Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World

TL: Etude

At the harbor of Fort Ness, Friedrich Liszt stood on the dock, bidding farewell to his companion, McKinley.

“Make sure to send my regards to the folks back home!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll remember. Really, I’m envious that you get to enjoy some more time here.”

McKinley was about to lead the recruited artisans back to Northwest Bay by boat, while Liszt was to stay behind in Horn Bay to inspect the area for a while longer, establishing an office and a contact point in Fort Ness for his boss.

McKinley patted Liszt’s shoulder. “We’ve agreed, haven’t we? Don’t go stirring up trouble after I leave.”

Liszt pouted. “When have I ever caused trouble?”

McKinley frowned. “Hmph! That incident on Flower Street still gives me the chills! We’re strangers here, try to keep out of trouble.”

“Time to depart, hurry aboard!”

“Ah, time to go. Remember my words! We’ll have a drink together when I return.” McKinley reluctantly headed towards the gangplank.

After waving goodbye to his companion, Liszt felt a sense of relief wash over him. Because of the Flower Street incident, he had been nagged countless times recently, and now he finally had some peace.

Strolling through the streets of Fort Ness, Liszt decided to take a day off for himself, enjoying the freedom of having no one to supervise him.

“Have you heard? The Purification Squad caught a group of witches.”

“I know, they say they’re imprisoned in the cathedral’s dungeon.”

“There might be a public burning in a few days.”

“Burning, how terrifying! But those witches, it’s tragic. They never seemed to cause trouble, only mentioned in scary stories.”

“Shh… don’t let the church hear you.”

Liszt overheard such casual conversations on the street, reminding him of the incident at the inn the other night. He hoped that the woman wasn’t among those witches. Despite giving him a scare, she hadn’t really harmed him, and… she was quite beautiful.

“First, to find a restaurant to fill my stomach… Ah!”

His thoughts were interrupted when he was suddenly shoved forcefully on the shoulder, causing him to stumble and fall.

Liszt looked up in annoyance. “Who is that! So rude… Uh!”

He saw a burly man who had pushed him, standing with his arms wide, holding a short sword in each hand. It was this sudden movement that had knocked into Liszt.

If the man’s arms had been any wider, the blades could have slashed Liszt’s face.

Liszt wanted to curse but held back upon noticing a badge with the church’s emblem pinned on the man’s chest.

Just his luck.

He quickly got up and moved aside, realizing that the man’s focus wasn’t on him. He hurriedly distanced himself from the center of the conflict.

Not just Liszt, but everyone around also ‘consciously’ cleared a large space around the burly man.

Only a cloaked figure stood still, about ten meters in front of the man, back turned to him.

The burly man sneered, “Heh, you’ve got sharp senses, not an ordinary person! Turn around, let me have a good look at you.”

As he spoke, he walked towards the figure, his hands tightly clutching the swords.

“I have an intuition – an intuition for witchcraft! When you passed by me just now, I felt a familiar sensation. Stranger, cooperate with me for a check! Defying the Purification Squad won’t end well for you!”

The person in front of him didn’t move, uttering in a low yet clear voice, “Hmph! A lackey of that so-called divine spirit!”

It was a woman’s voice, and the atmosphere on the street suddenly tensed.

The people around looked at the cloaked figure with disbelief, even the man claiming to be from the Purification Squad stopped in his tracks, his mouth half-open, as if doubting his own ears.

After all, he had already announced his identity as part of the Purification Squad. Such a statement was a direct affront to the church.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!” The burly man burst into laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Such courage, such courage!”

After his laughter, his expression turned fierce. “Lift your head and look ahead, what building is that?”

The cloaked figure remained still, but Liszt glanced in that direction and saw a towering spire. Had he unknowingly wandered near the cathedral in Fort Ness?

The burly man bellowed, “I don’t care if you are a witch or not, the mere fact that you spoke such blasphemous words in my presence is enough to charge you with sacrilege. Everyone here is a witness! I’ll have you tied to the stake and burned! Burned!”

“We’ll see about that!”

Despite the man’s intimidating demeanor, the cloaked woman spoke calmly. She turned around, slowly removing the hood that had covered most of her face.

“It

Liszt almost exclaimed in shock. It was the same witch from the inn that night, the one he had had a ‘skin-to-skin’ encounter with.

Why was she here? As a witch, coming near the church’s stronghold in Fort Ness was like walking into a trap.

The witch flung her cloak behind her, revealing her attire. She wore a hunter’s outfit with long leather boots, exuding a sense of efficiency and valor.

“Let me show you what I can do… Hah!”

The man licked his lips and charged forward with a shout.

In a swift movement, the witch threw a powdery substance into the air in front of the charging man.

Then, pointing forward with her index finger, a burst of flame suddenly appeared out of nowhere, followed by a blinding flash of light.

Liszt felt momentarily blinded, as if he had looked directly into the noon sun. He instinctively turned his head away, his vision plunging into darkness and his head spinning.

“Ugh, this is awful!”

Rubbing his eyes vigorously, it took a while before he could see clearly again.

The street was now in utter chaos, filled with the noise of panic.

“Witch!” “Sorcery!” “Run away!” People were convinced that the cloaked figure was a real witch.

Despite the church’s witch-hunt campaigns resulting in numerous wrongful persecutions and some clergy exploiting the situation for profit, the terrifying image of witches was deeply ingrained in people’s minds. The sudden appearance of a witch on the street prompted an instinctive reaction to flee.

However, the street was crowded, and the flash from the magic caused many to be disoriented, leading to collisions and stampedes. Not many people actually managed to escape.

Liszt stumbled to a pile of barrels at the side of the street, looking towards where the witch had stood, now empty.

The burly man, hindered by the spell, had also recovered. The witch’s spell not only caused dizziness but also hit him directly with flames as he charged. However, the fire wasn’t powerful enough to cause severe harm, merely singeing his clothes and hair and covering his bronze skin with soot, leaving him in a disheveled state, far from his earlier menacing look.

“Damn it! Cursed witch! Cursed sorceress! I curse you, go to hell!”

He opened his eyes to find his target had vanished, leading him to curse furiously.

“I will catch you! No witch has ever escaped from me!”

He shouted to the surrounding crowd: “Everyone stay where you are, don’t move! I will inspect each one of you!”

He feared the cloaked woman might hide among the crowd and escape amidst the chaos. Cursed be her common Fort Ness cloak, similar to many others. But if he ordered the crowd to stay still, the one trying to flee would surely be the witch.

Unfortunately, amidst the chaos, no one heeded his command, even as a member of the Church’s Purification Squad. The street remained in an uproar.

“Damn! These cowardly fools!”

Initially, he had merely suspected the woman who brushed past him. Who would have thought he’d actually encounter a witch?

A mere witch daring to stroll near the cathedral, such blatant disrespect for the church!

She must not escape, or it would be a disgrace for both the Purification Squad and the Fort Ness Church.

“Woo

The man took the horn hanging at his waist and blew it forcefully towards the sky.

His reinforcements would soon arrive.

…

It’s Christmas soon! Here’s an extra chapter for y’all!