CH 22

Here’s the chapter, enjoy~

After the speech, the four executives, Sylphy, myself, and a few other refugees, gathered to hold a meeting on how to deal with Gizma. There were four new faces, one of which I had just seen.

“I’m Jagira. I used to be a scout in the Merinard Kingdom army.”

The one who introduced herself as Jagira was the large cat woman who had put the slave collar on my neck before. She’s actually more like a leopard or a jaguar woman rather than a cat.

“I’m Pirna. I belong to the same group as Jagira.”

This one is a small, slender girl with wings on both arms. I think she’s a so-called harpy. Her eyes are sharp, and she looks like a cool girl.

“I’m Gerda. I worked as a heavy infantry soldier in the Merinard Kingdom army.”

Gerda is a large woman, almost as large as Danan. I don’t know what kind of ears she has, but they are round and not very big. I couldn’t find a tail on her either. A bear, maybe? She looks a little calm, but she seems to be strong.

“I’m Worg. I led a squad of guards in the city of Tanto.”

This one is easy to figure out. He is a dog or wolf beast-man with erect animal ears and a fluffy tail. He looks small compared to Danan and Gerda, but he’s bigger and sturdier than me. If Jagira is the speed type and Gerda is the power type, then Worg is the balanced type.

“Everyone seems to be an ex-soldier… but I see that many of you are women.”

“Unlike humans, there’s not much difference in the physical abilities of men and women when it comes to beast-man. There are also a lot of women in our race.”

“I see.”

After that, men threw themselves down first and managed to get out of the Great Omit Wilderness. The reason why there are no elves at all in this group is… probably because every single one of them was captured. It is said that there is much more demand for them than beast-man.

“So, I’m going to make a concrete defense plan… But first, Kosuke, get that thing out.”

“That, huh? Copy that.”

I took out three crossbows and twelve special bolts from my inventory and placed them on the table where everyone was sitting.

“Is this a bow? I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It’s called a crossbow. Kosuke, show them how to use it.”

“Sure.”

I set the log down some distance away and covered it with my restored iron helmet and armor. It was about 20 meters away, I guess. I put my leg over the metal ring on the end of the crossbow, pull the string with my back muscles, and set the bolt.

“The crossbow is now ready to fire. Now all you have to do is aim and pull this trigger, and it will be fired.”

After a brief explanation of the crossbow’s mechanisms, I aimed and fired the bolt. The crossbow bolt was fired with a sharp sound and hit the iron armor bank, easily penetrating the armor and plunging deep into the log.

“As you can see, it’s powerful. It doesn’t fire continuously, but it’s easy to handle. With a little training, anyone will be able to make some hits with it.”

“So, that’s it. Try it out for yourself.”

The first person to pick up the crossbow was Jagira. She was quick. The next one is Isla, who reached for it. She was also quick. And in front of the last remaining crossbow, the other five, except for Sylphy and Melty… no Pirna seems to be uninterested. Indeed, it is impossible to draw a crossbow with that hand.

The other four, Danan, Qubi, Gerda, and Worg, are looking at the remaining one with great interest. So I added another one of my own to make two.

“Then, we should have a look at it too.”

Gerda picked up the crossbow and handed it to Worg. And Qubi seemed to have given it to Danan, and Danan took the last one and looked at it closely.

“I like this one. Can we just leave the strings pulled all the time?”

Jagira, who seemed to have taken a few shots, asked.

“If you leave the string pulled for too long, it will strain the string and have a negative effect on the bow, but as long as you maintain it properly after each battle, it should be fine.”

“I see. But this shape is easy to hide in the bushes for sniping. It’s also very powerful, which makes it an interesting weapon for scouts.”

“The mechanism itself is not difficult. However, the bow is quite powerful for its small size. I think it would take a lot of skilled craftsmen to make many of these. Also, the maintenance cost will be high.”

Isla, who was inspecting the crossbow in detail without shooting it, muttered and put the crossbow back on the table. She seems to have lost interest in it. Qubi secured the crossbow. Isla has a good point here; this girl is really good.

“It’s true; it might be difficult to get the right number without me. I think I’ll have to do the maintenance.”

In response to Isla’s comment, I took out twelve more bolts and placed them on the table’s edge. Jagira snatched half of those bolts. That was quick.

“Well, the repair itself is easy enough to do at the blacksmithing facility, so I think it can be done.”

“But the fact that you can’t manufacture or maintain it without relying on Kosuke is a problem for weaponry. If only one craftsman can make it and fix it, it’s a problem.”

“In the long run, yes, but for short-term use, I don’t see a problem. If you can provide us with a few samples, we can study the actual products and make something similar for you to maintain.”

Danan and Melty seemed to be discussing future operations.

“It’s a little hard to use with my size.”

“I have no problem with it. It’s certainly much easier to handle than a bow. I think even a citizen with no combat training will be able to handle it easily.”

With the crossbow in her hand, Sylphy looked on with satisfaction as everyone engaged in a lively discussion. I decided to ask her a few questions.

