Life While Left in Charge, Part 2

"Oh? You're right. You'll need experience fighting while escorting people too."

When I invited him to come gather with me, Grandfather readily accepted. He rubbed his chin and began discussing who should come along and what to bring.

"We should probably report to Ferdinand first. He keeps telling me not to take any action without permission."

I sent an Ordinance to the Chief Priest: "I'll be gathering in the castle forest while also conducting guard training. Grandfather will be supervising, so there's no need to worry about any danger."

The Chief Priest's reply came immediately.

"You fool. That's obviously not allowed. Bonifatius is far more dangerous than any magical beast in the forest. Even if you intend to help, if he throws you aside, you'll die. How many times has your life been in danger already? Don't do anything unnecessary that would trouble me during the Lord's Conference, when who knows what could happen. Understood?"

Since it was an Ordinance reply, he repeated himself three times, and Grandfather and I exchanged looks.

"That's too bad. He said no, Grandfather."

"Ugghhhh..."

Unlike me, who shrugged and accepted it with a resigned "Oh well," Grandfather had already made up his mind to go. After grinding his back teeth together, he announced he'd go get the Chief Priest's permission and dashed out. He must have been using Body Strengthening—he was incredibly fast.

"Grandfather ran off, didn't he?"

"He was probably just happy that Lady Rozemyne asked him. He's always saying they don't get to see each other enough."

As I stood there staring blankly at the open door, Angelica smiled softly and closed it. Only the two of us could still laugh carefree at Grandfather's behavior—Judith, who had been told the gathering was canceled, was on the verge of tears.

"Lady Rozemyne, if it's been canceled, what about my gathering?"

"I'll ask Ferdinand if the apprentice guard knights can go gathering by themselves. Even if he still says no, I'll share the recovery medicine I made the other day, so you'll be fine."

The recovery medicine that was sufficient for apprentices was still in stock. I wasn't going to use it myself anyway, so I could share it with Judith.

"Lady Rozemyne, you made recovery medicine? You haven't learned how to yet, have you?"

"Ferdinand taught me. He said I need to be able to make my own recovery medicine at the very least."

"...That's strict."

"Right now, I'm completely dependent on others for both sourcing ingredients and making it. I'd like to learn to mix medicines on my own as soon as possible."

While I was chatting with Judith like that, an Ordinance flew in. The white bird spoke in the Chief Priest's extremely foul mood.

"Don't forget to prepare recovery medicine. Also, don't let Cornelius stray from your side. Make sure you give him proper orders to protect himself from Bonifatius. Got it?"

After saying this three times, the Ordinance turned back into a yellow magic stone, and just then Grandfather burst in.

"Ferdinand gave his permission! We're gathering tomorrow!"

It seemed he had forced the permission out of him. Being lifted up and spun around in circles by the elated Grandfather made my head spin, and with the Chief Priest's repeated warnings about how "Bonifatius is the most dangerous one" echoing in my mind, I was growing extremely anxious about the gathering in the forest.

Today we'd be gathering in the castle forest. After finishing breakfast, I was dressed in riding clothes. As the Lord's adopted daughter, the outfits Richarda and Brünhilde allowed were limited to riding clothes. I'd been planning to wear something cool for gathering, but I couldn't beat the momentum of the two of them. Over the riding clothes, I wore a leather belt with a leather pouch for storing gathered materials and my recovery medicine—fully prepared.

"Lady Rozemyne, I'm ready too."

Philine was also dressed in riding clothes with a leather belt fastened.

Today's gathering would be a large group affair. The Attendants said they were too busy tidying rooms and doing embroidery to come along, but Hartmut and Philine, as scholar apprentices, wanted to join to gather ingredients for Magical Tools needed for Royal Academy lectures. Since it was dangerous if magical beasts appeared without any knights present, they usually bought ingredients from the knight apprentices.

"A fine morning, Rozemyne."

"...You're all prepared too, Brother Wilfried."

"Yes. This is my first time gathering ingredients, so I'm looking forward to it."

Wilfried had heard about ingredient gathering from the guard knights and requested to join at dinner, saying he "wanted to gather ingredients for next year's Royal Academy synthesis classes." When the Chief Priest said, "If you can't take both, forget it," Grandfather retorted with "I can protect two just fine," so even more people ended up joining. Several knights from the order were also drafted as guards.

"Then, let's go."

Along with the good-natured Grandfather, I departed on my lessarbus.

This was my first time entering the castle forest. Well, it wasn't so much that I'd never entered voluntarily—it was more that I'd ended up going in unwillingly during the chain of events from Charlotte's kidnapping to my own attempted kidnapping.

"It'll be fine, right? We're safe with Grandfather here, right?"

