Chapter 37

Ike, the 7th Legion Brigade Commander—

Until a few days ago, it was a familiar title, but now the "Brigade" in his title has been removed, and he has become a "Deputy."

He is now called the Deputy Commander by his subordinates, but the work he does hasn't changed much.

The only difference is that he can now sit next to Sefiro at the regular legion meetings, and he is more respected by the other brigade commanders.

Even Beio, the leader of the Werewolf Brigade, who was once filled with hostility, seems to have acknowledged his abilities.

When they pass each other in the corridors of Sefiro's castle, Balentzere, Beio now steps aside.

However, the nature of the demons is deeply ingrained.

In his eyes, there is still the ambition of "I will surpass you someday."

His intense gaze is not unpleasant.

I understood that demons are like that, and it was what I wanted.

The competitive spirit is beneficial for the organization.

If he thinks, "I won't lose to that guy!" and works hard, it will ultimately benefit the 7th Legion.

Now, as a Deputy Commander, the other brigade commanders are both rivals and subordinates.

If I can make them work effectively, it will bring me one step closer to my dream.

A world where demons and humans coexist—that is the world I aim for.

To achieve that, I must first fight against humans.

For demons and humans to coexist, demons must dominate this continent.

While Dairokuten is still the Demon King, I must unify this world; otherwise, my dream will not come true.

If another Demon King were to dominate the world, humans would either be massacred or used as slaves.

If humans defeat the demons, the demons might be exterminated.

To realize a world where demons and humans coexist, I must unify this world while Dairokuten is still the Demon King and while I still have my lifespan left.

Wearing this strange mask and robe, I sometimes forget, but I am human inside.

I can't live for hundreds of years.

Considering my human lifespan, I don't have much time.

I can't afford to be complacent.

(I need to act as soon as possible.)

While thinking this, I hear a knock on the door of my office.

This knocking is Jiron's.

If it were Sati, she would knock more quietly.

I allow entry with the "Release" spell, and Jiron rushes into the room in a panic.

"Sir! Sir! Sir Ike! It's terrible!"

What could be so terrible?

This man is a coward and changes his expression even over trivial matters.

It's hard to gauge the severity of the situation from his expression.

"What are you so panicked about?"

To help Jiron calm down, I pour water from a pitcher into a glass.

Jiron drinks it all in one go, wipes his mouth with his sleeve, and says, "Phew!"

After a moment, he delivers his important news.

"It seems that the Alliance of Kings has finally been formed."

"But I already told you about that before."

"But this time, it seems that everything has been finalized."

I see, that's why Jiron is so scared.

I understand now.

"Are you not surprised, sir?"

"No, I'm not particularly surprised."

When I inspected the market with Sati before, I obtained some information.

At that time, it wasn't confirmed yet.

There were talks of negotiations between Rosaria and other countries.

I suspect that after we completely defeated Rosaria's army, it contributed to the formation of this alliance.

I knew this would happen, but I didn't tell Jiron.

As I've said many times, this small orc is a coward.

If he knew that humans were uniting to attack, he might become insomniac and affect his work.

While he may not be the most competent strategist in my brigade, I can't afford to have his efficiency drop further.

So, I kept it to myself, but since he found out, I decided to be honest about the future.

"The formation of the Alliance of Kings was expected. There's no need to panic."

"Really? You predicted it, sir?"

"Yeah."

"That's amazing. How did you know?"

"Through information gathering and intuition."

The Demon Army already controls half of Rosaria, a powerful country on the continent.

We have pushed them to this point and defeated their last resistance.

The formation of the "Alliance of Kings" was a reasonable prediction.

The Alliance of Kings is an ancient pact among humans.

It is a strategy devised to unite and counter the powerful Demon Army.

When the Demon Army's power is deemed too much for a single country to handle, the pact calls for the nations of the continent to unite and fight.

This pact has been formed three times in the past, and each time, the Demon Army was repelled.

Will it happen again this time?

Judging by Jiron's fear, he thinks it will.

It's not fair to dismiss him as a coward.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, the Demon Army has been repelled three times by the "Alliance of Kings."

What happens twice can happen three times.

There's a saying, "Third time's the charm."

Since this is the fourth formation of the Alliance of Kings, it's reasonable to expect that we will lose again.

Jiron's fear is understandable.

"Sir, what should we do? If we don't act, a large human army will attack us."

"They will attack, of course."

I say it as if it's someone else's problem.

