Kays Translations

Chapter 61: The Villainous Aristocrat Makes a Kotatsu

It was supposed to be a simple mission.

One of Lynette's colleagues, who recognized the convenience of firearms and cannons developed by the Empire, proposed a strategy. 

The plan was to puppetize those around the Emperor, take them hostage, and provoke a war with the Kingdom. By doing so, both nations would be weakened.

With the soldiers heading to the front lines, the security in the imperial capital became lax. It was remarkably easy for Lynette to attack the people of the capital at night and puppetize them.

Thanks to this, the puppetized soldiers under Lynette's control exceeded tens of thousands, resulting in a tremendous increase in military strength.

About a month after the war began, the puppetization of all residents in the imperial capital had concluded, leaving only the withdrawal.

There was even a child of the imperial family who, due to their exceptionally strong mental fortitude, could not be puppetized. However, there were plans to efficiently break their human spirit in the future and use them for research to enhance the effectiveness of puppetization.

However, a sudden irregularity occurred.

–What happened...?

One of the Seven Supreme Commanders of the Demon King's Army, Lynette, a puppet master, struggled to comprehend the sudden turn of events.

While using healing magic to stop the bleeding from wounds on both legs, a boy shouted.

"First, I gotta make hands and legs, huh!"

The boy in front of him wasn't looking at Lynette.

He was simply imagining something that wasn't there, and he was laughing joyfully.

Kunou reached out his hand to the ground.

Then, the cobblestones transformed into a right arm and both legs.

(Is this boy's magic? Earth magic... no, it's different. The precision, like the mountain of swords that pierced through the dolls earlier, is something that can't be achieved with earth magic.)

Lynette tried to figure out the workings of Kunou's magic, but naturally, he couldn't understand.

This was because Lynette lacked knowledge of magic used by humans.

Moreover, formative magic was a bloodline magic.

It wasn't used in combat, and Linette was entirely unfamiliar with advanced techniques like alchemic formation, let alone the basics.

Attaching the created hands and legs, Kunou stood up.

However, unable to find balance, he staggered and ended up sitting on the ground.

Kunou laughed.

"Kukukuku, well, no wonder I fell! It's like attaching sticks for legs! Something like stilts! It seems like I could stand if I practice, but it's a hassle! Oh, that's right, I've got a great idea! Ball joints! I'll use spider silk as muscles, like this! Haha! It worked! It's going well!"

Kunou created replacement limbs for the severed ones and stood up.

This time, he didn't fall.

"Hmph, well, whatever you do, my victory is unshakable."

Lynette switched his focus and moved to the attack.

He manipulated a large number of puppet soldiers with threads and sent them towards Kunou, who was laughing hysterically.

At that moment, the puppet soldiers fell apart.

"Nice, nice! F◯nel is a man's romance! Wired ones are damn ugly though! Well, if it's wired, how about I◯com? Either is fine! Can't help it, right? It's necessary to flow magical power! I actually want to control everything remotely! I want to make something like that someday!"

Countless swords were swirling around Kunou.

Stone swords sprouted from the ground.

They were shoddy swords, lacking any sharpness, and were now nothing more than blunt weapons.

The hilt was connected to Kunou himself by thin chains of stone, giving the appearance of a beast with multiple tails.

It was a monster with twelve tails.

"Ku, first, let's destroy that."

Lynette manipulated puppet soldiers to destroy the swords swirling around Kunou.

However, Kunou laughed joyfully.

"Aah! No good, huh! Swords made by processing stones will break easily! What's needed is metal! Oh, look, there's a scattered droid that's fallen apart! Recycling is environmentally friendly, you know!"

While destroying approaching puppet soldiers with stone swords, Kunou ran towards the wreckage of the fallen droid.

And then, when he touched the droid.

"...What is this..."

The droid transformed from wreckage into swords, with stone swords freezing in place and metal swords dancing in the air in their stead.

Just like before, a single chain extended from the hilt, connecting Kunou to the swords.

The overwhelming issue was their sheer number.

Countless swords, likely numbering in the dozens, swirled through the air with a whooshing sound.

"It's a battle of quantity! Hyahhaaa!"

"Ku!"

The puppet soldiers clashed with the swarm of swords.

A puppet soldier knocked down one sword, and in the meantime, the swords destroyed three puppet soldiers.

At that moment, Kunou laughed joyfully again.

"That's right, regular swords are boring! Gunblade! Let's make it able to shoot bullets! No, live rounds with F◯nel is lame! Fire magic, no, let's give it light magic! An all-range laser bit weapon! Let's name it Laser Gunblade Bit! It's long! Let's abbreviate it to LeGard Bit! Sounds cool, huh!"

