Chapter 263: Countess Sarah Agene Rodd
We had arrived at Agene Castle, in the southern region of Silesie. Thanks to the year of tax exemption following the war, the city had flourished to an extraordinary degree, bustling with activity.
「Sensei, now that I think about it, we probably should’ve inspected the southern regions earlier, huh?」
「Our hands were full with the great maritime projects, so we didn’t have the time.」
This visit was a good opportunity to see the heart of the southern region. As we chatted in front of the castle, three men with short mustaches came rushing over, almost tripping over themselves as they bowed deeply in front of us.
「Thank you ever so much for gracing us with your presence!」 「Please, Your Excellency King General, this way!」 「Countess Rodd is eagerly awaiting you!」
These were none other than the ‘Three Crows of Castor’, retainers of Sarah-chan.
They resembled triplets, though their heights differed.
On the left stood a tall, lanky man; in the middle, a short, plump one; and to the right, an average-sized man of medium build. They were Baron Hestor, Baron Pator, and Baron Dastor, all relatives from the Castor family. Despite not being actual triplets, they had a familial resemblance.
Dressed in lavish ceremonial attire embroidered with gold thread, they exuded an air of ‘we’ve profited handsomely’ though on these three, it only made them look like a trio of comedians.
Bowing as low as possible, they practically hopped as they guided us into the castle. Curious about their situation, I decided to ask. 「It’s been a while, three crows. I thought each of you had your own baronies to manage. How’s that going?」
「Oh, my! For His Excellency to remember such lowly men as ourselves is the greatest of honors!」 「Our lands can wait. This job takes precedence!」 「The southern region prospers thanks to the guidance of Countess Rodd!」
Southern Silesie’s nobles were known for their pride, making these barons’ humility unusual. Still, speaking with them gave me the impression I was dealing with shrewd merchants, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated.
They didn’t bother hiding the fact that they were opportunists clinging to Sarah-chan to line their own pockets. These sycophants were the very definition of fawning courtiers.
Sarah-chan was also said to be on good terms with Viscount Zawa Haruto, who had switched sides during the Southern Uprising after initially siding with Gale. Sarah-chan’s ability to handle such difficult personalities was likely a testament to her political skill.
Now that I thought about it, the Agene marketplace had been teeming with sharp-eyed merchants, filled with an almost overwhelming energy. It seemed Sarah-chan had a talent for tapping into people’s desires, which might explain her success as a ruler.
-0-
Inside Agene Castle’s audience chamber, many small-time nobles and retainers were gathered. Sarah-chan had spared the previous count, leaving much of the governing structure intact, which gave her a wealth of skilled personnel. I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
As I entered, Sarah-chan, who had been busy with her official duties, stood up. Her emerald-green eyes gleamed with a determined strength.
「So, Takeru, you’ve finally come to ask for my hand in marriage, haven’t you?」
「Uh… I’m not sure how to respond to that victorious expression, but… it’s been a while, hasn’t it?」
It had been about a year since I last saw Sarah-chan. At barely sixteen, she had already become a countess ruling over a vast territory, and she now exuded the grace and dignity befitting her station.
「Oh, if you’re not here to propose, then why are you here? As you can see, the territory is thriving.」
She spread her arms wide, proudly boasting of her success.
「Yeah, it sure looks like everything’s going well.」
At that point, Lyle-sensei cut in.
「That’s enough of the pleasantries. Let’s get straight to the point. We’d like you to show us to the weapons factory.」
「Weapons factory? What are you talking about, sensei?」
Sarah-chan, clearly feigning ignorance, stood silent as a handsome young man with golden hair interjected.
「Your Excellency Lyle, I will guide you to the weapons factory.」
「Hey, Milk, you idiot! You didn’t even ask me!」
Her second in command, Milk-kun, sighed deeply with an air of melancholy. Ignoring Sarah-chan’s panicked reaction, he led us toward the weapons factory located within the territory.
-0-
The weapons factory was situated in the northern part of Agene, at the base of a mountain. Dozens of enormous chimneys loomed over the area.
What in the world… this massive industrial complex was transforming the mineral resources extracted from the Ye Mountains into cannons and guns at a breakneck pace.
