CH 60

It’s Ko-Fi’s Supporters’ chapter (12/47), enjoy~

I dismantled the temporary accommodations while Sylphy, who had finally come out of her bed, was being taken away by several women, including Pirna and the others, who were whispering about something. It’s important to recycle resources.

Should I just leave it as it is? No, no, the scouts of the Holy Kingdom might find out the location of the shelter, so that would be a bit of a problem.

In the meantime, the secret meeting seemed to be over, and Sylphy’s face turned bright red up to her ears. And the women who were talking to Sylphy were giving her a somewhat gentle look. This is the one that was completely heard out, I know. Is it a public execution?

“You’re not guilty in this case, right, Kosuke?”

“Not guilty.”

“Not guilty, I hope.”

“N-not guilty, I guess.”

And I was judged not guilty by everyone. I did it. Sylphy’s face is red, and she’s shaking.

“U-u-ugh!”

“Whoa! It’s the rampaging Sylphy!”

When Sylphy went into a rage, we ran off towards the first shelter. As a result, we were able to make up for the delay, which may or may not have been a good thing.

“Hah… hah…”

“By all means… by all means…”

“Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?”

When we arrived at the first shelter, it was just me and the Harpies who were still feeling strong. Thanks to my strong cardiopulmonary function, I could escape, while the Harpies were just fleeing into the sky and flying comfortably.

“You’re a tough guy, Kosuke-san.”

“I’m only running, though.”

If I acquire more skills, I’ll be able to run faster and longer. When I expand my production system, maybe I’ll increase my agility or strong cardio-pulmonary skills. My increased mobility will be useful for many things in the future.

And the night at the first shelter. Today, I built another temporary accommodation, and I’m alone with Sylphy…

“…..”

“Sylphy?”

“…..”

Maybe she’s learned from her mistake this morning, but she’s keeping a delicate distance from me. If I approach her forcibly, she will threaten me with a “Hush!” So, I stopped forcing myself to get closer and sat down on the edge of the couch and watched each other. Well, I’m sitting on the edge of the couch, examining my skills while pretending to be in a daze.

Skilled Worker―: Reduced crafting time by 20%.

・Demolition―: Increased the number of materials obtained when demolishing crafted items by 10%.

・Repairer―: Reduced item repair time by 20% and reduced the number of materials required by 20%.

Mass Producer―: Reduced the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%.

Logger―: Increased plant material intake by 20%.

Miner II―: Increased mineral material intake by 40%.

Dismantler―: Increased living organism material intake by 20%.

Creator―: Reduced the difficulty of item creations.

Strong Cardio-pulmonary function―: Increased stamina recovery speed by 20%.

Agility―: Increased movement speed by 10%.

・Strong Arm―: Increased melee attack power by 20%.

Excellent Archer―: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 20%.

Iron Skin―: Reduced damage taken by 20%.

・Survivor―: Increased health by 10%, increased health recovery speed by 20%.

・Medic―: Increased the effectiveness of healing items by 20%.

・Reptile’s Stomach―: Reduced hunger by 20%.

・Camel’s Hump―: Reduced dryness by 20%.

Now, this is the current list of skills available. The skills I’ve already acquired are marked with . The ones that I don’t seem to need at the moment are… Reptile’s Stomach and Camel’s Hump. I don’t think I’ll need Demolition at the moment either. I wonder if I’ll even need Repairer too?

The most important ones are Logger, Miner, and Dismantler, which simply increase the amount of resources I get, and Mass-Producer, since I tend to make a lot of the same thing these days. I don’t seem to be able to raise the skill level of the Creator for now.

In terms of combat, I’d still choose the Excellent Archer. I don’t do melee combat. If I were to think about combining the two, I’d probably want to raise the Agility and Strong Cardio-pulmonary functions as well to ensure an out-range strategy.

However, I have ten skill points available right now, so if I were to raise my skill level from I to II, I would only be able to raise five skills. Logger, Dismantler, and Mass Producer are the most important ones, and then the Excellent Archer… No, I’m unlikely to be fighting, and I can compensate for my attack power with weapons. Should I just increase Agility and Strong Cardio-pulmonary function here?

