Chapter 140

After parting ways with Ophelia, I returned to the special quarters, gathered my equipment, and mounted my horse.

It seemed like the chestnut steed could sense that it would finally get to run freely after a long time, as it happily scraped the ground with its front hooves.

Leaving the academy, I headed toward the workshop Asha had mentioned before.

Asha’s workshop was already impressive enough to be called a factory.

A three-story building.

The first floor had no entrance at all, and climbing the stairs outside led directly to the second floor.

The reception room, exhibition space, and personal living quarters were all concentrated on the second floor.

Metal products were made on the first floor, and leather goods on the third floor.

Well, it would’ve been tough to keep heavy furnaces on the upper floors, after all.

At the entrance of the second floor, a middle-aged man greeted me. At first, he thought I was a guest and welcomed me warmly, but as soon as I mentioned I was here to see Asha, his expression turned awkward, and he tried to refuse.

I mean, it’s not every day you see a half-human running a workshop right in the heart of the capital… He must’ve had his fair share of troublesome visitors.

Still, when I revealed my name, his attitude changed, and he promptly guided me to the reception room.

After all, it was common knowledge among those in the know that Asha and I were close.

By the time another cigarette butt was added to the ashtray on the table, Asha finally appeared.

She was in the middle of work, wearing thick work clothes that reeked of chemicals.

“I thought it might be you, Ha-shall-leur. What brings you here?”

“I have a favor to ask. Do you have a moment?”

Judging by her greasy face and messy hair… she must’ve been swamped lately, barely getting any rest.

I wasn’t sure if she’d have the time to leisurely fix my armor.

But I couldn’t head to the battlefield with broken armor, could I?

—

“You want me to fix this? In one day?”

Asha frowned at my request.

It was definitely a bit of a stretch.

I wasn’t asking for it to be done for free, but Asha clearly had her hands full with her own work.

Still, she was the only one I could ask.

Ordinary blacksmiths wouldn’t be able to repair the black iron armor made by half-humans.

“Is it too difficult? It’s kind of urgent.”

“It’s not that hard, but… why do you look so anxious? What’s going on?”

I briefly explained the situation in Einfeldt that I’d heard from Ophelia.

When I mentioned that there were over a thousand Corpses Raised by Magic, Asha seemed to grasp the seriousness of it.

“Hmm… that does sound urgent. Hmm, uhh…”

Asha lowered her eyes, nodding repeatedly while letting out groans.

I was just waiting for her to say yes.

If she refused here, I’d have to patch up the damaged parts with steel and call it a day.

“Alright. But I’ll come with you!”

Wait, what is she saying now?

Technically, it’s a yes, but she’s saying she’ll come to the battlefield with me?

It’s not like I’m in a position to complain since I’m the one adding to her workload, but isn’t this a crazy busy time for her with all her work?

“Are you serious? What about the workshop? And Einfeldt is an incredibly dangerous place right now.”

“I’ve been working non-stop lately, and my body’s about to give out. I’ve finished all the urgent orders, though. Plus, I’ve been wanting to test some new weapons, so this works out perfectly.”

Asha answered with a sly smile.

…She looked like an author pushing back deadlines to go have fun.

Still, there’s no real reason to refuse.

And if Asha joins the battle properly armed, she’d be a big help.

Eventually, I nodded, and spent the night at the workshop while Asha repaired the armor.

Though I had to sleep on the sofa in the reception room since there was only one half-human-sized bed.

—

The next day, the armor looked as good as new.

No, it looked even better than before.

It seemed like she’d mixed something into the black iron—the once pitch-black armor now had a dark gray sheen, and the lining had turned white.

“Something’s changed, huh?”

“I mixed in some titanium and half-metal. I stayed up all night, though.”

Asha, with dark circles under her eyes, let out a long yawn.

“Titanium? Half-metal?”

I would’ve been grateful just for the repairs, but she went ahead and upgraded it.

I’ve heard of titanium, but what’s half-metal?

“They’re both alloys from our half-human kind. Lighter and tougher than regular black iron. Plus, even if the iron parts get dented, they can be restored to some extent with just heat. Normally, we wouldn’t let these materials leak to other races.”

“Is it really okay to give this to me?”

Wouldn’t it be a problem if other half-humans found out?

And from the sound of it, the production cost must be astronomical.

“Consider it a reward for your contributions to our clan. My father found your previous proposal quite interesting. Of course, I’ll still charge you for the production cost.”

The estimate Asha handed me clearly stated 600 gold.

Wait, I just asked for repairs, and she went ahead and turned it into a premium product, then slapped on a hefty price tag?

Is this how half-humans treat their benefactors?

“600 gold? I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Don’t worry. This is just a formality to make the transaction legitimate.”

Asha shook her head, smiling as if to reassure me.

That’s a relief.

I was already dreading having to badger Ludwig, who’s stingy with my living expenses.

“So, if it’s just a formality, I don’t have to pay the full amount, right?”

“Not exactly.”