「Hey, Natal. What are you doing here?」
「Ah, long time no see.」
Replied a familiar bald man standing half-naked before us—Natal Dacole.
Natal was the head of the mining guild in the Ye Mountains, but seeing him here in the southern region puzzled me. When I asked him about it, he explained that Sarah-chan had unified the mining guilds of both the northern and southern parts of the Ye Mountains, appointing Natal as the overall leader.
Using a combination of her old connections and new authority, Sarah-chan had orchestrated a massive increase in production. It seemed that nearly 80% of the dwarves in Silesie were being mobilized for this effort.
This was far beyond what one would expect in peacetime.
「What the hell is going on here?」
「I’m not too sure myself, but the young miss said we’re preparing for war, so here I am.」
Natal said, rubbing his smooth head nonchalantly.
「War?」
The Eura Continent had just come out of a long period of strife, and the nations had been reducing their armies in pursuit of peace. Silesie, as the leader of this peace initiative, was secretly expanding its military? What on earth was Sarah-chan up to?
I opened a nearby crate, and sure enough, it was packed with guns and ammunition. Security around the factory was tight, and there was an unusually high number of volunteer soldiers.
It certainly felt like preparations were being made for a large-scale conflict.
「This is absurd. Sarah-chan, what is going on?」
「Well, you see… there’s this fox of a woman, Josephine, the old ruler who fled to the neighboring country. She keeps meddling with my territory, so this is just for defense.」
Sarah-chan explained, still insisting it was purely for self-defense.
This was definitely a war in the making.
When I had seen the bustling markets of Agene, I’d felt like I’d seen something similar before. The merchants’ eyes gleamed with an eerie brightness, a sure sign they were betting on the spoils of war. It was a war economy in the making, with traders swarming to profit from the inevitable conflict.
Milk-kun, who had been holding his head in despair next to Sarah-chan, muttered under his breath.
「Countess Rodd plans to seize the kingdom.」
「Milk!」
Lyle-sensei intervened calmly.
「Sarah-chan, don’t be mad at Milk. He was passing me information under my orders.」
「Ugh… Sensei!」
「Don’t ‘ugh’ me. It’s already well known that the volunteer army in Agene has ballooned to the size of three divisions. There’s no way something like that could have escaped my notice.」
I was stunned. Three divisions? That meant a force of thirty thousand soldiers.
No matter how large Sarah-chan’s county might be, this was an excessive number for a standing army. It could only mean one thing—war preparations.
「But, but, sensei, Josephine really is causing trouble!」
「I know exactly what you’re thinking, Sarah-chan. You were planning to use Josephine’s refuge in the neighboring Roland Kingdom as a pretext to march your forces in, weren’t you? Once your troops are inside, you can take control however you like.」
Sarah-chan, realizing she had been caught, flailed her hands in a panic.
「But Takeru is trying to conquer other continents, so I thought I had to grab at least one kingdom to keep up with him!」
This expansionist mentality… Sarah-chan clearly couldn’t be left unsupervised.
The Roland Kingdom had been a long-standing ally of Silesie. With the formation of the Continental Alliance to prevent war, the last thing we needed was for her to invade so casually.
「Sarah-chan’s claim about the former Countess Josephine of Agene has already been addressed. Through diplomatic channels with Roland Kingdom, I’ve arranged for the Zephiranzas Mercenary Corps to apprehend her. If they don’t succeed, she won’t be able to remain in Roland Kingdom’s borders. Thus, your justification for war is gone, Sarah-chan.」
At this, Sarah-chan collapsed to the floor, clearly frustrated.
「But I spent a whole year preparing for this!」
「Well, Takeru, now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get to the real issue at hand.」
「Wait, that was just the prelude?」
I had thought this was already a monumental problem.
「This overproduction in the Ye Mountains and the large-scale weapons factory can be redirected. Instead of war, we can use them to create weapons to combat the Great Demon God. Regardless of her intentions, Sarah-chan’s preparation was fortuitous, and she should be praised for that.」
「I see…」
I replied, starting to grasp the situation.
So, it seemed we could use these facilities to craft weapons powerful enough to defeat the Great Demon God. But considering the Great Demon God’s sheer strength, I wasn’t sure ordinary cannons would be enough.
