Handmade Battleship

I was walking alone through the wasteland.

I’d shrunk down to a child’s size, wrapped head-to-toe in a cloak.

I’d taken a rejuvenation potion before leaving—otherwise, the whole ruse would’ve been pointless.

That was a mistake.

“Walking on kid-sized legs… barely moves at all.”

I muttered it out loud, just how slow I was. Utterly ridiculous. I was moving slower than I’d ever imagined.

My stride was barely half what it normally was. Of course it was slow.

(Excuse me, my lord…)

A voice echoed in my head—Risha.

The four slaves were sealed inside the sword. That part couldn’t be exposed either. I’d already tucked them in before setting out.

The sword was hidden beneath my cloak.

So now I was just a kid in a cloak. No one would guess I was Akito. Not even a glance.

I answered the voice of the one I’d sealed and carried along.

“What?”

(Is there anything I can help with?)

"Nothing."

"But..."

"Stop worrying. Stay still. You'll get work when the time comes. Until then, just wait."

"Yes..."

Risha still looked like she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue.

There was my command, after all. And she understood the situation.

So she backed down.

I walked.

The location of Maxim’s army—where Maxim himself was—was still a ways off. I’d had Mira and the others scout it out beforehand.

My senses were off, so I decided to check in with Yuria, who had a better grasp of the situation.

"Yuria, how much farther?"

(……)

"Yuria?"

(……)

I called out twice. No reply.

Unusual for Yuria. Normally, she’d answer right away if I asked anything.

Her responses weren’t full of tone, but they were always clear and direct.

Not now.

She stopped, focused, and searched for Yuria’s presence.

(Just kind of spacing out, aren’t you?)

Rirya answered in Yuria’s place.

Rirya was right—Yuria was acting a bit dazed.

"Yuria"

(……haw)

Huh?

Sorry. I was spaced out.

Sure, but what’s wrong?

(With my master)

I tilted my head.

We’re together, sure.

Physically speaking, all the slaves are at my hip.

(My lord is near... so good... melting...)

“Eh? No, wait, wait, wait.”

I panicked—something about this situation felt off.

Hastily pulled the four slaves from the sword.

Four slaves in their original forms, dressed in green gowns, collars around their necks.

Yuria was slumped, her face flushed, eyes glistening.

Put simply, it's a lustful expression.

And it was the same for Mira.

Same spaced-out, dazed look—like she’s lost in a haze of heat.

How did it get like this?

"Wait… is this some kind of messed-up situation we’re in?"

Seeing the two of them, I broke out in a cold sweat down my back.

☆

She stopped moving right there, quickly conjuring a makeshift ring of wood around herself, and slipped inside.

Mira, Yuria, and Rirya lie beneath the tree.

Returned Risha from the True Eternal Slave.

Risha returned, utterly drained, her face flushed with desire.

Same as Mira and Yuria just now.

How’s that?

I see light... that light—it's my master's light.

Her focus was slightly off, and what she was saying was pretty messed up.

Mira, Yuria. And Rirya, just now, and Risha, right here.

They all said the same thing.

After the first two, Rirya and Risha were also asked to join the experiment.

What I figured out was, apparently, slaves who stay inside the sword for too long start feeling like they’re becoming one with their master.

That’s kind of creepy.

Honestly, right now, I can already hear her talking directly inside my head—she’s already inside the blade.

If she says “become one with the master” now, I might end up being the one doing the taking instead.

That’s… seriously bad, right?

“Master.”

Lost in thought, Mira spoke up.

She seemed to have recovered.

“Huh?”

“Sorry… I must’ve been a burden.”

“Nah. This counts as routine hassle. Now tell me again—what exactly happened? Be clearer.”

“Um… there was light.”

Risha said the same thing.

“Master… was light.”

Funny. That’s exactly what Yuria said too.

“Mmm, I bet it’d feel amazing to melt into my master’s body… like part of them.”

"Yes, Outo."

