NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
(253)
As was the case with the war with Doroisen, the aftermath was always more difficult than the fight itself.
The 50th floor of the Ivory Tower, where the conference room is located.
The elders of each school gathered in a splendid assembly room, where sunlight poured in through the south-facing glass windows and where marble floors and jeweled chandeliers shone.
“What kind of shame is this?”
“Isn’t embarrassment the problem now?”
“Now the merchants can’t even make excuses.”
“So what the hell happened? I’ve only been out of the lab for a year, so how can I know?”
Serena and I sat on the sofa, waiting for enough people to gather.
Sereraji's priest, Niar, with red and cream colored eyes and hair, approached him hesitantly, preparing refreshments.
It was a very delicious looking macaron.
I smiled brightly and reassured her.
“Oh my. I didn’t know the wizard himself would prepare it for me.”
“… …Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
“Where is the person who said, ‘Status outside the ivory tower means nothing!’”
Sereraji shocked my wrist with electricity.
“Just read the mood.”
“… … I’m also at a loss, so this is why I’m like this.”
The elders' gaze was very harsh.
Debt had a strange side.
If I borrow 100 gold coins, the bank and the creditor will pester me, but if I borrow 100,000 gold coins, the bank and the creditor will beg me.
Because if I can't pay, we'll all go bankrupt together.
The accident that the ivory tower is facing now also has a similar aspect in that it is a reversal of the debt relationship.
During research on old things, a test subject escaped and caused casualties, but this was kept hidden from even the imperial family.
If things were to go according to plan, the facts would have to be made public immediately, and then compensation, an apology, and steps to prevent recurrence would have to be demanded from the ivory tower.
But since this is such a big incident, if we make it public, we will have to demand huge compensation and have the church watch over us.
The ivory tower is now excited about achieving the thousand-year-old dream of self-sufficiency in reagents.
'One million gold coins as compensation! And all old experiments will be supervised by the church!'
'fu*k.'
'Eww!'
In this situation, if I tried to control the ivory tower with money or a surveillance system, the archmages in front of me could have turned the capital into a wasteland and everyone could have fled to the southern Emirate.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
I couldn't bear to see that sight.
So, I had to quietly resolve this without making it public, while at the same time taking a bite of meat that would satisfy Jaylilith.
On the contrary, the ivory tower elders will try to send me back with the smallest possible reward, since I will not be able to make it public anyway.
* * *
Finally, Gestarte, dressed in a splendid attire and wearing a veiled, wide-brimmed hat, and Crius, a senior member of the sage school with white skin and red lips, entered.
“You’re late.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Gestarte was still standing tall, and Crius was running madly, panting for breath.
“… … .”
I stared at Gestarte, and she glanced around at the elders, then raised both hands theatrically.
“I'm sorry.”
“You apologize faster than I thought.”
“Since there’s nothing I can do but apologize, shouldn’t I at least do that?”
He was telling us not to even dream of things like public disclosure or massive compensation.
I looked at Sereraji with a bitter smile.
She was just sighing as if she couldn't even sleep.
Even though I stayed up all night studying for a week, my lively eyes became hazy overnight.
I continued speaking calmly.
“First of all… … If you have something like a stabilizer made from Az’s fragments, give it to me along with the recipe. I will take it to Your Majesty.”
The elders made eye contact and nodded.
“Anyway, securing materials was a problem.”
“That’s no problem.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
As expected, this was accepted without any major problems.
“And let’s create an academic conference led by the ivory tower and publish some papers on the great erosion. It doesn’t have to be something grand, but as people living in this world, let’s contribute to the empire.”
This time, there was a little bit of a buzz lost.
“How is this any different from asking us to give away the technology we researched for free?”
“Instead, the promotion of magic tools will be much better. It will also be easier for magicians to unite and fight against the church. Excessive mystery breeds fear.”
“Hmm. You could even think of it as an opportunity to take the lead in the magical society.”
“I completely disagree. How can I have cut ties with the secular world and then come back like this-.”
