Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 232: Can escape solve the problem?
"The first keyword is golden apple."

Calm voices echoed under the dark shadows of the trees, fires burned brightly, and light engulfed the dark corners; the rainstorm was still roaring, and the rain that washed the earth and soil gathered into streams and flowed towards the lower terrain, temporarily not affecting the travelers resting under the cliff. But if the scale of this rain continued, no one could say whether it would flood here.

When Ovella entered the first keyword according to Ling's instructions, everyone saw that countless strings of densely packed text immediately appeared on the originally blank paper, scrolling back and forth, dazzling the eyes.

"There are too many search results." Avella whispered, "We need to narrow it down further."

Ling Ge said: "The second keyword is the goddess of creation."

Olvera continued to type, and a large part of the text scrolling on the paper disappeared in an instant, showing a blank space visible to the naked eye, but then it was covered by new text, and it looked no different from before.

"There are still too many." Avella's delicate eyebrows were slightly frowned, with some worry between her brows. She was worried that after entering the last keyword, she still couldn't narrow down the scope to a level that could be manually screened.

Lingge didn't seem to think too much, and calmly uttered the last keyword: "The third keyword, the method of stripping."

After Olvera entered the last keyword, something surprising happened: the contents of the book disappeared in large pieces from sight, as if being wiped out by an invisible hand. It was so fast that new content had not yet been filled in, and it was beyond the scope of the naked eye. In the end, all the redundant information disappeared, leaving only a place name on the paper with countless blank areas.

The princess of Beman stared at the place name in a daze, as if she had a premonition of something from it, perhaps it was the expectation from the previous life, or perhaps it was the throbbing of the soul... In short, she had a special familiarity with this name, more familiar than the palace, courtyard and violet garden in her memory, as if she had lived there for a long time, even longer than the days when she was sealed in the castle.

"Ah!" Alice suddenly understood after hearing this: "I understand! It means that we should go to the Cathedral of Heaven to find the sleeping goddess! After all, the golden apple is the creation of the goddess, and She must know how to remove the effect of the golden apple!"

The shepherdess stroked the lamb's soft fur, thinking and recalling something, and explained to her puzzled companions: "That is the origin and core of the universe, the place where Mother was born, and also the place where she sleeps. After creating the planet we live on and thousands of lives, Mother exhausted most of her strength and felt tired, so she fell into a deep sleep in the Cathedral of Heaven. To this day, she is still waiting for the moment to wake up."

Linger asked, looking at Saint Shallia, knowing that she would give him the answer.

"How do I get to the Holy Temple of Heaven?"

It seemed that no one could answer this question, because even Ovella, who had searched for the answer, only had a vague sense of familiarity with it. As for the specific understanding, she knew nothing about it and shook her head honestly: "I don't know..."

For such a devout believer, is there anything more desirable, exciting, thrilling and desirable than seeing the god he believes in with his own eyes?
Her imagination ran wild, and she had already fallen into some weird fantasy. She would occasionally smile foolishly and mutter, "Hey, I'm not as good as you say, goddess," just like Alice. The little elf Shemi was struggling in her palm, trying to pull his body out: "Wow, Metien, let go! I'm going to die!"

"Of course!" Alice replied firmly: "This is the main plot of the game, there is no other possibility!"

“That means, I, I’m going to meet the goddess!?” Although he had already met the two young queens, Saint Shallia and Olvira, who were both close descendants of the goddess, but... that was the real goddess, right?

Putting aside the interaction between the two, everyone felt that Alice's analysis made sense, but the problem was -

"The Holy Temple of Heaven?" Alice asked doubtfully, "What is that place?"

"I know."

But the latter hesitated, pursed his lips, and did not answer immediately.

It was not until Alice, who had grown impatient, urged her to do so that she came to her senses and, in a voice that sounded almost like a whisper, she recited the answer she had finally found: "...The Holy Temple of Heaven."

Logically, this makes sense.

Suddenly someone spoke in a clear and gentle voice. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Saint Shallia who was speaking.

Influenced by her adoptive father Mr. Yang Ke, the pink-haired girl has always been a devout believer in the goddess. Her devotion is different from that of her brother Lingge, who only regards it as the business left by his adoptive father and manages it patiently; while the little girl regards it as another spiritual pillar after the death of her adoptive father. Not only does she never slack off in the daily morning rituals and the seven-day rituals every week, she also remembers to express her piety to the goddess in her daily life. She loves to pray in front of the goddess's statue whenever she has time, seek help when she encounters difficulties, confide in her when she has troubles, express her doubts when she feels confused, and even prays when she passes by the kitchen to eat... Don't forget, Alice fell down when the pink-haired girl was praying to the goddess for guidance, and she was regarded as the goddess's messenger (although it was finally proved to be a fake).

“Searching, searching, searching, searching for the sleeping goddess!!?” Metien clenched her palms tightly, not even noticing Shemi’s cry of pain in her palms, and stammered, “Is this really true?!”

Her eyes were still clear, like the flawless surface of a transparent lake, which meant that she did have the answer in her heart, but for some reason she couldn't tell Lingge.

The two looked at each other across the fire, but it was as if they were looking at each other across the sky, in a silent tug of war, until Lingge spoke silently, and Saint Xia Liya's face was slightly moved. She saw the young man's mouth shape clearly in the hazy scattered firelight fragments, and seemed to hear him say in a flat voice: You promised.

