Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 327 - 225: The Battle of the Vegetable Garden (Part Two)

Chapter 327: Chapter 225: The Battle of the Vegetable Garden (Part Two)

Shelton Brice heard that one of the guard captains in the Underground City managed under his father’s name had been killed, the first thing that occurred to him was to have the murderer caught and brought to justice.

"Is there no law in The Capital anymore!"

Then he heard the name of the murderer—Malin Gaiate.

What was he thinking, life is so beautiful, the future so full of promise, why would anyone want to antagonize Mr. Malin, could people really be so eager to court death?

After that, he heard that Malin had used ’Detect Evil’ at the scene.

That was excellent, let him kill whom he pleases. By using ’Detect Evil,’ those he killed were certainly deserving of death. Such villains not dying would leave Shelton unsettled. As for his father’s complaints, let him take them to the God of Justice. Next year, his son would be a Paladin.

With this in mind, Shelton snapped his fingers and a half-human attendant scampered over, "Young master, do you have any instructions for me?"

"Go find Mr. Malin and tell him I’m inviting him to dinner," Shelton said, handing him an address, "This is the hotel where he’s staying. With His Majesty and the two ladies back, he should be at the hotel."

He should be at the hotel, otherwise where else could he stay, in the royal lodge?

At this thought, Shelton chuckled to himself—if his little buddy truly had such influence, then as an older brother, he’d definitely celebrate his prowess.

After all, not everyone had the means to stay in a royal lodge.

Once his attendant had left, Shelton poured himself a cup of coffee from a newly opened café that was quite interesting. Clearly a coffee shop, it offered a self-service style where one could help oneself to a whole pot of coffee and add anything by oneself.

Shelton always liked to put a lot of sweetener in his coffee, something other shops didn’t offer. Here, although he had to pay for the sweetener, the point was the freedom to add as much as he wanted.

Excellent, next time he would definitely bring some friends here to enjoy the pleasure of triple the sweetener in their coffee.

Lifting the coffee cup, he took a small sip, savored it with satisfaction, then turned to look outside the window.

He just happened to see a royal carriage pass by, just happened to see Malin and Faye sitting inside through the open window.

And then, the carriage disappeared from Shelton’s view.

Shelton fell silent for a moment, glanced at the sky, confirmed the direction of the streets, and then realized that he could start considering how to boast about his little bro’s achievements.

But no matter what... Malin, you really are something! Although it’s just lunch, it’s still very impressive. You have to understand, Shelton’s father might not even get to enjoy a family banquet in that particular building in this city for the entire year. And while those who have dined there say the dishes are as simple as a common household’s, the status is indeed high—not just anyone has the credentials to dine with a King.

With such feelings of admiration, Shelton decided to go home and tell his father about it.

"Having more friends means having more paths," his father used to teach him, and surely this time it wouldn’t be necessary for the son to assert the opposite.

.........

"All things considered, if we knew we were coming too, why didn’t we accompany Malin and the others here in the first place?"

Descending from the train, Colin helped his fiancée Margaret, who adjusted the Assistant Priest’s cap atop his head after disembarking, "I’m sorry, my dear, I thought we would have our little private space this year, but my father wanted to officially announce our engagement to Faye and Malin."

"Ah, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Malin obviously doesn’t seem like the type to drink. I’ll have to accompany your father to drink, and His Majesty’s feared drinking capacity could be the death of me. Last time I had a drink, my head hurt for three whole days," the young man said as he took the luggage, speaking to his betrothed with a slight complaint.

The couple walked out of the train station and immediately saw Instructor Quasar, with his favorite parted hairstyle and sunglasses, sitting on a motorcycle and waving at them.

"Good afternoon, Instructor Quasar," Colin said as he and Margaret approached the vehicle to greet him.

"Good afternoon, you newlyweds-to-be. I prepared to pick you up as soon as I heard you were coming. What do you think of this vehicle? It’s a brand-new luxury commuter car that Malin and the Dwarves came up with this year."

"What do you mean by commuter car?" Malin asked as he opened the door to let Margaret in, then as he got in himself, he inquired.

"Ah... it means you can’t drive too fast," Mentor Quaser said, looking somewhat displeased when he mentioned this, but Colin thought it was just great—in Carterburg, Mentor Quaser had been the only one daring enough to give him a fourfold acceleration during flying lessons. By himself, he had failed an entire grade during that one exam because he pulled at least two laps ahead of all the other students with his constant quadruple speed.

