Alice in the Land of Steam

Is Chapter 1395 a good thing?

Ieta had a dream in which she stood on the edge of a high cliff covered with green grass. Below her was a bottomless sky and an endless sea of ​​clouds. Strange fish with four wings swam in the sea, sometimes leaping out of the water and sometimes diving back into the depths. A flock of giant birds with long legs but no wings ran through the clouds, using their sharp beaks to catch the strange fish that leaped out of the clouds. In the far distance, the shadow of a magnificent city floated, appearing and disappearing in the depths of the clouds. But the foundation of the city was made of a mixture of water, ice, and cotton candy. Everything was strange and illogical.

Then, she saw a feathered elf girl who looked a lot like herself, but she only had one wing, which hung down forlornly in the not-so-gentle wind, the last feather swaying gently like a cloak.

"I heard you wanted to see me?" The girl put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and looked at her with a smile: "Now that you've seen me, how does it feel?"

"Your Majesty Italos!?" Italos was both surprised and delighted. "Do you know me?"

"Idiot." The other person shook their head, both amused and exasperated. "I'm from ten thousand years ago, how could I possibly know you from ten thousand years in the future? But this is your dream, and everything visible and invisible originates from your imagination. So, my understanding of you is actually based on your understanding of me. Do you understand now?"

"I don't quite understand," Ieta replied honestly.

"Then there's no need to understand." His Majesty seemed quite magnanimous, waving his hand to steer the conversation away from the topic: "Anyway, it's not something very important."

Although she didn't care much, Ieta couldn't help but care. Of course, what she cared about most was her image in His Majesty's eyes: "Lord Italos, am I being stupid?"

The girl patted her head and comforted her, "It's okay to be a little slow, at least you tried your best."

"Hehehe." Ietta cheered again, making it unclear whether she genuinely thought so or simply wanted to be praised by His Majesty.

However, she suddenly remembered that since His Majesty Italos appeared in her dream, didn't that mean that the legendary hero who slew the evil dragon and brought peace to the paradise village of Assyria was indeed her past life?

Logically speaking, this result was expected, but for some reason, Ietta's feelings were still somewhat complicated. She couldn't say she was happy, but she couldn't say she was disappointed either. At most, she was just a little conflicted.

"What are you struggling with?" the girl suddenly asked. "If you have something on your mind, why not share it with me? Perhaps I can offer some advice? Although..."

Although His Majesty did not continue speaking, Ieta still felt a warmth in her heart, thinking that His Majesty Italos was indeed a kind and considerate person, just as described in the legends.

She mustered her courage and asked, "Lord Italos, do you think there's anything about us that we have in common?"

"Yes, I knew you'd ask that." The girl nodded confidently, then shook her head. "To be honest, it doesn't seem like it at all."

Sure enough, even His Majesty said so...

“But whether it’s similar or not isn’t as important as you think.” Ieta looked up in surprise. The girl didn’t look at her, but gazed at the boundless sea of ​​clouds, and said slowly, “Admittedly, if you’re looking for similarities, anyone can easily find them, but I’m afraid you won’t be satisfied with my answer, will you? Because what you want to know is whether a person’s past and present lives share the same ideals and beliefs. But qualities such as courage, kindness, and justice are not narrowly defined words used to describe the two of us; they are common in all living beings, so they cannot be used as a standard. And if we disregard them and only focus on a person’s unique traits, wouldn’t that be a bit biased?”

“But, Your Majesty…” Ieta couldn’t help but want to say something.

"Man is shaped by fate, and the young queen is no exception." The girl interrupted her, speaking to herself, "Even if there are similarities at the beginning, does that mean they will remain unchanged forever? Take you, Ieta, for example. In the beginning, you were troubled by your own curse, longing to find a place to stay and live a peaceful life, but in the end, you rode a whale from one end of the world to the other, a journey that seemed endless. Would you say that this is not the real me, that it doesn't count? And the opposite of you is me. In the beginning, I was ostracized by my people in Sky City because of my one wing, and came to the ground alone, not expecting to be understood by anyone, but only yearning for more unknown encounters. My friendship with the fairies was an unexpected joy, making me happy but not addicted. So, even though Hydras repeatedly tried to persuade me to stay, I still decided to say goodbye to my friends and embark on my journey again."

