I kept Lesserbus hovering in the air to stay out of the snow's reach while knights surrounded me for protection.
I squinted up at the swirling blizzard, but it felt like walls of pure white snow were being hurled at me from every direction, making it impossible to see anything clearly. Even the loess cloaks of the nearby knights looked hazy.
" Lady
A knight riding up close on his feybeast flipped open the visor covering his helmet's faceplate and called out.
"Darmuel, is something wrong?"
"I've received orders from Lord
"Go ahead."
When I opened the passenger side of Lesserbus with a soft squish, Darmuel walked across his feybeast's wing and climbed into the passenger seat. Then he returned his feybeast to its magic stone.
"What did Lord Ferdinand say?"
Apparently the Chief Priest had told him to stay close to me because he was worried. Darmuel had been roundabout about it, but when I boiled it down to the essentials, it amounted to: "Don't let her do anything until I come get her. Watch her and make sure she doesn't cause trouble." It seemed I had earned absolutely zero trust.
"He specifically told you to prioritize conserving your Magic Power. He said you tend to put your emotions and the situation in front of you above all else when you pray, and he wants you to stop that."
"Mm..."
The Chief Priest had seen right through me. I couldn't possibly promise not to do it.
When I faltered, Darmuel's brows drooped with a troubled look.
"...I only just got reinstated as a knight from my apprentice position. Please don't do anything reckless that would get me in trouble too."
"I'll do my best to restrain myself."
With Darmuel pleading in a near-tears expression—having spent a year as an apprentice due to Shikikouza's fallout—I had no choice but to nod.
"...This is Lady Rozemyne's feybeast? The outside is one thing, but the inside is amazing."
Settling into the passenger seat, Darmuel poked at things here and there, letting out little "Whoa" and "Ohhh" sounds.
"Heh heh heh, comfortable, isn't it?"
"Yes. Just as
"What did Brigitte have to say about it?"
He was sitting in the passenger seat without a shred of hesitation, so I knew he liked it, but Brigitte was more the quiet type. The most I could ever detect was a slight loosening at the corners of her mouth—she rarely shared her impressions.
When I eagerly asked what Brigitte had said, Darmuel lowered his gaze slightly, looking inward as if searching his memory.
"She said that if you're only traveling, then Lady Rozemyne's feybeast offers truly excellent comfort, but if you're envisioning combat while wielding weapons, then riding a conventional feybeast makes it much easier to swing your weapon around."
"True, knights do have to fight. It would be a bit difficult to battle in this thing. ...But couldn't you use different feybeasts depending on whether you're fighting or traveling?"
Because you needed a clear mental image and extensive practice to summon a feybeast in an instant, Darmuel explained that switching between them for different purposes was difficult for knights who prized speed.
"Lady Rozemyne can change its size at will, but originally, that isn't so simple."
Even though Darmuel said that, my mental image was always a car. I pictured everything from a one-seater to a minibus, all lumped together as "car," so I didn't feel any resistance to changing its size.
"Ah, it's starting. Please look."
Darmuel pointed toward the swirling blizzard. On either side of the vortex, a brilliant light appeared.
"Those are the Knight Commander and Lord Ferdinand."
No matter how hard I strained my eyes, I couldn't make out the Chief Priest or my father. All I could see were two lights of roughly equal size.
"At this distance you might not be able to tell, but that's the attack that defeated Gorze on the night of Stürel."
"The attack that defeated Gorze in a single blow?"
"Lady Rozemyne, brace yourself! A tremendous shock is coming!"
With Darmuel's sharp warning, two streaks of light slammed into the blizzard vortex.
The lights flew in from both sides, trailing luminous tails as they collided with the vortex.
A thunderous roar rang out—so loud I wanted to clap my hands over my ears.
The vortex was disrupted for only the briefest of moments.
In that instant, the blizzard parted just enough to reveal two figures slashing through with massive blades.
I had naively thought that if this was the same attack the Chief Priest had used to defeat Gorze, it might be an easy win. The next moment, I saw knights positioned near the vortex gradually losing their footing one after another. Through the knights' stumbling movements, I could visually track the wave of disruption rushing toward us.
...It's coming!
The instant I braced myself, a shockwave slammed into me as if I'd be blown away. I gripped the handlebar tight, fed Magic Power into it to anchor myself, and held on.
I could see the surrounding knights swaying but somehow managing to stay standing. If this much impact could reach us this far from the epicenter, then the force at the center must have been immense.
Once the shockwave passed, I looked around.
