Category: Hagure Seirei Ino Shinsatsu Kiroku

For their own desire, many are willing to die. All of this is for the fall of Isle Rose Fortress and the death of Astina-denka―.

However, if I try to ask Noin who arranged this entire plot or who put that dark spirit inside her, her vitality will be sucked up by that dark spirit. Her skin is already pale and her white hands are covered with her own blood.

“…Even if you live in this place and side with us, you still have no future. You are just an enemy to us. Even for that purpose, I don’t think that we should help.”

At first, I thought those words were to thrust her aside. Well, I also thought that’s what we ought to do.

Her Highness pulls out her sword then she slashed it down towards Noin. ―Even if the sword flashed twice, Noin is still alive. The blade does not even reach her body.

“If you betray us again, I’ll swing this sword once more. I’m not tied to emotions you see. But the time to avenge those who have twisted your will, I decided that I could give it to you. From now on, with all your heart, you just have to fight for Lezenia and save many people, more than the number of people who have died.”

A lost life cannot be returned. Her Highness knew that but she still chose to keep Noin alive.

If Noin could get back the time before she had that dark spirit, she wouldn’t have to endure this much ―I couldn’t help thinking so.

…How can I get her out of this dark stagnation? For Her Highness, everyone in the Knights’ Order and the people of the Western Territories, how can I take them away from battle…

I knew there was only one answer.

Break the will of Zirconia to keep fighting. Turn Baile, whom General Alejandro entrusted to command the fort into a prisoner of war, take over their warship and make Noin, the enemy’s trumped card, move to our side.

No ―it shouldn’t end with just changing to our side. This magician, who was the top student in our time, has a big job to do. What should I do for her to be able to do that?

As a “spirit doctor”, I was challenged by this disease called “Dark Spirit”.

“…Since Her Highness said so, I can’t let you die like this.”

“But…with the current her, even if we take her out, she won’t last long with such condition. Telling her to live…It’s irresponsible to say this but…”

“Your Highness, leave it to me. Since Your Highness kept her life, I’ll keep her alive as well. That’s the duty of the military doctor.”

“Will you do anything as long as it’s a military doctors duty?” or that, “Did you even understand what Noin had done?” –I was prepared to be told that.

But I wasn’t questioned. Even if she did not agree with my judgment, Presha-san, who felt the most anger towards Noin, did not blame me. I thought she behaves like a spoiled child. Yet given my opinion, Presha-san did not object –in fact, she doesn’t repeat that kind of reliance.

“Noin… I know that if you use the water spirit’s magic, you should be able to move a warship regardless of the wind direction. But if you follow my instructions and use magic, you will gnaw your life force.”

Even with just saying her will to resist, Noin’s life force is fading. In that case, the treatment should be performed when we board the warship. Even if the soldiers in this fort notice, we could get through it if we could earn time for the preliminary arrangements.

“Don’t worry about me. To counter Zirconia’s warships, you’ll need a ship from here as well. If my life is exhausted by resisting the coercion of the dark spirits, flush my remains into the canal. That’s my last…”

“I don’t want you to die on the way. Until we can safely bring the warship near our fortress… And if possible, I’d like you to cooperate with us until we fight Alejandro’s warship. For that reason, Noin should “get better”.”

Ever since I became a doctor, it’s my first time to say something like a push to a patient. I always have to think from the patient’s perspective and respect their will. But now, she must not give up her will to live. Noin, who is trying to end her life for revenge, must have the will to live. No matter how painful it brings, she must survive.

“If this continues as it is, you would have died. No… You will die once and come back to life. You should have experienced that kind of suffering, right?”

 “…I can’t come back to life. I don’t think you’ll be able to tear off the spirit that lives in me.”

“We won’t know unless we try it. It does not suit my nature to give up before trying it out.”

Noin says nothing, she just stared at me. It’s as if she’s asking, “Why are you so motivated to treat a criminal?”

“The present Grass is different from the one you know. No… For some reason, there is a problem with the spirit selection at the Academy of Magic in this Kingdom. Noin, it’s my personal opinion but, I don’t think that Grass is not better than all of you.”

Even though Her Highness made that statement, Noin did not deny it.

At the Academy, there was an absolute difference between those “students with whom they can have a great expectation for the future” and “students whom they don’t have any expectation at all”.

However, going into the outside world does not mean that our position has been reversed. In an environment where she is not bound by the dark spirit and can easily harness the power of water spirits, she’ll be able to pull off the things that I can’t do.

“…The most respected spirits in the history of the kingdom are none of the earth, water, fire and wind elements. If you know that, no one would think that elemental spirits are unconditionally excellent. If a scholar understands that, even more so if you are a court magician.”

“That’s right… The magicians in this kingdom seemed to be tied down after all huh. They were tied to the old custom that continued even before we were born.”

