An Engineer's Mindset

"[Gaul profanity] Looking for trouble, huh!?"

"[Victoria's profanity] You dare to fight back!"

Hedley looked at the undisciplined Sarkaz and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on: these brats were quick to learn swear words. In every new place they went, the first thing they expanded their vocabulary to include the local swear words...

Inside the carriage, Oute picked up a tablet and began to check the project progress.

He corrected him, "I am not Sarkaz."

W made a face. "Stubborn!"

Then, she got down to business. "What exactly are you planning to do with this legion?"

"The Sarkaz very talented in Originium Arts, but automated Originium weapons are too expensive."

"So? Can't you just be more direct?!"

"Technological weapons, including Originium Bomb and artillery, require sufficient mathematical and logical knowledge as well as a talent for Originium Arts. For ordinary races, these two conditions will eliminate a large number of people from the outset."

"As for the Sarkaz, they often only need to ensure the former."

"Whether used in concentrated groups by the Sarkaz or combined with other races to form mixed forces, it can effectively enhance combat effectiveness."

Concentrated use is easy to understand, while mixed forces are exactly the tactic that Oute previously used by mixing Sarkaz into his soldiers. In actual combat, it has been shown that this approach can effectively utilize the liquefied gas backpack as a tactic.

"So..." The Sarkaz girl frowned and glanced out the window.

Hedley was disciplining a few half-grown Sarkaz who were fighting over a piece of jerky.

"You stinky otter, you want Hedley to teach here?"

Yes and no.

W plopped down next to Oute, secretly resting her head on his shoulder, staring at Oute's tablet, watching the dizzying numbers and tables cascading down like a waterfall.

The noise outside the window meant almost nothing to her.

She swung her legs, muttering, "Is it or isn't it!"

"Yes, I need Hedley to do some basic literacy work for the mercenaries. Many of them can speak some... offensive words characteristic of various languages, but most lack writing and reading skills." Oute also glanced out the window.

His hearing couldn't compare to that of the beast-eared girls, but these Sarkaz were being a bit too noisy.

W, however, snapped, "You idiot! What did it do to you if I couldn't write?!"

She was thinking of herself.

She's been secretly studying lately, but it's been a short time. Her progress... to use a high-EQ phrase, has been phenomenal, like leaps and bounds, with her knowledge increasing seven or eight times compared to two weeks ago.

Oute put down the tablet and said seriously, "If you don't have the ability to write and read, then you'll have to find someone else to read the letters I write to you. If you want to write to me, you'll also have to ask someone else for help."

"..." The Sarkaz girl remained silent.

"W?"

"I... I'll go teach them a lesson!"

After saying that, the girl jumped out of the window.

After thinking for a moment, Oute opened the car door and got out.

In the center of the town, Ines sat to one side, watching Hedley and W bicker. Meanwhile, the Sarkaz had begun their punishment laps around Hamlet Town.

Upon seeing Oute's figure, Ines glanced at W and exclaimed maliciously, "Doctor. Oute! W wants to write you... um!"

The Sarkaz girl, in a very disrespectful manner, covered her adoptive mother's mouth tightly and shouted, "Potato! Shut up!"

"Doctor," Hedley said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid it will be difficult to see any results in the short term."

W, elated and with a strange sense of pride, exclaimed, "At the Interstice, time flows in a special way!"

"The Interstice? I thought this was the Demon King's pocket world." Ines took advantage of W's distraction and broke free from her restraints.

"First of all, I am not Sarkaz; secondly, I am not the Demon King now," Oute reiterated.

Ines rolled her eyes, pretending not to hear.

If Kal'tsit is willing to share some of her speculations with them, then the world that Oute created using the counterfeit "Crown" is indeed the "Demon King's Pocket World."

But this guess itself is quite unreliable...

"I won't go into the specific mechanisms, but at the beginning, all you need to know is: make good use of the Interstice; one day is better than eight."

The more cultured a person is, the more dumbfounded they become.

Both Hedley and Ines were shocked by how this distorted world order served their own selfish interests.

"Yo! Doc Otter!"

While they were still in shock, the real Rhodes Island otter seized the opportunity to escape the drudgery of drawing and peeked out from the doorway of the former blacksmith shop.

"Mel," Oute greeted.

"That's a lot! We might not have enough people to teach math and physics!"

Mel bowed exaggeratedly to W and the others, then introduced himself, "Rhine Lab, Rutrala Workshop, at your service."

"You're alone?" Ines asked warily. "Not from Rhodes Island?"

Although it wasn't her turn to act yet, and Rhodes Island wasn't the Babel... her hand still unconsciously moved towards her waist.

