Chapter 130

Chapter 130

#130. Northern Armor

I don’t really know how serious Ariana’s condition was back then since no one told me the details.

At that time, Isabel and Sun who were with Ariana only informed me it was serious.

“Did she throw a fit saying she was going to the Jin Viscountcy?”

Instead of returning to the High City after almost being kidnapped (?), I started a business on the outskirts of Lenslet, which must’ve been very unsettling for Ariana.

But with Sir Valkyrie right by my side, I thought it was a bit excessive.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure who should be worrying about whom.

“Ultimately, she came here as Mary on the pretense of my birthday.”

It seemed Ariana’s stubbornness couldn’t be swayed in the end.

With this condition—that Plutus would come along too—our undercover boss game resumed with our little treasure.

“She’s changed. She seems to be consciously trying to keep her distance from me.”

However, this restarted undercover boss game of hers was clearly different from before.

-Your absence caused His Highness immense grief. It was quite serious.

-And… Lady Mary was just as angry with you. For your reference.

-Ah, you haven’t been seeing other women or anything like that, have you?

If Sun hadn’t secretly explained the reason for bringing Ariana here, I would’ve been truly bewildered.

By the way, Sun returned to the High City immediately after bringing Ariana here since the High City needs to maintain security just like the Jin Viscountcy does.

Because if Yulkaneis were to teleport into the High City, Isabel alone wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“Speaking of which, where is Sir Valkyrie?”

“He went hunting by the coast.”

“Surely he hasn’t still not given up?”

“Yes… Since it’s the chairman’s birthday, he said he’d bring back a sea monster worthy of the occasion…”

“That’s an excuse. He probably just wants to try out the sword I made for him.”

“That’s likely.”

If Sun had seen what Valkyrie was doing right now, do you think he would’ve turned back to the High City without looking back? I don’t think so.

Thus, we wrapped up the talk about Valkyrie briefly.

“This Mongar War.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you heard about the Imperial Army?”

A statement that could be considered the main topic finally popped out from Ariana disguised as Mary.

‘This is why she stayed. The birthday present was just an added bonus.’

I was wondering why she, who had recently been avoiding being alone with me to an unusual extent, had stayed.

“Of course. Still the Empire. With their resources and population, everything they do is on a grand scale.”

To her worried question, I calmly nodded.

“…”

Mary’s face looked like there were many things she wanted to confirm from me after hearing my answer.

“Let’s go outside. Our presence might be making the cleaning staff uncomfortable.”

“For.”

Considering the listeners, we stepped out of the dining room.

The Arad shipyard located in the Jin Viscountcy was vast.

In the expansive flatland, countless pieces of wood, steel plates, iron bars, and stones were scattered around, and at the center, three airships whose hull construction had just begun were visible.

By the way, the secret production of white snake scales and magic circuits was taking place in a temporary factory a bit away from here.

“The Steam Engine was not meant for Bishop Company.”

“Are you still thinking that after seeing these Magic Circuits and Airships?”

“No matter how powerful the Magic Circuits and Airships are, quantity cannot be ignored.”

“Thanks to the Empire’s massive output, we’ve been able to stabilize prices easily. To the point where we’re concerned about over-supply.”

“…”

My calm response made Mary stare at me intently.

“If we had industrialized Lenslet alone, do you think we could have handled it? From food supplies to textiles, paper, bricks, iron bars… Could we have managed?”

“Even with Mary’s blessing increasing potato harvests, we’re still woefully short. Do you not know how picky the people of Lensretians have become lately?”

The northern environment is so barren that even with another world’s version of chemical fertilizers, production isn’t sufficient, and there’s a lack of crop diversity.

“And what about the increased consumption due to the recent population surge?”

Currently, the total population of the duchy is about 1.6 million. As the north became prosperous, northerners living dispersed across the empire returned in large numbers to escape discrimination, and thanks to the medical kits and the church’s holy power, mortality rates dropped significantly, causing a sharp increase in population over a few years.

“In fact, among the current population of Lenslet, the proportion of people who can immediately serve as labor force is extremely small.”

The problem is that more than 60% of the recently increased population are children.

There’s an absolute shortage of productive-age population.

“If we hadn’t been able to import food and textiles at low prices from the industrialized Bishop Company? Just imagining it gives me a headache.”

