Hachinan tte, Sore wa Nai Deshou!
Chapter 101: The Tortoise King Rainbow Assault
The current emperor’s third son, Peter, who did not hide his ambitions from us, arrived at the town of Sirkat with a dozen or so bodyguards, a strong swordsman, and a highly skilled wizard.
Officially, His Highness Peter, His Majesty’s third son, was to inspect the town or Sirkat to see if us outsiders were misbehaving in the town.
But the emperor, his first sons, and their cronies didn’t actually expect Peter to do anything.
“My brothers are hiding their intentions from our damned father. They look like filial sons to the shitty old man who doesn’t know how to read people.”
Peter explained the situation to us on the road.
It seemed that it was his honorable brothers who suggested to the emperor that Peter be sent out to inspect.
“My mother is a commoner and they don’t expect anything from me. I was playing around and eating skewers in the downtown area when my attendant had a stroke. My damned father was also a bit fussy with the house I was born in and whatnot. He wouldn’t like me if I ignored him.”
If a child of the imperial family said and did such things, it would definitely be viewed as strange.
“Even my followers are all illegitimate, all 15. They can afford to act as they wish.”
Thanks to this, Peter’s group was given the reputation as a group of misfits within the Imperial Palace.
In the eyes of the Royal Family and aristocrats, they are crude and badly behaved, however they aren’t disliked by the subjects of the Imperial Capital.
Rather, Peter is regarded as friendly and easy to get along with.
This is what the head of the Meier Trading Company relayed to me when he came to see me off.
“Apart from that, I’m always stretching my wings. It’s nice to be able to leave the Imperial City. I don’t have my damned father and brothers around.”
When we arrived at the town of Sirkat, everyone who greeted us was surprised by the sight of Peter and his party.
I guess they didn’t expect the third son of the emperor to come.
After explaining the situation to everyone and leading the guards to their quarters, we led Peter, Marc, and Emera to the mansion where they would be sleeping.
We had built a large, stone house in the fort and moved in, just like we had in the field camp.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Elise, Master Wendelin’s wife. Your Highness—”
“Such a solid greeting, very good. By the way, you’re the only people here who are privately associated with Wendelin? You’re as beautiful as they say you are.” Peter turned to me, “I mean, you are the same age as me, but you already have five wives. I’m so jealous.”
Ina found that her image of His Highness crumbled.
Peter is quite an oddball.
Louise decided she liked him better than the uptight brother she had met.
“You are the third son of the current emperor, so marriage is troublesome, but you can have as many wives as you want,” Wilma pointed out.
“Wilma is right, but as for me, I’m not interested in the decorative dolls in the Imperial Palace,” Peter quickly replied to Wilma, who had just introduced herself, calling her with a friendly tone.
Wilma had a slightly flushed and embarrassed expression on her face, but she quickly turned her interest to Marc, who was standing beside her.
“He looks strong.”
“Marc is the greatest swordsman in the Empire. Marc, do you think you would lose?”
“It’s difficult to say. Well…what is this place?” Marc’s expression crumpled slightly as he looked at my wives. “Even though Erwin is quite powerful too, I’m a bit surprised to see all of them have unusual combat skills.”
Since this is a private space, it is only the us here.
Marc, the top-notch swordsman, looked at Ina, Louise, Wilma, and Haruka while letting out a sigh.
Emera also looked at Katharina, Burkhart, and the guru, revealing a sense of alarm.
“Emera, there’s no mock battle or test of skill, so don’t worry.”
“Haa…”
“Emera is a little sensitive because of her loyalty and love for me.”
“It’s just a job. I feel no love.”
“When we’re not alone, she always acts cold like this. The truth is that she has a lot of love for me.”
“His Highness is as delusional as ever.”
As usual, I’m not sure of the relationship between these two, but since we’ve completed introductions, I explained Peter’s proposal to everyone.
“Count, are you abandoning Therese?”
“I won’t abandon her. It’s just that Peter is more fit to be emperor.
Burkhart was drawn to Therese, who he had met ten years ago.
Although Therese may not have realized it herself, but the same was true for the guru.
“You think Therese is a good person, though?” Burkhart questioned.
“Yes. I would have supported Therese if there were no other candidates. But I’ve gotten to know Peter.”
It’s not just about ability, this guy has a ‘good character’.
It’s a good thing to be able to ignore how others think something should be done and do it the way you believe it should be done; that makes for a good emperor.
Especially during this time of war.
“It sounds like the tale of how two lovers meet, but I have no taste for such things,” Peter spoke.
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
I, too, have no sexual interest in men.
“Wendelin, you have five beautiful wives. I had to correct the misleading comments.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Count, are you sure it’s all right? Therese has the support of the Northern Lords. Many are expecting her to be the first Empress.”
“The first empress. I like the sound of that.”
Not only Peter, but many others found this pleasing to the ear.
When a woman gets a high title in politics, business or otherwise, everyone expects great changes.
There’s always talk of a woman’s unique perspective.
That’s how people see and why they support Therese.
“There are people who see it positively because she’s a woman, but there are many that also see it negatively. It’s not a question of gender to me, it’s simply a question of ability and temperament. The blame for this mess in the first place lies, at least in some part, with Therese’s laxity in failing to drag the emperor down.”
I’m sure many of the Northern Lords feel that way too.
“Even if they were to place that blame on Therese, the emperor has a dedicated group of fools. They have no choice but to put their trust in Therese’s as the emperor’s rival for now.”
Few would want to challenge the emperor right now.
“The problem is that the Duke of Nuremberg understands this and set the whole process in motion.”
The anti-Nuremberg faction has been divided.
From his point of view, all he has to do now is defeat us in battle.
“You won’t convince those factions to unite.”
“No, not even His Majesty could convince them.”
“I can do it. Alfons can make it possible,” I interrupted their thoughts.
“Count, no way.”
“I’m going to ask Therese to retire as the Duchess of Philip.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I’m sane. I think she would want to leave if there was another candidate, wouldn’t she?”
Everyone expects her to be a good duchess, and a good candidate for the empress, so she has been working tirelessly to live up to those expectations.
But I wonder is she ever had any desire to be there.
“If Therese were the only option, I would feel sorry, but I would force her to become emperor. But here’s an ambitious man who wants to be emperor.”
“When Wendelin says it, even though the position of emperor sounds like a troublesome duty, I still have ambitions. But I also understand that the current situation in the Empire is extremely bad. If only the rebellions hadn’t happened, I’d just be the third son of a failed businessman.”
“That’s why it’s forbidden to reveal any information to anyone other than those in this room. Haruka, I’m sorry, but I’d be happy if you wouldn’t inform High Earl Mizuho. As Elle’s fiancé, you understand, right?” I requested.
“Yes. I am to become Elle’s fiancé and part of the Baumeister family.” Haruka accepted.
I’m prepared for a leak, but I’m sure High Earl Mizuho wouldn’t do anything stupid.
He, too, wants to end the civil war and return to normal life.
“Oh! So, this is the ‘lovable Mizuho’[1] we hear about! Erwin is lucky too. He has such a beautiful wife!”
“Uh. Well…”
Elle is basically terrified of Peter’s shamelessness, so he responded to his light-hearted joking in a hushed and awkward way.”
“Yes, I’m the…‘lovable Mizuho’…”
Next to Elle, Haruka’s face was also extremely red with embarrassment.
I haven’t heard of it before either, but ‘lovable Mizuho’ seemed to be quite a compliment.
It must mean the same as being a ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’.[1]
[1] Loveable Mizuho, is ミズホ撫子, which means Mizuho + loveable. It is pronounced like Mizuho Nadeshiko. 大和撫子. Yamato Nadeshiko, means a woman who displays the feminine virtues of Japan. Likely due to the way it’s being used and the wording, Wendelin determines such a meaning. I translated as ‘loveable’ to make more sense to the readers.
“A week before my father leaves the Imperial City in his pathetic palanquin, I’ll return to the Imperial City with the army that Wendelin will send out.”
I remembered that I had to lead an army and station it near the Imperial City.
Peter continued, “ We will take care of everything else. We’re already working with the people who remain in the Imperial City, but I’ll be pretending to play around here like I’m doing a random inspection. I don’t want to be too paranoid.”
Peter’s talk ended after that, around the same time for dinner, so we ate the food that Elise prepared.
I invited them to join us in the meal as a way of getting to know each other better.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten, so this seems even more delicious. The high-class cuisine in the Imperial City was also good.”
“Thank you.”
These days, I’m slowly learning to cook from Mizuho, so I’ve been captivated by Elise’s cooking skills.
Occasionally I develop new dishes myself of try to cook my own meals, but Elise still has the upper hand in terms of skill.
“Emera is pretty good at it too, but I’m not sure if she can beat Elise. Wendelin’s wife is amazing.”
