The Super Beasts departed without resistance.
It seemed their instincts had told them they stood no chance against Veldora.
Rather than watching them leave, Veldora and the others finished cleaning up after the barbecue and resumed their journey.
During the quiet march, Zaza steeled his courage and spoke to Veldora.
"U-Um… Veldora… sir? Or, uh, Lord? There's something I'd like to ask about…"
Zaza approached Veldora with a nervous, hesitant air.
"What's the matter, Zaza? Where's that usual stubborn attitude of yours gone?"
"N-No, well… Ahahaha…"
Zaza tried to laugh it off with a dry chuckle.
It couldn't be helped, really. Looking back at how he'd behaved up until now, he couldn't help but realize he'd been extremely rude to Veldora.
Veldora wore a wicked grin, clearly enjoying Zaza's discomfort.
It was a rather nasty streak, but that was just Veldora being Veldora. After all, his true nature was that of an evil dragon.
Veldora played with Zaza for a while but soon grew bored.
"Mmm, as I thought, you should just speak normally. It's all formality — not interesting at all."
"Wh—?! It's not like I'm talking just to entertain you— Oh!"
"Kuhahahaha! Yes, yes, that suits you much better!"
"I'm really sorry for everything! I never imagined Lord Veldora was actually such an incredible person…"
"Zaza, being called 'Lord' by you sounds dreadful, so make it 'sir' instead. However! Do not forget your respect toward me!"
"Sounds dreadful… What do you even take me for…"
"Don't worry about it. Zaza is Zaza."
"Fine, fine! Although I'm starting to wonder if I was just imagining things back when you looked so cool, Veldora…"
"Kuahahaha! That's quite the joke, Zaza!"
Just like that, Zaza reverted to his usual demeanor.
Veldora seemed to enjoy it more that way too, allowing casual banter while still putting on airs.
He'd rather be friendly than feared — that was Veldora's true sentiment.
"So then, Veldora-sir, what exactly are you?"
Zaza pressed the question.
Everyone else seemed curious about it too — every adult nearby perked up their ears.
"Well, it's not exactly a secret, but even if I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me."
"No, no, we'd totally believe you! I mean, we've already witnessed the ridiculous sight of you punching Super Beasts into submission!"
At Zaza's words, the surrounding adults all nodded in silence.
"Master, why don't you tell them the truth? They probably won't believe it anyway."
"Even if dey believe us or not, it doesn't really matter."
"Very well, I'll tell you. I am a visitor from another world — one could call me a crystallization of supernatural power… but in simple terms, I am a storm dragon."
Growing tired of explaining, Veldora dropped the explanation halfway through. He figured that since he didn't know the religious landscape of this world, talking about gods or spirits wouldn't get through to them.
"Ha ha. A myth, is it?"
"How nostalgic. Come to think of it, I'd completely forgotten about praying to gods."
"Religion faded away after urban faith systems took hold. People found it easier to trust the cities that protected their daily lives rather than gods who never answered their prayers."
Lindou, Sharma, and the others shared those sentiments.
Just as Veldora had predicted, in this world's view of religion, supernatural beings were not believed in.
"So what's the real story, then?"
Having decided Veldora was probably joking, Zaza asked again.
But Veldora only laughed.
"Kuhahahaha! Don't worry about it. As long as you know I'm powerful, that's all that matters!"
Zaza accepted that asking further would be pointless. Indeed, there was no question that Veldora was incredible. What principles, what technology, what capabilities — all of it was unknown, but he chalked it up to top-secret advanced technology.
Zaza's perception was, it had to be said, far too naive. He was trying to understand Veldora within the framework of a human being. He'd concluded that Veldora must be an extraordinarily high-performance Mechanical Soldier, on par with or even surpassing the Four-Commander Mechs.
That was a huge misunderstanding, but at this point, Zaza and the others had no way of realizing it.
◇◇◇ The group pressed onward.
The heavy protective suits — like space suits — were cumbersome, and even with the assistance of mobility devices, they couldn't move fast. The most they could cover in an hour was about five kilometers.
