"Amazing...! Moonbear liver can cure Permid's Disease? A-And dried galara
root is that potent of a salve?! Amazing!"
"Is it to your liking, then?"
"So much more than that! I can save so many lives with this knowledge!
Thank you, Grand Duke!" Raul, Belfast's royal physician, was looking over the
medical journals I'd given him with stars in his eyes.
I'd transcribed several important books from the Library into the common
language, and decided to give them to relevant experts. And so, I'd brought
several medical journals from the ancient civilization to Raul. It seemed like
they had a lot of techniques and remedies that had been lost to history. I
personally saw it as nothing more than gibberish, but it looked like Raul was
seriously impressed.
"Where did you find such incredible writing...?"
"Ah, well. You know those dungeons I opened up in Brunhild? I found it in a
treasure chest. Then I used magic to translate it, that's all." I kept my mouth
shut about the truth, naturally. Couldn't risk anyone finding out about the
Library.
I took a box of medicine out of [Storage] and passed it over to Raul. There
was a lot of potent stuff inside, all made by Flora in the Alchemy Lab.
"Oh, take this too. It's made by Brunhild's medical staff. The effects are on
this note, too."
"Ah, thank you so much..."
"Don't worry about it, I'd be upset if Prince Yamato ended up sick." This world
had plenty of recovery magic, but infant mortality was still a real threat. That
was because recovery magic cured injuries, rather than diseases.
Doctors were needed for that. In the past I'd tried giving Raul a few items
enchanted with [Recovery], but it didn't do much for sickness.
I tried curing Linze's cold, but nothing happened. It didn't help her menstrual
cramps or motion sickness either. Plus, it didn't seem to help people who were
already passed out. I wondered about its effects on being hungover, but I
hadn't had a chance to test that.
"Touya, thanks for waiting..." Yumina opened the door and came in. I'd taken
her with me to Belfast Castle because she wanted to check on her little brother.
We made a habit of stopping by once a week.
I used the time to drop off some supplies with Raul. Didn't need to waste any
time, after all.
"Don't you want to see Yamato, Touya?"
"Ah... I'm fine for today. Maybe next time." I said I was fine, but in truth I just
didn't want to get caught by the King of Belfast. He'd talk to me for ages, and I'd
end up having to sit around Prince Yamato for hours as well.
In all honesty, he was a little bit of a reckless parent. After all, he allowed
Yumina to be with me just like that. I wondered if that old coot would be a good
father to a little baby like Yamato... That reminded me that I couldn't remember
the King's precise age, anyway. I thought he was around forty, but I couldn't
remember so well. Still, I didn't want to be caught by the King. Before I spent
any more time pondering, I opened up a [Gate] back home to Brunhild.
When I entered the castle, I was greeted by a flutter of wings. Kougyoku flew
through the window.
"Hm, Kougyoku? Something up?" She immediately perched on my shoulder. I
wondered if something had happened.
"Indeed. There appears to be a red Frame Gear on the western plains."
"Wait, what?" That could've only meant one thing. Ende's Dragoon. Still, I had
no idea why he'd be here. I checked on my map and immediately opened up a
[Gate]. Just as I'd expected, the Dragon Knight stood there in the field. Ende
was there perched on its shoulder.
"Ende!"
"Yo, Touya. Been a while, huh? I figured you'd eventually get here if I showed
up." Ende jumped down from the Dragoon's shoulder, his scarf fluttering gently
in the wind as he moved. That guy always was light on his feet... Kind of like a
cat, actually.
"What brings you here?"
"Ah well, the Dragon Knight stopped working all of a sudden. I was wondering
if you might have something to help with that, Touya."
Stopped working...? Oh, the Ether Liquid must've run dry. It does burn out
pretty fast if you use it a lot, after all. Even if it's not being used, it tends to wear
out after about a month. It's like a soda. Eventually it's gonna lose carbonation
regardless of whether or not you drink it.
Still, he's had it for way more than a month... Maybe he's been storing it in
that weird slide system of his. If it works anything like my [Storage], then time
wouldn't pass for anything inside.
"Yeah, I can actually take this chance to remodel your Frame Gear if you'd
like. That way it won't have to run on Ether Liquid anymore. I'm sure you don't
wanna have to drop by Brunhild every time you need a top up on fuel, after all."
"I'd appreciate that, then."
"It'll take about three days, is that fine?"
"Works for me. I'll take a look around your little duchy in the meantime."
Hmm... It'd be bad if he sticks around for too long. He's a good ally, and he's
been invaluable in killing the Phrase, but...
I don't want him anywhere near the dungeon. He'll just blast through and
clear the whole thing! That'd result in a net loss for my country's business.
"Anyways, three days sounds good to me. I'm relieved, since fighting an
Upper Construct with just my fleshy body would be a real pain..."
"...Say what?" Excuse me? Upper Construct? There's one incoming?!
"Hey, what do you mean...?"
"I just happened to come across a spatial distortion, that's all. Given its state, I
estimate it'll open up between seven to ten days from now. It won't be as many
as that time in Yulong, though."
No, damn it! I'm not asking how many there'll be! You said there's an Upper
Construct! Those things can wipe out cities in a single attack!
"W-Wait a sec...! Just where is this distortion?"
"Hm? Uh... east of here, I think? You got a map handy?" I fired up my map
and displayed it in the air. Ende pointed out the location.
"Right here. That might not be the exact location, but it's the general area. If
you've got any friends there, I'd advise that they get out while they can." I
looked at the place Ende pointed. Fortunately, I had no friends in that particular
part of the world.
"The Roadmare Union, huh...?" It was an allied state of seven city-states that
existed east of Regulus. The area Ende had pointed at was just a little bit away
from the capital city.
That was bad news... Even if it wasn't directly on the capital, the Upper
Construct would be about as strong as the crocodile I'd fought in Yulong. If it
decided to do a charged blast attack, we'd be completely screwed.
This was bad. Really bad. It'd absolutely cause widespread destruction. I
wanted to destroy it as quickly and efficiently as possible, but that'd involve
getting myself in another nation's business.