Even if the current children grow up and become part of the productive population, Lenslet will still have a huge gap compared to the Empire in terms of scale.

‘Lenslet has no choice but to become a cutting-edge foundry.’

Now and in the distant future, labor-intensive industries in Lenslet are inefficient.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that the future of this land lies solely in ‘Arcanepunk.’

“Of course, prices are important. Economy is security after all. But… The overwhelming volume with which the Imperial Army is advancing is a bigger issue.”

Despite my explanation, Mary’s stern expression didn’t soften.

‘I’ve been asked this kind of question before…’

This was similar to when Entaire bought the Four Great Relics in the past. I received similar comments from Ariana when summoned to the palace.

Judging from how she’s asking again through Mary’s face, she seems unusually anxious.

“The Empire’s industry and economy have certainly grown stronger. But that doesn’t mean the Emperor and the Imperial House have become stronger. In fact, it’s the opposite.”

I had to repeat the words I said to her back then.

‘Economy and prices instead of strategy and tactics like last time.’

I explained using the method that resonates most with people of this era and is easiest to understand.

If she’s still uneasy, I’ll have to keep repeating it until she feels reassured. Almost brainwashing her with confidence.

“The growth of industry and economy also means there’s more to lose. If a civil war breaks out in such a flourishing Empire now? The damage would be much greater.”

“…”

“On the contrary, the benefits we could gain through that civil war would increase.”

My brutal plan to buy time and money with countless blood and deaths.

Mary showed no reaction like a humanitarian upon hearing my thoughts.

She is a citizen of Lensretians first, before being human.

If her country and people could prosper and live safely compared to the Empire,

Even if the entire Empire fell into the pit of war and famine, she wouldn’t flinch once.

“Does Chairman believe that a civil war will definitely break out in the Empire?”

Rather, what troubled her mind was something else.

“Of course.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because of the desires I’ve sown in the Empire. I trust those desires.”

I patted Mary’s shoulder.

She slightly flinched.

Since meeting her again in Jin Viscountcy, she’s been reacting like this.

Frankly, it was quite shocking at first.

‘Somehow felt like garbage.’

Clearly, she seemed to be avoiding it, but I didn’t stop.

‘Can’t help it.’

Because this way, I could check on her condition each time by patting her shoulder.

‘Her body seems to have stabilized quite well.’

I quickly and discreetly took her pulse without her noticing.

Of course, purely with my own abilities, this would’ve been impossible.

‘That extra spell embedded in the necklace was a good decision.’

That transformation necklace she wears around her neck.

Thanks to the subtle spells engraved on it, I could take her pulse just by patting her.

Ever since Ariana came to Jin Viscountcy as Mary, I’ve been checking her condition like this two to three times a day.

Though it might look suspicious, there was no other way.

“What if a civil war doesn’t break out in the Empire?”

As if nothing had happened regarding my touch, Mary calmly continued her questioning.

“Then we’ll make it happen.”

To that question, I responded with a chilling smile.

“!!”

I was confident.

One basis for this confidence was the Empire’s strongest superhuman, Duke Doom.

‘Duke Doom did not achieve Grand Sword Master status in this Battle of the Main Wall.’

The news that Mongar Orc Chieftain was killed appeared in the newspapers, but there was no word that Doom had reached a new level.

Considering that in the original history, the Emperor spread rumors everywhere to strengthen imperial authority, it’s clear that Doom did not attain enlightenment through the life-and-death battle this time.

‘The Empire gained industrialization but lost its Grand Master.’

In the original history, Doom fought a desperate battle against the Mongar Orcs with inferior forces at the Main Wall.

At that time, the nobility council and the church sent almost no reinforcements to the Main Wall because

On the surface, it was because the high-ranking knights and cavalry belonging to the nobility council who meddled with Carpe were executed arbitrarily by Doom.

In reality, it was to check the emperor who swallowed the entire north and his close associates.

Anyway, in the Main Wall where there was no support at all, Doom engaged in a life-and-death battle.

During this process, he attained enlightenment and ascended to a realm above Sword Master.

And thus, the born Grand Master supported Emperor Khanbraman of the Empire.

Due to the Grand Master, the balance of power completely collapsed, and the master-level superhumans secretly nurtured by the nobility council and the church naturally became powerless.

