Main Cannon and Master
Outside Rebeck.
Under a sky of unbroken blue, a great many people had gathered.
A simple wooden fence stood there, beyond which people waited.
Beyond that, there are all kinds of stalls scattered about.
Selling food, selling drinks—it felt just like a festival grounds.
I’m sitting on a grand chair set up on a raised platform—like a throne—staring at it.
"Time, my lord."
Risha spoke from among the five slaves standing by her side.
Begin.
Yes
Risha stepped forward and slowly raised her hand.
For a split second, it—(,,)—moved.
A massive iron box, far off in the distance.
The rough, unpolished shape tickled a boy’s heart—then it moved.
First-rate slave-class vessel, Risha.
A magic warship built from the accumulated mana of slaves' smiles—and poured into it, the nation's very strength.
Ohhhh!
The crowd roared.
A thousand voices, sharp as pins pricking the hem of their clothes.
“About as fast as a slow train.”
“Full speed? Nearly the same as a train.”
“Huh. Not bad for a slowpoke.”
“Go full blast? It’ll burn out and stall immediately.”
“Ah. That’s the second fleet’s problem. Nina’ll fix it somehow.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Next.”
“Yes.”
Risha answered, stepped forward again, raised her hand.
Then, from the opposite side of the battleship, a train shot out.
A train, gliding slowly over rails laid on the ground.
The sudden appearance made the crowd gasp.
A second later, a thunderclap rolled across.
The Naitoka mounted along the battleship’s flank fired in unison.
Shells streaked through the air, detonating around the train.
“Missed. Again.”
“Yes.”
Risha’s command triggered the second volley.
This time, two shells struck the train.
With a thunderous roar, the train shattered into splinters.
—Oooohh!
The crowd erupted again.
“Next.”
“Yes.”
The third command. This time, a roar echoed from the town of Rebeck.
The people turned in unison toward the town.
Defensive Neetka cannons fired in unison at the battleship.
In response, the battleship Risha returned fire with her own Neetka.
Shells intercepted shells midair.
One slipped through—crashing near the battleship’s flank.
“Missed.”
“Needs training.”
I say it plainly, but the crowd doesn’t care.
They cheered the battleship that had defended them from the town’s barrage.
“Next.”
“Yes.”
The fourth command.
Immediately after, the battleship retaliated.
All gunports fired in unison toward Rebeck.
A wave of murmurs and unease spread through the crowd.
"Here we go."
"Yesss—"
Five voices, one moment, all speaking at once.
The five slaves were absorbed into the True Eternal Slave.
Five-colored gems, the magic swords of the slaves.
They gripped them, leapt from the platform.
Swept over the crowd’s heads in one bound, sprinting toward the town.
They reached the impact site before the shells landed, swinging their swords—shattering every cannonball midair.
—Oooohhh.
A roar of applause erupted.
"Damn, the king’s awesome."
"Shut up, idiot. The king being awesome is obvious. That wasn’t the point."
"Then what was?"
"That battlecruiser could’ve moved—say, to an enemy town or fortress—and attacked. That was the demonstration."
"Right! So—"
"No enemies out there. But if there were? I’d feel bad for them. They don’t have a king who can do *that*."
The people’s voices carried on. The explanation hit the mark.
Exactly what I wanted. That’s the goal—right on the mark.
It spread through the people fast.
The cheers for the warship Risha grew louder, wave upon wave.
Next.
Lifting the sword that had swallowed the slaves.
Magic surged. Five colors flared bright.
The warship, crewed and piloted by Mira and her elite guard, shifted.
A long barrel rose from the bow.
Nearly half the ship’s length—ridiculously thick and long.
It roared to life—main cannon fired!
A tremor like an earthquake shook the ground.
A colossal shell shot out, thundering with a noise beyond anything before.
Arcing through the sky.
Straight toward a hill.
The same hill Risha had greened with their shared forest magic.
It—vanished.
The gentle slope had been gouged out for two-thirds of its length, left in a ruinous state.
A stunned silence fell over the crowd, broken only by the roar of the main cannon—then, one beat later, the loudest cheer of the day.
“Hit the mark, just as planned.”
(Considering the destruction before us, I’d say that’s a given.)
(If there were a demon god, that’d probably blow it to bits!)
(That’s going a bit far.)
(Indeed. Only onii-chan can blow away a demon god.)
(Well… that might actually be true.)
The voices of the slaves echoed one after another inside her head.
The demonstration—Risha’s debut as a battleship—was now complete.
Mobility shown. Utility proven. Finally, overwhelming firepower displayed.
She looked out over the crowd.
Smiles stretched as far as the eye could see.
Old and young, men and women—everyone was grinning.
People stared at the battleship, chatting idly. Others lingered at stalls, drinking and eating.
It was like a festival all over again.
Well then, that’s it—.
A roar went up.
Not of surprise, but of anticipation. The battleship Risha had moved again.
The kind of excitement—what’ll she do this time? What’ll she show us now?
I get it. I understand that reaction.
I’d be on that side too, if I weren’t here.
“What the hell is this… what’s Mira trying to pull?”
I didn’t know anything.
Not knowing meant I didn’t expect. Not knowing meant I was confused.
Then, the bow turned toward us.
The main cannon’s muzzle pointed right at us.
The aim… was set on us.
“No way.”
The word barely left my lips when it happened.
The second boom—the earth-shaking roar.
And then, the shell came flying.
A wave of cheers and screams rose at once.
The carefree, and the ones who’d just noticed something was wrong.
Their voices mixed, overlapping.
“Damn it.”
The body moved before the mind could catch up.
Clutching the True Eternal Slave, channeling magic.
“Uoooooo!”
Jetting forward, slamming straight into the cannonball.
Five-colored light collided with the cannonball.
An instant later, shock surged through the entire body.
Like the numbness you get when you’re slammed hard into the ground with a bat—this was hundreds of times worse.
“C-come on…”
Gripping harder, readjusting the slave sword in hand.
“—Haaah!”
Sending the cannonball—nearly the same size as my body—flying back.
The cannonball arced through the air, crashing into the ground ten meters away.
It lost momentum, but its raw mass hadn’t changed.
It plunged into the earth, carving out a crater.
Silence settled over the area.
Ten seconds passed.
“Uoooooo!”
The loudest cheer of the day erupted.
Cheers rose from all around—praising me.
Seemed like it was meant as part of the battleship demonstration.
“What’s this?”
(Miya suggested it. Wanted to show the master’s power is even greater than the battleship’s after all.)
Risha explained.
Cheers and praise kept going without end.
“Guess I’ll have to thank them more now.”
I muttered, waving back at the crowd.