I considered giving them an advanced warning, but there was also the chance
they wouldn't take me seriously. Then again, after what happened in Yulong I
felt like they'd probably at least be able to hear me out about it.
"...It's definitely coming?"
"Definitely." He was pretty confident. The things Ende said had a habit of
coming true eventually, so I had no reason to doubt him.
For now I'll go talk to the King of Roadmare... Oh, wait. Actually, I think they
have a doge? Either way, I'll go speak to him.
I decided to ask the Emperor of Regulus to send a message... But then I
remembered that Regulus and Roadmare weren't on the best of terms. And so,
I ended up finalizing on turning to the King of Lestia, or guildmaster Relisha.
Both of them were quite well-connected.
Relisha seemed like the optimal first choice out of the two. There was a guild
in Roadmare, after all. With any luck, we'd be able to get an evacuation before
things turned sour like in Yulong.
If I told Relisha to spread the news, we'd at least be able to save local
adventurers.
Either way, there was no time to lose. I opened up a [Gate], sent the Dragoon
to the Workshop, and then headed for the guild.
As soon as I informed Relisha of what was going on, she set to work. She
contacted the guildmaster in Roadmare, and from there attempted to arrange a
meeting with their state doge. Apparently he was a guy called Volk Ragil.
Thankfully, he agreed to meet us right away. The response was probably so
fast since I was the head of a country, even if that country was small.
I took the King of Belfast and the Emperor of Regulus with me in order to
represent the east-west alliance. Everything seemed fine, but...
"You're not gonna evacuate?! But you saw what happened in Yulong, didn't
you?!"
"Well, it's not quite so simple. We'll take refuge, of course. But it's best to
wait for the situation to arise and judge it there and then." The man sat in front
of me on a comfortable-looking chair.
He had curled, chestnut hair. His face bore an expression that looked serious
enough. His full beard helped accentuate his tone.
He wore an expensive looking coat. It matched the gaudy nature of the rest of
his outfit.
This was Volk Ragil. He was the man that governed the central province of
Roadmare, and acted as the doge of Roadmare on a whole.
Even though I told him about the impending Phrase threat, he didn't seem to
budge an inch. He reeked of self-confidence. I understood that he'd been
elected as the sole ruler from seven candidates, but he had no idea what he
was dealing with here.
"Let's start with the basics... From where did this information come?"
"I can't tell you the details exactly, but uh... A guy... I know, an associate."
"An... associate? Is he trustworthy? I don't wish to be rude, but a story like
this is a tad difficult to simply swallow." Ende was definitely a shady guy. But
the fact remained that he was an enemy of the Phrase. I wasn't sure if it was a
situation where I could say "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," but I didn't
think he had any reason to be hostile toward us...
"I'll be honest. The other members of my council have mixed opinions. Some
say evacuation is the smartest choice, whilst others say there's simply no need.
I've even had it suggested that we deal with the threat ourselves by force. We
can't simply make a unanimous decision right away." Typical politicians. They'd
deliberate and squabble until death showed up right at their door. The lives of
their people were at stake and they were only concerned with agreements. Just
as my irritation began to well up, the Emperor of Regulus spoke up.
"You were saying you'd deal with the threat... but are you aware of how
powerful the Phrase are?"
"The crystal creatures you call the Phrase have appeared within our territory
before, yes. We've managed to exterminate them here and there. We can
defeat them if push comes to shove, I'm sure of it." I had heard rumors of
Phrase sightings in Roadmare, but never followed up on it. If it was really true
that they'd developed some effective countermeasure to the Phrase, then
that'd be okay. I just had no idea what it could be.
"In fact... Let's show you exactly how we've managed thus far. Right this way,
please." The doge smiled gently and guided us outside. Roadmare's architecture
was somewhat baroque, similar to the buildings in Russia's St. Petersburg back
in my old world. Roadmare's culture seemed to be a combination of various
smaller cultures, somewhat similar to the European culture that Peter the Great
had established.
The doge, along with his guards, escorted us to a plaza behind the palace.
Then I saw what was standing there. I was taken by surprise, for sure. After
all, I'd seen it before in another place.
"A Wood Golem..." Twice as big as a Frame Gear, a Golem born of bark and
shrubbery. It was far larger than an ordinary Golem. It looked almost identical
to the ones employed by the Rivet Tribe back in the Sea of Trees.
Though there was one notable difference. This Golem had sheets of metal
fitted all over its body. It was like a giant armored warrior.
"What is a Wood Golem doing here?! Is that not dangerous?!"
"Fret not. This Golem is under our control. It won't listen to anyone but us, I
assure you. There's no possible way this thing could run amok." Knight
Commander Gaspar cried out in astonishment, but the doge reassured him and
slapped his hand against the Golem's trunk.
The King of Belfast looked up at the Golem with a troubled expression on his
face.
"Even so, this size... A standard Wood Golem shouldn't even reach ten
meters. What in the world caused this?"
"It's a process that makes it into a Behemoth. It's thanks to selective breeding
and special toxins. A tribe in the Sea of Trees perfected this method, I've seen it
before."
"Oh my... Just as one would expect from the worldly grand duke of Brunhild...
I see nothing gets past you, hm?" As I explained the situation to the King,
someone called out to me.
I turned around and found myself face to face with a small, fat man. He
looked about forty. His glasses almost slipped off his face, prompting him to
nervously adjust them. He had a receding hairline and honestly didn't look very
good at all. A stark contrast to the sheer confidence on his face.
"...Doge, who is this man?"
"Ah, this is Roadmare's foremost expert on magical engineering, Doctor Edgar
Bowman. Despite his young age, he's quite the prodigy. He created the Golem
you see here today."
...Young age? He doesn't look it.
"Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude, but... how old are you, exactly?"
"Me? I'll be turning twenty four this year. Is that important?"
Twenty four?! You've gotta be kidding me! I looked to the King and Emperor
near me, and they looked completely caught off-guard by the doctor's
proclamation. That was the natural response!
