Steel and Mana

Chapter 186 – Tour

It was a warm and sunny morning, and waking up was very different from what I was used to. It wasn't bad; it was… refreshing. Sitting up and looking around, the room we were staying in was way less luxurious than the ones in our palace, yet it was more… welcoming. I never truly cared for the luxuries at home. Yes, I enjoyed using them, who wouldn't, but I never felt attached to them or considered them irreplaceable. Especially since I became the Empress and was living in the part of the palace that was sealed off from the others. It was always… empty. That is why I always felt delighted when my Milly was with me… Losing him… I wouldn't know what to do. But he is here now. Safe and sound…

Looking at his sleeping face, I couldn't tell that he was fighting for survival only a day ago. Thank the Gods that his family built up this place! As for his missing arm, I will replace it. I will help him do everything! First, I will aid him in releasing that pent-up stress! Hm… Did it get bigger? It is also hotter than before, I think. And it is stiffer this morning!

"Miri…"

Ah! He dreams about me? Awawawa! I love you so much! Sleep, my King, I'll do it for you… Thank you for the breakfast! Mhmhmh!

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"So you are the Empress, huh?"

"I am."

Huh… it is a bit weird seeing somebody who isn't groveling before me and uses such a coarse and harsh voice. She looks older than me and is definitely from the Kingdom of Scorc, so I won't argue about her tone. Not that it matters anyway.

"My girls will keep an eye on you at all times, even if you can't see them. So don't think of doing anything weird."

"Yuri, yes?" I asked, maintaining my calm appearance. I was standing in the doorway of my guest room, wanting to catch up with my Milly to tour the city, and I was just about to leave when I literally ran into her. "I am not like my predecessor. Besides that... We are guests to your husband. Aren't we?"

"I am responsible for my hubby's life, and I am his guard dog. I am telling you straight, I don't care if you are an Empress or a beggar. Try anything, and I will gut you and then hang you by your own intestines up on the highest tower of our city and watch you bleed out. Clear?"

"As the day." I answered, smiling, because I thought I could understand her better than she may think. I felt the same way towards my Milly, and now I had a new idea of what Duke Jauwn would experience when I returned to my city.

Well, after she left, I could go on my way and finally take a leisurely look at this town. City. Avalon… huh? I am impressed that they managed to build this under the nose of my aunt. Or maybe not; she wasn't the sharpest one. I did notice the weirdness of my love's family, the multiple caravans, dealings, and investments, all that somehow always ended up going north. Good thing that I didn't make a fuss about it, ahaha!

"What is it?" Milan asked, seeing me smile. I couldn't help but smile even more as I grabbed onto his arm to hug it while we walked through the palace's corridors, led by the young boy named Merlin and a handful of soldiers.

"Nothing, I'm just happy that you are healed!"

Yes. That was what mattered; the rest will be dealt with one way or another. I wasn't going to let go of his arm, but when we exited the city, I had to… I had to force my face to hide my surprise, rubbing my cheeks because now, looking around, I realized the actual difference between the two cities.

The one I grew up in was magnificent but also a labyrinth. There were many sneaking streets, some so narrow carriages couldn't get to them, some as vast as a house yet always empty because no people were allowed to walk them. There were many different aspects to it, but it also made it chaotic and, to my eyes, unsightly. It lacked order, and it lacked purpose. It was a mishmash of centuries of building, demolishing, and rebuilding, resulting in a hideous monster where rats could easily get lost and fester.

"How did you manage to build something like this without help from us? The knowledge alone to create these streets is a guarded secret, making us great money when a noble hires our workers to build their new homes."

"When I was little, we found an abandoned mine here." The boy answered me without looking back, "From there, my Sovereign began reverse engineering magic, modifying it, and soon, we were already building with stones. It wasn't hard. I guess others simply don't do it because they are afraid of being killed."

"So you built this city from a magic circle found in a mine?" Milan asked, making me think as I observed the wide streets. I recognized that they were purposefully planned, straight as an arrow, and could make two carriages go on their merry way without bothering each other.

"Pretty much. My Sovereign designed and planned the city down to the last building."

"What if something new is needed?" I asked, and he answered immediately.

"It is modular, and new ideas can be added at any time without messing with the plans. The population is still in the growing phase, so we have room to change things. The city was built to house around double the current population of the frontier. Many districts are yet to be populated and are waiting for their owners. Even if we finally fill it up, expanding it is possible, or we can establish a new city, but we have yet to grow to that size. Maybe we won't."

The houses we walked by were uniform in design, but the closer I looked, the more details I noticed. Their outer walls were painted differently, and the decorations put up were varied and not like the nobles' overly expensive, slap-gold-on-everything kind of design. I was wondering where they got all the carvings or painted murals, but when I asked, it turned out they made it.