Peter continued to eat Elise’s food, getting several refills.
“They say for the aristocrats, they should eat the food cooked by hired cooks, but it’s simply amazing to be able do it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Elise seemed to be less than satisfied with the praise she received from Peter.
“Marc isn’t a picky eater. But his wife is such a good cook that if he doesn’t like food, he won’t touch it at all.”
Marc, the quiet, sharp-eyes swordsman, continued to eat with his head down as he slowly savored the food.
“Haruka, do you think Takeomi could beat him?” Erwin asked.
“No, but I, of course, think that my brother is only slightly behind.”
Haruka also seemed to have seen through Marc’s sword prowess, and understands he was stronger than her.
“He’s my proud vassal.”
“How good are you with the sword, Peter?”
“Well, I’m indeed better than Wendelin. My sword master is Marc after all.”
“I don’t need a sword.”
“A total sore loser.”
It was frustrating, but he was likely right.
Peter doesn’t look like an expert swordsman by any stretch of the imagination, so it slightly pissed me off when he said he was better than me.
“Troublesome. Don’t get the reputation of losing the first round of a martial arts preliminary competition.”
“If I were to go, would I make it to the third round or so?”
Peter was a pleasant man, and that evening’s dinner was very nice.
“I’m just going to keep my cool and go about my normal business and magic training until things start happening.”
“Auspicious words from Katharina.”
“Wendelin, haven’t you been skipping practice lately?”
“I can’t practice because I’ve been using up almost all of my magic power.”
The next morning, I woke up early and went to practice my magic with Katharina for the first time in a long while.
I haven’t done much training recently lately, as all my magic power was used up by making porcelain.
“My magic power is still advancing.”
“As usual, your magic levels are ridiculous.”
Both of us aimed at a rock placed about fifty meters away and released [Wind Cutter].
It’s a guarantee that we’ll both hit our target, but we are training our magical precision in how cleanly we can cut through the rock.
“Really, I’m envious.”
Good morning, master.”
We greeted Burkhart as he arrived to train with us.
“I do a lot of engineering work myself. So, I thought I’d give it some practice once in a while.”
Burkhart showed up and took aim at the rock with [Wind Cutter].
The rock was cut evenly, as if it were a sliced almond.
“It’s thin. And it’s all even.”
“It’s going to be a long time before the Count and Katharina reach this level.”
He cut the rock so thin that we could almost see through to the other side, and yet it was all aligned to the same thickness.
Even his master, just before death, would not have had this level of precision.
It was the result of decades of training.
“The Count’s is so thick.”
“Ugh…”
I’ve diced rocks before in magic demonstrations, but it’s hard to slice them as thinly as Burkhart’s.
It’s that fine control that is challenging for me.
“Katharina. You’re supposed to slice horizontally, but it’s sliced up diagonally and vertically. You need to be a little more diligent. You too, you’re not making much progress, are you?”
Both of us were warned by Burkhart that we weren’t yet at a high enough level.
Although Burkhart drank a lot of alcohol, he was an impeccable master.
To add up the people he had taught, even only briefly, there would be hundreds in the kingdom.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, morning, miss.”
After receiving instruction from Burkhart for a while, Emera greeted us.
She seemed to be alone right now, watching our training with great interest.
“Want to try it?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s just normal training. It’s nothing we need to be secretive about.”
“Thank you.”
This morning, Emera was reserved and beautiful.
Burkhart suggested her to start her training.
With a cool look on her face, she unleashed [Wind Cutter] and a rush of wind cuts went through the target rock.
When I went to look at the rock, I saw that it was a little thicker than Burkhart’s, but the rock had been evenly cut.
“You did it, wow.”
“I can do more.”
“You are around 20, right? That accuracy is amazing at such a young age. But the amount of magic and precision, I wonder if Bradson wasn’t aware of it?”
Burkhart wondered why there were so many great wizards who hadn’t been brought to his attention.
He wondered since he hadn’t shown up to the magic showcase.
“Nope. I’ve only been there for a short time, but Bradson has been very kind to me.”
Emera was born in a village near the realm of demons, a short distance from the Imperial City.
Her parents ran a dissection shop that dissected and sold the demons that adventurers hunted , and even when she found out as a child that she had magical powers, she thought she’d be involved with demons for a living.
“Up until a year ago, I lived at home and hunted all the time.”
She attended a nearby adventurer’s prep school, and after graduating, all she did was hunt.
“My parents were delighted that there were so many demons to destroy. My father, mother, and brother all loved to dissect demons.”
“Yeah, well…”
I think this is the first time I’ve heard of the existence of the race of dissection enthusiasts.
“I’m not very good at serving noblemen or anything like that either…I can only hunt in silence…”
Since her personality didn’t fit in with the palace service, her magic power and accuracy increased while she was hunting alone as an adventurer.
It was true that when one was as good as she was, one could make more money to hunt demons than to serve a nobleman and live a rigid life.
“Did you abandon that life?”
“Yes, Peter kept recruiting me. He came to the house in person several times unsolicited, and finally I accepted the offer after losing patience. I told him ‘I’ll only guard you’ and he said, ‘You’re only going to protect me. I feel so loved.’”
“Wendelin, is His Highness really all right?”
Katharina seemed to be worried about Peter, whose brain was full of pink delusions.
I’m assuming it’s okay because he will only be like that to Emera.
“I’m unsociable and I refused to attend the magic showcase that Count Baumeister and the others attended, and…”
Emera was a beautiful woman and a very good wizard.
She was probably a gem that the Imperial government wanted to sell, but the one she ended up with was the third son who had a bad reputation in the Imperial Palace, and there was no way to advertise her since she was always at his time.
That was probably the reason the four brothers, who were lower in rank in terms of ability, were being promoted.
“Bradson told me ‘You can do whatever you want with your magic’.”
Bradson recognized Emera’s abilities, but he noticed that she had an unsociable personality, and he respected that.
“That’s why I’m grateful to Count Baumeister and the others who defeated those four brothers who defeated Bradson. Thank you so much.”
Emera thanked me with a divine face, but I guess that a beautiful woman is beautiful no matter what her expression is.
“Itteh! Katharina, why?”
“You have a smirk on your face.”
Is she jealous?
I let Katharina pinch my arm again.
“Those brothers were only defeated because a mad dog tried to bite them, and I only beat one of them.”
“But still, you did it Count Baumeister, didn’t you? I don’t think I, Burkhart, or Miss Katharina could take down one of them.”
Just like Emera said, those four brothers should have been able to defeat me alone with plenty of time to spare.
There were many more formidable wizards with the same amount of magic power as them.
It must have been because they were spoiled.
“I still have much to learn from Burkhart’s dexterity and Count Baumeister’s power.”
Since then, the four of us continued training together until breakfast.
“Speaking of which, where is the guru?” Emera asked.
“This kind of training is not in the guru’s character.”
It’s not his nature and strength, so the guru spends the morning in the demon’s realm.
The soldiers are taking turns sleeping and he plans to join them.
He’s following up with the soldiers to make sure they don’t get killed in training.
“He’s terrific, isn’t he?”
“He is. There is no one else like him.”
“He’s impossible to imitate.”
I don’t even want to imitate him.
I’m sure Katharina wouldn’t either.
“I’d love to go hunting with him.”
“What?”
“Is there something wrong with you?”
Burkhart and I both reacted badly to that idea. We’ve both had a terrible experience hunting with the guru.
“You can try it out”
“Burkhart?” I whispered to him, not understanding.
“Emera has to experience it to understand.”
“Yes, I know, as one of the victims myself.”
Katharina had challenged me to a hunting match, but before I knew it, the guru took control of the match.
Anyways, I got tired both mentally and physically.
“I’m looking forward to it.” A smile appeared on Emera’s normally expressionless face.
Apparently, she like to hunt quite a bit.
“Is she a hunting maniac?” I whispered to no one in particular.
We decided to go to the army and hunt in the demon’s realm after breakfast, unrelated to Emera’s apparent love for hunting.
Before that, we mixed the white porcelain clay that was reduced during our trip to the Imperial City, and then we magically heated the porcelain that was molded and painted.
After doing all that, my magic power was reduced to about half, but it shouldn’t have much effect on my hunting.
“The amount of your magic power is just as they say. It’s amazing,” Emera adored on the ride to our destination.
When we arrived at the entrance of the demon realm, there were thousands of soldiers camped out.
They, in turn, would enter the realm in groups of twenty to hunt the demons.
It’s a good way to train, secure food, and gather materials and collectibles. It kills three birds with one stone.
“What about those who are injured?” Elise asked.
“Elise, over here.”
There were many injured soldiers, but that was handled by having a healing wizard on hand at all times.
Today, Elise had come with me, so she was healing them as fast as she could.
“Her name as the ‘Saint’ is justified. She’s got great skills.”
