kscans

Chapter 87 - Chapter 5: Part Two, The Monster Strategy Meeting

"Are you all right, Director."

I threw open the door to the director's office and hurried inside. A silent Alfina followed behind me.

"Oh, you're here, Ricardo."

Fulsy replied with a carefree expression. I scanned the room. Where are Mia and Noel?

"Senpai." "Ah, you're finally here. Oh, whoops... Princess Alfina, it's been a while."

The door to the library opened, and Mia and Noel peeked out. Phew, they're safe.

"She introduced herself as an Imperial Princess. I had the two of them hide. Even I have that much sense. I'm not you, after all," Fulsy said.

"That's true. You're the one we should be worried about, Senpai," Mia chimed in.

Noel covered her mouth. If Alfina-sama weren't here, she'd definitely be laughing. Alfina herself remained silent.

"...What did the princess talk about?" I asked, steering the conversation back on topic.

"It was mostly small talk. She didn't even ask about the dragon."

"What about the carriage or the antenna?"

Fulsy shook his head.

"Then what did you talk about?"

"The Monster Floods came up. Oh, and it goes without saying, but I didn't mention the tree rings. On the contrary, I was able to ask a few things about how the Empire deals with monsters."

Prioritizing his own interests with a guest who's practically a state dignitary. That's our Fulsy. It was certainly an interesting development. Of course, there was no guarantee she told him the truth. But information on the Empire was so scarce that even analyzing the way they lied could reveal something.

"It seems they're also wary of the activation of magic veins over there. They were surprised that the Kingdom only has two observation posts."

I wanted to believe that, at the very least, our observation sensitivity was superior.

"I guess that's to be expected, since it's like they have places where monsters can spawn all over the country..."

"It's as if what we'd call small-scale Monster Floods happen several times a year there. It seems the central noble of each basin is responsible for their extermination."

"I see. It sounds like giving orders from the capital for every single incident would be too slow."

And here we are in a panic that it might happen in the east and west simultaneously. Given their geography of collected basins, does that mean they lean more toward decentralization than a centralized government?

In any case, there was no doubt their environment was harsher than the Kingdom's. Their mountainous terrain was also a disadvantage for agricultural production. And while they might be rich in mineral resources, those resources were located near monster territories, making them costly to extract. This would be even more true if, as the Empire claimed, the monsters were becoming more active.

That's precisely why all the wars between the Empire and the Kingdom up until fifty years ago were started by the Empire seeking the Kingdom's land. For the Kingdom, there was no point in conquering Imperial territory, we wouldn't be able to manage it. You could say it was similar to the relationship between ancient China and the northern nomadic tribes.

The real problem, however, was the effect this difference in environment had on the evolution of our respective national systems.

"How about you, Noel? Have there been any changes in the sorcery division?"

"I was asked the same thing by Mia in the library, but I haven't noticed any particular changes. Although..." Noel's expression grew complicated.

"What is it?"

"I've been so busy moving that I haven't had time for much else, so don't get your hopes up."

"Oh, is that all? How's your new room?"

The last one I'd seen was a small workshop. I wondered if the new one was at least a little more user-friendly.

"It's like sitting on a thick carpet, I suppose."

"That sounds comfortable."

It was a good thing if her treatment had improved.

"If that carpet weren't made of metal, then yes."

"Hmm? Is that some kind of alchemist metaphor?"

"It's the normal meaning. An apprentice suddenly became a court magician. My superior keeps pestering me about how I got in the Great Sage's good graces. Among my seniors, some have become excessively friendly, while others treat me with hostility. I wish I could go back to when they mostly ignored me..."

Noel clutched her stomach. Ah, so she meant she was sitting on pins and needles.

"That's rough. You wish they'd at least be consistent with their response."

I spoke with a tone of sympathy. The students at the academy were divided in a similar way toward me.

"In your case, you brought it on yourself."

"Noel-san. Please let me know if there is anything I can do."

Noel gave a vague nod in response to Alfina's concern. In situations like this, the royalty card, with its intense actions and reactions, is difficult to play.

"You have the justification of cooperating with the Knight Order, so you should be fine to some extent. The story is that I, the Grand Duchess, and the prince are your backers. Well, a subtle hint of that backing is all that's needed, and just right," Fulsy said.

In fact, they're the kind of backers where a hint is all you need. Though it's likely to be counterproductive with the Second Prince's faction.

"So, setting aside Noel's situation, we still don't know the princess's objective."

"That's right. However, I doubt she would engage in spy-like behavior right away," Mia said. It seemed she had heard our conversation from the library. I felt a small sense of relief. I trusted Mia's judgment the most.

"Ah, just one thing. I don't think that princess's aptitude for magic is very high," Noel said. Fulsy nodded in agreement. That was a bit of a surprise. What with that carriage and the prince, I had assumed they were experts in that field.

"So in the end, all we can do is wait for them to make a move..."

Being on the defensive while they've already infiltrated us feels unsettling, but it can't be helped. We'll have to rely on the Grand Duchess. Even if we wanted to investigate, our group is full of people with poor interpersonal skills. And I'm the worst of them all.

"Let's begin today's discussion. First, regarding the western magic vein," Fulsy announced. We all moved to stand in front of the stone slate.

Dealing with nature was so much more straightforward. Besides, when you have a lot to do, you have to set priorities, or you'll fall apart.

