Chapter 115 – Chapter 12

‘Is there something strange about the atmosphere?’

The 3rd Prince of the Kingdom of Harlot, Geride, was uncomfortable with the unusual atmosphere.

Je Ride, who was the most beautiful among the princes, showed off his beauty without filtering even at his young age, and monopolized the cuteness of all the young girls.

There, when I pretended to be cleverly cute, everyone giggled and wanted to take care of themselves.

However, now those young ladies were united around a being other than themselves.

“So a mercenary named Lep fell down there…”
“Yeah. It must have been a lot of trouble.”
“So? After that?”

Lillian and Akina were away from Kaisent for a while, saying they were telling him something important, but the ladies caught the gap and gathered around Kaisent.

‘What is that guy?’

She has a pure white albino right where she should be.

‘Why did you flock to such a different species?’

When she learned from the knight who escorted her that the albino was of a heterogeneous species, the emotion she felt was intense disgust.

He had aversion towards the existence of a different species, but he instinctively felt that that existence endangered his position.

‘You’re enjoying it much more than when you were surrounded by me.’

If Je Ride was aware of her own beauty and took advantage of her position to monopolize the attention of her young ladies, Kai Sent won her ladies’ attention with her charm and beauty inherited from her noble birth and good character without any calculation. Naturally attracted them.

Therefore, the three princes felt a strong sense of disgust while feeling that they were more compatible than themselves.

I really want to beat that white boy right now, but if I did, I would end up being the main culprit of ruining this party and suffering various disadvantages, so I had to be patient.

This encounter develops into an incident that depends on the fate of Harlot Kingdom, but that is a story in the distant future.

What is clear is that Kaicent was firmly stamped with a bad meaning by the 3 princes.

*                           *

The next day, in the morning.
The royal party ended in one day.

Originally, it was common for a royal party to last at least a few days, but this time, no one complained about the duration, even though the party was cut short.

‘I have to make money!’
‘We must strengthen our military power!’
‘It’s a benefit in itself if I get even a little territory with black soil!’

This is because all nobles hurriedly returned to their estates to strengthen their money and military power.

In particular, it was because the king had declared that those who could not directly subdue the undead in his territory could not join the subjugation army.

It was an edict given because he wanted the power of the nobility to decrease, and he did not want the national power of the Harlot Kingdom to decline because they all perished.

“I’ll be waiting for you at the manor, princess.”
“Yes. I’ll see you there.”
“And don’t forget what I said at the end.”
“…You’d better not expect it.”

Akina then headed to her teleportation facility with the words that she would wait at her estate for Lillian, who accepted her offer.

‘If Count Akina helps us with our training, he can become even stronger.’

As Lillian and Priscilla became masters, they were able to demonstrate the abilities of the masters they knew through knowledge, but they were not able to use their skills 100%.

Although they jumped up to become masters at once, it was because of the luck they gained thanks to Kaicent’s power, not the power they gained through their own abilities.

Under such circumstances, if he trained for half a year under Count Akina, he would be able to possess perfect skills as a Master.

“Lillian.”
“Huh?”
“What did Count Akina say at the end?”
“…A legend.”
“Legend?”

The first king of the Kingdom of Lucy Arkenel was one of the local lords who rebelled against the tyranny and exploitation of the Dimenes Empire, which unified the Western Continent like other nations.

The West Continent was a violent struggle, and it became a lawless zone where power, not law and order, determines everything.

The first king, who saw the tragedy, had a desire for power, but decided to build a kingdom in fear that the entire western continent would be devastated if he continued like this.

While growing his power over several years, the first king heard a report that a large army of monsters were fighting someone in a certain forest and was able to see the fight between elves and monsters there.

When he arrived, the elves were almost wiped out, and the monsters who had tasted meat tried to wipe them out before they spread in all directions.

Fortunately, they were able to subdue the monsters, but the elves were wiped out.
There, the divine tree coexisting with the elves asked for help from the first king.

As for the sacred tree, he promised a good harvest with his own power instead if he helped him grow.

In times of war, food leads to strong power.
Unfortunately, however, the capacity of the first king was not particularly outstanding, so he could not occupy a large land.

After that, when the first king died in old age, the divine tree with which the contract was signed disappeared.

“So, even in the royal family, they just treated it as a founding legend, or thought that it had moved to another place because the divine tree had grown.”
“Didn’t you visit after the kingdom collapsed?”
“Yeah. I just thought it was an old story that has now become a legend.”

