Mynoghra 16 - The Terror of Option

Prologue

BRAVE Questers' Demon Lord Army—it was in the battle against these unexpected enemy forces who hailed from a role-playing game that Mynoghra ended up losing one of its mightiest Hero units, Isla, Queen of Bugs.

Yet, despite her loss, the might of the Hero still remained with Mynoghra.

On the verge of death, Isla had transferred her Hero status to the twin girls she loved like daughters, causing both Maria and Caria to awaken as Witches. Not just any Witches, but as the Witches of Regret, who went berserk from the sadness of having lost their mother figure.

The girls ended up coming across a strange entity just as they were about to exact their revenge upon the enemy who'd taken their mother from them. They had no idea that the entity they had encountered was another player who'd come to this world with a video game's protection, just like Takuto had.

At this point, Takuto finally realized multiple beings with similar circumstances to himself had come to this world. He also understood that they would never, ever be able to see eye to eye.

This led him to the inevitable decision to conquer the world.

He would make everything his and achieve the Ascension Victory, allowing him to regain all that had been lost. He would bring back everyone who'd died, no matter what it took.

When he declared this to his people, he was cloaked in the deepest darkness, and indescribable terror and reverence filled all who'd witnessed it.

-x-X-x-

Chapter 1: Nostrum

MYNOGHRA'S Hero, Sludge Atou, felt more anxious than ever. Perhaps that was only natural given that Mynoghra had only just fended off an attack from Brave Questers' Demon Lord Army and lost one of its few Hero units in the process. But the more pressing concern eating away at her was the change in her master and Commander.

Without any trace left of the sweetness he'd displayed during their first days in this world, Takuto had shown such unbridled fury that even Atou felt the chill of fear course through her that day. Naturally, Atou had survived thousands of battles at his side. Though those were only in a video game, Takuto's anger was just as real then.

But the indignation he had shown for the first time since coming to this world had given Atou the impression that the human known as Takuto Ira had been replaced with the complete opposite personality, and that was what had filled her with the kind of anxiety that chilled her to the core.

Things might not be able to stay the way they've been…

Atou's heart squeezed with the thought that they would forever lose those peaceful, relaxing days. But she couldn't let the past keep her from facing the present.

Isla had been defeated despite how dreadfully powerful she was—despite being leveled up. Then there was Atou's own failure of not being there in her master's time of need. And they also couldn't turn a blind eye to the clear and present danger bearing down on this world.

All three of those things helped Atou brace herself mentally, transforming into a firm determination that powered her.

The crisis had passed, giving her the chance to learn from her mistakes.

I'll never fail again. I can't possibly, for I am Sludge Atou! The strongest Hero who destroys all her enemies and eventually herself. I will destroy Takuto's enemies. No matter what.

Atou tossed aside her weak, needy thoughts, leaving only fanaticism burning within her scarlet eyes…

"Great and mighty King Takuto Ira! Your Sludge Atou has come!"

Atou threw open the doors leading to the Throne Room where the king resided. There she found—

"Ugggggh, I wanna die…"

"Aw, that's a good boy…" Maria cooed.

"Please cheer up, Your Majesty," Caria said.

—her master, Takuto Ira, sitting on the floor, hugging his knees and being comforted by the twins as he pathetically whined.

"K-KING TAKUTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she cried.

"…Atou, I wanna die."

That was the first thing out of his mouth, and he didn't even deign to look at her when he said it, choosing instead to keep his face buried in his knees.

Whatever determination Atou had worked up went out the window, and another, currently more pressing matter sent her running to her master's side.

"You mustn't! You mustn't die, King Takuto! What happened?

Please tell your Atou everything!"

Takuto meekly lifted his head and looked at Atou. He flapped his lips with no sound for a few moments as if he wanted to say something until, finally, the sparkle in his eyes extinguished, and he reburied his face in his knees like a mole returning to its burrow. He had lost heart.

"King TAKUTOOOOOOOOOO!!"

At a complete loss over what was going on, all Atou could do was pitifully cry his name. Mynoghra's mightiest Hero no longer fit the part. Not that it was her fault when Eternal Nations' strongest player had been reduced to a moping mess…

"There, there. Good boy, good boy. You're a cute widdle babywaby."

"B-Big Sista!" Caria chided. "Um, I don't think it's proper to call

His Majesty a baby."

"It's fine," Takuto pouted. "I'm at the same level as a baby. I want to start over from before I was born."

"There, there, widdle baby," Maria repeated her baby talk as she cheerily patted Takuto on the head.

Caria seemed to have some reservations about treating their king that way, so her comforting tactics showed more restraint. Atou quickly noted the younger sister's better behavior and beckoned Caria closer with hand signals. She then began conversing with the girl in a whisper so Takuto wouldn't hear or notice.

"H-Hey, Caria! What in the Accursed Lands happened to King Takuto?!" Atou asked in a barely contained whisper.

"C-Cary believes it bestest if it doesn't come from me…" Caria whispered back.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr… But! King Takuto isn't confiding in me! Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

"Then why not try babying him like Big Sista?" Caria suggested.

"…Excuse me?"

"If you do," Caria continued, "I'm surest His Majesty will feel like talking to you, too."

"Of all the preposterous ideas! As Mynoghra's strongest Hero and King Takuto's confidant, I could never do such…such a thing as babying!" Atou rejected Caria's suggestion in a much louder voice than she intended. "I just can't!" she said, shooting down the idea a second time.

Atou's loyalty and dedication would never allow her to disgrace Takuto in any way.

"…King Takuto~! Th-There, there, sweetie! Your one and only Atou is here for you~!"

In the end, Atou decided to baby Takuto anyway.

She was honestly terribly curious about the concept. Sure, she had her honor and dignity as a Hero to think about, but the sweet temptation of getting to pat Takuto on the head won out in spades over such things. Besides, she had a million different excuses she could use to explain herself if necessary.

As she continually repeated the excuse in her mind that she was just doing this to cheer Takuto up, Atou indulged fully in babying Takuto without even trying to hide the upward slant of her lips. But on the outside, it only looked like she was doing it to please herself. However, it goes without saying that Takuto's self-esteem definitely got a boost from being patted on the head by the person he trusted and cared for the most.

Takuto finally lifted his head again, the sparkle returning to his eyes.

Atou's wish had gotten through to him.

And she still hadn't stopped stroking his hair, and likely wouldn't any time soon.

"Ugghh, Atooouuu…" he whined.

"Wh-What happened, King Takuto? Please confide in me."

Atou continued to stroke his hair with what was obviously a look of rapture. And it was to her in that moment that Takuto finally explained what had depressed him so.

◇◇◇

"SO, what you are saying is that you think you went too far with your proclamation during our meeting the other day…?" Atou asked, trying to summarize what Takuto had told her.

"Yeah." Takuto nodded. "Well, honestly, the whole situation pissed me off too, but it's been bothering me that I might've taken it a little too far, you know?"

Takuto was speaking about the day he proclaimed their new objective to his people. That was the day all who served him came to fear him in their bones as they were grimly reminded that Takuto Ira was indeed the King of Ruin—the bringer of the end.

He felt his approach was overkill. And it was plain to see that the Dark Elves had started to act stiffer and more awkward around him since. Even Atou, his closest confidant and Hero, was wound up tight with nerves. Although Elder Moltar and the rest of empiremanagement council served as key figures in Mynoghra's government, Takuto's proclamation had been too much for those who still fell under the classification of Humanoid.

If the Takuto before Atou now was the same one she knew and loved, then she could easily chalk up his attitude that day as simply taking things too far in the heat of the moment.

"Haaaa," Takuto sighed. "I seriously can't believe I cockily said such a thing in front of everybody. Throwing my arms open while proclaiming something like 'Let's get to conquering the world' is just so…so…I can't even bear to put it into words…!"

Takuto shoved his face between his knees instead of saying what it was that bothered him so. His loud moans and groans made it obvious he was mentally beating himself up over it.

"Oh, oh, I know!" Maria suddenly piped up. "Something to do with ed-ed-edgee…?"

"Edgy? Oh, you mean being an edgelord, Big Sista," Caria corrected. "That's that illness where someone's deliberately outrageous in order to boost their ego, and it only comes back to bite them later in life."

"Poor, poor, Kingy," Maria cooed.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Takuto shouted.

"Stop that, you two! You're only adding to King Takuto's mental woes!" Atou chided, quickly trying to save him from their innocent assault on his mental well-being.

Much more of this, and Takuto was bound to shut people out again. That being said, most of Atou's concerns were relieved once she discovered what had gotten him so depressed in the first place.

