I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

Chapter 141:

Professor Zain’s inventions were often based on things that existed in reality.

It was only natural, considering the readers had to recognize them.

Even the drug-manufacturing grinder I saw before wasn't a particularly complex or difficult-to-understand object.

In a world where most machines were crude, the existence of an automated machine was novel, but the grinder itself was something you'd see at a mill in a traditional market.

On the other hand, the long, tower-like object occupying an entire corner of the warehouse was a bit different.

“What on earth is this thing?”

I tilted my head, examining the object lying on its side.

It was separated into three parts, but its size was considerable.

If you put it all together, it seemed like it would be at least two stories high.

‘Is it a detector...? Or maybe something used for measurement.’

I looked at the invention, covered with intricately tangled conduits, buttons of unknown purpose, and gauges whose meanings were a mystery, before finally giving up.

How could an ordinary modern person possibly know the purpose of a machine from a fantasy world.

I just had to pack it up nicely and bring it to the professor.

In contrast, I could recognize the invention placed on the desk next to it at a single glance.

‘It’s a gun.’

And not an old-fashioned thing like a musket, but a revolver pistol of a fairly modern design.

Seeing Professor Zain’s signature engraved on the long barrel, it was definitely that man's invention.

As far as I knew, in the world of 『The Path of the Demon King』, personal firearms hadn't progressed beyond hand-held cannons.

Even those weren't commonly used items.

It wasn't so much a technical problem as it was that the alternative was too good.

Because there was a much more convenient method called magic.

At least cannons had strong firepower, but the hand cannons, which were just smaller versions, were cumbersome objects with ambiguous firepower and range.

‘I don't know why he made it, but it does look cool.’

For an item made by a professor obsessed with practicality to the point of madness, the design was excellent.

Tucking it into my belt, it looked quite plausible.

After grabbing the three bullets neatly placed in the corner of the desk, there was nothing else to take.

If the rest of the stuff had been this small and light, the job would have been much easier.

I went to the window and stuck my hand out.

As the mana gathered in my hand began to emit a bright light, I threw it into the sky.

While the sphere, emitting a pure white light, slowly rose into the sky and illuminated the surroundings, a black hand extended from my shoulder.

BANG!

With a loud roar, the broken wall fell below.

Beyond the shattered wall, at the edge of the now-open view, a carriage could be seen approaching.

Masked figures got out of the carriage that soon reached the bottom of the warehouse.

Wilhelm, at the front, gave a slight nod in greeting.

“How is the front?”

“They should hold out for a while longer. I caught the ones who ran and sent them back.”

“Good news. Then let’s move quickly.”

I had arranged it so that upon my signal, the carriage to move the goods and the Federation’s cannon fodder I had saved would move simultaneously.

They probably thought they were doing the really important work while the others died attracting attention, but in reality, they were also nothing more than cannon fodder.

There was no way that ragtag bunch would last long against the Short blade, so we had to move quickly.

We roughly moved the invention that was on the second floor near the carriage.

“Is this okay?”

“He didn't say to bring it without a single scratch, so it's fine.”

As we loaded the last large piece, a blood-soaked Short blade could be seen running towards us.

The meat shields held out for even less time than I thought.

I clicked my tongue and jumped onto the carriage.

“Let's go.”

The carriage began to race off, clattering loudly.

I cast an acceleration spell on the horses, who were breathing heavily because of the weight.

It was originally a self-enhancement spell, so it couldn't be cast on others, but with a few tricks, it could be forcibly applied to another target.

The effect was definite.

Thanks to that, the Short blade who had been chasing us while shouting curses quickly grew distant.

…Although, the effect was so strong that the people in the carriage couldn't sit properly and were practically flying around.

“Ca-can’t you slow down a bit?”

“Hahaha, keep your mouth shut. You’ll bite your tongue.”

I barely managed to answer Wilhelm's question, which he had practically screamed.

As if the already non-existent ride comfort of the cargo carriage wasn't enough, it even sped up, making it dizzying.

But I couldn't slow down.

Someone was following the dust cloud kicked up by the carriage at a terrifying speed.

There was still some distance, but at this rate, it seemed we would be caught before long.

‘It’s Ragion.’

Even from a distance, I immediately recognized who it was from the fiercely distorted face.

It seemed he had gone to the port, realized he'd been tricked, and came straight back. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

“What do we do?”

“Give me the remaining bombs.”

“Now?”

“Then give them to me after you’re dead.”

“…Damn.”

Wilhelm spat a low curse and struggled to take out the bomb secured to his thigh.

I snatched it with Mana Grasp just as he was about to drop it due to the carriage's rattling.

“Good work. Now focus on driving the carriage.”

“Is throwing that a good idea?!”

“Probably not.”

I answered nonchalantly, pulled the pin on the end of the cylinder, and threw it without hesitation.

With a thunderous roar, clumps of dirt and stone caught in the explosion rained down.

“Did you get him?!”

“No.”

Slicing through the flames and smoke with his sword, Ragion pursued the carriage even more fiercely.

The horses, startled by the explosion, began to run wild, making the carriage shake even more violently.

I looked at Wilhelm, who was spitting out incomprehensible curses while holding onto the reins with all his might, and slightly bowed my head.

“I apologize.”

“What?!”

“This one will be a bit louder.”

Before Wilhelm could even answer, I threw the hand grenade with all my might.

This time, I had even wrapped it in mana.

Along with the familiar explosion, this time lightning sparked in all directions.

I had gathered all the mana I could draw upon to create an electric current, so it would probably stay like that for a while.

By the time Ragion reappeared, cutting through the chaos, we were already far away.

I couldn't see his face, but I could roughly guess what expression he was making.

I slowly released the acceleration spell on the horses.

