Volume 4 Chapter 25 Recovery
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Over here,” Kai called.
I knew that voice.
Footsteps echoed nearby.
”Still breathing,” Kai said.
”God, it’s filthy in here,” Bebel muttered.
”Cut the chains,” Pole said.
Kai, Staff Sergeant Bebel, and Pole.
”Sorry. The diplomat’s questioning took longer than we thought,” Pamela said.
Pamela had come too.
I was saved, at last.
”Bebel, we’re done. Start extraction. Move!” Tatyana ordered.
Was that Platoon Leader Tatyana?
Extraction — did that mean we were still not safe?
Kai carried me on her back, and we left—what was this, a stone prison?
Once we climbed the stairs, the world outside blazed too brightly for eyes accustomed to the dark, and everything went white.
By the time I could see again, we were already running down a rocky mountain path. Ahead, I saw carriages speeding away.
BOOM!
A huge explosion roared behind us.
BOOM!
Another one.
From the sound, it was a fixed-wing drone1 self-destruct attack.
That explained why we had to leave so quickly.
’Sorry.’
I sent a telepathic message to Kai, who was still carrying me.
’It’s fine. You owe me one.’
’Yeah, I know.’
I tried to ask about the situation, but Kai was a Dwarf who could handle Mana only poorly — she could not use it properly at all. They had assigned her as a heavy lifter, carrying coal and supplies, placing her among the lowest-ranked in the army. She had not been told the details.
Still, piecing together what she had heard: after questioning the diplomat we caught at the Viscount’s Palace, they figured out I was being held in the fortress on the mountain. The rescue team was put together by the artillery squad, Pole—who knew the land well—Kai to carry me, and Pamela to heal.
’What about the carriage ahead?’
’That’s got the VIPs from this region.’
’Can’t I go there instead?’
’Not sure.’
I could not get any more information, and perhaps because the relief of being rescued was overwhelming, I began to lose consciousness.
When I woke up, I was in a warm, unfamiliar room.
I was lying on my stomach.
’Time to roll over.’
Pamela’s telepathy.
Once I was on my side, she fed me something sweet and viscous mouth-to-mouth, and then I passed out once more.
This happened several more times.
’The fever is gone. Think you can wake up now?’
Pamela’s telepathy.
I was still on my stomach in that warm room.
But this time, my mind was clear. The drugs must have worn off.
I tried to sit up as instructed, but my body felt heavy and sluggish, and every movement sent jolts of pain through me.
”Don’t push yourself,” Pamela said.
”No, I’ll try,” I said.
I spoke, but my voice was so rough it sounded like someone else’s.
I managed to pull myself up and kneel on the bed.
”Hmph. Not bad,” Pamela said. “Now try sitting on the edge.”
Groaning through the pain, I shifted to sit on the edge of the bed.
”Next is the toilet, two steps away. Don’t put weight on your left foot. Lean on me.” She held out her arm.
Only then did I notice a thick bandage wrapped from my left ankle to my heel, which had been hindering me when I tried to kneel.
Sure enough, when my left foot touched the ground, a jolt of agony shot through me. I put my arm over Pamela’s shoulder and managed to sit.
”There. Now I don’t have to handle your bathroom business.” She smirked. “Hurry it up.”
Easy for her to say — it was not as if I could make it happen on command. For the first time, I looked around the room.
The room was about ten tatami mats in size. Even though it was May, charcoal glowed red in a stone fireplace, keeping the air warm enough that being completely naked did not bother me.
Wait — naked? I had not noticed beneath the bandages, but I was not even wearing underwear.
”They had you tied to a stone bed with Shibari.” She paused. “You had pressure sores all over your back, and the areas were starting to rot from the filth you were left in.”
”Pressure sores? At my age?”
I thought that only happened to old men who couldn’t move.
”It’s because you’re young that you’re still alive.” Her voice softened. “But your left heel… the chains cut off the blood flow until the bone was showing. It will take a long time to heal. You might even have permanent damage.”
Was she serious? No, wait — based on what she said, had I been dying from infection?
”How long was I out? How many days since I was captured?”
”Two days to rescue you, three days since,” Pamela said. “This is Pole’s aunt’s house.”
Pole’s aunt?
