The Ball and The Gun Factory

Fuck

Fuck

FUCK 

I made an embarrassing mistake..

Felix sat in the corner of the grand ballroom, clapping his hands to the upbeat rhythm of the band's lively tune. Outwardly, he appeared composed and immaculate, but inside, he was berating himself fiercely.

The room was bustling with people, the center occupied by couples dancing a lively rendition of the 'Peabody' ballroom dance.

Felix's spirits lifted slightly when he saw his parents dancing happily together.

His older brother was dancing with his fiancé, while his younger sister was off somewhere Goddess knows where with her escort in tow.

Damn. I want to dance with Tanya too...

Felix scanned the room, noting the various groups in conversation. Nobles, military officials, and government leaders engaged in discussions. He sensed a subtle divide between the nobles and others, a small amount of contempt from the nobles towards those not of 'noble birth' can also be sensed.

Despite the Empire's meritocratic values, this discrimination still persisted, with nobles viewing themselves as superior while contributing little beyond paying minimal taxes.

Going back, Felix can also see a person who was shining brightly amongst these men and women. This person is Tanya.

Tanya is currently talking to different people in order to make connections. Most of them only see her as a kid with some achievements, but a bunch of them saw her as something more than that. 

These people saw her as someone who will do great in the future. They saw that due to her supreme combat skills and ability, promotion is just a matter of when.

Of course, Tanya is delighted to make some friends in high places. She saw them as a piece of life vest that will save her from the horrors of the depths known as the frontlines. However, she still regrets not having to befriend the prince, who is of the same age as her, and is someone who belongs to the ultimate top of the Empire.

Regrettable. Damn. Only if the prince haven't said those cursed words, maybe I can befriend him.... No... Forget about befriending, if he is not the prince then I could have just crushed him with my mana enhanced fist. Plus.... I AM A MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back to Felix, our MC stood up and went to the bar area. On the way, he was greeted by the various people in attendance, and they knew that no one should talk about what happened earlier. 

Felix can feel the intentions of these people and he was grateful for it. 

Once he arrived at the bar area, he wants to drink something heavy, something that will make him forget the embarrassing event that happened earlier, but he knew that he could not drink alcohol since technically, he is a minor. 

After a bit of thinking, he settled for an orange juice with a drop of German Vodka, Primakov. He somehow coerced the bartender to give him just a drop of vodka. Just 0.05mL of vodka since an mL consists roughly of 20 drops. 

Once he got his drink, he faced the ballroom, with his back towards the bar, and drank silently. 

Many people wanted to approach him and say his greetings or do something more, but looking at the gloomy aura of the prince, they knew not to approach him.

Felix continued drinking his glass and swayed his head to the beat of the song. 

After a while, Goldy came back and settled on the bar just beside him. Besides Goldy, he also saw a falcon who was ruffled in some of her feathers.....

Felix saw this and noted how lucky his flirty Golden Eagle was. 

Lucky fucker. I also want to have someone who I can flirt with, namely my goddess, Tanya.

Goldy looked at his owner who was looking at him and smirked. He knew that his owner embarrassed himself earlier so he came to him just to drag his claws inside his owner's wounds.

Looking at his smirking eagle triggered some of Felix's nerves. He knew the wise thing is to think of his eagle as just some animal musings, but he knew better.

He smacked the shit out of the eagle's head and the eagle was surprised that he forgot to dodge. Goldy then showed a surprised face towards his owner.

Goldy was surprised because he didn't think that his owner would smack his head in front of his fling, yet he did. He was embarrassed and to add salt to the injury, his fling just flew outside without even looking back.... Dumb bitch

Goldy, now filled with anger towards his owner, attempted to claw him, but he knew not to do that. Instead he screeched as hard as he can towards his owner, admonishing him of his wrongdoing. 

*SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* 

"What? You angry that I embarrassed you towards your fling? Nah fam, I just saved you from her you know? She is surely for the streets."

*SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* *SCREECH* 

"What you wanna claw my eyes off? Nah, you can't do that... or else, I'll tell the Goddess!"

