Chapter 148: Somehow, I Was Made into a Master
After Yuri and I finished our meeting, we brought along Natalia-san, who looked like she had nothing to do, and headed to the Magic Tool Research Institute.
Because they had gone to deliver equipment to Hiroki and the others, I thought they might not be back today, but when I peeked in, everyone was hard at work.
“Yo. We’d like to request some equipment too, is that alright?”
“Of course! We were originally making equipment for Rui, after all!”
Mizuki said, smiling and puffing out her chest.
When I asked how their studies were going, she made a sour face.
I felt a sense of kinship, thinking, “So even these geniuses are bad at studying, huh?” But a single comment from Akita Natsumi-san, their teacher, made that feeling vanish.
“As expected of those under Prince Rui’s patronage. They’re learning at an incredible speed.
At this rate, I believe they’ll complete the required courses for technicians within two years.”
Seriously? I glanced at Ichiro and the others, and they also had bitter expressions.
It seems to be quite tough.
“Natsumi-san, please stop talking about studying. We came here for a break right now.”
“That’s right. Those things are certainly necessary for us, but I don’t want to think about them now.
I’m envious of Minato. He gets to tinker with those materials as much as he wants…”
Minato?
Ah, you mean that eccentric scientist, Tsukine-san.
“Setting that aside, I’m going to be helping out in the war incognito, do you have any equipment that can hide my face?
The performance only needs to be defensive power, and I’d prefer clothing-type equipment that wouldn’t look strange indoors…”
I had them show me what they’d made, but as expected, they fell into the “weapons and armor” category by appearance.
I sent them a look, asking if they had anything that looked like everyday clothes.
“Eeeh… If you’re looking for performance, that’s one thing, but that kind of thing is outside our specialty.
For design, shouldn’t you call a seamstress and consult with them first?”
Ah, that’s true.
This time, it’s really more about hiding my appearance than performance.
Since I’m going to the Empire’s territory, I just want a certain amount of defensive power, just in case.
Once the design is decided, I can just have them make it with materials of usable strength.
After exchanging those words, as I was about to leave the room, Tsukine-san stopped me.
He called out only to me, saying, “Come here for a moment,” and went back into the inner room.
I told Yuri I’d be back and entered the inner room, where he was holding something.
“I overheard your conversation. In that case, you should use the Powered Suit I made.
This will definitely be useful.”
What he offered me was equipment that looked like a diving wetsuit.
It covered my whole body, but my face was completely exposed.
“No, no, I said I want to hide my face!”
“Something like that, if it’s just about falsifying light information, can be easily manipulated with the Ark’s functions.
It’s prohibited for general use, but a Prince with authority like yourself should be able to use it, right?”
Eh, you can do something like that?
As I wondered about it, a reply came from Mei: “It is possible.”
I told him, “Ah, then I don’t need the equipment after all,” but he grabbed my arm
and earnestly pleaded, “There’s no one else who can measure up to it! If you can use it, I really want you to!”
Eeeh, I have to fight wearing this?
This thing that feels like a slightly thicker full-body tights…?
I replied with a look of disgust, but Mei also recommended I wear it.
Tsukine-san also urged me to at least try it on, and when I did, the fit was amazing.
It felt like my Magical Power was being drawn into the suit. Even without trying to compress it poorly, it was rapidly absorbed by the material.
I could tell just from that. Its defensive performance is incredibly high.
When I asked what it was made of, it turned out to be material from an Abyss Boss.
Hmmm. It’s certainly a very good item, but I wish I’d had this before I learned how to compress Magical Power…
Well, it’s helpful that it compresses it automatically all the time. Besides me, others can only compress a little, so it’s a necessary item.
Just as I was thinking of asking for one for Yuri, Tsukine-san exclaimed joyfully, “So you could wear it after all!”
When I asked what he meant, apparently, normal people can’t wear it. It’s too stiff.
I did feel a bit of stiffness when putting it on… but if even I feel that way now, it must be quite something.
While thinking that, I decided to give it a try and asked Mei to make my face look like Ignat’s.
Then, I created his exclusive armament, equipped it, and adjusted my height using Maso.
Thinking that if this didn’t give me away, there’d be no problem, I left the room as I was and stood before Yuri and Natalia-san, and Natalia-san jumped on me.
“Shuperu! Huh? Shuperu?”
“Rui, why are you letting Natalia-san hug you like that…?
I’ll tell Ignat-san, you know?”
Yuri gave me such a cold stare that I wondered when was the last time I’d received such a look.
“Wait, wait, wait! This is an experiment to see if the incognito plan works!
I thought showing ‘Ignat’ to Natalia-san would be the clearest test.”
Saying that, I had Mei change my appearance back, and when I asked, “So you could tell after all, huh?” everyone present answered that the disguise was perfect.