Physical fatigue was minimal, but the mental toll of repeating the same motions accumulated. The children suffered the most, looking visibly worn out.
In that situation, Kalman spoke up apologetically.
"But, y'know. Even if there's no need to fear the Super Beasts thanks to Lord Veldora and Beretta, it'd be trouble if the Empire's forces spotted us. If only we had Enhanced
"That's right. We've run out of ammunition for the Small Lightning Assault Cannons, and as external-swap type Mechanical Soldiers, our base performance isn't that impressive."
"We did receive combat training though, so at least we could buy some time…"
"And here we are, entrusted with an escort mission from Lady Michel, yet we've gone and imposed even Super Beast surveillance on Lord Veldora…"
But Veldora wasn't one to worry about such things.
"Don't worry about it. That armor — you call it Enhanced Equipment? It was certainly powerful. But Kalman, raw power alone isn't interesting. There's no surprise to it. It was fun the first time because it was unexpected, but if it showed up a second time, Beretta would handle it easily."
"—You are absolutely correct. At that level, even ten times the number would pose no threat."
"No, no, no — sure, we lost to Beretta, but surely the gap isn't that wide…?!"
At Beretta's words, Kalman couldn't help but push back.
But Veldora agreed with Beretta's assessment.
"No, Kalman. Beretta is right. The only reason Beretta took damage at first was because the nature of the attack was unknown. Once you know what it is, it's no longer a threat. That's all it amounted to."
"But the firepower was immense! It was equipped with the Neutron Convergence Cannon — the Empire's most recent weapon!"
"Oh, that thing."
Veldora nodded.
Certainly, in terms of raw destructive power, it was formidable. He'd grant that much.
"But Kalman, that weapon had an extremely long barrel, and it emitted a faint activation sound right before firing. With that, pinpointing the target point of the beam is trivial."
"Wh—?!"
"The target point of the beam. Beretta predicted it and warped the space in that area to deflect the attack trajectory."
Kalman started to say something, then swallowed his words.
A sound? Calculating the firing line from the barrel length and predicting the impact point? Knowing the timing, they could counter a sub-light-speed attack just like that?!
He had plenty to say, but he already knew the answer without asking. Beretta was nodding as if to confirm every word, and Ramiris was laughing in a "well, obviously!" sort of way.
(What kind of people are these?! It doesn't make any sense. What kind of capabilities would someone need to pull that off so casually…)
Kalman was struck speechless with astonishment.
Then, as if struck by a sudden idea, Veldora spoke up.
"Why don't you have the children design something, Kalman?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's simple. Take those Enhanced Equipment suits and attach weapons based on the children's ideas. Beretta recovered the mechs she destroyed, and if we can source parts somewhere, couldn't we repair them?"
It was an absurd suggestion — or so Kalman thought, but who got excited about it were the children.
"I wanna try!"
"I'm tired of walking."
"I just want to rest a little!"
It hadn't even been half a day since the barbecue ended, but they were already clamoring like that.
"W-Wait a moment, Veldora-sir! The children have been working so hard without complaining — to raise their expectations with a suggestion like this…"
Zaza tried to dissuade Veldora, but Veldora paid no mind.
"I'm not raising expectations, Zaza. I'm serious! Repairing the Enhanced Equipment is just a bonus. Ideally, I was thinking of acquiring some kind of vehicle for travel."
"How do you mean…?"
"If there's a broken-down vehicle, Beretta can repair it. That way, we can move faster, right? It's almost been six days. We need to reach the target base soon, or the deadline will hit!"
"Deadline? What are you talking about?"
At the word "deadline," Ramiris and Beretta caught on.
It had been nearly a week. That meant the day Rimuru would return was approaching, and they needed to get back to their original world to destroy any evidence. They'd go back, carry on as if nothing had happened, and then return to this world when the time was right. Now that they'd read this world's information, they could open a Gate to Another World back to this dimension again.
