episode_0140

After parting ways with Ophelia, he returned to the special building, gathered his equipment, and climbed on top of a horse.

The red-brown courser must have guessed that it would be running without a run for the first time in a long time, and it happily scratched the ground with its front paws.

I left the academy and headed toward the studio that Asha had told me about before.

Asha’s studio already looked like it could be called a workshop.

A three-story building.

The first floor had no entrance at all, and if you climbed the stairs outside the building, you went straight to the second floor.

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

Metal products are manufactured on the first floor and leather products are manufactured on the third floor.

Well, it must have been difficult to place a heavy furnace on the upper floor.

Perhaps because they had hired a few employees, the person who greeted me at the entrance to the second floor was an ordinary middle-aged man.

At first, they seemed to think I was a guest and they welcomed me with hospitality, but as soon as I told them I was not a guest but came to see Yasha, they looked troubled and tried to refuse me.

Well, a demi-human, which is rare in the empire, has set up a workshop in the middle of the island… There must have been more than one guy who came and bothered me.

However, when I revealed my name, he changed his attitude and immediately led me to the reception room.

Everyone in the know knew that Asha and I were close friends.

When a cigarette butt was added to the ashtray on the table, Asha finally appeared.

He must have been working in the middle of the day, wearing thick work clothes that reeked of chemicals.

“I couldn’t believe it, but it’s really a disaster. What happened to this point?”

“I have a favor to ask you. Is it okay for a moment?”

Looking at the oily face and matted hair… It looks like you’re so busy these days that you don’t even have time to rest properly.

I don’t know if you can afford to fix my armor leisurely.

Still, it looks like you’re headed to the battlefield, but you can’t go there wearing broken armor.

—-

“Do you want me to fix this? In one day?”

Asha expressed her disapproval after hearing my request.

It was definitely a bit of an unreasonable request.

I wasn’t asking for it to be done for free, but it looks like Asha has a lot of work to do.

Still, the only person I could ask for was Asha.

It would be difficult for ordinary blacksmiths to repair the black iron armor made by a half-human.

“Is it really difficult? It’s a bit urgent.”

“It’s not that difficult, but… What on earth is going on that makes you look so nervous?”

I summarized and explained the Einfeld situation that I had heard from Ophelia.

Asha also seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation when she heard that there were more than a thousand commanding species.

“Um… It’s definitely urgent. Um, um… .”

Asha lowered her eyes, nodded, and continued to moan.

I was hoping for an answer of approval to come out of her mouth.

If the rejection came back here, I would have to repair it by roughly patching only the damaged area with steel.

“Good. Instead, let me go with you!”

What is he saying now?

If you ask me, I agree, but are you going to follow me to the battlefield?

I’m not saying this because I’ve increased my workload, but isn’t it a hectic time right now because of work?

“Are you serious? What about the workshop? Einfeld must be an incredibly dangerous place right now.”

“I felt like my body was getting rusty from working all the time these days. Thanks to you, I finished all the urgent orders. Plus, I was planning on testing out the new weapon, so it worked out well.”

Asha smiled and answered.

… He looks like a writer who has put off a deadline and is going out to have fun.

Still, there is no particular reason to refuse.

It would be quite helpful if Asha were properly armed and went to war.

After nodding in the end, I spent the night in the workshop while Asha repaired the armor.

Since there was only one half-sized bed, I had to sleep on the sofa in the living room.

—-

The next day, the armor was as clean as new.

No, it actually looked better than before.

The armor, which was pitch black as if something had been mixed with the black iron, had lost a blackish gray luster, and the edges of the lining had also turned white.

“Something has changed?”

“I mixed some things together, such as titanium and half metal. Thanks to you, I stayed up all night.”

Asha, who had dark spots under her eyes, let out a long yawn.

“Titanium? Half metal?”

It would have been nice if they had just repaired it, but it looks like they even made improvements.

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

“Both are alloy materials from our class. It is lighter and stronger than existing black iron. Even if the iron part is dented, it can be restored to some extent by just applying heat. Originally, it was an item that should not be leaked to other races.”

“Can you give that to me?”

Wouldn’t it be a problem if other class members even saw it?

Just by listening to it, it seems like the production cost would be enormous.

“You can think of it as rewarding a benefactor who contributed to the blood family. The last suggestion, my father found it quite interesting. Of course, you will receive some production costs.”

The word 600 gold was clearly written on the quote that Asha presented.

No, when I entrusted it to them for repairs, they arbitrarily changed it to the level of a new product, but instead charged me with a price…?

Is this the benefactor treatment of half people?

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

“Don’t worry. This is nothing more than a formality that claims to be a legitimate transaction.”

Asha smiled and shook her head as if to reassure herself.

I’m glad.

I wondered if I should roast Ludwig, who was especially miserly when it came to my living expenses.

“It’s a formality, so you’re saying I don’t have to pay the full amount?”

“That’s not it.”

It was an immediate answer.

