The Grimgelde riding Lean fires a series of Gatling guns on its right hand arm.
　Hilda's Sieglune, with her shield at the ready, tries to rush forward while catching it, but a grenade is fired at her feet and she steps on the tatara.

''Please hold on for a moment, Hilda-san!

　From the top of the hill, Lou's Valtraute pointed the sights of the cannon on his right shoulder at Lean's Grimgelde.
　Valtraute equipped with a "C-Unit" for long-range shooting. The anchors of his heel 《Heel》 dug into the ground and bullets were fired from the cannon with an explosive sound.

''Kuku!''

　Lean stopped firing Gatling's salvo and took evasive action. Lou's projectile blows a large portion of the ground where Grimgelde had been just a moment ago.
　A cloud of dust that rose up covers the area. In the meantime, Hilda's Sieglune made a suicide attack on Grimgelde. As an annihilation warfare artillery bombardment type, Lean's plane is not suited for close range combat.

''I got it!
I won't let you do it, that I won't!

　A single sword catches the flash of swords released into the sidewalk. The one that emerged from the dust cloud is Yae's manipulated Schwerdtite.
　The Sieglune, the heavy white army battle-heavy type that Hilda rides, and the white army battle-light type that Yae rides, the Schwertrite are quite similar aircraft. The only difference is whether they are attack-oriented or defense-oriented.
　The orange knight and the purple armoured warrior continue to strike back and forth.
　Meanwhile, Lean's Grimgelde and Lou's Valtraute, who had distanced themselves from those two, were fighting each other at long range.
　Lean's Gatling gun stopped spinning. It wasn't out of ammunition, but overheating from continuous use. Lean purged the smoking Gatling gun from his right arm. Rather than wait for cool time, he chose to abandon the Gatling gun that was in his way.
　At the same time, Lou switched his "C-Unit" for long-range shooting to a "B-Unit" for high-speed maneuvering and launched an assault.
　Lean also hurriedly opened his shoulder's six-round missile pods, but it was already too late, and Valtraute's unplucked sword stabbed into Grimgelde's chest.

''You did it........but I won't lose for free.......!

　Grimgelde feathered Valtraute tightly and opened the chest armor where the sword was propped up. The two Gatling guns that appeared there blew fire all at once.

''Ah, that's not fair...!

　The Valtraute turned into a beehive of bees due to the close range simultaneous firing. The Grimgelde with its sword held up also collapsed, and both machines exploded and scattered.

''Kokonoe Shinmei-ryu'' profound technique, Hienreppa!
"Restia-style swordsmanship, five-style spiral!

　Schwertrite's sword and Sieglune's sword simultaneously pierced each other's cockpit, the chest.

''A counterattack........that is.......''
I'm sorry...

　The two bodies exploded from the inside on the spot and were blown to pieces. A thick cloud of smoke is nowhere to be found on the battlefield.




''The simulation is over. No winners on both sides. It's a draw. The hatch is released.

　There was a shuffling sound of air leaking out and the hatch of the frame unit opened.
　As I turned my gaze from Babylon's giant monitor to that direction, the four people who had been fighting against each other earlier came out of the four units.

''This is a battle in frame gear. Well, it's a simulation.
'Whoa.........'
'Mmmmmmmm....

　Engineer Elka and Fenrir opened their mouths into an O and squeezed out their voices in excitement.

'Good work,'

　He called out to the four men as they came out of the frame unit.

''No, no, we're fighting each other again,''
Yes, sir.
I thought I had won, but......... I didn't expect to be taken along with me...
Be careful. The moment you think you've won is when you're most in danger. Don't be so lucky.

　With the current team split, I thought it was likely to be a draw, but I didn't expect it to be so brilliant.
　The only thing that could be improved is Grimgelde's melee weapon. I'd have to find a way to use it when it's approached, or else I'd be in limbo. Do you want to consult with Rosetta later?

By the way, what is that person supposed to help me with?

　Glancing at Engineer Elka, he asks the doctor beside him.

'Well, we'll have to get you acquainted with our magic engineering, but first and foremost, we need to make a communication device as soon as possible.
"A communication device?
It's not just a communication device. It's not just a communication device, it's something that allows communication between the surface world [here] and the underlying world [there]. I think it's possible by using the spacetime magic used by the dimensional gate.

　That would certainly be useful. If a mutant species shows up over there or something, we'll get the information right away.

'Does that mean we'll be able to communicate with our phones?
I'm going to take it in that direction, though. It's not impossible if we set up a base station to relay the message. There may be a slight time lag, though.

