Before the immense army of Monsters that surged forward relentlessly, I held my right hand high.
I swung it down in front of me and raised my voice.
Unlike the first and second walls, the fortress was built impressively, befitting its name. It wouldn’t be easy to destroy.
The knights and soldiers who had entered the sturdy fortress seemed somewhat relieved.
"First through third, volley fire!"
The four divided units launched their magic at the army of Monsters. Fire, wind, and earth assaulted them, and the Monsters countered by deploying Magic Shields.
Semi-transparent yellow light attempted to block the magic, but the spells broke through and rained down upon the Monsters.
It was the reverse of the first engagement.
"Prepare the oil," I said.
The one who responded was Clara, directing the improved catapults—besieging weapons—inside the fortress.
'Preparations are complete. We can move at any time.'
"Scatter it widely."
Hearing my voice, numerous barrels filled with oil flew from the fortress one after another. The barrels soared over us on the fortress walls and poured down upon the Monsters.
Once enough barrels had been launched, I—
"Fourth, fire-based attack."
Immediately, fire-based magic was unleashed. Most was blocked, but it didn’t matter as long as some part ignited.
The scattered barrels were shattered, and oil spread everywhere. It caught fire, and flames erupted.
Watching the scene, I called out.
"Miranda, Eva."
As I called out to the two of them, the mages handling magic and the knights pulled back, while the elves and the soldiers carrying guns moved forward.
From atop the fortress, blast arrows and bullets were fired in succession. Explosions and gunshots rang out as they rained down on the burning army of Monsters.
Stepping over the fallen Monsters, the next wave advanced.
"...Prepare the cannons."
Hearing my voice, the cannons roared to life one after another.
In the meantime, preparations for the catapults and magic were underway.
Meanwhile, inside the fortress, Shannon was helping out.
She was running errands by Novem's side, but there were injured people all around.
Some knights and soldiers had stepped back after experiencing "growth," but that didn't mean there were no wounded. Some were suffering, and some had lost limbs.
"Damn it, why am I..."
"My eyes... Someone, turn on a light..."
"Mom... Mom..."
If there was another battlefield in this war, this was probably it. As that thought crossed her mind, Shannon followed behind Novem.
Rushing to the injured being brought in, Novem immediately began healing them with magic. Other mages were using healing magic as well, but they were overwhelmed by the steady stream of wounded being carried in.
Among them was—
"You can't! You're injured!"
Another mage who was treating patients was trying to stop one of the wounded.
"Shut up! I'm going to avenge my comrades! I'll kill as many of those Monsters as I can!"
A knight wrapped in bandages was grabbing his equipment, trying to head outside.
As Shannon watched from the corner of her eye, Novem spoke while continuing her treatment.
"Shannon, pass me the bandages."
"Huh? Oh, right."
When Shannon handed over the bandages, Novem disinfected the wound and wrapped them. If she tried to heal everything with magic, Novem herself would collapse.
After finishing the quick treatment, the soldier who had been lying down—
"Th-thank you."
He said.
Novem smiled gently.
"Don't worry about it. You'll be better in no time."
With that, she stood and moved on to the next wounded person being carried in.
Some thanked her. Others, upon hearing that Novem was one of Lyle's companions, hurled abuse at her.
In that place, Novem moved from patient to patient, treating them one after another.
To Shannon, it seemed as though Novem was bearing all the negative emotions directed at Lyle as his fame grew.
The other companions were each fulfilling their own roles. And amid it all, Shannon thought to herself—
(What am I even... what do I want to do?)
And then—
—In a room inside the fortress, Adele was doing calculations at her desk.
Food, materials, personnel deployment—there was no shortage of things that needed doing.
Damian was also in the room, with a maid attending to him. Incidentally, she was also taking care of Adele. Yes, purely "incidentally."
Though she couldn't exactly complain since it was a help, Adele—
"Arrows, bullets... they're vanishing like water. This doesn't make sense. Something's wrong... the money—gold coins are hemorrhaging out."
Moving people around wasn't free either. When she calculated the costs, the sums involved were staggering.
