“What is that, master?”
Lapis-san looked at the thing I’d just finished making with [Modeling] and asked, puzzled.
A three-bladed propeller fan inside a protective cage, mounted on a pole rising from a stand base.
A summer staple — an electric fan. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it out of plastic. But since it’s mithril, it’s reasonably light and handles the same way.
“Program start /
Trigger: stepped activation by switch /
Effect: rotate the fan at the corresponding speed for each step /
Program end.”
I flicked the “low” switch on the base. The blades spun up gently and a quiet breeze began to circulate through the room.
“A tool that produces wind. Amazing.”
“Hmmm…”
Lapis-san was impressed, but inside I was — disappointed, I guess.* Unsatisfied.
The original idea had been: can I build a car? But the engine was too complex — I couldn’t make one. If I had the real thing in front of me, sure — but from internet photos and diagrams, I just couldn’t get the structure clearly enough.
I get the intake/compression/combustion/exhaust cycle, fine. But what all those tiny parts in the photo actually do — no clue. Way too fiddly. Gave up. Mechanics isn’t even my thing — I’m strictly humanities.
No gasoline either, so I’d thought about steam engines for a while — also abandoned.
Next I thought of motors. Less complex than an engine — felt doable. And then I caught myself: wait, with [Program] I can just do this directly, can’t I?
Tested it: built a fan that was just the casing — completely empty inside — and ran [Program] on it… Yeah, it spins. [Program] is ridiculously powerful.
Science is helpless in the face of magic, perhaps.
This isn’t a “anyone can make this” object. But it’s a “anyone can use this” object. Functionally fine, but — what is this hollow feeling.
Putting wheels on a flatbed and using [Program] to make it move with people on it — no, [Program] isn’t strong enough alone. Layered with [Enchant], though, maybe. A car-shaped toy with no engine sound and no motor vibration — completely empty inside.
Anyway — I’ve lost the motivation. Stopping at the fan. Don’t strictly need a car anyway.
I left the fan with Lapis-san to use as she liked. Hm — putting a ceiling fan in here might be nice too.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Touya-san, shall we head out soon?”
I came out to the garden from the terrace and Yumina called over. Right — that time already.
We were going to see the king and queen and tell them in person that I’d accepted Yumina as my bride. It’s already publicly known, but — gotta do it formally.
Less than a year since Yumina barged in and here we are. I really didn’t see this coming. No regrets, though.
“I’ve made up my mind about marrying you, Yumina, but… at this rate, am I going to end up being made king?”
“Hmm, in the current situation that’s the most likely outcome. If I get a younger brother, or if uncle has a son, things would be different.”
“What about Sue marrying someone in, and that person becoming king?”
That’s about the only other option. Anyone with royal blood marrying in could pull it off. Be a bit of a load to dump on the poor guy, though.
“That route’s possible, sure. But I don’t think it’ll happen.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because Sue loves you too, Touya-san. She’s bride candidate number five.”
“Eh?”
I froze at how casually she said it. Fifth bride…? No — surely not. Surely?
“Well, she’s not quite at that level yet. But in three or four years… maybe sooner — better to be prepared.”
“No, you’re overthinking. Sue’s an only child, she’s just attached to me like an older brother.”
”…Looks like I’m in for some long days, myself.”
Yumina let out a tired-sounding sigh. Eh, why that reaction?
“And, if my child is a boy, that child would become the next king, so… …”
She stopped mid-sentence. When she looked at me, her face was steadily turning red. Crap. I’m turning red too. She said “child.”
“L-let’s go!”
“O-oh, yeah.”
We made our way through stilted conversation to the garden, and I opened a [Gate].
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
“Ho ho — well now! Yumina has finally won Touya-dono over! Splendid news indeed!”
The king leaned forward over the table, laughing in delight. Queen Yuelle was holding Yumina’s hand, smiling at her daughter.
