In the north of the castle in the Duchy of Brunhild, an incredibly large field has been set up.
　This area is specially warded and cannot be entered without permission, nor can it be seen inside while visual blocking magic is activated. It's the same as the wards in Babylon.
　What it was mainly a place to do was to train the actual aircraft of the Frame Gear, experiment with the activation of new machines, or test the inventions developed in Babylon.
　A test is currently being conducted at the test site.

"It's quite agile, isn't it?
Golems are machines by nature. That's why they're so compatible.
The reaction time is faster than frame gears because there's no direct human response~

　Dr. Babylon and Engineer Elka next to me responded to my murmurings as I watched the craft run around the test site.
　In front of me was a black lion-shaped mechanical beast running around.
　It had a large translucent sphere on its chest, with clear parts made of crystalline material that could be seen from various parts of its body, reflecting the light of the sun. It was a robo-lion with gold lines running down its black body.
　In terms of size, if the frame gear was an adult human, it would be about the size of a real lion.
　This was the Golem enhancement unit that Dr. Babylon and Engineer Elka had created, the Overgear.
　Inside that chest crystal unit called the Core Frame, there is a cockpit, where the core Golem and its partner, the Master, are mounted.
　Synchronized directly with the Golem, the Overgear draws its properties from the Golem and amplifies them. As the name "Enhanced Unit" implies, this is the Golem's power suit, so to speak.
　So why didn't they make it into a human form, you might ask?　I thought so too.
　The answer to that is.

I wanted to do something different.

　It was. In other words, it was a complete hobby. Idiot.
　The black lion kicked the earth and jumped up vertically. Wow, that's an amazing leap!
　They run as fast as they can, braking and jumping up as fast as they can, as if they were checking their limits. That's an intense movement. If it's simple athleticism, it's better than frame gear.

"Are you using some kind of golem skill by any chance?
''No, at the current stage, the Golem skill is too dangerous to use. That's purely the performance of that plane, the 'Leonowar'.

　The only equipment-like items we have at the moment are claws and fangs made of crystal wood. However, I think they'll be able to compete with several mid-range mutant species. I'm not sure if it's going to be easy to get one of them to become a high level species.

''Hmm, it would be interesting to make it possible to transform into a human form.
'If you're going to focus on the core frame, isn't that more of a conversion than a transformation?　Replace each part as you go along...

　The black lion, 'Leonor', stopped its movement as they consulted with the two suspicious people. It takes a "prone" position, as they call it in animals, and spits out a young girl and a single black knight from its core frame. It is Norn, the sister of the Elka Engineer, Norn and his partner 《Golem》, the Black Crown, Noir.
　I walked over to Norn, who was standing there, and asked her what she thought of the overgear.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do that," he said, "you were riding it pretty well. How did you feel about the ride?
..........

　It's not responding. What's going on?
　Norn looks up at me, her eyes like dead fish. She wobbled up to me and squeezed the hem of my coat.

'..................ugh.
What?



　Please wait.



I'm guessing the shock-absorbing feature is less effective.
The inside of the cockpit seems to be shakier than I thought. I'll have to raise the settings higher than the frame gears.
Hey, hey, hey!　Worry about us a little, too!

　Norn, who is completely stretched out from vomiting, and me, who has been vomited directly underneath my feet, both glare at the two research idiots with tears in their eyes.

'I can't control it like that, that thing........ He has too much power. I just let it run for a bit, but it's gaining too much momentum........

　Norn lets out a weak voice as he lies back down. Ah, I can kind of understand. When I just learned the acceleration magic 【Accel】, I had that feeling too. I mean, wasn't that move just now intended to be done?
　It seems that it was like a fighting game where an amateur who didn't know the commands was pushing it around.

In addition, the place on which he was riding on was shaking with a rocking motion........
Rest and silence.

　Noir gently patted Norn's back as he began to wince with a blue face again.

It's a good thing that it's the first test. The problem is that with this overgear, it's not so easy to mass produce at the moment.
'Can't mass produce?　Why?

　I look up at Leonor and interject as the Doctor speaks to himself. What do you mean it can't be mass produced?　Like the Valkyria, which was developed exclusively for the Norn and Noir?

That's right. That's right, each aircraft will need to be adjusted to suit its golem. Basically, you can think of it as a specialized plane.
'So you're saying you can't get this Leonor to move, say, Nia's Blood Rouge on board this Leonor?
'It will. No other golems would even activate it. 'With frame gears, you can get all sorts of people on them, right?　However, since Overgear is relaying the golems, it means that only its master can move them, by all means.

　Ah, I see. To begin with, the golems themselves are like specialized machines for their own use.

''Even if you have multiple golems, like the Soldat, there's only one master in the end. It can't be helped if one person can use multiple overgear. And the value of a mass-produced machine is precisely because there are so many of them. Well, to begin with, only the ancient plane [Legacy] can move the overgear...

