mesbooks Chapter 514 - 514: DSMW [514]
Chapter 514 - 514: DSMW [514]
Just as Alice had said before, because all magitek stone tools are prohibited within the territory of the Holy Varian Empire, passage by train or airship is impossible.Thus, crossing Dragon Ravine by riding flying dragons became the most convenient way to enter the Holy Varian Empire.
However, this "riding dragons" seemed to be somewhat different from what Miles understood riding dragons to mean.
The wyvern species raised within Dragon Ravine, as native creatures of the Spirit Continent, could indeed be ridden directly, much like how Miles and the others had previously ridden Dragon-type monsters.
That said, nobles accustomed to a life of luxury, how could they possibly lower their dignified backsides to endure the rough hides of wyverns and the constant jolting of flight?
So the noble lords had someone invent a form of transportation known as the "dragon carriage."
In simple terms, four rigorously trained wyverns fly in parallel at the four corners of a square formation, using ropes suspended from their bodies to hang and tow a carriage in the center.
It had to be said: sitting inside the carriage was indeed far more comfortable than riding directly on a jostling dragon's back.
Even Aisha, who easily got dragon-sick, said she felt all fine this time.
It was just that the name "dragon carriage" gave Miles absolutely no sense of security.
"After riding a dragon carriage, would the next step be riding a cat carriage… one where you get carried straight back to camp?"
"Miles, what are you muttering about?"
Inside the carriage, the young princess Nova enthusiastically leaned closer.
"Hmm, I was thinking… can cats pull carts?"
"How could that be? Cats are so small."
"That's true."
He'd originally thought Nova was only here to see her big brother off, but it turned out the girl was actually coming along to the Empire as well.
The last time they went to Axet for an exchange study program, Nova couldn't come due to her royal status, and only Lishia had been brought along.
This time, relying on the fact that Crown Prince Homar was accompanying them, Nova insisted on taking the opportunity to go out and have some fun.
"This trip may not have anything to do with fun," Homar Kaiser said, "but Nova, you and Lord Miles are both still young. Letting children play a bit isn't a bad thing."
Ever since receiving Crown Prince Homar's acknowledgment in their Duel, the Crown Prince had already begun addressing Miles as "Lord."
One should know that in the Kingdom of Livorden, only high-ranking nobles were addressed as "Lord."
Saying this meant that the Crown Prince no longer regarded Miles as a commoner at all.
It was just that this acknowledgment felt a bit overly enthusiastic to Miles.
If one ignored his status as a commoner, inviting him to ride together in the royal carriage could still be explained as the Crown Prince's ingrained upbringing and etiquette.
That aside, after sitting together, the occasional warm, eager looks the Crown Prince cast his way made Miles distinctly uncomfortable.
"How is it, Lord Miles? Are you used to it? If you need anything during the journey, just tell me. I'll have my attendants take care of it."
And this constant checking in only made Miles feel that something was off.
"Be careful, Miles." Noticing his discomfort, Irena whispered softly. "From my many years of observing humans, the Crown Prince's attitude really isn't normal."
"Not normal, how? What should I be careful of?"
"The Crown Prince might… have taken a liking to you."
"Huh? Wait, are there rumors about the Crown Prince having that kind of orientation?"
"No. But gentle, refined, blond handsome guys like that are usually not straight."
"That's even less reliable than using chat logs as evidence."
Miles really must have been possessed by something to listen to Irena's wild speculation.
It left him feeling uncomfortable every time Crown Prince Homar looked his way afterward, and for safety's sake, he instinctively scooted his seat a bit in the opposite direction.
"We should have crossed over." Alice gracefully lifted the gauze curtain by the carriage window and looked outside. "We've crossed the border of the Holy Varian Empire."
"Wow!" Even more excited than the young princess Nova, Aisha pressed herself against the window to peer outside.
"So this is the Holy Varian Empire, the nation of Xyz!"
For Aisha, Xyz Summoning was even more compatible with her than Fusion Summoning.
So when gazing out at the Holy Varian Empire, a land that mastered Xyz, she naturally became this excited.
However, the Empire's scenery wasn't as breathtaking as when they first arrived in Axet.
