Volume 4 Chapter 22 Red Flame Ball
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Now that I’ve dragged everyone here, this had better be worth it. And why is Kai here, too?”
The Dining Hall felt tense. The harbor was restless, and this sudden summons had everyone on edge. Camillo, the section chief — our resident shut-in Elf Mage — had a pillow crease still on his cheek, likely from a nap he’d been interrupted from. He looked thoroughly displeased. Worse, he was actively grumbling about the fact that I’d been ordered to bring Kai, a young Dwarf girl we’d hired for manual labor.
In the middle of the grumbling, I stood up.
”Listen up,” the Captain said, his tone short and procedural.
”I’m Larry, Second Lieutenant of the Torpedo Department. What I’m about to discuss concerns a type of magic weapon I spotted earlier using our fixed-wing drone.1“
The mention of “magic weapon” caused a ripple of murmurs.
”You called us all here for that?” Camillo grumbled, his tone annoyed but also academic.
”It’s called a Red Flame Ball. When it ruptures, it kills without leaving a single scratch, yet it can also leave victims blind or with crippled limbs. It doesn’t just affect people; it renders Golems and other magic tools completely useless.”
”I’ve never even heard of such a weapon.” The shut-in Elf Mage shouted that without a hint of hesitation. I see. If a two-hundred-year-old Elf Mage hasn’t heard of it, it must be brand-new.
”Even within the Kingdom of Schweilitz military, only a very select few are aware of it,” I said, keeping my tone calm and neutral.
”And why, pray tell, would someone like you know about something like that?” Camillo snapped back.
”Because I’ve seen the battlefield between the Empire of Rus and |The Boltechino|.”
Even the Elf Mage was left speechless by my answer. I suppose that’s expected; that’s a land thousands of kilometers from here.
”|The Boltechino|… are you referring to the Eastern Horseback tribes?”
The shut-in Elf Mage finally opened his mouth again. So he knew about |The Boltechino|, but judging by the way others were glancing at each other, most of them hadn’t a clue. This isn’t the place for a lecture on global politics, but they need to understand the term.
”|The Boltechino| are a strong power with influence in the eastern part of the Central Continent. They’re currently putting heavy pressure on the Empire of Rus and the Turkic Empire.”
”They couldn’t possibly be stronger than Rus or the Turks,” Camillo said with a smug look. But the truth is, the Empire of Rus has been completely at the mercy of Subutai’s forces from |The Boltechino|. Their Second Imperial Capital was razed to the ground, the citizens slaughtered to a man. The Empire is on the edge of collapse. If Frontier Count Pugachev declares independence, the Empire of Rus will dissolve in an instant.
But there’s no point in going into all that now.
”The official reason for my trip was to deliver a letter to the son of Frontier Count Pugachev, the easternmost noble of the Empire of Rus.”
”A ‘Frontier Count’ is a high-ranking noble, isn’t he? How did a foreigner like you end up with the duty of delivering such a letter?”
This Elf Mage really is a persistent pain in the neck. I ignored him; there’s no need to mention that his son was my subordinate, or that I’d gotten the son’s daughter (Emmy) pregnant. Come to think of it, Ellie, who played the part of the Virgin Prostitute, should have given birth by now, but no word has reached me.
”Just before we arrived, |The Boltechino| invaded the interior of the Empire of Rus. I saw the battlefields where they clashed with the Imperial nobles.”
Most of them didn’t grasp the importance of the Empire of Rus or |The Boltechino|, and it seemed my words weren’t sinking in. Since explaining it would take forever, I skipped the details.
”When you look at the aftermath of the battle from above, you can see rings about twenty meters across. I saw them in several places, so I went down to confirm what they were. They were circles made of dirt and sand, as if someone had swept them with a broom. It was nothing like the craters carved out by dynamite. According to those who saw it up close, it was caused by large, glowing red orbs fired by |The Boltechino| that fell from the sky and burst upon impact.”
”And did people die?”
