Edou, the largest country in the East.
It is a country that did not exist 1,500 years ago. The eastern provinces at the time were in a time of war, with local lords known as warlords engaged in fierce battles for supremacy.
Edou is said to be the country that was born after my death, when a warlord succeeded in unifying the East.
“That’s why even today, the rulers of this country are called General.”
I stopped the airship in the sky near the city, then we used the elevator to reach the ground.
There, a typical eastern cityscape spread out before us. The houses are made of exotic wood, with roofs covered in a special building material called tiles. Unlike in the West, people are dressed in so-called kimono, and many of the men have their heads in topknots.
“Pfft, what’s with that weird hair?!”
Anje points to the topknot, and burst out laughing.
“Anje-oneechan, don’t laugh. It’s fine for now because he is just a townsman, but if he was a samurai, he might suddenly come swinging his sword at you. They have a lot of pride you see.”
“Then I’ll take revenge!”
“You’re a complete nuisance of a foreigner……”
Among the people who came and went, there were many who carried swords at their waists. It is a unique type of sword that is not found in the west, and is also called a “katana”.
Even ordinary people enjoyed swords, and there were “dojos” everywhere in the city. Due to his rigorous training from an early age, the Eastern swordsman is very strong.
“Hmm, I want to fight them. Should I get into that dojo thing?”
“Fana-oneechan, don’t try and challenge dojos okay?”
Even so, it doesn’t seem to have changed much since then. Of course, the war have ended and peace have been restored, but—
Gasha,gasha,gasha,gasha!
—A metal doll about two meters tall passed by in the immediate vicinity.
『…… It doesn’t seem to have changed much since then huh.』
“No, no, no, it’s not like that at all! What was that thing just now? There were no things like that back then!?”
The metal doll was apparently pulling a cart. There is also a man who appears to be a merchant in the cart, but it doesn’t feel like he’s piloting that metal doll.
It seemed to be an everyday sight for passersby, and they did not seem surprised by the metal doll.
At that moment, the gate of a nearby house opened with a squeak.
“I’m off.”
“Have a nice trip.”
It’s a heartwarming scene of a wife seeing her husband off to work, but instead of walking, the husband is straddling a mysterious object.
Brung brung, brrrrrrung!!
Shaped like a horse, but with two wheels on the front and back, it sped out of the gate with great force, making a thunderous noise. With the man on board, it went far away in a blink of an eye.
Next, an old woman with lame legs passed in front of us on a moving chair, and then a huge box like vehicle carrying a large number of children went by.
“I don’t recall seeing such a scene!”
As we were startled, an old man spoke to us.
“Are you guys from the west?”
“Mm, yes.”
“Hahaha, you’re surprised, aren’t you? I’m an old man, so I understand how you feel. Recently, more and more convenient things have been invented, and I’m always amazed. The young people use them as if it’s natural.”
Apparently, this change was not so long ago.
“They’re all called ‘karakuri’.”
“Karakuri?”
“Yes, originally they were just cheap things that worked with simpler mechanisms. Lately they’ve been making things that are way beyond our understanding.”
Karakuri were dolls and musical instruments that moved with a simple mechanism and were performed at festivals and other events to entertain people.
It is said that this has developed rapidly, and large dolls that can do heavy lifting, vehicles that can carry people, and even tools that can easily cultivate fields have been made.
“Eh, so that the one I saw from the sky was also a karakuri!”
As I was startled, the old man suddenly shouted.
“Eh? A talking baby!? N-no that’s impossible. Then…… seems like they finally made a talking karakuri?”
Even I was mistaken to be a karakuri.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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