According to Pamela, after I had gone on a rampage at the Viscount’s Palace when they demanded we surrender our ship, the captains had returned safely. Our ship’s Mages had begun interrogating the diplomat together. Since he was not a Mage, they had forced Mana into him and used high-level Mages to read his thoughts through it. But because no Mage spoke his language, the process had taken a long time.
What they learned was that the diplomat had orchestrated our capture during the visit to the Viscount’s Palace. They also discovered that the Charle captains, captured earlier, had been slated for transfer to the mountain fortress where I was held. With that knowledge, they assembled a rescue team — Pole, who knew the terrain, along with others — and attacked the fortress.
”The mountain is two-thirds olive groves. Pole played there as a kid and guided us.” Pamela counted on her fingers. “We used a fixed-wing drone as a distraction to crash the gate and broke in without much trouble. The artillery squad used a Coilgun to hold down the fortress, and we got you out.”
Between this room and the rescue itself, I owed Pole my life.
”Hey, when I was escaping on Kai’s back, there was a carriage running ahead of us. What about that one?”
”Those were the VIPs of Charle’s flagship, the ones captured before we got involved,” Pamela said.
When I asked what had happened to them, Pamela said they had been released after questioning.
”Released? Where to?”
”The city, obviously. We don’t have time to ship them back to their home country.” She shrugged. “They probably won’t be killed, but they might be sold as slaves.”
Poor souls.
When I asked what they had learned from the interrogation, Pamela did not answer directly. Instead, she began explaining how the Norman house had come to rule the Island of Sicilia.
The island had been under a dynasty that made the Scripture Church the state religion.
Even under that, the locals had some religious freedom. Some people just converted to get tax breaks.
Over a few hundred years, the society changed.
Specifically, a group called the Gabellotto appeared between the nobles/landowners and the village communities.
They were a clever bunch, not very tied to religion. They would either organize resistance against high taxes from the dynasty or nobles, or help collect taxes.
The Norman house had smartly used them.
The Celts were pirates who valued making decisions together, but to deal with other groups, they set up a dictatorship.
The one who did that was Riccardo, the father of the first Norman.
The Nicaea Empire contacted him just as he was spreading his power on the Island of Sicilia.
At the same time, those trying to invade the island were the Pope of the Ferere Pope territory—right across the water—and his allies, the Empire of Charle, and the Turkic Empire watching from the Southern Continent.
The Nicaea Empire gave them a huge war fund, trained mercenaries, and the Red Flame Ball. Using those, the Norman house succeeded in pushing out other foreign powers from the Island of Sicilia.
”Riccardo, the head of the Norman house, should have been happy with that. If he had just passed the position to his eldest son and left his name in history as the father of the Norman Principality, that would have been enough. He wasn’t greedy, and the people seemed to love him.”
”But the Nicaea Empire wouldn’t help for free,” I said.
”Exactly.” Pamela’s expression darkened. “Questioning the diplomat and Charle’s officers showed that the Nicaea Empire planned to use this island, in the middle of the Inland Sea, as a base to conquer the surrounding coastal nations.”
An empire smaller than the Fee Grand Principality harbored such grand ambitions? According to Pamela, the Nicaea Empire saw itself as the true heir to the East Room Empire, which in turn saw itself as the rightful successor to the ancient Rome Empire.
The Rome Empire was a huge empire that ruled not just the Inland Sea area but also the Albion Kingdom in the Western Ocean, and half of Charle and Schweilitz.
They were reaching back into the past to reclaim that lost glory.
”Trying to take the old Rome Empire’s territory… isn’t that just a dream?”
”Not necessarily,” Pamela said.
Pamela sighed as she spoke.
”Is it The Boltechino?”
”Exactly. If The Boltechino attacked Turku, supply lines from the south would become a big threat, wouldn’t they?”
”Did The Boltechino help the Nicaea Empire just to make them strong enough to stop that? Even though they’re such a small country?”
”I hate to think so, but the fact they had the Red Flame Ball is proof enough,” Pamela said.
I told Pamela about the underground room I had glimpsed at the Viscount’s Palace.
”It was in the diplomat’s thoughts too. The Boltechino sent a part for the Red Flame Ball, and by wrapping it in threads with Mana Pentamers (a special kind of magical material), the Red Flame Ball is completed.”
The basketball-sized sphere I had seen underground must have been that component.
