Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1423 An omnipotent alchemist?

Rorona's smile faded, her clear, crystal-like eyes fixed on Alice, as if trying to see into the depths of her soul, into every anxious thought and complex contemplation. The alchemist didn't answer immediately, but simply shook her head gently. The wide sleeves of her robe fluttered in the shadows of the woods, like a cloud that refused to settle, reflected in the still water.

“I was wondering why you were so serious today. Oh, it's about this.” Rorona’s voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable authority: “Listen to me, Alice, it’s good that you have such conviction and awareness, but the soul is far more complex than you imagine. Frequent stimulation will not only fail to achieve the desired effect, but it is also very likely to leave serious side effects. Moreover, based on the results of the last experiment, the drug dosage is not sufficient to fully stimulate the soul…”

"Then just increase the dosage!"

Alice interrupted Rorona, clenching her fist without hesitation: "If the dosage isn't enough, increase the dosage. Isn't that a simple principle?"

Lorna couldn't help but laugh, but it was a laugh that was hard to tell if it was helplessness or disappointment. Then she shook her head and rejected Alice's suggestion, because it was simply unrealistic: "The dosage last time was already the strictly calculated limit, Alice. Medicine is medicine, not candy. You can't just take as much as you want. No doctor would blindly increase the dosage just because the drug isn't effective enough. That would be irresponsible to the patient."

Alice still refused to give up. "This isn't an illness! I'm not treating an illness, but rather mending the wounds in my soul. No matter what, as long as I can bear it, that's enough..."

"No matter what you say, this is an illness."

Lorena ignored Alice's sophistry, gave her a deep look, and said softly, "Mental illness is also an illness, as you should know, Alice. And coincidentally, although I am not a professional doctor, I do have quite a bit of experience in treating this kind of illness."

Because she too had suffered from the same illness, or rather, countless different illnesses, some severe, some mild, some stubborn, some minor, together forming an inescapable shadow over Princess Haiqi's life, fragile as crystal and transparent as glass. Her parents pitied her, her sister loved her, and her subjects were tolerant of her; all were saddened and saddened by her illness. They vowed to cure this gentle, kind, and elegant princess at any cost, and thus offered her all sorts of strange and wondrous remedies, from rare medicines passed down through generations of the royal court to the shamanistic remedies summarized by deep-sea tribes based on experience; from ancient barbarian secret arts from distant continents to the increasingly advanced modern medicine of people on land…

Princess Haiqi never complained. She patiently accepted any one-sided care and expressed her sincere gratitude, even though she knew it was useless to her. Even the so-called psychological effect was mostly directed at those who cared about her, rather than at the patient herself.

But she never gave up on her personal efforts. Perhaps she had already realized then that the only way to cure this illness was to rely on herself, because the root of the problem lay in her heart, not her body. And when it comes to the heart, who understands herself better than she does?
Perhaps it's true that experience makes one a better doctor; on this path, Rorona is indeed more experienced than Alice. She can understand Alice's feelings, but it's precisely because of this understanding that she can't bear to see her lose more because of momentary impatience. Life, emotions, memories, and those naive yet grand ideals—illness, like dust, always silently corrodes them; only those who remain steadfast can resist its power.

“From childhood to adulthood, I have lived in a closed cage, which constantly brings pain and then disappears, always in a cycle. My parents, sister, and the subjects of Nereides tried countless methods, but they could never break free from this cage. At first, they called it an illness, and later it became a curse. Only I remained steadfast, insisting that it was an illness, and since it was an illness, there would always be a time when it would be cured. Of course, curing it seems very difficult, even more difficult than the royal etiquette lessons taught by court tutors. Even though I have mastered incredible alchemical magic, I have still encountered countless failures. The results of those failures are still kept in my alchemy workshop. Ling has seen them, and Xia has seen them too. If you are interested, I can show them to you later, Alice.”

Rorona gently recounted her feelings to Alice, her tone as calm as if she were telling the story of someone else in the world with the same name: "But I was never impatient, nor did I ever think, 'If I were more aggressive, would things turn around?' because I knew there was no need to rush; a solution would always be found. Illness is the most stubborn enemy in the world. For a patient, the feeling of watching themselves sink little by little without being able to do anything is terrifying, like drowning. Do you know what's most important to a drowning person?"

She suddenly asked, and Alice paused for a moment before replying, "Hurry back to shore?"

“No.” The alchemist shook her head. “It’s about floating to the surface and re-engaging with the air.”

Alice seemed lost in thought.

“Everyone understands the logic, but how to accept it is another matter. Of course, once you accept it, you will find that all your previous worries and concerns were unnecessary. In the end, the facts will prove that your choice was not wrong. Look, my illness is much better now, and I haven't had a relapse recently.” Lorena said, putting her hands on her hips, slightly raising her chin, looking very proud of herself.

After being persuaded by her, Alice had actually given up the dangerous idea and even felt a little regretful, wondering why she had been so impatient. But seeing Rorona's smug look, her rebellious mentality as a genius player made her deliberately purse her lips, indicating her dissatisfaction: "Even so, this doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, does it?"