There was a bit of a stir, but the elders eventually nodded their heads this time too.
“The Grand Duke of Sereraji will be the imperial representative to the academic conference.”
It was because of what I added.
“If that’s the case.”
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“It’s reassuring.”
“I will show you that there is a force other than the church that can fight erosion.”
It was nothing more than a promise not to threaten the ivory tower under the pretext of an academic conference.
Sereraji poked me in the ribs.
“Why on earth is my work getting slower and slower?”
“Hmm.”
“There are now eight slum workshops, a general workshop, research assigned by His Majesty, training disciples, warlock training, and now an academic conference? Are you kidding me?”
I shamelessly put a sheet of iron on my face.
“It’s fate.”
Sereraji shocked my wrist with electricity.
* * *
“… … I finished it like this.”
“You ended it surprisingly mercifully. Didn’t you receive any personal gifts?”
The Emperor's Office.
Jaylilith looked at me with her eyes shining with interest.
I shook my head, raised both hands, and lightly drew up my mana.
With a “tsk tsk tsk” sound, many thin, snake-like fibers crawled out from inside my hand and wrapped around my hand.
“I received something like this.”
Jaylilith laughed, slightly surprised.
“That’s amazing.”
The black gloves that clung to his hands were flexible but had a metallic sheen.
“This is a joint gift from the School of Destruction and the School of Creation. It is said to be the invisible hand that controls all things in the world.”
“Invisible hand?”
Jaylilith looked puzzled, and I gestured to her to bring up a piece of paper on her desk.
“This is more difficult than I thought.”
The papers flew up to our eye level, then fell back down with a fluttering sound, and I immediately reached out and grabbed them out of the air.
Crunch.
At the same time, Jaylilith reached out, the papers were crumpled up badly, and we ended up holding hands.
“Brother!”
A voice burst out that did not match his usual dignity, but suited his 20-year-old appearance.
Of course, it must be an auditory hallucination.
“I’m sorry!”
I immediately straightened my posture and lowered my eyes, and Jaylilith coughed and looked as if she didn't know what to say.
I tried to say something, but Jaylilith spoke first.
“Enough. If you utter one more word about this document, I will glue your lips together with blood magic. Yes. You have received the telekinetic gloves. Has the Grand Duke of Sereraji received the grimoire?”
I put the iron plate on my face again and continued speaking.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I have received the joint research grimoire of the Destruction School and the Lightning School.”
She said in a voice that had regained its dignity.
“Yes. Since they’re even hosting an academic conference, I guess we can let this slide. Has the compensation been delivered to the bereaved families?”
“Yes. I have delivered it quickly. I have also doubled the compensation for the Ivory Tower, so please do not worry.”
“How was the practical test for the mechanical engineers?”
I handed over another document.
“I am very satisfied. As you can see, all functions are in effect: Resonance Enhancement, Sharing, Lightning Net, Flamethrower, and Heat Ray Purification.”
"hmm."
“I’m especially happy about the fact that ‘Purification by Fire’ works by using heat rays. If we put helmets with circuitry on sword-user level soldiers, we can deploy them en masse on the battlefield against the Encroachers.”
“Is technology a sorcery circuit or a spell circuit?”
“Marquis Marcus has refined it into a spell circuit. However, there is research that engraving and activating an unintelligible magic into a spell circuit can cause mental contamination and erosion, so caution is needed when mass producing it.”
Jaylilith nodded.
“Let me note that. Yeah. Everything is going well.”
Her gaze fell on the papers lying next to her.
“Everything is going well.”
[Preparing for fortifications in the eastern Cariosa Anchor Archipelago.]
[North, Severic tree-shaped giant foreign object removed.]
[South, Caesar's great conquest of the nomadic tribes.]
[West… …]
Numerous other documents revealed what was happening throughout the vast empire.
Suddenly her exposed shoulders looked very precarious.
But my emperor seemed to have read my gaze and laughed like a wild carnivore.
