——Shannon was writing a picture diary in her room.
Shannon was blind, but she could see the flow of magical power. For someone like Shannon, words and pictures were essentially meaningless.
However, recently she had started keeping a picture diary using the ink and colored materials that Monica and the others had prepared. Miranda had told her—half forcibly—that she needed to keep one, because if she didn't do anything, her reading, writing, and arithmetic would all deteriorate.
And so, Shannon kept her picture diary with the support of the Valkyries.
Month X, Day X.
"Today, Laiel was being chased around by Fidel."
"Apparently, Laiel had forgotten about Vera or something, and Fidel chased her for it. Laiel kept apologizing the whole time."
"Once freed, Laiel swore revenge on Erhard for revealing her location."
"In truth, it was me who told where she was. Laiel got the wrong idea."
"But thanks to that, I got lots of sweets from Fidel."
"I felt bad, so I gave some sweets to Erhard. He tilted his head, but I hope he'll forgive me now."
On top of the pages she had written so far, there were drawings of sweets and of Laiel being chased by Fidel. There was also a drawing of Erhard.
That said, even though Shannon was receiving support, she apparently had some artistic talent—the drawings had taken recognizable shape. She could read the flow of magical power and grasp the forms of things, so she had a solid sense of shape.
Colors were still a bit tricky, though, and she received help from the Valkyrie on the finer details. As a side note, the Valkyrie helping her was on the Sakurai sisters' side.
"Ah, I'm done~"
To Shannon, who was stretching her back, the Valkyrie said:
"Your hands are dirty, so please wipe them first. That said, you've improved so much since before. If that's the case, shall I prepare a nicer diary for you?"
Shannon rested her face on the desk.
"No way. Before, three lines was enough, but now I'm told to write more and draw properly on top of that."
Valkyrie dried Shannon's picture diary as she went.
"I'm sure Miranda is happy about it too. Still, I was surprised — you actually have artistic talent."
Shannon pushed her hair back. Valkyrie was saying things like "Oh, there's ink in your hair," but Shannon didn't care.
"See, I told you I'm talented. A prodigy, right? That's why."
Looking at Shannon putting on her usual airs, Valkyrie felt a warmth in her chest.
"That confidence — and all those hopeless bits about you — it's honestly the best. I hope your little chick inherits the less admirable side of your master."
Even Shannon realized she was being made fun of at this point, but it was the second half of that statement she actually wanted to hear about.
She tilted her head.
"Normally, wouldn't you hope it *doesn't* inherit the bad parts?"
At that, Valkyrie made an exaggerated gesture. Her expression, however, didn't change at all, which made the whole thing oddly unsettling.
"Not at all! The more hopeless it is, the more worth there is in doing your best for it! By the way, you're actually the most popular of all the Valkyries, Shannon."
Shannon thought to herself.
*I don't know... that's not exactly a flattering review.*
As she was thinking that, Miranda returned to the room. She looked tired — no doubt from the meetings that had been going on day after day in South Baim.
The conferences, which had started with little momentum and still hadn't produced much of substance, continued to drag on. It was no wonder she was exhausted.
"Oh, you finished the picture diary? Let me see."
Miranda took Shannon's diary from her and began flipping through it.
"...There was a whole fuss about Liriel appointing Erhard as some sort of free knight. Could this be the reason?"
Shannon took the picture diary back from Miranda as she replied.
"A free knight?"
Free knight — I understood the knight part, but the "free" part didn't make sense to me. Then Miranda began stripping in the room. When the Valkyries collected her clothes, Miranda had changed into loungewear she had prepared, standing there in her underwear.
"A knight rank, but a knight without a lord, I suppose? Look, the Guild is entirely under Liriel's control, right? So they've been putting out this idea of granting knight titles to trustworthy adventurer parties or mercenary groups."
Shannon found the whole thing strange.
"Dangling rewards when you're trying to get revenge — doesn't make any sense. Or maybe it's actually a terrible position to be in?"
Miranda grinned.
