Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 1365 a benevolent scheme?
At the dinner table tonight, Ling received special treatment. Whether it was something O'Viola said to everyone, or the young people simply wore their emotions on their sleeves, the moment Medine lovingly placed a piece of beef on her brother's plate, everyone else seemed to have discovered a new continent and followed suit. Soon, his table was piled high with all sorts of food. Even the little lamb joined in, reluctantly pushing its after-dinner fruit to Ling's feet and bleating at him, probably to say something like, "Accept it with gratitude."

This enthusiasm warmed the young man's heart, but also left him somewhat amused and exasperated, since he couldn't possibly eat that much by himself.

"Alright, Medion."

He brushed his sister's guilty little hand away and said helplessly, "Stop putting food on my plate all the time, eat some yourself too."

"Hey hey hey."

The pink-haired girl giggled, put the piece of beef into her mouth, and chewed it slowly like a little squirrel.

Seeing how much she enjoyed her meal, the proprietress couldn't help but ask, "Medion, do you think Lin Ge's beef stew with potatoes is better, or mine?"

This sounded like a death sentence, but the pink-haired girl had her own way of dealing with it. Her eyes darted around and she came up with the perfect words: "In terms of cooking skills, Miss Siesta's is definitely better, but for some reason, I just prefer Ling's. It has nothing to do with the taste, Miss Siesta."

"I see." The proprietress nodded gently, indicating that she understood, and then turned to look at Shemi.

The little fairy, who was wolfing down her food, felt a chill from behind and froze. After a long pause, she stammered, "This... how would I know? I've never had Lin Ge's stewed beef with potatoes!"

Before the proprietress could speak, the bartender chimed in, "If that's the case, why don't you just say you like what the older sister makes? Why are you avoiding giving your opinion? Or do you actually have different thoughts, Shemi?"

She smiled sinisterly, the unspoken meaning lingering in the mind. The landlady's gaze towards her foolish younger sister suddenly turned dangerous, while Shemi looked at her second sister in disbelief, her eyes filled with both grievance and resentment: Aren't we sisters? Why did you frame me like this?

Shelia scoffed at her naiveté, thinking: Just because they're sisters, they have to sabotage each other.

A classic sibling relationship like that of Ringo and Medea is actually quite rare, perhaps because their lack of blood relation makes their emotional bond even stronger. As for blood-related siblings, their relationships often deteriorate for various reasons. A less strained relationship is like that of Sheria and Shaymi, who playfully tease each other; a more severe one can be seen in the case of the Girls' Kingdom from Chaos and Order…

However, this topic is too sensitive, and it always reminds people of Alice's "hellish joke." It's best not to do such tasteless things.

Shelia lowered her head and took a sip of creamy soup, washing away the guilt in her heart.

“Since it’s hard to judge without having tasted it, why not have Linge cook it himself and let everyone experience his culinary skills?” Lorena suggested with a smile, while also taking the opportunity to kick the little imp while she was down: “I believe that by then, Shemi should be able to make a ‘fair’ evaluation, right?”

"I agree!" Leticia raised both hands in support. If she weren't afraid of being scolded by her grandmother, she would have jumped up with her feet. As Shaymi's old rival, Little Bat would unconditionally support anything that could embarrass her. Besides, maybe she could use this to teach Ling a lesson. She could just stick to her opinion that it wasn't good, and that guy couldn't possibly force her to change her mind, could he? Sigh, but he seems a little unhappy lately. Should she be gentler with him?

The little bat felt a pang of compassion that it would never normally experience.

Then, Hino smiled and offered to help Ling Ge. Although she had little experience in the kitchen, she thought it wouldn't be difficult to learn. Meanwhile, Ieta, for some reason, blushed and whispered that she also wanted to try Ling Ge's cooking. Of course, if Ling Ge wasn't willing, the younger person could try her cooking instead. The genius player, who was completely inept at physical labor and knew nothing about farming, couldn't help but purse her lips sourly as the conversation veered towards an area she couldn't understand. She remarked that good cooking skills were no longer a plus; someone with a slight (questionable) flaw was more popular…

Since Saint Charlotte's departure, the dining table at the Fairy Sleep Inn hasn't had such a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for a long time.

Ultimately, it all comes down to that young man. He's like a barometer of everyone's emotions, affecting the thoughts of everyone on Cloud Whale Sky Island. When he's sad, everyone grieves for him. Even the birds in the forest, the fish in the stream, and Mr. Rabbit in the inn seem to sense his emotions, falling silent and plunging the world around him into a vast, silent stillness. But when he smiles, or even without a smile, simply greeting everyone he meets as calmly as usual, just hearing his voice and seeing his figure brings immense peace of mind.

Indeed, asking Alice was the right thing to do!

Ovira didn't participate in the discussion. Instead, she sat in the corner of the table, her eyes sparkling as she watched the lively scene. Although Alice was the biggest contributor, she herself had played a part, hadn't she? Had she gotten a little closer to Xia-jie (her sister) this way? If Xia-jie knew, would she be pleased with her? Or would she be very satisfied?

Don't worry, Xia Xia.

After you're gone, I'll be everyone's older sister.

Although I can't do those things that only you can do, I will do my best to protect everyone and protect Lingge!

Silently clenching her fists, Princess Beman made a promise to that person in her heart. At this moment, she felt, more or less, the weight of the title "sister".