Not sure, but I felt this was definitely out of bounds.

Not happening. Not ever. Not a chance.

Fine, I guess it’s okay if we can get back—but I can smell the stink of not being able to.

You can’t love if you do something like that—absolutely not allowed.

I let out a sigh and asked Mira.

"Mira, are you recovered?"

Yeah, I think I'm pretty much recovered.

"Then help out."

What do I do now?

Put the sword in once more. Then talk to me.

"Is that really all it takes? Fine."

Nodding, Mira, I took her back into the sword.

She spoke to the slave sword with the icy blade.

How’s that? Can you hear me?

Yeah, I hear you.

"One plus one is...?"

(Two?)

"What's the ingredient for the universal remedy?"

(Five Abnoi herbs)

I had a proper conversation with Mira.

Asked her random quiz questions, talked about making things, and listened to reports about what she’d done since getting her slave card.

Just… all kinds of talk.

At first, it was normal. But around the one-hour mark, things started getting strange.

(……)

“Mira? You asleep, Mira?”

(……)

“Mira?”

(…My master’s light… warm light… that’s the highest light…)

“Daaah— game over! Game over!”

She’d started saying something dangerous, so I hastily pulled her from the sword.

There she was, sprawled out on the ground, utterly drained.

I laid her down carefully, then gathered my thoughts.

Ah. So about an hour, huh?

After that, Yuria, Rirya, and Risha all came back one after another, and I tested each of them in turn.

Turns out, it was roughly an hour—sometimes a little less, sometimes a bit more—before everyone’s sanity started to unravel.

She couldn’t bring herself to check any further—too afraid.

Everyone said they’d merge with me, become one—Rirya was thrilled right after, then instantly regretted it.

And so I decided— I’d make sure not to miss the deadline.

About an hour, locked in the blade. For now, that’s the time limit.

…well, shouldn’t be a problem.

☆

Night fell. I stayed awake while the slaves slept.

She lit a small fire and drew on the ground beside it with a wooden branch.

Master

It was Risha's voice, calling from behind.

"Risha, sit there."

Yes

Risha sat down a little apart from me, responding to the invitation.

The distance between master and slave.

"Can you really be up and about already?"

Yes, thanks to the universal remedy my master gave me.

"Is that so."

But… were you even okay with me taking your precious stock?

"Nothing to worry about."

The stock will decrease, sure—but slaves matter more.

A universal remedy? Just use it normally.

"What were you writing?"

Risha leaned over, peering at what I’d scrawled in the dirt.

"Huh? Oh, a battleship."

"Battleship?"

"Build a platform here, mount six naitka cannons on each side, main guns up front—still waiting on materials for the improved naitka model. Inside, make room for living space... could even fit the lord’s manor right on top. Problem is, how the hell do you move something this big?"

"Move it? Something this huge?"

Risha blinked. She’d guessed the size from the lord’s manor in the drawing and was genuinely stunned.

"A battleship that doesn’t move? Come on..."

Not some anti-air turret.

"Master... are you really building this?"

"Eventually. Probably better to have it."

As a strategic weapon.

Risha stared at it, then went.

"Um, this is all made by my master, right?"

“Ah.”

"Can't I just carry it myself?"

…pff.

I snorted out a laugh—kind of funny, really.

True, it’s possible. A battleship cobbled together from DORECA parts—either me or one of the slaves could carry it around.

Portable battleship. Sounds funny when you read it out loud.

"Master, do you have paper and a pen?"

"Yeah, I can make it... but why?"

...I was thinking about writing this down...

“This?”

Risha nods, a soft click of her throat. She looks oddly shy.

I don’t get why she’d want to do that, but Risha’s asking for it—unusually.

That’s asking for something outside of work—or orders.

I drew a magic circle and produced it using only raw magic, no materials—then handed it to Risha.

Thank you so much!

—Charged magic with ten thousand units.

Don’t know why, but Risha’s happy. Oh well, whatever.