Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Steampunk World Guide 1: Short Story - Traveling Woman, Traveling Girl

"Traveling Woman, Traveling Girl"

Illustrator: AKIRA

A certain month of 1909, Detroit City


What was that?

What is that monster...?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was supposed to be an unaltered job.


The trading of illegal goods, which also had an effectively new type in the southern sea of the chaotic city, Shaggai.

Most of the popular drugs in the back alleys of most cities across the United States had quickly become a market favorite in the darkest corners of this heavily trafficked city, going from a few cents an item in the early days to a few dollars. After a few jokes, we met with an intermediary hired by Shaggai's complex gangster, Cootri, which manages the development and sale of the new type tonight in Detroit City's Fourth Abandoned Development District.

That has been my job for several times now.

It was business as usual.

There was no way for me to get disturbed.

After all, Al Capone's fame must be so widespread in Detroit City that even the white-collar crowd that spends its days maintaining that the world of gangs and mafias has nothing to do with them, shudders at the mention of the Kingpin. Who doesn't dread the thought of seeing a picture of their child's home inscribed in the "Find someone" section of the milk carton they see every morning, and the fact is, the man will do anything. Literally anything.

The organization I've got a foot in is one of the mafia groups that have formed an alliance with the Kingpin. It may sound good when you say "alliance", but in essence, it's under their jurisdiction. This franchise, said to have been invented in the 20th century, is being used to great effect in the dark world. It was the watering of our deal, which was the same as spitting in the face of the Kingpin who kept anyone silent.

And yet...

My deal tonight had become a mess.

That monster--


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"This is the Detroit Police Department."

A synthetic mechanical voice coldly echoed throughout the abandoned factory.

"Resistance is futile. All of you, lay down your arms and surrender."

The first to react was one of the several burly guys the broker had brought with him. A huge man dressed in a thick hooded coat. He's probably a bouncer. From the peculiar phrasing in his synthetic voice, the guy must have figured out that he'd had an unexpected encounter with a patrolman or raid, because he pulled out a large firearm in front of us without consent. It was a gun. A high-powered firearm of Shaggai's specifications. The weapons on the market in Shaggai City, which were jokingly referred to as "a step before the battlefield," are not a joke. They are powerful. There have been a few times when I've come across an armed police officer on bad luck patrol, and on those occasions, this gun was pulled out and immediately opened fire. Alas, the cops were shattered, and the only thing left in their wake was the smell that made me not want to eat ham and kidney pie for the time being. Yeah, that's it for the guy tonight, as usual. I cut myself cross in my mind.

"Resistance is..."

The sound of gunfire. The sound of death.

The cop will die without a scream.

"Futile..."

The sound of gunfire...what the...


Why is there still a synthetic voice calling for us to surrender?

It was there that I saw. I saw it.

The silvery knight emerges from behind the machinery of an abandoned factory with a cool face--no, not a single expression on his lips while catching all of the large-caliber bullets fired from the bouncer's firearm.

What is that? It was like a cyber guy with cyber parts attached to him, like he was waving a gun around in Shaggai. And what's more? It was silver all over, like it was covered in antiquated armor. Only the mouth, where you can see the lips tied in a straight line, is raw, and everything else is silver. Steel. Chrome. Metal. It must been peculiarly calm to take on the volley of the latest machine gun fire due to being clad all over.

"We're not listening to you."

Somebody shouted. It might have been me.

The bouncers of the broker, the big guys in the court, jumped up from their hoods one after another and held up their guns. I look back at the bouncers who are supposed to be my allies. I've just pictured those shaggy, mechanical bastards. That's exactly what the bouncers were. They've replaced parts of their bodies with some kind of advanced technology. The main reason why Shaggai is called a testing ground for the next generation of battlefields. Advanced mechanical technology, of course, through human experimentation that should be illegal in any country but these guys gave themselves up, whether it be for money or power. Oh, what the hell, then, just say so quickly.

It was a relief. The silver knightly bastard quickly turned into a lump of meat and chrome, and the deal goes on as usual. With that, I can go back to my home and taste the newer stuff before anyone else, feeling the warmth of my usual woman.

Come on, you majestic machine bastards!

Make him into a beehive!


"Resistance is futile."


What is that?

What is that monster...?

