"Wait...Kyaa!"
My shout to stop
"Lady Rosemine!?"
Matthias's eyes went wide as he drew his Staff and started running toward me, when a cold voice that sent chills down my spine descended from above.
"Aren't you the ugly magical beast I recognize? To think you'd be in a place like this..."
This wasn't the first time my Lesser Vessel had been caught by
"Rosemine!"
"I recognize that net of light. ...So it was you, Grausam."
Cornelius, mounted on his rideable, glared up at Grausam with a stern expression.
"I had only heard your name from my master. I am pleased to finally see you as an enemy on the battlefield."
Angelica, clutching Stenluke, leaped onto her rideable while her blue eyes gleamed with challenge and a thin smile crossed her lips. There was nothing refined about that smile—it was brimming with intensity.
Matthias, who had rushed over, looked somewhat overwhelmed by the two of them and asked me.
"Lady Rosemine, what on earth is going on...?"
"The culprit behind the attack at the start of the winter social season—the incident that led to me using Jureve—was Grausam."
"What!? But officially, that case was closed with Viscount Joisulark as the culprit..."
Matthias opened and closed his mouth repeatedly. Officially, the case had been concluded with that finding, but the truth was different. This would mean revealing even more of his father's sins to Matthias, but there was no point in hiding it.
"What Viscount Joisulark did was kidnap
"...Grausam had three body doubles. But is that so. So it was also Grausam who harmed you, Lady Rosemine?"
Matthias said in a bitter tone, his eyes flickering with suppressed emotion. He gripped his sword and looked up toward the second-floor balcony, where Cornelius and Angelica were swinging their magic-imbued blades.
"Die here, Grausam!"
The two launched a synchronized attack, their magic power intertwining as it hurtled toward Grausam. Grausam raised his left arm as if to shield his head. The next instant—just when I expected Grausam, who was no knight, to fall—the light of the magic attack was absorbed into his bracer and vanished.
...He absorbed the magic power!?
Grausam slowly lowered his arm and curled his lip into a smirk. Mocking the shocked Cornelius and Angelica, whose attacks had been completely ineffective, he swung his right hand. A mass of deep blue magic power shot out, sweeping across a wide area that included not only Cornelius and Angelica, but also the knights recovering from drinking Jureve.
"Wind Goddess
"Geteilte!"
Simultaneously, multiple shields appeared in front of the balcony, deflecting Grausam's magic attack. A white lion arrived from behind and faced off against Grausam on the second floor.
"
The knights who were recovering let out sighs of relief and began deploying their own shields.
"Everyone who's still recovering, get away from here!"
Ferdinand shouted while maintaining the multiple shields he had deployed. The knights braced their own shields and began moving. Those whose magic power was solidifying had difficulty, and others supported them as they relocated.
"...How are you alive!?"
Grausam, mounted on his rideable, saw Ferdinand maintaining multiple shields and shook his head in disbelief.
"Could it be...despite all the careful groundwork I laid, I failed? And not only that, I gave Lady
Apparently Dietlinde had reported that Ferdinand was dead. After that, he must have gone into hiding, donning silver attire and ensuring orduances couldn't reach him. It seemed she didn't know that I had saved Ferdinand.
"...But what's done is done. What I must do hasn't changed."
Buying time for Georgine to seize the foundation of Ehrenfest, draining the region's magic power to make it easier for Georgine to take the foundation, weakening Ehrenfest's fighting forces to make it easier for Georgine to dominate, and eliminating even one troublesome noble—that was what Grausam laughed about as his duty. The madness lurking within those words made it hard to breathe. Those gray eyes that made it clear no persuasion would ever work were terrifying.
"Ferdinand, you are an obstacle to Lady Georgine. I must eliminate you here."
"And you think a mere civil official like you can destroy me? Poison no longer works on me."
"Civil officials have their own way of fighting."
Grausam said "I no longer need this thing that blocks ordonnances" as he unclasped his mantle and grasped something in his hand. Immediately after, blue flames swirled into a vortex around Grausam.
"What is that!?"
"What's happening!?"
At the moment everyone present was transfixed by the blue flames, a shrill cry of "Yaa!" rang out, and from multiple points attacks were launched at Grausam in unison. It was Hannalore's unit. Magic power shots and multiple arrows flew toward Grausam, who was engulfed in blue flame. It was a swift attack from Hannalore and her group—they missed no opening—but once again Grausam blocked it with his left bracer.
The impacts from Hannalore's unit caused the blue flames to intensify. Yet Grausam, standing at their center, merely laughed with amusement, showing no signs of being burned or in pain. With a wave of his right hand while still wreathed in flame, the blue fire surged toward Hannalore like a living creature.
"Geteilte!"
Hannalore hastily deployed a shield. Ferdinand's shield moved simultaneously, and together they managed to block Grausam's attack. But Hannalore's face was deathly pale. As Grausam watched her standing wide-eyed with her shield gripped tight, a mocking smile spread across his face.
"Ah, with this much magic power, I should be able to move quite freely. I thank you, daughter of
Ferdinand glared at Grausam's blue flames while sending orduances flying one after another. To Heiszitz on the front lines, to
"Rosemine, only you and Matthias can enter the mansion. I'll keep that thing occupied here for a while. If they use hidden passages or the like, it'll be troublesome. Hurry into the mansion with Matthias and get behind it. The prosthetic hand is absorbing magic power. Use black weapons for your attacks. Even if Matthias dies, do not leave your rideable under any circumstances."
The whispered, rapid-fire orders reached me, and Matthias and I exchanged glances. I never imagined Ferdinand would order us to infiltrate. That must mean things were that desperate.
