2

A紧急 message arrived from the capital.

“Eld, how’s the machine holding up?”

The princess took the message, read it, then leaned a finger against her jaw and looked at me with a serious face.

“The main body’s been repaired. The Perfilizirifle and Hujāshotgun arrived yesterday, along with spares. The pile bunker’s been refilled. Just… the Grondiarepesh has no spare, so they’re making a new one at the capital’s workshop. Should be ready in at least half a month.”

I’d already built up some real-world use with the Perfilizirifle and Hujāshotgun, so they’d started mass-producing them—ammo and all—at the workshop, and we could deploy them right away. But the Grondiarepesh? That was still just a prototype. We couldn’t just hand out the next one like that.

It takes time, even just to make them—craftsmen aren’t used to the work yet. Lucky thing is, we can just swap in the operational cores we’ve recovered from the battlefield. No need to rebuild from scratch.

“Any uprisings in the Empire?”

You’re asking about my unit’s condition—means trouble’s close. And if I’m the one moving now, that means the enemy’s not exactly pushovers.

“Overd is quiet enough. But they’re gathering mercenaries like never before. Could be trouble brewing. Still—there’s something more important I’ve found.”

The princess gestures to her attendant, who spreads a map across the table.

Not just the buffer zones or Overd’s terrain—but the whole world, all the way to the lands beyond.

“N37,11,58 E19,36,20”

“That’s…”

I speak the numbers aloud, the coordinates Rayla taught me, and the princess traces them on the map.

That’s the coast beyond the desert, south of Overd.

“Eld asked me to have a covert unit check these coordinates. I figured out what they are. Just off that coastline, there’s an isolated island—where we found Du Librepur’s refining facility for concentrated magical fluid, Hyimagia Liquid.”

“A refining facility!?”

So that’s what Rayla’s final clue was pointing to all along!?

“Fatal’s demanding the facility’s disclosure as a condition for peace with Overd. But Overd could never accept that.”

Of course not. The refining facility’s the military’s heart. Lose that, and we can’t make Armunale fuel anymore. That’s the same as losing to Fatal.

So that’s why Overdo’s gathering mercenaries—to secure their forces. Probably planning to fight again, using them. But what if we take control of the mercenary refining facility right here?

Mercenaries who’ve lost their supply base—Armunale’s, that is. Their only logical next stop’s Overdo, where they’re openly recruiting.

“Won’t that just speed up the rebellion? The mercenaries gathering at Overdo, I mean.”

“Only if no other nation steps in. But it’s not just the Empire hiring them. Others will be recruiting too. A nation on the rise, and one already falling. Which side do you think mercenaries would choose?”

“Obviously, the winning side.”

That’s right. I’d been so sure Fatal wasn’t hiring mercenaries, I’d thought Overdo was the only one. But that’s not how it works at all.

But of course there are other nations hiring mercenaries besides Overdo. If they’re expanding their forces, they’ll gladly risk a little chaos to lure in mercenaries.

Which means Overdo won’t be able to replenish their troops—resistance will be impossible.

“Once we crush Overdo’s final stand,”

“Exactly. It’s naturally the stronghold of Du Librep, so the defenses must be tight. But Fatal doesn’t have the slack to move large units right now.”

We’re barely keeping up—constantly juggling repairs on worn-out machines, resupplying units, keeping eyes on every town like we’re riding a bicycle with no brakes.

Just like Overdo tried to use mercenaries as reinforcements, we’re stretched just as thin.

“So that’s why it’s come to us. My brother asked if we could count on Eld.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that.

"Me taking down a base solo? That’s pushing it, even for you."

Going in alone, seizing the base. I’ve done something like it once before—but this time’s different. Can’t have the enemy using our own base and refining facility’s defenses together.

And right now, my machine’s still incomplete. Without Grondia Repesh showing up, it’ll never reach its full strength.

"Yeah, my lord knows that. That’s why we’re asking Eld for something else."

"What?"

