Volume 1 Chapter 125

Volume 1 + Chapter 125: The Wretched Map

This left Chancelianne, who had painstakingly poured so much effort into planning the route, feeling rather embarrassed for a moment.

“This map really is something else… such a major problem, and it didn’t show it earlier…”

Chancelianne was somewhat annoyed yet also helpless. There was no helping it—updating the imperial maps once a year was already no easy feat.

Roads like this were rarely maintained in daily life, so encountering such a situation was actually quite normal.

But if they didn’t take this route, the original journey time would likely be extended by more than ten hours, perhaps even an entire day.

“I’m truly sorry, Miss Yifu. It seems we’ll have to take a detour.”

In truth, Yifu could rely on her own power to reach any region of the empire at astonishing speed.

However, she had already agreed to travel together with Chancelianne and Alice, mother and daughter, and had also noticed that Chancelianne, in order to remain low-profile, had brought very few guards.

That was why Yifu had no choice but to accompany them along the way.

Given her impatient nature, she would much rather appear instantly at Pipimu’s uncle and aunt’s home, then investigate the entire matter from beginning to end.

What was more, Alice at her side was looking at her with eyes practically brimming with longing.

Chancelianne’s sighing and lamenting barely registered with Yifu at all, the extended journey felt more like a perfectly prepared assist for Alice.

That simply wouldn’t do. The longer she stayed with Alice, the more dangerous it became.

At this moment, it seemed necessary to bring out a certain wondrous little tool. A map, was it? The Great Witch Yifu had long since studied such things.

Combining the Great Witch’s power with Yifu’s perspectives and ideas from her previous life, a truly unscrupulous map, one capable of grasping the real-time status of every road in the empire was born.

Thanks to Yifu’s overwhelmingly powerful, almost world-cancer-like magical strength, this map went from concept to completion in little more than a single thought.

Magic, after all, relied heavily on imagination. The richer the imagination, the more that could be achieved.

Some people, even if they possessed endless magical power, might still have no idea how to use it.

Much like trying to explain ice to a summer insect.

Yifu’s imagination might be ordinary, but she had seen much. With magic as such a powerful tool of productivity, she could secure many conveniences for herself.

“If it’s convenient, perhaps you could use my map.”

As she spoke, Yifu handed the map she was holding to Chancelianne.

Chancelianne didn’t pay it much mind at first, merely glancing at it casually. She hadn’t expected Yifu to have prepared a map as well. But no matter what, it seemed pointless now, the road ahead was already blocked, and replanning was unavoidable.

The time wasted would be far more than just a few hours.

“This map should be of some help.”

Hearing Yifu say that, Chancelianne finally accepted the map. But the instant she saw it, she froze completely.

Because the map indicated a small side path—one that bypassed the rockfall on the main road, then rejoined the main route. After traveling for about an hour, there would be another short detour.

Even so, the route planning on this map was undeniably excellent. It even marked out the surrounding conditions in detail.

“Commencing navigation. Total distance: three hundred and ninety kilometers. Estimated arrival time—”

“Who’s talking?!”

Chancelianne was startled badly, nearly throwing the map out of her hands.

“Don’t be afraid. Just follow what it says.”

Yifu gently pressed down on Chancelianne’s trembling hand. That fair, delicate touch truly felt extraordinary.

Imperial selection, indeed—no exaggeration there.

Nearby, Alice’s sharp eyes instantly caught this scene, and she subconsciously drew in a breath.

So pretending to be scared lets Miss Yifu pat your hand? Such a thing was possible?

“What is this?”

“A map—also called a navigation map. It helps you plan routes and avoid unexpected changes along the way in advance. It can also track our position in real time, every location we pass is marked.”

As she listened to Yifu’s explanation, Chancelianne’s eyes widened further, her sense of disbelief growing.

“This is… a magical artifact?”

“M-more or less.”

Yifu hesitated briefly, then went along with Chancelianne’s wording.

“This is far too convenient—truly far too detailed.”

Chancelianne stared at the meticulously recorded information on the map, stunned. The level of this magical artifact was undoubtedly top-tier.

In fact, using such an item merely for them felt almost like a waste.

If it were used by the Imperial Knights, what an immense boost it would provide.

“Let’s test its actual effectiveness first. I haven’t tested it myself yet.”

Yifu wasn’t wrong. After all, it had just been created—still warm in Chancelianne’s hands. Wasn’t it literally fresh off the press, untested even once?

“Is it really alright? Such a precious item?”

“It’s a gift—for you, Empress.”

Yifu’s words made Chancelianne tremble slightly all over, she nearly failed to hold onto the treasured map in her hands.

“Such a valuable gift—I… I can’t accept it. But…”

Chancelianne looked down at the map, her eyes filled with fondness.

“As long as it’s helpful to you, that’s enough. It’s just a little trinket. Let’s not talk about that for now—try it out and set off as soon as possible.”

Yifu’s words brought Chancelianne back to her senses. She, too, was eager to see just how accurate the map’s planning truly was.

Once they began using it, however, Chancelianne discovered that this map was astonishingly powerful.

Not only could it record their real-time position, but even when folded, it could guide them by voice alone. It could also foresee potential events along the road.

For example, in certain areas the river ran swiftly, and bridges risked being submerged. But being submerged didn’t necessarily mean impassable—some shallower sections could still be crossed quickly.

The map could even analyze such conditions. It was simply incredible.

It could even assess areas of heavy foot traffic, and would alert them if a carriage was approaching rapidly from behind.

It was unbelievably impressive—like having a pair of eyes watching from the sky, transmitting information to them in real time.

This wasn’t merely for navigation, nor just a tool for the Knights to use in strategic deployment.

It was effectively a real-time monitoring system for the empire’s roads. Any problem that arose would be detected by this map at the first moment.

The greatest challenge in maintaining roads was always the delay in information.

Like the earlier rockfall—the local authorities surely intended to clear it, but with delayed information and no one physically relaying the news, it was difficult for anyone to know that the area had become impassable.

There was just one thing Chancelianne didn’t understand.

That dragon-head icon—looking both cute and a little fierce at the same time—what exactly did it mean?

It seemed to be rapidly approaching their position.