Chapter 183 Part 1
Chapter 183 Part 1
Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”
In the western part of the Ost continent, there lies the capital of the Empire, the Imperial Capital.
This city, with its ancient history, has been around for a long time and has spread in disorder.
『A giant sand-colored starfish spreading itself out on the plain』
If a bird flying in the sky saw it, it might have thought so.
Incidentally, the color of the building is uniformly sand-colored because of the abundance of stone produced in the area.
A palace of the same sand-color rises in the center of the Imperial Capital.
In a luxurious golem carriage that stepped out of the palace, a middle-aged woman with a chiseled face was holding her head with her hands.
(This is bad, this is really bad. I have to do something)
She is the one who’s in charge of the Imperial Blacksmith Guild.
In order to compete with the Ghost Knight of the Kingdom, she is required to create knights that are equal or better than the Kingdom’s Ghost Knight.
However, unable to report desired results, the emperor’s gaze towards her is growing more severe.
「…We’re going to the black smith guild. Get ready」
Immediately after returning to the mansion from the round table conference, the middle-aged woman with a square jaw orders her aides.
She was prepared to go into the field and take direct command.
(I can’t leave it to that man anymore)
The figure of a fat, middle-aged man floated in her mind. He was the guild master of the Imperial Blacksmith Guild.
No matter how many times she orders him, he just kept making excuses while dripping in sweat. Her frustration towards him had finally reached its limit.
「The preparation is completed, we are ready to leave anytime」
Upon receiving the report,the square-jawed middle age woman left the room.
Along with two of her aides, a black golem carriage rumbled down the center of the main street. The townspeople pulled over their golem carriages to the roadside while wondering what’s up with the black golem carriage.
***
On the other hand, in the Imperial Blacksmith Guild.
It is located in the Imperial Capital, but it is some distance away from the Royal Palace.
The site was in a fuss due to the sudden visit of a member of the roundtable conference.
「Clean and tidy up the place first! And get those faded signs back on!」
Since it was supposed to be an unannounced inspection, they began to prepare the route for the inspection tour for the time being.
The Kingdom’s flagship Knight, the 『Sheltered Girl』 which was captured during the Landbarn Battle, was in the middle of being analyzed. The analysis work on it was suspended and every manpower was put to work on that.
「Vice guild master, Your Excellency is calling」
The vice guild master was checking the condition of the handrails and floorboards. He turned around when a voice called out to him from behind.
「All right, I’ll be right there」
He wiped his face with a towel and followed the staff.
(Why am I even getting called in when the guild master is present?)
With that in his mind, he stepped through the door opened by the staff and into the guild master’s office.
In the center of the room, there was a luxurious desk for the guild master. The usual burly, middle-aged man was not there.
Instead, there was a middle-aged woman with a square jaw who was called Her Excellency.
「There’s a question I want to ask you」
As soon as he saw the vice guild master, Her Excellency asked him a question in a harsh tone.
「Why is the Blacksmith Guild unable to create a Knight that surpasses the Ghost Knight?」
The vice guild master was at a loss for words at the sudden question.
He desperately searched for the real aim behind that question and somehow managed to squeeze out what seems to be an answer somehow.
「――As mentioned above, the technique level of the magic circle used in 『Sheltered Girl』 is not of the high level. Pumping up magic power is probably a technique using pure brute force」
It was unknown whether she understood or not, butthe square-jawed middle age woman was looking at him without even nodding.
Young people who seem to be her attendants standing on both sides. They, too, showed no reaction.
「We cannot conduct experiments that would destroy the pilot. So we pushed forward with conventional magic conservation. We are already starting to see the potential for efficiency at some points-」
「That is not what I’m asking!」
A middle-aged woman with a chiseled face tapped the top of the desk lightly to cut off the conversation.
「The emperor ordered us to make a Knight that’s better than Ghost Knight. So why haven’t you been able to do so yet?」
The vice guild master fell silent, not understanding what she meant.
An annoyed expression appeared on the face of the square-jawed middle-aged woman.
「You don’t understand? I’m saying that your loyalty to His Majesty, may be lacking」
The vice guild master opened his mouth involuntarily and stood there just like that.
The attendants on both her sides stared at him with stern eyes.