“I heard from the saint. He said that Doroisen is stable. There is no need for Jim to drop the meteorite.”
"ah."
For a moment, my mind went blank, and I regretted having thought of something so presumptuous for even a moment.
I wonder who was worried about whom.
“Yes. I’m doing well. Is there anything you wish for?”
I brought up the subject cautiously.
“I would like to have a mock battle with Archduchess Helena to further test the performance of the machine knights and the effectiveness of the gun unit.”
There have been many instances in history where armies were gathered under the pretext of training or jousting matches only to turn into rebellions, and military movements always had to be cautious.
My emperor smiled languidly and nodded.
“Why are you asking for such a heavy favor? Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you. Ah-.”
I offered a bagful of medicine made from Az's decision in the ivory tower.
Jaylilith checked the contents and smiled languidly.
“Okay. Thank you.”
I asked with a sense of uneasiness.
“Your Majesty, if you have even a small scratch on your body, please do not hide it. Many sword masters have fallen because they were too strong.”
Jaylilith gestured as if to tell her not to talk nonsense.
“I asked you to do some research on Jim as well. Your Highness, stop worrying about useless things and just do a mock battle.”
* * *
“So I’m trying to schedule a mock match. Is that possible?”
Of course I knew her answer.
Helena.
The field commander, with his curly blond hair, his sinister red eyes, and his heart filled with fiery passion and the madness of war, rang the bell right away.
Ding, ding, ding.
“Did you call me!”
“The 2nd Battalion Commander is here!”
“Distribute the magician’s reagents!”
“5-minute standby, ready to go!”
An elite group of officers, comprised of former academy graduates, job seekers, and cadet thugs, came running in wearing stylish military coats over their breastplates.
Helena cried out in an ecstatic voice.
“A mock battle, like a real battle, must begin at an unexpected moment! Head to the training ground outside the castle gates immediately! Begin mobile operations! Be in position within an hour!”
“He’s coming!”
“Move! Move! Move!”
“Cavalry company, transport company!”
Officers, knights, and officer-knights ran out.
I also called together the mechanics and the gunners.
“You’re not going to beat each other up, so control your strength. Have you replaced all the bullets with impact bullets?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then just do as you trained.”
Soldiers from both sides were stationed on a wide plain.
Helena and I set up our tents about a hundred paces apart, and sat side by side, looking out over the battlefield.
Behind Helena sat the staff officers, and behind me sat Marcus, Cererazie, Rudy, and Tentia.
I said, looking at the fast-moving heavy cavalry of Helena.
“For a strategy of a great invader, the cavalry is strong, but what kind of enemy did you prepare for?”
Helena shrugged.
“War against the invaders is a noble thing, but in reality, it is closer to subjugation than war. It should be closer to subjugation.”
It was just as she said.
Since the war against the eroders was absolutely unwinnable, there was a tendency to pour resources into it without regard for efficiency.
“But I want to fight against the same humans. I have a desire to try and do something with what I have. The last enemy I considered was the Republic Army and Langso.”
I thought of the Republic of Langso before the return.
“Langsowa. I heard there are few magicians there… … No. I heard that, so a mock battle with my private soldiers might not be of much help. They obviously don’t have any products of magical engineering.”
Helena shook her head.
With a carnivore-like grin.
“They say there’s a method for training superhumans and a medium- and long-range attack method. It’s perfect for machine gunners and gunners. I’m very grateful.”
In front of me, troops from both sides began to move.
“For the great Duke of Mangnani!”
“For the Archduke of Demons!”
“For the Princess of the Battlefield!”
“For the Princess of Conquest!”
Although these were not very pleasant words to hear, there was something thrilling about the sight of mighty knights and soldiers calling our names.
I clenched my fist without realizing it, and Helena also leaned forward.
At that moment, a priest came running in from behind, out of breath.
“His Highness the Grand Duke of Valencian.”
“What a great thing it is to have this great moment-.”
“They say they found the home of the invaders.”
“Please sit over here for now.”