The Sage Looks Around at the Imperial Capitalâs Weapons
ăI browsed through the magic workshop sprawled out beneath the Imperial capital.\năI killed the mages who were coming towards me and broke through multiple barriers.\năI was holding a stack of papers in one hand.\năIt contained the various documents I found in the magic workshops.\năAccording to the documents, the Empire was developing weapons other than magic artillery cannons.\năAt this point, it seems that the magic artillery cannon is the only thing that is completed.\năIf we had let the Imperial researchers go unchecked for a few more dozen days, several more weapons would be in service.
ăIt was an enormous workshop; I had only explored part of it.\năI planned to examine the remaining rooms and retrieve all the documents that looked similar to the one I just saw.
ăOf the accounts in the documents I collected, I also identified the existence of an allied country.\năIt provided raw materials, prototypes, and engineers to the Empire.\năIt seems that they have been assisting each other even before I became the Demon Lord.\năHowever, their recent research seems to be particularly zealous.\năThe intensity of their research indicated they were in no way underestimating the Demon Lord.
ăI will set aside the matter with the allied nation for now.\năI need the allied nation to assist the Empire, which had been badly affected by the recent war, behind the scenes.\năEven though they were allies, it would be inconvenient to have the Empire fall into ruin now.\năIf we leave the allied nation alone, they will surely help the empire.
This is good. Humanity needs to work hand in hand.
ăAs I continued to explore the workshop, I found an open space.\năThe inside of this room was covered with a special metal.\năThe room was extremely durable and it was constructed to prevent the leakage of magic power.\năIt was quite a secure facility.
ăInside the room, there were several prototypes in the process of being manufactured.\năI picked up one of the prototypes which was resting on the desk.\năIt looked like a small cannon with a grip attached to one end\năIt was similar to a crossbow that lacked parts.
This was mentioned in the documents I found.
ăI flipped through the documents I had collected along the way and found the relevant information pertaining to the prototype.
ăIt was called a âgunâ.\năAccording to the documents, the gun utilizes a technique that sends out special bullets with a small explosion.\năVarious performance issues were documented, which the researchers seemed to be currently addressing.
ăI held up the weapon to try it out.\năThere were instructions in the documents describing how to use the gun, so I followed them.\năThe centre of gravity seemed unbalanced because it was difficult to aim.\năAlthough I am not very familiar with military equipment, it certainly gave me the impression of being unfinished.
ăThe prototype weapons, including this gun, would be brought back to the capital later.\năItâs easy to do so by using teleportation magic.\năSince I was able to transfer the Forest of Yggdrasil itself, this much can be done in no time.
ăIt might be a good idea to build a research facility like this workshop in the royal capital.\năIt should be feasible if I can gather knowledgeable people among my subordinates.\năSince we were going through the trouble of looting the Imperial capital, I wanted to gain the ability to develop weapons in return.\năI planned to consult with Grom and Luciana about this later.
ăNext to the space lined with prototypes was a room lined with shelves.\năThe shelves were filled with numerous documents.\năThey were stored haphazardly.
What kind of documents are these?
ăI began reading the documents I picked up.\năThe documents provided an overview of the magic artillery cannons installed on the outer wall of the Imperial capital.\năThe name of that weapon is the âMagic Cannonâ, and the documents described it as a weapon for attacking outside the range of mages and archers.\năIt was supposed to be the cornerstone of interception in the defence of the Imperial capital.
ăIts development began five years ago.\năWith the cooperation of allied countries, the research was being carried out in secret.\năAfter my appearance as this eraâs Demon Lord, they started to add holy attributes to it.\năIt was transformed from an interceptor into a weapon for special attacks on the undead.\năTheir plans went pretty much as expected.
ăI continued to sift through the documents that were stored nearby.\năAmong them, I found a journal that appeared to be written by the designer of the magic cannon.\năAfter considering the trouble I had to go through to get here, I decided to start reading it.
