A mid-level (middle-aged) office worker's laid-back industrial revolution in another world - Chapter 121

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

Takeo and Alice were alone, drinking tea.

A little ways away, it appeared they had received their orders, and soldiers were forming ranks.

“It’s a grand sight, isn’t it?” asked Alice, sipping her tea.

“Haha, you’re rather calm, aren’t you? That’s a hopeful sign,” said Takeo.

“True… I wasn’t so casual in my matchup against you, Takeo-sama,” said Alice.

“Oh? I’m not that threatening, am I?” asked Takeo, laughing softly.

“…You say that, but you tied against me…” Alice said, throwing him a serious glance.

“Hehe, oh yes, that’s right. Well then, let’s get ready for this, now,” said Takeo.

“Yes,” said Alice.

Takeo took Alice’s mug from her, washed it out quickly, and put it in his pack, which he then strapped to his back.

Alice and Takeo both began their checks on their attire and equipment.

Alice wore the strengthened trenchcoat from earlier.

“How is your coat? Not too tight, is it?” Takeo asked.

“It’s fine. The full armor I was wearing earlier was much hotter, and more restrictive,” said Alice, “I feel like I’ve been set free, now. It’s refreshing.”

“Ah, good,” said Takeo, “And oh, yes! I had your trenchcoat altered to be continually strengthened while you were changing.”

“How strong are the effects of that?” asked Alice.

“Do you mean how strong does it feel?” asked Takeo, “It feels about as strong as taking a punch from you and not having any bones broken.”

“…That’s quite hard for me to gauge…”

“Yes, I guess you’re right… Well, let’s just say it’s better than not having any strengthening at all.”

Takeo and Alice looked at each other and both smiled wryly.

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“Ah, it seems the practice is about the begin,” said Grandpa Elvis, while picking at his bar snacks.

“Yes. We’ve seen Lady Alice and Kitamizato-sama’s individual valor, but it’s time to see how they do in some realistic combat,” remarked Taylor.

“Mm, yes. Smith, what do you think we’ll witness?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“An overwhelming win in favor of the Lady, surely,” said Smith.

“Hmm… Frederick, are the platoons the same ones participating as last time?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“No,” replied Frederick,  referencing the paper offered to him by the soldiers who had just come by, “Last time, the platoons participating were the First, the Third, the Fifth, the Seventh, the Ninth, the newly formed Sixteenth, and the newly formed Seventeeth: 180 men in all. This time around, they are the Eighth to Twelfth, the Fifteenth, the newly formed Sixteenth, and the newly formed Seventeeth: 180 men in total.”

“That David… He’s serious, eh? He looks so kind, but he’s quite cunning,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Grandpa, did you glean some info just from the selection of platoons?” asked Smith.

“Yes. The Tenth and the Fifteenth platoons are mage platoons,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“…Is that an issue?” asked Smith.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“Well, put simply, the army commander waged simple hand-to-hand combat last time, and this time around, he’s taken up a proper formation for a realistic battle. It seems he’s going to order ranged attacks, and then exploit weaknesses with an infantry rush.  He had said he’d focus on something along the lines of ‘restraint by magical force’, but looking at the platoons here, it’s shaping up to be ‘a lesson on the opening moves of a standard battle’,” said Grandpa Elvis

“David’s really thought this through, hasn’t he? It’s a unique form of training for the new soldiers, indeed,” said Smith.

“Yes,” said Frederick, “Usually, recruits practice for the opening moves of a battle with fellow recruits only, but with the experience, they’ll gain here, they’ll be one step ahead of the game.”

“Mm, yes. I’m very interested to see what Takeo’s team will do, here,” said Grandpa Elvis.

The men atop the gates of the castle had nothing else to do but wait excitedly.

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“The practice will start now! Begin the scenario!!” Harold signaled, and the Tenth and Fifteenth platoons immediately began loading up their magic, as planned.

“Fire” “Ex” “Stone” “Blizzard”

Each mage prepared a first attack in accordance with their preferences in magic type.

“Fire!!” the commander’s orders echoed forth, and the mages began their attacks.

Infantry platoons lined up in single files upfront, and the Tenth and Fifteenth platoons completed the formation behind them.

They appeared to have formed ranks like this so that the front lines could advance after the ranged magical attacks were fired in unison overhead.

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Takeo and Alice watched the magic being released in upward arcs.

“Takeo-sama! Here they come!” Alice said, in a state of surprise. To think they had used real battle tactics against an opposing side of only two people…

“Lady Alice, please crouch behind me,” said Takeo, stepping forward.

He then took a sideways stance, crouched as well, and conjured with his left hand.

“Shield x5 each. One meter ahead. Three vertically stacked layers. Activate.”

This made fifty square centimeter walls, 3 squares tall and 5 squares thick.

With his right hand, he readied “Shield x15”.

After activating these spells, the magic attacks began falling upon them like rain.

Perhaps Takeo’s measurements by eye were naive, as attacks began to fall directly at their sides. These attacks kicked up dust all around them. Takeo’s shields, however, were holding up to the magical attacks that came at them.

“That went well,” Takeo spat out, but they saw through the dust that the second wave of attacks was already on its way.

Fewer attacks than last time? Takeo responded in the same way.

“Shield x5 each. One meter ahead. Three vertically stacked layers. Activate.”

The shields were deployed before us. He readied his right hand in the same way as last time, too. Fewer attacks than last time began to rain down on us.

As soon as the impacts ended, Takeo activated the spells in his right hand, yet again.

We waited for the next onslaught.

As soon as Takeo activated his spells again, the attacks came down immediately. It seemed the opposing mages had been split into two teams and were firing one after the other.

Takeo was forced to conjure shields without pause. Alice was watching Takeo from behind.

“How does his mind even work like this??” she thought, with wonder. This was the first time he had experienced simultaneous magic attacks, and yet, he had already formed an effective means for defense almost instantaneously.

“If this were me, alone, I wouldn’t be able to think of any tactic besides moving left and right to evade the attacks,” she thought.

She felt the true advantage of having defensive tactics on her side.

She also thought, “This is what it’s like to feel safely defended,” with a bashful grin on her face.

“Lady Alice… I believe after stopping two or three more attacks, their tactical progression will begin to change,” said Takeo, while facing Alice and conjuring shields at the same time.

“Alright, I’ll leave the response up to you,” Alice replied, readying her wooden sword in one hand.

Then, they heard, “Full force ahead! Advance!” The commander had ordered his troops while the air was full of dust, impossible to see through.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]