If Saint Xia Liya had not promised him that she would help him find the answer, Ling Ge would not have to leave Linweier City and come to this distant city. Now he has fulfilled his promise and witnessed the guidance of fate. At this critical moment, do you want to break your promise?

The lamb bleated as if to cheer its master up, but the shepherdess sighed in her heart and slowly opened her lips as thin as leaf tips and whispered: "After mother fell into a deep sleep, the girl royal powers who took over Her role in governing the world became the new masters of the Temple of Heaven. In order to prevent the foul air from the outside world from sneaking in during mother's sleep, we once made an agreement. I can't remember what the agreement was exactly, but I vaguely know that only by gathering the power of half of the royal powers can we open the door to the Temple of Heaven." In other words, at least seven girl royal powers must be gathered before Lingge can enter the Temple of Heaven, find the legendary goddess who created the world, and seek from Her a way to peel off the golden apple.

There was a dead silence at the foot of the cliff, with only the crackling sound of dead branches and leaves, which splashed countless sparks. Olvera held her book and asked excitedly, "So, I will be able to meet other...sisters soon?"

No one answered. Saint Xia Liya was quietly stroking the lamb's wool. Alice huddled in the corner pretending to be a transparent person. Metien, who was immersed in fantasy just now, looked up at the sky and saw only a rustling night. Shemi quietly pulled himself out of the pink-haired girl's hand, then flew behind her and hid, with only his head exposed... This weird atmosphere made Ovella confused and bewildered, and instinctively felt that something was wrong, so she shrank her neck and closed her mouth.

Is everyone afraid of Lingge?

She thought, but why should I be afraid? Although Lingge was a little cold, he was actually a good person.

The princess of Belmang couldn't understand this because she didn't know what had happened before.

Saint Shallia sought help from Lingge, hoping that he could help her find other girl royal powers, but the young man who never wanted to be the protagonist of an adventure story refused without hesitation. In order to avoid being involved in those inexplicable fates, he traveled thousands of miles to a strange city to find a way to peel the golden apple. In the end, the answer led him to the path of looking for other girl royal powers... Fate is always so ironic and bizarre, as if there is a hand controlling everything, pushing this young man who is not interested in fighting with the world onto this path.

But will he accept this arrangement?

At least judging from the character he has shown in the past, there is not much hope.

Amid the crackling sound of the flames, the sound of the rain was particularly clear and harsh, yet so beautiful and melodious, as if as long as the rain continued, no one would hear Lingge's answer, and certain facts would not be exposed artificially, and could still be disguised under a beautiful veil. But this was just a beautiful fantasy. In the dripping and lonely rainstorm, the young man slowly spoke: "Then..."

"Then go to sleep first!!!"

Alice suddenly shouted loudly, stood up, forced herself to ignore those deep and calm eyes, and said to the others: "It's already late, I'm so tired! It's better to rest early, what do you think!?"

The last sentence was shouted, not like a question but more like a threat.

Metien was stunned for a moment, but when he realized what was happening, he immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, that's right, I'm sleepy too! Let's go to bed and rest, Shaymi!"

"Okay, Metien! Come on, I'll use fairy magic to make a bed for you! Xiaoxia, you too, go to bed early, staying up late is not good for girls' skin!"

Saint Xia Liya was a little hesitant, she felt that it was wrong to escape like this, but the loyal lamb had already jumped out, and agreed for her with a "baa" sound, then turned back and nudged its owner's calf, urging her to go back and rest quickly.

"What about you, Olvera?" Alice turned around and smiled, but that smile looked creepy and scary: "You must want to sleep too, huh?"

“Uh, ah, yes, yes… I’m a little… sleepy too… haah…” As she spoke, Ovella really yawned, her eyelids gradually drooped, and her eyes were filled with sleepiness.

No one doubted her when she said she was sleepy. After all, from the first moment they met, the princess left an impression of being tepid, lazy, sleepy, and casual. She also yawned all the time, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep. She was only slightly more alert in the game, but that was because there was no fatigue value setting in the game. Now that she was out of the game, she returned to her old ways.

So everyone dispersed under Lingge's gaze, found a clean place that was not wet by the rain, and went to sleep. Lingge vaguely heard Olvera ask Alice what happened in a vague tone, and the latter told her a story about a young man who was entangled between the two destinies of "I just want to live a peaceful life" and "Go on a journey to collect the girl's royal power". He must be in a very uneasy mood, so it is better not to disturb him now.

The young man she mentioned was still sitting by the fire, not moving. He was probably not very tired, so he didn't want to go to bed.

As for the answer he had not finished, no one had the chance to hear it because of Alice's interruption.

But can escape really solve all problems?

I'm afraid not.

In the dark night, the wind was still roaring, passing through the mountains, forests and the earth; the rainstorm was pouring, and a loud rumbling sound came from the distance, but it was not thunder, but a landslide. It seemed that a valley somewhere was washed away by the accumulated rain water and collapsed, and a serious mudslide broke out.

Amid the whistling mudslides that destroyed mountains, forests and plains, a tall and upright figure stood majestically above the waves, trying with a steady and heavy posture to conquer all the disasters and trials that the mountain range had bestowed upon him.

Tonight is destined to be an uneventful night.

　Thanks to a shameless person for giving me 1 starting coins. Thank you very much, meow. Give me some meow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)