Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 65

Nun Rachel

###

Quite some time had passed since returning to Olympus.

The brief spring had faded, and the long summer that followed was nearing its end.

The crops planted in spring were now being harvested as the harvest season arrived.

From all directions, the songs of farmers, filled with the joy of the harvest, could be heard.

‘Reaping the rewards of labor is always a joy.’

I watched the dancing farmers while enjoying the distributed wine.

Thanks to the fertile soil of the Great Plains, the first year’s harvest was a bumper crop.

Since I had promised tax exemption, the harvest belonged entirely to them.

~♬

The farmer, swaying in his drunkenness, lost his footing and fell.

The surrounding farmers laughed loudly and teased him.

I chuckled at the sight.

“Wouldn’t you like to join us, Edar?”

A familiar voice approached casually.

It was a familiar wearing a straw hat and holding a foxtail grass in his mouth.

His job was dragoon, and he also worked as a pasture manager.

“No, I’ll just spoil the mood.”

“I don’t think so.”

The playful smile resembled someone.

‘This guy is from the Griff group.’

I broadly categorized the familiars into three types.

This one resembled Griff, Gerhard, and Rachel, specifically Griff.

“Anything lacking?”

“Lacking? If I had to say, it’s a lack of dexterity. Look over there.”

He pointed to those shearing sheep.

A familiar quickly and accurately sheared the sheep while they grazed, while a commoner struggled, causing the sheep to thrash about, leaving him stammering. He chuckled at the sight.

“We are providing education, but the speed isn’t improving.”

“Hmm…”

There wasn’t much I could do.

I couldn’t enhance their lacking dexterity.

It would be slightly better to have the familiars do the work instead of the commoners, but unless they were familiars with related professions, there would only be a difference in the speed of learning; they would still have to learn from scratch.

‘It’s not like I can decide the familiars’ professions.’

Like entrusting the pasture to this dragoon, I was somehow managing by assigning somewhat related jobs here and there.

Knowing this, he didn’t say more and scratched his head.

“I wish you could create a brother who is an expert in sheep shearing.”

“If I could.”

I replied vaguely and returned to the city after looking at the fields and pastures.

The changes in Olympus over the past two seasons were astonishing.

A city had formed inside the outer walls built over several months.

In terms of area alone, it was larger than Sodomora.

Though the population density was much lower.

“Fresh fruit! Fruit from Germania [ancient region in central Europe]!”

“Snacks, snacks for sale! Cookies baked this morning!”

Beyond the city gates, the main street stretched out.

Just like in Sodomora, it was a straight road leading to the Lord’s manor.

The width was made wide in anticipation of increased traffic in the future.

Thanks to this, it looked deserted even with many people on the streets.

I visited each of the shops where the familiars had settled.

“Oh, Your Majesty! What brings you here so early? I was just grilling veal; would you like to try some?”

“I’ll have it next time.”

Like a restaurant, or,

“Boiling these two together will cure insomnia.”

“Thank you.”

A pharmacy, or,

“Edar, won’t you really get your fortune told? In my opinion, Edar, you are—“

“No.”

A fortune teller’s shop, or,

“Are they even selling?”

“Who would buy them when everyone is illiterate?”

Even a bookstore.

I checked on the lives of the familiars one by one.

‘It seems they are adapting well in their own ways.’

The reason I bothered to check was because I was worried about their adaptation.

In the meantime, I had been using the familiars as manual laborers.

Even familiars who were not in combat-related professions were mobilized for battle.

I used them indiscriminately as if the familiars had no specific roles.

‘I was too short-handed from the beginning of my assignment.’

It wasn’t a situation to be picky about whether a job suited them or not.

Only their level was the criterion for assigning roles.

The problem had been resolved recently.

[Time remaining until next use: 5 hours 23 minutes.]

‘With the waiting time greatly reduced to 6 hours, I have more leeway.’

Because I create four familiars a day.

I was filling the demand for familiars twice as fast as before.

As Vlad weakened, the machinations of the Grand Council also weakened.

The development of the territory had also established a basic framework, so the immediate crisis was averted.

‘So, I thought I should give the familiars positions that suit their professions, but…’

I chuckled, thinking back to that time.

Once I started doing it, it felt like I had opened a job placement agency.

If there was a clear job and a suitable position, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but that wasn’t often the case.

– A military supplier? It seems like you’d be good on the transportation corps.

