Riomain Province, the heart of the Empire’s steel industry and the Leonhart Duchy, had once been engulfed by the resurgence of the Ancient Calamity, Vanished.
The Poison Dragon, Hydra.
With its nine heads, the Poison Dragon seemed to confirm its title as an Ancient Calamity, plunging the once-resplendent Riomain Province into utter chaos.
Yet, powerhouses from across the Empire and the world converged, forming a Hydra Extermination Squad. Through their sacrifices and relentless efforts, the Hydra was finally vanquished within seven months.
Before its demise, the Hydra spewed a toxic miasma that spread to the outskirts of Riomain Province, breeding countless plagues. Noir’s mother, too, succumbed to one of these diseases and passed away. However, thanks to the Leonhart Duchy’s swift response and the Empire’s material aid, Riomain Province overcame its grievous wounds and once again stood as a resplendent land.
Three years ago, however, a mysterious group known as Yeoro attacked Preas, the heart of Riomain Province, plunging the region into another period of turmoil.
The assault had occurred right before the Duchy’s gates.
Even the esteemed Leonhart Knights were unable to trace the culprits’ whereabouts.
The Golden Emperor’s Grand Colosseum, ‘Arena,’ a symbol of Preas, lay utterly destroyed.
While it was a miracle that no lives were lost, that fact alone could not protect the Leonhart Duchy.
The Golden Emperor’s attack had occurred just as the Duchy, already renowned for overcoming an Ancient Calamity, was seeing its prestige rise even further.
Naturally, the Leonhart Duchy’s political adversaries did not hesitate to capitalize on such a prime opportunity.
Attacks surged in from all directions.
Consequently, the Leonhart Duchy, which had always led its peers, faltered momentarily under the onslaught.
Yet, the wisdom of the old lion proved superior to that of the old foxes.
Lucius, utilizing the seeds he had already sown, overcame his adversaries’ attacks and once again elevated the Leonhart Duchy to a preeminent noble house.
Not only that, but he effectively transformed Preas into the Empire’s second capital, developing Riomain Province into a territory far greater than it had been before.
All this transpired in merely two years following the Golden Emperor incident.
****
Rattle-rattle
“Young Lady, please, let me change my clothes… There’s no need to wear the school uniform from the station, is there…?”
“No. You’ll have to live in that uniform from now on, so what will you do if you start like this already?”
At the heart of Riomain Province’s rapid development was the railway industry, which had successfully been commercialized since last year.
Having already invested vast capital in its railway industry, Riomain Province saw more rail lines laid than any region save the Imperial Capital. As a result of policies centered around this railway, Riomain Province, alongside the Imperial Capital, entered the true modern era.
Moreover, because Riomain Province, already known as the hub of the steel industry, took the lead in the railway sector, the Empire’s railway industry also developed at an astonishing pace.
‘The Turning Point of an Era’
While humanity progresses with the flow of time, known as eras, there are instances where a specific event fundamentally alters that very flow.
In this world, the Empire’s railway industry had become the turning point that reversed that flow.
“Young Lady, please…”
“No.”
The train carrying the Young Lady and me hurtled towards Lysium.
As expected of a ducal household, an entire train car had been rented for us, so there were no prying eyes. Even so, it felt truly humiliating to be wearing a school uniform instead of my maid uniform.
“Why is a maid uniform acceptable, but a school uniform isn’t? Wouldn’t it be even more embarrassing to wear a maid uniform around the academy?”
“Embarrassing, the maid uniform? If possible, I’d wish to wear my maid uniform even at the academy.”
“Sometimes, I truly wonder what that maid uniform means to you.”
‘What is the maid uniform, you ask?’
‘It is, of course, like the priestly vestments worn by brides to steel their resolve,’
‘And is it not akin to the sacred robes donned by angels descending from the heavens?’
However, I could never voice those words aloud.
For now, simply enduring this humiliating feeling was arduous enough.
‘Hmph, calm down. Just calm down.’
‘Let’s think this through carefully.’
‘What reason is there to be ashamed of wearing women’s clothes?’
Even if a maid is a great profession transcending all barriers regardless of gender, the life I had lived as Blanc was undoubtedly that of a woman.
And a woman’s body is nothing to be ashamed of, is it?
Though I possess a magnificent sacred body utterly incapable of base desires, I have seen the Young Lady’s body a few times. And while I would never dare to confine the esteemed maids within the narrow framework of gender, I have also bathed with the maids of the manor.
There is no reason to be ashamed of a woman’s life now.
Furthermore, if I were to wear my maid uniform at the academy, it could put the Young Lady in an awkward position. I must steel my resolve!
‘Yes, this is not shameful.’
‘I am Blanc. Now, a woman…’
‘A maid, yes, but a woman.’
‘There’s no need to be embarrassed by a mere school uniform.’
‘Let me stand tall, shoulders back, and embrace the fact that I am a woman…!’
‘After all, not wearing a maid uniform doesn’t make me any less of a maid, does it?’
Ultimately, it was only after the train arrived in the Magic Autonomous City of Lysium that I could conclude my contemplation on identity.
