In the end, we’d have to resort to sending people over the sea to deliver the information, but that would take days to arrive. Intel had to be fresh. Even if our spies got their hands on important intel, it would be meaningless if there was no way to communicate it back home immediately.
I had asked those who, like one of our top loreleis Nanna, had drifted here from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, but it turned out that, while all islands swore loyalty to the Nine-Headed Dragon King, the living situation on each was different. While I could gather fragmented pieces of information, it was hard to put together any larger picture.
“I’ve gotta say, it’s harder to deal with a country when you don’t know what they’re thinking than it is to deal with one that’s clearly hostile,” I said. “I don’t even know if we should be getting ready to defend ourselves.”
“That’s true…”
Liscia and I both wracked our brains, but we came to no conclusion.
“Well, there’s not much point in us thinking about it here,” I said at last. “Getting back to the topic of the Nine-Headed Dragon katana, the katanas from my world were incredibly sharp, but they had the drawback that they couldn’t stand up to impacts and would break or warp easily,” I said. “But in this world, there’s enchantment magic, right? That’s how this katana is sturdy enough to stand up to trading blows for a while.”
“That would make it the best in its class as a sword blade, yeah,” said Liscia. “But, well… that’s only for the blade itself.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked.
“We don’t fight on the strength of our weapons alone. Everyone in this world can use magic to a greater or lesser degree, and most of us use fire, water, earth, or wind elemental magic. When it comes to a fight, we can wreathe our blades with those elements, too.”
Oh, I’ve seen that, I thought. I recalled Aisha having used wind magic to increase the cutting power and attack range of her greatsword, while Hal had used fire magic to make his weapon explode when thrown at the enemy.
“That’s why the cutting ability of the weapon itself isn’t so important,” said Liscia. “Though, that said, I’m sure that in a battle on the seas, where everything but water elemental magic is harder to use, these would be the strongest. The main way people from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago fight at sea is to close in quickly and board their enemies, like pirates.”
“Hmm… It’s a weapon suited to a maritime nation, huh…” While listening to Liscia’s explanation, I looked closely at the blade of the katana. “But… I would like to get my hands on these smithing techniques.”
“Huh? Didn’t I just tell you it’s largely meaningless?” she asked.
“For weapons, yes. But there are a lot of other uses for sharp blades, aren’t there?”
If we mass-produced knives with a good, sharp edge, I was sure the chefs would be able to produce more delicate and tasty dishes. If we had sharper tools, we might be able to use them to produce even better tools. Then there were medical applications, like scalpels. I thought that might be the most urgent. In surgery, the sharper the tools used, the less stress would be put on the patient’s body.
It was a technique with all these applications. I wanted it badly.
“Technically, I have people researching it here, too, but… it seems like that’s gonna take a while,” I said.
When it came to Japanese swords, I knew that they heated and folded the iron and hit it. That was the sort of rough general knowledge I had. Tamahagane or hihi’irokane; which was the one that actually existed again? With this level of knowledge, there was no way I was going to be able to recreate the Japanese sword.
“If we just had diplomatic relations with them, I’d pay a good amount for them to transfer knowledge of those techniques to us…” I pondered.
“Which is why you’re wondering what the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union is thinking?” she asked.
“Exactly.”
“It sounds like a hard problem to solve,” Liscia said.
She could say that again. Amidonia had had a clear intent to invade, and I had made the decision to fight them because we’d been in a situation that forced us to, but I couldn’t keep this country intact if we were fighting wars with our neighbors year in and year out. I wanted to open diplomatic relations if only to avoid an unnecessary confrontation.
“Well, anyway,” I said at last, “we need to develop techniques of our own that other countries won’t have. Technology and scholarship will build an unshakable base for the country.”
“That sounds reasonable, but do you have any specific ideas?” Liscia asked.
“Techniques are created by people,” I said. “That’s why we have no choice but to go after anyone who might have those techniques. I have just the person in mind, too.”
“Just the right person?” Liscia asked, looking at me dubiously.
I nodded. “Ludwin was telling us about it a while back, remember? He said there’s a mad scientist in the Forbidden Army. I think I’ll have him follow through with his promise to introduce us sometime.”
Then, just as we were talking about that, there was a knock and the office door opened, with Ludwin himself rushing through the door.
He suddenly got down on the floor, lowering his head to the point it was almost touching the ground. It wasn’t quite a formal kowtow, but it was pretty close.
“Your Majesty! I am so sorry!” he suddenly burst out.
In response, Liscia and I opened our eyes wide and spoke simultaneously.
“What are you suddenly apologizing for?” I demanded.
“Did something happen, Sir Ludwin?” she asked.
Ludwin raised his face and spoke, carefully choosing his words. “Well, you see… an acquaintance of mine has gone and done something outrageous…”
“Something outrageous?” I asked cautiously.
Had something bad happened? Now, when I had finally sorted out the mountain of things that I had to do after being given the throne, was something going to happen again? I was starting to feel a little fed up with it all.
Ludwin hesitantly asked, “Um… sire. Do you perhaps remember that I said there was a person I wanted you to meet?”
“Hm? Ohh. Liscia and I were just talking about that,” I said. “The mad scientist you know, right? I’ve been wanting to meet them, but things have been so busy lately. Sorry I haven’t been able to find time.”
“No, I completely understand that. It’s just…”
Ludwin looked hesitant to speak at first, but he seemed to find his resolve and continued.
“That acquaintance of mine happens to be the one responsible.”
The Arcs fiefdom lay between the royal capital Parnam and the new coastal city Venetinova.
This was the land ruled over by the Captain of the Royal Guard, Ludwin Arcs, who was head of the House of Arcs. Because Ludwin lived in the castle, he normally had a magistrate here who acted in his stead.
When compared to the fiefs held by other members of the nobility and knighthood in this country, it was around medium-sized. Ludwin had distinguished himself in the recent war, so I had wanted to transfer him to a larger fief, but Ludwin had been very particular about his own domain, and had stubbornly refused. I didn’t see any reason to force the transfer, so I opted to expand the boundaries of his current fief to suit his preferences.
Liscia, Ludwin, and I had come to the Arcs fiefdom in a gondola carried by one of the royal house’s wyverns. We had come to verify the facts of what Ludwin had told us some days earlier.
“Was it okay to leave Aisha behind like that?” Liscia asked.