Chapter 141 Eve of War
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Ugh, even though it’s starting to feel like spring, it’s still freezing up here in the north…” Laika said.
”That is why I told you to keep yourself warm under your cloak,” Tania replied.
”But it makes it so hard to move. Besides, once I start moving, I get all hot anyway…”
While Kento¹, the shopkeeper of the magic shop Harvest², was busily manufacturing goods with the cheerful nuns of the Canarias Convent³, his three employees who had traveled to the northern front had joined the Royal Army and begun their mission.
Fortunately, they seemed to have arrived in time for the official outbreak of hostilities, and no major battles had occurred yet. Their work was limited to patrolling the area around Pickaxe Fortress⁴, the cornerstone of the northern defenses.
However, unlike Satsuki, who was a court mage, the two adventurers—the elf Tania and the dog beastman Laika—were expected to excel in these very patrolling missions and guerrilla warfare.
Adventurers were people whose only redeeming qualities were their freedom and their ability to earn. It was difficult to demand strict discipline from them in group actions within the regular army, and for the military, suddenly incorporating top-tier combat assets would only cause confusion.
”You really are hopeless. Here, I will lend you my ‘Hot-Shot-kun⁵‘,” Tania said.
”Yay! Thanks, Big Sis!” Laika cried.
Tania and the others continued their mission while staying hidden in the coniferous forest. They kept their bodies warm with the heating magic tools invented by Kento and Satsuki while keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings with their comrades. Yes, in addition to them, another adventurer had joined their ranks in this place.
”Hehe. You’re quite carefree in a place like this. As expected of battle-hardened veterans, you’ve got nerves of steel,” Balliston said with a smirk.
”Look who is talking. You are also an ‘A-Rank Adventurer’, are you not? ‘Deadly Poison Balliston’,” Tania replied.
Balliston—the man Kento referred to as ‘Thug B’—was characterized by his kidnapper-like face and a servile way of laughing. When people spoke of ‘Deadly Poison,’ an A-Rank adventurer, they meant him.
Ulgate, the head of the Adventurers’ Guild, had issued an ‘Emergency Request’ not only to Tania and her companions but also to thugs who were practically his own kin. Of course, sending every adventurer from around the Royal Capital to the north would stall regular requests, so the numbers were limited, but they were still valuable combat assets for the Royal Army.
”Don’t go expecting too much in terms of combat power! I’m originally a gathering-type adventurer. I just became a little well-versed in poisons while fulfilling requests, that’s all!” Balliston said.
”Hmph. If one could neutralize enemies as efficiently as you do by being only ‘a little well-versed,’ then no one would have any trouble,” Tania muttered.
”It’s seriously amazing. I can’t do much more than punch things,” Laika added.
While they chatted idly, they systematically neutralized the scouts from the Coalmine side who were performing similar patrols. Though they appeared relaxed, they did not make a single move that would allow the enemy to detect them.
Laika used her beastman-like sense of smell and hearing to discover the enemy, silencing them with a single blow from the front. Tania captured enemies using the elven intuition that excelled in forests, robbing them of their mobility with her bow and arrows. Balliston used his years of experience and instinct to pinpoint enemy locations, releasing poison from upwind to take them out all at once.
For the Coalmine side, they were already suffering from the harassment operations involving the ‘Hot-Shot-kun X-Type⁶‘ (flamethrowers) that had continued since winter; this was like a sting from a bee on a crying face.
However, that did not necessarily mean the Canaria Kingdom had the advantage. The border line, where the two nations had glared at each other for years, was a battlefield familiar to the enemy as well. They already knew most of the places where large forces could be deployed and where traps should be set.
Therefore, no matter how much success Tania and the others achieved, no massive force would be sent to this specific location. This was a consideration from Queen Cecile for Kento and his women.
”Phew, that’s that. But I wonder how long we’re gonna have to keep up this harassment stuff,” Laika sighed.
”It cannot be helped. There is nothing to be gained by initiating an attack from our side. We have no choice but to wait for them to lose heart and withdraw, or lose their patience and come at us,” Tania explained.
Simultaneously, the harassment strategy was the general policy of the entire Canaria Kingdom army. The one who would suffer most from a prolonged state of war was the cold, resource-poor Coalmine Kingdom. Given the trade restrictions that had continued since last year, if fatal problems like food supply issues were to occur, they would likely happen over there first.
Furthermore, in order to maintain international legitimacy, the Canaria Kingdom could not be the one to open hostilities. The fact that adventurers like Tania and Laika were able to participate at all was only because it was framed as a defensive war.
Coalmine’s Adventurers’ Guild had refused to participate, and an anti-war demand from the Church of Demon-Subjugation⁷ had also been issued. Even so, the reason they maintained their stance for war was, of course, because they believed they had a chance of winning.
Boom…!!
”So they have come…” Tania whispered at the sound of destruction echoing across the border, and the three of them sharpened their vigilance. It was an act of intimidation by the enemy army’s magic weapons—one of many they had witnessed since arriving at Pickaxe Fortress.
Lights from ‘Explosion Magic’ were fired toward the sky. For now, they weren’t being shot at the fortress side, but the power packed into them by numerous mages was beyond doubt. Even if they were just blank shots, one had to deploy defense magic just in case.
By now, Satsuki would have been incorporated into those ranks, forced into a twenty-four-hour state of vigilance. As usual, she wasn’t being put in direct danger due to the Queen’s consideration, but she was likely wearing out her spirit far more than Tania and the others.
