Chapter 22.1 – Plus and Minus

Thus, the second mission wrapped up smoothly. The client’s verdict—“Your response was perfect”—sealed the deal.

The team knew luck had played a huge part; they couldn’t pretend it was all skill this time.

Still, without skill—and solid preparation—the outcome would never have been so effortless.

On the trip home, only Gaikaku and the Dwarves boarded the Nine Lives and headed back first.

When the others asked, “Give us a lift,” he flatly refused; hauling that many people would push the vehicle past its weight limit.

During the battle the machine had been light, but the return trip was crammed with spare parts and backup nutrient fluid—practically zero free capacity.

“Lucky for us the closest village got hit,” the Dwarf at the wheel said. “We were stationed halfway between all the villages that might be raided, but they aren’t laid out in a neat circle, and you can’t travel in straight lines out here.”

“Hey, Chief, things ended freakishly fast this time, but Centaurs are supposed to rule the prairie, right? How’d they get stomped on their own turf?”

At the moment, Gaikaku had ceded the helm to the Dwarf and was standing at what you might call the copilot’s station.

The steering Dwarf glanced over for confirmation. The plan had gone off without a hitch, but it felt unreal because it ended so quickly.

“That’s natural. Their edge is speed—and that’s it. In raw power and endurance they can’t hold a candle to you Dwarves or the Ogres.”

“True, they couldn’t even dent the Nine Lives’ armor. Even washouts like us among the Dwarves could probably smash it if we tried… Yeah, when you put it like that, I get it.”

Among every race, only humans see their stats rise evenly across the board.

Even an elite Centaur isn’t much different from an average one in anything but mobility.

“A Centaur’s speed shines only when they’re hitting an undefended settlement or fighting a field battle with zero cover. In any other situation—even on grassland—they’re nothing special. Some damage probably slipped through, though.”

It was that some damage the locals had feared.

Aware of that, Gaikaku had tried to be considerate.

To Gaikaku and his crew they were just clients, but to the locals it meant their families, friends, and livelihoods.

“So… the Nine Lives made it in time this round, but if it hadn’t?”

“Hmm? We’d have done the same thing—deploy defenses in each area and set traps. It wouldn’t have gone as smoothly as today, but we’d still have gotten results.”

“Then… what about the other Knight Orders?”

“They’d post one full knight in every village and cut down the Centaurs as soon as they got close. Depends on the race, but a full knight could handle that.”

This time Gaikaku had solved the problem without breaking a sweat—everyone agreed it rivaled the Knight Orders’ best.

But that also meant any other Knight Order could have handled it.

“Just imagine—if the oh-so-glorious knights everyone idolizes started bawling, ‘There’s no way we can beat elite Centaurs on the prairie!’ it’d be a massive letdown, right?”

“Yeah, when you put it like that…”

The Dwarf took Gaikaku’s rough explanation in stride.

If the elites of his own race became knights, the thought of them losing to a pack of bandits was unthinkable.

“Anyway… about the Nine Lives—got any complaints?”

“For starters, the name’s too long. Give us something shorter.”

“Whaaat?”

“And standing the whole time is rough. Put a seat in front of the wheel.”

“All right… a helm you can operate while seated, plus a belt so you don’t get thrown out when it lurches…”

With that, the two launched into a discussion of upgrades for the vehicle.

“Also, even modest hills strain the heart engines. If we have to run every heart flat-out on every slope, the whole modular design is pointless.”

“Yeah, true. But outside the plains there aren’t many roads wide enough for this beast…”

“Even so, you might downsize it someday, right? Right now it’s extra wide for easy maintenance, but eventually there’ll be smaller models…”