Her Highness is probably thinking of the reason why her “spirit selection ceremony” had been interrupted. Because some of them thought that she should not become a royal shrine maiden, the fact that she has the aptitude for a magician was suppressed.

The reason Her Highness doesn’t remember that is probably because some people have closed her memory. However, now that she is connected to the sacred tree, Her Highness will be able to use her power to bring out the memories that she could not bring out by her own will before.

—The sacred tree has long been staring at the history of this kingdom too.

Noin also knows the darkness of the court magicians. Who is the one who wants Her Highness to fall? Now it’s no longer a guess based on circumstantial evidence but it’s time to get a confirmation for it.

I remembered what Her Highness had said during the sunset before. She questioned His Majesty’s will –but if His Majesty, the King is on the side of those trying to incline the Kingdom towards their own purpose…

What can we do to protect the Western territories that are about to be cut off from the Capital and the knights at Isle Rose Fortress?

If the sacred tree, who can look into the future, knows the answer for that, I would like to know it. —Even if I know that I’ll depend on Yuserish’ power for it.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Please read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com

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The tip of the dagger that Noin is holding leaves a thin line on the neck of the man who seems to be the Commander. Then I realized ―even if the man was injured by a sword or by grappling, it’s not like he can’t move.

His hair and even the bed… water is dripping from them flowing to the floor. The voice full of pain that I heard before meant one thing, he was drowned in the water “in this room”.

“Are you planning to fight me? Your magic has some advantage over me, but I will be in a bind if you think that you can win, you know?”

“It’s a suicidal act to provoke our Grass-sensei. If you were a water magician on Zirconia’s side, I feel that I would kill you right away.”

As she says those words, Presha-san took a stance so she can pull out her spear at any time. Noin also felt that Presha-san wasn’t the only one ready to move, the smile on her face disappeared.

―In fact, she looks pale. As I have seen various patients, I can sense the patient’s mental condition to some extent based from their breathing and slight trembling.

“…Presha, please hold back. If this magician is trying to deceive us, with the current me, I can perceive that already.”

Astina-denka says as a matter-of-fact but those words were cold―like an ice blade. As a General who leads an army, Her Highness feels guilty for losing many knights. She might be thinking that killing Noin here will be a reward for the dead knights.

I think so too.

Why did she have to betray the Kingdom and help Zirconia in invading? Without Noin, the knights would not have died.

“I feel magical power from the Princess… did you teach her magic…?”

“I can’t answer that question now. You and I were in different class, there was no particular contact points either… It’s just that we were in the same Academy, that’s all. Though for what you have done, I can’t just leave you alone. Since you betrayed the Kingdom, you should pay for your sins.”

Noin did not speak and just listened to me. Then she moved ―she dropped the dagger in her hand and put both her hands up.

“…At that time, I had no choice but to do that. If it sounds like an excuse, I don’t mind being killed by your blades here.”

“Tsk! ….For someone who betrayed the kingdom, you sure know how to talk!”

In response to Presha-san’s fierce anger, Noin turns away as if she could not stand it. Without a moment of delay, Astina-denka puts her hand on the sword and faces Noin. In front of the two strong women, Noin had to be careful on moving even one fingertip.

“…Your treatment is to be decided by Her Highness. I can’t sympathize with your situation though. Even if you were ordered by someone you couldn’t oppose to sneak to Zirconia… you opted to cooperate with Zirconia or else your position will be compromised, right?”

“No matter what your circumstance is, it’s still a betrayal since you helped Zirconia.”

Presha-san said while suppressing her anger. She still seemed to think that she has to defeat Noin here. In front of such bloodlust, Noin closed her eyes ―her expression has the feeling of resignation.

“When somebody invaded this fort and I found out that it was a magician, I knew there was someone from Lezenia. I was originally called by this man… Baile, General Alejandro’s adjutant―”

“…Are you going to start making excuses?”

When asked by Presha-san, Nein laughs faintly and shook her head a little.

“Guu…!”

No one here would have imagined what happened the next moment. Noin covered her mouth and coughed up blood. Then I noticed―at the moment she tried to talk, part of her body had magical power that was not hers.

“No way… you were sent to Zirconia because you possess a 『Dark Spirit』…?”

“…It’s a funny story… To leave such record in the Academy, I was only looking at how much “they” could be used. I didn’t realize it at that time and when I finally realized it, I became a great enemy of my own Kingdom.”

After she finished saying that, Noin coughed blood again. A terrifying magical power can be felt from her chest―it’s different from a “spirit” that contracts with a magician to lend power, this “dark spirit” exists to curse and destroy human beings.

Dark spirits lives not in the spirit world but in another world, the dark spirit’s world. Currently, at Silvana Magic Academy, learning the magic circles for summoning dark spirits and spirit marks for them to dwell on humans are strictly forbidden. Books about the dark spirits are banned and were kept in the sealed library.