　If every single one of them is handmade, it won't be a mass production model anymore. No, I guess that would mean that it would be mass produced.
　According to the doctors, as long as the core frame is made, the other parts can be reused. In other words, if you build a Nia core frame, you can use the Norn's overgeared limbs?

''Is it difficult to fight off the mutants with the strength of the other world alone...?
We're still working on it, you know. We'll continue to improve it and get it ready for mass production. The combat power of each one might be reduced, though.

　It's a matter of numbers or quality. You need a certain amount of quality, but there are some situations where you can't deal with it if you don't have the quantity, and that's a tough one.




　On the way back to the castle, I stopped by the Knights' training grounds. As usual, she seems to be receiving hellish training from Morobane sister, but she seems to have gotten used to it to some extent recently.

'Fuyao-sama, just in the right place.
Hmm?　What's going on?

　I was watching the training of the knights when Hilda came to me. She was training, or maybe she was breathing a little hard. I took out a towel and a cold drink from 【Storage】 and handed it to her.

''Thank you. I was actually on the phone with your brother just now. That's where it came up, I was wondering if we could have a joint training session between the Restia Knights and Brunhild Knights.
Mr. Reinhardt?

　Hmm. Joint training with the knight kingdom Restia's elite, huh? It might not be a bad idea.
　As I pondered for a moment, Hilda smiled bitterly and continued to speak.

''But that's just a pretext, I think your brother himself would like to cross swords with his double-edged sister-in-law, and receive instructions, but...''

　Oh, I see. I heard that Reinhardt's brother-in-law lost his battle with Hilda after the world congress the other day. You can't afford to lose to your sister, as expected.
　You have a job to do as king, so I think it can't be helped if there's a difference. Furthermore, Hilda has the supportive effect of being made my family member.
　Well, the training itself is a good suggestion, so I'll take it. I'm grateful to Galen-san for his help with the guild test the other day, too.
　I take out my phone and get in touch with Reinhardt-san.

''Eh, now?　Now?

　Well, it's not a problem. Aren't we being too impatient?
　For now, I opened the [Gate] and several of Lestia's elite knights, led by King Reinhardt's Knight King from Lestia, came to Brunhild.
　In the Lestia Knights, the King sometimes doubles as a knight leader, but there's also a deputy leader in place.

''Good day to you.''
It's nice to meet you too.

　That's the man who is exchanging greetings with our Knight Commander, Mr. Lane.
　Knights of Lestia, Vice Commander, Franz Eisman.
　He's a dandy romance grey uncle, over forty years old, with a mix of grey hair and a moustache around his mouth.
　He is a friend of the previous king and a mentor of his brother-in-law Reinhardt. He is a swordmaster who is also a disciple of Hilda's grandfather, Mr. Galen. He's a serious man and has a good personality. I'm glad he's not Elo's disciple.
　Basically, in this kind of joint training between countries, each other's knight commanders don't participate in this kind of joint training between countries.
　See, what if, what if to the other knight. If I and the leader lost, it would be a mess. The other side would take advantage of us.
　Normally it's like that, but how is it that the king is fighting before he's also a knight leader, Restia?
　The knights from both camps have been observing the match between Reinhardt's brother-in-law and Morohana's sister since a while ago with bated breath.
　However, it's Brother Reinhardt's brother-in-law who is being beaten one-sidedly.

''Let's go easy on him a bit........''

　I cover my eyes at Morobane sister's inability to read the air. The only thing that helps is that even if Brother-in-law Reinhardt is killed, not a single one of our knights would sneer at that.
　The strength of the Morohana sister is something that all of us can relate to....... There's a certain resignation that it can't be helped even if you lose.
　You are not a member of the knight's corps in the first place. She is a special advisor, though.
　Hm?　If that's the case, wouldn't it be strange to participate in a joint Knights of the Order training?　Well, it's too late now.
　For the umpteenth time, Reinhardt brother-in-law is blown out of the field by Morohana sister's sword. Ahaha.........

"The way you fight like a demon god, Morobaze-sama, is still tremendous. I can't help but boil my blood too.
That's about it.... I'm sorry about that. I'm the older sister who can't read the air...

　I can't help but cringe at Franz-san's words. Blowing up the king of a country or something like that, one wrong move and it's war.

It's not that bad. That's all well and good for the king. People tend to grow straighter and less conceited when they have walls.

　Well, I see what you're saying. I think I've gotten a lot stronger, but compared to those guys, I'm not even close to their level.
　It's impossible for me to be a big fan with this. Their noses, which had grown long, were immediately snapped off.

''Lately, I've been training with demonic beasts, but I'm having a hard time getting it right. We can't just capture a magical beast and bring it to you. I'm thinking of conducting training soon, but........
''Brunhild doesn't have any large demonic beasts, so we aren't too used to fighting against demonic beasts either. If you go to the Dungeon Island, there are some reasonable monster beasts there, but...

