Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1307 A Group of Sad Whales?
Ieta sat alone on the steps outside the windmill tower, her arms wrapped around her knees, her chin resting on her knees, gazing blankly at the flower field. Primroses bloomed profusely between the rows, their vibrant petals fluttering in the wind like a seven-colored rain. This beautiful scene was enough to evoke the melancholy of a poet, but in the distance, the sky was filled with the smoke of war, and the earth was engulfed in flames. The wind, blowing through the Black Forest, brought her the prayers of soldiers and the mournful cries of weapons. All of this dimmed her poetry, leaving only the most ancient sorrow, a sorrow that began as early as the first birth of life, when it learned how to hurt others.

Even the most eccentric poet would not sing praises of war, slaughter, and destruction, even though they have always existed.

Every blast of gunfire sent shivers down Miss Angel's spine, filling her with an indescribable fear and dread. Although she knew this war was inevitable, as it unfolded, Miss Angel couldn't help but ponder: why must living beings resort to mutual harm to solve problems? Or is mutual harm not a solution, but rather the very cause of problems? When someone seeks something, regardless of their intentions, they are already harming another.

Just like before, she wanted to help everyone in Avignon Village achieve happiness—perhaps the kindest wish in the world? So, the angel blew away the mountain range, bringing wind and rain to nourish every living thing on this land. The warm monsoon and humid climate finally transformed the once barren land into a fertile land that countless people longed for. She felt proud of this, or rather, incredibly proud. But it wasn't until much later that the angel learned by chance that the mountain range she had blown away had fallen into the sea, triggering a catastrophic event known as the "Belbanessa Great Disaster," causing countless people to flee and lose their homes.

This was not Ietta's intention, but it was a bitter consequence she had brought upon herself. But why did this happen? She pondered for a long time before barely understanding: because living beings do not exist in isolation in this world; they are always connected by various emotions and bonds. Therefore, when you do one thing, another thing will inevitably be affected; interconnectedness is the essence of the world.

But after figuring out this problem, a new question arose: Why must this impact be bad?
Plants, yearning to grow, desperately absorb sunlight, water, and nutrients, thus encroaching on the living space of other plants; beneath a centuries-old tree, countless rotting seeds lie buried. Wild beasts, seeking survival, sharpen their claws and teeth, hunting the weak at night, drinking their warm blood, and devouring their thirsty flesh. Civilization, needing development, sees mortals wielding axes and raising bows, felling trees, hunting wild beasts, and even turning their knives on one another…

Growth, survival, and development are not inherently bad things, so why do they always lead to bad outcomes? Or is it that our mother, whom we've never met and only vaguely remember, bestowed upon the universe a mysterious law at the very beginning of creation, dictating that all matter, phenomena, and emotions are destined to move from good to bad, from kindness to evil, from beauty to destruction, from existence to extinction...?

Ietta felt that wasn't the case, but she couldn't explain it, caught in the cracks of humanity, utterly bewildered.

A thunderous roar echoed from afar, the sound of artillery shells hitting the earth. The battlefield was so close that Ietta could even see the blood rain rising with the dust, and the emerald-green giant falcon riders and silver-white construct soldiers clashing and fighting high in the sky. The blood of these beautiful and noble birds, born in the snow and winds of the North, stained the sky. Meanwhile, the masterpieces that symbolized the highest level of human technology and were created by countless scientists and craftsmen with painstaking efforts fell to the ground, burning with thick black smoke.

If it weren't for the war, they would have had a much brighter future. Ironically, they were born precisely for the war.

Miss Angel didn't want to see these sights anymore. She sadly lowered her head and gently covered her body with her wings. Just like when she was wronged and felt so sad that she wanted to cry, she would curl up in the blanket like a hedgehog, trying not to expose her soft belly. Only in this way could she feel a little safe.

I wish it could end sooner.

She couldn't help but think that war always changes many things, especially people's personalities, and Miss Angel hated that kind of change. In her mind, Linger, who was always so calm and resolute, frowned far more often than before because of the war; Medine, who had always been well-behaved and sensible, although she claimed to have grown during the war, Ietta felt she had only become more taciturn; even her gentle and considerate older sister, Xia, could sometimes be seen silently lost in thought. Although she never revealed what she was thinking to her sisters, Ietta could sense her feelings—she must be suffering terribly, even more so than she was…

If war only changed these things, then Ietta would rather there be no change at all, and everyone could still live happily together as before; that would be the greatest happiness for her. The village elder once said that the greatest happiness in life is knowing contentment. He himself, in the past, didn't know contentment and greedily sought more happiness, which led to the tragedy of Avignon. Now, he has finally learned contentment, and his only small wish is for everyone to stay where they are in happiness, not to leave, and not to refuse. That shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
That's not true at all!

A voice suddenly rang in my mind, angrily rebuking this thought: You are never satisfied! You are still so greedy! You just want to monopolize everyone's love!

Ietta was startled and hurriedly shook her head in denial: "No, no, I didn't mean it that way..."

"Ietta, who are you talking to?"

The familiar voice brought Miss Angel back to reality. She paused for a moment, then slowly focused her gaze and saw Saint Charlotte standing in front of her, looking at her with worry and concern. She leaned down slightly and gently placed her palm on Ietta's forehead, probably thinking that Ietta was feverish and confused.

Otherwise, why would you talk to thin air?

"N-no! I wasn't talking to anyone, I was just... well, talking to myself!"

Miss Angel blushed deeply. She hurriedly broke free from her sister's hand and tucked her head back under her wings, leaving only her small face showing. Her face was filled with apprehension and embarrassment. On one hand, she was afraid that her sister Xia had found out about her thoughts. On the other hand, she felt that her hasty denial was a bit of a cover-up.