"Not really. For an adventurer, it's the ultimate proof of trust. It's a knightly title recognized by the country. It gives you an advantage when entering military service, and the credibility you carry on jobs is on a different level. Of course, from Liriel's perspective, the idea seems to be that since he's appointing them as knights, they should work hard for the sake of the world and its people. I don't think the specifics of the compensation have even been decided yet, but it's probably quite troublesome. If it were me, I'd refuse."
Shannon thought.
(Knowing Liriel, it's not going to be all benefits. Sigh, I should go apologize to Erhard properly.)
"But I was the one who told you where Liriel was, wasn't I?"
When Shannon said that awkwardly, Miranda waved her hand.
"Oh, that's fine. Apparently Erhard actually cooperated with Fidel too. You know, before, he was forced into accompanying a female adventurer on a job. So in retaliation, Erhard helped Fidel out. And apparently he's still not over it. I think he said something like, 'I'm working hard too, so you work hard as well.' Well, it's just the usual squabbling between comrades."
Shannon thought — not about how Erhard was being Erhard or how Liriel's anger was incomprehensible or anything like that.
(I didn't need to give him those sweets after all. I'll redo the picture diary.)
And so Shannon decided to redo her picture diary out of sheer frustration —.
"I'm working hard too. You work hard as well. Oh, and let me congratulate you, Erhard."
"You bastard, don't screw with me!"
South Baim Adventurer's Guild.
Inside that cramped Guild, I had brought along a small medal I'd had a craftsman prepare and went to see Erhard. I'd gone out of my way to have him summoned to the Guild.
However, as soon as I explained, Erhard started getting furious.
"I can't understand why you'd be angry. We're just recognizing your abilities and promising you appropriate compensation. The details aren't finalized yet, but I'm offering you a position as a knight without a lord. And there's a reward to go with it, too."
The reward in the leather bag was gold coins. Not a lot, but to other adventurers it would certainly seem like a fortune.
"Don't you go doing extra things! You know what you're doing, right!"
"Not sure what you mean. But hey, this'll make you popular again. It's like you've achieved the goal you had when we first met. Really, I'm so jealous."
I wasn't jealous at all, not even a little. It was just fun to mess with him. Erhard, troubled over his woman problems — I knew exactly what I was doing.
Third Generation inside the Jewel seemed amused too.
"The key to revenge is making the other person miserable in the way they hate most. Lyle, this man personally finds this most aggravating, so it really is proper revenge! What a wonderful reward!"
I agreed with Third Generation's assessment.
Erhard, who had chased Fidel around and helped him do it — this guy kept going on about wanting a harem, and yet when I went and arranged one for him, he threw a tantrum.
On top of that, he'd even gone and gotten his revenge. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
"Well, this means your future's secure now. As expected of South Baim's number one adventurer. I'll be counting on you from here on too. Oh, right, right… you can't refuse to accept this, by the way. This system also benefits the Guild that produces free knights. The Guild is thrilled about it too."
I pinned the medal onto Erhard with a smile.
I'd had a few trial versions made, and I'd picked out the most fitting one to bring along. Going forward, this would serve as proof of a free knight.
A free knight who serves no lord yet crosses borders to protect the powerless. I truly hoped this would become something everyone aspired to.
Third Generation adopted a serious tone.
"Simply cracking down on adventurers isn't enough, after all. Showing them that there's something worth striving for is important."
Erhard was looking past the Guild's counter. There, Marianne — the woman he admired — was looking our way.
She was waving her hand slightly with a cheerful smile. That was probably because Erhard had received the medal and been recognized. And as a bonus, the Guild stood to benefit in various ways, so she'd naturally be happy as its proprietor.
It had been Third Generation's suggestion, one that made it impossible to refuse, and seeing Erhard's frustrated expression told me the plan had succeeded. That made me happy.
…Well, a knightly position that everyone aspired to. And with a secure future to boot — the surrounding adventurers were watching like they wanted to eat him alive.
Maybe Erhard was thinking he didn't want to stand out any more than he already did.
I made sure no one around could see, then grabbed Erhard by both shoulders.
