Chapter 735

“But what are you making over there?”

After handing over a pouch of gold coins, including bonuses for the prosthetic arm and weapons, I pointed at the pile of metal pieces that had been catching my eye since I entered the workshop. Before I arrived, Asha had been diligently working on them.

There was a lance embedded with complex machinery and a massive cylinder, a pair of mechanical arms that looked like they were ripped straight from a Colossus, and stacks of triangular metal plates and cylindrical metal chunks.

“We’re going to kill Nidhogg, right? I’m coming with you. These are the tools for that.”

Asha, with a fierce smile, began explaining each part she had crafted.

“This is a Buster Lance with an embedded gunpowder-powered Pile Bunker, hydraulic sub-arms to handle the recoil, and propellant tanks and flight units to boost the charge. With this, we can pierce through its skull no problem.”

…I’ve always thought she gets a bit too excited explaining her creations. Whether it’s a racial trait or just an engineer thing—well, I’m not sure.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just shoot it with a cannon? Like that 88mm Anti-Aircraft Cannon you used last time to blow a hole through its body.”

It seemed safer to bombard it from a distance rather than getting up close and personal.

“That won’t be enough!”

But Asha clearly disagreed. Clenching her fists, she declared with fiery determination, “A mere bombardment won’t satisfy my rage. I need to stab it, punch it, and beat it down myself…!”

Uh… okay. If that’s what you want.

I guess stabbing and punching does have a better feel to it than shooting from afar.

—

Given Asha’s overwhelming thirst for revenge against the one who ruined her fortune, I had no choice but to promise to take her along for the Insect-Dragon subjugation.

Bringing her along would inevitably lead to clashes with the fairies… but honestly, even if I didn’t bring her, clashes were bound to happen anyway. Might as well increase our firepower.

She even declared that she wouldn’t claim any part of the Insect-Dragon’s corpse, aside from a few bone fragments from the lower half we were still excavating. But that was only fair, considering her bombardment saved Damien and gave us the decisive chance to strike.

Anyway, after that promise, I left Asha’s workshop and headed back to the professor’s residence by carriage.

“You’ve been incredibly busy all day.”

The female knight sitting in the driver’s seat spoke softly. Since I had sent Nigel, Leonor, and the rest of the group to rest or train at the Golden Mansion, the one driving the carriage was a regular knight from the Rose Cross Knight Order.

Minea, a former guide-turned-knight. Her driving skills weren’t bad, and her swordsmanship showed some promise, so I had her join the Rose Cross Knight Order as a trainee. Apparently, she had been promoted to a full knight without me noticing.

“Yeah, it’s been non-stop since I got back.”

I lit a cigarette and nodded. The Imperial Palace, Eleonora’s mansion, back to the palace, the cathedral, Asha’s workshop, and now my residence. How many places had I been to in just one day?

And after checking if the weapons had arrived at my residence, I’d have to head back to the Golden Mansion.

“How’s the knight life treating you? Manageable?”

“I’m dying…”

Minea sighed with a dejected expression. Not that she was exaggerating—she genuinely looked like she was on the brink of death.

“Stop exaggerating. The Rose Cross Knight Order isn’t as actively deployed in wars as the Imperial Knight Order. You’re not being sent all over the empire to hunt monsters. Your duties are just subjugating monsters around my territory. What could be easier than that?”

I chuckled and blew smoke in her direction.

“For a regular knight like me, monster subjugation is a life-threatening battle…!”

Even for masters, it’s not exactly easy. The monsters you face are on a completely different level from what master-level knights deal with. Regular knights like you just gang up on monsters that a single master could easily handle.

If you weren’t living a life of swordsmanship, I’d understand, but for someone who lives by the sword, what could be safer than that?

“Do you know what the adventurer mortality rate is these days? If you’d stayed a guide, you’d have ended up inside a monster’s stomach by now. Or maybe a monster inside yours.”

Either way, it’s a gruesome end. Personally, I think the latter is worse. Better to be a monster’s meal than its mother, right?

“That’s why I didn’t quit and kept working…”

Hah, well said.

It was amusing to see how she’d gone from stuttering and trembling around me to answering so confidently. Maybe all the time spent grinding with the other knights had toughened her up.

“Well, keep working hard and training diligently. These are chaotic times. If you don’t have the strength to protect yourself, you’ll just end up left behind or sacrificed.”

“Yes… I’ll keep that in mind…”

It didn’t seem like Minea was too thrilled with the advice, but she knew it was the harsh reality. Just look at the state of the Imperial Capital, completely wrecked.

—

Finally arriving at the professor’s residence, it was as empty as I expected.

It wasn’t covered in dust or cobwebs, as if a cleaner had come by occasionally, but the cold, lifeless air of an uninhabited house hung over the place.

I parked the carriage in front and went inside, unwrapping the neatly packaged parcels on the reception room table.

“Just as I thought. They’re here.”

[Good. The precious items weren’t stolen.]

“Right? What would I have done if they weren’t here?”

I smiled as I looked down at the set of armor and three swords laid out on the unwrapped cloth.

As expected, there had been a delivery error. The completed weapons had been sent here instead of the Golden Mansion, so the knight in charge of the order had no idea they were finished and was still waiting for them to arrive at the mansion.

And with the chaos of the Insect-Dragon appearing, there was no time to worry about whether the items had arrived or not.

Well, we managed to take down Or-han without them, so it didn’t matter now.

I tossed aside the temporary armor I’d been wearing and picked up the Winter Armor, its surface gleaming with a fresh, polished sheen.

The metal scales protecting my shoulders and thighs, mixed with dragon scales, gave off a crimson glow, making it look luxurious. Even when I tested it with fire, not a single scorch mark appeared.

The shorter skirt armor made it less cumbersome to move, while the fur leather skirt inside still reached my ankles, maintaining a good silhouette.

“The fit’s good. Looks nice too.”

[Indeed, it’s much lighter than before. The previous armor wasn’t unbearably heavy, but this feels almost like wearing just leather.]

As Asha had promised, the armor was much lighter and more comfortable.

And yet, it’s supposedly stronger than before? At this point, I wouldn’t even envy the Holy Armor Demian wore in the original.

“Now, how about the swords…”

After donning the armor, I drew one of the curved swords from its metal sheath and examined it closely.

A one-handed curved sword, perfect for horseback use.

The blade, sharp and elegantly curved, glowed with a mesmerizing red hue, fitting for a Fire Dragon’s scale. The hilt, wrapped in the leather of a Beastman Paladin, felt perfectly fitted to my grip.

Now, how about its strength…

– Crackle…!

A bolt of lightning from the Life Force Technique ran along the blade, putting immense strain on it. The red blade trembled slightly, emitting a low hum.

No problem handling a Thunderous Rend. Then—

– Crackle-crackle!

I layered the technique, doubling and then tripling the force. The blade groaned under the pressure, but even after three layers of Thunderous Rend, it showed no signs of breaking.

It could handle three layers without issue.

“Good, this is perfect.”

If it can withstand three layers, then I should be able to unleash the Destruction Star, a technique that can tear through even a Hero’s Feat, with five layers.

Of course, it’s only a matter of being able to unleash it—actually swinging it would probably shatter the blade.

But I wasn’t expecting more than that. Even the massive Slaughter Sword had been half-destroyed when I used it, so it’s impressive that this thin curved sword can hold up.

Satisfied, I sheathed the sword and tied all three together to carry on my back.

With Durandal at my waist, that makes four swords. A bit cumbersome, but not uncomfortable.

And it looks pretty cool too.

With three swords slung across my back and longswords and daggers at my hips, I looked like a professional human butcher, exuding raw, wild energy.