Laying down a railway is not as easy as it sounds. If there is a mountain, you need to either go around it or, in the worst case, tunnel through it. If there's a forest, you have to cut down the trees to clear a path for the train.
Even in modern times, laying tracks properly requires years of land surveys and overcoming such challenges.
And in a continent where public safety is a mess, with monsters and bandits are everywhere, the difficulty of laying tracks only increases exponentially.
The process of laying the tracks itself is dangerous enough, but now you also have to worry about problems after the tracks are in place.
What if a group of malicious bandits deliberately destroys the tracks? What if a passing monster crushes the tracks with its massive body?
To lay tracks in the Empire, we had to be prepared for all sorts of crises like these.
Of course, before all that, the first step was to get permission from the Emperor to lay the tracks in the Empire...
"Could something like this really be approved so quickly?"
I looked at the document in my hands with astonishment.
[Land Development Permit]
It was a genuine development permit with the Emperor's official seal stamped clearly on it.
I couldn't hide my surprise.
Our Tower Master had spent years just trying to get a similar permit.
She had bowed her head at the Imperial Palace every day, not to mention offering prayers to the moon and stars with water set out as offerings.
After all that, she barely managed to get approval for the smallest possible expansion of our magic tower's grounds.
Getting the Emperor's permission was notoriously difficult, even if you presented a flawless business plan with clear benefits for the Empire, reviewed and re-reviewed multiple times.
And yet, Christina had managed to secure this incredibly difficult permit in just one day.
And even that one day was mostly spent waiting for an audience—the actual approval process had taken less than an hour.
Given the Emperor's reputation for separating public duty from personal relations, even with his own daughter, this was quite a surprise.
For a moment, I wondered if Christina had simply presented the business plan incredibly well...
"I happened to see a branch of the World Tree in a bottle of whiskey stored in His Majesty's cabinet. I mentioned it, and he approved the permit immediately."
Her unexpected answer made me blink in confusion.
"...Is that really okay?"
"Don't worry. There is more than enough evidence to prove that His Majesty put the World Tree branch in his whiskey. He is wise enough not to risk damaging relations with the Elves over something so trivial."
"Um, Christina."
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure if this is the right word... but isn't that... blackmail?"
At first glance, Christina's words sounded like praise for the Emperor's wisdom, but in reality, it was nothing short of blackmail.
Currently, the Emperor was pursuing a pro-Elf policy.
Imagine what would happen if the Emperor, who was all smiles with the Elves in public, was revealed to be sipping whiskey infused with the sacred World Tree branch behind closed doors.
There was no doubt it would cause a massive uproar.
The World Tree was the most sacred symbol of the Elves, representing their Mother Tree.
Of course, I had also seen Elder Heindel of the Elves, who had signed the alliance treaty with the Emperor, pour a World Tree branch into his whiskey, but still...
"Yuri."
"Yes, Christina."
"I know you are a wizard with little connection to politics, but as my consort, you will find yourself in public positions more often. You must become familiar with politics as well."
"So it's not blackmail—it's politics. And the plan to build a railway in the Empire is tempting for His Majesty as well."
"If it succeeds, it will become His Majesty's achievement."
So that was how she convinced him.
The first Emperor to introduce trains to the Empire, the Revolutionary Monarch!
It seemed Christina had planted this ambition in the Emperor's mind.
The current Emperor, Julius II, did indeed have a tendency to crave glory.
"What about the other officials? They won't just stand by, will they?"
"And what if they don't?"
Christina curled her lips into a mischievous smile.
"Infrastructure projects fall under the Ministry of Land Development. But the Ministry has long been mismanaging assets of the national treasury. I have hundreds of documents about that. I've been keeping them for a rainy day, and it seems that day has come."
"..."
"Since the Ministry of Land Development is under the Ministry of Finance, we could shift the blame to the Ministry of Finance if needed."
My mouth hung open slightly.
My consort was, truly, a frightening person.
*
The situation unfolded just as Christina had predicted.
When the idea of a railway—a completely unprecedented mode of transportation—was proposed, the officials immediately pushed back.
