Chapter 196 (1/2)

Chapter 196

–Aegir POV–

「Commence the test firing . 」

On Leopolt’s command, fire bursts out of 10 cannons and the targeted rocks blow up with a loud boom .

The production of cannons is an ongoing process and these 10 just arrived from Lintbloom after being completed during the war .

Leopolt, Myla and myself are conducting a trial run of the cannons to determine whether they can be used in battle .

Tristan didn’t come, so I’ll reduce some of his pay .

「Number 4 is damaged! Number 7 and 9 are experiencing a significant drop in accuracy . 」

「So about a third of them can’t be used……」

Myla and I slump our shoulders while Leopolt’s eyebrows lower slightly .

The cannons which broke after the first shot are out of the question, and those which can’t shoot far enough are a risk to hit friendlies so they can’t be used in battle .

The only way to use them is to leave them on the walls of the city, pointing outwards as a bluff .

「It’s a big improvement though . Initially, we would have considered it a huge success if only half of them can be used . 」

Leopolt says it’s an improvement, but Myla and I are both not satisfied .

「In this case, wouldn’t it be better to prepare more catapults and ballistae?」

There is some logic to this point .

Cannons require a specific set of requirements to be met before they can be used in a field battle .

「Even so, they are our trump cards for fighting siege battles, something we used to be less proficient at . Ballistae or catapults can’t demolish castle walls after all . We should continue to better the quality of our cannons . 」

「I understand . But this is the limit of what the craftsmen in our territory can make . This is the outcome after using good quality steel too . 」

Presently, we’re using the best steel and commissioning the best craftsmen to make the cannons, so we can’t reasonably expect them to perform above what they’re already doing .

「Are the cannons we saw the Federation use against Magrado so much more different than ours?」

The Federation fired their cannons from s.h.i.+ps and they seemed to be able to shoot a distance several times greater than ours, plus they could accurately hit the city they aimed for .

「The structure should be fundamentally the same though, is there something we are overlooking?」

With that said, Leopolt and I aren’t familiar with the technical aspect, so we don’t know too much about what’s wrong .

I don’t think we can come up with any good suggestions even if we rack our brains right now .

「If we’re going to have them produced in Lintbloom anyways, why not get those hairy…… hairy…… tiny-」

「The Dwarf tribe . 」

Right, the hairy dwarves .

「Let’s try asking those guys for help . They should be reliable when it comes to tinkering with metal . 」

Contrary to their crude appearance, they’re skilled with their hands .

When I look at my spear again, I can see how st.u.r.dy they made it as well as how much attention they paid to the tiniest details in the intricate designs .

It makes me feel a little grossed out when I picture Balbano working away at crafting it .

「They allow us to mine iron, but they don’t seem to want to help us . 」

「We can probably do something about that . Gather some strong booze and greasy food and we’ll take it to them . 」

Dwarves have a matchless love for alcohol, so I’m sure we can negotiate a deal if we let them drink something nice .

As for food, they can only get rats and mushrooms in the cave so they should be overjoyed when they receive any kind of food from the outside world .

「And Leopolt, don’t go . 」

I don’t think the dwarves would get along with him at all .

If he went to meet them, I’m sure they would get into a conflict .

「Haah…… then I’ll just choose some random people . 」

「Also bring some women so they can pour the alcohol for them . 」

Muu – Myla makes an unhappy face .

Being the formal girl that she is, she probably dislikes this kind of ploy, but this method has been the most effective way since ancient times when asking a man for a favor .

Even if the request seems unreasonable, it would sound better coming from a woman’s lips, at least to me .

「Then, let’s select a few beauties for them . 」

「No, beauties are not good . Choose ones that are short, chubby…… and hairy if possible . 」

Their definition of beauty is different from ours after all .

Even now, the hairy sensation I felt when I slept with their ‘beauty’ still comes back in my dreams .