"If we're talking about this fellow's base, you're right. He's a similar type to
the Wood Golems developed by that tribe. I acquired their methods through
black market connections, then I built on them using my own techniques. We've
outfitted them with enchanted mithril sheets. What enchantments, you might
ask? Fire resistance! To top it all off, we fitted the saplings with subordination
collars, ensuring that obedience is quite literally grown into them! The core is
typically a weak spot, but fret not! We've carefully nurtured these to have extra
defensive layers, as well. Even better, they can regenerate! And they're so lowmaintenance that mass production is a trivial matter. There are dozens of
Golems being outfitted with armor as we speak. If those Phrase things happen
to land in Roadmare, then they'll be swiftly taken care of, I can assure you. Any
questions?"
This Bowman guy is pissing me off... What's with that smug attitude? You
should've shut up minutes ago! I had a major problem with people who kept
going on and on about stuff, regardless of whether or not they had a reason to
be proud.
Still, my suspicions were confirmed, they were the same Golems used by the
Rivet tribe. I didn't know how they fell into this guy's hands exactly, but it
seemed like I'd left behind something troubling.
With great power came great stupidity, it seemed. Even if this thing had been
modified, I questioned whether it'd actually be able to hold up against a Phrase
in combat.
It might have made a decent match for a Lesser Construct, but anything
higher than that? No way. A Wood Golem wouldn't be able to avoid the beam
attacks used by stronger constructs like the Manta Phrase.
"You mentioned magical engineering... Does that mean you work with
artifacts?"
"I do, I do! I've based most of my work on the legacy of ancient Partheno. I'm
actually blessed to have a book by a famous inventor named Deborah Elks. I've
learned much from her writing. It's what made these Golems possible as well."
"Deborah Elks, huh..." She was the craftswoman who had created the dragoncontrolling needle used by that Dragon King guy. If I recalled properly, Doctor
Babylon said her work was mediocre. But I couldn't ignore that this Bowman
guy had been creating stuff based on her writings.
"I've actually been wondering if these giant warriors of yours are Professor
Elks' creation as well. After all, she was a true genius. Rarely does such a grand
creation come about without prodigal intervention."
"Nope, not her. My Frame Gears are based on the work of Doctor Regina
Babylon."
"Doctor... Babylon? I've never heard that name before. Is she recorded in any
books?"
"Ah... W-Well, I'll just keep that to myself for now." Bowman looked at me
with a small frown. I almost let too much slip. It seemed like he was an avid fan
of the shoddy professor.
"Well, Doge... Are these Golems truly capable of defending against a Phrase
invasion? I witnessed the Yulong massacre with my own eyes. I would not want
hubris to lead to Roadmare's collapse." The Emperor raised a concern, to which
the doge of Roadmare grunted in annoyance. However, the one to speak up in
indignation ended up being Bowman.
"How very dare you? Emperor, these Golems are the fruits of my labor. Who
are you to suggest they cannot stand against the Phrase hordes? Forgive me if
this is rude, but it seems to me you're simply incapable of understanding just
how mighty they are. They exceed even the power of Brunhild's giant warriors,
I'll have you know..."
"You little...!" Gaspar instinctively brought his hand to his scabbard, but the
Emperor shot him a look that caused him to calm down. The doge was quick to
step in and diffuse the tension.
"Mister Bowman, please hold your tongue in esteemed company. My
apologies. His tone was inexcusable, Emperor. However, I would like to raise my
own matter of concern. Is there something wrong with these Golems?" His tone
was kind, but his eyes seemed like they had a goading manner to them. That
reminded me, Roadmare and Regulus historically held bad blood between
them. It was said that Roadmare was established when multiple territories
declared independence from Regulus. That happened around two-hundred
years before I arrived in this world. They probably held some animosity toward
one another as a result.
"How shall I put this, dear doge... I wonder if your wooden puppets will truly
be up to scratch when it comes to protecting your people. They're not being
piloted by anyone, after all. They lack the human touch."
"Aha... Then you mean to say Brunhild's giant warriors are superior to my
Golems?"
Huh? W-Wait a minute... Don't you get hostile too, Emperor! I can understand
where you're coming from, but still...
The Bowman guy seemed to be impossibly smug when it came to his Golems.
He didn't seem to have much social sense, either. He was glaring right at the
Emperor of Regulus. He had to be stupid. Nobody in their right mind would look
at a monarch like that.
Gaspar was staring at him with intensity in his eyes. Naturally he wouldn't
forgive him for speaking to his leader that way. The Roadmare guardsmen were
silently staring at the Regulus guardsmen. The atmosphere had suddenly gotten
a whole lot more tense. It was all that Golem freak's fault! He couldn't read the
atmosphere at all.
He probably had his ego massaged every day by the people of Roadmare,
which meant he had an inflated sense of importance.
In all honesty, this guy was far from a genius. He'd just taken the Golems from
the Rivet Tribe and the collars from Sandora, then mixed in a few other things.
You could barely call it his own work, since he just cobbled together a bunch of
other ideas.
"Touya, my lad. Here's a thought... Why don't we show them the power of
the Frame Gears?"
"...You think that's a good idea?" The King of Belfast muttered toward me,
keeping a keen eye on the two sets of tense guards. I replied in turn.
"Can't really be worse than what's happening now. It'd be better to fix their
naive understanding of the Phrase, no?" He raised a fair point. They were
definitely sure of their Golem's strength, but there'd no doubt be fatalities if
they ended up taking that route.
I decided I'd teach them once and for all just how pathetic their secret
weapon truly was.
"[Gate]." I opened up a portal, allowing my most basic of Frame Gears, a
Chevalier, to fall through.
It landed in the plaza with a noisy thud.
The sudden appearance of the "giant warrior" caused the Roadmarians to
look on in shock.
"This is a Chevalier. It's the type of Frame Gear that I mass produce. It's the
weakest Frame Gear in my country, and the only positive it has over other
Frame Gears is how easy it is to control."
"What..." All the Roadmarians looked up at it. The Wood Golem was definitely
larger, but that was about it. Either way, from appearances alone it did seem
like the Golems could punch a Frame Gear into the stratosphere. I wondered if
they felt the same. I noticed Bowman grin slightly out of the corner of my eye.
What's so funny?
"I propose a mock battle between my Frame Gear and your Golem. We'll
accept that as proof of the Golem's capabilities in combating the Phrase
menace. Is that fair, Doge?"
