Chapter 37 - Chapter 37: New Weapons
Spring of my 15th year.
Finally, my seventh year since coming to this world had arrived.
And then... today, at Windam's request, I had come to the Military Operations HQ.
Where will the Kingdom of Rhodesia come from?
I want to say, even God wouldn't know that. At the Operations HQ, the atmosphere was as cheerful as if they were betting on horse races... but do they intend to win like this? Margrave Kruger will undoubtedly become a sacrifice for these guys.
(Besides, even if we say we're going to rescue Margrave Kruger, we'd have to pass through Marquis Kaoz's territory, right? Are these guys all idiots? Do they actually think they can pass through safely in the first place? If they get caught in a pincer attack, it's total annihilation...)
I spoke about this with Klaus and Aristo while showing them the map.
"Windam. Kick out those fools already in there!"
"Wha—! Even for Your Excellency Klaus, that is going too far!"
The Operations HQ Chief was indignant, but Klaus's anger did not subside. He immediately decided to dispatch everyone from the Operations HQ Chief down to Margrave Kruger's border guard unit. The guys who had been carelessly gambling just moments ago were all dismissed.
In the end, it became a strategy meeting with just the four of us.
"To state my conclusion, rescuing Margrave Kruger is impossible."
The Imperial Army only has fifty thousand men.
Will the enemy come from the mountains? From the sea? And when will they come? How large is their force? It's probably no less than our own forces. And if we head to rescue Margrave Kruger, the only land routes are through Marquis Kaoz's territory or our own territory, but the roads through my family home are too narrow for a large army to pass; they'd get stuck and take too long.
If we go through Kaoz's side, they could ally with Duke Namibia and Baron Auris and pincer our fifty thousand troops.
"Even if they come by sea, we have no ships to transport fifty thousand troops, and if the Imperial Capital is left empty, the forces of Namibia, Kaoz, and Auris could attack and the capital would fall."
As I explained while looking at the map, the three nodded.
"On top of that, if that bastard David has betrayed us too, there's nothing we can do!"
Windam spat out a bitter complaint. Well, since he was nearly beaten up, I can understand his feelings, but he was certainly right.
Klaus and Aristo wanted to know what we would do, abandoning the rescue of Margrave Kruger.
One thing, though I don't want to think about it much, is that if Margrave Kruger's soldiers are captured, they'll be sent to the front lines and used as the vanguard. The target of their invasion will likely be our territory and the lands of the 'Traffic Light Trio.'
If the enemy has a navy, there's a high possibility they'll target the ports of Viscount Gran or First Prince Vista.
"That's true. And so, the vanguard attacking the Imperial Capital would be the armies of Namibia, Kaoz, and Auris. The enemy is probably handing out empty promises like 'We'll make you Emperor' left and right."
Klaus murmured, then asked what countermeasures we had against that.
"First, we will blockade the main road connecting the Imperial Capital to Margrave Kruger."
You're probably wondering how.
First, we'll drop rocks and lumber from the mountain pass. We'll also destroy bridges, creating a situation where they're forced to detour. Then, we'll guide them to a specific location. That location is east of the Imperial Capital, on His Majesty's land, a place that was once a lake. Due to some past disaster or something, the river's course changed and it dried up. There are no people around, and the former lakebed is about 10 meters deep.
It's bowl-shaped and can easily accommodate 100,000 soldiers.
"We'll build a road leading them to gather here. We'll make it easy for enemy soldiers to enter this former lake and set up camp. We'll dam the upstream river, and once they stop, we'll release the water all at once, flooding the lake and drowning them."
Aristo said, "That's... that's cruel..." and Windam, uncharacteristically, got angry.
"Pathetic. So when the Imperial Capital is attacked, are you fine with you and Aria being killed?"
Aristo didn't answer that, but when Windam said, "What if Aqua is killed by the enemy?" his anger surfaced. "So you are a mama's boy after all. You don't care if Aria dies? How cold-hearted," Windam said. Then an argument began.
Klaus ignored the unproductive conversation between his grandson and son.
"Shivans-kun. That's not the end of it, is it?"
"Of course not. Your Excellency Klaus."
We'll leave the enemy at the lake to the Imperial Army. The surviving enemy soldiers can be captured and made slaves. The problem is the enemy's main force. For that, we'll have the Klaus family army sortie, advance east, and destroy the enemy. By that time, we plan to join up with the Butler army and strike the enemy from behind.
"I see! So you're saying we leave the grunt work to the Imperial Army and take the best part for ourselves."