「Is everything else besides the construction of cannons going smoothly?」

「Yes, pretty much . However, it would take a certain expense and some time for us to recover from the loss of over 10% of our forces . I guess we should refrain from entering any major wars for now . 」

「Their training is becoming harsher too, although honestly they are inferior to the soldiers of Aless . 」

「Comparing to those guys…… each of the hundred men we fought were hand-picked from a group of elites but were all individually as strong as Irijina . 」

It’s impossible from the beginning to try and create another group like that, so we should only do as much as we can .

「I heard from Gildress that while they only equipped themselves with swords and s.h.i.+elds in our fight, they could really use any kind of weapon from spears to bows . 」

「How many years would it take to develop soldiers of that caliber?」

I’m sure they could only do something like that because they lived their lives as a warrior at a very young age .

Similar with the bow cavalry’s skill, it isn’t something we can replicate with hasty training .

「An army ultimately operates as a collective body, each individual soldier doesn’t need to be a master at their craft . The outcome of the fight we had with them was inevitable based on the fact we were forced by politics to fight in a cramped location with such a large force . 」

Leopolt doesn’t seem to falter on his own theory .

Well, he is the best military mind here after all .

「We don’t have to reinvent the way we do things . Tell them to do some personal training if they want, it’ll make it harder for them to die too . 」

「Understood . That way, payments to the surviving families won’t be stupidly big either . 」

Myla glares at Leopolt as if saying ‘that’s not the main focus’ .

「I believe this battle will also affect how we bring together the soldiers and reserve army . 」

「The currently low salaries aren’t appropriate if a tenth of the soldiers will die, I’m guessing?」

The soldiers’ wages aren’t especially high, being slightly better than that of physical labor .

Even considering the necessities of life, which are provided to them free of charge, it may not be attractive enough for them with how prosperous Rafen is now .

「They might need…… something which creates a good impression of themselves like fame or honor . 」

「Leave that to me . Besides, we aren’t going to be organizing a large-scale expedition any time soon . 」

I have something to say regarding Myla’s peacekeeping forces too .

「I heard you’ve been going a little overboard . 」

「…… with what?」

「Seizing every single street prost.i.tute . Stopping any kind of in-house gambling between companions . Knocking down both parties of a drunken brawl and throwing them in jail . I’ve heard about stories like that . 」

Myla’s security unit is slowly becoming a group who is feared by the entire city .

「All of those activities got what they deserved according to the law! Prost.i.tution outside the brothels is illegal, a gambling ring consisting of more than five people requires prior approval, and it is unforgivable for drunk individuals to disturb the peace of the city . 」

Myla sticks out her chest with pride, insisting that she didn’t do anything wrong .

「You’re certainly right…… but you won’t make anybody happy by being unnecessarily strict . 」

「This isn’t a problem about being happy or not! This is about order!」

「Isn’t it better to be a little strict? The closer the guards are to the inhabitants, the more likely they will act based on their emotions, leading to bribery and corruption . We shouldn’t have to worry about that if we have the security unit . 」

Leopolt chimes in .

The security unit is a military organization led by Myla, in other words an army deployed within the city .

Their chain of command is different from that of the guards, so even if someone tried to win the guards over, the security unit can be mobilized without being affected .

They are technically under my direct command too and should have a higher standing than the guards .

It’s a sound argument . While the city will be kept in order if I let Myla and Leopolt handle this, the city would have a really strict and stuffy atmosphere .

「But you know, the citizens are telling me that they feel suffocated . 」

「The citizens…… so who do you mean?」

Myla’s face encroaches closer to mine .

「There should be no effect on the average citizen . If they dislike what I’m doing, then it must be from drunkards or delinquents, or perhaps……」

I avert my eyes and attempt to whistle, but no sound comes out .

It is just as Myla guessed, the street prost.i.tutes came to me in tears complaining how it’s harder to do business .

“Feudal lord-sama, do something about that woman~”

“I would be happy if I was captured by the feudal lord-sama and teased, but I don’t like that woman~”

That’s what they said to me as several girls licked my entire body, so I couldn’t get myself out of helping them .

「A-anyways, you could put off arresting those who aren’t harming anyone . More importantly, what about the kidnappers and bandit-like organizations within the city?」

Rafen’s population has grown quite a bit and these kinds of criminal factions will naturally start forming .