Peter, who had followed along with Emera, was impressed with Elise’s magic healing skills.
“Yes. Peter, will you join the hunt?”
“I will.”
“Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Marc will be there too.”
What’s important is not the ability of the guards, but the strength of the person themselves.
There are possibilities of being caught by surprise when a guard can’t guarantee their presence or the safety of those with them.
“Marc, are you sure you two will be okay?”
“His Highness is an expert with a sword.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Burkhart replied.
Burkhart seemed to have a bit of information about Peter.
Peter’s grades in martial arts were only average, but he was diligent.
“What are you talking about? What’s good about being regarded as better with swords and academics then my brothers?”
“It’s not.”
If he was too good, he could be assassinated, and if he wasn’t good enough, he would be abandoned. His performance had been perfect.
“Besides,” Peter added, “I’m used to hunting.”
The guru was currently deep in the forest, in search for big game.
We entered the forest, but there was very little prey. Maybe it was because we’d been hunting quite frequently.
They appear occasionally, but…
“Aren’t there too few?” I wondered aloud.
A boar-shaped demon emerged and was defeated in a single blow by Louise, who dropped an elbow strike from above before it could rush at us.
She was as quick as ever.
“We can train safely at this level of density. It’s the work of the guru.”
A deer-shaped demon was defeated by Wilma shooting it in the brain with her sniper-style demon gun.
She was able to successfully use the sniper-style demon gun that she had made several minor modifications to.
“That’s the rumored magic gun, isn’t it? I want one too.”
“Tell that to High Earl Mizuho. We’re chumps to, aside from simple mechanics, when it comes to manufacturing.”
The gun Wilma had, she was borrowing and testing it out for data purposes.
If she lends it to me, the magical power will be replenished, and Wilma can shoot as much as she wants.
At first glance, it looks like the mechanism is simple and can be copied easily, but the attempt hasn’t worked at all, and that’s why the Duke of Nuremberg didn’t put it on the battlefield.
“Even a normal magic gun needs maintenance once a week, and this prototype model need maintenance every three days.”
“Will it stop shooting?”
“I think I can get away with it if it’s just for a week. But there is a risk of an explosion.”
“What happens if it explodes.”
“They said it could blow your arm and head off.”
“Oh, well….”
Perhaps one of the bottlenecks in the development and spread of magic guns is the strength of the material used.
I’ve heard before that even with High Earl Mizuho, the guns would go out of control during experimentation and cause a lot of casualties.
“That’s a shame. Well, maybe I’ll start hunting too,” Peter said.
Peter took out his bow he brought with him and shot the ‘Hakureidori’ that was perched on a tree with a single arrow.
They are classified as demons and will occasionally poke people in the head with their beaks, but it won’t hurt badly.
They are a demon unique to this region, but their meat is delicious, so they are popular prey for beginners.
“Nice shot.”
“That’s how I earned my allowance.”
As the third son of the emperor, Peter has a good amount of pocket money.
But it wasn’t enough to support his number of followers and attendants.
“Hunting is a side-job for me.”
In a similar position, the second and third sons of nobility, merchants, and other would gathers to hunt in the forests and other places outside the Imperial City.
Peter continued, “I can’t pay them enough money, so we hunt. It’s a military drill for us, we can eat the meat and then sell some. It’s set up as the imperial family’s idiot son playing around with his foolish friends, so we can sell the materials to the Meier Trading Company without anyone watching.”
“The master of that place is a tricky one.”
“I’ve been doing this for about a year not. I guess it’s an insurance policy for him.”
The master of the Meier Trading company, as one of the richest merchants and traders in the Imperial City, had noticed Peter’s caliber and secretly assisted him in the hope that he might be of use later on.
In addition to the profits from the sale of material, he may have ordered his comrades and vassals to work on the side to save money.
Forgery and money laundering must have been part of the Meier Trading Company business and he wouldn’t want Peter’s family to find out.
“I’ve heard that if you want to sell porcelain around town, the Meier Trading Company is the place to go.”
“The Meier Trading Company makes a lot of money from the aristocracy, but they’re not hated by the commoners. After the coup, they haven’t been robbed much.”
With a coup d’état of such a scale, it was normal for residents to steal into merchants houses amidst the chaos.
Many merchant associations were affected by this.
It was the main reason why the merchants wanted the stability of the regime.
That’s why many merchants that cozy up to the regime and why they often share the fate of those in power when they fall.
“Do you have sympathizers with the nobility, the military, and the merchants? I hope you’ll succeed, Peter.”
“Of course, I’ll make it work.”
As we go further into the forest, although we are further in demon territory, the number of prey is sparse.
It’s not a large area to begin with and there are thousands of troops stationed in the area of hunt demons for training purposes.
It’s a good thing that the guru took the lead in thinning out the demons, as our group managed to move deep into the area with ease, even while talking with each other.
“The guru…”
“He had time to clear out.”
As a citizen of the kingdom, I can’t entrust the army command to the empire.
I thought if I could use healing magic, I’d go that way, but I can’t use it well, and I have no aptitude for helping with governance or construction.
It seems that for a while now, this army has been concentrating on defeating the demons in this realm.
“I’ve heard rumors, the kingdom’s first mage lord is amazing. The demons in this realm are on the verge of extinction.”
“Ooh…is that so?”
Emera, a woman of common sense, asked me if I was worried about such a thing.
“It seems this realm itself could be gone. That’s what the deputy said.” Emera told me what she’d heard.
“It’s a hindrance to the expansion of the town.”
Rather than being a hindrance to the expansion of the town itself, the problem is that this realm is interfering with the access to the direct control area and the small lord’s union region.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you just defeat the boss?”
“I’m sure there are budgetary issues and priorities and all that,” Burkhart cut in.
“Burkhart is right. Until now, the priority has been Arhaans, which has been treated as a secondary city. Sirkat wasn’t a very good town until Wendelin expanded it.”
“I see. If this area is freed up, the town or Sirkat, with its water traffic that has been lagging behind in development, will come together.”
As expected, Emera seemed to have studied properly.
“So, therefore, Count Baumeister, it’s time to fight.”
“Guru…”
The guru who hadn’t been seen until now appeared with a big smile on his face.
“For the past few months, this individual has taken the initiative to hunt demons everyday to reduce their numbers. The only thing left to do is take care of the boss ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’.”
“The boss of this realm isn’t a dragon?”
“The Great Tortoise type bosses are the weakest and treated as introductory….”
“Oh, I understand…They look good when flipped over.”
The undead become valuable as they age.
We have dealt with dragons before, so a tortoise seems easier to deal with.
“Um, you two…There’s nothing introductory about a realm boss,” Emera pointed out.
“There are three of us, including me, that have dealt with more than one dragon.”
“I’ve only dealt with flying dragons before.”
“That’s normal. It’s not weird.”
Emera was immensely impressed with the intensity of our demon-slaying background.
“More importantly, we just came to inspect and ask about military training. Then we would hunt for a bit before going home. If you have a big event like this, please tell me ahead of time, guru.”
Although I know it’s useless, I’ll complain to guru in the meantime.
“Count Baumeister, I’ve just told you.”
“I only have about half my magic power now…”
“The defeat of the ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’ is scheduled for tomorrow.”
“You’ve already made a plan?!”
“A plan I made with my friend Gilbert.”
It is said that Baron Bohnhoff, who is leading the Imperial Army that is currently undergoing formation and training, has come up with this plan to measure its efficiency.
“The plan is to mobilize fifteen thousand men to surround this area and defeat the demons that will be scattered as a result of the defeat of the ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’. We’ve reduced the number of demons, so we won’t lost too many people.”
Guru has been dedicated to defeating this demon for months.
It’s no wonder that this small demon realm is on the verge of extinction.
“Okay, but what kind of demon is this Tortoise King Rainbow Assault?”
“It’s a continental tortoise with a very unusual shell.”
He described it as an old land tortoise, over a thousand years old, and about thirty meters long.
Its shell would glow like a rainbow and completely block all attribute magic.
Furthermore, its shell was said to have more than a hundred protrusions from which it could fire a large number of magic arrows.
“This characteristic is the reason why we have failed to defeat it so many times before. Its defense is quite high. Its shell can neutralize both physical and magical attacks. As a tortoise, his range of motion is extremely limited, which is why he reigns in a territory so close to a city.”
The strength of a realm boss is almost proportional to the area of the realm.
It was because of this large area that as a tortoise, the boss was able to live and reign long enough to be called a king.
“A shell that bounces back magical attacks. What about non-magical attacks, guru? What about non-magical items?”
“It is difficult to break the shell with weapons or blows. I’ve heard that in the past they tried to use a huge stone thrower, but they still failed. Even magic, to the extent of ‘Fireball’ would end up confined by the shell. That’s why the high-powered wizards are so valuable to us.”
Attack with powerful magic.
