I wandered lightly around the territory while listening to Mina’s explanation of her paid rescue service with half an ear.
The streets were quiet, owing to the absolute lack of people, but Mina, as if convinced they would soon be packed, had already shifted into discussing business plans.
“After all, anyone who comes to see the colosseum will have to come from far away, so they’ll be nobles, and if they’re nobles, we can charge them a high rate…”
Perhaps imagining the future had put her in a good mood, because Mina smiled brightly.
It really was funny how Mina could invest so boldly and make profits, even when she couldn’t possibly know whether this would go well.
I suddenly found myself wondering a few things—whether she wasn’t scared, whether she had something to rely on, whether there was a reason she wanted to earn so much money—but it didn’t seem right to interrupt her while she was enjoying herself, so I simply left her be.
And as always, there was bound to be a guest who couldn’t leave such things alone.
“Guildmaster, there’s something you’ll need to see and decide on personally…”
“How boring. I’ll be back.”
Mina immediately returned to her usual face, looking relaxed yet annoyed, and walked toward the person who had called her.
She nodded as if listening to a report, gradually moving farther away, and soon I was left alone.
“What should I do?”
I had only come out for a bit to look around the territory, so I didn’t feel any particular need to keep wandering.
For now, I thought about heading to the factory to research weapons I could attach as additional armaments to the Knight, and started walking.
And after I had gone a few steps—
I sensed a presence behind me.
‘Someone’s following me?’
It was absolutely not Mina, Noel, or Erika.
They had no reason to follow me in secret, nor were they the type to do so.
And similarly, among the people in this territory who knew me, there were virtually none who would secretly tail me.
So for now, I had to assume the other party wasn’t someone I could trust.
‘Let’s go to the factory.’
I had been planning to go there anyway, and right now, it was probably the safest place around here.
Of course, in terms of fighting strength, there was more at the temporary residence, but it would be unnatural for me to head there now, and the ones following me would find it troublesome too, so they would likely try to stop me.
More than that, the fact that they were tailing me meant there was a high chance they knew my usual behavior.
Then, rather than doing anything strange, it would be better to act as I normally would and hope they let their guard down. With that thought, I naturally headed toward the factory.
As I walked slowly, the presence behind me grew clearer.
I walked along the road I had paved myself, and the footsteps of those following at a certain distance began to quicken.
From afar, I heard the sound of someone running along walls and buildings.
The instant I moved my hand toward my pocket to respond—
Something like a lasso was suddenly thrown down from the sky, binding my body as it was.
I clicked my tongue and was about to use magic to quickly break free—
Crackle.
With that sound, I felt something rapidly sweep through my entire body.
For a moment, as if it had pierced through me from head to toe, I couldn’t think at all, and pain stabbed through my whole body.
Fortunately, the moment didn’t last long, so I barely managed to regain my senses, and I immediately realized what it was.
‘An… electric shock?’
It was the same sensation I felt whenever Noel used lightning magic.
Their intention was probably to paralyze my body once before I could resist.
Then the rope was immediately pulled taut, throwing off my posture, and though I tried to resist somehow, my body, already paralyzed by the current that had passed through it once, was slammed straight into the ground.
A faint groan escaped me from the impact.
The next instant, a blade was pressed against my neck.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
I asked quietly, looking at the well-sharpened blade.
If they wanted to stab me, they could do so as much as they liked.
If they succeeded, this would not end with me being “slightly injured.”
And then, as if hesitating for a moment, the other party lightly moved the blade and tapped my neck with it.
—Tink.
The blade did not sink into my neck.
And the other party spoke quietly, as if convinced.
“So it was true that, contrary to appearances, he’s the martial type.”
“We’ll have to report that the information about him being trained by Reina nearly every day was true.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
Professor Reina had never particularly trained me.