The Axet Republic, driven by technology, with magitek automobiles filling the streets and magitek facilities everywhere, delivered an immediate sense of impact from an entirely different dimension.
But the Empire, driven primarily by military might, aside from having a somewhat tougher architectural style compared to Livorden, didn't show that many obvious differences.
Moreover, because magitek stone products were strictly forbidden within the Empire, the magitek cars occasionally seen on Livorden's streets were nowhere to be found here.
All kinds of lightly luxurious horse-drawn carriages were still the Empire's primary means of transportation.
The dragon carriage carrying Miles and his group did not stop in any of the border towns of the Empire; instead flying straight toward their destination—the imperial capital.
Along the way, Miles and the others could only observe the Empire's cities they passed from an aerial vantage point.
"Mr. Miles, did you notice?"
"Mhm."
Both pressed against the window, watching the same scenery, Miles and Aisha naturally noticed the same thing.
"The churches in every imperial city are huge," Aisha said in surprise.
The cities the dragon carriage passed—whether poor frontier towns or prosperous commercial cities that served as transportation hubs—all possessed enormous churches with an overwhelming sense of presence.
Although many cities in Livorden also had churches, for a kingdom that upheld freedom of religion like Livorden, the architectural styles of churches varied drastically from city to city.
It was impossible to achieve the kind of uniformity seen in the Empire's grand cathedrals—each one an unmissable, massive presence in every city.
Alice explained, "The status of divine authority is exceptionally high. That's also one of the defining characteristics of the Holy Varian Empire."
Miles nodded. "Divine authority, huh. I see."
Since divine authority held such a high position in the Empire, it made sense that the grand cathedrals representing faith in the gods and religious forces would flourish so freely there.
Still, the prominence of divine authority ran somewhat counter to Miles' original impression.
An empire that emphasized military development so heavily that even the soul cards symbolizing the Empire's spirit were Rank 10 Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max and Rank 11 Superdimensional Love Cannon.
Miles had originally thought the Holy Varian Empire would be the type to worship sheer power—firepower—an absolute materialist style.
All fear comes from insufficient firepower! If one shot can't deal with monsters and demons, then fire twice!
↑ That kind of aesthetic was what had originally matched Miles' impression of the Holy Varian Empire.
"It's a little different from what I imagined."
"That can't be helped," the Crown Prince picked up Miles' words and said. "Ever since Duel Monsters ceased to be mere illusion, this Spirit Continent has truly been home to gods of immense, unquestionable power."
After saying that, the Crown Prince casually glanced at Aisha—clearly hinting at the very real God Cards that existed in her Deck.
"And for an Empire that worships absolute power, gods who possess overwhelming strength are an existence that cannot be ignored. That's why, over the past century, divine authority has found room to develop rapidly within the Empire."
As expected of a Crown Prince who possessed both refinement and knowledge, just a few simple explanations were enough for Miles to fully grasp the situation.
Because the God Cards were simply too powerful, gods themselves became something the power-worshiping Empire would also revere.
"It's just that the problems within the Empire right now are far more complicated than one might imagine," Alice said, resting her cheek on one hand and tilting her head with a sigh.
Before setting out, Alice had already mentioned the fact that the current situation within the Empire was chaotic.
On the surface, everything appeared calm; while, beneath it, undercurrents were surging.
From Alice's attitude now, it seemed that the Empire's state of turmoil was closely tied to the high status of divine authority within its borders.
Alice added, "After all, no country wants to see the ever-growing power of divine authority affect the rule of royal authority. The conflict between divine authority and royal authority is the enormous contradiction the Empire is currently facing."
In the end, it was still a struggle for power. To Miles, divine authority versus royal authority was simply a clash between the cross and the cannon.
"But faith alone shouldn't be able to shake the ruling class that truly holds power, the royal family, right?"
This point had already been fully proven in Livorden. No matter how free religious belief was, the status of the Kaiser royal family had not been shaken in the slightest.
Any cultists who tried to rebel were swiftly suppressed by forces dispatched by the Kingdom.
Homar said, "Originally, that was indeed the case. But no one ever expected that one of the Empire's three great families, the Slint family, would fall in that manner."
"The Slint family!" Miles hadn't expected to suddenly hear that name again.
