It might look like a child, but even if it does, this kid was at most just one year younger than us. No, maybe she even had an earlier birthday than the one on my registration. It wasn’t like she was a grade-skipper or something.
I wasn’t married— even if I had a girlfriend, I shouldn’t be thinking about marriage yet, and I certainly didn’t have a little niece to play with. So when a kid burst into tears right in front of me, I had no idea what to do.
Since I was the oldest mentally among us, the other kids were the same. Linea grew up with strict training as part of the Knights, and Rina probably lived a life completely unrelated to little children. Back during the volunteer activity in the beast area, I had effectively subdued a child, but that was literally ‘subduing,’ not ‘comforting.’
Besides, as I just mentioned, Roni was not at an age where you could call her a ‘little kid.’ At least she was a teenager.
Eventually, while we awkwardly stood there not knowing what to do, Aurora was the first to move.
Aurora approached Roni and gently hugged her while patting her back. With her face buried in Aurora’s chest, Roni started crying even more pitifully. I could see Aurora’s shirt getting soaked with tears.
Only after seeing Aurora move did the rest of us, including me, hurriedly approach Roni. Rina handed me a tissue box, and I intuitively accepted it. …I mean, if she was holding it herself, why not just pull out a tissue and give it to me directly?
But I couldn’t just return the tissue box after accepting it, so I pulled out a couple of tissues and handed them to Roni.
“Hey, stop crying. Let’s go look for it together. I’ll help you.”
When I said that, Roni, holding the tissues, looked up at me with her big eyes.
“Really…?”
“Yes, I can help you find it.”
…Well, if it comes to it, I can always use my status as a Saintess to ask where it is.
More than that, I had several legitimate reasons. I was invited to this area primarily to watch the detonation experiment of a bomb that was completed very quickly, I provided the raw materials, and above all, without me and Rina, they couldn’t have made the core components using those raw materials.
If they say ‘let’s confirm,’ what could they even argue against that?
Roni blew her nose into the tissue I gave her. Her eyes were still watery, but somehow she had a smile on her face.
“Thank you!”
“Ah, yes, well.”
On the other hand, I responded with a rather sour expression after hearing her heartfelt thanks.
It’s not like I was soothing a kid who lost a toy or something.
No, wait, it wasn’t even a toy, was it…?
If it was a missile, isn’t that a strategic asset of the government? It’d be extremely dangerous if it got lost, right?
…Is there really no race with a bit of normal thought process around here?
*
Anyway, I followed Roni to where the missile was originally stored. Just as Roni said, the missile base was completely empty. To be precise, this facility should have been filled with countless missiles, not only the new warhead created by Roni, but all the big and small missiles had vanished.
Missiles aren’t small enough to fit into a pocket, and even the smallest would fill the back of a truck, while the largest could be the size of a building, so if all the missiles had disappeared, it meant the situation was extremely serious.
I had no idea what kind of elusive thief had appeared, but it was clear that this was not something that could just be overlooked.
What was the reason for us to not be overwhelmed while fighting the constantly emerging Beast and Demons? It was the overwhelming firepower we had compared to the enemy. Typical tactics involved constructing a huge wall and holding out with minimal damage, while stopping the forces of the Demons outside the wall. Naturally, numerous artillery pieces, along with missiles, played a vital role in this strategy.
However, if all those missiles had disappeared, that was anything but a normal issue.
Even Gnomes wouldn’t sneak military missiles out just to have some fireworks.
Could it be the witch’s scheme?
…Did I have the worst luck, or do the witches have some way of figuring out my movement patterns? Wherever I went, I seemed to run into a witch. It only didn’t happen when I was in the 1st District. Of course, there were times when I showed up right where a witch appeared, but still.
So… if this isn’t a coincidence, what kind of probability is even causing this? Anyway, the fact that I ‘met’ a witch again was worth reasonable suspicion.
“…Rina?”
