Isekai Nonbiri Nouka
Chapter 942: Summer Harvest and Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine

The summer harvest in Big Tree Village had begun.

With the exception of security, babysitting, and caring for cows, horses, goats, and chickens, the villagers prioritized the harvest above all else.

I left the radish fields in Doraim’s care.

The potato fields were assigned to Zabuton and her spiderlings.

Ah, the excavation team doesn’t need to help.

Focus on extracting the necessary minerals from the ores.

Gutt, you too, stick with them.

As for Alfred, I appreciate the help, but you are allowed to return to ancestor-san’s country, you know?

Yoru… I’d really prefer if you returned to your post as a teleportation gatekeeper at the hot spring area.

When it comes to the harvest, the arachnes are more helpful than you.

「If I avoid doing things just because I’m not useful, I’ll never improve.」

What a great attitude.

…You didn’t mess anything up recently, did you?

「I’ve caused quite a bit of trouble, so I just want to make up for it through hard work.」

In that case, I’d rather you focus on gatekeeping, but…

I’ll respect your desire to help.

All right, then.

I’ll have you carry the harvested goods.

Those in the fields will be putting crops into baskets or crates, so your job is to carry those containers to the carts waiting at the edge of the field and load them up.

Can you do it?

「I’ll do my best!」

Good.

Mistakes are fine if you’re giving it your best.

But remember, we’re handling food here.

I’m counting on you.

「Yes!」

The harvest proceeded smoothly without major issues and wrapped up in about ten days.

With summer behind us, the village entered autumn, and I turned my attention to preparing the fields for the fall harvest.

-0-

Now that I’ve wrapped up the fieldwork, I finally have a bit of free time.

Well, sort of. I’m still being summoned by Youko from Village Five and Miyo from Shashaato City, so I don’t exactly have much free time.

But for now, my main interest is the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine, the Arti-Horse.

After helping with the harvest, the mountain elves have dismantled Siegfried. It now hangs in the hangar, its head and limbs removed, completely taken apart.

Yoru wept when she saw Siegfried in such a state, saying she couldn’t bear to look at it…

But when it came to answering the mountain elves’ questions and curiosities, she responded with great enthusiasm.

Well, if she’s okay with that, then I guess it’s fine.

-0-

Bell had never operated a multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine before, but she did have knowledge about them.

As expected, the multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine seemed to be from the same era as Bell and the others.

So, I decided to ask Bell about it.

I didn’t ask Yoru because I figured I’d end up with some distorted information.

It’s not that I don’t trust Yoru.

It’s just that I trust her in a different way, which is why I chose not to ask.

「Then, Village Chief. I’ll share what I know.」

I’m counting on you.

「Multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines are ride-in type machines designed to be used for a variety of tasks. They were mainly used by those with low magic power to compensate for it.」

I see.

「They were useful on construction and civil engineering sites where human hands alone weren’t enough. Also, some were used by the military.」

They look strong after all.

「No, they’re not meant for combat. Their main role was to build fortifications.」

Huh?

「They could be used as soldiers, but to say they were effective would be a stretch.」

Really?

「Due to their size, they do have a certain degree of strength. However, punching and kicking were emergency methods of attack and not the standard way of using them.」

Eh?

「Their hands are made of many components, and their legs are difficult to balance.」

So after a punch, they might not be able to grab anything, and if they kick, there’s a high chance they’ll fall and get damaged.

「Exactly. That’s why, if they do fight, the basic strategy is to equip them with weapons. Their strength depends on the weapon they wield.」

Since they’re that big, wouldn’t it be useful for them to carry all kinds of weapons?

「If a weapon is strong when held by a multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine, it would also be strong if set up as a fixed installation in a fortification…」

Huh?

Ah, I get it.

「There are very few weapons that can only be used when held by a multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine. Things like clubs or hammers, simple blunt weapons, are the only examples. Other weapons, like ranged weapons, are often more trouble than they’re worth due to issues with reloading and maintenance.」

W-Wait a second.

It has hands, right? So it should be able to reload itself.

That doesn’t sound all that troublesome.

「Reloading ranged weapons requires a great deal of caution. Do you know why?」

Well, because there’s a risk of explosions, right?