Having promised Michel an escort, Veldora intended to see it through. Ideally, he'd escort them to the base first, then return to his own world.
That meant they needed to consider ways to increase their travel speed.
Veldora had even considered the worst-case scenario of revealing his true identity and transporting everyone himself, but he wanted to avoid that if possible. Hence, the idea of preparing vehicles.
"So, Zaza? Is there a place where we might find a vehicle that can be moved, and where parts could be obtained?"
Zaza pondered for a moment. He knew there was no point in refusing Veldora. He thought it would be wonderful to have a vehicle, but figured it was impossible.
However, knowing Beretta's extraordinary repair abilities with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
"I believe there's an abandoned Imperial testing ground up ahead. It's become a graveyard for old-generation weapons now—"
"Good! Let's head there! We can have some fun there — I mean, prepare all sorts of things!"
Veldora steamrolled the decision on his own.
Sharma gave a wry smile, Lindou shrugged, and the adults shook their heads with exasperated but trusting looks as they gazed at Veldora and the others. The children, meanwhile, cheered at the prospect of another rest break — and maybe a good meal too.
No one raised any objections, and so the group headed for the abandoned testing ground.
◇◇◇ An hour or more had passed since arriving at the ruins of the testing ground under Zaza's guidance.
Everyone was busily gathering materials. They'd removed their protective suits once again, dressed in light clothing. This was possible because Veldora had purified the surrounding area.
The children were locked in a heated debate with Veldora and the ground — examining parts the adults had collected and exchanging ideas on how to integrate them.
Beretta was methodically performing repairs and modifications, while Ramiris picked apart the work with critical eyes.
Day slowly turned to night.
The children cleared out an abandoned trench and slept there. Once again, Veldora had隔离 the surroundings with a Barrier, allowing them the relief of lying on the ground without their protective suits for the first time in a while.
No matter how high-performing the suits were, you couldn't recover from fatigue by sleeping sitting down. In theory, they offered complete recovery, but the human mind didn't work that simply. Not just the children, but even the adults had fallen into mud-like sleep, recovering from days of exhaustion.
Nearby, however, a few remained awake: Veldora, Ramiris, and Beretta.
Zaza and the others had gone on their usual patrol of the perimeter, leaving only these three.
The trio worked quietly, careful not to let any sound escape.
"Hey, hey — what about this idea? Mount beam cannons on both shoulders, and on top of the head too, and when you open the chest — beam cannons in there too! Wouldn't that be awesome? So cool!"
"Are you an idiot? If you stick beam cannons all over the place like that, the engine output won't be enough to move it! Besides, the heat dissipation plates and thermal conductors alone can't handle the generated heat. And it would look terrible with all that cluttered on!"
"However, Lord Veldora, one of the children asked whether it would be possible to install two engines. The conclusion is that it wouldn't be impossible — mounting them on the shoulders at least seems feasible."
"Hmm, I see…"
And so on.
They were verifying the ideas collected from the children during the day, determining which ones were actually feasible.
Ramiris, for her part, was enthusiastically contributing ideas of her own, her personal tastes on full display.
While the children slept, they were scheming to secure transportation and prepare new armaments for Zaza and his group.
The vehicles were already done. Five large transport buses, each capable of carrying two hundred passengers, stood silently in a row. They'd dismantled the destroyed tanks, salvaged the intact parts, and repurposed them.
Veldora had already performed an Analytical Appraisal on the structural designs, confirming they were sound without needing a test run.
Even in this world, Veldora's group's abilities were exceptional.
The main 200mm Electromagnetic Acceleration Cannon turrets had been removed, and the freed-up space was used to improve hull stability and driving performance. As a result, despite running on caterpillar tracks, top speed exceeded one hundred kilometers per hour.
Comfort was considered too — spatial expansion ensured all passengers could sit and even lie down with ample room inside.
The issue of travel distance wasn't a concern either — since the vehicles were powered by thermonuclear fusion engines, they could operate semi-indefinitely as long as the hull held together.