"But," she said, "I must say that I'm relieved by this. You see…the other day, you were a tad…well…" "Scary?" he finished for her.

Before she knew it, he had lifted his head and was looking straight at her. The sudden change in mood left her baffled for a moment, but she felt the need to answer his query, so she gave a small, reserved nod.

"Y-Yes…"

How will he react?

Atou's concern was met with Takuto's usual gentle smile.

"Yeah. I figured as much. I was kinda scary, wasn't I? Sorry, Atou," he said, then turned to the twins. "Also…I know I already apologized to you girls, but I am sorry. It isn't easy to speak your mind to a scary king, is it?" Takuto spoke fluidly, almost as if his prior depression had never existed.

He'd apparently already spoken quite a bit with the twin sisters before Atou showed up. Both Takuto and the girls likely had a lot of hard feelings left over from what had happened to Isla. Atou thought it was best for Mynoghra as a whole if he and the twins could talk it out until both parties were satisfied and could move forward.

After all…these two young girls were Heroes now.

"It's true. Cary loves this version of Your Majesty morest. Big Sista feels the same, right?" Caria asked.

"Yeppie-yep! I love the non-edgelord king more!"

"Aggggggggggggh!" Takuto buckled over from that direct blow to his self-esteem.

"Stop that, you two!" Atou shouted again.

Unfortunately, the new Heroes were a bit…outspoken and uncouth. Neither of them meant to be hurtful, of course, but they still hadn't learned that sometimes the most innocent of remarks can be the sharpest blade thrust into another's heart.

I wonder if all three of us will have to baby Takuto now? Atou wondered with a mix of anxiety and hopefulness as she gauged her master's reaction. But Takuto pushed himself to his feet, seemingly ready to move on.

"Well, with that said, I'm still planning on going all-out from now on. Setting out to conquer the world…is still the objective. Since I've decided to do it, I'll make it happen using whatever means necessary."

As he said that, Takuto gave off a curious kind of charisma and divinity that inspired those who heard him to naturally want to serve him.

"I did make a promise to you girls," he said to the twins. "We'll do this together."

"…We won't let anybody else die," Maria said.

"Cary and Big Sista have become morest than just the protected—we're the protectors now."

Determination burned bright within the twins as well.

The crazed berserkers Atou saw them for on the day they had lost their mother was still very much a part of the girls. Madness still raged within them, just beneath the surface—and this time, it was directed toward the world as a whole.

On that fateful day, Mynoghra as an empire had completely changed.

"King Takuto…" Atou whispered, captivated.

Hers was the expression of a subordinate who'd been reminded of their leader's erudition. It could also be taken as the expression of a maiden in love and a fanatic standing before their god.

Atou solemnly went down on one knee and repeated her oath from long ago, her expression reflecting the crystal calm she felt within.

"My name is Sludge Atou. The bastard child of the world-ruining mud. From this day forward, my mind, body, and soul are yours.

Come, let us sink as low as we can together, my king."

"…Yeah, let's do this together, Atou."

That exchange was one Takuto and Atou had exchanged thousands of times, and it had never once lost its importance to them. They gazed into each other's eyes, confirming their bond was still as strong as ever.

Before long, they both stepped forward and took the other's hand, naturally closing the distance between them…

"King Takuto…"

"Atou…"

"GYEGHYEEEEEEEEE!"

With impeccable timing, a buttinsky appeared.

Atou's annoyance showed plain on her face for the subordinate who'd noisily scuttled up to them.

"What is it, pest?" she hissed. "We were just getting to the good part… Are you inflicted with some sort of illness that will kill you if you don't interrupt King Takuto and me during our alone time?"

"Um, Cary and Big Sista were here the whole time, though. You left us out…" Caria said.

"Shh. You mustn't interrupt the grown-ups," Maria said sagely.

"GYEGHEE!"

"Ah, so you've finished. Good work, Long-legged Buggo," Takuto said.

A Long-legged Bug had ruined the moment between them. Longlegged Bugs were Mynoghra's unique Scout units that were incredibly popular for a variety of reasons, including how their high mobility and cheap cost made them worth using for many tasks outside of just scouting.

Drool spilled from his or her (it was impossible to tell) mouth as they completely ignored Atou and scuttered up to Takuto with an unreadable expression. Takuto began questioning the Scout, so they were apparently there to report back on a mission he had given.

Dissatisfied with the situation, Atou glumly watched them converse until she noticed a large basket strapped to the Longlegged Bug's back.

"King Takuto?" she asked, interjecting herself into the conversation. "What is that basket on the bug's back? Actually, that reminds me, you seem to have been mass-producing Long-legged

Bugs over the last couple of days…"

Atou was aware Takuto had been using up valuable empire reserves to produce Long-legged Bugs. She understood it must be for an urgent mission since he was using their limited Mana to produce the units with Emergency Production.

Atou questioned Takuto about it, and just as he opened his mouth to answer her, Maria interrupted them by suddenly skipping up to the Long-legged Bug, digging around near its head, and then holding out something shiny and golden to Takuto.

"Here, Kingy," she said.

"…Hm? Oh, it must've gotten stuck to its body," Takuto responded. "Long-legged Buggo, this is important money, so be careful with it, okay?"

"GYGHYEEE!"

"That's right. As long as you get it."

As far as Atou knew, the item glittering upon Takuto's palm was a gold coin from Brave Questers. A part of the RPG system governing that game made it so currency from that world appeared in set amounts when their monsters were defeated.

Mynoghra's battle with the Demon Lord Army might've been brief, but the enemy army was massive. An exponential amount of gold had been produced from slaying not only their endless hordes, but even more was earned from killing the stronger monsters and bosses. A mountain range worth of gold probably extended from the area around Dragontan all the way to the southern region where they had battled the Demon Lord Army. The southern area was now under Mynoghra's control as well.

One such gold coin was now in Mynoghra's capital.

While Atou had fought a great many battles alongside Takuto and had a general understanding of his thinking, she was still a weapon who moved per her master's bidding. There wasn't much she could do when he used his strategic genius without explaining things to her.

Growing increasingly confused, Atou looked pleadingly to Takuto.

"King Takuto? I'm sorry, but what? You need to explain what's going on to me soon, or I won't be able to keep up with the conversation," she pouted.

"Haha, sorry, sorry," Takuto laughed apologetically. "I forgot that

I hadn't said anything about this to you yet."

He flipped the gold coin into the air with a flick of his thumb. The coin rotated edge-over-edge above his head and then landed flat on the ground, rather than safely in the palm of his outstretched hand. "..."

The three girls said nothing.

"Well…it'll be faster to show you," he said. "Okay, let's head to the center of town. You girls come too." "All right," Caria said.

"Okey dokey," Maria said.

Takuto scooped up the coin and continued the conversation as if he hadn't just botched the catch. Obviously, Atou and the twins were wise enough not to comment on it. None of them wanted to deal with the hassle of him falling back into a depressed state again.

"C'mon, Atou, hurry it up. I'll leave you behind?"

"Ah! Please wait for me! I'm coming!"

Takuto's voice snapped Atou back to her senses and she ran after him.

Relief spread through her, followed by joy over the fact that nothing had changed between them. The maddening urgency she felt before entering the Throne Room vanished like a puff of smoke, leaving behind only the steely resolve to do everything in her power for her king.

<-x-X-x->

Chapter 2: Gold

"TH-THIS is something else…"

Atou's jaw dropped as she stared at the spectacle before her in disbelief: gold coins lay in haphazard stockpiles reminiscent of sand excavated from a mine. The mounds of gold glistened and glittered under the shafts of sunlight spilling through the tree canopy.

The gold had been collected within the city square, originally used to store construction materials, but was now so covered in gold, you couldn't walk without stepping on a coin.

"GYEEEEEEEE!!!"

More than a dozen Long-legged Bugs were scuttering around. Each of them deposited the gold coins from the baskets on their backs onto the piles, then quickly scuttled into the shadows. There seemed to be plenty more gold for them to collect.

Atou had certainly seen an ocean's worth of gold scattered across the battlefields with her own eyes. From that alone, she knew they had much more collecting left to do, but she was more worried they would run out of space first.

"Th-There's so very much of it!" Caria cried.

"Moolah, moolah, everywhere!" Maria cheered.

"Wow… It's something else when you see it in person," Takuto said in awe. "And wow, is it blindingly bright!"

Takuto stared curiously at the mountains of gold. It seemed even he hadn't imagined the sheer scale of it all despite giving the order to gather it.

