Battle to Ship Off the Yamata no Orochi (1)
Having secured a flawless victory, I triumphantly declared the shipment of the Yamata no Orochi.
“Sh-… Shipment, you say…? The calamity of our nation… being… shipped off…?”
Some people made rather entertaining faces at that, but shipment means shipment. That thing has no chance of defeating me.
For now, I called for Takuto.
“Takuto’s the trump card. Worst case, I’ll have you use the Spirit Sword.”
“I don’t mind, but I can’t really handle it properly. I can only bring out, like, half its power.”
“Well, of course you can’t. The Spirit Sword’s a joint creation of the Goddess and the Spirit King. You’re the hero chosen by the Goddess, but that alone means you can only draw out half the sword’s true ability.
Basically, the Spirit Sword only acknowledges you halfway so far.”
Still, even with just half of that power, it’s a blade that sits at the very peak of all holy swords—the one that can slay the Demon King.
“So if I’m recognized as a hero by the Spirit King too… Right now, that’s you, isn’t it?”
“Hehe. You can worship me if you want—but I’m joking, okay?”
When Takuto knelt before me, I hurriedly stopped him. He just grinned at me in amusement.
Grrr… to think he’d tease me like that! He’s gotten pretty cheeky since the last time I saw him.
Well, making Takuto the Spirit King’s hero would be easy enough. But there’s a catch—doing that would come with risks for me. Specifically, I’d be weakened for a while. In concrete terms, I’d lose control over the surrounding mana and my mana recovery rate would drop to normal human levels.
Originally, the reason my mana recovery was so abnormally high was because the Spirit King’s power had been tainted by fragments of the Evil God. It caused a constant, subtle manipulation of mana around me—basically gathering ambient mana nonstop.
Absorbing natural mana directly like that is actually pretty dangerous. The quality differs from human mana—like plugging a 100V appliance into a 220V socket. Humans can absorb natural mana, but they do so gradually, letting it blend into their bodies—so recovery is slow. I, on the other hand, forcibly gathered it.
After doing that unconsciously for years, my body’s adapted to it. These days, it only causes a slight strain and increases my mana reserves—not enough to damage me.
Of course, there are other side effects, like temporarily losing access to parts of the Spirit King’s power. That happens because I’m not actually a spirit. If the original Spirit King were the one making Takuto a hero, they’d just feel as tired as after a 100-meter sprint. Three days of rest, and they’d be back to normal.
“So yeah, turning you into a Spirit Hero isn’t ideal right now. Especially since there are quite a few people who’ve been sent to Arland targeting me.”
“Ah, because you wouldn’t be able to make clones as easily?”
That’s the biggest problem. The reason I can act freely even when people are after me is because I’ve got multiple clones. The agents can’t tell which one’s the real me. Honestly, even the kingdom sometimes can’t tell.
Well, if it’s just within the royal capital, the residents there will secretly protect me anyway. For some reason, whenever I go to the capital, people just start following me. Like, a hundred or more of them. You think I wouldn’t notice a crowd that big tailing me?
I feel like I finally understand how that certain someone must’ve felt—y’know, the one who leads those mysterious little creatures that follow him around, helping him with stuff. I bet he was pretty confused at first, too.
Then, we moved from the capital to the island where the Yamata no Orochi was sealed. It was a remote island, about three days away by airship.
From the outside, it looked exactly like the kind of island anyone would picture—one big volcano in the center. But the moment we landed, I felt something was off.
“This island’s strange.”
—That’s because it’s man-made. It used to be a floating island in the sky.—
The Spirit of Light answered me.
Sure enough, there was no magical link to the seabed below. Normally, an island’s mana would be connected to the sea floor—but this one had none.
“An ancient floating island?”
—It can’t fly anymore, though.—
Well, well, well… I’ve always wanted to gift Lily a grand floating castle in the sky. A brilliant white castle soaring among the clouds. She’d definitely light up and say, “You’re amazing, Sister!” without a doubt. I’ll have to discuss a joint investigation with the Land of Tranquility later.
