Chapter 153

While preparing for the war against the monster army.

I was buried in all sorts of war-related documents every day, but I never missed a single day of training.

Furthermore, coordinating the difficulties of the 1st Knight Order, which went to defend the northern part of the Monster Mountains, and the 2nd Knight Order, which went to defend the south, was a headache.

The 1st Knight Order was a union of elves and humans, and the 2nd Knight Order was a union of giants and humans, so with two different races together, various conflicts were inevitable.

Still, the elves, giants, and humans had had some exchanges in my kingdom over the past year and had shared ‘a certain amount’ of culture, so there were no major issues.

—As an aside, Kalitos and Vaisar, who were the best at and most knowledgeable about ‘manual labor’ in the kingdom, were sent to the north and south of the Monster Mountains, respectively. As the supervisors of the fortress construction.—

‘The big issues came from the Anakros side.’

The giant snake race, Anakros.

They also had an important role in the preparations for this war against the monster army.

They were in charge of digging ‘traps’ in the Ness Plains, the core of the war.

While the elves and giants built fortresses with the knights and soldiers, the Anakros mostly worked with the mages from the Mage Tower.

The mages of the Mage Tower would tell them how deep and wide to dig, and the Anakros would dig the ground and scoop out the soil accordingly.

I entrusted such complex mathematical calculations to the best brains in this kingdom, the mages.

‘The problem was that the Anakros hated taking orders from humans. They found it frustrating too.’

From the Anakros's perspective, it was understandable to be frustrated.

I could converse with the Anakros elder—Risilbak, but the other Anakros could not.

The Anakros could only understand human speech.

In other words, they couldn't tell the mages what they wanted to say and just had to follow instructions.

‘Having to follow the instructions of humans who are weaker than them, and not being able to communicate… It must have been really annoying.’

The reason I knew about the Anakros's difficulties.

It was because Risilbak would occasionally come to me and complain.

Risilbak had dug a tunnel under the royal capital to talk to me, and from there, he sent me telepathic messages.

‘I was really surprised when he first said he dug a tunnel under the royal capital.’

How could I not be surprised when he said he dug a tunnel under the royal capital.

If the royal palace and the walls of the royal capital collapsed because of that tunnel, the kingdom would be doomed.

But fortunately, Risilbak said, 「”You made me dig so much that I've gotten used to digging now. I've learned how much to dig for it to collapse, and how much for it not to. So don't worry. Thank you so much, really.”」

Risilbak usually came to me at night to complain. Things like, 「”Your mages are overworking our tribe these days.”」 or 「”Make those bastards learn the Anakros language!! Make them learn!! Unconditionally!!”」

Anyway, the reason I'm suddenly talking about this is… because I was currently talking to Risilbak with my mind.

I had just laid down to sleep early for once.

Normally, I would have let Risilbak's words go in one ear and out the other.

But today's content was not trivial enough to be dismissed so lightly.

—So… you're saying the monster army is increasing its numbers drastically.

—That's right. The Black Orc ‘Krokas,’ who has taken control of the monster army, has commanded all monster females to do so. To give birth to one offspring per week.

—…

—It varies by tribe, but generally, monsters grow enough to be able to fight to some extent in 5 to 6 months. And at this rate, the number of the monster army will probably be several times larger in 6 to 7 months.

—Several times the number…

—Right. It might even be more. If there are females among the newly born offspring, they will be forced to give birth as soon as they are capable of pregnancy.

How should I put it.

It's just… disgusting.

‘Forcing them to have children for the sake of war?’

I don't know monster culture.

Could it be that forcing them to have offspring for war is a natural part of monster culture?

—Risilbak-nim. Is it a common thing for monsters to have offspring to send to war?

—No way. Absolutely not.

Risilbak said firmly.

—That bastard Krokas is running rampant. Even more so since the mythical monster he worshiped, no, his god itself, the Minotaur, was sealed.

—…

—Until a month or two ago, I thought I could beat Krokas if I fought him seriously. The reason I didn't was because, no matter how much I acknowledge you as my covenant partner and agree to fight alongside you, openly rebelling would have caused too much damage to our Anakros.