Sacred tree Yuserish is also cautious on the existence of the dark spirits as they are the enemy of all other spirits. She warns us that there is a being that is harmful to living creatures that resides in Noin’s body in front of us.

“…Because you don’t want to die, you sided with the enemy? If you think that it can’t be helped, I… I can’t forgive you after all.”

“When all of it is done, you are free to kill me. I’ll never run away… In the end I… I want to die the way I want. Alejandro, Baile too, for those who only saw me as a “woman” who listens to anything they say, I’ll let them know that I am not a tool!”

Who sent Noin to Zirconia?

 ―If there was someone who put a dark spirit in her who became a court magician…

Then the “Court Magician” that I longed for were no longer groups of men who served the Royal Family and used magic to protect the kingdom, but those who chose any means to achieve their purpose. This is translated by Yume Neiji. Please read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com

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Is this wooden lodging wary of fire? There is no kind of lightning here that uses flames. The location of the commander’s bedroom could be identified based on the moonlight coming in through the window at the end of the hallway and with the help of the information provided by the wood itself that composes this building.

Even in a building that has been assembled accurately with no gaps, if we search, we should be able to find a place where air can pass through―we can let the commander inhale the hypnotic air ball and he will become a prisoner without any confrontation. However, I realized that I couldn’t do that when I heard that voice.

(There is a magician in this lodging… I can’t sense inside the commander’s bedroom, detection by listening to the wood’s voices does not work.)

(…You mean we are going to fight here? Since they’re inside, should we set some traps from the outside then…)

(It is not possible to send air into the room. Look at that… There is a thin film of water in the middle of the corridor.)

(Uh…!?)

Presha looked at it keenly. With such a thin and highly transparent film of water, you will not notice it in the dark. Perhaps this set up was made while intending to make use of that.

But I’m worried about the voice from before. If it belongs to the commander, there is a possibility that the magician has betrayed.

A magician who graduated from Silvana Magic Academy infiltrated Zirconia’s side and lends power to the enemy’s army. I suspected that it was due to the scheme of the person who didn’t like Her Highness –and that would be the Second Queen.

If Noin did not completely follow the Second Queen’s scheme… If she hasn’t forgotten her role as a court magician protecting the kingdom. But, isn’t it just a wishful thinking?

(For the time being, we have to do something about this film of water… It will be bad if we touch it.)This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

(Yes, we should take proper measures to remove it.)

Thus, while thinking in front of the trap set by the water spirit’s magic, I noticed it for the first time. Considering the fog, I could be able to counter it too. Plants also breathe. And, except for some parts of the plant tissue, it is mostly composed of water ―by promoting the absorption of water in the air, the fog can be eliminated.

Whether water spirits can interfere with the water taken in by plants… It’s a gamble but I’ll know it if I let a plant absorb this film of water.

(I’ll summon Arlaune and have her roots suck the water.)

(Eh?… I-Is that okay? Will Laune be safe?)

(If the water brought by the water spirit could be taken in and neutralized by Laune, a plant spirit… It may be worth trying.)

I got the permission from Her Highness, I asked them to hide behind the reference room’s door. I then place one of Arlaune’s bulbs that I brought with me on the floor, slightly away from the film of water.

(『Oh luscious flower that blooms in the enchanted garden of Youka… appear once in this world and show your power!』)

―Arlaune’s roots do not need to suck the nutrients from the ground, my magical power alone can serve as nutrient for her to bloom. However, the process of growing her this time was different.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

At the same time I finished the chant, thin vines and green leaves stretch out from the bulb at once, as if the film of water was regarded as nutrients, it suck the water steadily.

As expected from the film of water that was set up by a magician. As it was sucked by Arlaune’s vines, it showed signs of resistance at the beginning ―however by the time the water reached Arlaune’s root, it was sucked up and neutralized.

Though it was a different process from the usual, Arlaune’s flower opens. Then, a girl with flowers on her head materialized.

(Puha, it was a delicious water. Because it has plenty of magical power, my vines just grew.)

(You’ve done well, Laune. I know that water was set up by the enemy magician, but you sucked it well.)

(If it were the body of the water spirit, it wouldn’t end up good even if I manage to absorb it. It seems like there’s a mechanism that if you touch it, water spears will fly out, but if it’s separated from the main body, it’s just water for me. However if a lot of them flow at once, I won’t be able to absorb it as I’ll have a hard time with that.)

(Laune, you did well this time, but I’ll praise you later. There are enemies in that room, so don’t jump out because it’s dangerous.)

(Yes-nanodesu, I’ll keep quiet until Summoner-sama tells me to.)

Raquel-san (?) chided and Laune covers her mouth. Raquel-san smiles slightly and holds Laune with one hand. It seems that she will protect her.

(TLYN: Raquel was supposed to be left behind with Dite and Leslie though so I put [?])