*SCREECH* *SCREECH* 

"Now, just stay silent and come climb my shoulder. I'll share you my drink too, how about that?"

*Screech* 

The Golden Eagle hopped over to the prince's shoulder and drank a little bit of the vodka-infused orange juice that the prince was holding by dunking his whole head inside the glass. 

"I tell you man, she really is for the streets though. I saw her with another Tiercel just this early morning."

*SCREECH*

"Believe me man, she lays her nest just beside the Gun Factory in a nearby tree. Follow her then you will thank me later."

Of course, the eagle did not just believe the prince just yet. He plans to do what Felix suggested and follow her tomorrow.

Unbeknownst to the man and eagle duo, the whole room was amused by their banter. They noticed that even if the prince is way above them in terms of status, they saw him as a relatable, albeit maturing, youth

Going back to the duo, the both of them are drinking from the same glass just enjoying talking about different stuffs.

*Screech* 

"Yeah man, that's tough."

*Screech* *Screech* 

"You want me to dance with the girl who I embarrassed myself with? Nah, I am afraid I'll just embarrass myself again."

*Screech* *Screech* *Screech* *Screech* 

"Nope, you cannot convince me to do so."

*Screech* *Screech* 

"Scared? Nope, I just do not want to be embarrassed again."

*Screech* 

"Truth or Dare? You want to play a game of Truth or Dare with me? Hehehehe, you do not want to play a game of truth or dare with me."

*Screech* 

"Alright, how do we do this?"

Since the ball was boring them both, the two played a game in order to relieve some of the boredom. The two settled rules of the game between the two of them They would play a game of rock, paper, scissors, and the one who loses would toss a coin to determine if it will be Truth or Dare.

Now, you might be wondering how will an eagle play rock, paper, scissors with Felix, well.... 4 talons for paper, 2 talons for scissors, and... all-bent talons for rock....

"Alright, let's start... Rock, papers, scissors, shoot! ROCK I WIN!"

*Screech* 

Felix then tossed a coin, he caught the coin in mid-air and showed it to the eagle. It was heads.

"Alright, it's a dare! For your dare.... Hmmm... grab that man's pretentious hat."

Felix pointed at a noble in the distance. The man was wearing a pointy hat which seems to flaunt his status. 

Goldy looked at the man in the distance and tilted his head. 

"Yeah, that guy."

Without further ado, the eagle flew over towards the man's head and pecked up the hat. The man chased the eagle who was flying towards Felix.

Felix run towards the man in an 'attempt' to ask for forgiveness. The man noticed the prince who was running towards him and knew that the eagle belonged to the prince. 

Felix then grabbed the hat from the eagle's beak and gave it back to the man.

"I'm sorry, sir. My eagle is a bit naughty, you see."

"It's alright your highness. It's not your fault...."

The man, after grabbing the hat, bowed down towards the prince, and went towards his previous acquaintances. 

The man and eagle duo high-fived each other... well, high-fived and high-foured, each other.

Tanya saw this, and mused about how power and status is everything in the Empire. With enough merits, power and status comes. Of course, Tanya also wanted this power for herself. For Tanya, if she had this power, she will use it so she can just stay at the rear for the rest of her life.

After 2 rounds of rock, paper, scissors where the eagle lost. Felix is now staring at the result of the mini-game. 

Felix hands showed scissors, while Goldy's talons showed rock.

Felix then grabbed a coin and tossed it as high as he can. He wanted the coin to land as tails so bad because he knew what the eagle would dare him. Sadly for him, he saw the coin before he grabbed the coin in mid-air.

Now, he cannot change the orientation of the coin since the eagle was staring straight at the hand that has the coin in it. 

Damn.

He opened his hand and 'heads' side of the coin is shown.

*Screech* 

"Yeah, yeah it is a dare. What do you want me to do?"

*Screech* *Screech* *Screech* *Screech* *Screech* 

"Dance? No! I do not want to embarrass myself again."

*Screech* *Screech* *Screech* 

"*Sigh* Since I am a person with integrity and honor, then I would do it even if it is against my wishes.

