CH 258

Chapter 258 – Meeting Before Departure

As a result of the discussion, it was decided to organize a division similar to a battle line infantry equipped with mass-produced magic rifles―the magic rifle corps.

Five hundred mass-produced magic rifles have already been procured, and 30,000 bullets, 1,500 magic stones, 100 molds for casting bullets, and 100 magic tail plugs, the core parts, are being transported from the rear bases in the Great Omit Wilderness and Erichburg by air boards for transportation.

It is my job this time to store those supplies in my inventory, head to the north to establish a military base, recruit volunteers there, and raise enough soldiers to repel the invasion of the north.

Accompanying me were 50 elite soldiers from the Merinard Royal Army, aka the Liberation Army, five members of the Harpy Bombardment Platoon, and my escort, Grande.

“Hey, long time no see.”

“Long time no see.”

“It has been a while.”

“I see… So the trusted adventurers were Shumel and the others.”

The three oni girls, Shumel, Bella, and Tozume, were the trusted adventurers that Danan had arranged for.

Shumel is a red-skinned female oni who has been working with the Liberation Army since the days of the Black Forest. She is a sturdy and strong fighter who wields a large, heavy metal club like a twig. She left the Liberation Army in Erichburg and returned to her original carrier as an adventurer, but she has continued to cooperate with the Liberation Army and assist them in various missions since then.

Bella and Tozume are friends that Shumel made after she returned to the adventuring business in Erichburg. Bella is a female adventurer of the red-skinned oni tribe, like Shumel, and Tozume is a female adventurer of the cyclops tribe, a one-eyed oni tribe with the same skin color as humans. Each of them is armed with a great axe and a mallet, and all of them are holding the mithril alloy weapons I had made for them.

“Are you dissatisfied with us?”

“I was worried about what kind of people it would be, but all my fears are gone at once. I can definitely trust Shumel and the others.”

“Ahaha. That means we must ensure we don’t betray that trust, right?”

“Well, if people knew Kosuke-san properly, there is no way they would betray you, is there?”

“Even if we could do something about Kosuke, I’m afraid of what would happen afterward.”

“I see.”

Even if someone does something about me, it’s inevitable that Sylphy, Isla, Grande, and the harpies will take fierce revenge afterward. In fact, even now, a stupid fox is holed up in the embassy and has never stepped out.

“So, you’re going on a long-term escort this time?”

“Yeah. There are some shady developments in the north, so I have to set up a military base and train new recruits to counter them. So you’ll be escorting us in the meantime.”

“Isn’t that a very long time?”

“At least until spring, when the enemy attacks, and we have to push them back.”

“That’s a long time…”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? We’ll get food, lodging, and money. And it is less dangerous.”

Bella and Tozume nodded in agreement with Shumel’s words. After all, adventurers also want to eat and make money. They can earn money by escorting peddlers, hunting monsters, and making money from their materials, or, like Shumel and the others, by providing security guards. If they don’t like it, they can reject the request.

“Well, if you are so bored that you want to abandon the request midway, please consult with us. If we can find a reliable adventurer to take your place, that’s fine. I’ll pay you at that point.”

“In that case, I will consult with you. Well, I’m sure I won’t be bored with you.”

“That’s true. I want to drive an air board again.”

“You’re not going to crash it, are you?”

“That’s right. If you crash, I’ll make you wear something embarrassing and traumatic that you couldn’t handle before.”

“Kuh… I-it won’t be a problem!”

Bella was frightened for a moment, but she couldn’t resist the allure of driving an air board. What is it about air boards that drives her so? I don’t understand this. Let’s hope the micro bikini I made for her or the short, tight-fitting, revealing magical girl outfit I made for her doesn’t burst into flames.

“So, what’s that all about?”

Ahead of Shumel’s gaze was the sight of fifty elite soldiers marching in a line of seventeen, sixteen, and seventeen attendants. All of them were lightly armed with metal helmets and metal chest armor and equipped with matching swords, bayonets, and a single mass-produced magic rifle. They are now in the midst of marching in unison, following the commander’s orders.

“These are the magic riflemen we are going to train and nurture over there. We are in the process of retraining the elite soldiers of the Royal Army to become elite riflemen.”

This place where Shumel and the others met me was the Merinard Royal Army training ground, about an hour and a half’s walk east of Merinesburg. It is just a vast open plain, though it is a training ground.

“What good is that thing?”

“Can you see the targets up there?”

