Reborn As Noble

Ugh! These three...

They’re all adults, and yet sometimes they still act like kids.

At least have some shame.

Sigh... Even though they’re brothers.

Aelius crossed his arms and smiled, watching the three of them debating about veins and sizes with complete seriousness.

Just as Aelius was about to step in and stop them, the sound of deliberate, measured footsteps echoed from behind. Marcellus, Cedric, and Javier froze mid-argument, their eyes widening in panic. In a flash, they zipped up their pants and snapped to attention, standing rigidly straight.

Aelius felt the familiar, commanding aura wash over him. He swallowed hard before turning slowly.

Garius stood a few paces away, both hands clasped behind his back, his usual stern expression fixed on his face. Alf and Erinette stood a respectful distance behind him, while Hesbeirn followed at the rear, his arms crossed.

Aelius bowed deeply. ”Esteemed Father.”

”Mm.” Garius paused, his gaze sweeping across the gathered sons. His eyes lingered on the three stiff brothers standing at attention, then shifted to Aelius, who was still bowing. He noticed Heres, still wearing the control helmet, completely immersed in whatever was on the screen.

His gaze then moved to the portable mana computer, the holographic display, the dummy equipped with full Armand tactical gear, the array of conventional weapons laid out on the table, and the shimmering barrier rods planted in the ground.

”What are you all doing?”

”Pardon us, Esteemed Father.” Aelius bowed again before calmly standing straight. ”We decided to spend some time together and have a barbecue. Then our little brother offered to show us a demonstration. We also discovered that he launched a separate mission to secure the last heir of the Lurghen Household at Vurghen, along with his younger sister, and bring them to safety.”

”Mm.” Garius nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. ”I am already aware. I received the report from the Armand soldiers dispatched to escort the heir toward the temporary forward base at the northern border.”

His gaze shifted to Javier, who immediately averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin.

”Javier?”

”Y... yes, Esteemed Father.”

”Explain to me,” Garius gestured for Javier and his other sons to come closer, his hand motioning toward Heres, who was still completely immersed in the helmet, ”how it is that Heres is now escorting the youngest sister of the last heir on a Pekko, while he is standing right here.”

”Ah... err... about that...”

”Hmm?”

Javier swallowed hard, averting his eyes from Garius’s steady gaze.

”I was testing a new version of my puppet knight. I’ve only made one so far because it’s complex. It is a Humanoid puppet knight, and I set it so that it would be identical in appearance and movements of whoever wears the control helmet. The helmet reads the user’s neural patterns and replicates their combat instincts in real-time.”

Garius’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Did I not tell you not to use your puppet knights? And what are the Shironii doing here?” He gestured with his eyes toward the white and black armored samurai still standing at attention nearby.

Javier’s sheepish grin widened. ”Err... about that... me and my brothers were... umm...”

Garius, noticing Javier still avoiding his gaze, turned to Marcellus. ”Marcellus?”

Marcellus snapped to attention, his body rigid. ”Y... yes, Esteemed Father!”

Garius crossed his arms, his stern gaze fixing on Marcellus. ”Explain.”

Marcellus swallowed, his voice steady but cautious. ”We were... err... discussing the different ways we fight. Cedric and I were teasing Javier about his fighting style, and then we got into a debate about who had the best ways of fighting, techniques, skills, and combat styles. Each of us was demonstrating what we believed to be the most effective approach in battle. It was a friendly debate, nothing more.”

Garius nodded, then shifted his gaze to Cedric.

Cedric straightened and nodded in return. ”We were also asking Aelius about his fighting style. We were curious about his skills, his talents, and how he fights. But since he rarely engages in direct combat, the conversation eventually ended up with us comparing our own styles and debating which was best.”

Garius let out a weary exhale, still crossing his arms as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned his gaze back to Javier.

”You still haven’t explained how Heres ended up being the one sent to rescue the Lurghen heir. But I will leave that detail for later. Make sure you write a full report about this, Javier.”

”Yes, Esteemed Father.”

”Mm... Now, tell me. What are those weapons on the long table for? And what about the dummy?”

Javier rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. ”Well... since my brothers were curious and wondered why you decided to send me to lead real soldiers instead of using my usual puppet knights, I wanted to demonstrate the reason why. These weapons represent the best that the Human Nation, or any other nation, could hope to achieve. Maybe in a hundred years or more, but I highly doubt they will ever reach this level.”

He walked over to the table, gesturing toward the array of firearms and the tactical dummy in the distance.

”Crafting these weapons requires precision engineering, standardized metallurgy, advanced manufacturing techniques, and a deep understanding of ballistics and material science, none of which exist outside of Armand. The tolerances needed for a reliable firing mechanism, the consistency required for rifled barrels, and the quality control for ammunition production are far beyond what any current nation possesses. They lack the infrastructure, the knowledge, and the magical refinement to replicate even the simplest of these designs on a mass scale.”

Javier lifted the revolver before continuing.

”Every other nation still relies on hand-forged blacksmithing, basic magical enchantments, and crude molding techniques. They cannot mass-produce parts with the exact tolerances needed for a bolt-action rifle, let alone a semi-automatic pistol or a machine gun.”

”And the dummy?”

”That dummy,” Javier said with a grin, ”is wearing our standard Armand tactical gear. The very same gear our soldiers will wear into battle tomorrow. I plan to demonstrate that even with the best weapons they could ever hope to create, they cannot penetrate our defenses or harm any of our soldiers. That is why I have no fear leading our soldiers into combat.”

( End Of Chapter )