Chapter 0301 Meeting of the Big Three
-x-X-x-"If you don't mind, could you offer me a cup of coffee as well?"
Roberto Pirlo sat down on a stone chair as he said this.
Ryo and Roberto Pirlo were sitting at a large stone table, and that stone chair was one of three stone chairs around it.
"Here you go."
Ryo produced a cup of ice and handed it over with the remaining coffee in the coffee press.
Roberto Pirlo took it happily and closed his eyes.
He seemed to be relishing the aroma.
Roberto Pirlo was the only one to come out, but naturally, his guards were creeping around him in the darkness.
Even Ryo could sense their presence without having to use
They probably did it on purpose.
To send a message, 'we're watching'….
"Sorry about that, they're such a tactless bunch."
"No, it's fine, I get it."
Roberto Pirlo apologized with a smile that was somewhere between a smile and a wry smile, and Ryo also accepted his apology.
It was only natural for guards to protect their lords.
After Roberto Pirlo drank about half a cup of his coffee, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Actually, I came here today to thank you."
"Thank me?"
Ryo tilted his head.
He could think of several things that would have made the leaders of the Union want to tear him to pieces.
But he didn't recall doing anything that would warrant a thank you…?
"Hmm. Well, back in 'Schulz', you protected the Union members with an ice wall, didn't you? For that, I thank you."
"Oh…"
It was for Ryo protecting the Union delegation members with an ice wall in the square during the raid by the equestrian tribes in 'Schulz', the second of the Corridor countries.
"I merely did what I had to do."
It was probably too late to deny being the person in question… since it seemed like a lot of things had been exposed anyway… and while the Union was another opponent they had gone to war with, they're now a part of the mission heading to the western countries together, so he could only say something along those lines.
"Since simply saying thank you with just words wouldn't convey my gratitude. So how about coming over to the Union? We'll bestow unto you the same status that you currently have in the Kingdom."
"I respectfully decline."
"Immediate rejection uh! Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha."
Ryo immediately refused the offer of the former king, Roberto Pirlo.
He didn't need to think about it.
"By the same position, I'm talking about being the premier duke of the Union, you know?"
Sure enough, he seemed to know about Ryo's exact status as well.
As expected of 'The Man Lord Aubrey couldn't kill'.
"I know. I respectfully decline."
"I see."
When Ryo refused again, Roberto Pirlo nodded with a smile.
He probably wasn't expecting to succeed in poaching him in the first place.
That was the feeling Ryo got.
To begin with, Roberto Pirlo was the former king of the Kingdom of Capitone, not the head of the entire Union.
"King Abel, who receives absolute loyalty from a man of your stature… must be quite a character."
"Yeah, he is. He's the greatest king."
Ryo said without any hint of timidity.
Roberto Pirlo, as expected, was amazed in wide-eyed wonder.
Just then, there was the sound of someone approaching again.
"Oh, my, that smells so good."
The man who emerged out of the darkness saying that was former emperor Rupert, the head of the Imperial delegation.
"Excuse me for interrupting the conversation between you two prominents."
With these words, former Emperor Rupert sat down in the remaining empty stone chair.
Thus, the highest-ranking personages of each of the three delegations, the former emperor, the former king, and the premier duke, were all seated at one table.
"Sure, here you go."
Ryo poured the last of the coffee left in the coffee press into an ice cup and served it to Rupert.
"Oh, thanks."
Rupert let out an involuntary sigh as he took it.
"This is a very good Kona. I can tell from the aroma alone…. I never thought I would find coffee this good on this trip."
He muttered to himself and drank it all in one gulp.
Whoa, is it not hot?
No one paid any attention to Ryo's reaction….
The former king, Roberto Pirlo, was smiling as he watched on.
"Just as I thought, it's very delicious. Now, to get down to business. I heard that you protected the members of my delegation back in 'Schulz'. You have my gratitude."
Saying that, Rupert bowed his head.
"Please don't mention it, I merely did what I had to do."
Repeating the same line as before.
"Don't take this as some kind of compensation or anything, but why don't you come over to the Empire? Come and I will give you half of the Empire."
"…I respectfully decline."
As expected, he was surprised by the 'half of the Empire' offer, but his response was the same.
Roberto Pirlo was also surprised by this offer.
"Your Majesty Rupert, that's very bold, offering half of the imperial territory."
He said while laughing.
"Not at all, if I can have him for half of the empire, it's quite a bargain. But he turned me down…. Your Majesty Roberto Pirlo, by any chance, did he also?"
"Yeah. He turned me down too."
When he said so, the two monarchs burst into laughter.
Ryo wasn't quite sure why they were laughing so hard.
"An overwhelming combat prowess, an unwavering spirit even in the face of a former emperor and a former king, and absolute loyalty to the king. I see why King Abel made him the premier duke. No, it's probably at the counsel of Marquis Heinlein?"
Correct.
As might be expected of the former emperor Rupert VI, who was praised for his wisdom and wits.
He even guessed at the thought process of the king and those around him.
He seemed to have failed to consider the angle of friendship rather than loyalty.
"Nah, I believe it's more of friendship than loyalty if you ask me. That's the vibe I'm getting from him."
Bingo.
It would appear that former king Roberto Pirlo 'The man Lord Aubrey couldn't kill', was no slouch either.
He even guessed Ryo's inner thoughts.
More than sword arts or magic, that unparalleled insight by a ruler is the supreme power that governs a country.
Ryo was surprised and, in a way, impressed.
By the wisdom and insight of the two men in front of him.
He also understood that the current him at this point was no match for them.
However….
Yes, however.
As a matter of fact, anyone could acquire both wisdom and insight.
Ryo knew that both could be obtained with effort, even if not immediately.
He had seen such people back on Earth.
So he may have been surprised and impressed, but he didn't feel despair.
(Eventually, I will reach the level of these two.)
He decided so in his mind.
Wisdom and insight were essentially the same thing.
They're controlled by the brain.
If so, there was only one way to develop them.
To ponder frequently.
The more we use our bodies, the more capable we become.
Toned muscles.
Cardio fitness.
And of course, a keen brain.
Those to aim for or try to surpass.
It was quite fortuitous to have such targets right in front of him.
Ryo, who had found another goal to surpass, happily drank up his remaining coffee.
-x-X-x-
The following day after the meeting of the big three.
The mission of the Central Nations departed from the Kingdom of Sufuoh, the last of the corridor countries.
Although they proceeded in the order of Empire, Union, and Kingdom, the delegations were not too far apart from each other.
Naturally, Ryo and the other six were at the tail end of the entire mission.
"If the Kingdom of Sufuoh were to attack us and demand that we return the food that they had treated us to, we would be the first to face the brunt of their attack."
"Ryo… stop saying something so ominous."
Ryo muttered, and Niels replied with a frown.
"Fret not. I already have a plan in mind."
"…Now, why do I feel like I don't even want to hear it."
Ryo beat his chest and brimmed with confidence, and Niels, who had a bad feeling about it, was clamoring to not hear it….
"We can buy ourselves enough time to escape if we offer them Niels' big-ass body!"
"I knew you'd say something like that!"
As usual, the rear end was peaceful.
The Imperial delegation leading the way.
They were currently resting at the site of their first rest stop of the day.
The leader of the delegation, Emperor Rupert, was surrounded by many people.
With Count Hans Kirchhoff, who had followed him since he was Emperor, as his right-hand man right by his side, as well as his personal guards and cooks, all of whom were excellent people.