With these, there was no more need for tedious travel on foot. They could move effortlessly. The caterpillar tracks meant rough terrain was no obstacle, and they expected to reach their destination by the next day.
Next came the new armaments for Zaza and his group.
They'd been discussing these for a while, but opinions were divided. Ramiris wanted to prioritize firepower above all else. Veldora stressed the importance of aesthetics over performance. Beretta was tasked with reconciling the two, but her efforts were like a candle in the wind before the two headstrong personalities.
"Is there really no way to have destruction beams fire from the entire body?!"
"And what would be the point of that? You'd catch allies in the crossfire too!"
The two bickered.
Beretta was exhausted. Growing tired of it, she abandoned the two and started working on repairs on her own.
First, Beretta took out the least damaged of the recovered Enhanced Equipment suits and carefully arranged them. She disassembled them and did a preliminary assembly.
As she worked…
"Mm. It really is easier to visualize when looking at the actual thing."
"Right, Master. Come to think of it, Zaza could use one of these too, right? So why not make a few? Even loading it up with every beam weapon available, it could work as a command-type gun platform!"
"There's something to that. As Beretta said, we could also install two engines to boost output."
While saying things like that, Veldora and Ramiris had stopped arguing and were observing the work.
"First, we should decide what the main armament should be."
"Oh?"
"Beretta, you have an opinion?"
Beretta nodded.
In her view, Ramiris's point had merit.
Servants resemble their masters. Long live the philosophy of big guns and thick armor!
Literally translated: Hail the Battleship-and-Big-Cannon Doctrine!
The Battleship-and-Big-Cannon Doctrine was, needless to say, the romance of warriors. And beyond pure romance, it held practical weight — used correctly, it could serve as a genuinely effective weapon.
For that reason, Beretta had no objection to equipping heavy firepower.
"First, the Neutron Convergence Cannon. It has tremendous destructive power. We can't remove it."
"Right?!"
"Mmm, understood."
"However!"
At this, Beretta raised her voice with passion.
"The moment you connect both arms into a turret, it telegraphs — 'Oh, that one's about to do something!' — and the enemy catches on."
"Ehhh~? Why? It's cool-looking!"
"Y-Yes. I too thought it looked rather stylish, but anyone would be on guard against that…"
"Precisely. At this juncture, aesthetics are irrelevant, Lady Ramiris."
"Ugh… Fine. Go on."
"Yes." Beretta nodded and continued.
"With this weapon, they likely built that style based on the confidence that once fired, no countermeasure could stop it. It doesn't take long to prepare, and it isn't fatally flawed. But there is a better option."
Saying this, Beretta began sketching designs on the ground and explaining.
It was an outline not for wearable Enhanced Equipment, but for a Mobile Frame — what could be called a second body. She also drew up improvement plans for the current Mechanical Body, new types of Enhanced Equipment, and more.
There was even a design for Enhanced Equipment meant to be swapped onto a Combat Body, equipped with heavy-output firearms.
While it still couldn't fire beams from the entire body, it fulfilled Ramiris's wishes to a considerable degree.
"Ooh!?!"
"As expected, Beretta! This design is everything I've been trying to say — it's a dream blueprint!"
The two forgot their earlier bickering and stared at the drawings on the ground, captivated.
"I see. This new Mobile Frame has a thermonuclear fusion reactor built into its core from the start. With our Spatial Manipulation abilities, spatial expansion technology could be significantly enhanced. Output shortfalls would be compensated as well. And—"
"Mhm mhm! The beam weapons are loaded as external equipment! This way we can prepare plenty of them and swap based on the situation for more tactical flexibility. Not bad, Beretta!"
"You flatter me. I am truly honored."
After that, Veldora and the others used the remaining parts to discuss whether they could create even more interesting armaments. The debate grew heated, and with their mischievous energy combined, the prototype underwent truly outrageous modifications.
And as an inevitable result— "So, Zaza. Which one do you want?"
