【The Old Man of the Expelled Inn Unwittingly Dominates Today Too】Although I Want to Lead a Slow Life, for Some Reason the Strongest Beauties Who Hold Important Positions in the Country, and Were Once My Disciples, Gather Around Me Asking to Be Hired – Even Though I Only Taught Them a Little～ - Chapter 61: Throws a Stone at the Imperial Army

“Liena, why did you follow me…”

“But~ who will support Lord Baldo’s recovery!”

I had left Lady Mariessia’s main army and approached near the town that was attacked.

And Liena too…

Well, since she’s already here, can’t be helped.

I switched my mood and observed from a nearby hill. It was a spot where we could look down and grasp the entire town.

“Hmm, it’s a bit far and hard to see clearly.”

“Yes, Lord Baldo.”

Liena handed me a telescopic magic mirror.

Oh! I can see far away clearly now!

“See~ I am needed, right? Heh!”

With the telescope Liena gave me, I surveyed the town all around.

“…It’s the Imperial Army, indeed. I can see their military flag.”

“How can this be…”

They must have restarted their invasion taking advantage of Fridania’s chaos.

“Now, the question is whether this unit is the main force or if there are many other units deployed. Hmm, should we go down to the town and scout…”

“Hehe~ Lord Baldo~ here!”

“Hmm? What’s this?”

“It’s a communication interception stone. With this, we can eavesdrop on nearby communication stone messages! I got it the other day from the treasury.”

“Oh! That’s amazing! Were you anticipating this kind of situation? As expected of Liena.”

“Eh… no, I mean, it wasn’t for checking if Lord Baldo was making suspicious flirty calls or anything… Exactly! It was for such times!”

Liena’s response was a bit flustered, but more importantly, we quickly put it to use.

“Huh? It’s not reacting?”

“Oh, this needs a continuous flow of magical power to activate, like this!”

As Liena began to flow magical power into the communication interception stone.

“Here is the headquarters, how’s the progress on assembling the magic cannon and the transport of magical ammunition?”

“Here is the depot. Cannon assembly 80% complete! Ammunition is ready!”

Oh! We’re picking up something! They’re communicating nearby!

Looking to the side, Liena is making her second smug face of the day.

“A cannon? What’s that?”

“Lord Baldo, that.”

Liena tugged at my sleeve and pointed towards the outskirts of the town.

“They are making something that looks like a long barrel… Is that the cannon?”

“I’ve heard about it. The Empire has weapons that can attack distant places by turning magic into cannonballs.”

“A weapon that can attack from afar?”

“It’s said to have the power to blow away cities. Those boxes nearby must be filled with magical cannonballs.”

The outskirts of the town were flat, with a long barrel and a large number of wooden boxes covered with tents visible.

“Hurry up with the work! Once the cannon is completed, we can strike Fridania’s defense facilities. Then, once the main army arrives from our homeland, victory will be ours!”

Again, voices of Imperial soldiers could be heard from the magic stone.

I see. This is in the northern part of Fridania, but close to the center of east and west.

If they set up the cannon here, most of it would be within firing range.

With Prince Genus and the Demon Lord’s army, along with Lady Mariessia’s uprising, Fridania is in chaos.

They plan to neutralize key defense facilities and ensure occupation.

“That means we just need to destroy that cannon.”

“Eh? Well, yes, but…”

If this is the key to the Imperial Army, destroying it might force them to retreat. Even if they don’t retreat, it would buy us significant time.

“You’re not planning to charge into the Imperial Army alone, are you, Lord Baldo? That would be too reckless!”

“Liena, I wouldn’t charge into the Imperial Army alone, but…”

“But…? (I have a bad feeling about this.)”

I pointed to a certain place, making Liena, who voiced her concerns, follow my gesture.

“Eh? The depot? What about it?”

“Those magical cannonballs are piled up like a mountain. If we could cause even one to explode…”

“In other words, you’re planning to cause a chain explosion at the depot… But how?”

“With this.”

I bounced a small stone in my hand, answering Liena.

“Could it be! The one you practiced with Calut in the morning!?”

“Yes! Liena, step back a bit.”

I took a deep breath, circulating the 【Fighting Spirit】 inside my body in one go.

Then, I poured all the swollen 【Fighting Spirit】 into the stone in my hand.

Grrrrr!

With an overhead throw, lifting one leg high and reaching the peak of the arm’s swing…

“Sei―――――!”

The stone, glowing red from my hand, sped towards the target depot at a fierce speed.

Please! Let my makeshift meteor work out!

Upon impact, a flash enveloped the town.

And then…

―――A huge rumble shook the ground, and black smoke billowed up.

As the smoke cleared and the full view became visible…

A huge crater had formed on the outskirts of the town.

The cannon, the depot, everything was gone.

“Liena! It worked!”

“Wow… that’s incredible, Lord Baldo…”

“It seems the chain explosion worked as intended. Those were some tremendously powerful shells. They obliterated everything.”

“Eh… it seems like it wasn’t just a chain explosion… No! Nothing! Lord Baldo, you’re amazing!”

Imperial Headquarters Perspective

“Fridania has really turned into a mess.”

“Yes, a civil war and the Demon Lord’s army.”

“The higher-ups saw this as an opportunity and appointed you as the commander, huh?”

“Yes, after striking the defense facilities with artillery, the plan was to advance with the main forces deployed near various borders.”

Then, an aide rushed in with a pale face.

“R-report from the advance artillery unit! The magic cannon and all the magical shells have vanished!”

“What do you mean vanished!”

“I-I don’t know! After a loud ‘sei!’ was heard, something flew from the sky, and everything disappeared!”

“‘Sei!’? ――Could it be!”

“The artillery unit is retreating, but the main forces are still intact. It’s thought that we can still win by overpowering the current state of Fridania. What should we do?”

“…Retreat.”

“Eh?”

“Order an immediate retreat of all forces near the border! The plan is canceled!”

“But…”

“No buts! Hurry and relay the message to each unit!”

The aide hurriedly left the conference room.

“Hey… could it be?”

“Yes, it’s him. No doubt about it. We can’t afford to have the main forces annihilated.”

The “sei!” demon old man… was still alive.