*Screech* *Screech* *Screech* 

"Alright. I'll go to her and ask her for a dance. If I embarrass myself again, then it's all on you!"

*Screech* 

Felix then went towards Tanya who was currently sitting alone since she took a break after talking with a lot of people. 

Felix slowly walked towards her in order to gather his confidence and think about what he will say towards Tanya. 

Once he arrived in front of his goddess, he noticed she was staring right at him. He took a deep breath and reached out his right hand towards her.

"Guten Abend, Dame Degurechaff. I want both of us to start in a clean slate. How about we be friends?"

Tanya was surprised to hear about the offer of the prince. Of course, she cannot forget about the embarrassing event that happened earlier, but she cannot let go of the golden goose that was in front of her. She knew that Felix was the greatest chance in order for her to stay at the rear. 

Felix knew what Tanya was thinking. He knew that Tanya was obsessed about peace and being stationed at the rear but he cannot just change it. He knew that Being-X had already dipped his dirty fingers into the minds of the military leadership.

He knew that he cannot change it since no matter what he attempted to do, Being X will just manipulate the scenes and put her in the center of the fighting.

It is better if he knew that Tanya will lead the Salamander Kampfgruppe and he would just support them with technological advancements until the time comes. 

He can also support Tanya in the future when the time comes.

He needed a decisive timing and he also needs to contact his Goddess in order to get rid of Being X. Yes, he cannot contact his Goddess, but he just uses it as a bluff against his Golden Eagle.

Back to the two, Tanya is currently looking at the reached out hand of the prince. 

Felix, with his hand left in the air for at least 5 seconds, attempted to bring it back but Tanya grabbed it just as he did it.

"Guten Abend, your highness. I would like for us to be friends."

Felix was relieved that his hands was not left in the air for so long. He also noticed how rough Tanya's hands were. He attributed her rough hands towards her continued practice and her constant handling of guns. 

On the other hand, Tanya notices how smooth was the prince's hands. She thought that the prince hadn't even held a knife in his whole life, let alone a gun. How wrong she was about that...

"So, Dame Degurechaff, would you like to dance?"

Tanya squinted her eyes towards Felix. 

Felix then shrank a little bit but held his confidence against the piercing eyes of Tanya.

"Don't get me wrong, Dame Degurechaff. I was just dared by my eagle to have a dance with you."

Tanya was definitely confused about this. She was thinking how can a human understand what an eagle is saying. She just thought that it was just a pick-up line which amused her a little.

"Pfft... Alright, your highness, let's dance. The reason I am dancing with you, your highness, is to celebrate our friendship, so don't misunderstand it."

"Alright Dame Degurechaff."

Damn. She is still incorruptible.........

"But, your highness, tell me, are you embarrassed by what you did earlier?"

"What earlier are you talking about? I don't remember a single thing."

"Do you want me to remind you your highness? hehehe."

"Clean slate, dame, clean slate...."

The two head towards the dance floor, just by the side where they think that there will be less people, little did they know, the whole room is looking right at them.

"Dame, do you know how to dance?"

"I do know a thing or two, what about you your highness? Do you know how to dance?"

"A little bit. So please forgive me if I made a mistake."

Tanya definitely know how to dance. Up in the skies, during fights, she is constantly looking for someone who will dance with her. She can also dance like a ballerina which made her a bit flexible.

Felix, on the other hand, does not know a thing about dancing. He is known in his Imperial Dance classes as a person who has both two left feet. He just said that he knew a thing or two in order to save his dwindling confidence.

The two then faced each other and came closer. Tanya is smaller than Felix so she will have to extend her hands and feet. 

They both grabbed their hands and assumed a ballroom pose, with Felix using his left hand and Tanya with her right hand. 

Both of them then grabbed each other's waist which surprised both of them. The male should be the who places their right hand on the female's waist. The problem is.... both of them grabbed each other's waists. 

The two just looked at each other, until Felix grabbed Tanya's left hand and placed it on his shoulder. 

"Dame, your left hand should be placed here."

"I know, your highness."

The two then swayed slowly to the slow beat of the music. Both of them made some mistakes which most of the mistakes belonging to Felix.