“I know.” Ietta finally found a chance to interject and quickly said, “People in later generations admire you very much, and consider you a free person who has always been consistent.”

"Consistent throughout? If only that were true." A hint of melancholy appeared on the girl's face. "It seems that the legends of later generations only stop at the moment I left, but you should know more, Ieta."

Should I know this? The angel was puzzled at first, but after thinking for a long time, she suddenly realized that it was a story that Fei Er, Tian Ti Si, Caraboss, and even Themis of the heavens had all mentioned, about the first awakening and recovery of the memories of the reincarnated female kings in the human world.

"Shortly after I left Assyria, Tentis found me, probably because she heard about my slaying of the evil dragon Nidhogg; after all, it caused quite a stir." The girl chuckled. "She helped me regain my memories and power from my past life, and then asked if I would join her plan to bring true rebirth to this corrupt world. But to be honest, her ideals and beliefs were too crazy, and I naturally couldn't agree. So I refused. Not only that, but we, the girls of the Order, were reunited to fight against the Chaos Kingdom that supported Tentis. The final result has been witnessed by history and needs no further explanation. What I regret a little is that after what happened, I could no longer leave as recklessly as I did when I said goodbye to Sidras, embarking on my own journey; I had to shoulder the responsibility of being a girl of the Order and protect the world left by my mother. Thus, for the rest of my life, I never picked up my initial ideals again. Ieta, do you think I am still free like this?"

Ieta was stunned and speechless.

She hadn't expected the story to take such a turn; though it was logical, it only added to her sadness.

"There's nothing we can do about it..." she murmured.

“Yes, there’s no way around it. That’s why I say people are shaped by fate. Pursuing the same or similar is meaningless. Even if they are similar at first, they will gradually be shaped into opposites because of different fates.” The girl sighed softly. “Those who yearn for a peaceful life will eventually embark on a journey, while those who pursue distant scenery will eventually be bound by responsibilities. Ietta, do you think such differences are unfounded? Or rather, what kind of similarity is meaningful?”

Ieta didn't know, so she couldn't answer.

"So, I'll say something really cliché: just be yourself." The girl stretched and turned to smile at Ietta. "It's cliché, but in the end, you'll find that these clichés are often the most true."

After delivering that clichéd yet sincere piece of advice, Italos shifted her gaze from Ieta to the boundless sea of ​​clouds and sky beyond the cliff. A complex and unreadable emotion flickered in her eyes—was it nostalgia for the distant past? Or a sense of relief after experiencing the vicissitudes of life? Perhaps no one but herself could tell.

"Well then, goodbye, Ietta."

The warm afterglow still lingered in her ears, yet she opened her arms, lightly touched the grassy edge of the cliff with her toes, and her body, as if weightless, gracefully leaned backward. It wasn't a falling motion, but more like a bird spreading its wings, about to soar into the sky. Her gaze remained calm, fixed on Ieta, whose eyes were wide with shock, before her figure was swiftly swallowed by the air currents below.

"Your Majesty—!" Ieta cried out as she lunged toward the edge of the cliff, her heart nearly stopping. She expected to see the falling figure swallowed by the clouds, but instead, in that hazy blur, she caught sight of a sliver of pure white slowly rising.

It is Italos.

She didn't fall; instead, she hovered in mid-air. Her single wing was fully spread behind her, unlike the symmetrical and powerful wings of ordinary birds. Instead, it resembled a piece of silk carefully unfurled by the wind—soft, slender, with feathers at the tips swaying gently like tassels. The single wing drew an elegant arc in the air, and she turned slightly to the side, as if leaning against an unseen current, her posture as serene as if she were strolling among the clouds.

