Published: September 10, 2025
※Correction made on 2016/6/21.
This is Satou. I like traveling by train, but I only have unpleasant memories of commuting trains. Being packed to the limit every day feels like it wears down even my spirit. Surely, if crowded trains disappeared, the stress of salarymen might decrease by about thirty percent, don’t you think?
◇
“Revolution, it is!”
“Uggghhhaaaaaa!”
In front of Pochi, who sharply pointed his finger, Arisa shook her purple hair wildly and shouted.
“This is Minmin’s bountiful harvest!”
Pochi, holding cards in one hand, struck a flashy pose, but it was so wrong that I didn’t even know where to point out the mistake.
For now, it seems Arisa is weak at Daifugo (the card game).
“If you’re going to say that, I’d correct it to ‘the uprising of the poor’.”
“As expected of Nana! Pochi was going to say the same thing—really, you know?”
Pochi praised Nana’s correction.
There was hesitation in the last words, so I’m sure it wasn’t really true.
“Satou, are you going out already?”
“Yeah, it looks like there’s some movement near the Emperor Statue, so I’m heading out for a bit.”
Hikaru noticed the Weasel suit hanging on my arm and called out.
Apparently, Hikaru and the others were playing Concentration.
“His Highness is strong, huh.”
“This game is just about memorization, so it’s easy.”
“Tina’s winning all alone, right?”
“Yes, I’m pretty good at cards, but I don’t think I can beat His Highness in Concentration.”
Hikaru called the princess by her nickname. Ms. Zena was murmuring the positions of the cards repeatedly as if memorizing them.
Even Sera, who boasts unmatched strength at poker, seemed weak at Concentration, which is a memory contest.
“Tama, be careful out there.”
“Do your best for Pochi too.”
“Got it~?”
After the beast girls finished their conversation, I took Tama and teleported in unit formation close to the village from the other day.
◇
“Hmm, the letter was true... to think the corruption would accumulate so quickly. The people of this village might be a little too hot-blooded?”
A Weaselfolk man dressed like a civil official watched the replacement work on the Emperor Statue, stroking his chin and muttering.
The actual replacement was being carried out by a man and woman who looked like magicians using arcane magic.
“Master Hock, the fixation is complete.”
“The miasma level of the Emperor Statue corresponds to the installation period. It seems only the magical power had accumulated excessively.”
It’s probably because of magical power leaked from our magical artifacts.
Those magician-like people seem quite perceptive.
“Hmm, Myazma paper is blue, and mana paper is at the limit with purple... Indeed, your analysis is correct. But since we’ve come this far, let’s bring this back as is.”
“Yes, indeed. We don’t want wasted effort, and the researchers need to do some work too, or they’ll be called salary thieves by the imperial army.”
The magicians handed the civil official something like small litmus papers.
Apparently, those were simple measurement tools for magical power and miasma levels.
I’m curious how they measure the miasma.
I should try to find someone among those researchers who might leak info.
Since it seems consumable, if it’s produced outside the research institute, I might be able to buy it normally from a supplier.
◇
“A ticket to Magyuba City costs 30 Suen per person, and 20 Suen for children.”
“Two tickets, please.”
I bought tickets for the smoke train from the conductor selling them at the temporary station.
Suen is the currency unit of the Weasel Empire, and one bronze coin equals one Suen.
Now that I think about it, this might be the first country I’ve seen with a specific name for their currency.
Maybe languages with only one name for coins translate them like “●● bronze coin.”
It’s a bit of a hassle to memorize, but it doesn’t particularly bother me—though it might reduce some exotic atmosphere.