Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 880: Have you lost your self-awareness?

The crowd on St. Clement Street was as crowded as a school of sardines on the seabed. It was almost impossible to see any signs of movement with the naked eye. Linger and others were unable to move for a while. This situation continued until an excited voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Latest news, latest news! Gulide Dayte appeared in the Cat and Waltz Cafe on Emperor Avenue and interacted closely with the fans. It is said that he will be interviewed by the newspaper there and make a pre-match statement!"

The street suddenly became quiet for a moment, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point, as if the hawking, shouting, discussion and laughter just now did not exist. But this abrupt blank was only to set off the more violent explosion later. Therefore, after a short moment of silence that was less than a breath, the crowd suddenly burst into excited screams and shouts, and then everyone rushed madly towards the Emperor Avenue, like sardines rushing into the huge mouth of a whale. This surging posture was enough to swallow even the largest sperm whale that devoured the seabed. On the streets they passed, it seemed as if a small-scale earthquake had arrived, and the roofs, eaves and windows were shaken and shook off the dust in the sky.

"Ah, this." Alice couldn't help but gasp at the sight: "What an exaggerated gesture."

She stood in the alley and felt the old bricks under her feet shaking. It was hard to imagine what it would feel like to be caught up in that surging crowd. However, the public sector of Sumiya City seemed to have anticipated this situation. Therefore, within minutes of the riots breaking out, police and detectives in blue and white uniforms rushed to the scene and began to maintain order.

Thanks to their efforts, no serious stampede occurred.

"Who is Gulide Date?" Saint Xia Liya asked Xino: "He seems to be very popular?"

Xino, who is very familiar with the sport of volleyball, introduced him to everyone: "He is one of the most watched players in this year's Yamit Cup Championship, and he is ranked first in the WT standings. In his eight-year professional career, he has won the King's Cup, the Virgin Cup, the Republic Cup and other championships. He won his first Yamit Championship trophy four years ago, achieving a historic Grand Slam, so he is also called the 'Caesar on the court'. He is also full of confidence this year and wants to defend his title, so he is so high-profile, right?"

After that, he chuckled and said jokingly, "This is a good thing for us. At least the streets are not so crowded."

Because everyone went to Emperor's Avenue to get close to their idols, St. Clement's Street seemed a little deserted for a while. One can't help but sigh at the popularity of the polo player in this city, which is not much less than the famous actors of the National Theatre of Lenwitten or the polo players of Mindrias.

"Hmm?" Alice suddenly felt alarmed and looked at her suspiciously: "Why do I feel like you are thinking about something very rude?"

"That's all."

……

"By the way, in addition to the amateur certificate, you also need to pay a fee of one franc for registration." Xino, who was walking in front, seemed to remember something and turned around to ask, "Miss Alice, do you have money?"

Everyone ignored her. Alice felt bored and pointed the finger at Gloria: "You too, Gloria, have more ambition! Seeing how popular others are, don't you envy them? After all, you are also a talented contestant, with your own posters, but no one comes to block you. What's this? This is looking down on you! So you have to prove to those people that you are definitely much better than that shitty Caesar, do you understand!"

Gloria complained in her heart.

Alice muttered sourly, "He can win so many championships, but he just hasn't met me yet. In this championship, I will let him taste what failure feels like!"

The nearest registration point is two streets away in Cleveland Forest Park, which is the largest original ecological park attraction in Saint-Denis Province and one of the venues for the qualifying rounds. Surrounded by lush trees, there are 26 professional-scale golf courses, each of which can accommodate at least 12,000 spectators. From small community events to large-scale competitions between clubs, for residents living in nearby neighborhoods, watching a wonderful golf game every week has become their lifestyle and a unique culture of this city.

And no one came to surround me because I had been using the effect of the Mind Kingship to reduce my presence, otherwise it would have been more than just difficult to move.

