CH 81

Chapter 81 – The Onee-san Who Flew Down

After I teleported back to the edge of the forest from the watchtower, we were just about to return when a shadow appeared in front of us. Myrril held out a hand to control me and Rinko, who were bracing ourselves.

“Don’t worry, that’s a Casemaian scout.”

The scout landed with a light thud and had huge, feather-covered wings on her back. When spread out, the wings were about two and a half meters long to the wingtips, and with a flutter, she folded them up and tucked them behind her back.

Her slender body was covered by a tube-top-like cloth, giving her a slender, tall, model-like figure. The lower half of her body is covered in feathers on her legs, and from the knees down, she has slightly dinosaur-like scales and claws.

The whole figure, with its bird-like elements, looks somewhat like an ancient bird… The upper half of her body is that of a saint or an angel in a religious painting, an innocent beauty, or rather, a beautiful woman. 

“…Are you from the Winged Tribe?”

“Yes. We have never met before, Your Majesty the Demon King. My name is Luvia of the Winged Tribe’s aerial reconnaissance unit.”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

I hurriedly stop her as she tries to get down on one knee to prostrate herself. Even if I were a Demon King, I would only be a billboard for external advertisements. Not only for the winged tribe but also the other races, it’s not nice to be feared like that.

“I don’t need that kind of thing, and if possible, I would prefer that you don’t do it. I don’t intend to rule over the Casemaians or rule over everyone else. You can just think of me as a mere representative. It’s just for the sake of convenience.”

“Is that so? It seems that Casemaian is steadily transforming into a Demon King’s Castle.”

Myrril and Rinko’s eyes sparkle with a look of amazement and amusement. Please stop it. You two have the same excited look on your faces. I’ll hook your noses.

“It’s for all the inhabitants to live happily, not because I want to build the Demon King’s castle. More importantly, what’s your business here?”

“Yes, that’s right. Excuse me. Actually, after that, the rear of the Imperial Army stopped. The golem was left in place, and the cavalrymen ran to the imperial capital, so perhaps…”

“They’re not retreating, are they?”

I asked Rinko, but she shook her head. I know, I know. I just wanted to dream a little.

“If that’s the case, maybe they’ll bring the whole golem back. Or send them to rescue the destroyed part of the collapse. Maybe they went to get reinforcements.”

“You are correct here. It is better to think that the imperial army will attack with all its might, and not against the kingdom, but against Casemaian.”

What Luvia-san sentenced me to is the worst pattern that I expected.

It is the result of my own decision and my own initiation, but it isn’t very encouraging to find out that it is actually going to happen.

It is unknown how many reinforcements are left in the capital. Depending on the total number, it is also unclear whether two tanks would be enough to deal with them.

In that case, we would have no choice but to return to the first plan, even if we had to abandon our safety measures.

“Then, I will return to the air patrol.”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

I stopped Luvia-san and told her what I was concerned about.

“The information from the winged tribe has been of great help to me. I was going to express my gratitude, but I am sorry for the delay in greeting you. I would like to assist you in any way possible, so if there is anything you need, could you please let me know?”

“It would be a waste for Your Majesty the Demon King to thank us for this, but… yes, could we please have a means of communicating detailed information to our friends on the ground and a weapon that can attack the ground?”

Evolution from observation aircraft to reconnaissance aircraft and then to attack aircraft? It makes my heart flutter.

I mean, there was no communicator in the first place. I didn’t think much of it since the ground troops were just testing it on the way to the tribal union.

I didn’t realize that the winged tribes were the ones who needed the communication equipment the most, though I didn’t notice it because we had no problem with Myrril’s hand signals. This was completely negligent of me.

“I understand. Just give me a minute.”

“Eh? Is it now?”

“Market.”

Time stops, and Simon appears.

It seems like it’s been a subtle while since I’ve seen him because things have been so hectic, but the last transaction was probably a few days ago. Yeah, my sense of time is a little off. So is my sense of money.

“Good day, Yoshua-sama.”

“S-sama!? Hey, what’s wrong with you! You are out of character, so come on with your usual “Brother,” okay?”

“No, that will not work. It’s about time I started doing more business with celebrities, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to speak casually.”