He laughed happily, "Fufufu." The mountain pass traps, bridge destruction, and upstream dam breaking could be handled by hiring mercenaries and adventurers. Of course, dealing with the remnants of the defeated army as well. Immediately, we decided to use the military budget to have the Imperial Army, mercenaries, and adventurers help create these traps.
"Also, Your Excellency. There's one thing that concerns me."
"What is it?"
I had been thinking for a while: just as I used earth magic to dig a tunnel through the main road in our territory, wouldn't it be strange if the enemy didn't have someone who thought of the same thing? When I conveyed this, he said, "Indeed! That was a blind spot," and immediately issued orders to the Minister of Internal Affairs to investigate. I also had something being made to deal with enemies from the sea.
(I said we could just adapt crossbows, but it's taking an unexpectedly long time. I'll go check on it later.)
"This Operations HQ also needs to be rebuilt from scratch... It's been 17 years since the Great War. There's no point in having so many people who don't know real combat..."
Klaus muttered that and was discussing something with Windam.
That day,
an unfortunate event occurred at the Klaus household.
Drunk on alcohol, Windam blurted out, "Even if Aria dies, Aristo won't be sad, but if Aqua dies, he'll be sad!"
"Even at 15, you still can't fix your mama's boy complex! Don't come near me from today on!"
Aristo was scolded by Aria as she cried.
"Father... please go outside!"
"I'm still not losing to you!"
It was a narrow margin, but Aristo shed tears of frustration at losing to Windam. Wondering why he couldn't cure his mama's boy complex, he looked up at the night sky.
(Even Shivans has overcome it! Don't be weak, Aristo! I should be able to do it too! I know I can't stay like this!)
That night,
Aristo went to Aria's room, performed a dogeza, and stared at her panties. Aria stepped on his head and rejoiced. They were both awakening to strange fetishes.
In between, I worked as an adventurer, anticipating the enemy's arrival, and set traps everywhere. After finishing adventuring, I held Emilia and Reimi at night as usual.
Reimi diligently applied 'Premium' to her face every morning and night, and tried to rejuvenate her entire body with 'Holy Water Aqua.' She also made me cast 'High Heal' on her. Thanks to that, she continued to maintain her 'Forever 18' status.
The two Silver Wolves had grown completely and seemed to think Emilia was their primary master. That's because I had been neglecting them for so long, so it couldn't be helped. Recently, she told me that the two had joined her adventures and were helping with dungeon conquests.
"They're already members of the team!"
They're attached to Emilia, and of course to Reimi too, but they seem somewhat reserved around me. Around that time, I was summoned by First Prince Vista in the neighboring territory.
"Sorry for calling you out when you're busy."
Blade was there as a matter of course, and even Viscount Gran was present. I could mostly guess the reason.
"Is this about naval defense?"
"It helps that you're quick on the uptake. This land will eventually be yours, right? Lend us your wisdom."
Is he trying to hook me with such an empty promise? I'll make sure he pays properly.
As I looked at the map and said various things, the gist was that they wanted to say they had no way to deal with a large army if it attacked. Especially since Vista and Blade were complete amateurs at naval warfare.
"Since they're wooden ships, wouldn't it be fine to just blast them with fire magic?"
At my words, Blade denied it with a smile.
"Anti-Magic is applied to them," he said, so I replied, "Then you can just dispel it with Dispel," but all three said they didn't know such a spell.
"Is there no other way?"
Vista said irritably, so I told him it wasn't that there was no way. "Don't be so coy, spit it out!" he said angrily.
"It's a weapon of national secrecy. And naturally, it's expensive, you know? Rather than empty promises like 'this land will eventually be,' it would be proper to allocate a realistic budget and address this as national defense, wouldn't it?"
To be frank, when I asked what kind of plan they were thinking of now, Gran told me it was about lining up derelict ships in the harbor to block entry and shooting flaming arrows. This was probably the standard approach.
"Alright. I'll consult with Father—no, His Majesty! Knowing you, you're thinking of something incredible, aren't you?"
Raising the hurdle like that is a problem, but...
"Please judge after seeing it. The soldiers will also need training before they can master it."
Saying he understood, he seemed to head to the Imperial Capital to negotiate personally. I also had to prepare on my end.
What I was trying to make were ballistae (large crossbows). And catapults (stone throwers), but both used slime solution and Wild Spider thread, considerably extending their effective range. Also, flaming arrow bombs. They were like hand grenades, packed not only with gunpowder but also small magic stones infused with fire magic.
A few days later, a message came saying they couldn't allocate a budget without seeing them first.
