I’m Just an Ordinary Human

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After finishing the repairs on the wall, I was able to hear the situation regarding the wall from my colleagues who returned late in the evening.

“It was incredibly sturdy! The flying demons didn’t leave a scratch at all!”

“Thank goodness.”

“Thanks to you, the roster of the guards stationed on the city wall has changed. Now, Rapierie can handle it all by themselves.”

“That’s right. I’ve heard there’s been an extra shift added, so they should be feeling a bit relieved.”

If there’s some room to breathe, the guards will be able to focus more on combat, which means we can generally expect better outcomes.

It seems I made the right choice to take the time to check on the wall’s condition.

[W-wait, I can’t let go of this hand.]

“……”

“Rui? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. What about Aswel?”

“He probably went to meet with the Count. Anyway, I’m going to take a break, okay? After shooting arrows all day, my eyes are tired.”

“Thanks for your hard work, Rapierie.”

Rapierie yawned and headed into her room.

Soon after, Serelin and Aria also made their way to their own rooms.

“Sis······.”

“Nia, you should go to bed too.”

“No···. I want to help you, sis···.”

Nia, while yawning even bigger than Rapierie, insisted on helping me.

“You don’t need to help today. I’ll call you when I need your magic, so just rest for today.”

“Ugh······.”

She seemed to be expressing disappointment, thinking she hadn’t performed well today, so I forcibly took her to her room, laid her on my lap, and let her fall asleep.

Click.

“Rui.”

“Ah.”

Just as I was exiting Nia’s room, I ran into someone.

It was Aswel.

‘······Did he come to see Nia?’

Being the heroine, it was quite possible.

Or perhaps, based on the layout, after Nia’s room comes Aria, Serelin, Rapierie, and then my room, so he might be here to see the other heroines.

Ouch.

“What brings you here···?”

“Oh, I just came to see you.”

Ugh.

From the moment Aswel answered, I couldn’t look directly at his face.

“Uh, I see. Why?”

“First, I reported to the Count regarding the wall repairs and today’s defense. He was particularly happy about the wall repairs.”

He came to inform me about the work and the Count’s reactions.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment, I listened to his words attentively.

“···Also, he mentioned that if you could provide information on the repair methods or supply related materials or spells, he would be willing to pay an appropriate price. Keep that in mind.”

“I see. That matter… I think I’ll have to refuse. The repair itself isn’t hard, so I should write a letter and send it out tomorrow morning.”

“If you do that, it won’t burden the citizens too much. … Um, this is the official report. And the next is just a private question.”

“Yes?”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“W-what do you mean?”

Suddenly, Aswel’s hand rested on my forehead.

Thump! Thump!

“I just thought, since you were hanging from a high place earlier, I wondered if you caught a cold or if your health had deteriorated.”

Since he had even taken off his gloves, it was Aswel’s bare hand touching my forehead.

Even though he must have been holding a sword for a long time, his touch felt surprisingly soft.

For a moment, I was lost in that warmth.

But soon I snapped back to reality and quickly stepped back, stammering, “I-I’m fine. If I was in pain, I would have asked Aria. You don’t need to worry.”

Aswel’s hand brushed my messy bangs as I struggled to tidy them up quickly.

However, perhaps because recently Rapierie, Aria, Serelin, and Nia had taken turns fixing my hair, I didn’t feel satisfied with the way it looked.

In the end, I subtly covered my bangs with one hand and slowly stepped back.

“Uh… I’ll go study now. Aswel, um, goodnight.”

“······Okay. Goodnight, Rui.”

Leaving Aswel, who smiled at me, I quickly headed towards my room.

Then, while pretending to open the door, I secretly glanced at Aswel.

Aswel, smiling, was looking at the hand that had touched my forehead before turning to head to his own room.

And finally, when I heard the sound of his door closing, I shut mine.

“······Phew.”

Why have I been feeling this way lately?

Every time I stood in front of Aswel, I felt my mind going blank.

Come to think of it, I had been worried about one thing recently.

It was the significant decrease in the cutesy interactions between Aswel and the heroines that I had seen right before my eyes.

‘······I guess I need to help them out a little more occasionally.’

Ouch.

That way, the favorability events would unfold at the right time, and the harem party would be completed normally.

Oh, of course, I am not one of the harem members though.

Ouch.

“······I need to study.”

I moved over to the gleaming master key and began my research again.

Right now… I desperately wanted to conduct research that could be done without a second thought.

*

Vroom.

The calculations of the master key were completed, and the “brain” of the mechanical soldier was finished in the early hours of the next day.

“Ugh······.”

Since I focused solely on research in my room without checking the wall yesterday, the air felt stale.

I ended up sleeping at my desk and relied on the servants to bring me food, so my whole body felt stiff.

“Uh·····?”

Feeling something hanging on me, I slowly turned my head and saw a familiar cloak.