「The bud has been cut . Two of those kinds of groups have been crushed after we came back . 」

That’s good .

The security unit is extremely effective on the aforementioned criminal organizations .

Myla can’t be bribed and the soldiers are heavily armed so it’s difficult for anyone to oppose them .

Cavalry have also been gathered so the criminals can be chased down and routed even if they escape outside the city .

「Prioritize those cases then . As for the trivial incidents…… like street prost.i.tutes in particular, just let them off easy . 」

「Everytime a street prost.i.tute gets captured, they’ll be slapped on the a.s.s before getting released . Both parties of a brawl will be required to work one week of hard labor for free . Is that fine with you…… geez, not even being bribed but done in by a woman’s body . 」

As is the fate of a man .

「By the way, I don’t see Celia and Irijina . I thought they were supposed to be in the maneuvering grounds . 」

Celia especially would normally have dropped anything she was doing and come running as soon as she saw ame .

「Oh, those two are training . 」

At the end of where Myla was pointing, Celia and Irijina are crossing swords .

They are so engrossed with their training that they didn’t even notice I came over .

Both of them are using weapons which favor Celia – a one-handed sword – which are specifically designed for training purposes with a dulled edge and wrapped in cloth, but would still hurt if it hit the body .

「Yah! Taaaah!」

「Hahaha, Celia-dono’s attacks are light!! It won’t hurt even if the hits landed!!」

Irijina is casually blocking Celia’s strikes with a confident expression .

Celia fiercely darts around and attacks from all over the place, however Irijina is also skilled with weapons besides a spear so she isn’t easily defeated .

「I’ll be attacking next . Take that!」

Instead of dodging Irijina’s attack, Celia decides to block it .

「Aah, not good . 」

Celia’s body is lifted into the air after she took the attack .

Irijina’s strength surpa.s.ses even some men, so despite Celia having matured and added some muscle to her body, she couldn’t block the attack completely .

Irijina chases after Celia, who rolled to the ground .

In battle, n.o.body would give the opponent time to recover and get into a stance again .

It looks like they’re simulating actual combat .

「Kuh!」

Celia deftly rolls on the ground to dodge the weapon swung down at her .

It looks as if the victor is decided?

「It’ll hurt if it hits you! Just surrender!」

「No way! I haven’t lost yet!」

Celia is pretty strong-willed and hates losing .

Right at the moment when Irijina stepped in to finish her off, Celia spins backwards to let the sword slam into the ground, then leaps upwards .

Irijina tries to pull her sword back but couldn’t do so in time .

「Yaaaah!」

Celia’s sword hits Irijina’s dominant arm .

In an actual battle, her arm would have been chopped off and she would be unable to fight .

「Oooh! Celia won . 」

「It was closer to martial arts than swordplay but she did well . 」

Myla is clapping her hands too .

Finally realizing our presence, Celia runs over happily .

「I finally scored a hit on Irijina-san! ……it was a sword fight though . 」

Irijina’s specialty lies in her skill with the spear, although her swordsmans.h.i.+p is also above average .

If Celia is able to win against Irijina, then it sets her above all the other soldiers .

When I pat her head to praise her efforts, she puffs out her chest with pride .

「To think I would be bested by Celia-dono . I was careless!」

She doesn’t seem to have taken it too badly .

「Would you like to go up against me next?」

Myla makes a suggestion to spar with Celia when she saw how I was petting her .

Despite her outward appearance, Myla seems to feel deeply jealous, probably imagining herself in Celia’s position .

「Very well! I’ll use my momentum to defeat Myla-san too!」

It’s not a good thing that Celia’s getting conceited, is it?

The two of them face each other with their swords held out in front of them in a ready position .

They are equipped with the one-handed sword from before and a small s.h.i.+eld .

Celia is obviously trying to show off her good side to me and is more enthusiastic than usual .

「Begin!」

In time with the signal, Celia and Myla dash at each other .

They run in a distinct posture with their bodies lowered and slightly angled forward, making it harder to be counterattacked .

「Sh-! Taaaah! Yaah!」

As Celia swings her sword up from below, Myla blocks the attack with her sword and s.h.i.+eld and also steps backwards .