　

''If the world is united, I'm sure we'll be able to connect without a relay station.......''

　But that doesn't mean we can't let this problem go. Better safe than sorry, a friend of mine had a Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared, always".
　Whenever and wherever it happens, always be prepared to do the right thing.

You're in charge. Let me know when you're ready.
Copy that. Oh, speaking of completion, how are the magic trains being built in Felsen?
'Well, as I recall, I gave them the magic batteries the other day, so I think they should be ready soon. The first and second trains should be delivered to Belfast and Leafy's, so we'll hear from them again then.

　And I'll have to transfer my train from Felsen in the east to the two countries in the west.
　If the operation between Belfast and Leafs goes well, now Felsen is going to run a line between Belfast and Lestia to the south. After that it's Belfast to Mismid.
　Well, it will be more of a freight train rather than a passenger train to carry passengers for a while. If this makes transportation between countries smoother, I think it will come in many ways.



　We descended from Babylon to the ground and headed for Orba's Strand Trading Company on that leg. The Strand Chamber of Commerce, which has a shop in a corner of the castle town, is a large trading company that deals in a wide range of products from dwergs to capseltoys.
　In the play area built in front of the store, children were playing together in the playground today, bringing their own playthings, such as beysomes and kendama.

Oh, heh-ka!　Hello!
""Hello!"

　One of them noticed me about to enter the store and greeted me, and everyone else greeted me in unison.

'Yes, hello. Everyone is doing well.

　I took out a candy ball from [storage] and gave it to the kids, and after standing around for a bit, I went into the store.
　Information about children is not easy to fool around with. The little changes in the town, the complaints of the parents, the various rumors of the adults, etc. can be helpful. Well, most of the time it is often a trivial story.
　As soon as we entered the store, we were greeted by Orba-san and shown into the back room.

''How's the magic vehicle [Aether Vehicle]?''
Yes, sir. Some in the royal families of various countries. Soon enough, it will spread to the nobility as well.

　The price of the magic car 《Aether Vehicle》 is high in its own right. It's not something that can be bought easily, but it will probably be sold to the nobility as a kind of status thing.

''What about the magic train model?
'I think we can get some of them together. We'll have them in time for the opening ceremony.

　Model magic trains are not just toys, but also aim to raise awareness of real magic trains.
　If other countries also try to run trains, the Dverg, which was developed for civil engineering work, would sell some of them. It might not sell very well, though, since there are a lot of wizards in Felsen.
　Afterwards, we talked with Mr. Orba about the new Capsaultis and a model of the magic vehicle, the Ether Vehicle, and left the shop.
　It's been a while since I've walked around the castle town. It became even more crowded than before, and the size of the town had expanded. Because of that, there is more trouble, and more patrol knights on duty. It seems that no major incidents have occurred so far, though.
　On that leg, this time I showed up at the country's only school, which is located some distance from the center of town, and was greeted by Fiana-san, Sakura's mother and the headmistress here.
　The school seems to be working well. When I asked if there was anything missing from the facilities, she said they didn't have any instruments to use in music class, so I gave her a piano.
　So far, Sakura has been singing and Kanosuke-brother has been playing the instrument, but it would be better if the teachers could play it too. Kanasuke can teach you, too. He's a music god.
　By the way, I gave him castanets and recorders for his students. This will be standard.
　After talking with Fianna for a while, I went out to take some time off and found Nyantauro waiting for me. What's that?

"Your Majesty!　Do me a favor, please!
You can't very well ban His Majesty the Demon King of Xenoas, can you?
No. No, no, no, I'm not!　I want a companion!
"?　You see?　A whole town full of them.

　There are many cats under Nyantarrow's command in the town. Although Brunhild is a castle town with many cats, they are well-behaved thanks to Nyanthalo, so they don't bother humans.
　It's just that humans often bother the cats more than they do.

That's one of the cats. "That's a cat's mate.　It's impossible for me to manage all the people by myself anymore!

　Nyantaro clung to my leg. Ouch, ouch, don't get your claws up!

I mean, your master is Sakura, right?　It's not right to ask me to do this, is it?
"Sakura-sama can't just aim for Ket Shih.　Three of my friends!　Please, please, please, this street meow!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

　I've never seen a cat get down on its knees before. It's true that it would be difficult for Nyantauro to manage the cats in the town by himself. To begin with, Nantarou is also supposed to be Fianna's bodyguard.

