Chapter 91.
At 10 a.m., the train station in the eastern part of the capital was unusually quiet. Besides the station workers, not a single soul was in sight..
- The train is now entering East Capital Station. Passengers, please take a step back for your safety.
The pre-recorded voice resounded throughout the station despite there being no passengers,. The station workers waited for the train to roll into the station, their faces unusually tense.
The train gradually slowed down before coming to a complete stop at the East Capital Station.
- When the train door opens, please wait for passengers to exit before boarding.
A recorded announcement played again, and the train door opened.
A few minutes passed, yet no one stepped out through the open train doors. However, none of the station workers dared to relax.
After a wait, strong young men in fancy silver uniforms got off the train first, glancing around as they stepped onto the platform, before speaking into a magic radio.
"All clear on the train platform."
- Copy that. Don’t lower your guard even if it’s clear.
The men in silver uniform became on guard again at the staticky voice from the radio.
"Understood."
Shortly after the reply, a girl delicately stepped off the train, guarded by men in silver uniforms.
"There is a wide gap between the car and the station. Take my hand, Miss Saintess."
Albatoss, the leader of the paladins serving the Saintess, extended his hand. Hillis smiled and whispered, "My stride is wider, so stop being a fool."
Albatoss burst into a loud laugh, although he quickly felt awkward due to the quiet surroundings and tried to cover his embarrassment with a dry cough. "Ahem, if that is Miss Saintess’s will."
Once Hillis alighted from the train, the paladins dressed in silver like Albatoss swiftly filed out of the train and surrounded her in escort.
Hillis sighed at the sight.
"Ehew, being ridiculous."
Hillis’ words were barely loud enough for the paladins surrounding her to barely hear. They wanted to laugh out loud as usual, but there were station workers here. As paladins, they had to protect the Saintess’s prestige.
At this time, a middle-aged man in a high-class suit, who was obviously of a higher position than the station workers, approached Hillis. The paladins naturally stopped him.
Hillis sighed inwardly at the sight, while her face showed a perfectly benevolent smile.
"It’s all right."
The paladins dropped their arms that had been blocking the middle-aged man’s approach, but they maintained their vigilance towards the middle-aged man’s movements.
The middle-aged man approached Hillis, unconcerned as if he thought the paladins’ actions were only natural. Still, he stopped his approach and kept a certain distance.
"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Miss Saintess. Although I am lacking, I am the chief of the Imperial Railroad Association and am called Jemuir."
The railroad chief did not bother to give his last name. In the temple, once one reached a certain rank or higher, they would abandon their last name and use only their name, position, or even just their baptismal name. Therefore, Jemuir was accommodating their practices.
"It is nice to meet you, Sir Jemuir," Hillis greeted by simply drawing a cross.
Just as the railroad chief was trying to continue the conversation, a frivolous voice came from behind.
"Iya! A train is so nice! Don’t you think so? Sir Paladins?"
As Mac got off the train, the paladins avoided his eyes as much as possible and evaded his question.
"What’s wrong with you all? This is unlike you all."
When Mac looked on with a playful smile, Leisha hit Mac in the back.
"Get a grip, look at the atmosphere!"
"That’s right!" Lancelot agreed with Leisha.
Hillis burst into laughter at the sight and explained to the railroad chief. “It’s my traveling party.”
“Oh! I see.”
The railroad chief was inwardly flustered, although he tried to hide it. Hillis took advantage of the railroad chief being flustered to pose a question.
"By the way, I heard there were people down there who came to welcome me. Is this the way down there?"
Rather than waste time listening to the railroad chief prattle on with some boring and tedious chatter, Hillis preferred to seize the initiative in the conversation. "Oh, yes! That is correct."
The railroad chief showed signs of regret as he guided them down the train station.
"As you know, under imperial law, carrying weapons inside the train and at the station is strictly controlled. Because of me, the paladins who came to receive Miss Saintess have had a hard time waiting in the cold."
Hillis thought he was being superfluous since she was already well aware of everything he was saying, but still she smiled quietly and followed the guide.
Unless the train station was enclosed, it would be cold all the same regardless of whether the paladins came into the station or otherwise.
As Hillis and the paladins went down the stairs, Lancelot called Hillis from behind.
"Excuse me, Miss Saintess."
"Yes. Go ahead."
"We have somewhere to go, so we will have to separate here."
Hillis widened her eyes, then spoke with a look of regret. "Yes, you said you were looking for someone. Alright. Then are you going to General Bloody’s residence?”
Lancelot nodded. "Yes, our plan is to operate out of Lord Bloody’s residence."
"I see. Come to think of it, it seems you were late getting to the capital because of our situation."