Her reply was instant.

“I’ll give you five years. You can pay it off slowly over five years. That should be fine, right? In return, if it gets damaged during those five years, just bring it to me, and I’ll repair it for free.”

Five years would be about 10 gold a month. That’s manageable.

Plus, she’s offering free maintenance during that time… I guess this really is the benefactor treatment.

After nodding, I put on the armor.

He put it on and wore it.

The weight wasn’t much different from before, but the armor’s scales had become much thicker.

Nice armor.

The inner fur lining was so damaged in the exposed areas that they had to patch it up with a different kind of leather.

I didn’t catch what kind of leather it was, but the pure white fur looked pretty stylish.

“By the way, Asha, how are you planning to keep up? I was thinking of riding a horse all day since a carriage would be too slow.”

But demi-humans can’t ride horses.

Even if they could, it’d be hard to keep up with regular horses.

And even if they used a jetpack, they couldn’t fly around for days with that, right?

“Don’t worry about that! I’ve got something prepared for this exact situation!”

Asha dashed off to the workshop and soon returned riding something.

– Vrooom!

The sound was so familiar it almost felt nostalgic, but now that I was face-to-face with it again, the sense of weirdness was overwhelming. It was like running into your old boss who’d become a prostitute.

Thick rubber wheels attached to a metal frame.

A handlebar extending from the front wheel.

The heavy roar of an engine and two exhaust pipes sticking out behind the rear wheel.

And a saddle on top of the frame, customized for a demi-human’s body.

…It’s a bike.

The sight left me speechless.

A demi-human riding a bike. In a world with medieval-style buildings, no less!

Compared to the blatantly over-the-top jetpack, this awkwardly realistic contraption felt even more bizarre.

I knew that sci-fi tends to feel weirder the closer it gets to the present, but still…

“…What is that?”

“The Lightwagen MK III. A two-wheeled iron steed for long-distance travel! Think of it as a carriage that moves without horses. It’s not stable enough for combat, though!”

From the way she talked, it sounded like she’d tried lance-charging on the bike or something.

Is this really okay?

A hunk of metal thundering across the land like a lightning bolt.

If people saw this, they’d probably spread rumors about two monsters roaming together.

Still, at least I don’t have to worry about her keeping up.

The bike was a bit small, probably because it was made for demi-humans, but with an engine, it shouldn’t be slower than a horse.

In fact, I might be the one falling behind.

—

After that, we rode nonstop for three days and nights, only stopping to sleep.

We ate dry rations and slept in sleeping bags by campfires.

The horse Marquis Ludwig gifted me truly lived up to its reputation as a legendary steed—it was much faster and had better stamina than other horses.

Even the horse I brought from Ka`har would’ve collapsed from exhaustion by now.

And, as expected, Asha’s bike did cause a bit of a stir.

Travelers on the road often drew their weapons in alarm at the noise, waiting for us to approach.

Though most of them ran away in terror as soon as they saw us.

On the morning of the fourth day, we finally got close enough to see Einfeld Fortress.

—

“…Do we have to go in there?”

“…Guess so.”

Seeing the battlefield up close seemed to have shaken Asha, as her voice trembled faintly.

I couldn’t blame her. The sight made me hesitate too.

The chorus of shouts, screams, and wails echoed all the way here.

It was clear that Leopold’s forces hadn’t been wiped out yet and were still fighting.

But there was no sign of victory.

Thousands of monsters had completely surrounded the fortress.

They were weathering the rain of arrows pouring down from the walls.

Most of them were rotting corpses, but their numbers had swelled to at least three thousand, maybe more.

They’d multiplied several times over compared to what I’d heard.

Some of the monsters were even wearing armor—maybe they were soldiers who’d turned into monsters after dying.

The plains, tainted black by dark magic, were torn apart and crumbling, resembling a wasteland.

Scattered everywhere were the remains of “mixed corpses” and “rotting soldiers.”

There was even the shattered body of a skeletal snake lying around.

And judging by the massive skull over there…was there a Grave Devourer too?

Seems like every kind of undead had crawled out of the woodwork.

“The main gate’s a no-go.”

“Yeah.”

Even I could tell that trying to enter through the main gate was impossible.

They must’ve decided to seal it off completely, as they’d piled boulders in front of it to block the entrance.

“Then we’ll have to break through over there….”

Asha pointed to a section of the wall.

It was where the largest concentration of monsters was gathered.

In other words, the most intense part of the battle.

A section of the wall about ten meters wide had completely collapsed.

On top of the pile of rubble, the surviving defenders were desperately fighting off the monsters.

I could see Leopold waving his sword with his left arm, rallying the soldiers.

His right shoulder was tightly bandaged—maybe he’d been injured.

At least he’s not dead yet.

If he had died, I’d have been so furious I might’ve desecrated his corpse.

“Can we do it?”

“…We’ll have to break through somehow.”

I drew Durandal while still on horseback.

Even a legendary steed wouldn’t last long charging into that mess, but it’d help until then.