How powerful is that water spear? ―I’ve seen the magic of a combat magician from a distance and it was not half-hearted. A trap of this scale would definitely be deadly if you were to be injured.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

Plant spirits seem to be compatible with water spirits. In that case, with this compatibility, I can make up even a little for the big difference between the presence and absence of the combat training.

Maybe because of the water spirits’ magic, interference from outside the commander’s room is blocked so I can’t grasp what’s going on inside even if I touch the wall.

Here too, Presha-san took the task of taking the lead.

(As soon as you open the door, I will also grow my vine as fast as I can. With that, we can make sure that there are no traps.)

(Y-Yeah, I’ll leave it to you. Even if you will not do that, I’m a warrior in the end so I should be able to avoid it, I think.)

Immediately after opening the door, Arlaune’s vine grows into the interior space at a tremendous rate –as soon as we realize that no film of water has been set up, Presha-san moved forward, lowered herself and slipped inside.

“Y-You….what the hell…uh”

Presha-san questions the person inside. Her voice tells me that she does not understand the situation in front of her. We then went inside the room as well –then I saw a man who seemed to be the Commander sitting on the bed in the bedroom and a woman wearing a Zirconian military uniform was holding a dagger at his nape.

“…Noin Flores…”

A woman with light blue hair who was chosen by water spirit… However, her atmosphere is totally different from the time I had seen her at the Academy.

The Commander is already injured. Noin, who bathed in spurts of blood, wiped the blood on her cheeks with her free right hand. With the weak light of the torch in her background, she touched her glossy lips.

“…To pass through my “water mirror spear”. Even if I was told that you are a flop magician, you didn’t seem like you’re rotten to the core.”

She has a relaxed tone that resembles the murmuring of water but her words harbour clear malice and there’s a concealed sharpness that should not be left unguarded.

Why did she do something like attacking the Commander of this fort?

If that’s the case… she made that fog not to detect intruders but it was probably because she was within that fog and invaded here.

“You didn’t manage to take an exam but since you came here, I’ll assume you are qualified. Hey, you guys, do you want to trade with me? I think our interests match. Since you have the Princess with you, decision can be made here.”

Astina-denka did not answer. At such interval, Presha-san’s or Her Highness’ exceptional swordsmanship could have “reached” her but Her Highness did not even hold her sword.

“…I don’t trade, but depending on what you are here for, there is a room for conversation.”

“Fufufu… to have faith in people, it’s indeed natural for someone that pure. Truthfully, I’m not really envious of that.”

Her smile and even her words only seem to imply something in this situation. But I didn’t think that I couldn’t trust her at all. In fact, with her own hands, Noin aimed to seize our enemy, the Commander of Zirconia.

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It seems that there are only a total of about 200 soldiers stationed at this fort. About 1,000 soldiers attacked from the west side of the fortress last time and even after deducting the report that over 250 people were killed, it’s easy to know that there are other places where soldiers are stationed besides this fort.

There are about 100 people sleeping in the lodging where we sent out Laune’s pollen. Since there are two lodging of the same scale, I made Leslie take the medicine that works against fatigue caused by the consumption of magical power so she can maintain the magic to erase our presence. She was then able to work on the hypnotic air ball for those two lodgings.

“With this, we are able to neutralize about 200 soldiers huh… Grass, Leslie, are you alright? How about your fatigue?”

“With my current ability, I’m now reaching the limit where Laune’s hypnosis can be applied simultaneously. I think that if we were to encounter only a few more enemies after this, we can still eliminate them thru hypnosis though.”

“We were relying too much on the magic of the two of you. We have to get rid of them quickly…”

“What should we do, Your Highness? We have two options, capture the commander and make the soldiers surrender or we’ll only take their warship and escape.”

“Even if we can take the warship, with the current direction of the wind, we can’t get out of the canal even if we set sail. It seems that the wind direction changes depending on the time so we have to wait another half hour. Unless the weather suddenly changes…”

―The moment Astina-denka said so,

I feel like water drops have fallen from somewhere. It’s raining even though the moon is out ―I’m sure such phenomenon doesn’t occur, I also felt a strong sense of uneasiness.

It’s not rain… Moisture in the air is being collected and… turned into water…?

“Grass-nii, this fog….uh”

While Leslie suppresses her voice, she pulls my sleeve in a hurry. As what she has said, the fog rapidly shrouds the area and the visibility deteriorated. However, even in this situation, Her Highness, Raquel-san and the others were still calm. Her Highness’ line of sight was not pointing at the commander’s lodging but at its back.

“There’s a shed for raw materials over there in which the lookouts are shorthanded. Let’s move quickly.”

Following Her Highness’ instructions, we start moving immediately. There is one soldier on lookout yawning, and before he knew it, an air ball flew to hypnotize him. I gave him an instruction while passing each other. I simply told him to go back to his station once the fog goes out.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

―Before our clothes get wet, we were somehow able to enter the shed for raw materials. And if for some reason an enemy soldier was inside, we put ourselves on guard but no one came in or out at this time.