Just to be sure, I called out to Rina, but she simply shook her head.
“No, I don’t smell anything here.”
Aurora, nearby, nodded in agreement.
“Hmm…”
Then, could it be that someone who sided with the witches appeared now? Perhaps they learned a new method of explosion with the Demons’ magic and crossed over to research it… The witches had been largely vacant lately. If the Demons plotted something to summon a new witch—
…But to become a witch, one needed to have a significant amount of Holy Power. Beings from other worlds generally struggle to possess as much Holy Power as humans. Elves, for instance, are weak to magical energy and had to sacrifice their kin to forcefully instill magic power to use Holy Power, which inevitably leads to their early demise. The one who survived ended up colluding with the Demons to become a witch.
Other than that single Elf witch—or Elf ‘Saintess’—all others were naturally human beings. Those abducted to create fake high-ranking demons were all humans, too.
However, the only humans with access to this storage area were all bureaucrats from the far-off central government of the 1st District. The only ones who could come in here without being stopped would be the Gnomes or me at this point.
The only being with considerable Holy Power who had lived long in the Gnome region was the priest from the Cathedral, but even he wouldn’t have the right to enter here.
…Are we back to square one then?
“Who came in here before we arrived?”
The government official, who had been sweating bullets since I got here, averted their gaze when I asked. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him.
“…You do know I was involved deeply in the creation of the new warhead, right? As someone from the Church, I believe the Church has a certain stake in this. If trust is broken here, I won’t be able to provide the ‘raw materials’ for that missile. Why would I trust a place where such dangerous weaponry could be stolen?”
“…Ah, I, um…”
The face of the person, who was either a government official or a soldier, went even paler at my words. The soldiers guarding the storage and others accompanying us also looked just as pale.
“First, I will be formally protesting this matter later. I have come to realize that I shouldn’t provide raw materials as a simple favor. Moving forward, we will ensure proper contracts are made for any future provisions—”
Just then, I felt someone tugging at my sleeve, breaking off my speech. Looking down, I saw Roni cautiously pulling at my right sleeve.
“Um, Saintess, but the raw materials…”
Roni and I made eye contact, her eyes darting around before she spoke.
“…”
Ah, right, darn it.
It was Roni who created the new warhead.
And it was Roni who first saw the potential of the restraints I made, who got all excited about it and immediately transferred to my Academy because of it, making me agree to develop it after coaxing me thoroughly.
That’s right. Fundamentally speaking, she’s just like all the other Gnomes.
A person obsessed with explosions.
Yet for whatever reason, if the raw materials for that bomb became prohibited imports, Roni would suffer the consequences, too.
“…”
She had cried about losing a toy, and now she was showing the face of a child who stopped crying upon hearing they wouldn’t be getting a new toy.
I suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape and pressed my fingers to my temples.
*
In any case, the intimidation seemed to have worked.
Even if the victim Roni was equally scared, thanks to that, I now had a grasp of how the incident unfolded. It still wasn’t enough to say I’d revealed the entire truth.
As it transitioned from morning to afternoon, shortly after I had visited the Cathedral, the regional representative arrived here with his officials. Then he announced that they would advance the missiles close to the wall.
Of course, the owner of all weaponry, including missiles, was the regional government. Even if Roni was deeply involved in their development, they were not ‘Roni’s.’ If the regional government deemed it necessary, they could certainly move them. And the location the representative suggested was not unreasonable. It would have been a major issue had they suggested moving them near the boundary between regions.
“But, is the range of missiles that short? Couldn’t you just launch them just nearby and still reach beyond the wall?”
“…If you did that, you’d miss either the launch scene or the explosion scene, wouldn’t you?”
“…”
That was the reason they kept them secured during peacetime, but would take them close to the launch spot in case of battle or need. Normally, they would land just beyond the wall, so this way, both the launch and explosion scenes could be viewed.
But… then why even bother launching missiles? Wouldn’t cannonfire suffice?