"Let's hurry, Matthias. You know the way to that room, right?"
"Yes. The Gibe's office."
"Lady Rosemine, please wait. It's far too dangerous."
"Leonore, the appointment of a Gibe falls under the Aub's jurisdiction. Apprehending someone who seized a key without authorization is the duty of the lord's family. So I'm going."
"But..."
Leonore started to object but then closed her mouth in frustration and clenched her fist.
"As a guard knight who can only depend on the lord's family, I find it pathetic. ...I pray for your success."
"Please keep Grausam occupied on the balcony until we arrive."
"I will."
Once inside the Gelrach mansion, I followed behind Matthias on my rideable. Perhaps because he had grown up here, Matthias ran without hesitation. Here and there, people lay collapsed on the ground—they must have been servants who had run into Grausam.
While running, Matthias transformed his Staff into a sword, then further converted it into a black weapon using the method taught in the Knight's Order. I also drew my Staff, transformed it into a water gun, and prayed for a blessing of darkness.
"O Darkness God who governs the towering sky, supreme among gods, O Father who created the world and all things, heed my prayer and grant me your sacred power. Bestow upon my weapon your blessing that seizes power from magic. All magic power I offer unto you. I repel the magic that has strayed from the circle. Bestow upon me your divine protection and grant a moment's peace to the lives upon this ground."
When I gripped my now-blackened water gun, Matthias spoke.
"Lady Rosemine, your top priority should be to block the doorway with your rideable while attacking as little as possible."
"Matthias?"
"Grausam probably doesn't know exactly what kind of weapons you use or what divine tools you wield. Save your trump cards for when you truly need them."
Matthias looked up toward the top of the stairs with a determined gaze, resolved to be the one to defeat Grausam. Then his eyes narrowed as if he noticed something.
"...There are traps set on the staircase. I need a moment to disarm them—"
"There's no need to use the stairs. We can simply fly over them on the rideable. Time is precious, isn't it? Hop on, Matthias."
I expanded my Lesser Vessel to seat two and opened the passenger side, patting the seat lightly. Matthias looked back and forth between the stairs and the Lesser Vessel a few times, then laughed softly and climbed on.
"...What's the matter, Matthias?"
"Oh, it's nothing. He must have set numerous traps on the staircase he knew we'd have to use, both to detect intruders and to buy time. I doubt he ever imagined we could simply fly over all of it..."
The stairs in this mansion weren't wide enough to spread out rideable wings. It was only possible because of the Lesser Vessel. Matthias said with amusement that nobody would have expected this method of avoidance, since nobody normally rode enclosed rideables indoors.
"My lord is always full of surprises. When you broke down the faction walls in the dormitory at the
Carrying Matthias, I rose into the air without touching the staircase and descended right in front of our target room on the second floor. The moment Matthias stepped off the Lesser Vessel, his expression sharpened.
"Let's go."
Matthias placed his hand on the door to the Gibe's office, took a deep breath, and threw it open wide before charging inside. I followed him in, used Lesser-kun's tail to roughly shut the door, then immediately enlarged it like a bus to completely block the entrance.
"So there were others who could get in here."
Grausam, apparently alerted by the sound of us entering, turned around. He looked as though he were clad in armor of blue flame. Grausam swung his flame-wreathed right hand outward, firing off an attack, then stepped into the room.
Inside, a man lay collapsed on the floor. He must have been the one who had been Gibe Gelrach. The red blood still seemed to be slowly spreading.
"Heal him..."
"It's too late. Magical corruption has already begun."
Matthias, with his back to me, stared intently at Grausam. The black sword was in his hand, held at the ready. Grausam, clad in his blue-flame armor, approached with his gleaming black prosthetic hand raised.
"Does it not shame you to kneel before a commoner's wretched girl, Matthias? Even if it was to beg for your life?"
Seeing the Lesser Vessel blocking the door along with me, Grausam snorted in distaste. Without the slightest hint of agitation, Matthias replied coolly.
"I think it's far more shameful to kneel before an invader from another territory, harm a lord candidate of your own duchy, and ravage your homeland and allies."
Perhaps no one had ever contradicted him before. Grausam's temple twitched.
"Lady Georgine is a lord candidate of Ehrenfest. She is not an invader from another territory. Correct yourself, Matthias."
"She was of the
Grausam looked at me and let a cold smile spread across his face.
"Whoever the Aub of Ahrensbach may be no longer concerns me. After all, Lady Georgine will become the Aub of Ehrenfest."
"I won't let her become Aub—she who brings nothing but destruction and ruin!"
Matthias raised his black sword in fury, and Grausam watched him expressionlessly as he slowly raised his flame-wreathed right hand.
"I have already registered as a noble of Ahrensbach. In other words, you are no longer my son in any sense."
Matthias's lips tightened for just an instant.
"Die quickly. I won't let you interfere with Lady Georgine!"
Grausam swung his right hand, attacking with blue flame. Matthias cleaved through it with his black sword. Immediately after, Grausam moved with startling speed and kicked Matthias away.
"Guh...!"
His movements were like those of a knight who had undergone body enhancement. That speed was nothing like a civil official's—it was on par with Angelica. Matthias regripped his sword and took a cautious step back.
"...Hmph. You talk big, but that's all you've got? Knights train their bodies. Civil officials create advanced magical tools. My magical tools versus your body—which is stronger?"
Grausam said with confidence, crossing his blue-flame right arm and his black prosthetic hand in front of his chest.
Grausam has transformed.
He absorbs magic power with his left prosthetic hand and attacks with his right.
He moves at the level of an enhanced knight.
Next up, Part 4.