Mel was completely oblivious. "Yes, there are no other members. I'm the whole studio by myself. Pretty amazing, right!"

"Don't get agitated." W rested her head on Ines's shoulder, her hand pressing down on Ines's. "Rhodes Island is Rhodes Island."

It's not the Babel.

Not to mention, even during the Babel period, there were a large number of idealists from all over the world.

"... I never expected it would be you lecturing me like this."

"Hmm?" Mel was still grinning. "What's wrong?"

"As the leader of the mercenaries and the guardian of a significant portion of them, they have doubts about your teaching abilities." Oute's answer wasn't exactly accurate; it was completely irrelevant.

Chapter 243 Engineer's Mindset

"...Hmm." Ines nodded slightly to Oute, thanking Oute for helping her with the explanation.

Ines's loss of composure had its reasons.

The phrase "Del Diener" sparked endless imagination in W and his two companions.

Although they had indirectly confirmed Oute's amnesia through various means, their recent employment with Rhodes Island had made them clearly feel the remnants of the Babel.

Those familiar Elite Operator, those seemingly familiar yet misunderstood corridors and doors... and Kal'tsit, Oute, and that little rabbit that kept wandering around Theresa.

Kal'tsit spouted a lot of pointless platitudes, such as "Rhodes Island is Rhodes Island" and "Rhodes Island's goal is to eradicate Originium Infection," which were all attempts to cover up the truth.

But in terms of actions, the person who now acts as the absolute authority is Oute.

But everything was unfamiliar to him!

If it weren't for Kal'tsit and the influence of other Elite Operator, how could someone with amnesia care so much about a race they don't even identify with?

Del Dina, Del Diener...

An army directly under "Kazdel," an army directly under the "Demon King."

Its burning ambition almost bursts forth from the words themselves.

If Theresa hadn't been assassinated, Babel, having regained control of Kazdel, would have been the undisputed victor in the civil war. And His Highness's ambitions would have been realized without hindrance.

Even as the war drew to a close, Hedley and his mercenaries, weary of the escalating conflict and fearful of the "evil spirits'" chilling victory, fled; even though most of them likely lacked the capacity or willingness to comprehend Theresa's vision; even though they might not even agree with that future...

But Theresa's figure, as warm as the winter sun, remains etched in their hearts.

Her death remains an eternal source of pain for them.

In the stillness of the night, though it was meaningless, Hedley would still occasionally daydream: what if Theresa had survived the assassination attempt...?

Ines knew this perfectly well.

She could see even more clearly that Hedley had once again foolishly and recklessly bet everything on Rhodes Island. To make matters worse, W had also reached the age where she was experiencing the stirrings of first love.

Previously, as mercenaries and foreign soldiers, they not only had no chance to witness this "Demon King's Pocket Dimension," but could only glimpse it through fragments of mythology. Now, however, Oute, having lost his memory, has dragged even his partner, Columbia Corporation, into the fray...

Oute was somewhat helpless: Ines wasn't Sarkaz at all!

Mel patted his chest and assured him, "I'll learn how to calculate the artillery firing data very quickly!"

This time, it was W who couldn't hold back. She abandoned her earlier confidence of "I trust Oute" and instead felt a surge of resentment.

What is it?

Following the mental link with Oute, the Sarkaz girl puffed out her cheeks.

[She can't even calculate the landing point, how can I let her teach my soldiers!]

[If you were literate and could teach people, this would have been your job.]

[You stinky otter! You think you're so great, huh? Just you wait! I'll show you what I'm made of!]

Having provoked her so many times, she should be able to maintain her enthusiasm for a long time.

Oute casually added, "[Keep it up, I believe in you.]"

[You stinky otter! What kind of tone is that!?]

[The spiritual link has no tone.]

[Nonsense! That contemptuous tone clearly shows they look down on me!]

I look down on everyone equally.

Only the Sarkaz, who are exceptionally fit, have finished their relay laps. They are now being used as laborers, driven by W and the others to repair buildings.

In the Hamlet Town, there used to be a "guild." Its function was to serve as a place for heroes to upgrade their professional skills, somewhat similar in concept to a "mercenary guild." Now, the mercenaries want to turn it into a "night" school.

"Wow, you've been drawing for so long, Doc Otter, I'm so grateful you kept watch for me!" Mel leaned closer to Oute with a sigh, "Even with the help of the Dream-Sleep Device and a ready-made structure to refer to, your project manager is pushing you way too hard!"

"Every task assigned is just barely completed! Who exactly is that manager hiding behind PRTS?" Mel whispered foolishly, "Such a ruthless project manager must be desperate for a promotion!"

"I think you and Kal'tsit should be careful of him!"