Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Tide of Battle Ever Changes
  “It’s amazing, isn’t it, seeing it like this?”
  “It really is~”
  
  Revia agreed and let out a sigh of admiration at the internal structure of the giant knight. Jax, the squad leader, who had sharp ears, turned around upon hearing them.
  
  “Oh, Revia-jouchan and Claude have arrived.”
  
  The maintenance squad leader approached with a friendly smile, his body carrying the scent of machine oil and iron… but he was met with a sharp glare from the well-built Knight Captain Xenos standing beside him.
  
  “Ahem, I don’t want to sound like Raizes, but…”
  
  It wasn’t clear whether it was inappropriate to address the king without an honorific in front of the maintenance soldiers, or because the other party was an instructor dispatched from another country, but Captain Xenos trailed off, implicitly conveying his message.
  
  “Ah, my bad… In America, where I originally lived, there are no nobles or royalty, so I’m having a hard time adjusting here, Your Majesty the Knight King.”
  
  “It’s a matter of cultural differences.”
  “Hmm, so if there’s no king, does that mean Jax-hancho’s country is a republic?”
  
  Revia’s pale crimson eyes sparkled with curiosity about the foreign country. The maintenance squad leader gave a wry smile and skillfully evaded the question before bringing up the main topic.
  
  “About the Clawsolas K-type that I repaired, I’d like to ask you to install the magic, jouchan.”
  
  “Regarding that matter…”
  “Well, we were thinking of continuing to use the 4th Unit as is.”
  
  “Huh? Knight Captain Xenos, that’s not what we discussed!”
  
  Frowning with an expression that seemed to say “Wait a minute,” the maintenance squad leader turned a stern gaze towards Knight Captain Xenos, but he simply whistled and pretended not to know, saying, “The tide of battle ever changes.”
  
  Observing the slightly disappointed expressions of the surrounding maintenance soldiers, Claude realized that they must often be subjected to unreasonable demands from the knights, who are the users of the equipment.
  
  “I apologize for pushing through with our selfish request…”
  
  Claude offered a brief apology and informed them about changing the specifications of the King’s Clawsolas K-type to the L-type, as well as entrusting the 2nd and 5th Units to the Zephyrus Domain for a full inspection.
  
  “Well, it’s our job as engineers to follow the client’s requests. That’s fine, but who’s going to use the modified L-type command unit?”
  
  Currently, excluding Claude and Captain Xenos, who already piloted Clawsolas L-types, the exclusive knights were the handsome Lloyd, Dino, who was difficult to deal with due to personal circumstances, and the taciturn and simple Zacks.
  
  If they were to judge purely on swordsmanship, Lloyd, who practiced Shinkage-ryu, would be the best choice. However, Claude planned to assign the second-generation giant knight Begalta to the siblings, so it inevitably became a choice between the remaining two.
  
  “Revia, if I remember correctly, it’s equipped with light attribute magic and a magic core, right?”
  “Yes, that’s right.”
  
  “In that case, I’d like to have Dino and Lise use it…”
  
  Because the duel they had upon their first meeting still lingered in Claude’s mind, he tended to be somewhat considerate of Dino. Wanting an objective opinion, he glanced at Captain Xenos to gauge his reaction.
  
  “I think it’s fine. That guy has been getting into muscle training lately, gahaha.”
  “Well, that aside, I agree.”
  
  Revia also agreed, though with a slightly exasperated tone. She also felt somewhat inferior to her childhood friend, who had once been forced to relinquish his Clawsolas, so her opinion wasn’t very helpful either. Claude thought he might have asked the wrong people, but since there were no objections, he decided to proceed with that plan for the time being.
  
  As mentioned earlier, the current attribute of the magic core embedded in the K-type unit and the preferred attribute of Dino’s partner, Lise, were compatible, and there was no need to replace the magic core, even if they made some changes to the installed magic.
  
  For that reason, the maintenance soldiers brightened up and began to move quickly and efficiently.
  
  “Jax-hancho, I’ll go find Lise-san.”
  “Alright, I’m counting on you! Let’s finish this quickly and go for a drink!”
  
  “Everyone, it’s on the squad leader!”
  “Alright! Free booze!”
  
  “Wait a minute! Who said I was paying?!”
  
  The workshop suddenly became lively, with the foreign maintenance soldiers dispatched from the neighboring territory, mainly the Hispanic American, at the center of the excitement. The Lizel maintenance soldiers, who were in the position of learning technology from them, also joined in one after another.
  
  The Hispanic American, dumbfounded by this scene, scratched his head with one hand, his face showing a bewildered expression.
  
  “Hey, hey, you’re kidding, right? This is going too far.”
  “If it gets them motivated, isn’t that fine? Can we leave the rest to you?”
  
  “Understood. I’ll make sure it’s done exactly as His Majesty ordered.”
  
  Thanks to the generosity of Jax and the maintenance soldiers, the 5th Unit was repaired to the extent that it wouldn’t be a hindrance during the journey, and the modified Clawsolas L-type was completed a few days later.
  
  However, due to the need to have Lloyd and Dino’s pairs accompany the 2nd and 5th Units, which were being sent out for paid repairs, the tuned-up L-type modification, which Claude hadn’t even requested, would be stored away for a while.
  
  Incidentally, while the maintenance soldiers were doing as they pleased, Blaze, the Chief Magician, prepared the funds and supplies, and Vice-Captain Raizes selected the soldiers who would accompany the giant knights. A small force centered around cavalry and baggage wagons was organized.
  
  It seemed that Raizes himself, acting as the overseer, would take command, and he had appointed Cavalry Captain Aldo as his assistant. Therefore, the military garrison would consist of Knight Captain Xenos, his squire knights, and Infantry Captain Deles.
  
  There was no problem with the personnel selection itself, but Claude wondered whether he should lament the fact that the neurotic Vice-Captain, who would “cross the bridge after it’s been demolished and rebuilt,” would be accompanying them, or not. It was a rather delicate matter.