– Sounds good. I’ll go.

This was the best case, and,

– A professor? Hmm… there’s no school yet.

– Please open a bookstore for me, at least.

This was fortunate, and,

– An indulgence seller.

– The chapel is perfect for me. If you send me there—

– No.

This was difficult.

An indulgence seller, a highway robber, a drunkard…

Where should I assign these people?

‘In the end, I compromised by sending the indulgence seller to Rachel’s chapel, the highway robber to the Mountain Hermit Nuadhil, and the drunkard to a tavern.’

How could I not worry?

Whether they adapted well afterward was another matter.

That’s why I periodically went around to check on them.

I was relieved to see them adapting well so far.

‘But a slightly different problem has arisen.’

I stopped walking.

“Father.”

Turning around, I saw Sister Rachel approaching.

“Are you taking a walk? It’s almost time for the meeting. Let’s go together.”

“Hmm.”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at Rachel.

###

The conference room in the Lord’s manor.

The familiars who had arrived earlier were conversing.

They stood up and greeted me as I entered.

I scanned them one by one and asked.

“Where’s Griff?”

“He said he’ll be late.”

I nodded and sat down.

Not long after, Griff entered the conference room with a grin.

“Oh dear, am I a little late?”

【Lv. 69】

I tilted my teacup and looked at Griff’s level.

His level had greatly increased due to his performance on the day he hunted Vlad.

His previous level was 60, so it had increased by 9.

“A little? You shouldn’t have been late in the first place.”

Gerhard, glaring at Griff, had risen from 76 to 78.

“I also think it’s a problem to be later than the master.”

The newly summoned Mountain Hermit Nuadhil had also risen two levels from 80 to 82.

“······.”

“Enough, let’s start quickly.”

【Lv. 93】

【Lv. 91】

Calliope and Pasiphae had also risen one level.

All the familiars who participated in the battle at that time had their levels raised.

‘Honestly, it’s a bit surprising.’

I thought it would be difficult for Calliope and Pasiphae to rise.

‘They did kill Vlad, but they didn’t completely kill him, and I thought it would be difficult for them to rise further because their levels were too high.’

From the point where their level exceeds 90, an invisible wall is created.

It’s as if there are several levels in between.

‘Anyway, good is good, but…’

I looked down at the teacup.

‘The damage was quite significant.’

The number of familiars who died was 66.

Out of more than 200 familiars, the death toll reached 30%.

It was a huge loss compared to the Ugdashi incident.

Even though we had increased our forces more than then.

‘The difference in power between the blood relatives [Vlad’s powerful vampire kin] and the familiars was too great. The gap was so large that there were no serious injuries.’

It was either death or survival upon contact.

Even though it had been several months, the damage was so great that it was painful.

But there was a value and reason to pay such a sacrifice.

‘It was an opportunity to catch Vlad.’

I looked down at the ring on my index finger.

– Inherit my power…

The muttering that I heard when my gaze reached it.

Ignoring it and covering the ring with my opposite hand, the voice stopped abruptly.

‘It’s useless even if he revives by borrowing the body of a blood relative. He’ll lose his main body, so his level will plummet, and since I have even the fragments of his soul, the drop will be significant.’

Presumably, the level drop would have occurred around 85.

It had plummeted to the level of an envoy of the Grand Council.

Not to mention losing several blood relatives.

‘The Mycenae Empire is still powerful. It is a nation that maintains the top three positions along with the elves and dwarves. Even if they lost some of the most prominent blood relatives, there are plenty of blood relatives comparable to Gerhard and Nuadhil.’

But the weakening of Vlad, the center of the blood relatives, is fatal.

The relationship between Vlad and the blood relatives is not an absolute master-servant relationship.

They could harbor rebellious intentions against him as he weakened.

‘He brought key figures who should not be brought to the forefront. Blood relatives with the highest ability and loyalty in the empire. On the other hand, the remaining blood relatives lack both the ability and loyalty to manage the empire.’

The loss of the pillars that supported the empire’s administration,

The loss of the guards who regarded him as their father and pledged their loyalty,

This was as great a loss as Vlad losing his physical strength.

‘Now, Vlad has no choice but to focus on consolidating his internal affairs while hiding the fact that his power has weakened.’

I grabbed the pendant around my neck.

The blue gem containing the soul of Tiamar.