Although he hadn't felt any concrete impact while staying in Livorden, it was easy to imagine that after the fall of such a pivotal family, the Empire must have undergone tremendous upheaval.
It was like the Seth family suddenly disappearing—Livorden would undoubtedly be thrown into chaos as well.
"One of the Empire's three great families, the Slint family, were loyal supporters of royal authority."
"I can tell."
After all, Miles had dueled with three generations of the Slint family.
Especially Cameron Slint—he could be said to have fully embodied loyalty and faith toward the Empire itself.
A cannon Deck that could only be used by those sufficiently loyal to the Empire—Cameron had pushed it nearly to its limits.
Setting aside the Empire Marshal who had become obsessed with pursuing immortality, a family like the Slints—artillery incarnate and staunch supporters of royal authority—didn't surprise Miles in the slightest.
"Among the Empire's three great families, two supported royal authority. The remaining family, on the other hand, leaned more toward siding with divine authority."
"I get it now!" Aisha the Big Brain suddenly realized. "Because the Slint family fell, the original 2-to-1 struggle between royal authority and divine authority turned into 1-to-1, right?!"
Yes, you're very smart. Elementary school math must have been full marks.
Irena, however, discerned another variable.
"However, that's only the three great families becoming a 1-to-1 standoff. What about the most critical factor, the royal family itself? The royal family wouldn't just sit back and watch their power be affected. So royal authority should still hold the absolute advantage, right?"
"That's right. That's the most critical point!" the Crown Prince and Alice said in unison, then exchanged an awkward glance.
"Ahem. Then I'll leave the explanation to you, Lady Alice," Homar said courteously.
"No, no, how could I steal Your Highness' words? You should be the one to explain~"
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony with you, Lady Alice. After all, this matter is also connected to another purpose of our journey."
Straightening his expression into something more serious, Homar continued.
"The most crucial issue lies in the royal family's decision. Just as no one expected the Slint family to fall, before that, no one could have predicted that the Empire's new emperor, Quaedes, would be a more fanatical believer in the gods than anyone else."
"Eh?!"
As expected, shocked exclamations rang out inside the carriage.
The struggle between divine authority and royal authority—yet in the end, the one who should have stood at the pinnacle of royal authority, Emperor Quaedes, turned out to be a frenzied believer in the gods.
No wonder Alice had said that the Empire's current situation was far more complicated than imagined.
The pinnacle of royal authority worshiping divine authority—Emperor Quaedes' move gave off a strong sense of "we were ready to fight to the death, yet Your Majesty surrendered first."
Aisha asked curiously, "Wasn't it said that the new Emperor Quaedes is the youngest and strongest emperor in history? Someone like that is actually a crazed believer in the gods?"
"Rather than saying Emperor Quaedes is a crazed believer in the gods, it would be more accurate to say that she is a believer in absolute power. And in her eyes, God Cards—capable of easily triggering world-altering phenomena and destroying heaven and earth—are the embodiment of absolute power."
As Homar explained Emperor Quaedes' situation, his gaze never once left Aisha.
Everyone knew that two of the three Egyptian God Cards were in Aisha's possession.
From Miles' perspective, Emperor Quaedes' condition was less about fanatic devotion to gods and more about obsessive devotion to the power of God Cards.
"Regarding how His Majesty the Emperor is a God Card enthusiast, and I just so happen to possess God Cards."
"To put it simply," Miles reminded her, "the Emperor has her eyes on you now, Aisha."
"Σ(?д?lll) Ehh?!?!"
Only now, looking again at Alice's still-elegant smile, did Miles finally understand.
Why Alice had so solemnly asked him two days ago to protect Aisha's safety during this journey to the Empire?
Was the danger the journey itself? No. The real danger was the Empire's Emperor, obsessively fixated on God Cards.
Alice wanted him to protect Aisha from the Emperor's fangs.
What Alice didn't realize, however, was that with such a high-difficulty task, leaving aside whether he could protect Aisha at all… There was a very real chance that Miles himself would get dragged into it as well.
Feeling his pocket and thinking of the three Wicked Gods, three Sacred Beasts, and seven Earthbound Immortals inside, Miles swallowed nervously.
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