World in Motion (2)
"The remnants of the Sylnia Republic have been dealt with."
In the imperial capital, within the imperial palace's office, several knights knelt before the Emperor, reporting the end of the civil war.
The Emperor, engrossed in a book, spoke without lifting his gaze.
"It took you long enough."
"We had difficulties capturing General Dordred."
"It wasn't *you* who had trouble, was it? I’m the one who had to clean up that mess for you! Don't act like you were useful when you were worthless."
"Yeah, if our brother hadn't been there, you would’ve been dead. And a lot of the dolls we collected were destroyed."
Suddenly, the knight who had been reporting was kicked by two siblings at the same time.
The brother was a tall man with brown hair, who looked like nothing more than a frivolous rogue.
The sister had black hair reaching her shoulders and wore an outfit resembling a gothic lolita, making her look like a doll. These siblings were the captain and vice-captain of the Empire's first Knights Order.
They were not originally from this world but had been accidentally transported here. In the process, they stole power from the Goddess, who had since lost most of her strength. Now, she could no longer freely bestow abilities to otherworlders.
Typically, an otherworlder would find themselves in this world only once every few years or decades. The Goddess would offer them support to help them adjust to life here, but due to the excessive summoning of heroes by the Imperial State, errors had emerged in the system.
The brother had received powers that the Goddess had decided never to grant to humans—abilities that could throw the world into chaos.
The siblings rose to prominence within the Empire, reaching their current positions. Those who opposed them were all "collected," their souls altered and turned into dolls.
That ability had been given to him, unlike Alice, who had gained the wisdom to manipulate souls on her own. However, there were limits to his power.
For example, the Emperor in front of them could not be turned into a doll. The Emperor of the Empire was also contracted with a spirit.
The blessings of a spirit were immense, making mind control through magic nearly ineffective. No matter how weak the spirit, altering the soul of its contractor was forbidden. While this protection didn’t help against drugs or violence, the siblings still pretended to obey the Emperor, for now.
(What an idiot. He doesn't even realize how close he is to becoming a doll. Well, I'll play along for now. This country will be mine soon enough.)
(Exactly, he’s already practically a puppet and doesn’t even realize it.)
The siblings weren't simply following orders. Due to the limitations of the power they stole from the Goddess, it couldn’t be used recklessly. They pretended their abilities were unreliable, only showing them sparingly. His power to control even the most capable of mages made him a perfect tool for seizing the country.
"Well, as long as we're together, most people can be collected. Ah, time to restock."
"Got it. I'll lure in some adventurers with fake requests."
The siblings left the office, waving dismissively. They had no respect for the Emperor.
"So, when will we destroy Arland?"
"We’ve deployed the knights and mercenary groups across various regions, and we’ve even enlisted adventurers and former bandits. Still, we’ve never moved an army of three million before. Give us about four months."
The Emperor tapped his desk rhythmically with his fingers.
"Very well. Once Arland falls, uniting the continent will be within reach."
"However, it may be wise to request reinforcements from the Magic Kingdom or the Imperial State to ensure a greater force for the assault."
"We don't need them. We will sever ties with the Imperial State. Once I have the princess, their power—and the magic of the Magic Kingdom—will be unnecessary. With her, we could even resurrect the magic battleship in the docks. There would be no need to share the spoils with them."
The Emperor’s mind was entirely focused on the conquest of Arland. His next goal was to capture Alicetia. He doubted those who had just left could control the princess, especially since she was protected by a spirit. If their abilities didn’t work on him, it stood to reason they wouldn’t work on her either.
But, as the Emperor thought, she was still a young girl. There were countless ways to force her to submit, whether through pain, pleasure, or taking her people hostage. Magic wasn’t the only weapon at his disposal.
With a snap, the Emperor closed his book.
"Prepare at once. I will lead the campaign personally."
The siblings couldn't contain their laughter. The foolish Emperor was so easy to manipulate.