“Well done, Yumina. From now on, devote yourself to Touya-san even more, and support him as his wife. Understand?”
“Yes, Mother!”
The king stood up from his chair, clapped me on the shoulder, and beamed brightly. His mood is up.
“And we want to see grandchildren as soon as possible! Marrying four — bit of a challenge, but do your best, eh?”
Do my best at what. Don’t pile on the pressure.
“Marriage, certainly, but not right away — at the very least, you’ll have to wait until I turn 18.”
“Marriage can wait, but kids can come early enough! Yumina’s first menstr — gufuh!?”
Yumina had closed the distance instantly and her fist sank cleanly into His Majesty’s solar plexus. That was [Accel], right…
“Father — you have no decency whatsoever!”
Face crimson, shoulders heaving, Yumina stood over the most important person in the country, who was now hunched up green-faced at her feet. Well — bringing it on himself. Father or not, sexual-harassment-grade comments aren’t acceptable.
“Sorry about him — he’s so happy he’s going off the rails.”
Queen Yuelle smiled apologetically. Not unhappy to be celebrated, but the direction is a bit off, yeah.
“What to do, though? A few people already know, but if we formally announce that you’re Yumina’s betrothed, things could get complicated.”
“How so?”
“For one, every noble house that was angling for Yumina’s hand will mark you. On the other side, some will try to ingratiate themselves with you. And then there are the stubborn ones who’ll demand you show actual achievements before they accept you as Yumina’s match.”
Ah, that does sound annoying. Marrying a princess is a whole production.
But “achievements”… Some grand benefit to the country, I guess? That sort of thing?
“Let’s keep it under wraps a while longer. Better than dragging trouble in by announcing early — we could announce engagement and wedding back-to-back later and steamroll through it all.”
I’ll leave that part to you, then. Meanwhile, I need to actually develop into someone people accept as Yumina’s betrothed.
I left Yumina with their Majesties and headed to the training ground. Elze might be there, I figured — but apparently not, no sign of her.
The training ground was scattered with sparring matches, and it was genuinely fun just to watch — like spectating sports. A lot of knights today.
“Hey, you — what are you doing here?”
I turned at the voice. About ten young knights were watching me. They’re not much older than me. One or two years up, maybe. Young recruits.
“Unfamiliar face. Whose servant are you? This isn’t a place for someone like you!”
“Ah, no — I thought an acquaintance might be here. Just stopping by.”
A young knight at the front, blond hair cropped short, snapped at me. Slightly looking-down-his-nose tone — a little irritating. No need to make waves, though. Brush it off and leave.
“Acquaintance?”
“Hey — isn’t that the one? The brawler girl General Leon has been hanging around with lately?”
The blond looked over his shoulder; a redhead behind him answered. General Leon + brawler girl = ten-to-one, that’s Elze.
“Ah — that woman. Aha — you trying to use her to worm your way in with the General? Lowborn types have no shame, I swear.”
The one who picked up on the redhead’s line wasn’t the blond — it was a brown-haired one beside him. An ugly smile pasted on his face.
“He’s after a slot in the army, you bet. Riding the woman’s coattails.”
“The army’s got to fill out its numbers, so they take commoners — better than no one. Not like us, the knight order: few, elite, chosen with honor.”
They burst into braying laughter at whatever they thought was funny. I’d had enough. I turned to leave.
“Oi, you — you sleeping with that woman or what?”
”…And if I am?”
I answered the brown-haired one — who’d called after me — through clenched teeth. His leering laugh is grating.
“If you want to find her, try the General’s bed — she’s probably making sweet noises by now — gubeeh!?”
I didn’t wait for him to finish. My fist slammed into the brown-haired one’s face. Teeth flew, blood sprayed from his nose, and he hit the ground. I followed up with a kick to his side.
“Ogeh! Wh-what are you doing!?”
“Beating the hell out of you. Need it explained?”