He'd gotten warmer, but he was still wearing a tank top, so his shoulders were bare.
"I'm counting on you from here on out, Free Knight Erhard Bauman."
I was smiling—probably the most unpleasant smile even I could imagine—but I just couldn't hold it back.
In a low voice.
"Did you like my little payback?"
Erhard answered with a strained grin.
"Yeah, I liked it. I'll never forget it. Mark my words—never."
All around us, women were squealing over Erhard, their eyes glued to him. With the things he'd accomplished in South Baim, he was bound to be popular.
And that popularity was only going to grow from here.
Third Generation spoke with a laugh.
'Doing good deeds feels pretty great, doesn't it?'
I thought the same.
A few days later.
High above South Baim, I watched the ships leaving port below.
From May's back—her Kirin form—I gazed down at the city sprawled beneath us.
"Lyle, I heard you and Novem fought, and you still haven't made up?"
May flew over, her voice full of concern, but I nodded while the cold wind whipped past me up in the sky.
"It's worse than just a fight. I have no idea what to do."
After thinking for a moment, May tilted her head just slightly.
"Humans are such a pain, aren't they? For us, we just get seeds from a strong male and that's that."
"…Don't expect that kind of casual—rather, dry relationship from humans. If that were enough, I wouldn't have to worry about my harem."
That's right. If everyone were that casual, I wouldn't have to agonize over the relationships in my harem.
In stories, a harem is supposed to be gentler—sweeter, even. But my harem isn't just bitter. If I took one wrong step, it would clearly taste like blood. No, there were even times when people seriously tried to kill each other inside the Jewel.
One wrong step, and it would be a sea of blood.
"Just pin them down and problem solved."
"…Can't we at least want to come to a mutual understanding?"
Pouring these inner thoughts out to May, I let my mind wander while hovering in the sky.
——Shannon's picture diary.
In it was a drawing of Laiel, her face flushed from drinking with Jule.
"Laiel insisted on having a drinking party and ignored everyone's attempts to stop her, so she drank."
"Sure enough, she passed out before even finishing her first cup."
"Jule was laughing."
"She said she'd bring weaker alcohol next time."
"Ludmilla was there too, giving the collapsed Laiel a lap pillow."
"Our friend Eliza looked conflicted. But she was stopped by her sister."
"Gracia and Ludmilla were glaring at each other, and it was scary."
Shannon, who had been laying out her picture diary to dry, was flipping through her previous entries.
"So something like that happened too."
By now, she had started writing in more detail, and her drawings had improved as well. It was a little embarrassing, but she still wrote in it every day, and it had become a precious treasure.
Looking out the window — no, just turning her face toward it, she felt the sunlight on her skin.
It wasn't merely warm; the scorching heat made her shrink back.
The seasons had turned, and summer had arrived.
The grand council convened to stand against Banseim.
Two months had passed since then, and it was already summer. Raier and the others, prioritizing food security above all else, were hard at work in Rufens and Baim.
Shannon was working at the royal castle in Rufens, spending her days mainly on odd jobs.
"Once summer ends, autumn will come and with it the harvest, and then—"
Then, at last, it would be time for the decisive battle.
They had defeated House Walt, the strongest in Banseim. Many of the nations participating in the alliance were optimistic to some degree. Even so, the fact remained that Banseim possessed an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Even after Maisel's tomb had been erected, Ceres continued her atrocities in Banseim.
Horrifying scenes that made one want to shield one's eyes were becoming a daily reality in Banseim.
Even among their allies, voices demanding immediate action were growing louder.
However, it was also true that they simply didn't have enough food to mobilize. On top of that, rebuilding the devastated Baim was an urgent priority.
Shannon checked that her picture diary had dried, then closed it. After that, she leaned her face out of the open window and looked outside.
Through the flow of mana, she could sense the conditions around her.
She gazed upon Raier's camp, now more organized than before. Dismantling and reorganizing House Walt's forces had initially caused many problems, but now they were united under the goal of bringing down Banseim.
The preparations were finally coming together.