”It seems a fair amount of pure water is needed to complete the assembly. This island has mountains rising two thousand meters high. Even in the Inland Sea, where rainfall is scarce, this is a rare place where water is never a problem.”
In the middle of the Inland Sea and rich in water — it was the perfect location to serve as a base for conquering nearby territories with the Red Flame Ball.
Whether they could not produce them there or simply had not yet, it was clear that Nicaea was entirely dependent on The Boltechino for the Red Flame Ball — a dependency that suited The Boltechino perfectly.
”The Empire of Charle and the Pope realized that they were planning to conquer nearby countries with the Red Flame Ball. That’s why they attacked Palermo even though it was reckless.”
So the Charle flagship and the mercenary ships that had arrived at port before us had been trying to destroy the Red Flame Ball factory. In any case, we had no choice but to destroy that underground room at the Viscount’s Palace as well.
Ah — I had not yet asked the most important thing.
”So, what happened with the Norman house?”
”They gave up,” Pamela said.
According to Pamela, Katarina had been so furious that the Norman house had left me near death that she launched a wave of fixed-wing drone attacks and forced them to surrender. Terrifying, in more ways than one.
For now, the compensation claims had been settled. Once my fever subsided and I could move, the plan was to set sail for Suez.
Which meant…
”Hurry up and do your business. We’re leaving as soon as you’re done,” Pamela said.
It was not as if I could just make it happen on command.
After thanking Pole’s aunt, who was younger than I had expected, we left the house. The harbor lay right before us, and I was hoisted onto Kai’s back once more. We boarded a small boat and returned to the Izumo.
Without delay, the strong Kai carried me to the bridge, where the Captain lectured me at length. Then, while I was still draped over Kai’s back, Katarina punched me.
My body could barely walk as it was. Was that not a bit harsh?
Later, I heard the full story. The compensation for the damage from the battle at Palermo amounted to only ten million Yen. When I complained that I had nearly died for nothing, the Captain offered the ridiculous reasoning that one cannot truly extract much from a childhood friend. Moreover, although the Viscount’s Palace had been destroyed, the town itself was unharmed, and the locals were on good terms with us. The male crew members had gone to the pleasure district and spent the money lavishly — the Captain and the shut-in Elf Mage included.
Did they never get in trouble for this sort of thing? I was the one who had been bedridden and suffering all that time. I simply could not accept it.
Maybe because the payment was so low, they gave us food and water for free. They even gave us coal—rare on the Island of Sicilia3—almost as much as we could carry, I heard.
There was also the matter of Katarina using thirty-three fixed-wing drones in suicide attacks.
Three during the fortress attack, and after that, she sent thirty of them screaming into the Viscount’s Palace.
”I heard a report that you might be killed, so…” Katarina trailed off.
Two against Barbarossa. One on Charle’s mercenary ship. Three against the stone fortress in Palermo. And thirty against the Viscount’s Palace itself.
”No matter how you think about it, thirty were too many.”
I appreciated the sentiment behind her fury, but I told her she needed to learn to read the situation. In her rage, our stock of fifty fixed-wing drones from when we had departed had dwindled to just fourteen. What were we going to do now?
The real main event had not even started yet.
The underground factory thought to house the Red Flame Ball production had reportedly collapsed from the building above. It was not the drone attacks — the facility had exploded on its own. The Town Guards reported seeing red light flashing repeatedly as it crumbled. The woman who had been wearing a Samue — a kind of Japanese working garment — had gone missing. They said it would take time to dig through the rubble, so they did not know whether she had been buried and killed or had somehow escaped.
Five days passed after that.
Thanks to the treatment from Pamela and Nikole-senpai, and the healing power of my young body, I was finally able to get to the bridge without help.
”The weather is good, the currents are fine, and the big ships run away the moment they see us.” Tatyana yawned. “It’s so boring.”
Tatyana, the squad leader on duty on the bridge, was saying carefree things like that.
You had to be kidding me. Our trump card — the fixed-wing drones — had only fourteen remaining.
”We’ll enter the Suez canal in two days,” the Captain said.
The Captain, who had figured out our current position from the numbers measured by the deck crew leader Roland and the time from the clock Romy built, told me.
”Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?” Tatyana said.
Tatyana said, like she was joking.
I wished nothing would happen at all, thank you very much.