“Hey, is there any problem with the wall’s height against Gizma?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Well, in my world, there was an insect that looked like Gizma. They were about this size at most and not dangerous at all. However, they jumped around like crazy. Even though they were about this size, they could jump up to my head in one go.”

When I say “about this size,” I indicate the approximate size with my thumb and forefinger. If Gizma can leap as far as that, it would be easy to get over that barrier, which is only about 2.5 to 3 meters high at best. I can also jump up using the command action jump if it’s that high.

“Ah, I see. Don’t worry about that; they can’t jump that high. Those strong back legs aren’t for jumping up; they’re for rushing forward.”

“Rushing? With that huge body?”

“Yeah, with its huge body. It uses its weight and hard shell as a shield and rushes forward with its hind legs. If you take a direct hit, it can blow away even heavily armored infantrymen with thick armor and shields to protect them. They basically attack their prey by ambushing them, so those huge bodies suddenly pop out of the ground. The ones that get ambushed end up flying.”

“I see… Come to think of it, the last time we faced Gizma, Sylphy never stood in front of it.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If you stand in front of them, they will come at you with great force. If you want to fight them, the rule is to go around the side. But just because you’re on the side doesn’t mean you’re safe. They will try to skewer you with the two antennae that grow out of their heads, and if you get too close, they will try to roll you into their rush. If you come too close to the butt side, it will extend its poisonous stinger from the butt.”

“That’s scary… I’d stay away from it.”

“That’s smart. If you can kill it from a distance, that’s the best way to go. You should use high-powered magic to kill it… Or, rather, think about it. If the Gizma jumped up high with that weight, you would be crushed and flattened, no matter how strong your body is.”

“That’s true too…”

Then I wondered if it was safe to plunge in with that weight, but I suppose it was. Well, if you want to be an expert when it comes to demon research, you might want to ask around.

In the meantime, while listening to Gizma’s description from Sylphy, it seemed that all the bolts that had been prepared for test firing had been shot, and the people who had been testing the crossbow came back to the table.

“Yeah, I like it. This thing is good. It’s not difficult to handle, and it’s powerful enough. What’s the range like?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to try it out at such a long distance, but I think I can aim up to 50 meters. If it’s just a matter of speed, I’m sure it’ll probably fly more than twice as far, but I’m not sure about the power or precision of the shot.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to try this one out.”

Jagira is as excited as a child who has received a new toy. When she put the slave collar on me, I imagined her to be stern and wild, but she might have a surprisingly cute personality.

“Your Highness, how many of these crossbows can you prepare?”

“Kosuke, what do you think?”

Sylphy, who was asked by Danan, turned her gaze towards me.

“Hmm, that’s right. I think I can make 300 of them with the current materials I have. However, when it comes to preparing a large number of the bolts, the stock of iron in my inventory is not enough.”

“If that’s the case, let’s go mining tomorrow. As for the crossbow itself, 300 is enough, including spares, right?”

“We can’t tell how durable it is until we try it out, but it shouldn’t take more than ten or twenty rounds to break it. I think the number of people who can go on defense is between 100 and 130, so 300 should be enough.”

“Um, then make sure to make 300 of it, Kosuke. It would be better to make as many bolts as you can, too… yes, the goal is 500.”

“500, huh? …Yeah, I’m definitely short on iron. For now, the priority is to make the crossbow itself. As for the bolts, we need to get a lot of iron from tomorrow’s mining, but as soon as I get the materials, I’ll start mass production.”

“Please do so. Also, I want you to leave everything you have for the operational test.”

“Understood. I’ll keep enough for my own use, okay?”

Sylphy nodded, so I left the minimum of 30 bolts for me and put the rest on the table.

“…That’s a lot of bolts.”

“I think I have less than 200. Please take as many as you can of the ones you used for testing, okay?”

“I understand.”

I tried to say that to Jagira, who was immediately reaching for the crossbow bolt, but I wondered if she was really listening. This Nee-san.

“Captain Danan, I will try this out as soon as I can.”

“It’s almost nightfall.”

“I’d be fine. I’ve got good night vision, and I’m fast.”

After saying that, Jagira grabbed the bolts for her own use and ran off towards the defensive wall. All of us saw Jagira away, and Danan let out a small sigh.

“Well, it won’t cause too much trouble. I’ll be using two crossbows and a hundred bolts for endurance testing. Melty, I want you to take care of the rest.”

“Understood.”

“If you have any other missing armor, metal products, or other supplies, please gather them together. Prioritize them and report back to me tomorrow. Don’t overthink whether or not Kosuke can make it, just list what you think you need. All right?”

“As you wish.”

“Umu.”

Danan nodded, and Melty’s eyes glazed over. Master, Master, isn’t that a flag of overwork for me from how Danan talked to Melty? It’s not good. She made a smile that a girl shouldn’t make.

“Kosuke and I are going to meet with the elders now. We’ve built the wall as promised. Now it’s their turn.”

Sylphy stood up from her seat and smiled sadistically. She seemed to have full of energy… But will it be easy? It was a pretty strong impression.

“As expected of a marebito.”

“Indeed, indeed. Who would have thought that he could build a defensive wall just yesterday? Now Sylphy-chan can rest easy.”