—Does that mean… even you can't beat Krokas now, Risilbak-nim?

—I'll be honest. That bastard Krokas is stronger than me. His axe would pierce halfway through my body with a single blow, and the hammer that follows would split my body in two. I would be continuously attacked before I could recover.

—…

—Of course, I would counterattack in my own way, but… anyway, I wanted to let you know. Just as you, the king of humans, are preparing for war, so is Krokas.

I suppose so. It wouldn't be a crisis in my life for no reason.

Still, whatever Krokas does, the war against the monster army is my victory. The Future Diary promises that.

‘That may be so… but I should think about some additional strategy that hasn't appeared in the diary yet. Something that my future self didn't think of, and that the current me hasn't thought of either. …Though I don't know what I can prepare.’

—I understand, Risilbak-nim. Thank you for letting me know. Ah, so what will the Anakros tribe do now? It doesn't seem like you can stay in the Monster Mountains any longer.

—Hmm, that's right. So for now, I plan to stay in the underground pit in the Ness Plains where the ‘construction’ is finished. I'll use the trap-cum-pit that you exploited us to make as our temporary shelter.

—Haha… I'm always grateful.

—Of course, you should be. In my entire life, no, in the entire history of our Anakros tribe, you will be the first and last covenant partner to exploit us like this.

After that, Risilbak started complaining again.

「The mages used to grill meat for us, but now they say it's too much trouble and make us grill it ourselves or eat it raw. They should have just not shown us the taste of grilled meat in the first place!」 or 「I've dug so much that my shiny and beautiful scales have all become shabby. Take responsibility!」

He was quite high-handed when we first met, but now he's become a bit more friendly.

—You're going through a lot.

—Of course I am! Do you have any idea how hard it is to dig, expose, and do all that, even for us Anakros?! And to do that for most of the Ness Plains?! We've probably dug more land than you humans have in your entire history!

—That could be true. You are going through a lot.

I responded to Risilbak's words, but I wasn't really focusing.

‘The numbers of the monster army are increasing that much…’

As I thought before, the Future Diary says that I will win the war against the monster army anyway.

It does say that I will continue to suffer from the trauma I get during the war, but anyway, the war itself will be a victory.

‘That may be so… but now that I've obtained the ‘new information’ that the monsters are greatly increasing their numbers, I can't just do nothing about it.’

Creating a huge, nation-scale trap to face the monster army.

Even if I can win with that alone, I must prepare everything possible for a more certain victory.

‘It will be difficult to drastically change tactics and strategies at this point. And it's impossible to suddenly increase the army like the monsters. Training the army harder… that's possible, but it's not very revolutionary.’

If so.

‘It would be good to have a new weapon, something like that.’

What kind of new weapon would be good?

Something that would be effective for a small force to fight against a large force would be nice.

‘I should probably talk to Seria and the Mage Tower elders first. About developing a new weapon.’

While I was thinking to myself, Risilbak continued to talk to himself. I did interject with things like 「“Oh, I see. You're going through a lot.”」 from time to time.

—Well then, I'll be going now. I have to go to work again.

—You are going through a lot.

—…It feels like you're just repeating what you've been saying. Well, sleep well.

With those words, Risilbak's voice was no longer heard.

I looked at the clock and it was already past four in the morning.

I was trying to go to bed early for once to relieve some fatigue.

‘Let's get to sleep quickly. I need to get some sleep if I'm going to talk to the mages about a new weapon early tomorrow morning.’

I tried to sleep like that, but.

‘…I can't fall asleep.’

I was definitely very tired when I lay down in bed.

But talking with Risilbak had completely woken me up.

Instead, my mind became filled with thoughts.

‘A new weapon. For a small number to fight against a large number, there's nothing like a bomb. Even if I can't make a very destructive and complex bomb… a hand grenade? Couldn't I make something like that?’

A hand grenade. A weapon with a very long history.

In the Middle Ages, there were hand grenades where liquid gunpowder was put in a pot-like glass bottle and thrown, and in modern Europe, there were grenadiers who threw iron balls filled with gunpowder.

