3
Chapter 3
To complete the Magic Musket, I need slime as a material.
Luckily, slime is quite common; in this world, diluted slime is often used like starch or gelatin on Earth.
"Elisha. Do you happen to have any slime left?"
"The stock in the workshop warehouse was all used up when you made pudding last time."
"Ah, right. I used it all then."
Come to think of it, I did use every bit of it for those puddings.
Everyone loved them so much that they even became a staple in the royal dessert menu.
The problem is that I'm completely out of stock...
I need to hollow out the stock and install a shock absorber right now, but I don't have the core material to fill it.
If it were any other material, I'd have to request it from the Adventurer's Guild or go on a subjugation mission to the monster-infested forest with Elisha.
'But slime is different.'
"Let's go to the kitchen."
"Yes, sir. Pudding was on tonight's dinner menu, so there should be some leftover slime."
We left the workshop and headed toward the royal castle's kitchen.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of delicious food wafted out, and I saw the chefs moving busily about.
"Oh my! If it isn't the 3rd Prince!"
The Head Chef, wearing a tall white hat, came rushing toward me.
His round face was brimming with joy and anticipation.
And for good reason—whenever I craved food from Earth, I'd visit the kitchen and ask him to cook using recipes from my past life; after tasting a few of my creations, the Head Chef now views me as some kind of culinary genius.
"What brings you here! Have you come up with another brilliant new recipe! That fried chicken from last time was simply..."
Well, fried chicken is delicious.
I shook my head at the Head Chef, who was smacking his lips with an almost indecent expression as he recalled the taste.
"No. Unfortunately, I'm not here for food today. Do you have any slime left over from the puddings?"
"Of course! Your Highness's slime pudding is all the rage among the nobles lately, so we bring in plenty of the finest grade every morning. This way!"
The Head Chef led the way to the ingredient storage room.
He pulled out a large vat and opened the lid, revealing translucent green slimes wriggling like jelly in clear water.
Each squishy mass had a round core embedded right in the center.
'They're fresh.'
They looked as fresh as if they had been caught only yesterday.
The way they boinged around was actually quite cute.
"They look great. Give me the whole thing; I have a use for it in the workshop."
"Yes! Please, take as much as you like! If you need more, I'll procure some immediately!"
"This will be enough for today. Elisha, please take care of this."
"Yes, Master."
Elisha effortlessly lifted the vat, which was nearly as large as her own torso.
With a satisfied smile, I gave the Head Chef a few encouraging pats on the shoulder.
"Thanks. I really needed that slime; you're a lifesaver. I'll write up a recipe and send it your way soon."
"Oh! Thank you so much, Your Highness!"
Leaving the beaming Head Chef behind, I stepped out of the kitchen.
'Now that I've gathered all the materials...'
It was time to lock myself in the workshop.
@@@
After reincarnating into a romance-fantasy world,
the field I dove into most passionately was magic.
Among various types, the one I trained in most was Transformation Magic, which allows one to alter the shape of matter at will.
It's similar to a certain manga's power to transmute matter, except it cannot be used on living organisms.
'There's no more perfect ability than this for processing materials into parts.'
Thanks to spending every penny of my childhood allowance to push Transformation Magic to its limit, I can now perform work that rivals a modern 3D printer or precision machining tool, as long as I have the blueprint in my head.
Upon arriving at the workshop, I sat at my workbench and tossed off my outer coat.
"Elisha, could you prep the slime for me? Just remove the cores and boil it."
"Yes, I will."
Leaving the slime preparation to Elisha, I immediately placed both hands on the wooden stock.
I channeled my mana and carved out a magic circle...
[Transformation]
Wuuung—
The interior of the solid wood was hollowed out cleanly, without leaving a single speck of sawdust.
'This will also increase the strength.'
To be precise, since I only changed the shape using Transformation Magic, the wood from the hollowed space was compressed.
Since the volume decreased while the mass and weight remained the same, the density naturally increased.
This created a stock base so hard that it could be used as a blunt weapon on the battlefield if necessary.
Just then, Elisha approached carrying the prepared Slime Buffer Fluid.
"Master, I've finished prepping it."
"Good job. Your timing is perfect."
The translucent green slime, having been heated, had turned into a viscous liquid with maximized stickiness and elasticity.
'The cores have been handled too...'