Skilled Worker―: Reduced crafting time by 20%.

・Demolition―: Increased number of materials obtained when demolishing crafted items by 10%.

・Repairer―: Reduced item repair time by 20% and reduced the number of materials required by 20%.

Mass Producer II―: Reduced the number of materials required to create 10 or more of the same item by 10%, or 20% for 100 or more items.

Logger II―: Increased plant material intake by 40%.

Miner II―: Increased mineral material intake by 40%.

Dismantler II―: Increased living organism material intake by 40%.

Creator―: Reduced the difficulty of item creation.

Strong Cardio-pulmonary Function II―: Increased stamina recovery speed by 40%.

Agility II―: Increased movement speed by 20%.

・Strong Arm―: Increased melee attack power by 20%.

Excellent Archer―: Increased attack power from ranged weapons by 20%.

Iron Skin―: Reduced damage taken by 20%.

・Survivor―: Increased health by 10%, increased health recovery speed by 20%.

・Medic―: Increased the effectiveness of healing items by 20%.

・Reptile’s Stomach―: Reduced hunger by 20%.

・Camel’s Hump―: Reduced dryness by 20%.

Now I have 0 skill points. I’m also interested in Survivor and Medic, but they’re both combat-oriented skills. If I hadn’t met Sylphy and the others and had been a solo survivor, I might have expanded in that direction.

Now that I’ve finished acquiring the skills…

“…..”

Sylphy is still looking away, but before I know it, the distance between us is closing. It seems that while I was dazed, she closed the distance between us. She’s so cute.

I did my best to appease the cute and adorable Sylphy, and we spent the night getting along.

We were able to return to the front-line base while the sun was still high. It seems that the fact that we had already defeated the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom army had been conveyed to everyone through Isla, and there was a tremendous welcome.

“Good to see you back safely.”

Danan, who had stayed behind to command the front-line fort, greeted us. Isla is right next to him.

“Yeah, it’s thanks to Kosuke. Do you have anything to report?”

“Yes, there is a lot to report. I’ll prepare a meal in the conference room, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

“All right.”

“Yes.”

Sylphy urged me, Sir Leonard, and Pirna to go to the conference room together. Isla lined up beside me and stealthily grabbed the hem of my clothes. When I looked at her, Isla, who normally has no expression, smiled slightly.

“What’s wrong? Kosuke.”

“…Nothing.”

I writhed in agony at Isla’s teasing and cuteness, but I managed to maintain my composure. What a cute creature.

When I arrived at the conference room, I sat down next to Sylphy, who had already taken a seat. Isla sat beside me as a matter of course, and Pirna sat beside her. Danan and Sir Leonard were seated on the opposite side of the table. I feel like there’s a bias in the way we’re seated, but I don’t care. Yeah.

“Well, where should we start? Shall we start with the war report?”

“I guess so. Pirna.”

“Yes. The 5500 soldiers of the Holy Kingdom who attacked the temporary fort were almost completely wiped out in one night by the trap set by Kosuke-san. The next morning, only seventy-two people, less than a hundred in number, retreated on foot on their own.”

“What about the rest?”

“It was difficult to count the number of corpses, as some had blown up without a trace, some were severely damaged, and others had been devoured by Gizma who had appeared in the middle of the night. In any case, I don’t think there were more than seventy-two survivors who escaped on foot.”

“I see… We’ll have to think about defeating Gizma.”

“That’s right. There could be another Gizma outbreak.”

“Is it safe to dispose of the bodies?”

“If we leave them alone, they will be cleaned up by Gizma. The only question is whether or not the Gizma will multiply again after they’ve had their fill.”

“I see.”

Intercepting another horde of Gizma would indeed be troublesome. It’s also a hindrance to the liberation forces conducting operations in the Merinard Kingdom territory.

“By the way, how much damage can the Holy Kingdom suffer from the loss of 5500 people that were destroyed this time?”

Danan and Sir Leonard answered my question one after the other.

