Chapter 157: Expulsion Order
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 157: Expulsion Order
Thwump-thwump-thwump-thwump-!
The vibration and noise of the helicopter's rotors echoed past the soundproof headset. As Yohan looked around the helicopter's interior with fascination, the pilot's voice came through the headset.
[It is an honor to serve you, Your Excellency. This is First Officer and pilot, Lime.]
“…I’m in your hands.”
When Adelheid spoke into the microphone attached to her headset, Lime’s body trembled with excitement and tension.
The hero who had saved the Empire, a general whose rank was equivalent to the Emperor's. For a pilot, flying Adelheid was like a Korean flying Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
While the pilot gave it his all, flying with every fiber of his being, Adelheid stared blankly out the window.
‘I’m really flying…’
By her standards, just a few days ago, she would never have imagined that humans could fly.
Flying was a privilege for those born with the ability. She had thought it was a right reserved for birds or witches.
But humans had built trains to travel long distances freely and invented guns to escape the threat of monsters.
And now, they could even fly—the fact that humanity could develop this far was hard to believe.
“Ugh… so noisy…”
Just then, Hekaterina, who was riding with them, began to grimace. Judging by the poor color of her face, she was undoubtedly suffering from motion sickness.
Since she couldn't just open a window and vomit from hundreds of meters in the air, Yohan did his best to rub her back to keep her from throwing up.
“Just hang in there a little longer. We’re almost there.”
“Sh-shut up…”
“Then why did you insist on coming?”
“Shit— so I was supposed to stay there…?”
As Hekaterina spoke, she brought up the witches who remained at the cabin. Someone had to watch Margaret, so Regina stayed behind as the guard.
Evangeline and Beatrice, who needed absolute rest during their pregnancies, couldn't ride in the helicopter.
And to assist those two, Linna and Linne remained.
That left Adelheid and Hekaterina. Adelheid’s attendance was mandatory, as she had to return to the Empire as one of its generals. Hekaterina had volunteered, fearing what might happen to her if she stayed behind.
And so, the three of them—Yohan, Hekaterina, and Adelheid—were heading to the Empire.
“Seriously, you can handle the pressure of the deep sea thousands of meters down, but you can’t handle motion sickness?”
“I said, shut… up…!”
“…Alright.”
Yohan continued to rub the back of the miserable-looking Hekaterina, hoping against hope that she wouldn't vomit inside the helicopter.
The sound of her gagging reached the pilot, who flew as fast as he could to reach the Empire.
“Ugh… I think I’m gonna die…”
Immediately after getting off the helicopter, Hekaterina staggered, complaining of a headache. Whether it was out of her pride as a witch or to preserve her dignity as a woman, she hadn't thrown up, but because of that, she couldn't calm her churning stomach.
Yohan supported her as she stumbled like a drunkard and headed inside the Imperial Palace. The needlessly tall and grandiose palace. Yohan gave a wry smile as he looked at the design, which seemed to completely disregard the threat of missiles or artillery.
‘You’d never see a government building like this on Earth.’
The first reason was that it was bad form for parliament members who ruled a country to be seen indulging in luxury with taxpayer money. The second was that with the advancement of technology like mortars and missiles, large buildings were a military disadvantage in a pinch.
Governments on Earth didn't build tall, large buildings; they built down. They dug underground.
For the Imperial Palace of this other world, where both helicopters and missiles existed, to go the opposite route of Earth's government buildings must have meant they were just that confident.
‘Just as expected from an authoritarian state…’
“This way.”
After entering the Imperial Palace, Yohan's party followed a maid toward the Emperor's office. Surprisingly, the Emperor's office was not in the highest and most magnificent location.
Perhaps it was because she thought a ‘clone of herself’ could handle such trivial tasks, but the office of Makina, the Witch of Machines, was deep underground.
As he descended hundreds of meters in an elevator, Yohan was reminded of the secret bases he’d only seen in movies. Indeed, the Emperor's office looked no different from a secret base for her research.
A pure white corridor stretched for dozens of meters. It was a suspicious space, with no decorations or checkered patterns.
