74 - Seventeenth Lesson: "Lesserly Dreams"

"Wow, that felt good! Flying with Fafnir is great!

Robin returned to Rattlestwood after his mission, stretching to relieve his stiff body.

His sharpened eyes have regained their original round shape, and he looks like a child who has just played with his favorite toy.

"You're looking very refreshed, aren't you?"

"Oh, Cammy. Good night."

Robin greeted Camilla with a flutter and a wave.

She raised her thin arms wrapped in black lace and said, "Yes," and looked at Fafnir, who was being stored in the large box.

"I see you've had a great success, Nushi. I am glad to see that the doll is working without any problems. To be honest, I was concerned about how well it would work with this world-standard magic stone. ......

"Well, that's where your skill really shines. I'm still the best puppeteer in the world, Golem Master Robin.

"...... though there are many questions as to whether Nushi is an ordinary puppeteer or not."

As Camilla mentioned, Robin's fighting style is quite different from that of ordinary puppeteers.

The usual fighting style of a puppeteer is to stay away from the front lines and let a powerful and replaceable puppet - a golem - fight remotely. Most of the fighting ability depends on the specs of the golem, and the status of the puppeteer himself is often low. Therefore, it is considered normal to aim at the main body of the puppeteer instead of the golem when facing the puppeteer.

Although there are some boarding type golems that can be carried on the shoulder or back, they tend to be used less and less as they become more advanced because they kill the biggest advantage of the puppeteer, which is that . No one would prefer to use this type of golem unless they are inexperienced and have a short effective range for remote control.

One who dared to go the opposite way, as if he did not care about common sense, was Robin, a rare child prodigy born between a curious dwarf and a Dwarf, a people of engineering, a mixed breed.

He unearthed the wreckage of a huge automata, a mobile weapon found in an ancient ruin, a piece of lost technology, and submitted a plan to the royal castle to restore it and turn it into a golem.

The plan, which had an unknown chance of success and would have required a huge amount of money just to attempt it, was immediately rejected by the domestic affairs officer (Ertina), but then Helian intervened.

>

The following is a line from Tsukasa Misaki (Helian), who was a high school student at the time.

He was a young man who understood such romantic words as "decisive battle weapons" and "mobile weapons," and who never forgot his boyish spirit - in other words, he had a chuunibi temperament.

He gave the go-ahead to this unprecedented and reckless plan and poured money into it like hot water.

The total amount was close to the national budget of the time, but with the king's promise of full support, Robin's enthusiasm was fueled and he eventually succeeded in completing Fafnir, the one and only golem that combined the latest magical engineering with the lost technology of the past. It is.

As of 150 of the Holy Demon Calendar, no golem of the same type exists, and Fafnir continues to reign at the top of the golem class as a one-off machine that cannot be reproduced.

"From the enemy's point of view, it is a nightmare. Even if you try to target the main body, which is a common weakness of puppeteers, the main body is inside the golem. Moreover, the remote control is not even limited to an effective distance, and it can fly around the entire battlefield with overwhelming firepower, making it untouchable."

"Ha-ha-ha!　Okay, okay, more compliments!　I'm the kind of girl who grows when she gets praised!"

Don't get carried away. What the hell was that last one? That last shot was overkill.

Camilla complains about the dragon shot that put the final nail in the coffin of the Fairy Mother Dragon. Her expression is a little stiff in contrast to Robin's cheerful smile.

"It was a good thing that the shot was directly overhead, but if the angle of fire had been slightly off, it would have hit the warding. It would have been exposed to the outside world."

"That's why you shot straight up. The warding didn't break, did it?

That's not what I'm pointing out. I'm saying you didn't need to shoot in the first place. An attack of that magnitude could have been handled by the main gun, the Urvang.

Camilla had mobilized all of the Sixth Legion's surgeons and covered the entire battle area with a cognitive barrier--the same one that had been used in the battle with the advance troops--to block information to the outside world.

