First of all, sorry for the delay in the update! Writer's block coupled with preparing for school really pushed this update quite a bit. Next, I think that it may be better for the fic if the update was set to a more manageable time frame rather than every two days but there will at least be one each week.
On an unrelated note, I have a question regarding the translation of the name for Dust's wizard companion (the girl with the tanuki tail), I have seen Lean, Lynn and Rin as possible spellings, is there a correct one?
Chapter 6 Investigating a Railgun!
It was one thing to hear about the Crimson Demon clan from other adventurers and normal townsfolk back in Axel. They had the reputation for being excellent mages and that everyone in their village is classed as an Archwizard. There was lesser information on their village. As few people make the journey to the village, rumours I had heard about it are based on the few Crimson Demon adventurers that leave the village and from the few I had seen so far, tended to act more bombastically than a normal person would. My impression of it was that it was a place of grandiose buildings, like some metropolis of magic. If you just looked at the undamaged portions of the village, it would fit in as a nice peaceful farming village hidden in a valley.
"I am Hiropon! The Chief of this village and he who leads the Crimson Demon Clan! Now, let us head to my home, it will be easier to discuss matters there." Hiropon led us through the streets, before we arrived at a large mansion in the middle of the village. He beckoned us into the mansion, and we were guided into an impressive looking reception room.
"As you can see, we have driven away the forces of the Demon King under the leadership of the General Sylvia. While she unlocked a hidden anti-mage weapon that was secured and hidden away by our ancestors, damaging parts of our village, we were able to defeat her and drive them back with the aid of some of my daughter's adventurer friends. If you would like more substantial details to bring back to the capital, I can get some villagers to help you, but it will take some time. Father, you and your escorts are welcome to stay here in the meantime, we don't get many visitors here after all. Yunyun! Show the adventurers around the village, won't you? The Father and I have some business to discuss about." Who was he speaking to, was there someone else in the room? I had only seen three other people, oh there she was, a young girl probably close in age to mine peeking in behind the door. Was she hiding there all along or did she come by when her father called for her? We bid goodbye to Hiropon and the priest as they left to talk in private.
"I am Yunyun, Archwizard and wielder of advanced magic! The foremost mage amongst the Crimson Demons and future leader of this village!" Yunyun gave the chuunibyou introduction that I was now used to, but she seemed to perform it in a shy way, it was really cute the way she did her pose in an uncertain manner. I mean I had never seen someone act that way while being embarrassed by it.
"Hello, Yunyun. I have heard about you from Darkness, I am Chris, I think I have seen you before in Axel?" Chris seemed to have known about her and coupled with what the Chief had said earlier, it seemed likely that she knew about Kazuma's party and probably where they were now.
"I am Kato Fujiwara, a novice adventurer that just came to Axel recently. It's nice to meet you." It would be best if we finished the self-introduction quickly to make things less awkward for Yunyun.
"You are not laughing at my name? Chris already knows about my name, so I understand why but you…" Anything she said after that was lost in an incoherent mumble.
"It's just something my dad told me about. Your name is something you should be proud of, so it does not matter what others think of it, so long as you act in a way that makes you proud." Actually, he said a lot more about how names do not reflect whether a person will be good or not but that was the simplified gist of it. Maybe Yunyun was embarrassed by her name but it sounded more normal compared to the other names for Crimson Demons I had heard. Was her name funny to people of this world perhaps, or was I missing something here.
"Oh, I see… Eh, I will show you all around the village then!" Maybe she was just shy around others, but she seemed to know Kazuma's party, so she was still the best lead we had. The village was still quite peaceful even with the ongoing repairs. Before she took us on the tour though, it probably was best if we told her that we were looking for something in particular to save everyone's time.
"Yunyun, I heard that an adventurer party led by Kazuma helped in the battle, where did they fight at if this was true?" If Kazuma and his party did fight the Demon King General, there was no way he would not bring what they referred to as a rifle to the fight. Yunyun pointed towards a cliff in the distance.
"I think they shot Sylvia with what the tailor used as a laundry pole over there, it got destroyed during the battle and we placed it near the underground facility. They already left for Axel earlier today so I can't answer much on how they used it but I can show you where it is now."
"Please do. Thank you!" It was unfortunate that we just missed them, I had so many questions. As for the weapon, well I would have to see it for myself, maybe I could use my skill to repair it. A quick trip up the cliff showed a black scorch mark on the ground where the gun was properly fired. So the good news was that the gun did fire, meaning it worked, the bad news is t that it was likely the gun was busted now, seeing that there were huge burn marks on the floor. On the way to the facility talked about, we passed by some of the attractions of the village. There was a building that looked a lot like a shrine, with an interesting relic before it..