‘Those old-fashioned hand grenades have a very simple structure. But they won't have the killing power I want. What I want is something like the fragmentation grenade I used in the army.’

A fragmentation grenade.

Similar to a regular hand grenade, but when it explodes, fragments scatter around.

The explosive power itself is somewhat less than a regular bomb, but due to the effect of the scattering fragments, it is a very effective weapon in ‘anti-personnel warfare.’

‘They say its lethality drops sharply if you wear something like body armor, but there's no way there's body armor in this world.’

So if I could make a fragmentation grenade, it would be an incredible weapon, but… would it be difficult? I don't know how to make it either—.

Just as I was thinking that.

Chwararararak—!

“!”

The Future Diary I had placed on the bedside table opened by itself.

A phenomenon that occurs when there is an important change in my future.

***

The next morning, in the Mage Tower Master's room on the top floor of the Mage Tower.

Seria was checking her makeup and hair in the mirror. Her hands were very busy.

‘…His Majesty is also in a difficult position. If he was going to call me in the morning, he should have contacted me yesterday.’

Although Seria had left the Mage Tower to help with Leonardo's Purge, she was still treated as the ‘Mage Tower Master’ in the Mage Tower.

There was no one among the current mages, except for the elders, who had as much influence as she did.

The reason Seria was busy getting ready.

It was because she had just received a summons from Leonardo.

‘He wants to create a new weapon to prepare for the war… Well, I've left the task of building communication crystal ball towers throughout the kingdom to the lower-level mages, so I have time for research. The problem is, I don't know how the elders will take it.’

When Leonardo had stopped the elders from leaving the kingdom before, the elders had said something like that.

「”We wish for magic to be used for the prosperity of people's lives, not for war.”」

But today, the King had summoned even the elders to create a new weapon. It was the opposite situation from when he had persuaded the elders before.

“…”

Seria glanced at the crystal ball on her desk.

‘All the elders put their heads together and joyfully researched the creation of the communication crystal balls. But a weapon… hmm. What the elders lamented most was that magic was only used to kill someone.’

As she continued her complicated thoughts.

Swish swish—.

Seria shook her head, clearing her mind of distracting thoughts.

‘His Majesty knows that too, so he must have a plan. He is an amazing person, after all.’

Click—.

Having finished her preparations, Seria left the room. Outside the room, the elders were waiting for her.

Seria bowed her head in greeting and spoke.

“I apologize for taking so long to prepare.”

“Not at all. Let's go.”

Benjamin, the representative of the elders, walked with his hands behind his back, and Seria and the other elders followed him.

At a glance, the elders' atmosphere seemed similar to usual, but Seria knew well that it was not.

‘As I thought… they must be uncomfortable with the idea of creating a weapon imbued with magic, a new magitool.’

There was such an atmosphere.

Among the elders, a strange tension.

***

In front of Leonardo's room.

Elly, seeing a group of mages walking down the corridor, greeted them with a slightly nervous expression.

“Welcome—”

“The King summoned us. We're going in.”

Benjamin, the Mage Tower elder, who didn't even properly hear Elly's greeting, tried to grab the doorknob.

But Elly quickly grabbed the doorknob before him.

‘His Majesty said the Mage Tower elders would be in a bad mood… it was true.’

“I-I will open it for you!”

Leonardo had already told her to open the door when the Mage Tower elders arrived. So Elly didn't knock on the door separately and opened it right away.

Click—.

The elders entered Leonardo's room.

Benjamin, who entered first, spoke to Leonardo before the other elders had even fully entered the room.

“You called, so we came. You want to create a new weapon to prepare for the war, and you need our help?”

A voice that maintained a certain level of politeness but was clearly somewhat displeased.

At those words, Leonardo stood up from his chair and calmly replied.

“Yes, that's right.”

“If the King orders it, we must do it. Though we didn't remain in this kingdom to research ‘weapons’.”

This time, Benjamin did not hide the fact that he was openly displeased.