Upon hearing this, the golden-haired maid subconsciously looked at Lingge, while Lingge looked up at the sky, with an expression as if it had nothing to do with me, and it was obvious that he didn't want to give money to this guy. The golden-haired maid then turned her head away and looked at Xino eagerly.

When Lingge and others arrived at the registration point outside the park, it was still very lively. In the simple tent set up by the Sumiya City Wind Flower Ball General Affairs Association, in addition to those strong young people, there were also teenagers and white-haired old people coming in and out, and without exception, they all held rackets.

“Ah, ahahahaha…”

"Humph." A disdainful snort came from my mind: "Fools are often more intuitive. Of course, there are exceptions occasionally, such as you, little fool Gloria."

Gloria didn't expect the topic to be about herself. She blinked her eyes in a silly way, as if she didn't understand what Alice was saying: "I think it's okay, because she is really good, and she is number one in the scoreboard."

"No, there's no such thing!"

You should pass the trials first.

They certainly didn't come to win, but regarded the Yamit Cup as a larger community competition, whether they participated for interest, or wanted to experience the atmosphere of the stadium, or even just wanted to be in the spotlight like Alice. It was these people who formed a strong community atmosphere, which made the Wind Flower Ball, an entertainment activity originated in the countryside of Grindelwald, gradually evolve into one of the most well-known sports competitions in the entire Sigiriya continent.

"what?"

Gloria laughed dryly and waved her hands to get rid of it.

Of course, there was no need to tell Alice about this. After she knew about it, she would definitely ask me to turn off the royal power and enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by thousands of people. But in fact, those people were coming for me and would definitely ignore Alice. Then Alice would use this as an excuse to blame me for stealing her limelight... Bai Ye had already figured out the character and routines of the golden-haired maid.

Thanks to her, even though Gloria had turned into a hot-blooded sports girl and looked not very smart, she still remained vigilant against this guy.

"Uh." Xino felt a little scared by her look, and said helplessly: "I understand, I will pay for the registration fee for you, Miss Alice."

"No!"

Alice pointed out seriously: "It's not that you help me pay, but... invest. That's right, you invest in me, sponsor the registration fee to help me participate in the competition, and when I win the championship and get the 500,000 pounds prize, I will give you, um, ten pounds. How about it, isn't it a good deal?" According to the current international exchange rate, ten Breton gold pounds can be exchanged for about fifteen French sous, which means a return rate of up to 150%. It sounds like she will soon become an investment expert.

Xino laughed in silence and did not take Alice's words to heart. Instead, he hinted to her that if she did not sign up now, she would not be able to queue up: "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Alice, but let's go sign up first..."

"Xino!?" A voice of surprise and joy suddenly came from behind: "Is it you, Xino?"

The girl heard someone calling her name, and she subconsciously looked back, and then a look of surprise appeared on her face: "Leila?"

Hmm, looks like I met someone I know?
Ling Ge and the others also turned around and saw a blonde girl with blue eyes waving happily. She was also tall, only a few centimeters shorter than Xino, and she also tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail, which swayed with the waving motion, looking youthful and beautiful.

It is worth mentioning that the girl was wearing a pink and white sports dress that looked very professional, a pair of low-heeled thick-soled sports shoes, and wrist and knee pads with eye-catching brand logos on them, which were obviously not cheap. She also had two rackets slung across her back, each racket was tightly protected by a black storage bag, which formed a sharp contrast with the amateurs who came and went around, wearing only casual clothes or casually tucking their rackets under their arms.

From Shino’s reaction just now, we can know that the girl’s name is Leila.

"It's really you, Xino." Leila walked through the crowd, came to Xino, grabbed her hand, and her pretty face was full of joy: "I thought I was seeing things! I haven't seen you for almost half a year since you dropped out of school. Everyone in the school misses you very much. The president even asked me several times when you would go back to class!"

