NOVEL NEXT Chapter 57 - Cradle of the Sword Demon (9)
I stretched and cracked my neck.
“Ugh! Ah, so stiff.”
After sitting still for hours repairing cores and drawing magic circles, my whole body was stiff.
But now that the core component repairs are done, all that’s left is assembling the disassembled parts.
Honestly, over the past three days, I spent more time disassembling the dolls than fixing the broken parts.
Assembly requires part cleaning and oiling, so it will take five more days from now.
Of course, assembly is something the Zillian series will do, so Sillua and I are done with our work.
“Good work.”
Precia brought biscuits and black tea, having gotten snacks from somewhere.
“Thanks. Hey, Gilbert! Stop dozing off and eat too.”
At my call, Gilbert, who was not just dozing off but soundly sleeping in the corner of the doll storage, woke up and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
“Ah…! Yes! Did you call me? What is it?”
I smiled and handed a biscuit to the half-asleep Gilbert.
“To eat.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
Gilbert bit into the biscuit and mumbled.
Demiway must be shocked by the invoice I deliberately crafted by now.
Most of the things written on the invoice were copied as is, but I slightly inflated the core components, so the total amount jumped up.
The core components were all made of expensive magic metals, and Demiway had no way to check, so it was the perfect item to scam.
I only inflated it very slightly, so even quick-witted mages wouldn’t notice.
As I slyly smiled, Precia asked with anxious eyes.
“Young Master, what are you scheming again?”
“What do you mean? What am I scheming again?”
When I denied it, Precia looked at me with suspicious eyes.
“Is that so? Somehow the way you’re smiling now seems similar to when you first entered the doll forest and pushed me and Gilbert to where the defense dolls were.”
Somehow, she seems to be getting sharper by the day.
At Precia’s words, Gilbert stopped reaching for the biscuit and distanced himself from me.
It seems to have become a slight trauma for Gilbert.
At their reactions, I lightly fake coughed and changed the subject.
“Ahem! Come to think of it, it must have been your first real battle against monsters, how was it for both of you?”
At my question, Precia sighed.
“Don’t change the subject.”
Gilbert, who had distanced himself far from me, nodded vigorously in agreement with Precia’s words.
“Hmm, is it obvious?”
At my question, Precia firmly nodded.
“How could I not recognize it after seeing that smile so many times?”
“Did I make it that obvious?”
“Just from what I’ve seen: when you provoked the 2nd Prince, when you provoked Old Man Divet, when you took Old Man Divet’s granddaughter hostage, when you answered the Queen’s summons, when you fabricated an alibi that you met the Queen, when you handled the assassins and fabricated evidence…”
At the endless stream of testimonies, I raised my hands as if surrendering.
“Okay. I get it, so calm down.”
I must have always smiled the same way; how does she differentiate?
It’s a bit scary.
“For now, what I’m aiming for this time has nothing to do with you guys, so you don’t need to be tense.”
At my words, Gilbert let out a sigh of relief.
“‘This time’?”
Precia sharply pointed out, but I pretended not to know.
“Ahem! It’s nothing much. I just threw out bait to make the Blantzbarg commander come to me and make a pitiful sound.”
What I’m aiming for is to put Demiway in debt to me.
To be exact, rather than debt, it’s closer to a sense of obligation.
Demiway, who lacks financial leeway, will try to negotiate with me.
Then I’ll pretend to show goodwill and give a discount, and later, when I need his strength, I plan to get his promise of help.
It would be nice to add the binding force of a magic contract, but someone like the Sword Demon could probably cut the contract itself with his sword, so it would be meaningless.
Cutting an intangible and abstract contract with a piece of iron like a sword. It doesn’t make sense rationally, but the Ten Swords Under Heaven are guys who calmly do such nonsensical things.
“So, how was the experience of fighting a horde of monsters? Did the experience of fighting dolls help a bit?”
At my question, Gilbert smiled awkwardly.
“Yes… it definitely helped, but I developed a strange habit.”
Gilbert made a sorrowful face, saying he developed the habit of cutting off the heart and limbs even after beheading.
“Uh… I didn’t think of that.”
It was a habit I never expected.
I tried to give an intensive education by implanting the most intense experiences possible, but I never thought it would have side effects like this.
“Still, if I didn’t have the experience of fighting dolls, I don’t think I could have handled even 10 of them.”
“Right? Well, the habit of confirming kills isn’t bad.”
I thought cutting off the limbs was a bit extreme, but Precia will probably correct it.
When I looked at Precia with that meaning, she let out a small sigh and nodded.
“How was it for Precia?”
At my question, Precia was silent for a moment. At her silence, I smiled brightly.
“It was much easier than you thought? Were you flustered by the thought that you could annihilate them all alone if you wanted to?”
Hearing my guess, Precia looked at me with surprised eyes.
“…Shamefully, I had such an arrogant thought.”
Precia had never fought using all her power yet.
Of course, when she was in the palace, she repeated training to the point of reaching her physical and magical limits every day.
Saying it was Horazon’s teaching, she measured her limits every day and made constant efforts to surpass those limits.
She knew herself better than anyone else, but at the same time, she didn’t know herself more than anyone else.
“No, it’s not an arrogant thought.”
Her point of comparison was always her teacher, whom she had seen since childhood, so she didn’t know where she stood.
“One of the reasons I want to come to Bastille is to show you a point of comparison, Precia.”
“A point of comparison, you say?”
Precia looked at me with an expression of not understanding.
“Yes. You may know yourself well, but you don’t know others at all. Not knowing well, you have no choice but to become cautious, and that caution will someday act as poison.”