Many of them weren't too bad looking either.
They weren't exactly beautiful men and women, but they all possessed looks unique to those confident and proud of their work.
Many of them were like that.
However, one pageboy in his mid-thirties had a constant nervous expression and demeanor.
In the Imperial delegation, the pageboys were naturally responsible for the personal care of former Emperor Rupert.
Although not a position of power, even the nobles in the court wouldn't slight a pageboy assigned to an Emperor or a former Emperor.
They were the closest attendants to the Emperor and the former Emperors after all.
For that reason, many pageboys took pride in their work.
In fact, they were paid quite well, making them a popular position within the Imperial castle.
Even in the Imperial delegation, all nine of former Emperor Rupert's pageboys were proud of their work and did it with smiles on their faces…with the exception of only one, a pageboy in his mid-thirties called Hague.
"Hague, Count Kirchhoff wants to see you. Right away."
"Yes, on my way."
The pageboy in his mid-thirties, called Hague was instructed by the head pageboy, and left the plate-setting to another pageboy and went to Count Kirchhoff's tent.
"Dammit, why am I of all people doing such…"
Hague muttered.
Unlike the other eight pageboys, he was not proud of this job.
On the contrary, he loathed it.
In the first place, he had a different job before joining the delegation.
Although the job was demanding, Hague himself was proud of it.
Because it was a job that only he could do in the whole of the Empire, and the Central Nations even, by virtue of his unique abilities, and he took pride in it supporting the entire Imperial army.
The only tents assembled during this short break were those of former Emperor Rupert's and Count Hans Kirchhoff's.
"Excuse me."
Pageboys were allowed to enter the tent without giving their names.
Inside, Count Hans Kirchhoff was writing some papers.
"Oh, Hague, I was going to ask you to help send this letter. Just a moment."
Hans said and quickly finished up the letter and sealed it.
Then he handed it to Hague and said:
"So how's it going, have you gotten used to the job?"
"Yeah, more or less…"
"Just don't push yourself too hard."
That was probably too much for a count to say to a pageboy.
"Yes, thank you."
Hague bowed reverently, took the letter, and left the tent.
"Oh, Hans, you came at just the right time!"
Count Hans Kirchhoff entered the tent of former Emperor Rupert, who immediately beckoned him to come over.
"What do you need of me?"
A cup of coffee was placed in front of Rupert.
"Hans, so… I was just saying I seem to recall better-tasting beans than this one."
"Really…?"
Hans tilted his head.
Since he hadn't heard anything about the coffee beans being replaced.
"Just give it a sip."
Rupert said and offered the cup to Hans.
"Then, please excuse me."
Hans took a sip.
And then tilted his head.
"It's the same one, Your Majesty."
"What!?"
Rupert hurriedly took a sip.
And also tilted his head.
"I see? I thought it used to taste a little better…"
"The brewing process too, probably hasn't changed one bit."
Hans glanced at the pageboy standing by his side.
The pageboy's face was drenched in sweat….
He was probably thinking that if it turned out that he served bad coffee, he may be severely punished or worse.
Rupert seemed to have noticed this as well….
"Oh, I'm not saying you messed up brewing it or anything. So you can set your mind at ease, you're not getting punished. You can go back for now."
Hearing Rupert's words, the pageboy visibly calmed down and left the tent.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's because of that coffee you had last night…"
"That one huh…"
Hans pointed out that it might have to do with the coffee he drank at the meeting of the big three.
"It was certainly exquisite…. So you're saying it's because that was just extremely good. I sure would like to have some."
Hans chuckled at Rupert's words.
"I'm sure we can get it in the Empire, but I'm afraid it would be difficult here."
"Hmm…"
"Then, how about taking it by force? From the premier duke of the Kingdom."
Hans asked with a mischievous look on his face.
"Hard pass, thank you. Don't want to make myself a laughing stock of the Empire for trying to rob some coffee beans only to have the tables turned on me."
Rupert replied with a frown.
Although he wanted it, it was not that badly.
"Oh, right. Coffee aside. Hans, I assume you had something you wanted to discuss with me when you came in?"
"Your insight is as keen as ever, sir."
In that respect, he's indeed the man who reigned over the Empire for many years.
His powers of observation were a major force behind his wisdom.
"It's about Baron Hagen Venda."
"Hmm."
"I feel that His Majesty Helmut's actions are reckless…. Even if it is for the sake of marking memory, having a precious space-time magician join the delegation is just too…"
Hague, the pageboy, was Baron Hagen Venda.
And Baron Hagen Venda was in the delegation as a pageboy assigned to the former Emperor, by order of the current Emperor, Helmut VIII.
"Well, no use kicking a fuss. I don't know whether it was Helmut's idea or that of his entourage, but… I have no say in the matter."
Former Emperor Rupert declared clearly.
"Yes. I am sorry."
Count Hans Kirchhoff immediately apologized.
Ever since he stepped down from the Imperial throne, Rupert had consistently refused to meddle in the administration of his son, Helmut VIII.
The only exception was that he allowed himself to be picked as the head of the delegation.
"Hagen has a son. He should be 14 years old this year, I believe. He probably figured, even if something happened to Hagen, his son will manifest space-time magic."
"Yeah."
Hans nodded to Rupert's words.
But then, with a faint smile, Rupert continued.
"But we both know that it's not guaranteed. Perhaps there's a significant reason enough to take such a gamble by sending this delegation to the west."
"Something we are in the dark about…"
"Yeah. Now then, what could it be, I wonder…. It's got me curious."
In every age and every country, the center of politics was a place where the greedy and selfish assembled.
However, even those who had retired from the center of politics did not lead a peaceful and quiet life.
Once they got involved in politics, it would follow them to their deathbeds.
For better or worse.
In Rupert's case, however…he seemed to have voluntarily given up his peaceful life…
Hans thought as he sighed a little in his mind.
(A peaceful life does not suit His Majesty Rupert…)
-x-X-x-
((I guess you have it rough too, Abel.))
((What's up with that all of a sudden?))
((No, it's just, when I think that as the King of the Kingdom of Knightley, you have to constantly deal with such difficult people…))
((Are you talking about Emperor Rupert or King Roberto Pirlo?))
((See, you already knew what I was hinting at.))
((Yeah. Since I heard the conversation between you and those two.))
((You were eavesdropping!))
((Hey, don't get the wrong idea. I was only able to listen in because Soul Resonance was still connected.))
Speaking of which, Ryo remembered that he had been talking with Abel just before that happened.
((Sure, if you say so.))
((It's true!))
They were currently on the road leading from the 'Kingdom of Sufuoh', the last of the Corridor Countries, to the 'QC Duchy', the easternmost country of the Western Countries. (TLN: Formerly 'Cu Chi Duchy'.)
There were no roads within the corridor countries, but there was one between the Kingdom of Sufuoh and the QC Duchy.
That was due to the trade relationship between the two countries, albeit on a small scale.
Of course, it was nothing fancy like a cobblestone pavement, but a simple road made of hardened soil….
((So? You still haven't told me why you linked the Soul Resonance today?))
((…And whose fault is that? You know what, just forget it. Regarding the matter with Baron Hagen Venda, after gathering more intel, we've gotten confirmation that he is indeed a part of the mission.))
((That same dimensional magic Baron, right?))
((That's right.))