Without a proper civil war,

This was the background of how the Empire established absolute imperial authority in the original history.

“The balance of power that is either boiling or ambiguously advantageous is bound to collapse sooner or later.”

But now, it’s completely different from the original history.

By now, both the Emperor, the nobility council, and the church must have the thought “It might be worth a try” lodged in their minds.

‘To fully save the north, the Empire must fall.’

My project to tear apart the Empire is packaged from Plan A to Plan E.

‘We also have the steam engine design leaked by our automatic hunting AI Entaire to Badenheim.’

Seeds of checks and balances have been planted outside the Empire as well.

“Even if a civil war doesn’t break out in the Empire, it doesn’t matter.”

It’s frustrating that I can’t explain this background of the original history and the changed current situation to the person in front of me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Follow me. I originally planned to unveil it on His Majesty’s birthday, but there’s nothing I can do.”

So a bit earlier than planned, I decided to show her ‘it’ to reassure her thoroughly.

I led Mary, who looked perplexed, somewhere.

* * *

Airships and Magic Circuits are under construction in the central area of the Jin Viscountcy, which will eventually become Jin State.

Calling it the central area of the viscountcy is just a name.

This place is a well-known rural village in the north.

Adjacent to the frozen coast and the great forest, this quiet neighborhood is minuscule in size and population.

Why proceed with Lenslet’s fate-determining project in such a place?

There’s undoubtedly some regional balance and self-interest in my territory involved. But the biggest reason is still security.

‘It’s like how America conducts important research in the Nevada desert.’

There were too many eyes watching the High City.

Other major cities were the same. You never knew when someone like Yulkaneis might suddenly appear.

Only in places like this remote outskirts could one feel somewhat at ease.

“If the Empire tries to overwhelm us with numbers, we’ll counter with armor.”

The place where I brought Mary was a giant hangar temporarily built inside the shipyard.

Grrrrr…

The enchanted iron door opened automatically with a heavy sound.

“This is…!”

As the door opened and Mary saw the interior of the giant warehouse, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Exactly when did you finish making this?!”

She asked with a look of astonishment.

“While making the Magic Circuits for the airships, I made this as practice on the side.”

“Is this… just practice on the side?”

An expression of disbelief.

‘Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be completed so quickly myself.’

The airship is large enough that with the anti-gravity enchantments and subspace magic circuits, it was expected to take a lot of time and manpower.

On the other hand, compared to the airship, the giant soldier required relatively less work, allowing the prototype to be created fairly quickly.

But it wasn’t just that. There was more to it.

‘Now I get it. Lately, every time I make something, I’ve been surprised by unexpected successes. It was stacking for this moment…’

Who would’ve known? Recently forgotten beginner’s luck struck consecutively in a 24-hit combo when creating the giant soldier.

“Besides me, is anyone else aware of this giant soldier?”

“You’re the first. No one except me has entered this hangar so far.”

“To create this alone in such a short time…”

“With a bit of luck following me.”

Hiding this story as much as possible, I maintained a calm attitude towards Ariana.

“What are you going to name it? Are you going to keep calling it Giant Soldier?”

Halfway giving up on understanding, Mary chose to clear her mind and changed the subject.

“Of course not. With many models of giant soldiers coming out in the future, we need to give this one a model name too.”

Although named Giant Soldier, it’s a common noun like ‘sword’. Just as swords have individual names, this one needed its own name too.

“Eva… doesn’t suit, Gundam… is random. Hmm… Pluto, Pluto sounds good.”

“Pluto! It’s the name of the gatekeeper of the underworld in ancient mythology. It’s a good name and fits its appearance well too.”

Pure white iron armor. If we were to nitpick its appearance, it resembles the knight robot from Earth’s anime Escaflowne.

A giant sword matching its 11-meter height was mounted on its back, and a large magical mace suitable for siege warfare was attached to its arm.

A fantasy world’s armored mech and firepower! The prototype giant soldier ‘Pluto-01’ displayed its majestic presence.

“How complete is it?”

“Most movements are possible.”

“!!”

Ariana’s eyes, disguised as Mary, momentarily became dreamy.

Were they like mine when I saw celestial ether earlier?

Romance seems to transcend age, status, and gender, doesn’t it?

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