“Eh?” I sent a glance towards Yuri and Natalia-san.
Yuri said she knew because she could hear Mei’s voice.
Natalia-san said she was completely fooled, only feeling a slight sense of unease from the hug.
“Alright, then the disguise seems to be okay. Tsukine-san, do you have one of these for Yuri?”
“I have one, but it was designed assuming a male wearer.
Her chest… seems perfectly fine. Then, use this.”
“Yes…?” Yuri said, releasing her anger while smiling.
Her overflowing Magical Power enveloped the inside of the room.
Unable to withstand the crushing pressure of her Magical Power, he buckled at the knees.
Huh? I thought Yuri couldn’t perform advanced nature transformation…
I wondered, but didn’t say anything. I shouldn’t touch on that right now.
“It has an automatic adjustment function using Magical Power.
Since she’s slender, I judged there would be no problem with her wearing it, so it’s fine…”
To him, who was on all fours enduring the pressure, Yuri accepted it with a dissatisfied “Is that so.”
“You’re lucky Yurisia-sama is a kind person, Minato-san… That was definitely out of line.”
“That doesn’t matter!
Magical Power can do something like this?! It directly affected even my mind!”
“Ahaha, that’s just ’cause you got scared, right?”
Ichiro chimed in.
“It’s not!” Tsukine-san emphasized.
Soon after, Minato-san retreated to the back, saying he needed to do some research.
After that, we returned to the mansion, and Yuri and I discussed and decided what appearances to take on to try various things.
Well, Yuri mostly decided, though.
Once the appearance design was complete, I asked Mei, and our forms changed in an instant, in the blink of an eye.
And so, I became a sparkling, refreshing pretty boy.
Yuri used Maso to increase her height and transformed into a glamorous, beautiful older sister type.
“This is really something else. We look so different it’s at a level where I’d hesitate to approach.”
“That’s right. Of course, you’re not allowed to touch me. If you start leering at this appearance, I’ll get angry, you know.”
“That’s so unreasonable… It’s Yuri, so of course that’s impossible.”
“Don’t touch” is one thing, but when I retorted that it’s impossible not to show affection, she pouted and looked down.
“Because… if you thought this appearance was better, I’d be too sad.”
“Idiot! Try thinking about it from the opposite perspective. That’s impossible, right?!”
Even after I said that, she remained dejected, so we settled on toning down the level of our appearances a bit.
We spent time on character design again, and what we ended up with was a plain galge protagonist type and a village girl-ish look with large twin-braided pigtails.
Honestly, this is convenient for me too.
This way, I don’t have to worry about strange guys hitting on Yuri.
“Alright! Well then, shall we head over to Ignat’s place looking like this?”
“Yes. I feel safe like this, so you can stick close to me, okay?”
“Well then, I’ll take you up on your offer,” I said and got close, but as expected, it just felt strange, and we both naturally moved apart right away.
“W-well, it’s not like we have to stay in these forms forever…”
“That’s true… I also prefer the usual Rui, it’s a bit unpleasant otherwise.”
As for our names, I became Roy, and Yuri became Maria.
If we chose names that were too unrelated, we might slip up, so I took my Pops’ name, and Yuri borrowed her sister’s name.
And so, with our appearances finally decided, we contacted Ignat, told him we had changed our appearances, and headed to the Marquis’s residence.
When we arrived at the mansion and gave our names, we were let in right away, and we were able to meet Ignat immediately.
“To not be able to tell at all even seeing it with the naked eye… This is truly amazing technology. You’re completely different people.”
“Right? I figured if I didn’t show you beforehand, you’d never understand just by me telling you.”
For now, we’ve only revealed ourselves to Ignat.
The idea is that it’s better if people don’t know I directly participated on the battlefield.
Hiding it from the Empire side is a given, and this way, Shen won’t have to worry about the reward amount or my battlefield position, and I also want to move around freely in any position I like.
In that case, it seems better to position myself as one of Ignat’s pieces.
As I was talking about that, he showed a slightly troubled expression.
“Since I’m currently hiding my appearance, if I don’t go through Shen, I’m just an outsider.
I apologize, but I don’t have as much influence as Your Highness might think…”
Right now, it seems they’re holding a Military Council, having gathered more people than ever before, to introduce Lloyd and Honoka and to decide on future policies.
He says that as things stand, he won’t even be able to participate in it.
It seems he can’t even meet Shen-kun casually.
That certainly sounds like a pain.
Ah, but in the current situation…
“Isn’t it fine to reveal yourself as long as you don’t mention Belfast’s name?
You can just say you were hiding in the Ignat Territory for Natalia-san’s sake, right?”
“…I see. Persuading those who would try to keep me here afterwards seems like it would be difficult, but right now, being able to move freely is more important. Please leave it to me.”