((Okay, got it. So, what do we do? Capture and extract the dimensional magic from him?))
((Extract… is that possible?))
((Beats me? I know I can't though?))
((…I was a fool to expect, even for a moment, that you could do it with your alchemy.))
((What a thing to say! Besides, there's no way such an inhumane act can be condoned!))
Ryo shook his head. Then again, since they were communicating through Soul Resonance, Abel could not see it.
((…For now, just keep it in the back of your mind. Oops, I guess it's time for my meeting. I'm hanging up.))
Saying so, Abel unilaterally disconnected the Soul Resonance.
It would appear His Majesty the King was rather busy.
"This is quite troubling."
Ryo said and shook his head slightly again.
Seeing this, Niels, who was walking beside him, said:
"Have you finished your conversation with His Majesty Abel?"
He had told, albeit briefly, the six of Room 10 and 11 that he could talk with Abel occasionally via an alchemy tool.
Niels looked envious when he heard it at first, but then nodded and gave up the moment he heard that he had to keep expending magic power to do so.
By the way, he did not tell Hugh McGrath, the leader of the delegation.
He felt that if he told him, he would be used for all kinds of conveniences….
"Yeah, just now. Still, it's really amazing that we can connect without any problems even over such a long distance. It just goes to show how magnificent alchemy is."
"That's true!"
Ryo sang the greatness of alchemy, and Amon nodded in agreement.
Amon is an honest and nice guy.
"But the magic power consumption is outrageous. I wonder if someone other than Ryo will be able to use it anytime soon."
Etho seemed skeptical.
Etho is not a bad guy.
"More importantly, it's almost noon. I'm starving."
Niels only thinks about food.
Niels on the other hand seemed to be a meathead and a chowhound.
"Ryo, you thought of something extremely rude just now, didn't you!"
"O-Of course not."
He's a meathead, but sharp-witted, probably because he's a B-rank adventurer….
The royal delegation's lunch was stew with a lot of meat.
The mission was well stocked with food, thanks in part to the plentiful supplies they received in the Kingdom of Sufuoh.
For many adventurers, eating is always a time to look forward to, but for civilian officials, eating is also a way to relax.
Stress control of subordinates is an element that superiors must always keep in mind.
Seeing the members of the delegation consuming the stew so heartily, leader Hugh McGrath nodded his head repeatedly.
Good food brings smiles to people's faces.
And when people are happy, they feel less stressed.
That is a universal truth in any era and any world.
Humans will always be humans no matter where they are.
"Leader, we'll be arriving today, right?"
Ignis, the chief negotiator who was in charge of the hundred civilian officials, called out to Hugh, who had finished eating and was relaxing for a bit.
"Yeah. We'll be over this hill in about two hours. Then, the city should come into view."
The city that maintains the borders of the QC Duchy.
"Somehow I'm both excited and anxious…"
Ignis said with a wry smile.
"Once we get to the Western Countries, the civilian officials are going to get busy."
"Yeah, but… there are various countries in the Western Countries. Though I suppose the main stage of negotiations will be in the Van De Vie Theocracy, the center of the Western Church."
It was no exaggeration to say that the Papacy, the headquarters of the 'Western Church', which was worshipped all over the Western Countries, was located in the Van De Vie Theocracy.
Although the size of the country was not what one would call a large country, its national power, taking into account its wealth, military strength, and tangible and intangible influence, was without a doubt the largest in the Western Countries.
It is a country ruled by the Pope himself, and its influence in the Western Countries is unimaginable.
To begin with, the mission from the Central Nations initially set out to celebrate the inauguration of the 100th Pope to be held in Van De Vie Theocracy… at least on the surface.
As such, they needed to arrive at the Van De Vie Theocracy on time.
"Well, as a negotiator, I appreciate the fact that our language systems are almost identical."
"Yeah…. In the Eastern Countries, for example, it's totally different. Still, those who are educated to some extent speak the languages of the Central Nations, so living there is not really a problem."
Chief Negotiator Ignis, expressed his opinion as a negotiator, and Hugh, who is also the Grand Master of the royal capital offered his, recalling the language situation in the Eastern Countries.
"I'd very much like to go there, like how I'm pumped about this journey to the West."
Ignis laughed as he said that.
He was a Foreign Ministry personnel and negotiator to the core.
Hugh looked at him as if he were seeing something a little dazzling.
Hugh, who was essentially an adventurer, could understand his desire to see something he had not seen before.
And two hours later.
The delegation crossed over the hills and, in the distance, was the city of QC Duchy.
That city was… burning.
-x-X-x-
"What is that…? It looks like something is raining from the sky."
"A red light… waterfall?"
Ryo threw out the question to no one in particular, and Priest Etho answered as if muttering to himself.
The scene did not seem very real.
It was as if a glowing red waterfall was spilling down from the sky into the walled city….
"Is that…magic or…?"
"I'm not sure…but the flow of magic power is a little…"
Harold, the swordsman of Room 11, asked, and Zeke, the priest, answered.
The dual swordsman Gowan watched the scene with his mouth gaping open.
"I had heard that the magic system of the Western Countries was quite different from that of the Central Nations…but this…"
Priest Etho muttered.
"It somehow reminds me of…that Explosive Blaze Magician's magic…"
Amon nodded at swordsman Niels' muttering.
Perhaps what they both felt was Oscar's
The original
If used against a city, it could very well produce a scene similar to the one before them….
Even as the six of them said various things, Ryo remained silent the whole time.
To Ryo, it looked as if a swarm of angels were descending from the sky.
Perhaps it was because of his knowledge of the 'Bible' on Earth.
The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament describes a vision that the prophet Daniel saw.
In its seventh chapter, the supposed angels were described in thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten thousands….
Just a thousand times a thousand is already a million.
Let alone ten thousand times ten thousand, a hundred million….
The sight of such a staggering number of angels descending….
Etho, who had closed his eyes and was apparently sensing something, opened them and then muttered:
"For some reason, I can feel the magic power coming from that red light waterfall this far out…"
"Yeah. And doesn't it oddly feels kind of familiar?"
Responding to Etho's words was Zeke, also a priest.
"Oh, you feel it too, Zeke?"
"Yeah. I can feel the magic power of that 'priest'-looking man who teleported us."
"Hey now, are you serious…"
Etho, Zeke said, to which Niels replied with a frown.
Naturally, not only the Kingdom delegation but also the Empire and the Union delegations that had arrived at the hill earlier stopped and watched the scene.
The heads of the two nations, namely, former emperor Rupert and former king Roberto Pirlo, went to Hugh McGrath, the head of the Kingdom delegation.
"Now, leader McGrath, what do you think we should do?"
Former emperor Rupert, the leader of the Imperial delegation said at the outset.
Hugh turned to Rupert and Roberto Pirlo.
Naturally, Rupert's question was not about wanting to hear Hugh's opinion because he did not know what to do.
Those in the same standing as them, as they should, already have the answer within themselves before asking.
Still, they asked because….
'Prove that you are worthy of your position with your answer.'
In a nutshell.
How condescending?
Of course.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to run the nation for decades as the highest authority.
Certainly not a feat anyone could pull off.
Only answers that are at least as good as or better than those thought up by the questioners are considered a pass.
Needless to say, Hugh understood that.
(No one can deny the fact that both the former emperor and the former king have accrued tremendous achievements, and are monsters in politics…honestly, the pressure is too much for me…. I seriously resent you, Your Majesty Abel, for pushing me into this position.)
