Alice in the Land of Steam

"I heard you wanted to see me?" Bai Ye slowly stood up from the ground, turning to face Ietta, with the lonely moon behind her. The Milky Way that pierced the dome had vanished sometime ago, and under the silvery moonlight, she stood quietly on the edge of the cliff, her slender figure looking as if a gust of wind could blow her away, yet she possessed an indescribable sense of oppression: "So I've come. What are your thoughts, Miss Ietta?"

She was so polite, and her tone and manner of speaking were so elegant, almost on par with Countess Neville…

This was the first thought that popped into Iyeta's mind.

Indeed, although Bai Ye appears cold and aloof, he has never been rude to anyone—except for two people. One is Gloria, who seems to enjoy teasing her primary personality, always saying sarcastic and belittling things, but not out of genuine dislike. It's more like the tricks a rebellious boy uses to attract girls his own age? That's roughly the feeling. The other is Ling Ge. These two are probably too similar in personality, making them incompatible, like two hedgehogs pricking each other. But hedgehogs touch each other's quills to get closer, and perhaps Bai Ye also wants to get closer to Ling Ge?

Ietta let his imagination run wild.

"Although I don't know what you're thinking," a soft voice finally spoke, "it seems a little rude?"

Ieta was startled, and quickly shook her head in denial, indicating that she absolutely had no intention of being impolite. Bai Ye was just trying to scare her and didn't mean to hold it against her. Besides, she found the angel's flustered expression quite amusing, resembling someone else's.

Because there are many instances of "someone", they will not be listed here one by one.

Getting back to the main point, after meeting Bai Ye, Ietta was finally able to tell her her thoughts. Upon learning that the angel planned to search for her past life and her connection with the one-winged hero Italos in her dreams, Bai Ye raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "That's not difficult, but the effects of dreams vary from person to person. I can guide you into a dream, but what you will see in the dream is not something I can decide."

"That's enough, Miss Baiye!" Ieta said sincerely, "Thank you for your help!"

Bai Ye remained silent, simply staring at her. He thought to himself that this angelic young lady, as soft as a feather, had mustered the courage to approach him for the first time in her life, only to make this request. Did knowing about her past life truly hold such importance for her? The one-winged feathered elf hero and the six-winged feathered elf orphan—were they the same person? Would the answer bring about any change to this world? Yet, even if it was meaningless, there were still things one wanted to pursue; perhaps this was the instinct of all living beings.

"What will you decide?" she suddenly asked. "Regarding Miss Cheryl's proposal. If you're certain Italos is the same person as you, will you accept her request? And if not, will you refuse?"

Having received a positive answer from her, Ietta shook her head contentedly, a relaxed smile appearing on her face: "No, I've thought it through. Whatever the outcome, I will grant Miss Cheryl's request, because it's also a favor to everyone."

Bai Ye stared at her for a long while before slowly nodding: "I think so too. After all... the power of wishes coming true is always very attractive, isn't it?"

Even if the Holy Grail distorts people's desires in various ways, as long as it reappears in the world, countless people will still pursue it madly. At that time, even if the Holy War Army obtains it, can it possess it for long? Who knows if the Holy War Army, which won this war with the power of the Holy Grail, will face another war as a result?

Fate is always unpredictable. People like Cheryl and Ietta would bravely move forward even if they knew, but Bai Ye couldn't. There was once someone she both admired and distanced herself from, vaguely feared and didn't know how to face, who said something like this: "I know you're not afraid, Bai Ye, you're just not ready yet."

Unfortunately, before Bai Ye could truly prepare, that person was already gone.

"It's not for that reason..."

Ieta offered a quiet explanation, but seeing that the gray-haired girl seemed to have no desire to continue the conversation and was even gradually sinking into her own thoughts, ignoring everything around her, Ieta gently said goodbye and tiptoed away. It was clear she was still a little scared.

When Bai Ye came to her senses, the person had vanished from sight; only the wind rippled across the grass, creating a gentle wave.

She looked away, reached up and rubbed her temples, a feeling of weariness washing over her.

"It's really asking too much of me to play an idiot," the gray-haired girl muttered to herself. "If this keeps up, I'll end up with a split personality sooner or later... although I already am one..."

At this point, Bai Ye couldn't help but chuckle, as if amused by her own lame joke. But the smile quickly vanished from her face, replaced by a somber expression. She silently called out in her heart, "Gloria."

In the past, that idiot would have jumped out to respond immediately, but today, Bai Ye waited a long time before hearing the other party's slow voice echoing faintly in his mind: "...Bai Ye... ripping... is something wrong?"

The sound was intermittent, mixed with some strange noises, and sounded like it might stop at any moment.

The situation is even worse than last time.

Bai Ye said with a stern face, "It's nothing, just reminding you that it's time to get up. Fools who stay in bed will never grow tall."

"No... I'm so sleepy..." she said, yawning in the girl's mind. Bai Ye could even imagine the girl stretching. "Let me sleep a little longer... Anyway, it won't do anything... If anything happens, I'll leave it to... I'll leave it to you... *sizzle*"

The sound stopped abruptly, and the conversation ended there. No matter how Bai Ye called out to her, Gloria did not respond and was clearly "asleep".

I wish he were really asleep.

At first, he was just listless and lacked energy; gradually, the time he spent controlling this body became shorter, and he handed over control to Bai Ye most of the time; now, he has completely retreated to the deepest part of his consciousness space, disappearing all day long, only occasionally replying with a few words to prove that he is still alive, almost like hibernation.

When did this problem begin?
It was probably after that blue-haired girl left.