“Three years ago, the number of troops of the Holy Kingdom army stationed in the Merinard Kingdom territory was approximately 12,000 to 15,000. I think that if we combine the damage from last time and this time, we have defeated about half of the troops stationed in the Merinard Kingdom territory.”

“We don’t know the current total number of soldiers, so this is just a guess. However, I don’t think that the number of soldiers is much higher than it was three years ago when our rebellion was crushed. This damage could have an impact on the effective control of the Merinard Kingdom.”

“In other words, heavy damage?”

“That would be the case. Unless they receive large-scale reinforcements from the home country, they will not be able to attack with a large army for a while. Our activities will also become much easier.”

I see. It’s a great deal more than I thought.

“What happened to the liberated people?”

“Most of them have moved to the main base. They will rest for a while over there, and those who have regained their strength will be given various jobs. We will train those who wish to and have them stand on the battlefield as our comrades.”

“I see. You said most of them?”

“Yes, we have about a hundred experienced soldiers and former adventurers who have offered to stay and work here as soldiers. They are in training now. We also let those with broken legs and arms stay here.”

“I see. I’ll treat them tomorrow.”

Danan looked at me, and I nodded. He probably left them here for me to treat. I can heal them quickly unless they’ve lost a limb or something.

There were about 100 soldiers and former adventurers… Speaking of which, there seemed to be quite a few male soldiers with weapons. The shortage of men will be somewhat better now.

I wonder if Sykes is drying out? I’m worried.

“Melty will take care of those who have moved to the main base point. If anything happens, we should be contacted by the golem communicator, right?”

“Yes, indeed. Communication with the main base has been established.”

“Let me try to get in touch with her tomorrow.”

“That’s good. Melty’s probably missed you, Your Highness.”

“I guess so. I haven’t seen her for a while, so it might be a good idea to have a long talk with her.”

Sylphy smiled as she said that. This kind of natural smile of Sylphy’s used to amaze people who saw it at first, but lately, everyone has gotten used to it, and it’s accepted naturally. I wondered how long it had been since she had a natural smile.

“By the way, I have an interesting proposal from Kosuke. You can tell them, Kosuke.”

“Oh, that came out of the blue. All right.”

First of all, I decided to talk about the idea of radio broadcasting using the Golem transmitter. The idea is to build a high-powered communications tower at the main base, release a special magic wave, and use a low-cost dedicated receiver to broadcast the information widely. The only thing I can offer is an idea, so I’ll leave the technical issues to Isla and the research and development department.

“Hmm, it’s not technically difficult. We can use the magic power of the vein holes in the main base to send magic waves far and wide. Relay devices are also being developed.”

“Fumu, that’s a good idea. I think the idea of reassuring the liberated people and healing their minds is a wonderful one.”

“Yes, it will be useful in many ways.”

As for the radio broadcast, everyone accepted it favorably. The problem, however, was the next suggestion.

“I am thinking of mass-producing paper and printing a large number of leaflets using woodblocks and distributing them in the major cities as information warfare. That way, we can quickly spread the word about our activities to the people of the Merinard Kingdom, don’t you think? I also think that we can direct our supporters to the Great Omit Wilderness.”

The reply to my suggestion was as follows.

“Impossible.”

“It’s not going to work, is it?”

“I guess not.”

The answer was a straightforward one. Why?

“I think it’s not a bad idea…?”

Sylphy also tilted her head. I don’t think it’s a bad idea either. The reason for this was explained by Isla.

“Your Highness, Kosuke. Not many people can read.”

“That’s right. The majority of commoners can’t read. In addition, the literacy rate of the Merinard citizens has declined further in the last twenty years.”

“This is because the number of places where the Merinard citizens can receive education has decreased.”

Not only for me, who came from a different world but also for Sylphy, who was naturally educated as a member of the royal family and as a resident of an elf village, the low literacy rate of commoners in this world was completely out of consideration.

“…So the leaflets campaign will be frozen for now.”

“…Yes.”

I guess it’s a good thing that radio broadcasting is going to be accepted… If we liberate the Merinard Kingdom, we’ll have to deal with the education issue as well.