There were great wizards in the past who attacked with magic strong enough to destroy their shells or steamed them with heat magic.
“By the way, the Tortoise Rainbow Assault has no magic.”
The rainbow-colored shell is said to completely nullify all systemic magic.
Healing magic seems to work, but the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault is not an undead, so it can’t do any damage.
“Another troublesome demon…”
“It would be too much trouble, wouldn’t it?” Louise asked.
“I think that’s true.”
“If it’s too much trouble, we don’t need to attack it.”
This was Louise’s opinion, which normally would have been rejected by others, but at this time none of us feel the need to overdo it.
It would also be good to continue defeating other demons to train the army, so Ina was in favor of cancelling the operation as well.
“Eh? You’re not going to defeat him?” Peter cried out.
“It just occurred to me that Peter would be in the way.”
“Ah! Me?”
“Yes. Given the characteristics of demons, having Peter around is a hindrance. Marc is also useless for this.”
There was no talented sword master that would be able to deal damage to the Turtle King Rainbow Assault, which had a physical attack nullifier.
“Can’t he just use the sword made by Orihalkon?”
“I’m sure they would have tried that at some point.”
“Okay. What about Emera?”
“You’re too hung up on this.”
“Because if the tortoise shell as displayed in the plaza of the Imperial City, it would be very effective, wouldn’t it?”
Although it’s a cliché move, I also gained the attention of the people in the Baumeister Knight’s Domain by decorating the head of the Serpent Wilma killed.
The reason for this cliché is because it’s effective.
“The new master of the Imperial City will appear before his subject together with the defeated Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’s shell.”
“Peter, we haven’t defeated him yet. If we did, we’d take him out by ourselves.”
“Wendelin, you support me. So, your achievements are mine, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s do it then.”
“If you pay me properly.”
Since Peter has the blood of the emperor, I can’t completely trust him.
I’ll keep reminding him that he has to pay me.
“Of course, I will. But I’ll have Emera help you, and you can give me a discount.”
“All right.”
Thus, the liberation of the realm and the operation to defeat the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault, in cooperation with the training army, was decided.
“Isn’t it just a matter of the guru beating the demon to death?”
“No. That was already tried and failed.”
“What! Seriously?”
“I can understand why you are suspicious, Erwin. But, it’s true, so it’s best you saw it firsthand,” The guru advised.
We headed through the depths of the realm, guided by the guru.
“Guru, you’re familiar with the way?”
“I’ve been exploring it everyday for the last few months.””
“I never thought I’d see it in the daytime.”
When the army entered the realm for training, they thinned out to avoid being surrounded by large numbers of demons.
It could be said as a consequence, they were working hard at defeating the monsters, almost as if they were back in their adventurer days.
While the town of Sirkat was busy being developed and governed, they were able to act freely.
“This is it.”
In the center of the realm, there was an open grassland and rocky area, surrounded by trees.
And there was a giant tortoise, whose shell had a large number of iridescent protrusions shining like a rainbow.
The tortoise was nonchalantly grazing.
“It doesn’t look very strong, does it?”
We all felt the same way as Peter did.
When the tortoise finished grazing, it moved to a large rocky area and began to dry its shell.
From the looks of it, it’s just a flashy tortoise.
“Is it really that strong?”
“This one will put up a fight to assuage your suspicious, Your Highness.”
The guru stepped out of the shadow of the large tree where he had been hiding and ran towards the tortoise as fast as he could.
“Uncle!” Elise shouted out, surprised by the risky move.
The tortoise was enjoying itself, drying its shell without bothering with guru.
“The tortoise is acting like it has plenty of time to spare.”
“Yes.”
The tortoise was not alarmed, even though guru was attacking it.
Elle and I were impressed with the tortoise’s courage.
“Hmph. ‘Magical Mobile Armor’.”
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
It was the first-time seeing guru use it since the training in the Imperial City.
Louise made a nostalgic sound.
“There’s that rumor…”
“Yes, that rumor. If it were just an ordinary attribute dragon, it could be beaten to death.”
“Um…I don’t think there are many people in this world who can beat an attribute dragon to death…”
“I just said what I’ve been told.”
“…”
As I talked to Emera, who couldn’t hide her surprise, her gaze was fixed to the guru’s actions.
This was because he began to hit the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault in succession with his staff, which had changed into a hammer.
With each blow, the impact sounded like an explosion, echoing through the forest.
“His power is increasing.”
“He grew stronger.”
Burkhart’s analysis was correct.
Guru’s magic power has increased from when he defeated the Grade Ground from the Pangenia Plains and he has even learned efficient fighting techniques from Louise.
It’s no surprise that his attack power has increased.
“I’m more powerful, but it’s not working at all,” He called out to us.
“It seems so.’”
The tortoise had been nonchalant until the last moment before it was attacked. When it started being attacked, it retracted its head and legs into the shell.
It was a typical tortoise defense, but the strong shell seemed to block all of guru’s attacks.
“I didn’t know that attack could be blocked.”
“It’s a special shell.”
The shell not only prevented the magic attack, but the physical impact as well.
“I think that the shell is completely blocking the physical attacks as well. For example, what happens when you turn a tortoise over and activate the heat magic for a long time?”
A normal tortoise would be steamed.
Even if the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault shell only prevented magic, it would still be steamed at some point.
This was because, even if the magic itself was prevented, it would not be able to prevent the heat generated by the magic.
“I don’t think anyone has tried such a method.”
“This method also won’t work,” Guru stated.
Guru poured a large amount of magical power through his body, strengthening his body, and lifted the giant tortoise by the shell and threw it into the sky.
Guru’s power to throw that huge tortoise in the air for several tens of meters could only be described as irresponsible.
The tortoise’s shell, which the tortoise was still hiding in, fell onto the rocks below, making a large crashing sound.
The rocks were shattered, but there was not a single scratch on the shell.
“You’re at your limit, aren’t you?”
With the recent attack, it seemed that guru had reached his magical power limit.
He hurriedly ran over towards us, undid his ‘Magic Mobile Armor’ and returned to his original form.
“Even that won’t kill it?”
“Not only will it not die, but no damage will be done.”
From that height, how could such a huge body fall onto the rocks and not be damaged?
It seemed the shell had more protection than we imagined.
“Maybe it’s a kind of magical tool,” Burkhart suggested.
“That’s it.”
I found Burkhart’s thoughts the most fitting.
I don’t know if it was a mutation or if evolved after surviving numerous defeats.
But, as long as the tortoise is retracted in its shell, the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault doesn’t take any damage.
“We’ll need to take countermeasures. We can’t all shoot a bunch of magic at it.”
We all agree with Peter. At this time, guru started slapping my shoulder with his hand.
“What is it, guru?”
“In fact, it’s not over yet.”
We followed guru’s gaze to the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault and exclaimed.
The rainbow shell shone dazzlingly, and a large amount of magical power had begun to gather on more than a hundred protrusions.
“This is…”
“This is what happened when I attacked before. The shell transforms all attacks into magical powers and counterattacks. It doesn’t attack itself, but a large amount of attribute magic spears will attack the opponent.”
Everyone’s gaze snapped towards guru at the same time.
“What?”
The Tortoise King Rainbow Assault won’t attack if it isn’t harmed, but when it, the shell will convert attacks into magic power and rain down attribute magic speakers.
“Based on what guru said, all the attacks he made so far, will be converted into magic power, which will then attack him.”
“Last time, I had to run away from the realm not to die. Today, I’m glad you all are here with me.”
“Does that mean we’re going to be collateral damage?”
“That’s true. Fortunately, there are many wizards who can use ‘Magic Barrier’, so it’s fine.”
“Oh, no. Everyone gather around me.”
Everyone formed a circle at Burkhart’s command, and he deployed a ‘Magic Barrier’.
Spears of fire, ice, wind, and rock fired from the protrusions of the shell, raining down like a guerilla rainstorm.
“Let’s run!
We fled in formation back through the forest.
The trees we were hiding in had long since been torn to shreds by the magic attacks and even the demons around us were cruelly torn apart by the magic spears.
“He was so quiet, but he’s quite a terrifying boss.”
“You don’t say!”
This was a story that could have been explained verbally.
No matter how fast we ran, the tortoise seemed to have a lock on guru and the magical spears rained down on us without mercy.
“It’s not stopping.”
“It won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because most of my magic power is stored in the shell of that tortoise.
“Does that mean the stronger the opponent’s attack or magic power, the more damaging the counterattack?”
“Very good, Elle.”
“It doesn’t make me happy to be right!”
In the end, the tortoise’s counterattack continued until we made it out of the ream. Burkhart and Katharina used up their magic power from ‘Magic Barrier’, and Emera has also used up more than half of her magic power.
Honestly, it turned out to be a terrible scouting trip.