Therefore, Bai Ye had to impersonate Gloria in front of everyone, occasionally even playing both roles to prove that both personalities within this body were functioning correctly. At first, she would slip up and arouse suspicion, but as she gradually became more adept, her impersonation became incredibly lifelike. She even captured Gloria's ditzy and silly nature so precisely that even her close friend, Gray Feather Falcon Xiaobai, couldn't tell the difference, let alone anyone else. Perhaps this was because they were originally the same person, but Bai Ye wasn't happy about it.

She knew the right thing to do was to tell everyone the truth and then work together to help Gloria stabilize her situation. But she didn't do that. Was it because she was too proud to ask for help, or too stubborn to solve it alone? No, she was just afraid.

Because I know the reason, I am afraid.

For Gloria's sake, for her own, and even for everyone's, she couldn't possibly tell anyone. But as the symptoms of her symbiotic personality worsened, the girl occasionally hoped that someone would see through her disguise and expose the truth. That way, she wouldn't have to risk revealing the secret, and she could work with everyone to find a solution to Gloria's problem. This conflicting feeling often tormented her, yet she had to bear it all alone.

But no one saw through it.

Was my acting too good? Or were everyone just too oblivious?
Bai Ye couldn't help but have doubts, but everyone's observational skills were questionable except for that one. He had clearly seen through his disguise several times, and could always correctly distinguish between himself and Gloria, so why was he completely silent this time? Considering that perhaps Xia's departure had overwhelmed him with grief, making him unable to think of anything else, Bai Ye considerately waited for a while. But now, he had already grieved enough; shouldn't one move on from the past and bravely face the future? Why was he still unmoved?

What happened to your intuition? What happened to your premonition? What happened to all the excuses you used to fool girls?

Previously, Bai Ye disliked that young man, especially his gaze. It seemed to see right through her, whether his gaze was dark, despicable, indifferent, or mocking. This made the girl, accustomed to hiding under the protection of her symbiotic personality and observing the world from the shadows, feel extremely uncomfortable, as if she were being forcibly dragged into the sunlight for execution, feeling utterly ashamed. But now, she actually missed that gaze. Of course, this didn't mean she had any special feelings for him; she just hoped that he could occasionally use that ability for the right purpose, instead of using it to intimidate and deceive girls.

“Use your intuition, Ringer…”

She looked up, gazing wistfully at the moon in the sky, and murmured to herself, "Don't always be so slow-witted."

She didn't realize that if she just wanted someone to see through her disguise, why couldn't that person be the thoughtful Ovira, the straightforward and pure Hino, the seemingly insightful Rorona, the instinctive Leticia, or even the innocent and sincere Ietta? Why did it have to be Linger, and why did it have to be Linger?

Subconsciously, she trusted him, just as she deliberately kept her distance from Saint Xialia, yet did not deny that she actually trusted her to some extent—it was a very complex emotion.

Of course, she didn't realize that there was actually another person who possessed this ability.

However, because that person left such an unreliable impression in the past, she ruled him out immediately.

……

"Achoo!" Alice sneezed loudly.

Lorona looked disgusted: "If you want to sneeze, please do it out the window, don't get my alchemy cauldron and tools dirty."

"It was an accident, a complete accident." The genius player assured him confidently, "Someone was definitely talking badly about me behind my back!"

“Then you’ll sneeze more than once a day.” Rorona smiled. “Tell me, why did you ask me to make you a drug that can stimulate the soul? You’re not planning to do something bad with it, are you?”

“Absolutely not!” Alice firmly denied, her voice righteous and resolute. “This time it’s for a proper purpose, as it has been before. But that doesn’t matter anymore. The important thing is that I’ve figured it out!”

"What have you figured out?"

"Game consoles and cartridges are essentially my royal power, right? And the power of royal power is actually the law imprinted in the soul of the young queen. So, is the damage to the game console and cartridges equivalent to the damage to the soul?"

“I see.” Lorona understood her meaning: “So as long as the soul is repaired, your game console and cartridges can be repaired? That’s a good idea. The problem is, I’m not sure I can make the right medicine. After all, my monarchy is also incomplete, not much better than yours.”

"The effect doesn't matter; the main thing is to prove that stimulating the soul can indeed produce a response to the monarchy."

"Oh?" Rorona glanced at her. "You've already found another way?"

"Of course, isn't it right in front of us?"

Alice, hands on her hips, wore a smug expression. It seemed she'd figured this out before everyone else, giving her the illusion that she was smarter than them all. In a daze, Rorona saw the former genius player again—arrogant, unrestrained, out of place in this world yet so unique. She felt a pang of nostalgia and sentimentality. Driven by this complex emotion, she ignored Alice's somewhat offensive gaze and said with a smile, "Tears of the Goddess?"

Legend has it that this treasure can heal all injuries, deficiencies, and congenital defects, whether physical or spiritual, and is also the source of life for fairies.

“That’s right! As a creation of the goddess, it will definitely work!” Alice clenched her palms. Her aura was less about believing that it would definitely work and more about her insistence that even if it didn’t work, she wouldn’t accept it and that she absolutely had to make it work. That was probably the feeling.

"When my monarchy is restored and the power of the game console and cartridges is usable again, that will be the moment when the genius player steps onto the stage once more!" the genius player whispered, not speaking to Rorona, but rather encouraging himself and making a firm decision: "Then I will fight against the Witch Society, and I will never let something like that happen a third time!"

What kind of thing was it...? Rorona knew perfectly well, but said nothing. She simply turned her gaze away and began picking through the bottles and jars on the table, preparing to craft the tools Alice needed.

In his heart, he sighed silently.

As expected, she still hasn't gotten over it. (End of Chapter)