CH 235

“Shaft, do you know where Frank-sama is now?”

The blast from the Demon Steel Soldier’s self-destruction had subsided, and only the sound of the embers of the collapsing rubble being burned could be heard. Vee grabbed the fainted Reiner by the collar and dragged him closer.

“He and the others  have already arrived at the Duke’s residence.”

“It’s fast… is that horseless carriage that fast? I’m going to take this man and go to Frank-sama. What are you going to do, Black Mask Shaft?”

While listening to Vee’s question, my eyes were on the large lump on the back of Reiner’s head who had completely lost consciousness and couldn’t even move.

“Vee, why did you hit so hard that he got such a big lump?”

“Hmm? Ah, I used the blunt weapon you lent me, and it disappeared after I used it, but it’s not my fault, you know?”

What I lent you was not a blunt weapon, but a shield… Did you actually swing it with enough force to blow away its remaining durability?

“I’m heading to the Duke’s residence too, but there’s a place I want to stop by before that. Go ahead and report about the Demon Steel Soldier Minion’s self-destruction. I don’t know how many of them are left.”

“That’s right… if the Knights were the opponent, they would have been caught in that explosion and suffered an extraordinary amount of damage. The third knights are with the army corps on an expedition to subjugate the labyrinth, and the second knights should be in the north of Dragrange.”

“… This raid seems to have been planned meticulously.”

It was a sudden attack, but it seems that it was a well-planned attack. The purpose of the attack on Flyhigh was to murder Prince Khan and Prince Ark as well as abduct Chancellor Zephanel, but what would have happened if the attack had taken place at the same time elsewhere? The current situation is still largely unknown.

However, in this rebellion, which seems to be a coup d’état by the second prince, only I understand――there is a key point that only I understand.

It’s a Demon Steel Soldier minion.

The extent to which this attack has spread will probably be known by the time we meet up with Duke Barga. And the Knights should start moving to suppress it soon… However, I have no intention of participating in it――even if I was asked to participate in the suppression, I would refuse. I think I should go after the Demon Steel Soldier rather than participate in the suppression. Besides… I want to watch the progress of things in a place where I can protect Ashley and Chancellor Zephanel.

“So where are you going?”

“… Yamigasa Company.”

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After parting with Vee at Flyhigh, I ran straight to the trading house of the Yamigasa Company, which was built in the second district of the Royal Capital.

The first district, where the collapsed Flyhigh was situated, was filled with the sounds of turmoil. After all, they were carrying out multiple simultaneous attacks, eliminating important figures in the Kingdom――or securing them. I can see the red light that looks like an explosion flickering even in the Royal Castle in the distance. The fact that the battle is continuing means that it has not yet been brought under control――there is a need to hurry further.

The first district and the second district are separated by a wall built in the past. In order to go back and forth between the two districts, it was necessary to pass through a castle gate built in a predetermined position.

However, due to a coup d’état by the “Rafflesia” or the “Cactus”, the gate was closed and was firmly protected by the Central Knights.

In this situation, I don’t think I will be able to pass through the castle gates smoothly.

I ran up the castle wall away from the castle gate, moved to the second district without passing through the gate, and marched toward Yamigasa Company. I had heard about the location of the company while chatting with Malta-san. I didn’t do any markings, but if I search for the mapped Royal Capital, I should be able to find the location immediately.

The second district was completely different from the first district. A lot of the people were

However, the dots reflected on the map weren’t all about frightened lambs. Inside some large trading posts, I could see some dots clustered together so that they can respond quickly to any situation.

I caught a glimpse of Yamigasa Company’s large trading house while feeling the faint metallic sound of scraping metal, the tension in the air and the sense of murderous intent floating in the air.

“Huge…”

The trading house of Yamigasa Company was a huge trading house that reminded me of the department stores of the previous world. From several windows placed on the entire surface, I could see a room with a slight leak of light. By hiding near the trading house and checking the layout of the buildings while enlarging the map floating in my field of vision, I found out that there is a large warehouse behind the trading house in front of me.

