Alice in the Land of Steam

"..."

Leticia stared intently at the sleeping face. If eyes could convey power, her gaze would be sharper than ten million swords combined. But the young man remained unmoved, leaning against the cold rock wall, head slightly bowed, breathing evenly and calmly, as if immersed in a long, deep dream, unwilling to wake up.

What on earth did this guy dream about? Is he really that obsessed?

This is definitely not the time to sleep...

The little bat pursed its lips, then slowly raised its right hand.

Seeing this, Serena, who had been nervously watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but shout, "What are you doing, Leticia?"

The latter replied expressionlessly, "It's nothing, I just woke him up."

Selena looked at her restless right hand, her palm as white as porcelain, seemingly fragile. But judging a vampire's strength by appearances would inevitably lead to a tragic end. Perhaps recalling some gruesome images, the werewolf girl shuddered: "This...this doesn't seem like the way to wake someone up, does it?"

"There's no other way," Leticia said, equally troubled. "Linger just won't wake up, and normal methods aren't working, so we have to be a little more forceful..."

Despite this, there was not a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

"Leticia," Countess Neville, who was resting with her eyes closed, lifted her eyelids and glanced at her granddaughter indifferently, "Don't disturb Ling."

"But--"

Leticia didn't think she had done anything wrong. On the contrary, she had a perfectly legitimate reason: "Now is not the time to sleep peacefully! Ovira is fighting that plague witch, she must be having a hard time and definitely needs our help, so!"

So, how can we help?
Leticia asked herself the same questions, but to no avail. She ultimately had to admit that Ovira was right. Before leaving, she told the little bat: "It's not time yet. Perhaps one day you will become very powerful, able to do everything you want and save everyone you want to save, but not now. So what you need to do is protect yourself, quietly accumulate strength, like the violets in the little garden, waiting for the day when you bloom in grandeur."

The little bat has come to terms with reality and accepted its own weakness, understanding that some things in the world cannot be solved by shouting "kill! kill! kill!"

But Linger is different!
If it were him, he could definitely do something! There was no reason, but Leticia was so convinced because ever since she met Ling, she had witnessed him fulfill many incredible wishes. Although Ling was just a mortal, he was certainly the most special mortal, wasn't he? He didn't even need to do anything; just his presence was enough for Ovira to gain miraculous power from his smile and encouragement! Didn't that annoying dark witch say that there was no inherent superiority or inferiority among the power of young girls? Strength depended on the heart, on so-called emotions, beliefs, and desires.

Ling is the mortal who was entrusted with emotions by the Order of the King, strengthened their beliefs, and helped them realize their wishes. Therefore, he can, and only he can, bring power to Ovira and defeat the so-called plague witch.

Instead of sleeping soundly here!

Leticia's attitude towards the young people could be described as one of disappointment and frustration. Of course, generally speaking, the little bat wouldn't have the right to say that, since in everyone's eyes, she's the one who needs to grow up, while Ling has been relied upon by everyone since the beginning of the journey. But who can understand what a vampire girl with endless life is thinking? Especially since Leticia's way of thinking is inherently different from ordinary people, and perhaps this kind of concept doesn't even exist in her mind.

It's just intuition.

Leticia's intuition told her that now was the time for Ling to make a difference!
"So—" she gritted her teeth, "you bastard, wake up right now!"

How could you sleep in when Ovira needs you?!

But the small hand hesitated in mid-air for a long time before finally not striking. Of course, this wasn't because she felt sorry for him; rather, as she was about to slap him, a smiling face flashed through her mind, gentle yet subtly menacing. Out of consideration for the blue-haired girl, the little bat decided to let the young man off the hook for now and consider waking him up in a gentler way.

It was stopped before it could be put into practice.

"Didn't I tell you not to bother Linger, Leticia?"

Navra had somehow appeared behind her granddaughter, gently grasped her wrist, and pulled her away from the sleeping young man.

"Grandma?" Leticia exclaimed in surprise, then jumped up and down in a panic. "What, what's wrong! Don't you understand what I mean? It's not that I want to bother Ling, it's that Ovira needs Ling..."

"You don't understand me, Leticia?" The countess gave her a deep look. "How do you know that Ling didn't help Ovira?"

"Because of him—" Because he was clearly sleeping!
Isn't this a fact that can be seen with the naked eye?
Leticia had intended to say that, but the words caught in her throat, and she couldn't bring herself to speak. She vaguely realized that her grandmother's meaning wasn't as simple as it seemed on the surface, but her naive little mind wasn't capable of supporting such complex thinking. For a moment, the little bat was confused.

“I know you’re anxious and worried about Ovira, but are you the only one? I believe Ling’s concern for Ovira is far stronger than yours. In fact, he’s always been the one who cares most about his comrades. I believe he’s fighting in his own way right now, not just passively waiting as you think.” The Countess’s tone became enigmatic, as if she had seen through Leticia’s every thought, her restless emotions, and her uneasy premonitions: “Don’t you trust Ling, Leticia? Or is it someone else who’s truly anxious, truly troubled, truly feels like they’re just watching from the sidelines, offering no help whatsoever to their comrade’s battle?”

"Uh!" Leticia was speechless.

Although I was very unwilling, I couldn't find a reason to refute it.

That's the truth; the one who's truly anxious is actually yourself.

Knowing that blaming Ling wouldn't solve the problem, she still did it anyway, perhaps because... she hadn't learned to blame herself yet? But Leticia absolutely didn't mean to shirk responsibility or take it out on others; she simply had to do it to make herself feel a little better. Although, in the process, she completely disregarded the feelings of the young man.