"King Takuto…is this why you mass-produced the Long-legged Bugs?" Atou asked.

"Yeah. I ordered the Long-legged Buggies to collect all the gold coins the Brave Questers' monsters had dropped," he explained. "They have high Movement and Speed, so they're the most effective at collecting stuff."

"I-I see… Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe the economy will collapse if we try to circulate this much all at once. Even if we can use it for trade with Phon'kaven, do they even have anything worth trading for?" Atou asked, wording her question carefully. She didn't think for a minute that her master didn't already have a plan accounting for those things.

A nation strictly manages the distribution and processing of currencies. The amount of currency in circulation depends on the public's demand for currency.

There was too much gold to circulate within Mynoghra, where the population was still quite small and trading goods was the norm. And even if they decided to use the gold in trade with Phon'kaven and the other empires, it would sink the international market at this scale.

In Atou's honest estimation, the gold coins were essentially no better than fool's gold to them.

"Oh, right." Takuto slapped his hands together as if her confusion suddenly made sense. "I forgot you'd only be familiar with Mynoghra's strategies and wouldn't know the different playstyles for the other empires."

He was right. Atou only knew the world of Eternal Nations through Mynoghra's limited lens and wasn't well-informed about what strategies the other empires excelled at. Still, even drawing on all she did know of the game, she couldn't think of any empire or a specific strategy that would allow an empire to put such an insane amount of money to use effectively.

"Yes, you've got me there, my king," she conceded.

"Atou, do you remember what the term Currency refers to within Eternal Nations?" he asked gently to help her understand.

"I do… Currency is issued and managed by an empire as a tool for circulating the domestic economy. However, each empire has its own specific Currency, so it never seemed all that important to me…"

"That's right. Getting too specific on something like that will make this kind of game less fun, after all," Takuto said. "That's why the game makes more use of Mana over Currency."

"Mana has the characteristics of both energy and money, right?" Atou ventured. "It's incredibly versatile and easy to understand when trading with other empires." "Exactly!" Takuto exclaimed.

The three most important Resources in Eternal Nations are Food, Materials, and Mana. Food is, of course, used to maintain the population and armies and is an indicator of national power. Materials are mainly used during the production of units and structures and are also an indicator of productivity. And Mana is an indicator of economic power and is required for various things, including Emergency Production. Generating a solid balance of these three basic resources while maintaining your empire is the basis of Eternal Nations' gameplay.

"So that's why I don't understand," Atou continued. "It doesn't matter how much gold we have—it's still just gold. It has little value beyond its material use, even if we go out of our way to collect it…"

In Eternal Nations, "Gold" as a metal is a Strategic Resource. It's necessary to produce advanced units and buildings, but its value is limited to that.

It would be one thing if Mynoghra had reached the final stages of development as an empire, but wasting time and energy collecting gold at their current level seemed pointless to Atou.

"If you understand that much, I'm pretty sure you know the answer deep down…" Takuto said.

"…How?" Atou tilted her head, the answer still eluding her.

"Don't worry about it. I think showing you will be faster, anyway!" Takuto smiled wryly at her as though he figured he was better off just explaining without beating around the bush. He held his palm out over a part of the town square.

"Emergency Production: Market!"

"K-King Takuto?!"

A great rumbling vibrated the ground. Takuto's Mana absorbed into the town square as a low-pitched thrumming noise resounded through the area. Then came a building with a distorted and bizarre design that seemed to sprout from the ground.

"Huh? …Pretty!" Maria said in a bit of a daze.

"H-Hey! B-Big Sista! It's dangerous over there! Come here!" Caria scolded.

The twins leaped away from the piles of gold they'd been playing in and scurried out of the way, since the newly sprouted facility had toppled the coins. It grew in such a way that it incorporated and surrounded the town square by dividing itself into multiple buildings and tents of various sizes. With its asymmetry and strange colors, it was far from any design most people associated with a marketplace, but looking at it from a functionality standpoint, it was certainly a market.

Takuto had used Emergency Production to create a Market, one of Mynoghra's many facilities.

"Welp, there goes the last of my Mana," Takuto said lightheartedly, looking awfully refreshed.

Emergency Production can be used in a variety of ways. Although it consumes an enormous amount of Mana, it offers the unbeatable advantages of instantly creating Food, Goods, and even Buildings. In a matter of seconds, it'd created a Market, which would've needed ample personnel and time allocated to it to build using normal means.

Impressed by the awesomeness that was Emergency Production all over again, Takuto boastfully spun toward Atou, hoping to see the look of surprise and awe on her face. However… "…Atou?" he asked cautiously.

"Hmph…"

Atou was pouting.

Apparently, he was being a little too pompous with his display.

"I-I promise I'll explain everything to you!" he rushed out in a fluster. "C'mon, Atou, follow me!"

Even Takuto knew that he was in for some serious trouble if he let her mood sour worse than it already had. He left the twins buried under the mountains of displaced gold and quickly led Atou inside the main Market building.

◇◇◇

TAKUTO brought Atou to the largest building within the Market. It was the most conspicuous structure among the myriad of tents and stalls used to exchange goods.

A large number of shelves packed with documents came into view as soon as they set foot inside. This seemed to be the building where the ledgers were kept and the exchange of valuable goods would take place.

The oddest thing of all was that while Takuto and Atou were the first to enter the building, someone else was already there.

"Y-Yu-Yur Magesti… Wer-come."

Asymmetrical limbs and nebulous, googly eyes. Twisted joints and dirty skin marked by distinct edema. This creature lacking any signs of intelligence was a member of the Homunculus, Mynoghra's unique race.

Takuto raised a hand in greeting to this Homunculus as if it were only natural that it was there as a part of the Market. He then commenced speaking with it about something or other before finally shouting toward the door.

"Heeeey! Can you girls bring me some gold?" he called.

"Aye, aye, sir!" Maria called back.

"Yessums!" Caria responded.

Shortly after that, the Elfuur Sisters showed up noisily dragging along a basket jam-packed with gold coins. Atou finally understood what Takuto was trying to do. Surprise colored her features as the truth dawned upon her.

"I want you to convert this gold into Mana. Can you do that for me?" Takuto asked the Homunculus.

"Yip, me can."

The Homunculus owner of the Market lifted the basket of gold with unimaginable ease and unsteadily withdrew into the back of the building with it. Before long, he returned on equally wobbly legs with a substance resembling faintly glowing gas resting upon his palm. "Takey-take, Yur Magesti. Takey-take."

"Thanks," Takuto said. The moment he held his hand over the gas, it absorbed into him.

Atou trembled with glee as she closely oversaw the proceedings. There was no doubt in her mind that what Takuto had absorbed was exactly what she believed it to be.

"I thought the exchange rate would be lower, but they bought it at a much higher price than I imagined," Takuto commented. "I'm seriously surprised. Just a few more baskets of gold, and we'll easily recover the cost of the Market."

Takuto's remark solidified Atou's theory.

In Eternal Nations, the Market increases an empire's economic capacity. The secondary function also allows the player to sell their excess Resources and buy the ones they need instead. This may come across as a very basic economic activity, but it held significant value in Mynoghra's situation.

What they could receive in return for their abundance of gold coins was none other than Mana.

"I didn't drain the last drops of our Mana to create the Market for economic reasons. That'd be pointless at this stage," Takuto explained. "My real aim was this exchange."

"I can't believe it accepted the gold coins dropped by RPG monsters as an exchangeable resource…" Atou muttered, baffled. "That's not quite right. It's not the gold coins as a currency that it accepted, but their status as a Strategic Resource—Gold," he corrected.

Takuto had more or less grasped the rules behind Emergency Production after using it so many times.

◆Emergency Production Rules

1. Items that don't exist within Eternal Nations can be produced with the necessary amount of Mana.

2. The Mana required for production is equivalent to that item's value in the world it comes from.

3. The Mana required to produce any known item in Eternal Nations abides by its in-game value.

Put another way, no matter how common and mundane an item is in another game, if it exists within Eternal Nations, its value would be set by Eternal Nations. The gold coins were a perfect example of this. It didn't matter what value the gold coins held as a currency within Brave Questers. It didn't matter if their value was so low that you could only buy a Wooden Stick after collecting fifty pieces.

Eternal Nations' system would treat it the same as the Strategic Resource called Gold.

It ultimately came down to this: Takuto could exchange this Gold for the equivalent amount of Mana. That was the conclusion he came to after applying everything he had learned thus far about Emergency Production.

"B-But where is all this Mana coming from?" Atou asked.