"This is this holy relic of the village; it is fortunate that it was not damaged by the battle." Yunyun explained. Still, no matter how I looked at it, it was definitely a cat-girl in swimwear, besides there was a partially blacked out inscription in Japanese next to it that read 'Property of …' I looked at it questioningly, prompting Yunyun to explain further.
"Long ago, our village saved a traveller being attacked by monsters. The traveller gave this relic to them as thanks, saying that it was more important than his own life. This goddess is unknown to us, but we placed it here and built a shrine around it hoping good things will happen to us." Well that traveller came from Japan and left his figurine here; I wonder what happened to him afterwards. Our next attraction we passed was a fountain under the shade of a tree. How deep was that fountain? I noticed that I was breathing harder now, it's annoying that I was acting up now of all times. It's okay, the fountain is quite small, you can climb out quite easily even if you fall in. Reminding myself of this fact while taking in deep breaths did help to calm me down. Carefully looking over the edge, there were a few coins and weapons at the bottom, but they seemed quite clean. I was expecting some rust on the weapons there huh.
"The 'Wishing Fountain' is said to allow one to summon a Goddess of wealth if one throws enough coins and axes in it. Of course, if not for a kind blacksmith clearing it out periodically, the fountain would be filled with weapons." More like the blacksmith clears it out for money and scrap to melt down but no need to say that out loud. Nearby closer to the hills were the ruins of what might have been a factory. I could see that there were stairwell leading deep underground. Workers were bringing in construction materials flat piece of land nearby and on it was a wrecked pipe with a bipod? Wait could this be what I was looking for?
"The facility before you stored what was called a weapon that could destroy the world, but it was destroyed in the battle. We brought the weapon that Kazuma used here as well, so that when we repair the facility, we can keep all these dangerous things inside for safekeeping."
"Can we take a closer look? That is one of the reasons I came here for."
"One of the reasons? Uh I think we cleared out most of the rubble already so it should be fine to go down and take a closer look." Yunyun lead us towards the site while still giving me a questioning look on what I said. I got too careless in my excitement; I should have said I was curious instead.
"Oh hello 'crackling thunder' Yunyun! Are you bringing the visitors out of town here to look at the facility?" A guy sitting in a chair near the entrance shouted out to us.
"No… I mean yes they are here to look at the facility and the pole. Is it safe?" It seemed like Yunyun was embarrassed by her nickname, best remember not to call her that.
"It should be safe now, the main seal was destroyed and opened up some new rooms but they all have just as powerful seals within them so it should be safe if you don't mess around." He waved us on in with a smile. We first headed towards the rifle. From what I could tell, the barrel was totally blown out, there was no way to repair it other than to replace it. Also, there didn't seem to be a receptacle to insert ammunition in any way. I could see why Aqua had called it a rifle though, it had a barrel, a trigger and a stock so it definitely was a gun. Perhaps I could ask Kazuma and his party when I met them about the details. Still, it was disappointing that the weapon I came here for was ultimately a bust. Time to look at the facility, I guess. As I entered through the wreckage of a vault-like door down the stairs, I had this ominous feeling that there was more to this facility.
(Deep within the facility)
Surprisingly, while the facility looked like a wreck on the outside, deep underground other than some pieces of rubble that fell in when the vault doors were busted, the white tiled floor was spotless. The lights were on, shining down harsh red light, giving a spooky feel to the place. What would be considered the main chamber contained a series of pipes and hoses, leaking gas as if there was something meant to be plugged in. Since Chris did not sense any danger using 'Trap Detection', we passed it towards a door at the back. It should be the door that that guy said was sealed. There was a screen with a controller under it. Wait a game controller what? There was text in Japanese there, 'Enter the Konami code' was all it said.
"It seems like the same seal that was at the vault door, the only being to break through a seal like this was the Demon king General Sylvia so I think it should be safe." Yunyun's explanation would have assured everyone else but to me I knew it was wrong. The one who broke the seal was probably a Japanese like me and the only one who was here during the battle was Kazuma. Eh, he properly was threatened into doing it, I guess. Well, I assume I should be able to seal the door again so it would be alright to take a peek, right? Maybe there would be something useful inside. I went forward to the controller and keyed in the code. At first it seemed like nothing happened but then the door started shifting.
