So, what do you think?]
A few hours before noon—after the meeting.
A legal expert from the Kingdom of Miscronia was sent to the airspace at the transfer gate, joining me as I was invading the airspace of the Kingdom of Gobbels by air alone.
Certainly, if you held me on a piggyback ride, they would be ruined. If you think I can help you no matter what, you're damn wrong. I'm the Lord who gives them a ride, but I'm not their owner. I'm happy to be told that they're ready to give up their life for me.
However, this uproar was a problem that I personally caused in the first place, and it would be useless to kill or injure them in association with it.
That's why I entrusted him with a message from me as a legal expert. By the way, it's instructions to proceed with the legislative matter because I will be inspecting the Kingdom of Gobbels today.
I don't want to work! The troublesome discussion is left to us! I want to do a simple job like checking the completed documents!
There was no such intention. There were no intentions.
I flew over a large road that seemed to be the main road while stealth was active. I don't want to be witnessed flying in the sky and causing disturbance.
[But one more year… no, a half year later.]
This time it was due to my personal mischief, so it was appropriate for me to get rid of it, but if possible I wanted to show off my strength and prevent myself from being retaliated against in the future. However, at present, there was not enough strength to do so.
To make myself clear, there was a possibility that the Hero of Federation was known as a one-man nation. I don't think it's going to work if I crush it.
However, it can't be helped this time. It's hard work, but it's not enough to put their lives on the balance. The kind of assassin who aimed at me personally should be sent back to the employer with so much pain that he'd prefer dying.
[I found the first carriage, not the first villager. Hyaha! Information gathering!]
I discovered a carriage that seemed to have traveled from the direction of Miscronia, and plunged down. Should I make a flashy landing in the direction of travel with an emphasis on impact? Wait, if that horse goes out of control and was injured, it would be awkward.
For the time being, maybe I should land in the direction of travel and greet them at the end of the road to stop it? If ignored, I'll just chase them until they stop. An urban legend such as "Careful, a hitchhiker running side by side at the same speed as a carriage" may be possible.
I waited for a few minutes.
The carriage came into view, so when I let go of my hand and called, the carriage stopped quite in front of me. and About four men with weapons got off the carriage, and two of them came towards us. The man on the coachman also loaded the crossbow with an arrow, and one of the two remaining in the carriage was carrying a bow and arrow and taking out two arrows from the quiver.
You're too vigilant there! But of course! Showing up alone like this would only make me a lot more suspicious! I'll keep that in mind, yup.
[Ah, isn't he too good looking to be a thief?]
[He does look like a son from a noble family.]
The one who walked to my side was a middle-aged veteran-like adventurer-like man and a young adventurer-like man who just graduated from the fledgling. The veteran was equipped with old leather armor reinforced with metal, and the young man was still shiny leather armor. I suppose he's more focused on mobility than defense?
Both of them had a short spear and a small shield, and each had a sword about the length of an arm on their waist.
So I'm a son of an aristocrat, huh? Should I try to act that way then?
[Hey, excuse me, but could you ask your employer if you would let me ride with you? My horse ran away while I was doing stuff, and I was thrown into such a remote place by myself. I'm having a hard time here. It's alright only up until the nearest city.]
[Well, we can ask alright. But no guarantee.]
The veteran adventurer-like man stroked his chin and drove the young adventurer-like man into the carriage. Then he stared at my face seriously.
[I think I've seen you before… hey, you, have we met somewhere?]
[Nn…? No, I don't think so. Black hair and eyes like mine are pretty rare, don't you think?]
[Yeah, maybe…]
Although the veteran adventurer who tilted his head while saying so, I can see that he is paying attention to the surroundings while doing such things, and he seems to be always pointing the tip of his short spear at us. Perhaps he really was a veteran.
However, that would be a skill within the bounds of common sense. Perhaps even if five of these veteran adventurers came in at the same time, it would only make me yawn.
It seems that their employer's consent was obtained soon after, and the young adventurer mentioned earlier made a big circle with his hands to show it.
[It seems that you got your ride. Please… Oh, excuse me, I haven't introduced ourselves now, havewe? I'm Arah, the leader of the party『Chance』, that is currently responsible for this escort mission.]
[No need to be so formal. I'm not that high ranked to earn that treatment anyway. You can call me Clover.]
[Is that so? My bad, speaking in a formal tone tends to make my tongue stiff anyway. Well then, Young Master Clover… fuck that sounds weird. How about I call you boss instead?]
[Being called boss by a veteran like Arah feels a little wrong though.]