"Beats me." Takuto shrugged. "The game never covered that either. They probably figured fleshing that mechanic out too much would bog down the game and make it more tedious than fun." The fourth rule Takuto had realized was that the game system presiding over this world carelessly reproduced things from video games despite knowing they went against existing laws of physics. The fact that the Demon Lord Army, forces that came from a roleplaying game, could pull off things that ignored the laws of physics, such as the infinite summoning of subordinates and forced events, proved this rule to be true. This was also proven by the fact that Mynoghra, a civilization that came from a 4x strategy game, could turn its territory into Cursed Terrain and change the Dark Elves' alignment by making them its citizens.

Takuto fully understood that the powers granted by the game weren't their only weapon—just wielding the massive strength from their pre-established settings wasn't going to take them to the finish line. No, their true weapon was applying their game mechanics to the reality of this world, warping it in their favor.

…In this case, Mynoghra's greatest weapon as a 4x strategy game was empire management. This meant that as long as they had Mana, they could produce an endless supply of goods and buildings, all while ignoring the laws of time and physics. This also meant that the player—the Commander—had the ability to know all that was going on within their empire and could give direct orders to their subordinates from the comfort of their throne. There was also the fact that almost every building and unit had unique traits and abilities.

All of these factors applied without considering the laws of reality.

In other words, this was the ultimate proof that they could game the system by exploiting holes in the rules.

"This is what people usually call an economy-focused run," Takuto said. Then he turned to thank the twins, who were busily bringing more and more gold coins without him ever having to ask them. With each new batch, he asked the Homunculus to exchange the "Gold" for Mana.

"With this playstyle, you focus on generating a large amount of money through international trade and the domestic economy, and then create all your buildings using Emergency Production," he continued to explain. "It's a strategy where economic power creates more economic power, exponentially increasing national power as a result. People who play as the Great Wall Dwarves or the Seven Seas

Coalition tend to go this route."

Takuto had no idea what was happening in the back room where the Homunculus brought the "Gold." Regardless of what went on back there, the Gold continued to be exchanged for Mana—without any holdups. They didn't have to worry about rate fluctuations or the depletion of their desired resource, because Eternal Nations never implemented such complexities into the system. Thus, this repetitive exchange would continue until they ran out of gold coins.

"Funnily enough, Gold is such a rare and valuable Strategic Resource, I was always scrambling to get some to produce the strongest units…" Takuto remarked. "On the upside, its scarcity and value also gives it a very high exchange rate with Mana."

Just as he said, Atou could sense Mynoghra's Mana reserves rapidly growing—growing to insane amounts for early game, which was where they still considered their empire to be.

"S-So, in other words…" Atou said hesitantly, "if we invest this many gold coins—no, this much Gold as Mana into the empire…"

This was the trick to masterfully exploiting the holes in both strategy and role-playing games. Bugs that would've never existed if the two games hadn't encountered each other were now being exploited in full.

The greatest weakness of a strategy game player is that it takes a lot of time to make an empire huge. They had now eradicated half of that problem.

"Come along, Atou. It's time for some oh-so-very fun cheating," Takuto said in a singsong voice.

The cries of Long-legged Bugs resounded in the distance. It sounded like they'd returned with even more gold coins. Elder Moltar and the rest of the Dark Elves could be heard making a fuss over something outside too. Takuto would need to explain the situation to them as well, even if it was coming a little late. He stopped what he was doing and strode outside.

"We're rolling in gold. Why don't we live it up like billionaires?" The mountain of gold reached the treetops.

After gaining a nearly unlimited amount of gold—of Mana— Takuto let out his first pleased laugh in a long time.

<-x-X-x->

Chapter 3: Bolstering

NOTHING greases the way quite like money, no matter the playstyle. So, how does someone explain a strategy that lets money and Mana do all the heavy lifting? Whether you define that playstyle as Lucrative, Resource Fat, or Overpowered, applying it to Mynoghra changed the empire's landscape in the blink of an eye.

Streets and buildings with fantastical designs had suddenly appeared in the center of the forest, already warped by the effects of the Cursed Terrain. If that wasn't bizarre enough, mountains of gold coins littered every street corner, to the point they could be considered a nuisance. Gold…a nuisance…

An unusual pair was walking through the capital, taking in the mystifying new sights.

"I daresay…the sudden increase in buildings makes me feel like I've come to an entirely different city," Elder Moltar remarked, stroking his beard.

"That's because I selected every facility as soon as it became available to me," Takuto responded.

Takuto and Elder Moltar were going around checking on the operational status of the newly built facilities and giving detailed instructions to the citizens assigned to them. Everyone secretly wondered why the king was doing his inspection only after building the facilities, but that was entirely because the construction speed happened faster than he could take action—pouring that much excess Mana into Emergency Production really sped things up.

This was why Atou had to leave her usual station at Takuto's side to survey another facility on the city outskirts. Takuto would've preferred to have joined her instead, but he couldn't prioritize his own wishes when they were short on time and personnel.

Aside from the Market, he also created the Training Grounds, Learning Institute, and Living Reeds facilities. All the facilities he could produce at Mynoghra's current stage were already completed through his use of Emergency Production and were in full swing.

Why couldn't he build more when he still had an abundance of gold coins? There was a strategy game reason for that.

"We need to research new technology before we can advance further," Takuto explained to Elder Moltar. "We'll temporarily halt production of new buildings."

There was a hard limit to how far his cheat-like method of exchanging piles of gold coins for Mana could take him. This limit appeared in the form of Research and Technology—he had already constructed all the facilities Mynoghra could possess at its current technological level. Unfortunately, there were no means available to make it so he could instantaneously finish researching new technology. It was practically impossible for him to build the next facility without acquiring some new technology.

"I see." Elder Moltar nodded. "Since we've finished constructing the treehouses and other facilities, I have transferred the personnel allocated to those projects to research. Our research speed should increase exponentially now that we've entrusted manual labor duties, such as Food production, to the Homunculus you created,

Your Majesty."

"Good. We need the intellectuals assigned to jobs that actually use their intellect. Leave all the simple and mindless tasks to the

Homunculus."

Every building under construction, such as the Treehouses and

Farms, was fully completed thanks to the excess Mana.

With all the primary facilities taken care of, Takuto also started producing more of Mynoghra's unique race, the Homunculus. He didn't have much work for them besides managing the Farms and Food production, but that was more than valuable enough when he considered how it freed up the intellectual Dark Elves for research.

With children now being educated at the Learning Institute, it was safe to say that Mynoghra had finally reached the stage of being a sustainable empire.

< -x-X-x->

"Still, I must admit my surprise at the endless amount of gold that shows no sign of decreasing even after producing so many buildings…" Elder Moltar said, his tone laced with concern as he gazed up at the haphazardly piled mountains of gold strewn carelessly around the main road extending from the city's center. "We can only hope no one with untoward thoughts shows up."

It was only natural Elder Moltar would be disconcerted by the inestimable amount of gold that seemingly ignored the existence of "economics," but his concerns lay more with what might happen should word leak of their wealth to the outside world.

Gold was an equally precious and highly sought-after resource in this world and Eternal Nations. Any bandits who dared venture into Mynoghra territory would meet their untimely end at the hands of the miasma oozing from the Cursed Terrain long before they reached the city. But the last thing anyone wanted was to draw more unwanted attention from the likes of the Holy Kingdom of Qualia and similar empires.

Takuto thought he could solve the problem by exchanging all the gold for Mana, but he was stuck at this bizarre impasse because he'd quickly hit whatever Mana Max storage limit his empire had at its current stage.

Endless mountains of gold exist in the country reigned over by the King of Ruin. Put like that, it sounded like the cliché setting for some sort of fairy tale or children's story. Seeing it in person was something else altogether…especially since Takuto and his people were on the side that had to protect the gold.

"That's why expanding our military is of urgent concern."

Elder Moltar nodded his head extra hard in agreement with his king.

Facilities weren't the only thing Takuto had produced using his Mana. He'd used his abundance of Mana to produce enough of Mynoghra's elite units to make anyone antsy with anticipation.

The current defense force swarming Mynoghra's capital consisted of the following units:

・3 Headhunting Bugs

・28 Long-legged Bugs

・15 Brain Eaters

・30 Giant Pitcher Plants

Takuto made up for his lack of basic units requiring Upkeep or specific citizen types by producing an abundance of unique units. If nothing else, Mynoghra now had the sheer numbers that would be hard to defeat if they holed themselves up within this one city.

