As we moved toward the knight apprentices' specialized building, Luefen, who had apparently been deep in thought the entire time, suddenly looked up with a start.
"Alright! This time, let's settle things with a Treasure-Stealing Ditter! Recently, it's all been about competing in speed, and we haven't done treasure-stealing in ages, so I'm really looking forward to it. Back in my younger days as a teacher..."
Luefen seemed quite enthusiastic, but it didn't look like he was trying to ensure
He was the dormitory supervisor for a greater duchy, so perhaps, despite appearing to have nothing on his mind, he was actually quite shrewd. Or maybe he simply couldn't imagine Dunkelfelger losing at all.
At my murmur,
"Luefen probably wants nothing more than to play Ditter with Lady
Apparently, Luefen was extremely fired up about winning the Ditter in the interduchy tournament. That was why he was wary of me—the Chief Priest's disciple said to have created legends.
"Luefen-sensei's intentions don't seem to have anything to do with this matter, though?"
"That's true. Whether Lord Restault becomes the master of the library's Magical Tools or not isn't particularly important to Luefen—assessing Ehrenfest's strength is what matters. ...There are several students whose growth in Magic Power has been extraordinary, and every single instructor's jaw has dropped at the improvement in this year's academic grades."
The glances I felt cutting toward me stung a little. I had dangled some incentives and given them pushes in the right direction here and there, but the academic grades were entirely their own efforts. I had very little to do with it.
Rather than that, what really brought my mood down was the mental image of Luefen coming to challenge us to a rematch after Ehrenfest's victory, his eyes blazing with enthusiasm.
"If I win this match, Luefen-sensei seems like he'll become extremely troublesome... Am I allowed to win?"
"What are you saying, Lady Rozemyne!? If you don't win,
...Hirschur-sensei was fired up too because she had a research stake in this.
Winning was a foregone conclusion, but it would be best if I didn't stand out too much. It would be ideal if we could manage with just the knights I had blessed, but these were knights who had never even put together a proper strategy before. Could they win a game like Treasure-Stealing Ditter, where the whole point was to outmaneuver the opponent?
...Outmaneuvering the opponent. That really did sound like something the Chief Priest would excel at.
Desperately searching my memory for anything useful from the Chief Priest's tactical reference books, I tried to recall any relevant passages. Before long, we arrived at the arena.
...It was huge!
The circular training ground, designed for flying around on ride-beasts, seemed to be about the size of a baseball field from my previous life. The sky, covered in grey clouds flecked with snow, looked vast overhead, making it appear like an outdoor arena, but I couldn't feel any wind or snow at all. It was as if there were a transparent roof.
Coming straight in from the corridor connecting to the main building, the place where I now stood appeared to be the spectator area. I could only guess, though, because the surrounding spectator area wasn't tiered like stadium seating, nor was it angled. It would be difficult to watch from here, so I couldn't definitively call it the spectator section.
The competition area was significantly lower than where I was now standing. Inside, I could see several large circles drawn on the ground.
Luefen stopped in the spectator area and turned around with a lively expression. He swept his gaze across the Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest knight apprentices, then spoke.
"I'll explain the Treasure-Stealing Ditter. It's different from the Ditter you normally train for, so pay attention."
What followed was an explanation of the Treasure-Stealing Ditter.
First, you hunt the fey beasts that will serve as treasures yourselves. You weaken them enough so they don't kill you, but you must leave them lively enough that they can't be easily stolen by the opponent.
If you accidentally kill a fey beast in your own camp during the competition, you lose, so the level of force you use against the fey beasts is a major factor in Treasure-Stealing Ditter.
The treasure fey beasts are placed within your designated camp area. Then, you must intercept and defend against enemies coming for your treasure, while simultaneously raiding the enemy's camp to defeat or steal their fey beast.
"I'll decide the number of participants. We'll match the smaller side, but how many does Ehrenfest have?"
"Twenty-five."
"If we announce the number we can field, then the larger Dunkelfelger gets to choose their roster to match, so Ehrenfest is at a disadvantage from the selection stage, isn't it?"
At my murmur, Cornelius gave a slight shrug.
