Chapter 86: The Business Card
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86: The Business Card
In what felt like the blink of an eye, Yohan realized he had arrived in the Empire. No matter how many times he experienced it, it was always astonishing.
The power of magic, which reduced a journey that would take hours even in a supersonic fighter jet to nothing.
Just as Yohan thought nothing could surprise him further, the sight of the Empire made him reconsider.
“Whoa…”
“Wow…”
Clank— Clank—.
A massive train burned something, spewing acrid smoke. After belching smoke for a while, the train began to move forward with a chugging sound.
Despite the hundreds of tons of steel moving before them, the people nearby showed no signs of surprise. It meant they had grown accustomed to this civilized marvel.
‘A train? Damn—I thought they only had electricity…’
To think they’d even invented the steam engine. Then again, if they knew how to use electricity, inventing something like a steam engine would have been a given.
What was strange was that despite such civilized progress, it was still called an Empire. He didn't know if it was an absolute or constitutional monarchy, but for a monarchy to persist even with this level of technological advancement meant…
‘Is it because of the witches?’
If this technology wasn't the result of state-led scientific development, but born from the magic of a single witch—then the common citizens would only be passive beneficiaries, likely having no idea how their own society even functioned.
Civilized barbarians, as they were sometimes called. People who used technology but had no understanding of it…
‘This is just my guess, of course…’
Glancing to the side, Yohan saw men who appeared to be guards carrying polearms and halberds, and he became certain his guess was correct.
Polearms in a civilization with trains? If not pistols, they should at least have muskets.
‘Anyway, where to now—’
Just as he was wondering where to go in this unfamiliar Empire, Yohan felt the business card in his pocket vibrate.
When he took it out, he saw a part of it glowing blue. As he turned slightly, the light moved to the side of the card.
As if it were beckoning him, Yohan glanced at his teacher.
“Shall we follow it?”
“…Will it be okay? What if this is a trap—?”
“A trap? So what if it is?”
Evangeline said with a smirk.
“Do you really think a mere trap could stop us?”
“Ah—”
Only then did Yohan remember who he was with. The strongest, most wicked witches, who could render entire armies useless.
They were beings whose capture was questionable even if an army of witch hunters descended upon them.
If Makina had set a trap, she would soon realize she hadn't dug a trap, but her own grave.
*
Witches stand out.
Each one is a stunning beauty, and because of their unique curse, they exude a decadent aura.
In the Kingdom, where discrimination against witches was rampant, this led to any conspicuously beautiful woman being deemed a witch and captured.
It was different in the Empire.
“Oh, my lady. Would you join me for—”
“No, please, join me…”
The citizens of the Empire flocked to the dazzlingly beautiful witches like moths to a flame. Yohan, caught in the middle, was treated as nothing more than a baggage carrier.
After all, not many would see an ordinary man surrounded by five beautiful women as their lover.
While not so rare in modern times where capitalism is rampant, it was different in this world. It wasn't that nobles didn't exist, but they considered the act of parading women around in public to be vulgar.
They rarely let the women in their care be seen outside, so commoners never even had the chance to meet the daughters or wives of noble families…
“Sorry, but could you please move?”
“Hehe, my apologies, but my legs refuse to move after seeing your beauty—huh, uh?”
“Move.”
However, none of them succeeded in blocking the witches’ path or securing a promise to meet.
There were handsome men and men with sculpted bodies, but the witches didn't spare them a single glance.
A mere human couldn't even register on a witch's nerves. In fact, realizing Yohan was being subtly ignored, the witches immediately clung to his arms, asserting that they were his women.
“Teacher?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“It’s hard to walk. Please let go.”
“No. These guys keep hitting on us even though you're right here. Doesn't it piss you off?”
“Why should I care how others see me, when you're mine, Teacher?”
“…Yohaaan—.”
At his sweet whisper, Evangeline gazed at Yohan with a peculiar look in her eyes. Yohan met her smile with a chuckle of his own.