Their primary objection was that they couldn't justify wasting the national treasury on something so uncertain.
However, the professional organization, the Ministry of Land Development, declared their unconditional support for Christina.
With this, the opposition from the officials quickly died down.
Of course, this support was merely conditional and their silence was only temporary.
If public funds were used and the practicality of the train couldn't be proven, all the blame would fall squarely on Christina's shoulders.
"That can't happen."
Since Christina trusted me with this task, I had to succeed, no matter what.
Besides, I had confidence in my ability to make it happen.
Even in my past life, looking at history, the development of trains had followed soon after the invention of steam engines.
While the Empire didn't have steam engines, it did have magic-powered vehicles.
Through Dorian, I had already confirmed that it was possible to build a magic-powered train.
The critical challenge was not the technology itself but laying down the rails for the train to run on.
However, I wasn't well-versed in the Empire's road conditions.
How could someone who spent 365 days a year traveling only between the Imperial Palace and the White Tower possibly understand the state of the Empire's roads?
This was a situation where I needed the help of an expert—specifically, someone who knew the Empire's infrastructure better than anyone else.
"The Ministry of Land Development is not an option."
While the Ministry of Land Development had experts, they were nothing more than bureaucrats.
How much could desk-bound officials who just shuffled papers possibly know about the real state of the roads?
For something like this, the field workers who actually used the roads would have the best knowledge.
I needed someone who not only knew the Empire's roads better than anyone but was also trustworthy.
And fortunately, I knew exactly the right person.
A past conversation with him came to mind:
"Yuri, do you know what the ultimate dream of a merchant is?"
"I'm not sure. What would that be?"
"It's to supply all products seamlessly across the entire continent."
Count Trion.
The master of the Trion Merchant Guild and the person with the most extensive trading experience in the Empire.
He was the perfect fit for this project.
*
"If it's Count Trion, he may have plenty of experience, but isn't he too busy running his merchant guild?"
"That's not a problem. He's recently been passing on his work to his children."
It had already been eight years since I first met Count Trion.
Back then, he was a middle-aged man, but now he was nearing sixty.
Having handed over the guild's management to his children, Count Trion had plenty of free time.
And above all...
"He's definitely someone who would take this on with great enthusiasm."
I still remembered how Count Trion had spoken passionately about his dream as a merchant.
Connecting the entire continent was his long-standing dream.
"If he is someone my beloved speaks so highly of, I suppose I can trust him."
Christina readily accepted my suggestion.
The very next day, Count Trion was summoned to the Imperial Palace.
"This is truly a remarkable plan! Incredible—connecting the Empire as one!"
As expected, when Count Trion heard my plan, he could not hide his excitement.
But soon, his flushed face turned somber.
"…Hmm, while this plan is certainly amazing, I must say it is impossible."
"Could you tell me why?"
"Because of the monsters."
Count Trion shook his head.
"At least bandits can be reasoned with, but monsters lack intelligence.
Even if we manage to lay down a railroad, the monsters would destroy it."
"You won't need to worry about that."
"Pardon?"
Count Trion blinked, clearly puzzled.
No wonder—saying that monsters weren't a concern must have seemed completely unrealistic.
But it was true.
"We're going to embed magic stones along the railroad."
"And what does that have to do with monsters?"
"We'll use stones infused with the essence of dragons."
"!"
"We plan to install Cryostones, Pyrostones, and Aerostones at regular intervals."
Monsters are naturally afraid of dragons.
By placing magic stones infused with dragon energy along the rails, we could create an effective monster repellent.
Though magic would be needed to amplify this effect, the important part was that it would eliminate the threat of monsters.
Of course, this would require the cooperation of the dragons, but...
'The food expenses are going to be outrageous again.'
Well, anyway...
"I'll handle the monsters, so you don't need to worry about that."
I spoke to the hesitant Count Trion.
"I will provide all the support you need. Lay down the rails freely, just as you envision."
Unleash your dream.
Build the railways that would connect the Empire.
***
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