CHAPTER 11 GOODNESS, JUSTICE, AND THE SMILE OF FATE (1)
"Fatum risus" read the golden letters on a black background. The sign with the name hung above the entrance of a three-story building made of gray stone with a red-brown tiled roof. Beneath the large, slightly peeling letters, there was smaller text in the imperial language: "The Smile of Fate."
"Latin?" I wondered. "Greetings from another reincarnator? Although, it's not certain," I immediately argued with myself. If the imperial language had enough distorted English words, why couldn't there be Latin here too? The names of monetary units also hinted at that possibility. Probably, the local civilization did inherit something from Earth, or a very Earth-like place.
"Heh, but the smile of fate seems to have faded with time," I thought to myself while Natal was sorting out the room numbers. I stood in the lobby, examining the surroundings. Once a local owner invested well in the interior decoration, which looked quite expensive, even with a claim to luxury. At least, the gilded stucco on the high ceiling, the statues of half-naked girls and the parquet floor said exactly that. But now the building has pulled off somewhat, and the rest of the furniture gave away difficult times for the institution.
Nevertheless, inside, as promised by the words of Eris, cleanliness and silence reigned. The quality of the feeding had yet to be determined.
Throwing things in the room, I went to the bathroom. There was no mood for long-term water procedures, so I quickly washed off the road dust and soon left the bathroom. At one point, a fleeting regret crossed my mind about the lack of a hairdryer. Of course, my hairstyle was far from the luxurious mane that Akame had, which reached below her buttocks. My stiff, straight hair dried quite quickly on its own.
But not instantly.
In principle, there was a straightforward spiritual technique for cleansing hair of dirt and moisture. However, it was more suitable for those with long and heavy manes. For those with shorter hair, using the technique left them looking as if they'd been electrocuted. In general, I preferred to use a towel... and dream of a hairdryer.
"Hmm, what actually prevents us from acquiring this wonderful device? If they manufacture them, of course," I muttered to myself, pacing around the room and letting my body dry. Previously, before acquiring the Teigu, accumulating various possessions was foolish since I'd have to carry them all. But now, with a spatial pocket, I could take not only a hairdryer but also a generator for it!
It's not that I was eager to spend an unknown amount of gold on such a purchase, but there were many other more necessary things. How had I never thought of using Yatsufusa like this before? It was almost like the embodiment of many girls' dreams of an endless, ultra-compact, weightless handbag!
The spatial storage of dead puppets, of course, wasn't an inventory from a computer game, and I couldn't interact with it directly, at least not at this stage. But what stopped me from appointing a "volunteer" to the honorary position of bearer and summoning them together with the cargo? Right, nothing stopped me! Inspired by these prospects, I smiled cheerfully. This could be my strategic stash of cookies and other sweets! Not a couple of kilograms but an entire sack! No, better yet, three sacks!
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"Wow! If my sis found out about Yatsu's secret superpower, she'd burst with envy! What Teigu can store delicious snacks? Yatsufusa is the best!"
Later on, it was worth checking how much cargo the marionette could carry. If successful, it could allow me to carry a wealth of useful items, ranging from clothing to explosives.
Interestingly, despite being far superior to conventional gunpowder, these "hell machines" hadn't gained much popularity. They were used in the mining industry and beyond, but they hadn't become widespread. In the Imperial Army, they were primarily used by engineering units and monster hunters. According to Kenta, even in his remote part of the world, despite the greed of military quartermasters, luring particularly strong creatures to pre-planted explosives was considered a standard tactic. The valuable entrails of strong monsters usually more than covered the costs. Hunters for valuable organs, especially those closer to the Capital, even had outrageously expensive grenade launchers in their arsenal.
And rightly so; otherwise, dealing with A-rank monsters without the support of gifted individuals would likely be impossible. If B-ranks could be compared to tanks, even a weak A-rank monster was practically a heavily armored train. It was very fast, maneuverable, and didn't require rails.
Returning to the previous topic: various types of bombs never gained much popularity among my fellow enthusiasts in the field of sabotage and terrorism. No gangs or "businessmen" eagerly left explosive surprises for each other, no revolutionary bombers. Not even religious fanatics who wanted to cleanse the unfaithful with Allah-booms made their way into the Empire.
Oh well. As a possessor of knowledge from a more advanced civilization, it was my duty to dispel the darkness of ignorance clouding the eyes of this world's inhabitants! Terror without explosions wasn't real terror! It was like unsweetened tea without dessert! Some unhealthy enthusiasm stirred within me.
"We will explode the sky, the earth, and even Allah!" I cheerfully exclaimed, spreading my arms wide and spinning in place. "And may holy dynamite be with us!" The lyrics of the song "Sanctified with Dynamite" by the band Powerwolf came to mind, and a snippet begged to be spoken. I didn't even bother translating it; English would suffice as an ancient language stylization.
Pray for this time we awake
And we all
Die, die, die tonight
Sanctified with dynamite
Die, die, dynamite
Hallelujah!
"Damn it, as soon as I relax after traveling it begins," I muttered mentally as the wave of insane mirth subsided. The idea of playing a mad saboteur and cleansing everyone with the flames of explosions still seemed interesting, but it didn't carry the same explosive emotional charge. "And I should probably get dressed," I scratched my bare stomach. Imagining how I must have looked from the outside, I gave a dissatisfied snort, shook my head, and started getting dressed.
Despite reducing the dose of the drug, I still occasionally experienced "attacks" when I relaxed too much. Moreover, the merging of memories didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. There were no internal conflicts only until the worldviews of past and present incarnations collided. Experiments with the power of Teigu didn't contribute to my composure either.
It wouldn't hurt to regain some self-control and incorporate classic calming meditations into my routine.
"Sorry, Uncle Sheogorath, but I would prefer cookies instead of cheese... you know, from the Dark Side," I chuckled to myself.
After dressing, I calmly returned to thoughts about using explosives. In principle, the idea was good, especially considering the upcoming weakening. Lost in thought, I began pacing the room again. Instead of diving into the dragon's mouth myself, I could send undead laden with explosives there. Munching on cookies and watching the fireworks from a safe distance, what could be better?
But, as always, there were a couple of nuances.
First, I needed to acquire explosives. The rampant corruption and theft in the army's depots played into my hands, thanks to the new Minister of Defense, Kokeu. Even without presenting heavy documents with watermarks and seals, military quartermasters would gladly write off a hundredweight of stale/chewed-up-by-rats/used-for-training explosives.
However, I needed money. It seemed like it was time to find a sponsor for the group of valiant defenders of the Empire.
Second, knowledge was required. Unlike using and countering firearms and throwing weapons, we were never taught about explosives in the Underground Base. I shouldn't rely on my skills from my past life. I didn't want to blow myself up with my own "gift" and test the resilience of warrior spirits to close-range explosions in practice.
I thoughtfully scratched my chin. Kent had mentioned that he had some knowledge of setting up explosives and handling grenades. That should be enough for a brief overview, and later, I could find a proper specialist. In the southern city with the funny name of Kukuta, where our group was heading, there was also a military unit, and the local general was one of our targets. So...
Grrr! My stomach's growl snapped me out of my thoughts, reminding me that dinner was dinner, and it was about time to have something. With no reason to argue with my "inner monster," I headed out to inspect the local restaurant.