‘Hawawa… I’m a maid high school girl-chan…’ (TL Note: ‘Hawawa’ is a cutesy onomatopoeia, and ‘-chan’ is a Japanese honorific used here in a playful, self-referential manner.)
****
‘Hawawa, it’s me, Blanc-chan, the maid high school girl!’
‘Ooh, after such a long journey, I’ve finally arrived in Lysium, where the academy is located!’
‘As soon as I arrived, I started unloading the luggage from the train…’
“Blanc, what are you spacing out and thinking about?”
“It’s nothing, Young Lady. You don’t need to worry about it.”
‘Ah! My mental conditioning in the train was a bit too thorough!’
A true maid inherently possesses the skill to self-condition their mind and spirit, adapting to any given situation.
Should one’s master reside in the Middle East, a maid must cultivate the mindset to always wear a hijab. And if the master belongs to an African tribe that maintains a primitive civilization, then a maid must be capable of adorning their face with all manner of ornaments.
Changing my gender identity from male to female was, after all, not an impossible feat, provided I harbored a certain degree of resolve.
Thus, by overturning all the concepts and mindsets I had held, I was finally reborn as a true female maid.
‘Probably…’
“Still, it’s quite something that they managed to lay railway tracks even in Lysium.”
Lysium, a magical city situated at the heart of the continent, had a territory extending only about 8 kilometers around its core.
While considerably large for a city, it was quite a narrow territory for a city-state capable of wielding national power.
Nevertheless, the Magic Association’s headquarters, commonly known as the Magic Tower, located within Lysium, and the overwhelming magical records accumulated by Lysium, compelled this small city to be recognized as a sovereign nation.
Moreover, its position as a colossal city at the continent’s center paradoxically rendered it untouchable by the Three Great Nations.
If one were to invade Lysium, the other two great nations would immediately turn their backs and point their spears at the aggressor.
While Lysium was indeed a tempting fruit, in reality, it was no different from a poisoned apple that could lead to death the moment it was consumed.
Even if one were to prepare for immense casualties to fully conquer Lysium, would they really want to make enemies of the other two great nations?
It was, in essence, tantamount to ruining one’s own country.
For this reason, Lysium was also known by another epithet:
‘The Inviolable City.’
Though no formal treaty prevented an attack on Lysium, it had effectively become a tacitly established inviolable territory.
Yet, the Empire’s railway, which could potentially be exploited for military purposes, had been laid in Lysium.
The Allied Nations and the Kingdom could not possibly have simply stood by and watched this happen.
It was a daring act, one that would not have been surprising if it had provoked outrage and condemnation from them towards the Empire.
It was an excessively bold move, one that could even be called an atrocity, yet the current Emperor completed this undertaking without any apparent repercussions.
I had heard that the railway was laid in Lysium immediately after the Three Nations’ Council concluded, so what exactly did the Emperor do during that council?
While this might have been a thoughtless plot device inserted by the creators in the original work, applying it to reality transformed it into a complex issue intertwined with countless political conflicts.
‘Well, it’s not really my concern, is it?’
Such political matters were for those in power to ponder.
****
“This is Lysium!”
What greeted the Young Lady and me as we disembarked at the station was a truly fantastical sight, befitting its moniker as a ‘magical city’.
Blue magic circles dominated Lysium’s sky, while countless other spell formations adorned the heavens.
Innumerable magical artifacts, from self-propelled bicycles to single-person gliders soaring through the sky, were everywhere. Throughout the streets, special devices designed to absorb the overflowing mana—preventing accidents—stood like streetlights.
If those devices functioned as they did in the original story, they would indeed also serve as streetlights.
And the magical energy gathered by these devices would, according to the setting, be channeled into the Magic Association’s headquarters, the Magic Tower, to be used for Lysium’s developmental mechanisms and research materials.
Even though I had seen it hundreds of times in the game, witnessing this cutting-edge magical city unfold before my eyes filled me with a fresh sense of awe.
“Is this your first time in Lysium as well, Young Lady?”
“Yes, I’ve never left the Empire before. I’ve visited other duchies and the Imperial Capital a few times, but this is my very first time in a foreign land.”
‘The Imperial Capital.’
I had visited it a few times myself.
Although the continent currently maintained a precarious peace through the delicate balance of the three great nations—the Empire, the Kingdom, and the Allied Nations—the Ephios Empire had always remained at the continent’s heart.
The Imperial Capital, too, possessed a grandeur and majesty that was in no way inferior to the spectacle of Lysium.
In terms of sheer scale, it would likely be several times larger than Lysium.
However, unlike Lysium, the Imperial Capital lacked elements that evoked a sense of beauty.
Its magnificent and imposing appearance was certainly impressive, but in terms of beauty, Lysium would undoubtedly surpass it many times over.
“Blanc. Since we’ve arrived early, let’s take the opportunity to explore Lysium.”
“Yes, Young Lady. As you wish.”
Friday, April 3rd, Theus Calendar, 1815.
Approximately three hours remained until 10 AM, when the academy’s entrance ceremony was scheduled to begin.
