EP.148 The Road Flows with the Traveler - 4
The Meta Conveyor Belt is land that flows like a river. The artery of the Military Nation, flowing while carrying countless amounts of cargo.
However, apart from the belt being a highly convenient means of logistics transport, if asked whether it's a good mode of transportation, one can only tilt their head in doubt.
The flowing land subtly splits and rejoins every time it passes over uneven terrain, and that shock is transmitted directly to the body; it is exposed defenselessly to weather conditions like rain and wind, and one cannot get off at will in the middle, only moving along a set route.
Add to that the strict inspections typical of the Military Nation for key facilities, and practically the only people moving via the Meta Conveyor Belt are newly assigned soldiers or citizens of cities near the belt.
So, even when going behind the windbreak, only a few people could be seen. It was at a level where there were rather more visible containers than people.
"Hello! Nice to meet you!"
Heading to the back of the windbreak, about five travelers were seen huddled together. An old combat engineer with a face full of wrinkles, a mother and child sitting hand-in-hand, a medical officer who had just been commissioned and assigned. And....
"The number of travelers has increased! Now it won't be boring! Hey, Gand! Make some room!"
"...I'm a Captain, you know. Is it really appropriate to act so informally?"
The Six-Star General of the Military Nation, the Absolute Spear (Juechang), General Patraxion.
And his adjutant and disciple, Colonel Gand.
They're crazy. Why is someone of General rank doing here? He should be leading a unit.
While I was reading his memories for a bit, the General gestured toward the Colonel. Colonel Gand, who opened his eyes sharply, glanced at the Captain. Looking the Captain, who had stiffened his body, up and down, Colonel Gand lowered his voice and whispered to General Patraxion.
"Master. Weren't we supposed to be hiding our identities on leave? Showing such an attitude to a Captain-level officer..."
"Ugh. Don't whisper while clinging so disgustingly. It gives me chills."
Colonel Gand, who received a rebuke to his face, frowned very briefly. Keeping a distance of a couple of steps, he used some method to convey his voice to the General so that it couldn't be heard over here.
[...Phew. So, that man aside. The Captain over there has recognized us and doesn't know what to do, you know.]
"Tsk. Being too famous is a problem too. I wanted to hide my identity and then reveal it with a surprise later."
[As if anyone wouldn't recognize the most famous person among the Six-Star Generals.... Now that you're recognized, please decide on a clear concept. Either reveal it, or keep it a secret.]
"Reveal it? Keep it a secret? You bastard, aren't you revealing your perverted thoughts too much just because you're an old bachelor! Haha!"
[Are you a senile old man? Stop it and just shut the Captain's mouth.]
The General grumbled at the enraged Colonel Gand.
"I'm saying you can't even take a joke. Your reaction isn't fun."
[The unfunny one is you... Kuh. Even if it's rotten, it's still my Master's joke!]
"Alright, alright."
The General snapped his fingers and looked at the Captain. His lips moved slightly.
At the same time, the Captain flinched greatly.
The wind stopped. At the same time, the General's voice was heard directly toward the Captain. Leaping across space!
It was a technique possible only with Qi manipulation that reached the pinnacle, controlling even the atmosphere and even the fiercely blowing wind.
[Hey, Captain. Keep our identities a secret, won't you? We're actually on leave!]
It was a coercion that wasn't a coercion, an order that wasn't an order. An order that a mere signalman Captain could never defy.
In front of the Six-Star General's demand, the Captain barely moved his stiff neck.
"A...ffirmative. Confirmed."
[That doesn't mean we have the time to be polite to you either, so act like you're loosened up a bit. Treat people casually. Don't ruin the mood by swaggering around just because you're a Captain.]
Wow. What a truly amazing technique. He's definitely saying something, but I don't hear a voice in my ears. Only the Captain hears this voice and reacts.
He's clearly a martial artist, but at the level of a Six-Star General, he uses all sorts of strange techniques. Ah, I'm jealous. Why don't I ever get any cheat-like skills?