"Your highness..... You stepped on my foot again..."

"I am sorry, Dame, but you are the one who is currently stepping on my other foot...."

After a series of mistakes, the two then both found their stride, but the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Felix noticed how awkward they both are so he attempted to initiate a conversation. 

"So... Dame, how about we call each other by our first names? Saying Dame over and over again makes it look like we are not friends."

Hmmm... First names.... Should I jump on this? Hmmm.... Alright, if I can use the prince's powers for my peace, then I can attempt to become close to him.. (Since Tanya is a Japanese on her previous life, first names are a sign of closeness for her.)

"Alright, let's call each other with just our first names, Felix."

Felix smiled at this. Hearing his name being said by his goddess makes his brain go haywire, luckily, he circuited his brain back to normality.

"So.... Tanya, if you do not mind me asking, how was the frontlines?"

Tanya knew that this is her chance to appeal to the prince for a rear officership position. She made her sentences appear sad, in order for the prince to take pity on her.

"Hmmm... The frontlines were chaotic It is full of bullets, sounds, artilleries, bombs, bullets again, etc. It was truly chaotic. I lost many of my men and allies during my time in the front. It is truly a harsh thing for a kid like me to go towards the front... I wish that I would be just instated in the rear after this..."

Tanya also popped down a tear in order to add drama towards her story. 

Felix knew that it is truly a bit harsh for a kid to join the war, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do, so he attempted to formulate a reply when suddenly he noticed that the world lost its colors. He also noticed that nobody was moving and he could not too.

He knew that this is Being X's domain which was shown in the anime. The difference is that he can see the Being X that was on the manga opened the door of the room and stride towards the two of them.

Felix can't move or talk during this time, but he can hear and perceive every single thing. 

"My faithless human... I know you dreamt of a safe life, but you cannot just have a safe life, not unless you affirm your faith towards us, human."

"BEING X!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T INTERRUPT MY DESIRE FOR A SAFE LIFE!!! IF I HAVE A GUN WITH ME NOW I WOULD SHOOT YOU DEAD STRAIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR DAMN FOREHEAD!"

"Calm down, faithless human. You will still have to suffer more until you pray sincerely to us. Until then."

"DAMN YOU BEING X! DAMN YOU CURSED BEING!!!!!"

Tanya cannot move since he was being held by Felix, so she was struggling. 

"Deus lo vult"

Being X then looked towards Felix's direction, which gave him a scare, and muttered some words before disappearing.

"How peculiar."

Being X disappeared in thin air. 

Time went back to how it was before. The tune of the soft slow music was still being played by the band. The continuous chatter of the people and the numerous couples who are dancing in the middle of the room. 

Felix noticed how pissed off Tanya was, who was shaking and sweating hard. Felix was sweating hard too since he thought that he was noticed by the 'god'. 

"Are you okay Tanya? You are sweating and shaking so hard... is there something wrong?"

Tanya closed her eyes and breath hard then sighed.

"It's nothing. I need some air."

Tanya removed her hands and went to a nearby terrace.

As a good 'friend' of hers, Felix followed her in order to make sure that she is okay. Felix cannot just say that he noticed the interaction between the two, so he just followed her just like a good 'friend' would do.

Felix then offered Tanya his handkerchief in order to wipe away the heavy sweat on her forehead.

Looking at the handkerchief that was offered to her, she also noticed how sweaty the prince was.

"You should wipe yours first."

"Don't worry Tanya, wipe yours first."

"Alright."

After Tanya wiped her forehead free from any sweat, she gave the handkerchief back and Felix wiped his forehead too.

The two then stood silently, gazing at the cloudless sky. The moon shone brightly, accompanied by a handful of stars.

Felix had an idea to lift his friend's spirits.

"Hey, Tanya. Wanna ditch this event and go somewhere fun?"

Tanya looked at Felix, curious about what the prince had in mind.

"Fun? What is it, Felix?"

"Just follow me. Let's sneak out of here."

Tanya was intrigued but cautious.

If the prince tries to take me somewhere 'fun,' prince or not, I'll punch him straight at the chin.