”Yes. I’ve heard they died without a single wound, and Golems were broken and stopped moving. A high-ranking official in Rus told me that they can no longer station Mages, Elf Mages, or Dwarves on the front lines because they are so easy to affect.”
Perhaps because it concerned them personally, everyone went quiet.
”What do you mean, ‘easy to affect’?” Kai, the Dwarf from the Engine Department, asked.
”If you take a direct hit from one of the glowing red orbs, you die regardless. But in the surrounding area, those who can use Mana are hit much harder. They can die, lose their sight… one person I met had their muscles locked in a spasm, leaving their face twisted, and they couldn’t walk properly.”
”Are you saying the damage is permanent?”
I nodded, and murmurs spread.
”At first, it’s an orb about a meter across. You pull a cord or something, it starts to glow yellow, and as it’s fired from catapults, it grows into a red orb about twenty meters across, then bursts when it hits the ground. In Rus, they suspect it’s made of multi-body Mana woven together.”
”I see… I understand now,” Kai said, her tone brightening with sudden insight.
When I asked what she had figured out, she explained that what was causing the damage was likely a linear Mana Pentamer. Mana Pentamers, formed by five Mana units, have many Isomers — linear, cyclic, branched, delta-hexahedral, and so on.
”Linear Mana Pentamers aren’t normally used for healing magic. But above all, they are hard to handle because they easily damage nerves.”
”The blindness the Section Chief mentioned — I suspect it’s because the scattered Mana from the Mana Pentamers entered through the eyes and destroyed the optic nerves. I also think the Golems stop moving because it destroys the nervous plexus they synchronize with.”
”Then how do you explain the change from yellow to red?” I asked.
”It’s just a guess, but I think they’re using compressed linear Trimers. It can’t be that simple, though.”
That’s what we use in the self-destruct part of our fixed-wing drone. But as Kai says, it probably isn’t that simple. Keeping a constant heat to increase the volume, which then lowers the temperature and causes the shift from yellow to red — you could do that even with a basic Fireball — but the trick of keeping it in a spherical shape away from one’s own hands is something I can’t quite figure out.
”The Red Flame Ball is apparently made on an island at the far eastern edge of the Central Continent.”
”That means it’s coming from an incredibly long way away.”
”Section Chief Larry, who did you hear all this from?” Camillo grumbled.
”I heard it from a high-ranking official in Rus,” I bluffed.
”So, how are we going to deal with this?” the Captain asked, his voice firm.
”We need to go ashore to confirm whether what I saw was indeed a Red Flame Ball. I think our next move depends on that.”
”The battle seems to still be going on, you know.”
”Then let’s sink the Charle flagship and the two triremes. The rest are civilian transport ships, so the fighting will end whether they like it or not.”
”Then let’s just say we attacked under orders from the Kingdom of Schweilitz,” Fredys, the Deck crew chief, suggested with a grin.
”Do you think such an excuse will work?!” the Captain barked.
As the Captain barked that, the Dining Hall door opened and a young man from the Bridge crew burst in.
”One of the triremes that was in the harbor is heading our way!”
”Well then, I’ll sink that ship, along with their Charle flagship and the other triremes.”
”Do as you like,” the Captain finally gave in.
”Don’t worry, Captain. If Charle dares to sink a ship belonging to our ally, Celt, then the Schweilitz Navy will sink every single Charle ship, from fishing boats to warships,” Fredys added.
I left the watchmen in charge of securing the back of the Dining Hall and took the flight crew with me as I left.
By the time we finished getting ready for the sortie, the ship had already begun its engine-powered run toward Palermo.
The land you see from the sea looks closer than it really is. Especially at night.
The range for a fixed-wing drone with a good safety margin is two kilometers.
It took longer than expected to reach a point where we could attack the anchored ships, and the first triremes we launched were sunk about a kilometer from shore.
We did manage to rescue a few of the girls — the Children, I mean — but we lost quite a few to drowning.
Next, when I sent a fixed-wing drone to check the two ships at anchor, I found they had already fallen into the hands of the local faction along with the transports. It seems we missed our chance.