(What’s with those guys?)
The guild master, the owner of this office, also made an annoyed face when he talked too much about technical matters.
But there was something fundamentally different about the three people in front of him.
(The guild leader had a lot of respect for the people on the site)
He would leave the parts he couldn’t handle to him, and then chase him around like a sheepdog, barking out about the budget, deadline, and required specifications.
Because he was so noisy and troublesome, the topic of conversation at drinking parties was always about bad mouthing him. Some of them really hated the guild master, but at least the vice guild master understood.
(Without that fatty, the blacksmith guild wouldn’t be running)
He thought of that fat, sweaty, middle-aged man.
If he hadn’t done what he did, we would have been derailed.
(Is that what these guys are? And not just that, they come here and assume that they’re at the top)
He met her gaze while being careful not to let his feelings be seen through his eyes.
A middle-aged woman with a chiseled face and deep furrows between her eyebrow glared at him.
(It must be so)
Despair spreads through my mind.
Monsters appear in the technology-related workplace from time to time.
A workplace where the events caused by magic and physics are heavier than the word of God. And these are the kind of people who put themselves there, but don’t understand anything.
In their minds, the word of their bosses is more important than reality before them.
「You have three days to accomplish the task and report back. Listen, this is an order. Disobedience will result in punishment」
Without even being allowed to object, the vice guild master was kicked out of the room.
(As if it’s possible!)
The Kingdom’s flagship Knight, 『Sheltered Girl』. Its analysis is already in its final stages.
However, there is no new technology to be found. It’s just a gluttonous conventional magic circle forcibly crammed into a small space.
A technique that was meant to collect magic power. That was also confirmed, but a quick inspection showed its inefficiency.
(The technique to suck out magic power has not been discovered yet, and everything else aside from this is basically trash)
Vice guild master strongly thinks about his pride in his work.
And then three days later. He lost his job for failing to perform his duties.
***
The stage shifts from the Imperial Capital to the Royal Capital, far in the southeast.
「If you’re going to play a game in the Royal Capital, you should play this one, two three!」
An intermediate brothel located slightly off the main street of the red-light district. In one of the rooms, my voice, with its delicate pitch, echoes.
「Yoyoi no yoi! Yeah!」
I won the rock-paper-scissors game and pumped my fist in the air.
What I’m playing now is strip rock-paper-scissors, which has been renamed the 『Slime Game』.
「Alright then, take off your skirt now」
A high school girl with long black hair and a well-shaped face is in front of me. Her outfit was the blazer style that this store had recently introduced.
As I let her dark skirt fall to the floor, I squinted at the white shirt that appeared.
「Tauro-san, you sure came up with interesting ideas one after another」
The one who shouted out in admiration was a young man with a sturdy body. He was Corneal, an A rank Knight’s pilot in the knight order.
It was his first time playing the slime game. He was watching our game on the sofa while holding a short-cut high school girl by the shoulders.
「It’s not that big of a deal really. It’s just a game of taking off each other’s clothes」
It’s not that amazing of an idea. I’m just playing the play I liked in my previous life.
The title of today’s 『Adult Gourmet Club』 is slime game. At first we planned to do it in Jayanne.
(Because of my bad reputation, no one wants to do it with me)
Remembering the tragedy in the lobby, my shoulders slumped.
We gave up playing the game due to the harsh reality of the situation, and moved to a nearby store.
By the way, the slime game was not limited to the original store, Cassabel, but had spread throughout the red-light district.
(Even though I can normally play it in low-class and intermediate brothels)
Jayanne is the harshest, followed by the three families and other high-class brothels.
(Well, I can imagine why)
It’s probably because they haven’t seen the women who have become seriously incapacitated.
Light cruiser-sensei, Twintail, and Explosive onee-san. The ones I made out of breath were all Jayanne’s women.
Rumors about me may have spread vividly to the high-class brothels.
「No, until now, I always immediately undress and take a shower. Usually that’s where the play begins」
Corneal talks about his impressions without noticing me, who’s deep in thought.
「But the slime game shines a light on the process of getting naked, and makes it so that it can be called a play in itself!」
As usual, my best friend started coming up with difficult theories on his own. While listening to him, I prepared to let out a rock.