Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 502: Three Hundred and Thirty-Nine: The Distance Between People (Part One)

Chapter 502: Three Hundred and Thirty-Nine: The Distance Between People (Part One)

"That is one tough kid," the assistant sighed as she stood outside the manor of the banquet that was winding down, waiting for her own carriage. Capella’s assistant, also by default a woman, looked at her superior, "His two ladies... what a pity, such outstanding girls should have been one of us."

"Don’t be silly, my old friend," Capella said with a smile, "Fate forges a unique path for everyone. Maybe for them, following at his side is the greatest fortune in life. Speaking of which, he is a true gentleman; he looked at us without any covetous gaze. Knowing that we had no schemes intersecting with his, he rejected me with a smile that kept me at bay, and for the first time, I tasted defeat in the presence of a young man."

"Madam, we have not been defeated. The Commercial Union and the Malin Group have already reached an agreement on the second dock at Carterburg. The two of us will build a super-large modern port in Carterburg, creating thousands of jobs... Madam, we are still the victors."

"We are just working for ourselves, sister, and victory will never come. We will fight for ourselves until the last moment," Capella said, noticing Malin Gaiate opening a portal in the garden with his partners.

"I heard they are on their way to the Farol Principality. His precise Coordinate Movement Teleportation Technique is indeed beyond his time... My sister, have you heard that story?" Capella watched him and them enter the portal, then turned to her assistant.

"What story?" The assistant was startled, then laughed and shook her head: "Are you talking about the tale that’s born of the era? That’s nothing more than a countryside tale among bards, not worth mentioning, Madam."

"No, my sister, if you truly flip through the book called history, you will find that in every era, unique individuals emerge. They change their times, holding back the raging tides at the brink of doom... My sister, if Mr. Malin truly is such a person, then we... must follow him."

"Madam, you have said that our independence and autonomy are far more important than life itself."

"But my sister, when the Tide of the Dead rises again, when the end times come, we and they alike will follow a flag. Under that flag that can save the world, each person’s life will ignite for the survival of our entire race. In that moment, every person, whether man or woman, is nothing more than a mortal striving to survive in a destruction that could engulf everything..."

"Madam, you worry too much. The Tide of the Dead has only passed less than forty years ago. According to that gentleman’s theory, Mr. Malin is likely just a Transcendent hand changing human history. I think all that he has promoted, including the institutes in The Capital, are proof that he is a Sage, not a Savior."

"Who says a Sage cannot become a Savior."

The conversation between madam and her assistant ended there as they sharply noticed the arrival of a young girl.

"My daughter, how did it go?"

"You saw it too, I don’t seem to have much appeal," the girl sighed. "Mother, is this what you call sacrifice?"

"Of course, men are our rivals, but also our allies, my daughter. A world that relies only on women will ultimately lead to destruction, and exploiting men will also invite criticism, like me." Madam Capella said, and heard her daughter’s dissatisfied retort, "My mother, I can be like you too. You said that men shall never control our Fate."

"...Your daughter understands our creed even better than you do."

"But she has only learned the surface. We stand on our own so that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with men. We go into battle so that they understand we have the courage to face dire situations. My daughter, everything we do is to be equal with men—to face everything this world has to offer, whether happiness or despair, as equals. We don’t achieve this by trampling on their pride. We earn our own money, support our own families, and gain everything ourselves. We can live proudly without men; that is what equality and dignity are. We don’t need to curse men because we don’t need to see half the world as our enemy. We are to live proudly, not as rabid dogs snapping at everyone."

"Then why do you still want me to get close to him?"

"Because he possesses a strong bloodline like no other man. You may not love a man, but you must love the child in your womb. Seeking a strong father for him, giving birth to healthy, robust children is our mission as mothers. Being able to earn money independently, to support ourselves and our children, is our right and duty as mothers."

"But he doesn’t like me."

"You don’t like him either, right?"

The conversation between mother and daughter was interrupted by the arrival of the carriage. Capella and her daughter got into the vehicle, while her assistant followed and sat in the front seat.