"Goodness me... I don't mind at all! What about you, Mister Bowman?"
"Most interesting... Yes, I'd quite like to see a Frame Gear in action. I
approve." Bowman sneered slightly as he adjusted his glasses. Then, before
walking away, he whispered to the guardsmen.
The mock battle was scheduled for ten minutes later. Bowman and the doge
spoke quietly while I turned to Nikola.
"Alright, let's prepare... Are you good to pilot, Nikola?"
"That I am. More than good, in fact." Vice-Commander Nikola had come along
as my escort, and I had full confidence in his ability to win. As I was thinking
about the details, I heard a sudden voice.
"Grand Duke, might I have the honor of piloting the Chevalier?"
"Gaspar?" Knight Commander Gaspar walked over to me. His eyes had a
piercing level of intimidation behind them.
"A mere puppet could never make a mockery of me. On the pride of my
Emperor, I swear it to you. I will win." The other knights of Regulus were looking
my way as well. It seemed that they couldn't stomach how Bowman had
disrespected their leader.
I glanced to the Emperor of Regulus, and he gave me a little nod of
affirmation. Gaspar was pretty damn strong, so I had no issues with letting him
pilot. It wasn't like the pilot actually had to be from Brunhild or anything. Plus,
he was from an allied state, so it was more about the power of the Frame Gear
itself than my country.
"Sounds fine to me. If you think you can, go for it. You want a spear?"
"Aye. I'd appreciate it." I opened up another portal to the Hangar, and a
Frame Gear-sized spear came out.
I took the initiative and told Gaspar the location of the Wood Golem's core,
and also gave him a basic rundown on its strengths and weaknesses. It seemed
fair, given that he'd be fighting a souped-up version of the ones you'd find in
the wild.
The time came to begin. I looked over at Bowman, and he had a shit-eating
grin on his face as he watched Gaspar board the Frame Gear.
I made sure to keep an eye on his face. The moment it shifted to a look of
despair would be priceless.
◇ ◇ ◇
"What is this?! What the hell is this?!" Bowman was sweating bullets as he
screamed. All he could do was watch as the Chevalier nimbly evaded all of the
Golem's attacks and slowly shaved away at the creature's arms.
The Frame Gear managed to slice faster than the Golem could regenerate its
lost biomass, cleaving the left forearm right off.
The Golem was terrible. It was slow. It was dumb. It had considerably less
strength than I expected it to have. In some ways it actually felt like its natural
strength had been reduced due to the modifications.
The Golem glowed a faint red about the throat as its regeneration speed
increased a bit. It didn't take long for both arms to fully restore themselves, but
it couldn't regrow the armor plating, so it was considerably more vulnerable.
It started to lash out again with its reformed arms, but it couldn't lay a single
strike on the Chevalier.
"Guh! H-Hit it! Just land a hit...!"
"Hm? Think that'll make a difference? Heh, let's see, then."
"Wha—?!" As I smirked over at Bowman, the Chevalier was promptly
smacked by the Wood Golem. But it wasn't as he would've have wanted.
The Chevalier tanked the hit and brought its spear up, piercing the throat of
the Golem. Gaspar had cleverly ascertained the location of the core thanks to
the red glow earlier, and the spear was more than strong enough to break
through.
The Golem's core was annihilated, making the lumbering beast fall to the
ground with a thud. It crumbled to pieces, sending flakes of dying bark
scattering around the area.
Bowman fell to his knees in shock, unable to process what was happening.
"I-Impossible... M-My masterpiece..." A masterpiece, he called it. I was really
glad we'd held this mock battle. One of those Golems would be ripped to shreds
in seconds if it went all-in against the Phrase. It'd lose to a swarm of Lesser
Constructs easily, and anything higher than that would be able to take it oneon-one without a hitch.
"Doge. A single Intermediate Phrase is strong enough to give multiple
Chevaliers a hard time. There'll also be countless numbers of them, and I
haven't even mentioned the Upper Constructs which have an even more
obscene amount of strength. Those things will soon be making landfall in
Roadmare. For the sake of your people, I'd suggest a mass evacuation."
"G-Goodness... I-I'll discuss it with the other heads of state... We'll let you
know our decision once we've reached it."
"We look forward to hearing from you, Doge." Bowman was glaring at the
floor in shock, and the Doge seemed pretty surprised too. We turned from
them and walked over to Gaspar.
"Perhaps I overdid it a tad..."
"No, you did well. The citizens' lives were at stake. We can't have them take it
too lightly. They had better reconsider the evacuation now." An evacuation was
necessary, but it wouldn't be simple. There was even the chance that the
citizens wouldn't believe the news. Plus, they'd have to leave their life-long
homes.
Obviously we'd aim to keep collateral damage to a minimum, but if a town
ended up becoming a battlefield then it likely wouldn't survive the fallout.
Intermediate and Upper Constructs would cause considerable damage with
their beam attacks, too.
Phrase wouldn't specifically target deserted towns, but they'd definitely end
up trampling any buildings that ended up in their way. Their wild march would
mean the end of any buildings on their warpath.
It wasn't just houses, either. Stores, fields, and other sources of livelihood
would be devastated. It was easy enough to tell someone they should be
thankful for getting away with their life, but they'd still be throwing away
everything they'd built.
I transferred the Frame Gear back to the Hangar, then started thinking that
we should probably take our leave when two women approached us.
One of them was a gray-haired woman who looked to be about forty years
old. She wore a shawl and seemed fairly serene. The other was a tall, knightly
woman with brown hair. She looked about twenty.
"A pleasure to meet you. Grand Duke of Brunhild, Emperor of Regulus, and
King of Belfast, allow me to introduce myself. I am the governor of the
Roadmare Union's Highland State, Audrey Leliban. And this is the commander
of the highland knights, Limit Limitex."
"...Uh, hi..." I was so caught off-guard that my reply ended up coming off as
less than sincere.
Highland... That's one of the seven states that make up Roadmare, I think. If
she's the governor there, then that means she's actually pretty important!
"I've come to ask something of you, if possible. May I borrow your ear for a
time?"
