Chapter 42

Crossing Rosaria alone with the Immortal Brigade,

Raiding Ismus,

Rescuing the Dwarf King,

Everything went smoothly.

It went so well that it was almost scary, but not everything had been a success yet.

Negotiations with the Dwarf King, Gunther, still remained.

Returning to the town of Ivalice, I invited the Dwarf King Gunther to the reception room of the mansion.

Not as a prisoner, but as a guest.

Or perhaps, in a manner befitting a demon, I could take the Ismus approach and hold him hostage, forcing the dwarves to work.

That would be a more demon-like way to handle it, but I knew very well how meaningless and unproductive such actions would be.

You can perhaps move people with fear, but you cannot make them work with fear.

People will not work unless they are given something in return.

This was proven by the King of Ismus.

Despite successfully capturing the Dwarf King, he could not make the dwarves obey.

I had no intention of making the same mistake.

Gunther was already seated in the reception room.

I ordered Sati to serve tea.

She bowed and said, "Yes, sir," and brought in the tea on a cart.

"How many teaspoons of sugar would you like?"

Sati asked Gunther, but he shook his head.

"No sugar. Instead, put some distilled liquor in it."

Sati hurriedly brought the distilled liquor.

It took a while, probably because the master of this mansion, me, rarely drinks alcohol.

When Sati brought the distilled liquor,

"How much would you like?"

she asked.

Gunther silently took the bottle from Sati, not pouring it into the cup, but drinking it straight from the bottle.

As if he were drinking water.

Sati whispered in my ear.

"Dwarves really love alcohol, don't they?"

"…Yes, it seems so."

I thought, "Maybe we need a barrel instead of a bottle," when Gunther spoke, the smell of alcohol wafting over.

"First, I must thank you for rescuing me."

He bowed his head.

It seemed this king was a straightforward man.

He would show gratitude even to commoners, or rather, demons.

I returned his gratitude formally and then got to the point.

"I have a request for King Gunther of the Dwarves."

Gunther slowly shook his head.

"I am no longer a king."

"…What do you mean?"

"My kingdom, Wilhelm, fell long ago. There is nothing more ridiculous than a king without a country."

"…I see."

"You treat me with respect, but there is no need. Treat me as just an old man."

Lilith, hearing this, spoke casually and picked up a cylindrical object from the sofa, placing it on the table.

"Grandpa, can you make something like this?"

It was a rude attitude towards a king, but Gunther, as he had said, did not seem to mind and picked up the matchlock gun.

Gunther, being a king and a dwarf, could not help but be interested in such a mechanism.

His eyes changed as he took the gun.

"What is this?"

"It's called a matchlock gun."

"Matchlock gun?"

"The powder and bullet are loaded into the barrel, then ignited, causing the powder to burn and the explosion to propel the iron bullet at high speed."

"Is it a kind of magic?"

I was about to say, "No, it's science," but stopped.

"Think of it as a type of alchemy. When the material called gunpowder explodes, it produces combustion gas. If you let it explode normally, it would scatter, but if you let it explode inside a cylindrical iron cavity—"

"The energy is transmitted in one direction, and the bullet is fired at high speed, is that it?"

"Exactly."

Indeed, the king of the dwarves.

He understood everything from a simple explanation.

Then, he would also understand the most important part of making a matchlock gun: the screw.

I took a screw from my pocket and asked bluntly.

"Can you mass-produce something like this?"

Gunther picked up the screw and frowned.

"It looks simple but has a complex shape. It's like a spiral staircase."

"Yes, that spiral structure is crucial."

The spiral structure allows objects to be securely fastened. That is the strength of a screw.

Without this screw to seal the bottom of the gun, the matchlock gun cannot be completed.

"Can you make it?"

I asked again.

Gunther, without moving a muscle, replied,

"Yes."

Lilith cheered, but Gunther added, "However, mass-producing this shape is impossible. Even with the best dwarf craftsmen, only a few can be made in a day."

"…I see, as expected."

It was the answer I had predicted.

"Each one will have to be handcrafted. Such a precise object. It might not be possible to reproduce, but it will be difficult to produce in large quantities."

Gunther paused and then asked, "Who created such a thing in the first place?"

If I could say, "A Japanese person from another world," it would be easier, but I evaded, "That's a secret."

However, I had an idea about how to mass-produce these screws.

Of course, my hands are not as dexterous as those of the dwarves.

I thought that if I explained it to this wise king, he would be able to make it, so I went to Ismus.

I explained the method to him.

In such situations, modern knowledge is useful.

Hearing the method, Gunther's eyes widened.

"Such a method exists!?"

Indeed, Gunther seemed to have come up with a way to mass-produce screws just by hearing the explanation.

The king of the dwarves is not an ordinary man.

Given the idea, he immediately understood and could create an equivalent, or even better, object.

With this, the mass production of screws, and thus the mass production of guns, was in sight.

The next step was to gather dwarf craftsmen and start mass production, but the issue was the compensation.

I had no intention of making others work for free.

I was receiving the strongest weapon, the gun.

I intended to prepare a corresponding reward.

I proposed to the still excited king.

"King Gunther, if you can mass-produce these matchlock guns, I will recommend to the Demon King that she rebuild the dwarf kingdom when she unifies this world."

Gunther's face was the best of the day when he heard this.

He opened his eyes wide and asked, "Is that true?"

I replied in one word.

"I will get permission from the Demon King."

"―What guarantee do you have that you can get permission?"

I answered honestly.

"There is none. Also, it cannot be put in a contract."

"Then how am I supposed to believe you?"

"Only on my word.―For now."

"What if you break this promise?"

"If that happens, please shoot me with the gun you made."

I was prepared for that.

The Demon King, in her position, cannot make a promise to the king of the dwarves here and now.

There was also the incident with Bastio the other day.

If she showed a compromising attitude to a king of a fallen nation here, it would not set a good example for the other corps commanders.

However, that Demon King.

That girl would surely come to the same conclusion as me.

I believed that and deliberately mentioned the Demon King's name.

If the promise could not be fulfilled, I was prepared to give my life to this man, as I had said.

With that resolve, I looked Gunther in the eye.

―Perhaps that resolve reached him.

Gunther slowly nodded.

"Very well, I will issue a proclamation and gather skilled dwarf craftsmen to this land of Ivalice."

Gunther said this and extended his hand.

I shook it.

Thus, a secret alliance was formed between the Demon Army and the dwarves.