I looked down at him, doubled over and curling up on the ground, and gave him another kick.
If it’s about me, I can take it. But standing silent while someone bad-mouths someone I care about — that’s not me. Pacifist I’m not. Granddad taught me: when you have to swing, don’t hesitate.
“You bastard! That’s the second son of the Viscount Barlow house! You can’t just—”
“Shut up. Whose house, whose son — does that matter? You yourselves aren’t anything impressive, are you…? Typical noble-house deadbeat sons, propped up by family name?”
“What did you say!”
The young knights closed into a ring around me. Swords drawn, killing intent aimed my way.
“Drawing your swords on someone means you’re ready to be killed yourselves, right? You get that, all of you?”
“Silence!”
One of them cut at me — truly sloppy. Practically a textbook for “how not to swing a sword.”
“Safety Mode.”
At my word, my sword-gun Brünhild’s blade extended — but with no edge. The new third form I added recently: Safety Mode. If you really swing through, you can still break bones — so it’s debatable whether it’s actually safe.
I swept the would-be swordsman across the torso with Brünhild.
“Gufoh!”
He staggered and dropped to the ground without resistance. Defenses all over the place.
The others, thinking their friend had been cut, hung back. Spineless.
“All at once! Attack together!”
The blond yelled — guess he’s the leader. Idiotic. Shouting the strategy out loud — really?
Before they could move, I closed in first. Dodged the obvious arcs of their cuts, drove blows into stomachs, shoulders, chests — three down. The others wavered, sluggish from shock. Not even a contest.
After that, just a matter of swinging through them. One remained: the blond.
“U-uwaaaaa!”
He let out a yell and bolted at top speed. Abandoning his men and running from the enemy — and these are the “chosen and honored,” is it.
“Gun Mode.”
Back to pistol form. I pulled the trigger — thump.
“Hogyaaa!?”
Chasing him is a hassle. I dropped him with a paralysis round. He sprawled face-down, motionless.
“Eep!?”
The only one still conscious was the brown-haired one I’d punched first. Not letting him off — he insulted Elze.
“That’s enough, please.”
A voice called from behind. Two knights — one silver-haired, around forty; the other I knew.
“Lyon-san…”
“Hey, Touya-dono. Long time.”
The blond young man gave me a small, friendly wave. General Leon’s son — Lyon-san — the one who traveled with us to Mismid.
“V-Vice-Commander! Th-this man — he just suddenly—”
The brown-haired one pointed at me and pleaded with the silver-haired knight beside Lyon-san. Vice-Commander?
”…You think I don’t know you regularly bully citizens and make trouble?”
The silver-haired knight’s voice was low and cold. The brown-haired knight went rigid and silent. Looks like this is their normal behavior. Bet they’ve been having a field day. Nuisances.
“Your families have hushed it up so far — that’s not going to work this time. Ten of you, ambushing one. Beaten down for your trouble. One of you ran from his comrades, no less. Hardly knights.”
Lyon-san spoke just as harshly. No, really — these guys being knights of this country is shameful all around.
“Your punishment will be conveyed in due course. Pass that along to your unconscious friends too. And one more thing — don’t even think of retaliating. Lay another hand on him and it won’t just be you — it could mean the dissolution of your family lines. This is no joke.”
Brown-hair’s eyes went round; the silver-haired man turned to me and bowed deeply.
“I apologize for the trouble. Please don’t take all of us as being like these ones.”
”…No, I went overboard too. Please don’t worry about it.”
Calmed down — yeah, I overdid it. Didn’t need to actually pulverize them. There were a dozen ways to disable them. Hearing them talk about Elze made my blood boil. I’ve still got training left to do…
“That’s a relief to hear. Royal Knight Order Vice-Commander, Neil Sleiman.”
“Mochizuki Touya. Nice to meet you.”
“I know. You’re a quiet kind of famous, you know.”
I shook his offered hand, my feelings complicated, with a smile.