It was here I got to know how terrifying of a monster these bouncers from Shaggai were like, and that of the lone knight who alone was a monster if not more.

The abandoned factory turned into a warzone.

The seriously armed bouncers tore through the cutting machine that was scorched pitch black. The walls were broken and the floor was gutted, and I thought the knight was dead. Oh, how I would have liked to think that.

For he was yet still alive.

It was calmly and slowly walking forward despite being wounded, and its ridiculous huge muzzle of a gun aimed at one of the bouncers.

The trigger was pulled.

I saw something of which I could not figure out what. It was like a light. I didn't know if a bullet was shot, but all I knew for sure was I saw a blue light.

In that next moment, the bouncer who had turned more than half of his body into a machine, turned into a lump of flesh and steel. In front of me, with my mouth agape, one after another, the others shot with everything they had.

But the bouncers were turned into lumps of flesh and steel.

"Cracking Light!?"

The broker said something and took out a pistol to aim at the knight's head. I think it's better to just stop there, I said calmly in a corner of my mind. But sadly, no one else can hear the voice in my head. And so, the broker too became a lump of flesh. "Humans shouldn't easily break like that, normally", I hear my voice echo in my mind.

Before I knew it, I was the only one left alive.

Indeed. It was only me.

The knight wasn't even breathing. This was a genuine full-body machine, unlike the cyber guys who apparently replaced part of their bodies with a machine. It's rather wrong to see their mouth as human, and it must be a horribly well-made humanoid machine, a kind of rumored Megadyne for combat.

Yeah, that made a lot of sense. Bullets and flames won't work on it, and if it didn't live in the first place, then it cannot die. What a poetic thing to say, the calm me said inside.

"This is the Detriot Police Department. Everyone, lay down your arms and surrender."

The guy's muzzle was so close as to be able to touch my eyes. Staring at it with narrow eyes, I thought quietly...

There is no everyone...

I'm the only one left.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Detroit City Police Department Headquarters Building.

Like other areas, this is where you can find the Great Engine Health Building, known as the city's elephant in the room, as a landmark. It's also the place where you can see the shadow of an eerie monster at night, thanks to the windows, though the state-of-the-art "Engine Gold Painting Room," built three floors above ground this year, is filled with mechanical equipment.

"He" turned his gaze toward the window through the visor, installing the mainframe on a private bed.


A swarm of light spots, which resembles the starry sky that is said to have existed at the beginning of the last century, however, emerges in the information display column of the view as nothing more than a nightlight of a large engine construction tower.


"Hi, mister Engine Cop. It looks like your first day went well. How's it going?"

"Not bad."

A synthetic voice replies to the female Scholar in a white coat.

The special bed--unlike a human bunk, was a slightly elevated, vertical machine table that is made to fit his or her body, and it works by welcoming his or her mainframe, and automatically receives all the information from each part of the mainframe in succession. Therefore, tonight's operational reports should have been sent to the processing unit to be heard. It's not so much that it's a verbal response as it is that it's not worth it.

"I heard you had a big fight all by yourself against a bunch of genuine Shaggai cyber-guys."

"I was not alone."

"Oh, but for the record, you..."

"All in one piece."

"He" quietly tells her and closes his eyes.

To the female Scholar, who may be weighing her response in the face of unexpected words, more words were continued.

"I have a question, doctor."

"What is it?"

"Have I ever had dreams before?"

"No, not really. You are only designed as a machine, though some of your computing equipment uses only some of the nervous systems of a deceased brain."

A machine that has no function for which it was not designed.

So she says.

"I am aware of that. But..."

"But?"

Her voice changed slightly.

One of surprise and expectation.

"You say if you can have dreams? Where does your pseudo-brain have that kind of extra brain space? Interesting. Tell me, Mr. Engine Cop. What do you dream about?"

"A dream of a journey."

It stopped functioning in the process of a reboot.

Indeed, "he" experienced it.

Although it was not left on the recording device, it was left as a memory in a small amount of extra space in the pseudo-brain's interpersonal conversation program.


It was a dream of a journey.

Of a woman with a Golden left eye and a girl...



A certain month of 1909, Third Kyoto City


I am going to leave soon.

I have been in this city for too long.