I immediately prepared a training ground, and as I was getting ready to show them, Aristo contacted me saying that both His Majesty and Klaus were coming. Sera said, "Lady Aria is coming too!" so I immediately had the three members of the Shivans' Guard lecture on how to use the weapons.
The ballista was mounted on a 360-degree rotating pedestal equipped with a sight.
The three practiced with the flaming arrow bombs and said, "Our arms hurt," so I had them train hard while casting Heal on them. Probably, the main event for His Majesty and the others would be staying at the White Castle. Windam was excited about aiming to become a hero again.
Aristo and Aria arrived, and Aristo said, "My grandmother and mother gave birth," so I replied, "My mother did too," and we laughed together.
Aria was complaining to her close friend Sera.
I could hear her lamenting, "Aristo's mama's boy symptoms have worsened. They're becoming even more severe."
"But you know, Sera! Thanks to the bust-enhancing bra and night bra, I've grown from flat-chested to about an A+ cup! There's still more to come!"
They held hands and rejoiced. Come to think of it, the only ones seriously looking at the weapons were Gran, Vista, and Blade.
"The weapons we will show you today are the long-range catapult, the medium-range ballista, and the short-range flaming arrow bomb! First, please observe the flaming arrow bomb. To begin with, visitors, please hold up these heat-resistant glass shields and observe!"
Yaris had selected people with good control.
"Fire——!"
When she gave the order in a clear, carrying voice, the soldiers threw towards the target. When it hit the target perfectly, it exploded and caused a huge fire. A tremendous hot wind rushed over, startling everyone.
"Approach the enemy ship with a fast small boat, throw this, and quickly withdraw, and the enemy ship will immediately be engulfed in a massive fire."
However, I cautioned that on a ship with poor footing, if aim is unsteady or control is bad, it could cause damage to allies. Only three people nodded. The rest of the people had come in a festive mood and were just astonished.
And then the ballista.
"Shoot——!"
It pierced and shattered a 10cm thick board 200 meters away. Everyone went up close to confirm.
"It has a sight, but it's only a guide. Accuracy changes depending on the day's weather, wind direction, temperature, and humidity. You will also need to train on this."
In bad conditions, it could vary by as much as 10 meters.
Finally, the catapult threw flaming arrow bombs and stones.
"Launch——!"
Through binoculars, we saw a wall 1 kilometer away crumble to pieces. I explained to the astonished people.
"It has the greatest destructive power, but in terms of control, it's also true that it's hard to hit. As before, it changes greatly especially with wind direction."
Personally, I think there's still plenty of room for improvement, but since His Majesty and Klaus were so surprised they were left speechless, I'll call it good! Then, when I told them to ask the three members of the Shivans' Guard for details, people swarmed them.
At that point, His Majesty said, "If you can ensure absolute secrecy, we'll deploy them immediately. First, make sure no one can get near them! If you do that, I'll buy them!" Immediately, Viscount Gran and First Prince Vista began instructing their subordinates on installation locations.
For the time being, it was decided to summon elite soldiers here for training.
"Guys who panic immediately are no good. Indecisive ones are out too. They might cause damage to our allies!"
Flaming arrow bombs have to be lit and thrown immediately, but a panicking guy is likely to throw before even aiming properly, and an indecisive guy might not throw in time and cause casualties.
There was still no sign of the enemy attacking. So, we agreed on a lump sum of 100 billion G for everything: weapons and ammunition supply until the war roughly ends, education and training of soldiers, and weapon installation.
His Majesty, Klaus, and the others stayed at the White Castle and enjoyed themselves.
The Hero Old Man became a hero again in his swim trunks, boasting immense popularity among the young people who shouted, "The hero has come this year too——!"
Gran, Vista, and the others hurried back without staying overnight and began selecting personnel.
Three days later, 300 soldiers from each territory were to undergo training.
Since our territory has no sea, they practiced throwing flaming arrow bombs while riding boats on the river. At first, they trained with duds that wouldn't explode when the fuse was lit. However... even when they thought they were used to it, once it actually exploded, guys who got scared and panicked appeared one after another.
"Don't panic! Calm down and throw!"
Regias shouted instructions loudly.
At the ballista, Yaris was raising her voice.
"Read the wind direction better!"
At the catapult, Vel was instructing.
"Hey, hey... are you planning to tell the lord you could only manage stones? Narrow your aim before lighting it! Don't neglect preparation!"