Chapter 123: CH 101
The current emperor’s third son, Peter, who did not hide his ambitions from us, arrived at the town of Sirkat with a dozen or so bodyguards, a strong swordsman, and a highly skilled wizard.
Officially, His Highness Peter, His Majesty’s third son, was to inspect the town or Sirkat to see if us outsiders were misbehaving in the town.
But the emperor, his first sons, and their cronies didn’t actually expect Peter to do anything.
“My brothers are hiding their intentions from our damned father. They look like filial sons to the shitty old man who doesn’t know how to read people.”
Peter explained the situation to us on the road.
It seemed that it was his honorable brothers who suggested to the emperor that Peter be sent out to inspect.
“My mother is a commoner and they don’t expect anything from me. I was playing around and eating skewers in the downtown area when my attendant had a stroke. My damned father was also a bit fussy with the house I was born in and whatnot. He wouldn’t like me if I ignored him.”
If a child of the imperial family said and did such things, it would definitely be viewed as strange.
“Even my followers are all illegitimate, all 15. They can afford to act as they wish.”
Thanks to this, Peter’s group was given the reputation as a group of misfits within the Imperial Palace.
In the eyes of the Royal Family and aristocrats, they are crude and badly behaved, however they aren’t disliked by the subjects of the Imperial Capital.
Rather, Peter is regarded as friendly and easy to get along with.
This is what the head of the Meier Trading Company relayed to me when he came to see me off.
“Apart from that, I’m always stretching my wings. It’s nice to be able to leave the Imperial City. I don’t have my damned father and brothers around.”
When we arrived at the town of Sirkat, everyone who greeted us was surprised by the sight of Peter and his party.
I guess they didn’t expect the third son of the emperor to come.
After explaining the situation to everyone and leading the guards to their quarters, we led Peter, Marc, and Emera to the mansion where they would be sleeping.
We had built a large, stone house in the fort and moved in, just like we had in the field camp.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Elise, Master Wendelin’s wife. Your Highness—”
“Such a solid greeting, very good. By the way, you’re the only people here who are privately associated with Wendelin? You’re as beautiful as they say you are.” Peter turned to me, “I mean, you are the same age as me, but you already have five wives. I’m so jealous.”
Ina found that her image of His Highness crumbled.
Peter is quite an oddball.
Louise decided she liked him better than the uptight brother she had met.
“You are the third son of the current emperor, so marriage is troublesome, but you can have as many wives as you want,” Wilma pointed out.
“Wilma is right, but as for me, I’m not interested in the decorative dolls in the Imperial Palace,” Peter quickly replied to Wilma, who had just introduced herself, calling her with a friendly tone.
Wilma had a slightly flushed and embarrassed expression on her face, but she quickly turned her interest to Marc, who was standing beside her.
“He looks strong.”
“Marc is the greatest swordsman in the Empire. Marc, do you think you would lose?”
“It’s difficult to say. Well…what is this place?” Marc’s expression crumpled slightly as he looked at my wives. “Even though Erwin is quite powerful too, I’m a bit surprised to see all of them have unusual combat skills.”
Since this is a private space, it is only the us here.
Marc, the top-notch swordsman, looked at Ina, Louise, Wilma, and Haruka while letting out a sigh.
Emera also looked at Katharina, Burkhart, and the guru, revealing a sense of alarm.
“Emera, there’s no mock battle or test of skill, so don’t worry.”
“Haa…”
“Emera is a little sensitive because of her loyalty and love for me.”
“It’s just a job. I feel no love.”
“When we’re not alone, she always acts cold like this. The truth is that she has a lot of love for me.”
“His Highness is as delusional as ever.”
As usual, I’m not sure of the relationship between these two, but since we’ve completed introductions, I explained Peter’s proposal to everyone.
“Count, are you abandoning Therese?”
“I won’t abandon her. It’s just that Peter is more fit to be emperor.
Burkhart was drawn to Therese, who he had met ten years ago.
Although Therese may not have realized it herself, but the same was true for the guru.
“You think Therese is a good person, though?” Burkhart questioned.
“Yes. I would have supported Therese if there were no other candidates. But I’ve gotten to know Peter.”
It’s not just about ability, this guy has a ‘good character’.
It’s a good thing to be able to ignore how others think something should be done and do it the way you believe it should be done; that makes for a good emperor.
Especially during this time of war.
“It sounds like the tale of how two lovers meet, but I have no taste for such things,” Peter spoke.
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
I, too, have no sexual interest in men.
“Wendelin, you have five beautiful wives. I had to correct the misleading comments.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Count, are you sure it’s all right? Therese has the support of the Northern Lords. Many are expecting her to be the first Empress.”
“The first empress. I like the sound of that.”
Not only Peter, but many others found this pleasing to the ear.
When a woman gets a high title in politics, business or otherwise, everyone expects great changes.
There’s always talk of a woman’s unique perspective.
That’s how people see and why they support Therese.
“There are people who see it positively because she’s a woman, but there are many that also see it negatively. It’s not a question of gender to me, it’s simply a question of ability and temperament. The blame for this mess in the first place lies, at least in some part, with Therese’s laxity in failing to drag the emperor down.”
I’m sure many of the Northern Lords feel that way too.
“Even if they were to place that blame on Therese, the emperor has a dedicated group of fools. They have no choice but to put their trust in Therese’s as the emperor’s rival for now.”
Few would want to challenge the emperor right now.
“The problem is that the Duke of Nuremberg understands this and set the whole process in motion.”
The anti-Nuremberg faction has been divided.
From his point of view, all he has to do now is defeat us in battle.
“You won’t convince those factions to unite.”
“No, not even His Majesty could convince them.”
“I can do it. Alfons can make it possible,” I interrupted their thoughts.
“Count, no way.”
“I’m going to ask Therese to retire as the Duchess of Philip.”
“Are you crazy?”
“I’m sane. I think she would want to leave if there was another candidate, wouldn’t she?”
Everyone expects her to be a good duchess, and a good candidate for the empress, so she has been working tirelessly to live up to those expectations.
But I wonder is she ever had any desire to be there.
“If Therese were the only option, I would feel sorry, but I would force her to become emperor. But here’s an ambitious man who wants to be emperor.”
“When Wendelin says it, even though the position of emperor sounds like a troublesome duty, I still have ambitions. But I also understand that the current situation in the Empire is extremely bad. If only the rebellions hadn’t happened, I’d just be the third son of a failed businessman.”
“That’s why it’s forbidden to reveal any information to anyone other than those in this room. Haruka, I’m sorry, but I’d be happy if you wouldn’t inform High Earl Mizuho. As Elle’s fiancé, you understand, right?” I requested.
“Yes. I am to become Elle’s fiancé and part of the Baumeister family.” Haruka accepted.
I’m prepared for a leak, but I’m sure High Earl Mizuho wouldn’t do anything stupid.
He, too, wants to end the civil war and return to normal life.
“Oh! So, this is the ‘lovable Mizuho’[1] we hear about! Erwin is lucky too. He has such a beautiful wife!”
“Uh. Well…”
Elle is basically terrified of Peter’s shamelessness, so he responded to his light-hearted joking in a hushed and awkward way.”
“Yes, I’m the…‘lovable Mizuho’…”
Next to Elle, Haruka’s face was also extremely red with embarrassment.
I haven’t heard of it before either, but ‘lovable Mizuho’ seemed to be quite a compliment.
It must mean the same as being a ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’.[1]
[1] Loveable Mizuho, is ミズホ撫子, which means Mizuho + loveable. It is pronounced like Mizuho Nadeshiko. 大和撫子. Yamato Nadeshiko, means a woman who displays the feminine virtues of Japan. Likely due to the way it’s being used and the wording, Wendelin determines such a meaning. I translated as ‘loveable’ to make more sense to the readers.
“A week before my father leaves the Imperial City in his pathetic palanquin, I’ll return to the Imperial City with the army that Wendelin will send out.”
I remembered that I had to lead an army and station it near the Imperial City.
Peter continued, “ We will take care of everything else. We’re already working with the people who remain in the Imperial City, but I’ll be pretending to play around here like I’m doing a random inspection. I don’t want to be too paranoid.”
Peter’s talk ended after that, around the same time for dinner, so we ate the food that Elise prepared.
I invited them to join us in the meal as a way of getting to know each other better.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten, so this seems even more delicious. The high-class cuisine in the Imperial City was also good.”
“Thank you.”
These days, I’m slowly learning to cook from Mizuho, so I’ve been captivated by Elise’s cooking skills.
Occasionally I develop new dishes myself of try to cook my own meals, but Elise still has the upper hand in terms of skill.
“Emera is pretty good at it too, but I’m not sure if she can beat Elise. Wendelin’s wife is amazing.”
Peter continued to eat Elise’s food, getting several refills.