“It was the day before yesterday, not yesterday. Have you become senile?”

“It’s just a figure of speech. You’re such a nagging old hag.”

“But at that height, even if it could stop Gizma, it wouldn’t be enough against a human, would it?”

“The most urgent danger is Gizma, so there’s no problem with that. If it were against humans, we’d be dead in the water if they attacked this village in the first place.”

“That is true, too. If we don’t kill them outside the forest, the forest will collapse.”

We went straight to the meeting place, but the elders were as talkative as ever. They talked to each other so fast that there was no chance for Sylphy and me to interrupt them.

“Oh, so you said you were going to fulfill your promise?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Sylphy-chan, marebito… what did you say?”

“Haven’t you really gone senile? Gonta.”

“You have gone senile, too, Milord. It’s Kosuke, not Gonta.”

“Oh, yes. Kosuke. Anyway, if you two have accomplished your mission, then it’s our turn to keep our word.”

“Indeed. I’ll send twenty of my most skilled spirit archers to deal with Gizma.”

I tilted my head at the number 20 and whispered to Sylphy, who was silent next to me.

“Hey, is 20 “Spirit Archers” a reasonable number?”

“A spirit archer is an elf soldier who specializes in shooting arrows with spirit magic. Twenty archers will perform the work of two hundred human archers.”

“Is it not too much to say that they work as many as ten people?”

“An arrow accelerated by wind magic flies more than twice as fast as an ordinary arrow, and an arrowhead infused with spirit magic spreads destructive power at the impact point. It will work as well as ten human archers.”

“That’s amazing…”

In other words, it’s like a grenade soldier with an effective range of several hundred meters. Certainly, it seems to be strong. It’s a magical world, and there are people in it that you wouldn’t expect on Earth.

“Tomorrow, I will send them to Danan, the coordinator of the refugees, and you can use them as you wish.” said the elder.

With that, the elders nodded in agreement. As if to indicate that the meeting was over, Sylphy stood up, and I did the same.

“Thank you. We have some preparations to make, so we’ll be going now.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I guess you’re going to mingle now, so I don’t want to hold you up too long.”

“Hohoho, Sylphy-chan’s child must be a very lovely baby. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Kosuke, you’re going to have a hard time keeping up night after night. time you come, I’ll prepare you a potion that will do you good.”

“It’s a potion that even a pale male elf can take several times without pulling out. If Kosuke, a human, were to use it, it would have to be a little less potent, wouldn’t it?”

“It will be fine. Sylphy-chan is a strong girl.”

“EXCUSE US! Let’s go, Kosuke!”

“Yes, with pleasure.”

I followed her, scared that she would get seriously upset with the elders who had started talking indecently. I wonder if they’re the kind of people who can’t live without making fun of Sylphy at every opportunity. It’s my job to appease Sylphy when she’s in a bad mood! Please give me a break!

Her shoulders were shaking angrily, and nothing was standing in her way as she walked. Such a thing is already like suicide. It’s like throwing yourself in front of a runaway train. How could there be?

“Hey dirtbag, I need to talk to you――Gobuaahh!?”

There he is. And he got beautifully smashed. Sylphy’s fist is in his face causing him to be unable to see what’s ahead of him, but is he still alive?

“If you ever talk to me like that again, I’ll kill you.”

“I think it’s too late for that.”

Blood is gushing out of his broken nose with considerable volume. I think he’s going to have trouble breathing and will probably die if he keeps it up like that.

“Tch, what an eyesore.”

Sylphy muttered something and waved her arm, a ball of light flew to the poor victim and healed his face, which was in a terrible state. She didn’t ignore him but rather took care of him. My master is quite kind, isn’t she?

“Hmm, I feel a little better now that I’ve punched this idiot. By the way, what the hell was this guy trying to say?”

“I don’t know.”

Master punched him out before he could tell us what he was going to say. Well, it seems that the term “dirtbag” is a kind of derogatory term for Sylphy, and I think that guy deserved it.

“Well, I don’t have time to worry about this little thing. Pull him to the side of the road, so he doesn’t get in the way.”

“Aye aye, ma’am.”

I dragged the fallen elf man to the side of the road. Oh, that’s him, isn’t it? He’s Nate, whom Sylphy called a squishy dick guy. In other words, the guy who threw me out in front of a mob of refugees. Yeah, he got what he deserved. If anything, I want him to return to the Earth.

“What’s wrong with this Nate guy that he’s getting involved with Sylphy?”

“…It’s because I’m like an enemy of his parents to him.”

“I see.”

“It’s not something I can talk about while we are walking, nor is it interesting to listen to. If you insist, I’ll tell you. Do you want to hear it?”

“No, I’m not interested. Let’s just go home and have some fun.” I said while hugging her waist.

“Ah! H-hey… you can’t do that in public. What’s more, I’m your master, and you’re my slave.”

Sylphy smiled with a somewhat relieved look as she pinched the back of my hand as I hugged her waist. Yeah, it’s a lie to say I’m not interested, but I don’t think I’m going to go out of my way to dig into Sylphy’s past. Whatever the past, as long as the current Sylphy is cute, that’s all that matters, right?