Although I'm using a different name, I'm still Elysia Wentworth at the end of the day, and I'm not one to stay in the same place for very long. And yet due to having felt too comfortable here, much time has passed.


Yes, this city...

Third Kyoto City.

A large city of the Far East and West, divided by the civil war with the intervention of the great powers in the last century, brought about daily discoveries to the extent that they changed some of my ignorant perceptions of the Orient. It was a city. Even though I spent most of my days away from the mansion and didn't go out much, there was still a lot to discover. One of the big discoveries I learned was that the statue of Buddhism was not a singular kind but a model of many gods, and another was being able to know the difference between Samurai and Ninja.

I came to the city in reliance on Count Arima, who was related to my great-uncle, and who had been granted me protection for a while. I refused to be bothered by this inconvenience, but he told me that since the Far West did not yet have formal diplomatic relations with the United States government, I would not be on the side of their pursuers. I wasn't sure if I could believe his words, of course. But I thought it would be rude to do the favor unjustly, so I decided to indulge him by staying for a few days.

That's what should have been for that duration.

At the beginning of my stay, the kimono-clad housemaids had been looking at me with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, but now, with a smile on their faces, they called out "Kirena-Gaijin-san" to me. Perhaps it is because of the English education that is part of the primary education system here, but if I speak slowly, they understand my English, and I have begun to learn a few Far Eastern languages myself, and I am amazed that I can speak, albeit only in a few words, Far Eastern, which is one of the most difficult Far Eastern languages to learn, along with Kadath's language, even if it is only in one language. I wonder what their reaction would be if I, in high school, knew of it. They would surely be surprised and ask me what would make me feel like that.


Under the sky in the Far East...

I felt familiar with it.

And yet, at the same time, I should not.

Even though they did not have direct ties with the United States, they had a certain amount of diplomatic relationship with the British Empire and other close countries in the Far West, so they could not continue to play favorites with them forever. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that I, Elysia Wentworth, am not going to remain in one place for as long as the United States of America's International Police continues to pursue me.

On that night, I didn't mind about it.

On that morning, I resumed my journey. I cleaned every corner of the room prepared for me, and folded the futon. I was then ready to go. I managed to leave a note in Far Eastern characters to the owner of the mansion, Count Arima, his wife, his eldest son, Yoriyasu-kun, his eldest daughter, Yoshiko-chan, and all the house maids who became friends with me.

Please excuse me...

This is a farewell to my leave.

I am leaving the place from which I was beginning to live.


~ ~ ~

"Are you traveling, Gaijin-san?"

With the help of an attendant who speaks fluent English, I pass through the entrance to the long-distance bus station on the grounds of the Third Kyoto City Terminal, where I find a large steam-powered bus with John who was disguised as a "roller bag" by going from a walking form to a rolling form. As I was looking for it, I, resisting the urge to get on, bought a lunch box and a few souvenirs from a store.

As I was a tourist from the UK, I had to avoid getting on the bus without looking at the souvenirs. It was a good idea to have a look at a few of the things that I had seen in the past, but I was not sure what I was going to do with them.

The one I bought earlier was of a four-legged animal made in red and black. It was something cute, but I felt it had little to no charm or appeal to it.

"It's not the charm that you want. Charm doesn't come with the word "appeal" in it. Okay, Eli?". Vivi would often say that, but I never really felt the same about it. I thought that having charm and appeal were perfect expressions for it, but I wonder...

"I would have liked for it to have a little more appeal."

While whispering softly, I put the four-legged animal in a handbag separate from John. John has already been properly placed in the cargo storage area of the bus with the help of an attendant. You are to put your bag luggage there and keep your valuables in another. However, in terms of preciousness, no bag is comparable to John itself, and John, who uses many precious artificial muscles and products of Inganock technology, is unique in the sense that it is not expensive. It was a bag that was too precious.

I put my handbag on my lap and thought about it like that, and I wondered if John wouldn't suffer in the cramped space, and a smile almost appeared on my lips.

And just when I was about to do that...

"Long-distance Buses to Nagasaki are now departing."

The recorded English voice echoed as the steam bus's engine began to operate. Yes, our destination is Nagasaki City. I don't plan to linger there either. In a few days, I will be on an airship bound for another city.

"Are you traveling alone, onee-san?"