Ah, if he reveals himself, that’s naturally what would happen… Indeed.
If Natalia-san was the reason he left the Empire, they’d press him to come back, wouldn’t they?
Personally, I think it’d be fine for him to return if it’s not to an enemy nation, but from the country’s perspective, they can’t let him go back no matter what.
But having absolutely no say on the battlefield is also really problematic.
If Vel-san were to intervene, I’d have to stop the army and bring things to a discussion.
Considering that, it seems I have no choice but to ask him this time as well.
“Hmm… Sorry for putting you in another troublesome position.”
“Please don’t worry about me.
I’m just worried about whether my people will start strangely probing in various directions.”
“Then, shall we go?” he smiled.
When I directed my gaze as if to ask ‘Where to?’, the reply came back: ‘To the Military Council.’
I asked if he wasn’t going to consult Shen-kun first, but it seems he’s in a position where he’d like to ask for it to be revealed, for the sake of boosting morale.
If that’s the case, then Yuri and I followed behind Ignat, who had removed his Empire’s Official Armament.
As we walked down the corridor, we naturally passed by servants.
“Sch-Schpelten-sama!?” the butler and maids exclaimed upon seeing him.
“Ah, it’s been a while. But we have guests. You mustn’t make too much noise.”
“Eh… B-But…”
When he winked and placed a finger on his lips, the butler quieted down.
However, the maids, on the contrary, became louder.
“Kyaaaa~~~!” they let out screams of joy.
“You fools! Do you understand what kind of time this is?!”
What echoed was clearly the joyous voices of women.
In the middle of a Military Council that would decide the survival of the house. It was only natural for the guards who rushed over to be genuinely angry.
“Indeed. You all should learn a little more restraint.”
“Eh, how could you… Sch-Schpelten-sama…?”
“Yes, I was worried about everyone, so I came back. Only temporarily, though.”
“U-Uooooohhh, yeahhhh!!”
This time, a soldier raised a shout of joy.
I understand how they feel, since their own general has returned in this crisis, but…
“What’s going on!?” the soldiers who rushed over again raised their voices in surprise.
Oooh. Yep, this is the endless kind of thing…
“You all, return to your duties. I must attend the Military Council immediately. Understood?”
“Sir!”
They saluted, looking joyful as if they had seen a ray of hope, and returned.
And so, when we arrived at the Military Council chamber, the butler, his eyes moist, opened the door and bowed his head to Ignat.
The moment we entered, many people, who had been on guard due to the shouting, tensed up, but the instant they saw him, it was as if time stopped, and astonished eyes turned towards us.
He paid it no mind and walked forward, kneeling before Shen-kun.
“Shen, I knew this would cause ripples, but I want to be of help to you, even if only for now.
Would you forgive such a half-hearted return?”
“Yes, of course, Ani-ue. You decided to return even if it meant taking on risks, didn’t you?
It is I who feels apologetic that the house entrusted to me by you, Ani-ue, is in this situation.
However, by ‘half-hearted,’ you mean…”
Ignat returned Shen-kun’s gaze, who had matched his intentions with just a light eye contact, saying with his eyes, “Yes. A complete return isn’t possible.”
“But, for now only, I swear I will exert all the power I possess.
As Schpelten Berg Ignat.”
“OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!”
The vassals, who had understood from the conversation with Shen-kun that he hadn’t actually died, raised shouts of joy.
Many could also be seen shedding tears while letting out sobs.
Well, that’s to be expected, yeah.
After all, such an excellent, ridiculously strong, kind, and all-powerful leader had rushed to their aid in this crisis.
As I was watching them from the wall with a heartwarming feeling, just when the vassals, who had only been seeing Ignat, began to calm down a little, a young woman noticed us.
“It’s been a long time, Schpelten-dono.
There are many things I’d like to ask, but before that, who are those individuals with you?”
“Yes, it has been a long time, War God Honoka-dono.
They are Roy-san and Maria-san. They are commoners, but they are no ordinary individuals, so please treat them well.
Let’s see… You can think of them as my masters. In terms of martial prowess, of course.”
Ah, so this is the person said to be the strongest in the Empire…
That surprise was fleeting; for some reason, we’d been made into his masters, so I sent him a look that said, ‘Is that really okay?’ But Ignat only returned a smile and a nod.
“Huh? It’s not Ignat-san who is the master?”
She must have been considerably surprised. Her tone and way of addressing him changed, showing a demeanor appropriate for her age.
“Indeed. Someone like me would be easily bested by them.
Roy-san even took care of subjugating three Bloody Bears as if it were a side task.
I was made to realize that the strong individuals known to the world are not all there are.”
Honoka turned a dubious gaze towards us, but perhaps because they were Ignat’s words, the retainers accepted it as is, and the look in their eyes changed.
Seeing that, Ignat let a slight smile play on his lips.