"The selection method is the same in the interduchy tournament. That's exactly why smaller duchies have such a hard time winning. However, gathering strong talent is also part of one's capabilities. On the other hand, knight apprentices who aren't chosen in a greater duchy have no chance to shine for their entire time at the Noble Academy, so you can't really say which is better."
Naturally, one's usual grades, as well as performance and battle records in the interduchy tournament, had a significant impact on recruitment to the central ministries and one's assignments after coming of age. Having no opportunity to shine was apparently a serious problem.
"Now, we'll determine the camps. Originally, the Treasure-Stealing Ditter uses the areas around each dormitory, but this time, we'll split left and right across the arena. The circles for summoning the number two and number four fey beasts will serve as each camp. Place the treasure fey beasts there as well."
The arena had several large circles drawn as lines for summoning fey beasts during regular training. Luefen pointed at the circles on each end as he spoke.
These large circles functioned as magic circles that could keep fey beasts contained within the area. Once you touched a captured fey beast to the circle, it would be unable to leave on its own.
"For this Treasure-Stealing Ditter, there will be a time limit. If Dunkelfelger defeats or steals the fey beast guarded by Ehrenfest within the time limit, Dunkelfelger wins. Conversely, if Ehrenfest holds out until time expires, or defeats or steals Dunkelfelger's fey beast, Ehrenfest wins. Naturally, if you kill your own fey beast, you lose."
Defeating a fey beast turned it into a feystone. That was when the result was decided. Stealing meant transporting the fey beast from the enemy camp to your own without killing it, but apparently nobody would bother with such a troublesome approach.
"Any questions?"
"Yes!"
I raised my hand enthusiastically.
"Is it alright to use feystones or Magical Tools during the Ditter match? For example, creating a barrier with feystones..."
"That's fine. In the old dormitory-versus-dormitory Treasure-Stealing Ditters that were held across the entire Noble Academy grounds, using Magical Tools was standard practice. If the match drags on or someone gets injured, you'd need to use recovery potions too."
"Understood. Thank you very much."
...The Chief Priest must have had all sorts of hidden stashes.
As I gently pressed the leather pouch at my waist, checking by touch that my recovery potions and feystones were inside, Luefen seemed to notice something and looked up.
"...Hmm? Wait a moment! Don't tell me you're planning to participate!? A first-year lord candidate who isn't even a knight apprentice!? You could die!"
Just like Luefen, the Ehrenfest knight apprentices apparently hadn't considered that I might participate at all. They clamored: "It's dangerous, please don't!"; "Please just watch quietly!"; and "Fighting is our job!"
"This is the match to decide who will be the master of Schwartz and Weiss. Isn't it only natural for me to participate?"
"That spirit—I love it! Lord Restault, you participate as well!"
Restault, who had apparently been there to spectate, was dragged out by Luefen's booming voice. I was glared at with an extremely unhappy expression.
"When the next bell rings, the match begins. Until then, both sides should work out your strategies."
"Yes, sir!"
The front circle became Ehrenfest's camp, and the circle at the far end became Dunkelfelger's camp. The Dunkelfelger members promptly mounted their ride-beasts and flew off to their camp.
After watching them leave, I was scolded by Cornelius—"Participating is way too reckless!"—before we began our strategy meeting.
Treasure-Stealing Ditter required hunting fey beasts from the start, so we had to begin by selecting which fey beast to use as our treasure.
A fey beast that was too weak would be defeated by the opponent in the blink of an eye. But if we chose a strong one, it would be difficult for us to capture, and the allies who needed to defend it would be under constant attack.
"However, this time, please hunt a fey beast that isn't too strong."
"Not too strong? How strong would that be?"
"One that I can leave alone after binding it with a schtappe's light band, but that won't die just from being bound and left. And please keep it from being too large."
"Why? Then we'll be easily defeated by strong opponents like Dunkelfelger!"
I lightly waved off
"It's fine. I'll bind them up and stuff them into my ride-beast, so they won't be easy to steal."
