CH 77

Chapter 77 – Missing Rinko

“Hey, wait a minute, Myrril! There is black powder in this world, too!”

Once again, I teleported about 200 meters to the forest side, carrying the three of them. We escape out of range of the mortar.

The reason I only kept my distance was because I was interested in the firearms technology of the Imperial Army. Or, more precisely, the reason for the evolutionary deficit in imperial firearms technology.

“…Black, what?”

“Black powder. It’s the primitive version of gunpowder that makes gun bullets fly. With it, the use of magic is unnecessary or minimal.”

“Oh, that’s good. And that one. That’s a whole big “gun,” isn’t it?”

Heimann-jiisan makes a strange exclamation that sounds like he is both stunned and amused. This is not the time to be so leisurely, although it is understandable.

I hid behind a bush and peeked behind me with binoculars.

The golem had received a package similar to a bag of rice from the wagon and was pushing it into the bottom of the mortar. Is the charge integrated? That’s going surprisingly well.

No, I don’t know the range yet, so I don’t have time to observe it leisurely.

I thought that the shells would be packed next to the armament, and after that, the ignition of the bottom would be done by magic.

In a sense, the mechanism as a front-loaded gun is complete. The rest is metallurgical technology. Looking at the thickness of the gun and the length of the barrel, it seems that not much progress has been made.

Is there some functional reason why the shell is cylindrical rather than spherical or is it for operational or manufacturing reasons?

“Yoshua, here they come.”

“No, it looks fine.”

The shells fired from the gun landed in a large arc, causing the ground to shake.

They may have already lost sight of us, or they may be far off in the wrong direction, but if they hit us, we would surely die. In addition, there was what looked like stone and gravel mixed in with the explosion. It was not enough to say that there would be no major damage unless it were a direct hit.

If that shell were to be deployed on a large scale, every hostile force would be exterminated.

Ironically, we ourselves had proven this with our own mortars. Combined with the ore golem, which is ineffective against bows and arrows, attack magic, and rifle ammunition, it could be a major blow to the Casemaian.

“Keeping that thing alive would be troublesome. It’s already found us; let’s just use a trap bomb to finish it off.”

“…No, wait, Yoshua.”

Heimann-jiisan stopped me after observing the second shot being fired.

“The sound is muffled. That one will be the end of it.”

It is loaded and shelled, and this time it is pointed in a different direction. It would be difficult to get close to them except by teleportation, as the following troops were on guard around them.

The third shot is fired.

As predicted by Heimann-jiisan, the mortar burst into the arms of the ore golem. The golem it was holding did not appear to be too badly damaged, and there were no injuries or deaths in the surrounding area.

The golem returned to the other side of the watchtower, leaving only the mages and archers behind as if to regroup once more.

“No one was surprised to see it break like that.”

“The pressure at the time of combustion must have been low, to begin with. The soldiers around were keeping their distance as if they knew what to expect from the beginning.”

“…Could that gun be disposable?”

“That’s right. It’s a cheap bronze cannon.”

Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us, and we shuddered.

When we turned around, we saw a skinny guy wearing a dirty lab coat standing there. He had short, messily cut hair and plain silver-rimmed glasses, and he looked at me and grinned.

“I wanted to make it aft-loading, as you’d say, but I can’t yet make the tailstock strong enough or precise enough, you know. They said steel is no good because it costs money, and they can’t even think about the cost of wasting money on disposables.”

“…Hey.”

“You have come up, after all, Summoned one of the Casemaian. Or should I call you His Majesty the Demon King?”

“You are…”

“Whoa, is that a Kalashnikov and an Uzi? I don’t know how you got it, but you are a total terrorist. But maybe I’m not wrong in my choice. A weapon that’s so sensitive and modern is limited to only a few people who can handle it.”

I put my hand over Myrril’s to stop her from asking me with a look in her eyes if I’m going to shoot her.

“Are you a summoned person, too?”

“Sort of.”

The guy shrugged his shoulders and laughed with a disgusted look on his face. So you’re saying that you didn’t come to this world because you wanted to. That’s right.

But still… I’m not sure if he is a man or a woman, an adult or a child. It’s a neutral impression, but it’s more the unusually thin shadow that gives such an impression.

“I’ve had a hard time over here. I couldn’t get any good blessings or skills. I worked hard to develop my magic power, but it was terrible at first. You, on the other hand, dominate the war games in this world with the overwhelming power of firearms. How does it feel to kill so many people, even locals?”

“I don’t feel anything. As long as they don’t attack me, I’m not going to touch them. Do you think you are the only one who had a hard time?”

He puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head. The front of his lab coat is exposed, and his clothes come into view. What he wears underneath looks like a school uniform. It looks like something from a Japanese high school. The skirt means she is a high school girl?

I don’t see it at all. From her appearance, expression, and tone of voice, my impression is that she is an “unidentified mad scientist.”

“I knew this when you were expelled from the kingdom after the summons. That’s why I contacted you. …But, that’s a funny thing to say. I am only a lowly technician, but I have heard about the massacre you perpetrated in Tarantallen, the union territory.”

“The goal is to rescue the oppressed subhuman population. Those who interfere will be eliminated, but the goal is not genocide.”

The mad scientist high school girl tilted her head dubiously.

“Why are you so devoted to the subhuman race? You are human, aren’t you? And you are Japanese. I’m not saying it’s right to be wrapped around the long pole, but at least you know it’s the easy and safe way out.”

“People in this world suck. At least, almost everyone I’ve come in contact with. Now I have only Dwarves, Elves, and Beastman with me. I have only killed those who have tried to kill my people and me not because they are human.”

“Is that the only reason?”

I sense Myrril-san glancing at me, but I shake my head faintly.

I’m a bit of a noisy guy when it comes to the charms of noja loli-san, but I have no right to tell such things to someone I don’t know.

“That’s enough. I mean, Beastman children are super cute. Fluffy kittens and puppies that talk and are friendly, it’s great.”

“I see… It’s a dream place. Hey, can I ask you something? Can you let me live in Casemaian, too?”

“”Huh?””

What is this girl talking about? I mean, who the hell is this girl?

“Don’t worry about it. I am not hostile to you, nor have I ever been hostile to you. And I have no intention of doing so.”

“You’ve been talking a lot of nonsense, but who are you?”

The mad scientist-like high school girl laughs, unperturbed by Myrril-san’s somewhat prickly questioning.

“I am a third-grade technician in the Imperial Army’s Experimental Development Unit. Well, I guess I’m just another good-for-nothing in a quiet position in the military. I was fed up with my superiors, who took credit for the black powder I had worked so hard to adjust but could only master it to such a limited extent.”

“I don’t care about that; I’m asking who you are!”

“…Oh, yes. My name is Rinko Saegusa. I’m a “Lost Saint” who was summoned to the empire from modern Japan… the same country as Yoshua.”

[T/n: She’s a boku girl.]