Chapter 128: Side Story – The Aftermath of Melania and Others (Part 1/2)

“Everyone, please feel free to use this place.”

Deputy Lord Alfred gracefully bowed.

“Um, is it really okay for us to use this place…?” 

Kyrgyz girl Melania seemed uneasy, shrinking back. The other Kyrgyz around her felt the same.

This was Bulgia, the only city in Ordelve, Lucius’ territory, and Melania and the others were in a large hall in Bulgia Castle.

The ceiling was a domed hemisphere, surrounded by spiral staircases. 

The stairs were lined with numerous books, and various tools and devices were stacked on the floor.

“This room is prepared for puppet construction. Of course, multiple measures have been taken to prevent external intrusion or information leaks.”

“……”

The Kyrgyz were speechless.

Until now, they had been making puppets and repairing contract artifacts in their dilapidated house.

The scale here was overwhelmingly different.

“What? You’re not satisfied with what we’ve prepared, young puppeteer?”

A dwarf with fiery red hair and a beard glared.

It was Chief Damur of the Dwarven tribe.

“N-no! That’s not it!”

Melania involuntarily stepped back.

“Dad, don’t intimidate her.”

Damur’s daughter, Fagra, interjected.

“That’s not it. But the method of making the dolls is a secret, right? They seem different from our golems, so I don’t even know what I’m supposed to make.”

It wasn’t Fagra who first reacted to Chief Damur’s words.

“Golem? Those in the Dungeon!?”

“Mika, wait!”

Mika, Melania’s younger brother, ran forward, his eyes shining.

“Hmm? What, kid? Do you know about golems?”

“Yeah! When the old man in the village took me to the dungeon a long time ago, I saw one! I want my puppet to be as cool as a golem.”

“Huh.”

The eyebrows of Damur and the other dwarves were raised.

As if to say it was interesting.

“Then I’ll show you something special.”

Damur flicked his fingers proudly, and something descended from the ceiling.

Then, stepping on the expensive equipment below, a large, reddish-black figure stood.

A grotesque form with a humanoid upper body, four arms, and a spider-like lower body.

It was a golem.

“Hey, Dad! Don’t break the newly made equipment!”

“We’ll just fix it right away. Anyway, kid. This is called a Magic Steel Golem. It took three days of injecting all of Lucius’ magic power to finally activate it.”

Damur and the surrounding dwarves swelled with pride.

“Cool!”

Mika gazed at the golem with envy.

On the other hand, the Kyrgyz stiffened their faces.

It was like suddenly encountering a top-class monster.

“M-Mika! You mustn’t get any closer! Don’t you understand how abnormal it is!?”

“Yeah! One hit will blow your body away!”

“You come back here!”

The Kyrgyz desperately tried to stop the boy from getting closer.

“It’s okay. I don’t feel any hostility at all. Just like Lord Lucius.”

“R-really?”

Mika had always had a keen sense, even among his clan, of detecting cannon magic in the tower.

There were often times when he sensed hostility earlier than anyone else.

“More importantly, Neechan, is it okay if I turn the lower half of my puppet’s body into a spider after all?”

“Mika. If the lower body is made into a spider, it’s an Arachne type. That’s a puppet of another clan. It’s not the way of the Kyrgyz, I’ve told you many times, right?”

Several Kyrgyz nodded in agreement with Melania’s words.

Interestingly, Chief Damur looked at her with widened eyes.

“What? Are there various forms of puppets?”

“Yes. When the clans separated from the lineage starting with Hero King Xenon, they shared puppet technology. And then, to prevent the mixing of technologies again, production was kept strictly confidential.”

Damur rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

“I don’t understand. Technology is something to be honed; it shouldn’t deliberately be lost, right?”

“The power of Typhon created by Hero King Xenon was too overwhelming. According to records, due to the puppets left by the Hero King, the Northern Continent has been partially destroyed twice.”

“Excessive power, huh? But who exactly is this Xenon who created such things alone?”

“I don’t know. Hero King Xenon never revealed what he saw or learned at the pinnacle of the Tower. He said, ‘Only those who reach it are qualified to know the secrets of this world.'”

“I see. Anyway, I understand the situation with the young ladies. We craftsmen also make things. We won’t imitate rudely, so if something’s lacking, please let us know.”

“T-thank you—”

Just as Melania and the Kyrgyz were beginning to feel relieved…

Suddenly, someone sneaked up from behind.

And a voice of joy echoed.

“That’s great! Absolutely great! Is this the Pandora Federation’s ritual for fitting puppets!?”

“Grandma, look here! It’s coated with magic!”

“Hehehe! Even the skin and clothes are made with magic transformation rituals!”

An old woman and a young man were clinging to Melania’s puppet, Noct.

No, it would be more accurate to say they were practically wrestling it.

They were Gufel, the former head of the Orleans family, and her grandson, Crane.

