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Riding mounts.

It’s basic knowledge for those of noble stature in this world.

The same goes for the demon race.

Riding something is akin to handling a beast of lower rank, and especially for demons, they have a natural talent for controlling “magical beasts.”

As for me, while I excel at “riding” a body as a soul, I can also ride well in the state of possessing someone else’s body.

Just like right now.

“You ride surprisingly well, don’t you? It’s a unicorn after all!”

“What’s so special about a unicorn?”

“Nothing at all, ahem.”

“Well, the way you think…”

Trying to make me feel ashamed for riding a unicorn when she herself is riding one is rather ironic.

“It’s utterly ridiculous.”

“Are you saying that to me? Or someone else?”

“When would I say that to anyone other than you?”

“Hah.”

Endymion shook his head in disbelief, but no matter how you look at it, the most ridiculous one is Endymion himself.

“Still, it runs well, so it’s good to ride. If it were slow, I would just fly with a staff.”

“With a staff…? Like how ancient witches used to ride brooms?”

“What? You sound like you’re having strange thoughts again. Can you honestly claim you’re not the ridiculous one here?”

“If I asked a hundred people, at least one would say I’m the most ridiculous one here. …Bringing a unicorn is simply because this one is the fastest mount in the Anari Principality. It’s a female.”

“Hmm.”

A female unicorn?

I feel like I’ve just heard something nonsensical, but given Endymion’s reaction, it seems he might not be wrong.

The only concern about it being a female…

“Um… I don’t really have any biases regarding gender, but is that okay? We’re heading into a battlefield swarming with orcs soon, you know?”

“If you’re worried it might get scared and throw you off, you don’t need to. These are the Principality’s prized horses. They used to be the finest steeds ridden by the princess of the Anari Kingdom. They have even been into battle.”

“A princess…? Is it a different princess from the one I know?”

“Yes. She died in the territorial war with the Arpe Empire. She became unable to ride a unicorn anymore.”

“Tsk.”

I thought digging deeper would just lead to stories of the war between the Principality and the Empire, so I lightly clicked my tongue and raised my staff.

“I don’t want to hear such stories. Get your weapons out. We’ll clash within a minute.”

“I’m already prepared.”

Clink!

Endymion lowered one hand.

Then he infused mana into his fingertips, creating something thick and elongated that glowed green.

“A magic rifle?”

“I’ll load each shot with lethal intent. Let’s take out three of them with a single shot. Can you kill more than I can?”

Graaaaaah!

From afar, I hear the orcs roaring.

The orcs on the ground, not the valiant warriors from 500 years ago…

“Huh?”

Those aren’t the orcs I hunted near Normans.

Despite still having protruding bellies, these orcs have solid muscles and aren’t completely overweight.

“Are those… Satan’s Demon King’s Army?”

“We call those guys ‘Loider Orcs.’ They brag that they were reborn like that.”

“Loider…? Ah, now I get it.”

Satan.

Upon seeing the orcs, it seems he must have drawn a conclusion without even thinking.

I trained them, turning them into honorable warriors who would shout for victory or death, but it seems Satan intended to treat the orcs as mere disposable pawns from the start.

“Forcefully bulked them up with the power of the Demon King, huh? They’re just fodder meant to buy time or die without a care.”

“Is that so?”

“If Satan really intended to train them properly, he wouldn’t bulk them up like this.”

He would have probably made them focus on cardio first, burning fat, and then gradually introduced strength training to build their bodies.

Having muscles pumped up this way indicates he doesn’t plan to use orcs as the main force in his Demon King’s army.

“They won’t pose too much of a threat, so let’s handle them for sure.”

“I’ll take the initiative—”

“I will.”

Graaaaaah!

The orcs charged at us with terrifying roars.

Upon seeing us riding unicorns, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they charged at us, huffing and puffing.

‘How unpleasant.’

One would expect to be frightened by such a sight, but fortunately, the unicorn seemed to trust me and did not stop charging.

Thank goodness.

If it had slowed down, it would have made things even riskier.

“Flare Lance.”

I create a swirling flame before the unicorn.

Though surprised by the sudden flames, realizing it was created by me, the unicorn pushes forward, not hesitating for a moment.

“Charging.”

Whoosh!!

A gigantic fiery lance emerges before the unicorn, spiraling and piercing an orc.

Boom!!!

It’s not just being pierced by a cavalry; the orcs were engulfed in flames in an instant, as if being run over by a tank.