Yeah, it still smells somewhat false or borrowed, but I guess it’s not bad to have that kind of awareness. I think it’s a little more suspicious, but that’s not for me to say.

“…Maybe your wife told you that?”

“Gofuhh, you must be joking, Yoshua-sama.”

You just said “gofuhh,” didn’t you?

I think I heard that his wife is the daughter of a good family.

He is transforming at an incredible rate and quickly becoming a success, but maybe it’s Simon’s personality that makes people smile or even hate him somehow.

For better or worse, I feel like his roots haven’t changed.

“Well, that’s okay. I want a communicator and an assault rifle. For now, I’m going to do some test operations, so I’d like to recommend a set. Both of them should be as small and lightweight as possible.”

“What is your reason for wanting a small, lightweight unit? Is it operational?”

“You see that woman over there? They are a winged tribe, flying scouts. I want something she can use. If she tries it and it’s not a problem, I’ll send it to everyone in her unit… and I’ll need 20 sets, including spares.”

“That would be 223.”

0.223 caliber, 5.56 x 45 mm. NATO bullets. It is a small, lightweight, small-caliber ammunition.

It has light recoil and is suitable for continuous fire, but it has only about half the energy of the thirty-ought-six. They are lighter, slimmer, more delicate, and more expensive than the old soldiers who survived WW2. It will be one more type of supply of ammunition and parts.

This is a concern that only Simon, who has known me for a while, can understand.

“I don’t mind. When we can afford it, we’ll have to reintegrate our ammunition there.”

“It’s just like Yoshua-sama expected to be able to afford the capital.”

“It makes me itchy, so stop with the ill-fitting flattery. It’s not so much the capital that we can afford; it’s the war situation. It will only be a matter of interpersonal combat. Rather, it will have to be. You know how much trouble that can be, don’t you?”

“I pray that further deals will open up the future.”

He is indeed a hardcore merchant when he says that. The shift to only interpersonal combat means a shift from frontal combat in which large armies and large weapons collide to asymmetric warfare in which the enemy is scattered among civilians as guerrillas and terrorists.

It is like going from hunting to pest control. Eradication is difficult, and results are hard to see. And it is protracted, muddled, and emotionally tailed. It sucks.

Well, that’s okay.

“Well, then, here it is. It’s the most reliable and numerous in this category currently available.”

Yes, I know. That’s the way it’s going to be. Good. I received three spare magazines, a magazine pouch, and 2,000 rounds of ammunition along with the gun.

The communication equipment is relatively inexpensive and simple for civilian use. They said there would be no problem if it were used in another world where there are no restrictions on the zone of use and for surface-to-air use, where there is no need to worry about shielding.

The headset type is convenient to keep your hands free.

When he asked about the budget, it was not a very large amount of money – perhaps the purchase of a tank has numbed my senses – so I asked him if he could provide me with a couple of sets of headsets. Since I couldn’t afford to count them one at a time, I took out a lot of silver coins and asked him to make a small adjustment at the final checkout.

I’m told that the silver coins are worth less than they would be in terms of our currency value, but I don’t care because they will only put more pressure on my storage space if I continue to keep them in storage.

In any case, I can’t exchange it for cash in the kingdom now.

“Then, I will prepare it in about five days.”

“Thank you.”

Simon gives me a salute and closes the market.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Well then, Luvia-san, could you try this?”

The winged Onee-san’s eyes are black and white as she takes the gun and communicator I offer her. Rinko, who does not know what is going on, also looks puzzled next to Luvia-san.

From their point of view, it was only a few seconds ago, so it was natural for them to be surprised.

“Eh? Your Majesty, I know this is a gun… but… from where and how?”

“Hey Yoshua, what did you do, now?”

“It’s the power of the Demon King. Don’t think too much about it.”

Myrril’s explanation, which seemed to make sense, convinced both Luvia-san and Rinko (somewhat thoughtlessly).

I told her how to use and maintain it easily and asked her what she thought of it after we returned to Casemaian. First of all, I think it’s a good idea. Overall, I’d rather not have any other choice.

“May I ask the name of this one, Your Majesty the Demon King?”

“M4 carbine. It’s the most common gun in the world where I’m from.”