Such thoughts were going through his mind, although didn't show on his face at all.
"The main group should stay and remain on standby while we send out a reconnaissance team to check out the city and its surroundings. It is a long way to the city, and it would take too much time to get there on foot or by running. So, we'll need those who can ride horses. And those who are proficient in magic. I'd like to send the people from our group, but most adventurers can't ride horses, so… allow me to apologize for that."
In other words, the dangerous reconnaissance mission would be left to the Empire and the Union to sort out.
Because the Kingdom's guards were all adventurers and couldn't ride horses.
"Kukuku… I guess we got the tables turned on us this time, Your Majesty Roberto Pirlo."
"Honestly, I'm in awe. It seems that the hero of the Great War is also a good negotiator."
Former emperor Rupert laughed lightly, and former king Roberto Pirlo grinned.
Hugh's answer seemed to have exceeded their expectations….
The main mission remained halted at the top of the hill.
From there, a party of about twenty mounted scouts could be seen heading toward the city.
"Are those…from the Empire?"
"Looks like it."
Ryo's non-directed question was answered with a nod from Niels next to him.
"Good for you, Niels. Thanks to your inability to ride a horse, you didn't have to be sent out on such a dangerous reconnaissance mission."
"Why do I feel like you're making fun of me…"
"Huh? Can you ride a horse then?"
"…No, I can't."
Niels answered Ryo's question with a frown.
"Niels… can't you see that you're losing to your juniors?"
"What?"
"I bet the three of you in Room 11 can ride a horse."
Ryo said and turned to the three members of Room 11.
"Ye…Yeah…"
"More or less…"
"I can, but what makes you think so, Ryo?"
Swordsman Harold answered awkwardly, dual swordsman Gowan replied out of the respect that Harold held for Niels, and priest Zeke wondered how Ryo knew about it.
And then there's Niels, the senior swordsman, looking at the three of them with a shocked expression….
Etho and Amon, who were in the same shoes as Niels, unable to ride, laughed bitterly….
"Harold is, after all, the son of His Royal Highness Prince Cain. Prince Cain was a very intelligent man, and as a member of the royal family, he must have given him the necessary education. And Gowan, who will eventually become Harold's personal attendant, must have trained to be able to ride a horse. As for Zeke… somehow, I figured you must have been trained in that aspect from childhood. So I concluded that all three of you would be able to ride."
"I-I see…"
Niels could only accept Ryo's explanation because he turned out to be right, even though he felt that it was riddled with quite a few random inferences.
The three of Room 11 were surprised to find that he was quite correct despite his random speculations.
As long as you're right, you can usually shut out any criticisms.
And for some reason, swordsman Harold was a little bothered by what Ryo had said.
"Ryo-san, do you know my father?"
He must have gotten curious after hearing how Ryo described him, 'Prince Cain was a very intelligent man'.
"Not directly. But I saw some of the homework that Prince Cain prepared for Abel during his impromptu education. They were all extremely brilliant exercises. Exercises show the intellectual level of the person who prepared them. It was clear from those exercises that Prince Cain had the makings of a great ruler."
"Father prepared exercises for His Majesty Abel…"
Hearing Ryo's explanation, Harold looked a little sad.
"Father never prepared such exercises for me…"
That was probably the reason for the forlorn look on his face.
"Were you perhaps not on good terms with Prince Cain?"
"Oh no, not at all. My father was often ill, that's for sure, but when he was feeling well, he taught me a lot of things."
In response to Ryo's question, Harold answered hurriedly.
"I believe he created those exercises for Abel out of necessity."
Ryo looked Harold firmly in the eye as he said that.
Then he continued.
"Under normal circumstances, he would have wanted to take his time to teach you properly. You were able to learn directly from Prince Cain, but Abel, on the other hand, was an adventurer away from home. So, even if you don't have a complete understanding of what you learned right now, you might be able to do so later."
"…Got it."
There was a little glimmer of light in the corner of Harold's eye as he said that….
Even as they were having that conversation on the hill, the mission's scouting party was approaching the city.
And as they approached the city, they noticed something.
"Captain, I don't see anyone outside the city."
"Yeah, that's strange."
If there was a fire or something unusual happening inside the city, people would try to evacuate outside the city.
However, even though the city gates remained open, no one came out….
Shortly thereafter, the waterfall of light disappeared.
"So, the waterfall of light has vanished. And there's no one outside the city walls…. I was hoping we could maybe pick up some clues if anyone was there, but… there's no choice, we're going in."
"Yes!"
All members of the unit replied to the captain's words without hesitation.
They were elite.
Four hours later.
The Kingdom delegation was informed that the scouting party were back and would be giving their report.
Not only to former emperor Rupert, but also to the Union and the Kingdom. The scouting party would be reporting directly to them all together.
Therefore, Hugh McGrath, head of the Kingdom delegation, proceeded to the designated location… but.
"Why are you following me, Ryo?"
He noticed that the water-attribute magician was sneaking after him and called him out.
He had noticed him much earlier, but he thought he was going somewhere else and happened to be going in the same direction… but it seemed he was trailing him.
Ryo, on the other hand thought he was doing a good job tailing them.
"Hey, Mr. Hugh, if you speak so loudly, the others will notice too!"
Ryo hurriedly retorted.
"Nah, they already did, obviously…"
Hugh said, totally dumbfounded.
"No way…"
Ryo looked around steathily.
"I didn't see a thing."
Former emperor Rupert.
"I didn't even notice until you mentioned it."
Former king Roberto Pirlo.
"See!"
Ryo said proudly.
"This is absurd! Why are you guys playing along with this farce too!"
Hugh yelled.
"Mr. Hugh, you're being disrespectful. Even though you're currently in the same standing as them, they're still a former emperor and a former king. Please be careful with your language."
For some reason, Ryo said in a high-handed manner.
"As expected of Sir Ryo, who is known as King Abel's most trusted vassal. The premier duke of the Kingdom really is different from the bunch after all."
"Master McGrath too, you are a hero of the Kingdom. Don't forget that your words and deeds are always under the spotlight."
"Ugh…"
For some reason, Hugh McGrath was being pissed off by the big three, Ryo, Rupert, and Roberto Pirlo….
The reconnaissance team's report was given amidst Hugh's slight, or perhaps quite significant, frustration.
As for the content….
Many of the buildings were on fire. Or had burned to the ground.
The city was empty.
There were no bodies.
"We can't go into the city."
"I agree. Sooner or later, the garrison of the Duchy or some other city will probably show up. Since we were able to see what was happening from this hill, I reckon so would others."
"Then it'd be better to remain on this hill."
"If we put out a flag, the troops who come to check on the city will try to make contact with us. Since the news of our coming has been conveyed to the Duchy from the Kingdom of Sufouh."
Between former emperor Rupert and former king Roberto Pirlo, a decision was made on how to deal with the situation one after another.
The other leader, Hugh McGrath, simply watched on with his arms crossed.
Ryo, who was watching beside him, was fretting.
Then he whispered to Hugh in a hushed tone.
"Mr. Hugh, don't you think you should say something, maybe?"
"Hm? I don't think that's necessary, do you?"
"Something to show that Hugh McGrath is also present! Cuz if you don't create such an impression, they'll take you lightly, don't you think?"
"Oh goodness me…"
Hugh was exasperated by Ryo's proposal after what he had done just now.
