As Paula went all out in using her healing magic, the rebel army’s attacks became more relentless. It took ten minutes to reload the blast cannon, and as it was reloaded, they fired it immediately.

It was dark in the city of Dream Maker, with no streetlights and late-night stores that could provide some sort of illumination. Wrapped in darkness and silence, the sound of explosions echoed throughout the city.

『We got a seriously wounded over here! Move it!』

『His belly is ripped open. Take him to the goddess, quick!』

『Hey, they’re charging in!』

『Hurry up and take his place!』

Frantically casting her spells, Paula could tell that the enemy were beginning to attack without a care in the world. As soon as the cannon was reloaded, they fired it straight away from behind even though their comrades were charging in.

Most of the king’s forces were gathered in front of the palace for defense. But even their number was limited.

『Can’t you do anything about the blast cannon?!』

『We’re doing our best!』

『Damn it. Push them back even if it costs you your lives! Don’t let them get close to the goddess!』

The shells not only blew away their armor, but also their weapons. Finding them in the dark was not an option, so some snatched weapons from fallen enemies instead.

I’m sure it’ll be fine, Paula thought as she continued healing the injured. Lavia-chan will do something about that cannon!

Away from the battlefield, on the main street, a unit was preparing their portable desk and work bench.

『Prepare for the next reload!』

『We’re working on it. But you’re going too fast. Mixing chemicals take time. We won’t be able to keep up.』

『Just do it! Our comrades are dying out there!』

『Didn’t you say you’re only going to use the blast cannon to scare them, and even if you did fire it, you’d only do it once.』

『Circumstances have changed. Just follow Lord Ludend’s orders!』

『Yeah, yeah. I said we’re working on it. Please don’t rush us. One mistake in the mixing and this whole place will blow up.』

Men were creating blasting powder behind the rebel army. A magic weapon, the blast cannon used both gunpowder and sorcery for more attack power. But applying sorcery to gunpowder was a difficult task, and one of its drawbacks was that it couldn’t be pre-made.

The blast cannons equipped on the warships were different. Since those were mostly used for expeditions, they made it so creating the blast powder for them was easier.

Loading blast cannons on a cart and turning it into a mobile weapon was something they’d never thought about before. That’s why even though there were thirty engineers, only one of the six blast cannons actually worked. The other five were simply for display. Yet these were still real cannons, so engineers had to accompany them.

『How many shells do we have left?』The operator sighed as he asked his colleague.

Hearing the possibility of the place blowing up, the man in charge left, his face pale.

『Thirty. More than enough.』

『I guess the problem is the catalyst. We’ll have to use less.』

『Are we even going to use all of them?』

『What if we run out and they need to fire more shells? We’ll get an earful for sure.』

『You’re right. Looks like the mixing is done.』

『Let’s do a final check. Times like this, you gotta stay calm.』

The operator let go of the catalyst and strode towards the engineer doing the mixing.

None of the engineers noticed the figure blending in the darkness right beside them. Mixing chemicals outdoors. Working in the dark. Starting a coup that could change history. These men were trying to stay calm, but they couldn’t deny feeling restless.

「He said they didn’t have much catalyst.」

Lavia came out of the dark, carrying a bag with Drake inside. Slowly and quietly, Lavia approached the bag containing the catalyst. It was smaller than Drake, so she should be able to carry it on her own.

On a workbench about five meters away, engineers were weighing compounds and mixing them in solvents, checking their color. Now was Lavia’s chance to steal the catalyst.

『Hey!』

Lavia pulled her hand back in a hurry.

『Is the mixing not done yet?!』

『Just doing final checks, as you can see.』

『Bring it here quick!』

『Okay… Let’s go.』

The engineers carried the bowl containing blasting powder cautiously. Then one of them noticed something.

『I left a bag of catalyst here. Where’d it go?』

『Hurry up! Lord Ludend is waiting!』

『Y-Yes, Sir!』

It wouldn’t be until five minutes later when they realized that the bag was gone.

「Almost gave me a heart attack…」

Lavia was panting hard. In five minutes, Lavia would’ve made it quite far, yet she sank down on a back alley, the bag of catalyst with her. She pulled her hand back from surprise earlier, but as soon as she realized it wasn’t her that the man called, she took the bag and escaped.

「D-Does Hikaru do this all the time? It’s too much for the heart.」

Hikaru always returned late at night when out on his Stealth missions. Because of that, he would wake up late, shortening the time that Lavia could be with him. She’d never complained about it, but it did make her feel sad.

「I should be much nicer to him…」Lavia decided.「With this, they shouldn’t be able to use the blast cannon anymore… I think. I just followed what Hikaru said.」

Casting fire magic while hidden with Stealth, rendering all their materials useless would be much easier for Lavia. But Hikaru said something before he left.

If the rebel army brings out blast cannons, snatch any of the three things that’ll make them useless—the catalyst, gunpowder, or shells. If you can do it, that is.

Lavia followed his instructions.

「He already knew what would happen. He really is incredible.」

While the attack happened earlier than expected, the situation developed according to what Hikaru said.

「All I have to do now is wait here…」

All of a sudden, she felt the bag on her back move.

『Uhm…』

「Drake?!」

Lavia quickly put the bag on the ground. Drake rubbed his eyes with his forefeet.

His drowsy eyes snapped open.『Where am I?! I feel something really bad!』

「What…?」

『They’re coming!』

Drake’s awakening was sudden, and so were his words.

『Can you dig a hole?! A very big one!』

「W-Wait a sec. Calm down. What’s wrong?」

『Well…』His stomach growled.『…first, I need something to eat.』