"I miss you too, Leila, and everyone at school." Xino smiled. "I've been busy since I dropped out of school, and I don't have much time to meet you all. I'm really sorry. But didn't I write to you before, asking you to come to Shadoli Manor to visit me when you're free? Didn't you forget about it, Leila?"

At the end she even made a joke, which shows that she has a good relationship with the girl named Leila.

"Because we know you're busy, we don't want to bother you." Leila stuck out her tongue and said with a smile, "Besides, every time we go to your house, Mr. Weber will prepare a lot of expensive snacks for us. We would feel bad if we always make him worry."

"Weber really likes to get along with young people." Hearing this, Xino smiled and said, "Of course, we should be warm and considerate to our guests. This is one of the ancestral precepts of our Gustaf family, so you don't have to be so reserved. If you can come to see me more often, I believe that not only I, but also Weber and my grandfather will be very happy."

Leila immediately said, "Next time I'll ask Vincent and the others to find a time to visit you at Chateau Lisboa. Summer vacation is coming soon, so we'll be free!"

"Yeah." Xino nodded gently: "I'm looking forward to it."

After a brief greeting, Leila noticed that there were a few strangers following her old friend. She asked curiously, "Xino, who are these people?"

"Oh, they are new friends I just met recently. Let me introduce them to you." The last sentence was said to Ling Ge and others: "She is Leila, a good friend of mine in college and one of my partners in the tennis club. Don't be fooled by her weak appearance, she is actually very good at tennis."

"No way, I can't compare to you, Xinuo!" Leila's ears blushed when she heard this, and she quickly waved her hand to refuse, then turned her head to look at Ling Ge and others, and extended her hand in a friendly manner: "Hello, I'm Leila, nice to meet you."

"I'm glad to meet you too, Miss Leila." The young man shook her hand and introduced himself: "I'm Lingge, just like Miss Heno said, I'm her new friend."

When Leila heard him addressing Xino, she subconsciously blinked and glanced at Xino. A helpless smile appeared on the latter's face, indicating that young people's personalities were like this, always serious.

No wonder he can become friends with Shino.

Leila thought to herself but didn't say it out loud.

Afterwards, Saint Charia, Alice, and Gloria also introduced themselves one after another. However, when Leila heard Gloria's name, her eyes widened and she blurted out, "You are the Glo... Um!"

Before she could finish, Xinuo, who was prepared, covered her mouth and whispered in her ear, "Don't say it. There are so many people here. Do you want to cause trouble for Gloria?"

Although Gloria's ability can reduce her presence, the premise is that she must remain low-key. If Leila suddenly shouts, "The talented beautiful contestant Gloria is here," you can't expect everyone to become blind and continue to ignore her existence, right?

After hearing Xino's warning, Leila realized the seriousness of the problem and nodded to show that she understood. Xino then withdrew his hand, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. However, the girl's face still showed surprise, curiosity, and a little bit of disbelief: "Are you really the talented contestant Miss Gloria? Sorry, I don't mean to doubt it, but... This is really incredible, it makes me feel like I'm dreaming..."

Are you so excited?
Alice looked at her suspiciously: "Are you a fan of Gloria?"

Leila didn't know what fans were, but she could roughly guess what this meant. She nodded slightly and said, "Actually, I like every player in this tournament, but Miss Gloria is the one I admire the most. I heard that she is about the same age as me, or even a year or two younger than me, but she is already able to stand on the highest stage and compete with those famous players for the honor of the championship. I think this is a great thing!"

As she spoke, she observed Gloria's reaction. The expression on her face showed not only admiration, but also envy and yearning.

"So that's how it is. Don't worry, Miss Leila." Facing the fans' compliments and admiring eyes, Gloria seemed to be full of fighting spirit. She patted her chest and promised, "I will never let you down. The champion of this tournament must be me!"

Everyone: "..."

Speak with confidence, provided you are able to do it.

Have you been with Alice so long that you've lost your sense of self, Gloria?
　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)