121. Mirai and Emilia's Thoughts — The Federation Vision

Shiro and the others returned to the capital after the incident with the Demon Beast King at the Magic Academy. They were scheduled to head back to Sotohaim next.

They’d flown in on Shiro’s magic airship, so the trip was over in no time. Maximum cruising speed: two hundred kilometers per hour. Cruising altitude: five hundred meters. The airship was protected by a magical barrier—handy thing, that. No matter how fast you went, or if you were a sailing ship, air resistance didn’t matter.

The straight-line distance from the Magic Academy City to the capital was about six hundred kilometers. The journey there by carriage had taken two weeks. Coming back? Just under four hours.

We’d considered the possibility of landing directly in the capital from the sky, but figured that’d cause a scene. So we docked early, on a river. We sailed upstream and arrived at the capital’s harbor just like any ordinary boat.

Reported to King Felix in the capital. Then decided to travel upstream along the river to reach Sotohaim.

The airship still kept its basic ship functions, so we could sail it as a regular boat. Everyone agreed it’d be nice to take a proper boat trip once in a while.

Mirai and Emilia, along with the heroes, were traveling with us.

“Ahh… beautiful view. So much nature still left, and the weather’s perfect. The wind feels great,” Masaki murmured.

“Fufufu. That’s wonderful. I haven’t taken such a relaxed boat ride in ages.”

Mirai.

“By the way, Masaki, I heard in your world, flying vehicles are common. Is that true?” Mirai asked Masaki.

"Yeah, that's what they call a flying machine. Faster than this airship, sure—but this airship’s way safer and more comfortable," Masaki replies.

“That’s right,” Miru said. “In this world, all transportation is by carriage. It’s slow, and you can’t carry much at all.”

“And besides, the ride quality isn’t exactly great,” Emilia chimes in.

"Yeah. I’d appreciate it if we could skip the carriage. Thanks to Shiro’s seniority, it’s at least been slightly improved, right? Without modifications, it’d be a nightmare," Makoto said.

"Speaking of which," Mira began, her gaze distant, "there was a time when Emilia and I had a conversation."

“If only moving between towns were easier. If only transportation between major cities were more reliable, this world could develop so much faster,” Miru said.

"Yeah, and the relations between the kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, and the Academy City are still manageable. But the Commercial Nation, the Beastman Kingdom, the Elven Kingdom... there are so many other countries out there. I think we’d develop further if exchanges between them were easier. Records from ancient times show that inter-racial cooperation and progress happened back then, but now it’s a nightmare," Emilia said.

“Huh. So, the relations between these countries around here are good, huh?” Masaki said.

That's right. The world's basically been at peace for the most part. Sure, there are minor disputes—can't say they don't happen, really.

"Ah, so it's something like an alliance or a federation, then?"

"Yeah, it's not exactly clear yet, but it's close enough. We've argued about it before—Aria and I, as princess and Saintess. Our dream is the founding of a Federation across the Sentria region."

Mira and Emilia laid it all out with a decisive air, confessing directly to Masaki. Mira and Emilia glanced at each other and nodded.

"A grand scheme, no—just a dream, I know. But if we consider the will of our goddess Firumia, the pursuit of peaceful development and diversity, I think the world would function better if it were a little more connected," Emilia said.

"Ah, I see. A carriage alone really is tough. Ships are fairly sturdy, but if there's no river to navigate, that's probably why..." Masaki said. Then,

Could we make this kind of mana ship more common and connect cities with dedicated routes? That’s the idea, right? We could just ask Shiro-senpai about establishing a mana ship network.

And so Masaki made the proposal.

◇

"Magic-ship routes? The Saintria Federation? Now that's a big leap," Shiro said, a hint of surprise in his voice as he looked at Masaki and the others.

“Lord Shiro, that’s a dream—Mira’dia’s and the Saintess Emilia’s. I was told to speak with you, after talking with Masaki…” Mira spoke in a small voice.

“Ah, I see. Not bad at all. That idea—magic airship routes? Pretty cool, right? Masaki, nice one!” Shiro said lightly.

"Shiro-senpai, uh... I know it's presumptuous of me to say this, but are you really sure you can do it? I mean, I was just thinking it might be possible to some extent, but taking it on so lightly... I'm sorry," Masaki said, looking genuinely apologetic.

"Haha. Don't worry, it'll be fine. We'll figure it out," Shiro said, oddly upbeat.

Actually, Masaki doesn’t know that Shiro’s always had a soft spot for steampunk-style vessels like magi-ships. Hearing Masaki talk about them, Shiro imagined the ships soaring through the sky—and suddenly found himself eager to try one.

"…Shiro, please keep it to a minimum," Mitoka said.

“Senior, you’re in trouble there, aren’t you? Masaki, you just lit the fuse on the senior’s fuse box…?” Kotone said.

“Eh? Really?” Masaki answered, looking uneasy.

Incidentally, Shestia was murmuring happily to herself, muttering about which town to visit first.

And Shiro said,

“Then I’ve gotta make a bunch of magic ships! Though that’s not exactly simple. No, wait—first we gotta coordinate with the nations and get them to join this Federation thing, right? Should I talk to King Felix first? Hmm… no, better start with Sophia.”

Shiro said it with a cheerful grin, heart leaping with excitement.

◇

Shiro and the others went to talk to Sophia.

“Magic ship routes? The Sentria Federation? Now that’s quite the ambitious idea… Mirai and Emilia, huh?”

Sophia cut straight to the point as soon as Shiro explained.

The two mentioned froze.

“Haha. You’ve known each other since you were kids. You can’t say you didn’t know, can you?” Sophia said, her smile warm like a mother’s.

“Always one step ahead, Sophia. You saw right through us. And personally, I think it’s a good idea. We’ve gotta circle the world anyway—need to investigate, visit Magiwesuto, look for Iberia….”

“Wait—were you about to say ‘tourism,’ senior? If it’s tourism, count me in too!” Kotone said.

“Of course I’m going,” Shestia added.

“Hmm, well, tourism’s not a bad idea… Anyway, that’s the gist of it. I’d like to bring this up with King Felix. What do you think, Sophia?” Shiro asked.

"Haha. I'd like to go there too, that would be nice. Ah, actually, the kingdom already has a Federation proposal underway."

And Sophia said. Mirai and Emilia both went, "Huh?!" in surprise.

"Not surprising, Mirai. You're definitely Felix's child. Thinking just like him. Anyway, the same conversation's been going on for ages between King Felix, Headmaster Enrico, and Pope Wilford. The Stellaria Federation idea, you know. We've always had strong ties, so naturally we want to expand them. Ah, though there was no mention of the magic ships," Sophia said, chuckling. Then she continued.

“So this is a perfect opportunity, really. Might as well talk to the kings. After all, it’s Apostle Shiro’s suggestion. Can’t refuse,” Sophia said, then added, “If we’re going, you’ll have to let me aboard that magic vessel too.”

If you found this interesting, I'd appreciate it if you'd rate it, bookmark it, or leave a comment—it really helps!