……

After dinner, everyone went their separate ways to do their own thing, but Ovira quietly pulled Alice into her room and asked her about Ling's situation, wanting to get a definite answer. However, the genius player's answer was beyond her expectations.

"You mean, Ling is still conflicted and hasn't completely gotten over what happened?" The princess's eyes widened, clearly surprised and doubtful. "But he seemed perfectly normal at the dinner table."

“You should say, when is he abnormal?” Alice shrugged. “Someone like him seems to be the same whether he’s normal or abnormal. Does he always feel sad when he’s upset? Does he always smile when he’s relieved? I think it’s better not to put these stereotypes on him.”

"Hmm, you have a point, but if he hasn't figured it out, why did he act so...composure today?" It took O'Vera a long time to come up with a suitable description. Composure meant that he wasn't avoiding it, nor was he trying to hide anything. Usually, isn't that a sign of being at peace?

“Once a person convinces themselves to accept reality, they naturally become more at ease. But accepting reality is one thing; when they can break free from its influence and return to their former selves is another,” Alice said quietly, and for some reason, she didn’t seem very happy. Ovira seemed to understand, but for some reason, she felt, “Alice, you seem to know a lot?”

Alice was amused by her, although Princess Beman had no idea what was so funny about her words. After all, the thought process of a genius player is always different from that of ordinary people: "Is this what they call... advice from experience?"

"Oh, so based on your experience, how can you help Ling Ge return to his former self?"

"Then only time can heal it."

The genius player sighed deeply: "After all, time is the best medicine in the world."

This remark silenced the room for a long time. Alice, having not heard Ovira's voice for a while, curiously turned her head to look, only to find Ovira staring at her with a mixture of strangeness, suspicion, and disbelief. Alice immediately felt offended: "What's wrong with you? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something strange?"

“No.” Princess Beman shook her head and honestly expressed her feelings: “I just feel that such philosophical words should not come from your mouth, Alice.”

"I can't be bothered with you." Alice rolled her eyes.

"Oh dear, don't be so stingy, I was just joking." Ovira quickly said, "It's normal for you to have some insights after experiencing so much. However, philosophy is a subject that requires systematic study. Alice, if you are interested in this, I have a few easy-to-understand introductory books here. Would you like to take them back and take a look?"

"no."

Upon hearing this, Alice got up to leave, and Ovira had no choice but to try and persuade her to stay: "Alright, alright, if you don't want to read, then don't. I know you don't like reading and prefer playing games, so how about you stay and play games with me?"

"Oh?" Alice stopped and looked at her suspiciously. "Why have you been acting so strangely lately? You told me you've changed your mind about games, and you even invited me to play. Are you up to something?"

"That's not true!"

Ovira's smile was a little stiff: "I... I just wanted to play a game with you, is that not okay?"

Of course, there was another motive, but it was a benevolent one.

After their conversation that afternoon, Princess Beman saw Alice's psychological problems as rising to the same level as Ling's, urgently needing a solution, though the two had vastly different personalities. Ling was awkward and prone to getting stuck on things, but fortunately, he was also good at accepting others' opinions. As long as someone pointed out the problem, he would think about it himself and find a suitable path, although it might be a very long one, as mentioned earlier, time heals all wounds.

Alice appears lively, cheerful, and carefree, but such people are usually much more delicate and fragile inside than the average person. If she were to become withdrawn, it wouldn't be something that could be resolved with a few words from others. Normally, with Linger around, Ovira wouldn't have to worry about this problem, but since Linger had already reached the point where he needed Alice to comfort him, it wouldn't be appropriate for Linger to then comfort Alice as well.
Therefore, Princess Beman felt that Ling's problem needed to be solved, Alice's problem needed to be solved, and if possible, she would even try to solve everyone's problems, so that they could be considered a harmonious and loving team!

With Xia Xia gone, Ovira felt she had worried herself sick over her family.

For this reason, she had to hone her acting skills and try her best to appear nonchalant so as not to upset the delicate and fragile heart of the genius player. She was laughing so hard that her lips were almost cramping.

Alice stared at her for a while, but ultimately couldn't figure it out, so she looked away and gently shook her head: "Let's skip it tonight, we can talk about it another time."

Why? Are you busy?

"It's not me who has something to do, it's you."

Ovira was stunned: "What could be wrong with me?"

"Still can't figure it out? It's okay, you'll find out soon." Alice gave Princess Beman one last look with a strangely complicated expression before waving goodbye. She walked towards the door, and before Ovira could ask her what she meant, she watched helplessly as the genius player's figure disappeared behind the door. Then, footsteps echoed down the corridor—not one person, but two.

"Ah, you're here... Yeah, she's in the room... nothing much, just chatting... I'm going back to playing games now, goodbye..."

Who is Alice talking to?
Ovira had a vague guess in her mind, but wasn't quite sure. Instead, she sat motionless in the room, waiting with a complex mix of trepidation and anticipation. She didn't really know why she was just waiting there foolishly; wouldn't it have been more sincere to go and greet him? Perhaps she was afraid of scaring him away. Only recently had Ovira realized that he wasn't as strong as he seemed; on the contrary, he might be quite timid, always afraid of something, always running away from something.

She heard one person's footsteps leaving outside the door, while another person's footsteps gradually approached and finally stopped at the doorway.

dong dong——

The moment the door was knocked, Princess Beman almost instinctively asked, "Who is it?"

A familiar and reassuring voice came from outside the door: "It's me, Ovira."

Give me some cats