Chapter 22 - Archion’s Workshop Technology is the Best in the World—!!
Archion’s Workshop Technology is the Best in the World—!!
Translator : Elizabeth
Chapter 22
The order Archion received from the Saintess was as follows:
“The ‘Light That Smites Evil’ that I used—”
“Let’s call it the Divine Ray Radiation Device.”
“Isn't that... a bit too long? And a little stiff—”
“Divine. Ray. Radiation. Device.”
“I-I get it, so please move back a little...!”
The flashlight she had used to fire that catastrophic divine beam. Her request was to enlarge that flashlight slightly and make it so that the Holy Knights could use it while mounted on their heads or shoulders.
“Greetings, Believer Archion. I am in charge of developing the Light That Smites Evil—”
“The name has been changed to Divine Ray Radiation Device. It is the Saintess’s command.”
“Mmm. If that is the Saintess’s wish….”
The fuel was the Holy Knight’s divine power. According to the Saintess, the flashlight had automatically absorbed the divine power quite well, so there would be no fuel supply issues.
The next problem was the convenience of wearing it.
Clang!
“Oh dear... it fell off again.”
“It’s hard to keep it fixed when we move so violently.”
If attached to the shoulder, it shook too much and fell off whenever a sword or halberd was swung. Using the adhesives of this era or tying it with string was too unstable. Because it wobbled with every movement, the head of the flashlight would sway all over the place.
“Then let’s put it on the head.”
“The h-head? Are you suggesting we insert this into the Holy Knights' skulls?!”
“A helmet, a helmet! I mean we should modify it into a Head Lantern!”
And so, they decided to put it on the helmet. To be precise, they decided to mount it on top of the head.
“Hoh. After making a cylindrical hole like this….”
“You fix it tightly using these things called screw threads! Hoh, fascinating! Truly fascinating!”
They created a cylindrical frame for the flashlight to fit into and fastened it through grooves carved into the helmet. The grooves in the helmet were made using an electric screwdriver and fastened to the helmet using a principle similar to a rivet.
The researchers, who were originally clergymen, watched this process with sparkling eyes and asked:
“What is this thing that pierces even metal with such a loud noise?”
“Ah, it’s an electric screwdriver. It’s a tool we primarily use in our workshop.”
It was a "national rule" that modifying an existing helmet was essentially impossible; if you wanted to change something, you usually had to forge a whole new one.
Yet, the genius alchemist who had been called incompetent until early last year easily drilled holes in helmets, created things called rivets and screw threads, and attached the flashlights in no time.
Swish! Whoosh!
“It isn't heavy at all...! My goodness!”
Even though the miniature incandescent bulbs ordered from Archion's workshop hadn't arrived yet... it felt remarkably light to the Holy Knight.
“Wh-what is this!!”
“The light!!!”
And the researchers were once again astonished by the science performed by Archion’s hands.
“The light is bending?!”
To concentrate the light from the incandescent bulb for the flashlight, Archion showed them the principle of the convex lens.
“You know glasses, right? It’s a similar principle to those….”
There were glasses in this world as well. So, he had borrowed a lens to show them. Archion found it hard to understand why the researchers were making such a fuss.
“In the first place, we never even thought about the principle of how we see objects! Who would have known that the sunlight created by the Lord of Heaven reflects off objects and enters our eyes!!”
“And we only wear glasses because they work!!”
“Ah….”
As it turned out, it was the classic case of what programmers call: “Why does this work?”
Archion understood instantly. After all, he was the one running engineering products on mana instead of electricity, without even understanding how mana substituted for electricity.
“Then, shall we first supply a squad’s worth of Holy Knights? The assembly process is easy, so we should prioritize the helmet modifications, which will take more time….”
“I know just the right knight order! Wait right here!”
Anyway, once the bulbs arrived, they just had to mount them behind the lenses and attach them. Since the preparatory work required quite a bit of effort, Archion and the headquarters researchers stayed up all night.
Roughly a month passed.
Thump, thump.
In a remote corner of the Empire.
“Grrr, grrrr.”
A group of green-skinned creatures was traversing the forest.
“Grrr, grawwwr!”
An Ogre standing 6 meters tall appeared to be their leader. A few weeks ago, he had almost been suppressed by a territorial army within his domain.