Originally, I was going to drop it under the guise of coincidence.

But the string broke without having to act.

‘He must be dying to kill me. But how will you kill me? You have weakened, and I have everything you need. Your soul and Tiamar’s soul are with me.’

Vlad will definitely come back to me.

Because he needs to regain his soul to restore his power.

Because he believes without a doubt that he can rule the world if he takes Tiamar’s soul.

‘But you must not have those two souls taken by someone else before you get them. I must prevent my soul from being taken by others.’

He wants to kill me, but at the same time, he is in a position to protect me.

I smiled faintly.

‘It’s going to be quite a headache, mosquito.’

“Hmm.”

I took out a cigarette and tapped it on the table.

The familiars who were talking to each other focused their attention on me.

“Let’s start slowly.”

“Yes. Then we will start the meeting.”

Griff cleared his throat.

“This summons was a little earlier than usual. Edar will be going to Seudreth soon, so we summoned you early because he will be away for a long time.”

“Seudreth?”

Pasiphae tilted her head.

“Edar’s family home.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Were you living in a monastery, not a workshop? You’ve completely forgotten the secular world.”

Pasiphae, her cheeks slightly flushed, glared.

“I can forget sometimes.”

Griff shrugged, avoiding her glare, and continued.

“Then, as before, I will first report on the current situation of the Great Plains. The biggest change is the population. As of last month, it has exceeded 160,000.”

“160,000?”

“How many did you accept?”

The familiars clicked their tongues.

The population was less than 20,000 before going to Wallachia.

It had increased more than eightfold in a few months.

“Well, you all know the reason, right? We brought liberated slaves from Sodomora and settled them. Thanks to that, I had a lot of trouble.”

Gerhard scoffed at the boasting Griff.

“Was that just your job? The governor-general’s office was dying too.”

“It’s the same for us. How hard did my children have to work to fill the vacancies left by their brothers and sisters?”

Griff clicked his tongue at the complaining familiars.

“Yes, I forgot. You all had a hard time too.”

“······.”

Griff spread a map on the table.

The map depicted the entire Great Plains, and among them, the village markers had increased in the places belonging to my territory.

“Continuing the story, it’s 160,000. 160,000. It’s a really large number, but the migration is not over yet. It will increase much more.”

“That’s right. More than half still remain in Sodomora, and many people want to migrate from the north.”

Gerhard nodded.

Griff pointed to the village markers added around Olympus.

“It is too much to accommodate all of them in Olympus. You all know how low the population density of the Great Plains is, right? So, we built several villages in vacant lots to receive them in a dispersed manner.”

“Are those the villages marked here?”

“Yes. There are 31 of them. Roughly 3,000 to 4,000 people have settled in each one. It seems that it will increase further as migration continues.”

The familiars looked at the map and documents and swallowed their words.

Among them, only Gerhard and Griff were directly in charge of administration, and the rest were in charge of different fields, so they had nothing to say.

“More than half of the villages are concentrated around Olympus.”

“Later, we will raise the villages into cities and build strong outer walls. You could call them outer fortresses. Wouldn’t it be very helpful for defense if there were several strong cities like fortresses around the capital?”

Gerhard nodded.

“The increased population is over 100,000, is there enough food?”

“There is enough. It was quite effective to have prepared several large food warehouses in advance. In addition, a window has opened in Germania, so food imports are quite stable.”

Griff turned over a document.

“And this year is a bumper crop. The proportion of food imports will also decrease significantly. At the current rate, it seems that we will be exporting food rather than importing it from next year.”

“Oh ho.”

Gerhard read the document while stroking his beard.

“However, there is a limit to the number of administrative officials.”

“Hmm… I gave you a transfer from the governor-general’s office, but it’s still not enough?”

“Yes. It’s not enough. We even dispatched administrative officials from Olympus as a matter of urgency. It will be necessary to recruit new officials other than familiars.”

“Officials who are not familiars… I was okay because I rehired the officials who were employed by the existing lords, but there are no such people in the pioneer villages, right? How will you recruit them?”

“The nuns have agreed to help.”

Griff looked at Rachel.

The familiars also looked at her, following his gaze.

The gazes directed at her were not good.

Their expressions revealed a distrustful feeling, like, ‘You?’

Rachel smiled sweetly, not caring about such reactions.

“There are really good children among my children. You know? Slaves are not all the same, but are classified according to their use.”

