Vol 1 Prologue (2/2)
Her smile made me happy, and I grew more and more absorbed into studying
magic.
”But, you know.”
To the me who had openly become a 'witch's disciple', Erl, while making what
others would see as a sarcastic smile, had said,
3
”This sort of magic has already been outdated for a ver
y long time. Now, it is
simply waiting to disappear.”
Having said that, she brought me to her 'workplace'.
Her workplace was a large workshop, filled with pipes everywhere, and
steam was leaking from the openings of said pipes.
”Look. Those are the mechanisms that changed the world.”
Inside the workshop was a gigantic furnace constructed with heavy steel. A
strong yellowish, dusk coloured flame was burning brightly inside the furnace
with a rumbling sound.
Strong, st.u.r.dy men were shovelling low purity amber that had been piled up
in a mountain into the mouth of the furnace. The fires burned with greater
intensity, and the pipes connected to the furnace leaked steam while
vibrating.
”This is the [Amber Reactor]. In order to power the steam engine, it produces
large amounts of indispensable thermal energy, and is the driving force
behind the current <steam engine=”” revolution=””>. I thought of this idea half a
century ago. —Now, do you understand the advantage of adding a steam
engine to the Amber Reactor?”
”... Having nothing to do with an individual's disposition, and being able to
freely make practical use of large amounts of energy...”
Different from magic which was subject to the user's individual nature and
preferences and then altered to fit, the steam engine was purely a machine
to the bitter end—the same kind as wagons and water wheels. Anyone could
operate it as long as they studied the correct operating method.
”I see.... the energy of the amber which can only be tapped upon by only a
few humans, the 'magi', is used as 'fuel' in a method available to everyone—a
reproducible technology. To be precise, 'science'.”
And just like that, Erl started teaching me about science.
Science was a systematic enterprise, and that meant it was something like
the factorisation of the world.
Prologue
4
Under the tutelage of the prodigal scientist with the fearsome t.i.tle of a
«Hexe», I was thrown into the world of scientific knowledge; of physics,
chemistry, biology and others. With wonder and delight, I studied.
... And at the same time, Erl revealed her hidden fears.
”To think that I'm actually changing the world, the idea of that is pretty
frightening. Why did I invent something so strange, I wonder?”
«The Last Hexe», who had ended the age of magic through science, had
spoke of her true feelings in that manner.
”You too are a part of this, Lyle.”
Turning over the pages of the report written by the me who had turned
thirteen, Erl had said that as though she were making a prediction.
”—Should you ever want to, you will leave the name of Lyle Waldstein in
history. You possess 'power'. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, you have a
'power' greater than either military might or magical strength. That is why,
Lyle, I ask you this—Do you have it? The determination to change the
world?The determination to prevent change to the world?”
.... A year after asking that question, Erl—Erllua Azoth, leaving me with
nothing but a ton of difficult questions and a single pocket watch, vanished.
</steam>
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