In the end, it was not until ten days later that the mission was able to enter QC Duchy's capital, Deale, after making contact with the troops who had come to investigate the city's oddity.
-x-X-x-
The QC Duchy is known as the easternmost state of the Western Countries. And its capital, Deale, was indeed different in scale from the cities of the previous corridor countries.
"Wow…though it may not be comparable to the royal capital's, their population is definitely larger than Rune city's."
Priest Etho was surprised by the number of people.
"If we're comparing the Western Countries to the Kingdom, this QC Duchy is a frontier county. Perhaps that is why it boasts a powerful military force among the Western Countries. One of them being their Golem Corps."
Priest Zeke added as he read the 'Travel Guide'.
"I see…wait, what? Zeke, did you just say Golem Corps?"
Ryo reacted to a certain something Zeke said.
"Er, yeah. It says that the strongest Golem Corps in the Western Countries are the ones in Van De Vie Theocracy, directly under the Pope, but that the Golem Corps of the QC Duchy is also quite impressive."
Zeke said and showed the corresponding section in the Travel Guide.
"Oh, I'd very much like to see that!"
Ryo was beginning to get all fired up.
"This definitely calls for negotiating directly with Hugh to allow me to stay in the Duchy for about six months…or perhaps, I'll get His Majesties Rupert and Roberto Pirlo to also lay the groundwork…"
"No, please don't do that."
Niels tried to stop the disturbing words coming out of Ryo's mouth before he could put them into action.
Etho and Amon chuckled.
The three members of Room 11 were flabbergasted.
However, Niels' concerns were dispelled, and the development Ryo pictured….
The group was greeted by an array of golems lined up at the castle.
Ryo's expression when he saw that….
It was a total jubilation.
Pure joy.
True…bliss.
Niels had to practically drag him back to the line with all his might countless times whenever he tried to break from the line and wander toward the golems….
Eventually, they made it through the line of golems and continued until the group entered the square in the castle.
When they entered the square, the doors were closed and the golems were no longer in sight…
"Aw…"
The six members of 'Room 10' and 'Room 11' sighed at the words that escaped Ryo's mouth as he stretched out his hand.
But in reality, it didn't just end with a sigh.
Considering Ryo's drive.
Those six just weren't the ones that realized that.
((Ryo, no matter what, do not break through that door!))
((Abel, don't stop me!))
((Like hell I wouldn't!))
Ryo's recklessness was staved off by Abel, located far away in the Central Nations.
Abel too had seen the display through 'Soul Resonance'.
And he could imagine Ryo's feelings.
As such, he could predict the actions he might take.
((You know the real deal is the Pope's Golem Corps. If you cause problems here, you won't be able to see that, will you?))
((Ugh…))
The Golem Corps of Van De Vie Theocracy ruled by the Pope was said to be the best in the Western Countries.
And since the mission was on its way to the Pope's inauguration ceremony, they were sure to visit Van De Vie Theocracy.
It would indeed pain Ryo to miss that….
((Fine then. I'll apply for observation through official channels later.))
((And by official channels…))
((I'll ask Hugh.))
((W-Well…that's fine, but…. just don't inconvenience the Grand Master too much, okay?))
((Don't worry. I know what I'm doing!))
For some reason, Ryo was teeming with confidence.
However, Abel couldn't fathom the source of his confidence at all.
Perhaps, those differences are what drive the world as we know it….
The audience with Duke Yuri X of the QC Duchy ended without a hitch, and the leaders of the mission were shown the itinerary to Van De Vie Theocracy.
In the Western Countries,
'All roads lead to Van De Vie.'
The road network was so well developed that there was such a saying.
Furthermore, at the Pope's direction, the QC Duchy was given the role of guiding the mission from the Central Nation to the Van De Vie Theocracy.
Hence the itinerary.
"Rising tides?"
The words involuntarily leaked out of Hugh's mouth when he saw the itinerary.
"Yeah. From this Deale capital, you can get to Van De Vie Theocracy by boat along the Aus River. We have prepared a total of six vessels that can accommodate more than two hundred passengers and thirty carriages. There are two boats for each country. However, the waters are high due to the heavy rain that has been falling until yesterday. We expect to be able to sail in about two days, so you will have to wait here in Deale until then."
Apparently, it was possible to go to Van De Vie by land, but it would take more time and effort than by boat.
Moreover, there was still about three months to go before the Pope's inauguration. So there was no need to be in a rush.
In that case, the best course of action would be to wait.
Rupert, Roberto Pirlo, and Hugh McGrath exchanged glances.
They could understand each other without having to say a word.
"Okay. We'll wait until the current subsides."
Rupert answered on behalf of the group.
Thus, they had two days to spare.
"Yes! The heavens are on my side!"
Those words came from a certain elated water-attribute magician in the inn's main dining hall when he received the report that they would be waiting out the tides.
"What is it, Ryo? What's on your side, now?"
Leader Hugh McGrath, turned a quizzical look toward Ryo's quite pleased face.
The six men of Rooms 10 and 11 shook their heads slightly and chuckled.
"Hugh, I have a favor to ask you!"
Ryo said as he approached Hugh.
"I want permission to take a closer look at the Duchy's golems!"
"Golems? Oh, the ones we passed by…"
Ryo's words reminded Hugh of the assembled golems they passed by.
At the same time, he recalled Ryo's unusual interest in the Union's artificial golems three years ago, when they went to the Inbury Duchy.
"Right…come to think of it, you had an interest in golems…"
"Yup!"
Ryo responded nicely to Hugh's words.
Hugh would also like to grant Ryo's wish, but the golems were probably state secrets, and it wouldn't be so easy to get permission for people from other countries to see them.
"Well…I'll ask them, just…don't get your hopes up, okay?"
"That's all right. At worst, I'll just freeze the whole city temporarily, and once everyone is frozen solid, I'll take a look at it."
"Oh no, would you knock it off, you blockhead."
Hugh hurriedly stopped Ryo's preposterous idea.
He couldn't be certain if he could indeed freeze the entire capital, but the very idea of doing so was very troubling.
"Just kidding, obviously. Oh look at you, Mr. Hugh, getting all serious."
"…Seriously, in your case, I have no idea how much of what you say should be counted as a joke."
Ryo patted Hugh's arm with a warm smile, and Hugh replied with a very distressed look.
This time, Hugh was taking on the role usually played by Abel…it seemed very, very exhausting.
Fortunately for everyone, permission was granted to 'just observe'.
Ryo was delighted, repeatedly making fist pump gestures, while Hugh was relieved to have resolved any uncertain dangers, thus, the innocent citizens who might have been frozen without knowing …went on with their lives none the wiser.
Of course, when Ryo said he was going to freeze them, he was joking, right?
As Ryo himself said, it was a joke, right?
Right?
-x-X-x-
"At long last, my wish has finally come true!"
"Uh, did you forget that you already observed a golem once before in the royal capital, the one captured from the Union?"
Ryo's words were interrupted by Hugh McGrath, the leader of the royal delegation, who had come along as more of a watchdog than an escort.
The head of the mission was his watchdog… Ryo was being treated as a VIP.
Simply because there was a very decent chance others might not be able to keep him in check.
"That's got nothing to do with this."
"I-If you say so…"
Ryo's forceful argument to which Hugh emphatically agreed.
The door to the room was marked with a plaque that read, 'Corps Maintenance Room'.
The guide prepared by the Duchy was showing the six of them around.