"I must say," Elder Moltar began, turning stark white as he reviewed the set of sinister abilities listed on the document he procured from his robe pocket, "every single one possesses powerful abilities that inflict special effects on Humanoids. I can sense their deeply rooted desire to destroy all humanity."

"Having abilities that specifically target Humanoids is always convenient, after all…" Takuto replied nonchalantly. Mynoghra was designed to be the enemy of all Humanoids, so it made sense why its abilities and traits skewed toward anti-Humanoid effects.

At any rate, their current known potential enemies were the mostly Human Holy Kingdom of Qualia and the Elven El-Nah Alliance of Elementals. Since both were Humanoid, Mynoghra's skewed abilities were perfect.

But it'd be foolish to think that was all there was to the world at large. It was quite possible yet another unknown force like Brave Questers' Demon Lord Army could emerge on the playing field. "But we're still far from where we need to be," Takuto said. "You and the rest of the Dark Elves have a very important role to play too. Probably the most important role when it comes to bolstering our forces."

"I presume you are referring to this?" Elder Moltar grinned as he pulled a single book from his robe and showed it to Takuto.

It was a makeshift book with no cover that consisted of a bundle of paper tied together with string. But they both knew that the information contained within the book was far more valuable than it appeared—a perfect case of don't judge a book by its lack of a cover.

"The Land of the Gods is truly marvelous! Who knew that war…that killing people could be done so efficiently!" Elder Moltar mused.

What Elder Moltar held in his hand was the book Takuto and Atou had stayed up all night making by transcribing and summarizing the elements necessary for battle from various books spanning

Earth's history that Takuto had produced with Emergency

Production. Anyone who read this book detailing the sins of another world from beginning to end, no matter how uneducated, would have the theoretical tools to conduct modern warfare in this land of fantasy. Takuto was exhausted from the unusual workload, but seeing Elder Moltar carry it everywhere like a priceless treasure made it worth the effort.

"However, I do wonder what kind of place the Land of the Gods is to have so many advanced war tactics that can only be described as chilling…" Elder Moltar muttered.

"Well, it's definitely a weird place. Can't really say whether it's a comfortable place to live or not," Takuto replied, purposefully being vague about it.

"Hrm… Is that so?"

Takuto would only explain his former world to a certain extent, and that was it. He couldn't really go in-depth about it after he'd already explained it away as the Land of the Gods.

"Anyways," Takuto said, changing the topic, "how's it going?

Think you can learn from it?"

"To a certain extent, yes. We're currently at the stage where I am discussing the contents in earnest with Gia and Emle. But since much of the information pertains to technology completely unknown to us, we won't be able to grasp and apply it overnight…"

"That comes with the territory."

Futuristic technologies and ideas are complex and diverse. Those aren't things that can be immediately put to use just because someone gives you a guidebook on them. They needed to analyze and reconstruct the elements that would apply to them in this world where magic and racial traits played a huge role.

Either way, this information would undoubtedly change Mynoghra.

The forebearers of the information contained within that book had shed far more blood and left much deeper ditches piled high with bodies than the people of this world. The resentful voices of the dead whispered to them through the pages to add more friends to their ranks.

Takuto was being awfully talkative despite Atou's absence. What kind of emotions lurked in the dark depths of his heart as he cheerily answered Elder Moltar's questions?

Banging sounds that shook the very ground could be heard in the direction they were heading. The sounds grew louder the closer they got to the Training Grounds.

Within those grounds was the technology of death the world known as the Land of the Gods had obtained in exchange for generations of slaughter. The lid to hell quietly slid open in search of new victims with the introduction of this forbidden technology.

<-x-X-x->

The Training Grounds were built further away from the city center in a place that had been cleared of trees—a highly unusual sight within the Accursed Lands where the evil civilization of Mynoghra dwelled. They had set up all the basic facilities required to train soldiers there, including everything from training dummies and training gear to high ground for trainers to watch over mock battles. Sure, it was a primitive setup, but it was the perfect starting point for the Dark Elves, who'd never trained as an organized group before.

Except…this facility meant to train new recruits was being used for a different kind of training.

"Looking good out there," Takuto said with a smile.

BANG! BANG! BANG! A cadence of loud pops and cracks shook the surrounding trees, and with each bang, the training dummies visible at the opposite end of the Training Grounds exploded, along with the ground under them. At the entrance to the Training Grounds was a group of Dark Elf Warriors commanded by Gia, holding weapons that shouldn't exist in this world.

Weapons that shoot projectiles with the power of gunpowder to kill the enemy.

The Dark Elf Warriors were training with Dragunov sniper rifles, also known as SVD-63s.

"Your Majesty! Thank you for coming all this way!" Gia, who'd been presiding over the training, glanced in Takuto's direction and quickly called the troops to attention. "Platoon, ATTENTION!"

The platoon lined up in perfect order with their weapons as if they were a single body, rather than many separate individuals.

"Carry on. You can all return to training," Takuto said, satisfied with their unified and disciplined greeting.

"Things seem to be shaping up well, but…how's it going on a deeper level?" Elder Moltar asked, raking his gaze over the grounds.

"The sound and recoil are still a bit much for some…" Gia responded, trailing off a bit. "Their accuracy has steadily improved, but there's still quite a steep learning curve going from the bow to this, so they aren't combat-ready yet."

Takuto and Elder Moltar followed Gia to the Training Support Tower built into a nearby giant tree to discuss the matter away from the deafening gunfire. Gia sounded slightly dissatisfied with the troops' current skill level, especially compared to how content he was with their perfect show of order when coming to attention before their king. Was he being a bit meek and vague in his reply because of his pride? His strained expression spoke volumes about his regret and vexation about not meeting Takuto's expectations.

But Takuto himself was more than satisfied with the results. This was their first time using firearms, after all. Not only had they never handled a gun before, but they almost certainly hadn't seen one either. Not in this world. Although guns fall under the same longrange weapon category as bows, that's the extent of their similarities. Furthermore, Dark Elves didn't have the same aptitude for bows that Elves did. Takuto was fully aware they wouldn't master guns right away.

"Hrm," Elder Moltar hummed, stroking his beard. "Would you mind demonstrating by shooting that target there, Gia?" He flashed a wicked grin as he looked at the gun strapped to Gia's back.

Gia's weapon of choice was an anti-materiel rifle, which was about a full size larger than the Dragunovs used by the rest of the Warriors. The bullet weight and velocity of anti-materiel rifles gives them exceptional long-range capability even when compared with designated sniper rifles, but that also makes them significantly more unwieldy. The recoil of this weapon is so high that it's known to break collar bones and dislocate shoulders. Every time Gia fired a shot, he was pushed slightly backward from the force of it.

The old sage knew all too well the struggles Gia was having with the cumbersome weapon.

"Grr…" Gia cursed under his breath. "I would be honored if you watched, Your Majesty."

Takuto pretty much picked up on the situation from the grin spreading ever wider on Elder Moltar's face. But Gia braced the weapon in a kneeling position before he could intervene. They were currently standing on the open balcony of the Training Support Tower. Gia aimed at the target situated in the Training Grounds below.

"GHH!"

After a few beats of silence, a large boom shook the wooden floorboards, and Takuto saw the shoulder blown off the training dummy in the distance.

Gia's accuracy was beyond acceptable. A shot like that could immobilize an Under Paladin. The only thing that left him wanting was that Gia didn't land his shot in the center of the chest. Even so, Takuto was impressed by his ability to accurately hit the target with an anti-materiel rifle while only bracing it in an unsupported kneeling position.

Man, this gun's seriously awesome, Takuto thought. Contrary to Gia, gritting his teeth in vexation at having missed his target, Takuto was pleased with the results.

As a matter of fact, Takuto's real aim in training the Dark Elves in how to use sniper rifles was to make full use of their excellent night vision. As a race that navigated the night as easily as they did the day, they would have an overwhelming advantage during nighttime raids and assassinations. And judging by Captain Gia's proficiency with the weapons, they seemed more than capable of reaching the level of skill Takuto required for his strategy.

The strategy he wanted the Dark Elf Warriors to fulfill for him involved becoming a raiding party that could unilaterally shoot the enemy under the cover of darkness.

"That's more than I could ask for from an unsupported kneeling position," Takuto said to Gia.

"…! I don't deserve such praise! I will continue to improve myself!"

Takuto meant his comment as praise given in consideration for the circumstances of the shot, but Gia's reaction oozed with chagrin. Apparently, he'd determined the comment to be a consolation for his failure. Takuto hadn't meant it like that, but if taking it that way was going to motivate him, then there was no reason to correct it.

…After all, the people of Takuto's old world had long surpassed the results produced by the Dark Elf Warriors.