Although the wards were deployed as ritual magic and had a certain amount of added defensive power, and could handle a stray bullet from a fairy dragon with no problem, there was no way that they would be able to catch Fafnir's dragon shot. Even a direct hit, or even just a graze, could cause the warding to collapse, and even Camilla was in a cold sweat.

"Well, that may be true, but ...... since we've been given the opportunity to participate, we want to do it in a spectacular way, don't we?　Everyone else may be happy with their turn in the last war, but I'm the only one who ended up on standby, you know?　I don't get credit for anything, I get zero credit for anything.　Do you have any idea how I felt when the war ended with me sitting alone in Fafnir?"

"...... Well, I can't help but feel some sympathy there."

The large boxes that maintain Fafnir and supply the magic power to activate it do not exist in Agartha, the capital of Alkimaira. This is because laboratories and large-scale workshops are concentrated in the suburbs of the capital, and the large boxes are also constructed in those locations.

Therefore, Fafnir parked in the large box was supposed to be left behind in the original world due to the inter-world transfer phenomenon. However, on that day, in order to celebrate the national celebration, the aircraft was moved to the main square of Agartha with its ceremonial equipment, and thus, by chance, it escaped the difficulty of being left behind.

It was a fortuitous chance that Fafnir, which plays an important role in Alkimaira's strategy, could be brought into this world.

And two months ago, at the time of the war, Robin and Fafnir were waiting for their moment in the deserted plaza, but he was not available and the war ended as it did.

Robin was very sad when he was told that the war was over, as he had been motivated to the highest level in his life by the King's speech.

Considering his state of mind at that time, even Camilla, whose character trait is [ruthless], naturally loses momentum in her pursuit of him.

"Besides. Thinking about the situations where Fafnir will be needed in the future, you want to try out as many functions as possible, don't you? and are two very different things, so it's better to have actual working data, right?"

Robin is sort of right.

Fafnir is one of the trump cards in Alkimaira. It is a decisive weapon, deployed only in battles that must be won.

Its strategic concept is to destroy designated targets within a specified time, and Fafnir's targets are categorized as either or .

The former is simply to kill the most threatening forces. The latter aims to damage the enemy camp as a whole by destroying kings, corps leaders, and commanders. In this respect, the latter is given a completely different concept from that of Nogard, which is said to be skilled in military combat by <.

However, in order for Fafnir to demonstrate its true value, "Awaken the Dine Legacy (Dineslave)" is necessary, and it has the disadvantage of consuming a large amount of resources such as magic stones just once in a battle. In addition, after each battle, the deteriorated parts need to be replaced, forcing the company to raise huge costs. There is no other weapon that makes the domestic administrators weep so much.

And because of its nature, Fafnir must always produce results when it goes into battle. Considering the tremendous cost and manpower required just to launch a sortie, it is only natural that results are demanded, but the story changes drastically when the word <> is added. It is needless to say that there is an insurmountable barrier between the ideal and the reality. The same goes for the aforementioned absurd strategic concept.

However, Fafnir, driven by Robin, a rare genius, has never once failed in its mission, and has maintained the myth of undefeat to this very day.

While the other eight corps leaders have experienced defeat in one form or another, he and his Fafnir are unquestionably the decisive force in terms of being the only one who has maintained the myth of undefeat.

"So it's not my fault. I have the king's permission and Elle's budget. It's a perfect theoretical armament.

"You are out of line when you speak of theoretical armament. ...... Can you say that in front of Märzel?　You seem to be green as a sheet when you find out that an entire large radiator has been used up."

With a snap, Robin turned his head in the opposite direction. Then he started whistling deliberately.

Camilla let out a sigh from her glossy lips as she thought of the poor mechanics.

"Well, good. ...... Well, by the way, the chiefess seems to have lost her nerve. She must have been very chilled to learn that Nushi, whom she had unwittingly underestimated as a mere child, is one of the strongest in Alkimaira."

Camilla talks about Wenli, who was present at the start of the war against Noblewood.