And there were many dots around the warehouse――.

If there is, it’s this one…

The reason why I visited Yamigasa Company before meeting up with Ashley and the others was because I thought that the person who created the Demon Steel Soldier――no, the thing was here. The Demon Steel Soldier is undoubtedly a product of a similar game system power as my VMB power. Unless the origin is cut off, Rafflesia coup d’état will not stop.

The battlefield will not be limited to the first district but will swallow the entire Royal Capital and spread to the entire Kingdom of Kurtmerga.

There are several reasons why I thought that “that” was in Yamigasa Company.

One, the non-attribute magic stones around the Royal Capital were bought up by merchants affiliated with Yamigasa Company. The magic stones that were hoarded were gathered in this large trading house and converted into Demon Steel Soldiers.

Second, when Remy-san visited “Daikokuya”, she said that something had been brought in from the north. North of Kurtmerga Kingdom is the Dragrange Margrave territory, and the neighboring Drak Kingdom.

Third, Reiner called the Demon Steel Soldier and my firearms as magic weapons. I didn’t think much of it back then, but once I calmed down and thought about it, I remembered the words I said in the goblin den when I first met Ashley.

A country with magical weapons――the Viceburn Empire.

If you think about them in reverse, you will find the answer. The Viceburn Empire made the Drak Kingdom into a vassal state and set their next target to the Kingdom of Kurtmerga. For that goal, they snuck in something that could create Demon Steel Soldiers and connected with the “Rafflesia” to cause a rebellion.

If you’re going to carry something across the border, the most discreet, least fuss-free, and most suspicious way is to have it carried by a large-scale merchant company that is allowed to trade with neighboring countries.

It’s hard to imagine that something that was once brought in was moved to a different location in the Royal Capital while avoiding the eyes of Lily of the Valley. There must be something in the warehouse of Yamigasa Company, which is heavily guarded, to create a Demon Steel Soldier.

First of all, reconnaissance is necessary, but if the layout of the site is too simple to enter directly… The selection cursor runs around TSS’s inventory, searching for special equipment that should be somewhere.

――There it is, this is it.

Particles of light converged, and a small box about the size of a pencil case was summoned in front of me. I grabbed the box and first checked the surroundings. While I’m using this special equipment, I’ll be defenseless. A place where away from prying eyes and safe――I looked up at the roof of the large trading house of Yamigasa Company.

After confirming that the main street in front of the trading post was clear of anyone’s eyes, I did a wall run and rushed up to the rooftop.

I put my hand on the edge of the roof, flipped my overcoat, and went up to the roof.

No one seems to have noticed. The rooftop was arranged like a small terrace, probably because it was originally designed to allow people to enter and exit this place. When I checked the map, there were no dots around, and there was no sound of someone approaching. Having secured safety, I sat down on the terrace and opened the special equipment box.

Inside is a small helicopter, an ultra-compact reconnaissance drone codenamed “Black Hornet”.

The Black Hornet, which is only about 16 cm long and the size of a palm, is being tested by the US and British special reconnaissance units. The silent rotors on the top and tail make it possible to fly with very little driving noise, and the three ultra-compact cameras placed on the front of the fuselage have normal camera mode, NV mode, and FLIR mode.

Now that I have assimilated with the game system, the image captured by the camera is reflected directly in my field of vision, and I was able to freely fly it with my will, although it was originally controlled via a tablet device.

However, the operating time is limited to 10 minutes due to the specifications of the VMB. By turning on the switch at the bottom of the fuselage, the two silent rotors began to rotate, and the score indicating the operating time reflected in the field of vision began to move.

Now fly, Black Hornet. Fly and show me this “something” that should be in the warehouse. The micro-helicopter floating in the dark night started its reconnaissance flight towards the warehouse of Yamigasa Company.