Everything had gone eerily silent. But the blizzard vortex remained, unchanged.
"...Did we win?"
"No. Schneetilum shouldn't be that easy an opponent."
Darmuel denied my words, his gaze fixed forward.
The very next moment, a deep, guttural roar reverberated up from the depths of the earth, and the blizzard intensified enormously. What had been a swirling vortex surged with the fury of a tornado, growing ever larger.
...Can we even beat this?
I swallowed hard. No sooner had I done so than I saw white masses launching out of the tornado-like blizzard and scattering in every direction.
From a distance they looked like small white lumps, but they were each slightly larger than a knight's feybeast.
Wondering what they could be, I peered more closely and saw that each white mass had taken on an animal-like shape, charging at the surrounding knights.
Something like a leopard, something like a rabbit, something like a wolf. Their sizes and species varied, but they all attacked the knights, who fought back.
"What are those?"
"Vassals."
Darmuel answered curtly, still staring ahead.
"What do you mean, vassals?"
"Subordinates created from Schneetilum's Magic Power."
Those white animals were apparently fashioned from Schneetilum's Magic Power.
It seemed that the vassals emerged from the blizzard itself. And as they appeared, the swirling blizzard weakened, gradually revealing the massive magical beast at its core.
"That's Schneetilum."
At the center of the fading blizzard vortex stood a magical beast even larger than the Gorze that had grown to enormous size on the night of Stürel.
Even from afar, it was a mountain-sized behemoth. The feybeasts carrying the Chief Priest and my father darted around attacking it, and from this vantage point they looked like flies buzzing around a cat. That was the scale of the size difference.
Schneetilum resembled a snow tiger. Its massive body was white with black stripes, like a white tiger, and it bore long, protruding fangs and sharp claws.
Its eyes were large and bulging, and whether this was a feature of magical beasts, they glowed a sharp red. It swept its gaze this way and that, trying to catch sight of the knights flying around it.
Despite its enormous size, it seemed quite agile. Its forelegs moved with startling speed as it swatted away knights attempting to attack.
And whenever Schneetilum thrashed about, the blizzard surged. With each roar and snarl, the blizzard swirled up and new vassals were born.
Could we even win against Schneetilum, which didn't have a single visible wound despite the combined two-person assault of the Chief Priest and my father?
No matter how I looked at it, defeating it seemed impossible.
"Are we... really going to be okay?"
Driven by anxiety, I looked at Darmuel, who was squinting at Schneetilum with the same tense gaze.
"This is likely to become quite a prolonged battle."
Darmuel's assessment proved correct.
Every time Schneetilum roared, the blizzard surged, and from within it emerged countless vassals—white magical beasts of various species.
At first the knights were in peak condition and dispatched them fairly easily, but the defeated beasts scattered like snowflakes and drifted back toward Schneetilum.
"They're coming again."
As the number of vassals dwindled, the blizzard around Schneetilum gradually thickened once more.
Before Schneetilum could be hidden by the blizzard again, it let out that deep, earth-shaking roar and bellowed with a voice so loud it echoed across the entire area.
From the blizzard, vassals spawned one after another. The freshly born vassals charged the knights. The mid-ranking noble knights fought them off and cut them down, but there was no end to it.
The battle that had initially looked favorable slowly shifted to an even footing, then gradually turned against the knights.
"Even with Lady Rozemyne's blessing, they're struggling this much..."
On the night of Stürel, I had prayed for the protection of Angriif, the God of War. The knights' movements had improved dramatically after that. Back then they had said it made things much easier, but this time, even with that divine protection, they appeared to be struggling.
"Watch out! ...Ah, damn it."
The mid-ranking noble knights could no longer contain the vassals, and the lower-ranking noble knights desperately fought off those heading our way.
Darmuel ground his teeth, his face twisted with the desire to rush out and help at any moment, opening and closing his gauntleted fists.
I understood completely that he wanted to join the fight and that he wanted to battle as a knight. But Darmuel's mission was to guard me. I wanted to tell him, "Go ahead," but I couldn't say anything that would constitute a dereliction of duty.
"If only there were something I could do..."
"You've already received the protection of Angriif, the God of War, and beyond that... Lord Ferdinand has strictly ordered you to conserve your Magic Power. Have you forgotten?"
Despite witnessing the dire situation firsthand, Darmuel firmly told me to stop using Magic Power.
"That's true, but..."
Just watching was agony—a slow-burning frustration searing my chest. Especially knowing that our allies were struggling.