Of course, if I said something like that, I’d probably get a lecture about how different missiles and shells are, so I kept my mouth shut.
The original plan was for me to go to the wall and observe the power test of the new warhead. It did feel odd to call it ‘observing a test,’ but that’s what was written in the schedule the Gnomes drew up, so who was I to argue? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
However, it was odd that not just the missile with the new warhead was brought but all of them were.
…What I expected at this point was that they wanted to put on a display of explosions because it was an important guest or simply to build atmosphere before showcasing the power of the new warhead… which generally sounds absurd, but I felt like the Gnomes might actually do such a thing.
“But even so, not saying a single word to me was just too much!”
Now that Roni found out the missiles were being relocated, she had stopped crying but was furious. Well, technically, that wasn’t her personal property, was it? Luckily, I wasn’t dense enough to say such words out loud.
I don’t know how to put it, but feeling a bit mentally exhausted, I just sat in silence as I made my way toward the wall.
*
“Saintess!”
Upon arriving at the wall, the regional representative rushed towards me. In the distance, there stood missiles pointed up at the sky. The sight of big and small missiles spaced out at regular intervals was indeed quite a sight.
And among them, one stood out incredibly.
Unlike the other missiles which were camouflaged according to the surroundings, this one was painted a pure white. Not just plain white; golden patterns resembling those embroidered on a Saint’s robe were beautifully drawn on it. It was clearly a new missile utilizing Holy Power.
It looked a little different from the nuclear missiles of North Korea that I used to see on the news while serving in the military on the other side. Unlike the long ballistic missile, this missile was stout and chunkier, looking somewhat like a half-cut colored pencil, leading one to wonder if it would even fly properly.
Well, the experts made it, so I’m sure it would fly. They had also said it used existing missile bodies.
“…I heard you had urgent matters to attend to, yet here you are.”
“Uh, yes. It was rather urgent indeed. Yes.”
I stared at the representative, who spoke while beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. Eventually, he averted his eyes, sighed softly, and lowered his head.
“I must apologize for not informing you sooner…”
“Really?”
“Yes, indeed. If you don’t mind, I would like to guide you to the wall.”
It seemed something happened.
“Yes, we should hear what the matter is.”
“Thank you.”
The representative said this and quickly turned to lead me.
While the wall, claimed to be the closest to the 1st District, was reportedly the tallest and thickest among the walls, the Gnome region’s wall looked significantly smaller. Of course, it had enough firepower to hold its ground.
The installations on top of the wall seemed surprisingly large for the Gnomes to operate. It also proved their machinery was quite advanced.
Unlike the walls of humans equipped with large-caliber sniper rifles, the Gnome walls were outfitted with rapid-fire grenade launchers. They did have sniper rifles, but in numbers, the launchers vastly outnumbered them.
…Could the smallness of the wall be a tactic to ensure more grenades could be fired more accurately?
After reaching the top of the wall, I finally understood the precise situation.
In the distance, a massive number of Demons and Beasts were moving about in the forest, clearly visible just at a glance. Even though hidden by trees, the number weaving between the trunks was staggering.
Had they really just left them there?
There was a room made in the wall that allowed for better visibility outside. It resembled the command room I had entered in the wall but had several binoculars set up like an observatory atop a skyscraper in a big city.
The windows were even larger.
You could see an explosion from afar incredibly well.
…Was this a command room or an observation deck for tourists?
As I sat on the guest sofa according to the representative’s guidance, I immediately opened my mouth.
“Could you please explain how the situation stands currently?”
The regional representative stood beside me rather than sitting. Looking like a new intern making an important presentation, he swallowed hard and slowly opened his mouth.
“First, I apologize for not informing you about the current situation sooner.”
“…”
“Now, let me explain what is happening. There’s a significantly larger number of Beasts and Demons gathering outside the wall than usual. It is the largest we have seen since we established ourselves here. Of course, if you ask if it is absolutely unmanageable, that is not the case…”
The regional representative glanced away as he continued.
