123: A Report on New Equipment from the Front Lines
“—So, they’re a huge hit with the archers on the front lines.”
I tilted my head at Rebecca’s proud declaration.
“Hey, Rebecca, why has an everyday item from my world been turned into a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of your archers?”
“Because your ideas are truly innovative.” Rebecca tilted her head back, her expression one of genuine confusion.
“No, your ideas are too innovative.”
“It was an interesting idea. Truly impressive. You have great foresight, Master.”
“No, that was all you, Rebecca.”
“Don’t be so modest. I would never have thought of that.”
“Well, maybe I gave you a hint, but the credit is all yours.”
“Actually, since the budget was approved in the name of the Sixth Army… the Lord of Disease… it’s officially your accomplishment.”
“What have you done? This is your accomplishment.”
“A subordinate’s accomplishment is their superior’s accomplishment.”
“That sounds nice coming from a subordinate, but if a superior were to say that, it would be the worst.”
“I knew we could reduce the cost by miniaturizing them, but I never would have thought of making them so thin and small. And the method of application is so novel! And the ‘contact case’ design is also popular for its ease of use.”
“Rebecca, please try to have a conversation that I can understand.”
“…That’s a new one…”
“Right?” I nodded at Liz’s comment.
Rebecca, who had been on a bit of a tangent, seemed to come back to her senses.
“Ah… my apologies. I got a little excited. It’s a wonderful thing, to have a new technology officially adopted.”
“I can understand that.”
“And it’s inexpensive, yet incredibly effective. As I said, it’s been well-received. Here.”
“That’s good news.” I took the document and glanced through it.
My eyes stopped at the feedback from the front lines.
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“I can now hit targets four kilometers away!”
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“Guard duty is much easier now.”
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“They’re so thin and light, but I can see so clearly!”
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“My stiff shoulders are gone!”
And so on, a list of suspiciously glowing reviews. There were some serious comments, too, about the issue of the magic circles glowing during night combat, but the fact that they were mixed in with the serious comments just made them seem more suspicious.
“Rebecca, these comments… they haven’t been… embellished… have they?”
“You’re such a worrier, Master. I doubt it.”
“Right.”
I’d heard that this plan had been executed in the name of the Lord of Disease. I had declared that I would not tolerate false reports from my subordinates, and so far, there had been no deliberate embellishments or lies in their reports.
The ones who had been given these ‘contact lenses’ first, who had evaluated them and compiled the feedback, were the archers of the Dark Knights stationed at Fort Litalside.
And I didn’t think Bridget was incompetent enough to falsify her subordinates’ opinions.
So, I should be able to trust this feedback.
And yet, for some reason, I felt a strange sense of unease.
“Um, this one about the stiff shoulders…”
“Eye strain causes shoulder strain.”
“I see.”
“It seems there’s a certain aptitude required, but it aligns well with the aptitude of an archer. It should be particularly useful at Fort Litalside, where their main duty is surveillance.”
“You seem happy.”
“I am. —Fewer soldiers will die. We’ll be able to defend more efficiently. The reason I’m working on new technology… is because I believe it will save more lives than I could on the front lines.” Rebecca said with a smile.
“I see.” That made me happy, too.
But this was a technology for killing. A technology based on information from another world, a technology that should not have been born in this world at this time.
—If asked whether my own people or the enemy should die, I wouldn’t hesitate.
But even so, I understood that there were technologies and concepts that were better left unintroduced to this world.
Well, since I didn’t understand the principles or structure of nuclear weapons, missiles, or guns, I probably wasn’t that dangerous.
We had to win.
But if the technology and concepts I introduced to achieve that victory only accelerated our destruction… then that was a victory we couldn’t afford.
So, while I might be seen as a tyrant, the Lord of Disease was actually working under some rather strict constraints.
Though I’d already resorted to the despicable tactic of attacking and inciting the populace, so perhaps it was already too late.
If I survived the war, my post-war job might be to spread all sorts of misinformation about the Lord of Disease while, and I apologize to my subordinates, rewriting history to attribute all of our actions to the Lord of Disease.
“…You look troubled.”
“Well… I didn’t expect this.”
“…I see.” Rebecca narrowed her eyes.
“—You’re looking at the ‘post-war,’ aren’t you?”