She had left the battlefield at the time of the first attack by Selwyn, a scout of the 6th Legion who was hiding at the scene. She witnessed the entire battle from a safe zone, but her complexion began to deteriorate when the fully restored fairy dragon began to fall like a dragonfly, and when the fairy mother dragon was obliterated by Fafnir's dragon shot, she was so shocked that she had a stroke.

He is now lying in his bed, moaning "I was deceived", "He was a monster after all", "I will never be underestimated again", and so on.

I feel embarrassed when people say that I am the best!　Well, it's true, isn't it?　I'm the only one who can use Fafnir, and I'm a super genius!　Ha-ha-ha!"

"Without your help, I can't fight in the first place, and it's only for 15 minutes."

"If I can use the extremely large magic stone that I brought from the ...... original world, I can do a little better, right?"

"How much more resources are you going to eat up, you little domestic bureaucrat? You've used nearly a dozen Gandharv weapons and you still haven't eaten enough!

"Because the magic stones in this world are so empty. I thought it would last a little longer, but the second reactor core stopped right away.

We still saved money on this, you know?　Robin excuses himself.

In fact, the premature shutdown of the second core was unexpected, even for the Seventh Corps technicians, led by Robin. It may have been a quality problem, but it may have been simply incompatible with the reactor.

Robin claims that he had to use Gandharv, which consumes less magic power, because he was concerned about Fafnir, who was about to go hungry. However, since the situation could have been avoided if he had given up early and activated his magic sword (Dineslave), we cannot deny the possibility that he just wanted to enjoy the fight as long as possible.

Incidentally, the technique for repelling intruders that Celes had installed in her store is similar to magic bullets in that it , but while the former is limited to relatively low-level magic with an aptitude for "trap magic" or "trap spells," magic bullets have no such limitations. As long as the size and quality of the magic bullet allow it, even great magic can be imprinted on it.

However, the process of engraving a formula on a magic bullet is, according to Celes, like being forced to copy several tens of thousands of pages, and she usually lost her temper when Robin ordered a batch of about 30 bullets after shooting them in vain. It is not surprising that even the patient Eltina shies away from this task.

"Hmmm... ...... I guess it's not easy to simply use local materials..."

"It's too early to draw conclusions, but it's a little difficult to get immediate results. My craftsmen are very enthusiastic about the challenge.

"By the way, you offered some of your prototypes to the Warriors' Guild."

"We were experimenting to see how far we could go with local materials," he said. By the way, half of the weapons used by the warriors were made of latestock.

The weapons that Robin refers to as made in Rattestwood were made by dwarves, dwarves, and other craftsmen living in Rattestwood under the guidance of Seventh Legion artisans who had been dispatched to the area.

It was not only the warriors who did their best in this case.

The citizens they were supposed to protect were also fighting on their own battlefields.

Craftsmen worked hard to learn their skills and manufacture products even while they slept, while other citizens worked hard to rebuild and provide food for the people so that they could concentrate on their work.

In this sense, this victory is the result of the collective efforts of the country of LATESTWOOD.

"Hmmm. Now that the test run of Fafnir is over, I think I'll make something to commemorate it. It's been a while since I've been on a rampage, and now that I'm refreshed, I'm inspired to create something new."

"You really are a moody one, Nushi. I feel sorry for the other craftsmen who make better products than anyone else. ...... By the way, do you have any feelings at all about being underestimated by the chief magistrate?　If you want, I would be happy to do it on your behalf."

Camilla again turns her attention to the matter that had just been casually discussed.

Although it was not so urgent as to be described as "holding out a gleam of hope," it was an action taken after thinking that this would be the last chance, if there was any chance.

But--

"No, no, no, you can't do that, Cammy. Wenli is such a serious girl, and she's so funny when I tease her. Even Cammy, who is a member of the League of Tricksters, will get angry if you touch Wenli.

Robin made a large batten with his short arms. His words were unusually strong for him, suggesting his firmness of purpose.

Although I had no choice but to talk to him, Wenli seemed to be Robin's favorite. He may not be happy about it, but it's a good thing that he's always playing tricks on him, because he's a tireless prankster.

