Black powder is one of the four great Chinese inventions.
　I don't need to explain it, but it's the so-called bomb.

　It's made by mixing charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate.

　The cannon can be made of wood, but it looks like it's going to explode.
　It looks hard to handle and I'm not sure it will hit properly.
　Besides, I don't want to make it because it will die if it's done poorly.

　Use is to throw a projectile like a trout horse, or to explode it by hitting it with an arrow and setting it on the ground.
　That kind of thing will be the main use.

　If you combine it with the magic that Tetra made for you, you can expect a certain effect.

　But I don't expect much in the way of killing power.
　I don't know how destructive the gunpowder I made as an amateur is.......

　However, the sound and impact should be quite impactful.
　It can lower the morale of the enemy, and it can also surprise King Ferrum by using it before the war starts.

　Would it scare him off?
　He didn't seem to be frightened just because he was donning my skeletal remarks, so probably not possible.

　As I said before, the ingredients for the black powder are charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate.
　The charcoal can be made by ourselves, so there's no problem.
　The sulfur will be hard to find, but since there are many volcanoes around here, we should be able to find sulfur.

　Worst-case scenario, we'll have to ask a Cilician merchant to import it for us.
　If you are a knowledgeable Cilician, you should know how to get it.

　There are two ways to get potassium nitrate.
　You can either mine the glass or you can make it yourself.

　We don't know where the nitre is buried, so we'll make it ourselves this time.
　The material is the black soil under the stockyard.

　It's not enough for our stables, though, so we're planning to get it from King Lossies.

　"Tetra. "Tetra, you are going to develop a magic circle of fire. You have one year to do it.
　'Yes, sir. But I don't have enough magic power in my blood to draw a diagram. I need you to stock up on curse stones - the kind of stones that are useful for using magic - magic stones.
　All right. I don't know what kind of stone you want, so I'll just order all the stones from the Cilician merchants. Ron, Rosward, Gram. Will you guys come with me to King Rosais?

　My goal is, of course, to get soil.
　You can give me as much soil as you want, because it's free anyway.

　I want you, Ron, Rosward and Gram to learn how to lead an army.
　I'll have to ask King Loseys for a few days to mix it up.

　Naturally, I'll be observing, and I'll be in the mix when I get the chance.
　But first I need to make a deal with a Cilician merchant to get a horse, a good bow and arrowhead, and possibly some battle slaves.
　In some cases, you can even buy some battle slaves.


_______________________________________________________________.


　I see. Tributes. If you'd given me your tribute, I would have protected you.
　It was an emergency, I'm afraid.

　If we asked King Rosais for help at that time, we'd be dead before he arrived.

　And besides....

　"Geez, geez.
　Are you okay?　Dad,

　King Rosais lies down on the futon and asks Julia to rub his back.
　'You can't ask a sick man to do anything you don't want to do.

　Here you are. Here's some honey.
　I'm sorry.

　I offer the honey to him, as usual.

　Now, you're not here to tell me what's going on, are you?
　King Rosais smirks. 'Annoying.

　'I have four business needs. First one ... please lend me some wheat.
　Good. How good?

　I ask King Loseys for some wheat.

　'Ho ... that's a lot of wheat. You said you had enough before. How much of it did King Ferrum take from you?
　That's about right.

　There's another reason why the amount of demands are so great.
　We need to fortify the village for the time being. We won't have time to do any more farm work.
　That's how much I need it.

　Give it back to me in three years. Ten percent of the interest will do. I want 10 percent of the interest and you'll teach me how to make honey and paper.
　'That's too much to ask. There's also the option of negotiating with King Domorgal.
　As I said this, King Rosais cowered his shoulders.

　'I know. It's a joke. Tell me one of them.
　Then.....
　I'm going to teach you the art of the Sueka.
　It's the easiest thing to do.

　I'm going to show King Lossius how to build a stove.

　"Secondly, we are going to need some dirt for the stables. And a lot of it.
　I don't know what that means, but that's okay. Do what you want.

　King Rosais gave me permission with a strange look on his face.

　'Next I just want to ask you if there is a yellow stone that burns well when set on fire?　I can dig in the volcano.
　I don't know what you call sulfur in this world, unfortunately.
　And sulfur doesn't come up in conversation between kids.

　Oh, you mean sulfur, the stone from the hot springs. Yeah, you can get it in the mountains over there. Go ahead, pick it up.
　Are you sure?
　Yeah. I always get honey.