Whenever I caused trouble at the Academy, she would appear like a ghost with headache medicine and chase me down. And while fleeing from her and enduring, I had learned how to grasp intent and protect my body even against surprise attacks, but there was no way she would teach me when I wasn’t even in the Knight Department.
But I didn’t feel any need to correct them.
“…You didn’t do this as a joke, did you?”
Honestly, even I knew it didn’t suit me to say this, but I was still a mage.
If they failed to finish me off properly before I could respond to their ambush, mine was a profession with an extremely high chance of counterattacking.
It was only because my body was tied up and I couldn’t move freely right now; if not for that, I could have launched a counterattack.
Of course, the other side didn’t look easy to deal with either, so I’d have to be a bit careful… Just as I thought that, the other party raised a hand.
“Wait. We apologize for offending you, but in truth, we have no intention of harming you.”
“Please forgive our rudeness just now.”
The figure who had run along the buildings and landed in front of me spoke.
Without relaxing my guard, I said quietly,
“What are you?”
“You haven’t seen our comrades before… Well, in the Phoenix Territory, Lord Aizen fought the monsters, and it seems you knew nothing of what happened behind the scenes.”
The man’s voice sounded as if he understood.
Then the man behind me spoke quietly.
“There is a suitable stump over there, Baron.”
“You want to talk there?”
“You catch on quickly. Ah, but before that, we should reveal who we are.”
The other party bowed politely.
“We are members of the Argent Empire’s intelligence unit, the Empire’s Wind.”
“We have come with a good proposal for Baron Arclight.”
The Empire had made contact.
****
Since my body was tied up anyway, I was in an inconvenient situation.
Their policy of subduing me first had worked, so I ended up in a rather unsightly state, but in any case, I was able to sit on a stump in a secluded place.
“So I’d like to ask what business the Empire has with a noble of the kingdom.”
For now, I was a human of the kingdom.
I bore no malice toward the people of the Empire, but that didn’t mean I had any reason to be friendly with them either.
When I asked coldly, the other party bowed politely.
“As expected, our actions earlier were too rough. We apologize once again.”
“However, we are, strictly speaking, in a hostile relationship. We cannot treat you with complete ease, so we ask for your understanding.”
Considering they were from an enemy nation, their attitude was extremely polite.
But this was absolutely not a situation where I could afford to relax.
‘I heard imperial spies carry all sorts of tools with them.’
They were imperial spies, famous for carrying a variety of tools to smoothly carry out intelligence work and other missions in Vespia, where the nobles were powerful mages.
If my luck was bad, they might even have a tool that allowed them to move a long distance.
If they had something like that, the moment I failed to resist, I would be dragged far away from this place.
I had finally gotten a sense of how to develop the territory, and the things I wanted to try here had entered the preparation stage, but all of that could become meaningless in an instant.
While I was tense, the other party began to speak quietly.
“We don’t have much time, so I’ll be direct. Will you naturalize into the Empire?”
“I’d like to refuse.”
When I thought of Avatus, I honestly couldn’t say I wasn’t tempted, but considering various things, it wasn’t as if going to the Empire would mean I wouldn’t get tangled up in politics or be kept in check.
And perhaps because I thought there would be people who would be saddened by it, the answer came out almost immediately.
However, the other party didn’t seem to intend to back down right away either.
“We are not asking you to naturalize empty-handed.”
“First, we will give you this.”
Saying that, the other party placed some kind of ore on the ground.
“That’s…”
“It is Mana Metal, produced in extremely small quantities in the Empire. It is weak to heat, but easy to process, and when hardened with magic, it becomes extremely durable.”
“There are other, more diverse materials as well, but this is the only thing we could prepare for you immediately.”
“We can only apologize for being unable to prepare something better.”
What was that?
Easy to process, and hardens when magically treated?
“Let me research it right now.”
“…Er, first, allow us to state our conditions.”
“Wait, let us put this away for a moment…”
Just like that, the tempting material disappeared into their pocket.
