Chapter 197: Make you even more beautiful

My name is Shubal.

I am a manager in the royal capital.

Though I say so myself, the fact of the matter was that I was a very talented person who has achieved much ever since I was young. Thanks to that, I now lived in a large mansion in a high-end area within the capital with a beautiful wife that everyone was envious of.

“Hey, darling, where are we going to spend our vacation this year?”

“Oh yeah…well, how about we go to that wasteland village in the rumors.”

“A wasteland village?”

“You haven’t heard of it? The wasteland I’m talking about is in the northernmost point of the former Albert territory. It was only recently that they managed to finally build a city there, but apparently, many have already moved there. I also heard that life there is so comfortable, you won’t want to live anywhere else.”

“My, it sounds wonderful. But that place is so far away, isn’t it?”

“Well, there’s this thing called trains. It’s several times faster than a horse carriage, so if we take that, we’ll be there in no time.”

“Trains are real!? I heard another lady in a recent party talk about that, but the way she described it, I just thought she was joking around!”

My wife’s eyes were sparkling as she said so.

“What kind of city do you think it is? Ahh, I’m so excited!”

“Fufufu, me too. But no matter how much they say that place has developed, at the end of the day, it’s still a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once they see a woman like you, jaws will be dropping to the ground.”  

“Oh, darling…”

And so, my wife and I had decided to travel to the wasteland city via the train.

When we arrived in the underground station in the capital…

“Woah! How’d they dig this much space underground!?”

“Honey, look there. I’m pretty sure that’s the train.”

“My, it’s so big! That’s what we’re going ride!?”

We saw a large metallic object.

We were still doubtful that thing would move, but nonetheless we took our designated seats.

To ride a train, one needed to purchase a ticket beforehand. However, due to the demand, tickets have become considerably expensive. That said, it was still next to nothing to me.

“…! Darling! It’s starting move!”

“It is!”

Despite thinking so, I became unsure if we were truly moving forward after only a little while.

The only thing we could see through the windows in the train was the darkness of the underground, so it almost seemed like we were stationary.

“…is this really taking us to the wasteland city?”

“It should be, but…”

Our excitement soon became boredom.

While my wife decided to take a nap, I decided to read a book.

　　　　◇　◇　◇

Despite the train we were riding stopping at multiple so-called railway stations along the way, we finally made it to our destination.

…we believed it was our destination, at least.

“Is this really our destination?”

“I believe so, honey.”

Still skeptical, we alighted from the train.

The atmosphere in this station was a bit different than where we boarded, but overall, there was barely any difference.

However, once we finished climbing the stairs to go above ground, we saw an incredible sight.

“W-what is this city!?”

“Darling, there’s so many tall buildings! And everything’s so clean…!”

It was a metropolis that was clearly unlike the royal capital.

…a tactless person might even say that it was grander than even the capital.

“Are we truly in a wasteland right now…?”

As somone who was born and raised in the capital, a sense of rivalry with this city formed within me.

Sure, their buildings are impressive and new, but their people, their people! I heard their people are composed of only refugees and immigrants from poor villages, so definitely, none of them are as elegant and refined as my wife––

““!?””

My wife and I gasped together.

After all, we saw beautiful women passing by. It wasn’t just some of one or two, it was each and every woman who happened to pass by.

Well, in terms of base features, my wife would still win, but through their healthy skin, their makeup, their hairstyle, and their clothes, they managed to achieve a level of beauty that was almost sparkling.

My expectation was that everyone in this remote city would be envious of my wife’s beauty, but reality hit me back like this.

In contrast to me though, my wife was in a childlike awe.

“Wow! You look so beautiful! I don’t suppose you can share what you did to get that beautiful, will you?”

Before I knew it, she approached a passing woman and asked her so. What initiative, I thought.

“I understand it now, darling! They said that if I go to this beauty sahlon place, I can get pretty like them!”

“Beauty sahlon?”

When I heard my wife say so, I was able to pull myself together.

“I-I see. So, that place can make you even more beautiful than you are now?”

“Yup! Lovely, isn’t it?”

And so, we immediately set off toward that beauty sahlon.

“Oh, wel~~~come♡”

““!?””