"Besides, how come you guys are also tagging along…"
"What can we say, Leader McGrath, it naturally piqued our interests as well."
"Master McGrath, stealing a march isn't a good habit, you know."
Hugh blurted out, former Emperor Rupert said while smiling, and former King Roberto Pirlo teased him about it.
Ryo was accompanied by Hugh, Rupert by Count Hans Kirchhoff, and Roberto Pirlo by Guard Captain Groen.
A total of six people, two from each delegation.
Very fair and impartial.
Opening the door with the plaque, 'Corps Maintenance Room', the guide led the six inside.
It was a huge space, about the size of ten basketball courts.
With golems lined up in rows.
The dull metallic reflections created a majestic atmosphere.
"Ohh…"
Ryo involuntarily let out a voice, veered toward a golem in the first row, and tried to touch it….
"Hey! "
But Hugh stopped him.
"Hugh, don't stop me!"
"No, I will! You were explicitly told to just look, not touch."
That's right, he was permitted to look but to refrain from touching them, naturally.
Ryo, being a member of the mission, would create catastrophic diplomatic problems if he broke a promise between countries.
"Muh… you're right."
Even Ryo understood right away.
The golems lined up there were about three meters tall.
With some kind of dullish metal making up the exterior.
Compared to the artificial golems of the Union that Ryo had seen before, there were some similarities and some differences.
First of all, the size of the Union's artificial golem was two and a half meters, while this one was about three meters.
And the major difference in appearance was….
"Two legs…"
Ryo muttered.
Yeah, the golems in front of him had two legs.
The artificial golems of the Union had four.
Needless to say, the four-legged were more stable.
Rather, 'walking on two legs' would make balancing quite challenging.
In other words, the golems in front of them were somehow different from the artificial golems in terms of their control mechanisms.
From the outside, they looked so heavily armored that their joints were barely visible.
"If possible, the magic formula…"
Ryo's muttering seemed to have been heard by the guide.
"My apologies, sir. The magic formula is not visible from the outside. Also, they're equipped with interference suppression mechanisms to prevent various external interferences."
In other words, they had devised various ways to prevent outside parties from rewriting the magic formula and hijacking it….
So it went without saying that the magic formula itself would be concealed.
Well, otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to show the golems to outsiders, even if they had received a direct request from the Pope himself to be amenable to the mission.
Naturally, they were being considerate.
"Oh, in that case, how about we have a little…"
"My apologies, sir."
Before Ryo could finish, the guide refused.
"He refused me right there and then."
"What do you expect?"
Ryo muttered in surprise, and Hugh chimed in.
"I recall they were holding up halberds when they were lined up outside, right?"
"Halberd? What's that?"
"Huh? Come to think of it…I don't think I've seen one in the Central Nations yet…"
Ryo muttered to Hugh's question as he recalled.
A halberd is a long-handled weapon with an axe or claws attached near the tip of the spear.
It can be used for a variety of purposes, such as thrusting as a spear, swinging as an axe, or hooking with its claws…only it's quite heavy.
Even the ones used by humans are two to two and a half meters long.
The golems lined up seemed to be holding up ones about four meters long.
"I heard that it's effective to charge into a dense enemy formation while swinging a halberd. Perhaps these golems use it in the same way on the battlefield."
"It would be catastrophic if such a thing charges into a line…even if it's wielding a simple club, there's no way a human can handle that."
Hugh replied to Ryo's words with a small nod.
"I see, this is quite impressive."
"So, the claim that one unit is worth five B-rank adventurers isn't totally groundless."
Former Emperor Rupert muttered, and Count Hans Kirchhoff, beside him, nodded as he replied.
The Golem Corps of the Western Countries was reported to have the combat power of five B-rank adventurers per single unit.
"Your Majesty Roberto Pirlo, the Union also has such golems, right? The strength of the Union is not to be underestimated, I reckon."
Former Emperor Rupert said this while smiling, but his eyes were anything but.
Knowing the true 'power' that the golem in front of them possessed, and then coming to a realization that one of the Central Nations had something comparable to it, of course, he would find it difficult to laugh from the bottom of his heart.
"I wish, Your Majesty Rupert, our artificial golems are still in its infancy…and as such, still a far cry from being as sophisticated as this."
Former King Roberto Pirlo, also answered while smiling, but of course bereft of anything deep in his eyes.
The Union's artificial golems were built by Frank de Verde, a renowned genius alchemist.
Naturally, there was no way they were unfinished products.
Both Rupert and Roberto Pirlo understood that.
The other leader, Hugh McGrath, watching from a distance, shook his head and muttered.
"It must be hard for His Majesty Abel too… to have to run the country while keeping these monsters in check."
Two hours later, the golem tour ended.
There was a certain water-attribute magician who still seemed reluctant to leave, but seeing as the allotted time was over, ha had no such luck.
To begin with, they ought to be grateful to be shown something equivalent to a state secret.
In fact, the three leaders politely thanked the guide and asked him to pass on their gratitude to Duke QC.
"Ah…"
Finally, at the last minute, Ryo was pulled out of the room by Hugh, as he uttered that.
"Thank you very much", he said tentatively.
Well, ending at just that may have been the best possible outcome….
It was only natural that the Duchy's engineers then went around inspecting all the golems.
Even with the external interference rebuff capability, they could not afford to have anything done to them.
A detailed inspection was conducted, and it was not until late in the evening that it was determined that there was no problem.
But they failed to realize.
Later that night, some suspicious shadows had attached themselves to the golems in the maintenance room, and some kind of alchemy tool had been used to modify them….
"Should our country build golems as a force for warfare too …. What do you think, Hans?"
"Yes. Golems would help reduce human casualties, but… it's not something that just anyone can make. The Union succeeded in manufacturing it, thanks to, with all due respect, Frank de Verde…"
Former Emperor Rupert asked as he walked away, and Count Hans Kirchhoff, at his side, answered.
"Well, I can't deny that part."
Former King Roberto Pirlo, of the Union, affirmed Hans' words with a wry smile.
"Hmmm. So, it takes a genius alchemist to make one, uh…"
Rupert muttered.
Then, Ryo responded.
"With all due respect, Your Majesty Rupert. Please perish the thought of kidnapping Viscount Kenneth Hayward of the Kingdom."
"Ohh…. Of course not, I had no intention of doing so… so you were worrying about such a thing, Sir Ryo?"
Rupert replied with a wry smile.
"Of course, I do not believe that the Wise Emperor would do such a rash thing. Kenneth is my friend and mentor, to begin with, and would put me in a bind if he were to up and disappear. In which case, I'll be left with no choice but to search all over the Empire."
Ryo said with a smile.
"And, do you think you'll find him?"
With a faint smile, Rupert taunted saying such.
"I will freeze the whole Empire and search for him, trust me, I'll find him. But not to worry. Because the people will still be alive when frozen. And I can always thaw them after, right?"
Ryo replied with a smirk on his face.
Basically. A Cold War.
Rupert could have reprimanded Ryo for his behavior, which could be described as disrespectful to the previous emperor of a country, but….
He wouldn't do that.
He understood that there was no point in doing so.
"Of course, I have no intention of messing with Viscount Hayward, but… I will come up with another way to manufacture the golem."
"A wise decision, thank you."
Rupert said with a smirk, and Ryo bowed his head.
"Yup, y'all are monsters, all right…"
Hugh's muttering was heard by no one else.