"Alumirulay. It’s ready."

"What?! That thing was scrapped for being too dangerous! You can’t be serious!"

Strategic magic: Alumirulay.

A spell that fires a lens-style solar ray—something we figured could turn an entire town into a sea of fire. At one point, a low-power test version was even mounted on Artificojeu, but because it was too tricky to handle and far too dangerous, the activation calculator—senseboard—was completely scrapped, and all the data wiped out, should’ve been.

“That kind of power? You don’t just toss it aside. It was being researched in secret, same clearance level as Fatal’s refining facility. Oh—Karine doesn’t even know about this, so don’t blame her.”

“That’s too dangerous! It needs to be erased—right now! Once the enemy gets hold of it, it’ll be too late!”

A magic that can turn a city to ash from afar, with one strike.

You shouldn’t even be making something like that.

“I know. But this is my brother’s decision—His Majesty’s order. I opposed it at first, but he pushed it through as a command.”

“Damn it. You’re telling me to use it?”

“The fewer people who know about Armunale, the better. That’s what my brother figured. Eld’s unit already knows the spell—no risk of leaks. And they can do it alone. No need for a big force.”

According to the message delivered, the refining facility’s buried deep beneath a lonely island. Avilabomb won’t work, and Armunale can’t even be inserted—too narrow a passage, and big squads are useless.

So, they’ve pinned their hopes on Alumirulei. If we boost its convergence rate, it’ll burn clean through the surface and deep into the earth.

Sure, hearing that, Alumirulei might seem like the best choice.

But the more we use it, the higher the chance we’ll figure out how it works. Once the principle’s clear, any other nation could copy it—magic or not.

I still can’t go for it.

“I won’t accept it. If we’re using that thing, I’ll go in alone.”

“Alone, with an incomplete machine?”

“Even so.”

“You’ll likely die.”

“I made my peace with that the day I became a knight.”

“Leaving Ange behind?”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it that way. But using Alumirulei isn’t just about keeping you safe. I’ve been reckless, I know—but I’d never send Eld into danger if I could help it. Not now, when the war’s nearing its end.”

The princess’s gaze suddenly turned to the window. There, beneath Abnomüle’s feet, soldiers were laughing and chatting.

Overdo was worn out, barely able to move, and so Fatal’s soldiers, too, had loosened their shoulders, slowly regaining calm expressions.

“…Understood. I’ll take it.”

“Thank you. The Alumirulei gear’s in the capital. We’re heading back there. Tell the others, will you?”

“Got it.”

Saluting, I left the room.

“Now, now, let’s see it! The Alumirulei I made without you, you know!”

Karine shook her twin tails hard and stepped into the storage bay.

Seemed she didn’t like the idea of someone else finishing what she’d started halfway. And especially not when it was done behind her back.

I followed behind, along with Mr. Orell, stepping into the secure storage vault.

The vault was pitch black, lights extinguished. I scanned the walls, wondering where the switch was, when Caline’s voice echoed inside.

“Captain Eld! I’ll light it up for you!”

“Please do.”

A clank, and the mana lamp flared to life.

There it was—my Pespilarge, already brought in earlier.

But something else caught my eye more sharply: a familiar weapon resting beside it.

“This… is Artifigojue, isn’t it?”

A circular weapon, thick as a steel pillar. Some parts looked altered, but there was no mistaking it—Artifigojue.

Even though I’d only switched to my Pespilarge a few months ago, seeing its silhouette stirred a strange, warm ache.

“You’re here already?”

While we stood frozen before Artifigojue, a few men came in through the entrance.

The man with glasses at the front stepped right up to me.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Oreas, the confidential tech consultant. I was in charge of developing the Armunale.”

“Likewise. Eld, captain of the First Guard Armunale Battalion, Second Princess’s personal guard.”

“You! You’re the one who just went ahead and built my Armunale!”

As we exchanged greetings, Karine came striding back in, flashlight in hand, and marched straight up to Oreas, looking up at him with a sharp glare.