“Talking to yourself?” Saint Charlotte didn’t believe her sister’s explanation and still looked at her with worried eyes: “Ietta, are you really okay? Why don’t you go back to the inn and stay with everyone?”

After the war began, Saint Charlotte suspended all activities on the island, including teaching the students. She sent the children back to the Ash Bracers' camp, entrusting them to the care of the remaining rebel soldiers, and then gathered everyone else on the island at the inn. Although it was some distance from the battlefield, and the rebels were on the offensive, the fighting shouldn't reach the Black Forest, let alone the Cloud Whale Sky Island, in the short term. However, the shepherdess still felt it was better for everyone to stay together, at least to avoid the tension and anxiety.

However, Ieta insisted on staying in her windmill tower house. Considering the special meaning it held for her and the fact that she might feel safer there, Saint Charlotte didn't force her. Still somewhat worried, she came to check on her, only to find her simple-minded sister talking to herself, her expression shifting between sadness, panic, nodding in agreement, and shaking her head in denial—as if she had a split personality. The scene was truly horrifying.

"I...I..." Faced with her sister's questioning, Ieta stammered for a long time, unable to come up with a suitable explanation. However, Saint Charlotte was ultimately a kind and understanding older sister. Seeing her younger sister's cheeks flushed red and she was almost in tears, she couldn't bear it and didn't press the matter further. She sighed softly, reached out and stroked Ieta's head, then sat down beside her, saying gently, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but remember, if you have any questions, you must tell us, okay?"

"Yes, yes!" Ieta nodded repeatedly, letting out a sigh of relief.

After this little incident, she momentarily forgot to think about who the voice was. Perhaps it was her own inner voice? But Miss Angel instinctively didn't want to admit it, because if she did, wouldn't that mean she was admitting to being a selfish person? However, Miss Angel definitely didn't have that thought.

She simply hoped that people wouldn't be changed by the war, especially not by the kind of changes that would make people feel uneasy and sad.

Thinking of this, Ietta couldn't help but steal a glance at Saint Charlotte beside her, and sure enough, she saw her frowning in deep thought again. Little Charlotte used to enjoy thinking too, but even when she was thinking, she always gave off a gentle feeling. If Ietta asked her what she was thinking about, the girl would never mind sharing it with her younger sister. But not now. Now, it's as if she's hiding many secrets, unwilling to let her sisters know, or rather, unable to let them know.

Xia Jie's behavior always made people feel uneasy.

Feeling the warmth so close at hand, the angel's heart remained unsettled. But Saint Charlotte's intuition was so sharp; how could she not sense her sister's hesitation and doubt? She snapped out of her reverie, turned her head, and softly asked, "What are you thinking about, Ietta?"

"Huh? Uh, I wasn't thinking anything, it's just, it's just..."

Ieta stammered, seemingly trying to organize her thoughts, but with her simple-minded thinking and limited education, it was difficult for her to accurately express her feelings. After thinking for a long time, she could only come up with a question that even she found naive: "I'm just a little curious, is it really true that people can only solve problems by hurting each other?"

This seemingly obvious question made Saint-Charlie fall into deep thought. She thought for a long time but still couldn't come up with a suitable answer. Instead, she remembered something that Lin Ge had mentioned to her a long time ago. Perhaps the young man had long forgotten it, but the girl always kept it in mind because it was the first time the young man had taken the initiative to mention his past to her. In that family that Saint-Charlie had never known, what exactly did a father and son with no blood relation say to each other?

Do you know Mr. Yanke?

She relayed this story to her sister: "He was the adoptive father of Ling and Median, and the last priest left behind by the Goddess on the Western Continent. Ling had always felt that, as Mr. Yanko's adopted son, he should inherit his work and become the next priest of the Heavenly Heart Church. But then, Mr. Yanko told him, 'Just do what you want to do, don't be swayed by the expectations of others, but remember one thing: don't hurt others, and don't hurt yourself.'"

“I don’t know what Lin Ge was thinking at the time, or what he did in the end, but I think he has met his adoptive father’s expectations. No matter how confused or sad he was in the past, at least from this moment on, he will never use methods that hurt anyone or himself to achieve his goals.”

"So, that's how the world is. Just because others are solving problems by hurting each other doesn't mean you have to follow the crowd and go down the same path as them. Everything depends on what you want to do, whether you know what to do, and ultimately, whether you've made up your mind to do it."

She paused for a moment, and seeing that her younger sister's eyes were still confused and she seemed to understand but not quite, she smiled and said, "Of course, it's okay if you don't understand now, you will understand in the future. Until then, just remember one thing."

She lowered her head slightly, pressing her forehead against her sister's, her eyes conveying encouragement and warmth at such close proximity: "Sincere feelings will never hurt anyone."

This sentence was like a switch that flipped a memory; in an instant, many distant scenes flooded her mind, only to fade away just as quickly. The inexplicable emotional ups and downs were more intense than the tides of time, yet no trace could be found. Ieta longed to retrieve that past, those fragments she had seen countless times in her dreams, but every figure was blurred and indistinct, like an old, yellowed photograph.

But the cold reality didn't give her much time. As fragments of memory flashed across her eyes like pieces of glass, the undulating and shocking explosions swallowed their thoughts. Flames ignited in the sky, wails echoed in the wind, and even the ground beneath their feet trembled, offering a somber tribute to the tragedy that had unfolded on the battlefield.

Ietta and Saint Charlotte simultaneously looked up at the distant battlefield, only to see a group of whales made of old steel, scrapped airbags, and twisted skeletons swimming slowly and steadily forward in the sky, swallowing up all the light.

"Those whales..."

Gazing at this scene from afar, for some reason, the first thought that popped into Miss Angel's mind was: "They look so sad."

Just like her in the past.

Give me some cats