Chapter 16: Titan
Rumble! Rumble!
It had been six days since departing from Akaron Baron's territory. During the march here, I'd mostly spent the time sleeping or reading, but I hadn't just been slacking off entirely. The gods had high expectations of me, and to avoid dying, I needed to satisfy them to some degree. So every day, I trained for about three hours—two on mana cultivation techniques and one on fist techniques.
The Fist God's martial arts were so profound that no human could master them just by watching, so I trained openly without a care. Each time, knights and soldiers gathered to mimic my moves, creating quite the spectacle. Of course, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't grasp even a single motion properly, so I just let them be. Word soon spread that I was more generous than expected.
Spying on someone's training was taboo among taboos, and knights even had private training grounds. Still, if this made the knights and soldiers a bit more loyal to me, it wasn't a bad thing at all.
With half a day left until reaching the capital Brontia, I invited Aria to lunch. Supplies were plentiful, so there was no shortage. We had glistening roast turkey, corn soup, fresh vegetables, and wine.
Aria, who'd accepted the invitation, looked quite pleased.
"The food's pretty good."
"The head chef I hired is one of the empire's top talents. I specially brought him over from Viscount Lion's household."
"As expected of my lord—you're so benevolent. With your strength, you could've just taken him, but you paid for his service instead."
"Rumors aren't always reliable."
At this point, I was spouting complete bullshit. Viscount Lion's family had zero intention of handing over their prized chef, whom they boasted as the empire's best. So I'd half-crippled their entire knight order with brute force, and they handed him over trembling. Of course, I treated Chef Silrote better than before, so he harbored no ill will toward me.
Common folk don't care much who rules them. Getting better treatment without any harm done, Chef Silrote cooked for me without complaint. In a way, he might be the biggest gain from this expedition.
"I believe you'll accomplish great things someday, my lord. That's why I'm here with you."
She still gazed at me with those adoring eyes. This was protagonist correction at work. In reality, almost no sane woman would fall head over heels for a lecherous scoundrel with a notorious reputation. But thanks to the novel's setup, Cecilia, Aria, and all these talented beauties fawned over me.
Time to get to the point.
"Aria, you said you'd become my vassal, right? Is that still true?"
"Yes! That's why I switched to calling you 'my lord'!"
"Good. Then I'll give you your first mission."
"Entrust me with anything! I'll become a woman who can truly help you, my lord!"
"Nice enthusiasm."
Shff. I slid a blueprint across to her. To be precise, it wasn't a perfect design—just a rough sketch explaining the principles. But it was the cornerstone for developing my territory: a locomotive powered by a mana engine.
"What... is this?"
"A means of transportation."
"Transportation? It's not a cart or carriage, and nothing like this exists in this world yet?"
"Spot on. Aria, what do you think is the most basic condition for economic development?"
"Economic development? Probably logistics, right?"
"Exactly. Logistics is the key to economic growth. So what do you suppose this is?"
"...!"
Aria's brilliant mind set her apart from this world's stodgy scholars. In an empire that prioritized agriculture, few lords believed commerce was the path to prosperity. Even fewer grasped that efficient transport was central to economic progress. Yet Aria saw right through my intentions.
"Once this is complete, logistics within the territory will boom, circulation will speed up, and the domestic economy will thrive!"
"Right—self-sustaining growth. Especially for a great lord owning multiple territories?"
"They'd absolutely need efficient transport! This is revolutionary!"
"And that's not all. Suppose a problem arises—like monsters, bandits, or invaders. By the time you mobilize, several cities might already be in ruins. But with railroads and locomotives? You could deploy troops in an instant."
"Railroads... locomotives... What a brilliant idea!"
"That's why we need a mana engine."
In truth, I couldn't draw a proper mana engine blueprint myself. It was just a rough explanation of power transmission principles, drawn from modern knowledge. Even that had her thrilled.
"I'll do it! I'll make it happen!"
"Good. Our territory has plenty of mana stones, so production should be feasible."
"Yes! I promise!"
She buzzed with excitement like a kid with a new toy. It wasn't every day you saw a beauty snorting like that. She rushed back to her carriage and dove straight into research. Such an impatient personality.
In the imperial palace of the Kallias Empire, an emergency council convened amid nonstop reports of defeats.
Emperor Kalbun was adequately inept and greedily indulgent—but not a total fool. He recognized the crisis's gravity and heeded his ministers' calls to summon Baron Aron.
Yet with the current tide of battle, could the empire hold out another month?
Great General and emperor loyalist Duke McCain unrolled a map.
"Your Majesty! The northern three territories are half in ruins! The northern lords are buying time, but they're reaching their limits!"
"What a headache. Are those Giant God Tribe bastards really that strong?"
The emperor furrowed his brow. His mind was filled with thoughts of indulging in the elf slaves he'd just captured, but urgent matters prevented it, souring his mood.
"They seem fully committed this invasion. According to their king Celt, the empire is the axis of evil and must vanish from the world. He's railing against us and allying with Espado Kingdom remnants and nearby petty states—reinforcements are coming soon."
"Hah!"
"What kind of madman...?"
Murmurs rippled through the chamber. Even the emperor's attention fully shifted to the Giant God Tribe. If the empire fell, no more indolent pleasures surrounded by women.
"What about Baron Aron? Hey? Isn't Baron Aron coming?"
"He arrives tomorrow, Your Majesty!"
"Oh, that guy? Pretty quick."
"He departed ten days early, they say. Hard to believe from such a lazy sort."
"Heh heh, must want something. Anyway, once Baron Aron arrives, it's over?"
"High likelihood, yes."
"Good! No need to worry then! I have matters to—"
Thud!BOOM!
Elves danced in his mind's eye again—then vibrations shook the ground. The empire's "blessed land" reputation meant rare earthquakes or typhoons; this was odd.
Then—
KABOOOM!
A colossal explosion rocked the earth. Emperor and nobles rushed to the terrace.
"Gasp! T-Titan?!"
A monster towering dozens of meters, its chest above the walls—a titan straight from scriptures and ancient legends rampaging in the capital Brontia.
Mage corps and knights were already mobilized, battling it. The emperor's power had waned, but imperial direct territories provided vast manpower, talent, and infrastructure—not easily overcome.
They held for now, but the walls could crumble anytime.
The emperor snapped to attention.
"If the capital falls, the empire ends!"
Even as he said it, he pondered his escape route.
Now, half a day from the capital. I'd arrive by evening, rest, resupply, and meet the emperor tomorrow.
As Aria left, Cecilia appeared like she'd been waiting.
Grrrrumble!
Cecilia's eyes widened across from me.
"Something appeared!"
"Appeared? Isn't it an earthquake?"
"Not an earthquake!"
"Not an earthquake...?"
Cecilia's face paled. She always stared at me with those half-mad eyes, but now tension sharpened her gaze.
What the hell could make Cecilia like this?
"No way..."
The gods had said yesterday they'd help me somehow. Annoyed that I, their prized spectacle, was taking orders from some emperor. I'd figured something would happen.
But their "help" was smashing the capital with a monster?! If the shaking reached here, they might level the whole place.
Not yet.
The empire couldn't fracture now. It needed to hold a few years for me to build strength to swallow it via rebellion.
Destroying it already?
Thud thud thud!
Sure enough, a hundred golden-armored imperial knights charged toward us—likely the emperor's guard seeking aid.
And the gods' voices rang out.
"Kukuku! How's that? Those fools are protagonist fodder! Saving the capital when the empire itself could crumble— the emperor'll have to bump up your title!"
"You mad bastard! Calling a ancient titan? Are you insane?!"