"Alright! Come here quickly! We're going to be spending a long journey together anyway, so let's sit comfortably!"
Anyway.
The opponent is a Six-Star General of the Military Nation. He's a bit willful, but if they find out I came from the Bottomless Pit, things will become very troublesome. Not only will I be interrogated, but there's also a possibility I could be summarily executed.
He says he's hiding his identity right now, but thinking about the reason he requested a "leave" at this timing... he must have a great interest in information about the Bottomless Pit.
I have to divert their attention away from this foolish Captain somehow. I grabbed the Captain's hand. A flinching vibration ran down the Captain's entire body.
"Bbi! What are you standing around blankly for? These are people we'll be spending days with. You have to greet them!"
I approached while holding the Captain's hand tightly.
The combat engineer and the medical officer saw the Captain's uniform and stood up to give a short salute, and the mother, who looked like a civilian, cowered in fear while hugging her son. I smiled warmly at them.
"Hey, don't be nervous! Our Bbi is wearing fancy rank insignia, but he's just stiff in attitude and is a good kid who couldn't even kill a cheeping chick! Right, Bbi?"
With my bright smile, the Captain couldn't bring himself to deny it and smiled awkwardly.
"A...ffirm. Ative. It... is."
"My, look at you being nervous! I said it's fine! This is when you should talk to people!"
"...Please do not mind me."
'General Patraxion is present. It's better to stay quiet... But, I can't inform him of this fact!'
You shouldn't stay quiet. Whether you like it or not, we have to spend about a day together. Rather than that, it's better to be noisy and distract their attention.
Originally, secrets should be buried not in silence, but in noise. Right now, showing an evasive attitude would only look more suspicious.
Alright, since it's come to this.
"Bbi. You've become too stiff after being commissioned. You used to follow behind me, calling me 'brother, brother'..."
"?!"
As I spoke with eyes soaked in sorrow, the Captain turned his head, creaking like a golem.
'This damn human is joking even in such a troublesome situation...! Are you only satisfied if it's a rotten joke regardless of the situation!'
"I guess it's because you're doing better than your brother. Now you probably don't even want to acknowledge an ugly and shameful brother like me... Sob sob."
'For my whole life! I don't want to acknowledge you for my whole life! If anything, I want to forget everything I've known until now! Everything!'
"It's okay, everyone. It's just because he suffered under my ugly self since he was young. He's stiff because he's nervous, so please treat him gently. He's a kid with a gentle heart, you see."
'Don't make me laugh! How long do you think I'll be swayed by your jokes!'
When? Probably until we part ways, right? There's no reason not to use a fake identity.
Besides.
"Hey! That won't do! Even if he's a rotten brother, that's too much. How can that be! Take this opportunity to make up and try calling him brother!"
The meddlesome General happily chimed in. The adjutant next to him pressed his forehead and sighed, but he didn't look like he was going to step forward for the Captain.
"...! I couldn't hear you well?"
"How about making up with your brother at this opportunity! Earlier I saw the two of you looking quite close!"
"U, uh...."
The trembling corners of his mouth were pitiful. However, he couldn't refuse the Six-Star General's request. The Captain clenched his mouth shut, gripped his trembling hands tightly, and spoke.
"J-just stop.... Brother...."
"Wow! I didn't think I'd hear the word 'brother' again in my life!"
As I teared up and started clapping, applause poured in. Even the adjutant, who was sitting pretending to be cool, was wearing a warm smile.
The General slammed my shoulders excitedly and shouted.
"You too, become a brother you won't be ashamed of in front of your sibling! That's your duty, and that's family!"
"Thank you, older brother. This is all thanks to you!"
The General wasn't displeased by the title that completely overstepped the boundaries of familiarity.
"Older brother? Hahaha! This guy, he's very smooth! Sit here! With a smooth person like you as a younger brother, this trip won't be boring!"
"It's an honor!"
