Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 89 Are you hopeful about the future?

"Next, let's go pick some fried gall."

"What?"

"Blast the gall."

Shaymi said to Alice seriously.

"..." Alice hesitated: "Isn't this a bit too much? It's just a party, isn't it unnecessary?"

Xie Mi looked at her strangely, not understanding what she meant at all, but still explained to the two what fried gallbladders were: "It is a plant that looks like a sea urchin, with a thorny shell and cannot be eaten. But they are quite violent, and if they are dug out of the ground, they will explode, with very little lethality, just like fireworks. After the explosion, their shells and thorns will fall off, leaving behind edible fruits."

"I see!"

Alice realized that she had misunderstood and exclaimed: "There is actually such a bomb. Our magic plants are really amazing!"

Why does this sentence feel so weird? And she said bomb, not exploding gallbladder, right?
Xie Mi frowned slightly, and then carefully warned: "Although a single explosive gallbladder is not very harmful, it will be terrible if they explode together. So when you enter the explosive gallbladder field later, you must follow closely behind me and don't step on them accidentally."

The three of them left the mushroom tree and headed towards the fried gall field, but at this time, an accident happened.

"Even if it's a rat in the sewer, there's no need to be so scared, right?"

but.

Before I had taken a few steps, a sharp and ferocious barking sound suddenly came from a distance. The squeaking sound was like sharp glass rubbing against rough iron sheet, hitting the eardrum and causing a sharp pain in the ear.

Xie Mi made up his mind that he must keep a close eye on Alice's movements and not give her any chance to take advantage of him.

This unpleasant cry echoed in the goblins' underground garden. The deer spirits that were originally wandering leisurely on the ridges of the fields turned their heads to look in the direction where the sound came from, revealing human-like concerns in their crystal-like eyes. The stone gardeners who were busy in the field nurseries stopped what they were doing and turned around blankly. Alice noticed that the stones that made up their bodies were trembling and constantly shaking off dust.

"I'm fine, thank you." Shemi responded to Metien's concern with a forced smile before answering Alice's question: "You are right, Miss Alice, they are rats - rats living in the sewers, a group of evil, cunning and cruel guys."

This reaction, as if facing a formidable enemy, did not seem like encountering a rat, but rather like encountering the final BOSS with overwhelming advantage in the early stage of the game.

Metien asked with concern: "Shemi, are you okay?"

Xie Mi looked at her with a vigilant look when he heard that. She laughed dryly and changed the subject: "I was joking. How could I deliberately step on the fried gallbladder field? Fried gallbladders are so cute, even cuter than picky radishes and crying mushrooms. Is there anyone who wants to hurt them?"

"I understand!" The pink-haired little girl nodded repeatedly. She has always been the best-behaved child in the family: "I will definitely pay attention!"

"this--"

"Yes." Xie Mi nodded gently: "In order to prevent our garden from being discovered by humans, my eldest sister used magic to dig a tunnel leading to the sewer from under the hotel, and then spent a long time to transform it into its current appearance."

Alice scratched her cheek and said, "What's that sound? Why does it sound a bit like a mouse?"

"That's what I told you. I couldn't have guessed wrong... Wait, what did you say!?"

You'd better really think so.

The atmosphere suddenly became serious.

Alice opened her eyes wide in surprise: "This is the sewer!?"

Alice and Metien looked around. It was hard to imagine that such a garden with lush greenery and deer spirits strolling around was actually located in the city's sewers. It was even more surprising than the goblins using mine cart tracks... Well, suddenly it wasn't so surprising.

Xie Mi also stopped as if reflexively, and subconsciously clenched his hands holding the basket, looking quite uneasy.

Alice nodded repeatedly, indicating that I was also well-behaved, but she said something very scary: "That sounds so exciting!"

"No, Miss Alice, you haven't understood how terrible they are." Miss Shemi said seriously: "They are not ordinary mice."

what.

Could it be the Skaven?

Alice was a little scared, mainly because she was worried that the world she traveled to was not right. Metien stepped in in time to make a joke: "So, what kind of mouse is it?"

Ms. Xie Mi took a deep breath and put on a stern face: "Originally, this matter has nothing to do with you, but you are guests of the hotel, so I shouldn't hide anything and just tell you."

She lowered her voice, as if she were telling a horror story: "They were created by the Herb Garden by infecting it with a plague—"

"Pathogen rat!"