"Fujiwara, what did you just do?" Chris was surprised that I would attempt to break the seal.
"We're here to investigate, I can always seal it back again." I did not brave this journey that could have killed me several times just to see a broken gun. If there were secrets left by a Japanese traveller here, they could be of use to me in some way. Despite the looks from both Yunyun and Chris, I entered the door. Good thing the rooms were all lit up, I didn't have to look for a light switch.
The room was filled with a bunch of wooden crates. They were wrapped with white tape, as if to reinforce the fact that they were not to be opened. There were many sacks placed nearby, all of them tied up in hemp rope. Noticeably, there was a notebook placed on one of the crates. Seeing the lack of activity in the room, Yunyun and Chris had entered the room. I decided to pick up the notebook, not seeing anything dangerous in the room. The cover of the book said, 'Experiment failure, keep in storage.' Opening it up, it was written in Japanese.
'X Month X Day: These Crimson Demons have been asking for a weapon to counter them, saying something about having a nemesis. Well, if their power is in magic, maybe a weapon that does not rely on magic? It should attack them from range though and bows already exist here, ah I know a cannon should do the trick. It is just a tube with a metal ball and some explosive right? It shouldn't be too hard to make while looking cool.' Here was something interesting, after glancing at the sketches he made at the below the text, I flipped the page.
'X Month X Day: Making the cannon ball and cannon was easy enough, but enchanting powdered charcoal with magic did not work as a substitute for gunpowder. I think there was some process about treating urine to extract something to be used for gunpowder, will document this.' There was more details about how straw was soaked in urine, then left to rot before being rinsed in water, this water was left to dry. The solid left was powdered and mixed with ash and some sulphur in a furnace.
'X Month X Day: The first gunpowder attempt did not ignite, the second took so long to make and was a really smelly process. The black powder that came out of the furnace looked alright and it did blow up when lighted and made a lot of smoke, but when put in the cannon, the performance was lacklustre. The cannon ball did fly out and broke the pot a few meters in front of it, but it just didn't seem impressive at all. I was shipped a bunch of manatite, maybe mixing it in will yield better results? Still, I have no way to powder manatite.' Hmm, this was starting to get interesting, I had no idea there would be such a treasure trove here when I unlocked the door. Still, I couldn't see why this was considered a failure yet, it seemed to be going along quite fine.
'X Month X Day: The cannon experiment is a failure, the process of making gunpowder is too much work and just cobbling up a pipe and compressing mana into it may work better. I will shelve this idea here, it is not a good idea to keep explosives, even if it is weak, open to anyone. The manatite can stay here as well, it is of low grade that the Crimson Demons won't use it well.' So, the rifle outside worked by compressing mana, no wonder why I could not figure out how it worked. It seemed like the rifle here really was a bust in my quest to make more ammunition, but this room here was the jackpot!
"You can read that ancient language?" Yunyun asked as she peered over my shoulder at the book. Ancient language? Well if the cat-girl at the shrine was very old and had Japanese inscribed onto it, I guess they could see it as some ancient language they could not read. An idea popped into my head.
"Yeah, I can read it. The contents in this room are dangerous even if the door is sealed again, but I think I can deal with it using my skills. Can I ask your father for permission to deal with this?" The goal was to try out these materials with my 'Create Ammo' skill, but I technically wasn't lying about the danger of the room. Any other future Japanese traveller could break the code like I did or if the door malfunctioned, anybody could have access to these materials. Better that I had them than someone else right? Also, who knew when these materials might decay and explode? Still, as a guest of the village, it would be good manners to ask for permission to take this stuff.
(Later that evening)
The negotiations with Hiropon and other village elders had gone well, after I had demonstrated the potential threat that the stash of gunpowder and materials posed to the village. The cannon and cannon balls had rusted after all this time, but the gunpowder still made quite an explosion and a lot of smoke in our testing outside the facility. The selling factor was that the gunpowder could be triggered by magic and since there were cases of spells that went awry being dealt with by 'Teleport' the risk of a random teleport into the room would be too much. Most of the Crimson Demons had left after the display, now only Yunyun and Chris remained with me as I attempted to convert the materials with my skill.
"How are you planning to deal with all these? With your class specific skills?" Chris had this knowing smile as she asked that question. Well considering she knew my special circumstance in coming into this world better than anyone, it seemed like a pointless question for her to ask. With Yunyun also looking in curiously, well I guess I could answer for her benefit. Wait why was Yunyun still here though? Maybe she was just curious about what I was about to do, I guess.