During that time, I installed catapults on the mountaintops facing the sea in Gran Territory and Vista Territory. I installed ballistae on the mid-slopes. I placed Slave Marks on the garrison soldiers to prevent leaks of secrets. I set traps around the perimeter. I eliminated any gaps for spies from other countries to enter.
At night, I visited the homes of the three barons' married women.
Now, this was because Reimi had become that and told Emilia, "I can't handle you alone!" and Emilia had told me.
First was Jennifer's family home. Jennifer's family home held a Knight Title. It was a formal Knight Title of the Kaoz family, and they apparently had a small territory. Her husband Garna's family had a proper legal wife, but Jennifer was apparently the first to bear a child. Though, it was said that Garna employed Jennifer more for hospitality, so she was practically like a concubine.
"He's such a dimwit he doesn't even remember if he had sex with me!"
Garna was apparently thought to be seedless from the start. Moreover, now he's completely turned Moho, so everyone around said a child would be impossible, and then a child was conceived. Jennifer was called the savior of the Garna family.
Jennifer's father had apparently changed since coming to our place. He interacted with the common people and devoted himself to agriculture. It seems Mana was skillfully controlling her husband.
That Mana said, "If Jennifer gets pregnant and Zeke becomes frustrated, shall I be your partner?" and Jennifer replied, "Absolutely not! I'll tend to him with my mouth and butt!"
As I was thinking this Moho-ification strategy was useful, Mana whispered in a small voice, "My butt is also a virgin, you know♡."
Next was Michelle's family home.
Michelle's family home also held a Knight Title of the Kaoz family. They also had a territory, but the land was barren and highly acidic, so they used lime and matured manure as fertilizer. They were apparently delighted that they had planted Patata seedlings on the vacant land and things were going well.
However, even in front of her mother, she casually let me grope her chest and performed fellatio.
"She has a strong sex drive, just like me. It's amazing she put up with Benan until now."
"You say that after forcibly marrying off the unwilling me!"
Moreover, her treatment was practically that of a concubine.
"Well, thanks to that, I met Shivans, so it's all good!"
Even as Michelle deliciously performed semen ingestion, Yua said, "You really do drink it so deliciously♡," and Michelle replied, "It's Mama's teaching that a girl should be just about lewd!" Yua nodded.
They got completely naked, and Michelle shook her hips violently in the cowgirl position, screaming, "Mama! Shivans's cock is the best♡ It makes me cum over and over♡."
And after making her cum many times, she fell asleep as if fainting. Yua stood before me, and I complimented her, "The miniskirt looks good on you," and she said, "I wore it for Zeke♡."
Then she flipped up her skirt and said, "No panties♡," so I said, "It's still a beautiful, hairless pussy," and she said, "I take care of it every day♡," coming beside me.
"This girl, honestly♡ Falling asleep without even doing cleaning fellatio♡."
She got completely naked and took me in her mouth. Yua writhed as she let me grope her chest.
"Your fellatio technique has improved since then, hasn't it? Did you practice with your husband?"
"Far from my husband, I haven't let any other man touch me with even a finger♡."
Not only did she clean me up, but she made me cum and performed semen ingestion.
"Hey♡ I'm on a super dangerous day right now♡ Just looking at Zeke makes me ovulate♡ If you come to my room tonight, I'll let you eat my dangerous-day pussy♡."
Saying that, she looked around and hurriedly changed clothes.
That night, since I was being entertained, I made Michelle's father drink heavily. Then, when I went to Yua's dimly lit room, I was surprised. Her husband was sleeping in the adjacent bed, snoring loudly.
"Isn't this bad?"
"That's what makes it good♡."
"If we're found out, you'll be in trouble, won't you, Yua?"
"Jeez! You came anyway, right♡? Besides, are you going to leave this body and run away?"
She was completely naked, spreading her crotch wide. Not only that, she was grabbing her own breasts, licking her nipples lewdly, drooling, and making a seductive face.
"Leave you? Much less run away."
"I knew it♡ You set my body on fire, after all♡."
As I thought that her desire to be held even while bearing such risk meant the sense of immorality from last time had become a habit, she promptly said, "Let me suck it♡," and performed fellatio.
When it got a little bigger, I had her sandwich it between her drool-covered breasts. She said, "Jeez♡ Lewd♡ Feel good with my breasts♡," and it certainly felt good.
She grabbed her breasts with both hands, desperately stroking while taking me in her mouth.
"Good, Yua. I'm going to ejaculate just like this, so drink it all!"
"I want it♡ Let me drink it♡."
While making Yua drink, I cast 'Sleep' on her husband. Then, I took her in doggy style, slapping her butt as I inserted, and Yua started talking to her husband.
