Chapter Eighty-Six: The Train Station in London

Early the next morning, Louis and Helen arrived at the office. Helen’s face was alight with excitement and anticipation, while Louis was refreshed and invigorated. After changing into their attire, they noticed that Stuart’s expression was somewhat strange, prompting Louis and Helen to check themselves in the mirror.

“What’s wrong, Stuart? These are the clothes of a priest and a nun, aren’t they? Quite plain, really,” Louis frowned as he asked.

“Sir,” Stuart replied with a smile, “Normally, they wear grand wizard robes—the flamboyant kind.”

Louis rolled his eyes, telling Stuart to stop wasting time and open the ‘door’ quickly. Stuart’s eyelid twitched; he dared not contradict his master, and so he opened a ‘door’ in front of the full-length mirror.

Inside the door, a small iron compartment swayed, catching Helen’s curiosity as she leaned her head in. On the ‘seat,’ a young lady reading her newspaper was startled to see a small head emerging from the mirror, and promptly fainted.

“Wow! Is this a train? Helen has never ridden one; they never let me ride,” Helen turned back, pinching her nose. “It’s a bit cramped, and kind of smelly.”

Louis frowned and glanced into the mirror, then rubbed his face vigorously, grabbing Helen by the collar to pull her back.

[You ignorant fool! Can’t you even manage this simple task? Go straight to the train station hall in England!]

[But, master… there are many people there…]

Stuart hadn’t finished speaking when he noticed his hand raise involuntarily and cast a spell upon the three of them.

[The entire office and the presence of the three have been diminished—how splendid, a Nightshade adept at all kinds of invisibility magic, invaluable in tomb exploration…]

Louis ignored the narration, commanding Stuart to open the ‘door’ anew. When the mirror rippled like water for a moment, a new scene appeared.

The three stepped through the mirror into the hall.

On the other side, several gentlemen and ladies were conversing, but neither they nor the people of the station could see Louis and his companions, nor did they notice the office scene within the mirror.

Stepping into the hall, Louis gazed up at this place in the city of England—the ‘Francesca Train Station.’ His eyes could not help but widen.

England City—the capital of the Solendo Kingdom.

The invention of trains had been around for some time, but this station was established—or rather, rebuilt—thirty years ago.

At that time, His Majesty Igneus Isolda had just married Queen Francesca. This adorable young woman, who believed in dragons, magic, and wizards, and who adored fantasy, writing, and mathematics, was deeply beloved by the king.

Even more remarkable, his wife shared his passion—steel and steam.

Back then, the king was young, and under his wife's encouragement (or perhaps her hypnotic influence), this ‘clockmaker uncle’ grew ever more ambitious, vowing to accomplish great things.

Naming the station after his wife was his first step toward grandeur—now the railway connected all major cities and sea ports, providing crucial support for the conquest of Solendo.

This station is a landmark of England City, grand and magnificent. It is said that when it was built, ‘wizards’ participated as well (true magicians from the ‘Mage Enthusiasts Association’ during the era of the Witch Queen).

From the colossal pillars, morning light streamed through the enormous glass windows atop the dome, casting beams of light into the hall, breathtakingly beautiful.

Scenes on the stained glass windows, with sunlight spilling onto the white stone floor, depicted the Moon Goddess, angels, dragons, and wizards. Upon close inspection, the Moon Goddess’s features resembled Queen Francesca.

Undoubtedly, ‘Francesca,’ the ‘adorable little woman,’ was the Moon Goddess in His Majesty Igneus’s heart.

The hall was bustling, crowds coming and going. All kinds of races gathered here.

Security, ticketing, waiting areas—everything was present.

Detectives in black bowler hats and red uniforms patrolled the hall, whistling as they went.

Whenever a tall dragonborn entered or exited, detectives would gather for a thorough inspection—those muscular, simple-minded fellows loved causing trouble.

Unlike the dragonborn at the academy, those here had horns that were not minuscule but were shaved down, their skin color differed, and they had scales. Before the detectives, they were all very cautious.

Firearms were highly developed—Louis even spotted an old five-shot revolver at a police chief’s waist!

This meant that humanity in this world already had bullets, not just round pellets and gunpowder.

Suddenly, Louis understood why the dragonborn were so wary.

He also understood why the wizards, revered by dragons, feared the ‘Muggles.’

Humanity here was approaching the level of the First World War.

Who knew if tanks, battleships, fighters, or bombers—far more terrifying than ‘Harold’s magic automata’—had appeared yet.

But Louis had seen cars, steamships, trains, and biplanes today—a circus flyer on the ground showed a biplane and a Yodeler.

This world, different from Earth, had entered an era likely to include Maxim guns.

Many wizards still dream of ruling the ‘inferior Muggle species’—yet they are the Muggles themselves!

Louis had met many wizards; according to storybooks, the average magical power of an adult wizard was only 1.

Double digits were considered elite, a bit stronger were agents like Kevin. But to fight tanks, planes, or artillery—they would be utterly baffled, unable to even defeat automata.