“Her Majesty the Empress is inside. I will take my leave now…”
The maid was only permitted as far as the elevator, so she left Yohan's party and went back up alone.
Yohan stared after her in disbelief for a moment before cautiously walking down the corridor before him, approaching the large door at the very end.
The last time they met her, they had been greeted by radiation. Wondering if something similar would happen this time, Yohan pushed Hekaterina, who was still complaining of dizziness, forward.
“Go, Hekaterina.”
“What, you think I’m your pet…?”
Though she grumbled, Hekaterina obediently threw the door open. Seeing that neither of them had any reaction, Yohan realized there was no radiation this time.
As he carefully opened the door and stepped inside, he saw countless naked ‘Makinas’ standing with their eyes closed.
Robots. The realization that all of these were AI androids modeled after Makina sent a slight shiver down Yohan’s spine.
“…Who is it.”
A sharp voice came from within, perhaps having heard their footsteps. Yohan realized the owner of the voice was Makina.
However, he couldn't be sure if the person who had just spoken was the real Makina. After all, there were dozens, if not hundreds, of Makinas right here.
“It’s me.”
“—I’m certain I gave orders not to let anyone in… Did ‘I’ permit this?”
The Makina who appeared, expressing her confusion, froze stiff the moment she saw Yohan, Adelheid, and Hekaterina.
After staring at them blankly for a moment, she pushed up the glasses she was wearing and immediately turned her back.
“Wait a moment. I'll go get the main body.”
Just as Yohan had expected, the Makina before him was not the main body. The Makina, he didn't know which number she was, disappeared inside, and a short while later—the real Makina appeared, leading several other Makinas with her.
“Oh, it really is Yohan.”
“Adelheid is here too.”
“What was the name of that loli with big breasts over there… Doesn’t matter, I can just call her a sex toy.”
Normally, Hekaterina would have snapped in anger at those words and started a fight with Makina, but the Hekaterina of now was not in her right mind.
She was clinging to Yohan in a way that, to the uninformed, might look like she was being publicly disciplined on the street with a vibrator between her legs.
Yohan looked at the Makinas speaking to them and opened his mouth.
“It’s been a while.”
“It has. A very long while. Feels like it’s been over 50 years. What happened?”
“It’s a bit of a long story.”
“We have plenty of time.”
Makina clapped her hands once. At that, the mechanical devices around them moved on their own, forming steel chairs.
Belatedly, Yohan and his party realized this place was Makina's workshop. A place designed for a witch to exert her magic to its fullest.
She hadn't been an enemy before, but now, after decades had passed, there was no telling what could happen. The thought that they could lose their lives right here if she had other intentions made him swallow hard, even though she hadn't made a move.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and sit.”
“…Right. Let’s sit and talk.”
Taking a seat, Yohan remained tense, ready to activate his magic and subdue her at a moment's notice, and began to explain why they had flown decades into the future.
He explained that Margaret had awakened, that her magic had brought another Margaret from the distant future to their time, and that through one thing and another, Margaret had wound time forward to this future.
After hearing the whole story, Makina nodded and spoke.
“Pathetic.”
“Huh?”
“Being swayed by something like love, a mere hormonal reaction in the brain? Is that what a witch should be doing?”
Like the witch incapable of feeling emotion that she was, Makina said she couldn't understand Margaret's actions. And incomprehensible actions are often detestable.
In that moment, Makina felt disgust for Margaret. However, there was no sign that she intended to do anything to her.
“—So, what purpose brings you here?”
“Type 33 sent us. Said we should show our faces.”
At Adelheid’s words, Makina let out a sigh—ahh—and looked at her.
Witches were not particularly necessary in the mechanical empire she had perfected. What was the point of creating a special anti-witch task force? It was because it would be troublesome if a witch went crazy and tried to ruin the Empire.
“…Right, well. You’ve shown your faces, so that’s enough. Could you leave now? I’m busy with my research.”
“You don’t need us?”
“I don’t. How many years do you think it’s been since you all disappeared? If I hadn't found replacements for you by now, I would have been ruined.”
With that, Makina issued an expulsion order.
The Empire, now in the hands of a witch, had finally become a nation that didn't even need the help of witches.
