Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: 9. Mecha God Chronicle - Festival (2)
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Rihardt Kingdom.
A nation boasting a long history that wasn't far behind the Empire's thousand-year legacy, while also possessing the might that earned it the title of hegemon of the North.
And at present, the Rihardt Kingdom had almost no exchanges with the Empire.
The reason was simple: these two countries had been locked in endless wars just a few hundred years ago.
Of course, it had been ages since the wars between them ended.
Even so, the people of both nations couldn't help harboring ill feelings toward each other.
To draw an Earth analogy, it was like the longstanding rivalry between England and France.
But no matter how bad relations were, they couldn't sever diplomatic ties entirely.
Thus, the kingdom dispatched envoys to the Empire every few years at minimum.
And so, on the very day the Rihardt Kingdom's envoy arrived in the Empire to deliver diplomatic missives to the Emperor, as usual...
"...What in the world is that?"
The kingdom's envoy ended up witnessing it.
A colossal steel giant nearly dozens of meters tall.
At first, the envoy thought he was seeing things or that some mages were pulling a bizarre prank with illusion magic.
But...
- Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen it? This is the secret war machine, Mecha God Unit 0, built to repel all enemies threatening the Empire.
[Grooooar-!]
The sight of this thing called the "Mecha God" letting out an ominous roar as if it were alive.
And the scene of someone climbing inside and actually piloting it.
The envoy could only gape in disbelief at his own eyes.
"Impossible! So the Empire has finally created that secret weapon to invade our kingdom?"
For hundreds of years, peace had held between the two nations, but the nefariously cunning Empire must have secretly built this monstrosity out of frustrated ambition to conquer the kingdom.
In that instant, the envoy couldn't help imagining.
What horrors would unfold if war broke out and that steel giant strode onto the battlefield?
"...Terrifying."
All that filled the envoy's mind was the image of that giant rampaging across the field, mercilessly crushing the kingdom's soldiers.
It was that overwhelmingly powerful—a weapon capable of upending the very paradigm of warfare.
The envoy rushed back to the kingdom and reported everything he'd seen and heard.
"The Empire created a 40-meter humanoid giant and plans to use it as a war machine?"
"What? No way... Even if it's the Empire, that sounds utterly absurd."
Naturally, the king and nobles openly expressed their skepticism at the envoy's report.
But the envoy had his own defense.
"I thought I'd misunderstood at first, too. But the Emperor and the Empire's nobles acted strangely."
"...Strangely? What do you mean?"
"Well, that giant..."
First off, the nobles he approached to inquire about the giant's nature showed oddly evasive attitudes.
- ...Ah, that thing?
- Is that so? You don't know...
- I see. Well...
- Let's leave it at that. If you'll excuse me...
- ...?
In truth, it was nobles passing the buck after getting chewed out by someone else—a chain of resentment.
From the clueless envoy's perspective, it just felt baffling.
In contrast, the Emperor...
- Ah, you know about the Mecha God? Raguna made it with my support. It's to defeat the Empire's true enemies. On paper, it's for repelling Outer Gods, but we had to compromise with reality for various reasons. Still, it's built to shrug off most attacks, so no major issues...
- ...
As if flaunting the Mecha God before the envoy, the Emperor rambled on with unasked-for details.
Ultimately, that was the conclusion the envoy drew from the Emperor and nobles' behavior.
'So, with the Mecha God complete, they no longer fear anyone, huh?'
A Mecha God dozens of meters tall was impossible to hide from prying eyes.
The nobles wanted to keep it secret out of utmost caution, while the arrogant Emperor boasted about it.
"Even the common folk seemed quite familiar with the Mecha God. It was already widely known among the Empire's people."
Paintings and models themed around the Mecha God were openly sold in markets—what more proof was needed?
Of course, those artworks and models were so exquisitely detailed that he'd wanted to investigate further.
But delving too deep might draw interference from the Empire, so he opted to hurry back to the kingdom.
