Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1350 Is it okay no matter how long it takes?

Since she began her knightly training at the age of six, Hino Jyn Gostaff has been punctually present at the manor's training grounds every morning and afternoon, honing her skills. In the afternoons, she would clear the roads in the Loser Mountains, mediate conflicts between different tribes, and note their needs. After dinner, she would inspect the manor, checking out old facilities and lamps, noting down anything that needed replacing or repairing. If she had any free time after completing these tasks, she would take Brandy for a walk. Sometimes they would stroll slowly along the streets of Regram, smiling and greeting every familiar face they passed, and sometimes they would gallop freely across the vast, open plains, feeling the cool breeze on their faces…

This lifestyle remained unchanged. Even after leaving their homeland, settling on an island in the clouds, and traversing unfamiliar lands, the knights of the Gostaff family did not alter their habits. However, with the proprietress Siesta and the diligent stone spirit guards around, she no longer needed to worry about daily chores, thus having more time for training and walking with Brandy than ever before.

But tonight, she did nothing.

She was just looking at the moon from the rooftop.

A silvery moon hung high in the deep, inky blue sky, its cool light silently spilling down, coating the cloud island below, the distant mountain outlines, and the rooftops of the Fairy Sleep Inn with a hazy, tranquil frost. A night breeze, carrying the cool dampness unique to the clouds, flowed gently across the rooftops, lifting a few strands of the girl's snow-white hair that clung to her shoulder armor; they danced silently on her cheeks like tiny moonlight sprites.

She sat quietly in the shadow of the highest roof ridge, her back straight as she always was during training, but lacking the sense of poised power, she possessed instead a rock-like solidity and silence. The Gostaff family's heirloom armor, which she always polished to a gleaming shine, now reflected a cold and restrained luster under the moonlight. The lines of the shoulder and arm armor outlined a hard silhouette in the shadows, as if she herself were an extension of the building, a silent statue draped in metal and conviction.

Her appearance on the rooftop in armor was entirely impulsive. After dinner, she had planned to take Brandy for a walk, or perhaps run a couple of laps around Cloud Whale Island, as usual, to vent her recent frustrations and anxieties. But as she was about to leave, looking at the empty streets and the lonely lights, she changed her mind. She didn't really want to go out, nor did she want to go back to the deserted hotel. So she did something she would never have done before: she jumped from the back of the house onto the roof, leaned leisurely against the vines and ivy climbing the ridge, and watched the moon alone.

This is really damaging to the image of the heir of the Gostaff family. If my grandfather finds out, he will be very angry.

Of course, it's also possible to feel gratified.

I can't remember who it was. Maybe it was the retired soldier who guided me in martial arts training, or an old man in the town who watched me grow up. He once said, "Miss is good in every way, but she doesn't seem like a young person." At that time, Xinuo didn't feel anything. Perhaps she didn't understand what a "young person" should look like in their minds.

Do you understand now? Or is it just a feeling triggered by the scene?

She tilted her head slightly, her face completely bathed in the soft moonlight. Her wine-red eyes, which always held a gentle smile or a resolute look, were now unfocused, fixed on the unchanging full moon for a long, almost frozen moment. The moonlight reflected two tiny, cold silver spots in her eyes, like ripples created by a pebble thrown into a deep pool, but failing to disturb the deeper silence.

Her breathing was extremely light, like a gently floating jellyfish. Her chest was barely visible under her armor. Only occasionally, when a slightly larger cloud swept across the moon and cast a fleeting shadow across her face, would her long, thick black eyelashes tremble almost imperceptibly, like butterfly wings skimming across still water.

Time seemed to lose its meaning on this rooftop. In the courtyard below, the neat marks left by the stone spirit guards during the day were particularly clear in the moonlight, and a few luminous grasses growing tenaciously at the roots of sycamore trees emitted a faint, eerie blue fluorescence, adding a touch of life to this cold scene. The cry of an owl came from the direction of the distant spruce forest, long and lonely, further emphasizing the stillness of the place.

A colossal beast lurked in the night, dark, deep, ancient, and mysterious, reminding Xinuo of the winery nestled in the Loser Forest. But she felt no homesickness, having only been gone for less than a year. Perhaps her feelings were more nostalgia.

As for what to reminisce about... to be honest, before she could figure it out, a wistful neigh interrupted the young knight's thoughts, pulling her back to the reality of the night.

Beside the stable in the corner of the courtyard, the descendant of a divine horse from the snow-capped mountains paced restlessly. Unlike usual when Xinuo was busy, it didn't rest quietly or nibble on the clean hay in the trough. Instead, it held its beautiful head high, its warm and intelligent snow-blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on the familiar figure on the roof. The moonlight outlined the strong, flowing muscles beneath its smooth coat and clearly reflected the undisguised confusion and worry in its eyes.

Tonight, its owner didn't take it for a walk, which disrupted not only her own routine but also Brandy's. Of course, it wasn't complaining; it was just trying to get an answer about why its owner was so different tonight, even seeming somewhat unfamiliar.

It's no exaggeration to say that, as the young knight's best friend, closest comrade-in-arms, and childhood playmate, it was familiar with every subtle movement and warm breath of hers—her energetic morning practice steps, her spirited galloping on horseback, and her gentle caresses and whispers during evening walks. But at this moment, all that came from the rooftop was a deep silence, almost blending into the night, and a sense of alienation that it couldn't understand but instinctively felt uneasy about.

It often worried that the girl was still trapped in that battle that had already ended; after all, her master was the strongest yet weakest person in the world. Strong enough that no one could rival her, yet so weak that she couldn't bear to accept even the smallest death.

Parents', teachers', friends', grandfather's, and... companions'.

