gave wasn't enough, then perhaps if everyone loved Linger, he wouldn't be so lonely?
He always seemed so in sync with Hino when they were together. He was always completely focused when helping Ovira write her novel, and he always tolerated Rorona's various little pranks. He never got angry no matter how naughty Leticia was. Although he thought Gloria was terrible at playing poker, he was still happy to play with her. He always greeted the insecure Ietta with smiles and care. When playing games with Alice, he would complain about the genius player cheating, but he must have been very happy inside. Saint Charlotte knew that she had always felt the loneliness of the young man and how he dealt with his own loneliness.

It doesn't matter if you don't realize it now, Lingge. As long as you continue to love and be loved like this, that's enough. One day you'll understand how warm that kind of love is, enough to melt away all the cold things in the world.

Saint Charles firmly believed this.

On the eighth night, based on an unspoken understanding, and without further disturbance, the girl appeared on time outside the young man's room, wanting to bring him her love. And the decisive battle that would determine the love and fate of everyone on this land was about to begin.

Give me some cats