The Middle Ages Are Dead (2)
I spent a good while soaking up basic common knowledge from Leon.
This guy was fantastic. An absolute information vending machine!
So this world worked about the same way — monsters left magic stones behind. Well, with mana in the mix, that was only natural.
"Originally, the labyrinths were a means of purifying the surface world."
Ah, right. The old myth about locking every impure thing on the surface away during the age of legends.
In the end, all of Auntie's hard work got reduced to a playground for human greed and wealth.
"It's fine. Even like that, the providence still turns. And all I need is my daughter."
Yes, yes. I'll survive nicely and scatter divinity all over the place for you.
From what Leon explained, summoning heroes had left this world with a surprisingly modernized system. Tanks, dealers, healers — that whole framework.
Maybe I'd just take the scout role?
Yep! Thief!
"Daughter! Why would you take a job like that when you have your mother's divinity?"
Uh, well. For an auntie who's brand-new to this industry: healing magic tends to come tangled in a mess of rights and politics. In other words, it's a job with vicious territorialism. That's what a healer is.
Thieves, though? Slip them a little cut of the spoils and they usually shut up and move on.
No, wait — guide. That's the word. There's a Guide Guild, isn't there?
According to Leon, it's a pretty decent profession. And it was close enough to the line of work I had in my previous life, too.
"I-is that so?"
"Oh, then Miss Lua is hoping to become a guide?"
"Yes. Hard as it may be to believe, I've always had a good sense of direction. Heehee."
I gave him a soft little smile, and Leon's cheeks flushed red.
Isili!
I was NTR-ing Leon right in front of her!
Isili was completely lost in the book I'd given her. Aigoo. Poor girl.
Between that nonsense and wringing a reasonable amount of information out of Leon, time passed surprisingly well.
That was when the train, after racing along for quite a while, plunged into a tunnel.
The magic-stone lamps in the cabin winked out, and the compartment went pitch black in an instant.
Ahh. So cozy.
As if answering the comfort blooming in my chest, Black seeped up from under my feet.
"Le… Leon oppa?"
"Ah, Isili. It's fine. Sometimes when we enter a tunnel the magic-stone lamps go out. They'll come back on soon."
"My, is that so."
Leon was so busy staring at me that his reply to Isili was pure autopilot.
Black seemed to have taken a shine to the girl called Isili; it slithered over, delighted, and rubbed against her, fawning shamelessly.
At this rate she's going to steal her from you, Leon.
Huh? Isili looked like she'd seen something. She was trembling, the poor thing.
Heehee. Adorable.
"Miss Isili, are you all right?"
I wrapped a sweet voice around my thoroughly wicked intentions and took her tiny hand in mine.
Hahaha! So soft!
So small! So cute!
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
"Huh? Isili?"
Shake, shake.
At my question, Isili gave her little head a vigorous shake.
Black was already climbing her legs without a shred of restraint.
Black?
And then Black simply mounted her entirely and began licking the side of her neck with wet, greedy strokes.
A faint, sticky sound registered against my senses.
Black. Isili is not food.
Come here.
In an instant Black contracted and returned to me.
Isili's hand, cold as ice, was damp against my palm.
"My, you must have been terribly tense."
I took both of her hands in mine and gently massaged them.
Thud. Jing.
Something like a mechanical click sounded, and the magic-stone lamps blazed back to life.
The moment the lights returned, Isili's little head whipped this way and that as she scanned every corner of the cabin.
I tilted my head at her; only then did she seem to realize how she looked, and her cheeks caught fire.
"Um… um… my hand."
"Ah. Feeling a little calmer now, Miss Isili?"
"I-I'm fine. Th-thank you…"
At my words Isili fidgeted helplessly, her face so red it looked ready to burst.
Heehee. Cute.
When I let go, she hurriedly tucked her sweat-damp hands into her clothes, as if embarrassed by them.
I parted my lips slightly and made a little gesture of licking a wet fingertip, sending the look straight at her.
Isili, red all the way to her ears, snapped her book open again; her eyes darted back and forth like mad.
"Stop pestering the girl and talk to Leon some more."
I don't want to. Leon is a boy.
I glanced over and found Leon staring blankly, eyes unfocused — so he'd seen what I just did.
So pure. Leon.
That, my friend, is how you lose your childhood friend! Heeheehee.
I left the last empty seat alone and whiled away the time chatting with Leon and Isili, until a polite knock sounded at the cabin door.
"Hello, valued passengers. Are you enjoying your journey? We will now be serving your meal."
A woman in a neat uniform opened the door and handed over elegant wooden boxes from her cart.
Leon and Isili seemed used to the routine; they unfolded the tray tables beside their seats and accepted the boxes.
Ah! So those were tables.
I copied them, unfolded my own, smiled sweetly at the attendant, and set my lunch box down.
Wow. It smelled incredible.
Well, for the price of ten Annas, this level of service was only fair, wasn't it?
Back when I rode a train in my Anna days, all I got was a slightly tough white roll from the man who was hauling me away.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Ah, we'll have Frencil tea, please. Miss Lua, what will you have?"
Leon turned the question to me.
Uh. This country bumpkin has no idea what's on the menu.
I smiled naturally and opened my mouth.
"Is there something sweet?"