"We fight the Lord of Winter every year. Schneetilum is an enormous opponent among them, but it is by no means impossible to defeat."
He said this was like fighting winter itself. A prolonged battle was to be expected. It happened every year. When told all of this, throwing myself into the fray would look like nothing more than a stupid, reckless move.
"The upper-ranking noble knights are also fighting. Lady Rozemyne, your role is to conserve your Magic Power and hold your position."
My eyes kept drifting to the knights battling nearby no matter what, but while the mid- and lower-ranking knights cut down the continuously spawning vassals, the upper-ranking knights were launching attacks against the colossal snow tiger.
I could see numerous feybeasts charging toward the massive Schneetilum. Flashes of light appeared here and there, then flew toward the beast. They didn't carry the same power as the Chief Priest's or my father's attacks, but they were likely of a similar nature.
Yet no matter how many strikes landed, Schneetilum's movements didn't change in the slightest. Nothing seemed to be working.
The stalemate continued for a while.
No matter how many they defeated, more vassals kept spawning. The knights fought desperately to keep dispatching them.
It had begun to look grim, and I worried we'd be overwhelmed. But it didn't come to that.
The knights drank potions they had prepared in advance, restoring their stamina as they continued fighting. Just as Darmuel had said, they had come ready for a prolonged battle, fully prepared for exactly this kind of scenario.
"...I wish they'd use those potions sooner rather than after they're struggling."
"We don't know how long this battle will last, so they want to conserve the potions too."
I had no idea how much time had passed.
Though the situation—defeating vassals only for more to appear—remained unchanged, the blizzard wreathing Schneetilum seemed to have diminished somewhat, and the number of vassals spawning at once appeared to have decreased.
"It looks a bit weaker now."
The moment Darmuel said this, another pair of exceptionally bright lights erupted on either side of Schneetilum. Lights as powerful as the initial assault.
"That must be the Knight Commander and Lord Ferdinand."
Darmuel's eyes gleamed with hope as he leaned slightly forward, staring intently at Schneetilum.
Seeing that look of potential victory in his eyes, I gripped the handlebar and leaned forward too, straining to see.
The light launched from both fighters converged on Schneetilum's right foreleg. The two beams crossed as they struck, boring through the leg and detonating.
Perhaps because the explosion occurred deep within Schneetilum's body, the shockwave didn't reach us.
The right foreleg, which must have absorbed the full force of the blow, was severed and tumbled to the ground.
The next instant, all the upper-ranking knights surrounding Schneetilum simultaneously unleashed their attacks, targeting the left foreleg. Concentrated fire on a single point proved devastatingly effective.
Schneetilum let out an enormous roar.
This was a completely different sound from the growls it had used to spawn vassals—filled with pain and fury, it began thrashing wildly.
The instant it did, the surrounding blizzard cleared entirely.
And the vassals the knights had been fighting vanished.
"Did we... win?"
"I'm not sure. But the blizzard has cleared—no! Its wounds are healing!"
I thought we had finally won this time, but we hadn't. Schneetilum was using the power that had fueled the blizzard to heal its own injuries.
The wounds on Schneetilum's left foreleg—the one that had been concentrated-fire target—were closing rapidly. Given enough time, it would likely even regenerate the right foreleg it had just lost.
Staring wide-eyed at Schneetilum, I spotted a feybeast hurtling toward us at tremendous speed.
"Lord Ferdinand is coming!"
Darmuel shouted that he was getting out of the way, summoned his feybeast outside Lesserbus, and vaulted onto it.
I grabbed the
"Rozemyne, come here!"
The Chief Priest reached out toward Lesserbus. Even if he told me to come, Lesserbus was hovering in midair. I opened the door, but hesitated, uncertain of what to do. The Chief Priest clicked his tongue and drew his Staph.
With a whoosh, he swung the Staph, and a ribbon of light flew out and wrapped around me. Before I could even process what was happening—"Eh? Eh?"—my eyes spinning—I was yanked upward like a fish on a line. My body went soaring through the air, and in the next instant I was on the Chief Priest's feybeast.
"You certainly are troublesome."
"I... I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
I returned Lesserbus to its magic stone, and we headed toward Schneetilum. Unlike when I'd been inside Lesserbus, the air outside was sharp and biting against my skin, and traveling at high speed made it painful to even keep my eyes open.
"The window of opportunity is before it fully heals. Don't let it escape."
"...Yes."
"Grip it firmly with both hands and pour in your Magic Power with everything you have."
The Chief Priest's left arm came around in front of me, supporting me so I wouldn't fall.
