Preparations for Battle

"What are Schwartz and the others? How did you suddenly arrive at that conclusion?"

My adoptive father asked me with a thoroughly puzzled expression, so I explained the flow of my thoughts. But just as I expected, he shook his head as though he still didn't understand.

"I understand that you want to use the magical tools you're familiar with from the library to guide people there. But weren't those library magical tools the kind that required a great deal of various attributes and Magic Power to keep running? You'll be heading to the central city by the end of spring, so who will supply Magic Power after that? Will it be enough? I believe the most likely time for my elder sister's attack is around the Prayer Ceremony, but there's a possibility it could come later. I'm saying this based purely on intuition—there's no certainty."

"Gah!"

Unlike the Schwartz at the Royal Academy, dividing up their purposes should reduce the amount of Magic Power needed to operate them. But people with the dark attribute were supposed to be few. And I couldn't imagine Ehrenfest having any Magic Power to spare after I left. Even if it was for protecting the Temple, having to supply them continuously would be a tremendous burden.

"Besides, do you think my cautious elder sisters would follow something that looked suspicious? Even I would be on guard."

"They're not suspicious. Schwartz and the others are cute."

"It's not about whether they're cute or not. I'm saying that if a Temple had something like that, it would look suspicious. Wouldn't it be more effective to give the gatekeepers multiple protective charms instead of creating such things?"

When I heard that I should give the gatekeepers plenty of charms for counterattack when the gray Priests were attacked, I clapped my hands in understanding.

"So you're saying I should create combat-specialized Schwartz for the gatekeepers. Understood."

"No, you haven't understood at all!"

"Because most of the gray Priests don't have Magic Power. It's difficult for them to carry multiple effective charms. In that case, wouldn't it be better to have the knights guard the Temple gates, or create Schwartz specialized in protection that use as little Magic Power as possible..."

I remembered that when Schwartz switched into attack mode, Magic Power was supplied through the buttons. If I gave the gatekeepers magic stones filled with Magic Power and made it so they could only activate it in an emergency, they would be able to operate them with considerably less Magic Power on a regular basis. I'd look into the Mestionora books later for clues.

"Please leave the Temple's defense to me. For now, Father, I think you should consider what to do if someone breaks into the foundation magic area and set traps there as well. You could use Entwickeln to create a simple gate at the entrance and place objects there that collapse the moment Georgine passes through, or fill the floor with round stones instead of glass marbles to trip her when she enters..."

"I'll consider that as well, but the best approach would be to keep my elder sister away from the foundation magic altogether."

As he said this, my adoptive father began thinking about where someone might enter from if not through the boundary gates. Considering familiar terrain, Gerlach would likely be the strongest candidate.

"How did things go with Grandfather and Matthias?"

"There don't appear to be any signs of intrusion yet. Because the snow hasn't melted, there were no suspicious footprints, and Bonifatius's intuition wasn't triggered by anything, we believe no one has entered Gerlach."

If they wore silver cloth to completely conceal their Magic Power, they could cross the duchy's borders without the Aub noticing. But since they needed to cover their entire body, they couldn't use their staves or riding animals. It seemed unlikely they would travel on foot, so they must be using some kind of vehicle.

"I'm not sure what methods the enemy will use, but wouldn't it be wise to mobilize all of the Lord's family's retainers to mass-produce recovery potions and magical tools? The older generation who played treasure-stealing Ditter would know much better about preparing magical tools for battle."

How much preparation could be done before the battle. That would make a huge difference in the outcome, so I thought they should make use of the retired generation like Grandfather and Richelma to the fullest extent.

"The magical tools we used during the bride-stealing Ditter against Dunkelfelger when I was a third-year student were also quite useful. The students who were worked to the bone making magical tools by Hartmut back then know how to create them, so why not mobilize them?"

I explained the vicious magical tools used in the bride-stealing Ditter. Although they were magical tools, the attacks themselves—blinding light, a deluge of insects—were not powered by Magic Power. Even against an opponent wearing silver cloth, there should be several that would still be effective.

"I see. Treasure-stealing Ditter, then."

"Yes. Treasure-stealing Ditter is a competition that began as mock battles to protect the foundation, so I think it would be good to plan and prepare by listening to stories from Grandfather's generation and reviewing Lord Ferdinand's documents. The main thing to watch out for is the silver cloth that blocks Magic Power..."

Though silver cloth would be a first-attack surprise against nobles who use Magic Power attacks, it wasn't very useful against opponents who didn't use stave weapons.

"To catch the opponent off guard, I think it would also be worth considering using Commoners. If someone wearing silver cloth tried to pass through the gate, you could throw soldiers who were accustomed to using ordinary weapons at them. Or if you spotted someone covered in silver cloth before they entered the gate, you could douse them with filth so they'd be forced to take it off..."

"You're quite ruthless, you know. No ordinary noblewoman would even think of throwing filth at someone."

My adoptive father said this with a somewhat repulsed expression, but this was an awfully late evaluation.