……

The atmosphere in the lobby on the first floor of the hotel was a bit dull. It had been like this for a long time since Shelia finished talking about the history of the wind fairies in this city. Lingge sat at the counter and drank water silently. The bartender placed a row of wine glasses on the counter, poured a little water into each glass, sniffed it with her nose, dipped it with her fingers, and then licked it with her tongue, as if she was experiencing the subtle differences in their taste and looking for the most suitable combination.

Neither of them spoke, so the only sounds in the hall were the thumping of the rabbits running and the whispering of the potted plants in the corners - their topic had changed from "the style of music for tonight's banquet" to "who will give the opening speech", and the argument was so intense that no one was willing to give in.

Time passed by like light frozen in ice, bit by bit. When Ling Ge finished drinking the water in the cup, Saint Xia Liya still did not appear. So he finally spoke, and his voice suddenly sounded: "Have you ever thought about leaving this city?"

Xie Liya was tasting a light blue water with a crystal luster. After hearing these words, the wine glass that was about to reach her lips suddenly stopped, and she looked at Lingge deeply.

“Why would someone who has done nothing wrong leave on their own accord?”

"Because this world is not determined by right or wrong, sometimes accepting reality may not be the wrong choice."

"You sound experienced?"

"It's just some personal opinions." Ling Ge avoided her direct and sharp gaze: "Of course, the right to choose is in your hands."

Seeing that he was unwilling to look at her, Xie Liya suddenly laughed softly. Her laughter easily reminded people of the refreshing summer breeze, even though it was winter now. "I am sure that your suggestion is well-intentioned, but you are wrong about one thing: the right to choose is never in our hands."

Linger frowned slightly: "Isn't the Night Watch's power limited to the city?"

"This has nothing to do with the Night's Watch. It's the nature of the traveler goblin."

Xie Liya explained: "We are born to love traveling. No matter whether it is distant mountains and seas or human cities, they are all places we yearn for. When we turn 100 years old and grow our first pair of butterfly wings, the traveler fairy will embark on a journey without a destination, just wandering around at will. We call it pilgrimage. However, once we grow to more than 200 years old, that is, when we become adults, and grow our second pair of butterfly wings, the traveler fairy will stop pilgrimage and settle down in a place we passed during the journey and never leave. Therefore, you may find footprints left by the traveler fairy in any corner of the continent."

"Moreover, even if we stop the pilgrimage, our yearning for travel will not change, but it is often expressed in a different way. Guided by nature, the traveler fairies are willing to provide various kinds of help to passers-by and pedestrians, guiding them out of the cave, finding water sources, etc. - of course, this is based on the premise that they have no ill intentions."

"It is precisely because of this nature that the eldest sister stayed in Rostin City after completing her pilgrimage and established the Fairy Sleep Inn to receive passing travelers free of charge. As long as they can find comfort during their short rest on the journey, it is the best reward for the traveling fairies."

"So." She raised her head slightly and looked at the potted plant chandelier on the ceiling. Although her eyes were melancholy, they were not lost. "How can we go against our nature, abandon this hotel, leave this city, and walk away forever?"

For humans, leaving is a simple thing, a train ticket, a wave, or a goodbye.

However, for the traveling fairy, it is everything in life.

"Although life is indeed much harder than before, and I feel scared and lost sometimes, I am very satisfied as long as I can stay quietly in a corner of the city like now, in this hotel we built with our own hands, and wait hopefully for the next guest to come."

She tilted her head slightly, and a warm smile appeared on her heroic face: "Isn't this what I've been waiting for you guys."

Hopeful for the future...?

It sounds pretty good.

but.

Ling Ge suddenly thought: The Night Watch was responsible for clearing out all magicians and aliens in the city, and the "Ouroboros" project fully invested by the Night Roost would just connect all the cities in the Western Continent together, right? It was like a huge web covering everything, but what was entrenched on the web was not a spider, but a giant snake, staring at its prey in the web with a cold gaze, as if it was staring at a dying speck of dust.

When the day comes when the Ouroboros plan is completed, the last living space for the aliens who are still huddled in a corner of the city and barely surviving will be completely devoured, right?

"I'm sorry to have made you listen to so many complaints."

While they were silent, a wine glass was suddenly placed in front of Lingge, and the water inside was filled with a brilliant color: "As an apology, this glass is on me."

I looked up and saw the bartender said confidently, "This is my masterpiece."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)