“They say for the aristocrats, they should eat the food cooked by hired cooks, but it’s simply amazing to be able do it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Elise seemed to be less than satisfied with the praise she received from Peter.
“Marc isn’t a picky eater. But his wife is such a good cook that if he doesn’t like food, he won’t touch it at all.”
Marc, the quiet, sharp-eyes swordsman, continued to eat with his head down as he slowly savored the food.
“Haruka, do you think Takeomi could beat him?” Erwin asked.
“No, but I, of course, think that my brother is only slightly behind.”
Haruka also seemed to have seen through Marc’s sword prowess, and understands he was stronger than her.
“He’s my proud vassal.”
“How good are you with the sword, Peter?”
“Well, I’m indeed better than Wendelin. My sword master is Marc after all.”
“I don’t need a sword.”
“A total sore loser.”
It was frustrating, but he was likely right.
Peter doesn’t look like an expert swordsman by any stretch of the imagination, so it slightly pissed me off when he said he was better than me.
“Troublesome. Don’t get the reputation of losing the first round of a martial arts preliminary competition.”
“If I were to go, would I make it to the third round or so?”
Peter was a pleasant man, and that evening’s dinner was very nice.
“I’m just going to keep my cool and go about my normal business and magic training until things start happening.”
“Auspicious words from Katharina.”
“Wendelin, haven’t you been skipping practice lately?”
“I can’t practice because I’ve been using up almost all of my magic power.”
The next morning, I woke up early and went to practice my magic with Katharina for the first time in a long while.
I haven’t done much training recently lately, as all my magic power was used up by making porcelain.
“My magic power is still advancing.”
“As usual, your magic levels are ridiculous.”
Both of us aimed at a rock placed about fifty meters away and released [Wind Cutter].
It’s a guarantee that we’ll both hit our target, but we are training our magical precision in how cleanly we can cut through the rock.
“Really, I’m envious.”
Good morning, master.”
We greeted Burkhart as he arrived to train with us.
“I do a lot of engineering work myself. So, I thought I’d give it some practice once in a while.”
Burkhart showed up and took aim at the rock with [Wind Cutter].
The rock was cut evenly, as if it were a sliced almond.
“It’s thin. And it’s all even.”
“It’s going to be a long time before the Count and Katharina reach this level.”
He cut the rock so thin that we could almost see through to the other side, and yet it was all aligned to the same thickness.
Even his master, just before death, would not have had this level of precision.
It was the result of decades of training.
“The Count’s is so thick.”
“Ugh…”
I’ve diced rocks before in magic demonstrations, but it’s hard to slice them as thinly as Burkhart’s.
It’s that fine control that is challenging for me.
“Katharina. You’re supposed to slice horizontally, but it’s sliced up diagonally and vertically. You need to be a little more diligent. You too, you’re not making much progress, are you?”
Both of us were warned by Burkhart that we weren’t yet at a high enough level.
Although Burkhart drank a lot of alcohol, he was an impeccable master.
To add up the people he had taught, even only briefly, there would be hundreds in the kingdom.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, morning, miss.”
After receiving instruction from Burkhart for a while, Emera greeted us.
She seemed to be alone right now, watching our training with great interest.
“Want to try it?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s just normal training. It’s nothing we need to be secretive about.”
“Thank you.”
This morning, Emera was reserved and beautiful.
Burkhart suggested her to start her training.
With a cool look on her face, she unleashed [Wind Cutter] and a rush of wind cuts went through the target rock.
When I went to look at the rock, I saw that it was a little thicker than Burkhart’s, but the rock had been evenly cut.
“You did it, wow.”
“I can do more.”
“You are around 20, right? That accuracy is amazing at such a young age. But the amount of magic and precision, I wonder if Bradson wasn’t aware of it?”
Burkhart wondered why there were so many great wizards who hadn’t been brought to his attention.
He wondered since he hadn’t shown up to the magic showcase.
“Nope. I’ve only been there for a short time, but Bradson has been very kind to me.”
Emera was born in a village near the realm of demons, a short distance from the Imperial City.
Her parents ran a dissection shop that dissected and sold the demons that adventurers hunted , and even when she found out as a child that she had magical powers, she thought she’d be involved with demons for a living.
“Up until a year ago, I lived at home and hunted all the time.”
She attended a nearby adventurer’s prep school, and after graduating, all she did was hunt.
“My parents were delighted that there were so many demons to destroy. My father, mother, and brother all loved to dissect demons.”
“Yeah, well…”
I think this is the first time I’ve heard of the existence of the race of dissection enthusiasts.
“I’m not very good at serving noblemen or anything like that either…I can only hunt in silence…”
Since her personality didn’t fit in with the palace service, her magic power and accuracy increased while she was hunting alone as an adventurer.
It was true that when one was as good as she was, one could make more money to hunt demons than to serve a nobleman and live a rigid life.
“Did you abandon that life?”
“Yes, Peter kept recruiting me. He came to the house in person several times unsolicited, and finally I accepted the offer after losing patience. I told him ‘I’ll only guard you’ and he said, ‘You’re only going to protect me. I feel so loved.’”
“Wendelin, is His Highness really all right?”
Katharina seemed to be worried about Peter, whose brain was full of pink delusions.
I’m assuming it’s okay because he will only be like that to Emera.
“I’m unsociable and I refused to attend the magic showcase that Count Baumeister and the others attended, and…”
Emera was a beautiful woman and a very good wizard.
She was probably a gem that the Imperial government wanted to sell, but the one she ended up with was the third son who had a bad reputation in the Imperial Palace, and there was no way to advertise her since she was always at his time.
That was probably the reason the four brothers, who were lower in rank in terms of ability, were being promoted.
“Bradson told me ‘You can do whatever you want with your magic’.”
Bradson recognized Emera’s abilities, but he noticed that she had an unsociable personality, and he respected that.
“That’s why I’m grateful to Count Baumeister and the others who defeated those four brothers who defeated Bradson. Thank you so much.”
Emera thanked me with a divine face, but I guess that a beautiful woman is beautiful no matter what her expression is.
“Itteh! Katharina, why?”
“You have a smirk on your face.”
Is she jealous?
I let Katharina pinch my arm again.
“Those brothers were only defeated because a mad dog tried to bite them, and I only beat one of them.”
“But still, you did it Count Baumeister, didn’t you? I don’t think I, Burkhart, or Miss Katharina could take down one of them.”
Just like Emera said, those four brothers should have been able to defeat me alone with plenty of time to spare.
There were many more formidable wizards with the same amount of magic power as them.
It must have been because they were spoiled.
“I still have much to learn from Burkhart’s dexterity and Count Baumeister’s power.”
Since then, the four of us continued training together until breakfast.
“Speaking of which, where is the guru?” Emera asked.
“This kind of training is not in the guru’s character.”
It’s not his nature and strength, so the guru spends the morning in the demon’s realm.
The soldiers are taking turns sleeping and he plans to join them.
He’s following up with the soldiers to make sure they don’t get killed in training.
“He’s terrific, isn’t he?”
“He is. There is no one else like him.”
“He’s impossible to imitate.”
I don’t even want to imitate him.
I’m sure Katharina wouldn’t either.
“I’d love to go hunting with him.”
“What?”
“Is there something wrong with you?”
Burkhart and I both reacted badly to that idea. We’ve both had a terrible experience hunting with the guru.
“You can try it out”
“Burkhart?” I whispered to him, not understanding.
“Emera has to experience it to understand.”
“Yes, I know, as one of the victims myself.”
Katharina had challenged me to a hunting match, but before I knew it, the guru took control of the match.
Anyways, I got tired both mentally and physically.
“I’m looking forward to it.” A smile appeared on Emera’s normally expressionless face.
Apparently, she like to hunt quite a bit.
“Is she a hunting maniac?” I whispered to no one in particular.
We decided to go to the army and hunt in the demon’s realm after breakfast, unrelated to Emera’s apparent love for hunting.
Before that, we mixed the white porcelain clay that was reduced during our trip to the Imperial City, and then we magically heated the porcelain that was molded and painted.
After doing all that, my magic power was reduced to about half, but it shouldn’t have much effect on my hunting.
“The amount of your magic power is just as they say. It’s amazing,” Emera adored on the ride to our destination.
When we arrived at the entrance of the demon realm, there were thousands of soldiers camped out.
They, in turn, would enter the realm in groups of twenty to hunt the demons.
It’s a good way to train, secure food, and gather materials and collectibles. It kills three birds with one stone.
“What about those who are injured?” Elise asked.
“Elise, over here.”
There were many injured soldiers, but that was handled by having a healing wizard on hand at all times.
Today, Elise had come with me, so she was healing them as fast as she could.
“Her name as the ‘Saint’ is justified. She’s got great skills.”
Peter, who had followed along with Emera, was impressed with Elise’s magic healing skills.
“Yes. Peter, will you join the hunt?”