A breeze swept through her hair, lifting a few strands of silver that intertwined with the outline of her wings, creating a blurred halo. She looked up at Ietta, a sly smile in her eyes, as if to say: "Scared?"

Iyeta stared at her blankly.

That solitary wing appeared so fragile yet so resolute amidst the clouds. Unlike two wings that could soar smoothly, each flap carried a slight tilt, as if it might lose its balance at any moment. Yet, Italos, with these imperfect wings, traced gentle trajectories above the sea of ​​clouds, sometimes swirling low, sometimes rising high, like a snowflake lifted by the wind, or a melody without an end.

Further away, four-winged monsters leaped from the clouds, circling around her, their scales shimmering like shattered crystals in the illusory light; even the wingless giant birds stopped their pursuit, gazing up at this flight that defied all logic. The entire dream seemed to freeze because of her, with only her and that single wing, at the boundary between the sky and the clouds, painting a picture that belonged to no legend.

“Look,” Italos’s voice floated up on the wind, as light as a feather brushing against your ear, “even with wings like these, you can fly.”

"And don't forget what I just said."

"This is your dream world. Everything visible and invisible originates from your imagination. So, what I want to say to you is actually what you want to say to yourself, isn't it?"

"Just remember this, and that's enough."

Ieta watched her rise higher and higher, her figure fading into the clouds, as if merging into the distant floating city made of water, ice, and cotton candy. At the last moment, Italos turned back and winked at her, then vanished completely into the gaps in the light.

The next moment, Ieta woke up.

……

The sun shines brightly outside the window, and the weather is fine and sunny.

What a beautiful day!

For some reason, Ieta woke up feeling very happy. She remembered having a wonderful dream, although she forgot most of what happened in it the moment she woke up, she was still very happy. She must have gotten the result she wanted, right?
Just then, a noisy commotion came from outside. People were playing around in the primrose field so early in the morning. Could it be those fairies? Honestly, didn't I already warn them not to disturb others during their rest time?

Ietta, not even bothering to wash up, hurriedly got out of bed to check. Pushing open the door, she found not fairies playing pranks, but two familiar figures chasing each other through the primrose field. A blonde, red-eyed genius player was frantically running away, shouting "I don't want to!" like a little girl about to be caught; a blue-haired, crystal-eyed alchemist was hot on his heels, cackling, "Ai-chan, you can't escape, so surrender obediently!" like a witch about to catch a little girl.

"What...what are you doing?" Miss Angel was bewildered.

"Ah, Ieta! Help me!" Alice rushed over to her as if she'd seen a savior, clinging to her legs and begging for help, though it's possible she was deliberately trying to take advantage: "Rorona's gone mad! She's been trying to force some suspicious drug into my mouth, and she's threatening me if I don't drink it, waaaah..."

Her crying looked so fake.

"Why are you blaming me again?" Lorena frowned upon hearing this, quite displeased. The syringe in her hand, as thick as a forearm, was very intimidating. "Isn't it Alice who asked me to make the medicine herself, and even insisted that it had to be stimulating? The finished product is stimulating enough, but you can't handle it. How can you blame me for that?"

"That's too exciting!" Alice retorted. "And it's too bitter! Can't we have a different flavor? Like blueberry!"

"Hehe, is sea urchin worm flavor okay?"

"what is that?"

"The most miserable creature in the ocean."

"No way!"

The two started arguing right in front of Ietta.

Miss Angel looked left at Alice, who looked completely self-righteous, and right at Lorena, who was shaking her head helplessly. For some reason, the joy that had been building up inside her since she woke up seemed to finally find an outlet. So she suddenly raised her eyebrows and laughed: "Pfft!"

Eh?
Alice and Rorona stopped arguing and turned to look at her in surprise.

Why did Ieta suddenly laugh?
Although I don't know exactly what happened, this should be a good thing... right?

Give me some cats