Became the Villainess’s Guardian

Allow me to briefly discuss the history of the magic community in Londinium.

The long-standing feud between fire and electrical mages is quite ancient.
One could say its duration nearly matches the entire history of electrical magic itself.

As a university student, I could acutely feel this prevailing sentiment.

“There comes the electric eel.”

“Keep blabbering and spin your turbines, Tom.”

“What was that? Did you finish running your mouth?”

“Huh? Since you’ve already kneaded the dough, why don’t you just bake the damn bread, living oven.”

In this era still utilizing internal combustion engines in vacuum cleaners, heated debates raged over whether fire or electricity reigned supreme as the superior force.
Safety concerns? Only those ignorant of progress would worry about such things, would they not? For the cultured citizens of Londinium, the act of cleaning implied a willingness to potentially burn their homes to the ground.

This issue extended to automobiles as well.
Currently in a tug-of-war with carriages, but anyone with even a modicum of foresight could instantly recognize that automobiles would soon surpass them on the roads in the not-too-distant future.

Money has its distinct scent.
And where money and vested interests are involved, the mages as stakeholders in magic tools invariably appear.

“An oven, an oven, you say. Well, as the magnanimous one, I suppose I should understand Edan. His anger is understandable – after all, the electric car is but a loser of this era, destined to be outpaced by internal combustion!”

“Take that back, that last remark…!”

Of course, I knew electricity would emerge as the victor of the age, with fire relegated to merely spinning turbines to generate it.
But for the time being, at least in terms of automobiles, internal combustion engines would reign supreme.

However, that too would be temporary. While I felt a tinge of guilt towards penguins and polar bears, those oddly spawned creatures were partly to blame themselves.
With the power of my air conditioning rapidly decimating the environment, the world would be forced to transition to electric vehicles…!

“Are you alright?”

“…Hah! What kind of thoughts was the last bastion of conscience in this era entertaining?”

Ceres Martop.
Freyja’s office on the top floor.

Summoned by Freyja, I composed myself and spoke:

“I have a proposal. I submitted a planning report to you this morning.”

“Ah yes, I saw it. About wanting to create an automobile?”

“Correct.”

There was no need for me to elaborate on “This is called an automobile” to Freyja.
It was already an existing object, after all. While there were efficiency issues, since they had been rolling on the roads for at least a decade, anyone not living under a rock would be familiar with them.

“So, what are you trying to make? Just to let you know in advance, the horse-electric hybrid automobile project was already attempted and failed.”

“Oh, what an bizarre project that must have been……”

Sensing Freyja’s slightly furrowed brow, I surmised it was a story from her investor-swayed days of yore.
As a modern man, I had once again encountered the walls of this era, where patenting something like a radioactive energy drink was perfectly acceptable.

“In any case, it’s not that. I’m aiming to improve the performance of existing automobiles.”

“Ah, to make them go faster?”

“That would be nice, but it would be better if they could carry heavy loads.”

“So you want to use them for transportation, I see.”

“That, or perhaps later as agricultural machinery.”

At an ordinary martop, layoffs and austerity measures would likely be underway by now. Or they might have already gone bankrupt, acquired by Norton Investments.
Only the Ceres Martop, with its diverse businesses and ability to plan for the future, could entertain such a proposal.

“Once the panic subsides, we’ll need new products to introduce. And to make that possible, we need to start production in advance.”

“Alright, sounds good. It’s also an industry those flaming mages have been eyeing, so it works out.”

As always, Freyja readily agreed.
While my planning report did not explicitly state intentions to modify it into a weapon, my stance would undoubtedly change once the Demonic Tribe inevitably invaded.

“I’ll allocate a budget for you. Let me know if you need any experimental equipment separately.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Just remember one thing. Never, ever lose to those flaming mages. Use this opportunity to show them who’s superior.”

“Naturally.”

“Good. I’ll join you once I’m done with my current air conditioning efficiency improvement project.”

After ordering an automobile to be disassembled from the manufacturer, I briefed my research team that I would be away for a bit before departing, telling them to prepare accordingly.

It seemed my pride as an electrical mage had awakened, for I did not wish to lose.
However, this sense of belonging must be temporarily set aside for now. If I committed a verbal blunder before the representatives of other magic schools, I could face social ruin.

I made my way to an empty conference room within the Royal Academy headquarters.
After entering and waiting, as the appointed time arrived, the faces I had seen during the previous induction ceremony gradually joined one by one. More people had accepted the business cards than I had expected.

“Thank you for your positive response.”

“Think nothing of it. As a senior, it is only proper for me to assist a promising youngster who wishes to attempt something.”

“But first, was your previous statement about creating weapons not mere rhetoric?”

“Indeed, as I mentioned, the kingdom’s security is of great importance.”

