CH 36

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“I’m Sylphy’s slave. Without Sylphy’s permission, it’s outrageous to use the precious mithril ore to make weapons. If you insist on it, please ask for her permission.”

I said that and ran away. Even the old man Leonard, who is loyal to his desires, cannot force me to do something like that. In fact, the old man backed down when I told him so.

“Your Highness, please, please give me the mithril sword…!”

“Sir Leonard, it’s not good to rush. Your Highness, I would be honored to receive one.”

The subject involved has just been shifted from me to Sylphy. I couldn’t believe they were going to go for a direct appeal so unabashedly… It’s just unbelievable. I thought it might be a bit like that. Just a little, though.

“…..”

“Hieee…”

I’m frightened of the look that Sylphy is giving me. But wait a minute, Sylphy said she was going to protect me. Is that just a lie? I gestured desperately to her. Maybe she understood my gesture, or maybe she didn’t. In any case, Sylphy let out a sigh, looking as if she had no choice. She then opened her eyes and spoke to Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir.

“I have to admit that I’ve been impressed with your work and dedication. But when it comes to weapons made of mithril, a thing is a thing. I can’t simply say, “All right, let’s get them ready.” Do you understand? You can see from the Pale Moon that the mithril weapon made by Kosuke is a great sword as well as a treasured sword, and its value is immeasurable. If it’s not done appropriately, it can be used by a single noble to control not just their own territory, but even their own country.”

“”Mmm…””

Sylphy’s remark left Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir speechless, but I was surprised myself. Eh? It’s true that it was said to be classified as a national treasure, but is it really that much? Am I becoming a crazy crafter? Isn’t that bad?

“In other words, if we’re talking about giving away mithril swords or spears based on our values, the criteria will inevitably be strict. You’ll need to have achieved something like defeating an enemy general or defeating a disaster-class monster.”

Huh? There’s something fishy going on here.

“But Kosuke is not a resident of this world. The values of this world do not bind him. For Kosuke, mithril weapons are just a little bit more difficult to make than ordinary weapons. If you deepen your friendship with him personally and pay him for his time and effort, he will surely make them for you. What’s more, Kosuke is supposed to be my slave, but that’s just a symbol to show my personal relationship with him. And the slave collar won’t work either.”

Eh, wait, Sylphy-san?

“It means that…”

“As Kosuke-dono’s master, you do not intend to bind Kosuke-dono’s actions in any particular way?”

“…Well, yes.”

Sylphy said an unexpected thing in a whisper. At that moment! Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir’s faces turned to me.

I ran away in a dash.

“Kuh. You’re surprisingly fast!”

“What a weird way to run…!”

I used all of my skills to run around the fort. While dashing as hard as I could, I used the shift key and forward movement to run faster than anyone could imagine and then used a soft command jump and my own jump to jump up on top of the building.

However, my opponent is no different. The fact that one of them is a warrior known as “the best” in the Merinard Kingdom and the other is a spear instructor for the royal family is no mean feat. I was slowly being cornered, and finally, I was trapped on top of a tower of wood blocks 10 meters above the ground in the middle of the square, piled up with ten woodblocks.

“Come on down, Kosuke-dono. You don’t have to be afraid of us.”

“That’s right, Kosuke-dono.”

Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir called out for me to surrender with soft, coaxing voices. “Hush!” I threatened them. But I’ve been cornered. What should I do now? Think, think, think, me!

“Kosuke-san, you seem to be in trouble!”

While I was trying to think of a way to get out of this situation at 10 meters above the ground, Pirna the Harpy flew over to me. Oh, it is the help!

“I’m on Kosuke-san’s side. I can carry you and get you out of this situation!”

“That’s great! But how?”

“I can hold Kosuke-san for a short distance and fly! I can fly up to the wall!”

“I see. Then…”

“Oh, but I don’t know… I lack a bit of energy… If Kosuke-san can make a new weapon that us Harpies can use, I’ll have more energy…”

“I thought we were on the same side, but it turns out that a new predator has appeared.”

“Pirna! You must catch Kosuke-dono and bring him down.”

“It’s impossible for you to outrun us at your speed. We should just cooperate.”

“Fufufu, that’s right. What should I do?”