I had been told by the Chief Priest that the inside of my ride-beast was filled with my own Magic Power, so as long as they were inside, the fey beasts would be safe. Even if the Lesserbus was attacked, it wouldn't be destroyed as long as the attacker's Magic Power didn't exceed mine. As a lord candidate who compressed her Magic Power relentlessly, I doubted there was any knight apprentice who could outmatch me in Magic Power.
When I told them this, the knight apprentices' eyes went wide with astonishment.
"That's, well... isn't that..."
"Isn't it underhanded to put them somewhere the opponent can't even touch?"
"Why? I was told I had to keep the fey beast within my own camp, but I wasn't told I couldn't use my ride-beast within my camp."
"In Ditter, fighting from ride-beasts is the norm, isn't it?"
Exactly—in Ditter, being on a ride-beast was standard practice. There was no room to complain about keeping the treasure on a ride-beast.
"I'll just be riding my ride-beast and staying within my camp. If a fey beast is inside with me, and neither of us leaves the camp, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
I let out a soft sigh at the stunned knight apprentices.
"What's wrong with guarding the treasure perfectly? I just need to protect the fey beast without letting it die. Besides, the opponent might use the same trick."
"There's absolutely no way they'd do that. Nobody would use a ride-beast—the very thing they need for mobility—as a fey beast storage unit."
Beyond that, knight apprentices didn't even own ride-beasts you could enter, so it was impossible for them.
"You all said the opponent would be completely unable to do anything, but when I put a fey beast inside the Lesserbus, it's not like there's no way to counter it at all. It's just unusual, so it might not occur to them right away."
"Huh?"
Looking around at the blinking knight apprentices, I shrugged. I needed to tell them about this weakness so they would guard against it properly. I dropped a hint.
"Do you remember the victory conditions,
"Hold out until time expires, defeat the enemy's fey beast... Was there something else?"
Cornelius suddenly looked up as if struck by a thought.
"Steal it. ...You're saying the treasure could be stolen along with the ride-beast?"
"Yes. Just like when I was abducted two years ago, there's a possibility of being taken along with the ride-beast. It's an unconventional method, so I don't know if they'd think of it immediately..."
"...If the opponent does think of it, Lady Rozemyne, you'll be in danger."
Cornelius said this with a pained expression.
"As long as the match is decided, there's no danger to me personally as long as I'm inside the Lesserbus. Back then, I wouldn't have been abducted at all if I hadn't tried to climb out of the overturned Lesserbus."
"Even so, I don't want to put Lady Rozemyne in danger again."
I let out a soft sigh at Cornelius's reluctance.
"Outmaneuvering the opponent is tactics. Fighting head-on isn't the only way to battle. We're at a disadvantage in raw strength against Dunkelfelger from the selection stage, so we should exploit every opening we can to outmaneuver them. Use anyone and anything, whether they're family or someone you owe—set traps, lead the enemy into them, and secure the best possible outcome for yourself. If you only rely on brute-force frontal assaults, you'll never develop the calculating ruthlessness that Lord Ferdinand has. ...Wait a minute. Actually, on second thought, maybe you don't need to develop that after all."
I had a feeling that if more people like the Chief Priest appeared around me, I'd be in real trouble. As I hurriedly backtracked, Cornelius chuckled and said, "Having heard the details of this plan, I feel that Lady Rozemyne has been most influenced by Lord Ferdinand." The surrounding knight apprentices all nodded in agreement.
...What? Am I really that ruthless?
"So, to summarize Lady Rozemyne's proposal: for this Ditter, we move the treasure to the safest possible location and focus entirely on defense. Is that correct?"
"I think that's a solid plan."
If defense alone could win, then focusing on defense was the proper approach. Besides, Ehrenfest's knight apprentices had only ever practiced charging in and swarming fey beasts, so this would be a good opportunity for them to practice defensive tactics.
"You've only been doing speed-based Ditters recently, haven't you? No training in holding a defensive position. But once you become guard knights, you need to be able to fight with a focus on defense."
I directed my gaze toward Angelica and Traugott, who embodied the principle that the best defense is a good offense.
"Looking at past results, Dunkelfelger excels at coordinated strikes to precisely take down their enemies. Since speed has been the focus, they've probably been emphasizing offense too. This time, all we have to do is hold our defense and we win—so they'll be desperate to break through our shield."