"Uh, sure! Yeah. What's up?"
"I would like for you to tell me precisely where these Phrase will appear. And
then I would like to know their anticipated movements." I projected my map in
the air to show Audrey. The two of them seemed surprised at the sudden
display, but I ignored that. I pointed out the location Ende had shown me
earlier.
"Right here. It might not be this precise area, but the Phrase should pop out
around here in a week or so."
"Oh goodness..."
"Lady Governor...!"
Hm? Something funny about the map? What's going on?
"...Forgive my sudden shock. It's true this area is located in the central state,
but it's particularly close to the highlands. Grand Duke, if the Phrase appear
here, what will they do?"
"Well, that's simple enough. The Phrase hunt down any intelligent creature
with a heartbeat. If they appear here, they'll go straight for any nearby
populated areas. So... they'll probably head here first." I zoomed the map out to
show more of Roadmare. The Phrase would emerge in the central state, but the
nearest village was actually within the highlands. In other words, her territory
would come under fire first.
"Ah... Here. Rimroad town. They'll likely head right there."
"Just as we'd suspected..." Audrey let out a deep sigh. That was only natural.
Her people were going to be attacked if nothing was done.
"And if we evacuate the citizens of Rimroad? Will that change the Phrase's
course?"
"In that case the Phrase will head straight for Emynas in the highlands, or
Recept in the central state. I can't be certain though, since the marker here isn't
completely precise."
"I see... And your alliance intends to fight the emerging Phrase? What is it
you're looking for, exactly? What will it cost?"
"It'll cost nothing. I'm not interested in asking you people for stuff. If we don't
do all we can, then the world will collapse in a similar manner to the ancient
civilizations of yore. We didn't manage to save Yulong, but this time we have
the edge of foresight. I'd like to reduce damage to an absolute minimum this
time." I nodded firmly as I spoke to Governor Audrey. I didn't want to invade
Roadmare, or ask them for anything. They really had no option but to believe
my intentions were benign.
If the Phrase rampaged here, there'd be nothing left after a while. If I didn't
care about the people or the world, I'd have kept quiet. After all, it was the
business of another nation. However, I couldn't just sit by while so many
perished.
I decided that if Roadmare's government didn't call for an evacuation, then I'd
at least give the citizens the choice by telling them the truth. They'd be able to
choose whether or not they stayed or left. It could well result in mass panic, but
I had to at least give them a fighting chance.
I wasn't about to let selfish governmental decisions result in the deaths of
innocents.
"...Very well, then. The highlands will independently evacuate. I don't have
permission from the doge yet, but we will leave even if he says not to. I will also
freely allow your alliance access to our land for this battle. That is the decision
I've come to."
"Lady Governor... Is that really okay? Depending on the doge's choice, you
may end up rebelling against him." Limit seemed nervous as she spoke to
Audrey. She had a right to be, since Audrey's proposition would have her
opposing Roadmare's government. A deed like that could end up having long
term consequences.
"If we delay, we won't be able to arrange an evacuation in time. We can't sit
around any longer and wait. The doge will make his decision, but it won't affect
our course of action. I will take full responsibility."
"Oh, hold on. If you give me your permission to try something, I think I could
evacuate you all really fast. I can use my transportation magic..." I came up with
an idea. I'd open up a [Gate] and let the citizens spend a couple of days in a safe
space. And then...
"Well... I could probably move every town."
"What?!" The King of Belfast, the Emperor of Regulus, and the governor of
the Roadmare Highlands all yelled out in surprise.
I'd never tried a large-scale portal before. The biggest thing I'd ever moved
was the castle that Ripple lived in.
Instead of transporting the town directly, I'd transport the town and the
terrain it was on. Otherwise I'd have to move the buildings somewhere with
identical ground.
It was a matter of precarious balance. A bowl of soup on a tray is fine, but if
you suddenly move that tray halfway off the edge of a stair, it'd flip over easily.
I just needed to move the town to a safe place and maintain the balance
properly. It'd be bad if I moved the town along with the people and something
went wrong, though. I decided to just have them evacuate for the meantime.
After that I'd move the town to a safe location if possible, but I didn't want to
get their hopes up.
Plus, the Phrase's path would change if the humans in the area were
relocated, so I might not even have to move some places.
Either way, the primary focus was to make the place uninhabited. If just one
stubborn person stayed behind, the Phrase would lock on to his heartbeat and
damage the town. It was important that people understood that.
"Moving people forcibly won't be an issue if it comes down to it. Just how big
is this battle expected to be?"
"Smaller than the battle at Yulong, at least... It shouldn't be as devastating,
either. I'm just glad we managed to talk to you guys before the invasion ended
up happening." There weren't any excuses for failure this time. We had time to
prepare. No point in squandering it.
I decided to have Audrey talk to her citizens in the meantime. I could easily
transfer them last-minute, but it would be better to have them out of the way
sooner rather than later. Then it would only be a matter of me using magic to
sense people in the vicinity, and we'd be golden.
All we needed to do after that was continue producing new Frame Gears.
We'd only be able to create Elze's Frame Gear and repair Ende's Dragoon
before the battle, though.
If a flying Phrase showed up like the manta, I'd have no choice but to bring it
down. It meant that, once again, I wouldn't be fighting in a Frame Gear. That
totally sucked! I started thinking about making a flying Frame Gear or
something.
Maybe I could create one that can fly with a pack or something... One that can
swap out parts to deal with various situations.
Well, I won't be able to make one in time for the upcoming fight anyway, but I
can at least ask Rosetta about the idea.
◇ ◇ ◇
We returned from Roadmare and immediately began a meeting of the allied
nations.
Even though we'd settled on a rough outline of what was going on in
Roadmare, we still needed to run it by the other leaders.
"Has Lestia gotten used to using the Frame Unit simulations yet?"
"We have. I can safely say that all of our knights can use the simulation with a
degree of proficiency. Whether or not they'll manage in real combat remains to
be seen, however." The newly-crowned King of Lestia gave me a little smile as
he replied. Just as it was last time, I believed that once a person had a degree of
control over a Frame Unit, they were capable of operating a Frame Gear
properly.