Studying the nautical chart, I saw that the region corresponding to Earth’s Sinai Peninsula was connected to the Arabian Peninsula at only one point. There was no Dead Sea — just open ocean. It was separated from the African continent, here called the Southern Continent, by what appeared to be a narrow strait. I used that term loosely, since a branch of the Nile flowed into a large saltwater lake before continuing out into the Inland Sea and the Suez Sea. Whether it could truly be called a strait was debatable, but ships could pass through. Spices, tea, silk, and cotton brought from the eastern lands across the Lemurian Sea (the Indian Ocean on Earth) were being carried through this channel toward the Inland Sea.
It was also the sea route used by the Amazonesses.
We were almost at our destination now — Suez.
Before dinner, I went to the medical office for Pamela’s treatment.
On this day, the bandage on my left foot — the very last one — was finally removed.
”The wound on your left heel has closed up with new flesh, but the pain will probably last for a while,” Pamela said.
It seemed I would not need to wear bandages anymore, though my life of limping was going to continue for some time.
”Well, it doesn’t stop you from living normally.” She tapped my shoulder. “How about you join me for some ‘company’ tonight?”
She tapped my shoulder. She was inviting me.
”That sounds nice, count me in too.” Nikole-senpai smiled. “Things are going to be busy for a while, so I want to relax while I can.”
Even Nikole-senpai, who was tidying up next to her, joined in.
Even if the visible wounds had healed, I had nearly died. My physical condition had not returned to normal yet. And with this recovering body, was I supposed to handle both of them at once? They were medical staff, for heaven’s sake — could they not read the situation? Perverted mages, the both of them.
—
Summary:
The protagonist is rescued from a mountain fortress by a team including Kai, Bebel, Pole, and Pamela. After recovering in a safe house from critical injuries including pressure ulcers and a severely wounded heel, he learns about the Nicaea Empire’s expansionist plans involving the Red Flame Ball. The story concludes with the protagonist returning to the ship Izumo after the Norman house surrenders.
The protagonist arrives at the bridge while recovering from injuries.
He learns about the trivial reparations from the battle and the crew’s lavish spending.
He confronts Katarina regarding the excessive use of his drones and prepares for the upcoming transit of the Suez.
The protagonist remains stuck between professional duties and the unwanted romantic advances of his medical staff.
—
Trivia:
The protagonist’s injuries, particularly the pressure ulcers and bone-exposed heel, were a direct result of being chained and left immobile for multiple days.
The Nicaea Empire’s ambition is to reclaim the glory of the ancient Rome Empire by using the Island of Sicilia as a strategic base.
Pamela’s healing method involved mouth-to-mouth administration of a viscous substance and sedation to manage his pain and fever.
The Gabellotto were a shrewd organization that emerged between the village communities and the nobility, playing both sides of tax collection and resistance.
The protagonist’s remaining fixed-wing drone stock has been reduced to fourteen.
The underground factory collapse was likely due to a self-detonation rather than external fire.
The geography of this world features significant differences from Earth, specifically the absence of a Dead Sea and the connection of the Sinai Peninsula.
The protagonist is suffering from a lingering physical injury that forces him to limp.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Kai – A 20-year-old Dwarf girl and bottom-tier Engine Department recruit, she has a distinctive physique, appearing as an ash-covered, square-jawed young man with superhuman strength. Though her mana is unstable, she knows Mana Pentamers. She accompanies Earnest’s party, makes dramatic apologies, is easily lured by tuna cheek meat, and often carries or teases the protagonist.
• Bebel – Magic Armored Division Sergeant Major Hagen is a rigid Staff Sergeant, Artillery/Torpedo Petty Officer, and Larland War veteran. Part of a rescue party, this strict officer is difficult to manage but highly combat-capable, utilizing aggressive, unconventional tactics. He previously cared for Larry during sedation and currently leads a group of five subordinates to the training grounds.
• Pole – An orphaned Celt Kingdom soldier and tough-acting mast house scout, this deck crewman knows the island’s language and terrain intimately. Earnest’s associate, he once saved the protagonist. Though initially hostile after a friend’s murder, he grew to respect them after a talk about his past and Palermo aunt. He now serves as a rescue guide and seeks freedom for his first love.
• 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.
• Tatyana – A 31-year-old divorced mother of two from Viscount Bizan, this sailor-suit-wearing Magic Academy Assistant Professor serves as an Artillery Department squad leader stationed on the bridge under the Captain. Intimately involved with Katarina, she trains crew, guides students, synchronizes with Golems, and uses a coilgun on intruders, though she currently finds the lack of combat boring.
