——House Walt's estate.
There stood a man with grey hair swept back from his forehead. Tracing a well-groomed mustache with his fingertip, he smiled as he read a letter that had arrived from Central. Setting the letter down on the grand desk in his study, he then turned a sharp gaze upon the crumpled report.
That evening, his vassal—Bael Landberg—entered the room, and the current head of House Walt, Meizel Walt, addressed him in a tone of exasperation.
"I'd heard the Eastern Army was defeated, but the scale is worse than I expected. According to reports from Ceres and Claire in Central, only a handful managed to escape… How did that disgrace to House Walt get the better of them like this!"
Wearing a bitter expression, Meizel finished speaking. Bael maintained his serious composure.
"Isn't this a good thing? It proves that even someone expelled from House Walt possessed considerable strength."
Meizel leaned back against his chair, his face still displeased.
"Don't be ridiculous. Ceres has become the Crown Princess's consort, and yet that disgrace goes on obstructing House Walt at every turn. He needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. It seems there are traitors among them as well. Find a pretext and march on Rulence."
Bael countered Meizel's words.
"Master Meizel, Lady Ceres is eagerly awaiting your arrival in Central. Making her wait too long would also be—"
Meizel burst into laughter. The smile was brimming with boundless confidence.
"Naturally, I'm delighted. My dear daughter eagerly awaiting my arrival—what could be better? But as a father, my pride won't allow me to go to Central empty-handed. Tell Ceres I'll be a little delayed."
Bael, recognizing that Meizel's decision would not change, replied.
"At present, the frequency of deployments has been increasing. On top of that, it's winter, so there's a limit to how many we can mobilize. Even if we push it, we'd be looking at a force of tens of thousands."
Meizel spoke with absolute confidence.
"Porter, was it? There's also the technology Ceres brought back to House Walt from Aramsass. Our rear support is well organized. Mobilize the branch families and allied houses as well. There'll be no shortage of people desperate to fight just to see the look on Ceres's face!"
Bael offered his opinion against Meizel's enthusiasm.
"Even so, whether we can reach fifty thousand is another matter. Rulence is thought to have a considerable number of their own, isn't it? Even our spies are struggling to infiltrate. Perhaps waiting a little longer would be advisable?"
Meizel stroked his mustache with his fingertip—
"They must have used the Jewel of House Walt. That's all there is to it. But Skills mean nothing to me. They seem to be getting a bit carried away... but in front of me, it's meaningless. I should also reclaim the Jewel of House Walt that he took out. He himself has no worth as a Jewel bearer, but it is a precious family heirloom. The old fool hid it away and gave it to him — that's what started all this. Honestly, Father could be such a handful."
Meizel said this, and Bael nodded in agreement.
"Before Lord Broad passed away... Lady Xenoa had already gone before him. Perhaps his spirits were quite low because of it."
When the topic turned to the Seventh Generation, Broad, Meizel lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
"That strict father of mine..."
"...growing senile..."
"...the sight was pitiful. Telling me to 'wake up'... What was he trying to say?"
The two sat in silence for a while. Finally, Meizel spoke.
"...Hurry the preparations. Even if we can't take his head, I want to deliver victory to Ceres."
No matter the circumstances, the difference in how Meizel treated Ceres and Lyle was stark —
"You're asking about Father? Well, um... ah, I don't have many memories of him."
I gave a vague answer, but in truth, I had lost nearly all of my memories. Because of that, my knowledge about my father, Meizel Walt, was severely lacking.
The current head of House Walt, who had climbed to the very pinnacle of power in Banseim —
And now, he was mercilessly annihilating Ceres's enemies.
Inside the Jewel.
In the Round Table chamber, I sat across from my grandfather, the Seventh Generation. The Third Generation, perhaps not wanting to intrude, had retreated to his own memory room.
The Seventh Generation wore a slightly — no, a deeply troubled expression.
"...Lyle, you are my grandson as well, but Meizel is my son. That is precisely why there are things I must say."
My memories of my father were truly sparse. In the few that remained, before being cast aside, he had been genuinely kind. He was strict, yes, but there was warmth there too.
Considering his attitude after being cast aside, that much was clear.
"Meizel never placed importance on the Jewel. Do you know why?"
I tilted my head. True, once I had obtained it, the blue stone had become the blue Jewel. Even so, every one of the Skills left behind by the Successive Heads possessed performance that could only be called extraordinary.
There was no way Father hadn't known about them, so why hadn't he investigated the one Grandpa Zell held? If he had put his mind to it, he should have been able to look into it and find it easily enough.