As for payment… come to think of it, the Land of Tranquility produces silk, right? Not on the same scale as the Empire, but still. If I help industrialize it and share some textile tech, that should be a fair exchange. Arland doesn’t have silkworms, and countries that do all ban their export. I could smuggle some in, but doing that to an ally would ruin relations fast. And since the Empire’s silkworm farms were bombed, it’s unclear whether any still exist. Probably a few, but…
Anyway, it’s too much trouble to look for them, and Arland’s leadership is already at their limit. The political and economic sectors are so overworked they’re begging for mercy. Ponpoko even did a sliding dogeza to ask me not to start any new industries. But if he thinks that’s enough to stop me, he’s sorely mistaken.
After all, I’m used to ministers groveling. The Finance Minister does it all the time, complaining that the Air Force budget’s too high. But whenever that happens, I just slip some gold into the treasury vault, and presto—budget approved. Recently, though, I swear his groveling technique’s gotten stronger. Also, I heard his subordinates—those managing the kingdom’s budget—are overworked to the point of collapse. I’ll give them some happy medicine later.
“Where’s the sealing site?”
“At the summit of that mountain, milady.”
It’d already been three days since the duel, so the talisman magicians led by Master Genrō had recovered. And since I’d already proven our overwhelming difference in power, they weren’t daring any funny business. They answered honestly.
“Why would they seal it there, of all places…”
It wasn’t that tall a mountain, but climbing it looked like a pain.
“We don’t think it’s ideal either, but… it seems it was already sealed there originally, and we simply can’t interfere with that site.”
“If it were at the base, things would be so much easier…”
Apparently, the talisman users still came to check on the seal periodically. Once a year, at most—just to make sure nothing had gone wrong. Even so, climbing the mountain was apparently grueling work. Well, mages tend to be frail, after all.
Case in point: I lasted only thirty minutes before collapsing and having to be carried up on a stretcher.
“Why are you walking today of all days? You always ride Coote.”
My exasperated older brother asked, and I replied,
“Because everyone keeps telling me I should exercise. But yeah, no, I’m not built for that.”
Climbing a mountain without magic was a ridiculous challenge. As I lay on my stretcher, hooked up to an oxygen tank, I was already wiped out before the fight even began.
The shipment’s tomorrow, so it should be fine. This little girl body of mine has zero stamina, but recovery-wise, I’m confident. I’m not at the age where muscle pain lasts for days yet.
Hahaha, unlike those madams suffering from back pain! I’ll send them some nice pain patches as a little “gift.”
Even carried on a stretcher, we eventually reached the summit. The mountaintop was wide and hollowed in the center—clearly man-made, designed to contain the Yamata no Orochi safely if it broke free.
Then, I began the investigation.
The seal’s focus was a stone monument at the center. That served as the anchor, keeping the dormant Yamata no Orochi sealed in a pocket dimension. I brought Eibon along to help with the examination, using a magic tool to disguise him as human.
But the moment he removed the device—since it interfered with mana detection—the soldiers from the Land of Tranquility, the samurai, immediately drew their swords.
“Undead!”
“No, no, he’s fine! I mean, kind of. Just know he’s a pervert who harasses women, so if he tries anything, you can cut him down.”
“How cruel.”
“If you’d just stop harassing women, I wouldn’t have to keep sealing you in the underground labs! How many times do you need to learn that lesson?”
Yeah, this guy’s a menace to womankind. I’ve locked him up in a fully equipped underground research facility with projects tailored to his interests just to keep him out of trouble. Otherwise, he’d spend all his time se*ually harassing the maids. Though, granted, they do get their revenge.
Anyway, the samurai eventually calmed down, though they stayed on edge.
“If we destroy this anchor, could we keep the space from reopening?”
“Impossible. Even if we destroy the anchor, the rift wouldn’t close immediately. In that brief gap, it would escape.”
“The seal itself’s at its limit. The proxy of the Earth Spirit King… it’s acting as the seal’s foundation, so it can’t emerge unless we break it.