"Even if magical beasts show up, they'll mostly be small fry like Zanze and Aifint. There shouldn't be any need for me to intervene."

While saying this, Grandfather walked alongside my lessarbus.

I knew Zanze and Aifint. They were the cat-like magical beasts around knee-height on an adult that frequently appeared when we went to gather ingredients for Yuleve, and the squirrel-shaped ones about the size of a cat. The kind Damuel alone could drive off, so with this many knights, it shouldn't be a problem at all.

"Hey, apprentice! Don't break formation! You're on guard duty!"

The moment we found leaves needed for recovery medicine ingredients, the young apprentices tried to rush ahead, and Grandfather shouted them down. The knights from the order and the apprentice guard knights who had been trained by Grandfather as guard knights for the Lord's family were not breaking formation.

"What are guard knights doing rushing off to gather? First, scout the surrounding area and secure safety!"

As Grandfather held his head in his hands over having to teach such basic things, Brother Cornelius spoke up.

"This is just putting into practice what you learned in class. Third-years and above should know this already. Recite the guard knight's code!"

The apprentices reflexively began reciting the code. I had witnessed both Wilfried and me being forced to memorize this in the Royal Academy dormitory.

"If you know it, act accordingly. Look, there's an Aifint."

An apprentice, eager for a chance to shine, lunged forward at the sight of a single magical beast—and was immediately shouted down again. They were told not to try to impress, but to secure the safety of the person they were guarding.

Even though they understood it intellectually, the apprentices had thoroughly internalized the style of "see a beast, attack it all at once," so changing their behavior right away seemed difficult. This might be a level where repeated practical training was needed.

Hunting the small magical beasts that appeared from time to time, while Grandfather's scolding gradually decreased, we gathered peacefully.

Lower-year students and upper-year students needed different ingredients. Furthermore, since Magic Power was required for synthesis, the ingredients needed also differed between upper, middle, and lower classes. The second-years and above who had attended Royal Academy lectures had seen the real things in person, so they gathered efficiently. But Wilfried, Philine, and I had only seen them in reference book illustrations and didn't really know what the real things looked like.

"You'll need Behenkleaut for making recovery medicine."

"Ah, you should gather this too. Since Scharrlaut has a strong wind element, it's a handy ingredient for making Ordinances."

Damuel and Hartmut pointed out which ingredients we should gather. When I stepped off my lessarbus, I changed my Stab into a "Messer" and began cutting the ingredients.

"Rozemyne, look at this! Isn't it cool?"

Wilfried proudly showed off his own Stab. It was the kind of Stab with a crest that was trending among first-year Lord candidates and upper-ranking nobles. However, Wilfried's Stab wasn't just a crested one—the handle had been transformed into a three-dimensional lion, with the tip of the Stab jutting out from the lion's wide-open mouth.

"...That's impressive."

"Hah, right?"

Using the crest did look cool, but it must have taken considerable time for him to be able to consistently visualize and create the Stab in that form. The fact that he could spend that much time making a cool Stab was what impressed me. I'd given up early on the grounds that it was a waste of time.

...For someone who said things were terrible after I left the Royal Academy, Brother Wilfried seemed to have had plenty of free time.

However, this cool Stab returned to a plain knife shape the moment he said "Messer." Apparently, maintaining the cool form indefinitely was too difficult.

"...Damuel, is this correct?"

"It looks similar, but it's not right. Look at the base and you'll see the difference. See how it's red here?"

Listening to Damuel's explanation to Philine with an "Ooh, ooh," I cut leaves with my Stab-Messer and put them in my leather pouch.

"Rozemyne, you should also gather some Rungeope."

Grandfather pointed up at a tree and said that. Looking up, I saw white fruit where he was pointing.

"Grandfather, please gather it for me. I can't reach."

"What are you saying? This should work."

Grandfather slipped his hands under my arms and lifted me up high with a heave. I used the Messer to gather the white fruit right in front of me.

"Bonifatius, I'd also like some of the same. How do I gather it—"

"Hmph! Now! Gather it!"

Even Wilfried, who was bigger than me, was lifted up effortlessly. Grandfather was quite strong.

...Come to think of it, Brother Cornelius had been swinging people around too.

"This time Grandfather lifted me up, but how do you normally gather fruit from such high places? Riding beasts are hard to use in the forest, right?"

My lessarbus could fly up if there was no one around, but everyone else's riding beasts, which spread their wings wide, would be difficult to use in a forest with lots of trees.

"If it's about this high, you can climb up quickly with Body Strengthening. This is how you gather it, Lady Rozemyne."

Brother Cornelius stabbed his knife into the trunk, used it as a foothold, and lightly leaped up. He grabbed the branches above with both hands and climbed up nimbly.