Exchanging smiles and enduring the stares of others, Yohan and the witches arrived before a massive castle. The Imperial Palace. The largest structure in this city, in this country.
“Halt. Do not approach any further.”
“Umm… here, this.”
“…?”
The guards at the gate, who had aimed their halberds at Yohan, took the business card he offered with reluctant expressions, then nodded to each other.
After a moment of exchanging glances, the guards let out a deep sigh, lowered their weapons, and addressed the group.
“Welcome, guests of the Empire. …I will guide you inside.”
The guard who had first spoken to Yohan led him and his companions inside, all the while blatantly showing his reluctance.
They didn't conduct any body searches, which made Yohan wonder what they would do if he were here to assassinate key figures. But upon seeing the guards patrolling inside the castle, he cast that thought aside.
‘…Guns, and breech-loading ones at that.’
Unlike the guards at the gate who stood with halberds, the guards inside the castle all carried rifles.
Recognizing their breech-loading design, Yohan recalled his theory that the Empire's technology had likely developed in a distorted way.
Before long, the guard, who had led them down into a basement, stopped in front of a certain door and told Yohan to enter this room. Then, as if it were dangerous, he immediately covered his nose and fled the area.
As Yohan tilted his head at the inexplicable behavior, Evangeline smiled faintly and pulled him into an embrace.
“…Teacher?”
“Stay still. We're under attack right now.”
“…What? An attack, what do you mean—?”
“Welcome—!”
Just then, the door opened, and Makina, whom they had seen just the other day, appeared before them. Her face was full of dark circles. She glanced over the group, then grinned and gestured them inside.
“What are you doing? Come in, come in. It’s not particularly dangerous.”
“…Not dangerous?”
“Yeah. Not very.”
“Then what keeps attacking us?”
“—Ah, that?”
Hearing Evangeline, Makina scratched the back of her head as if she’d forgotten.
“It can be a little fatal to humans, but for a witch… well, it’s at a level you can just endure.”
“There’s a human here, you know.”
“Aha, right.”
“Now that you know, can you do something about that attack?”
“Sorry, but this isn't something I can control.”
Makina said, pointing to a fluorescent mineral inside the room. Seeing it, Yohan was startled and took a step back.
Noticing that he seemed to know what the mineral was, Makina let out a sound of admiration and looked at him with interest.
“What, you—you know what that is?”
“…Uranium?”
“What’s that? Well, you seem to have a rough idea, so I don’t need to explain, right?”
“What are you talking about? We still don’t know. You explain it properly.”
“It’s a pain—uh, so. This mineral emits energy as it self-destructs… a mineral of the gods?”
She tapped the beaker containing the radioactive material and tilted her head. Yohan, who knew the dangers of the substance, now understood why the guards had loathed coming here and why they had covered their mouths and fled.
Even if the surrounding area was made of concrete, blocking most of the radiation, being right next to the hallway meant they would inevitably be exposed. The exposed soldiers would have fallen ill one by one.
The soldiers, ignorant of this fact, must have believed in rumors that going near the witch’s room would get them cursed.
“…It’s a radioactive material. It’s a mineral that undergoes nuclear fission, similar to the nuclear fusion I told you about, Teacher… and it’s fatal to humans.”
“You. You know more than I thought. Impressive.”
“Bringing something like that into the Imperial Palace… I want to ask if you’re in your right mind.”
“Yep! I’m perfectly sane!”
Looking at Makina, who declared herself normal without a shred of doubt after bringing radioactive material into the palace, Yohan felt an inexplicable chill and shivered.
This woman was not normal. As he was thinking that—Margaret, who had been listening quietly from the back, strode forward without hesitation and grabbed the beaker containing the radioactive material.
And then—she sent it away somewhere.
“Wh-what!? My, my mineral!”
“When you have guests, you should clean up messy things like this.”
“You, you—! What did you do with my stuff!?”
“Hmm? I just threw it somewhere even I don't know.”
“Aaargh—! Do you have any idea how hard that was to get…!”
Margaret tilted her head and said.
“Like I give a damn?”