As my eyes narrowed without my realizing it, one of them quickly opened his mouth and spoke.
“W-well, our circumstances are what they are, so it would be difficult for us to provide an enormous amount of support, but at the very least, we can guarantee you a workshop and land that you may freely use, as well as materials for producing Cyclops and financial investment for your research.”
“Since you would, in effect, be defecting from Vespia, there may be some slight obstacles if you wish to enter politics… But that is only because we have some internal circumstances of our own. Once those are settled, we will immediately lift that restriction as well. Likewise, if a Cyclops—or something beyond it—is produced and can be mass-produced, we promise you a position befitting that achievement.”
That was better than I had expected.
More than that, while it wasn’t all that different from my current situation, it at least meant they would provide support comparable to what I was receiving here.
The only remaining difference would be whether Avatus was there or not, but I thought the terms were fairly good.
“But put another way, those are things I can obtain even if I stay here…”
Judging from the looks of things, the Empire didn’t seem to be in abundant circumstances either.
Come to think of it, the Argent Empire was said to be a nation that had grown rapidly by absorbing opponents through war, wasn’t it?
Internally, it might actually be in quite a chaotic state.
To some, that could be an opportunity, but to others, it also seemed like the sort of place that would be nothing but troublesome.
“…As expected, this alone was too weak.”
“We apologize. Even for us, there are many things we cannot promise with certainty, so we reduced the offer too much. It was rude of us before a person of your standing.”
As if making up his mind, the other party spoke quietly.
“This is something proposed by our First Sword Saint…”
“If there’s a First Sword Saint, does that mean there are about ten Sword Saints?”
I had only said it offhandedly, but the other party nodded.
As I wondered whether I should ask if that was really true, the one who had been leading the negotiations spoke quietly.
“…From what we’ve heard, your naming rights contract is tied to the merchant company.”
“How did you know that?”
“That is a professional secret. But we know well that the naming rights belong to the fifth saintess of the Saras Order.”
The other party spoke calmly.
And with certainty, he slowly opened his mouth.
“If you come to us, we will give you the naming rights.”
“At the very least, you will be able to name the new golems you create however you wish, Lord Aizen.”
In other words.
If I went to the Empire.
I could give my golems all sorts of great names, including those of the Space Duchy, with boundless reverence?
‘…Should I go?’
At this point, the contract terms were far too good.
Wasn’t this the best possible point for me, who had always wanted to pay tribute to great names?
Even when I begged Mina, she wouldn’t allow it, saying my sense was strange, and now they were saying that obstacle would disappear.
This was a profit.
As I thought that far, my face relaxed without my realizing it, and perhaps taking it as a positive sign, the other party’s atmosphere softened slightly.
“…You seem favorable. Then we will give you one more gift.”
“A gift?”
“It is not as if we have no interest in your golems, Baron. We have investigated them extensively, and we have conducted our own research as well.”
As if this was a serious matter, the other party lowered his voice and spoke.
‘Listen closely.’
This was important.
And the story continued.
“For that reason, we were able to obtain a great deal of data, and by the command of His Majesty the great Emperor, the military has carried out numerous reviews and discovered a way to effectively increase a golem’s movement speed, stabilize its posture control, and improve its mana efficiency. …What do you think? If it is this information…”
It was information that tempted me quite a lot.
In short, it meant a method to raise the overall performance of the machine.
Since I was always working hard, testing this and that and investing in performance improvements, such valuable knowledge was something I always coveted.
“…And that is?”
Was my reaction too positive?
Perhaps thinking it was all settled now, the other party smiled brightly and opened his mouth.
“The military has concluded that, rather than legs, it would be more efficient overall if it moved using those things called caterpillar tracks.”
An incredible power suddenly surged from within me.
In an instant, strength spread through every muscle in my body, and I snapped the ropes apart.
“You’re right about that.”
Very much so.
In the sense that you deserve to be hit, that is.