"People made it…?" I whispered, and I watched as Merlin looked at me weirdly.

It was surprising for me because people like these should not have the thought to consider art. They should be concerned about putting food on the table… which then drew me to ask about how they are being fed. Finally, I realized that the machines we saw from the sky were for manning the fields. They said it was working without any magic, but I didn't believe it. I get that they don't want to tell me their secrets, but at least they shouldn't look at me like a naive girl.

Probably, it was because of my expression that Merlin escorted us toward a multi-story building, which, at first, I thought was a joke. An academy? A school? For everyone? That was the nobles' privilege, but then again, if they aren't lying, and there are no nobles here… and everyone can read and write... Maybe they did turn towards the fine arts. I didn't want to believe it, but seeing children being taught right before my eyes, I had to.

"And they pay… nothing?" Milan asked, and I saw the same surprise on his face. I understood it well because I also met him at the Imperial Academy. Getting in there was still an expensive endeavor for his family as they were just promoted to becoming dukes back then.

"An educated population is a productive one," Merlin answered proudly. "Your sister is also going to teach some classes; she mentioned her interest in it, and I organized some courses for her. At the start, I was the one doing everything, but by now, we have a hundred teachers at hand who are doing the task either full-time or hosting specialized classes. I only step in at the final exams and when there is a need to retrain the teachers. And yes." He continued, looking at us, "The teachers are paid by our Sovereign, while education for those who wish to learn is free."

"What if they just… want to be freeloaders? Students forever, doing nothing?" I asked, knowing how many nobles in the Academy were there to make friends and not to learn. It was their way of building ties with other, similarly influential families.

"Why would they?" Merlin questioned, and I could see he was honestly confused, "This is for themselves. Why screw over your own life? Is that some kind of weird fetish?"

“…”

"Let's go!" he shrugged. "I will take you to the aqueducts. I think you will like that!"

"Aqueducts?"

"You'll see."

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"Water flowing from the wall… Lights that burn without fire or magic…" I couldn't help but sigh, lying in the bathtub, looking up towards the ceiling. It was different than the baths I took back home. It wasn't maids who made it... I just twisted a knob, and there it was, water coming from the walls. They even told me that in the winter, hot water is being pumped through metal pipes, warming up everyone's home. "Outrageous!"

All that I was shown today had to be nothing but the surface only. For example, I could only watch the machines from the wall, from afar, be it the two-legged giants or the cannons on tracks. They were on par with wizards, and they were operated by normal, everyday humans. This alone made me think that, with time, Avalon would be superior to any other army on the continent because they would be able to unleash the strengths of wizards and witches using regular men. Right now, we are trying to replenish our magical forces and raise powerful mages, but it will take decades. By then, who knows what Avalon will invent and produce en masse. So what if they lose half of their machines? Just make more! Yet, we wouldn't be able to just create more mages.

I was convinced that they would readily do it just by seeing their people living here. I had never before seen such unity in any city or any household. Not to mention the rivaling nobles, even within one family, there could be brothers who wanted to usurp the other. The fact that their jail was empty and the most outrageous crime here was drunk men fighting, I thought everyone was brainwashed or something. But no, they were… united, unlike the Empire. Was it because Avalon was small? Maybe Leon was right; one should only rule over what he can oversee.

I wonder how far he planned everything. He built his ideal city to his wishes, doing as he liked... And for that, I envied him. I only managed to do that after becoming Empress. No, that is not even true. Now, I can't do what I want or what I like because there is an ancient monster who interferes with it. Would I be able to change Ishillia to resemble Avalon?

"Not with how it is now…" I whispered to myself, beginning to enjoy the scented soap they had, which was even better than the ones I could get at home. I could smell it on the girls in the palace, lasting way longer than what I was used to. Mhmm…

If I began trading for it, some nobles would for sure start copying it. That is the problem… Nobles. No wonder that he didn't have any! They are there to govern the behemoth of an empire I am in charge of, but they are also the people I would need to fight if I want to change things.

"And there will be a fight…"

There is no other way around it. I want some changes made, including getting rid of Pascal. For that change, I will definitely have to go against multiple noble families and grind them to meat paste and bone dust… So be it! I will reform the Empire with my hubby beside me! If the descendants of the Vasas could do it, then I, an offspring of a bloodline who defeated them, can do it too! Whoever dislikes it… can go and die.

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At the same time, when Mirian finally found her resolve, Pascal was alerted once again. He was standing before the Goddess Ariana's Spear, watching it tremble and hum in a low tone, sending bone-chilling shivers through him. Its simple shaft had ominous, black energy swirling around it, while its tip began glowing in a bloody, crimson color, displaying the countless lives it took throughout its existence. Whoever had awoken the ancient relic… was growing stronger.