"Yes, I guess I didn't explain my class when we first met. I am a Gunslinger, which means I use guns as my primary weapon. Since these are not made at any blacksmith here, I have skills that help me maintain and make new guns. Guns use bullets when they are fired, kind of like a bow uses arrows." I drew my weapon as I explained the concept of guns to Yunyun.
"Eh… Wouldn't you be able to recover the bullets like an arrow? Unless something is lost when you use it and you have to replenish it…"
"Yes, while it is possible to retrieve the bullet and its case when I fire a bullet, I cannot replace the propellant inside. That is what I will use all these material inside this room for. Also, it is actually difficult to retrieve every part of the bullet compared to an arrow so I will also try using some raw metal I have bought from the blacksmith here to try things out." I had no idea if these materials were considered suitable enough that my skill would recognise it. Checking my adventurer's card again, I decided to try the skill 'Create Ammo' out. From what I had seen the Crimson Demons do when they cast magic, they had to speak the name of the spell. Since this skill in particular seems like a form of magic, I will try that first.
"Create Ammo!" I Shouted as I pointed to a pile of bullet casings, bullet heads and some of the gunpowder I had placed together. And there was nothing. That was disappointing, I could feel my cheeks burning in embarassment.
"You have never learnt magic before, right? It is about understanding the effect your spells will have as well as concentration. Let's see, I'll demonstrate 'Freeze Gust'. It makes a gust of ice-cold powder that can freeze an opponent in place. Freeze Gust!" Yunyun cast her magic and a white powder burst from her hand, freezing the floor of the room. Well, it is true that I hadn't had a demonstration and explanation of magic yet, Dust was a Warrior and Chris was a Thief, so they weren't a role model for magic in this regard. Yunyun was an Archwizard though, so she should have a strong grasp on magic. Well, I should trust the expert then.
"That said, it may be because you are not of a mage class so you may not have as much mana and may need another source of magic to help fuel your spells. Manatite may help you in this regard, the stronger the spell the higher the quality of manatite needed." Oh yeah, the journal I read mentioned that manatite was stored here as well, it was just a matter of finding it. A quick search led me to the crate where they were stored easily enough. I took out a bunch of blackish brown crystals from the crate and Yunyun confirmed that it was manatite. Well, I placed it in the pile and tried again. My skill said that it could 'transform and combine suitable materials into ammunition' so either I was missing an ingredient, I did not have enough mana reserves like Yunyun said or these materials were not suitable at all. I was using the brass casings I had retrieved as well as a remoulded lead bullet head so it should be covered on the suitable materials front unless the gunpowder was the issue which would mean it would fail anyway. The manatite should cover the other two possibilities I had thought of so I should be set. Still, there was a sense of apprehension as I cast the spell.
"Create Ammo!" There was a brief flash of white light, blinding me temporarily. When I opened my eyes again, I saw that there was a bullet as well as the same piece of manatite, albeit it had shrunk a little. I had succeeded in creating a bullet, but I still needed to test it out. Why were Chris and Yunyun so surprised though? Wasn't that how magic worked, like Yunyun had told me?
"Eh, how did you do that Fujiwara? I have never heard of anyone splitting manatite before. Apart from powerful spellcasters breaking it forcefully using a huge spell like 'Blast' or 'Explosion', I have heard that manatite is unbreakable by any feat of strength. When mages use manatite the crystal disappears as well, hmm…" Chris said something interesting. Was I supposed to use up all the manatite at one go if I was using it as a mana source? Perhaps it was used as part of the material in creating the bullet and the excess got divided accordingly. I had no idea if the bullet was usable though, so I should try it out first before making more.
"I don't know enough about magic to answer that. I am not even sure if the bullet I made works, so I want to test it out first." Loading the round I created into an empty magazine I had, I emptied the M9 in my right holster and loaded this test magazine in. It would be too dangerous to go out in the forest to hunt for monsters now, not to mention that if the round was a success, monsters would be attracted to where I fired the round. Emptying the crate that held the rusted cannonballs, I shifted it out to the large chamber with the hoses and pipes. Placing this crate at the far end and marking out a cross on it as a target, I positioned myself and took aim.
"You should cover your ears, it will be loud when I fire." If the gun fires at all of course. After confirming that Chris and Yunyun had done so, I fired. The resounding bang was louder than I had expected, even though I knew that would be the case when firing in an enclosed room. The crate had splintered, with pieces of wood scattered around it. The bullet fired, check. The gun is not broken, check. The target was hit and destroyed, check. A feeling of relief enveloped me; I was now able to sustain my use of ammunition when on quests! Well, I still had to make more, back to work!