I pointed to a large number of wooden planks that had been erected far away, about 200 meters away, as targets. There are more than a hundred of them, so you can easily recognize them if you see them.

“I can see them, but what about them?”

“It’s starting now. Watch.”

At the commanding officer’s order, the elite soldiers stood still at a distance of 200 meters from the target, maintaining a three-row flanking formation.

“Ready!”

The seventeen soldiers in the front row simultaneously ready their mass-produced magic rifles.

“Fire!”

With a thunderous sound, the seventeen magic rifles all opened fire at once, blowing a large hole in the wooden plank target 200 meters away.

“Ready, fire!”

The first line of shooters moves back, and the sixteen in the second line fire, blowing the wooden targets further away.

“Ready, fire!”

This time, the second line moves back, and seventeen members of the third line open fire. Meanwhile, the first line, which had fired the first shot, had finished reloading. Unlike the front-loaded musket guns used by the infantry in the battle lines on Earth, the magic rifle created in this world does not need to be loaded with gunpowder. The reloading process is faster than that of Earth’s musket guns.

“Ready, fire!”

The shooting continued, and before three rounds of shooting had been completed, all of the hundred targets had blown a huge hole, and all had fallen to the ground. Some of the targets were shattered to pieces by multiple bullets landing simultaneously.

More than a hundred targets at a distance of two hundred meters were all destroyed in less than thirty seconds by the fire of fifty elite magic riflemen.

“What do you think?”

“Outrageous, isn’t it?”

“By the way, the actual effective range of the rifle is about twice as long as it is now.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I’m not kidding.”

The range of a bow in this world is generally about 100 meters at most. In the case of magic, even the chorus magic used by the mage troops, the tiger cubs of the Holy Kingdom, is said to have a maximum range of about 150 meters. In this world, the development of projectile weapons such as bows is rather slow, perhaps due to the influence of magic, and projectile weapons that can fly over a distance of 200 meters are rare. In this case, the effective range of a mass-produced magic rifle is about 500 meters. Compared to the prototype and the preceding mass-produced models, the mass-produced magic rifle has improved the magical efficiency of the explosion magic that sends the bullets flying, making it possible to fire up to 50 shots in a row without having to replenish magical power. The recoil is a little milder, the bayonet is equipped with a bayonet attachment device, and the shooting accuracy is also slightly improved compared to the prototype model magic rifle.

In other words, the overall specifications have been improved compared to the prototype type and the preceding mass-produced type. Many people have the misconception that prototype and advanced mass-production types have higher performance than mass-production types when it comes to military weapons like this, but in reality, most mass-production types have better performance. This is because the mass-production type is the definitive version of the prototype or advanced mass-production type that has solved the problems identified in its operation and refined its functionality.

Of course, it is possible that prototype weapons are stronger than the weapons of the previous generation. Yeah.

“We are planning to raise 300 to 500 magic riflemen equipped with this weapon.”

“Haha… are you sure it is okay to tell us such a thing?”

“If you’re going to be my escort, you will definitely know about it. Well, just make sure you don’t talk about it too much.

Most people can’t even imagine what exactly a small elite army armed with powerful projectile weapons with a range of 400 meters would be like. They might think that the sound of gunfire was explosive magic or some kind of shooting exercise and that there must be a tremendous number of mages in the army.

“Our departure would be in a week. I’ll carry your baggage in the usual way, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a lot. As for lodging… Well, you can either get lodging in a town, or I’ll make it for you. Either way, you can rest assured that you won’t be camping out in the cold.”

“I trust you, so don’t worry.”

“That’s right. With Kosuke-san, we can have a comfortable time wherever we go.”

“And I’m looking forward to the food, okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’ll take care of it.”

I have to think about how to design the military base. There is no problem with replenishing supplies since I am present, but a military base is not something that can be run with only military personnel―in this case, only soldiers. The military must be a stand-alone, complete organization. In other words, it needs people to cook meals, do laundry, clean, manage supplies and money, and many other things.

As for the people to manage the supplies and money, I’m sure that Melty has prepared them for us, but… It’s been prepared, hasn’t it? Surely Melty will not ask me to hire those people over there, right?

I’m getting worried. I’ll definitely check with her later. If Melty really says that I can just take 50 elite soldiers, Grande, Shumel and the others, and leave the rest to me, I’m going to die. I would die of exhaustion.

“I wonder why your face has suddenly turned blue.”

“What’s wrong?””

“I wonder.”

I shivered with chills as I listened to the fluent conversation of the three oni girls.