“When the fog came out, I feel that it’s just right to hide and move…”

“I don’t think this fog was a natural occurrence. It’s probably a magical interference.”

“We’ve entered the fog range for a little while now. Haven’t you noticed the enemy magician?”

There’s no denying that possibility ―I left the plants so I can get information about this place, a water spirit could also be able to do the same. Although Leslie manipulates the air to prevent the invasion of the fog, it can be perceived that “the spirits made contact with each other”.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

However, after a few minutes, Leslie makes a dubious look.

“…Grass-nii, the fog has disappeared. What do you think is the meaning of it?”

“If that fog that appeared for a short time was made just to find us, we might be attacked if we stay here.”

I want to avoid head-on confrontation with a combat magician ―then, what should I do? As long as the commander is restrained, the enemy cannot involve the commander so attacking should no longer possible…

The shed’s door was gently opened and Presha-san surveyed the area. Fortunately, it seems that enemy soldiers outside did not go here.

“There is a window on the back side of the commander’s lodging, it’s at a high place though. I wonder if we can enter from there?”

“At that position, it’s unlikely that you can enter it unless you are a fairly light person….”

“Then I and Presha will go in with Grass. Raquel, can I leave the foothold to you?”

“Yes, I understand. Grass, I think you need some courage as it’s your first time but it’s better to resolve yourself. It’s a direct nomination from Her Highness you see.”

“Y-Yes. The foothold is…”

“Raquel will catch your feet and hurl them. After confirming the safety of the room, we’ll carry out the plan.”

I’m honoured to be able to follow your command but… I’m a little worried if I’ll be able to keep up with everyone’s physical abilities ―However, I can’t waver here.

“Leslie, even if we get inside, is it possible to continue using your magic that erases our presence?”

“…If you’re inside this fort, even if we got separated, it will be fine. It’s no good if you go too far though.”

“Once we are inside, I’m going to restrain the commander. If things are safe, using Grass’ magic, please inform the three people outside. Can that be done?”

“Yes. Leslie, if this bulb shines, please think it’s a safe signal. Or, I’ll use that bulb as a medium to summon Laune and transmit message through her.”

“Yeah, I understand. Grass-nii, be careful…”

Presha-san came out first, watched the surroundings first then Raquel-san and I followed after. I touched the wall of the wooden lodging and after making sure that there were no enemies inside, I nodded to Presha-san and Raquel-san.

Raquel-san catches Presha-san’s feet, and with considerable power, she hurls her to the window positioned in the high place. Presha-san silently clung to the window sill then she rushed inside the room ―Her highness also followed after, with her physical ability, her leaping figure trailed a light like that of a celestial maiden― Uh, this is not the time to watch in fascination.

“Don’t hesitate, come. If you can’t make it at the first take, I’ll be right below you, I’ll definitely catch you.”

As a man, even to a warlord like Raquel, I want to avoid being caught like a princess. I strengthened my resolve and let Raquel-san hold my feet and I was then hurled vertically ―somehow I managed to put my hands into the window sill and urgently leaned forward. I made the seed of a plant hidden in my cuff to germinate and send it like a rope to entangle me.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

After that, the ivy plant slowly pulls me up, and once my body is completely inside, I let the ivy grow long enough then I swiftly go down. When I got down on the ground, Presha-san was so surprised that her eyes were wide opened.

(Amazing… If you could do that, you could have climbed without being hurled up, right?)

(It’s best to shorten the time as much as possible. Somehow, it went well.)

(This is like a reference room. Let’s move carefully to the commander’s bedroom.)

At last we were able to advance to the next stage –However, the meaning of that fog still bothers me. Where is Noin? If she is appointed to an important post in the Zirconian army, is she inside the commander’s bedroom?

With tension, we opened the door to the reference room and tried to get out.

“―Guaaaaa…!!”

And at the moment we are about to leave the room, we heard someone’s voice who seemed to be in great pain from somewhere inside the building.

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Sorry guys for not uploading as per scheduled. I was not able to translate continuously this past days. Still, thanks for your support 🙂

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The fence surrounding the Zirconia army’s fort is made after hammering in the thick logs that will become pillars at a certain interval. In between that, there are reinforcement materials connecting them like a bridge and thin logs were placed in between to fill the gap then lastly, those reinforcement materials where hammered from the back once more. It looks solid from a distance, but when you approach it, you can see that the fence is not so heavily funded.

As for the turret, stones are piled up and firmly assembled to form them. However hypnotic air balls can enter facilities with windows so there is no problem at all.

