I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“How could this be····! This can’t be real!”

“Here you go.”

– Hooook!

There was no room to listen to the boring speech of the defeated villain.

I shoved the Crucible straight into Gyro’s throat, and he dropped dead from it.

A cardinal went down rather anticlimactically.

“Ed···· what’s that sword?”

At that moment, Elena, realizing the power of the Crucible, approached me with wide eyes.

I pulled the Crucible out of Gyro’s mouth and offered it to Elena.

“This is my strongest weapon. Limited to demons, of course.”

The Crucible.

This sword was specifically forged to vanquish demons.

It channels my hatred and converts it into hell energy to deal a blow.

In other words, you could say it’s a demon version of antimatter energy.

“There are still points to improve, though.”

However, just because it’s called the Crucible doesn’t mean it’s infallible.

While it’s powerful enough to take out an off-guard cardinal in one hit, it consumes a hefty amount of hell energy.

Right now, it consumed a staggering 37% of hell energy just to kill that guy.

What I worked so hard to accumulate was being spent in an instant.

“···· Learning a lot today. To think I’d feel the need to grow myself.”

At that moment, Elena looked at Gyro’s corpse with a bitter smile.

She must have been shocked by the reality of not being able to properly deal with even one demon, considering she thinks of herself as humanity’s strongest.

“I’ll get stronger. Much stronger than now.”

I know Elena will indeed become stronger.

The only reason she’s been stagnant at her current level till now is that she simply didn’t need greater power.

If she wanted to, she could become much stronger than she is now.

Especially since she’s currently learning ancient spells.

“More importantly, let’s clean up. The war isn’t over yet.”

“Yeah! Let’s go.”

However, there were still remaining remnants of the enemy.

The Imperial Army and the Entica Kingdom forces were still engaged, and the remaining demon factions needed to be dealt with too.

Elena and I headed straight to the battlefield.

***

Afterward, it wasn’t very difficult to subdue the remaining forces.

They had already lost their focal point in Gyro.

The Entica Kingdom forces began to surrender to the Empire immediately, and the demon factions started getting slaughtered by me and Elena.

There was strong resistance from archbishops and bishops at intervals, but ultimately, they couldn’t withstand our coordinated attacks.

So, we succeeded in wiping out all the Demon Church guys and taking over the Entica Kingdom.

One of the kingdoms that allied against the Empire in the Great War seven years ago had now been subjugated.

“This has significance.”

However, that’s from the Empire’s perspective.

From a personal standpoint, today’s incident was quite momentous.

The Entica Kingdom, which had played the role of the vanguard for demons in every cycle, had now been fully integrated into the human world in this round.

For me, who was busy trying to fend off the demon invasions right after graduating from the Academy, this round was nothing short of a leap forward.

“Well, even so···”

But occupying this place doesn’t mean the crisis is over.

From the demons’ standpoint, this is hardly anything.

They merely lost a usable expansion and are now a little annoyed, as they have nearly infinite expansions scattered throughout the world.

That’s because they even attempt to demonize the monsters of this world to invade.

And the worst monster they command is······.

“The disaster of the Eldar Kingdom.”

The cataclysm that drove the elf kingdom to ruin. In other words, an ancient god.

Right now, it’s an undefined entity whose very nature I have no clue about.

That’s because I’ve never encountered the ancient god capable of becoming a disaster.

“I’ve always heard rumors about the fall of the elven kingdom.”

The fall of the Eldar Kingdom.

That event is set to occur in just two months, where an ancient god destroys the World Tree, leading to the Eldar Kingdom’s downfall.

At that time, the majority of elves died trying to prevent the disaster from consuming the World Tree, and only about 400 survivors managed to escape to the human world.

For me, it was a heartbreaking incident losing an intelligent collective to fight against the demons.

“I must save them.”

Thus, I decided to prioritize rescuing the Eldar Kingdom.

Forming a human-dwarf-elf alliance to prepare for the demon invasion.

If I can put together a union of these three races, we can effectively fend off the demons.

With three races possessing different skills, we can certainly expect a synergy effect.

“For now·····.”

So, I plan to approach Clarice.

She is a descendant of the elf royal family and desires to go to the Eldar Kingdom, where her mother is.

Even though the Eldar Kingdom hasn’t taken her in due to her human blood, they will likely accept her if I accompany her.

I plan to make them an offer they absolutely cannot refuse.

***

When I returned home after the war, I found myself hailed as a hero.

Having defeated the evil faction that attempted to corrupt the Empire’s finest, all the citizens welcomed me with open arms.

Moreover, from the Empire’s perspective, the Great War seven years ago was almost a defeat for them.

Due to the fierce resistance from the alliance kingdoms centered around Clendor, they had to sign a peace treaty without any notable achievements.

Thus, this war was also a chance for the Empire to restore their citizens’ pride.

In other words, there’s no stronger nationalistic euphoria than winning a war.

“But I can’t get caught up in this.”

Yet, I remained cautious of this pleasant feeling.

It’s the sensation of everyone in the world revering my name endlessly.

That’s because I already know what will happen in the future.