Count Akina advised me to go visit him when I get a chance, since the legend of Lucy Arkenel Kingdom has a chance to be true, as the sword of the first king in the legend of Harlot Kingdom was pulled out.

“But why did the Count tell Lillian that?”
“You must have thought that it would be difficult to destroy the Kingdom of the Dead with the power of Harlot Kingdom alone.”

‘If the divine tree exists, it means that he lived in the territory of the kingdom of the dead. Doesn’t it mean to learn about the kingdom of the dead from the divine tree?’

The kingdom of the dead is nothing more than a group of evil undead that must be subdued by humans.

However, Count Akina, who was entrusted with the task of protecting his country from the kingdom of the dead, began to question as time passed.

‘Are they really evil Undead?’

I’m sorry to say this to the Lucy Arkenel family, but the tragedy was not someone’s resentment or malice, but an unfortunate incident in which surnames merged with astronomical odds and regarded each other as intruders.

If the Realm of the Dead were the brutal Undead, they would have reached out to the nearest Harlot Kingdom in some way, and Akina was the first to meet the conspiracy.

That’s why she talked about the legend of the divine tree, leading Lillian to hear for herself what kind of existence the kingdom of the dead is if there is a divine tree.

After parting ways with Count Akina, Lillian and Kaicent returned to the inn talking to each other.

All the mercenaries were gathered inside the inn.
I gathered everyone because I had to make a big announcement from now on.

“Frederick. What about weapons?”
“I bought it.”
“I’ll check that later.”
“Yes.”

When Kaicent and Lillian went out to meet Count Akina, Priscilla had purchased military weapons.

“Focus everyone!”

Standing at the inn table and making everyone pay attention, Lillian relayed exactly what she had heard from the king at the party.

The war with the kingdom of the dead after half a year.
If you make a big contribution in the war and restore the human realm, you will be officially appointed as a noble and become the lord of that place.
And even talking about being trained under Count Akina for half a year.

“I’ll be honest. The war against the kingdom of the dead will be very harsh.”

It was obvious that a mere mercenary would be easily crushed because he was fighting an opponent who had destroyed a kingdom.

“I have no intention of dragging away my men who have no intention of fighting such a war. Those who leave may leave. I will let them go without any conditions.”
“…”

Of course, the mercenaries, startled by the sudden bomb remarks, became mute and dazzled.
But after that, a commotion broke out between them.

It would be nice if there was a warm atmosphere where all the mercenaries stayed as if it was natural, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

Those who were attracted to the life of a mercenary wandering here and there with a certain degree of freedom guaranteed.
Those who do not like the regular army life.
And those who have fear towards the realm of spirits.
Mercenaries with multiple reasons decided to leave.

“It’s been fun so far.”
“I’ve been involved in several mercenary groups so far, but the captain is the best.”
“I’d think about going to war with a foreign country, but the kingdom of the dead is a bit…”

Roughly 40 mercenaries escaped, but they did not regret spending time under Lillian.

Some of them said that they would come back at that time if the attack on the kingdom of the dead failed, whether they were mean or serious.

The person who left like that left and those who stayed had their own reasons.

Those who want to settle down before they grow too old to fight.
Those who were aiming for an opportunity to rise in status.
Those who believe in Lillian’s ability to operate the mercenary corps.
For whatever reason, only mercenaries who were willing to fight against the Kingdom of the Dead remained.

“This is the last chance. Is there anyone who will leave? Don’t care about others and act according to your own will.”

The last person to leave was urged to leave, but no one left the inn any longer.

“Thank you. I have no intention of using you guys as mere expendable items. That’s why I decided to train under Count Akina for half a year. There, you guys will train as well as learn how to fight as soldiers, not mercenaries. Anyone have any questions?”

When Lillian gave him a chance to ask a question, the mercenary, who could be said to be an elder, raised his hand.

“If you’re going to learn how to fight as a soldier, are we all armed with magic guns?”
“We will arm at least two-thirds, if not all.”
“Doesn’t it cost quite a bit to arm yourself with that?”
“Don’t worry about that. I can’t say it openly, but this side has a trump card.”
“Well, if you say that…”

After that, a few small questions came and went.
And the heavy question that all the mercenaries were curious about appeared.

“But why is Count Akina showing us such favor?”
“…I had a relationship with Count Akina in the past.”
“Were you a knight under Count Akina by any chance?”
“If that’s the case, the head would have been cut off as a deserted knight. Clearly, as long as our goals are the same, the Count will help us.”