Most slaves are born as slaves and do simple tasks.

If their parents farm, they learn to farm in the same way,

If they were born in a mine, they become mining slaves,

If they are gladiators, they become gladiators.

However, there were occasionally those who became slaves from the nobility or free people.

These people often had knowledge and skills that ordinary slaves did not have, and thanks to that, they were given different jobs from ordinary slaves.

‘They can be seen as special slaves with professional skills, such as accounting, cooking, scribes, handicrafts, and commerce.’

The slaves liberated from Ugdashi were only ordinary slaves because they did not need such skills, but Sodomora had quite a few special slaves, befitting the slaves of the nobles who settled in the capital of a country.

The ‘good children’ that Rachel was referring to were these people.

“Yes. Among those children, those whose ideologies have been verified—”

“Ideologies?”

At Gerhard’s pointed remark, Rachel quickly changed her words.

“…children whose abilities have been verified will be sent.”

“Didn’t you just say ideologies?”

Pasiphae asked, narrowing her eyes.

The other familiars also glared at Rachel in the same way.

Rachel maintained her smile as if she didn’t know what they were talking about.

She seemed to be trying to gloss over it, but there was no one in this place who could not read her fluctuating thoughts.

Tsk tsk, Griff clicked his tongue.

Rachel’s lips trembled.

“Stop. Let’s hear the rest of the story.”

“Yes! You will like them, Father.”

Rachel handed me a document with their personal information.

The personal information was just simple things like name, age, gender, and place of birth, with Rachel subjectively adding a record of her assessment of their abilities.

The problem is that the ability assessment,

‘Why is piety included in the assessment?’

When I looked at Rachel, she just smiled.

She had a confident expression as if there was nothing wrong.

“Griff also recognized these children.”

“Why are you passing it on to me?”

“Isn’t that so?”

Griff grumbled, ‘That’s not it, but.’

I put down the documents and pressed my temples.

“Let’s meet them in person first. It would be good to meet them and decide.”

“Ah, then how about holding a presentation ceremony at that time?”

“Presentation?”

“Isn’t this the first time Father is directly selecting administrators? Let’s decorate it with a bit more flair.”

“Hmm.”

A presentation ceremony for simply appointing administrative officials?

“Hold on a second.”

Pashimea tapped the table with her index finger, drawing attention.

She frowned and pointed at Rachel.

“You, is that really all there is to it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re trying to invest your pseudo-priests, aren’t you? Under the guise of administrators.”

“······.”

Rachel didn’t answer.

Silence fell as all eyes focused on her.

She shifted her gaze, avoiding eye contact.

Her thoughts fluctuated wildly, revealing the accuracy of the accusation.

Nuadir put down the documents and muttered.

“At this rate, we’ll have to call our sister ‘Your Holiness’.”

Griff chuckled and chimed in.

“Indeed. Have you decided on a name yet? Should we come up with one now?”

Gehardt scratched his chin.

“The Imperial Church, something like that?”

“That’s a bit much.”

A subtle silence settled in the conference room.

Like a powder keg.

“That’s a misunderstanding.”

Sister Rachel waved her hands, her voice trembling.

“What misunderstanding?”

Pashimea frowned.

“It’s obvious you’re trying to plant priests disguised as administrators, isn’t it? Especially since the settlers in the frontier village are former slaves, making them easy to brainwash?”

“It’s a misunderstanding! I just wanted to give the children with deep faith and intelligence a sense of pride···.”

“Faith?”

“······.”

Rachel stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes darted around, unable to stay still.

“I can hear the gears turning in her head.”

Griff hummed from the side, and her face flushed.

“What, what’s the problem with that!”

Bang! She slammed the table.

I quickly grabbed my teacup to prevent it from spilling.

She huffed and protested.

“Isn’t everyone here, brothers and sisters, believing in Father? I’ve just taken it a little further, and the children are the same! There’s nothing wrong with believing in and following someone you can rely on in this world, is there?”

“Oh, so that’s how you want to play it?”

Pashimea smirked, a sneer on her lips.

“Right. You always say I’m doing this and that. But did I create a doctrine like the Wolves’ Church? Or did I create an organization···.”

“Then what is this?”

Old Man of the Mountain, Nuadir, interrupted and pulled a booklet from his chest.

A clean, luxurious cover as if it had just been leather-bound.

A profile portrait drawn in gold thread on the leather cover.