I gripped the Leidenschaft spear tightly with both hands and began channeling Magic Power into it. The magic stone had already changed color, meaning it should have been fully charged, yet the power continued to flow in as I poured more.
The clear sky turned overcast, and snow began to fall once again.
The wound on the left foreleg appeared to have closed completely, and Schneetilum was swinging it around aggressively. The right foreleg also seemed to have regenerated about halfway.
"Not yet."
The Chief Priest's voice came from above me.
I fixed my gaze on Schneetilum as it drew closer and closer, continuing to feed Magic Power into the spear.
The Chief Priest angled the feybeast sharply upward and climbed straight into the sky.
"Still not enough."
I poured in Magic Power at full capacity.
It reached a saturation point, and the Magic Power began crackling with sparks. The tip of the Leidenschaft spear started glowing a brilliant blue.
"Keep your right hand positioned so you can throw at any moment."
I nodded at the Chief Priest's instruction and adjusted my grip on the Leidenschaft spear into a throwing stance.
The Chief Priest said, "Hold on tight," and without touching the spear, he grabbed my right wrist with his right hand to help position the throw. His left arm, still holding the reins, locked around my midsection like a safety bar.
"Here we go!"
At the Chief Priest's command, the feybeast dove straight downward. It was building momentum for a freefall. Worse than freefall—I could feel the sickening sensation of gravity accelerating beyond its natural pull.
I could hear nothing but the snapping of the Chief Priest's cloak in the wind.
My cheeks stung as if slapped by the rushing air, and a floating sensation—as though the contents of my stomach were rising—brought tears to my eyes involuntarily.
Screaming soundless screams, I plunged downward alongside the Chief Priest, straight toward Schneetilum.
"Throw it!"
As he shouted this, the Chief Priest kept hold of my right wrist and guided it into the throwing motion. All I had to do was time it right and release the spear.
The blue light became a shooting star. The Leidenschaft spear plunged straight down toward Schneetilum.
The moment I watched it hit, the Chief Priest immediately wheeled the feybeast around.
The sudden, violent change of direction sent a crushing force through my body. The unexpected pressure forced a groan from me.
The next instant, accompanied by a rumble from below, a tremendous shockwave hit us. The Chief Priest angled the feybeast upward to ride out the blast, then hovered above the aftermath.
Unlike me, who could do nothing but cling to the Chief Priest's left arm, he leaned forward and peered down.
"Subjugation complete. We're going to recover the magic stone."
His voice was flat and matter-of-fact, as though everything had gone exactly to plan. He descended toward where Schneetilum had been.
"Pull yourself together. You're the one who has to recover the magic stone. You can pass out or collapse after that."
Thinking he was asking the impossible, I slowly exhaled.
At the bottom of a massive crater gouged into the earth lay the Leidenschaft spear and the magic stone. Schneetilum's body was gone.
The Leidenschaft spear was undamaged, its Magic Power completely spent, and it had driven itself into the magic stone.
I pulled out the Leidenschaft spear and collected the magic stone. The white stone was now almost entirely tinted a pale yellow.
"A little more. Go ahead and dye it with your own Magic Power. If you don't have enough, I can wrap it up and bring it back, and you can infuse it later... but..."
He explained that he wanted to minimize the possibility of it being tainted by a different source of Magic Power. Here was the highest-quality material right before us, and he wanted to finish it in the best condition possible.
"I'll do it."
I held the magic stone and began infusing it with Magic Power.
Meanwhile, the knights conducted healing and recovery, preparing to return.
"This year's subjugation ended sooner than expected. Thanks to Rozemyne."
My father said this with a broad grin.
It had looked like an incredibly hard fight, but apparently it was even worse in typical years. With the protection of the God of War and my own all-out finishing blow, the schedule had been drastically shortened, making the whole ordeal considerably easier, he explained.
I placed the magic stone—now dyed with my Magic Power—into the collection pouch.
My first successful material harvest.
I let out a sigh of deep relief.
The next day, the blizzard had cleared and the sky was perfectly fine.
The children in the castle cheered at the long-awaited sunshine and rushed outside. They seemed to be enjoying skating-like games and sledding.
With skies this clear, the children at the orphanage were probably out gathering paru.
I, meanwhile, had developed a fever and was stuck in bed.
...Oh, I really want to eat some Paru cake.
Only Darmuel responded to that murmured wish with a deep nod.
You did your best, all of you knights.
Rozemyne has safely obtained her first material.
Next time: The End of Winter.