They both jumped to the ground, strengthening their legs to absorb the impact. They headed towards a nearby warehouse. 

Felix's Golden Eagle also followed them.

The Emperor noticed his son and the exceptional mage leaving the event and asked Carl, Felix's captain of the Imperial Guard, to stay close to the prince.

Felix and Tanya noticed Carl following them, but Felix waved him off.

The trio arrived at the nearby factory, and Felix introduced their location.

"This, right here, is my brainchild. Welcome to Kaiserliche Stahlsturm GmbH (Imperial SteelStorm Ltd). This is my company, dedicated to producing a vast arsenal of advanced weaponry for our illustrious army. This venture represents my commitment to driving a technological revolution within our great Empire."

"Through innovation and relentless pursuit of excellence, we shall forge the future of warfare and secure our place at the pinnacle of global power. This will be the cornerstone of our strength and the beacon of our progress!"

Tanya was impressed by the prince's vision. She noted how proud he was while presenting his 'brainchild' and kept this in mind for future conversations.

Tanya was also curious why the factory was in the middle of the city, but Felix had a convincing reason.

"Since the Imperial Palace is the most heavily guarded place in the city, we opted to situate the factory nearby so it benefits from the same level of security. Plus, we use silencing formulas to muffle the factory's noise, ensuring it doesn't disturb nearby residents. Another reason is that it is for secrecy, you see, no one will notice that the greatest weapons factory is right beside the Palace."

The trio entered the factory and noticed some lights were still on.

They spotted Heinrich Müller, the general manager, tinkering with something. They approached, and the mechanist was surprised by their arrival.

"Your Highness! Why have you visited the factory in the middle of the night?"

"I wanted to show my friend here the advances we've made on our firearms."

"I see. Will it be 'this' gun or 'that' gun?"

"Let's show her both, and grab a knife too."

"I see, Your Highness. Please wait a moment while I fetch them from storage."

Heinrich headed to the storage room.

While waiting, Tanya noted the factory's advanced facilities and a gun that looked familiar to her.

It looks like a sniper rifle... It closely resembles the SVD from my previous life, though...

As Tanya pondered the resemblance, Heinrich returned, holding two different guns. He presented them to the prince.

Felix introduced the guns to Tanya, who was surprised by their familiarity.

"The first gun I'm holding is the Automatische Vertanen-Hohenzollern-5, or AVH-5. This is the fifth variation of the gun that my gunsmith and I designed. Yes, I contributed to the design. This gun is intended for infantry use."

Tanya noticed it greatly resembled the Valmet of her previous life and the infamous AK.

"The second gun is a prototype designed by Heinrich and me. We named it the Hohenzollern-Müller Gewehr 1, or HM G1. However, as I mentioned, it's just a prototype. This gun is meant for a special unit, as mass production isn't feasible at the moment."

The second gun Felix presented resembled the HK G36, a beautiful German gun with an effective range of 600 meters, double that of the AK, and a maximum effective range of 2,860 meters, almost three times that of the AKM. It also used a short-stroke piston, reducing recoil.

Tanya was impressed by the HM G1. She knew the HK G36 was the main gun of the Germans before being replaced by the HK416. However, she also knew this gun was exceptional. She wanted a piece of it, even though it was just a prototype.

I WANT THESE GUNS!!!!! If I had these guns earlier, I might have unloaded all the bullets into Being X's face! COME BACK, BEING X, SO I CAN SHOOT YOU!

Seeing Tanya's happy expression, Felix was relieved. He wanted to invite Tanya for a little shootout at the nearby range when suddenly...

*BOOM*

_______________________

There will be detailed action scene for the next chapter, so forgive me if I can't post another chapter. I wanted the action scenes to be as detailed as possible so you can visualize it. I don't just want to say, Felix shoot, enemies shoot, they died, done. I wanted it to be more.

The only thing that I liked in the anime is the part where Being X stopped the time, whenever he talks to Tanya so I included it. In the manga, there are no indication of this happening, just some coincidences which Tanya soon realized.

So yeah, gimme galstones hehehehehehe