When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 190

Episode 190

“What? The ship nearly got sunk in a mock battle by that musclehead, Gerald? …Listen, Victor, you can’t let technology lose to muscles.”

Victor, who had been working with Byron on the maintenance of the magic engine and control systems, let slip during a casual conversation with his father about the mock battle near the northern core city, Foresval.

“And judging by the output imbalance of the magic engine, you got hit from the port side, didn’t you? Victor, remember the Alchemis family motto: ‘Beware the thinning of the port side’s barrage.’ It was even framed and hung up by the first generation, and you’ve forgotten it?”

Even if someone suddenly brings up something about the port side’s barrage thinning out, there’s no way you’d remember such a thing. The Alchemis family mansion and warehouses are filled with various mysterious items left behind by the first generation. But now that Victor had observed another world, he could finally understand what they were.

“That primitive man has the nerve to complain about the weapons I made for him, saying things like, ‘It got crushed with just a little grip,’ or ‘It broke when I gave it a slight swing.’ And then he goes on about how the weapons are unreliable.”

From what Byron said, it seemed he had some direct acquaintance with Gerald. That made sense, as they were the strongest force and the greatest mind of this nation. They would inevitably meet at national events or parties.

A while back, there had been discussions and experiments, led by King Ramses and the leadership of the Kingdom of Tashman. It was to further power up the strongest man in humanity. Byron had been dragged into those efforts.

At first, Byron had eagerly participated, thinking it would be a great opportunity to fully utilize his technology and experiment with normally impossible mechanisms and functions. But the result was a complete failure.

Gerald, with his innocent destructiveness, had apparently shattered every piece of equipment and experimental tools, making proper evaluation impossible.

Byron and the Academy members watched in disbelief as Gerald, tilting his head in confusion, bent and broke equipment in directions it shouldn’t have been able to bend. People like him typically say “It broke” instead of “I broke it,” and Byron and his colleagues were on the verge of losing their tempers. They wondered if this primitive man even listened to others.

Because of this past, Byron was even more motivated after hearing Victor’s account of the mock battle in the north.

Engineering, magic, and all other technologies were the keys to unlocking humanity’s potential. Technology was humanity’s future, and that future would not be forged by mere muscles and fists.

This was the policy of Byron Alchemis, the greatest engineer of the current generation. Up to this point, he was an eminently reasonable engineer.

“…Oh, my, my. Haha, what a delightful body shape you have. …Are you teasing me? Is that it? Come on, come on, this is what you want, right? …Haha, let me mold you to my liking!”

…Byron Alchemis. Even Victor Alchemis, the eccentric alchemist, was occasionally disturbed by his father’s abnormal behavior.

If only this part of him didn’t exist, he would undoubtedly be an excellent engineer.

・　・　・

While Victor was spending the entire day with his father, Lord Byron, on the sky ark Mandjet/Mesektet, a meeting that began around noon had already been running non-stop for about five hours. Thanks to the prior preparations by Cynthia and the Prime Minister’s Office staff, the meeting proceeded smoothly. But the discussions themselves were challenging due to the unprecedented nature of many topics, which required thinking from scratch.

There were still about half of the agenda items left to decide, but the participants were starting to look quite exhausted. Even though the members of the Kingdom of Tashman prided themselves on their stamina, a prolonged meeting that required intense mental focus inevitably led to fatigue. The quality of the discussions was beginning to decline.

King Ramses, who had been discreetly observing the state of the meeting room, judged that continuing further would only be counterproductive. At a natural pause in the discussion, he declared the meeting adjourned for the day. He ordered the participants to return home and get some rest, with the meeting scheduled to resume at 8 a.m. the next day.

As soon as King Ramses announced the end of the day’s session, everyone in the room simultaneously stretched and relaxed their bodies. Incidentally, Lady Cynthia, with steam practically rising from her head, had slumped over her desk in exhaustion.

Jez called out to Cynthia, urging her to return to the ship, but before he could do so:

“Jez Norman, I have something to discuss with you. Come with us.”

King Ramses and Prime Minister William summoned him with an appreciative tone. Jez felt a strong urge to escape with a smile on his face, but he knew that fleeing now would only cause trouble for both Erin and Princess René. Reluctantly, Jez followed King Ramses and Prime Minister William.

・　・　・

The scene shifts to the king’s office.

“First, let me once again thank you for protecting the royal capital during the attack and for continuing to protect René afterward. You have our heartfelt gratitude.”

King Ramses and Prime Minister William bowed their heads as they expressed their thanks.

“Originally, we would have liked to formally recognize your achievements with a proper ceremony, reward you appropriately, and announce your appointment as legion commander. However, due to the current tense situation, we had to prioritize our response. When you return from the Divina Papal State, we plan to hold a formal ceremony.”

Receiving sincere gratitude from the normally unflappable King Ramses and Prime Minister William left Jez feeling a bit awkward, even now. Although he usually maintained a carefree demeanor, being earnestly thanked like this seemed to stir something within him.

In conjunction with his appointment as legion commander, Jez would also be taught the forbidden magic, Dedication of the End. This magic, passed down only to legion commanders, was a secret forbidden art that had been used by the 9th Legion Commander, Elliot Crane, during the Southern Great Uprising. Since the training required a change of location, it was scheduled to take place the following night.

After these serious matters were settled, as Jez was about to take his leave:

“Well then, Jez Norman, the serious talk ends here. Now, let’s have a discussion, man to man.”

Prime Minister William, despite smiling, exuded a certain indescribable atmosphere as he stopped Jez from leaving.