"Is it really okay? The humans coming this time are not like before. Thousands of humans might come."

"Thousands? At least ten thousand, if humans mobilize all their forces, it could be a hundred thousand. The last time the Demon Army was pushed to the east, it was the overwhelming numbers that defeated us."

"………………"

Jiron's face turns pale, and he loses his words.

By the way, my brigade has about 600 members.

It was increased after I became Deputy Commander.

We recently absorbed the traitor Jace's army and added new monsters and demons.

This city of Ivalice is a fortified city, but it won't stand a chance against such numbers.

—Unless the ruler of this city is me.

I have the experience of numerous battles and the "ultimate weapon" I obtained recently.

Plus, I have comrades who will fight with me.

As long as I have these, I fear no army.

"……Well"

I say this and decide to consider the mass production of the matchlock gun.

I gave the matchlock gun to Sefiro the other day.

Given her nature as a mad alchemist, she might have already disassembled it and figured out the mass production process.

If she succeeds in mass-producing the matchlock gun, the war situation will change dramatically.

It might end this meaningless war with just one battle.

With this hope, I head to Sefiro's office.

†

Sefiro, the 7th Legion Commander and the Black Plague Witch.

Her castle is within the Demon Army's territory.

It's easy to forget, but traveling hundreds of kilometers is a strange sensation, even though a magician can teleport instantly.

However, this advantage can also be a disadvantage.

Sefiro is mischievous and often summons me for no reason, using me as a test subject or forcing me to listen to pointless conversations.

I probably encourage her by engaging with her, but since she has taken care of me since childhood, I can't ignore her.

This time, after listening to her pointless conversation for a long time, she finally got to the point.

"---In short, mass-producing the matchlock gun is impossible."

That was her conclusion.

"Even the Commander can't do it?"

Sefiro nods regretfully.

"I tried making several copies, but they are just copies. They fall apart after firing one shot."

She places a metal block from the bottom of the matchlock gun on the table.

I examine it closely.

"What is this?"

"…I don't know. If only I knew how to make it. I can mass-produce the iron barrel, but…"

"…………"

I fall silent.

The object on the table is familiar.

Isn't this just a screw?

It's a T-shaped metal rod with a spiral line.

—So, this world doesn't have screws.

In my previous life, screws were so common that I never thought about them, but if you show a screw to someone with no knowledge, they would be confused.

A skilled person might be able to make screws one by one by carving them, but mass production would be impossible.

Maybe a few guns a day, at most.

That's not enough.

Producing crossbows would be more efficient.

Perhaps I should reconsider and abandon the production of matchlock guns.

—No, it's too early to give up.

If we have a powerful weapon like the matchlock gun, we can advance the war more favorably.

I don't want to say pretty things like "I don't want to see more bloodshed," but ending the war as soon as possible will reduce the amount of blood spilled.

With this in mind, I make a proposal to the Commander.

"---Commander, what if I have a method to mass-produce this metal?"

Sefiro looks surprised.

She seems to think it's impossible.

"Are you saying you can do what I couldn't?"

"No, I just have an idea. But I need permission to mobilize the army."

"What do you mean?"

"You are a top-tier magician, but not necessarily a top-tier engineer, Commander."

I added the word "top-tier" to flatter her, but there are many people who are better at engineering.

For example, the famous "Dwarves" in the fantasy world.

"I plan to talk to the King of the Dwarves and ask for his cooperation."

Hearing this, Sefiro looks both surprised and understanding.

"…King Gunther of the Dwarves?"

Sefiro says his name.

She seems to understand my intention.

"Indeed, he might be able to make the same thing easily."

"Yes, probably."

It might be impossible just to show him, but I have knowledge from my previous life.

If I share that knowledge, he can easily reproduce it.

King Gunther of the Dwarves.

He is the king of the familiar sub-human Dwarves in the fantasy world.

The Dwarves once had a country in the western part of the continent, but it was destroyed by humans.

Since then, the Dwarves have wandered as nomads.

Humans keep the King of the Dwarves in custody to prevent the Dwarves from rebuilding their country.

It's a cunning move to keep him alive as a hostage rather than executing him.

Humans might be more cunning than demons in some ways.

I understand both sides, but I don't intend to support either.

Sometimes humans act like devils.

I don't want to become a demon in "heart," even if I am called a monster by humans and demons.

https://14615.mitemin.net/i230947/

This is the cover of the second volume of the book "The Strongest Magician of the Demon Army Was a Human."