　Restia has a large number of knights, as it is a knight kingdom. Most of them are in charge of guarding the town and the capital, but their duties also include defeating magical beasts when they appear in the neighborhood.
　They also have a partnership with the Adventurer's Guild, and it is said that the knights and adventurers often hunt monsters together. Because of this situation, there are times when adventurers are able to join a knight's guild. That's because Galen, the King of the First Age, is an adventurer himself.
　But training against magical beasts..... It would be nice to have some training, wouldn't it?

Yes. Then let's find a suitable monster beast and drag it over here. Something that can be eaten is good, right?
"What?

　With Rain-san and Franz-san's astonished backside, I used the 【Gate】 to jump to the place where the dazzling monster was.




You have to aim at the joint part or your sword will be flicked off! Don't stand in front of it! He'll spit bubbles at you. It'll melt!

　I give moderate advice to the knights who are standing around.
　Both Brunhild and Restia's knights seem to be having a hard time dealing with the red-shelled crab monster beast, Bloody Crab. By the way, Brunhild's knights are not using the crystal sword. It's not good for training.
　The Bloody Crab is ranked red by the Adventurer's Guild's defeat ranks. It's the same rank as the lower-ranked dragon <>. It's a demonic beast that lives in Restia in its own right.
　However, the one I brought with me this time is a pretty big one. If it's not good, it might be a silver-ranked monster.

''Isn't it a bit too big...?

　Seeing the Bloody Club fighting Brunhild and a few of Restia's knights, Hilda mutters with a drawn-out face. It's definitely huge.

''Maybe it's something, but that thing is about to turn into a giant beast........ If I let it lie there for a few years like that, I might have had to use my frame gear to take it down.''

　The knight was blown away by the crab's swiping shears and answered with a well-timed recovery spell. The knight, who rolled while bouncing on the ground, managed to get up and headed back to the Bloody Club.
　Roughly, there are about twenty people in both camps combined?　There's nowhere to run, and I think we can probably defeat them.

''Hmm........ Looking at it from the outside, you can clearly see how it moves. Like this, when you step on both feet, it's like blowing a bubble in front of you.
Yes. And when you swing the shears down you see, they move in the opposite direction of the one you swing down.

　Brother-in-law Reinhardt and Franz seem to be observing their opponents' crab moves from outside the field. First of all, we need to watch them. By observing, you can read the opponent's characteristics, movements and reactions. It's the same in the battle against the opponent.

Anyway, it would have been fun to pull a "Cyclops" monocular giant.
No, no. That's because it's a giant. It's a frame gear property.

　Morobane sister, who doesn't read the air, makes an appropriate statement. Cyclops is a demonic beast that is almost the same size as a golem. It is smaller than the frame gear, but even so, depending on the individual, there are big ones like this crab.

''Even without Frame Gear, there's nothing you can't defeat if you deal with them properly. "It's not impossible to defeat them without frame gear if you deal with them properly. There are many things that can be used in everyday training. You have to be able to see your opponent's weaknesses and exploit them. Choosing weapons, locations, and times to bring out your strength to the fullest extent, and coordinating well with your opponent. If you can make the most of them, it's easy.

　It's easy to say, but that's not easy at all........
　As I was dumbfounded by my sister's words and actions, the crab finally seemed to be weakening and everyone began to go on the offensive at once. They poked at the joint with their spears and cut off the scissors with their axes. Eventually, the swords of several knights pierced the thin belly of the shell, and finally the giant bloody crab fell to the ground.

''Yes!
I got it...
'You did it!'

　Each of us has our own way of rejoicing, but regardless of Brunhild and Restia, the knights of both camps share the joy together. There were a few injured people, but I immediately heal them with recovery magic, and use [Refresh] to restore their strength.

''Is this the end of our training?''
Yes.

　Nodding at Hilda's words, I took out an oversized pot from 【Storage】 and placed it on top of the furnace that I roughly assembled with earth magic. I magically filled the pot with water and the furnace with fire.
　I put the ingredients one by one on the table. I'll use miso as the base.

All right, I'll make a pot!　Crab it up!
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!

　The knights raise their swords and swarm the crabs.
　Processed crab meat, vegetables, tofu, and mushrooms were thrown into the pot, and it began to smell gooey and delicious. Everyone was tucking into the crab stew and smiling with satisfaction. The catch they had worked so hard to kill themselves must be so delicious.
　It must be because of the well-trained muscles of the Hexenbiest that it tastes better than ordinary crabs," I thought uselessly, when my phone rang.

'Silhouette-san, huh?'

　The mistress of the Gekkoukan brothel and the boss of the organization "Black Cat" that controls the information of the underworld. She gathers all sorts of information from the other side, but her phone calls give you a sense of something unsettling.

'Yes, hello. This is Fuyuya. Yes ... yes. Yes?

　Wait a minute. It's true I took out that old cyborg, but...
　Since the wizard kingdom of Isengard has been decimated what does this mean?