“I will.”
“Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Marc will be there too.”
What’s important is not the ability of the guards, but the strength of the person themselves.
There are possibilities of being caught by surprise when a guard can’t guarantee their presence or the safety of those with them.
“Marc, are you sure you two will be okay?”
“His Highness is an expert with a sword.”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Burkhart replied.
Burkhart seemed to have a bit of information about Peter.
Peter’s grades in martial arts were only average, but he was diligent.
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Such was his assessment from those around him.
“What are you talking about? What’s good about being regarded as better with swords and academics then my brothers?”
“It’s not.”
If he was too good, he could be assassinated, and if he wasn’t good enough, he would be abandoned. His performance had been perfect.
“Besides,” Peter added, “I’m used to hunting.”
The guru was currently deep in the forest, in search for big game.
We entered the forest, but there was very little prey. Maybe it was because we’d been hunting quite frequently.
They appear occasionally, but…
“Aren’t there too few?” I wondered aloud.
A boar-shaped demon emerged and was defeated in a single blow by Louise, who dropped an elbow strike from above before it could rush at us.
She was as quick as ever.
“We can train safely at this level of density. It’s the work of the guru.”
A deer-shaped demon was defeated by Wilma shooting it in the brain with her sniper-style demon gun.
She was able to successfully use the sniper-style demon gun that she had made several minor modifications to.
“That’s the rumored magic gun, isn’t it? I want one too.”
“Tell that to High Earl Mizuho. We’re chumps to, aside from simple mechanics, when it comes to manufacturing.”
The gun Wilma had, she was borrowing and testing it out for data purposes.
If she lends it to me, the magical power will be replenished, and Wilma can shoot as much as she wants.
At first glance, it looks like the mechanism is simple and can be copied easily, but the attempt hasn’t worked at all, and that’s why the Duke of Nuremberg didn’t put it on the battlefield.
“Even a normal magic gun needs maintenance once a week, and this prototype model need maintenance every three days.”
“Will it stop shooting?”
“I think I can get away with it if it’s just for a week. But there is a risk of an explosion.”
“What happens if it explodes.”
“They said it could blow your arm and head off.”
“Oh, well….”
Perhaps one of the bottlenecks in the development and spread of magic guns is the strength of the material used.
I’ve heard before that even with High Earl Mizuho, the guns would go out of control during experimentation and cause a lot of casualties.
“That’s a shame. Well, maybe I’ll start hunting too,” Peter said.
Peter took out his bow he brought with him and shot the ‘Hakureidori’ that was perched on a tree with a single arrow.
They are classified as demons and will occasionally poke people in the head with their beaks, but it won’t hurt badly.
They are a demon unique to this region, but their meat is delicious, so they are popular prey for beginners.
“Nice shot.”
“That’s how I earned my allowance.”
As the third son of the emperor, Peter has a good amount of pocket money.
But it wasn’t enough to support his number of followers and attendants.
“Hunting is a side-job for me.”
In a similar position, the second and third sons of nobility, merchants, and other would gathers to hunt in the forests and other places outside the Imperial City.
Peter continued, “I can’t pay them enough money, so we hunt. It’s a military drill for us, we can eat the meat and then sell some. It’s set up as the imperial family’s idiot son playing around with his foolish friends, so we can sell the materials to the Meier Trading Company without anyone watching.”
“The master of that place is a tricky one.”
“I’ve been doing this for about a year not. I guess it’s an insurance policy for him.”
The master of the Meier Trading company, as one of the richest merchants and traders in the Imperial City, had noticed Peter’s caliber and secretly assisted him in the hope that he might be of use later on.
In addition to the profits from the sale of material, he may have ordered his comrades and vassals to work on the side to save money.
Forgery and money laundering must have been part of the Meier Trading Company business and he wouldn’t want Peter’s family to find out.
“I’ve heard that if you want to sell porcelain around town, the Meier Trading Company is the place to go.”
“The Meier Trading Company makes a lot of money from the aristocracy, but they’re not hated by the commoners. After the coup, they haven’t been robbed much.”
With a coup d’état of such a scale, it was normal for residents to steal into merchants houses amidst the chaos.
Many merchant associations were affected by this.
It was the main reason why the merchants wanted the stability of the regime.
That’s why many merchants that cozy up to the regime and why they often share the fate of those in power when they fall.
“Do you have sympathizers with the nobility, the military, and the merchants? I hope you’ll succeed, Peter.”
“Of course, I’ll make it work.”
As we go further into the forest, although we are further in demon territory, the number of prey is sparse.
It’s not a large area to begin with and there are thousands of troops stationed in the area of hunt demons for training purposes.
It’s a good thing that the guru took the lead in thinning out the demons, as our group managed to move deep into the area with ease, even while talking with each other.
“The guru…”
“He had time to clear out.”
As a citizen of the kingdom, I can’t entrust the army command to the empire.
I thought if I could use healing magic, I’d go that way, but I can’t use it well, and I have no aptitude for helping with governance or construction.
It seems that for a while now, this army has been concentrating on defeating the demons in this realm.
“I’ve heard rumors, the kingdom’s first mage lord is amazing. The demons in this realm are on the verge of extinction.”
“Ooh…is that so?”
Emera, a woman of common sense, asked me if I was worried about such a thing.
“It seems this realm itself could be gone. That’s what the deputy said.” Emera told me what she’d heard.
“It’s a hindrance to the expansion of the town.”
Rather than being a hindrance to the expansion of the town itself, the problem is that this realm is interfering with the access to the direct control area and the small lord’s union region.
“If that’s the case, why don’t you just defeat the boss?”
“I’m sure there are budgetary issues and priorities and all that,” Burkhart cut in.
“Burkhart is right. Until now, the priority has been Arhaans, which has been treated as a secondary city. Sirkat wasn’t a very good town until Wendelin expanded it.”
“I see. If this area is freed up, the town or Sirkat, with its water traffic that has been lagging behind in development, will come together.”
As expected, Emera seemed to have studied properly.
“So, therefore, Count Baumeister, it’s time to fight.”
“Guru…”
The guru who hadn’t been seen until now appeared with a big smile on his face.
“For the past few months, this individual has taken the initiative to hunt demons everyday to reduce their numbers. The only thing left to do is take care of the boss ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’.”
“The boss of this realm isn’t a dragon?”
“The Great Tortoise type bosses are the weakest and treated as introductory….”
“Oh, I understand…They look good when flipped over.”
The undead become valuable as they age.
We have dealt with dragons before, so a tortoise seems easier to deal with.
“Um, you two…There’s nothing introductory about a realm boss,” Emera pointed out.
“There are three of us, including me, that have dealt with more than one dragon.”
“I’ve only dealt with flying dragons before.”
“That’s normal. It’s not weird.”
Emera was immensely impressed with the intensity of our demon-slaying background.
“More importantly, we just came to inspect and ask about military training. Then we would hunt for a bit before going home. If you have a big event like this, please tell me ahead of time, guru.”
Although I know it’s useless, I’ll complain to guru in the meantime.
“Count Baumeister, I’ve just told you.”
“I only have about half my magic power now…”
“The defeat of the ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’ is scheduled for tomorrow.”
“You’ve already made a plan?!”
“A plan I made with my friend Gilbert.”
It is said that Baron Bohnhoff, who is leading the Imperial Army that is currently undergoing formation and training, has come up with this plan to measure its efficiency.
“The plan is to mobilize fifteen thousand men to surround this area and defeat the demons that will be scattered as a result of the defeat of the ‘Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’. We’ve reduced the number of demons, so we won’t lost too many people.”
Guru has been dedicated to defeating this demon for months.
It’s no wonder that this small demon realm is on the verge of extinction.
“Okay, but what kind of demon is this Tortoise King Rainbow Assault?”
“It’s a continental tortoise with a very unusual shell.”
He described it as an old land tortoise, over a thousand years old, and about thirty meters long.
Its shell would glow like a rainbow and completely block all attribute magic.
Furthermore, its shell was said to have more than a hundred protrusions from which it could fire a large number of magic arrows.
“This characteristic is the reason why we have failed to defeat it so many times before. Its defense is quite high. Its shell can neutralize both physical and magical attacks. As a tortoise, his range of motion is extremely limited, which is why he reigns in a territory so close to a city.”
The strength of a realm boss is almost proportional to the area of the realm.
It was because of this large area that as a tortoise, the boss was able to live and reign long enough to be called a king.
“A shell that bounces back magical attacks. What about non-magical attacks, guru? What about non-magical items?”
“It is difficult to break the shell with weapons or blows. I’ve heard that in the past they tried to use a huge stone thrower, but they still failed. Even magic, to the extent of ‘Fireball’ would end up confined by the shell. That’s why the high-powered wizards are so valuable to us.”
Attack with powerful magic.
