Chapter: 124
125. Changes and Direct Confrontation (3)
Thinking back… those dwarves completed the repair of the Holy Sword I requested in just one day.
A sword said to be forged by the gods.
They managed to restore such an item from a parallel world with their own hands.
I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they were given enough time and budget.
And here I was, experiencing the fruit of that work in real-time.
The elevator, disguised as a storage room, finally stopped descending.
Intricate gears were spinning.
Steam billowed as the doors opened.
As soon as I stepped through, I was greeted by a view that could only be described as an underground city. A scene that could rival Las Vegas in its opulence.
I stared at the sight, lost in awe, until I noticed something strange.
Light shone down.
Soft moonlight.
A beautiful sky dotted with stars.
In this surely underground location, an expansive night sky was rendered in vivid detail.
…It wasn’t just decorative.
It wasn’t simply a bunch of ornaments claiming this was the night sky; it was so perfectly crafted it was indistinguishable from reality.
To exaggerate a bit, it felt even more beautiful than the real sky.
The streets at night.
Glittering neon signs. A strangely decadent yet alluring atmosphere that pulled you in.
All of these elements combined created a scene that could only be described as a piece of art.
But… the surprises didn’t end there.
Mechanical sounds echoed.
Glistening silver surfaces. Human-like armored robots patrolling the streets.
“What the heck is this…?”
I muttered to myself, taking in the sight.
It seemed Rob misunderstood my words as something negative, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as he continued explaining.
“Well… I know it’s not efficient. If there were enemies who could breach here, just throwing more of these out wouldn’t do much. No matter how many you deploy, it won’t help.”
Apparently, even that sky overhead was useless for anything other than decoration.
The buildings had the ability to transform into robots in a crisis, but it seems even that was less efficient than Lucy’s curse-filled chaos.
Yet, I felt like I understood why the dwarves insisted on this inefficiency.
“I tried to tone it down, but the mood got too heated to stop…”
Because it looks cool.
A secret base hidden underground.
Another world unfolded there. A captivating city of the night and mechanized marvels strutting about.
How could one possibly endure this?
Surely, it could be designed to be quieter, yet these armored androids were crafted to make those distinctive mechanical sounds when they moved.
Inside the transforming buildings, there was no room for anything else. Instead of taking the time to create buildings with transformation capabilities, they could have just made security robots straight off… yet they stubbornly stuck to this concept.
It was truly inefficient.
But those things held a romance that transcended the mere practicality of efficiency.
It possessed a value that couldn’t be explained by words and logic!
“If you didn’t like it, I can have it dismantled right away. If I redirected the mana stones wasted on such useless devices toward maintaining the curses, it would certainly be….”
“No, this isn’t bad at all.”
With so many eyes on us, I suppressed my urge to shout, “Are you crazy? No way am I smashing this!” and calmly said that instead.
Noticing my change in demeanor, Rob seemed to pick up on my thoughts and talked about how similar work would be done in other places to achieve completion.
Curious, I looked at him and asked, “By the way, how did you create this?”
A question I tossed out without much thought.
But to that, Rob’s expression soured as if he encountered human trash.
I was briefly taken aback by his sudden reaction, but then realized a crucial fact.
‘…Oh.’
This was something I had asked him to create.
I looked back at myself objectively.
A malicious boss demanding nonsense ideas like a Bluetooth showerhead and forcing it to be made.
Working away at sleep and meal times, burning everything just to finish the development. And there that boss was, returning with a smirk, saying…
“Wow, you actually did it.”
Just something I had thrown out there casually, right?
…If I didn’t feel murderous intent welling up, that would be weirder.
In that 0.1-second delay, it seemed Rob’s social skills shone brighter than ever as he suppressed his rage and offered a friendly smile.
But he went even further, kindly answering my question.
“The design schematic you provided last time was incredibly helpful.”
He even naturally slipped in some flattery. The more I looked at him, the more I understood how he managed such success.
That earlier expression of “Are you out of your mind for making me do this?” had vanished entirely, and Rob continued explaining.
It involved tech I had snuck out from the Empire.
I had no idea what kind of methods they used, but it seemed that because of it, things turned out quite smoothly.
“Whatever trick they use, the devices created by the Empire lose their principles soon after being dissected, and memory fades.”
Hearing Rob’s words suggested that they were likely monopolizing technology through powers of dominion.
…So that’s why the Empire developed in such a grotesque fashion. Thinking back to their actions, they must have stolen others’ inventions, made them their own, and monopolized them.
“We’ve only utilized the information you provided, boss.”
Rob said this with a smile.
While I did share the designs of everything from the mana train to various machines and the operational principles I’d seen in art books, the dwarves’ ability to fully grasp that technology, develop it further, and use it proficiently was monstrous.
His humble redirection of all credit back to me seemed calculated.
Well, given his personality, it was probably all planned out.
A pathetic individual might grovel for praise, but I had no reason to dislike someone capable who also knew how to compliment well.
After a brief moment of contemplation, I spoke up.
“If you’re short on manpower, feel free to use it as you like.”
As I said this, I pointed up.
The elves I had left behind above since they hadn’t been registered as authorized personnel yet.
While some work had been completed in the area, the overall construction would still take a bit longer.
With that statement, I was granting them ownership to use the elves freely for this work.
Hearing my words, Rob’s grin grew broad.
He was definitely a sharp thinker.
If it were any other dwarf, they might have just assumed I meant to provide manpower to encourage them to work harder.
But he discerned the hidden meaning in my words.
Instead of mere “cooperation,” I was telling him to use them as he wished.
This effectively organized the hierarchy right there among them.
The elves below the dwarves.
That guy would now oversee not just the dwarves but also manage the elves.
‘If results are produced, rewards ought to follow, and I find this more convenient.’
Setting aside the emotional reason that the dwarves had less on my nerves compared to the idiots who almost sold us out to the enemy, this was just the more rational choice.
If you had elves doing construction work, it was clear they would protest. Keeping our relationship equal would significantly hinder progress.
The elves are quite prideful.
If left unchecked, they would stubbornly refuse to do things like, “How can you make an elf do such laborious work?”
Given that I couldn’t stick around all day to oversee their morale, adjusting the hierarchy and designating someone with a badge of authority was far more efficient.
Rob happily swore loyalty to me once again with a radiant smile.
A win-win situation.
Excluding the elves who had become subordinate to the dwarves without knowing it, everyone else was satisfied with this decision.
…Well, what I was thinking at that moment.
The dwarves seemed a bit too competent. Once this was over, maybe I should threaten them with a sword to have them make something… but if I had revealed that thought, Rob’s bright smile would disappear in an instant.
There was no need to wipe away that happy grin.
Ideas were bubbling over.
A massive airborne aircraft carrier that flies through the sky.
Overwhelming in size, comparable to the capital of the Empire, equipped with all manners of advanced weaponry including railguns.
When Rob asked how to make that, I could already envision myself declaring that they would have to come up with the ideas moving forward.
…but well, good things ought to be celebrated, right?
Let’s keep the next project a secret until we wrap up this construction!
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