But it’s so drained that it’s barely got the power of a low-ranking spirit left. It must’ve been close to the talisman master who made this seal.”
Otherwise, it never would’ve helped create something like this. Spirits don’t normally bother with creatures like the Yamata no Orochi—as long as they stay away, it doesn’t harm them.
And spirits rarely care about losses among unknown humans. They care about land they love, or specific people they like—not entire races.
As expected, the seal’s collapse is only a matter of time. Upon closer inspection, it could crumble any moment—just a small change in weather or mana flow would be enough. We could reinforce it with a sacrificial spell, but that’d take a heavy toll, too.
It’s clear this was meant to be a temporary measure. They probably sealed the Yamata no Orochi first, intending to develop a stronger sealing method later. But the talisman user who cast it died shortly afterward, and that plan died with him.
And we can’t even ask the spirits for help anymore. The Yamata no Orochi devours low-tier spirits—it’s basically their natural predator. Spirits can move freely anywhere, but the instant they sensed this thing’s presence, they all fled.
“I guess that means it’s time to ship it out.”
“The problem, however, is that this thing possesses a barrier. I’ve sparred with barrier-type monsters before, but my word, they’re an utter nuisance.”
“I’ve got that covered.”
“T-That is... a Holy Sword! Indeed, if it’s a Holy Sword, that would work. But there’s no time to gather people whom the sword recognizes!”
“Heh, heh, heh. This Holy Sword here is a mass-produced artificial model—Achilles. I’ve cut out the arrogant feature that lets it choose its wielder despite being a mere sword.”
At that instant, I felt a sudden weight of countless gazes and turned around.
It was the knights of Arland, staring straight at me.
Their eyes were shining—clear, pure, brimming with dreams like those of innocent boys.
And... they were drooling.
“Stop! Don’t look at me with those eyes! You’re far too old to be making that kind of face!”
Ugh, these guys. Looking at me like starry-eyed kids, completely ignoring their age. Those pure, sparkling eyes pierced straight through me.
“F-Fine! I’ll give you one later, all right? Later!”
“““““UOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!”””””
“Yeah! A Holy Sword!”
“I’ve always wanted one!”
“And to receive it from the Princess herself!”
Arland Kingdom, ever brimming with muscle-brained idiots. The knights, swelling with joy (and muscles), began flexing in excitement. Stop that—your armor’s creaking!
Well, I was planning to issue them to the knights anyway. And besides, the magic armor’s already finished. All that’s left is the atmospheric reentry test.
The rocket’s nearly done, too. I’ll check on it later.
Maybe I’ll get to see the Finance Minister’s latest and greatest bowing technique again.
“Staaare—”
While the knights were celebrating, my dear brother shot me a rather covetous look.
“Just so you know, Big Brother, your sword’s already been made into a Holy Sword.”
“I appreciate that, but… isn’t it a bit much to hand them out to the entire Knights Corps?”
“Your Highness! Jealousy is unbecoming of you!”
“He’s right! Everyone knows your blade’s already a Holy Sword! Don’t hog the glory!”
“You lot…”
Oh boy. The knights jumped right in, seizing the moment. Though… yeah, saying that to the prince might be pushing it. Not that my brother—or our father, for that matter—would care.
Still, the sheer desire radiating from them is terrifying. Even I, long since used to their antics, found those eager faces a little scary. Time to ignore them.
First things first—let’s think about positioning. Right, I remember the army’s got those unissued tanks.
I’ll deploy about 300 units around the outer edge of the mountaintop. Drivers will be my clones… though I don’t have enough idle ones, so I’ll let the knights act as gunners.
They’re autoloading anyway, and the aiming’s simplified.
Then, I’ll deploy 500 Soldier Golems equipped with RPG-7-style rocket launchers at their feet.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm, this is starting to get fun.”
“I’ve got nothing but bad feelings about this…”
Oh! Let’s add 500 88 mm mortars behind the tanks too. They’re not adopted by the army yet, so we’ve got plenty in storage.
And I’ll have the Helios units armed with Gatling guns hovering above for support.