"We have a sparkling water with a Lagnum berry base."
"I'll take that, please."
What did she just say?
Sparkling water?!
Khhh… you damn medieval bastards!!
You had this and you were hiding it from me?
The Black in my pupils shivered and thrashed without mercy.
The attendant poured tea for Leon and Isili, then took out a bottle of dark red liquid, popped the cork with a soft pong, and handed it to me with a cup.
What the—!
It was cherry coke!
A sweet, bright fragrance bloomed with a crisp little fizz.
"Please enjoy your meal."
She offered a polite bow, closed the door quietly, and left.
Ahh. Looking at the little bubbles frothing in the cup, I could almost cry.
I took a careful sip and savored it with demure restraint.
Khh. Dopamine detonated inside my skull.
I barely managed to still the tremor in my hands, set the cup down primly, and opened the lunch box.
Steam rose as if it had just been cooked, and an explosive aroma flooded out.
A thick cut of meat drowned in rich brown sauce. Proper vegetables. And what looked unmistakably like french fries!
At the sight of that glossy, oil-slicked ground-meat patty, perfectly grilled, saliva pooled helplessly in my mouth.
Middle Ages! The Middle Ages inside me just died!
I… I am a country bumpkin!
"My, it looks delicious. Do enjoy your meal."
Khhh. Even Auntie was impressed.
I took the wooden utensils clipped to the lid and gently cut into the meat.
The flesh parted soft as butter; clear, gleaming juices mixed recklessly into the sauce.
I carried a careful bite to my mouth.
Ah! Juice burst across the tip of my tongue, and a violent rush of meaty fragrance filled my whole mouth!
Heavy, dense, savory, salty — an overwhelming cascade of sauce!
Modern! This was a modern flavor!
The convent food I'd thought I liked was garbage!
My heart hammered; the dopamine exploding in my head nearly painted my vision white!
It was almost orgasmic!
Th-this existed?!
W-where did the Middle Ages go!
I thought this world was nothing but medieval types with dung and dirt packed under their fingernails!
I thought it was nothing but people who rode carriages and smelled permanently of horse manure!
Cola!
Hamburg steak!
Fries!
Ahh! Yes! This was the taste!
A sudden, unfair resentment welled up in me.
Leon and Isili were eating this menu as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
You… you rotten nobles.
A r-revolution is needed.
"Daughter?"
I'm joking.
I ate with the refined manners of a noble myself.
The polite thing, when drinking carbonation, is not to belch.
Even though I desperately wanted to let out a nice, refreshing buuurrrp.
Lagnum sparkling water?
I poured it little by little and used it as a palate cleanser between bites.
It was so sweet! So good!
Under the sharp sting of the carbonation, tears of pure joy were streaming through my heart.
Watching Isili nibble her food like a little hamster, I quietly smothered the red flame of revolution.
As expected — even in this world, money made everything better!
The Labyrinth City!
I'd fatten Black up, and I'd fatten myself up too!
"Whew. We finally made it."
Leon stretched as if his whole body ached, dragging a large bag down from the train.
Looking at it, that bag even had wheels — pretty modern, wasn't it?
Isili and I fell in naturally behind him.
By the time we arrived in Larites, night had already settled in deep and dark.
I pulled my hood up as a matter of course. Didn't seem all that unusual — there were plenty of people doing the same just in this station.
Anyway, the air the moment we stepped off the train felt completely different.
No medieval stench of dung, no smell of hay. Something clean, mixed with the restless heat of a crowd — an unmistakably urban feeling.
And clearer than the air of my previous life, so it felt refreshing.
Well, there was still a faint trace of that animal scent humans always carry. A few medieval types must have slipped into the mix.
"We should find lodging first. I know a place that's cheap and decent."
"Thank you. You're very kind, Lord Leon."
"Haha, it's nothing."
Come to think of it, Isili and I shared similar tastes — she was a supporter of the Magic Tower Master and heroine couple!
She must have opened up a little; she'd started talking to me in fits and starts.
"Nonsense, daughter. The Northern Grand Duke is clearly the superior choice."
Auntie, your beloved Northern Grand Duke has already become a minority opinion!
After another fierce debate with Auntie, I surfaced from the history discussion to find an extraordinary vista spreading before us.
"Whoa."
I couldn't help the sound of awe.
Truly — the Middle Ages were well and truly dead.
Even the city where the pig and I had lived looked like pure countryside next to this!
My hometown was practically another world!
Even at night, the scenery glittered and sparkled.
Wide streets paved in pale, clean stone; roadside buildings three and four stories high.
Almost no horse-drawn carriages on the road. What should I even call those things…
Golem-cars?
They had the shape of carriages, but something like a stone statue of a horse was pulling them.
The building signs were packed tight with magic-stone lamps, enough to give the impression of modern neon blazing in the dark.
And the text on them — special sale, open 24 hours — was so aggressively modern it practically jumped out at me.
Isili looked just as stunned, eyes round as she peered every which way.
"Haha, Isili. There'll be plenty of time to sightsee. Let's get to the inn. Miss Lua, you'll come with us, won't you?"
Nod, nod.
"Heehee. Of course."
I watched the citizens who looked for all the world like they had walked out of an adventurer brochure, and in high spirits I hurried after Isili's little retreating figure.