Actually, it was an effort to get Kaicent, but Lillian, who was dissatisfied with it, lied.

The mercenaries began to deduce that the nobleman who was a pretty good leader in her appearance, who did not pay respect to Count Akina, who was famous as the guardian of Harlot Kingdom, was her descendant.

“If there are no further questions, we will depart for Akina Margrave’s territory! Everyone prepare to depart!”
“Yes!”

*                           *

After purchasing food and other necessities, Wolf’s mercenary group began moving toward the Countess of Akina.

And at night, when the camp was made and the mercenaries were asleep, the three of them naturally gathered.

– Let me say this first. These weapons are junk.-

The magic gun was secretly delivered around the time of lunch, so at night, after reverse engineering and analysis, Skynet spoke sternly.

“Not by our world’s standards, Skynet.”
-It’s not like that, Bocchan. This weapon has a deliberate flaw.-
“On purpose?”
-It is a weapon that lowers the manufacturing cost and durability by filling the core parts of the weapon with cheap ones.-

Priscilla exclaimed in anger at Skynet’s affirmation.

“These damn trash! Take 10 gold per tablet and eat them!!”

He took a huge profit on the magic gun, and it was garbage made to hit the production cost!
Even though she was born in a noble family, she hated the nobles who did this casually.

“I was prepared to some extent. So, did the reverse engineering succeed?”
-Yes. The design of the magic gun itself was simple.-
“What if I made a weapon with the resources I have now?”
-Can produce 82 tablets.-

Lillian smiled at the fact that it was possible to produce more than 20 pills more than he expected.

“Lillian.”
“Yes why?”
“Looks like you underestimated Skynet’s ability. Skynet would have upgraded it here, of course.”
-You’re right. Until the boy came, I made a higher version of the magic gun. You can make it into a more powerful weapon if you like, but-
“It’ll get more attention than it needs to.”
-Yes. That’s why I designed it so that it looks no different from the existing magic gun when seen by people who don’t know it.

Then, the mechanical arm brought two magic guns.

-The right one is the original magic gun, and the left one is my modified magic gun. Try it out for yourself.-

Subsequently, the target plate made by thinly spreading the metal plate was fixed by a mechanical arm that moved to an appropriate distance.

Lillian held the existing magic gun, and Frederick held the modified magic gun.
The two charged up by pouring mana and fired at the target while aiming.

Pacan! Pacan!

“This…”
“How much of a difference is this?”

The two men, who received the signal and fired at the same time, immediately knew how good the magic gun Skynet had remodeled was.

Both sides pierced the target plate, but if the hole made by the existing magic gun was bumpy, the improved magic gun made a perfect circle as if it were drawn.

In addition, the area of ​​the hole drilled through the target plate was about twice as large in the improved side.

The magic gun is a weapon that fires mana-type bullets as a mana explosion after filling up with mana.
That’s why Skynet increased the mana conductivity and increased the power of the magic gun.

In addition, the structure of the magic gun was made ergonomic, so it was designed to be easy to use unless the body shape was distorted or it was much larger or smaller than normal adult standards.

Some have reduced the power of recoil to less than half.

The two exchanged each other’s magic guns and tried them again, realizing how great the improved magic guns were.

-To be honest, the magic gun is a weapon that can be improved and developed if it is not me, but the intelligence of humans. However, in the world you described, it is clear that it was neglected for the reason that it is an ‘infantry weapon’.-
“That’s right. In particular, modifying the magic gun in a way that can be used without mana is preventing it at all costs.”

Lillian also affirmed that.

The royalty and aristocrats of this world hate the barbaric idea of ​​democracy that they have come to know about from aliens.

In particular, it was unbearable even if it was a story from another world that noble blood was taken down by dirty commoners.

That’s why in this world, no matter what, no weapon could be developed that could fire a powerful bullet just by pulling the trigger on a commoner who had no ability like Earth.

Besides, since the magic gun was mostly used by professional soldiers made up of commoners, they didn’t have the will to develop it.

While other weapons are being improved in many ways, they alone are doomed weapons that fall behind.

-And I have two good news for you, Bocchan.-
“Huh? For me? Two things?”
“For now, will you give me the gloves you have?”
“Yes, here.”

Gying- Gyying–

A mechanical arm hanging from the ceiling carried the gloves Kaicent used to make swords and shields to the production plant.