-x-X-x-
The next morning.
The Kingdom delegation gathered in the dining hall of their quarters, where they were informed of a shocking revelation.
"…We're leaving today?"
Ryo's expression at that time could be described as 'shocked'.
"The tide seems to have subsided, so we are leaving today. Apparently, the ships are quite huge and only two can dock alongside the pier at a time. As usual, the Empire goes first, then the Union, followed by the Kingdom. The Empire has already started boarding. Meaning, we board in two hours. So get ready."
Most of the delegation members nodded to the words of Commander Hugh McGrath.
Except for a certain water-attribute magician who didn't….
"The second day of the scheduled golem tour…"
"No, there wasn't even one to begin with."
Hugh quipped at Ryo's lament.
The Duchy permitted a visit only for two hours on one day.
The fact that they granted permission to an outsider from another country was unusual in itself….
"Listen Ryo, the golem of the Van De Vie Theocracy that we are heading to now is touted as the best in the Western Countries, right? Don't you want to see those as soon as possible?"
"Makes sense! You're certainly right Etho, I should focus on the bigger picture. Okay everyone, let's hurry up and get ready!"
Ryo did a 180-degree turn from Priest Etho's words.
As expected, the members of 'Room 10' who have known Ryo for a long time seem to know how to handle him….
Needless to say, Commander Hugh McGrath was speechless….
Two hours later.
There are two ports on the Aus River, and the one with the mission ships is the port dedicated to the castle.
Therefore, it is located adjacent to the castle.
Two huge ships with double decks were docked at the dedicated port.
Carriages and heavy cargo were to go on the lower deck, and people were to ride on the upper deck.
"It's quite huge…"
"I feel like it would tip over if it were at sea…"
"I heard it's only meant for the Aus River."
"Though not as cool as the ship we saw in Whitnash."
Those were Amon, Ryo, Etho, and Niels' impressions.
The last line may sound like Ryo, but it was Niels.
Even Niels, who is considered to have no sense of aesthetics, still thinks the Trimaran 'Rain Shooter', which he once saw in Whitnash, is beautiful.
Incidentally, those four did not know the current whereabouts of the Rain Shooter….
When they had finished loading the ship with the many cargoes and nearly thirty carriages that had been supplied by the QC Duchy, a commotion broke out.
"Kyaaaaaahhh!"
A scream echoed from the castle.
It wasn't just the one.
They could hear a couple of enraged screams as well.
Of the three hundred members of the Kingdom delegation, hundred were civilian officials, but the remaining two hundred were adventurers.
D-rank and above adventurers no less.
Naturally, they were able to act almost reflexively in response to the occurrence of an abnormal situation.
Party members immediately gathered together and exchanged eye contact.
At about the same time, Hugh McGrath, the leader of the delegation and a former A-rank adventurer, gave the order:
"Civil officers, board the ship post-haste. D-rank parties should also board their allotted ships and wait on board, Protect the civilian officials should things go south. B- and C-rank parties are to stay ashore and be ready for battle."
It was obvious that something unusual had occurred in the castle…but they couldn't be rash in their decisions since they had no idea what it was.
What happened?
It didn't take long for the Kingdom delegation to find out what it was about.
"I can hear sounds… approaching."
"It sounds heavy."
"It has to be that thing…"
Amon muttered, Etho added, and Niels imagined.
There was a wall between the castle and the private port.
The wall collapsed in an instant.
What emerged was, as one might imagine… a golem.
And not just one.
The walls collapsed one after another, and from the collapsed areas, a dozen golems, at least that they could see, headed toward the group.
"Uraaaaaaahhhh!"
Then, one of them charged forward raising a battle cry.
Swordsman Harold from 'Room 11'.
"Wha? You dumbass!"
Niels shouted, but it was too late.
Harold came into contact with the lead golem, and he slammed his sword into its leg with a sideways cleave.
Clang.
Along with a high-pitch sound, Harold's sword was repelled.
Not a scratch on the golem's leg.
Harold was downright stupefied.
Surprised, he quickly stepped back to keep his distance…but the golem swept its four-meter halberd horizontally as it stepped forward at a speed that one couldn't possibly imagine from such a huge body.
Harold managed to put his sword between the approaching halberd and his body, but….
It was a feat of inhuman physical strength.
"! "
Harold was blown away as he let out a cry.
Like a batter hitting a ball in baseball…Harold was blown away…like the ball.
The Kingdom delegation watched the whole scenario with stunned expressions.
"Come to think of it, back then in the Inbury Duchy, Ra was sent flying just like that…"
Ryo felt nostalgic as he recalled the scene he once saw.
However, he quickly pulled himself back together.
Seeing as the place had turned into a battlefield.
Ten golems had already crossed swords with the adventurers of the Kingdom delegation.
Ryo muttered.
"I should have erected an ice wall between them before they came into contact with each other…"
Did he mean that the golems and the adventurers should have been separated?
Or that he should have separated the golems to serve as his opponents?
No one could tell….
Harold, because of his inexperience, had caught the golem's blow and was sent flying, but the other adventurers did not make such a fool of themselves.
Or perhaps Harold's situation served as an invaluable lesson on how to approach them.
Everyone was either dodging or parrying the golem's attacks.
'Coffee Maker' and 'Room 10' were B-rank adventurers, but the rest of the combatants ashore were C-rank adventurers.
However, compared to Harold and the other members of 'Room 11', who could be considered rookie C-rankers, all of them had a fair amount of experience.
They also had abundant experience in fighting monsters with inhuman physical strength, such as ogres.
Those experiences were being put to use.
Although none of the parties had succeeded in striking a decisive blow, they had at least maintained the front line.
"They say each of these golems rivals five B-rank adventurers, but these golems aren't even close from what I can see…?"
Ryo's muttering, however, was premature.
As one golem's eyes glowed red, its fighting style changed.
Up until now, the golem had been attacking by stopping and swinging the halberd in its hand, but it began to move using its legs.
When it did this, the timing of the pause changed accordingly.
Moreover, despite its huge size, it was making fairly elaborate strides.
When moving forward, it leaned forward….
"If an ogre or some big guy did that, it would hurt his knees."
Ryo commented on the golem, which had switched fighting style.
Incidentally, Ryo had been spewing out comments like an unconcerned third party since a while ago, but what exactly was he doing?
He certainly wasn't slacking off.
He erected an ice wall between the shore and the ships to prevent damage to the ships.
Initially, the D-rank adventurers had boarded the ship and taken up defensive positions to protect the civilian officials on board, but the golems took advantage of their huge size and threw the spears that they had brought along with the halberds toward the ships.
As one would expect, it would be bad if such a huge spear pierced the ships.
If it pierced the ship, it would sink, and if it fell on the deck, the lives of those on board would be at stake.
Therefore, the moment the spears were launched, Ryo formed an
However, Ryo was getting itchy.
The ice wall would remain up even if Ryo wasn't looking after it….
As far as he could see, all of the escort adventurers on shore were engaged in battle with the golems, except for himself and Hugh, who was in command as the leader.
Ryo muttered earlier, "These golems aren't close to rivaling five B-rank adventurers", but seeing as there were more than five adventurers involved with each golem, he realized that they could not be underestimated.
In fact, since the golems had begun using their legs, some adventurers had turned up hurt.
The priests were frequently recovering the wounded and maintaining the front line.