It was Aswel’s cloak.

“······.”

It seemed he came by while I was asleep.

To be honest, I wanted to be angry about having entered a lady’s room so carelessly, but on the other hand, I felt grateful for his kindness.

“······Sigh.”

I wrapped myself in the cloak and headed toward the master key where the calculations had finished.

It was complete.

The device that would be the brain of the first mechanical soldier.

A device about the size of a modern melon, with a harmonious blend of platinum and brass colors.

At the center of the polyhedron-shaped device was the vital component—the eye.

“Now, onto the body···.”

The body part isn’t hard.

Not only do I have dozens of ideas floating in my head, but as long as I secure the space for this device, there are virtually no restrictions.

So, I decided to finish the work while I was up.

Then I would show it to my colleagues heading to the wall in the morning.

Taking out my pen, I opened several spatial pockets.

I laid out the key materials: mithril-like, mithril, brass, platinum, and various ores.

“First, design it as a humanoid weapon, and cover the core area with mithril to effectively counter the demons······.”

As the pen lifted the materials into the air, I began to disassemble and reshape them using the summoned temporary workstation.

Afterwards, based on the calculations of the master key, I prepared an appropriate shape, fixing it into the air, ready for assembly.

One by one, the materials were prepared.

Now, it was the final process.

I carefully assembled the prepared components.

From armor the size of a human thigh to parts as tiny as bolts in a clock.

I fitted each piece into its designated place with my pen.

In the gaps, I applied lubricants and magical spells to finish the detailed steps.

Thus, from the arms and legs to the torso, and the mana power unit that could be considered the heart, each piece found its place.

Finally, I fitted the connection that linked the mana power unit to the head onto the neck.

And at last, the head.

The overall design was inspired by beings from the records.

Therefore, this mechanical soldier also lacked everything except for one eye from a human face.

Its face shape resembled a regular octahedron rather than human-like.

Lines from four directions converged at the center meeting at the eye.

Click.

After placing the device into the head socket, I stepped down from the pile of books and magical tools.

“Phew···.”

It’s complete.

A massive mechanical soldier roughly 2.5 meters tall.

Given it’s a prototype, it looked emaciated, resembling nothing more than a skeleton. Rather than being bulky, it looked slender, emphasizing its speed.

However, it was made up entirely of brass and platinum and was wielding a spear sharpened with mithril at the tip, which made it all the more eerie.

If a mechanical being larger than a human swung its weapon with a mineral-like demeanor…

‘······It would be quite shocking. Extremely so.’

If demons had emotions similar to humans, they would undoubtedly be terrified enough to flee.

The problem being, the guards would also be surprised by this.

But I believe that this issue will be resolved with time.

Click.

Vroom.

Activating the spell located near the heart, the power unit began to absorb my mana along with the surrounding mana.

Gradually, mana started flowing into its limbs and head, causing the device in the head to begin operating.

Clack.

With the distinct sound of interlocking gears, light flowed into the eyes of the mechanical soldier.

It was a success.

“Oh yeah···!”

I couldn’t help but let out a small shout and waved my hands excitedly.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected it to go this well.

Maybe that’s why the joy I felt was greater than I had anticipated.

Vroom.

The mechanical gaze followed my animated movements.

The ‘eye’ was functioning well.

Additionally, the spells necessary for combat and everyday actions were running properly.

I approached the mechanical soldier and reached out my hand.

Then one of the spells inputted in its head was activated, causing the soldier to kneel.

“Identification of allies is perfect······!”

I gently patted the head of the mechanical soldier and said, “Opelite.”

The predetermined name for the prototype.

At the same time, the name that would be used to refer to all similar mechanical soldiers from now on.

That was Opelite.

“Hehe, hehe.”

I began to hum as I spun around Opelite.

As if participating in a traditional dance, Opelite’s eyes were darting back and forth as I moved animatedly.

‘Looks like I’m really a genius.’

I couldn’t help but feel proud of having created Opelite all on my own without much assistance.

My excitement was too overwhelming to calm down, and in the end, compliments for myself slipped out.

“Genious Mage Rui~! Knows everything in the world and creates it~.”

Hehe. Hehe.

“Genious Mage······.”

“Pff···.”

“Kugh······!”

Suddenly, a burst of laughter echoed.

I froze momentarily, like a rusty machine, and turned my head.

It was coming from the direction of the door.

“Don’t laugh······ Pff, I…! Rui will be fuming···!”

“Exactly…! It’s an insult to a colleague······! Hehe!”

“O-Oh no, it’s my sister······!”

Aria.

Serelin.

Rapierie.

Niabella.

And.

“It’s okay, Rui. I-I’m sure you’re a genius mage!”

Aswel.

“·········.”

Everyone was looking at me.

Vroom.

I could hear the sound of the ally identification device of Opelite activating beside my frozen self.

Ah.