"That makes sense."
"As time runs low, they'll focus too heavily on offense, leaving gaps in their own defense—that's when we strike. So for now, hold the defensive line."
Most of the knight apprentices nodded, but Traugott, unable to contain himself, spoke up.
"Focusing on defense isn't Ditter at all!"
"Traugott?"
"Lady Rozemyne, I want to charge in with everything I've got!"
Having only ever done Ditter where you charged at fey beasts and competed in speed, Traugott clearly couldn't stand the idea of a purely defensive match. Since this was such a drastic change in approach, maybe I should set up an outlet for him.
"...Traugott, if you can hold back for a while, I'll set up a chance for you to go all out."
"Lady Rozemyne, please set one up for me too! I want to strike the fey beast with everything I have!"
The moment I gave Traugott permission, Angelica's eyes lit up, demanding her own spotlight.
"Understood. I'll prepare one for Angelica too. ...Cornelius, I'll need you to supervise the two of them."
"...Very well."
Cornelius looked exasperated as he watched the two of them buzzing with excitement. If those two charged out, there was no bringing them back—Cornelius was the only one who could.
"To create an opening... I need someone good at throwing. Is there anyone who can hurl stones or short spears at the enemy camp?"
"Yes! I'm good at that! Will I get to have a moment to shine too?"
Judit cheerfully raised her hand, saying she was skilled with a sling. I gave a small nod and decided to recruit her.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Judit. Stay with me and the ride-beast, okay?"
"Yes!"
"This time, as long as we protect the treasure, we win—so for now, it's defense only. Patience is important too. Think of it as defensive practice, and fight with the goal of repelling the enemy's attacks. ...That said, you don't just stand there holding shields up. Reducing the enemy's numbers with your weapons is also part of defending. The key is to maintain your formation—don't charge out alone toward the enemy camp. Fight together, in coordination."
"Yes, sir!"
By the time we had divided into those going to hunt and those staying behind, the fifth bell had rung. The hunt had begun.
The moment the bell sounded, knights from both Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger mounted their ride-beasts and flew out. Judit, Leonore, and I stayed behind.
"Lady Rozemyne, do you think we can beat Dunkelfelger?"
Leonore murmured, gazing up at the departing ride-beasts with a worried look.
"I intend to win. Do you think we'll lose, Leonore?"
"...We've never beaten Dunkelfelger before, so it's hard to imagine winning."
"We've never beaten them in speed-based Ditters. This is Treasure-Stealing Ditter, and the opponent is inexperienced too, so we have a chance."
In the worst case, I was prepared to even stall for time using Shutselia's shield while riding with the treasure to secure a victory. I had absolutely no intention of losing. I just wanted it to look as much as possible like the knights had won through their own strength rather than mine.
"After the hunt is over and they bring the fey beasts back to camp, the competition starts, right? How long does hunting take?"
"Lady Rozemyne, the competition has already started. That bell from earlier was the signal to begin. We're in the middle of it right now."
At my question, Judit laughed and shook her head.
Surprised by the answer, I looked around the arena. I could see a few knight apprentices and Restault remaining in Dunkelfelger's camp, but they weren't doing anything in particular. They were simply waiting for their knights to return from the hunt.
"...If the Ditter has already started, why aren't we attacking the enemy camp?"
"What's the point of attacking the enemy camp when there's no treasure there?"
"We could ambush the enemies as they return from hunting fey beasts."
They'd be bringing their fey beasts back, so they'd be carrying dangerous cargo and would be exhausted to boot. Plus, if they were heading back to their own camp, they'd probably be off their guard, making them easy to take down.
"Lady Rozemyne, the match would end before it even really starts!"
"Judit, what are you talking about? The Ditter has already begun, hasn't it?"
"That's true. I hadn't considered that."
Leonore blinked several times. Up until now, they had only trained for Ditter where the teacher prepared the fey beasts first, then gave the start signal, and only then did they attack. Since they had never experienced Treasure-Stealing Ditter—where the hunt itself was part of the competition—they simply hadn't noticed.