We headed to the carriage that stopped while talking in a relatively friendly atmosphere. While doing this, the escorting adventurers in the vicinity of the carriage remained vigilant to their surroundings. I'm impressed.
When approaching to some extent, a man with a good width came down from the carriage. I wonder if he's quite old because he's escorted so well, but he's surprisingly young. Perhaps around 30 years old?
[My name is Ivan. I'm a trader who usually travels between Miscronia and Gobbel… I hear you had some problems with your transport?]
[Ah, that. It was a lie. I didn't have any problem whatsoever, but I could use some information. Shall we get in so that we can have some private talk?]
The merchant Ivan looked shocked at my confession, and the escorting adventurers raised their vigilance. Yeah, as if I can tell them that I just fly and land here. Well, they're just wary of accidents, so it's pretty good. perhaps.
[Hmm, so you bear no ill will toward us?]
[Not at all. Sorry if I frightened you all. But I may be able to give you valuable information in exchange. How about listening to what I can tell you first before you decide whether to go along with my offer or not?]
[Hmm… understood. Cooter, please park the carriage on the roadside. Arah-san, it might be a little early, but let's take a break.]
[Gotcha.]
At the direction of Ivan, the carriage was moved to the end of the road. Adventurers seemed to have begun to take a short break――preparing for lunch. Since it seems that only dried meat and dried vegetables were available, I decided to provide them with monster meat from the Sea of Trees I kept in my inventory. Since the display in the inventory was titled Mad Boar, it must have been the meat of a wild boar-like monster.
[So what kind of information are you looking for? I haven't had much fresh information because I've just entered Gobbels territory.]
[Yeah, fresh information would be good. But for now I want to hear about the major cities and military bases of the Kingdom of Gobbels, as well as the stories of famous aristocrats and royalty.]
[I see… I can tell you some information about major cities, famous aristocrats, and general royalty. It's pretty vague about military bases… but what kind of information can you tell me in exchange?]
[I'm quite confident about mine, actually. It's been said that Gobbels has made a request to both Miscronia and Karendil to hand out the head of a man who recently obtained the Great Sea of Trees as his territory. On the other hand, both countries refused the request. Feel free to ask for a neck, but they agreed that they would not be involved in the conflict between Gobbels and its aristocrats. In the future, tensions will increase between Miscronia, Karendil, and Gobbels. How is it? Isn't it quite interesting information? ]
[….so interesting, my head hurts from hearing it.]
Ivan smiled bitterly while shaking his head powerlessly. Yeah, that's right. If he had arrived at the city of Gobbels without knowing anything at this time and started doing business, in some cases he might have been detained under the accusation of using his business as a cover for intelligence activity.
[By the way, the accuracy of the information is… No, who are you before that? How do you get such information?]
[The accuracy of the information is the highest, because the man who we're talking about is me.]
I smiled and extended my hand.
[Taichi Mitsuba. Nice to meet you.]
=====
[Heh…influential successors to the throne are dying one after another, huh?]
[Yes. The First Prince himself has been the target three times and survived the dangerous place. He was temporarily unconscious. According to wind rumors, the son of the Duke of Vistad, the cousin of the First Prince was the culprit behind the assassination attempt, but it was also rumored that he was imprisoned in the depths of the castle.]
[I see.]
[It was the First Prince who found it, regardless of the aristocratic commoners who were involved. More than thirty people were punished on that day alone, and it literally rained blood.]
With that said, Ivan makes a gesture of beating his neck with his own hands.
Strangely, it was through an explosion. I don't know if it was the First Prince's preparation or his cousin's preparation, but if it's my original world――or rather, perhaps there's no further investigation. That assassinations is pretty much a terrorist bombing, but in this world where there is no forensic science, once the evidence has been gotten rid of, it seems that the criminal cannot be put into trials.
[That's okay… but that doesn't mean he can stay in control. The aristocratic opposition seems terrible. And what about the King?]
[Because the aristocrats who were hostile to the prince had been uprooted in the blood festival in the purge, it seems that the remaining are the sympathizers of the First Prince and the opportunistic neutrals. The King is already at a retirement age, so he would want the prince to succeed him.]
[…so the assassination itself was not orchestrated by the First Prince then.]
[Many believe otherwise though.]
Ivan smiled bitterly.
Well, that's right. He seemed to have been seriously injured, but he may have orchestrated everything behind the stage, and above all, the ending was too convenient for the First Prince.
[…Wasn't there a product that moves strangely since the Prince began to take control?]
[Hmm, indeed. Hold on a second.]
In response to my question, Ivan took out something like a notebook from somewhere and began to flip it over.