"Is it over?" Yunyun opened her eyes and stared as she saw the remnants of the box, as I walked past back towards the gunpowder stash. Well, it seemed that being surprised by guns was a normal response for people in this world. I suppose that even with powerful destructive spells that mages can use, there was a need to incant it out so people can prepare themselves mentally for its impact.
"My test is over, but I still need to make more." Giving Yunyun what I hoped was a reassuring smile, I headed back to the stash room. I had prepared sixty bullet heads and brass casings from the blacksmith here, as well as the odd ten brass casings I had managed to retrieve. I had also gotten some raw brass and lead from the blacksmith; it was time for some testing!
(A few minutes later)
I had created twelve rounds so far, but casting the spell continuously was quite draining. Raw brass and lead also worked but it seemed to drain out more from me compared to the casings and heads I had ordered from the blacksmith, which was good to note. Maybe I should make a few more rounds, then take a break.
"Fujiwara-kun, you should stop for today. Casting magic beyond your limits can make you so tired that makes you unable to move, I have seen it happen myself…" Yunyun spoke out as I moved to make more bullets, her voice filled with concern.
Well, it was disappointing that I had only processed a small amount of the gunpowder here but if there were limits imposed upon me by the rules of this world, then I should comply. I moved to stand up and felt a wetness on my lips. Water? No, this was blood from my nose, the world turned woozy as I lost control of my limbs, collapsing backwards…
{ Yunyun's POV }
Fujiwara collapsed onto the floor, to the shock of both Chris and me. The gentle heaving of his chest as he lay on the floor showed that he was just passed out, thankfully. That a young boy like him could cast magic continuously fourteen times even though he had no formal magic training was already astounding and he was not from a magic class? He seemed to have a drive not unlike a certain Adventurer I knew… Stop thinking about him, Megumin has already claimed him as her man. I hoped Chris didn't notice my sudden blush. Fujiwara was nice as well and seemed to be close to my age as well. Maybe if I didn't screw this up, he could be a friend? Maybe even a party member? No, he was from a brand-new class, there was no way any other adventuring parties did not recruit him already. He probably was part of Chris's party since they travelled here together.
"Yunyun, are you there?" I did not notice that Chris was calling out to me. Seeing that I responded to her question, she continued.
"Yunyun, can you help me carry Fujiwara out of this place, we'll bring him back to the chief's house to rest. It's just mana depletion so he should be fine by tomorrow." At Chris's direction, we carried Fujiwara out of the facility and with the help of the other villagers, he was soon resting in bed. After a quick talk with Dad, Chris came over to me. Motioning me to the balcony, it seemed like she wanted to talk in private.
"Yunyun, you know I am from the Eris Order, right? That is how I met Darkness and befriended her. She is good girl with a different personality which was why she had difficulty making friends. We were a party for a while, and now that she has found a party with Kazuma, I am happy for her. I have a task to do now in this world which keeps me busy, so it is fine that we don't spend as much time together." Eh, it seems kind of sad but why was she telling me about this?
"Fujiwara, he has a unique class that no one has seen before, which is why I think he has a lot of pressure on him. He has travelled a long way to come here and test himself far from his previous family and friends. His focus on playing what he sees as his role well may bring him to a situation where he does not have many friends. He told me that he sees a lot of drawbacks in his class and won't form a party until he fixes them all, which was why he tried so hard using his skill just now." Chris looked at me thoughtfully expecting me to say something.
"Eh, are you saying that because of the task you have to do, you cannot watch over Fujiwara as much? Do you want me to befriend him?" This was the first time anyone asked me to befriend another person. I was going to try to do so anyway but this was unexpected.
"Umm hmm, I always knew you Crimson Demons were intelligent. From what I know of Fujiwara, he won't push you away if you try to befriend him but as I have said he is preoccupied with improving himself so he may seem cold or indifferent. Don't give up, I am sure he will be a good friend to you as well." Did Chris have to make it seem like I was horrible at making new friends? Well, I had Megumin, Funifura, Arue and Dodonko as friends… This was going to be hard wasn't it. Still, if Chris had requested it, I shall pull myself together.
"I will try my best!" The boy who told me my name should be something to be proud of deserves better, but I will do my best to be his friend. As the foremost mage amongst the Crimson Demons and future leader of the Crimson Demon village, I will accomplish this task!