Although I know that you can use magic to present modern technology more directly, using wind magic to make airships invisible is too unfair, isn't it?

I can look back right now and see Dale's twelve airships floating behind us, but I can only see their names, not the actual airships themselves.

Meanwhile, our group is sitting in a carriage, heading towards the imperial capital.

I think the happiest person in the entire team right now should be Duke Marshall. Ever since he heard that his son and daughter agreed to attend the Imperial Academy, he has been filled with excitement.

Of course, the reason they are going is also because I have been pulled by the prince to the Imperial Academy to serve as a substitute teacher or something.

Speaking of which, I did ask the prince why the Witte Empire has the Imperial Academy while Princess Annie goes to Gray Academy.

It's quite obvious that at the Imperial Academy, the princess would go home every day, and the entire royal family couldn't stand her spoiled nature.

However, during our time at the academy, I did feel that Princess Annie was much better than Princess Cher. Is it just my imagination?

Or maybe Princess Annie does this to attract everyone's attention?

Regardless of the reason, at least this time I am helping the Witte Empire's royal family in a small way, and I believe Princess Annie is also happy about it.

After all, I still have to ask Prince Theron to help me investigate Jans' issue. Being a teacher until the investigation is over is a good choice.

However, Duke Marshall is not traveling in the same carriage as us. At this moment, he has already taken another carriage to his own territory. After all, he has been delayed here for quite some time and many matters are difficult to handle if he doesn't return to his territory.

After all, this is not a democracy, but an authoritarian system.

But, should I say that this is really a royal carriage? The carriage we are currently riding in, Prince Theron's carriage, can fit all of us with plenty of room to spare. It's like an extended super-sized bus.

Before getting on the carriage, the prince apologized to everyone, saying that he didn't expect there to be so many people, otherwise he would have made empty carriages.

Heh, there are twelve behind you.

However, according to the prince's introduction, the Witte Empire has sped up the construction of railways. Although border cities like Blue Lake City haven't had railways yet, the cities centered around the imperial capital are already connected by railways.

I really wonder whose credit that is.

But it will take two days to travel from here to the imperial capital, after all, the speed of a carriage can't compare to an airship. However, the plan proposed by the prince is to switch to a train halfway, so we can reach our destination faster.

But I'm not in a hurry, after all, why should I rush when I'm with the prince and enjoying all the food and drink?

Of course, to pass the time, Dale brought out the specially-made playing cards. After all, manual illustrations are not practical, so Dale specifically created equipment such as a printer to make the playing cards.

So, people in the carriage happily started playing card games along the way. In less than half a day, everyone became quite skilled in games like 21, Texas hold 'em, Tractor, and Landlord. Although I don't know what gambling methods exist in this world, I think it won't be long before the prince introduces them in a formal casino.

Since it's a long journey, we only had a simple sandwich for lunch, and we departed in the afternoon, so by the time we stopped, it was already dark outside.

The city we are in now is Nightsteel City, the largest industrial city in the Witte Empire. Although it is an industrial city, it is not like the smog-filled industrial cities of our original world, but a city of magical industry.

However, this prosperity has only occurred in recent years. Before that, the magical industry primarily relied on manual labor. It wasn't until the emergence of machinery in recent years that the magical industry truly developed.

To be honest, most of the magical industrial facilities in various empires now are sold by Thane's gate. Now thinking about it, it's not difficult to understand why Ms. Mary and the others have so much money to develop airships quickly.

Of course, the focus is still on Nachtstahl City.

The Witte Empire has four major noble families, and the Duke's family is only one of the three. The other family that has become a noble is the Shelden family, which is rare in the Witte Empire and rose to the status of a noble family from a commoner background.

Their status is similar to the Simu family of the Ais Empire, both being involved in the production of magical tools.

However, while the Simu family produces humanoid combatants of the swordsman type, the Shelden family primarily produces subordinate-type humanoids.

That's right, humanoids with magic intelligent devices installed.

Moreover, their production methods are still kept secret, which has caused a lot of controversy.

Just like the artificial humans being researched by the Simu family, there are rumors that the magical intelligence created by the Shelden family might be made by completely brainwashing human souls.

Of course, no one can confirm it.

However, at this moment, I couldn't see the panoramic view of Nachtstahl City very well. After all, it was already night, and there were few places in the city that were still lit up, except for a distant place that looked like a factory with lights on.

"Your Highness, the Second Prince, we have been waiting for you for a while."

The carriage stopped directly in front of the inn, and when the door opened, a butler-like old man stood in front of the door, respectfully bowing.

