CHAPTER 3
Welcome to the Mechanical Utopia
1
United stronghold territory. The Heavenly Empire.
More commonly known as the Empire.
Thanks to their highly mechanized civilization, the country had reached unprecedented levels of glory. People had been calling it a mechanical utopia even a hundred years beforehand.
As a consequence of Founder Nebulis’s rebellion, the capital had been razed to ashes.
However…
Yunmelngen, the capital city named after the Lord who ruled the Empire, had been reborn into a steel metropolis. Henceforth, the nation had duly made mechanical advancements in order to prepare for the final war against the witches and sorcerers looming on the horizon.
Or rather…
That was likely the image of the Empire anyone who hadn’t ever visited it would have.
“…This is not as described.”
A note of irritation and annoyance had entered her voice.
They glided down the highway in a large vehicle as Rin repeated the same line she had already said many times before from the back seat.
“This is not as described. What in the world is this place? Answer me, Imperial swordsman.”
“We’re definitely in the Empire proper.”
“Explain this, then!” Rin pointed out the wide-open window. Instead of a sea of dark-gray buildings, the scenery ahead of the highway consisted of endless green plains, of tranquil pastures. She pointed at cows leisurely grazing in fields bathed in warm sunshine.
“How is this countryside the Empire?!”
“It’s obviously the Empire.”
“Liar. You are mistaken if you think I know nothing of your nation.” Rin didn’t stop there. “The Imperial roads are supposed to be mechanized so that all you have to do is get onto a platform to be whisked away to your destination. In place of birds, unmanned aircraft fly through the sky, surveilling the people below. Anyone they find suspicious is immediately shot by automatons with sniper rifles…”
“Not a single one of those things is true!”
“Then what is this place?! Where are the buildings that tower over the Empire like mountains?!”
“They’re—,” Iska started.
“That’s because we’re in the outskirts…I think.”
That had come from the back seat. Commander Mismis, sitting next to Rin, offered timidly, “There are a lot of large cities like what you’re describing, Miss Rin, but I suppose you could say the area where we are now hasn’t changed. It probably has the same atmosphere as it did before the Empire assimilated surrounding nations into itself.”
Pasture stretched on for as far as the eye could see. In the hour they’d been in the car, they glimpsed roads here and there, but there hadn’t been a skyscraper in sight.
Imperial territory. Easternmost Altoria jurisdiction.
They were near the eastern tip of the Empire.
“Come to think of it, Jhin, Nene, and I are from the Imperial capital, but you’re from the east, aren’t you, Commander Mismis?”
“That’s right. But I didn’t live this far out in the country.”
“Mm-hmm.” Meanwhile, Rin turned from absentmindedly watching the cattle at pasture to staring straight below Commander Mismis’s neck. “…So that’s how they got as big as a cow’s.”
“Miss Rin! Where do you think you’re looking as you say that?!” Upon noticing Rin’s gaze, she hid her chest with her hands.
“That makes sense!”
“Now you, Nene?!” Mismis exclaimed.
“You’re making the wrong comparison. It’s her head you should be considering. She’s more carefree and happy-go-lucky than any cow.”
“Now you, Jhin?! …You’re terrible, Iska! So you only brought up where I’m from so everyone could make fun of me?!”
“Why the heck would I do that?!”
It was a ridiculous accusation, and groundless at that.
He needed to prove his innocence. Just as he was trying to figure out a way to do it, someone interrupted him.
“All right. That’s enough joking around.” Rin, who had been staring out the window, sighed loudly as she fell back in her seat. “In other words, I’m not headed to a large city like the Imperial capital. Is that right, Commander Mismis?”
“N-no. Though there are large cities in between, of course.”
“Why not?” Rin asked. Her question wasn’t directed at anyone from Unit 907. Given that she was looking at the sun earring she held, she was likely asking herself that.
“We can only trust in this signal…but why would they not take Lady Sisbell to a city?”
Indeed.
Iska and the others were headed a great distance from the Imperial capital toward the eastern outskirts, which was a far cry from the Empire’s reputation as a mechanical utopia.
“If they were taking Lady Sisbell as a prisoner of war, they would have moved her to the Imperial headquarters. And the headquarters are in the city. Is that correct?”