“Perfect formation. With this, there’s maybe a 30% chance we could even take down Madam.”
Not that I’m planning to use any of this—I’ll take Madame down with my fists. Wouldn’t want to risk leaving burn marks, after all.
“And just to be sure it can’t run, I’ll use the sealing spell I made for Madame to pin it in place.”
I pulled out a wand made from a dragon’s tear—stick-shaped—and activated the spell Projection, which had been embedded in it.
A magic circle flared to life around the central stone monument. Perfect. The circle formed cleanly.
I’d been worried this wand wasn’t strong enough, but it seems fine.
It’s weaker than a proper dragon staff, so I half expected I might have to draw the circle myself—but it worked flawlessly.
“All preparations complete.”
“Then tomorrow’s the day.”
That night, we rested inside the Treasury.
Why not camp on the mountain? Because it’s cold, that’s why. Plus, the vault’s got plenty of food and even a kitchen.
For some reason, Alicia insists I’m too young to use the kitchen yet, but whatever.
I’m busy—so rest it is.
The next morning.
I took all available hands and had them drive 300 mass-produced Holy Swords: Achilles into the ground around me.
“Now then—time to ship out Yamata no Orochi.”
Drawing the revolver from my hip holster, I aimed it at the stone monument—and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.
The gun roared, the bullet struck, and the monument cracked. That was all it took.
Just that—and the seal broke. It was that deteriorated.
A fracture opened in the air above the monument, and from it fell a gigantic serpent with eight heads—
Yamata no Orochi.
It seemed sluggish, like it hadn’t expected to wake up yet.
Perfect.
“Activate: Madame Binding Array!”
“… That name, though…”
Quiet, Big Brother! That’s what the spell’s called!
It was designed for Madame, after all!
Five black pillars erupted around Yamata no Orochi, and from them, black chains shot forth, binding the monster tight.
“Hahaha. That spell’s strong enough to seal an evil god for ten years! It might not hold Madame, but for the likes of you, it’ll last a good hundred.”
Yamata no Orochi, suddenly awakened and bound in confusion, let out a piercing hiss.
“SKYAAAAAAHHHHH!!”
It thrashed, but the bindings held firm.
Finally regaining full consciousness, it deployed a barrier around itself.
I’d planned to shatter that barrier with Holy Swords first, but since it woke up sluggish and couldn’t flee, I sealed it right away.
With a gesture, I lifted all 300 Achilles swords into the air using Telekinesis.
“First, strip away that barrier! Holy Swords, cleave the evil!”
As I swung the dragon staff down, the mass of swords rained down upon Yamata no Orochi.
“SKYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”
It screamed, its barrier flaring even stronger.
But no barrier could withstand that many Holy Swords. The blades pierced through, shattering it. Then, losing some momentum, they still drove deep into the monster’s scales.
Yamata no Orochi shrieked in agony.
I pulled out my military-grade communicator and linked to every tank.
“All units—commence fire.”
Three hundred tanks roared at once.
Unlike the original Spider models, these didn’t have railguns—budget cuts. Just 120 mm smoothbore cannons.
After the tanks fired, the Soldier Golems at their feet launched volleys of rockets. Yamata no Orochi’s screams vanished beneath the cacophony of explosions.
Its figure was obscured in fire and smoke, but the observation systems in the Spider tanks would track it fine.
As for the golems—well, they were just firing roughly toward the target area.
Quantity over accuracy!
Mortar shells rained down from the rear ranks.
Heh, heh, heh… witness this overwhelming power!
At this rate, I could probably crush the Empire again without breaking a sweat.
I glanced toward the people of the Land of Tranquility—The officials had fainted, and the warriors were sitting on the ground, legs trembling.
I, meanwhile, was completely satisfied, proudly showing off Arland’s might.
As for Yamata no Orochi… I couldn’t really see it through the inferno, but from the glimpses I caught, its barrier was gone and it looked heavily damaged.
In other words—
“I win. Time for a bath.”
I declared my victory with confidence.
What do you think about this chapter?