Leslie interferes with the air and prevents our shadows from being seen when illuminated by the torches. Lookouts have been neutralized but we should still be careful as there may be scouts around the fort. Since there is no cover to hide ourselves from, we chose a blind spot where it’s hardly reached by the lights from the torches, lowered ourselves and run at once.

As we moved to the back door on the northern fence, we can see that the logs arranged vertically are cut off in the middle from up close. When I looked at my feet, there were traces that something was covered. Logs were sharpened as they were to be fixed into the ground, as the soil were scooped out ―there’s no doubt about it, this notch part can be moved.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

First of all, I touched the log fence to make sure that no one was inside then Raquel-san bend down, took a deep breath and released her power at once.

“Fu…!”

It’s certainly an unparalleled herculean strength ―the vibration across the fence was minimized by magically interfering with the logs. When the hidden door was opened to the extent that we could crouch down, we quickly entered inside. The first thing in front of us was the food storage in line with to the drawing. Presha-san, who intruded first, runs straight away –there was a soldier who had just patrolled the corner of the food storage.

“Uh…!?”

Presha-san’s agility was like that of a carnivorous beast. Before the enemy can get ready, the butt end of her spear already hit the pit of his stomach. The enemy soldier can only make a small moan and collapsed on the spot.

“I thought I was able to hold back… Sensei, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

It’s easy to proceed while eliminating the enemy soldiers, but it will also speed up our exposure. Therefore we decided to use hypnosis through Laune’s pollen to ask for the enemy soldiers’ “cooperation”.

“Once you wake up after 10 seconds, make sure to go around your lookout route as scheduled, and when you finish that, make your regular report. There was nothing unusual here.”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“……Yes, I understand……”

The soldier who inhaled the pollen of the Youka replied with empty eyes while lying down. And exactly ten seconds later, the soldier got up, looked around the area attentively and walked out as if he hadn’t seen us being here.

(Presha-san, even if there is an enemy over the corner, we can let an air ball fly to put him under hypnosis. Let’s move carefully till we reach the commander’s lodging.)

(Yes, I know. It was a bit dangerous right now you see, to exactly patrol around this time…)

(We were saved because Presha reacted instantly, I was about to shoot an arrow too.)

There are scouts inside the fort, but there is a path that we can follow without entering their line of sight. First of all, with the permission gotten from Her Highness, I decided to move to a place where I could see the lodging with many enemy soldiers.

Using the power of the Mandrake to wipe out the enemy soldiers is another tactic but I decided to prepare two options. The dormitory has windows and they remained open. Perhaps it’s for ventilation but even in their dreams, the enemy soldiers could never think that it would help us.

(Your Highness, we’ll send Laune’s pollen into the lodgings and put the soldiers under hypnosis.)

Astina-denka nods and puts her hands together to pray –the supply of magical power is now ready. All I have to do is ask Laune to do the rest.

(……uh)

(…Leslie-dono, what happened? Are you tired after the continuous use of magic?)

(I’m okay if it’s just this much…. It’s just that if the air ball is too big, it’s a little difficult to control… It’s okay, Grass-nii. I’m fine, so please keep going.)

She spoke with a smile, Leslie’s presence is necessary for this operation –if she was to be exhausted, the risk of us being spotted by the enemies would jump up.

(Summoner-sama, I’m ready.)

(Okay… Leslie, I’ll leave it to you.)

I can’t say let’s take a break when this is over but, I have something I can do –it’s a military doctor’s job to look after the health of his colleagues and give first aid.

(『You, who fall asleep, become lost in a long dream, be enchanted in the flower garden! 』)

The flowers on Laune’s head produce pollens along with my chanting. Leslie enclosed it in the air and sends it flying to the enemy’s lodging with precise manipulation.

And to summon the mandrake, I moved to the wall of the dormitory and throw the root that can be called as Rei’s body. If there is a soil to nourish it, it can quickly take root and sink into the ground –this allows Rei to be summoned through that medium.

(…Grass, are you planning to use the power of the Mandrake to defeat the soldiers in the lodgings?)This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

(I also thought of that but I’m currently trying to confuse the soldiers in that lodging through the hypnosis’ effect.)

(You mean, two-level strategy right? Grass, have you never really learned how to fight? It seems like you’re thinking ahead of me.)

(Well, he’s a student of a Magic Academy, which is also the top school in the royal capital. It’s no wonder that we have a different train of thought… If we return safely, it would be nice to have a study group on different strategies.)

(It’s inauspicious when you speak like that so please be careful, Dite-san. Well, Dite-san seems to be a tenacious one.)

Dite-san just smiles gracefully, we then move on to the next course of action at once.

―To use hypnosis on the commander or not? And, whether the magician, who’s presence still can’t be felt, is in this fort or not…

There’s also Leslie’s condition so I walk while checking her state ―by continuously maintaining the magic, one’s spirit mark heats up. As a magician, I am always prepared to deal with this condition, although it is only a temporary measure, it seems that I can take care of it with my medicine.