In any case, once the envoy's vivid account spread, the king and nobles grew gravely serious.
"If what you say is true, the very concept of war will change completely. No conventional means could topple that giant."
"Ordinary soldiers would die instantly under its feet. Even a grand mage would struggle to destroy it without immense firepower."
"And the Empire wouldn't just watch idly if our grand mages targeted it. In short, destroying the Mecha God conventionally is near impossible..."
The king and nobles engaged in gravely serious debate about this Mecha God.
And they reached one inevitable conclusion.
'We can't win.'
If war truly erupted and the Empire deployed the Mecha God...
The kingdom wouldn't even get a chance to fight back before defeat.
So what now?
Must they simply watch the Emperor and Empire nobles' wicked schemes unfold?
"No choice."
The king spoke in a deeply somber tone.
"We must secretly contact the Empire. We've seen through whatever they're plotting with the Mecha God, so we'll offer to join them. Tell them the kingdom will participate in their plans."
Against an unwinnable foe, at least stand on the same side.
It was a massive blow to the pride of a kingdom that had opposed the Empire for centuries, but reality was merciless.
Thus, the Rihardt Kingdom drafted a humiliating document proposing an alliance with the Empire.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The kingdom's alliance proposal reached the Emperor promptly.
Naturally, his reaction upon reading it was...
"Are these fools out of their minds?"
The Emperor muttered in disbelief.
"Asking if we built the Mecha God as a war machine?"
With that, he gazed at the Mecha God model displayed in the palace square.
It looked majestic enough to swell the chest with pride, but in truth, it was just an amusement ride, nothing more.
Why? Because the moment the Mecha God model was complete, the Emperor had pressured Raguna with his authority to ride it first.
As a fervent fan of Mecha God Chronicle, it had been a thoroughly satisfying experience.
"True enough. Raguna did craft that model so convincingly. No wonder a foreign envoy mistook it for the real thing."
The Emperor muttered with a pleased grin.
Meanwhile, the nobles could roughly guess why the kingdom had misunderstood.
"The Rihardt Kingdom has had almost no official exchanges with us these past few years."
"So they haven't encountered Mecha God Chronicle and have no excuse for the mix-up."
Indeed, even they—the nobles here—had never imagined a mere anime would boom so massively that a life-sized model would grace the capital's heart.
In any event, there was zero chance of the Mecha God being used as a war machine, as the kingdom feared.
The nobles were about to laugh it off as amusing happenstance when...
"...Wait."
The Emperor suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Why not take this chance to actually build one?"
"...Pardon?"
The nobles stared, doubting their ears.
Had the Emperor finally sunk so deep into Mecha God Chronicle that he couldn't distinguish fiction from reality?
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not mad enough to actually use it in war."
The Emperor clicked his tongue.
"To anyone unfamiliar with Mecha God Chronicle, the Mecha God's appearance is overwhelmingly imposing. Our soldiers' morale would soar. Just having it on the battlefield would serve as powerful deterrence, no?"
"...Hmm."
"Not wrong, indeed."
Even the kingdom's envoy had fled straight home after seeing the model.
Of course, it was just a 40-meter plastic model, but as long as those present kept quiet, no leaks would occur.
As the nobles ran the calculations in their heads...
"And pre-building a Mecha God means it'd help if actual Outer Gods—or rather, giant monsters—ever appeared. But 'Mecha God' might confuse, so a new name is best. Any good ideas?"
"...How about Colossal Divine Soldiers?"
"Colossal Divine Soldiers. Excellent, Duke."
"Adding 'Obelisk'—ancient tongue for 'great'—wouldn't hurt either."
"Ho! Indeed! You have a knack for this, Duke."
"....."
"....."
Hearing the exchange between the Empire's two pinnacle powers, the nobles squeezed their eyes shut.
If the Empire ever fell, it would surely be that Raguna bastard's fault.