"I'm sure there are serious people around here..." he says. The three that started it all are the best of the best.

"No, the lion head is too hard-headed to talk to, and sister Lee is usually scolding me because she can't take a joke. And I'm afraid the king will tell on me."

"What about Eltina?"

"--Kamy. I've promised myself that I won't offend my sister Elle."

"............"

I didn't have the heart to ask him about the details of what had happened, but he seemed to have been drilled into his bones that he was not good at anything.

Realizing what had happened, Camilla looked at the large box, which had returned to its concealed state after the Fafnir was contained,

"Uh ...... what about Merzel. What about the other officers of the Seventh Legion?"

"I'm bored. They've gotten so used to it that they don't even react properly when we play tricks on them. The girls are so used to it that they don't react properly when I play tricks on them. --Please go back to work when you're done. ...... is a terrible way to kill someone. I'm your boss.

That's what I'm talking about. After being subjected to his shenanigans for more than fifty years since the establishment of the Seventh Corps, there is no way that he will get any fresh reaction now.

In this respect, Wenli, whose earnest nature and position made him impossible to play with, was Robin's best playmate.

Anyway, he cannot even elicit a rebellion by words when he is Robin's favorite in addition to the king's order to stay out of his way. Camilla's shoulders slump as she realizes that she will have to give up on the idea of personal retaliation.

"...... Well, if I'm going to be Robin's plaything for the rest of my life, I guess I'll feel a little better about it."

In addition, by concentrating the damage on Wenli, the rest of the people will be more or less spared from Robin's clutches. If her sacrifice would reduce the number of victims and troubles, it would relieve some of the king's concern and anxiety.

Camilla convinced herself with this logic and decided to treat Wenli as one of the many. Such a shift in mindset is one of the talents needed in information warfare.

"Yes?　What did you say?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm talking about us. ...... At any rate, now you've put an end to any lingering worries. The plan against Noblewood is complete, and the operational experiment with Farniel has been successfully completed. We have also had a great harvest. I'm sure you must be pleased as well.

"Harvest?　What else was there besides the Fafnir experiment and the extermination of Noblewood?"

"Yes, of course. A great deal. As far as I can tell, this plan has at least five objectives.

And then Camilla looked at Robin and said, "Oh, ......," thinking slightly,

"--there are three main aims."

"Hey Cammy. Why did you cut down your numbers when you saw me?"

"I can explain all five in detail if you wish, but now that you've asked, I trust you'll hear me out.

"...... and what are those three aims?"

Robin chose not to ask.

Although he has [Genius] in his character traits, his power is only demonstrated in the areas that interest him. Politics and scheming are out of the question.

Camilla returns the expected answer with a glazed look and continues with her explanation.

"The first is, as Nushi said, the security of the lastswood. First of all, as Nushi said, we need to secure the safety of the latestone woods. We must eliminate the Noblewood, the source of the upheaval, and bring order and peace to the Sea of Trees. It was unexpected that Noblewood destroyed Oldwood, but it saved us a lot of trouble. Although they were not extremists, they were hostile to humans and half-elves, and this could have been an obstacle in the future.

"What did Cammy do to you?"

"I would have gladly done so if you had given me permission, but Noblewood had its own ideas and attacked Oldwood. I had nothing to do with it."

This is true. Before the war started, Camilla interfered in three ways: <, and , and was not involved in the attack on Oldwood or the slaughter of her people.

I had intended to exploit the gaps in the king's orders, possibly to lead Noblewood's thinking, but I was off the mark. Without any action, Noblewood began to run amok.

In the first place, as can be said in common with the case of the advance team, if it is asked whether the invasion of the human nation, which was the original purpose of the project, could be accomplished even though the fairy dragons had been given the power of war, it is clearly no. If we are talking about the runaway, it can be said that it had already started at this time.

It is true that they could have inflicted damage on the human nations by deploying supernatural forces, but there was no end in sight. It is a complete one-way ticket. It will only be a journey of death, trying to make as many companions as possible until the fairy dragons starve to death.