"Huh? What exactly is this…"
At dawn, as Zaza and his patrol returned, they were greeted by a lineup of terrifying super-weapons brimming with overwhelming power.
◇◇◇ Ramiris, radiating pride.
Beretta, brimming with a sense of accomplishment.
Zaza, eyes distant and unfocused.
Kalman and his group, standing frozen in disbelief.
The children, gazing at the buses and weapons with sparkling eyes.
The adults, who upon waking found buses had appeared out of nowhere, discussing it among themselves but too stunned by how absurd the situation was to even process what they were saying.
Surveying all of them, Veldora let out a booming laugh.
"Kuahahaha! Now then, everyone, why don't we climb aboard and get moving? Zaza — stop standing there gaping and consult with Kalman's group to decide which armament you'll use!"
"W-Wait a second! Before that — what exactly happened here?!"
Zaza stopped Veldora, who was trying to brush past the question, and demanded an explanation.
But it was Kalman who calmed things down.
"Come on, Zaza. It's about time you accepted it. Common sense doesn't work on those people. Just admit it. And hey — why not be grateful and use this stuff?"
Showing remarkable adaptability, Kalman had accepted the prepared arsenal as reality. So had Sharma and Lindou.
"Lord Veldora, how does one operate this?"
"Lady Sharma, matters like these happen to be my specialty. Leave it to me!"
"Oh my, Lindou. Very well, then, I'll leave it in your hands. Lord Veldora, thank you so much truly. With this, our travel will be both safer and more comfortable."
Just like that, they'd settled in as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Deciding it was a waste of time to keep being surprised, they chose to move forward with a positive outlook.
Seriously, am I the only one left behind here…? Zaza felt like crying.
But no one paid him any mind, so with no choice, he climbed aboard the bus.
"So, Zaza. Are you ready to have your brain transplanted into the new Mobile Frame? As expected, only you and Kalman are compatible with this frame."
Veldora said.
Kalman was currently in surgery with Beretta and Ramiris.
The second floor of one of the buses had been converted into a combined workshop and weapons storage area, where simple surgeries could be performed.
Zaza said nothing more. Kalman was right — there was no point agonizing over anything involving Veldora and the others.
"…Alright. I'm in. I don't want to lose any more of my comrades."
In the end, Zaza steeled himself and gave his answer.
Kalman's surgery was completed in under an hour, followed by Zaza's.
All they needed to do was transfer the brains stored in their capsules and perform adjustments — a trivial task for Ramiris and Beretta.
With Zaza's surgery done and Kalman's subordinates successfully upgraded, Zaza and Kalman's group now possessed new power for battle.
Zaza — **Mobile Frame.** — Main Armament: High-Output Heat Ray Cannon.
**Mobile Equipment, Type S (Close Combat).** — Main Armament: Charged Particle Beam Cannon. ※Fired by crossing both arms forward. — Sub Armament: 150mm Super Electromagnetic Acceleration Cannon. ※External equipment; swappable.
Kalman — **Mobile Frame.** — Main Armament: High-Output Heat Ray Cannon.
**Mobile Equipment, Type S (Firepower).** — Main Armament: Charged Particle Cannon. — Main Armament: Neutron Convergence Cannon. — Sub Armament: Charged Particle Beam Cannon. ※Fired by crossing both arms forward.
Equipped with three thermonuclear fusion reactors, the combined synergistic output exceeded ten million kilowatts.
The base Mobile Frame shared the same structure as Michel's body, which Veldora had analyzed via Analytical Appraisal, though the output was far lower.
Kalman's four subordinates — **Mechanical Body, Modified.** — Main Armament: None.
**Enhanced Equipment, Type N.** — Main Armament: Neutron Convergence Cannon. ※Both arms combine to form a gun platform. — Main Armament: High-Output Heat Ray Cannon.
Equipped with two thermonuclear fusion reactors, boasting an output of three million kilowatts — over three times that of the older models.
Overall performance was upgraded across the board, enabling flight at five times the speed of sound.