「Exactly. And yet, you want the multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine to do that?」

…It’s the one holding and firing the weapon, right?

「Firing and reloading are completely different tasks.」

Firing just means aiming and pressing a switch.

Reloading, on the other hand, requires activating safety mechanisms, removing the protective cover, placing the ammunition correctly… a number of steps.

Can’t those steps be simplified somehow?

Like replacing a magazine with one touch?

「Magazine… you mean a pre-loaded container of ammunition? Those exist.」

Then…

「Who do you think loads the magazine with ammunition in the first place?」

……I could already imagine that the multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine wasn’t the one sitting there painstakingly loading bullets one by one.

「And with something that big, it becomes an easy target. On top of that, proper maintenance requires building a hangar.」

So it’s not very convenient to use them as soldiers.

「It’s actually cheaper and more effective to just mount legs on the weapon itself.」

I see…

「And there’s also a strong rival when it comes to using multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines as soldiers.」

A rival?

「Golems. They’re obedient, strong, don’t need to be oversized, and depending on the situation, they can even act independently. Most importantly, they’re low cost.」

Golems, huh…

「In contrast, multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines are expensive to produce and maintain. And to get full performance out of them, they require veteran crew members.」

So sending them to the battlefield as soldiers isn’t very efficient.

「The best use is in the rear, constructing fortifications. Golems need very detailed instructions, but there’s someone piloting a multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine. They can build complex structures with ease.」

That makes sense.

「For all these reasons, I’d suggest there’s no need to place too much importance on the multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machine. If you’re thinking of Yoru, then it might be best to step back.」

Ah, no, it’s not just about that.

The technology used in multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines is worth studying.

And they’re well-suited for construction and civil engineering, right?

「That’s true, but… Understood. I won’t press the issue.」

Sorry about that.

「No, it’s fine. Also, this is more of a side note… but it’s about the era when multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines were active.」

?

「Multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines were not effective as soldiers. However, for some reason, there were always a few people strangely fascinated by them.」

Yoru’s kind, huh.

「They obsessed over making the machines more high-performance, rode them despite having sufficient magical power of their own, and even organized arenas where battles between the machines were held.」

Oh?

「There were even weapons developed specifically for them. I don’t really understand the appeal, but there are plenty of records of them actually being used in battle. So if you search, you might be able to find some dedicated weapons.」

That’s promising!

「Still, no matter how far you go, it’s all within the realm of personal interest. They’re money-eaters. If you let Yoru have her way, your funds will vanish fast, so please be careful.」

Y-yeah, got it.

I’ll be cautious.

「Well, I would also like to see those nostalgic multipurpose humanoid mobile heavy machines in action again. Even if not limited to dedicated weapons, I hope we can find related parts and get one moving.」

Right.

Though even if we find them, their preservation state is a big concern…

Speaking of which, have you found out anything about why Siegfried was so well-preserved?

「I’ve gathered what I heard and formed a working theory.」

What kind of theory?

「It may be related to the feather magic crystals that were nearby.」

The feather magic crystals?

「Yes. We believe that being surrounded by ore containing those crystals helped prevent deterioration.」

I see.

If that’s the case, the value of feather magic crystals will go up.

「Yes. However, I’ve never heard of them having that kind of effect, so this remains only a hypothesis. There could still be other factors at the site responsible.」

Which means we’ll need both research into the crystals and an investigation of the site.

「As for researching the feather magic crystals, I have already consulted with Loo-sama」

I see.

Then about an on-site investigation… want to check it out?

「Is that truly all right?」

I intended to send the airship out alone for a trial run, and the place where Siegfried was found seems perfect.

Yoru keeps pestering me to take her there in case parts related to Siegfried are still lying around.

Unfortunately, I have to spend some time in Village Five and in Shashaato City.

「In other words… you want me to take Yoru and head to the spot where those mobile heavy machine parts might be」

Please.

「…Village Chief, aren’t you being too soft on Yoru?」

Y-you think so?

I don’t think I’m that lenient.

「No, you are soft.」

Well, I’m just as soft on you, aren’t I, Bell?

「I hope so.…Very well. I want to find the reason that machine remained intact anyway」

Thank you.

I’ll leave it to you.