(...... The soul of the Great Elder was strange in some way.)

Camilla recalls the soul remnants from which she has just extracted information.

The soul's memories do not lie, and accurate information can be extracted from a soul that has been separated from its body. However, a soul that is not protected by its body is a fragile thing, and if it is played with carelessly, it will be so damaged that it will not survive reincarnation, but that does not matter to Camilla.

Therefore, she was playing with the souls of the members of the Council of Elders without any qualms at all, when an unexpected fact was revealed. All of the souls she had extracted had begun to deteriorate before she had even touched them.

Thanks to this, I could not read much information about them, but judging from the degree of deterioration, they were not from the last few years.

（It could be a flaw from the war of a hundred years ago, or interference from another surgeon. (Or maybe it is a curse left by the queen who committed suicide at the end of her humiliation at .......)

The deterioration is too severe to be certain, but in any case, it means that they have been broken for a long time. I had already guessed this from the fact that they offered their own people as offerings without hesitation, but I found out this fact by playing with their souls directly.

"And what about the second one?"

"Mm?　......Mmm, the second is to establish the position of the Ratestwoods."

"By 'position', do you mean from the point of view of Alkimaira (us)?　We're allies, right?"

"Mm. As you have stated, we wish to be good neighbors. Although we are still technically suzerain and vassal states, it is our desire to be treated as equals. However, up to this point, it has been more in the sense of a pretext. After all, in the battle of two months ago, LATESTWOOD did nothing.

Alkymaira has continued to lend its support to RATESTWOOD until now, not only by fighting against the advance troops of Noblewood and recapturing the capital, but also by treating the injured, supporting reconstruction, educating warriors, and providing them with equipment.

Taken alone, Alkimaira is more a protector than a good neighbor. In fact, some of the people of Alkimaira have regarded the Alkimaira as protectors and allies in name only, or as lower-ranked and weak.

However, in this case, the Rattestwoods have thrown themselves into the fray.

Apart from fairy dragons, a supernatural force that should not be used in wars between nations, they fought and won the battle without being protected by Alkimaira. They proved with their own bodies that they are not only protected by the alkimaira.

The residents living near the training camp were in awe of the warriors who had accomplished the feat of <>, but this incident will make more than a few of them take a new look at the warriors.

"Most importantly, they have proven the viability of their deal to be a cover for the Alkimaira. With this, Ratestwood has clearly demonstrated its value to the Alkimaira. I would have liked to see a few more accomplishments, but at least there will not be many who will publicly oppose the alliance."

"Hmmm......... King has a lot on his mind, doesn't he?"

"After all, this is an exchange of nations from different parts of the world. If we make a bad first move, it could affect all our future diplomacy. I mean, if you're a legionnaire too, you could at least ...... a little bit. It's not worth it.

Camilla frowned at the curt response, but soon gave up and muttered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Robin is not the only one who is unfamiliar with the subtleties of this kind of topic. In fact, given the total number of people in Alkimaira, there are probably only a few who can talk about national strategy.

(Even they are all brainiacs. ...... I can only imagine how hard you have to work to get them to do that.)

Camilla, who was one of the people who knew, let out a mournful whimper in her heart. And that is why she secretly renewed her determination to be even more active in the dark.

"And what is the third and final question?"

"This is a stepping stone for LATESTWOOD's entry into the international community. This is the biggest thing for me."

"Hmm?　The international community?

Robin twisted her head dubiously.

He seemed to have no idea how the story was connected or what the benefit of it was.

"Hmmm. So far, Latticewood hasn't even been officially recognized as a nation, but now you're going to start interacting with the human nation.

"...... What's in it for us?"

Yes, of course. You will establish a base outside of Japan, and eventually, through the Chamber of Commerce, you will form a network of information on the private sector level, and establish a foundation for collecting information on a wide range of topics. However, there is information that is not available in the private sector. This is where we can fill in the gaps.