”They seem to have gathered some skilled court mages…” Tania noted.
”Big Sis, you can tell?” Laika asked.
”If even someone of my level could not tell, then there would be no point in them firing those shots,” Tania replied with a grim expression.
To Laika, who had grown quite used to the display and was acting somewhat relaxed, Tania gave a difficult-looking response. Needless to say, the enemy side was asserting: ‘If you don’t want this fired at you, surrender quickly.’
And Tania felt enough danger from those magic weapons to justify that threat. It was likely something any mage who saw them could sense.
”Hehe, you’re one of the top mages in this country. I think modesty is just being spiteful at this point,” Balliston chuckled.
”It is not modesty. It is true that in a direct contest of individuals, I would still not fall behind, but my magic theories are inevitably becoming outdated. That thing, backed by the latest theories and technology, is beyond my understanding,” Tania said.
It was an evaluation from Balliston without exaggeration, but it meant nothing to Tania. She herself understood her own ‘outdated’ strength better than anyone.
Recently, she had frequently engaged in magic discussions with Kento and Satsuki and had become familiar with current affairs, but until then, she was merely a single adventurer. For her, who had been called to the battlefield less and less as time passed, such knowledge had been unnecessary.
”R-Really? Is it like, actually bad…?” Laika stammered.
”Indeed… Aside from the power of a single shot, if they can keep firing like that every day, I must say they have achieved incredible mana efficiency. If I were to try to fire something like that, I would require a full week of preparation. They have obtained a new theory, a new technology, or perhaps a new material. Above all, having the mage or magic toolmaker who realized such a thing is their greatest strength,” Tania explained.
To Tania, that fact felt many times more dangerous than the sheer power of the magic weapon before her eyes. It was a common occurrence in this world for a single genius to change the course of a battlefield.
She herself had experienced holding a front line alone or overturning a disadvantageous situation by herself once or twice. And similarly, she had also been made to taste the bitterness of defeat…
”This is getting too gloomy for my taste. Does our side have anything that can beat that thing?” Balliston asked.
”Who knows… But the fact that they have yet to fire it directly at us suggests that they too have some sort of weakness. And our court mages must be working on a plan to strike that weakness and win,” Tania murmured, as if talking to herself. It would be a problem if that were not the case.
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Summary:
Tania, Laika, and Balliston are stationed at Pickaxe Fortress as part of the northern defense against the Coalmine Kingdom. They conduct successful guerrilla patrols while the main army maintains a stalemate. The enemy begins a display of force using advanced magic weapons that fire massive explosions into the sky. Tania realizes the enemy has acquired revolutionary magic technology or a genius developer, causing her significant concern regarding her own ‘outdated’ magic theories.
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Character Insight:
Tania exhibits a rare moment of vulnerability and professional insecurity. Despite her A-rank status, she recognizes that the world of magic is evolving beyond the ‘brute force’ and classic theories she mastered. Her self-reflection on being ‘outdated’ highlights the shifting paradigm of warfare from individual heroism to technological/industrial magic. Meanwhile, Balliston shows a practical, if cynical, respect for his companions, illustrating that even ‘thugs’ are taking the national threat seriously.
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Behind the Scene:
The ‘Hot-Shot-kun’ series represents Kento’s modern industrial approach to magic tools, which the Kingdom is using to offset Coalmine’s traditional military advantage. This chapter emphasizes the ‘Isekai’ element by showing how modern concepts of efficiency and engineering (mana efficiency/mass production) are beginning to influence a fantasy war.
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T/L:
Notes:
• Laika – The beastwoman dog.
• Tania – An Elf adventurer who, despite her race’s reputation for low sex drive, is secretly quite passionate. She initially seemed ‘wasted’ (emotionally dry) to her friend Raika, but was easily introduced to the pleasure-items sold at ‘Harvest.’ She is easily embarrassed and attempts to maintain a dignified facade, despite her recent, frequent purchases. She wears practical but light armor over a simple cloth tunic and short pants, highlighting her grace and agility. Her primary relationship is one of friendly senior-junior with Raika.
• Kento – The owner of the magic tool shop ‘Harvest,’ which discretely sells adult goods. He’s a former overworked, ordinary salaryman from modern Japan who was suddenly transported (isekai’d) to this fantasy world. He has dark hair and an unremarkable appearance, typically wearing a plain, slightly suspicious-looking shop owner’s clothes looks like Kazuma Satou from certain series. He has a minimal amount of magic power, enough to craft his specialty items.
• Satsuki – A talented Court Mage who was forced to analyze the shop’s adult magic tools. Miranda’s granddaughter. Now she’s the new worker at Harvest, a development she finds both humiliating and surprisingly fulfilling due to the rapid progress in her research under Kento’s guidance. Has long black hair, palace mage robe, and staff.
• Balliston – An A-Rank adventurer known as ‘Deadly Poison.’ Has a kidnapper-like face and a servile laugh. Specializes in toxins.
• Ulgate – The head of the Adventurers’ Guild. Using rough words.
• Cecile – A high-ranking, powerful woman in the capital who possesses the authority to regulate business and commerce, particularly concerning moral or public order issues. She is currently investigating Kento’s shop, ‘Harvest.’ Have long golden hair, elegant, and wearing expensive white dress with gold accesories.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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