"Now that I think about it, it really is strange. He had no attachment to a family heirloom... which is odd in itself. He took great pride in House Walt."
House Walt's pride — and it was because of that pride that Father's grandfather, the Sixth Generation Finez, had detested the dirty deeds that had been done.
Then why hadn't Father obtained the Jewel?
"Meizel had no need for the Jewel. Or rather, it held no value beyond that of a mere ornament, since Meizel cannot wield the Skills of the Jewel."
"Cannot wield them? Did Father have some kind of problem? He didn't seem that way to me."
Father had been a remarkable man, just like the Successive Heads — or at least, I believed so. Before being driven mad by Ceres, he had earnestly strived to become a worthy lord.
The Seventh Generation spoke to me about Father.
"No, he was outstanding. And precisely because he was outstanding, Meizel could not use the blue stone. Meizel... possesses a Skill that inhibits the use of other Skills. His own Skills are so powerful that he cannot even use Mana Tools."
Hearing that, I finally understood why Father had never been fixated on the Jewel.
The royal castle of Rolfis.
Anneliné had risen halfway from her throne before one of the Valkyries stationed in Rolfis.
"W-what did you just say?"
The audience hall was filled with other key figures, and they were receiving a report from a delegation that had been dispatched to Rufens, surrounding the maid-uniformed Valkyrie as she delivered her account.
The Valkyrie spoke without expression, in a flat tone.
"In other words, a marriage has been concluded between Master's vassal, Lord Baldoa Landberg, and your nation's Knight Order Deputy Commander, Lady Alette Baier. It is said to be a splendid outcome for both our nations. Lord Baldoa is one of Master's closest retainers. Barring any surprises, his advancement is all but certain, and while there is currently a gap in status, the positions will inevitably be reversed in time —"
"That is not the issue! Why — why has Alette gone and gotten married without so much as consulting me?! Shouldn't she have at least informed me first?!"
Those surrounding the throne murmured sentiments much the same as Anneliné's.
"That is certainly true. The marriage of a Deputy Commander is beyond anything we anticipated."
"However, there are benefits to be had."
"That changes nothing about the current situation! Zayin, Galleria, and Rusworth have all sent brides to the Alliance Leader — brides of appropriate rank! I'm sure there are benefits, but if this goes any further, won't there be backlash from those around us?"
Valkyrie watched the reactions of those gathered, her crimson eyes moving from face to face.
From Rolfis's perspective, the ideal outcome would have been for Anneline to marry Laiel. However, that would leave the throne vacant, so Anneline would remain stationed in Rolfis. The most desirable scenario was that she would produce an heir, who would then succeed to the throne.
They could be called unreasonable for expecting all of this, but Rolfis had its own circumstances. Voices had begun to question why they had cooperated to this extent without even a marriage having been arranged.
Considering the situation abroad, the moment Rolfis withdrew from the Union, it would collapse. They understood that clearly. But they could not simply neglect their domestic problems either.
Chancellor Lombolt, sweat streaming from his head, spoke.
"You... would not recognize a marriage with Lady Anneline? Could you perhaps tell us the reason why?"
Valkyrie answered in a level tone.
"It is precisely because we have both parties' best interests at heart. Furthermore, Lord Baldoa shares a distant kinship with our Master. Should he voice any dissatisfaction, even if our Master himself harbors no ill will toward Rolfis, consider how those around her would react."
The siblings of the Sixth Generation had married into House Landberg as well. Because of that, Laiel and Baldoa were related by marriage. It was a lord-and-vassal relationship, and while the sense of kinship between them was faint, to outside observers, refusing the match would have been a problem in itself.
There were issues on Laiel's side as well, but Rolfis had no shortage of problems of its own. Both sides were unsteady, and if the discussion continued as it was, they would only sink deeper into a quagmire.
Lombolt turned to Valkyrie.
"Then... we shall recognize the marriage of Alette Baier. We will prepare a formal written congratulatory message at a later date."
Valkyrie pinched the hem of her skirt between her fingertips and performed an elegant curtsy.
"Thank you. I am grateful for the magnanimity of your nation."
However, Anneline alone was another matter.
"W-wait just a moment! Chancellor, what about my marriage?! You were the one who said it was necessary for the nation!"
Before the commotion Anneline was stirring up, the Valkyries thought to themselves.
((Anti-Skill, let me just mention that))
Receiving such bombshell treatment, Anneline was promptly escorted out of the audience chamber by Rombolt and his entourage—.
Night.