I'm going to get my memory. I want you to think about Ket-Si.
Roger that.

　I grasped Nantarou's paw and put my forehead together.
　Three ketsies appear in my head. I see, it's them.
　I drew a magic circle in the schoolyard and poured in the magic needed to summon them. Soon, a black haze emerges and they swirl around, and in the next moment, they are all blown away at once.
　Just like the time of Nyantaro, the three small shadows that appeared there drew their slender swords at their waists and raised them up to the heavens, shouting high in unison with their voices.

''One for all, all for one!''

　One is a resolute Ket Shih, like an American Shorthair. The other is a Ket Shih with the grace of a Siamese. And the last one is a slightly larger, Persian-like Ket Shih.
　Each of them were still dressed like Nyantharo, wearing boots, feathered hats, gloves, cloaks, rapiers and knights' outfits. All three of them are cat knights.

'Our Lord. Give us a name.

　American Shorthair Ketsi advances and kneels. Oh, this guy doesn't have a "Nya"?
　The benefit of amber, or rather, beast-type summoned beasts can be contracted by me without conditions, so all I have to do is give him a name....... Well, there's only that name.

''You're Athos. You're Athos, that's Aramis. And you're Porthos.
""As you wish."

　Ameshaw is Athos, Siam is Aramis, and Persia is Porthos.

'Minya~!　Long time no see~!
Oh, it's you. How are you doing?
You don't look the same, do you?
Haha, you still look so long in the dark. You've been eating a lot of food?

　Since we are acquaintances, we immediately become friendly with each other.

You can help Nantaro for now. You can do whatever you want with the rest.
"'Nyantarou?
No, no, no!　His real name is D'Artagnan, meow!　Nyantaro is a nickname!

　Desperately, Nyantaro explains to the three animals. Oh, yeah, I remember.
　It's been a long time since I've seen my old friends, and I'm sure they have a lot to talk about. The tavern in this town would sell alcohol to Nyan Taro and his friends. Of course, they'll sell you a bottle of silver.
　Since Fianna would be watching over them, I decided to take them to the tavern first. In order for them to remember the way to the bar, I'll be going without using transition magic. It's almost evening, and they're serving drinks.
　The townspeople are used to having Ket Shi with them in Nantalo, so they aren't too surprised. They are only surprised by the visitors from outside.

'It's quite a lively town, isn't it?'
I'm glad you like it.

　Athos would say something like that as he scurried around, carefully observing the area. Aramis is waving merrily at a cat (probably a she-cat) walking along the wall, while Porthos is drooling over a grilled chicken from a food cart.
　Somehow I think I understood the personalities of these three animals.

''Well, just like Nantaro, I'll ask you guys to protect this castle town in one way or another, please.
""Ha!"

　When I arrived at the tavern and went inside, I found Drunken Flower 《Suika》 drinking in front of a strange old man who was drunk out of his mind. This Lori Sake God, he was going in again........ I took away the money, so I shouldn't be able to drink it, though. Now, you took it up as a drinking contest, didn't you?

Hey, Fuyaojian. How are you?
I'm fine. I mean, how many drinks have you had...?

　You're sticky. I looked at the empty bottle on the table and turned my gaze toward the master at the counter, and he blatantly looked away. You're getting a good customer, really. If only the drunken flower is among the customers, the master will not be bitten.

Keep it at that point. Let's leave before Karina's sister finds us.
Okay. I can't walk. I need a piggyback ride.

　This guy is supposed to be free to get drunk or not, but he's usually drunk. If he got serious, he could be sober right now, don't you think? Well, it also looks like they look forward to getting drunk with alcohol, though.
　There's no point in getting to that point now, so I carry the drunken flower on my back as I'm told. I feel like I have a really bad sister.

"Master, get these guys some matata sake. Nantaro will be here later, so give him my regards.
I'm sorry, sir.

　The master of the tavern is also a resident of Brunhild, so he didn't say anything about the three animals. It's amazing what you can get used to.
　I left the three animals at the tavern and headed to the castle with the drunken flowers on my back. It would have been fine to return home at the [Gate], but I somehow felt like walking home today.
　The evening breeze felt nice. A day like this isn't bad sometimes, is it?

''Fuyao-chan........''
Hmm?
"............... ........vomit......
[GATE]!

　I jumped into the gate of light that appeared in front of me without hesitation. You're kidding me, Oi!

"....geez...
"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!　

　.........I promised myself that I would never do such a thing as carrying a drunkard on my back ever again.