There were terrifying wizards with triple-digit magic, probably the JQK, but their numbers surely didn’t outstrip battleships.

As for dragons—Harold had thirty automata and claimed he lacked a dragon.

If you asked Admiral Crowley of the Seventh Fleet whether he needed a dragon, he’d surely say, “I do.”

Ask His Majesty Igneus, and he might inquire how many you have, then present them to his queen.

No wonder Queen Francesca was willing to marry a Muggle. His Majesty Igneus is truly her prince.

A prince capable of realizing her dreams.

She always wished for wizards to integrate into the real world, and in her era, wizards did become celebrated figures.

Sadly, now some wizards isolate themselves, digging their own graves, while others dream of waging war against the real world…

If they did, magic, wizards, and dragons would vanish…

And this beautiful pre-industrial era would return to its origins…

Perhaps the future Francesca envisioned is the true future of this world—a genuinely magical world where dragons, magic, and steel coexist.

But now, magic and dragons do not exist in this world. Because wizards not only confine themselves to a small circle, they’ve trapped dragons and magic, too…

The world of wizards is not the real world.

The real world is here.

[Fortunately, in this real world, magic has not entirely disappeared, or rather, under the fluttering wings of this little butterfly, it is gradually reappearing…]

—In a corner of the hall, Louis and his companions saw a street magician, dressed like a vagabond, performing tricks.

The crowd gathered, applauding his magic.

Curious, Louis and his friends approached. After watching for a moment, Louis blinked—this magician’s magical power was very meager, enough for only minor spells.

Yet he had been performing for some time. Though his act was a bit clumsy, he had learned to use props to assist in casting—a technique from the books Louis had given Harold.

Apparently, Harold had passed the books to others.

“Louis, didn’t the Ministry of Magic say magic shouldn’t be used in public…” Helen’s mouth gaped.

Before Louis could respond, friendly laughter sounded nearby.

Turning, they saw several detectives who had just squeezed through the crowd.

“Oh, esteemed lady,” a Muggle detective removed his hat and bowed politely, saying, “Indeed, this is our oversight. According to the Mage Association’s rules, magic should not be used as ‘stage tricks’ in public. However, please allow this wizard… ahem, magician some time. His performance is quite remarkable.”

The detectives looked at the magician with admiration—how many years had it been since street wizards performed magic daily at the station? They had vanished for a long while.

Magic had nearly disappeared.

Everyone had almost forgotten the Mage Association’s regulations…

But lately, wizards were gradually reappearing—an exhilarating development.

Louis chatted with the detectives and learned that, in their minds, wizards should have existed since the dawn of human society.

And, it seemed, this was the image of a wizard in their hearts.

“Of course, not all wizards can perform magic,” a detective explained kindly. “This magician is already very skilled.”

After the performance paused, the detectives stepped forward to converse with the ‘magician.’

“Gentlemen, I only wish to show everyone that magic exists and has not vanished from the world,” said the magician, bowing to the audience.

He tossed the coins from his hat into the air.

For a moment, the money transformed into flowers, falling gracefully. Upon landing, they became snowflakes, which melted and disappeared.

Unnoticed, the magician departed. When the crowd recovered, they applauded in awe—he was an English wizard!

But to Helen, the scene had another layer—she saw the wild wizard sprinkle some magic powder from his sleeve, cast an illusion, then, wiping sweat, gave the money to a poor child and left. As he went, noticing Helen watching, he winked at her, thinking he had met a fellow practitioner.

Illusion—this was a first-year course at Saint Icon Tree Academy.

Helen’s eyes widened, “Is such a little trick considered grand wizardry?”

Clearly, Helen’s skills far surpassed those of the magician.

But it must be acknowledged, even junior wizards are wizards.

Even those who aren’t wizards can be called wizards—so long as the people believe him so, he is a wizard.

“But, Louis,” Helen blinked, looking at him, “if wizards have always existed in the Muggle world, then we…”

Helen suddenly felt a trace of fear, “Then what are we?”

Louis shook his head, unsure how to define those with powerful magic who confine themselves in a proud small circle.

Nor did he know what to make of those wizards, almost incapable of magic, in Helen’s eyes.

But one thing was certain: if wizards continued to seclude themselves, dragons and magic would fade away…

The ‘wizard’ before them would be but a fleeting blossom, soon gone.

[But Louis believes the future will be different.]

[Indeed, for this world is already moving toward an unpredictable direction.]

[The ‘Forbidden Scholar’ who spreads magic has appeared in this world, summoned by the wishes of three.]

[As fate’s unpredictable future unfolds, magic, wizards, and dragons may not vanish from this world.]

[Yes, they should not disappear. For this is a fantasy world, one meant to have magic, wizards, and dragons…]

[Just as the first wish-maker ‘imagined’ (or strived to change)—the world should have dragons, and magic, and wizards…]

……

Please vote for recommendations.