Alice in the Land of Steam

The afternoon sun streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor, where tiny dust motes danced silently in the beams of light. The scene was serene and beautiful, except that the two people inside were making a little noise.

"You don't know? How is that possible!"

Ovira's eyes widened, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she wore an incredulous expression, as if the answer was unimaginable to her: "You are Alice!"

The genius player scratched his cheek again, unsure whether she was praising him or mocking him: "I am Alice, that's true, but what does that have to do with what you're saying?"

“Of course!” Ovira replied decisively, “Because you are Alice!”

"...That's hardly an answer, is it? Besides, Alice is my name, not some adjective, you know?"

The genius player looked at Ovira with pity, probably thinking that despite reading so many books, her language skills were still so poor, even worse than his own, who had hardly read any books at all.

But Ovira didn't see it that way. She felt that "Alice" was simply an adjective, describing a unique style—so unique that no one else could imitate it, so distinctive that one glance was enough to recognize it, and so memorable that one experience would leave a lasting impression. That was precisely the impression "Alice" left on everyone. On this Cloud Whale Sky Island, everyone had different personalities, preferences, and habits, but very few possessed a style strong enough to form a distinct individual identity. "Saint Charlotte" was a style, and so was "Alice."

So, what I really meant was—

The princess emphasized solemnly, "I want you to comfort Linger in a way that is 'only Alice can do'."

As she spoke, she slightly raised her chin, and the sunlight shone directly on her delicate collarbone, casting a soft shadow.

“You already said that, and I already answered it.” The genius player felt conflicted, as if she were engaged in a meaningless, repetitive, and monotonous conversation, even more pointless than the argument between Leticia and Shaymi. She simply leaned back, spread her arms, and sprawled out on the bed, saying listlessly, “I have absolutely no idea what ‘Alice’s way’ means? That’s too abstract. At least give me a concrete suggestion!”

Is it very abstract?

Ovira felt she had explained things clearly enough, so the problem must lie with Alice's comprehension. Was it because she hadn't read enough and her brain wasn't up to par? Of course, she only thought this to herself and wouldn't say it aloud, since she still needed Alice's help.

After a moment's thought, Princess Beman quickly made a decision. She ignored Alice, who was lying on the bed pretending to be dead, and got up to search through her room: bookshelves, cabinets, bedside tables, and desks—she searched every possible hiding place, acting as if no one else was there. Alice on the bed was stunned, wondering if she had been too nice to Ovira lately, which made her so arrogant, treating the room as her own.

After rummaging around for a while, Ovira finally found what she was looking for among a pile of messy junk in the third drawer of her desk.

"Honestly, Alice." She turned and gave the genius player on the bed a reproachful look. "How could you put something so important in the clutter? Aren't you afraid of breaking it?"

She held up the item in her hand, and the afternoon light shone on its silver-gray exterior, which had several fine scratches, like medals recording countless fierce battles.

"Ah? What?"

Hearing her describe it as so serious, Alice struggled to her feet as if she had risen from the dead. After glancing at the two items in Ovira's hands, she lay back down listlessly: "I thought it was something serious, but it's just a game console and cartridges. Those things were already broken."

"Even so, it can't just be left in a place like this!"

Ovira casually picked up a handkerchief from the desk and carefully wiped the metal surfaces of the game console and cartridges until they reflected a dazzling brilliance in the sunlight. She nodded in satisfaction, while Alice, lying on the bed, rolled her eyes where Ovira couldn't see, thinking, "I've always been this casual. Is this the first time you've known?"

"Besides, you can't say it's broken; at least it can still play games." Ovira walked to the bedside, ignoring Alice's thoughts, and shoved the game console and cartridge into her arms. Hands on her hips, she issued the order with an air of authority: "Alright, you can go play games with Ling!"

"..."

Alice was speechless for a long time before she finally managed to understand the princess's thought process: "So, this is what you call 'Alice's way'?"

As she spoke, her fingers unconsciously rubbed the slot on the edge of the cassette tape. She had touched those tiny protrusions countless times before, but now they felt both strange and familiar.

“Of course,” Ovira said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t this what you always did? When you were happy, you played games because it made you even happier; when you were unhappy, you played games because it made you happy. Have you forgotten what you said yourself?”

When did I say that?
Alice tried to recall, but her search of her memory yielded no results. It wasn't that she hadn't said it, but rather that she had said so many similar things that it was indeed difficult to pinpoint a single sentence.

But the joy that playing games brought her was a long time ago, so long ago that Alice was still full of curiosity, longing, and a desire to explore the world. Back then, she firmly believed that she would experience an incredible adventure in this unknown world, encounter many companions with different personalities, and ultimately realize a glorious and great ideal. Everything that happened later seemed to confirm her premonition; she had adventure, companions, and an ideal, but somehow, she lost the ability to find joy in games.

When did it start?
Perhaps it started when she realized that this world was not a game?
It's a very simple logic: games make people happy, but the world isn't a game, so naturally she can't get any enjoyment from it.

Is it that it was utterly boring, or... like waking up from a dream?

"I'm not in the mood to play games right now."