ăThe magic cannonâs performance was high, but was difficult to manufacture at first.\năThe journal noted that there were many times when the upper echelons of the Empire pressured the researcher because of a lack of results over the years.\năThere was a section where he wrote his complained and cynical remarks\năI was not interested in the anguish of the designer, so I skipped over it.
ăWhat caught my attention was the latter part of the document.\năIt was around the time when the topic of conversation turned to the current generation of Demon Lords.\năI relaxed my hand turning the paper and paid attention to the accounts.
ăOne day, the designer received a new order from the upper management.\năIt was an order to incorporate the holy attribute into the shells of the magic cannon.\năIn other words, it was a modification to counter the Demon Lord.
ăIn a situation where even the design of the gun battery itself was not yet complete, the designer pondered over it for three days and three nights.\năIt was not something he could make thoughtlessly, but he had neither the will nor the authority to refuse.\năIf he didnât produce results quickly, he would be punished.
ăThe designer, pushed to his limit, suddenly had an epiphany.\năHe discarded the unfinished blueprints he had been working on and revised the structure of the magic cannon in a flash.\năIn this way, he created a new prototype in no time at all.\năThe development progressed smoothly as if all the troubles before were a lie, and he was able to mass-produce the finished product in no time.\năThe excitement of the designer was clearly written.
ăAfter that, the magic theory was written down with much pride.\năThe intentions and mechanisms of the internal structure were also written.\năHe must have been very happy with the completion of the magic cannon.\năAt the end of the document, there was also a template of a blueprint with annotations.
ââŚâŚâ\năAfter reading them, I put my hand on my forehead.\năI was assaulted by dizziness and leaned my back against the wall.\năIn human form, I would have let out a sigh.
Everythingâs a messâŚ
ăThis is, of course, my opinion of the designerâs records.\năWith this magic theory and design, there is no way the magic cannon will be stable.\năIf done poorly, the workshop will be blown up in a huge explosion.\năNonetheless, that cannon was completed.\năThe accidental insights were meshing together like some kind of joke.
ăEven though I am currently the Demon Lord, I was known as a Sage back when I was alive.\năAlthough ten years have passed, I take pride in my proficiency in magical knowledge.\năI believe I can understand the contents of the blueprint.
ăThe method described in this document had an extremely low success rate.\năEven if it does take shape, it shouldnât be as stable as that magic cannon was.\năAs far as I can tell from eyeballing the document, the designerâs knowledge of magic was very superficial.\năHe was more knowledgeable than the average magician, but I am probably more erudite.
ăThe blueprints had a number of flaws here and there, and there were a great many sudden alterations.\năIt was not uncommon for the designers themselves to not understand why things worked the way they did.\năIt was written that those involved in the development had the same reaction, but it seems that these questions were swept away by the joy of completion.\năMass production proceeded without a hitch, so no one must have had a problem with it.
âClearly, some other forces are at work here.
ăAfter reviewing the information, I concluded.\năThere was no other way to explain it.\năHowever, it is not an area that can be managed by someoneâs plan.
ăThe only possibility I can think of is the will of the world.\năThere was fate at work that wanted to destroy the Demon Lord.\năIf I interpreted it that way, this unnatural phenomenon would make sense.
ăThe support from the world is not limited to the awakening of the heroes.\năIt can also appear in the form of revelations and miracles, as in this case.\năItâs just a guess on my part, but Iâm sure Iâm not wrong.
ăThis is a situation that I really canât afford to let my guard down on.\năEven behind the scenes, there is a movement underway to eliminate me.\năIt was a simultaneous and multifaceted development.\năThe world is on the side of humans everywhere.
ăThe invasion of the Imperial City was worth it just to find this out.\năCountermeasures were difficult, but we can make plans based on this phenomenon.
ăIt seems that the existence of a Demon Lord is something that should be thoroughly eliminated.\năThis was the moment when I realized that again.
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