Since when did the Armunale become Karine’s property?

"Ms. Karine, in charge of the startup calculator—sense board, right? It’s an honor to meet you. Thanks to your work on the startup calculator, we were able to develop this. The whole department was absolutely floored by how it was built."

"Of course. I’m a genius, after all."

She fidgets with the tip of her hair, her earlier confidence completely gone, eyes darting left and right like she’s trying to disappear.

Oreas might look like a host, but this Karine’s too easy.

"So, why the Artifigouge?"

"Externally, it’s the Artifigouge, but inside? Nothing like the one Captain Eld used. No mobility mechanisms, no startup calculator, no tank either."

"Then what’s inside?"

"All of it's startup calculators—sensory boards. Packed full of the ones we need for processing. Hey, open that one up."

"Yes."

One of the men trailing behind jogged over to the Artifigouge and began fiddling with the equipment beside it.

The cover of the Artifigouge slid open on its own, revealing the interior.

"Oh."

A murmur slipped out, unspoken, from no one in particular.

Inside the Artifigouge lay layer upon layer of tightly packed startup calculators—sensory boards.

"We call these layered startup calculators—sensory boards. They handle parallel processing, calculating complex solar incidence angles and refraction rates, directing convergence, and supporting the entire launch sequence. Thanks to this, Captain Eld no longer has to do those calculations by hand. Now the pilot just needs to lock on and pull the trigger."

"That's incredible."

Those calculations were no small thing. Had to figure out the sun’s position based on latitude, longitude, and time, factor in the day’s weather, time the focusing just right, even input manually how many mirrors to unfold before launch. Sure, magic helped a bit—but still, it was basically using a pocket calculator.

"Hey… not bad, huh?"

Carine was staring at Artifigoj, her breath caught—she’d been utterly blown away by the layered activation calculator (Sense Board).

“This basic principle? It’s originally Carine’s idea. The Dual Activation Calculator (Sense Board) theory she proposed—was built into Artifigoj and Pespilarge too.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm. Back then, it ran circuits in series—just boosting processing power while managing the machine. But this parallel type? Each activation calculator (Sense Board) handles its own process separately. Then the central unit collects all the info and does even more calculations.”

“The center’s that top one, right?”

Oreas’s explanation sharpened Carine’s gaze.

She pointed at one of the activation calculators (Sense Boards)—bigger than the rest.

“Honestly… impressive.”

There are other things I’d love to ask, but I’ll save them for later. Right now, I just need to get this Artifigojue fitted, right? The link to the frame stays the same as before, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, the link to the central core remains direct and stable. A little adjustment may be needed, though.”

“I’ll handle that on my end.”

“Thank you. We’ve got the carrier bomb adjustments to deal with as well.”

“Carrier bomb?”

I know about Avila bombs, but I’ve never heard that name before.

“Oh, you didn’t know? That’s the carrier bomb that transported the Pespilarge from the capital. It’s got proper wings and storage space—designed so it can be reused.”

That’s basically a transport flyer. Well, the wings are just for stability, and it’s still flying purely on Avila bomb output, so it’s still more like a rocket. But if the principle of wings ever gets figured out here… maybe flying machines will show up in this world after all.

The operation goes ahead the day after tomorrow. Until then, I’ll need the elite guard to handle the machine’s adjustments. You’re free to use the maintenance staff in this hangar however you like.”

“Got it. Ritz, Pamila—let’s get started right away.”

“Understood.” “Affirmative, indeed.”

“Then, Orell, we’ll head back to the castle for now. Need to go over the operation details with Her Highness.”

“Understood. I’ll finish this side to perfection. You’ve got my word on that.”

“Yes.”

While Orell and the others began work on the machine’s upkeep, the remaining members headed toward the castle’s conference chamber for the strategy meeting.

Next time…

The machine, armed with strategic magic Alumirulay, sets course for its destination.

The final blow—meant to end the battle—was about to be delivered.