They could somehow accommodate the Cyclops and the Caterpillar Golem.
“Sometimes I forget my own magic, I swear.”
The magic of House Arclight was earth-aspect magic.
Since it governed stone and soil, opening a hole or passage in a wall was nothing difficult.
While eating the French fries that had actually been made after he provided the recipe, that fact suddenly came back to him. So as soon as he quickly finished his meal, he immediately twisted the castle wall with magic and created a temporary entrance.
Of course, he was only able to try because the count had laughed and given him permission, saying he was welcome to do it if he could.
Naturally, the castle wall had been reinforced with magical tools so that it would not simply twist under magical force, so it took more effort than he had expected.
Still, in one way or another, he managed to open an entrance and bring the golems inside.
‘Yeah, this is better.’
He recalled the count saying that spies and assassins had been running rampant lately.
No matter what, they probably would not know exactly about the Cyclops and target it, but if thieves were wandering around, it was better to force the issue a little and bring the Cyclops and its materials inside.
Just that took around an hour, but when the work was finally done, everyone looked as though a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
“There’s nothing more infuriating than setting down your baggage and then losing it.”
Mina looked relieved, as if she had been secretly on edge the whole time.
He had thought she would simply say, “Well, it’s gone,” if it was lost, but seeing how relieved she was, it seemed she had been holding back the urge to insist they bring it in somehow.
“…It seems the professors’ evaluation wasn’t wrong after all.”
“If he’d paid just a little more attention elsewhere, whether as a knight or as a mage, he might have made quite a name for himself. He may look like that, but even I have to give chase in earnest if I want to catch him….”
“…You have to chase him in earnest? You, one of the kingdom’s foremost knights, in earnest?”
He could hear Count Phoenix and Professor Reina talking about something, but it did not seem worth listening in any further, so he raised the Cyclops.
Thud.
The Cyclops, which had been lying inside the trailer, rose with smooth movements and heavy footfalls.
Then it stood in the castle’s training ground.
Its hand was carefully placed like a bridge between the cockpit and him, and Noel cautiously emerged from inside.
“Good work.”
“Ah, no. I’m used to it.”
He practically lifted Noel in his arms as he helped her down from the cockpit, then entered it himself.
Then he manipulated the Cyclops’s arm and carefully set Noel down on the terrace.
Mina and Erika caught Noel and helped her down, and he straightened the Cyclops, which had been slightly crouched.
“It’s late to say this, but these castle walls really are high.”
The people here had a habit of building their walls as high as possible… or rather, did that mean they had fought that many wars against the empire?
Still, thanks to that, it seemed the Cyclops would not be visible from outside.
It would be difficult to hide everything completely, but it meant they could conduct research while concealing it as much as possible.
“This should be perfect for researching mass-production facilities and modifying the Cyclops.”
Leaving his impressions at that, he moved the Cyclops.
He approached the count, who was watching from a terrace around the height of the Cyclops’s chest, and asked through the speaker.
“What would you like to see?”
“I want to see it move! Start by showing me how it walks, young man!”
If it was the customer’s request, then of course he had to comply.
He walked around the training ground, ran, and made a small jump.
Then, as additional requests came in, he pulled up a tree and lifted a bundle of weapons that the knights seemed to have prepared at some point, showing those off as well.
A little while later, the count himself climbed into the Cyclops and exclaimed in admiration.
“It has only one eye… yet I can see outside from within….”
The count marveled from inside the cockpit.
Aizen crouched beside him and taught him how to operate it, and the count moved the Cyclops from within the cockpit.
Of course, since it was his first time operating it, there were about three mishaps where he bumped into the castle wall or fell over.
“It fell from this height and there isn’t a single scratch?”
“We carried out collision tests using the academy’s main gate, so we secured its safety properly.”
He explained this to the surprised count, since even after falling, the cockpit was intact and the impact was smaller than expected.
The data gained from the full-speed body slam against the gate of Mainis had absolutely not gone to waste.
The count quickly grew accustomed to the controls, and before long, he began operating it on his own a few times.
His serious expression gradually brightened, and as the Cyclops performed even difficult movements well, he seemed to grow increasingly fond of it. By the time the test run ended, he looked torn between dignity and amusement.
Still, perhaps because he was a count, his self-control was strong, and he got down with visible reluctance.
“Excellent. To think it follows one’s thoughts this well.”
“That’s the Cyclops’s greatest strength.”
When Mina spoke from the side, the count nodded.
I should step in a little too.
“There is a risk of it going berserk due to malfunction or the engine exploding, but I’ve implemented as many safety measures as possible, and I intend to continue reinforcing them.”
“At its current level it’s already enough, but if the unit cost rises any more, I think I’ll have to start thinking it over.”
Even a margrave had limits to the money he could spend, Count Phoenix said.
“It’s already sufficient as it is, but if the unit cost is going to rise anyway, there’s something I’d like to see included.”
“What would that be?”
“A means of knocking off or restraining knights who approach it.”
That was something he had thought about during the previous duel as well.
No matter what, there was the issue of cost, so he had postponed it for the moment, but from the count’s perspective, as someone who had to face enemies, it would be quite a regrettable shortcoming.
It could swat them away with its hands and the like, but it seemed he believed a more reliable measure was necessary.
Even so, the count’s expression was very bright.
“It requires a power source and maintenance, but the performance looks more than worth the continuous expenditure.”
“We can’t sell it yet, since the armaments are still incomplete.”
“If nothing else works, we can equip it with a sword or axe sized for it.”
The count said that merely swinging such a thing would create tremendous pressure.