Hillis apologized. After a pilgrimage in Zaharam from late July to early August, she had persuaded the trio to go with them to St. Percival in order to reward and thank them.
It had been around mid-September when they had arrived in the holy city of St Percival, and considering it was December now, it had taken them around two and a half months in total to get to the capital.
There had been the Zaharam incident but it was also largely due to the serious injury of Cardinal Fernando and news of Mario’s death, one of the three head paladins under Fernando.
"As promised, I will do my best to search for the person you are looking for within the limits of my ability."
"Thank you." Lancelot bowed his head.
"Let’s have a drink later."
The paladins nodded silently at Mac.
"It’s been a pleasure being with you guys. Let’s meet again later."
Hillis genuinely smiled at Leisha and said, "Come to the Great Temple any time. May God bless you."
Mac naturally picked up Leisha and jumped down the railing.
"Hold, hold on! Kyaaaaaaaa-!!" Leisha, who had a fear of heights, screamed.
A somewhat embarrassed Lancelot also followed. "Ah! Wait for me!"
The railroad chief was stunned, but Hillis and the paladins headed out of the train station as if it was only natural.
Eyes wide, the railroad chief stared at the paladins confusedly..But when he saw Hillis go ahead, he came to his senses and hurried over to the front to guide them again.
-o-
After somehow completing my training at the district office, I returned to the training center in a week.
I headed to the lecture room where I had the magic class before the start of the probationary training.
After the training in the district office would be the training in the magic tower. Therefore, now I was heading for the lecture room to be assigned a magic tower to go for training.
Thinking back to the novel in my previous life, the magic tower in that novel was a kind of school where a group of magicians got together to research magic, and was often beyond the purview of the national authority.
Hence, the leader of the magic tower would often be corrupt and end up being robbed by the munchkin main character, or caught by the munchkin main character because they were basically a group of pushover wise men who were truly removed from the world.
But not in the empire.
In here, the magic tower was a kind of public company made up of magicians. To be exact, one could think of it as a group of magicians researching magic, magic scrolls, and magic tools under the control of the nation.
Oh, but didn’t magic towers in the novels of my past life do those things too? Now, that’s something to ponder on.
Well, a magician’s work was as such anyway. But what mattered was not what the magic tower did, but that it was ‘managed by the nation’.
In other words, research that posed a threat to the nation was not allowed. You could not do unethical research. Above all, all the research that the magic tower had done needed to be shown to the empire.
Although it was granted some autonomy, a considerable amount of the profits earned by the magic tower was given to the empire, which in turn supported the magic tower’s operations.
From the empire’s perspective, it was very matter-of-fact. Magicians had a special position as a magic researcher and as a tactical weapon that made their lives very comfortable. In other words, powerful weapons that should only be found on the battlefield, were roaming the city center. This was a group that had the freedom to judge and analyze situations.
From a politician’s point of view, they were still less dangerous than a powder keg filled with gunpowder and cannonballs. From the empire’s perspective, if they weren’t controlled and something were to go wrong, terrible things could ensue.
That was why civil servants were sent to the magic tower and its branches: to help with its work and at the same time monitor the work inside it.
Entering the lecture room, it was packed with trainees. Usually, the class was divided into multiple sessions, to the point where the lecture room looked uselessly large. But today, it didn’t look all that spacious.
I found Flam among the crowd of people packed tightly as bean sprouts, and sat next to him.
"You’re here? You came a little late today."
“I stopped by the White Deer Knights on the way back and wrote a testimony."
Flam was surprised. "Weren’t you completely released?"
"I’m free from being investigated so it is true that I have been completely released. It’s kind of a witness testimony and a formality." I answered with a shrug.
Even though I had gone out of my way to give them clear evidence, they still called in a busy person like myself to get a written testimony, claiming that it was protocol.
The attempted poisoning incident had occured 4 days ago, and I knew they had to fill out reports, but what did that have to do with me? It seemed like I’d be called in two or three more times. How annoying!
"It hasn’t been announced yet, has it?"
Flam nodded. "That’s right. I don’t know which tower I’ll be going to for training, but it’d be nice if we went together again."
"I agree."
If Flam had been late in bringing the priest during the recent attempted poisoning incident, Pelgrant probably would not have died, but he would have likely still been comatose. By then, no matter how much evidence I gathered and brought back, I likely wouldn’t have been released this early.
Even that gangster Burden, a vice captain, had said that Director Pelgrant’s influence was something that couldn’t be ignored for securing his release.
I’ll buy Flam a drink later. This time, I’d have to lower the ratio of liquor mixed with beer to less than half. Otherwise, he might panic again and refuse to drink with me.
While I was thinking about this and that, the door to the lecture room opened and one of the professors who taught the magic class came in.
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