Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 163: Has the Favorability Really Increased?
Alice stood beside the burning bonfire, waving the blue holy sword in her hand with great interest. Every time the sword fell, a low whistling wind would be rolled up, causing the nearby flames to expand hotly. The scattered sparks were like crystal butterflies burning in the light, dancing aimlessly, which was very beautiful.

Lingge sat on a huge rock that had fallen after the collapse of the arched stone pillar, holding his own holy book in his hands, frowning as if thinking about something. He recognized it very clearly. This so-called holy book was actually the teaching book he had learned since childhood. All the instructions given by the goddess to mortals were recorded in it. But now, it has become a heroic weapon that can release magic. I don't know how Alice set it up when she created the game.

Olvera sat in the middle of the two, facing the head of the wolf-shaped fire source. She hugged her knees obediently, looked at Miss Alice who looked like a hyperactive person on the left, and looked at Mr. Linger who looked like a thinker on the right. After a few minutes of silence, she couldn't help but hesitated and said, "Um, didn't you say...you want to hear what happened before?"

“Ah?” Alice stopped swinging her sword and tilted her head in a very cute manner: “Is that true?”

Avella used her expression to explain what it meant to be speechless: "...Yes."

This guy's memory is shorter than the candles burning in the castle.

"That's what Lingge wants to ask, so you can talk to him." Alice said, then turned her head away and continued to swing her sword with a hum, venting the energy that she hadn't been able to vent because the team had been together for too long - although she had used her special move [Blue Flame Dance·Unparalleled Combo] before, such a short time was obviously not enough for the lively and active Miss Alice.

Olvera cast her eyes on Lingge, who closed the holy book in his hand, raised his head, and looked directly into the princess's face: "Please speak, I am listening."

Lingge was taught from childhood that it was very rude not to look at the other person's face when talking, so he concentrated on listening to what Avra ​​said next. But this kind of gaze was obviously too coercive for the princess who had not had contact with outsiders for many years, making her feel a little nervous. She turned her eyes away unnaturally before she began to tell him what happened before.

From choosing weapons at the beginning of the game, to facing ferocious shadow beasts in the corridor and learning combat skills; from exploding powerful items such as jumping beads and tumbling beads, to defeating the elites guarding the door and gaining the qualification to challenge the Shadow of the Ruler... In the end, it is naturally about how she faces the powerful BOSS and defeats it.

No wonder those shadow beasts born from the curse behaved so well. As long as Olvera did not leave the room, they would not act rashly even if outsiders entered the castle.

"I didn't say that." Ling Ge said, "I just confirmed some things."

"Saying you don't want to hurt me is just an excuse." She whispered, resting her chin on her knees, staring at the burning flames in front of her eyes in a trance: "Trapping a person in darkness for a long time, because it leaves no marks on the body, does it not count as harm? What's more, they destroyed my country, the peaceful and tranquil Beman..."

Lingge couldn't deny this, nor did he think of denying it. He asked, "Have those shadow beasts ever actively harmed the residents of Bemang?"

The princess herself had a different opinion on this.

Olvera was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook her head: "No. It seems that I have never heard of rumors about them attacking residents. However, their existence itself is already very evil. They bring darkness, making the world without light, withering forests, and preventing grass and crops from growing healthily. As a result, residents have to leave their homeland where they have lived for generations and find another way out... Do you want to say that this is not a kind of harm?"

"whats the matter?"

Considering that this was a game after all, and a game created by Alice, he was immediately relieved.

However, Olvera deliberately concealed her memories and only summarized them with a simple sentence. Therefore, the whole battle process seemed somewhat hasty. To Lingge, it sounded like "Although I was in great crisis, my father's words encouraged me, so I gained the strength to fight back against adversity and finally defeated the powerful enemy." It was full of weird logic that normal people could hardly understand.

"So, the curse on you, the shadow beasts in the castle, and the giant wolf you just defeated were all created by that unidentified 'master'?" After listening to her story, Ling Ge said thoughtfully: "The purpose is to restrict you in the castle and not affect their so-called great cause? At the same time, they just want to restrict your freedom, and they don't mean to hurt you deliberately."

"..."

Lingge didn't answer her.

But in my heart, I was thinking that Saint Shallia, who was also the Queen of the Young Girls, also suffered a curse that caused her to lose her memory and power, so she could only answer many things with "I don't know". If you compare them carefully, it is not difficult to see that these two curses have something in common, that is, both make the bearers of the curse lose a certain degree of autonomy and ability to act, but will not pose any threat to their lives.

This is consistent with what the giant wolf said. The people behind the scenes have no intention of harming them. They just want to limit their power and remove obstacles for that "great cause".

What exactly does the so-called "great cause" mean? How powerful is the person behind the scenes who can curse the young queen who holds the law? Why doesn't he choose a method that solves the problem once and for all when he clearly has the ability to curse? After all, restrictions are just restrictions and cannot completely prevent something from happening. For example, isn't Olvera stubbornly pursuing the hope of resisting the curse with the help of outsiders? Once she leaves this castle, the situation that the person behind the scenes has painstakingly created will no longer exist.

Are the other young queens still alive also cursed? What kind of curse do they bear?

Lingge was lost in thought, and when Ovella saw that he was no longer talking to her, she curled her lips in a subtle way. Although this action was a bit indecent, now no one would criticize her for "improper behavior and lack of royal demeanor".

Thinking of this, the princess' mood suddenly became a little melancholy. She silently hugged her knees, staring at the burning flames in a daze. Those flickering sparks cast golden and red afterimages in her eyes, which little by little gathered into the gloom of the past.

The only sounds left were the sound of Alice swinging her sword and her strange cries. Sometimes Olivia envied her, she was always so happy, as if she didn't know what trouble was. When she vowed to save herself, her firm confidence was really fascinating.

In comparison, Lingge seemed a little cold and seemed difficult to approach.

So Ovella didn't know how to chat with him.

This silence lasted for a while. Finally, Alice, who had had enough fun, put away the holy sword, breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and said, "That's about it. Let's move on. Can we get through the corridor on the next floor as soon as possible?"

"kindness."

Ovilla naturally wouldn't object, and Lingge nodded, so the few of them ended this short break.

Alice and Linger both turned into phantoms, merged into their own weapons, and returned to Olvera's side. The princess carried the holy sword on her back, and the holy book hung on the other side of her waist without a lantern. Although it seemed difficult to switch, in fact, as long as she moved her mind slightly, she could switch freely between the two weapons, which was very convenient.

【After chatting, you feel that your relationship with your companions has deepened. 】

[The favorability with your companion Alice increases. 】

[The favorability with your companion Lingge increases. 】

Is it really rising?

Olvera didn't think so. She walked silently to the door at the end of the arena and used the small bronze key that dropped when defeating the BOSS to open the way to the corridor on the next level.

Copy: The fourth floor corridor of the Dark Castle on the southern foot of Sosen in the Belman Ruins. Current progress: 0%.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)