　Surprising.
　Well, sulfur is not that useful. In the ancient world, it would be used to make fire?
　I've heard that in the Edo period they used them instead of matches.

　'Fourth, could you show me the military training of King Rosais's army?
　I see. Anti-Felm King?　I don't mind. Just watch.
　Can my people join us?
　Yeah.

　Okay, all clear.

　Julia. Show him around.
　Yes!


_______________________________________________________________.


　How's that?　My country's army.

　In front of me, a thousand men are training to form up in formation.
　At a glance, the troops seem to be heavily armed infantry.

　It resembles a so-called phalanx.
　But.........

　'Hmmm, is this one highly skilled?'

　I'm an amateur so I don't know, but to be honest, they don't look very strong.

　The Phalanx needs strong cohesion and a high will to fight in the first place.
　It can't be made up of soldiers who have been drafted into the army.

　Ha-ha. You're right. The Cilician merchant who came before me said the same thing. We're trying to copy the tactics of Cilicia, but it's not working. According to the story, there is no king in Cilicia, and everyone plays politics together. That's why morale is so high, and they train together in their spare time, so they are strong. But our country has a father, and the soldiers are recruited from two years of conscription, so...

　I see. It can't be helped.
　It's probably bad enough that the Cilician people are too advanced.

　It's a degrading ape imitation.

　'Over there, they're training for the bow.
　I looked at where Julia pointed and saw that there were about two hundred men training to hit arrows on a target.

　''Those guys aren't soldiers recruited from the draft. So everyone's morale is high.''

　Archery is an advanced skill.
　You can't do that with a conscripted soldier.

　Hmm?　Gram. Can you win?
　''With a target that far, I can do it with my eyes closed. I don't know how many arrows those guys can shoot, so I don't know if I can win... but I'm confident that I can.

　So, that's the Kingsguard. This one's an elite one.
　Julia pointed to a group of about fifty men who were engaged in a mock battle.

　''That's your elite?　I think Ron or Roseward would be a lot sharper in their movements.

　I've played Kendo.
　I learned it from the head of an orphanage (self-proclaimed 4th dan. I learned it from the head of the orphanage (self-proclaimed 4th dan, not sure of its authenticity).

　From my point of view, there are a lot of useless movements.
　Of course, there will be a difference in technique.

　I taught Ron and Roseward the kendo that had been practiced in Japan for a long time.
　On the other hand, they probably wield the sword in their own way.
　The reason is that there is no unity in their movements.

　So it's no surprise that Ron and Roseward, who know kendo, are stronger than I am.

　But that's not what I'm concerned about.
　It's the physical ability.

　It's obvious that these guys are less physical than Ron and Roseward.

　"Maybe these guys aren't training hard enough.
　Hey, hey, don't be a dick about it.

　I heard a voice from behind me.
　I turned around and saw a large man with a scar on his face.

　He was quite young. And reeked of alcohol.

　'Are you the one who seduced our princess?'
　Hey, Bartolo!　What are you talking about!

　Julia blushed and complained.

　'Whether I seduced you or not, I'm Almus. Am I correct in recognizing that you are the general of this country?''
　Yes. The king has given me an army.

　That's great.
　You look like you're in your thirties.
　That's how good you are.
　I'm a drunk, though.

　Maybe it was because he saw the surprised expression on my face, but Bartolo familiarly put his arm on my shoulder.
　'Get away from the smell of alcohol.
　''You know that King Ferm invaded our country a while ago, right?
　'Yes, I heard. I heard you lost badly.

　King Ferrum led five hundred men to clash with a thousand of King Rosais' army.
　It was only recently that King Rosais's army was soundly defeated and many of the grains were taken away.

　'So I was blamed for the defeat and the general was fired (not the metaphorical one). So I got the position.

　Bartolo says happily.

　'So, you say our troops are weak?'
　'Yeah, well. At least that's how it looks to me.

　I answer honestly.

　"Well, let's find out. You and my men...
　That won't be necessary.

　Ron interrupted his neck.

　'The leader shouldn't bother to fight. I'll do it. Sadly, I'm the weakest of them all.

　Ron said as he tapped the hilt of his sword.
　Probably what Ron said about "in this" is me, Rosward and Ron. Gram is an archer, so he should be excluded.

　'Great!　I love a guy with a lot of bluster, man. Let's get on with it.

_______________________________________________________________.


　"Oh my god...
　The same words spill out of me and Bartolo's mouths.

