Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1452, has it always been like this?

There were only Ovira and Ling in the control room.

Countess Neville was resting in the next room, while Leticia and Serena, who had arranged to go on an adventure together, disappeared in the blink of an eye. Although the Nibelungen was called a battleship, it was more like a fortress, complete with all the necessary internal structures and facilities. Moreover, the dictator warlord who created this warship using the power of the Holy Grail must have been a decadent and extravagant man, having built the ship's lounges as luxurious as palaces. In addition, there were unnecessary facilities such as a library, entertainment room, and bathhouse. Although time had passed and it had suffered wear and tear, these traces still revealed the mindset of its former owner: arrogant, haughty, and disdainful of everyone, already fantasizing about his rule before even achieving victory.

He was even so arrogant as to want to monopolize all the fruits of victory, not allowing anyone to share his glory. For this reason, he didn't bring a single soldier, leaving the empty fortress a mere shell, its weapons on the deck and bridge gathering dust and unattended. However, after becoming the new master of the Nibelungen, Ovira somewhat understood this idea, because this warship needed no external assistance; it was alive, as if it possessed its own life, following the will of the strong. With just a thought, the extinguished engines would be reignited, the dormant weapons would be activated again, and this moving sky fortress would advance unstoppably, crushing any enemy in its path as easily as crushing wild grass and dust.

Such a powerful, tyrannical, and unreasonable force could indeed be addictive, making one unable to extricate themselves. But what would be the price? Ovira gazed at the scepter in her hand, the crystal at its tip emitting a faint glow, subtly echoing the pulse and breath of the Nibelungen. A voice, deep within, was calling to her, like the lowest slave at the feet of a king, desperately pleading with her to cease suppressing her desires, to unleash the power of the Holy Grail, and she would obtain everything she desired.

The stronger your desire, the greater its power; it can even help you gain the whole world!

--But.

Ovira thought silently: In the end, you are not omnipotent. Just as you couldn't help that dictatorial warlord conquer the stars a thousand years ago, you can't give me what I want now.

What do you want? Its sweet voice, like the fragrant and juicy fruit on an apple tree, is full of incredible allure since the birth of life.

Princess Beman then recalled her experiences in the illusion, her teacher's wrinkled yet incredibly gentle fingertips, and the two dragons engaged in an eternal duel in the intertwining of time and space. What were they pursuing, and what had they lost? What they pursued and what they lost must have been the same, yet due to the confusion and divergence of their emotions, they took on different forms, like branches on a tree, leaves on branches, and veins on leaves. Fate is winding, and all branches diverge.

She replied coldly: I want love.

The voice vanished instantly and never reappeared, for it was something it could never do. Even with the combined power of fairies, evil gods, and demonic dragons, it could never give even the humblest beggar the smallest bit of love.

Princess Beman had anticipated its reaction. Essentially, the Holy Grail's power preys on the weak and fears the strong; the stronger one's will, the less susceptible they are to its influence. But from another perspective, how could someone with a strong will entrust the power to fulfill their desires to a twisted relic? They would surely disdain it and focus solely on their own path. This is perhaps why the Holy Grail's owners throughout history, and the Mushroom Tribe who worshipped it like a god, ultimately failed to escape its control.

It's because they weren't steadfast enough to begin with that they were seduced by the Holy Grail, not the other way around.

All living beings possess wisdom, and with wisdom arise desires, giving rise to countless wants. The Holy Grail excels at seeing into people's hearts and manipulating their desires, much like the evil god in legends who tempts mortals to open Pandora's box. However, today it has encountered a ruthless opponent: a seemingly delicate girl with an astonishingly hard heart, ignoring all its temptations as if her heart has never wavered in the slightest.

But is this really true? Are there truly people who are devoid of desire, to the point that their hearts are without even a crack? If we believe that all desires of living beings stem from wisdom, then the closer one gets to the truth, the more one feels inner unease and restlessness. So what about the girl named Ovira? Isn't she a symbol of mysterious girlhood? Knowing all the truths of the world, did she deliberately deny her own desires because she knew too much, or were her desires so grand that no one could satisfy them?

Human love and the heart are both enigmas without explanation.

"Ovira," came the concerned voice of a young man beside her, "Are you alright?"

Princess Bemang snapped out of her reverie. Without any hesitation, such as wondering why the young man would suddenly ask her such a question, she turned to him and gave him a faint smile, her tone so calm that even she believed it: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something else."

"What is it?" Lin Ge pressed.

"The situation at the Feather Mine," Ovira said calmly, "I wonder if it's still possible to recover in time?"

Ling seemed to believe this explanation and comforted him, "Don't worry, there will definitely be enough time."

"Definitely..." Young people rarely use such certainty. Ovira could tell he wasn't entirely comforting himself; part of his emotion was genuine. He trusted his companions, Alice and Hino, everyone on Cloud Whale Sky Island, and Cheryl and her Holy War Army. He believed they could unite and withstand the enemy's attack. Trust is the most precious emotion in the world, especially from this young man. Who could imagine that just two years ago, he, based on his inherent coldness and aloofness, doubted everything in the world?

He doubted Alice's origins, the authenticity of the girl's royal power, the existence of the witch's society, whether he could achieve his great goal, peace and justice, innocence and kindness, and ideals that were too easy to say but too heavy to do... This was his nature, but he gradually changed later.