.........

She was a woman full of ambition.

Malin couldn’t help but sigh when he heard the story of Capella Salmon from Lillim and Clovis.

She seemed to have a strong desire for control, as evident from her negotiating attitude.

Clovis rated her highly: "Much tougher than we thought, I feel she is the kind of woman who can live well without men."

"I feel the public opinion isn’t very reliable either, just like Clovis said, she’s the kind of woman who can live fine without men. Does she really have seven biological daughters?" Lillim asked curiously.

Faye shook her head: "Of course she does, but some were adopted. She only has two biological daughters, one from her former partner, another posthumous child after she became a widow."

Rewo looked curiously at Faye: "But the reputation..." "The reputation isn’t wrong, seven daughters, seven fathers, this mouth of people is the most troublesome." Faye said, looking at Malin sitting at the table: "Malin, my beloved, what are you writing again?"

"Of course it’s a new plot," Malin said.

"A new plot, did the poor little girl find the antidote vaccine?" The girls were all aroused with curiosity.

"Dear, I’m not the kind to spoil the plot," Malin said without turning her head.

"This is the time when a woman needs to stand up," Faye said as she got up, "If you don’t tell us today, you are not sleeping on the big bed."

"There is a medicine that can save lives!" Malin screamed while frantically writing.

"You see, every home needs a woman like me who dares to speak her mind," Faye said proudly.

Her sisters all expressed their sincere agreement.

Then they all giggled and crawled into the back half of the carriage to take a bath—as Mages, with Clovis and Faye around, the girls were never short on bath water.

.........

After leaving the Carterburg area, the weather started to get hot, and as the train passed through Sharval Cape, Malin saw the Raging Sea—numerous reefs appeared above the water’s surface, along with some remnants that looked like buildings.

Having soaked in the sea for so many years, they are still there... it’s really quite moving.

"They say that in the primeval era, our ancestors had already stepped out of the world beneath our feet, but the great destruction time and again devastated our civilization..." Faye sighed as she looked towards the Raging Sea: "From here going south, the Raging Sea will dominate this vast stretch of water, and no large ship would dare to travel through this sea."

"What do you think those buildings were used for?" Malin asked the girls.

"Who knows, but they definitely wouldn’t be ordinary civilians’ houses, with buildings that high," Clovis said based on her judgment.

"Yes, must be a very rich person’s residence, so grand and tall, maybe it was the King’s mansion," Lillim said while leaning against the window.

Malin sighed inwardly. You’re all wrong, from the style of the buildings, they were actually just apartments.

"Sometimes, Tech Hunters would take small boats to venture onto those ruins, although they usually come back disappointed, but the prototype of the Arcane Temperature Controller we use in the new inn was actually found in such ruins," Matilda said.

"Eh, it was found here?"

"Of course, it was found by a team of Farole Tech Hunters, they really struck it rich, but the ones who earned even more were us," Clovis said with a smile.

"We use it well, my dear sisters, we do," Faye said with a smile.

"Mr. Malin, what do you think such tall buildings were for?" Jessica, noticing Malin’s distraction, hugged him from behind and rested her excess chest weight on Malin’s shoulder.

That’s quite heavy, you know.

With such a thought, Malin spoke up, "I think, those must have been the homes of ordinary people."

"Ah... Mr. Malin, aren’t you thinking too well of the primordial era, such large ruins, how could they possibly be the residences of ordinary people," Clovis said, turning her head to look at Malin: "If the ruins were restored, they could be said to be hundreds of meters tall."

"I’m just speculating," Malin said with a smile: "Perhaps the wealthy preferred to live in large houses with just one or two floors."

"A two-story mansion, that’s the most interesting joke I’ve heard," Faye said with a laugh as she leaned over and gave Malin a kiss.

Malin kissed her back with a smile.

How do I tell you, in that era, the real wealthy lived in the suburbs of the city, while the city itself was full of such high-rise buildings, housing all sorts of ordinary people whose futures were not guaranteed.

This is the limitation of eras.

My dear girls.