The next morning, bright and early, I set out to the damaged castle gate with Murcia, Arte, Till, and Kamshin. Rubbing sleep from our eyes, we looked up at the heavily twisted steel gate and the partially collapsed castle walls. Seeing it up close, the stone walls truly had an imposing presence.
It was frustrating to see parts of the walls we had painstakingly repaired destroyed. What was even more disheartening was that the one remaining intact gate on the Yerinetta Kingdom’s side and the surrounding walls had been ruined.
“…Well, I suppose we should consider it damaged so we can plan against cannons. First, the real problem is letting them fire so freely,” I muttered as we moved closer to the ruined gate, gazing out at the lands and roads of Yerinetta territory. Even from here, there was no clear sign of the invasion route used by the Yerinetta army last night. Perhaps, before it became part of the Yerinetta Kingdom, another country had protected this strategically important area.
“Lord Van… that… the ‘Taihou’ you mentioned, that’s the iron cylinder, right? I don’t quite understand how it’s used, or how we prevent it from being used against us,” Till said, a puzzled expression on her face. Kamshin furrowed his brow and nodded gravely.
“…When the Taihou was used, I was operating the ballista inside the castle to defend it. From that vantage point, all I could see was smoke rising with a loud bang, and something smashing into the castle gate. I think they were using black spheres…”
“Bingo!” I exclaimed, impressed by Kamshin’s deduction. Murcia tilted her head, clearly puzzled.
“Bingo…? You mean, Van, you actually know what that is?”
Before I could answer, Arte smiled knowingly and nodded.
“Lord Van knows everything,” she said, her words carrying a subtle implication. I chuckled softly and narrowed my eyes.
“…Well, I’ve been thinking about black spheres ever since I first saw them. I’ve been imagining what could be done with them… In battle, if we put a black sphere into one of those iron tubes and load it with a heavy projectile, we could launch it at a speed equivalent to firing an arrow. If we manage to launch a sphere containing a black sphere, it could explode upon impact. Its power could potentially surpass that of even a first-class fire mage.”
As I explained, my gaze fixed on the distant roads, Murcia and the others widened their eyes, frozen in place.
“…I suppose only someone like Van would think of such things,” Murcia finally said after a long pause. Till smiled wryly and nodded, while Kamshin’s eyes sparkled.
“I don’t fully understand it yet, but that’s incredible,” Kamshin murmured, clearly impressed. Arte, however, furrowed her brow and spoke next.
“Can those black spheres be used for purposes other than battle?”
She sounded incredulous. I understood why—after witnessing that explosion, one would naturally wonder what else they could be used for. I nodded in understanding, then pointed toward the Wolfsburg Mountains.
Everyone followed my gesture, turning their gaze toward the mountains.
“For example, black spheres could probably be used to drill holes into solid mountain rock. Piercing an entire range would be difficult, of course, but carving a passage through a single mountain could be feasible. They could also be useful in iron mines or even in civil engineering, like widening rivers to prevent flooding. The more I think about it, the more useful this tool seems… hmm?”
I realized that, while speaking aloud all the ideas that came to mind, everyone had shifted their gaze from the mountains back to me. I tilted my head and looked at their faces, and Murcia spoke with a mixture of exasperation and disbelief.
“…You’ve been thinking about that since you first saw a black sphere?”
“…Yes. It’s a new tool, so I’ve been exploring all the ways it could be used…”
I omitted a few things I already knew from prior knowledge. But then I thought, even for someone as genius as Van, I’m not even ten yet—it might have seemed a little unnatural. To cover myself, I added a quick follow-up.
“…Well, I’ve been learning a lot since becoming a lord—about waterworks, roads, and so on.”
A simple explanation, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. I wondered what to do next when, just in time, a messenger soldier arrived.
“Lord Van! Reinforcements have arrived from Ceat Village! Adventurers and Lord Rango from the Bell-Rango Trading Company are here as well!”
“Really? That’s a huge help!”
I cheered at the long-awaited news. Apologies to Murcia, but I wanted to return to Ceat Village for the baths. Here, there was nothing to buy, and the food options were severely limited. I wanted to eat whatever I liked, soak in a proper bath, and walk through the newly thriving village.
I turned back to the group, smiling.
“Then let’s remodel the castle city today or tomorrow! Murcia, I’ll give you the strongest fortress city ever!”
At my words, Murcia blinked and then gave a wry smile. She looked strikingly similar to Till and Arte when they react in the same way.
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