However, he had fully recovered using the Ogre's unique rapid regeneration. And despite his low intelligence, he had honed his desire for revenge….
“Kwoaaaaaar!!!”
“Keryaaaak!” “Kyat, kyat, kyat!!”
He decided to subjugate the numerous monsters living in the forest, turn them into his subordinates, and invade the territory.
“Huff, huff.”
Right now, monsters filled every spot the Ogre’s gaze touched. Perhaps because he had even forced the master of the forest to submit, creatures that crawled in on their own were overflowing.
“Kuhu-hu-hu, Kwaaaaaaar—!!!”
With this many monsters… he would surely be able to slaughter those humans who dared to harm him.
“Kwoooor!!!”
“Kyat, kyat!!” “Gwoooong!”
And so, in the evening as the sun set, the Ogre ordered over three thousand monsters to advance.
Goblins, Orcs, Kobolds, Cockatrices, Venom Snakes, and more…. It was a massive force that would make any adventurer scream, “We’re doomed!!” and consider taking their own life.
“As expected. The dogs of evil were moving just as the intelligence suggested.”
“Kuruk?”
Even seeing them, a group of humans did not retreat. Their number was roughly a hundred or so. And behind them stood a human woman who looked like their commander.
“Kpupupupupu….”
The Ogre could count at least that much. He soon snorted at their very small number. Even if they fought better than Orcs, numerical inferiority was a difficult thing to overcome. And above all… the Ogre coveted the woman in the back.
“Kwoooar!!”
Overwhelmed by the urge to possess her, the beast ordered the advance once more.
“Kyararak!!” “Huff, puff!”
Thump, thump, thump!!
And the hundred knights in the darkness stared at the rushing monsters without a word.
“Since their thread of thought is so short, they likely cannot even properly recognize our true strength.”
During the last expedition, the Saintess had experienced a partial failure. To make up for it, she had personally volunteered for this operation. Although the Pope and most of the clergy had opposed it….
“Aha-hahat!! You f-f-f-foolish bastards!!”
“S-Saintess?”
After confirming the power of the Divine Ray Radiation Device Archion had made... the Saintess was convinced.
“This device Believer Archion made for us!! It is the crystal and pride of humanity’s supreme intelligence!!”
“Saintess, you are too excited. Please calm your emotions for a moment….”
If they had this, they could annihilate every single monster vulnerable to divinity!!! The Saintess began to get extremely excited at the prospect of avenging what the vampires had done to them in the past.
Kiiiiing!!!
“Take this!!! The new anti-monster weapon!!”
“Kyack?”
The Saintess held up the large flashlight she had brought in her hands.
Click!Zzzzzzzzzing—!!!
She shone it toward the goblins running in the very front.
And so,
“Divine Ray Radiation Deviceeeee—!!”
“Kiryaaaaaaaaak?!!!”
Daylight returned to the forest once more.
Tadatadatadak!Whoosh! Sizzle!!
“Kieeeeeeeeeek!!!”
“A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha~!!”
The monsters began to burn under the divine rays erupting from the radiation device.
“You demon-remnant filth!! Trash who don't even have parents because the demons vanished!!”
“S-Saintess! Please, watch your language!”
A Holy Knight who still had his reason tried to calm the Saintess, but—
“Hahaha!! The way you burn looks just like your parents boiling in the fires of hell!!!” “Of course, those parents are demons, you accidents of a demon's one-night stand!!!”
“Lord of Heaven, have mercy.”
Because the rest of them had also lost their minds after seeing the device’s effectiveness and were now rampaging, the Holy Knight's wish was not granted.
Grab!
“Kryaaak….”
“Mm?”
Something grabbed his ankle.
“Kyack, kryack….”
“You are… a goblin?”
It was a goblin that had crawled over, its entire body charred by the radiation device. Perhaps because it was only half-burned, tears were welling in the creature's remaining eyes.
“Gurgle, gulp….”
Drip, drip.
It looked exactly like it was pleading with the Holy Knight to save its life. Seeing this, the Holy Knight—
Click, Flash!Whoosh!
“Keryaaaaaaaaak!!!!”
“Take your filthy hands off me, you demon-remnant brat.”
—Lost his reason just like his colleagues. How dare a mere monster seek sympathy?