There were great wizards in the past who attacked with magic strong enough to destroy their shells or steamed them with heat magic.
“By the way, the Tortoise Rainbow Assault has no magic.”
The rainbow-colored shell is said to completely nullify all systemic magic.
Healing magic seems to work, but the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault is not an undead, so it can’t do any damage.
“Another troublesome demon…”
“It would be too much trouble, wouldn’t it?” Louise asked.
“I think that’s true.”
“If it’s too much trouble, we don’t need to attack it.”
This was Louise’s opinion, which normally would have been rejected by others, but at this time none of us feel the need to overdo it.
It would also be good to continue defeating other demons to train the army, so Ina was in favor of cancelling the operation as well.
“Eh? You’re not going to defeat him?” Peter cried out.
“It just occurred to me that Peter would be in the way.”
“Ah! Me?”
“Yes. Given the characteristics of demons, having Peter around is a hindrance. Marc is also useless for this.”
There was no talented sword master that would be able to deal damage to the Turtle King Rainbow Assault, which had a physical attack nullifier.
“Can’t he just use the sword made by Orihalkon?”
“I’m sure they would have tried that at some point.”
“Okay. What about Emera?”
“You’re too hung up on this.”
“Because if the tortoise shell as displayed in the plaza of the Imperial City, it would be very effective, wouldn’t it?”
Although it’s a cliché move, I also gained the attention of the people in the Baumeister Knight’s Domain by decorating the head of the Serpent Wilma killed.
The reason for this cliché is because it’s effective.
“The new master of the Imperial City will appear before his subject together with the defeated Tortoise King Rainbow Assault’s shell.”
“Peter, we haven’t defeated him yet. If we did, we’d take him out by ourselves.”
“Wendelin, you support me. So, your achievements are mine, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s do it then.”
“If you pay me properly.”
Since Peter has the blood of the emperor, I can’t completely trust him.
I’ll keep reminding him that he has to pay me.
“Of course, I will. But I’ll have Emera help you, and you can give me a discount.”
“All right.”
Thus, the liberation of the realm and the operation to defeat the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault, in cooperation with the training army, was decided.
“Isn’t it just a matter of the guru beating the demon to death?”
“No. That was already tried and failed.”
“What! Seriously?”
“I can understand why you are suspicious, Erwin. But, it’s true, so it’s best you saw it firsthand,” The guru advised.
We headed through the depths of the realm, guided by the guru.
“Guru, you’re familiar with the way?”
“I’ve been exploring it everyday for the last few months.””
“I never thought I’d see it in the daytime.”
When the army entered the realm for training, they thinned out to avoid being surrounded by large numbers of demons.
It could be said as a consequence, they were working hard at defeating the monsters, almost as if they were back in their adventurer days.
While the town of Sirkat was busy being developed and governed, they were able to act freely.
“This is it.”
In the center of the realm, there was an open grassland and rocky area, surrounded by trees.
And there was a giant tortoise, whose shell had a large number of iridescent protrusions shining like a rainbow.
The tortoise was nonchalantly grazing.
“It doesn’t look very strong, does it?”
We all felt the same way as Peter did.
When the tortoise finished grazing, it moved to a large rocky area and began to dry its shell.
From the looks of it, it’s just a flashy tortoise.
“Is it really that strong?”
“This one will put up a fight to assuage your suspicious, Your Highness.”
The guru stepped out of the shadow of the large tree where he had been hiding and ran towards the tortoise as fast as he could.
“Uncle!” Elise shouted out, surprised by the risky move.
The tortoise was enjoying itself, drying its shell without bothering with guru.
“The tortoise is acting like it has plenty of time to spare.”
“Yes.”
The tortoise was not alarmed, even though guru was attacking it.
Elle and I were impressed with the tortoise’s courage.
“Hmph. ‘Magical Mobile Armor’.”
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
It was the first-time seeing guru use it since the training in the Imperial City.
Louise made a nostalgic sound.
“There’s that rumor…”
“Yes, that rumor. If it were just an ordinary attribute dragon, it could be beaten to death.”
“Um…I don’t think there are many people in this world who can beat an attribute dragon to death…”
“I just said what I’ve been told.”
“…”
As I talked to Emera, who couldn’t hide her surprise, her gaze was fixed to the guru’s actions.
This was because he began to hit the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault in succession with his staff, which had changed into a hammer.
With each blow, the impact sounded like an explosion, echoing through the forest.
“His power is increasing.”
“He grew stronger.”
Burkhart’s analysis was correct.
Guru’s magic power has increased from when he defeated the Grade Ground from the Pangenia Plains and he has even learned efficient fighting techniques from Louise.
It’s no surprise that his attack power has increased.
“I’m more powerful, but it’s not working at all,” He called out to us.
“It seems so.’”
The tortoise had been nonchalant until the last moment before it was attacked. When it started being attacked, it retracted its head and legs into the shell.
It was a typical tortoise defense, but the strong shell seemed to block all of guru’s attacks.
“I didn’t know that attack could be blocked.”
“It’s a special shell.”
The shell not only prevented the magic attack, but the physical impact as well.
“I think that the shell is completely blocking the physical attacks as well. For example, what happens when you turn a tortoise over and activate the heat magic for a long time?”
A normal tortoise would be steamed.
Even if the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault shell only prevented magic, it would still be steamed at some point.
This was because, even if the magic itself was prevented, it would not be able to prevent the heat generated by the magic.
“I don’t think anyone has tried such a method.”
“This method also won’t work,” Guru stated.
Guru poured a large amount of magical power through his body, strengthening his body, and lifted the giant tortoise by the shell and threw it into the sky.
Guru’s power to throw that huge tortoise in the air for several tens of meters could only be described as irresponsible.
The tortoise’s shell, which the tortoise was still hiding in, fell onto the rocks below, making a large crashing sound.
The rocks were shattered, but there was not a single scratch on the shell.
“You’re at your limit, aren’t you?”
With the recent attack, it seemed that guru had reached his magical power limit.
He hurriedly ran over towards us, undid his ‘Magic Mobile Armor’ and returned to his original form.
“Even that won’t kill it?”
“Not only will it not die, but no damage will be done.”
From that height, how could such a huge body fall onto the rocks and not be damaged?
It seemed the shell had more protection than we imagined.
“Maybe it’s a kind of magical tool,” Burkhart suggested.
“That’s it.”
I found Burkhart’s thoughts the most fitting.
I don’t know if it was a mutation or if evolved after surviving numerous defeats.
But, as long as the tortoise is retracted in its shell, the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault doesn’t take any damage.
“We’ll need to take countermeasures. We can’t all shoot a bunch of magic at it.”
We all agree with Peter. At this time, guru started slapping my shoulder with his hand.
“What is it, guru?”
“In fact, it’s not over yet.”
We followed guru’s gaze to the Tortoise King Rainbow Assault and exclaimed.
The rainbow shell shone dazzlingly, and a large amount of magical power had begun to gather on more than a hundred protrusions.
“This is…”
“This is what happened when I attacked before. The shell transforms all attacks into magical powers and counterattacks. It doesn’t attack itself, but a large amount of attribute magic spears will attack the opponent.”
Everyone’s gaze snapped towards guru at the same time.
“What?”
The Tortoise King Rainbow Assault won’t attack if it isn’t harmed, but when it, the shell will convert attacks into magic power and rain down attribute magic speakers.
“Based on what guru said, all the attacks he made so far, will be converted into magic power, which will then attack him.”
“Last time, I had to run away from the realm not to die. Today, I’m glad you all are here with me.”
“Does that mean we’re going to be collateral damage?”
“That’s true. Fortunately, there are many wizards who can use ‘Magic Barrier’, so it’s fine.”
“Oh, no. Everyone gather around me.”
Everyone formed a circle at Burkhart’s command, and he deployed a ‘Magic Barrier’.
Spears of fire, ice, wind, and rock fired from the protrusions of the shell, raining down like a guerilla rainstorm.
“Let’s run!
We fled in formation back through the forest.
The trees we were hiding in had long since been torn to shreds by the magic attacks and even the demons around us were cruelly torn apart by the magic spears.
“He was so quiet, but he’s quite a terrifying boss.”
“You don’t say!”
This was a story that could have been explained verbally.
No matter how fast we ran, the tortoise seemed to have a lock on guru and the magical spears rained down on us without mercy.
“It’s not stopping.”
“It won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because most of my magic power is stored in the shell of that tortoise.
“Does that mean the stronger the opponent’s attack or magic power, the more damaging the counterattack?”
“Very good, Elle.”
“It doesn’t make me happy to be right!”
In the end, the tortoise’s counterattack continued until we made it out of the ream. Burkhart and Katharina used up their magic power from ‘Magic Barrier’, and Emera has also used up more than half of her magic power.
Honestly, it turned out to be a terrible scouting trip.
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