This was nothing like the wars Adele knew. The difference was so vast that Adele's eyes welled up with tears.
Seeing Adele like that, Damian—
"Isn't this great? It's other people's money, right?"
At that, Adele slammed her hand on the desk and sprang to her feet from the recoil.
"How can you be so nonchalant about it! No matter how much money we have, it won't be enough going forward! Don't forget that your research funds come from those very same 'other people's money,' Damian!"
Damian sipped his tea from his cup, unbothered.
"Now, now, why not ask Ryle to bring us another lovely young lady? Actually, I just realized something—Ryle could seduce the daughters of every wealthy family in Banseim, and Banseim itself would practically be his to command."
Hearing Damian's words, Adele's cheeks twitched.
"That's impossible. And even if he could, doing that would make him no different from Ceres."
Damian pulled a sour face.
"You think so? Ryle's oddly principled—I think he'd take responsibility. See, nobody ends up unhappy."
Watching Damian chuckle away, Adele covered her face with her hand.
"...The relatives of those young ladies would be plenty unhappy, you know. And isn't the head of the Trace family furious as well?"
Letting out a sigh, Adele grew concerned about the state of the battlefield.
Maxim, who served as her bodyguard, was headed to the front lines. She prayed he wouldn't get hurt—
—Atop the fortress, Maxim was dealing with the Monsters that had scaled its walls.
Wearing his headband, Maxim wielded his spear on the fortress, cutting down Monsters one after another.
Though he struck them down one after another, the fallen Monsters piled up, and by their very nature, more had been able to scale the walls.
"Fall back!"
He swung his spear with wild abandon, yet never struck a single ally.
He skewered the Monsters that had climbed up, then flung them straight over the wall.
The knights who served the same role as Maxim watched his fighting prowess with astonishment.
"He's strong."
"Who is he? Some renowned knight?"
Maxim heard those voices and recalled the man who had once been his friend and rival back in Banseim.
(So my name doesn't carry much weight in other countries, huh. The world really is a big place...)
As he thought of the friend felled by Ceres, Maxim swung his spear. Just then, a Hippogriff dove down from the sky.
Maxim turned his left hand toward the Monster.
"[Sand Arm]"
He cast a spell. But this was no ordinary magic—it was a spell that had been elevated to the level of a Skill.
The arm formed from solidified sand had the appearance of one clad in armor. The massive arm seized the Hippogriff soaring through the sky and crushed it on the spot.
The former knight who had mastered both spear and magic—Maxim Danhel—was a man once counted among the very finest knights in Banseim.
"Sorry, but I can't afford to lose for the young lady's sake. Not a single one gets past here!"
With Monsters attacking wave after wave, Laiel and the others were barely holding on—.
From the highest, most conspicuous point of the fortress, I was directing the command.
I communicated with allies connected through the Connection, surveying the overall situation as I issued orders.
How many personnel were needed where.
Which units to pull back, and at what moment to send in reinforcements.
I was giving those orders, but honestly, it felt more like I was serving as a relay. I organized the stream of incoming information, then issued commands.
Maybe it was because I was standing in such a conspicuous spot, but Monsters kept coming at me one after another. I didn't lift a finger, though. Because—
"Out of my way!"
Monica was knocking back any Monsters that made it to me, sending them flying beyond the fortress walls with her hammer.
Struck by the enormous hammer, the Monsters burst apart mid-air, reduced to a gruesome mess.
And surrounding me, the Valkyries were also on standby. Drawing guns from the binders on their backs, they attacked any Monsters that drew close.
Their marksmanship was impressive enough, but what really stood out was how easily they handled Monsters even at close range.
(The real problem is magic power. These things burn through it like crazy.)
My magic power had grown, but with Skills, four Automatons, and the Jewel all drawing from the same pool, conserving magic power was critical.
(If I keep too many of these running at once, I'll run dry and won't be able to move myself.)
For a short engagement it would be fine, but for a prolonged fight, I concluded that operating this many Valkyries simply wasn't feasible.
While I was mulling this over, Monica waved at me.