I followed the General eagerly. The Captain, watching my back, made an absurd expression but continued to think.
'This is not the time for this. Even though he's on leave, General Patraxion is this country's first star. A legendary figure who personally brought down the Kingdom.'
The worry seems excessive, but actually, thinking about the true identity of the General right in front of him, even this is not enough. When it comes to the Six-Star Generals of the Military Nation, they are at a dauntingly high position even among the generals called monsters. Not something like a war machine, but walking war itself.
A world-class powerhouse whose mere heading toward the border makes neighboring countries stand on end.
'Perhaps, they might guess our identities just from a trivial conversation...! If that happens, I won't be able to protect you!'
However, that worry proved to be groundless.
"I will ask you seriously, little brother. Answer honestly. Depending on this... we might become 'enemies.'"
The General rested both hands on his chin and glanced at me with eyes that seemed to bear all the anguish in the world. His eyes were incredibly heavy and sunk.
The first topic General Patraxion, who had me sit down, brought up was.
"As a weapon, is the gun better, or the spear?"
Weapon theory.
At his words, everyone nearby put a hand somewhere on their face and began to ponder deeply. The General who brought it up spoke first.
"I will first state my position that the spear is better. Of course, I'm not forcing this, so feel free to express your own opinions."
Like they could. When everyone stayed silent, the General scratched his head and shouted at his most approachable subordinate.
"Hey! Gand! What do you think?"
"...I'm maintaining my spear right now."
"That's why I'm asking! The spear, how is it? Do you think it's better than a gun?"
Glancing at the General, Colonel Gand continued maintaining the spear he was holding and replied nonchalantly.
"I can't spit on my own face. I'm also for the spear."
Then the General clicked his tongue and grumbled.
"Tch. Boring guy."
Throb. Strength entered the hand gripping the spear shaft. Colonel Gand clenched his teeth and answered.
"...I take that back. I don't know about other things, but every single person who uses a spear has a rotten personality."
"Then that includes you too?"
"If I can spit on Master's face, I'll wet my face along with it."
After Colonel Gand's words, no one else opened their mouth rashly. When everyone was just quietly gauging the atmosphere, the child in his mother's arms raised his hand and shouted.
"I choose the gun!"
Like all mothers of bold children, she panicked and hurriedly tried to cover the child's mouth. But the General waved his hand faster and asked.
"Little friend! Why is that?"
"Because it's cool! It goes Boom! and then Pfft!"
"That's right! Certainly, in the sense of threatening or keeping an enemy in check, a gun is a good weapon!"
The General laughed heartily, as if pleased by the spirited answer. Thanks to the child's pure opinion, the conversation opened up again. The old combat engineer raised his hand and gave his opinion.
"I'll cast my vote for the gun. The Kingdom, which was a nation of spearmen, perished at the hands of gunmen. Isn't that proof that the gun is better?"
The medical officer, who had been sitting silently, also subtly chimed in.
"I think it's the spear."
"Oh. The reason?"
"Because spear wounds are much rougher and harder to treat than gunshot wounds. Unlike bullets that, at best, tear the flesh and get stuck in muscles or caught in bones, a spear smashes flesh and muscles and even breaks bones."
The medical officer fiddled with the first-aid bag he had by his side. It was an opinion that only someone who had actually seen terrible wounds could give, so it carried a different weight.
"Hmm. As an opinion from a medical officer, it has realism! Now, then what about you, little brother?"
Finally my turn? While I cleared my throat and prepared for a full-scale lecture, the Captain stared at me with an expectant look.
'General Patraxion is a master of the spear with the alias Absolute Spear. It would be better to say the spear in front of him.... You probably don't know this fact, but you aren't completely lacking in tact. You will agree with the General's opinion. I trust you.'
Alright. It was conveyed clearly. I shined my eyes and said firmly.
"Without a doubt, the gun."
'Why...! Do you always pick only the most terrible choices!'