「Don’t push forward!!」

Irijina shouts loudly, though it’s looking bad .

Myla is one-sidedly being attacked, yet her defenses remain impenetrable .

From Celia’s point of view, she must be waiting for the moment Myla feels numb .

「She made a move!!」

Celia changed her attack pattern, banging her s.h.i.+eld against Myla’s before rolling in towards her stomach .

As she tumbles forward and dives to stab Myla’s thigh-

「Fungyaa!」

Myla’s sword made a clean hit on Celia’s head .

Because the sword was wrapped in several layers of cloth, she didn’t get injured, but she’s still holding her head in pain .

「I thought so . 」

「Umu, that move just now was too rough!」

Irijina, for better or worse, fights daringly .

The energy behind her attacks is immense and she is able to overwhelm opponents, although she leaves herself vulnerable to an a.s.sortment of countermeasures .

On the other hand, Myla is faithful to the fundamentals, and while her fighting style isn’t flashy, she doesn’t have many openings to take advantage of either .

She isn’t someone you can defeat by testing her patience .

「Aiming for the legs of an opponent who is larger than you is a nice idea, but there was no need to somersault forward . If you wait patiently for an opening before targeting their legs, you would be able to disrupt their balance . Besides…… you are not a small girl anymore . If you roll forward in the same way you did when you were a kid, you will get punished . 」

As Myla gives advice to the frustrated Celia, she crawls under my arm .

When I stroke her hair, I can hear a bitter sounding voice leak out .

「Uuu…… she took Aegir-sama’s arm…… aiming for this right from the start……」

「It is a privilege granted only to winners . 」

Watching these girls fight makes me want to move my body too .

「I want to do some training too . Would someone like to face off against me?」

All the soldiers in the area collectively look away .

Why… we’re sparring with cloth-wrapped swords so n.o.body would die .

「……if you win, I’ll give out a reward . How about that?」

Even so, n.o.body accepts the challenge .

「There are no soldiers who believe they can win against Lord Hardlett . I don’t think offering a reward would make a difference . 」

Fine, then you should be my partner, Leopolt .

「If I get injured, would it delay my military service?」

「Unuu……」

Celia somehow manages to pull Myla off my arm and then exclaims .

「Then I’ll be your opponent!」

「…… I appreciate the thought . 」

If I were to fight with Celia, I would have to treat her like a fragile object .

It doesn’t really make me feel better .

「Then how about this!」

Irijina pulls Myla’s hand and lines up with Celia .

1 vs . 3…… that might be a little interesting .

I should probably wrap the sword in more cloth .

Just like in the previous sparring matches, I face the three girls with a small s.h.i.+eld and a one-handed sword .

My opponents are Irijina, who is one step in front of the others, Myla, who is to her left, and Celia, who is brandis.h.i.+ng her sword in between the other two .

Let’s see how they’ll attack, this isn’t a life or death battle so I can enjoy myself .

「Let’s go!」「En garde!」「Here I come!」

The three girls make their move simultaneously .

Irijina comes at me from the front, while Myla circles around to my side .

This is a one-hit battle where the fight would conclude once a blow lands on any of our bodies, meaning I would be at a disadvantage if I get flanked .

「Sorraaah!」

I meet Irijina’s strike with my sword .

She might be strong for a woman, but naturally I would be stronger than her, so I was able to knock her off-balance and make her fall back .

「There!」

At the same time, Myla aims for my side with her attack, though that isn’t enough to drop me .

I twist my body to evade her sword and target her back with my sword in retaliation .

「Kuh!」

Myla instantly blocks with her s.h.i.+eld and stumbles after being deflected by my attack, supporting her body with her hand as she falls to the ground .

Next should be Celia…… now where is she?

「Here I am!」

Celia slips past the wobbling Irijina and charges at me .

I see, so she was hiding behind Irijina’s huge body .

「Yaaaah!」

Celia runs at me with tremendous quickness, which I respond to by tossing my s.h.i.+eld away and bringing my sword…… back, and using my empty hand to catch Celia before throwing her .