Pirna smiled an angelic devil’s smile. Where are my allies! Are there no allies?

“How long are you going to be playing… let’s get some breakfast as soon as possible.”

Jagira is yawning as she carefully polishes her bolt action rifle with a cloth. Sylphy was also grooming her Pale Moon beside her. On the other hand, Sir Leonard, Ms. Zamir, and Pirna are hunting me down. The haves and the have-nots. The epitome of society was here.

“That’s enough. Come back, Kosuke.”

When Sylphy, who had finished taking care of the Pale Moon, said that, Pirna, Sir Leonard, and Ms. Zamir walked to Sylphy and the others, saying, “It was almost there,” “It was a shame,” “It was a regret,” and so on.

I also tilted my head as I destroyed the wood blocks at my feet and landed on the ground.

“Well, Kosuke… that was a lot of work, wasn’t it?”

When I got to Sylphy, she said with a serious expression.

“Well, yeah. I guess.”

Both of them… or maybe all three of them. They were chasing after me with very serious tension; it was a little fun, although they were not joking around in any way. I felt like I was back in my childhood playing tag.

“In the future, there will inevitably be more and more people who will try to get close to Kosuke personally, like Sir Leonard and the others. Now that I, Danan, Sir Leonard, and other powerful and capable people are always around Kosuke, there are no direct appeals from so-called ― I don’t like to put it this way ―… so-called ordinary people.”

Sylphy refers to ordinary refugees who do not hold any particular position or have any particular fighting skills.

“I swore to protect Kosuke. Therefore, I will take all possible measures to prevent anyone with such intentions from approaching Kosuke. For example, if I can’t be around, I’ll make sure to have one of Danan, Sir Leonard, or the spear instructor Zamir by your side.”

“The guards will be the ones extorting me for mithril weapons.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to do them both a favor on that one. Instead, I’m going to ask them to protect Kosuke from now on, even if it means sacrificing themselves.”

When I looked at him, Sir Leonard smiled at me, his lion’s face turning into a big smile. The strong fangs peeked out, and it was rather scary. Ms. Zamir was staring at me with her reptilian face that showed no emotion. However, I think her eyes are shining very brightly.

I see, so a warrior who is known as “the best” in the Merinard Kingdom and the royal family’s instructor of spearmanship will be my personal bodyguard. In fact, I don’t mind making the weapon itself.

The day before yesterday, I got some more mithril ore from mining, and I have enough materials to make a workbench if I want to. I can make two or three mithril weapons in a day if I add one more and schedule a crafting reservation.

“In that case, let’s make some mithril weapons.”

“As expected of Kosuke-dono, you understand the situation perfectly.”

“Thank you.”

While the two of them looked satisfied, Pirna had a disappointed look on her face. Yeah, I understand how she feels. I totally understand.

“No, I’ve already developed a new weapon for Harpy.”

Then I took out the weapon from my inventory. Everyone but me tilted their heads when they saw what I took out.

“A club?”

“A club, huh?”

“I’m not sure I can use a club.”

“No, it’s not just a club.”

With a wry smile, I picked up the object on the table. Indeed, the object looks like a club. It also looks like a potato masher for mashing steamed potatoes. As some of you may have already noticed, this is the so-called stick grenade.

“It would be quicker to show it than to tell it to you, so please wait for me on the wall. I’ll put the target outside.”

“By target, you mean it is a weapon to attack the enemy at a distance?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ll be accompanying you.”

Accompanied by Sir Leonard, I set up the target logs outside the defensive wall and climbed on top of the wall. The logs have been set up in groups of several.

“This is a weapon called a stick grenade or throwing grenade. You throw it by hand and throw it near the target, and it explodes near the target to cause damage. I’ll show you how to use it.”

First, remove the safety cap from the tip of the handle. Then a weighted string will come out of the hollow handle. Wrap the string around the finger and grip the handle together with the weight. Now it is ready to be thrown.

“After three to four seconds of pulling out the string, the part at the tip of the handle will explode violently. Once you pull it out, the explosion won’t stop, so you have to be very careful when handling it. Also, there will be a lot of noise, so keep that in mind.”

