Chapter 25: "Circumstances"

Chapter 25: "Circumstances"

There's no point in lamenting, so let's think of a positive solution.

The number of them...15 armored ones and 5 dogs, totaling 20.

The dogs are hanging around the gate, threatening to attack me if I come this way.

The armored men are carrying long spears on their shoulders and pointing them at me.

I don't see any of them moving.

I don't know how she is controlling them, but I assume they are all under her control.

And the rest... oh? He's putting something out.

The armor is emitting steam from its body, and the dog is emitting steam from its mouth at intervals.

What is that? Is it breathing?

"I'm glad you're so surprised, it was worth it."

Fatima gives a small laugh.

She's been in a good mood since I arrived, hasn't she?

Or does it make you feel good to have a bunch of idiots walking into your trap?

"Are you sure that you are controlling these guys?"

"Yes, that's right; it's pretty hard to control 20 of them at the same time, isn't it?"

Ha-ha-ha. You're kidding, right? Look at Fatima's face.

...... doesn't look like she's lying. I don't think she knows about hypotheticals either....

Can I do this hypothetically?

The answer is yes, it is possible.

But since it would have to be controlled by multiple brains, it is highly likely that others would be neglected.

Yes, I can't do it alone. First of all, there's the ambush.

Sneakily activate the magic.

I use Thermal Detection III Flame Sonar, a flame-based detection magic that probes the temperature of a certain area.

Thanks to those ice cubes, the ambient temperature has dropped considerably.

Body temperature should be noticeable.

Of course, I used it seriously so I could cover the whole premises and its surroundings.

Now, let's see how many will come out...

Activation.

Excluding the lights... that's close to body temperature... that's a lot. 29 in all... hmm?

Strange, what is this distribution?

First, 2 in the mansion.

One of them must be Heidi, seeing as how she is moving around so energetically.

The other one has not moved since I entered the mansion.

Is it Zubel? It's a good thing he's hiding behind a woman, isn't it?

And 5 around the perimeter of the mansion.

There are evenly spaced reactions inside the walls. Is it someone guarding the compound... or is it just a lookout?

No sign of movement.

The rest are 20 minus me and Fatima....

From the position, I'm getting a reaction from the ice packs around us.

What's this all about?

Are they carrying an engine or something? I look closely at the body of the armor.

I can definitely see something faintly like a shadow.

For the time being, the mystery of the reaction has been solved. But now I'm even more confused.

Except for those on the outer edge of the property, there is almost no one here.

What's going on?

"Are you finished with your thoughts? Or may I favorably interpret this as you being willing to listen to me...?"

This... might be something to think about.

I guess I'll go along with the conversation, even if it means buying some time.

"...... Well... let's hear your side of the story, shall we?"

Fatima made a deliberate gesture of relief when I said that.

I don't know why it looks so innocent when she does it....

"So, where shall we start?"

"Start from the beginning, please."

"Well..."

It seems that the plan was to protect Rothfeldt while looking for an opportunity to unseat Zubel.

But then Zubel went out of control and tried to get rid of Rothfeldt.

"After that, I did everything I could to find Mr. Rothfeldt, but..."

Fatima's eyes are downcast with sadness.

Hmmm...

"I understand your story."

Fatima's face brightens.

"I am glad that you understand. I have no intention of harming Mr. Rothfeldt..."

"I wouldn't say that!"

I slammed the Explosion III into the nearest humanoid.

Aimed at a suspicious heat source, I don't know if it really has an engine, but it's something important, right?

"Protect me? Don't make me laugh. If you're so serious about protecting me, why didn't you make a move when you were approached?"

As far as I'm concerned, there must have been plenty of times to make a move.

It's not that hard to protect him.

Even I could have thought of that. It's hard to believe that this woman didn't think of it.

"I'm sure. What you're saying may be mostly true, but there are some lies mixed in."

I strain my gaze.

"You've been saying a lot of nice things, but what you're saying stinks. Let's be clear. I can't trust you, so I'm done with you. I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to kill Zubel. That's the end of it."

"What are you going to do with your lands?"

"I don't care. If I leave it alone, a replacement will come from the country. Let him do it."

There are plenty of people who want to be a Lord.

Don't worry, after I kill you, I plan to throw Heidi into a masquerade marriage or something.

Besides...you reek of a person who says the right things and tries to get people to do what they want.

And it's weird because I can't read what you're thinking.

"...... heh."

Fatima lets out a laugh as if she can't stand it and lightly raises one hand.

Two armored men slammed two spears into me from the top.

I quickly jumped backwards to avoid them. The place where I was is caved in greatly.

... In the end, this woman was going to kill me too, wasn't she?

They really are a bunch of assholes, aren't they? What's there to protect? They think I'm an idiot.

The people of this world are a bunch of assholes!

They all want to kill me, what the hell is wrong with them?

"I'm sorry you can't listen to me, but it can't be helped. Now that it's come to this... fufu... let's just cut your limbs off and let you grow up."

Hey, you're leaking laughter.

"I really don't want to...fufu... But you don't need to worry, okay? I will take care of you for the rest of your life. Morning and night...ugh..."

I thought I had a high tolerance, but if I talk to this woman any longer, I'm going to go crazy.

Let's kill her as soon as possible.

I hold up my makana and sword with both hands.

I run into the armor that just took an Explosion III.

I don't want to be surrounded and beaten up by them.

The armor has melted down to its torso, and the contents...what is that? A barrel? ...was exposed.

I don't know what's inside, but smashing it will stop it or at worst slow it down.

I hit it with the makana. The barrel exploded and the contents scattered.

I was totally covered by it.

Wow, what the ...... is this, blood?

It smells and tastes like human blood.

Was it human?

That makes sense.

Was it really breath that leaked out?

So, they were maintaining and operating it from inside.

In short, a manned robot.

Manned robots in fantasy...novel...isn't it?

But how do they see what's going on?

There's something more to it....

By the way, was a human being something that could fit in a barrel that size?