Actually, recalling how she suddenly sliced the necromancer Arisa’s throat when she threatened me at the circus, she doesn’t seem that cautious, but the experience of properly comparing herself to others was necessary.
In
She later reflects that the caution arose because she didn’t know where she stood compared to her comrades and enemies.
Of course, the biggest reason she couldn’t compare herself to others, even after being here for 3 years was because she was too busy struggling with the guilt of not being able to protect Prince Yuan to pay attention elsewhere.
“Fortunately, there are many points of comparison here. Monsters of various types that are hard to find even if you search the whole continent, the Snowflake Knights, called the strongest knightly order in the kingdom surpassing the royal guard Golden Lion Knights, and even the Sword Demon, one of the Ten Swords Under Heaven. There’s no better place than here as a stage for your growth.”
By chance, the great demon beast Red Eyes had also started its activity.
At my words, Precia tensed up slightly, and her cheeks flushed.
No, not tension, but excitement from anticipation?
It could also be competitive spirit.
Even if I didn’t particularly say it, she would know best that this place adjacent to the Bastille Mountains was the optimal training ground for her.
Then, a loud voice was heard from outside the doll storage.
“It’s Centurion Hans! These identical-faced women are blocking my entry, let me in! It’s urgent!”
It seemed Hans was blocked from entering by Zillian No. 12 and No. 13 guarding the entrance.
“Sillua, finish the doll design later and let’s clean up for now.”
“Okay~!”
At my words, Sillua regretfully put the design into her pocket dimension and instructed the Zillian series to clean up.
I slightly opened the door and asked Hans.
“What is it?”
As I came out, Hans’ face brightened, and he spoke hastily.
“The Commander says to come quickly!”
“The Commander? What for?”
“No time to explain!”
At my question, Hans tried to pull my arm, but was stopped by Zillian No. 12.
“Please refrain from physical contact with the Vice-Master without permission.”
Zillian No. 13 drew his sword and warned.
“Warning, unauthorized physical contact may be subject to sanctions.”
At Zillian No. 13’s warning, Hans’ spirit sharpened for a moment, but soon calmed down and raised both hands.
“Haha, my deepest apologies. The Commander has convened an emergency military meeting. And he ordered to urgently bring you all, especially Sir Yuan.”
He convened an emergency military meeting and is calling me?
Why… I couldn’t help but laugh for a moment.
It seems bad news has come from the capital.
“Do you know the reason for holding the meeting?”
“No, as a Centurion, I can’t participate in the meeting, so I don’t know that much.”
“I see. Let’s go right away.”
At my words, Precia and Gilbert got up to follow, but I raised my hand to stop them.
“My companions have just fought not long ago, so they need rest. It’s fine if I go alone, right?”
“That’s…”
“I’ll tell the Commander myself.”
It won’t be a dangerous place, and it will be quite a boring occasion, so there’s no need for them to come along and suffer.
Following Hans’ guidance, I arrived at the commander’s office, and the Special Forces Captain waiting outside immediately opened the door.
“Sir Yuan has arrived, Commander.”
At the Special Forces Captain’s words, everyone inside the commander’s office looked at me.
In the commander’s office, there were a total of thirteen Chiliarchs, five knights wearing uniforms with different emblems, and three mages in robes, sitting side by side centered around Demiway.
“Did you call for me, Commander, Your Excellency?”
At my greeting, Demiway welcomed me with a serious face.
“But where are your companions?”
“They’re resting after the battle, so I came alone. Isn’t rest important?”
When I asked for agreement, Demiway nodded.
“I apologize for calling you so suddenly.”
“I understand. It’s only natural for an urgent matter, isn’t it?”
As I lightly accepted Demiway’s apology, his brows furrowed.
“Natural? Do you know what I called you for?”
At his question, I smiled brightly and answered.
“I don’t know exactly. It’s just a conjecture.”
“A conjecture… Can I hear that conjecture?”
Demiway glared at me as if testing me. Seeing him glaring at every chance, I thought maybe it’s not a glare but just bad eyes.
“Commander, Your Excellency, you requested the dispatch of Sir Horazon to the central government. If the messenger sent to the capital ran even reducing sleep, it wouldn’t be strange for them to return around this time. But you convened a military meeting so urgently and even called us outsiders, so I conjectured the messenger brought bad news. Am I wrong?”
For some reason, it seemed the king sent a letter saying he won’t send Horazon.
Why? The things I fabricated should be enough to drive out the queen. Did an unknown variable appear?
There’s no reason not to send Horazon in the current situation; it’s strange.
At my question, Demiway nodded.
“You’re right about your conjecture. Then do you also know why I called you?”
“There are two reasons. One is to ask about the progress of the doll repairs we are doing and to ask the date those dolls can be deployed.”
At my words, the commanders in the commander’s office looked at me and Demiway alternately with surprised eyes.
Judging by the reactions, only about six people including the commander know the fact that the dolls are being repaired.
“The other one?”
“I think you called to ask if I can handle those dolls.”
Magic dolls without a dollmaster are like fighter jets without a pilot.
There are other mages here, but they are insufficient to bring out all the doll’s capabilities.
“In other words, it becomes a question of whether I can replace Sir Horazon.”
At my words, the commanders, except the three mages, let out a laugh as if it was absurd.
To them, Horazon was a transcendent on par with Demiway.
It was only natural for such a reaction to come out at the words that a weakling like me would replace Horazon.
But Demiway was serious.
“Yes, you’re right.”
At Demiway’s words, everyone looked at him in surprise.
“Can you be a substitute for Horazon di Grain?”
At his question, I answered.