“To state my conclusion, it seems my daughter made a good purchase. Excellent work, young man.”
“The three units you ordered are planned to be produced here through collaboration between the craftsmen and Aizen, and at the same time, we intend to conduct research into mass production, facilities for producing mana water, and armaments.”
They had not come to stay here simply to sell the Cyclops.
They had come to conduct research that was difficult to do at the academy.
This was a place that could provide the research they needed right now, as well as the location for it.
If he searched carefully, there might be other places, but if he added the condition that the place had to fit the requirements while also being likely to be friendly, there was practically only one option.
Of course, there were also terms he had put forth as a trade.
“You said House Phoenix would help with the land and facility investments for the research, and once it’s finished, those附属 facilities will remain here, yes?”
Count Phoenix asked, his eyes gleaming.
Aizen nodded and answered.
“Maintenance and production of the power source will have to be done near the front lines, after all.”
It was not as though they could rip out an entire building and take it with them anyway.
In simple terms, it was like this.
Aizen would gain facilities capable of mass-producing the Cyclops and future golems, as well as research into armaments.
House Phoenix would gain three Cyclops units, facilities capable of maintenance, and an initial facility that could produce the power source, mana water.
Mina would gain money.
It was the completion of a world where everyone profited.
“We happened to have excess land on this side, so once preparations are complete, we can move there and begin. In a sense, it will become the first dedicated Cyclops factory.”
Count Phoenix seemed genuinely expectant.
Looking at his eyes, he seemed to want to hurry things along quickly.
“Then let’s start now.”
“You have no leisure, young man. Still, how about taking a breather? I’m thinking of holding a banquet tonight.”
“No, thank you. To be honest, I’ve been holding back the urge to start right away until now.”
After saying it, he was startled, thinking he had spoken somewhat rudely, but the count was laughing.
It seemed he simply liked straightforwardness.
“Then do so, Aizen.”
At the count’s words, Aizen nodded.
“Then shall we go to work?”
“I need to get the kids ready.”
“If there is anything I can help with….”
Mina and Noel immediately followed, and they descended to the ground at the pace of Noel, who was the slowest.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, I think that was the first time he called me by name.’
If he was not mistaken, when referring to him directly, the count had called him “young man” or something suitably vague, but now it felt as though he had called him by name.
‘Well, whatever.’
He simply thought the count had finally memorized his name and happily went down.
The research was only just beginning.
****
Watching Aizen grow distant, Count Phoenix smiled very faintly.
It was a solemn expression that was hard to imagine from the hearty, confident demeanor he had shown moments before.
“You seem to like him very much, Father.”
“Yes. It seems you do have an eye for people.”
At Erika’s words, the count nodded.
Then he looked at Reina, who was still beside him, and said,
“Rumors are half right and half wrong, it seems. To be honest, from the rumors alone, I thought he would be a madman impossible to converse with.”
“Aside from the parts evaluated by the professors, you may probably disregard about half of them.”
At Reina’s words, the count sighed.
“So it’s the work of those tricks they pulled there.”
The count spoke as though fed up.
Reina carefully said,
“House Abatus wants to bring Aizen down by any means possible.”
“They should at least be good at what they do. How filled with malice those old snakes are.”
The count sighed.
“What did you think of Aizen after seeing him in person, Count?”
“He reminded me of you when you had just become a knight. Rude, and with his own work taking priority.”
When Reina flinched, the count chuckled.
“And yet, if you ask whether he doesn’t care about others, that isn’t true either. Hm… yes. There’s a fitting phrase.”
“What phrase would that be?”
“An adult who has not forgotten the heart of a child.”
Was that not a poor evaluation?
While Reina looked troubled, the count laughed softly.
“I mean it kindly, as in he is innocent. It is less that he lacks manners and more that he does not know them. At the very least, he knows how not to make others unpleasant.”
The count spoke quietly.
“He was the sort of fellow who made me think that an adult with the innocent heart of a child is still better than some greenhorn clumsily pretending to be an adult. It isn’t as though he completely fails to understand compromise and trade, is it?”
In the count’s line of sight were the Cyclops and the Caterpillar Golem, once the subject of rumors.
“At the very least, I can tell he is not someone who cannot distinguish between what can be done now and what cannot.”
If he had focused solely on the Cyclops from the beginning, he would undoubtedly have failed.
According to the rumors, the first thing Aizen had made was a golem with that thing called a caterpillar attached to it.
Even if he had something he wanted, he had not clung only to it from the start. It was not hard to recognize that this was the result of first doing what he could and steadily building up from there.
“Even if he had to go back for a time, he must have kept his eyes fixed on the goal and built it with perseverance. It was likely possible because he was innocent like a child.”
“That is… high praise.”
“Yes. It is high praise. Even after making something like that, he asks only that each side take what they need. He isn’t frantic to wring out more. Perhaps he simply doesn’t properly understand the fact that I am a margrave.”
The count took a pipe from his breast and lit it.
“Compared to the greedy Abatus, dealing with Aizen felt pleasant.”
The count fell silent.
After a moment, Reina carefully asked,
“…The knights who were sacrificed to the biological weapons created by Abatus… to the artificial chimeras….”
“Fourteen of them. They say sacrifices are required for the advancement of technology, or some such thing. No matter how prettily they dress it up, we were struck down by an ally’s weapon. How could I look kindly on that?”
Letting smoke drift from his pipe, Count Phoenix spoke quietly and closed his eyes.
“Compared to bastards whose names I don’t even want to remember, his was a name worth remembering.”
The count took a document from his breast.
“I’ll place my bet on this side.”
It was the contract with Aizen.