Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

TL: Etude

Liszt noticed that since Seviya returned from her meeting with the so-called Arcane Society, she had been constantly furrowing her brows.

“Is there something troubling you? Let me guess — they couldn’t help you?”

Unable to hold back, he proactively asked her. Really, why wouldn’t she discuss it with him, especially after all the time they had spent together.

“No, they can help,” Seviya replied, “But there’s an ongoing dispute in the camp about where to go.”

“A dispute about where to go?”

“They’ve invited us to join their organization. Some want to join the Arcane Society, but others don’t — indeed, the Society offers sanctuary to new members and wields considerable covert power. However, joining them means losing our freedom, obeying their orders, going wherever they decide, and doing their bidding — possibly engaging in unsavory tasks against our will.”

Liszt asked with some concern, “And what about you?”

“Me?” Seviya looked up at Liszt, “I definitely won’t go with the Arcane Society. I just can’t get along with those people.”

“Would it be bad to continue staying near Fort Ness?”

“We’d constantly have to deal with the Church’s searches, and the large group of people in the camp are running out of the supplies we had prepared in advance.”

“If you don’t join them, you can’t leave Fort Ness?”

“Not exactly. The Arcane Society would still transport us out of Fort Ness’s vicinity, but after that, we would be on our own. Sigh… Where should those who don’t want to join the Society go? Staying in Horn Bay is definitely not an option. Not everyone is as skilled in hiding as Roskin and me.”

Seeing Seviya in a dilemma, Liszt had a sudden idea, “If you really can’t decide, I might have a suggestion. Want to hear it?”

Seviya glared at him, “Don’t beat around the bush.”

“The northwest bay of the Kingdom of Ordo.”

“Your homeland?”

“Yes, Count Grayman is actively inviting talents from other regions, with Horn Bay being a significant source. A colleague recently wrote to me saying that people from Horn Bay have even formed a settlement in Port Fran. As immigrants, you could easily settle in the northwest bay. Uh… although you are mages, you must have other skills for daily life.”

“Living on ordinary skills is no problem. Most spellcasters know a bit of alchemy, astrology, and so on…”

Seviya seemed thoughtful, clearly swayed by Liszt’s words. She was familiar with Lord Paul Grayman, as Liszt often mentioned him.

Liszt’s eyes lit up, “Alchemy? Haha, Lord Grayman welcomes alchemists.”

He added, “I’ve been studying some of the Church’s history recently and noticed a pattern: apart from the Church’s headquarters — the Papacy, it seems that the wealthier the region, the greater the Church’s efforts, and correspondingly, the stronger their control over that area — Horn Bay is a classic example. My homeland, the northwest bay, as I’ve told you, was quite desolate before Lord Grayman took over. Although there’s a presence of the Church there, overall… how should I put it, it’s quite weak. It’s not of much interest to the Church due to its lack of resources. In my memory, although there were instances of witch-hunting instigated in history, there were no cases of intense persecution, and that’s almost like a legend now. In short, if you go to the northwest bay, the safety level is quite high.”

After listening to Liszt, Seviya bitterly said, “I knew they were all a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites, only preying on places with resources.”

Then she chuckled, her face showing a mocking expression, “I wonder what your lord would think if he knew he had such a loyal subject like you. Most nobles would dread having even one wizard in their territory. And here you are, recommending a bunch of wizards to your lord.”

“This…” Liszt blushed, “Ahem! Count Grayman is a very kind lord. Even if he knew about this, he would definitely not turn a blind eye. I believe that!”

Despite saying this, Liszt felt a huge sense of guilt and fear inside. What if Count Grayman really found out about this? Would he have him executed?

But the words were already out… Ah, he was too clever for his own good just now.

Liszt was staring at the floor, lost in regret, when he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Seviya looking at him very seriously.

“Thank you for the suggestion — I’ll be the only one to know about this, I won’t let anyone else find out.”

Well, the words couldn’t be taken back now. It seemed Seviya was seriously considering going to the northwest bay. Oh Lord, please don’t blame me.

Uh… but, Seviya really does look charming when she’s serious.

…

“Achoo!”

Paul, who was engrossed in his writing and calculations, suddenly sneezed, startling Ladi, who was reading a letter beside him.

“I suddenly feel like some trouble is going to fall on my head.”

Paul said jokingly to her, then asked, “Who wrote that letter to you, a friend from your old adventure group? You’ve been staring at it for quite a while.”

Ladi shook her head: “No, it’s from my senior at Horn Bay.”

Senior? Paul recalled, ah, the Grand Duchess, a beauty as Queller mentioned.

“You seem worried? Is there some unfortunate news in the letter?”

“…”

Ladi hesitated for a while, then said somewhat angrily, “The letter says the Church in Horn Bay has become too oppressive. Countless people of my same status are suffering under their persecution.”

She was now extremely grateful that she and her mother had moved to the northwest bay early.

Ladi had considered asking Paul for help, requesting his permission to guide those persecuted to the northwest bay for refuge on a large scale.

But if handled carelessly, it would definitely put Paul in a dangerous position. If the news got out, a lord sheltering witches, how would others view him?

If she were a free agent, unrelated to Paul, she would have done so already, but now she couldn’t.

“I escaped the turmoil early, living my life in peace, but I’m watching my fellow beings suffer there! Isn’t that selfish?”

Ladi was in great pain internally.

Paul shook his head, walked over to comfort her: “Remember, you’re not a savior. There are so many misfortunes in the world, and one person can never handle them all. Besides, you have no obligation to them.”

“Oh, by the way, if you have any friends or relatives in Horn Bay… of that kind of status, you can bring them here. The reach of the Church in Horn Bay is long, but it can’t extend here.”

He wanted to offer some help within his capabilities.

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