「You seem doubtful. But remember during the battle with the Great Demon God’s massive tentacles? One weapon did prove effective.」
「Ah, the main cannon of the black cedar warship.」
Indeed, it had blasted off one of the tentacles, and it might work on the Great Demon God’s core as well.
「I closely observed the battle. The cannon appeared to affect the Great Demon God’s magic power. You see, the Armstrong Cannon you designed was limited by metallurgy, so parts of its mechanism had to be enhanced with magic. As a result, it produced some unexpected side effects.」
「Side effects?」
「The mechanism that converts magical power into propulsion can handle any amount of magic power poured into it. In theory, as long as the cannon barrel doesn’t break, even incredibly potent magic can be used. During the fight against the Invincible Armada, we successfully launched shells packed with large magic stones. So, we already know that there’s a synergistic effect.」
「Oh yeah, I remember that.」
I said, recalling that it had been Sherry’s idea to load magic-infused stones into the shells.
Apparently, magic and cannons work quite well together.
「With advances in metallurgy, the strength of the barrels has improved. If we scale up the cannon to match the size of the Great Demon God and fire it with an immense magical force, we might be able to take it down.」
「I understand the theory, but where would we find magic power enough to defeat something like the Great Demon God?」
Lyle-sensei smiled.
「We’ll gather the magical power of every mage and priest across the entire Eura Continent.」
「That’s… quite the grand vision.」
I couldn’t even begin to imagine the scale of such a project. A super-massive magical cannon fueled by the combined power of an entire continent’s worth of magic users.
「This is the moment when the world faces the imminent collapse of the Goddess of Creation Asama. In other words, it’s a crisis of global proportions. With proper negotiations with the Asama Church’s headquarters, we can secure cooperation from the various nations. The alliance you forged across the continent, Takeru, will now bear fruit.」
Upon hearing this, Sarah-chan sprang to her feet.
「I don’t fully understand all the details, but if you’re going to use this weapons factory for the mainland of Silesie, then the war bonds I issued to build it will be repaid by the central government, right?」
「You even issued bonds? Fine, we’ll cover the costs.」
I couldn’t believe she had funded such a massive factory by issuing bonds. It’s been barely a year since she became a countess, and yet Sarah-chan’s reputation is strong enough that she could sell bonds from her domain. That’s impressive.
Luckily, we make enough from trade to cover the payments, but this girl… trying to start a war while running on a financial tightrope is a dangerous game. I need to keep a closer eye on her.
「Phew! So, I was actually smart for preparing an army capable of defending the world against the crisis! You can totally praise me now, Takeru!」
And there it was—Sarah-chan’s proud, triumphant expression.
She bounces back quickly, doesn’t she?
Well, it all worked out in the end, so I suppose I can’t complain too much. Still, the people of the Eura continent don’t know that the Great Demon God is on its way yet.
Convincing the leaders of each nation of the impending threat and rallying their cooperation will be the first step. We only have about six months before the Great Demon God crosses the Siren Sea and reaches this continent.
In that time, we need to raise awareness across the continent, gather resources and support, and build the massive cannon capable of confronting the Great Demon God. The clock is ticking.
「Let’s name this super-weapon ‘The Continental Cannon,’ to reflect its purpose of defending the entire continent.」
As always, naming things is the first order of business. Lyle-sensei nodded approvingly. ‘A fine name indeed.’
Sarah-chan, as always, was quick to jump in, raising both hands in excitement.
「Alright then! Leave the ‘Continental Cannon’ to me! I’ll get started on it right away!」
As if it could be built that easily… I couldn’t help but smile at how she always managed to take charge. Perhaps she was also trying to sweep her secret war preparations under the rug, but once Sarah-chan decides to do something, she’s lightning-fast.
She had already started discussing the designs for the giant cannon factory with Natal, gathering engineers and craftsmen as if it were no big deal.
Well, if Sarah-chan and Lyle-sensei were already hard at work, I had no excuse to be idle either.
While we were busy making plans, the Great Demon God continued its slow approach across the Siren Sea. In six months, the battle for our world would begin.