Clang-Bang.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the Arkenian royal palace from morning.
It was Leopoldus practicing his shooting.
‘The more I use it, the more terrifying it is. This pistol, I mean.’
What does a medieval man think when he encounters a gun?
Only astonishment.
At least five times the speed of a crossbow.
Destructive power proportional to that.
And he can unleash attacks of that magnitude in rapid succession.
What’s more, there’s no need to load arrows like with a bow.
With just a spare magazine, it spews fire again in less than ten seconds.
What would happen if an enemy wielding these swarmed us?
He didn’t even want to imagine it.
[—Pistol. A gun the size of your hand.]
‘That must mean there are other, bigger guns. Ones with even greater destructive power.’
Even he thought this was just the tip of the iceberg.
It was common sense that bigger weapons were stronger.
There was no reason why pistols would be any different.
So, he guessed there were probably even bigger guns out there.
Guns that could fire bullets big enough to shatter armor.
Guns that were even faster, moving at speeds even he couldn’t react to.
Or perhaps guns that satisfied both conditions.
Considering Millenia’s capabilities, it was entirely possible.
…So that’s it. That’s why Wiz was smiling so meaningfully at the factory.’
His thoughts soon turned to Wiz.
The hand gripping the pistol involuntarily lost its strength.
It was because the events of a few days ago flashed before his eyes.
[Are you coming to see the mine? I hope nothing goes wrong.]
[What if something does?]
[If problems arise…]
‘I have no idea what’s going on. What could have happened to make the usually gentle Teonar do something like this?’
It was still vivid in his mind.
Mel, aiming a gun with the trajectory of a bullet still etched on her forehead.
Wiz, who wouldn’t even exchange words with him.
Teonar, who maintained a ‘we saw nothing’ attitude.
The experience of not even daring to question their rudeness.
‘What on earth did they do to the dwarves…?’
There was only one reason he could think of.
The agreement they had made during the recent communication swap.
Improving the treatment of the dwarves.
It must not have been implemented to a serious enough degree.
Perhaps to the point where it damaged trust between the two nations.
‘If it was just a problem with the beer supply, they wouldn’t have done this. A simple word would have sufficed.’
‘But they didn’t even mention it? They’re pretending they didn’t see anything at all?’
‘The answer is obvious. They judged that mentioning this would cause a serious diplomatic problem.’
‘——Or even that war was inevitable.’
The reason they were pretending not to know anything?
It was because telling him would make it irreversible.
Regardless of Teo’s disposition, the interspecies nation of Millenia could never turn a blind eye to the problem.
‘I thought the dwarves were valuable labor, so even if they were ignored and hated, no one would dare lay a hand on them.’
‘What on earth is happening in the mines? What did they see that made them so angry…?’
‘No, what I need to prioritize now is damage control. I’ll just focus on that for now.’
A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind.
[-What if something does?]
[-Those in positions of power must take responsibility.]
‘I already said I would pay the price…’
He couldn’t just gloss over a few problems.
He had already told Mel, Teo’s subordinate, that he would take responsibility, and the shocking performance she had put on.
[—I’m glad I didn’t shoot you there! If I had, your head would have been smashed.]
‘If I try to haggle over the price, war will break out.’
What did it mean?
It meant that she wouldn’t care if a bullet pierced her head, that Millenia wouldn’t care about waging war.
But it would be different for you.
So, you better take care of it—.
That was clearly what she meant.
[Mel? There’s no need to shoot them in the head. You could just prepare an apple and shoot that…]
[That would be more effective, wouldn’t it, ♡?]
‘This will scare them to death, right? They’ll tremble every time they see me for a while, right? How fun!’
‘…Well, I guess it’s okay. It’ll look like I’m willing to go to war.’
In reality, she was just satisfying her personal desires.
But in the end, this was something Teo had permitted.
His interpretation had accurately captured Teo’s intentions.
‘Lastly, the reason she gave me the pistol…’
Leo’s gaze returned to the pistol.
To the weapon that Teonar himself had gifted him.
He liked it very much, but he wasn’t happy at all.
‘——Purge. To shed the blood that must be shed. Separate from the price Arkenia must pay.’
-Hurriedly.
“Your Majesty! Lord Seras has returned!”
“…Have him brought to the audience chamber.”
His footsteps, carrying the pistol, felt heavier than usual today.
* * *
“This is…”
“Ugh!!”
“What is that, for goodness’ sake!?”
The audience chamber was filled with murmurs.
Even the high-ranking nobles and officials were surprised and raised their voices.
Leopoldus, sitting on the throne, was no exception.
“Th-that’s…”
“…I report to Your Majesty. I have identified the egregious abuse of power by Baron Marc, the chief mine administrator.
He has been immediately apprehended and brought here.”
“That’s not what I’m asking. Why are their hands like that?”
“We discovered over a thousand hand bones and remains decorating the mine. The Baron has confessed that he was
responsible.”
Seras’s voice trembled as she reported.
The sight had been so horrific that even she, a knight, had been horrified.
That was why it was resurfacing in her mind.
As a result, Leo’s eyes gleamed.
He cast his gaze upon the disheveled old man kneeling on the floor.
He was a familiar figure.
“Marc. Why did you do this?”
“….”
“Weren’t you a war hero? Someone who was personally praised by the late King, a man who rose from the rank of a mere soldier to become a Baron of Dansung. There’s no reason for you to commit such an act…”
Baron Marc. A man who had rendered distinguished service in the war against the Dwarven Kingdom 50 years ago.
A man who had been appointed as the chief mine administrator for his contributions.