Besides, anti-material rifles aren't typically meant to be shot by an unsupported kneeling position. Perhaps it was because they still lacked an understanding of guns that they couldn't comprehend the awesomeness of easily wielding something weighing more than twenty pounds.

Seeing how far Gia had come gave Takuto hope that the Warriors he was training would soon be ready and rearing for real combat too. Few living creatures could dodge bullets from a sniper rifle that could travel thousands, even tens of thousands, of feet. Barbarians with tough, stony hides like the Hill Giants and elite soldiers such as High Paladins might be able to withstand the first shot, but they could just down them in a barrage of bullets.

With that in mind, Takuto was extremely pleased with the current results. Or at least he had been…

BOOOOOOOM! Takuto heard an even louder noise than gunfire come from right beside him. He looked up and shifted his gaze toward the explosive sound. There he saw Maria target practicing with an even heavier anti-material rifle—and she was firing from an unsupported standing position!

"Wow! Amazing as always, Big Sista!" Caria cheered and held out her hands to use the gun next.

"I shoot with the mind's eye," Maria boasted, nodding like she was very pleased with herself as she tossed her younger sister the heavy gun like a toy.

Caria caught the gun with the same ease her sister had tossed it to her and assumed the same standing position as if she were a child excitedly wielding a branch like it was a make-believe gun instead of the real deal.

Takuto was pretty sure that gun weighed more than forty pounds. They were definitely using it in a way that drastically differed from its original design.

Due to its absurd size, weight, and possible range, two to threeman sniper teams are required when using an anti-materiel rifle. The operating crew usually helps when firing and transporting the gun as well. The recoil produced by the cartridges employed dictates that these rifles are also designed to be fired from the prone position and usually with bipods and other accessories to help stabilize it. Using it in any other way is bound to knock over the operator or severely injure them.

Obviously, they weren't the type of gun used for target practice.

"Do I hold it like this?" Caria asked. "Yay! I hit the target!"

-------------->

The farthest dummy on the grounds below exploded into pieces, accompanied by a noise that shook the inner eardrum. The training dummy might've been inorganic, but it was still a harrowing sight to see it shredded by a bullet. Caria's perfect shot pierced right through the heart. Most life forms wouldn't even be able to register that they'd died if they were on the receiving end of that bullet.

After that, the twin sisters squeed and giggled as they happily mowed down the dummies with bullet after bullet. How could one even describe such a scene aside from calling it…extraordinary?

Of course, there was one pitiful Dark Elf present who couldn't openly rejoice over the younger generation's success.

Forced to witness their surreal skill, Gia's shoulders slumped as his pride shattered into even more pieces than the dummies.

On this day, Gia, a renowned Dark Elf Warrior whose name was feared throughout the land, had suffered defeat at the hands of two little girls.

"I-I'll continue to i-improve…"

Takuto just barely heard Gia's wisp of a voice. His spirits had been completely crushed and stomped on.

"Th-The twins are special…"

This time Takuto couldn't help but actually offer the poor Dark Elf some words of consolation. He could sympathize with the Warrior Captain, since he was positive he'd be just as depressed in his shoes.

But there was a good reason why the twins stood a cut above the rest—they were Witches and Heroes who'd inherited Isla's powers. Even when they weren't in berserker mode under the full moon's influence, they had immense strength and latent abilities. If anything, Gia was doing an amazing job keeping pace with them.

Elder Moltar was naturally aware of this, since he'd heard about the twins from Takuto, but he merely cackled at the whippersnapper's defeat rather than encourage him. Offering unnecessary words of comfort would only hurt a Dark Elf Warrior's pride, and more than anything else, Elder Moltar had the most terrible assurance that the youngster would snap back from this defeat even stronger.

Takuto had already shown his support twice, so he didn't feel the need to say more when he figured Gia would work it out on his own eventually.

Men not knowing how to comfort other men seemed to plague every race in every world.

◇◇◇

"BUT there is something that concerns me, Your Majesty…" Elder Moltar said, shifting the conversation away from Gia and his deflated pride.

"What's that?" Takuto asked, prompting him to go on.

"This consumable projectile you call ammunition, I believe?" Elder Moltar ventured. "We've been using buckets of it for target practice. Won't it eventually be a drain on our resources?"

Elder Moltar was concerned with the amount of ammo required for training the troops. Emergency Production produced everything from the guns to the ammunition. As much of an unfair advantage the mountains of gold coins from Brave Questers gave them, they'd eventually run out and no longer have anything left to exchange for Mana. He was afraid their supply would run dry in the future if they burned through too much ammunition now.

But Takuto already had the solution to that problem.

"Oh yeah, we've got that taken care of. You've collected as many shells, cartridges, and bullets as you can, right?"

"Of course, Your Majesty. The entire Warrior corps collects everything on the field as soon as training is finished. Isn't that right, Gia?" Elder Moltar turned to confirm the situation with the Warrior Captain.

"Yes, sir!" Gia responded in a resounding voice, immediately perking up and standing at attention to give his report. "We don't let a single bullet created by His Majesty's mighty hands go to waste!" He spoke with such fervor, he seemed to be trying to make up for falling behind the twins with sheer energy.

"Then it's all good." Takuto gave a satisfied nod, a wry smile turning up the corner of his lips at the Warrior Captain's perky reaction. "Bullets, shells, and cartridges can be exchanged at a good rate as Metals, essentially making them free."

Lead, Brass, Soft Steel—bullets, shells, and cartridges consisted of several different types of valuable Metals. And anything that had a value as Metal could be exchanged at the Market for Mana. The Market ended up treating those items as Minerals since they were a combination of materials, but that didn't pose much of a problem.

Being able to almost completely recover the cost of ammunition felt like too much of an unfair advantage even to Takuto, who'd confirmed it worked.

From the base weapon to the consumable ammunition, guns are huge money hogs. The cost only goes up when trying to train troops to a combat-ready level, because they need to practice a lot with live rounds. This is where the costs typically swell out of control, making maintaining and Upkeeping an army that uses guns extremely difficult.

But a combination of fiendish elements in this world granted Mynoghra the power to make a gun-toting army a reality.

"Grenades and explosives cost a bit more, so we can't use them as freely," Takuto stated.

"Even without those, the sniper rifles and assault rifles our military is currently learning to use will undoubtedly change the battlefield as we know it," Elder Moltar responded as he looked down at the Training Grounds with a pleased glint in his eyes. "Ours will surely be known as the Army of God. By your mighty command,

Your Majesty, we have obtained unimaginable power."

A man as wise as Elder Moltar surely understood how the untold killing power of modern weaponry could completely upend the way battle was conducted. Even Takuto agreed that they now had a devastating advantage. But the acrid memory of being outdone with Isla on his side viciously nagged at him never to let his guard down again.

Too many unknown supernatural entities existed in this world. No matter how powerful modern firearms were, there was no way to be sure they could one-sidedly annihilate entities like the Four Generals of the Demon Lord's Army and the Demon Lord himself, who hailed from Brave Questers.

I can't become complacent, Takuto told himself. I can't relax and get comfortable.

Besides, they had a fundamental problem that guns alone couldn't solve.

"The world will be at the mercy of any military that has firearms. This should be enough to deter the other empires from foolishly attacking us, but…"

"But we severely lack the manpower to be a major threat…no?" Elder Moltar finished.

Mynoghra painfully lacked citizens that could join the military. Only a few dozen Warriors served under Gia's command. Even if they added in the people who'd expressed a desire to join the Warriors after they recovered from illness and malnutrition, their numbers would barely reach one hundred. With potentially less than thirty active-duty members, they were painfully far from the numbers necessary to form a legitimate army.

"And we can't arm the Homunculus, since they fire at random," Takuto sighed.

"We'll have a lot of friendly fire on our hands if we try," Elder Moltar agreed with an even bigger sigh.

They'd initially planned on solving their personnel problem by arming Mynoghra's Homunculus with guns. If that had worked out, they could've used the Homunculus's explosive reproduction rate to grow their army rapidly.

In Eternal Nations, weapons and the like are treated as equipable items. Takuto was hopeful because he had no issues commanding a battalion comprised of Homunculus equipped with primitive long-range weapons such as bows, but the system wasn't going to make life that easy for him.

Homunculus were given the setting and nature of being unable to handle anything that required intelligence. Because of that, he could equip them with primitive weapons, such as swords and bows, but not more complex weaponry, such as crossbows and siege weapons. With this setting hanging over them, it was impossible for the Homunculus to wield firearms properly.

