Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 99: Isn’t she really an adult yet?
The night watchmen in the city would launch a large-scale search every once in a while, and each search would last for two to four months. During this period, the night watchmen's activities would be unprecedentedly frequent, and the surveillance of each block in the city would be so close that it would be frightening. Sometimes, even in the most remote and inconspicuous parks, their eyes and ears would be hidden, from pedestrians on the roadside to insects in the grass... Every pair of eyes was monitoring suspicious movements, interweaving into an impenetrable network, forcing the aliens to hide in their nests in fear, trembling.

The Night Watchmen call this special period the "Harvest Moon", while the aliens call it the "Harvest Moon". In this simple metaphor, the aliens actually play the role of weeds in the field. The wind raised by the Night Watchmen will be like a sickle, easily blowing down a large area of ​​numb decay.

One hundred and fifty-eight years have passed since Shesta ended her pilgrimage and established the Fairy Sleep Inn in Rostin City. The number of "harvest moons" she has experienced would be an incredible number in the eyes of other aliens, perhaps so many that even she herself can hardly recall them one by one.

The biggest contributor to Shesta and the Fairy Deep Sleep Inn evading these countless searches was the magic lock she learned from a species called "Photon Elves" when she was young. This is a technique that uses magic output to build a barrier to isolate magic within a specific range from the outside. Both the Night Watchmen and the pathogens they control rely heavily on the feedback of magic to track the enemy. Therefore, after isolating the flow of magic, the hotel has already "disappeared" in the sense of mysticism, and naturally will not be discovered by the Night Watchmen.

But the magic maze does not work at all times, because the flow of magic power in the human world is in a very strange state. Sometimes it is too smooth to seem dead, and sometimes it is too turbulent to seem violent, just like the tide circulating in fixed cycles.

Every time the magic power is active or dormant, the effectiveness of the magic maze will weaken. This is the most dangerous moment for the hotel. If it happens to encounter the "Harvest Moon", there is a great probability that it will be discovered by the night watchman.

This was exactly the case last time. The period of magic dormancy happened to coincide with the Night Watch's "Harvest Moon". The magic power accumulated in the underground garden dissipated slightly due to the weakening of the magic lock, and the sensitive Night Watch caught the scent. So, he sent out a team of magic knights without hesitation, surrounded the entire Sherrill Street, and was about to conduct a more rigorous search.

Shesta was almost in despair, thinking that it was finally unavoidable, when Saint Shallia suddenly appeared and led the night watchmen onto the wrong path, thus saving the fate of the Fairy Deep Sleep Inn.

However, the Night Watchmen are not the kind of people who will swallow their losses, especially when it comes to conquering the aliens in the city. Whoever goes against them is their enemy and will face the most cruel revenge.

and so.

A trace of worry flashed across Xie Liya's eyes. "But, Xiao Xia has been gone for several months. How could the night watchmen know that she was about to return to Rostin City and choose to conduct a search at this time?"

"I'm not sure about that." Shesta shook her head and said, "But, no matter what, Xiaoxia was targeted by the Night Watch because she was trying to help us, so when she needs help, we must give her our full support, okay?"

"That's natural, sister. I'm worried about something else."

Because humans are the only intelligent race that is born without magical powers and cannot use magic.

“Perhaps, Xiao Xia was targeted by the Night Watchmen at that time.” Shesta’s gentle expression disappeared from her face, and became very solemn: “Her power is really too magical. She can use magic without mana... I think any human who has set foot in the extraordinary field will be interested in this.”

"another thing?"

"Well, it's about...Shaymi."

The heroic girl pursed her lips when she said this. Her sharp and slender eyebrows showed a clear concern and worry. If the little sister who had been afraid of her since childhood saw this, she would definitely be very surprised: "Helping Xiaoxia and avoiding the pursuit of the night watchmen is a very dangerous thing. It doesn't matter to us. We have already made psychological preparations. But what about Xie Mi? She just came of age this year and hasn't even completed her pilgrimage. Do we want her to live in danger anytime and anywhere like us? I don't think this is okay, big sister."

Xie Liya's tone was very serious, and it was obvious that she had thought deeply before saying this. After the traveler fairy grows the first pair of butterfly wings, it will embark on a journey with the wind, which is also called a pilgrimage. It will not stop until the second pair of butterfly wings grows, and will no longer travel far.

However, Shemy, who had grown a second pair of wings, had never left the inn, and had never even stepped out of Sherri Street. This was because the current environment had changed drastically compared to the past hundreds of years. The brutal oppression of the aliens by the cult made the pilgrimages of the goblins full of dangers. If Shemy were to travel now, he might even fall into the trap of the night watchman and lose his life before leaving the city.

If you are asking if it is okay to travel away from the city, the answer is unfortunately no. Not to mention that the Western Continent is now full of traces of human activities, it is very difficult to avoid civilized settlements. Even in primitive places where human footprints have not yet been set foot, it is not necessarily safe, because the silver mad dogs of the Order Scale are sharpening their claws and fangs, watching eagerly.

Due to various concerns, Shesta had no intention of letting Shemi embark on the pilgrimage, at least until today.

But blindly suppressing one's nature is not suitable for the growth of a traveler fairy. Before this, Xie Mi had already shown obvious anxiety and restlessness. It was the blood in her body that yearned for freedom that urged her to rush to the mountains and rivers where she came from like a gust of wind. It was the impulse to return home and the desire to explore the unknown.

Shesta had managed to alleviate this instinct somewhat by hosting banquets and making her a maid, but this was not a long-term solution. One day, she would have to go on a journey. If Shesta did not want to suddenly lose her beloved little sister in the dead of night, she had to make a decision as soon as possible.

Even though it might be a difficult decision.

"We are Xie Mi's sisters, so we must take responsibility for her future. However, we should not protect her under our wings, but encourage her to pursue her own future, just like you encouraged me to leave my hometown and embark on a journey."

Shelia leaned against the door, looking up slightly, with a look of reminiscence in her eyes: "If it weren't for that journey, I wouldn't know how naive I was. For the traveling elves, adulthood begins at this time, and it's time for Shemi to become an adult too."

The second pair of butterfly wings at the age of 200 is only the age of adulthood, while psychological adulthood is the moment of completing the pilgrimage. Therefore, the pilgrimage of the traveler fairies is also their rite of passage.

"Well……"

The beautiful and elegant proprietress gently touched her lips with her slender white fingers. Her gentle and absent-minded eyes seemed to be thinking, but she remained silent for a long time and did not answer.

The kitchen fell into silence for a moment. Even the cabbages and hot onions that were fighting in the pot wisely chose to call a truce and silently sank to the bottom of the pot, bubbling with food.

After a long time, there was a gentle response:

"Okay."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)