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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 7

After Solas’ contract with Edochia’s predecessor ended, he was planning to return to Elam and continue his work for the Mages Association, but because he was unable to properly cut his ties with the new queen, he ultimately decided to stay in Haman. But even after he officially became queen Edochia’s lover, he continued to guide her as her educator and serve her as her contracted Mage. Also, since queen Edochia’s father died when she was still very young, he was also acting as a surrogate father for her, and it is said that the old Mage manager to teach her everything aside from morals.

「Milza Kuches seems to have become the next Viceroy of Dartania after the unexpected Death of his father Sayid, and he has defected to the Factory Alliance. 」

Solas reported to the queen quietly while staring at her the entire time.

「Is that so? 」

The queen simply nodded her head without changing her expression in the slightest.

「If that is indeed the case, then I guess the rumor that he killed his father in order to take his place as the Viceroy must be true after all. Just how bloodthirsty is this man going to get? 」

「This afternoon, there was also a battle between the naval forces of Dartania and Artuk, and although both sides sustained damage to their fleets, there was no decisive victor to the skirmish. 」

「Since Dartania has obviously become an enemy of the Fantasia Union, then does that mean that we should be keeping a close eye on our own coast now? 」
「We should, and I have already taken the liberty of sending the notices with a warning to all the Union’s Lords who have territories on the coastline, telling them that they should increase their vigilance when it comes to the sea. 」

Haman is a small country that possesses an army of only 3000 soldiers, including the Lords.

「Once Dartania decides to invade us and comes ashore, they are definitely going to direct all of their forces towards this castle and besiege it, so if that happens, we will not be able to win against them with the numbers of our country alone. When that tie comes, it would be great if we had an ally who would come to our rescue when we are going to need it. 」

Edochia’s expression became clouded as she put her finger on her lips. If it was an internal dispute of just Haman alone, then she was sure that some of her lovers would be more than enough to solve such a problem, but when faced with the prospects of an invasion of a foreign country, then the usual methods will most definitely not be enough. But that was not the end of the news, apparently.

「There is also a matter of the request for reinforcements that came from Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk. He is asking you to dispatch your navy to his country. 」

「My navy?! 」

The Queen suddenly stood up with her face shining like that of a young girl. Her lovers, who were washing her hands and feet until now, immediately put on her thin linen robe on her. However, it only stuck to the curves of her wet skin and made her look even more alluring as if she was naked.

「So, what you are saying is that it is okay for me to send out the Sea Palace?! 」

Edochia asked with a wide grin on her face.

The Sea Palace that she was talking about was a super-sized warship built by Haman. The hull of this warship is reinforced with steel plates and can carry up to 500 sailors onboard at once. There are four heavy crossbows on the left and right sides of it that are powerful enough to easily penetrate the hull of a regular wooden ship, and bolts from it can be fired from the openable embrasures.
Two hundred archers can also be stationed in the central deck turret, enabling them to rain down arrows on approaching enemy ships. And as a finishing touch, there is a huge cannon mounted on the front of the ship.

「Are there other warships in our navy? 」

Solas said sarcastically.

「As long as it is going to shower the enemy fleet with cannonballs, that one should be more than enough. 」

Edochia said innocently as she locked eyes with one of her lovers who was still standing at her side. He was a man of medium stature with thick, shaved hair and a thick beard.

「Please leave it to me. 」

The man smiled and bowed.

The huge cannon mounted in front of the Sea Palace was acquired by Edochia from the Mages Association in exchange for the part of her Crest that contained the rank of a Baron.

Haman is a small country and its people are not very numerous, so even half of the titles held by Edochia would be enough to govern it properly. Therefore, she used her surplus rank to request the Mages Association to lend her a magic treasure, and that is how this cannon ended up in her hands. And it was literally just that an nothing else: a cannon that fires a handful of stone bullets using gunpowder as the main force propelling it forward.

The existence of gunpowder has been known in this world for a long time, but it is not suitable for practical use due to the danger of causing an explosion due to Chaos related accidents.

However, what was then needed to properly operate the giant cannon was a professional engineer was not affiliated with either the Mages Association or any kind of professional union who could control Chaos enough to ensure that there will be no accidents occurring. If someone like that existed, then Edochia needed to make a contract with such an engineer as soon as the cannon she got from the Mages Association was delivered to Haman.

This is where Joachim entered the stage.

Having attended the Magic Academy when he was a child, he possessed an incredibly well-trained body, capable of easily lifting stone bullets as heavy as two adults combined and loading them into the cannon. Attracted by his beautiful physique, queen Edochia soon fell in love with the engineer, and when she finally managed to obtain him for herself, she gave him the nickname 「Baron」.

「I am going to go too. I want to be with everyone. 」

Edochia smiled and ordered her lovers to carry her out of the bath and take her to the Sea Palace immediately.

* * *
When Solon, the King of Kirchs heard a request for reinforcements from Vilar, the Earl of Artuk, he ordered the Lords and the soldiers who had gathered in his castle in advance to proceed to the castle’s courtyard. They all had their helmets under their arms and their cups of alcohol in their hands. There was beer in it.

Solon himself was standing on the balcony of the castle, his arms outstretched to the side, facing the courtyard. Solon often invited his people here to read his poems and stories to them out loud. If he was feeling especially well or was stricken with enough inspiration, he would sometimes act in a one-man show.

「Gentlemen! 」

With a sonorous, theater-trained voice, Solon called out to the Lords and soldiers gathered in the courtyard below him.

「A cup of beer will give you vitality on the battlefield, giving you a pleasant uplift and courage. You are the main characters in this battle, and you will never die. 」

「What if I do end up dying? 」

One of the Lords raised a jeering voice.

「That would mean that you were nothing but a side character and you should give up trying to become a main character. It is as simple as that! 」

Laughter erupted from the courtyard as Solon answered, looking down at the Lord.

「Now come on, drink up and put on your mask. You are an invincible hero. No arrows or blades will hurt you. Now, we shall see if this battle is going to turn into a comedy or a tragedy, and the opening act… begins now! 」

As he said that, Solon took his own cup and raised it high into the air.

「OPENING ACT!!! 」

The soldiers and the Lords all raised a toast and drank the contents of their own cups, smashing the emptied cups on the ground beneath their feet on the spot. After that, the all took the helmets they were holding under their arms and put them on their heads. They were modeled after the image of a lion’s head.

Solon himself was wearing a helmet with a mask that was modelled after the image of a hero from another world, who was said to appear in this world during the time of Extreme Chaos.