Whoosh! Crackle, crackle…!Thump, thump, thump!
“U-uwoooooorgh….”
And the Ogre, who had been watching all of this,
“Kill them all!!!” “Prove your innocence through the stake, you monster!!!” “Kyahahahat!! Die! Just die!!”
Slash!Gurgle…!Sizzle!!
—Began to back away as he watched the Holy Knights performing their "divine battle."
Thud!
“Wurk?!”
He accidentally bumped into a tree, making a loud noise.
Swish, swish, swish!!Sizzle!
“Gwooooork?!”
Was it the price for that? One by one, the Divine Ray Radiation Devices turned toward the Ogre, beginning to burn his skin.
“Come to think of it… that fellow gave me a lewd smile earlier.”
“Hoh, it seems he harbored lust for the Saintess’s outstanding beauty.”
“In that case….”
Kiiiing!!Sizzle!
“Gwoooo-we-e-e-ek?!”
The output of the Divine Ray Radiation Device rose, burning the Ogre’s skin even more violently. To the Ogre, there was no way he could endure these crazy people anymore! Sensing this, the Ogre turned around and began to flee in haste.
“Burn that bastard’s limbs off—!!!” “Burn everything but his neck, and let’s offer his head—distorted from a painful death—to the Lord of Heaven!!” “God wills it—!!!”
“Gwu-hooooong! Gwooooo-ooong!!”
The Ogre's sorrowful cries echoed throughout the forest.
“Hmph, I hate you, Young Master.”
“Oh dear, I said I’m sorry.”
“This one is also disappointed. I carved out so much time to make a holiday for you….”
“Well… then would you like to have one-on-one tutoring with me soon?”
Archion was working hard to soothe Goldie and the Tower Master, who didn't get their capital date.
“One-on-one tutoring…? Hoh, that is quite an interesting proposal.”
“Ah?! No, Young Master! If you do that, the Tower Master will 'devour' you in many senses— Eeeeh!! Don't pinch Goldie’s cheeks—!”
“Fix your conduct first.”
Of course, Goldie had once again spoken without a filter, resulting in her cheeks being stretched by the Tower Master.
Whir, whir, whir~
“It’s a good thing I developed these in advance.”
Above the relaxed Archion, a ceiling fan was spinning. Spring had arrived quickly as the weather cleared. The family servants had opened the tightly closed windows and were running the ceiling fans for ventilation. A slightly chilly but refreshing breeze brushed past Archion’s cheek.
“It’s nice and peaceful.”
“Goldie’s cheeks aren't peaceful at all~!!”
“Is it not your own karma? Accept it gracefully.”
While holed up in the workshop researching is good, taking time to refresh both mind and body was a major matter. He was resting leisurely, just as Goldie had suggested. The bathhouse business wasn't urgent right now, anyway. Above all, since there was plenty of mage labor, he could afford to delay it a bit and still finish it by summer.
‘Should I take Goldie and the Tower Master to Lidasid tomorrow? I heard the street food stalls have grown quite a bit lately.’
Then, there was no need to rush. As Archion was drafting a schedule that would please Goldie and the Tower Master….
Bang!
“Y-y-y-young Master! It’s a disaster—!”
“Oh, please.”
Was saying it was peaceful a flag? Another servant barged into Archion’s room.
“What is it now... please just leave me alone. Please….”
“Oh dear. Archion has shriveled up.”
“We did use the Young Master a lot~!”
Archion hoped it would be something comfortable, like just developing something and coming back down, like last time. At least that didn't make his name fly around everywhere. Though the traveling was still hard. Anyway.
“The Head Butler also said to bring the Young Master out immediately!! It’s a real disaster!”
“It can't be... the Head Butler must be exaggerating….”
“Please get up! A letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace!!”
“Fuck, from where?!!”
It was a matter big enough to make even the shriveled Archion bolt upright.
“The Chief Maid of Her Highness the 7th Princess has arrived! She says Her Highness wants the Young Master to make something for her...!”
Plop!
“Y-Young Master?!” “Oh dear, Archion! Breathe, breathe!!”
The Imperial Palace—the place where those with Dragon Blood and the descendants of heroes gathered in the great Khalid Empire. One of the members of that Imperial family had sent a request to Archion.