"A reference book on
While Judit tilted her head in confusion, Leonore began to reconsider the attack on the enemy camp that I had suggested.
"Lady Rozemyne, let's revise our strategy. Once everyone returns from hunting, should we attack the enemy camp?"
"...If possible, I'd like to attack the enemy camp first. But if the knights who went hunting come back while we're attacking, we'd get caught in a pincer."
"Our fighting force is weaker, and even though they're fewer in number, the ones left behind are all elites."
Since we didn't know how long it would take Dunkelfelger to hunt their fey beasts, attacking the enemy camp after everyone returned was a bit too risky.
"Rather than attacking the enemy camp, let's launch an all-out surprise attack on Dunkelfelger as they return with their captured fey beast. If we defeat the fey beast on the spot, we win right there."
Rather than risking an attack on the empty camp—which didn't even have the treasure that counted as a victory condition—ambushing the exhausted knights returning with their fey beasts had a much higher chance of success.
"What if we can't defeat it?"
Judit asked nervously, and Leonore gave a slight shrug.
"There's no problem at all. We simply fall back to our original strategy of focusing on defense."
Since we had decided to hunt a fey beast that wasn't too strong, Ehrenfest's knights naturally returned first.
The one they brought back, already wrapped up in a schtappe's light band, was a cat-like magical beast called a Ferze, which was one rank above a Zantze.
"Is such a small fey beast really okay as the treasure? Won't it die from the shockwave of our Magic Power alone?"
Casting a sideways glance at the Dunkelfelger knight apprentices laughing in their camp, I summoned my ride-beast.
The captured fey beast was loaded into the back seat of the family-car-sized Lesserbus, and the door was closed.
...This should do it!
"Wh-what is that!?"
"Could that be... the legendary ride-beast!?"
I glanced at the panic rippling through the enemy camp, then looked at my own knights, who wore expressions that defied description.
"We've changed our strategy. We'll launch a full-scale ambush on Dunkelfelger as they return with their captured fey beast."
After my words, Leonore explained about the passages in Eckhart's reference book and how the knights' minds were stuck in the speed-based Ditter approach, leaving them unprepared for Treasure-Stealing Ditter.
"Is all-out attack really fine?"
"You can even kill the fey beast. However, to prevent the enemy from scattering during our ambush, we'll advance from here like this and strike toward the enemy camp in a hammering motion. We need to secure our rear and be able to retreat immediately if the ambush fails."
There was also the possibility of being attacked while our camp was exposed during the ambush, so some defensive measures were necessary. We split into those going on the attack and those staying behind on defense. Then, having everyone transform their schtappes into their respective weapons, we feigned a patrol on our ride-beasts while secretly assembling our attack formation.
Cornelius put a damper on Traugott, who was practically buzzing with excitement.
"There's a chance Dunkelfelger won't flinch from a surprise attack. Don't let your guard down for a second."
"I know."
"Angelica, Traugott—you must follow Cornelius's orders at all times. When he tells you to fall back, fall back immediately. Anyone who can't do that will have no place to shine in the future."
Staring down Angelica and Traugott as I said this, the two exchanged glances and nodded.
The enemy had apparently hunted a textbook fey beast for the Treasure-Stealing Ditter. From a distance, I could see a large fey beast thrashing about in a glowing net.
"Not yet. Wait until they're closer."
Dunkelfelger was gradually descending in altitude, and I could hear cheers of joy from the enemy camp at the size of the captured fey beast.
"A Schnefeldt! Well done! Perfect!"
The fey beast Dunkelfelger had hunted, a magical beast called a Schnefeldt, was said to be the easiest to use in Treasure-Stealing Ditter. It had tough hide to withstand enemy attacks and was a relatively docile creature. Relatively, that is. From my perspective, it looked like a somewhat small, rough-skinned hippopotamus.
"Is everyone down? An attack from behind would be a problem."
"They're all accounted for."
Angelica, with her enhanced vision, counted the knights and confirmed.
"Now!"
The Treasure-Stealing Ditter begins.
Ehrenfest was ready and raring to ambush from the very start.
Next time, Part 2.