The technology to summon magical beasts, which once existed in the Astra Empire, was said to have been lost because it was considered an evil act and books containing descriptions of it were burned.
However, I wondered when and why demons and magical beasts became evil…
In the Astra empire, the use of demonic beasts was common, and demons, whether vampires or werewolves, could even get citizenship if they wanted (or if they paid taxes).
…But vampires paying taxes sounded surreal.
Perhaps climate change had something to do with it, as the demonic beasts became more powerful and caused more damage.
The other reason may be that during the war period, a powerful demon helped a foreign tribe from the north, and the ruler of the city state of Astra, who was kicked out by the demon, decided that demons were evil out of spite.
Then, the idea spread all over the place, even to the city-states around Astra, or even to other countries geographically distant from it.
It smelled like a holocaust, scapegoating a minority group to vent in difficult times, a nasty tactic.
So, about Giovanna-san.
Giovanna-san grew up in a city on the periphery of the war-torn city-state of Astra, where she was treated well by her father, despite the various oppressions she faced.
Her father was a stonemason, but he was also an excellent craftsman, and he was always listening to his daughter ask “Why? Why?” He patiently listened to his daughter, and after the continued attacks, he gave in and taught her as much as he could.
In a world where a woman’s education would only do her harm, her father became Giovanna’s greatest confidant and helped her experiment with various ideas.
It was spectacular that the technology for restoring the water supply and sewage system was already included among those [ideas].
Giovanna, who understood the structure as she played with the ruins, consulted her father, who was a stonemason, and said, “I think this is how it was originally built, and if I fix it like that, maybe we can pump water, so I want to try it”. He agreed, and together they went through the trial and error process.
For her, it was just for fun. Just like summer vacation crafts? I was amazed that a genius could unearth ancient wisdom at an age comparable to that of an elementary school student. Although she had a series of failures at first, she gradually established her theory and technique over several years, and finally succeeded when she was 16 years old.
Sixteen years old. Geniuses are scary.
She and her older brother did not get along well. The older brother, Giovanni, had a feminine face, so much so that he was often mistaken for a girl.
Like Giovanna, he resembled his mother, and the siblings were very much alike. Giovanni was too thin to be a good stone cutter like his father, and he was not as good as his sister in academics, so he slowly became a cynical man with a complex.
His mother loved him, and a rift developed between father and daughter and mother and son.
This kind of composition existed everywhere and at various times.
Just as Giovanna was about to get married, another war broke out in the small town where Giovanna lived, and her mother was killed by a stray arrow.
But before they have time to grieve, a storm sweeps over the family. A nobleman named Astra, the commander of the war, noticed the waterworks had been restored, and the water was flowing again, and he asked the people of the town who had fixed it.
When her father’s name came up, the aristocrat took him back to Astra.