"Oh my, I always received that sort of evaluation during our Ditter against Dunkelfelger. What matters is winning by any means necessary, doesn't it? Lord Ferdinand's documents also stated that acting noble or fighting fair and square was of no use whatsoever."

Those of us trained by Ferdinand and that generation had it drilled into us during the Ditter against Dunkelfelger. To make up for a gap in combat strength, you had to outthink your opponent and come up with every possible strategy in order to win.

"Father, would it be all right if I sent Lord Ferdinand some food and a letter? He might offer advice, in his own roundabout way."

"Wouldn't that risk being noticed by my elder sister? I don't think we should let her know about you. Both the food and the letter would be better sent from Ehrenfest rather than from you personally."

If it was just a matter of someone who'd been bedridden finally recovering, it wouldn't seem that strange. But if my adoptive father wanted to take the lead, that was fine by me.

"If you would send them, that would be fine. Then I'll work on creating everything with my retainers in my workshop, so please ask the retainers and students of the Lord's family yourself, Father."

After finishing my conversation with my adoptive father, I left his office. I needed to create all sorts of magical tools as quickly as possible. I also needed to summon those I'd left at the Temple, I thought as I headed back to my room—where Hartmut was waiting for some reason.

"Hartmut, why are you here?"

"I've left the Temple matters in the care of Lord Melchior and his retainers. How did your conversation with the Aub go? Is there anything I might be able to help with?"

Even without saying it aloud, his eyes eloquently pleaded, "Come on, give me orders!" I involuntarily took a step backward, but I needed Hartmut and Clarissa's help with crafting the magical tools.

"We've decided to create various magical tools and recovery potions to prepare for the battle against Georgine. I'd like to go to the library with the attendants to prepare for the compounding..."

"Simple things could be made by both knights and attendants alike. If we're truly preparing for battle, why not put all of your retainers to work on compounding?"

Hartmut said that since everyone had experienced compounding in the common lectures at the Royal Academy, even the knights could make recovery potions at the level taught there. He had a point—we didn't need to limit it to just the attendants. We needed a large quantity of recovery potions.

"I'm a guard knight. Lady Rozemyne's protection..."

"Please rest assured. I'm not expecting Angelica to do any compounding. Though I may ask you to gather materials in the Noble's Forest..."

Angelica placed a hand on her chest and smiled in relief, saying, "You truly are Lady Rozemyne."

"Angelica, being praised for that isn't something to be happy about at all."

"I'm glad that Lady Rozemyne understands me."

It didn't quite add up, but that was so very Angelica that it made me laugh.

"How about splitting up the work? Those below the mid-tier could make recovery potions and simple magical tools for the knights on the battlefield in the Temple workshop, while those above the upper-tier could do advanced compounding in the library? Given the quality of materials in each of our workshops, it would be better to separate the locations. And keeping Philine and Damuel, who is well-versed in Temple operations, at the Temple would also be necessary for coordinating with Lord Melchior."

Since I had been missing for a long period and there was no telling when the royal family would request my transfer to the central city, I had apparently been removed from the members heading to the Prayer Ceremony. In my place, Philine was set to go along with Damuel, bringing my retainers with her.

Furthermore, Hartmut said that he had already completed a certain amount of handover so that the moment I returned, he could act together with me, and arrangements were in place for Melchior to officiate the winter coming-of-age ceremony.

"Hartmut, you're so capable it's almost frightening."

I might think it was a little scary or unsettling, but I kept that to myself. Being capable was a good thing.

"I am honored by your praise, Lady Rozemyne."

"I'm not the only one putting in effort, Lady Rozemyne. I've been working hard too. The materials sent from the Royal Academy during the winter have already been sorted and moved to the library workshop. I've been improving the magical tools that assist wide-area magic, and crafting high-quality magic paper so we could respond even if Lord Ferdinand requested additional copies."

Clarissa made sure to assert herself alongside Hartmut, unwilling to lose to him. But her accomplishments, when considering the coming battle, were truly remarkable. Being able to copy magic circles with copy-paste meant I wanted as much magic paper as possible.

"That's impressive, Clarissa. Magic paper has so many uses, but making it requires an enormous amount of Magic Power and time, doesn't it? I had actually given up on it this time. But now, I can devote myself fully to creating Schwartz for the Temple's defense."

"If you're looking for magical tools for the library, there's one I've been holding onto from Professor Hirschur."

Lieseleta said this while glancing toward the luggage she'd brought back from the Royal Academy. I had taken materials to the Royal Academy for my own research, but then I went missing. Since word had spread that I was bedridden, Hirschur had apparently come to the dormitory demanding the materials.

"It was when no one knew where you were and the Ehrenfest dormitory was in the most chaos. In exchange for getting Professor Hirschur to keep her mouth shut, we provided her with the materials. But it seems the compounding hit a dead end partway through due to issues with attributes and Magic Power capacity. She called in Lord Ferdinand when he came for the Interduchy Tournament and had him complete it. It's already dressed up too."