Either way, our alliance consisted of eight nations. Brunhild, Belfast, Regulus,
Refreese, Mismede, Ramissh, Lihnea, and Lestia.
The Frame Gears I'd be supplying to them wouldn't be new models, since that
honor was currently only held by Elze, but I had confidence we'd be able to
make do.
"Similar to last time, I'll be lending out twenty Frame Gears to each nation.
Each will have two Knight Barons and eighteen Chevaliers. Make sure you've
selected your commanders and pilots properly beforehand. Brunhild will have
sixty Frame Gears, making two-hundred in total." It was about ten units less
than the Yulong invasion. I was still confident we'd be able to manage with that
amount. The only worry on my mind was what kind of Upper Construct would
show up. It'd be extremely bad if an airborne one showed up... I had no choice
but to pray for good fortune.
"Still... first Yulong, now Roadmare. The situation's slowly becoming more
troubling, if you ask me." The beastking brought his fingers together as he
heaved a sigh. He leaned back in his seat, but I could sense the anxiety. It was
an anxiety present in every leader in the vicinity. They were all wondering just
when the Phrase would appear in their homes as well.
"Hey, Touya... Is there not some kind of device that could predict when future
Phrase invasions will occur?" The Emperor of Refreese spoke up. He had a point
to be concerned. Even if I gave Frame Gears to every nation, it'd be too late to
deal with the crisis without knowing well in advance where they'd appear. That
being said, there was no way I could just give out Frame Gears recklessly.
"Will the fellow who told you about the invasion to begin with continue aiding
us?"
"Hmph... It's a little difficult to say. He's a bit of a wanderer. He's not against
us, but he's not really an ally either."
"I... see..." It'd be bad if we became dependent on Ende. I wondered if there
was some kind of detection artifact in the storehouse. I decided to check later.
"Have we heard anything from Roadmare recently, then?"
"We still haven't received their formal permission, no. The governor of the
highlands has given me her tentative permission to act in her area, but that's it.
In a worst-case scenario, us intruding on the central province might be seen as
an act of aggression or war."
"It's entirely possible that they want that, you know? If we go in and clear it
up, they could formally state that they could've handled it themselves and we
were recklessly intruding on their affairs."
"I doubt they'll do something so brash or stupid. If we left them alone, they'd
suffer terrible damage. Still, if they keep stalling, then the Phrase will end up
appearing regardless..." It ultimately came down to whether or not they
believed us. I'd be happy if it was just senseless prattling from Ende, but that'd
also cause trouble because I went in completely confident that the Phrase were
coming. If other nations lost their confidence in Brunhild, that'd be a major
issue.
I wouldn't be too bothered if people just called me a liar, but it would hardly
end there.
After the meeting was adjourned, I headed to the Silver Moon to meet Ende. I
took him over toward the western plains to see his newly-renovated Dragoon.
"Whoa! You changed the color, too? Red was pretty sweet, but I totally love
this..." His new Dragoon had been changed from bright red to a calm black and
white.
In truth, I'd actually taken the chance to change the color because Elze's new
Frame Gear was red, and I didn't want them to get mixed up.
Plus, this one matched Ende's image a lot more... Though the two-tone
coloring kind of made me think of an emergency service vehicle. I recalled an
anime with a police mecha with a similar coloration, actually...
"You no longer need to refuel it, since it'll take magic directly from you. If you
leave it for a few days, it'll stay stable by taking in magic from the air. Last of all,
nobody but you has permission to pilot it, so it simply won't function with
another in control."
"I already said I'm not sharing, don't worry. I really like this thing, anyway." It
wasn't like I didn't trust him. I understood loving giant robots. I'd also attached
proper comms equipment to his Frame Gear, meaning as long as he was within
range I'd be able to radio for him. Then again, if he kept the Dragoon inside one
of his glass slide storage devices, it wouldn't mean much.
"Oh, by the way, do you have any more of that voice stuff you let me use
during the last invasion?"
"Well, I do have some left, but... I can't just go handing them out all the time."
"Oh, I see..." I'd hoped to use the same strategy I'd used back in Yulong, but it
seemed like he was being extra-generous back then. I was disappointed, but I
understood.
"Oh, another thing. How come you can predict when the Phrase are coming,
Ende? Is there some kind of telltale sign?"
"Kinda. It was mostly good luck this time, honestly. First, I can sense the
subtle warps in space. Then, I can use my senses to determine how many days
it'll take until the warping becomes cracking, and then an opening. After that,
there's the 'Noise.' Every Phrase resonates on a unique wavelength so they can
tell each other apart. The sound crosses the boundary of space, so I can hear it
from this side. Using that, I can tell how many are waiting, and what types as
well. To a certain extent, anyway. Even though I called it a noise, humans can't
hear it."
A warp in space and a wavelength, huh...? If we can get a tool to detect these
things, then we might be able to make proper predictions. But still, if humans
can't hear it and he can... just what does that make Ende...?
As I mused to myself, Ende boarded his Dragoon and got ready to speed off.
"Well, I've a few things to attend to. I'll come back in a few days to help with
the Phrase. Later, Touya."
"Got it. Thanks a lot, Ende." The hatch closed and the Dragoon switched to
high-speed mode. Dust was kicked up behind it as it zoomed away.
"Now... All I have to do is set up countermeasures against the Upper
Construct. I wonder if I can do something about the laser beam... The last one
had one, so I assume this one will too." Even if there's a magic that can be used
against it, I really hope I don't have to stand in front of a blast like that...
[Shield] and [Absorb] had too narrow a range to be effective, and I didn't
even know if the beam attack was magic-based to begin with.
I headed off to the Library in search of more Null spells. I found a few books
on the subject, but they were all unbelievably thick. I couldn't afford to waste
too much time sitting around with books, so I skimmed the pages and
memorized a few choice selections.
Null Magic existed five-thousand years ago, after all. That meant there was an
insane amount of spells to cover. Especially since there were stupid minor spells
that could do stuff like make people feel itchy or make drinks taste slightly
worse than they did before.
That being said, it was all in how you used the magic. [Slip] could be
considered a basic prank spell, but I'd used it very effectively.