“To be frank, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Then why didn’t you call me?”
“That is…”
The representative hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Would you take a look at this?”
With that, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a remote. After pushing the button, a white screen descended from the ceiling.
When the screen was fully down, a video appeared on it from a projector.
“Based on observed facts, we have compared them with cases from other regions. Particularly focusing on recent invasions, we estimate that the number of Beasts and Demons is more than double what you encountered in the battlefield the last time you participated.”
“…Magic Points don’t get created so easily, though.”
“That’s…”
The regional representative looked at the ceiling with a troubled expression before coughing and clearing his throat.
“Actually, our area specializes in producing explosives in collaboration with the central government. We export engines and cars, but the bulk of our revenue comes from explosives. It is an extremely strategically important region. It’s not unusual for the Demon army to invade. Naturally, Magic Points appear frequently.”
“…”
…Hmm, I had a feeling I knew what would come next.
“So, to properly understand how effective these explosives are, we need to have subjects for experimentation, right? And there aren’t many clergy in this area. Sending a priest to dismantle a Magic Point could lead to serious issues if we lose them.”
But somehow, it seemed that the reason concerning the latter was less strong than the former.
“So, you intentionally left Magic Points neglected?”
“…Yes.”
I facepalmed.
“And when estimating it caused the number to exceed more than twice, we may suspect a witch has appeared on the opposing side. If there is more than one, it wouldn’t be surprising if they added additional Magic Points in a relatively short time.”
And one of the main reasons I suspected this was likely because I was currently in the area.
Although I couldn’t ascertain the exact sequence of events, it had become a pattern that where I went, a witch appeared as if it was a formula.
“…So, there must be some way to resolve the current situation?”
“Of course!”
At my question, the representative suddenly shouted in excitement.
“Right now, we have the powerful weapon you created, Saintess!”
“…”
I grabbed my head.
“…That’s not a good idea.”
I acknowledged the high possibility that a witch was present on the other side. I admitted that having a troop that was more than double in number would make it tougher to deal with.
But then, in the frenzy of just wiping the enemy out, there’s a great chance that the witch would get caught up in the crossfire. Since I couldn’t know which witch could be on the other side, I couldn’t act recklessly like that. Moreover, if there was more than one witch, it ran the risk of taking them all out together.
If someone asked why I, who had been nonchalantly watching the massacre of Demons and Beasts until now, was suddenly saying this, I’d want to explain that ordinary bombs and Holy bombs were different.
Regular bombs are just physical explosives. They could be met with a magical defense. You could create magical defense mechanisms, or you could just stay far enough away from the explosion radius to be safe. Especially if you hide directly within a Magic Point, you could avoid all of that.
I could step in myself, and if a witch saw me and fled, that’d be that. I could also specify the witch, making it easier to attempt a capture.
But a Holy bomb?
Putting aside the annihilation of the surroundings with its own explosive force, immense amounts of Holy Power would be released during that process. The sacred water that vaporizes would spread everywhere and eventually rain down as liquid again. What we had seen before was merely a small bomb made for theoretical verification, but the power of hundreds of kilograms’ worth of warhead carried by a missile remained untested.
Whether hiding inside a Magic Point or staying far away, if their magical power got sealed by the massive Holy Power released, at the same time, they’d be cooked by the tremendous heat energy that spreads outward. They probably wouldn’t even have bodies left to recover.
“Saintess! Please!”
The regional representative knelt before me.
“I will ensure the operation goes smoothly! We’ll specifically identify where the witch is before using it! So please, just let me use one shot!”
No, but there’s only one shot, right?
With a thud, I looked up to see Roni also kneeling.
“Saintess, just one shot! Just let us fire one!”
What am I, a missile?
Holding back the impending sigh while pressing my fingers to my temples, I fell into serious contemplation.
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