　Perhaps it was Ron's strength that Bartolo thought was a lie.
　And what I thought was a lie was the weakness of the Rosais soldiers.

　No, I'm starting to understand what it is by now, but what's probably a 'lie' is Ron's strength.

　The ten men who challenged me to a rematch in front of me were knocked to the ground by Ron in the blink of an eye.
　From Bartolo's manner of speaking, he must have had a lot of confidence.
　In other words, it's reasonable to assume that the Lossies soldiers had the training to base that confidence on.

　So they are not weak.
　So the remaining option is that Ron is too strong.

　No, the specs of the guys in my village are too high.
　Because in my village, Ron was certainly third (counting me and Rosward), but he wasn't outstandingly strong.

　In fact, I had a few doubts.
　Why didn't he get sick?

　Everyone in my village was a frail child, so it wasn't funny that some of them died in the first year. But not one of them died.
　No, this could be cleaned up by my efforts and luck.

　The biggest mystery to me was the size of the field.
　I've expanded and plowed the field every year.

　Now I'm plowing a field that is one and a half times the size of the original one.
　Even though the main labor force is children.

　And they have extra time to study and do martial arts.

　This is funny.
　I thought it would be something like that, but it is still funny. It's strange. It's abnormal.


　When I looked next to her, I saw Julia laughing.
　She seems to be stifling her laughter.

　Noticing my gaze, Yulia turns to me with a smirk.
　'I'm sorry. I just found it amusing that you were surprised. I can't believe you haven't noticed.'
　What's that? That.
　"Hmm, okay. I'll give you what you want. Hey, Miss Rosward, Miss Gram. Can I borrow Alms?

　Then Julia pulled me away.

________.


　What?
　Actually, I have a blessing too. And a lot of them.

　Julia laughed wickedly.
　'Too'?

　"The two most useful blessings I have are the 'Blessing of Sight' and the 'Blessing of Clairvoyance'. The former is a blessing that allows me to see through the abilities of my opponent's blessings. The latter is a blessing that allows me to see the scenery in the distance. Actually, I was playing around with my clairvoyant eyes in the forest when I found you. I saw you doing something really interesting and I wanted to meet you. That's why I summoned you with a butterfly.

　You just came out of nowhere...
　But the reason why Julia had explored my village was a longstanding mystery.
　Now that's one mystery.

　'So, what's my blessing?'
　Shit. You're so impatient.

　Julia loosens her cheeks a little.

　'Yes. If I had to name it, it would be 'The Great King's Blessing'. And people who have sworn absolute allegiance to themselves also increase their abilities, if not as much as the holder of the blessing. That's what it's called. That's an amazing ability.

　.........
　Loyalty.

　I didn't want him to pledge his loyalty to me.

　Surprising. Aren't you more surprised?
　I was aware of the blessings. I just didn't know it would affect me as much as it did the people around me.

　And by the way, I didn't know the conditions.
　Well, the strange thing is that I'm used to it.

　'So why are you telling me this now?
　It shouldn't be this unimportant (.........) thing that Julia is trying to say.

　'Actually, I was going to keep quiet because it's funny until you figured it out yourself. But hey, you're hard to notice and...

　Julia trails off once.

　'You know, I can't see you anymore. It's the last day. Your father is dying, you know. That's why I have to choose a man to marry while he's still alive and marry him and have children. So I can't see you.

　Julia was crying.

　'So I thought I'd tell you now. I won't have a chance to tell you anymore. Oh, I was hoping you'd have a bigger reaction than that.'

　Julia laughs in a bright voice, tears streaming down her face.

　'Your father told me to get out of the relationship as soon as possible.
　Then Julia moved closer to me.

　Her eyes, moist with tears, approached.

　''!
　Julia meets my lips with her own.

　Julia's tongue enters my mouth.
　She sucks hard.

　I can't refuse, and I do what she does.

　Nearly an eternity passes and Julia pulls her lips away from mine.
　A bridge of saliva builds.

　'You're going to marry a lot of people now, aren't you? You're strong, cool, and have the makings of a champion. I'm sure lots of girls will be courting you. And you're kind and you won't refuse them. I'd love to have you in my harem too but unfortunately I don't think I can. But just remember this.

　Julia pulls away from me and turns away.

　'That I was your first kiss,'

　Julia runs off.

　.........　
　f*ck!

　I slammed my fist against the tree.