I ended up holing up in the Library for about half a day. I wasn't sure if the
spells I'd found would prove useful, so I simply had to wait and see. As I did
that, Fam just read books at her own leisure. It wouldn't have hurt her to try
and help me out a little!
I left the Library and went over to see Monica and Rosetta at the Workshop.
The minibots were scuttling around and working hard as ever.
I peeked into the garage to find a skeletal Frame Gear base being lifted
around by a crane hook. Rosetta and Monica both seemed concerned about
something.
"Something wrong, you two?"
"It's Lady Elze's Frame Gear, sir! Its primary weapons are fists for efficient
CQC, but..."
"It's like, totally boring and stuff to just punch and punch... I am of the
humble opinion that a special, flashier attack may be in order."
Hm... Monica has a point. Elze's Frame Gear is built for fistfights, but that's a
little dull. I do agree that attacking a little flashier, maybe crushing the foe in
one hit before moving on to the next, could be a little more up Elze's alley in
terms of fighting style.
"Crushing a Phrase in one hit is fine, sir! But you need to follow that strike up
with a second to obliterate the core, yes sir!"
"Yeah, like... If a sword or spear is being used you can totally just do all that in
one hit, and stuff." I understood what they were saying. Weapons like hammers
can take out enemies in a single strike. They had more diversity than fists. We
needed a way to take out the core of the enemy in a single blow.
"Well, sir! If you'll see my proposition here, I think it could be possible to
launch something alongside the fist to target the core, sir!" Rosetta threw out
her fist in a punching motion as she spoke.
"So we could maybe install something like a spear into the forearm?"
"I am of the humble opinion that would be a good idea. But wouldn't it like,
get in the way during regular punches and stuff? We should totally make it
retractable or something." Hmm... A spear you can store in the arm and then
shoot out at will...? Oh, wait... I know!
I pulled out my Smartphone and searched online. Yeah... This is the one, I
think. I projected the image into the air.
"Here. A pile bunker."
"Wow, that's huge, sir! What is it, though?" Neither Rosetta nor Monica could
read my native language, so I gave a rough summary while cutting out some
details. They wouldn't understand if I spoke about anime or games from my old
world, after all.
"So it's a weapon that shoots out a sharpened point at high speeds...?"
"Yeah. Elze can break the main armor with her punch, then hit the vital point
using the pile bunker. Do you think we could make a compact version and fit it
on to the wrists?"
"This is most curious... We like, don't have enough gunpowder for it to be
reusable, so we'd have to rely on magic to operate it and stuff... It'll totally
cover the back of the hand as well as the wrist. But if we like, make it out of
Phrasium or whatever, it'll be super duper strong. I believe it may be somewhat
difficult to construct." I didn't really mind it covering the wrist and hand, since
it'd be mostly crystal anyway. Plus, we wouldn't be wasting any resources. It'd
be way better than using Phrasium for bullets or projectiles that we couldn't
recover.
"Still, sir! This is a pretty crazy weapon! Where'd you get the idea?"
"Ah, well... Don't worry about it..."
"Tsk..." I hadn't actually told anyone that I was from another world. Her
Holiness the Pope and Phyllis knew about God Almighty, but nothing beyond
that.
I also had to weigh whether or not people would believe me. I began thinking
that I probably should've told Yumina, Elze, and the others... Probably the
Babylon Gynoids, too.
Hmph... Even aside from my fiancees and the Babylon girls, there are a few
people who should know. I should probably organize a sit-down and tell them
the truth soon.
"Alright! We're gonna totally make this pile bunker thing and stuff! Gather
round, peeps!" Monica started barking orders to the various minibots. They
listened to her explanation and gave little nods every now and then.
"This weapon's gonna be savage as heck, sir!"
"Sounds fine by me. After all, the pile bunker is just another part of the manly
dream."
"Manly...? Lady Elze is a woman, sir!"
Gah! Damn it... That's true. Thus, Elze's Crimson Frame Gear was finally born.
I named it Gerhilde, after one of the Valkyries of Norse myth.
◇ ◇ ◇
"How's it feel?"
"It's a little unbalanced, but it's not doing much to hinder movement. It's way
easier to move than the Black Knight." Elze was piloting Gerhilde, her new
Frame Gear.
Gerhilde's armor was coated in Phrasium. I decided against making the entire
Frame Gear out of the stuff, because she would've been inside a transparent
mecha, and it would've been hard for her allies to see her. I tried to paint over it
before, but it was awkward and didn't really work well with [Modeling] either.
The paint just kinda meshed with the material and looked gross. [Modeling]
was a transformation spell, not a fusing one, after all. Though I felt like it
might've worked better if the paint was made out of the same material as the
base.
Either way, Gerhilde was a multi-layered armored titan. Its deep crimson was
clearly visible beneath the Phrasium sheen on top of the base armor.
"Haaah!" Gerhilde smashed a huge rock cliff, crumbling it to pieces in an
instant. At the same time, the pile bunker flew out from just above the wrist,
shattering it further.
Right after smashing one of the loose rocks, the pile bunker neatly slid back
into its holster.
"Yup, pile bunker's good too. It shoots out wherever I aim. I could probably
trash an intermediate construct in one go with this thing." A certain phrase
popped up in my mind as I looked at Gerhilde. Float like a butterfly, sting like a
bee. This was a Frame Gear designed for instant kills. Gerhilde was a force to be
reckoned with for sure. Naturally, it was far beyond even the Knight Barons
when it came to speed and power.
"[Boost]!" Magic overflowed from the seams of Gerhilde's multi-layer armor,
appearing like a red light. It almost looked like a big crimson aircraft getting
ready for takeoff.
Gerhilde was imbued with fortification magic and got even faster. It hastily
obliterated what remained of the rocky wall.
"Well? How's it handle?"
"It's taking up a ton of my magic and stamina... Probably because it's coating
the whole thing, not just me. It might be hard to use a lot of magic in here."
Overall, it seemed like it was performing up to my projected standards. Elze
deactivated her spell, and Gerhilde's red light faded.