The swords flying around transformed into the shape Kunou envisioned, receiving magical power through the chains extending from the hilts.

It was a weapon that seemed to integrate both a gun and a sword.

However, its destructive power was entirely different from the guns Lynette was familiar with.

The empire's developed guns required time for reloading after firing a lead ball.

"W-What is that?!"

"Fuhahahahahaha! A saturated attack in all directions feels great!"

At the very least, it wasn't a terrifying weapon spreading thick beams in all directions like a heat ray.

The heat rays pierced the ground, destroying buildings.

He didn't give a tiny thought to the potential damage it might cause in the surroundings.

"But my magical power seems to be running out! I can't use this recklessly! I need to gather high-quality magic stones!"

Despite mentioning the running out of magical power, the LeGard Bit, which continued to destroy puppet soldiers along with the buildings in the imperial capital, showed no signs of stopping.

As a result, involving the puppet soldiers in the collapse of the imperial capital's buildings, it gradually cornered Lynette.

"Ku. In that case, how about this!"

What Lynette chose was a modification of the threads used to control puppet soldiers for offensive purposes.

By infusing these threads with magical power, he could enhance their cutting force and range.

With the maximum amount of magical power, Lynette attempted to sever Kunou's head—

Unexpectedly, Kunou's eyes turned toward Lynette.

"Huh!"

A chill ran down Lynette's spine.

Kunou was looking at Lynette. No, he was looking at something about Lynette.

The boy in front of him grinned.

"I see, so that's how it works! It's doable, doable, doable! Not just formative magic! Enchanting magic can reach greater heights! Deeper depths! It's attainable! —Transference Enchantment!"

Kunou spewed blood from his nose.

It was a sign that the strain on his brain was approaching its limit, but aware of this, Kunou didn't stop using magic.

Countless threads extended from Kunou's hand.

They were like extremely thin wires made of stretched metal, but from these wires, Lynette sensed the familiar magical aura he knew well.

"...Impossible. That magic is mine! I created it!!"

Puppetry magic.

It was a magic that Lynette had crafted over a lifetime, a magic that could be considered an extension of himself.

And now...

"Fuhahahahahaha! I did it! I did it! Your magic is no longer just yours! Well, I didn't add the puppetization effect because it's in bad taste, but the maneuverability of LeGard Bit has skyrocketed like crazy!"

"D-Don't joke!!"

Demon magic was unique.

Ignoring that rule outright, Kunou bestowed Lynette's magic upon himself.

For the first time, Lynette was furious, emotions laid bare.

"Ku, you fake!! I'll scatter it with my true Puppetry Magic!"

He stopped the thread attack aiming to sever Kunou's head, choosing to fight with his pride on the line.

Gathering puppet soldiers from all over the imperial capital, he launched a coordinated attack.

"A fake is inferior to the real thing... Who decided that!? Even if there's an imitation surpassing the original, it's fine! It's more interesting and enjoyable!"

Saying this, Kunou placed his hands on the ground.

Then, countless stone knights emerged from the ground, too numerous to count.

Countless steel threads extending from Kunou's hands connected to the stone soldiers, making them move simultaneously as he wished.

Lynette's puppet soldiers and Kunou's stone knights.

The two forces clashed, and at first glance, it seemed like an evenly matched battle, but—

"Foolish! Impossible!! My puppet soldiers being pushed back! Inferior to mere stone statues!"

"Ah! These are just dolls made of stone, after all! But you know what? The weapons wielded by your mannequins are nothing more than what you can find in an ordinary household! The stone knights equipped with my magic swords are overwhelmingly stronger!"

Kunou's stone knights were equipped with the weapons he had created.

Despite having the advantage in quantity or quality, the battle situation was being overturned by the superiority of the weapons.

This fact was driven home for Lynette.

"LeGard Bit, stone knights, what else should I make!"

"Ku."

At that moment, a sudden breeze blew. It was a cold wind.

"Ah, it's cold. Getting chilly, huh! Autumn is ending soon!"

"...Huh? Wh-what are you talking about..."

"Winter is coming soon! Gotta have a kotatsu when winter comes! Gotta make one!"

Kunou took materials from his magic bag and created something resembling a table.

Then, he enchanted the backside of the table with fire magic.

"It's done! But there's no futon! Gotta find cotton! For now, let's use a blanket as a substitute!"

"W-What are you doing?!"

"I'm making a kotatsu! Can't you see? Baldy! I'll kill you!"

"Huh!?"

Having created the kotatsu, Kunou jumped headfirst into it.

"Ahhhhh!! Firepower miscalculation! Got a massive burn all over! But you always want to stick your head into a kotatsu, right!"

"A-Are you joking!?"

"I'm dead serious! Now, let's continue making things!"

The battle was coming to an end.

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