The distance of 140 kilometers may sound quite simple in numbers, and one might think of it casually as “If I take the Shinkansen, I can have lunch and a cup of tea, and I’ll arrive” or “I’ll drive on the highway for two or three hours; I wonder where I should stop for food at which Service Area.” Yet…unfortunately, for us, that is quite a significant distance.
The Threefold Empire is a nation with an exceptionally well-developed transportation network. Between the capitals of each primary administrative province, vast roads paved with cobblestones, known as “major highways,” have been constructed. From these, smaller roads branch out like blood vessels, connecting every town and manor as if fine capillaries were weaving through the land.
All of this was achieved through an almost obsessive commitment to national defense and economic prosperity in every era. Unlike the rulers of Western Europe that I know of—who might outright reject building roads that could aid enemy advances—these rulers sought systems capable of swiftly extracting forces from any city when necessary and delivering them efficiently to the front lines when the need arose.
However, this implies that only the well-maintained roads are truly viable options.
That’s fine if the road is clear. Even on foot, one can rely on inns scattered along the way. Even someone as young as I might easily walk 30 kilometers in a day, and riding on Castor or Polydeuces would make it twice as easy. Even without travel experience, noble children could move just as far with hired coaches. There should be plenty of merchant caravans traveling between provincial capitals, so hitching a ride should be fairly simple.
That said, this is only possible if one can move lightly and isn’t being pursued.
Of course, anyone, in such a situation, would initially consider taking the easier routes. When capturing a wide-ranging fugitive, the standard approach involves disabling the fastest means of transport first. The police, for instance, would set up roadblocks on highways, conduct inspections at train hub stations, and seal off access to planes at boarding gates. The pursuers sent out from the Imperial Capital should similarly be vigilant across all major roads leading out of the city.
Watchmen would be stationed at every gate, inspections would be conducted on cargo, and peering inside would be routine. Concealing one’s face would be futile, and inspections at every entry and exit point would become stringent. It was certain that a包围 so tight not even a kitten could escape would be set up.
If one decided to venture into the wilderness, appropriate equipment and provisions would be necessary. On major roads, enough inns are typically available that even with minimal supplies—a water flask and a light snack—one can manage. But if inns were unavailable, one would have to carry several days’ worth of water and food, changes of clothing, and camping supplies, significantly complicating the march.
Evading security forces and navigating poorly maintained roads while carrying a mountain of supplies with a woman in tow for 140 kilometers… well, I might not survive that.
And even if the woman were someone like Margit, who could sleep soundly using grass as a bed and stones as a pillow, brimming with vitality, it would still be incredibly tough. Even though I wouldn’t say it’s impossible given her acrobatic abilities—learned from rooftop practice—that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be exceptionally difficult.
What might seem like a short distance to a modern person feels impossibly far for my frail pair of legs, eliciting a low groan from my lips.
“Ah, well, I do have one lead! Of course, I’m well aware it wouldn’t be reasonable to walk this distance!”
“A lead, you say.”
She quickly moved the conversation forward, likely sensing my confusion. According to her, there’s a shortcut that drastically reduces the distance between the Imperial Capital and Ritsi.
“I can’t disclose the details yet. However, three days from now, it will certainly come. As long as it doesn’t fail, we should arrive in Ritsi within a single day.”
She spoke with enough confidence to hold her head high, but I was still uneasy without further explanation.
Most of all, her gleaming eyes revealed something implicit: that whatever means she had in mind was something she found “fun.”
Does she really understand our current situation?
Well… it’s better than a lousy field trip, I suppose.
“……I see. So, we need to buy three days, then?”
“Yes. Still, even if we are hidden here…”
“It would be unwise to expect more than hiding us for a day.”
Although it might seem simple to conceal someone for just three days, unfortunately, this world has its own “magic” to pinpoint wanted individuals with pinpoint accuracy. Just as Lord Raizenitz’s homing birds or Lady Agrippina’s paper butterflies could effortlessly find me, magic rituals that identify individuals by personal markers work just as effectively. If one has even a strand of hair or a fragment of nail, it’s more than enough to serve as a trace for such rituals to follow.
The only reason she hasn’t been found yet is that her pursuers consist primarily of monastic members with limited connections to mages. Were even one mage among their ranks, we certainly wouldn’t be sitting around drinking tea this leisurely. In fact, we might not have even encountered each other.
“An experienced mage can find a targeted individual within crowds of tens of thousands with little time needed. A strand of hair or a fragment of nail would be more than sufficient for rituals to track them down.”
These locating rituals seek the traces of individuals left in the fabric of the world. Similar to wrinkles or stains on a cloth, no matter how dark a place one hides, these traces inherently make it meaningless. Even by escaping to cramped spaces or underground catacombs to avoid persecution, there is no escape from the detection of magic that follows one’s lingering thoughts.
It’s uncertain how long it might take for the pursuers to fully commit by employing skilled mages, but optimistically speaking, we probably have a day, perhaps less if our pursuers are pragmatic and wise enough. Since we’re in the Imperial Capital, it should not even be challenging to find a mage worth hiring.
Therefore, we must move swiftly.
“Rest assured. I believe I know a thing or two about what mages can do.”
I am not a mage, though. I’m just an apprentice. But I’m a data man at heart. I am well aware that “what I wouldn’t want done to me” is “what others wouldn’t want done to them.” Thus, I am not careless about preparing against things that I wouldn’t want others to do to me. In any game, doing what I want while preventing others from doing what they want makes for strong moves—even in chess exercises, table-top role-playing games, or political games where people are manipulated like pieces on a board…
To the confident arrival of the mage, the maid elegantly dressed without a single gap for imperfection sent a contemptuous glare, as if staring at something filthy.