“It’s exactly where they say it is. I don’t know any more than you do,” Iska didn’t hesitate to reply to Rin as she gazed at him. “The Imperial assembly and the headquarters are both in the Imperial capital. Even the main office of the Empire’s sole institute for astral power research, Omen, is there, too.”
All the authority was concentrated in one place. That was how the Empire had been organized. Iska had to be careful not to give her additional information, but this was publicly known worldwide.
…But Rin is right to be dubious.
…Sisbell is a purebred. The headquarters and Imperial assembly were both desperate to have one.
Iska assumed she would have been taken to the Imperial capital as well.
But the signal had been in the far eastern part of the Empire, coming from the farthest reaches of its territory—here.
“Hey, Jhin Big Bro, what do you think?”
When Nene addressed him from the driver’s seat, the sniper lifted his head. “Hmm? You want to trade places?” he asked.
“That’s not it. I want to know why you think they took Miss Sisbell into the countryside rather than to the capital.”
“That’s not part of our agreement.” Jhin shook his head.
He kept his head propped up on his hand as he leaned on the window.
“We’re just heading back to the capital. On the way, we’ll just happen to make a detour to where Sisbell is being held. After that, it’s none of our business, and we’re not interfering with anything else. And we’re not going out of our way to investigate anything, either.”
“…Well, yeah, I know that, but…” Nene was hemming and hawing. This wasn’t like her.
“We’re Imperial soldiers,” she said. “Aren’t you curious? As a member of the Imperial army? I mean, Miss Sisbell is supposed to be a purebred—she’s super rare. If they took her anywhere but the capital, there’s no way they’d be able to really get the most out of her.”
“No, I’m sure they took her here because they want to make full use of her.”
“What?”
“…” Jhin glanced to his left.
His eyes met Rin’s as her gaze bored into him. He let out a large sigh.
“…Oh, c’mon. Now, this is just my personal opinion, all right?” he prefaced. “So there was that fishy guy. The head of the Hydra or whatever.”
Jhin looked up at the roof of the car. It was as though he was recalling the face of the man who had claimed to be Talisman, leader of the Hydra, during the attack on the Lou’s villa.
“He’s got connections with the Empire without a doubt. But even if he’s got them, that doesn’t mean he’s the real person we’re up against.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“He must have handed Sisbell off to somebody in the Empire. Wouldn’t it be plausible for his partner to not be part of the headquarters or the Imperial assembly? In that case, they’d obviously take her far away from the Imperial capital to a place like this.”
“…………” Rin was silent.
Jhin ignored her as he directed his gaze back out the window.
“Just so you know, I’ve got no clue who he could have made this deal with. But you can figure out what they’re after, yeah? Nene was basically right. Sisbell is a valuable purebred. And since she is, somebody wants to monopolize her—without HQ or the Imperial assembly being any wiser.”
“…And you’re saying that we’re headed to those people?”
“More than likely,” Jhin mused. “I’ll say it again: This is none of our business. We’ll drop you off at wherever they took Sisbell and then head back to the capital. We’re not digging into this.”
“Fine by me,” Rin answered very seriously.
When she said that, this time Jhin was the one taking a look at her.
“Aren’t you going to say it’s more convenient that way?”
“…What is?”
“The Imperial capital would be hell for you, seeing as how you’re from the Sovereignty and all. We’ve got astral energy detectors set up all over the place and way more military police to boot. Plus, there are so many Saint Disciples there that you’d practically bump shoulders with them.”
“What? How idiotic. You think I’m relieved that we are not headed to the capital?” Rin dramatically crossed her arms. “It’s actually a letdown. I have been prepared to set foot there ever since I was ordered to rescue Lady Sisbell. But now that the time has come, we’re headed to the countryside instead.”
“You sound awfully confident.”
“I’m not exaggerating. I bet you haven’t even begun to realize the experience I have.”
I’m tired of being in the car. As though she were trying to imply that simply through her firm tone of voice, Rin addressed the driver. “Nene, or whoever you are, will we reach the location today?”
“Maybe by tomorrow,” she replied. “We’re almost at a large town, so we’ll stay there overnight. We also need to charge the car soon.”
“…Well, no matter,” Rin said offhandedly, almost brazenly.
“I thought I was in for some shocking sights, but that was when I believed we were headed for the capital instead of the Imperial boonies.”
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