I know this moment is merely a fleeting glory, and just looking a few years ahead reveals it’s a moment that means little.

“Were emperors living every day with these feelings?”

Knowing in advance the events awaiting me, I felt this void.

Surely, the entire Orserk Family must have lived with these feelings as well.

At the age of seventeen, they inherit all the memories of the first Emperor, getting devoured by that immense quantity of information.

In other words, Sephilia also integrates into the will and memories of Orserk accumulated over hundreds of years, losing her sense of self.

And so, she will live the rest of her life sensing no joy or sorrow, merely fulfilling her duties.

Like the Emperor who drinks alone in his room every day.

“Definitely a game that would’ve flopped if released.”

Suddenly, thoughts I had in the past came to mind.

I distorted the memories of past cycles as “game retry counts,” complaining about how to clear such a god-awful game.

Then again, there wasn’t a decent heroine to rely on.

Technically, the Princess could be considered one, but the only way to save her was to break Orserk’s curse after finishing everything.

What’s more, I haven’t even saved Enya and Isabella yet.

Enya met a painful end each cycle while trying to protect me, and Isabella was unable to shake off her family’s burdens, distancing herself from me every time.

The only time she became honest was when she faced her end.

That time alone.

In terms of game quality, it’s undeniably a hellishly difficult game that leaves you with no choice but to feel frustrated.

How is it possible that I can’t even connect with a single heroine properly?

“·····If only I can accomplish this visit to the Elf Kingdom.”

But the hope isn’t completely lost.

At the very least, I plan to ensure that Isabella sees a different outcome this time.

If I can achieve my objective for the visit to the Elf Kingdom as planned, then Isabella will change as well.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

At that moment, Eve, sitting beside me, looked at me with sleepy eyes and said that.

As I shrugged my shoulders, she gazed at me intently and continued.

“That’s exactly the expression you make when you’re troubled about women.”

“····Are you a ghost?”

“It’s my sixth sense. I’ve developed a sort of intuition too. You could say it’s the intuition of a nurturing woman.”

Now, it’s hard to tell whether Eve is an android assistant or a person.

Come to think of it, I didn’t feel the discomfort I used to feel with Eve anymore.

It felt like a long-known friend was next to me.

Thinking that, I realized Eve must have tried to speak and act more human-like.

“And indeed, when troubles pile up, it’s best to tackle them through work. Want to hear about some work? There are significant issues with the fortification of the territory.”

Eve said as she displayed a hologram in mid-air.

On one screen was the entire map of the territory, and on another was the underground cross-section, along with screens showing various construction sites.

She began reporting various issues I needed to know.

“As you said, it’s challenging to ensure even development across territories. After running simulations, the resource efficiency was poor, and fending off the demon invasion is quite the task. It actually increases the range to defend.”

The fortification of the territory in preparation for the demon invasion.

Eve explained the methodology and confirmed that the direction I suggested was indeed correct.

As I expected, building a defense line extending to other territories proved inefficient.

Investing time into making my territory a natural fortress was more effective.

“···What about the maximum capacity?”

“Originally, it’s impossible. The area of the territory is limited, and you want to accommodate up to 70% of humanity.”

···Seventy percent of the entire human population.

That’s an astronomical number.

Even though the world hasn’t met the industrial revolution yet and the total population is only about 700 million, accommodating almost 500 million in one territory would be nearly impossible.

“It was originally considered impossible····. Does that mean there’s a way?”

However, Eve said it was ‘originally impossible.’

That means there seems to be some method.

“Yeah. You just need to bring the Imperial Palace over here.”

“······?”

“The Imperial Palace is a type of ‘inventory’ created by the Orserk Family’s power. It appears to physically exist, but it’s closer to a virtual space that the Emperor can manipulate freely.”

“···· So?”

“If you abandon aesthetics and authority, it can transform into a living space that accommodates a large number of people. Then, only the food problem remains.”

“······.”

Certainly, there was logic in that.

The Imperial Palace, in and of itself, is a manifestation of the Orserk Family’s power.

If the elements that make the Imperial Palace mysterious and authoritative are all invested in accommodating people, as Eve predicts, it would indeed become so.

“···· But that would erase the authority of the Imperial Family.”

However, doing so would result in the Orserk Empire losing its symbolism.

The greatest empire of humanity could lose the authority of the Orserk Family, its focal point.

As I expressed my concerns, Eve looked at me as if I were saying something ridiculous.

“What are you talking about? By then, the focal point won’t be the Orserk Family anymore.”

“······?”

“···Think about it. The owner of the fortress protecting humanity is none other than you. That way, power would be reorganized around you.”

···Why didn’t I think of that?

Living as a noble, have I become steeped in a noble mindset?

Eve pointed out a part I had been overlooking.

However, what followed was something entirely unexpected.

“So, the new Emperor has to be you. In order for the humanity inside the fortress to unite, a focal point is necessary, just like you said.”

“·····Huh?”

“When that time comes, take it all. Marriage alliances will be effective. Whether they have black hair, white hair, green hair, or purple hair—anyway, all of them.”

“····Um?”

“Of course, the primary wife will be me, right?”