I slid the pre-transformed steel spring into the empty space of the stock.
Then, I filled the remaining gaps completely with the Slime Buffer Fluid Elisha had prepared.
"Perfect. Now, if I just seal it so the buffer fluid doesn't leak... there we go."
With that, the custom-made stock designed to control recoil was complete.
"Now all that's left is assembly."
I picked up the parts laid out on the workbench and began putting them together.
Click—
"Man, I love this sound."
The sound of precisely carved parts fitting together perfectly without a single millimeter of error always felt satisfying.
My first completed weapon.
I wanted to give it a name...
"Elisha, would you like to name it?"
"A name... then, how about An-1, after your own name, Master?"
"An-1?"
"Yes. I took 'An' from your name and added '1' because it's your first weapon."
That's actually not bad.
The idea of my name being on a weapon gave me a strange sense of excitement.
"Alright, I like it. From now on, it's An-01."
Two digits always look cooler, after all.
I ran my hand over the smooth barrel of An-01 with a satisfied smile.
I had one week left until the demonstration I promised my brother.
There was only one thing left to do in the remaining time.
To test how this thing performs in actual combat and where its limits lie.
"Elisha, pack plenty of gunpowder and ammunition. Oh, and mana stones too."
"Yes, Master. I'll prepare them right away."
@@@
Meanwhile, at the Empire's Imperial Palace.
The Imperial greenhouse garden, filled with brilliant roses in full bloom.
At a tea table where the scent of fragrant black tea lingered, two handsome men and one woman sat.
"Ayla. Is it to your liking? I had the Imperial chefs specially procure these desserts that are currently trending in the Espada Kingdom."
Kalian, the Crown Prince of the Empire and the man known as the Tyrant of the Battlefield, spoke in a gentle voice.
"Oh, yes... Your... Your Highness. It's delicious. But it's a bit overwhelming for someone like me, a daughter of a Baron's house, to receive such precious things..."
As Ayla shrunk her slender shoulders in agitation, Kalian's red eyes curved softly.
"Overwhelming? If you wish, I could kidnap the Head Chef of the Espada Kingdom who made these puddings and make him your personal cook."
"Y... Your Highness! Please, don't say such frightening things..."
"Hehe. The Crown Prince is correct. If you find it truly overwhelming, Young Lady Ayla, I shall lead the Southern Fleet and swallow that kingdom whole to present it to you as a gift."
A man with a sturdy build sat opposite them, elegantly sipping his black tea.
Lexion, the Naval Admiral who guarded the Empire's waters, added with a bright smile.
At the words of the two men, Ayla's face turned pale.
'How did it end up like this... The people of the kingdom were so kind...'
Ayla felt suffocated and burdened by the obsession and attention showered upon her.
"Besides, a place like the Espada Kingdom is nothing but a land of cowards who happen to have money but can't even hold a sword properly. They were just tucking their tails when the Karvan Estate was seized."
At Lexion's sneer, Kalian rested his chin on his hand and continued nonchalantly.
"I've heard rumors that their king is bedridden. Soon, their coffers will belong to the Empire, so everything in Espada will practically be yours, Ayla."
Ayla felt like bursting into tears at the blind affection of these two men, who valued the lives of innocent people and the fate of another nation less than chess pieces.
Oblivious to her inner turmoil, the two men continued their relaxed conversation about how they would crush the Espada Kingdom.
"They're such a disorganized rabble that it would be embarrassing to even call them knights; we wouldn't even need to open the fleet's cannons—just showing the sails of the Imperial ships would make them wave the white flag."
"A single Sword Master of the Empire could easily slaughter a hundred of the kingdom's elite. Clashing swords with them would be so dull it would be yawningly boring."
"Of course, there is exactly one Sword Master in Espada."
Kalian set down his teacup, his lips curling into an arrogant smirk.
"Ah, that arrogant wench? I heard she recently became a Sword Master. But do you really think adding one novice Sword Master could stop the Empire's army?"
Lexion spoke up in agreement.
"She'll only be fine prey for our Imperial knights. Instead of killing her, putting a leash on her and dragging her to the Imperial Palace banquet hall would be a much more entertaining sight for the Young Lady."
Ayla's face drained of color once more at the continuing cruel conversation.
'I... I want my mommy...'
While Ayla swallowed her tears in silence,
a justification for war was slowly being constructed.