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We carefully detoured through the forest while heading to the north, reaching to the point where the back of the fort could be seen. The lookouts seem to take turns to observe around the area from the turrets built in every direction, but as long as Leslie’s magic persist till the end, we will not be noticed.

The Zirconia’s base we found goes like this, first in line is a shipyard and barracks are built to protect the surrounding area, fences and turrets have also been built around it to prevent intruders. It has been thought well so they lasted till now.

There are traces of felled trees on the north side ―to make such fort, it should have been cut around two years ago. From that time, they probably attempted to build a warship and cross the border.

“Grass, if the woods felled from here were used to build that fort, can you get some information from it?”

Even if a tree is cut down and processed, it still responds to its tree stump. As Her Highness has said, when I touched the tree stump, I could feel where its woods were used in the fort.

For there to be such a thing….. The sacred tree controls all plants after all. Even the plants on Zirconia’s side cooperate with us who have contract with the sacred tree…!

I organize and reconstruct the memories provided by the stumps of the felled trees in my mind. Then I started drawing the fort on the parchment I brought using one of the stumps as a table.

“Grass-sensei, that is….. is it the map of this fort?”

“Yes. As Her Highness has said, I was able to trace the memory of the trees cut here.”

Relying on the moonlight shining through the forest, I finished the simplified outline of the map and have Presha-san look at it first.

“Eh?… R-Really? The commander’s bedroom… you even know that part?”

“The tree is still alive even if it was felled. We talked to these tree stumps and they told us about the formation of this fort.”

“You can achieve until that part huh… Grass, you mean that no matter how strong the fortress is, if wood was used, the structure can be uncovered, right?”

“It’s only been about two years from the time it was built so it’s still fine. As the years go by, the spirit of wood will fade so I think it’s difficult to get my call answered in that case you see.”

Presha-san and Raquel-san are looking at the drawing, thinking about the route we should take. There is a small door on the northern fence of the fort provided for troops to enter and exit. At first glance, it appears that it cannot be opened from the outside but in fact, there’s a mechanism to open it from the outside and if one knew about it, it’s easy to open.

The fact that only the commander’s lodging is built separately greatly contributes to our operation too. And one more thing ―the large one-story barracks which is likely to be used by the several troops at this fort. If we use magic, we can neutralize the enemy troops in several ways.

“Leslie, manipulating the flow of air is in the category of the “air” spirits, right?”

“….I can influence the air around me and get them to move. They are not as fast as the wind spirits and they can’t be used in a wide range.”

“I see…. there are such limitations huh.”

Perhaps what I’m trying to do now would be better off cooperating with a wind elementaler.

With Arlaune’s pollen, I can place the entire fortress under the Youka’s control. All I have to do is drop the pollen from the upwind, but that can’t surely let the pollen get inside the building, and even if some enemies were hypnotized, it makes no sense if the other soldiers were alerted.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“…Grass-nii, I have an idea.”

“Hmm……?”

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can make an “air ball”. And I can trap Arlaune’s pollen in…”

“Y-You can do such a thing?”

Leslie nodded to Presha-san who was so surprised.

By working with Leslie, Arlaune’s pollen is turned into a projectile that can be used to make the opponent fall asleep ―“hypnotic air ball”, its power can be tested by using it on the soldier standing by on the turret, north side of this fort.

I then summon Arlaune through the bulb and let Leslie enclose her pollen in a ball of air. She said, “I can get them to move”, but that small ball of air appears to be at her disposal, then it flies straight towards the soldier who is on the turret ―then,

“… Summoner, it worked, my pollen reached the enemy.”

While suppressing her voice, Laune speaks with excitement. The soldier on the turret could no longer do his job as a watchman as he already falls asleep.

It turns out that the hypnotic pollen works even without any command if it’s just to put the target to sleep. Depending on how I use it, I may be able to control the movement of the enemy soldiers and it would be possible to eliminate the obstacles till we get to our objective.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Magic can be extremely powerful depending on the method…”

“Laune, with the help of your pollen, it looks like we’ll be able to survive without needless killing.”

“Whoa…I’m happy that Summoner-sama and Princess-sama praised me…”

“Good for you, Laune. From here on, don’t make your voice that loud as it will be bad if they notice us you see.”

Laune immediately closes her mouth and holds it with both hands. Although we are a little worried with this infiltration mission as we are with the children, now that we know that Leslie and Arlaune’s combination was effective, even Raquel-san who is always strict did not scold her.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Now then, we’ll aim for the command center. Let’s carry on with caution.”

Leslie strengthens the magical effect of erasing our presence. Other than ourselves, we became “unrecognizable beings even if we were there”, and finally, we went inside from the back of the fort.

