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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: The Witch, the Dragon, and the Hero
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Chapter 10. The Age of the Witch, the Dragon, and the Hero
Eric and I were held captive by the street vendors for quite some time, strong-armed into buying all sorts of things.
Eventually, we had so much food that we couldn't carry it all with both hands, so we ended up giving some away to the children.
I shook my head from side to side.
“You think we’re going to eat all this?”
I glared at Eric, who was sitting in the seat next to me in the theater.
“...You said you could eat it all earlier, didn’t you?”
No, even so, there’s a limit!
The food, neatly stacked in a large paper box we had acquired, rested on his lap, piled high enough to reach his chest.
‘I doubt people hoarded this much food even during the war! Are we squirrels or something?’
I clicked my tongue like a mother watching her son get into trouble. Eric, looking uncomfortable, cleared his throat and shifted in his seat.
“...Ahem... I think the movie is about to start...”
The seats Eric had chosen were excellent, the kind that would sell for a hefty price in a theater. No sooner had he cleared his throat than the theater’s chandeliers began to dim.
Recently, a myriad of cultural marvels had blossomed in the capital. Movies, automobiles, light aircraft, cameras, telephones, and so on—many of these wonders had, in fact, existed for centuries.
After all, the method of projecting images with a magic crystal ball even appears in the sagas of the Dragon Knights, which feature great mages.
But things like magic crystal balls were reserved for the “great” people who did “great” things.
People like a great mage with a long mane of stark white hair, or a beautiful princess locked away in a castle, blessed by the gods and sworn to chastity, or if not them, a chosen hero with aura flowing through his body.
It wasn’t a world where anyone who could afford a ticket—be it a scoundrel like me or a young lord of noble blood—could sit in the same seats and watch the same images.
It was a change that occurred as money began to determine more than status, as engineering advanced by leaps and bounds and merged with magic, and as the magi-tech devices created by magi-tech engineers became capable of doing more than the magic of a great mage.
It was the flow of the times and the progress of technology, a change that, to a few of those in high places, looked like the world turning upside down.
‘Well, isn't this interesting.’
I took a snack from the box as I watched the screen slowly light up.
A white light was projected onto the screen, and over the static-filled image, the numbers 3, 2, and 1 appeared and disappeared in sequence.
‘Whoa... this is cool...’
The pictures are actually moving!
They had only counted down a few numbers, but I instinctively grabbed Eric’s forearm, which was resting on the armrest next to me.
I felt him turn to look at me.
In the darkness, the light reflecting off the screen faintly illuminated the side of his face. His red eyes seemed to flash as if he were angry, so I let go of his arm and said.
“S-Sorry...”
“Shh.”
Eric whispered to me in a tiny voice. He leaned down, his lips almost brushing my ear as he spoke.
“You have to be quiet. This is a theater.”
He was so close I could feel his breath as it escaped his lips, the very tremor of the air.
I flinched slightly.
Just then, a narrator appeared on the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen! The train is now arriving! Let’s see who gets off the train!”
Ah, right. All the movies in theaters are silent.
Commercial theaters like this, which made money off large audiences, couldn’t use things like crystal balls that played sound and video simultaneously. They used something called electricity, produced by steam power.
‘They say electricity zaps you if you touch it. You know how sometimes when you touch velvet, it stings a little, or it feels like something watery is flowing? That’s a weak form of electricity.’
I recalled what my mother had told me long ago.
*Zing.*
Helena.
She smiled with her brown eyes, a shade similar to mine. She took my hand, lacing her fingers between mine.
‘How about it? Feel a zing?’
‘You’re not velvet, Helena.’
‘Sometimes, electricity passes between people, too.’
‘...You’re lying.’
‘I may be a liar, but it’s true. It happens sometimes. I’m sure scientists will figure it out someday.’
‘That’s what you call a lie.’
‘...’
My fingers, which had been rummaging through the box, picked out a snack and emerged. I was about to put the cinnamon-dusted treat into my mouth.
“Crash! It was at that moment!”
The narrator shouted. And with exquisite timing, the screen flashed. Images of the train shaking and people stumbling were shown intermittently.
The theater filled with the screams of nobles who were far too immersed in the movie.
“...!”
I was no different, so startled that I dropped my snack. But thankfully, I didn't scream.
No, I couldn’t scream.
It was because Eric had squeezed my hand.
I turned my head to look at him. His red eyes were looking straight at me.
“Did that startle you?”