Upon closer inspection, this person is not only the Second Prince's personal butler but also a level 55 swordsman.

Oh my god, are all the butlers nowadays this strong? It seems that finding employment in this world is not a simple matter.

"Dunst, why are you here?"

Prince Selang seemed somewhat surprised by the appearance of the person in front of him.

"Because I have completed the task assigned by His Majesty the Emperor, so I hurried over."

There was almost no expression on the butler's face when he spoke, and it's unclear what mood he was in when he said those words.

However, the only thing that can be certain is that he is extremely loyal to the Second Prince, as his title includes the "Absolute Loyalty" designation. If he weren't loyal to the prince, such a title wouldn't appear.

And his first character is "kind," so he shouldn't be a bad person, right? Probably.

"Are these people the prince's friends?"

He glanced at us and asked.

"Dunst, don't you remember? These two are Madol and Lima from the Marshall Duke's family. Didn't you meet them at the party before?"

"Oh, indeed, they have grown up. I didn't recognize them at once. And who is this..."

"This is Fir, Aliyah, Dale, Bai Yueguang, Mary, Oyado, Fran, Chilia, Taishi Xi, and Hei Luoli from the Ais Empire. Among them, Fir is still the new mentor of the Marshall family's two."

"Oh..."

Dunst squinted and looked at me for a while.

"I suppose you not only use magic but also are skilled in swordsmanship, right?"

"No, it's just some self-defense skills I learned."

This guy... He can tell just by looking at me that I can use swordsmanship skills? Although I've learned various swordsmanship techniques, aside from the blade art I learned from Bai Yueguang and the direct summoning of the "Ripping Sword," I haven't used any of the other swordsmanship.

"Is that so? Then I look forward to learning from you."

The other person smiled and turned to look at Prince Selan.

"Your Highness, Second Prince, I have arranged the accommodation and dinner. Would you like to rest first or have dinner first?"

"Let's have dinner."

Prince Selan shrugged.

"I'm sure everyone is hungry."

...

Did he learn that shrugging gesture from us?

During dinner, we hardly had any communication. The butler next to us seemed very serious, which made the atmosphere not lively at all.

Although he repeatedly emphasized not to mind, but even if he said so, it's impossible not to mind.

Back in the room, I found out that Dale, Chilia, Bai Yueguang, and I were assigned to the same room.

It seems that there's nothing wrong with this arrangement, since the others are all girls.

As for what the Second Prince said... It's impossible for him to be assigned to the same room as us. And the two from the Marshall family naturally have their own rooms.

"What should we do?"

Bai Yueguang asked while shuffling the cards.

You're shuffling the cards, and you're asking me what to do?

"Shouldn't this be the part where we steal a glance at girls taking a bath?"

Dale said, resting his chin on his palm.

"You're daydreaming. Also, think about where we are. Only places like large public baths would have scenes worth peeking at, you know? Moreover, you should also consider where we are. If we get caught, we'd be completely done for."

Bai Yueguang is very rational. Come to think of it, no matter how you look at it, peeping is not something worthy of praise, right?

Aiya, I don't know what we were talking about, but Chilia looked at us strangely. Even though you're looking at me with a curious gaze, I don't feel like explaining our conversation just now.

"That's true."

Dale shook his head helplessly.

"Let's just play cards."

Knock, knock, knock!

As soon as Dale's words fell, there was a knocking sound from outside the door.

We looked over and saw that Aliyah's name was actually on the door.

"What's with her again?"

We opened the door, and there stood Aliyah with wet hair.

"What happened..."

"After I took a shower, everyone disappeared!"

"Huh?"

"What 'huh'? I'm saying that Ms. Mary, Taishi Xi, Oyado, Hei Luoli, and Fran are all missing from the room!"

"What! Oyado...she..."

"Big brother, were you looking for me?"

We heard Oyado's voice, and we stuck our heads out and found Oyado and Taishi Xi standing at the corner, holding a bag of snacks, looking at us.

"What are you guys doing..."

"We went out to buy snacks, what's the matter?"

Taishi Xi said while nibbling on a cookie, "You're so cunning! Aliyah, are you planning to ambush brother while I'm not here?"

"Ambush you, my foot! I thought you all disappeared, and I wondered where you went!"

"...Wait a minute."

Taishi Xi frowned. "The only ones who went out to buy snacks were me and Oyado."

"..."

We exchanged glances. "Someone actually kidnapped Fran and Ms. Mary?"

Why are people so clueless lately... sigh.