What changed him, making him vulnerable after shedding his toughness, soft after shedding his indifference, and warm after shedding his unfamiliarity? Ovira thought, it must be the power of love, just as she saw in the illusion.

Thinking of this, the corners of Ovira's mouth curled up slightly, but it was so subtle that even Linger didn't notice that she had suddenly smiled.

He advised, "It's not time to rush things yet, so, Ovira, don't push yourself too hard." "Don't worry, Ling," Ovira said softly, "Do I look like the kind of person who would push myself too hard?"

That would be great if it weren't.

The young man remained silent, letting out a quiet sigh. He knew he had ultimately failed to persuade Ovira, just as he had failed to persuade Saint Charlotte. Why were these two figures gradually merging in his mind? Perhaps it foreshadowed some future. Ling felt he should stop her, but just as Ovira had thought, the young man was gradually weakening. Now he was a lonely, confused, and indecisive person, no longer possessing the calm and decisiveness he had when he first embarked on his journey, and thus had lost the ability to intervene in the story. Ultimately, the direction the plot would take seemed to be no longer under the young man's control, or rather, it had never been under his control from beginning to end.

After returning from the Heavenly Sanctuary, the young queens had various expectations of Ling: Xinuo wanted him to become stronger, Baiye wanted him to become colder, Saint Xialia wanted him to become gentler, Rorona wanted him to become more assertive, Ietta wanted him to become more selfish… But ultimately, these expectations were the same; essentially, they wanted to strip away the inhuman shell of the young man and let him become a weeping, sorrowful soul again. Now, is he responding to those expectations? Are the emotions that have made him weak the very changes they want to see?
Young people are gradually losing their sense of distinction.

Looking back, among everyone's expectations of her, it seems that only Ovira's expectation of herself was... nothing should change.

This is the most straightforward, the deepest, yet also the most difficult kind of expectation to fulfill...

"Linger."

A voice interrupted his reverie. The young man looked up and saw Ovira handing him a piece of toast, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "I don't know what you're thinking about, you're so focused, but don't forget to eat breakfast when it's time."

Following her voice, bright sunlight streamed through the porthole, illuminating the ancient, desolate control room for the first time in a thousand years. The moss clinging to the walls and ceiling, accustomed to the darkness of the earth, curled up like startled insects, trying to minimize their exposure to the sunlight, yet still unable to resist the immense power that threatened to ignite and boil them. But for those who already lived on the ground, this light was proof of their return to the world of humans, so warm it suddenly made them want to stretch and yawn, like the peaceful mornings one wakes up in a room at the Fairy Sleep Inn.

"If Xia finds out you didn't eat breakfast properly, she'll definitely be angry, right?" Ovira said again.

Perhaps it was the name she mentioned that touched the young man's heart, or perhaps he was simply a little hungry, but he reached out and took the bread from Auvila, taking a small bite. Because it was dry rations, and there was no suitable environment for processing it, the bread was not only cold but also rather hard. In addition, Auvila had added some strange ingredients: dried mushroom chunks, plant roots, and a kind of moss-like underground plant—food that Elder Momogu had prepared for them when they left the Mushroom Tribe. It had distinct characteristics very much in line with the Gray Mushroom People's living environment: easy to preserve, nutritious, and with a terrible taste.

Perhaps the gray fungus people don't even have a concept of texture, but for Ling, it was a completely different flavor—a mixture of sour, salty, and slightly fishy-sweet. If you combined these with the bread's own flavor and the jam the proprietress had prepared beforehand… well, human taste buds would find it hard to stomach. Therefore, the young man frowned tightly the moment he tasted it. However, facing Ovira's expectant gaze, he couldn't bear to show any disgust. So, his furrowed brow relaxed, and he calmly chewed and swallowed the complex layers of food. He then nodded slightly to Ovira: "It tastes good."

Princess Beman, who was spreading jam on her bread, smiled happily upon hearing this. Strangely, however, she didn't add any of these odd condiments to her own bread. This made the young man feel like he'd been tricked, as if she'd deliberately made him eat it. But he couldn't have done anything to offend her recently that warranted such retaliatory action, could he? Therefore, this thought only lingered in Lin Ge's mind for a moment before quickly disappearing.

As the princess took small bites of her bread, she said to him, "After breakfast, would you like to rest for a while, Ling?"

Lin Ge shook his head: "I'm not sleepy yet, and besides, it's already morning."

“It has nothing to do with whether it’s early or late, it’s that you need to get some rest.” Ovira pursed her lips. “I heard from Leticia that Ling didn’t rest at all while I was in the illusion, right? This can’t go on. If Xia-jie knew that you haven’t been resting properly, she would be very angry.”

That sounds so familiar. This is the second time I've heard it today, isn't it?

Princess Beman loved using this excuse to pressure people, and unfortunately, young people were most susceptible to this tactic.

The image of the shepherdess appeared in his mind, as if her smile was still before him, blurred yet clear in the bright sunlight. Suddenly, even with a thousand reasons, Lin Ge found it difficult to say them.

"I understand." He said helplessly, "I'll rest for a while after I finish eating."

Ovira nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Not just a little while, you need to sleep for eight hours. Only with eight hours of sleep can a person meet their normal daily needs."

Where did you get this strange and unusual knowledge from?

Ling sighed silently. Although he was forced into it, he didn't dislike the feeling, perhaps because he was originally a very passive person.

From the past to the present, and from now into the unpredictable future, it always has been.

Give me some cats