Because, despite all the grand words upon arrival and the vast sum of gold coins to summon her, the mage had proven utterly worthless.
“No, no, it’s not that! It’s not a problem with the technique—it’s because we were interfered with!”
“To that extent, who exactly do you claim interfered? In this Imperial Capital, for a lone, forsaken Child of the God!”
She dismissed the mage’s bumbling excuses in a single stroke and then doused water onto the incense burner, producing unpleasant fumes. For the purpose of detection, the mage had entered the master’s private chambers without respect, collecting fallen hairs that they would use as part of their ritual—and yet, the results were as such.
What could a nun who knew nothing of magic possibly do to bypass a ritual that one might expound upon for half an hour to describe its sophistication? The woman knew all too well how absurdly simple the task should seem, and her polished tongue remained sharp despite her outwardly polite demeanor.
If the smoke from the incense burner had genuinely followed the intended target, then the ritual would have worked as described. Yet, the mage had boasted of how the incense burner, crafted with rare specialized metals and even the ashes inside selected with exquisite care, was among the highest grades of magical instruments. Yet, the woman thought it was pitifully ineffective.
In truth, what it managed was to blend the pungent scent of incense with the unpleasant smell of burnt hair. The smoke meandered aimlessly like a lost child, eventually dissipating as if it had given up. In the end, all the mage produced were excuses.
She was now beyond anger, regarding the mage with exasperated eyes as she questioned their responsibility.
“Or is there something else? Do you mages take pleasure in obstructing searches for random unknown girls?”
“N-no! But it really is a reaction caused by interference! The ritual itself was carried out perfectly!”
What nonsense! The mage’s excuse rang like the meaningless claim that the surgery was successful, but the patient perished because their stamina ran out. Perhaps in their field, success means that the spell itself worked, regardless of whether it yielded the desired result. But in the general world, their logic is highly questionable, if not utterly useless. Especially when dealing with the powerful nobility.
However, she wasn’t enjoying the exercise of criticizing failure through authority. In fact, her natural predisposition might suggest she wasn’t fond of it at all. Her words stemmed from a belief that “you’re not up to the task; bring me someone better from your lot.” Rather than directly confronting the strained relationship between the Church and the Magical Academy with a forceful complaint like “Your mages are completely useless!”—she wanted to coerce the failed mage into bringing in a better mage.
Watching these inane excuses unfold seemed to waste untold amounts of valuable time. With loyalty alone bolstering her resolve, the woman continued to slice into the incompetent with precise verbal strikes.
I vaguely recall the combat aircraft’s defense equipment known as Chaff and Flare. Chaff works against radar-guided missiles by scattering decoys that reflect radar signals, causing them to lose track of their target. Flares work against heat-seeking missiles by ejecting a heat source to divert them.
Therefore, the knowledge from a renowned expert in magical detection can truly be described as magical Chaff and Flare.
“Hmm… it’s quite impressive.”
Two children were closely watching the work unfolding on my desk. With the aid of my <Invisible Hands>, wooden shards levitated in the air, intricately being carved moment by moment, creating something visually captivating.
Watching my work with the same fascination as an elementary school child on a factory field trip were my sister and a monk. I was in the process of crafting yet another magical decoy.
It wasn’t anything extraordinary. Similar to pawns in chess, it was a crude figurine resembling Ms. Cecilia—crude enough that it lacked detailed refinement for commercial use.
Of course, to make it effective, some finishing touches were necessary.
First, I embedded a strand of hair she had given me. By doing this, the wooden figurine gained three aspects of her identity: her appearance, her name, and a fragment of her physical self, creating a deceptive presence that could confuse simple magic.
Thus, what began as an ordinary wooden figurine became a magical facsimile capable of momentarily fooling detection magic. Even if visually it might be obvious that it’s not the real deal, for spells that act without true awareness, it was enough to act as an effective magical ‘flare.’
“Alright, over to you.”
“Yes, yes! I’d run errands all day long for the beloved one’s dear request!”
“Okay… where should we place these around the city?”
And thus, by spreading these figurines around the city, we could minimize the risk of being detected by magical tracking. Since distributing them manually would be cumbersome and inefficient for wide coverage, I summoned fairies using one of her “lips,” and the task was set to them. Ursula, with an unenthusiastic demeanor, and Charlotte, treating it as an amusing prank, took the wooden figures and disappeared.
Likely, as I thought, they were now tossing these figurines in places likely to confuse any mage who detected them.
“Magic is truly remarkable. To create a wooden figurine in such a manner…”
“It’s versatile—that’s its strength!”
The young monk watched the floating sculpting knives, chisels, and files with joy, scattering his thoughts about in his gaze. Meanwhile, my sister, who saw through the essence of my “rituals,” seemed to take keen interest in areas where my focus lingered. While I don’t relish standing out, there is something deeply satisfying about receiving such pure admiration.
Anyway, now with this, we could likely deceive the mages if they use magical detection.
Though, unfortunately, it must come with a caveat for now.
Well then, at this pace, we have three more days.
If her mysterious lead turns up in three days, I hope it justifies all this effort…
[Tips] The concept in play here includes a broad array of combative magic, from direct violence to intelligence and strategy. Wars do not occur solely on the battlefield, and similarly, magical warfare spans a wide array of activities. Even the invocation of miracles can be included as a form of magical warfare.
I find it appealing when characters seem to be in motion but aren’t truly moving.
Putting the story into words, I realized “Wow, this is surprisingly low-key…” But that aside,
Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out any typos. It is indeed enlightening, and as each typo is corrected, the quality of the work improves, largely thanks to all of you. Slowly but surely, I believe we can progress into narratives more befitting a city adventure. I hope you’ll join me for the next installment.
