That being said, I wasn’t particularly worried about Alice and Charlotte’s way of thinking. Nor about Leo and Claire.
After all, they were the protagonist and heroine characters, weren’t they?
It wasn’t a picaresque story, so the protagonist and heroines were mostly righteous by nature. After learning the truth about imperialism, they would be shocked and change their perspective. Well, in the original, it wasn’t so much that they “changed their perspective,” but more like “they were always righteous,” and that was how it was portrayed—but that’s because the story I heard on the airship never made it into the main plot.
"Wow, it’s really hot... no, it’s more like the seasons have completely switched."
Alice, who had gotten off the airship, exclaimed in shock.
Given that the daytime temperature was almost hitting 30 degrees Celsius, it was understandable. Rondarium never reached temperatures like this, even in the middle of summer.
"You don’t need to worry too much. When night comes, the temperature will drop so much that it’ll be hard to bear without outerwear," Jake reassured.
"The weather is so extreme..."
"Still, a lot more people live here than on the Empire’s mainland, so the climate might actually be more livable than where we come from."
"...It’s almost a whole country’s worth of desert."
Jake shrugged at Alice’s rebuttal.
Half of it was probably a joke, but half was likely sincere. Jake had lived here since childhood.
He had a fondness for the place as his hometown, but also felt guilty since the cities were built by forcing the local people to work. I could understand why he would try to frame things in a more positive light.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! All students from the same class, please gather and line up!"
Jennifer, who had the loudest voice among the teachers, clapped her hands to grab the students' attention.
The students, both commoners who rarely got to leave and noble children, were all excitedly chatting and gathering around. The airport built with Lindbergh’s money, as if to elevate the family’s prestige, had glass walls all around. It reminded me of the Crystal Palace that once existed in London.
Given the glass building built under the intense sun, the inside was naturally sweltering, but there were air-conditioning-like devices forcing the hot air out, making it bearable. Though the roof was also entirely made of glass, there were shade covers installed here and there.
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To my eyes, the building seemed quite old-fashioned, but for a building from 1901, it was perfectly modern. Even though it had been built a few years ago, it still felt cutting-edge.
And outside the building, the well-maintained streets were filled with exotic elements rarely seen in the Empire. Palm trees lined the roads, and steam-powered cars and complicated machinery were clearly visible.
The city, which had been built in a place that had nothing before, could truly be called an experimental ground for advanced technology.
By the way, the airship airport here was the largest in the world.
"Alright, alright."
When the students finally gathered in line after hearing Jennifer’s instructions, she nodded and said:
"Our accommodation will be the Lindbergh Hotel. As it’s named after the family that rules this territory, it’s the largest and most modern place here."
At this, several students’ gazes turned toward Jake. He only smiled slightly and didn’t show any particular reaction.
"The way we’ll get there is by ‘bus.’ You’ll need to follow the instructions carefully. There’s little chance of something going terribly wrong, but there will be a lot of unfamiliar things, and if you don’t know what you’re doing, accidents can happen."
Though there were crossing points in the Empire, carriages generally didn’t move at high speeds, and even some steam cars moved very slowly to avoid startling horses. While collisions still led to major accidents, they weren’t as fast as the cars in this place, which raced around at full speed.
...Still, listening to this made me think, ‘Ah, this is what a car is,’ and it made me laugh a little.
"Since this place will be unfamiliar to most of you, no personal actions are allowed. If you want to go somewhere, you must travel in groups of at least three. If you don’t have companions, ask one of the teachers, including myself."
Jennifer glanced around at us and asked, "Any questions?"
I thought no one would raise their hand, but surprisingly, someone did.
It was Jake.
"You."
When Jennifer pointed at Jake, he opened his mouth.
"This is my hometown, but do I still need to go with someone when I go somewhere?"
A small laugh spread among the students.
Jennifer smiled in response and said, "Yes, no exceptions. If I make an exception for you, someone will surely get hurt, thinking ‘I’m used to it now, so I should go by myself.’ And you’re not exactly ‘alone’ anywhere, are you? The girls will probably follow you around."
A slightly louder laugh rang out from the group.
"Alright, then. Any other questions? No? Good, let’s head to the hotel. Don’t worry too much about the luggage; it will be taken to your rooms."
*
The hotel and surrounding buildings reminded me of the dramas or movies set in early 20th-century New York. No, actually, with the palm trees lining the streets, it was closer to Miami. Though I’d never been to either place, they resembled each other.
Still, the hotel itself looked very similar to the Empire State Building, so let's say it was a mix of both.
"..."
Charlotte’s expression looked somewhat troubled as she watched the bus drive away.
It made sense. Velbourne had not undergone full industrialization or modernization yet. There were still more carriages than cars, and soldiers were only just starting to be supplied with modern firearms.
The Empire didn’t "not" modernize; it simply "didn’t" modernize. Whether it was the vested interests or guilds, people who pulled carriages or made saddles had to be supported, so modern devices were restricted by archaic laws.
Therefore, it was clear that this city, with its complete "modernization," was something entirely different.
Though there weren’t cars filling the streets, there were no carriages either. Wealthy commoners and nobles drove their own cars, and workers took city buses. Occasionally, motorcycles could also be seen.
It was a modern urban atmosphere, unlike anything you could find outside the Empire.
This was exactly why it was so easy to use this place to showcase the power of the Empire.
"Impressive..."
Sophia’s honest reaction was probably because there was no need for her to develop the Law Country any further.
Charlotte, who would inherit the throne, must have felt much more complicated about it.
"This city is special. In fact, the Empire still has a long way to go in terms of development," Alice said, trying to comfort Charlotte.
"Lutetia is far from being that developed," Charlotte replied, silencing Alice.
I thought about speaking on Alice’s behalf. Lutetia was a very beautiful city. Even without modernization, it could still be proudly shown to others.
"If such transport were applied to the military, how much faster could we move a large number of troops?"
"......."
Well, saying something like that left me without a response.
After all, even if a city is beautiful, if it can’t stop the enemy, it will just be taken.
"Don’t worry too much."
Jake suddenly interrupted our conversation.
"It’s only just recently that they started bringing in that technology. Even though it looks like that, they rushed it, so there are a lot of issues. It’s still not good enough to be used for the military."
Of course, it wouldn’t be a huge problem for the Imperial Army, which already used things like tanks.
"Is that so?"
Charlotte didn’t particularly argue with Jake’s words. There was no point in continuing such a conversation.
"Anyway, let’s head into the hotel. We’re all sweating here, right?"
...Hmm.
I knew Jake didn’t always think highly of his own family, but...
Somehow, I had the feeling that he didn’t really enjoy praising his family.
Could it be that there was something I hadn’t seen in the original?
Thinking that, I followed Jake into the very well-decorated lobby of the hotel, which, by their standards, looked modern but also had a historical feel.