She pursed her lips slightly, placed the game console and cartridge back into the princess's hands, then turned over, her back to Ovira. Where the latter couldn't see, her gaze was heavy and complex: "Besides, in the end, that's just your illusion. Games can't solve all problems." Whether it's a clash of ideologies, a life-or-death duel, a cycle of fate, or even the simplest and most basic human emotions… it can't do anything about them.

Upon hearing this, Ovira's eyes widened in surprise: "Good heavens, Alice! Are you sick? Or did you take the wrong medicine after you were sick? Or did taking the wrong medicine make you even sicker? Otherwise, how could you say such nonsense?"

To verify her guess, she bent down, supporting herself on the edge of the bed with one hand, and reached out with the other to touch Alice's forehead to check her temperature, but the latter gently slapped her away: "I'm not sick, and I wouldn't have taken the wrong medicine. Can't you just hope I feel better?"

"But you really don't look right now, you're nothing like Alice!" Ovira rubbed her reddened palms and glared angrily at the genius player on the bed. She thought to herself, "I already have enough to worry about with just one Linger, how come even Alice is like this? Can't you guys cheer up and give me less trouble?"
Perhaps Alice realized she had gone too far and wronged Princess Beman's kindness, so she turned around and looked at Ovira with a serious expression: "So, in your opinion, what would the real Alice do?"

Looking at her unseemly posture on the bed, Ovira's expression was indescribable: "Can you sit up straight before you speak?"

"Oh." Alice sat up obediently.

This is the only thing that's still the same as before; I don't know whether to call it childish temper or just her true nature.

"Ahem!" Princess Beman coughed twice, feigning seriousness, before answering her question earnestly: "If it were the Alice I know, she would have said without hesitation: playing games can solve all problems! That's right!"

Alice pondered for a moment: "Was I really that naive before?"

"It's alright, just generally childish... cough cough, no, that's not it!" The princess, having let slip the secret, quickly corrected herself: "It's not childish, it's called... uh, childlike innocence! Yes, childlike innocence! It's a very precious quality. Even the great poet Hyde once said: 'Only by keeping a childlike heart can one become a true adult.' So, Alice, don't give up your childlike heart. Believe in yourself, believe in games, believe in that part of yourself that always believes in games!"

She clenched her fists to cheer on the genius player, though Alice had no idea what she was encouraging.

With a look of disbelief, she said, "You didn't say that before."

Alice used to get complaints when she asked Ovira to play games. She'd either complain about Ovira taking up her reading and writing time, or about Ovira cheating on the game… Well, the latter was understandable. And while genius players do like to cheat, they have one advantage: they don't get angry or embarrassed when accused of cheating; they just laugh it off. You could say they know cheating is wrong, but they just can't control their competitive spirit…

Ovira paused for a moment, then quickly regained her composure: "That's because I hadn't yet grasped the charm of games. Now it's different. You can tell how much I love games just by looking at my sincere eyes!"

She blinked her large, platinum-gold eyes hard, and Alice observed her for a while before nodding slightly. Regardless of Princess Beman's assurances, the genius player didn't see even a shred of passion, but it was definitely different from before; a new emotion called…trust had appeared.

She truly believed in Alice, believed in the game, and believed that Alice could solve Linger's psychological problems by playing the game.

But it's strange, even Alice herself clearly doesn't believe it anymore, so where does her trust come from?

Or is it that the change in identity and stance naturally brought about a change in emotions? Previously, Ovira was always the one being cared for; how to guide and alleviate others' psychological problems was something only Lin Ge and Xia needed to consider. Now, Xia is gone, and Lin Ge has become the one with psychological problems. So Ovira volunteered, or rather, forced herself to become that person. She wasn't confident she could do it well, but she had reasons to do it well; that pressure must have been immense. Is it precisely because of this different mindset that her perspective on things has changed?
Actually, I'm the same way. If we're talking about changes, I'm more obvious than Ovira.

Previously, Ovira viewed games as just games, while Alice believed that games could solve all the world's problems. Now, their attitudes have reversed, as if the world has been turned upside down, creating a subtle sense of contrast.

"Thank you so much for your hard work."

Alice sighed softly and said something she would never have said before. It wasn't that she didn't know how to be considerate, but she just wasn't used to expressing her concern so directly. This made Ovira blush a little, and she said something she would never have said before: "Hehe, it's not as good as you say."

"And," the princess looked at her intently, "if you think I'm working too hard, why don't you come and help me out?"

"Since you said so..."

Alice bounced around, seemingly trying to jump off the bed in a cool way, but failed and almost twisted her ankle. However, she remained calm and said to Ovira after landing awkwardly, "I'll give it a try. Don't blame me if I fail."

Princess Beman also selectively ignored her poor performance and said seriously, "Have more confidence in yourself, Alice."

“It’s not that I lack confidence in myself,” the genius player muttered, “it’s that I lack confidence in Ling Ge.”

After saying that, before Ovira could react, she took the game console and cartridge from the other person's hand, and sauntered out of the room to fulfill her promise.

The princess stared blankly at her departing figure until the footsteps in the corridor gradually faded into the distance and finally disappeared at the top of the stairs, before slowly withdrawing her gaze. After an unknown amount of time, a soft sigh finally drifted from inside the room.

It wasn't sadness, just disappointment.

Instead, it was a sigh of bewilderment. (End of Chapter)