When I looked sideways, the adventurers of the escort were biting into the flesh of the Mad boar. Is it so delicious? Well, it's delicious just to sprinkle with salt and bake.
[Is the meat delicious?]
[So delish. What kind of meat is this? It's similar to small-boar meat, but this one is overwhelmingly tastier.]
[It's the meat of a large monster living in the Sea of Trees called Mad Boar. It looks like a small boar, albeit as large as a carriage, and can use mud magic.]
[Oh, it's a magic beast. That explains the taste.]
[Is there a noticeable difference?]
[Among monsters, there are those that can manipulate magic. They are called magic beasts instead. Every wyvern can have a poisonous tail, but not all of them can spit fire or poison breath, or shoot wind blades by flapping their wings. Also, magic beasts have a magic core in their body, while normal monsters don't.]
[Oh, there's actually such a classification.]
It seems to be both easy and difficult to understand. I hadn't really bothered with it as is, but it's apparently divided that way. I felt like I needed to call them properly now.
[Mitsuba-sama, do you mind?]
Ivan, who was flipping through his notebook, called out when I was having an adventurer talk with old man Arah.
[Looking at the memo at that time, there was a time when the demand for niter was unnaturally tight shortly before the explosion. It seems that charcoal, sulfur and recovery medicine were also scarce. Later, the First Prince――the Prince seems to have issued a decree to the blacksmith of the Royal Capital to make a sturdy and mass-producible metal cylinder. There is also a story that some alchemists went missing.]
Yes, it's confirmed. The blast was almost certainly black powder.
As far as I know, gunpowder should not have been developed in this world, so it can be concluded that it was made with external knowledge. The outside is, in other words, a world different from this world. To be more precise, it's the knowledge of a science-developed world that was close to the world I originally lived in. It has been confirmed that there were things like parallel worlds that were similar but slightly different and had a different history.
Remembering the bloody eyes that were muddy and red, I shook my head unintentionally. Even if I knew that I would get hungry if I ate it, the impression was so strong that I couldn't forget it.
[After that, isn't the demand for black steel, lead, magic core, and magic stone tight?]
[Yes…are you perhaps already aware about it?]
[Yeah, partially. Hmmm…]
It can be said that the flow of developing guns after explosives is quite natural. After clearing out the obstacles, you will be able to start development by swinging a major company.
And if I developed a gunpowder type gun, I would use black steel for the barrel, which was sturdy as a material, had many craftsmen who could handle it, and was cheaper than Mithril and Orichalcum. Black steel was an excellent material, although it was a little heavy, unless magical power was passed through the barrel itself. Lead was for bullets.
I also considered the development of a gunpowder type gun. I was thinking of making it for Marl's self-defense, but she raised her sword and magical arms to a level where she didn't need a gunpowder-type pistol. So I ended up not making it.
I thought that magic core and magic stones could be used as an ignition device instead of a detonator, or as a substitute for the explosive power generated by gunpowder.
It is not necessary to use the consumable gunpowder to generate the pressure to fly the bullet, and you can substitute it with the magic of the explosion. It didn't need to be powerful enough to kill a single human, so the amount of magical power consumed per shot would be insignificant. There was no problem even if the magic stone that is the source of magical power is not so large.
If the firing mechanism and the generation of pressure could be made magical, wouldn't the bullets have a fairly high rate of fire even with the muzzle loader supplied from the muzzle? If you used wind magic, it would be easy to mute, and you may be able to make a silenced sniper rifle.
Or rather, if you go that far, you may be able to devise a bullet supply method and make a repeating rifle.
Nn? Why bother developing guns when there's already a long range weapon called magic?
That would be for its usefulness. As I remember, it seems that even a matchlock gun from the Warring States era had the power to easily penetrate armor if it was shot with an appropriate amount of black powder. If it's a monster like a troll, you can kill it with a single blow.
And the strength of the gun is that with some training, even "the weakest of soldiers" could launch such a powerful attack. It may sound strange, but even a farmer cultivating a field there could kill a troll with a single blow from a gun with a little training. It can be said that it is a perfect weapon for Gobbels Army, which was famous for their weaksauce soldiers.
Compare that to knights that had to be at level 20 with at least sword mastery at level 3 to achieve a similar feat. That's the level of a platoon leader knight. If each soldier had such an attack power, it is easy to understand how powerful the weapon is.
Although there was no confirmation yet, this may be the reason behind Gobbels' daring attitude.
=====
[What's wrong, elder sister?]
[I felt sudden chills…]
[The air is not that cold though?]
[I have a feeling that troublesome things will happen!]