Of course, Colin could never say that out loud, or Mr. Nice Guy would turn into a grumbling ghost.

As the vehicle entered The Capital, Mentor Quaser showed his entry permit, and when the City Guard checked the back seat, they recognized Margaret. He smiled and motioned for the car to enter the city while tipping his hat, "Welcome back, Your Highness."

"Thank you, sir," Margaret smiled and nodded her head.

Entering the city, Colin looked at the streets with some admiration for the uniqueness of this city, "Compared to The Capital, our Carterburg does seem a bit like a small place."

"In the Sydney Union, not a single city can compare to this one before us," said Mentor Quaser upfront.

"By the way, Mentor Quaser, where are Malin and my sister?" Margaret asked.

"Malin should have already been picked up by your sister, and we are now heading over there. Speaking of which, why do I have to be a driver? I really want to take this car out for a ride outside the city," he said.

In Colin’s eyes, the need for speed was burning fiercely in Mentor Quaser’s heart. Unfortunately, since they were in The Capital, he could only drive the vehicle in the middle of the road, periodically having to stop because of carriages and pedestrians.

"I feel this thing is too wide," Colin noted the problem with the car.

"No, it’s the roads that are too narrow," retorted Mentor Quaser.

"But this is a boulevard wide enough for a three-horse carriage to pass through comfortably," Colin observed, calculating the width of the street.

"But do you think a carriage is more comfortable, or a seat like this in an engine vehicle?" Mentor Quaser turned his head to look at Colin while waiting for a carriage to turn.

Colin touched the soft padded long seat he was sitting on, recalling the hard seat of his own carriage. In the end, he had to admit to Mentor Quaser that he wasn’t wrong, "Indeed, a motor vehicle is better."

"That’s right. What are humans struggling against heaven and earth for, if not to make life better for themselves and their descendants? We fight with Goblins, we fight with Spirits, we struggle against different kinds, and we sign treaties with civilized races from different cultures, all for the sake of living a bit more comfortably." At this point, Mentor Quaser smiled, "Maybe one day, our descendants will become as remarkable as the sages before the Great Destruction Era, conquering the land, the seas, and the skies."

"That makes a lot of sense. However, I still find it hard to imagine those flying machines mentioned in historical stories, the Tech Hunters have never found anything like that," Colin sighed.

"Not finding them doesn’t mean they don’t exist, Margaret. Think about the machinery we’re sitting in. Would people a hundred years ago have ever imagined machinery that could change life like this?" Mentor Quaser shook his head as he spoke, "They never knew, they had not even heard of such things, not just them, even our parents never experienced it firsthand like we have."

"Machinery will change our lives, making them better. I believe that day will eventually come," Mentor Quaser appeared very confident.

Thinking it over, Colin felt his mentor’s ideas were indeed quite good.

Perhaps one day, his and Margaret’s children would come to see them riding in a bird made of machinery.

The thought alone was thrilling. "Science changes life," the Mages at the Mage Tower would always say. Colin used to think they were spouting nonsense, but now, it seemed like wise words.

At least the development of firearms had given everyone a chance to fight when facing Spirits.

"Mentor Quaser, you’re extremely knowledgeable about technology," Margaret marveled.

The mentor laughed a bit sheepishly, "Actually, these are things Malin normally tells the Apprentices when I’m listening by the side. But I think he’s quite right. Five hundred years ago, our human race had just relearned metallurgy, learned to forge steel into weapons; four hundred years ago, we began learning from ancient schematics how to make metal crossbows; three hundred years ago, the Lord of Justice proposed public health measures that started to spread across the continent; two hundred years ago, we signed peace treaties with various civilized cultures; one hundred years ago, we had just begun to use muzzle-loading guns and steam weapons..." His eyes were alight with hope, "Maybe our generation won’t see the future of hope, but someone will. Civilization will not perish, the legacy will not fall, we all are the bearers of the torch."

"Malin is truly incredible," Margaret exclaimed, "He really is a genius."

Colin had no objections, "Right, that guy is the most useful one in Carterburg, both his brains and his fists."

"Frankly, I value the knowledge in Malin’s head more. He should become a Sage. Unfortunately, from what we can see now, this kid will be very busy in the future. I’m afraid he won’t have time to be a Sage." Once again stepping on the accelerator, Mentor Quaser got the vehicle moving without looking back, but the mirth in his voice was still clear to Colin.

Indeed, Malin was always busy. The profession of a Sage, who spends all day in a daze and contemplation, was never meant for him.