"Does anyone else need Rungeope?"

"I'd like some too."

"Me too."

Several knights called out. It was apparently an ingredient used in making slightly higher-quality recovery medicine for upper-ranking knights. Brother Cornelius cut some off and dropped the Rungeope fruit down.

After distributing enough, Brother Cornelius jumped down.

"Leonore, here. ...You missed most of them since you were looking up."

"Thank you, Cornelius."

Leonore accepted it happily.

As Brother Cornelius came down, Angelica climbed up the tree instead. Her movements were also nimble, using Body Strengthening. After gathering a few Rungeope fruits, she came right back down. I noticed that Angelica was careful to stay as close to me as possible.

"On that branch up ahead—it's a Zanze."

Leonore spotted the Zanze that the people walking ahead were on alert for. There was some distance, so it might have been fine to leave it alone, but being attacked from behind would be troublesome, so it was safer to eliminate it.

"Judith, this time I want you to use your Stab to make a slingshot and aim at the Zanze."

I pointed at the Zanze that was at a slight distance and said this. Judith nodded lightly and used her Stab to transform it not into the usual longsword, but into a slingshot. Would it help to describe it as a Y-shaped catapult? I had her aim at the Zanze with the slingshot, using stones I had picked up and handed to her.

It hit with a thud, and the Zanze fell. Probably noticing the sound, Brother Lamprecht immediately drew his weapon and charged forward, cutting down the Zanze mid-fall. All that remained was a small magic stone.

"Once Judith learns Body Strengthening, she'll be able to increase the projectile range, and if she raises her Magic Power, she could use magic to launch the projectiles and fire them in rapid succession. I think throwing really does suit Judith better than a longsword."

"Indeed. At this point, she can already hit targets at this distance. With training and growth, her accuracy should improve considerably."

Grandfather nodded approvingly and looked down at Judith.

"Having a means of attacking the enemy without straying from the person you're guarding is a strength of yours. Keep at it."

"Yes!"

Judith replied with a big, happy voice.

"It depends on the number and range of enemies and the weather, but the Chief Priest's notes said that if you can skillfully throw powder medicines like sleeping powder or paralytic powder at enemy formations, it can be very effective."

"No matter how effective it is, I can't prepare medicines like that."

Judith, who had won the Treasure-stealing Ditter through my stratagem, lamented that she couldn't do it herself, without calling the Chief Priest's methods cowardly or unbecoming of a knight.

"You need excellent scholars who can create effective medicines and Magical Tools."

"Did you call for me, Lady Rozemyne?"

Hartmut appeared in an instant. Come to think of it, Hartmut was excellent too.

"We were talking about what Judith could throw. Apparently, it's effective in Ditter if she can use not just stones, but also sleeping powder and paralytic powder."

"Let me think about it. According to Justus, back during the Treasure-stealing Ditter era, creating effective Magical Tools to lead one's own territory to victory was considered the mark of a skilled scholar. Most of the Magical Tools created at that time had wide-area effects, and while they were banned in the tournament grounds because they'd affect spectators, I think they could be used in actual combat."

I looked up at Hartmut's reliable words with eyes full of respect.

"What matters is actual combat. Hartmut, think of a few Magical Tools that would be effective for Judith to throw. I'll purchase them."

"As you wish."

Judith, who seemed to have found her path forward, beamed.

"I'll work hard on Magic Power compression, master Body Strengthening, and refine my throwing techniques, Lady Rozemyne."

"You'll need to prepare multiple things to throw and think carefully about which targets, when, and what to throw for maximum effectiveness. Being able to read the flow of battle and the enemy's formations will also be important, so make sure you study hard as well."

"Yes!"

...Alright! This should have avoided the situation where I'd end up just training my body like Angelica!

As Judith and I smiled at each other with a "Heheh," Grandfather suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Stop!"

"...Grandfather?"

"I smell Gryne."

When I tilted my head and said, "I don't smell anything," Grandfather wiggled his nose slightly and pointed at a tree. The territorial scent of a Gryne seemed to be soaked into that tree.

...Grandfather was like a wild animal.

Apparently, Gryne that appeared during this season had been confined in their nests for long periods while raising their young and were starving. Furthermore, because they had young, they were on edge, and their mate was always nearby, making them extremely troublesome opponents.

"Pack it up. We're heading back immediately to form an extermination team. Can Rozemyne's lessarbus carry the scholars? It's better to keep the guarded targets together."

Grandfather gave the order to return immediately, and at the same moment, Angelica called out, "Master, they appeared!"

"...That's a Gryne?"

"Yeah."

"It doesn't look anything like Lessar at all! It's not cute at all!"

With deep green and black stripes, a gaunt body, fierce eyes, and a mouth that split wide open, it was a fearsome sight. Its body wasn't particularly large—smaller than a Saint Bernard, actually.