The subject of the profile was me.

“Ah···.”

Rachel’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed in surprise.

“Isn’t that His Majesty’s portrait? What’s inside?”

Gehardt picked up the booklet and scanned the contents.

The more he flipped through the pages, the stranger his expression became.

Nuadir scoffed.

“It’s a scripture. A compilation of His Majesty’s words. I managed to acquire it from Sodomora.”

My interest piqued, and I took the booklet from Gehardt.

I hadn’t shared that many conversations with Rachel.

What words did she hear and compile?

“D-Don’t look at it!”

Rachel quickly snatched the booklet and clutched it to her chest.

The gazes that had briefly focused on the scripture returned to Rachel.

“A scripture, you say. Wow, you’re quick.”

“Come to think of it, haven’t you been conducting group training with former slaves lately? It seems you’ve already established not only a doctrine but also an organization?”

“You’re··· a bit scary.”

The familiars each expressed their admiration, though not without a hint of apprehension.

Rachel could no longer smile and was sweating profusely.

“It’s a misunderstanding. It’s a misunderstanding.”

And she repeated the same words like a parrot.

I sighed deeply.

We couldn’t keep bickering like this forever.

I clapped my hands to gather attention.

“Rachel is acting this way because I have condoned it. I know it’s an unwelcome act for all of you. I feel the same way. But sometimes poison can be medicine.”

“The poison smells too strong, though.”

Pashimea grumbled, and Old Man of the Mountain, Nuadir, added.

“Well, there’s no helping it. Religion is inseparable from humans. Especially in these difficult times.”

I nodded.

“I won’t judge the right or wrong of this matter for now.”

“Father···.”

Rachel’s eyes welled up with tears.

The familiars clicked their tongues.

They didn’t want to disobey my words, but they didn’t like her actions either.

‘The familiars have different personalities, so there are too many conflicts.’

Especially the relationship with Rachel was particularly bad.

From the perspective of most familiars, her actions were fanatical.

Some might even consider it brainwashing rather than proselytizing.

“For now, bring the people you’ve selected. However, this is not a priestly ordination. It’s a place to confirm their abilities as officials. Don’t have any unnecessary thoughts.”

Ordaining priests when the administration isn’t even properly established?

It wasn’t a theocratic state, and the order was strange.

‘Religion is kept as a necessary evil. But the state and religion are separated. If appointing officials is considered the same as appointing priests, there is a risk that religion will oppress society.’

“And if you try to deceive me or my brothers and sisters again, I won’t let it go as lightly as this time. Do you understand, Rachel?”

“Y-Yes···.”

Rachel pouted and sat down.

“Now, that’s all for the story about immigration and administration. What’s next, Griff?”

“Next in line is the Governor-General of Northern Wallachia, Gehardt, but··· you’ve already heard the report, haven’t you?”

“I have.”

Population census, swamp reclamation, and nothing else of particular note.

‘According to the population census, the population of the North is 700,000.’

More than I thought.

In the previous playthrough, it wasn’t even 500,000.

It must be thanks to Ugdash and Pinto being dealt with early.

Thinking about it, Pinto really did something tremendous.

‘If you combine it with the Great Plains, there are almost 900,000 people in my territory. I’ve been working hard, haven’t I?’

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a population gathered through massive funds, conquest, and migration, but still.

To gather this much in just half a year.

It was an amazing record.

‘But I won’t be satisfied with this.’

To achieve my goal, I can’t be satisfied with this much.

Even if the population has increased rapidly, it’s insignificant compared to the enemies I’ll face in the future.

Didn’t Sodomora’s previous population rival the population of the North?

There were several cities in the human world larger than Sodomora.

Not to mention when compared to other races.

“Great Plains, North, next is my turn.”

Old Man of the Mountain rose from his seat.

“As the master instructed, I have brought the Sodomora underworld under control. Those deeply involved with the Mosquitoes, though not servants, have been dealt with, and businesses that could cause problems have also been disposed of.”

“Good work. How is the political situation in Wallachia?”

“It seems like a civil war will start soon.”

Of course.

The central nobles had lost too much power.

On the other hand, the local nobles were maintaining their power.

A situation where the power structure had to be re-established.

“The central government will try to make an example of a few local nobles to maintain control. But coincidentally, that information was leaked to the parties involved. It doesn’t seem like things will go smoothly.”