After saying that, I threw the stick grenade towards the target. As soon as it leaves my hand, the string is pulled out of the handle, and the frictional heat ignites the fuse inside the bomb. It’s like a match.

The stick grenade landed on one of the groups of logs I had set up. And then it explodes.

There was a thunderous roar that echoed in the pit of my stomach, and most of the logs that had been set up were shattered into tiny pieces. This is also a weapon used in small mustache-san’s country, but it’s not my hobby. If anything, I prefer the weapons of the land of hamburgers*.

[T/n: I apologize, I didn’t get about this one.]

I knew a little bit about grenades from my previous research on the Internet. When I play survival games and such, I sometimes find guns and homemade bombs, so I was curious and searched for them. Has that ever happened to anyone before? Of course, it does.

The reason why I chose a stick grenade, commonly known as a potato masher, was because I thought it was simple to operate, and the stick would be easy for Harpy’s legs to hold. There may be more suitable weapons, but this was the only one I could think of that would be suitable for Harpy. I didn’t have enough oil to make a Molotov cocktail.

If I had an abundance of liquid fuel, I’d like to make a flamethrower or something. I’m thinking of making a bomb that is more optimized for Harpy to operate, yes. If it can be made a little heavier, I’d like to increase the amount of gunpowder and make a type of bomb that can scatter fragments around the area, an “air bomb for a harpy.”

Now, while I was thinking about it, everyone who had been speechless with surprise seemed to have returned to their senses.

“Kosuke, that was… kind of amazing.”

“It looks like the kind of explosive magic a high-ranking mage would use.”

“If all the soldiers have this, they will all have the firepower of a high-ranking mage.”

“Eh, Harpy’s going to drop this from the sky? Seriously?”

“That’s amazing! Please let me try it out too!”

Sir Leonard and Ms. Zamir are calm. Sylphy and Jagira are taken aback by the power, while Pirna is very excited. I also wanted Harpy actually to try it out, so Pirna’s offer was a boon.

“This is a very dangerous weapon, just so you know. If you misuse it, you can’t avoid instant death, and you might even get people around you involved. Be very careful with it.”

“Yes.”

When I gave the warning with a serious face, Pirna, who was in a state of great excitement, straightened up and nodded with a faithful expression. So, I decided to put the bomb on Pirna.

“Yes, first of all, grip the handle with your foot.”

“Yes. It’s kind of ticklish to have my feet touched.”

As a harpy, Pirna’s feet are surprisingly muscular, or rather strong-looking, with sharp claws like a bird of prey. After confirming that Pirna had grasped the handle, I removed the safety cap at the end of the handle and tied the weighted string that came out of the hollow handle to the part of Pirna’s ankle. I did this on both sides.

“How’s the weight?”

“It’s nothing at all. I can carry a lot more weight than that.”

“I see. How’s the grip on the handle?”

“It could be a little thicker.”

“Well, that’s good to know. Never let go of it except when you’re throwing. If the string comes loose, it will explode.”

“I understand. Okay, I’ll get started.”

Pirna soared into the sky while creating a wind. It seems she is using magic to fly. The current wind pressure can’t be produced with just those wings.

Soaring high in the sky, Pirna dropped one of the bombs attached to both feet towards the target log. The bomb landed a little off the target and exploded. Some of the logs were still in place, but some of them were torn to pieces.

The bombs seemed to be dropped at a higher altitude this time. Pirna drops the bomb as if she were throwing it from an altitude that no archers could reach. The bomb, accelerated by the power of Pirna’s legs and gravity, fell on the spot where the logs stood.

Then it exploded. The logs were splendidly torn to pieces. Hmm, this must have been more vicious than I thought. Pirna says that even heavier and more powerful bombs will work. time, I’ll make some dummy bombs with different thicknesses and weights of handles and have her try them out.

“I did it!”

“It’s amazing.”

“That kind of power from that altitude… will change the whole battlefield.”

“Amazing, though I’m starving.”

Everyone greeted the joyful Pirna when she returned, and… Jagira was so hungry that she cowered. Sylphy seems to be pondering something with her arms crossed.

I don’t know what she is pondering, but it’s breakfast for now. I also have to continue with the construction. Oh, I also have to make mithril weapons, dig a well, and… there are so many things to do! So many things!