I like the look in the Captain's eyes as he stares at me. At the same time, the General also shined his eyes challengingly and asked for my reasoning.
"Hoh. What is the reason?"
The alias attached because his realm reached the pinnacle was Absolute Spear. In front of the legendary spear master who severed the fate of the Kingdom, I proudly insisted on my view on weapons.
"First, the range. The range of a spear, at the very most, is only the length of the spear. Compared to that, a gun is tens, hundreds of times longer than that. Just that alone makes for an overwhelming difference. Should I say that the range, the only advantage of the spear, becomes infinitely meaningless in front of a gun."
"Hoh."
The Absolute Spear, whose spear was denied from the front, muttered as if slightly displeased.
"Doesn't a gun also lack lethality if it's not at close range? If the distance gets even a little far, it can't pierce the muscles of someone who has trained a bit, and if they surround themselves with Deflecting Qi, they can even deflect a shot fired right in front of their nose."
"We shouldn't use Qi users as the standard. If you think like that, a Qi master could grab a spear with their bare hands too, right?"
"But unlike a bullet, you can infuse Qi into a spear. It can tear apart a bare hand trying to grab it and pierce through the body."
This too was a remark from someone who had actually done it.
General Patraxion, called the Absolute Spear, would lead his troops and step forward himself to turn his enemies into lumps of meat pulled off a skewer. Until now, countless people had tried to block, strike away, or grab his spear, but no one could boast of that achievement.
Because the only ones who even feinted at grabbing his spear were future corpses who took the spear with their bodies.
But still. I tilted my head and rebutted innocently.
"That's because the Qi is strong, not because the spear is strong, right?"
"Pfft."
The General turned his head with a terrifying expression. Colonel Gand, the adjutant of the Absolute Spear and a fellow spearman, wiped his mouth with his hand and feigned expressionlessness.
"That traitor bastard.... Should I expel him..."
For the General whose mood had soured, I slightly listed the gun's weaknesses as well.
"Well, I admit it's not almighty. Guns aren't very effective against people wearing armor. It's not cost-effective to use high-level Vajra on consumable bullets, but they wrap themselves in flashy, high-end armor to protect their bodies. The difference is huge."
"But considering all that, the gun is better?"
"Of course. In the first place, range is everything for a weapon. Even if a thousand warriors charge, only eight can fight at a time, but if there are a thousand archers, you have to block a thousand arrows, right? The numerical advantage directly converts into combat power!"
"A great war critic has arrived. If anyone saw this, they'd think you'd actually been in a war yourself."
General Patraxion grumbled with a sullen face. I scratched my head and smiled ambiguously.
"Hahaha. I like imagining things like this. Just thinking about giving orders as a General makes my heart pound and gets me excited."
"Hmph. If you actually do it, you won't think like that."
"I want to try it myself because I'm curious whether I'd think that or not. Even if in reality I'd just be a clumsy underling. Even considering that, I like guns. I can use it even if I'm far from the enemy, right?"
It's not a lie. To make up a story, you have to mix in a little truth to make it feel more real.
I do think guns are good weapons.
Because I'm more afraid of guns than spears.
Since I'm a telepath, I usually wouldn't get hit by a blind spear, but the possibility of getting hit by a blind gun is always open. When I see people firing away without even knowing where their own bullets are heading, it really makes me not want to be a telepath.
I read their thoughts but still can't dodge it. Isn't that somewhat unfair? There was even a time when I read the murderous intent aiming for my left heart and twisted my body to the right, only for the bullet to graze my right ear. Is this a fight? Is it a fight where my life can be threatened by an idiot who doesn't even know where his own gun is aiming?
Well, anyway.
"Very good. I heard your view on weapons well, little brother."
The General glared at me with petty resentment. I shrugged and shifted this responsibility.
"It's not all my opinion. Most of the details are things I heard from my younger sibling."
"Hoh. The brother and sister pair..."
'?! Deny! Deny! Deny!'
The Captain, suddenly singled out, cried out alarm only in his mind.