In my bedroom within the Lufens royal castle, I sat in a chair, gazing up at the night sky through the window. The room should have been warm, yet I couldn't shake the chill that seemed to emanate from my core.
I held the Jewel's chain in my right hand, lifting it to examine the blue gem bathed in moonlight.
"…Anti-Skill, huh. That's trouble."
A skill that nullifies the use of other skills. Simply put, my father had the means to strip away my advantage with ease.
The ability to convey information via skills, to perceive the surrounding terrain and confirm enemy positions—those were the foundations. Coupled with skill-enhanced physical abilities, that's what had allowed even a ragtag group like ours to hold our own. If those were taken away, the gap in raw, fundamental power would become glaringly obvious.
Even with talented individuals, when looked at as a whole, the army under my father's House Walt command was superior, from unified will to seamless coordination.
Training, equipment, and on top of that, a difference in experience—considering all these factors, being unable to use skills was a serious problem. Especially when interference from a Mana Tool's skill rendered the Jewel unusable, cutting off my line to Monica.
I couldn't count on Monica's assistance.
"Putting it all together, I've come to rely on them quite heavily. If I didn't have my skills, where would I be now…"
As I voiced these gloomy thoughts, the Third Generation's voice called out from within the Jewel.
*"Quite the defeatist attitude you've got there. It's true, Laiel, your skills have carried you through many battles. But I don't think it's *only* that. To command a large army, yes, you need ability, but many other things are required besides. Even with skills, you couldn't have created the situation we're in now."*
The Seventh Generation also spoke to me.
*"Exactly. Have more confidence. It wasn't just skills. It was your own strength that brought us this far."*
Hearing that made me feel a little better. I tightened my grip on the Jewel in my right hand and murmured.
"Still, skill inhibition… if it means I can't use any of the Successive Heads' weapons either, that complicates things considerably. It's not like we're in a strong position to begin with."
The soldiers who had fled had turned to banditry, and we were diverting manpower to suppress them. Their numbers were quite large.
Furthermore, many of the soldiers rounded up from Baim were volunteers who had already returned to civilian life. Even if all of our remaining forces stayed, we couldn't hold out, and the soldiers from the Four-Nation Alliance were already beginning to return home.
The Third Generation paused, lost in thought for a moment.
"…You should gather soldiers you can trust and prepare a core force as quickly as possible. Depending on the situation, the soldiers on our side might betray us."
The many soldiers they had conscripted. The Third Generation said they needed to weed out only the trustworthy ones and forge them into an elite force.
"How much can we train them from scratch by the time it matters… and on top of that, we need to be ready to respond if the enemy comes."
The Seventh Generation said, laughing.
"Laiel, think on a broader scale. Surely you're not thinking something as mundane as 'just train the trustworthy soldiers from among the ranks normally,' are you?"
"That's not what you mean?"
The Third Generation chuckled.
"Honestly, after all your time as an adventurer, how have you not figured this out? When you need to take advantage of something in a pinch like this, there's a convenient tool available, isn't there?"
The Third Generation's words jolted me to attention.
"The Dungeon! But wait… I mean, fundamentally, the skills required of adventurers and soldiers are completely different, aren't they?"
In truth, that had been exactly the problem with Baim's soldiers. They had centered their force on adventurers but were still overwhelmed by Banseim's army through sheer numbers. And they weren't accustomed to fighting fellow humans.
The Seventh Generation spoke.
"It's perfect for raising individual skill while also improving squad-level coordination. And more importantly—Laiel, don't you think your always-active Skill could be useful here? At the very least, you'd be training commanders and their deputies. Or rather—"
The Third Generation picked up where the Seventh Generation left off.
"We want to fight inside the Dungeon with our own forces. Right now is the only time we can deploy large numbers of soldiers and act without worrying about adventurer etiquette."
As I mulled it over, the Seventh Generation spoke again.
"It also doubles as training for messengers and troop movement. Laiel, why not think of it as letting the others gain experience? If you're providing support, there won't be any major casualties. We can level them up quickly and strengthen the army in the process. And as a bonus, we can fill in the shortage of commander-class personnel."
I decided to follow the two of them's advice.
"Understood. But if I'm participating, I won't be able to leave this place much."
The Third Generation said with a laugh.
"It's fine. Laiel's Skills have been growing rapidly since his growth phase too. Maybe thanks to the Fifth Generation and Mireia? Now then, let's begin House Walt's army strengthening! This is getting fun!"
Come to think of it, the only convenient nearby Dungeon was the one managed by Baim. Now that I thought about it, this was actually my first time setting foot in Baim's Dungeon.