"You mean LATESTWOOD?　Kings and legionnaires......, uh, nobles on this continent, I think. You mean, like, they could pick up information that only those people would have?"

"That's what I'm talking about."

Robin understood, and Camilla nodded her head with her elbows in a hugging posture. The rich duo dunes on her arms swayed in response to her nodding behavior.

"But won't that take a very long time to show results?　I'm told that only a few adventurers are outside who have anything to do with Lattestwood."

"I guess so. So this is just a stepping stone. But we'll play a few tricks to help it along.

A little trick?　Robin tilts his head curiously, while Camilla holds up a finger.

"Here's the story."

--Noblewood, trapped in a vindictive atmosphere after a war a hundred years ago. With the help of the Oldwood, a family of old blood, they plan to free a guardian dragon said to have been bequeathed by the gods. However, the ritual to unseal the dragon has a breakdown for unknown reasons, and the guardian dragon begins to run amok after losing control of it.

"Oh. Sounds like something out of a play or something."

Comedy or tragedy may be up to interpretation. I'll continue."

--The elves of Noblewood and Oldwood gather all their strength and attempt to re-seal the runaway guardian dragon, but fail. They are forced into a state of combat with the guardian dragon, which ends in a deadly showdown. Oldwood is completely destroyed and Noblewood has only a few survivors.

"...... This kind of thing is called a monologue, isn't it?"

A good ironic expression. And here's how the story ends.

--The survivors who lost their homes eventually transformed themselves into bandits and attacked RATESTWOOD. However, the Latestwood warriors meet the bandits head-on and successfully defeat them. In their hands were weapons made of Abyssal Forest material by a certain craftsman who had been living in the area for several months.

"This is about me, isn't it!　What about the climax!"

"I'm afraid this is the end."

"Aaargh!　What about Fafnir's active scene!"

"Of course they're going to cut the whole thing. They couldn't possibly expose something like that to the outside world.

Camilla said in disgust. That's exactly what we were putting up a barrier to block recognition for.

She continued, quieting Robin's disgruntled face.

"And I'll let the adventurers take this information back with them. They seem to have a good ear for this sort of thing. I'm sure they will be good speakers.

The abyss seeker who was staying at the village. They were allowed to observe the battle between Rattestwood and Noblewood, and some of the battles, while hiding such inconvenient beings as fairy dragons and Fafnir.

It would have been easier to use Hupno or Brainwash, but depending on the resistance of the target, it could be resisted by the passage of time, and it is not easy to use them unless you intend to dispose of them after they are no longer useful. Camilla thought it was fine, but unfortunately, her master (Helian) had issued a ban on it. Therefore, although it was a little troublesome, she made full use of illusion and disguise to have some facts observed, and prepared the information to be brought back with her by using her skill in fraud.

After that, if they return to the border city safely, they will spread the information of the Ratestwood as a well-known - in other words, an outspoken - seeker of the abyss. I guess.

And the information that craftsmen who can process materials from the Abyssal Forest have settled in RATESTWOOD will be a powerful boost for their future expansion into the international community.

Anyway...,

"Now, at last, I can deploy my forces to the border cities. So far I've only been able to send one man, but my time of surrender has come to an end. I'm sure she'll make up for the time Lieve and Celes have already spent in the city.

"Oh?　You're looking very motivated, Cammy."

"Of course, of course. After all, the border city of Shields is the front line for Alkimaira. It is the main battleground where you yourself will lead the campaign. I'm really looking forward to ...... seeing a city populated by just like you."

"Wow. You look bad."

Camilla smiles glamorously at the teasing words, replying, "Nonsense.

However, the crescent moon-like smile is, as Robin says, not a benevolent one.

But it is perhaps the result of her magic that she is able to find beauty in that wickedly charming smile.

"Hmmm. I'm going to be busy.

Letting out a chuckle, Camilla spread her raven-like black wings with a rustling sound.

She then begins to finish the in high spirits, envisioning a future in which she will be busier - in other words, in which she will have more opportunities to play her part.