“We’ll give you 5 years, so you can pay slowly over 5 years. If that’s the case, there’s no problem, right? Instead, during those five years, if anything breaks, just bring it to us and we will repair it.”

Is it about 10 gold per month for 5 years? That should be no problem.

They also say that they will provide free maintenance for the time being… At this level, it can definitely be said to be treated as a benefactor.

After nodding, he took the armor and put it on his body.

The weight was not much different from before, but the barbs on the armor were much thicker.

That’s good armor.

It is said that the exposed parts of the inner fur were so badly damaged that they had to replace them with another leather.

I couldn’t tell what kind of leather it was, but the pure white fur was quite stylish.

“Now that I think about it, Asha, how are you going to follow me? I thought it would be late by carriage, so I was planning on riding a horse all day.”

Half-humans can’t ride horses.

Even if you can ride it, it would be difficult to catch up with most horses.

Even if you use a jetpack, you can’t fly around for days with it, right?

“If that’s the case, don’t worry! There is something I made for times like this!”

Asha, who often ran to the workshop warehouse, soon returned riding on something.

– Boo!

It was a sound that was so familiar that I even missed it, but after reuniting like this, the sense of difference I felt was enormous.

Like when you run into your old boss who has become a prostitute.

Thick rubber wheels mounted on the front and back of a metal frame.

A handle that extends and connects to the front wheel.

A heavy engine sound and two exhaust pipes connected beyond the rear wheels.

The upper part of the frame even has a saddle tailored to the body shape of a half-human.

… It’s a bike.

It was a sight that left me speechless.

A half-man riding a bike. Oh my, that too with a medieval building as the background… !

This vaguely realistic version felt even more bizarre than the over-tech jetpack.

Originally, I knew that the closer the timeline of science fiction was to reality, the more heterogeneous it felt… .

“… What is that?”

“Lightwagen MK III. This is a two-wheeled iron horse for long distance driving! You can think of it as a carriage that moves without horses. It is not suitable for combat due to its low stability!”

From what I heard, it looks like he tried lance charging on a bike.

Is this okay?

A piece of metal running horizontally while making thunder noises.

If people even looked at it, it would be rumored that there were two monsters walking around together.

Still, you don’t have to worry about them following you.

The bike was a bit small in size, perhaps because it was meant for half-person use, but something moving with engine power would probably not be slower than a horse.

In fact, I might fall behind.

—-

After that, I ran for three days and nights, excluding sleep time.

I eat only dry food, and when I sleep, I light a bonfire and sleep in a sleeping bag.

The horse that Marquis Ludwig gave as a gift was truly one of the most famous horses. It was much faster than other horses and had great stamina.

Even the horses I brought from Ka’har would have been worn out long ago if the march had been this difficult.

And, as expected, Asha’s bike caused some controversy.

There were often travelers waiting for us with their weapons drawn, startled by the noise coming from across the street.

In fact, most of them became distraught and ran away as soon as they saw us.

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

—-

“… Do I have to go in there?”

“… … I guess so?”

Asha’s voice trembled slightly, perhaps because she was tired of witnessing the situation on the battlefield.

It wasn’t her fault. It was a sight that made me feel hesitant too.

A chorus of shouts, screams, and screams echoes up to here.

It was clear that Leopold’s army was fighting and not yet annihilated.

It seemed like there was no chance of winning.

Thousands of monsters are completely surrounding the castle.

Withstanding the rain of arrows pouring down from the top of the castle wall.

Most of them were rotten sick… The number is at least three thousand, maybe more.

The number was several times greater than what I had heard.

Perhaps the dead soldiers had turned into monsters, but there were quite a few monsters wearing armor.

The plain, which had been stained with demonic energy and turned black, had collapsed and been dug up here and there and looked almost like a ruin.

There were fragments of ‘mixed remains’ and ‘rotten sick people’ all over the place.

The shattered corpse of a skeleton snake was also lying there.

If you look at the giant skull over there… Were there also ‘grave predators’?

It looks like all the command bells have popped out.

“The gate may be difficult.”

“Sure.”

Even in my opinion, entering through the castle gate was impossible.

They must have been planning to close the gate completely, because they poured rocks in front of the gate and blocked it.

“Then, it means that we have to somehow penetrate the other side… .”

Asha pointed to one side of the castle wall.

It was a place where many monsters were concentrated.

In other words, it is the place where the most intense fighting is taking place.

The remains of a castle wall that had completely collapsed for about ten meters.

On the hill of rubble, the people who were still alive were struggling against the monsters.

Leopold was seen waving his sword with his left arm and encouraging the soldiers.

There was a bandage wrapped around his right shoulder, as if he had been injured.

Still, it looks like we haven’t fallen behind.

If he had died, it would have been such a heated situation that he would have actually acted as a lieutenant.

“Is that okay?”

“… I’ll have to try to break through somehow.”

While riding a horse, he pulled out Durandal.

No matter how famous you are, if you rush into a place like that, you’ll die before long, but it will still be helpful until then.