That's probably because Leticia believed from the bottom of her heart that no matter what she did, Ling would tolerate or even indulge her. Of course, it was definitely wrong to think that way, but Leticia couldn't help but think that way. In fact, in many situations, she would even deliberately go against the young man and enjoy seeing his helpless look. Sometimes she would do this even in front of others, just like a child who can't help but show off his favorite toy.

Looking back now, perhaps Auvila was right. Whether it was deliberately going against Ling or shifting all the blame onto him, it was a very immature approach. Doing something like that only shows she hadn't really grown up. She had promised her, promised Ling and Medine, and promised Grandma and everyone else that she would become a reliable adult that everyone could depend on…

"I'm sorry, Grandma." She lowered her head and whispered her apology for her mistake.

"It's okay." Navra gently stroked her head, indicating that she knew her mistake and was still a good child. She also comforted her, "Don't feel like you can't do anything. In this situation, just believe in Ovira and Linger. I think they must want the same thing."

Selena, who had been silent all along, popped her head out from the side: "I also believe in Miss Ovira and Mr. Ling, and of course, I believe in Lady Cheryl the most! No matter what kind of enemy it is, Lady Cheryl will definitely win and protect everyone in the Feather Mine just like in the past!"

She spoke with unwavering conviction, as if she had already foreseen that future.

Even with the fairy sword Hydras's assistance, Cheryl would likely struggle to defeat the Plague Witch Perec and her construct, the Titan. However, Leticia wouldn't say such discouraging things; she simply muttered, "Actually, I didn't say I didn't believe it..."

Seeing that even at this point, she still didn't forget to bicker with her friends, Navril nodded with satisfaction. Although her good granddaughter was aloof, liked to shout and fight, and was sometimes particularly stubborn, she still had many advantages. For example, her optimistic and open-minded attitude was quite like Alice's... although it didn't sound like a sentence that should be used to praise someone.

Just get the gist of it.

Turning her gaze away from Leticia and onto the sleeping young man, the countess sighed silently in a corner unseen by the other two.

Lin Ge, wake up soon.

Even in your dreams, you must be working hard for Ovira and everyone else, right?

But that was just a dream, and dreams are never as real as reality.

Only you in real life can bring the most genuine sense of security to everyone, especially to those girls whose hearts have nowhere to rest...

"Cough cough!" Serena suddenly coughed twice.

Leticia turned to look at her: "What's wrong, Serena?"

Has she caught a cold? It's pouring rain outside, and it's really cold, but she's heard that idiots don't catch colds. Could it be... that Selena isn't an idiot? The little bat was startled by her new discovery and exclaimed in her heart that this was impossible.

The werewolf girl, however, neither noticed nor had the energy to pay attention to Leticia's inner turmoil. She covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling slightly, and waved her other hand in the air, trying to indicate that she was alright. But the coughing was like a burst dam, unstoppable, muffled coughs leaking from between her fingers, each one causing her chest to heave violently. An unnatural flush quickly rose to her cheeks, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and her usually bright eyes were now clouded with a painful gloom.

“I… cough, cough cough… no…” Selena tried to say something, but couldn’t even utter a complete sentence.

Leticia panicked instantly. She instinctively grabbed Selena's arm, but it was burning hot to the touch—not the body temperature a werewolf should have. She looked up abruptly at Navel: "Grandma! Selena—"

Before she could finish speaking, the countess suddenly frowned, covered her mouth with her hand, and coughed softly.

The voice was very soft, but it left the little bat in disbelief: if Selena had caught a cold due to the weather, that would be one thing, but her grandmother was a demigod vampire, how could she be so easily infected? And even if it was a cold, the symptoms came on far too quickly! It was practically like... a plague?
The terrifying word sent a chill down the spine of the usually fearless little bat, and the Countess's brow furrowed even more. She covered her mouth, not wanting her granddaughter to see her in such a disheveled state, but the coughs continued, lower and more chilling than Selena's. Then, whether the symptoms intensified or aggravated her still-healing wounds from the previous battle, Neville suddenly pressed her hand to her chest, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. Then, as if she could no longer suppress it, she abruptly turned her head and coughed up a mouthful of dark red blood.

Blood splattered on the cold rock wall, like ominous flowers in full bloom.

"Grandma!?" Leticia's voice completely changed. She tried to rush over, but Neville staggered back two steps, her back pressed against the cold rock wall, her other hand firmly outstretched, trembling as she refused her approach, even vaguely showing a hint of driving her away.

Selena, too, coughed violently, yet desperately mustered her last bit of strength to move away from Leticia. Leticia could only stand there, stunned, watching the scene unfold. What caught her off guard wasn't just that Selena and her grandmother had both contracted the plague-like symptoms, but also another, even more startling fact: she had been present, in close contact with both of them, yet why hadn't she been affected? No, she had indeed felt the intrusion of that power, but the magic within her soul was stirring, spontaneously helping it resist the external infection.

Could it be that even colds are selective about their recipients? Was it because it was too clever that it wasn't chosen? The little bat tried to find humor in its predicament, but knew full well that this reason was too naive and wouldn't convince anyone, including itself.

The answer is already right in front of you.

A balance can only be achieved when two forces are in opposition to each other.

in other words……

Only the power of a young girl can stand against the power of a young girl. (End of Chapter)