The moment the two Gryne opened their mouths wide, an incredibly thick, miso-like stench hit us.

"Stinky!"

I thought it smelled oddly nostalgic and pleasant, but seeing the knights holding their noses and groaning, I felt extremely conflicted.

...So that's how it is. It really is that stinky.

"Protect the guarded targets and get them out of here! Only the knights need to fight!"

The adult upper-ranking knights stepped forward, drew weapons from their Stabs, and took their stances, with middle-ranking knights behind them. One apprentice knight who had been told she didn't need to fight drew her weapon from her Stab.

"We defeated Gryne in the territory competition too! We can fight!"

"I didn't ask about that! Follow orders!"

I immediately enlarged my lessarbus and called for the scholars to board. But the scholars, who rarely found themselves in a battle situation, stared wide-eyed at the Gryne and didn't move.

I could see Brother Lamprecht retreating first with Wilfried in his arms, and Wilfried's guard knight apprentices hurried to follow on their own riding beasts.

Damuel shoved Hartmut, who was watching this, through the wide entrance of my lessarbus.

"Don't just stand there! Get in quickly!"

He then tossed Philine in and threw Judith inside. I immediately closed the door and gripped the handle, ready to fly out at a moment's notice. Brother Cornelius, Leonore, and Damuel summoned their riding beasts and jumped on.

The moment we took off, the Gryne apparently flew toward us at a speed that made it nearly invisible. Grandfather, using Body Strengthening, had flown up and punched it away—that was how I knew. Actually, I hadn't exactly seen the punch clearly either. I'd just heard the sound of the Gryne flying through the forest and seen Grandfather in a follow-through pose, so I figured he must have knocked it away.

"No one touches Rozemyne!"

With Grandfather's reassuring words and the guard knights securing the perimeter, I piloted the lessarbus back toward the castle.

I could see Brother Lamprecht's riding beast heading for the knights' training grounds, and Damuel instructed Brother Cornelius, "Send an Ordinance to Ferdinand." Brother Cornelius flew through the sky while sending the Ordinance, and we headed back to the castle.

"I think from here, we can leave it to the knights. Lady Rozemyne, are you hurt?"

At Damuel's inquiry, I nodded and said, "I'm fine." We'd managed to gather at least some ingredients—thank goodness. As I climbed down from the lessarbus, Judith burst out from the entrance too.

"Damuel, I am not a scholar! I'm an apprentice guard knight! I can move on riding beasts, and I am not someone who needs to be protected!"

Judith, who had been thrown into the lessarbus along with the scholars, glared up at Damuel with her violet eyes narrowed. Her pride as an apprentice guard knight had been deeply wounded.

"Why did you throw me into Lady Rozemyne's lessarbus?"

Damuel looked down at the tearful Judith with a troubled expression. Angelica tilted her head and spoke.

"Because she was the most suited for it, I think. I also thought Judith was the most suited."

"Huh?"

Judith stared at Angelica with a blank expression. But Angelica offered no further explanation. She wore the face of someone who had finished explaining everything.

Damuel compared Angelica's done-with-it face to Judith's completely confused one and sighed.

"Ah, sorry. I don't quite understand why Judith is angry, but you do want to know the reason I put her on Lady Rozemyne's lessarbus, correct?"

"Yes."

Damuel explained carefully to the stiff-faced Judith.

"Since scholars are riding along, at least one guard knight must also ride on Lady Rozemyne's lessarbus. If Judith can take down enemies with her throwing, then with Lady Rozemyne's permission, she could attack even from inside the riding beast, right? I decided you were the most suited for riding along since we're guarding from an enclosed riding beast, but..."

"Is it because you think I'm insufficient as an apprentice guard knight?"

Judith's complex about not being able to take on guard duties had apparently caused her to interpret Damuel's actions through a distorted lens. Realizing this, Damuel shook his head with a wry smile.

"I don't think you're insufficient—not Judith, who can throw like that and has been recognized by Bonifatius. ...More importantly, if you were thinking that, doesn't it mean you'd forgotten about your guard duties from inside the riding beast?"

Judith's eyes went wide, her mouth opening and closing silently, and then she turned bright red to her ears and bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

I thought to myself that our guard team really should stay centered around Damuel for better cohesion. Watching Judith, who afterward started clinging to Damuel and asking him all sorts of questions, I felt even more certain of that.

It was a heartwarming daily life.

I did my best setting the flags.

From Rozemyne's perspective, Gryne and lessar pandas do not look alike.

Apparently, other people think they do.

After looking at children's clay figurines, if I had to compare them to anything, I'd say... cat?

Next time: the results of the Lord's Conference.