With this worry in mind, it tentatively took two steps forward, then stopped, its front hooves pawing restlessly at the clean gravel on the ground, making a soft, rustling sound. This sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet night, yet it seemed unable to penetrate the invisible barrier of darkness to reach its owner's ears. It tilted its head back again, letting out an extremely suppressed, low breath, a sound full of inquiry and concern, like an unformed call, which ultimately dissipated into the cold air.

This time, Hino heard it, and heard it very clearly.

She smiled and gently reassured her best friend and comrade-in-arms: "Don't worry, Brandy, I'm fine."

Now that the battle is over, there's no need to dwell on it. She believes she gave it her all, never wavering or slacking off for a moment. Even if the final outcome wasn't entirely satisfactory, she should at least accept it; otherwise, it would be tantamount to denying all her efforts. The girl who hadn't yet emerged from the shadow of her memories might have given up on herself, but the knight of today would not.

What truly troubled her tonight was something else entirely.

She withdrew her gaze and continued to look up at the starry sky. The sky was filled with dazzling stars, so beautiful and radiant. The efficiency of the extraterrestrial monsters far exceeded her imagination. Perhaps this was a manifestation of the universe's self-purification ability. But no matter how much self-purification and circulation there was, it could not escape the upper limit of magic and the desires of mortals.

"I just suddenly realized something."

A problem that has been troubling her for the past few days.

The war was over, but the curse hadn't taken effect. What Hino never told anyone was that the curse that had plagued her since childhood, perhaps because it was rooted deep within her soul and grew increasingly stubborn as the young knight became stronger, created a mysterious connection between the two. Whenever the curse foreshadowed something or began to manifest, her soul would be stirred, experiencing either a sense of unease or a slight sting.

When Hino unleashed the fatal shot at the chimera, a synthetic monster, on the plains of Grandania, a warning from her soul had already foretold the outcome of this battle. It was about how an old woman, frail and elderly, could close her eyes and peacefully sleep in the tomb of glory and virtue.

But this time, it did not serve as a warning to the young female knight.

No one sacrificed themselves for it.

Could it be because his curse has been lifted?
Xinuo sincerely hoped for this, but she also knew that things in this world were rarely so simple; believing too easily could lead to losing too easily. So she had been pondering this question for days, and today, she finally came up with an answer—the only reasonable one.

It must be that the girl with blue hair, while changing the fate of mortals, also took the curse that led to her sacrifice upon herself.

If someone is destined to sacrifice for this, why not let that person bear that fate?
Hino wasn't unaware of such a possibility, so much so that it took her several days to consider it. She simply instinctively and unwillingly chose to think in that direction from the very beginning.

Humans are born unfree, unhappy, and miserable.

Even if fate is changed, it remains the same.

She felt somewhat pessimistic.

"You think so too, Brandy?" The young knight looked down at her good friend under the eaves and asked with a smile. But Brandy obviously couldn't answer such a nonsensical question, so she tilted her head and looked at her with a puzzled look.

It called out softly, which could be considered a response.

“That’s true. You don’t need to think about these things. Just keep running, keep running, until you can’t run anymore, that’s enough.” As she spoke, Xinuo looked up at the distant night sky. The sea of ​​clouds surged endlessly, much like the vast plains of her hometown, Grangenia, so expansive it inspired awe. A knight with fiery hair and white armor, just as she had described, was galloping across the plains, running and running, never looking back, never wavering, because her life was so resolute, requiring no hesitation…

If only that were true.

She chuckled self-deprecatingly, then leaped down. Despite wearing armor, her movements were as light as a falling leaf, without making a sound. She then walked to the stables, took Brandy's reins, and led it out, saying, "Indeed, looking at the moon isn't very interesting. Let's go for a run instead."

Brandy couldn't quite understand its owner's emotional changes, but it was happy to be able to go out and move around instead of being cooped up in the stable. So it barked happily and nuzzled the girl's shoulder with its neck.

"Good horse, let's go."

Hino mounted his horse, and without further prompting, the horse let out a short, joyful neigh, its front hooves lightly raised, and then transformed into a streak of silver-white light, carrying its master, and gracefully leaped over the fence of the inn's courtyard, landing steadily on the soft, fluffy grass below.

The night wind suddenly grew strong and free, the streetlights and trees on both sides rushing past, becoming blurry silhouettes. The young knight slightly narrowed her wine-red eyes, savoring this long-lost sense of comfort. Brandy's hooves flew, each stomp stirring up fine dust. Its powerful body stretched out in the moonlight, its muscles flowing like mercury, its snow-white mane and long tail flying wildly in the wind, like a flowing waterfall of moonlight. It galloped through the forest streets, leaped down the hillside meadows, and raced along the edge of the Cloud Whale Sky Island. To its side lay the unfathomable void, and above, the vast starry river seemed within reach. The divine steed from the Loser Mountains was galloping in the sky, higher than its home snowfields.

At that moment, Xinuo suddenly sensed something, turned his head and glanced hurriedly, only to see the young man's figure appearing and disappearing on the distant hills, with moonlight shining at his feet.

It seems I'm not the only one having trouble sleeping this night.

……

Linger withdrew his gaze, but even faster than his sight, the sound of Brandy's hooves receded into the distance. The lamb looked up, puzzled and somewhat reproachful at the young man, as if blaming him for being distracted at such an important moment. If she hadn't been focused and had angered her good-natured master, she might not have returned.

"Feel sorry."

The young man reached out and gently stroked the lamb's soft wool. The lamb seemed to have gotten used to such comfort and did not resist as it had before. He said softly, "I won't get distracted anymore. Now... let's just keep waiting."

"I'm willing to wait as long as it takes. After all, I promised."

"I can wait with you."

Give me some cats