The Arcane Guardians Chapter 70: Chapter 65: Technomagick-topia

Read chapter 70 of The Arcane Guardians by Mercynarie on NovelPedia.

Orpheus’ robes swept behind him as he walked swiftly along the streets. Felix and Marcia scurried close behind him, paying attention not to knock into anyone else. Unlike the residents of this world who were mostly dressed in simple coats, Orpheus was fully dressed in a long, navy blue cloak with an emerald staff on his back. “Hey, Orpheus! Wait up!” Felix called out to the man, who thankfully stopped right in his tracks. “That you know my name already confirms what I’ve detected,” Orpheus said in a remarkably deep voice. “Felix Apollo Pagonis. It’s nice to see you again.” “What exactly did you detect?” Marcia folded her arms. “Two foreign souls in this city, resulting in a net excess of citizen population,” he replied nonchalantly. “As Grand Necromancer of Surone, I am in charge of monitoring immigration by keeping track of all the souls in my country. You can’t imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find yours, Felix.” A beeping noise piped, and Orpheus gestured to the siblings to cross the traffic intersection with him. “I— Uh… Thank you.” Felix blushed. “H— How’re you doing? D— Do you have a child— Are… Are you married?” “I hope this isn’t how you usually proposition someone,” Orpheus chuckled. “But no, I’m not. The responsibilities of a Grand Magi keep one from finding love. And besides…” His smile dropped slightly. “I have other priorities now.” Felix’s face fell. “What’s with the people back there?” Marcia asked. “Is that normal behaviour?” “Not exactly. They only behaved that way because you were making a nuisance.” “Nuisance? I barely raised my voice!” “But you were upset. This society doesn’t allow that.” Orpheus swept a stray strand of wavy blue hair to the back. “Every citizen has their role to play in this country, and it’s designed to maximise our efficiency. That includes our mood. We must be joyful at all times in order to execute our tasks to the best of our abilities. Happiness also means less crime, since everyone has been brainwashed to be satisfied with their life.” Felix frowned. “That’s rather… dystopian.” “Well, we can’t complain. Literally.” Orpheus shrugged. “And it’s funny you , of all people, should say that. Because a dictator once ruled this place with an iron fist: The ‘Felix Pagonis’ of this world. He was the one who psychically brainwashed the entire country. He even erased the existence of Surone from the memories of everyone else in the world so that no one could interfere with his policies.” “ Me?! A dictator?” Felix exclaimed. “And that doesn’t make sense either; my telepathy isn’t advanced enough to affect the world.” “Unlike yours, his psychic powers developed more in favour of telepathy. So while you can move the Earth, he can brainwash everyone in it. But enough about him for now.” Orpheus flicked his head warily to the guard post ahead of them. “I’ll fill you in later; let’s get through this checkpoint first.” Felix’s attention shifted in its direction. Guards typically wore sober clothes, accompanied by a generous serving of flashy weaponry eager to show off their firepower. But these guards? They looked like they had just walked through a paint shower of every single colour before coming to their stations. The man covered his mouth to hide his giggle. There was no way he could take them seriously. “You don’t have any contraband items on you, right?” Orpheus whispered. “I don’t think so?” Felix blinked. “What counts as contraband items?” “Staves, spellcrafts, potions… Anything magic.” Felix opened his mouth to ask why magic items were banned, but Orpheus stepped forward before he could say anything. The light on the guards’ helmet turned from red to green upon scanning Orpheus’ face. “Welcome, Grand Necromancer Orpheus Caesar,” the guard announced without scanning the rest of his body. Felix raised his eyebrows in realisation, finally noticing that the guards were made entirely of metal. Despite how human they looked, these guards were nothing but mere simulacrums magically imbued