“Quite so, of course.”

Observing them chatting and laughing so casually, one could momentarily lose sight of the fact that each had left their mark on the magic community in their own way, as the true protagonists of this era.
In truth, having the opportunity to undertake something by gathering the mages of the Royal Academy was an exceedingly rare and precious occasion.

And the reason I needed to join the Royal Academy was not solely to seek their assistance.

“Ah, about the necessary equipment……”

“I’ve already submitted the request. Within a week, the respective manager will personally arrive to grant usage permissions.”

Even as a top executive of a modern corporation, one could not simply borrow the company’s particle accelerator on a whim.

The same applied to me at the Ceres Martop. While the disappearance of some basic raw materials might go unnoticed, borrowing experimental and processing equipment would raise eyebrows.
If it were a Ceres Martop project, it would be acceptable, but this was a personal endeavor.

For an individual to possess equipment used in the most cutting-edge magical research was unheard of.
Did anyone privately own a particle accelerator? The various devices required for my experiments were no exception.

Such equipment was typically possessed by corporations, martops, and the nation itself.
Yes, the nation. And my location was the Kingdom of Glassgow, at the forefront of human magic and industry.

If not for their Royal Academy membership, who else would lend such resources, already gathering dust due to fiscal austerity?

“Aack!”

“Mr. Edan, what’s the matter?!”

“My… fingers, they’re all……”

“You’ve injured your fingers! Just a moment, I’ll summon a physician! You haven’t sustained any other injuries, have you?”

“I’m alright, but the experimental equipment……”

“The equipment… pay it no mind. Are you not the most precious asset this kingdom has recognized, Your Excellency?”

“…Oh my.”

Having borrowed a few items for a trial run and engaged in some tomfoolery, I had received what might be the highest compliment a mage could receive from the bearded caretaker.

In any case, I had made all the preparations possible in this era, securing the finest personnel and equipment available.
It was time to proceed to the main subject.

Grandeur, majesty, enormity, and so on.
Humanity has always yearned for and admired this indescribably ‘magnificent something’ that stirs the heart. The very reason martops were constructed soaring into the skies stemmed from this mindset.

One need not be a youth in their twenties.
For men carry such sentiments throughout their lives.

So, what am I trying to say?

“Bigger cannons! Bigger, bigger cannons!”

“Imagine a gargantuan steel fortress adrift at sea, cannons protruding in all directions… wouldn’t that be truly magnificent?”

“If we had access to flame magic powerful enough to obliterate an entire city, we could modify it into fireworks. So let’s start by creating that flame magic first.”

Those who have gathered here today desire adult playthings, plain and simple.

Men incapable of restraining themselves when it comes to grandiose and majestic spectacles.
They yearn to create something enormous that goes boom, but denied by the military, they can only wipe away tears and fund such endeavors out of their own pockets.
And yet, their pride prevents them from being the first to suggest making childish toys befitting their age.

However, would it not be wonderful to harness that glimmering genius towards the betterment of humanity rather than manufacturing radioactive glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs?

While exuding the aura of an eccentric hobbyist club, its members were undoubtedly talents whose abilities had been vetted by the Royal Academy itself.
Survivors who had persevered in this magic community for decades, maintaining their reputations. To place them on the same level as mere toy-starved adults would be improper.

By loosely gathering like-minded individuals, some extraordinary creation was bound to emerge, one way or another.

And shortly after,

“What if we mounted an enormously large cannon on a train and operated it that way?”

“A rail cannon! A rail cannon! A rail cannon!”

“Imagine a majestic airborne aircraft carrier soaring above the battlefield – it would be a dream come true!”

The Royal Academy members, having initiated their filibuster, frothed and bubbled with a chemical reaction.
Even among mages often dismissed as intellectuals, the thoughts of these exceptional few were truly extraordinary.

In this era of magic rapidly advancing more than any other period in human history, there were no mages devoid of enlightened and adventurous spirit.
Achieving great accomplishments was difficult without pioneering uncharted realms and pursuing radical research.
And I chose to fan the flames of this madness ever so slightly.

“Would it be possible to create a high-velocity ejection device utilizing electromagnetic properties?”
“Oho, so you’ve been harboring such thoughts. A mage accepted as a member at such a tender young age is truly different.”

“Instead of gunpowder and wires, firing a projectile along rails… let us call this a rail gun.”

“A rail gun!”

“But would it not be dangerous? I may be a fire mage speaking, but such contraptions tend to explode a few times during initial experimentation.”

“Yes, you make a fair point. So let us first calm down a bit-”

“I’ll let you fire it too.”

“…A rail gun!”

“A rail gun!”

“This is madness, truly.”

Professor Magni, who had joined midway to observe my antics, covered his face with his palm upon witnessing this scene.