"So, big brother, how do you plan to move? That’s definitely Iris, right?"
"Yeah, I think so. There's no way anyone else could be building fighter jets here. There’s no infrastructure or blueprints that the common people could access… but if it’s Iris, it’s possible. After all, this world has magic. No way that mad scientist wouldn’t be drawn to it."
There was information the Emperor didn’t know—information the siblings had kept from reaching his ears.
"But isn’t Iris really dangerous?"
They knew of Iris, and they could imagine the threat she posed. However, that was all conjecture. The siblings had never come into direct contact with her. Iris had escaped and supposedly died in an accident before they could "collect" her. Because of this, Iris knew nothing about them—and had no interest in them.
"Yeah, she’s that family-obsessed woman. She gave up her fame and everything else for her family. If it really is her, we’ll have a tough time."
"But Iris’s family is her biggest weakness. Fortunately, we’ve gathered all the cards we need for Draconia. We’ve already won."
As they left the castle, the siblings’ Knights Order, standing expressionless, awaited them.
There were 300 knights and mercenaries of A-rank or equivalent.
Twenty S-rank adventurers or knights.
And five SS-rank adventurers, a level of power so rare there were only twenty such individuals in the world.
These forces were assembled to capture Draconia, once the strongest adventurer, now a king. The siblings believed that with Draconia under their control, acquiring Alicetia would be easy.
"This time, she’ll be mine for sure."
"Exactly! And once we’ve pushed the Emperor just a little more, this country will be ours too."
Takuto's Point of View
"No, Takuto, you'll be captured if you keep this up!"
Kazuhito, half-mad with panic, restrained Takuto, dragging him back from his reckless advance.
They were in a research facility in the Magic Kingdom. Takuto had just encountered someone he never wanted to see again. The man hadn’t even paused his research or paid any attention to Takuto, simply calling for security.
There was someone talented here, but no one knew exactly in what. That was the vague information they had infiltrated with. If it was Iris, then it wasn’t surprising. Back on Earth, not many knew about her personality either, since she rarely appeared publicly.
"That person! That person is..."
Kazuhito firmly punched the stubborn Takuto.
"Get a grip! It's not Iris and that’s all matters now! Do you have time to deal with that person? If we stay in this country, we'll get caught!"
"... Understood."
They ran as fast as they could. Along the way, they regrouped with their comrades and escaped by creating a hole in a section of the city wall. After about two days of running, it seemed they had successfully fled.
Initially, there were about 100 people from another world that Takuto had liberated from the Empire. However, some settled in a village they passed through, some were killed by pursuers, and others found new goals in this world and left Takuto's group. Now, their numbers had dwindled to around 70.
"... Sorry."
"Your goal is Iris, right? Are you planning to end this journey here?"
As the fire crackled and everyone ate their meals, Takuto, Kazuhito, and Mai, the de facto leaders, sat together. They often discussed future plans like this.
"But it wasn’t a waste. I think Iris is in Arland. I’m not certain, but it’s the most likely possibility."
Takuto, who had been eating with his head down, lifted his face. He looked tired, but there was hope in his eyes.
"Is that true?"
"Didn’t that country seem tense? They say Arland stole magic technology, but when I bought a newspaper... It said they were using technology from our world. There shouldn’t be airplanes in this world, right?"
Mai handed the newspaper to Takuto.
The article reported that Princess Alicetia of Arland had used stolen airship technology from the Magic Kingdom to resurrect an airship, claiming the achievement for Arland. It further accused her of stealing airplane technology that the Magic Kingdom had been researching as a foreign-world technology. The paper condemned the princess, stating that unless she was captured and the technology reclaimed, she would continue using it.
What caught Takuto's attention was the photo of the airplane.
Cameras existed in this world (albeit extremely expensive). The photo, supposedly taken in Ostland, showed an airplane attacking a dragon.