I had planned on wiping out the enemy force for Palermo and making a grand landing, but given the situation, the Captain, myself, and the deck crewman, Pole, were set to land by boat the next morning.
If nothing else, one must keep proper records when deploying a fixed-wing drone.
I finished the reports late into the night, and feeling hungry, I headed to the Dining Hall, where I found Nikole-senpai.
”You’re late, aren’t ya?” Nikole-senpai asked, her tone sharp. “Been hittin’ the bottle?”
Since the sanitation team usually wraps up on time, I asked her, and she shot me a sharp glare.
”The girls we saved… they’d been treated like rags, covered in wounds. It was a nightmare,” she spat back, her voice rough like her past.
”So you were actually doing your job,” I said, keeping my tone neutral.
”The hell you lookin’ at?” she shot back, her voice sharp and street-hardened. “Are you lookin’ for a fight?”
”Anyway, I heard you’re going ashore tomorrow,” she went on, her voice softening a little but keeping that rough edge. “God, I’m jealous.”
”You’ve got it wrong,” I said. “We’re going to meet the official in charge of a city that’s already burned to the ground.”
”I don’t care,” she said, her words slow and wistful. “I’m still jealous. Seeing land that close and not being able to step on it…”
I understand how the wish to get out grows after spending so many days in a tight space.
And solid ground that doesn’t sway can seem like heaven when you’ve been on a ship for days on end.
But I have to look into the Red Flame Ball.
I’m not going there for a sightseeing trip.
”What’s with that look?” she snapped, her eyes narrowing. “You were just mockin’ me, weren’t ya?”
”No, no, of course not,” I replied.
”Suuure. I guess if you’re lookin’ at me from the view of Larry-kouhai, the Academy’s hotshot assistant professor, I must look like a fool.”
She seems drunk.
And the nasty kind, too.
”Did you happen to be drinking while you were treating patients?” I asked.
”Just a little of the booze we use for sterilization,” she admitted.
Apparently, she’d been dipping into the high-proof distilled spirit (Rita).
”Hey kouhai,” she leaned in, her voice low. “Why don’t you try bangin’ your senior for once?”
”Yeah, yeah,” I said, brushing her off. “I’ll think about it when I’m not so busy.”
”Right, you’re too busy goin’ between Pamela and that slut, aren’t ya? No time for anyone else.”
By “slut,” she likely meant Katarina. The senior doesn’t get along with her.
”Tell me, Larry-kouhai, do you do anal too?”
”Why?” I asked.
”Because the slut asked me to share some Vaseline.”
Vaseline?
”If there were plenty of water, I’d use soap or somethin’, but when it comes to anal, you need Vaseline. It’s a lubricant and a protectant. But make sure you wash it out good afterward, kouhai.”
I see.
Come to think of it, when Sonya Major messed with my anus, she used Vaseline.
I had thought it was to stop my mucous membranes from getting damaged.
”Should I give you a funnel, too?”
”A funnel?” I asked.
”To give yourself an anal douche. Say, do you know what a ‘manguri-gaeshi’ is?”
”Sort of. Lie on your back, lift your legs, and lower your knees on either side of your face?”
”That’s the one. That way, your anus is pointed almost straight up. You stick the funnel in, pour the cleanin’ fluid in, hold it for a while, and then push it out. If you can, I suggest doin’ two rinses.”
”Is the cleanin’ fluid just water?”
”Dummy,” she scoffed. “That’s no fun. Use alcohol, obviously. If you care about how it looks, use a Red Wine. Me, I prefer a Beer.”
So, you can do anal sex in this world if you know how to work it.
”Doesn’t the funnel cause backflow?”
”Of course it does if you use too much. And if there’s stuff inside, there’s no room. By the second rinse, it’s usually about a cupful. Though, there are perverts who get a kick out of havin’ the Red Wine flow back out.”
Which means.
”Nikole-senpai, have you done it before?”