"Master, sir! I've finished gathering data." Rosetta called my line. She'd been
monitoring the situation from Babylon. The whole point of this trial run was to
gather data on Gerhilde. So now, all that was left was to make a few last minute
adjustments.
"Alright, all done. Thanks a million, Elze." Gerhilde's hatch opened up and Elze
popped out.
"There we go, Elze. Yours is the first of the new Frame Gears."
"Who are you making Frame Gears for next?"
"First and foremost, I want to prioritize battle-oriented Frame Gears. Yae and
Hilde are probably next. They're both proficient with swords, and they have
similar styles." Yae excelled at offensive tactics, while Hilde really stood out
with defensive play. Gerhilde ended up being pretty tricky to fine-tune, but
those two wouldn't be hard to make Frame Gears for at all.
As I thought about what to design, a telepathic message came in from
Kougyoku.
"My liege. We've a message from the governor of the highlands from
Roadmare."
"Oh? What's up? Did the central province finally give us permission to
deploy?"
"No, she needs our help. We've been informed that the central province is in
turmoil. Various armored Wood Golems have been seen rampaging in the
area..."
"Wait, what?!" Armored Golems? Like the ones made by that creepy Bowman
guy...?! Why the hell are they rampaging?! More importantly, why today?! The
Phrase are due to arrive en masse tomorrow! I frantically sent Gerhilde back up
to the Hangar and headed back to my castle.
I'd given a Gate Mirror to Audrey in case of emergencies, and I was certainly
thankful for that decision at this point. Even if it only allowed letters through, it
was still real-time communication.
From what I'd been told, a number of Golems were rampaging in the central
province. The reason behind the attack wasn't known, though.
"We need to get going, now. Elze, you feeling up to taking Gerhilde out for a
real battle?"
"Sounds good to me! The enemies are just armored versions of those chumps
from the Pruning, right? Piece of cake." She seemed confident, which was good
to hear. Elze and I hurried toward the central province's capital to get a closer
look.
"Oh lord..." The beautiful baroque-styled buildings were in pieces. People
were running and screaming in all directions.
There were fires all over the place, accompanied by black plumes of smoke.
Several massive Golems were roaming around, swinging their fists at everything
in their path. It was kind of like an old-fashioned monster movie in action.
"Can't you send them somewhere else?!"
"Where else?! They'd wreak havoc no matter where I sent them!" I shot
down Elze's suggestion. Obviously I couldn't send them to Brunhild. I could've
sent them to the ocean, but I had a feeling that wouldn't kill them. I didn't want
to lose track of any, either. A volcano wouldn't be a bad idea, though.
Regardless, I couldn't let the rampage continue. I decided to send them to
some nearby plains. I didn't want the town getting any more trashed.
I took out my smartphone to run a search. There were twelve in total. A full
dozen of the bastards. I moved them all to the plains immediately. The Golems
vanished in an instant, razing the city no more.
That would buy us enough time, at least. It was a simple matter of going to
the plains and smashing them to bits.
"Your Highness! G-Grand Duke!" I turned around to address the sudden voice,
and found Audrey running toward me down the palace steps. Limit, her knight,
wasn't far behind.
"Governor, just what is happening here? Why are the Golems going nuts?"
"We lost control of them. Doctor Bowman was frustrated that your Frame
Gears were better than what he had, so he made some unauthorized and
reckless modifications. But in doing so, he drove them berserk! They're
completely wild!"
What the hell was that idiot thinking?! Holy hell, why did he do that?!
"Where's Bowman now?"
"No one knows. The Doge is looking all over for him, but I fear he died during
the initial outbreak." I pulled out my smartphone map and looked for Bowman.
Dead or alive didn't matter much to me. A red pin fell down on the map,
pointing out his location. I wondered where it was, exactly.
"He's right here. Seems he's alive."
"Why this is... an old storehouse! What is he doing there...? G-Gah! For now...
Limit, go and arrest him!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Limit and her knights charged off in the direction of Bowman's
location.
The Golems had vanished, which meant the city was calming down a little bit,
but the fires were still raging.
"Descend, O Water. Blessing of the Heavens: [Heavenly Rain]!" My magic
called up to the sky and rain began to fall despite the lack of clouds up there. It
was another ancient spell I'd learned in the Library. I cast [Shield] atop my head
to act as a makeshift umbrella. With that, the fires would surely die out in no
time.
All of a sudden it started raining really heavily. I'd overdone it a bit! It was my
first time using that spell, so I'd misjudged how much magic was required. By
the time I'd stopped the rain, it was flooding in some areas.
Oh geez... A-At least I managed to stop it in time!
"Th-There you go... N-No more fire! Now all we need to do is recover the
injured. I'll go and take care of the Golems in the meantime."
"Ah... Y-Yes. Very well. Please be careful." Governor Audrey waved us off as
we headed to the plains. The group of Golems were there, already advancing
toward civilization once again. They were stomping pretty loudly, too.
I got a closer look and noticed there was something strange on their backs. I
couldn't really see it properly from the front, but it seemed plant-like... Like
something had been fused to them. It was probably Bowman's final
modification. I opened up a [Gate] and summoned Gerhilde from the Hangar.
The crimson Frame Gear set foot upon Roadmare's territory with a terrifying
thud.
"You gonna be alright?"
"No problem. This is just the right amount of enemies. I'll turn them into
splinters." Elze grinned, ran up the Frame Gear's side, popped open the hatch,
and climbed into the cockpit.
I'd installed an automatic eject magic in case of emergencies, so I wasn't too
worried.
Gerhilde began spinning up. I could tell because of the whirring noise that
filled the air.
"Let's kick some ass, Gerhilde!" Gerhilde turned toward a group off three
Golems and, with a loud sputtering noise, engaged its thrusters. The backdraft
kicked up a whole cloud of dust into the air.
Hey! I'm here, y'know?! Blegh, it's in my mouth!
"Take this!" Gerhilde jumped into the air and pulled back its fist, sending a
punch into one of the Golem's throats. The pile bunker followed the strike up
and obliterated the core.
"One down!" Then, it spun around and violently kicked another Golem,
splitting it into two pieces. The leg doubled back and annihilated the exposed
core.