She said that it was dressed in the same outfit I had originally made thinking of putting it on Schwartz.

"It truly seems to only have the function of searching documents, but if you specialize it in a single task and don't have it talk, the creation becomes simpler and it doesn't need much Magic Power to operate."

"That sounds extremely useful. Please bring it along with the documents to my library."

We decided to split up the compounding work among everyone. I went back to the Temple once and opened the workshop in the High Priest's quarters. Then I had Roderick manage the materials, and everyone would take turns compounding.

"I'd like to ask Damuel to act as a liaison between the knights and soldiers who will be guarding the lower city gate. If someone wearing silver cloth breaks through, the soldiers who are accustomed to weapons other than staves might be better able to respond."

"As you command."

I felt that only Damuel, who was well-liked by the lower city soldiers, could pull this off. Angelica was popular by face alone, but you couldn't expect her to have any coordination ability.

"The knights and attendants will split up the compounding, but what about the Attendants?"

"Lieseleta and the others will be making recovery potions at the castle and working on outfits for the new Schwartz. Eudiet, please try making some magical tools and recovery potions that you can use yourself as well."

After giving my instructions, I moved to the library. I smiled to silence Lazafam, who clearly had a question he wanted to ask, and took out the Schmil-shaped magical tool that Hirschur and Ferdinand had made. A pale green Schmil. I read through Hirschur's research notes while poking at it here and there to figure out what it could do.

"It really is specialized in searching."

First, I learned that creating a magical tool that could move on its own required the life attribute, and making Schwartz required someone with all attributes to compound. Since I had all attributes thanks to the name-swearing, I thought I could have Hartmut and Clarissa make them. I wasn't sure about their Magic Power capacity, but probably.

"The new ones would be confused with Schwartz, so let's name them first. Since they're magical tools for searching documents, I think something like 'Kensaku' or 'Opak' would be good..."

When I started thinking of names, Cornelius, who had been chopping materials for the recovery potions in the workshop, looked a bit troubled and raised his hand, saying, "I'm terribly sorry, Lady Rozemyne."

"At the Royal Academy, Lieseleta named one 'Adrett' and dressed it up and doted on it, so how about 'Adrett' for the magical tool's name?"

"Yes, it already sounds familiar to us, so wouldn't Adrett be nice?"

With Leonore's support as well, my naming suggestions were politely declined. Kensaku and Opak would be clearer, but if it was already familiar to everyone, I couldn't very well insist. We'd call it Adrett.

"Next, what I want to create isn't a search-specialized tool like Adrett, but a magical tool specialized in eliminating intruders and dangerous individuals. I want strong Schwartz that can defend the Temple."

As I voiced this wish while explaining how my adoptive father had pointed out the Magic Power problem, Hartmut and Clarissa started vying with each other to offer opinions. They were giving good suggestions, but I was starting to feel like I should consult the Mestionora books after all.

"Hartmut, Clarissa. I'm going to go read some documents in the secret room."

"Huh? You don't need to go all the way into the secret room..."

"There are some documents I can't read outside. Angelica, I'd like your protection. When you're done with your suggestions, Hartmut and the others should work on making magic paper."

Even if they were my retainers, I had no intention of taking out the Mestionora books where other people could see. I hugged the compiled research results that Hirschur had gathered and entered the secret room. Then I placed them on the table, summoned my staff, and chanted, "Gutrissheit."

"If I search through the library and magical tools, I should find something... Whoa, there's so much!"

Since I didn't know the official name of Schwartz and the others, I searched through the library and magical tools. It turned out the library was apparently a building full of magical tools. The long list of magical tool entries drove home just how valuable the Royal Academy library truly was.

"Looking at it this way, the gaps in the entries actually reveal quite a bit about Lord Ferdinand's interests and tastes..."

There were gaps in the sections about the underground archive and the statue of Mestionora, but it seemed he hadn't been very interested in the magical tool that announced closing time. Thinking about which parts were missing, I concluded that Ferdinand—unlike me—couldn't simply empty his mind and absorb all knowledge at once.

...When something caught his interest, he must have agonized over each thing one by one.

That must have resulted in him trying to resist the knowledge flooding in from Mestionora. When I imagined Ferdinand, who couldn't stop thinking even after Ewermine repeatedly scolded him not to resist, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Ferdinand really is inelegant in the strangest ways."

I chuckled softly and turned my gaze to the leather pouch marked "Extremely Commendable." I'd been wanting to listen to it again for a while, so I picked it up. As I held the magical tool and set the pouch on the table, it made a soft thud.

Come to think of it, there was a false bottom, wasn't there? What could be hidden inside?

I touched the pouch over and over. It wasn't very large. The texture felt lumpy, like a magic stone. What on earth was hidden in a place like this? I was getting very curious.

...It was something given to me, so it should be fine to open it, right?

Ehrenfest is given over to preparations for battle.

Rozemyne is contemplating how to create combat-specialized Schwartz to defend the Temple.

But what has caught her attention is the leather pouch.

Next: What's inside the pouch.