That meant they needed to find manpower elsewhere. Manpower that possessed a basic level of intelligence and would swear allegiance to the evil civilization of Mynoghra. And Takuto also had an idea of where to find just the people for the job.

"Well, at least there's a solution," Takuto said. "It's about time

I fulfilled my promise to you and your people."

"Oooh! Could it be…!" Elder Moltar lit up with anticipation as Takuto finally uttered the words he'd been waiting for. Gia also perked up from where he was listening behind them.

Takuto was alluding to his promise to welcome in the persecuted Dark Elves who were still wandering in exile. He'd always planned to make good on his word, it just got postponed due to the various chaos that had arrived in the interim.

He'd already learned through his diplomatic relations with Phon'kaven that there were a number of Dark Elf refugees taking sanctuary in their main cities. He just had to send for them. Their numbers weren't much to write home about, but anything helped when Mynoghra was so short-handed they even tried to arm the Homunculus.

Takuto had several other ideas to work off of after that too. He'd also devised a slightly difficult-to-pull-off plan to solve their personnel shortage in one go based on the information gathered by the Long-legged Bugs, who'd been scouting the area around Dragontan. Whether it'd work or not relied on successful negotiations with Phon'kaven.

He wasn't sure how they'd react to his proposal, but he believed it wouldn't become too big of an issue when both parties already recognized the equal danger they were in. No one knows what the future holds, but they were still allies for now.

"Your Majesty! I have an urgent report for you!"

As Takuto was developing his strategy and thinking about how it'd play out, a Dark Elf hurriedly ascended the Training Support Tower. He seemed to have urgent news to report as he knelt before the king, a little short of breath.

"What is it?" Takuto gently prompted.

"A messenger has arrived from Dragontan. He has come bearing an official letter from Phon'kaven's Staff Holder Pepe for the king!"

"Perfect timing!" Takuto slapped his hands together and nodded as yet another strategy hit him, bringing a smirk to his face. It was an effective and astonishing strategy that no one else would think of. "Summon Atou and the rest of the council members for an urgent meeting."

There was much to discuss. Mynoghra's policies might have changed on some matters, but respecting the Dark Elves' opinions was still important to Takuto.

Now then, what matter has Phon'kaven approached us over this time?

As Takuto left the Training Support Tower in a good mood, Elder Moltar and Gia followed him, feeling deeply moved by the rapidly changing situation over the past few days and the level of command the king was taking.

<-x-X-x->

Chapter 4: Strategy Meeting

IN Mynoghra, a lot of weight's placed on policy decisions made by the empire-management council. This had little to do with democracy and was more about creating a foundation for the Dark Elves to think for themselves and make their own decisions.

Takuto drastically changed his stance on this policy after the war against Brave Questers' Demon Lord Army. He'd unilaterally switched their overall objective from pacifism to world conquest, indicating that the Dark Elves' opinions and decisions wouldn't be taken into as much account as before.

Regardless of this change, he still held strategy meetings with his council members to nurture the Dark Elves' autonomy. However, the meetings, which used to proceed smoothly, ran into a deadlock for the first time.

"How exactly…are we supposed to interpret this?"

"Hrm," Elder Moltar hummed dubiously. "I'm positive there's a catch, but what? Perhaps…no…hmm…"

Everyone gathered within Mynoghra's Grand Council Room expressed varying degrees of dismay. The full council wasn't in attendance at this meeting. Only the most insightful people were summoned to discuss the matter: Takuto, Atou, Elder Moltar, and Emle. They didn't want to tie up too many key personnel with a topic that would likely take up a lot of time.

Takuto was also struggling with how to handle the matter, proving how troubling of a topic it really was.

"I can't believe…Phon'kaven's offering to transfer ownership of Dragontan to us."

The topic plaguing them was a proposal from the multiracial empire of Phon'kaven offering to cede the town of Dragontan to Mynoghra. The official letter didn't get into the deal's specifics or even what led them to offer such a thing. The missive only stated that the representative leader of Phon'kaven, Pepe, and the rest of the Staff Holders were requesting an urgent meeting to discuss it as soon as possible.

There was little else to go off of. The missive simply ended with long, overly flowery formulaic sentences expressing their deepest gratitude to Mynoghra for aiding them in the war against the Demon Lord's Army. Atou groaned and racked her brains over the letter whose intentions she couldn't decipher no matter how many times she reread it.

"If we accept their offer at face value, then it's an amazing proposal we should only be all too happy about," Atou said. "However, it's far too suspicious…"

"Too suspicious, indeed," Elder Moltar agreed. "I don't care if this is an official missive, such a grave diplomatic matter should never be conveyed in this unorthodox manner. It's offensive! We can reasonably expect this to be some sort of trap, but it feels too clumsy for that. I haven't a clue how to interpret their intentions."

Even a sage like Elder Moltar struggled to comprehend their intentions and was left groaning over it. Although there was only one topic to discuss, the meeting held to deal with the problem, which resembled an intricate puzzle, ran into a dead end and wasn't moving forward.

"Your Majesty…how should we interpret this matter?" Elder Moltar turned to Takuto to rescue them from the vexing standstill.

Takuto had gone through almost every negotiation type in the game, but this was his first time running into this pattern. He could probably make a wild guess based on that experience but lacked the decisive factor to say anything for sure. Ultimately, he had to make the final decision. Mynoghra had a mountain of tasks to deal with, so he wanted to decide the direction they would take on this issue by the end of the day.

"Emle, as far as you know, how's the situation in Phon'kaven?" Takuto turned to Emle to get a better grasp of the situation to break the deadlock.

Emle promptly began flipping through the documents she'd gathered on Phon'kaven. Before long, she reported on the things they were already aware of and then finally revealed some of the latest information that was news to them.

"Lastly, there's a huge exodus of townspeople leaving Dragontan now. We are in contact with Mayor Antelise, but things are so chaotic there that her response to our questions has been delayed," Emle finished.

"Thanks," Takuto replied, then fell into contemplative silence.

Because of their alliance with Phon'kaven, they could obtain more direct information on Dragontan than before. Mynoghra was also slow to get a hold on the postwar chaos. Unlike in a video game, things didn't automatically go back to normal after winning a war.

"The townspeople are leaving? Why is that happening, Emle?" Atou asked.

"Likely due to the war, Lady Atou," Elder Moltar said. "Can you expound on the matter, Emle?"

"Certainly. As you all know, the town of Dragontan is located far from the country of Phon'kaven, and it's apparent that they're struggling to maintain public order with all the bandits and marauders who've slipped into town. In my opinion, it's not all that strange for mayhem to ensue when there were barely any reinforcements sent from the governing country during the war. From that, we can speculate that the residents are leaving the town to escape to safer locations within Phon'kaven's sphere of protection."

While Takuto was organizing his thoughts, Atou and the Dark Elves were piecing together the situation based on the information they had on hand. He gained a more accurate grasp of the situation as he quietly listened to their exchange.

"Hmm. In other words, Dragontan's on the verge of collapse?" Atou summarized.

"It might've already collapsed, Lady Atou," Elder Moltar said. "Either way, it's only a matter of time before it stops functioning as a proper town."

When insightful people are gathered together, meetings have a way of making dramatic progress with the slightest of hints. Like Takuto, they could make rough guesses based on the available intel, and although they weren't sure, they were beginning to come up with plausible answers.

Or rather, the situation would be easily understood if you put yourself in the shoes of Dragontan's residents.

A horde of Barbarians had suddenly appeared nearby when they lived in a fringe town far from their country's borders. Moreover, not only were they told not to expect reinforcements from the main military, but their defense was even left in the hands of another nation's military. It was only natural that some people would flee to their home country in search of safety, and not unsurprising if riots broke out along the way.

Some people might've even expressed a desire to immigrate to Mynoghra instead.

Takuto didn't know the mayor of Dragontan personally, but he could sympathize with her being in the terrible position of trying to get this nasty situation under control.

"Once the town stops functioning as one, it'll be the weak and helpless who suffer the most," Emle pointed out. "Perhaps Phon'kaven thought the best way to protect those people was to cede the town to us."

"Moreover, our great Mynoghra actually put boots on the ground during the last battle," Elder Moltar added proudly. "Their forces could barely defend the town, much less fight or act in a martial capacity. I presume they're even struggling to find people capable of keeping order within their walls."

"I see. This isn't a very nice way of wording it, but is their ulterior motive here to curry favor with Mynoghra so they can ask for something more?" Atou summarized. Her conclusion was blunt but to the point.