Nuadir smiled slyly.

Of course, he was the one who leaked the information.

The alias Old Man of the Mountain was the alias of an assassin leader in my previous life, and befitting that, Nuadir was a familiar skilled in assassination and espionage.

Whether it was my command to take over the underworld, his voluntary assassination of groups related to the servants, or his taking and leaking of secrets, it was all work befitting his specialty.

“The power of the nobles must be reduced as much as possible. Close to mutual destruction. It won’t be easy, but I’m asking you.”

“Don’t worry. Coordinating the situation from the shadows is my specialty. I’ll let you know when the time comes, so wait.”

At his confident reply, I smiled.

Nuadir had taken over the underworld created by the Blood Clan.

The eyes and ears of Wallachia were his.

How many humans would he not be able to capture if he targeted their lives?

Especially in a situation where they didn’t even know of his existence and the civil war was escalating.

‘Griff is the chancellor, Gehardt is the governor-general of the North, Nuadir is in charge of intelligence, and Rachel is a priest. Things are gradually falling into place.’

Although the priest is still unsettling.

“Next is me, right?”

Pashimea asked, stretching her clasped hands forward.

“Yes. You’re last.”

“Good.”

She stood up, took a deep breath, and said confidently.

“What I’m going to show you is a new weapon.”

“Oh ho?”

At the word weapon, Gehardt perked up his ears.

“Edar already knows, right?”

I nodded.

I couldn’t not know, as I patrolled the castle every day.

I had seen Pashimea badgering the artisans in the workshop.

Besides, it was originally my suggestion.

“I haven’t seen the finished product yet, but is it complete?”

“The exterior is. I haven’t checked if it works.”

“Let’s go see it.”

Pashimea shrugged and pointed to the door.

I followed her to the open space behind the lord’s manor.

The open space was a site prepared for future expansion of the lord’s manor.

It was just an open space with a rough fence to mark the boundary.

In this place where grass grew lushly, there was a cannon.

“Is this the new weapon?”

Gehardt tilted his head and examined the cannon.

As someone seeing a cannon for the first time, he must have found it amazing.

A long tube made of bronze was a weapon? That was the expression on his face.

He even put his face to the muzzle and blew air into it.

“If you keep doing that, your head will fly off.”

Pashimea grinned.

“My head will fly off? What comes out of this hole?”

“You’ll see.”

She picked up a bucket placed next to the cannon.

The bucket was full of gunpowder in granular form.

She poured the bucket into the cannon and picked up a long rod.

It was a ramrod with the end made of cloth the same thickness as the muzzle.

She pressed and packed the gunpowder tightly with the ramrod, and rolled a roundly carved stone inside.

“Step back.”

After loading the gunpowder and cannonball, she took out a fuse.

She inserted the fuse into a small hole at the rear of the cannon and lit it.

Fzzzz—

The twisted fuse burned quickly.

“Cover your ears if you don’t want to hurt your eardrums.”

The moment the fuse burrowed into the cannon,

KWAANG!

The stone was shot out with a deafening roar.

The cannon barrel fixed to the ground was pushed back with a strong impact.

And the stone broke as it crossed the fence a hundred meters away.

A magic-induced, mirage-like barrier blocked and shattered the stone.

“Wow.”

Griff clapped his hands like a seal.

“This is shooting the stone with the force generated by the explosion, right?”

“That’s right. The black granules in the bucket earlier are gunpowder, and when it catches fire and explodes, it sends the stone flying with that force.”

“Oh···.”

Griff’s eyes sparkled.

“The body material is bronze, right?”

“Yeah, bronze alloy.”

“Is the manufacturing method casting?”

“Or should I make it by hammering and pounding?”

“Is there a reason why you specifically used bronze?”

“I was going to use cast iron, but there were technical issues···.”

“Can the size be reduced further···.”

“I was going to do that anyway···.”

“That gunpowder is···.”

“W-Wait a minute···.”

Pashimea pushed Griff away with both hands and stepped back.

When had I ever seen him so burning with intellectual curiosity?

Even Gehardt, who often bickered with him, had an absurd expression on his face.

“I thought he was a mage, but he was a scholar.”

Gehardt tapped the cannon barrel with his palm and asked.

“Is this the only one? I quite like it.”

“There are a few more. But it’ll be hard to make any more than that.”

“Hmm? Isn’t it already complete? Can’t you just mass-produce it?”