Her eyes locked onto mine, dead steady.
”I worked at that kind of place, didn’t I? If a client wanted it, I did it. Anal is dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doin’, so the house actually gave us lessons. Like, don’t use high-proof alcohol for the douche.”
The place she worked — a business that dealt in prostitution and gambling, and naturally, high-end food and drink — was run by a Yakuza boss named Wolf-san.
It was an exclusive club where the entrance fee alone was one Gold coin (one hundred thousand Yen).
”Want me to teach you, step by step?”
”I’m interested, but I’ll pass,” I said.
”Ugh, you’re so borin’.”
Nikole-senpai sulks, but I can’t afford to increase the number of partners I have on the ship.
Self-restraint is the name of the game.
”Fine then. If you want a funnel and an anal cock, it’ll cost you one Silver coin.”
She’s going to charge me for it?
—
Summary:
Larry convenes a briefing in the Dining Hall to warn his crew about the deadly and mysterious Red Flame Ball weapon observed at the front. Despite the Captain’s initial reluctance to intervene in the conflict between the Empire of Charle and others, he eventually authorizes an attack after an enemy ship approaches. The ship sets a course for Palermo as the crew prepares for the coming engagement.
—
Trivia:
The Captain of the ship is a military officer from the Celt Kingdom who is only on loan to the Kingdom of Schweilitz.
Mana Pentamers come in various forms including linear, cyclic, branched, and delta-hexahedral.
The Red Flame Ball’s ability to kill without leaving wounds is attributed to its impact on the nervous system and optic nerves of those who can manipulate Mana.
Ellie, who acted as a VirginProstitute, has reportedly given birth to a child, though Larry has not received direct confirmation.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Kai – This 20-year-old Dwarf girl is a bottom-tier military recruit doing heavy lifting and smithing in the Engine Dept. Appearing as an ash-covered, square-jawed young man with superhuman strength, she has unstable mana but knows Mana Pentamers. She accompanies Earnest’s party, carries the protagonist to the bridge, makes dramatic apologies, and is easily lured by tuna cheek meat.
• Camillo – This tall, silver-haired, 200-year-old Elf Mage from Great Norden Island is an introverted Section Chief with deep magical knowledge. A nagging, easily annoyed shut-in who prefers his engine room, he acts arrogantly as the First Sage’s former mentor, leading peers to distrust him. Beneath his superiority, he secretly struggles to manage administrative duties and subordinates under pressure.
• Larry – Sammy I (Larry-sama) is a 16-year-old bald, dark-haired reincarnated professor, Grand Duke, and Second Lieutenant who serves as the Fee Getys Torpedo Department Chief. This serious, easily flustered family man with four wives and children uses tech, mana, and modern military strategy to design ships. He bravely defended his ship from an Amazoness raid despite suffering a broken rib.
• Schweilitz – The kingdom to which the protagonist is forced to return boasts towering academy spires and a full military arsenal—Royal Army troops and elite officers. Its ruler holds a captive the protagonist fears will be executed.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• Rus – A neighboring power deeply involved in regional politics and mediation, best known for annexing the Kingdom of Larland.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Frontier – A local noble who governs a territory in the Empire of Rus, possessing sharp diplomatic instincts and a cautious approach to the magical weaponry of his enemies.
• Pugachev – The aging, short, and chubby Frontier Count of Rus is a powerful, politically cunning figure who manages the fortress city of Tsaritsyn with unrefined authority and an oversized crown. Fiercely loyal to the Emperor, he commands a massive military force. He is Igor’s father and grandfather to Ellie’s child, prioritizing imperial protection over independence while masking deep deceitfulness.
• Subutai – A military commander of the Boltechino responsible for the fall of Moscow.
• Ellie – Elegant and composed with the refined bearing of a noblewoman, she is the youngest daughter of Duke Igor of Bryachislavichi and granddaughter of Frontier Count Pugachev. Wielding significant political influence, she expertly navigates elite circles with her attentive nature. She is deeply in love with the protagonist, with whom she shares a child.