As the crazily speeding carriage gradually slowed down, the Count shadow corps members who had been barely holding on began to throw up one by one.

Wilhelm was no exception, vomiting while holding the reins with trembling hands.

“I’m... I’m never participating in a mission like this again... Ugh!”

Watching Wilhelm, the corners of my mouth twitched.

I wasn't exactly sneering.

It was just that my face contorted as I tried to hold back the bile rising in my own throat.

“Let’s do that.”

Only after swallowing bile for a long time did I manage to spit out my agreement through a sore throat.

***

“You made quite a mess, Count. To the point where it was hard to watch.”

“It wasn’t a situation where I could steal it quietly.”

“I have no interest in that. It all happened on your land, anyway. I’m talking about the scratches on my work.”

A week later, the invention, which had been moved circuitously to avoid the Three Blades' pursuit, was back in the professor's hands.

Upon hearing that his work had been recovered, the professor had unilaterally canceled all his appointments in the Imperial Capital and came, but his reaction after checking the result was not very good.

“You only told me to be careful, not to bring it back perfectly clean. It was impossible to bring it in better condition than this.”

“I understand. But my understanding doesn't restore my damaged work, does it. I suppose I should be glad it was recovered at all.”

Seeing him grumble with a sullen expression that showed no understanding at all, he seemed quite upset.

“In any case, you kept your promise, so I must also keep mine.”

“When do you think the item I requested will be completed?”

“It won’t be quick if I have to analyze the data and make improvements. But I promise to develop it with the highest priority.”

For a man who usually praises his inventions with overflowing confidence to be so cautious meant it would take quite a long time.

“That's not quite enough. I also invested a lot in this matter, so I can't go back empty-handed.”

“I know.”

The professor answered curtly, glancing at the newspaper on his desk.

The pages were filled with articles about how criminals had launched a blatant attack, and the residents had trembled in fear until the Imperial Army arrived.

The Three Blades were loudly claiming they had acted on their own, so honestly, it wasn't a huge loss, but there was still some denunciation of the Imperial Army.

At a time when I was trying to transfer the Dukes’ authority to the military, a drop in the army’s credibility was not a good thing.

I had no intention of letting it slide with a vague promise to give me the item later.

“I’ve prepared two gifts.”

Professor Zain said so, taking something out onto his desk.

One was a letter, and the other was a metal case.

“What is this?”

“This letter is my recommendation. Most Vestol officials, including the embassy, will grant your requests if you have this letter. Even politically sensitive ones.”

“Does your recommendation carry that much weight?”

“It doesn’t have much power over those who don’t want to live in Vestol. But everyone else won't have the guts to defy it.”

Hmm.

Not bad.

The more cards I have to play when I confront the Three Blades head-on, the better.

I'll have to think a little about how to use it, though.

Right now, I was more interested in the heavy-looking metal box than the letter of recommendation.

“What is this?”

“It seems you took a liking to this. So I prepared it.”

When the professor opened the box, the revolver I saw in the warehouse was inside.

Last time, the finish on parts like the grip was incomplete, but this one looked like a finished version.

“The official name is the Revolving-feed, Rifled, Portable, Lightweight Cannon.”

“Isn't it just a gun?”

“Gun?”

Professor Zain raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ah, right.

Since this is the first time such an object has appeared in this world, there wouldn't have been an official name for it.

“If you want to call it that, then call it that. A gun. It's simple, not bad.”

“Hmm. So what does this thing do.”

Fortunately, the professor didn't pay much mind to the name I gave it and continued his explanation.

“There have been continuous attempts to miniaturize cannons. They all failed in the end because of the better option of magic.”

“Is this one different?”

“The structure isn't particularly unique. It's something a skilled craftsman could come up with, and there have been cases of similar items being made. They all failed because they were less useful than magic.”

I thought it was an original creation, but it seems that's not the case.

Then why did he make it?

“The key isn't the cannon, but the ammunition that goes inside it.”

“You mean this.”

I picked up one of the neatly arranged bullets.

It wasn't the brassy color that comes to mind when you think of a bullet, but a greyish color, close to black.

“It’s a mana-nullifying bullet.”

“Nullifying means….”

“It means it can pierce through any kind of spell. It has enough physical force to neutralize the person hiding behind the spell as well.”

I was reminded of the dagger Semia used before.

If it was expensive even when made into a blade, I couldn't even imagine how expensive it would be to make it into a bullet.

“It was an item made because of an order from the military to create a ranged weapon that could nullify magic, but they gave up as soon as they heard the price.”

“I can imagine.”

“Normally, I would have just stored it in a corner of the research institute's warehouse, but since you seem to like it, I'll give it to you as a gift.”

“Are there no ordinary bullets, I mean, cannonballs?”

“If you were going to use something ordinary, wouldn't you just use magic? That's why I didn't make any.”

“So, you’re saying these six rounds here are all there is?”

The professor nodded.

It doesn't seem bad for a surprise attack.

Although I'm not yet sure when or against whom I would use it for a surprise attack.

“Since it’s a gift, I’ll gratefully accept it.”

“One more thing.”

Professor Zain lowered his voice.

“It's news about the Duke of Leitche.”

“I thought you weren't very interested in this kind of thing.”

“I'm still not interested. I'm just telling you because I think you should know.”

I had hoped it meant he was going to side with me completely, but it wasn't to that extent.

I was a little disappointed, but there was no harm in having more information.

“What is it?”

“The Duke is planning to kill the First Duke. He asked me to make a tool to be used for the assassination.”

“…What?”

“It's been quite a while since I delivered it, so I think he'll be putting his plan into action soon.”

“Why are you telling me something so important only now....”

Seeing me unable to finish my sentence, the professor spoke nonchalantly as if it were no big deal.

“There's no need to report every single instance of giving a necessary item to a person who needs it, is there?”