Seria, who was listening from the side, sighed without showing it.

‘As expected, the elders didn't want to research things like weapons. It might be natural for those who lamented that magic was only used for war. Even if it was to be used to protect the kingdom…’

In the midst of that.

Leonardo shrugged his shoulders and spoke with a faint smile.

“Benjamin-nim seems to be worried about how that new weapon will be used.”

“…You know?”

“Of course, I do. When I had you elders remain in the kingdom before, you said it then. That you disliked how magic was only used for war.”

Benjamin felt that Leonardo understood his concerns.

Thanks to that, Benjamin could speak his mind honestly.

“The King remembers that. And yet you ask us to research a weapon? I roughly understand why you are asking us to research a weapon now. It must be to prepare for the war against the monster army. I too have resolved to participate in that war, so I am not against dedicating myself to that war.”

“Yes.”

“But frankly, I'm not very fond of creating a weapon imbued with magic—a ‘magitool.’ No one knows how that magitool will be used in the future. Once it's made, a magitool is something that even the mage who created it cannot control. If it falls into the wrong hands, it can become a great threat.”

“…”

“I do not know what kind of weapon you are asking us to research. It is probably a very novel and interesting weapon. And for that very reason, I am even more worried. That you will use it to—”

“To oppress the people with that weapon, or to use it in a war of aggression later?”

“That's right.”

Ssk—.

Benjamin looked directly into Leonardo's eyes. It was to clearly understand Leonardo's intentions.

Leonardo did not avoid Benjamin's gaze and continued to speak calmly.

“Benjamin-nim. And you elders. If I had intended to oppress the people with force, I would have already done so. I would have used the army to oppress them, forcibly mobilize them to work, and exploit them with taxes. But I did not do that. I wish for the people of this kingdom to be peaceful and happy. So you need not worry that I will use the weapon you will create for me to oppress the people.”

—….

“And as for invading other countries, I will make that clear as well. I will never use that weapon for any war other than to defend this kingdom. But I'm sure you won't believe me with just words.”

Leonardo leaned his hips against the desk and continued to speak.

“The weapon I am asking you to research is a power for peace. A power to prepare for not only this war but also the many external enemies that may attack our kingdom in the future. A power that will allow the people of this kingdom, whom I love, to look forward to tomorrow without worrying about war. That is what it is.”

—….

“Peace is something that can only be protected with strength, and if those with strength seek to protect peace, it will be eternal.”

Benjamin was honestly impressed by Leonardo's words.

Because the King had spoken the words he wanted to hear with force.

However, since he could not make such an important decision on his own, Benjamin glanced back to gauge the atmosphere of the other elders.

‘The other elders don't seem to have any complaints either. Do they trust the King?’

If any other king or person in power had spoken like Leonardo, the elders would have suspected the king.

They would have thought he was saying 「“I will use the weapon peacefully, so please make it for me.”」 because he was in a desperate situation right now.

But because the elders were well aware of the attitude and sincerity Leonardo had shown so far, and his love for the kingdom.

‘So it should be fine to trust him. At least, that king.’

“I understand. King Leonardo, I will trust you.”

Benjamin replied to Leonardo without bothering to discuss it with the elders.

“So, what kind of weapon are you trying to make? It seems like it will be something new. If it were an improvement on something existing, you would have called the blacksmiths, not us.”

Unlike a moment ago, Benjamin's voice and eyes were full of interest.

He was curious about Leonardo's ‘creative idea.’

At Benjamin's friendly attitude, Leonardo quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he handed over a piece of paper that was on his desk and said.

There was a 'drawing' on that paper.

“This is it. As you can see… to explain it briefly, the center of the 'ball' explodes and the small iron balls on the outside fly out as fragments—.”

Just as Leonardo was speaking.

An elder from the back, with flared nostrils and full of excitement, pushed through the other elders and shouted.

“An explosion! I'll take that! Me!! I don't know what it is, but I'll make it!!”

An elder with curly hair and black dust smeared on various parts of his face.

The name of the old man wearing cracked glasses was ‘Chomsky.’