"Wait, that’s the XP-72 the U.S. made at the end of World War II! You can't just get the blueprints for that! And... it looks heavily modified. Is that an enhanced and upgraded version? That’s clearly over-technology!"
One of their comrades recognized the aircraft and began sharing what they knew with the group.
According to them, at this world’s current technological level, they couldn’t even make an engine, let alone operate the plane without fuel or oil.
"This would be impossible even for the Magic Kingdom. From what I understand, they were researching biplanes, right?"
Both Takuto and Kazuhito nodded in agreement with Mai. The Magic Kingdom had indeed been researching airplanes, but the researcher was already dead, and not just anyone from another world could build one. It was a concept introduced by an older visitor from another world. That man specialized in genetics and medicine, so how much he could have contributed was unclear. Without gasoline and oil, Takuto doubted they could make it work.
"But if it’s Iris, couldn’t she build a jet? She’s incredible, but in the end, it’s still a propeller plane, right?"
"... If Iris was the one who made this, she probably wouldn’t do that. Who would maintain it? Is she going to service every single one she builds? And what about the factory? Even if she could theoretically build it, it’s not realistic... but you can never predict what she might do, so I can't say for sure."
Kazuhito nodded at Mai's point. Iris was the type who avoided getting involved in troublesome things. She wouldn’t increase her workload unnecessarily, nor would she do something so inefficient.
"Yeah, even if Iris is amazing, it wouldn’t matter if the people around her couldn’t keep up. It doesn’t seem like this country has the technical maturity to do anything just because she’s there. But it's impressive Arland let her build it. The Central Union must be full of concerns about the threat of Arland, right?"
Many countries in the central continent were hostile toward Arland. The reason was that, while distinctions between races existed, discrimination was forbidden there. Some races were naturally incompatible, such as tiger beastfolk and rabbit beastfolk, so they tended to live apart. Public discrimination was criticized because allowing it would eventually harm everyone.
However, in the central continent, beastfolk were despised, and in some countries, they could even be enslaved with the proper permits. The common view was that inferior sub-humans should serve ordinary humans.
Arland, however, was different. Its military strength couldn’t be ignored, even by the Empire. Now, with its various innovations, Arland would likely deepen its rift with other nations.
"On top of that, it seems Arland has formed alliances with other countries to resist the Central Union, using the airship as bait.
The Magic Kingdom is furious. Apparently, the princess even said in a speech that it was easy to build."
Takuto thought for a moment.
"... I can’t say for sure that the princess who’s in the public eye is Iris. If it were Iris, she wouldn’t be in the spotlight, and she wouldn’t help strangers. She didn’t trust people much."
It was true that Iris rarely relied on anyone. She could do many things on her own, and it was more efficient for her to handle tasks herself.
"That may be true, but if we keep wandering like this, we’ll never find her. We can't keep wandering forever; everyone is tired."
"Exactly. At the very least, Arland might offer us protection. At worst, we could help them, and everyone might be able to live in peace. We need to establish a base."
The otherworlders who had followed Takuto couldn’t continue living on the run indefinitely. They didn’t know when they might be attacked or where they might die. No matter how much they hated the Empire or the Church, they couldn’t go on like this. Without a glimmer of hope for tomorrow, the group would collapse.
"You're right. If we talk to them, they might protect us. We have non-combatants, too. It’s time we establish a base. At worst, I can search for Iris on my own."
"We’ll help, too. Iris helped us a lot. Without her, I definitely would’ve failed high school."
"You just hated studying. As for me... well, I need to scold her for doing things without consulting us and then leaving without a word. I thought we were friends... I have the right to be mad, don’t I?"
Takuto and the others shared their plan with the group—to find a base. No one objected. There were hardly any countries on this continent that weren’t influenced by the Empire or the Church. While Arland was a dangerous place, that was precisely why they thought it might protect them.
Thus, they resumed their journey with a renewed sense of purpose.
What do you think about this chapter?