• Emmy – An innocent ten-year-old maid, rookie bondservant, and sister to the protagonist in the Getys House. Though aware of her difficult situation, she remains hopeful about the future. She looks up to Larry, viewing him as a kind figure.
• Mana – A non-commissioned officer and liaison who previously had their mana drained by Larry.
• Charle – A faction captain whose flagship and crew were involved in the conflict. A mercenary captain whose ship was targeted. An individual associated with a group of remnants.
• Fredys – A female Deck crew foreman and chief who has spent nearly a decade in these waters, she possesses specialized knowledge of the Inland Sea. Leading her team with pragmatic solutions while maintaining the high morale of the flight crew, she serves as an experienced, capable anchor for her colleagues.
• Celt – In his twenties, this former tenant farmer and 303rd Unit militia leader is now a pragmatic, calculating Deputy Commander of the Town Guards—equivalent to a sergeant or officer—overseeing Strock Village’s fortifications. Dressed in simple work clothes, he quietly admires Teressa-san’s skill and serves as the village’s trusted gossip source, having earned his land with reward money. Once a sandal-maker and translator of Bours’s jargon, he maintains a careful working relationship with Larry while balancing political interests, embodying calm kindness beneath his disciplined exterior.
• Palermo – A target location where a battle and reparations negotiation took place.
• Pole – An orphaned Celt Kingdom soldier and Deck crewman who serves as a tough-acting mast house scout and rescue team guide. An associate of Earnest, this local knows the island language and terrain intimately. Though initially rebellious and hostile toward the protagonist after recently losing a friend to murder, he opens up and shows deep respect after a battle and a long talk about his past and his aunt in Palermo.
• Nikole – A Level-3 Nikole medical mage, repeat Bizan graduate, and senior ship crew member, this Izumo health officer assists Chulpan with treatments and joins in flirtatious banter. Larry’s senior colleague whom she once hoped to marry, she sports silver-streaked shoulder-length hair, a rune-etched coat, and a sailor uniform with a vermilion Rhein insignia while battling a haunted past and alcoholism.
• Niko – An elderly, dignified former slave, he is a loyal bondservant to the protagonist and the Getys household, helping raise her child alone. As the family’s oldest male servant, he drives carriages and manages groundskeeping, preferring the stable loft. His deep knowledge of the local landscape and the sugar beet business allows him to aid their estate transition with quiet wisdom and steadfast service.
• Suu – Secretary for the Royal Capital Beast-person Mutual Aid Association and a cat beast-person. Sample No. 19 in Kento’s report. She steps up as the first witness for the defense.
• Rita – Formerly known as Katrina Hein, she is a Mage and commander of the Golem maintenance team. She poses as Roberto’s wife, wearing practical woolen clothing suitable for her role.
• Pamela – A character capable of Heal magic who helped organize and execute the rescue team. A healer who treats the protagonist’s wounds and exhibits a flirtatious personality. A member of the group who assists in the interrogation and rescue efforts.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Katarina – Tall, stunning, and slender, this 30-year-old Flight Section leader/former Chief Researcher wears a sailor uniform and manages the ship’s drone arsenal. Assertive but prone to explosion-triggered instability, she was once poisoned. Ferociously protective, she launched attacks and punched the protagonist when they were left near death, maintaining a strained yet intimately close relationship with them.
• Major – A commanding military officer with a sadistic inclination toward interrogation. She orchestrates the sessions and utilizes Telepathy to coordinate with her subordinates.
• Sonya – Sonya is a petite, sharp-eared elf orphan and former Schuberitz Major who commanded a Magic Armored Golems Division. Feared as a youthful, serious pilot with a sadistic personality, she faced the protagonist in a duel trial. She handles Larry’s combat via telepathic mana, guards Maria, trains Louise, and is tied to rumors about the protagonist’s behavior.
• Wolf – The family name carried by Adolf, the influential underworld figure who controls the secret establishment visited by the Lieutenant Colonel.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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