"Did you see that, Chicken! These glorious warriors of mine! They can fight AND handle household chores! They're nothing like those cheap knock-offs floating around!"
At Monica, who was waving so cheerfully, three of the Valkyries had leveled their gun barrels with expressionless faces—looking ready to pull the triggers without a moment's hesitation.
"Get serious, all of you! And Monica, stop provoking them!"
Valkyrie Number One clicked her tongue loudly.
"Tch. The Master bailed you out. Klutz."
Then Monica hoisted her enormous hammer up.
"Unexpected accidents are just part of life on the battlefield. I'll scrap you right here and turn you into valuable data for future reference!"
I turned to Clara.
"...Clara, how are things coming along on your end?"
Since the Connection linked our lines, Clara could see my situation completely.
"…The next one is ready. We're using gunpowder, right?"
Then Aria cut in. She'd been asked to manage the cannons inside the fortress.
"Mine's good to go too. But after this next shot, we apparently won't be able to fire for a while. They're talking about washing the barrel or something."
(Cleaning the inside of the barrel? Then I'll have to use magic frequently for a while.)
I addressed everyone.
"You heard that. From now on, I'll use magic in smaller increments, continuously."
Then Miranda chimed in.
"It's a bit tough on our end. Our main knight has pulled back. Can you send Alette?"
Hearing that, I made a difficult face.
"…Shannon, go check on her."
Shannon, suddenly put on the spot, looked reluctant.
"Wha—, me?"
Then Novem spoke to Shannon.
"Please go, Shannon. Also, feel free to take a short break while you're at it."
Reluctantly urged, Shannon headed off to check on Alette's condition.
—Shannon arrived at a special space within the fortress.
A cell had been prepared there, but it wasn't meant for criminals.
The slightly problematic ones from after their growth had been locked inside.
When Shannon stepped inside…
"I'm the only one who can help everyone... Please! Let me out of here!"
"The time has finally come to unseal my right arm. I can't stand the thought of anyone else dying..."
"I... I might be done for already. Taking it all out on Alberno... What a terrible person I am!"
The last one was Crate, sitting in a ball against the wall of his cell, staring blankly. It seemed the contrast of his usually high energy was catching up with him after his growth — he looked utterly dejected.
It was hard to watch.
Shannon couldn't bear to look at them, and for a different reason than the injured.
Making his way to the cell he was looking for, he found Alette bound up and rolled onto the floor.
Rolfis's knights. That is to say, Alette's own subordinates had done this. They couldn't very well let the captain see the state she was in— or so they'd said, before wrapping her up like a mummy and tossing her into the cell.
Alette had been rolled over so that her back was facing Shannon.
"Hey, are you okay? Think you'll be out soon?"
When he asked, Alette rolled over to face Shannon.
"I'm fine! I've got the marriage certificate with me and everything. I'm fully prepared for a battlefield love romance!"
Shannon was dumbfounded.
"Wait, you carry that around with you normally?"
Alette flashed a wonderfully bright smile.
"Yep."
Shannon had a sinking feeling as she said that.
"Didn't you say before that you *didn't* carry it around?"
"Hmph, that was just me playing it cool. I keep it on me at all times so I don't miss any opportunities. I even have a spare."
Shannon let out a long sigh and turned to Riel.
"No good, it seems."
With that, I headed toward the exit from the room lined with cells.
"W-wait! Now that you mention it, that beautiful muscular knight wearing the headband — what's his name? I fell in love with his spear work! I want him to spar with me too!"
Shannon turned back to Alette.
"You mean big brother Maxim? But he already has someone he likes. He's super devoted too. Just so you know, I don't think it's going to happen at your age."
At that, Alette rolled over to face the wall.
"Forget it then."
She was sulking. Then Miranda sent a voice through the Connection to Shannon.
"What are you doing, Shannon! You should've given her some hope there! You could've used her later. Still no luck, huh... That's what happens with people who have a big gap between before and after they level up."
Shannon thought to herself.
(Much as she is my sister, that's pretty harsh. But seriously, if anything, I'd really like big brother Maxim to end up with Adele.)