Kyaaaah!!

The orcs shriek as they’re pushed aside.

Rolling on the ground with their bodies ablaze, they writhe in agony, fully engulfed in flames.

Kieeeek!

One of the orcs rushes at me wielding a massive halberd.

It looks like an upper-tier individual among the orcs, decked out in some armor.

At least on the surface, it seems to try to swing its halberd at me through the gaps in the swirling flames of the flare lance—

“Gap!”

Bang!

My magical bullet zipped behind me, barely missing me, and pierced the orc’s forehead.

It fell backward, still fixated on swinging its halberd.

“Not a gap?”

“Oh, is that so?”

Endymion swung the rifle in a large circle.

I wondered what the point of spinning a gun was, but—

‘What the.’

Firing it in one smooth motion like that is actually pretty cool.

I can’t do that now because the length of my staff is too long, but I’ll definitely try it someday.

“Are you jealous? I can lend you one later if you’d like.”

“No thanks. I can easily overpower orcs without such things, you know?”

I pulled on the unicorn’s reins.

It was about time for the mana consumed in creating flames to wear out, and as soon as the unicorn stopped, the flames subsided.

“With those one-shot bursts, just how long do you expect to kill two or three enemies and finish this fight? With the power of magic, I could do it like this….”

“That’s why I’ve prepared something.”

Click.

Endymion pulled something out from his robe.

It looked like a stick, with a round red button at the end.

“With the overwhelming power of science.”

“……!”

From the spot we just passed, or more precisely, where the main force was stationed, I began to feel a tremendous flow of mana rising.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Coordinate transmission complete. Now, stay still. I’m about to show you the power of the technologies I’ve accumulated, the power of the Anari Principality.”

Endymion moved closer to the unicorn while slinging the rifle over his shoulder.

“Deploying barrier.”

Whirring.

A green dome-shaped barrier spread around us, and the orcs began to swing their weapons wildly at the shield.

“How’s that? This isn’t magic.”

“You’ve embedded magic into a magic tool. You say the spell is magic, but not magic?”

“But even someone who isn’t a sorceress can create a shield like this with just a flick of the finger. This is the power of science!”

“Shouldn’t you call that magic engineering rather than science?”

Regardless of the terms, I ignored the orcs and turned my head back.

“Are they coming?”

Whoooosh—

One light headed our way from our allied forces.

Not dropping vertically from the sky far up, but rather gliding in an arc from afar, a green sphere appeared, looking unstable in the flow of mana just from its appearance.

Unstable.

Splintering.

And.

“Explosion.”

Crackle—!!

The mass of mana that landed right on top of our barrier burst out, unleashing jolts of electricity.

Even touching it felt like it could fry you in an instant as the electricity flowed through the barrier, sweeping away the orcs nearby, scorching them until they turned to charcoal.

“Ha ha, how’s that? This is the peak of Anari Principality’s technological prowess, ‘electro cannon’…!”

“Will it kill us if we let our guard down?”

I reached out and yanked Endymion’s waist, who was filled with overconfidence.

Bang—

A black trajectory zipped past, grazing Endymion’s earlobe.

The unknown magical bullet pierced through the barrier in an instant.

“……What?”

“Always think that your opponent might possess the same power and technology as you when you fight. That was your one chance to live again.”

I patted the stunned Endymion on the back and aimed my staff ahead.

“I’ll toss the orcs aside and snipe the enemy leader for an assassination. Phew. It’s a good thing we came out first; otherwise, one of us might have ended up dead.”

Or.

Lucius might have gone on a rampage and swung the Holy Sword.

“W-what the hell…?”

“There’s not just the Hero of the Holy Sword in this world. There are foes just as strong as the Hero of the Holy Sword.”

And indeed, there were.

Just like those guys I once sincerely enjoyed adventuring with, there are people strong enough that even the Hero of the Holy Sword has to exert their full power to defeat them.

“Keep this in mind. In the Intermediate Realm, there is always a threat of death wherever and whenever. Magic… even a king is no exception.”

Somewhere distant.

At least several kilometers away.

“And watch out for technology leaks. My inventions could help the enemy.”

I can see it.

“…Is there a sniping variant of the magic rifle?”

In the distance.

A figure in a black robe, shouldering a long rifle three times longer than Endymion’s, appeared.

Whooooosh.

The wind blew, and the hood of the robe flew back.

And what emerged was…

“…a kid?”

A girl.

An acquaintance’s face.

 

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