• Alto – The one-year-old biological son of Monica and the late Denis Getys, this toddler is sent to live with his uncle to secure the Getys lineage. Despite his limited speech and barely being able to walk, he grows to become a brilliant strategist from Pomerania, currently serving as the Prime Minister of the provisional Kingdom Office.
• Max – Uncle Klaus’s second son and Larry’s cousin is a skilled Golem User and former magic school assistant professor who orchestrated a prison break. Having returned to his home country, he now serves as a body double for the protagonist—his other cousin, Grand Duke Earnest—and has taken custody of certain women previously under Thomas’s care.
• Soi – An old professor from Ajire seminary, the first to raise a question. Looks like wizardly.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Ed – A lanky refugee youth in simple farmer’s garb, Larry’s close friend and fierce protector is now a Military Academy student making claims about the Poll Tax and mortality. Formerly an associate of Captain Bours, he witnessed the Mauer Village skirmish, fled to Strock Village, and joined the militia to train spear-walls and ambush mercenaries, remembered for his quiet resolve to survive.
• 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.
• Mana – A non-commissioned officer and liaison who previously had their mana drained by Larry.
• Viscount – A noble of the Rus who insisted on bringing reinforcements to the defense of the city.
• Tim – Jarek Dvorak, 14, the village’s eldest son and recent graduate, has short dark hair, a lean build and thoughtful eyes. He arrived in Obernbach with his father, watches the Golem’s arrival with trepidation, and, as a sugar‑beet cultivator from a family that refines sugar, boasts of pleasures in the district. A carefree, slightly reckless friend of Larry’s.
• Mage – Elf mage and shut-in engineer who stands watch and manages the ship’s boilers.
• 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.
• Norman – A family name of the local rulers on the Island of Sicilia. A young man who serves as the lord of the Viscount’s Palace. He is an aspiring founder of a Principality and holds authority over the Town Guards.
• 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.
• Riccardo – An old man who is the father of Norman I and a childhood friend of the Captain. An older man who is a childhood friend of the Captain. The father of the first Norman, who instituted a dictatorship to make the Celt Kingdom pirates’ consensus-based system understood by other groups.
• Principal – The mother of Line and the administrative head of the institution. She exercises authoritative control over research assignments and seeks to trade Larry for Ilse Klein due to interpersonal conflicts in her laboratories. The mother of Sabrina and Rhein who intervenes during Rhein’s violent corridor assault to break up the confrontation.
• Fee – Larry Fee Getys is a 15-year-old reincarnated youth and titular Duke. Pragmatic and telepathic, this sharp-eyed young man leads the Getys household and rules Strock Village alongside Hans, Iffens, Teressa, and their maid Nico. While building a new nation, he enjoys prime whale meat and maintains crucial connections to Adolf and various underground networks.
• 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.
• Palermo – A target location where a battle and reparations negotiation took place.
• Katarina – Larry’s watchman subordinate and 30-year-old Flight Section leader/Chief Researcher is a tall, stunning, voluptuous mana-user in a sailor uniform. She wields telepathy, a coilgun, and drones. Volatile and prone to explosion-triggered instability, she is the protagonist’s protective mistress, sharing an intimate, strained bond that led her to punch them when near death.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled ship serving as the primary vessel for the protagonist and his crew.
• Barbarossa – A naval combatant engaged by the ship.
• Samue – A mysterious woman who wore traditional work clothing and is currently missing.
• 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.
• Roland – Heir to the Canaria throne and Queen Cecile’s younger brother, this quiet dwarf is a veteran bridge chief and former Tsukushi captain. They direct helm operations, lead the bridge crew, carry a dagger, and share quarters with Fredys. Sharing the Queen’s golden-blonde hair, their innocent, beautiful face is easily mistaken for a girl, though they dress in boy’s formal wear.
• Romy – An Academy assistant professor from Baron Wilson’s territory, this sea-loving crew member arrived in Cain on a black ship. A troublemaker lacking raw ability, she constructed a graphite timepiece for navigation. Saved from debt and slavery by Larry, she shares a deep bond with him, works professionally with Marie, and served as the protagonist’s pitying companion at a funeral.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply