Chaos in Ostland (6)
I learn most things by sight. I watched his work, reproduced it with magic, and mastered the current craft technology in a few months. I was scolded more than 100 times a day, but it was that amazing. Well, to the people around, it seemed like I was following him out of curiosity, but Mr. Grantz also noticed that I was learning the skill. He didn’t make me his disciple, but when I made a paper knife for my Father’s birthday two years ago, he gave me 30 points.
Don’t think it’s just 30 points. Mr. Grantz always gives only single-digit scores to the first thing his disciples make. Yet he keeps all the first things his disciples have ever made hidden.
In the end, I sulked because he didn’t make me his disciple officially, but I never thought he didn’t think of me as one.
By the way, no one but Mr. Grantz has noticed why I was following him. He laughed and said that he was of the opinion that skills are something to be stolen, like I do, but it seems that other people usually think it is something to be taught.
That was a mistake and why he didn’t take any disciples on his own. In other words, if you are selfish, you can become his disciple.
“… When did you become someone’s disciple? And to the best craftsman in Arland at that…”
“So you learned your technical skills from Lord Grantz… I had no idea. You were making things before I knew it.”
It’s impossible to make something without any technical skills. Even if you have knowledge, it’s meaningless if you cannot put it to use. Well, I was making designs and small things before that, but there was a limit, so I followed him and learned. Thanks to that, I was able to become friends with Mr. Grantz the fastest, because he was the easiest among the Five Dukes to get along with for me specifically. We are both craftsmen, so we understand each other and have good compatibility.
And today, we pulled another all-nighter. Mr. Grantz is a person who says he doesn’t need sleep when it comes to work. And as a result of being treated as a disciple, he upgraded to an Ogrish master who did not allow me to slack off. It seems that he had been spoiling me quite a bit until now, like a trial period.
“That’s not it!! This one is lighter.”
“If you do that, the overall strength will decrease. Although attaching a burner would increase mobility, tanks don’t require that much!!”
“Shut up! And what is this barrel!! If you load this, it will be too heavy!! Make something better!!”
“Is there anything wrong with my railgun?”
As a result of enduring sleepiness with fighting spirit, I also activated my craftsman temperament like Mr. Grantz. I haven’t gotten angry much, but we had a shouting match. Well, neither Mr. Grantz nor I stopped our hands. We worked while arguing.
Also, even when I get angry, it doesn’t seem to show on my face that much. I got a head chop for getting angry with no expression.
“Tch!! Ptui. What the hell, what kind of shitty thing did we make?”
“Well, it’s pretty good for something made in one night.”
In front of me stood a six-legged tank. Not a mobile suit. The two legs in front have larger talons than the others, and all the legs had stakes. As a result of attaching a railgun, the recoil became stronger, so each joint can be locked, and the stakes attached to each leg are driven into the ground to ensure stability when firing.
The same is not true for low-power ammo.
And since it’s equipped with four miniguns for close combat, it should be fine even if enemies get close. And while it can’t fly, it can do a big jump using the burner. By activating the burner at landing, the impact of landing can also be mitigated.
“This is… I’m not really surprised. I was prepared for something like this to appear before one day.”
“Your Highness, isn’t that really bad?”
Alicia and my Big brother were staring at the tank with their mouths open.
“So, what’s this fella’s name?”
“I think Spider is fine. It’s a prototype anyway.”
When it becomes a finished product, someone will decide on a proper name. I only give fairly random names. Or rather, deciding on a name is troublesome.
“Well, let’s finish things here before Father comes.”
“Father told me not to retaliate until he comes.”
“I haven’t heard anything. I’m already running away from home, so it doesn’t matter. Before leaving things to Father… I will make them regret hurting my friends.”
I don’t expect monsters to regret their actions. But I will have them atone for their sins. I won’t let it go and simply cry myself to sleep. I’m here to exterminate the monsters that attacked.
“Well, I thought you’d say that. It seems that quite a few of my friends have died as well. I also wanted to act before leaving things to Father. Father and others are too overprotective. This is a good opportunity to show them our strength. You have overshadowed me lately, too.”
Indeed, until my appearance at the academy, he was called the Black-hearted Crown Prince, but recently I haven’t heard anything. Well, there are still many nobles who are afraid of him, though.
“Let me tell you, my shadow is not thin. It’s just that yours is so out of the ordinary that my existence is obscured!! There are even some idiots who mistakenly think that you are Father’s only child.”
Well, the transmission of information is slow, and there seem to be some nobles who have nothing to do with the Royal family except for when they inherit their title or when summoned for an audience. Some nobles can’t even afford to come to the Royal Capital because of financial burden, or are only interested in their own territory.
“… I’m against it. We should be cautious until His Majesty arrives. If something should happen to the two of you…”
“I cannot maintain the barrier for that long.”
I’m maintaining it with fighting spirit alone, but my sleepiness and fatigue are beyond my limit. To survive, we have no choice but to engage in a short-term battle. If we defeat the boss of this attack and disrupt their control over others, the current organized movement will become impossible to maintain, and the monsters will start cannibalizing each other. Basically, different species of monsters are enemies if there is no leader.
And since I don’t know when Father will come, there is a possibility that I will become incapacitated from exhaustion while waiting. In fact, within a few hours, I will be unable to move and unable to take any action.
The cause is the spirit magic equipment. It took quite a toll on my physical strength as a price. When I deploy the spirit magic equipment, I don’t feel fatigue, but after I release it, I feel incredibly dull. I’m using a magic called “Refresh” to remove fatigue, but it’s just taking energy in advance, so it’s impossible to keep using it forever, and eventually all the fatigue will come at once.
“However, His Majesty is on his way, there is no need for you to push yourself so much.”
Alicia persisted.