"Yua has already been turned into a woman you don't know♡ A woman who spreads her crotch vulgarly, shows off her masturbation, and gets excited♡ A woman who rejoices at having her butt slapped♡ Look♡."
When I slapped her butt with a smack, she let out a cry of delight.
"I'm already cumming♡ Just from being inserted, I've become able to cum♡ My body rejoices with every thrust of Zeke's cock♡ I'm being made into a total slut♡."
She started saying that wasn't all.
"My body goes into heat immediately just from seeing Shivans♡ It's already, you know♡ Dominated by Shivans's cock♡ Your small cock doesn't make me horny♡."
I slapped her butt and said, "Saying that kind of thing, isn't your husband pitiful?" and she said, "But comparing them is more rude♡ I'm already a slave to this cock♡," shaking her hips.
"More♡ Violate me more intensely♡ Give this married woman on her ovulation day impregnation sex♡ Eat my lewd pussy more♡ Ah♡ I'm cumming♡ Cumming♡ It's coming out again♡."
At that point, I lifted Yua up and made her spray her squirt onto her husband's face. Then, I made Yua learn to beg. Holding her legs up, Yua spoke obscene words.
"You saw me swear to become a total slut woman for Shivans alone, right♡? Until now it was just a physical relationship, but♡ from now on, I'll only bear Shivans's children♡."
And finally, the moment of ejaculation arrived.
"Good♡ Thrust it deep into Yua's ovulating womb♡."
"Yeah. I'm cumming, Yua!"
She climaxed as I came, but her husband didn't wake up at all.
"Even though you moaned so loudly."
"Ufu♡ Because it felt so good♡."
When Yua started cleaning fellatio, her husband had an erection. So I put an onahole on him. "What's that?" Yua asked, so I told her it was a toy. With it attached, her husband's hips twitched and he ejaculated with an "Ugh," so I cast Sleep on him twice.
After that, while I was teaching Yua various positions beside him, her husband would occasionally cry out "Ugh" softly and ejaculate. (Even though he only cums once with my pussy!) She got angry and irritated. To make up for it, she focused on me and was driven wild with orgasms.
(Unlike you, Shivans seeks me out over and over!)
With the frustration of thinking she had lost to a toy, she became even more devoted to me.
The next morning, her husband woke up with terrible fatigue. There were traces of disheveled sleep on Yua's bed, and he thought he had held Yua for the first time in a while, but because of yesterday's alcohol, he remembered nothing.
The next day, I went to Cheryl's family home.
The Tarsel Trading Company was thriving like never before. The reason was that Cheryl had two older brothers, and today was practically a welcome party for me.
First, the younger brother started talking from a business perspective.
"The other day, when I heard that you put a price of 1 million G on that trash wine my father said was worth 1,000 G, I was shocked! I thought the guy was either an idiot or a con artist."
I gave a wry smile and waved my hand. "But, once the lid was opened, it seems I was the idiot. I had no information, no connections, I was just ignorant of the world..." he said, bowing his head.
This time, the eldest son, who managed the farm, began to speak.
"Father, after returning from your place, well... it's like he became a different person. He seems to be angry not at us, but at himself, saying 'This won't do!' What happened? Even when I ask, he only says, 'You wouldn't understand!'..."
So, I had them drink our wine. The 'destemmed' one. Partially 'destemmed,' half 'destemmed,' mostly 'destemmed,' and one made by 'whole cluster fermentation.' They noticed that each had a different flavor.
"At this point, we don't know which is correct. Our employees are improving daily, exploring every possibility to the point of saying, 'We can't do any more than this!' But there's no end to improvement. It's only the first year, but it seems like it could sell, right?"
The brothers were surprised at my words.
"Only one year... is that true?"
They asked Cheryl, who was clinging closely to my side.
"There's no way my husband would lie! I've seen both the farm and the factory, and everyone was working desperately! I think the feeling Father has when he says 'This won't do' is something only someone who's seen it can understand. The sense of crisis is just completely different! Is that enough? Let's go to bed!"
The second son shouted, "Wait!" but Cheryl went up to the second floor and immediately got completely naked.
"Grant me a mage's child! You can keep impregnating me forever! Even if I have one, I still intend to get pregnant with a third! I'm so glad I picked you up back then, Shivans!"
All three of them were under the impression that they had each reverse-pickup'd me.
Thus, for about a month, I frequented the three's places, and it seems they finally conceived their second children, but Yua and Mana were also pregnant.