Most troublesome of all was the fact that the golem's exterior repelled all offensive magic, not to mention swords.
Even javelin-type magic with amplified offensive force didn't make a dent.
The battle line was maintained, but it had reached a complete stalemate.
Commander Hugh McGrath wondered.
All this commotion, and yet no reinforcements have arrived from the castle.
"Have they abandoned us? No, that's not it…"
The sound of the battle in front of him was so loud that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't concentrated hard enough, but it seemed that the commotion in the castle was still going strong.
"So these ten golems aren't the only ones mobilized, there are others as well."
It wasn't a very pleasant conjecture.
Because, in addition to these ten, there was a possibility that more golems would come from within the castle….
Just then, the eleventh one appeared.
"Tsk."
Hugh clucked his tongue audibly and tried to face the one that appeared.
To start with, all the parties were in battle, and the only ones available were himself and the one protecting the ship with an ice wall….
"Ryo!?"
The water-attribute magician ran toward the eleventh one.
The newly appeared eleventh golem, also holding a halberd in its right hand and a spear in its left, hurled the spear at the ship as soon as it appeared.
Clang.
The spear, however, crashed into an invisible wall about 10 meters away from the eleventh golem.
The eleventh, not caring about the spear, ran toward the delegation members engaged in battle.
But standing in its way was a magician.
He picked up the fallen spear and charged straight at the eleventh.
Just as the eleventh's halberd was about to reach him, the magician disappeared.
Even Hugh, who was watching from a distance, lost sight of him for a moment.
But a moment later, he realized that somehow, instantaneously, the magician had moved extremely fast and circled behind the eleventh.
He saw tiny shimmering water droplets behind the magician's back… he may have used some kind of water-attribute magic.
The magician gutted the eleventh from behind.
The eleventh fell with a great thump.
It was simply spectacular.
It didn't look like a very strong thrust, but it fell over without any resistance.
Hugh, who was watching, was more stunned….
"It seems that the designers are ignorant of the term, zero moment point…"
Ryo muttered and produced a blade of ice on Murasame and stabbed the eleventh which had fallen face down…in the back of its neck.
The golems were so heavily armored that even their joints were not visible from the outside, but he had noticed during yesterday's tour that there was a slight gap around its neck.
The gap was unavoidable, as the golem would need to move its head to explore its surroundings.
However, because of its three-meter height, it would be next to impossible to attack the neck area with human weapons.
And neither would a thrust from a spear penetrate the little gap in the neck.
If so, it would be most rational to stab it after tipping it over….
Take an ogre for example, one way to finish it off would be to crush its legs and knees, and then cut off its head when it falls.
In the first place, though, the position of the head feels totally different, even physically, between an agre, which is usually hunched over, and a golem with good posture.
Hence why Ryo chose the method of tipping it over.
The key to this was….
"Target ZMP control is an absolutely inevitable concept when building a biped robot."
In a biped robot, the point where the combined forces of gravity and inertia intersect with the ground is called the Zero Moment Point (ZMP)… granted, it's a little difficult to understand.
Literally, it is the point where the moment of total inertial force is zero… that doesn't make it any clearer either.
First, we'll briefly look into the term 'inertia force'.
It is a little different from 'inertia'. Though different, it's not difficult to understand because we all experience it often.
For example, when riding a train or a car, you may have experienced a 'whoa' moment, being pulled in the direction opposite to the direction of travel the moment the train or car departs.
That force pulling in the opposite direction is 'inertial force'.
It's nothing difficult.
With that in mind, let's consider the zero moment point using people walking and running as an example.
When walking slowly.
The force of 'gravity' is applied directly downward, and the 'inertial force' is applied in the opposite direction, that is, backward.
The 'resultant force' of these two forces is the 'total inertial force'.
This is the same force that we learned about in junior high school science class, where the arrows of the two forces are combined to form a parallelogram.
When walking, the inertial force applied backward is small, so the parallelogram becomes a long and narrow rectangle.
Now let's look at when running.
'Gravity' is still applied directly downward, but the backward 'inertial force' is greater.
In other words, the parallelogram (in this case, a rectangle) is not long and narrow, but has a large area.
As a result, the 'total inertial force' is shifted considerably backward.
Gravity is constant.
Inertial force can be controlled by adjusting velocity.
If just the right inertial force is called target inertial force,
The resultant force of gravity and target inertial force can be called target total inertial force.
The 'intersection point between the line of action and the ground', where this target total inertial force is extended, is the target ZMP.
The robot's attitude control must be considered while keeping in mind where the target ZMP is to be placed.
"Aibo, the automobile company, realized bipedal walking by using three attitude controls: Target ZMP Control, Floor Reaction Force Control, and Landing Position Control."
Ryo muttered as he looked down at the fallen eleventh golem.
It seemed to be knowledge he had learned back on Earth.
Looking at it, it seems impossible to grasp….
The movement itself is not difficult, considering what humans normally do.
For instance, say you stumble on a bump on the ground while walking.
Naturally, you would fall forward.
At that moment, how does one move to prevent from falling over?
Step forward using the other foot.
Doing that prevents one from falling.
By having knowledge of the Target ZMP Control, even a biped robot can do that.
And in the case of the golems of the QC Duchy this time, when it was stabbed by Ryo from behind, it did not prevent itself from falling by taking a large step forward… meaning, Ryo was trying to prove that the Target ZMP Control was no good.
To prevent from falling, one would have to take a large 'forward' step, but the answer lies in the ZMP that occurs 'backward'….
It is not complicated once you get the hang of it, but a complex one if you don't.
Ryo's golems for paddy field management in the Rondo Duchy were not to his satisfaction.
Nevertheless, the only thing that was excellently done was concerning attitude control to let them work in that sorry excuse of a paddy field.
Compared to those, the golem lying in front of him seemed to have poor attitude control….
"That said, it should be worth studying."
Saying this, he first detached the head completely.
Then, from the neck, he took a closer look at the chest armor and the back armor.
There must be a mechanism or method to remove the armor somewhere, he thought.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to maintain it….
On the battlefield, or when showing it to people from other countries, it may appear fully protected, but the armor would need to be removed when serviced, he thought.
The experience he had gained from tinkering with captured Union artificial golems under Kenneth's supervision was put to good use there.
After fiddling with it for a while, he found it.
"Heave."
Even though it was unnecessary, with a shout, he undid the inner clasp, and the chest armor came off.
"One more, heave."
Shouting further, though again unnecessary, he undid the inner clasps, and the back armor came off as well.
Once the initial starting point was found, the rest went relatively smoothly.
The arms, legs, hips, and so on, were built according to the same design concept.
And within five minutes, almost all of the armor was removed, revealing a naked golem…minus the severed head, of course.
But then Ryo suddenly came to his senses.
He remembered where he was.
His comrades were still fighting.
"Oh shit…"
He realized that it was indeed a fatal screw-up to leave his comrades hanging in the middle of a battle and try to pursue his hobby.
He looked up and saw Master McGrath, the leader.
He had seen Ryo topple the eleventh one and drove his sword through its neck.
While giving instructions, he joined in the fight himself.
He watched for a golem fighting using its legs to come forward at the right moment, poked it from behind to knock it down, and when it was down, he put his sword through its neck.
Although not as sophisticated as Master McGrath's, all ten remaining golems were taken down, mainly by the B-rank parties.
In the end, a total of ten golems were defeated with zero fatalities.
-x-X-x-