Recently, the curse that was deeply entrenched in the soul of the Orderly Kings has been weakening, and now it has almost no effect at all. However, the reason for this change is unclear. Some believe it may be related to the Heavenly Sanctuary, since it is the only place that can isolate the curse. But they have been away from the Heavenly Sanctuary for a long time; logically, the curse's power should be rebounding, not weakening. Others believe it may be related to the religious environment of the Eastern Continent. The Paradise Country of Assyria still retains its faith in the goddess and the seven saints. The devout prayers of believers help the Orderly Kings fight the curse, just as the gods use the faith of believers to anchor their own rationality. But the signs of the curse weakening had already appeared before they came to the Eastern Continent…

Ultimately, everyone could only attribute it to a coincidence resulting from a combination of factors, perhaps even something the witch herself hadn't anticipated. But regardless, it really had nothing to do with Rorona, because the potions she concocted to cure the curse were ineffective; as she herself said, they were failures from start to finish…

"You can't say that."

Princess Haiqi smiled and said, "Wasn't it my own will that I chose to believe you strangers of unknown origin and give up my comfortable life in Nereides to embark on an unknown journey? How can you say it has nothing to do with me? To put it another way, if I were as impatient as you, I might have already died long before you found me because of some kind of haphazard use of medicine?"

She subtly mocked Alice, and the genius player grunted but remained silent. "Anyway, you always have a point," she muttered.

“That’s because I’m reasonable.” Seeing that she was still being stubborn at this point, Rorona didn’t indulge her and said with a forced smile, “Unlike you and Ovira, who are so inflexible and always come to me with all sorts of strange things…”

“I don’t see anything reasonable about you… And you said Ovira also came to see you?” Alice suddenly realized something and looked at Rorona suspiciously: “When did she come to see you? What did she want?”

Oops, I think I let it slip.

Lorona's smile froze for a moment, but she quickly recovered and coughed twice, saying, "It's nothing, I was just giving an example, don't take it to heart, Alice."

It's hard not to take it to heart. For certain reasons, the genius player has been particularly sensitive lately, and the fact that Lin Ge entrusted her with leading the team before leaving has made her feel an even heavier sense of responsibility. If she used to be distracted by Rorona's little tricks, now she's determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Okay, okay, stop looking at me like that, I'll tell you."

Under her intense gaze, Rorona couldn't withstand the pressure and quickly looked away. She thought that since Ovira hadn't said this matter needed to be kept secret, she probably hadn't betrayed anyone. She honestly admitted, "Just before we were leaving the Dark Cloud Abyss, didn't I refine some items for Ling and the others to help them explore the underground world? At that time, Ovira was responsible for coming to me to collect the alchemical items, but she also took another... uh, rather special item from me."

"What prop? Could it be—"

Alice's heart tightened. Could it be that Ovira shared the same thoughts as her? It wasn't impossible. She should have noticed it sooner. Ever since Xia left, Princess Beman's emotions had been somewhat off. Was she being too active, or was she using this to mask her unease and fear? Moreover, she had even offered to stay and explore the abyss with Linge, clearly not having intended to do so at first... Under these circumstances, it seemed that anything she did wouldn't be surprising.

"Don't worry." Lorena guessed what she was thinking and waved her hand in denial: "Although Ovira is also stubborn, she's much smarter than you, Alice. The items she took from me have absolutely nothing to do with curses, souls, or power."

That's why she felt comfortable handing it over, instead of trying to persuade Princess Bémang to abandon the dangerous idea, just as she had tried to persuade Alice.

"After all this talk," Alice still couldn't shake her doubts and pressed on, "what kind of prop is it that made her make a special trip to get it?"

"Well..."

Rorona's eyes darted around: "For the sake of the client's privacy, I can't reveal anything. Anyway, it's not some dangerous item, and I'm sure Ovira wouldn't use it for anything dangerous."

In truth, Rorona was also curious about Ovira's purpose. However, despite her repeated questioning and subtle probing, Princess Beman remained silent, only smiling. Rorona, who always considered herself an understanding and exemplary friend, had learned during her years running the alchemy workshop in Lotdana City not to be overly curious about her customers' secrets, and therefore refrained from pressing the matter.

She refused to say anything, mainly because she genuinely didn't know. Alice persisted for a while without any result, and could only give up in frustration, deciding to return to the inn to rest. Lorena stayed up very late working on alchemy, and Alice also stayed up very late waiting for her, mainly because they hadn't gotten any results yet, it seemed like they'd waited in vain. Overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions—expectation, disappointment, and relief—even though she was used to staying up late playing games, she still couldn't shake off a wave of weariness. All she wanted was a good night's sleep, leaving her worries for tomorrow.

Of course, before leaving, she didn't forget to say goodnight to Rorona and remind her to go to bed early and not overwork herself. Alice felt she had become much more considerate; perhaps this was a change brought about by losing the game console?
"Wait, Alice."

Rorona called her back, and as Alice turned around in a daze, Rorona smiled at her and said, "I'll say it again, Alice, I don't agree with you using any quick and easy methods to seek change, but I'm not asking you to do nothing either. You said that your role is entirely reflected in the game console, and that you would contribute nothing to the team if the game console were lost. I don't agree with that, because I think you have a lot of untapped potential."

Alice listened, initially somewhat bewildered, unsure of what she was trying to say. But gradually, her eyes brightened, as if replacing the stars in the sky and illuminating the surrounding darkness: "Lorona, you mean..."

“If what you’re after isn’t the power to restore the Fantasy King, but simply a desire to contribute to this war instead of just being a bystander, then perhaps I can help you.” Rorona smiled mysteriously. In the past, genius players would have scoffed at such a smile, thinking she was up to another prank, but now they felt it was the most beautiful smile in the world: “After all, I am an omnipotent alchemist.”

Give me some cats