Chapter 1448: Intermission 8: The Future With You (4)
After getting everything prepared, I hired a taxi.
A taxi was actually something relatively new in this world. It had only been introduced recently, and according to public records, the person responsible for implementing it was none other than King Myrcella herself.
That being said, I had a hard time believing she had come up with the idea completely on her own.
Honestly, the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that Leon had probably been involved somehow.
Even the word "taxi" felt suspiciously out of place.
It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with it. It just sounded like one of those words that Leon would casually throw out during a conversation and somehow convince everyone else to start using. The naming sense felt a little too familiar.
At least, that was the impression I got.
The concept itself was simple enough.
If someone owned a car, they could register as a driver and transport people from one place to another for a fee. A customer would hire them, tell them where they wanted to go, agree on a price, and then get dropped off at their destination.
Simple and efficient, really.
And honestly, very convenient.
Compared to the old carriage system, it was a massive improvement.
As a matter of fact, traditional carriages had practically disappeared from everyday transportation. They still existed, of course, but they weren’t really being used anymore outside of special occasions.
The King had apparently offered compensation to carriage owners when the transition happened. Those who depended on carriage services for their livelihood were given enough support to purchase automobiles if they wished and start operating as taxi drivers instead.
Looking at it from that perspective, it was actually handled surprisingly well.
Nobody was simply thrown aside and told to adapt on their own.
The Kingdom had helped them make the transition.
It really seemed like King Myrcella was doing everything she could to push the Kingdom toward becoming more developed and modern.
And if I was being honest, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Leon had at least some involvement in a lot of those developments.
Maybe I was giving him too much credit.
Or maybe not.
Either way, it felt like the sort of thing he would do.
After some time, the taxi eventually arrived at the residence of the Sword Saint.
Or rather, the former Sword Saint.
This was apparently where everyone would be gathering today.
A get-together, I guess.
Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what to call it.
I also had absolutely no idea what was supposed to happen once I got there.
Nobody had really explained much.
I didn’t know what to expect.
I didn’t know what everyone would be doing.
I didn’t even know why I felt slightly nervous.
Well.
Actually, that wasn’t entirely true.
There was one thing I was hoping for.
One very specific thing.
If I was being completely honest with myself, the thing I was looking forward to most was the possibility of something happening between Leon and me.
Everything else was secondary.
I wasn’t particularly interested in whatever activities had been planned.
I wasn’t even that curious about the gathering itself.
The thing occupying most of my thoughts was Leon.
More specifically...
I wanted to have sex with him.
...
Thinking about it like that really made me sound like a pervert.
I couldn’t even argue against it.
The thought alone made me feel slightly embarrassed.
Still, I genuinely didn’t understand what was going on with me lately.
Things had been strange ever since everything happened.
My emotions felt different.
My thoughts felt different.
And Leon seemed to occupy far more space in my head than he probably should have.
I let out a small sigh.
Maybe I was overthinking it.
Or maybe I wasn’t.
At this point, I honestly couldn’t tell anymore.
Eventually, the taxi came to a stop.
I stepped out of the vehicle and paid the driver.
After receiving the payment, the driver gave a quick farewell before immediately driving away.
And just like that, I was left standing alone in front of the estate.
Naturally, my attention shifted toward the manor itself.
It was huge.
Seriously huge.
Even after seeing it before, the size of the place still managed to stand out.
Technically speaking, only two people actually lived there if you ignored the workers, butlers, maids, and everyone else responsible for maintaining the estate.
As far as the owners were concerned, there were only two.
Johanne and Tris.
They had once been known as husband and wife.
At least, that was what everyone had believed for a long time.
Then the truth came out.
The former Sword Saint had apparently changed the gender of his child and raised her as a male.
That child was Johanne.
Looking back on it, the entire situation was still pretty absurd.
Johanne and Tris eventually got married, but honestly, I had never gotten the impression that they were deeply in love with each other.
That wasn’t me saying they disliked each other.
Far from it.
They clearly cared about one another.
You could see that much without even trying.
But whenever I looked at them, I never really felt the sort of romantic chemistry that most married couples usually had.
At least, not from my perspective.
Their relationship always felt different.
More like two people who trusted each other than two people who were passionately in love.
Honestly, they often reminded me more of close friends than husband and wife.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
It was just the impression I got whenever I saw them together.
Then the truth about Johanne eventually came out.
She had been a woman all along.
The reason her father changed her gender was because he believed that women couldn’t properly protect themselves.
Even now, thinking about it felt strange.
And honestly?
A little rude.
I understood that many people associated women with weakness.
That wasn’t exactly a new belief.
But history had already proven countless times that women could be every bit as capable as men.
Sometimes even more so.
You didn’t have to look very far to find examples.
The Goddess of War, Jeanne, was one of the most obvious ones.
There were plenty of others as well.
And then there was King Myrcella.
Just looking at her achievements was enough to make the argument fall apart.
She was the first princess in history to ever be referred to as King.
That title alone said quite a lot.
Lost in those thoughts, I continued walking through the front garden toward the manor.
The path was quiet.
The estate itself looked peaceful.
Before long, I arrived at the front entrance.
I raised my hand, preparing to knock.
But before I could even touch the door, it suddenly swung open.
Standing on the other side were Johanne, Tris, and Leon.
Apparently, they had already noticed my arrival.
Without any further ceremony, I was immediately invited inside.