A Far Eastern boy spoke to me on the bus that started running. Perhaps he was sitting by the window because he was looking at his parents waving from the bus stop. Speaking of age, yes──they were about the same as "that child"? When I think about it, I feel that during this trip, children often call out to me in this way.

Yes, I have resumed my journey.

And with that understanding...


"Yes, I am traveling alone. It's a pleasure to meet you until we get to Nagasaki City."

Today, I smiled at the child.

I wonder if there will be a day when "that child" who remembers when she closes her eyes can do this.

I thought faintly on it...



A certain month of 1909, Third Kyoto City


When I came to, I found myself in a city I did not know.

I was by myself.

It was a strange city.

But for me, who apparently lacked a lot of memory other than my own name, it was somewhat awkward to call it a strange city, since I have no standards for what is decent and what is strange.

But I could not help in calling it strange.

It was a city where tall, distant towers that seemed to have a unique architectural style can be seen sporadically among the so-called high-rise buildings. That alone is quite impressive, but in addition, there is a large statue of a human figure in the center of the city, and at the foot of the statue, people are worshipping with their hands clasped together in a thankful manner. I asked someone on the street what it was, and they explained to me that it was a statue of the Goddess of the Third Kyoto City, that it was a modified version of a Sultan Machine donated by the Ottoman Empire, their partner in an alliance they have. But I didn't quite understand it.

I wasn't sure of anything.

I realized that the memory in my head was still lacking, but when I heard the words, I didn't remember anything.

I just looked up at the statue.

Thinking of the place in which I do not belong.


And so, I decided to move on.

There was no point in staying in a place where I didn't have to be.


I asked where I could go to get to another city and was told to go to the train station, so I spent a whole day getting lost, and a whole day outside in the cold night, wondering in my own shadow, asking many people until I got to the Third Kyoto Terminal.


I was wondering what to do from here when I found a place where several large locomotives, buses, and other things were gathered together, so I decided to go there. I had a little money in my coat that I'd been wearing since I came to, so I bought a ticket with it and got on a single-decker steam bus. I'm not sure where we were going. I didn't see any name that fit the list of destinations at the ticket office, so I just bought a ticket for the flight I pointed out as "this".

I boarded the bus and took a seat by the window.

The attendant said, "I will look over your luggage. Please bring your valuables with you." But I answered, "It's alright." because I didn't have any luggage.

After a while, the engine begins to start and...

The bus started to move.

The strange city figure drifts from left to right across the window.


The empty bus started to move.

Where were we going?

As I was rocking in a daze, looking out the window at the scenery, someone sat down next to me. There shouldn't have been a single passenger other than me.

It was a woman.

A tall woman.

For some reason, I felt a strange affinity for a woman of that age. Some part of my lost memories fell away.

Smiling, the woman talked to me saying--


"A Cracking Being. So you really do exist in the Far East."

I didn't know what the words meant.

There wasn't much for me to know.

So I said...

"You...do you know who I am?"

"Just a little. You are Lily. Someone who was called the Stranger from beyond in the Underground World."

"Hmm..."

Lily. That was my name.

That I only know.

Stranger.

That word seemed familiar to me.

"It's best if you stay away from me."

I muttered with my eyes to the window.

"I'm possessed by a demon."

"Ooh, scary."

"I'm not kidding around."

I didn't know a lot of things, so I couldn't even make a joke.

That's why I don't tell them. I really have a fear of demons. It's just that I see my shadow while walking alone at night and realize that it must be a demon or something.

It was not a lie.

So this was more like a warning.

"I'm glad I found you. This country hasn't taken root yet, and thanks to Onishigo's grand self-determination, the influence of the Society is minimal here. That said, there are some dangerous people like the Living Party, so it's really fortunate that we met."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Indeed. I didn't know of anything.

I didn't know what this person was saying.

"I would like to collect you, Lily."

"You shouldn't."

I said with a sigh.

You shouldn't approach me like that.

You shouldn't try to touch me like that.


Ah, you see...

From my shadow, comes the hand of a demon.

I hate it.

Its appearance was just like from last night.

A demon that turns anything and everything into two.

I cannot stop it.

I wonder if it will be like last night.

Where it'll turn someone into two.

I do not want to see that.

"You should run away."

"Why's that?"

"My shadow...he doesn't listen to me."

To Be……?


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