"About the noise that was plaguing the western magic vein observation post. With the recent measurement carriage, we determined the cause to be a very faint magic vein, a miasma, emanating from the entire western region. Thanks to that, we can now make corrections," Fulsy explained. That was the result of our bumpy carriage ride all the way to Bertold. It wasn't the scenario we'd envisioned for the recent Knight Order exercise, which was less a race and more a military drill, but with the possibility of Monster Floods in the east and west simultaneously, we needed our observations to be foolproof.

"Um, is it possible that the miasma in the west could grow stronger and..." Alfina asked. I see, if it's related to the prophecy, that's a strong candidate. If, by some chance, the entire western part of the Kingdom were to be consumed by a magic vein, I couldn't even imagine how we'd deal with it.

Unlike the Empire, the Kingdom only has limited response capabilities, which we are currently in the process of strengthening.

"It seems there's no need to worry for now. When Mia and I ran the calculations, we concluded that the amount of miasma is actually on a slight decline," Noel explained. Fulsy and Mia nodded in agreement. Alfina pressed a hand to her chest, looking relieved.

"From here on, we'll need to keep a close eye on seasonal fluctuations and the like. Under the prince's direction, cooperation between the observation post and the Knight Order is also improving, so there shouldn't be any issues for the time being."

I nodded at Fulsy's conclusion. That particular issue was dealt with, for now. It's a genuine relief when your efforts pay off. It's tough when solving one problem only leads to the next, bigger one.

"Next is the Empire's carriage."

In the end, the Guild Master's carriage had to retire from the race. If he had managed to come in second after Kenwell, we might have been able to put it on the winner's podium and observe it.

We can't just seize it without any evidence of foul play. We could press the Guild Master on how he obtained the magic crystal, but that would lead to the question of how we knew about it in the first place.

We wanted to keep the existence of an antenna capable of taking measurements while in motion a secret. Furthermore, for the sake of popularizing bearings, I wanted to avoid the risk of tarnishing the race.

We'll just have to be content with the brief observation we managed before it retired.

A subsequent investigation revealed that an Imperial merchant's carriage had been seen entering and leaving the Kurtheite Grand Duke's residence multiple times. The cabin was from a Kingdom carriage, so they must have swapped out only the undercarriage for an Imperial one.

"I looked at the Knight Order documents the prince provided. They're from back when we were still at war with the Empire, so they're old and the descriptions are scant. Information on the supply train is unlikely to be preserved anyway. However, if they were using monster materials in their carriages, there would surely be a record of it."

The absence of such a record meant that, at least fifty years ago, the standard of their carriages was no different from the Kingdom's. Or if they did have superior ones, the number was extremely limited.

"If monster attacks are frequent in the Empire, it's possible that the materials have become easier to obtain..."

We ourselves had used magic crystals, spoils from a monster extermination, to create the unorthodox mold for the bearings. From that black-clad prince's confident attitude, there was no doubt they had the opportunity, necessity, and know-how to deal with dragons. If they could get the scales, it was certainly possible they could make Dragon Scale Steel.

"How much Dragon Scale Steel can be made from the scales of that greedy dragon we fought?"

If a light and durable metal was being mass-produced, that in itself was a major threat.

"It's a metal that only exists in records, so I don't know how to make it. It seems they don't use the scales directly, but rather an extract from them. There was a drawing of a spoonful being taken from a dragon's neck, so I imagine it isn't that simple," Noel said.

It's half biological. If you just mixed it with iron, the strength would probably decrease. But if it were something like a rare metal, it's possible you could make it by adding just a few percent. A spoonful isn't a large amount, but the drawing could have been an exaggeration.

"From what the craftsmen say, that carriage would likely display its greatest power when used within the Empire," Fulsy offered.

"Just for running on roads, there wouldn't be that much of a difference," I agreed.

You could even argue that our carriage was superior since it didn't require rare materials, at least when it came to mass production for commercial use.

"We still don't know why they did something like block their magic at the beginning, either. On the way back... during the main race, there was no shadow on the radar," Noel added.

"That's right," I said.

Had they thought they could win with the performance of the monster materials alone? No, it wasn't just that they didn't use magic, I couldn't understand why they would go so far as to block it.

"Hasn't the lumber from the Empire arrived yet?" Fulsy asked impatiently.

"Kenwell says it should be just a little longer. As soon as it arrives, please begin the measurements."

If the Kingdom had online shopping, I'd be the type to click the delivery status over and over again. That's how much I was waiting for it. A single piece of wood probably wouldn't tell us much about the Empire's magic vein fluctuations, but even if it's just wood, the species will likely be different, so we'll need to adjust our experimental protocols.

First and foremost, we had to confirm if we could even measure it. There was a chance the magic veins were so strong that our instruments would just get saturated.

Once we sorted that out, I'd negotiate to acquire a large quantity under the pretext of expanding the Bertold Workshop. We need the lumber anyway, and we only need a tiny piece for the measurements.

"We're waiting for its arrival, but for now, this is our top priority. Unless, of course, the prophecy starts to manifest."

Everyone nodded at my words, and the meeting concluded. We had organized the information and established a course of action.

But now we had a new problem in the form of an Imperial Princess. My fingers unconsciously reached for my breast pocket. They met only empty air.

It's a habit I can't shake, even after being reborn. In my previous life, I had an item I always relied on in times like these. But it doesn't exist here. At least, not in a form I can have ready in an instant.