Pashimea sighed deeply and shook her head.

“There aren’t enough hands. There aren’t any bronze casting technicians in the territory, so I had to teach and make it myself. It’ll take quite a while before these people get the hang of it and the facilities are in place.”

And, she added.

“More than anything, gunpowder is scarce.”

“If gunpowder is that black granule from earlier.”

“To make that, you need something called saltpeter [potassium nitrate, a key ingredient in gunpowder]. But not only are there no technicians in the territory, but there are also no saltpeter deposits.”

There’s a gold mine, so why isn’t there this?

···Pashimea grumbled, kicking the empty bucket.

“It was quite a struggle to make this much.”

“Hmm, if it’s so difficult to even shoot it once···.”

“Even if you make a cannon, you can’t use it. So I only made as much as I could use. Making any more would just be decorations.”

Gehardt clicked his tongue.

As a legion commander, he must have realized the value of gunpowder weapons.

“It won’t be much of a threat to us. But it seemed quite effective against lower-level opponents under us, which is a shame.”

“Wait and see. I’ll improve it soon to make it smaller and easier to handle.”

I examined the bronze cannon she had made.

The caliber was about the size of an adult male’s head.

Even if it was flying the same boulder as before, an awkward level would only be torn to shreds if hit.

Of course, it would be difficult to even hit a moving object with the bronze cannon in front of me, but this was a problem that could be solved with improvement.

‘Pashimea directly educated and made this because there were no technicians in the territory. If proficiency is accumulated and improvements are made, both quantity and quality will improve rapidly.’

Then the smaller and easier-to-handle object she mentioned would come out.

‘Small-caliber cannons and arquebuses [early type of portable gun].’

Of course, there were several mountains to overcome before that time came.

I have to find a saltpeter deposit right away.

But that would be solved by time.

I have people, money, and knowledge.

‘The gap created by individual martial power. I will narrow it with technology.’

Other races wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

Of course, other races would also introduce gunpowder weapons.

From my memory, dwarves had already developed and were using gunpowder.

However, it was only being used as fireworks during festivals.

If they realized its value as a weapon, they would have made it in no time.

‘Whether they use the same weapons as us or not is not worth worrying about.’

If they use it, I’m grateful, and if they don’t, I’m grateful.

‘All that can be made with the current technology is muzzle-loading weapons. It is difficult to overwhelm the martial power of individual other races with this level.’

Exclusive possession of gunpowder weapons does not guarantee victory.

‘Rather, there is a high possibility that other races will despise humans for abandoning their outstanding individual martial power and clinging to tools.’

But that is the standard of other races.

Humans were different from other races.

‘Humans are not as strong as you yet. Usually, they can’t hurt you. This is a tool for such humans. An easy-to-handle weapon that allows ordinary humans to injure you.’

Like when Vlad’s Blood Clan hunted familiars.

Even if each one was torn like paper.

The wounds they made little by little caught the monster.

This weapon given to weak humans will wound other races.

‘If they can’t make a wound? The familiars will find them.’

My territory is expanding rapidly.

Along with that, my enemies were also increasing rapidly.

The familiars can’t catch all the enemies forever.

Humans who are not familiars must also catch monsters directly.

The familiars only catch the monsters they can’t catch.

‘Humans are still weak, but if they have this, they can become hunters.’

No matter how many other races there are, there aren’t as many superhumans as there are grains of sand.

‘The gap between humans and other races has a deep correlation with the gap in individual martial power. Therefore, if humans arm themselves with gunpowder weapons and acquire martial power, the gap between humans and other races will also narrow.’

In a situation where the gap has narrowed, what choice will other races make?

‘Will they abandon their individual martial power and wield the same weapons as us? That would also be interesting.’

I imagined.

The fight between humans and other races.

I imagined not the other races rushing in with swords, emphasizing individual martial power, but wearing splendid military uniforms, lining up in a row, and taking orderly firing stances.

If humans in front of them also took the same clothes, weapons, and stances to confront them··· what would be the difference between humans and other races in this fight?

‘The moment you distance yourselves to face us and wield the same weapons, that is when we become equal to you.’

Pashimea glanced at me.

“Well··· there are many problems, but.”

Thump, thump, she hit the cannon with her clenched fist.

“Isn’t it enough to take to Seureut?”

“More than enough.”

I smiled brightly.