Eric asked. I bit my lip. Instead of answering, I looked down at his fingers, which were woven through mine.
*Zing.*
How could electricity pass between people when they weren’t made of velvet?
I heard electricity flows through things like wires... and people aren’t wires.
With that thought, I shot up from my seat.
“What’s wrong?”
Eric asked in a loud, startled voice. Fortunately, the narrator was loud enough that we didn’t draw too many glares. I replied.
“The restroom!”
✵ ✵ ✵
Eric was left alone in the darkened theater, staring at the spot Imeline had vacated.
He had meant to follow her, but she had looked so flustered that he had missed his chance.
Eric scowled.
‘The restroom!’
Why was her face so red?
Eric looked around the dim theater.
Perhaps this place had been the wrong choice. The inside of this theater was dark and enclosed, after all.
‘Imeline said she was fine, but...’
Maybe it would have been better to take a walk in a bright, open space. Still...
‘Of all things, to go to the restroom...’
It was an awkward situation to chase after her, so Eric sat there feeling extremely uncomfortable. It would have been nice if Lily were here at a time like this.
But Lily was currently in the south.
‘I think I’ll be able to meet Lord Violode’s cousin. Would it be all right if I were away for a few days?’
Lily had looked quite pleased to be leaving. It seemed that staying by Imeline’s side didn’t suit her very well.
It was the opposite with the butler. At first, the butler had been deeply distressed, convinced that Imeline would never adapt to the mansion.
But in just a few days, it seemed the butler had completely opened his heart to her. Snatching the ledgers from the elders appeared to have been the decisive moment.
In any case, the butler bickered with Imeline every day now, but anyone who had known him for a long time could tell. He had opened his heart to her.
The butler greatly enjoys nagging those he's fond of.
‘Young Master, you shouldn’t stay in the cold for too long.’
‘Young Master, you must practice your cursive.’
‘Young Master! You must practice dancing so you can marry a good woman later!’
Of course, the extent of it was enough to wear out even the patient Eric.
Eric chuckled softly at the old memory.
Imeline was a truly amusing woman. Sir Lily would soon find out just how amusing she was.
Eric rested his arm on the armrest and watched the train on the screen, which had slowly started moving again.
“The train is finally moving again! A round of applause, please! Applause!”
A thunderous applause filled the theater. Whistles could be heard as well.
White light emanated from the screen. Watching the train move toward the light, Eric, too, clapped lightly.
‘She’s late.’
Eric looked around.
‘I really wanted to show you this.’
He had really wanted to come see this with Imeline. It’s scary to be alone in the dark, but it’s okay if you’re with someone.
When you’re with that person, being trapped in a dark, narrow place isn’t as hard as you’d think.
Just as Imeline had written in her letter.
He didn't know if those words were true or false, but he had hoped they would eventually become true.
✵ ✵ ✵
“Whew... that was a close call.”
I grimaced, looking at my reflection in the mirror.
I almost lost control of my desires, and I haven’t even had a love potion!
I recalled Eric’s fair skin, his red lips, and the strange scent that seemed to emanate from him.
Eric was a man blessed with an innocent gaze and, contrary to it, chiseled abs...
A line from Scarlett’s new novel, *A Heart Beyond Words*, spontaneously came to mind.
Come to think of it, that novel was supposed to be published around today, but there was still no news. Should I stop by the bookstore on the way home...?
I was lost in such thoughts for a moment before I shook my head.
‘No! No!’
If I read Scarlett’s new novel in this state, there’s no telling what might happen!
‘You slave to your desires.’
It was as if Eric’s innocent eyes were right in front of me, reproaching me.
Yes. Maybe I really am a slave to my desires... though it’s all because of Eric’s good looks...
“Hah...”
Just as I let out a sigh, a rough voice, like metal scraping, came from a corner of the restroom.
“What troubles could a red-haired maiden have to make her sigh like thaaat?”
“...?”
I instinctively turned toward the sound.
This voice... is it...?
*Crash!*
With the sound of something breaking, a wooden door flew open, and a woman with curly hair peeked her head in.
The woman, whose fingernails were painted the same jet-black color as her hair, waved at me.
“...Oh, damn it...”
“That’s not a very appropriate thing to say to someone you haven’t seen in a long time, is it, Imeline?”
The woman flashed a cunning smile, like the witch her nickname suggested.
“M-Marina...”
Marina Corleone.
The woman before me had a very deep connection to my family.
