Published: January 13, 2026
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Thank you so much! (⁰▿⁰)
The next morning, I headed out early with Murcia, Arte, Til, and Kamushin to the broken fortress city gate. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I looked up at the severely warped steel gate and the partially collapsed stone walls. Seeing it up close, the stone walls were truly massive and impressive.
The sections of the fortress city wall we had painstakingly repaired were partially destroyed. Even more saddening was that the only intact gate and surrounding walls on the Yelinetta Kingdom side were also damaged.
“...Well, I guess we’ll just assume they were broken to counter the cannon fire. The real problem is how they were able to fire so many shots so rapidly.”
Muttering this, I moved deeper into the broken gate and looked out over the land and roads belonging to the Yelinetta Kingdom. Even from here, there was no sign of the invasion route the Yelinetta Kingdom army took last night. Perhaps this was an important piece of land once guarded by another country before it became part of Yelinetta Kingdom.
“Lord Van? That cannon thing is that iron tube, right? I don’t really understand how it’s used or how to prevent it from being used,” Til said with a puzzled expression.
Kamushin furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“...When the cannon was fired, we operated the ballistas inside the fortress city to defend it. From where I was, I saw smoke rise with a loud bang, and something hit the gate. I think they were using Black Orbs...”
“Oh, that’s right!”
I was surprised by Kamushin’s deduction and responded. Murcia tilted her head in confusion.
“What do you mean ‘that’s right’? Do you really know what that thing is, Van?”
Before I could answer, Arte smiled and nodded.
“Lord Van knows everything.”
Arte’s words carried a subtle implication. I smiled wryly and squinted my eyes.
“...Well, I started thinking about it back when I first saw the Black Orbs. I wondered what could be done with them. There are many possibilities, but if used in battle, you load a Black Orb into that iron tube, add iron shots, and launch them. In theory, it can shoot ultra-heavy projectiles at a speed comparable to arrows. Furthermore, if you can shoot a sphere containing a Black Orb, you can detonate it upon impact. The power could even surpass that of top-class fire magicians.”
As I explained this while gazing at the road ahead, Murcia and the others widened their eyes and froze.
“...Honestly, I think only Van would think about something like that.”
After several seconds of silence, Murcia finally spoke. Til chuckled and nodded, while Kamushin’s eyes sparkled.
“I don’t fully understand it yet, but that sounds amazing,” Kamushin muttered in awe.
Meanwhile, Arte furrowed her brows and asked,
“Can those Black Orbs be used for things other than fighting?”
She looked incredulous. Understandably, after seeing such explosions, one would wonder what else they could be used for. I nodded in understanding and pointed towards the Wolfsburg Mountains.
Then, everyone’s gaze followed my finger towards the mountain range.
“For example, I think Black Orbs could be used to bore holes through solid mountain rock. It would be difficult to pierce through an entire mountain range, but making a tunnel through a single mountain to create a road might be possible. Also, they could be useful in iron mines or even in river widening projects to prevent flooding. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a very useful tool... huh?”
I spoke aloud the ideas swirling in my mind, but when I looked back, everyone had turned their gaze away from the mountains and were staring at me. Til tilted her head, puzzled, and Murcia looked exasperated.
“...You’ve been thinking about all that since the first time you saw the Black Orbs?”
“...Yes, since it’s a new tool, I’ve been considering all the possible uses...”
Although I’m hiding the fact that I already know some of this from my prior knowledge, I answered honestly. But thinking about it now, even for Van-kun, known as a genius, being not even ten years old yet, it might have seemed a bit odd.