Security Cameras, And Then...

There were nine days left until the full moon.

“Good morning, my lord. How are you feeling?”

Karan-san entered my bedroom and sat down beside my bed.

Then she placed a hand against my forehead.

I wondered why.

For some reason, she seemed closer to me than usual today…

“You don’t appear to have a fever.”

“I’m feeling completely fine now. More importantly…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Are you feeling all right yourself, Karan-san?”

“I’m perfectly normal, as always.”

No, you definitely aren’t!

For some reason, she’d been wearing a strained smile all morning.

Karan-san’s trademark was her expressionless face.

Something must have happened.

“Well, that’s good, but you’ve been smiling all morning…”

“Ah, you mean this smile, overflowing with compassion?”

“Y-yeah, that smile… Haha…”

It looked like the most painfully forced smile imaginable…

“I’m doing this to soothe your heart, my lord.”

“Excuse me?”

“I came across some research suggesting that boys are particularly susceptible to the gentle smiles of older-sister figures.”

Wouldn’t that depend on whether someone had an older-sister complex?

I didn’t particularly dislike the idea myself, but…

I didn’t think this was quite right.

Her temples were visibly twitching, after all.

Still, Karan-san was making an effort to smile despite how unnatural it felt, all for my sake.

When I thought of it that way, I couldn’t help feeling grateful.

“Yeah, thanks to you, Karan-san, I’m feeling much better. I’m in great shape, so I’ll work hard to prepare for the defensive battle.”

“Thank you. Hearing you say that makes all my efforts worthwhile. I rarely use these muscles, so I’ve actually given myself a case of facial muscle soreness.”

“Pfft! You really don’t have to try that hard!”

I was happy that Karan-san was looking out for me in her own way.

After breakfast, I headed to the command post atop the fortress wall to install the monitors.

General Paimon happened to be there, holding a meeting with her officers.

“I heard you overdid it again yesterday and collapsed. Are you feeling better already?”

“Absolutely fine. I’m still growing, after all.”

Tomorrow’s me was going to be even bigger and better than today’s.

“That’s wonderful to hear, but what brings you here today?”

“I’d like to install the security camera monitors here. Would that be all right?”

“Monitors? What are those?”

“They’re devices that let you see what’s happening outside without leaving this room.”

“Ridiculous! There’s no way such a thing could… No, perhaps it might actually be possible for you, Fortress Lord. Go ahead and do as you please.”

Perhaps the success of the intercom system had earned me her trust.

General Paimon readily agreed to my proposal.

I’d better use flat-screen monitors so they wouldn’t take up too much space.

Twenty-one-inch screens should be enough for the individual camera feeds.

I’d installed twenty cameras in total, so I’d make twenty 21-inch monitors and one enormous 100-inch monitor for displaying enlarged images.

I suffered about three bouts of mana exhaustion every day, but each time, Aine and Setia were summoned to look after me.

The soldiers stared at me as though I were some bizarre creature whenever I writhed around or lost consciousness from mana depletion.

But I didn’t care.

There were only seven days left until the full moon.

That’s right, I’ll say it as many times as necessary. Kinoshita Construction Company’s deadlines were absolute!

After all that effort, I finally completed every monitor by that evening.

“That’s… enough for… today…”

Aine caught me as I was about to collapse.

“My lord, you’re absolutely wonderful!”

“Do I really look that pathetic?”

“That’s part of it, but I also find it incredibly endearing how hard you’re working for everyone’s sake.”

“I see…”

I supposed I should just accept the compliment.

“I-I feel the same way. You’ve worked so hard that you’ve ended up like this… Let’s go back to your room and have some herbal tea.”

With the two of them supporting me, I made my way back to my bedroom.

After working tirelessly for days, I’d finally managed to connect the wiring from the cameras to the network hubs and monitors.

It had taken a long time, but the security camera installation was finally complete.

There might not have been enough cameras, but I’d made sure to eliminate blind spots by using wide-angle lenses and pan-and-tilt functions.

This should be sufficient for now.

I could always add more cameras if necessary.

I gathered General Paimon and the senior officers to unveil the security camera system.

“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come here.”

The general was poking one of the monitors on the wall with a puzzled expression.

“I was told this black panel would be useful in battle, but is that really true? I’m afraid I don’t quite understand how.”

“I’ll explain everything now.”

I operated the control panel and switched on all the cameras and monitors.

“Whoa! The panels are lighting up! Are these… landscape paintings?”

“No, they’re moving! Look, the branches over there are swaying!”

“C-could it be…?”

As the officers murmured in astonishment, General Paimon, who had been practically glued to the 100-inch monitor, turned toward me.

Her face had gone pale, and her voice was hoarse.

“Fortress Lord, is this…?”

“Yes, these are live images. The twelve cameras mounted on the fortress walls are displaying what’s happening right now on these monitors.”

“…”

“Everyone, please look over there.”

I pointed toward the northern plains beyond the fortress wall.

Gustav and Bumps were standing there, waving large flags.

“Now, please look at monitor number one.”

The monitor showed the same two men waving their flags.

“Well? Do you think this will be useful during the defensive battle?”

General Paimon approached me without saying a word.

Then she gripped my hand so tightly that it actually hurt.

“Useful doesn’t even begin to describe it! This is nothing short of revolutionary! Between the intercoms and these cameras, our battles will become vastly easier!”

The senior officers nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Thank goodness. If all my hard work gave us an advantage in the coming battle, then it had been worth every bit of effort.

“By the way, there’s another feature I can show you.”

I adjusted the control panel and zoomed in with camera number one, bringing Gustav’s and Bumps’s earnest faces into sharp focus on the monitor.

The image was so clear that we could distinguish individual hairs in their beards.

“This is incredible!”

“I’ll need some time to teach everyone how to operate the system. It would probably be best to assign a few people specifically to handle it.”

“Understood. Let’s begin the training immediately.”

“The main concern is nighttime. The cameras are highly sensitive, so they can capture images even in darkness, but we don’t know yet how clearly they’ll show everything.”

“Indeed. Those creatures always attack at night. The full moon usually provides plenty of light, but visibility becomes dreadful when the weather is poor. We light bonfires to compensate, but there’s no denying that it remains dark.”

Apparently, monsters could see much better at night than humans.

Lighting really was essential.

“There are still six days until the full moon. I’ll install as much lighting as possible before then.”

“By lighting, do you mean those things you have in your room?”

“Something much brighter than those.”

“Hmm…”

The general didn’t seem able to picture what I had in mind, but that was understandable.

Still, what kind of lighting should I install?

I brought out my catalog and began flicking through it.

Ordinary security lights provided around thirty-four lux of illumination…

Those would work, but they were nowhere near powerful enough to illuminate a vast battlefield.

Hmm?

Ohhh!

This might be exactly what I needed!

When I spotted a particular light in the catalog, I was so delighted I practically danced for joy.

The only problem was how long installation would take, but I couldn’t afford to waste time complaining.

There were six days left before the monsters attacked. With that much time, I should be able to manage somehow.

That’s right! Kinoshita Construction Company would never stop taking on the challenges of the future!

At first, I’d been serving as Fortress Lord without really understanding what the position meant, but if my abilities could make a difference, I wanted to put them to the test.

With renewed determination, I began my afternoon’s work.