“N-Noct. Are you alright!?”

Melania was flustered as they examined her puppet.

“Crane, what are you doing?”

Fagra spoke to her partner in exasperation.

“I just wanted to see a puppet from the Kyrgyz tribe.”

“But shouldn’t you greet the owner before jumping on the puppet? It’s just not proper.”

“Haha, my apologies. I couldn’t help myself.”

Crane scratched his head.

“Well, it’s not something to worry about.”

“Please stop, Gufel-sama. You’re at a good age.”

Fagra tried to admonish her, but he just chuckled with a witch-like smile.

“More importantly, it’s interesting how they use the flowing magic energy released from the cannon mage’s magic core as blood circulation within the puppet’s body. Furthermore, by circulating magic lightly between the operator and the puppet, they seem to be feeding necessary information for puppet operation to each other. It’s a completely different approach from rituals.”

“Yes, it’s fascinating. They convert the operator’s magic into the magic of the magic stone and circulate it into the materials of the entire body of the puppet to make it autonomous. From what I’ve seen, they don’t seem to use magic from the magic stone at all.”

“But the materials seem inadequate.”

“Yes, a Trent may not be able to absorb enough magic, and the movements may be awkward. Ideally, they should use Sirens or Satyrs.”

Melania gulped.

“W-why do you know about our clan’s secrets?”

“Huh? You can tell just by looking. Even in Trent, with a huge amount of magic, most people would find it impossible, and it would take a lot of time.”

“Just by looking…”

“But it’s good. Seeing the real thing clarified it for me. If we only use rituals, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a humanoid puppet like this. Let’s distribute it in a simpler form.”

Indeed.

If it’s just rituals, the actual shape doesn’t matter.

The humanoid form was a result of refining puppets for autonomy, stealth, and assassination operations.

“………”

The Kyrgyz thought to themselves.

――Maybe we came to the wrong place.

Apart from Samael and the Tower Masters, these perverts who own Golems more powerful than anything they’ve ever seen, and who see through the techniques their clan has kept secret.

“Anyway, distributing puppets is our lord’s earnest wish. Please, we beg of you.”

Alfred bowed again.

At that moment, a loud explosion echoed through Bulgia.

The vibration shook the ground and the instruments around them.

“What… what’s happening!?”

Melania and the others were on high alert as if under attack.

“It seems they’ve come after all.”

Alfred chuckled.

“Do you have an idea, Alfred-sama?”

“Most likely, it’s the members of the Arcanorum Company. They’ve likely unleashed spells towards the city of Bulgia. Haha.”

The Arcanorum Company managed the contract relics with rituals. Represented by Viscount Girard, whose mind was imprisoned by the curse of Lucius’s puppet Sol, it was composed of several nobles.

Three of them—Count Sisik, Viscount Laszlo, and Baron Lecouvreur—fortunately weren’t able to board the “ship” and thus avoided Samael’s attack.

“Are you laughing at a time like this!?”

“No problem. This entire city is covered by a magic defense wall created with the cooperation of the dwarves and members of the Orleans family. It won’t falter with a few spells.”

“But we’re being attacked, aren’t we!?”

“Yes, indeed. They demanded that we repair the contract relics for free, so we replied that we could negotiate for ten gold coins per item. They must have retaliated for that. They were even ranting about taking Lucius-sama’s head.”

Alfred continued to smile, but the Kyrgyz grew cold-eyed.

“…Lucius-sama’s head?”

“Oh my, do you have something on your minds?”

“We Kyrgyz have made espionage and assassination our livelihood for generations. That hasn’t changed even in this country.”

“Oh?”

Alfred looked with interest at Melania’s face.

“If we’re told to shoulder a curse, we accept it. If told to die, we accept that too. If told to kill someone, we’ll even slay infants. It’s despicable, but that’s our way of life. And now, our lord is Lucius-sama. Can we remain silent when asked to hand over his head?”

Assassination and espionage were not virtues. In this world, suppressing emotions as a human and mechanically fulfilling the lord’s orders was demanded, and those who couldn’t were considered third-rate or worse.

Due to the current Viscount Girard’s rough treatment of the Kyrgyz, their hearts had drifted too far apart. However, ever since they came to the kingdom, they had served faithfully, both the good and the bad sides of their lord.

In the room, a single sound rang out.

*Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap*

Alfred gave a heartfelt applause to the Kyrgyz.

It was like an ode to their souls.

“Excellent! You truly understand our lord well! It seems we can become mutual understanding allies!”

“Yes… if you wish, we can bring the enemy’s heads back here.”

“Killing them would bring a hundred harms and no benefits. We must handle this more elegantly, intelligently, and correctly.”

Alfred smirked.

“All for the sake of Lucius-sama’s earnest wish.”

It should be noted that Lucius himself did not know the content of that earnest wish.

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