Put simply, Phon'kaven was in a tight spot. Their situation was dire enough that they'd laid out all their cards on the negotiation table, stealing the first move from Mynoghra.

Takuto didn't know who'd come up with this plan, but they had to be quite the insightful tactician… Or maybe they were just epically simple-minded? The face of Phon'kaven's Commander and Takuto's new friend suddenly came to mind, but it was drowned out by other thoughts just as quickly.

"It could be that by ceding Dragontan to us, they hope to maintain the alliance and receive something extra in return…" Elder Moltar said, continuing Atou's line of thought.

"It's not hard to imagine they'll still want access to the Dragon

Vein Mine," Atou asserted. "Not that that'll be much of a problem when we've practically already decided to share ownership of it before all this…"

Ceding territory to another empire wasn't something done with half-baked resolve. While Dragontan was a detached territory that was particularly difficult for Phon'kaven to maintain, it could still serve as a critical stepping stone in expanding their empire. And that wasn't even scratching the surface of the issues that needed to be considered. Distrust and dissatisfaction were bound to ripple through their empire when the citizens learned they were handing over a whole town to another nation, regardless of whether it was a peaceful deal between allies.

With all the potential risks and losses they would sustain in mind, they must've been expecting something of equal or greater value in return. That's how negotiations work, after all.

"They want military aid," Takuto declared with certainty.

The most pressing problem Phon'kaven faced was expanding and bolstering their lacking military. They had already revealed this weakness and their inability to protect their territory when they'd requested Mynoghra's assistance in defending Dragontan. Military expansion couldn't be achieved overnight, so this was obviously still an urgent issue for them.

"But, Your Majesty, we are in the midst of preparing our own military against enemy threat," Elder Moltar stressed. "We're in no position to weaken our forces, even at the behest of an ally nation…" "I couldn't have said it better myself," Takuto agreed.

Elder Moltar's concerns were valid.

No one dared say it aloud, but they all knew Isla's loss happened in part due to dividing their forces. They wouldn't endanger their empire by making the same mistake twice. Takuto took that all into consideration when he made his decision.

"Let's sell them weapons." The room fell silent.

Normally that kind of reaction would've made Takuto uncomfortable, but now that he was confident in his direction and decisions, their shock was actually exhilarating.

Huh, I guess situations really do change a person without them realizing it, he mused, even though it wasn't the time for such introspection.

"P-Please don't make that your final decision, Your Majesty!" Emle shouted despite herself. "Th-That's far too dangerous! We don't know what evils will be committed if we hand over such deadly weaponry to another nation! Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I must insist on the possibility of them turning those weapons against us!"

Emle's objections reflected what everyone else wanted to say as well.

Firearms are powerful armaments that must be handled with the utmost care. The modern weapons produced by Takuto's abilities constituted Mynoghra's newly acquired swords and shields. There were too many risks involved in granting their allies the very weapons that gave Mynoghra an edge.

While the council members' concerns were sound, they were forgetting one very important detail.

"And how'll they turn them against us?" Takuto prompted.

"Obviously by— Oh!" Emle's realization stopped her from finishing her initial response.

Only Takuto was capable of producing these weapons and their ammunition. In other words, no matter how many firearms Phon'kaven purchased to increase their military strength, that strength would run dry the moment they stopped dealing with Mynoghra—the only nation capable of resupplying their bullets. Moreover, the technology used to develop firearms and ammunition was the end product of science and technology belonging to a research tree from another world.

Put simply, no one from this world could recreate those weapons.

Mynoghra would ultimately have the power to strip them of these deadly weapons whenever they felt like it. And Phon'kaven likely wouldn't be able to resist the allure of overwhelming power.

Phon'kaven had roughly 10,000 to 20,000 active-duty troops. The majority of those were close-combat Soldiers. They didn't have many of the very costly to maintain Cavalry or Archers, and they only had a handful of elite units with high Strength stats on par with the Paladins.

Dragontan's Town Defense Force had the bare minimum amount of training and combat experience necessary to fight. They seemed to be mostly getting by on the innate physical advantages of Beastmen. If that was the standard for their Defense Force across the empire, then they were staggeringly behind the other countries.

Such a ramshackle and slipshod military could acquire the qualities necessary to stand up to the other nations simply by equipping the weapons provided by Mynoghra. If nothing else, they could at least say goodbye to the miserable days of living in fear as they desperately fended off Barbarians.

It wasn't hard to imagine how attractive of an offer this would be for the people of Phon'kaven, who lived in the barren land of the Dark Continent and in the constant presence of the threats posed by the ever-looming Holy Kingdom of Qualia and the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals to the north.

There just weren't that many alternatives for Phon'kaven to turn to.

Meanwhile, this was an equally appealing plan for Mynoghra as well. It'd allow them to form a united front with Phon'kaven's military armed with modern weapons in any future wars against hostile forces.

Mynoghra's own military leaned heavily on a few select elite units, so being able to add in a greater number of Soldiers with a standard level of Strength was extremely appealing. This kind of united front would allow them to pull off deadly formations, with Phon'kaven maintaining the frontlines while Mynoghra's own forces concentrated on raids and taking out enemy elites.

Providing Phon'kaven with guns and ammunition was a twopronged strategy that involved strengthening their ally to give Mynoghra an extra edge in future wars against hostile empires, while also indebting that ally to them.

The wiser council members immediately caught on to the hidden agenda and quietly chuckled as they realized Phon'kaven was desperate.

It wasn't a bad deal for Phon'kaven—it was actually incredibly advantageous for them. They simply had no room to bargain or anywhere else to go…

"I see where this is going! I would expect nothing less of our king. I have nothing but admiration for your boundless insight and ingenuity… However, providing them with arms feels like we're now the ones giving too much. What do you suggest as appropriate compensation from them, Your Majesty?" Elder Moltar asked with a hearty laugh.

A stronger military was likely what Phon'kaven wanted the most right now. Whatever else was behind their proposal to cede Dragontan wouldn't change that fact. With that in mind, they were guaranteed to be all over the arms export deal.

"Compensation, eh…? It's gotta be people. They can toss us anything from people who're struggling to make ends meet to criminals—we'll take whatever we can get at this point."

Takuto's compensation of choice was citizens. A larger population was what Mynoghra wanted most right now, and that was the hardest, most unpredictable resource for them to secure.

"That's a wonderful idea, King Takuto!" Atou exclaimed. "I'm absolutely positive the people of Dragontan will be choked with tears to be welcomed under the great and mighty Mynoghra's wings!" "It'll make them evil, though," Takuto pointed out.

"B-Being evil is surprisingly enjoyable…" Emle stuttered. "That is, I don't feel like that different of a person." "Hear! Hear!" Elder Moltar agreed.

The two Dark Elves who'd recently switched from neutral to evil alignment seemed more than okay with the idea as they offered up words of support. Seeing them in favor of the idea reassured Takuto that it should be possible to welcome Dragontan's residents into Mynoghra's fold.

Of course, he had no interest in dealing with human trafficking or forcing anyone to join against their will. He might consider it if they were remnants of an enemy empire, but Phon'kaven was still a good ally. They would be recruiting anyone who wanted to join, but that might actually get them more citizens than they could hope for once they got started.

"If this goes well, then it'll be the answer to all our population problems, King Takuto!" Atou declared with innocent delight. Takuto firmly nodded.

They didn't know how Phon'kaven would react to Mynoghra's demands. But they had to have already considered what to do with the residents of Dragontan when they offered to cede the town to Mynoghra. Perhaps they'd purposely mentioned ceding Dragontan in the official missive to subtly urge Mynoghra to consider the matter before their meeting.

"All right, let's start selecting what weapons to sell," Takuto said, redirecting the meeting. "Does anyone have anything else to say on the matter? We need to consider every angle, so we don't miss anything in our negotiations."

Takuto thought of Pepe as he watched the lively debate between his council members. Pepe was cheerful, friendly, and hard to hate.

But Takuto's intuition told him there was more to the boy than that.

"I'm looking forward to our meeting."

The world around them was moving as they spoke. If there were others out there who'd come from game worlds like Mynoghra, they were destined to clash eventually. Takuto was convinced of that fact, as if some invisible being was whispering it in his ear.

"Oh, that reminds me…"

"Yes? Is something on your mind, King Takuto?" Atou promptly reacted to Takuto's quiet utterance.

Takuto responded to her query with a shake of his head, deciding not to broach the subject, after all. "Nah…it's nothing."

He needed to properly confirm the nature of his abilities before they inevitably clashed with their enemies.

Chapter 2423 - Mynoghra 16