Although his status was somewhat lower for a noble, it was a position that guaranteed a considerable income.
He was someone who had no need to commit such atrocities.
“…Your Majesty, I believe you have seen thirty-one springs.”
“Don’t try to insult me with cunning nonsense. Why did you commit such an act?”
“On the other hand, I have seen seventy springs. I also experienced the war with the dwarves that took place about 50 years ago.”
The Baron’s eyes, which had been fixed on the floor, rose again.
His eyes were not fixed on Leopoldus, but only on the blank air.
The past that he could not forget even with alcohol was put into words.
“The war was terrible. The dwarves hid in the rocky mountains and ambushed us.”
“Since even the knights couldn’t enter the rugged terrain, our infantry had to bear the brunt of it. It was only natural that the damage was immense.”
“My comrades died like flies. All because of the traps set by the dwarves.”
The words continued for a long time after that.
A war hero directly expounded on the horrors of war.
Leopoldus didn’t listen at all.
“So? Is that why you committed this act out of hatred for them?”
“…No. At first, I intended to reform them and make them apologize to my comrades.”
“So you cut off their hands? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“….”
“I’ll ask you one last time. Why did you ignore even my orders and commit such an act?”
The killing intent of the kingdom’s strongest man filled the audience chamber.
So thick that the weak-hearted turned pale.
However, Baron Marc. The war hero who had not awakened even to Wiz’s killing intent.
Opened his mouth as if he felt nothing.
“It was about five years ago. I gave the dwarves a break during mining.”
“I didn’t want them to be grateful for my generosity. I was just trying to ensure that the kingdom’s workers could work
efficiently…”
“—Suddenly, I heard a familiar sound.”
Heat entered his hoarse voice.
Madness gleamed in the old man’s eyes.
“Who am I? Am I not a war hero recognized by the late King! As soon as I heard the thwack sound, I immediately rolled away and dodged it!!”
“When I turned around, a dwarf was holding a crossbow in his hand, wouldn’t you know it? Stupidly aiming at the wrong place, though!”
“Yes, during the break that I had generously granted, they were making weapons to kill me! These rotten demon bastards!!!”
Fwip- His head turned with a cracking sound.
A gesture as if to show the dwarves who were kneeling in the audience chamber with him.
“Only then did even a fool like me realize!! These things don’t need mercy, that dwarves are a race that repays kindness with malice!!”
“I drew my sword in an instant. They all waved their hands and tried to deny it, but I slit all their throats!!”
“Haa, even if they screamed and ran away, how could those short legs of theirs outrun a human, no matter how fast they moved? Their futile attempts were thwarted by my, Marc’s, strike!!”
“Thus, Baron Marc annihilated all the evil monsters. It was a heroic feat that the late King would have applauded if he had seen it!”
Eventually, he turned his gaze to Leopoldus.
There wasn’t a shred of guilt to be found.
“After that, I changed the management policy. If they slacked off, I cut off their wrists, and if they tried to resist, I cut off their heads.”
“And do you know what happened? The speed of coal mining doubled! These things had been slacking off all this time!!”
“Ah, I wanted to report to Your Majesty right away if I could. That I had figured out how to lead this inferior and lazy race-.”
“But, aren’t dwarves the kingdom’s property? I, a loyal subject, can’t use them as I please, of course.”
“So, I only tested it on one mine, on the dwarves who dared to rebel against me!”
“Recently, I’ve been reluctant to show you because of dynamite and whatnot… but since it’s come to this, there’s no helping it.”
“Now, Your Majesty! Look! These arrogant dwarves have become so obedient! I, Marc, have figured out how to lead them correctly!!”
He held his head high.
As if certain that he would receive praise and applause, his chin was triumphant.
Of course, all that returned to him was cynicism.
“Are you done with your excuses?”
“…Yes?”
“I listened because I had to tell Teonar about it, but haa. It was nonsense not worth listening to.”
Leo rose from the throne.
Slowly, he placed his finger on the pistol’s trigger.
“Of course, production will increase in the short term. It would be the same if you did that to humans.”
“But this is only temporary, and eventually fatigue will accumulate and work efficiency will decrease. That’s just common sense.”
“You must have been grinding down the dwarves to prevent that? The knight order found at least a thousand remains. An absurd loss.”
“It also doesn’t make sense that you only did that to those who tried to harm you. There’s no way that many miners could work in one mine.”
“On a small scale, the crime of ignoring my orders. On a large scale, the crime of wantonly wasting dwarves, who are second-class citizens and the property of Arkenia.”
“No matter how much of a war hero you are, this is a grave crime that cannot be forgiven.”
Heavy footsteps approached Marc.
The old man looked up in bewilderment.
Their eyes met.
“…Yes? I became a war hero by killing dwarves, and now I’m being treated like a criminal for killing some dwarves?”
“He didn’t react to the killing intent, and he didn’t feel pain during Seras’s interrogation. Torture would be meaningless.”
“I’m a hero! I figured out how to properly ‘utilize’ them!!”
“You’re not married, so you don’t have any relatives… Is hanging you the best option?”
“Your Majesty can’t do this!! I am Arkenia’s most loyal subject!!!”
“Damn it, this is going to increase the price I have to pay to Teonar.”
Eventually, Leo.
Aimed the pistol.
-Click.
“It can’t be helped… Marc, I’ll tell you something good on your way out.”
“…Yes? Wh-what is it?”
“Ah, this is called a pistol. It’s the first execution by gunshot in history, so brag about it in hell.”
And then.
Bang.