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The canal flows from west to east then gradually goes north. It goes through the upper part of the Northern part of the Kingdom then heads towards the sea that spreads to the far Northeast.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

The last time the enemy disembarked was on the western and eastern sides of the fortress. Utilizing the large amount of water in the canal, Zirconia hid their warship by creating an illusion in some way then they crossed the river.

As for Arlaune, her influence range can be expanded by putting and spreading her pollen through the wind. It is more natural for water spirits to expand their range along the water flow, and to counter such flow, additional magical power is required.

In order to hide the warships that cross the canal from the west and east, it is necessary to create a wide range of illusions. According to Dite-san, the phenomenon of the appearance of fog in the canal was confirmed several times, and until now they thought that it was due to climate change.

“If that’s the case, it means that the magician is likely in the upper stream of the canal.”

As we had equipped our equipments, we gathered in the courtyard on the first floor, we then talk about whether to cross the canal from the west or the east.

Her Highness closes her eyes and puts her hands on her chest to pray ―then, the tree growing in the courtyard, its entire body shines, grains of light were sucked into Her Highness’ body.

Through the tree, which is a familiar of the sacred tree, it responded to Her Highness call. Was the Royal shrine maiden receiving the “oracle” like this long ago…?

Eventually, Her Highness opened her eyes and looked at us. The oracle seems to have helped her determine where to cross the river.

“The plants along the canal perceived the magical effect. It seemed that the fog was flowing along the stream from west to east, blocking that view.”

“That means… the enemy’s base was in the west, and the army attacking from the east were also descending the river from the west, right? When they withdraw, they retreated from the east side though…”

“To hide both the warships in the west and east, as Her Highness had said, the magician needs to be located in the upstream. In other words, you can think of it as they are returning to the west base.”

Flow of water ―Water magician exerts great power if it can be used, but conversely, it also  means that they are bound by the water flow.

“It means that the possibility that the magician is in the west base is high right? Even if we were wrong on that, it would be nice if we could take the base where the warships are anchored.”

Disabling even one warship will be a huge blow to Zirconia. If we can take it successfully, we will be able to use that warship.

When the strategy was decided, we did the final inspection of our equipments. Her Highness wore an all black leather armor which hides her well at night, except for the sound produced by the metal armor. At first I was surprised at her appearance because she always wears silver armor that gives her a pure impression.

Because Leslie usually hides her identity as “Lendl”, her dressed like a spy, suits her well. For some reason she was used in wearing such equipment and she even taught me how to equip mine –I wonder why she has such knowledge, but now is not the time to ask for such details.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“From the time we’ll cross the river, I will use magic to hide everyone’s presence. However, if we use a boat to cross the river, it may take a long time so there’s a probability that well be noticed.”

“That means we need to cross quickly as much as possible, right?”

“We can swim with our equipments removed… No, that’s dangerous. If it’s a small boat, with that river flow, it looks like it will take at least half an hour time to cross…”

“For that, Arlaune will lend us some good wisdom. Let’s move closer to where we’ll start to cross.”

As Arlaune had said, we don’t need a boat. We went out the west side of the fortress through the entrance gate –the armors left behind as a grave marker for the soldiers that the archers had killed before, have all been recovered because it will not decay as it is and metal can affect the soil.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

We pass through the reeds and reached the bank of the canal. At this time of the night, the other side of the river is so far out that you can’t see the opposite bank. ―The water flow in this plain is also moderate, but if we try to cross using a small boat, we will surely be swept further downstream.

“The power of the water spirits to interfere with this vast canal… I can see that it’s absurd. But it can’t go on as it is.”

Raquel-san looks far beyond the shore, staring directly at Zirconia’s side. Dite-san is holding a short bow, which was one size smaller than the compound bow she always use and is paying attention to our surroundings.

“Dite-san, what do you carry on your back…? There is a slight smell of saltpeter.”

“I was able to seize some of the enemy’s artillery, so I got gunpowder. The Zirconia’s side is behind in metalworking technology, but apparently, they are advanced than us for gunpowder weapons. I had also instructed my subordinates to develop this “fire lance” and we used the enemy’s gunpowder. It is hard to defeat the base with only a sword, spear, or bow after all.”

“It’s justs like the development of Fire Arrow huh. Certainly, there may be occasions when it is necessary.”

Raquel-san and Presha-san specializes in martial arts, but Dite-san seems to be familiar with weapons development. And if one has a gunpowder weapon, he needs to avoid getting it wet after all. The weather is quite sunny, but if Noin moves and uses magic to create fog, there’s a possibility that it can be ruined.

―Then, the bulb I carried around in my pocket began to shine. When I placed it on the ground and chant the spell, Arlaune was summoned in the form of a child.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, he seems to want to cooperate with you. Since “that child” needs a lot of magical power to materialize, I want Princess-sama to lend her powers.”

“If “that child” would help us cross the river… then please use as much power as you want. Grass, are you ready?”

“Yes, please let me borrow Your Highness’ power. Laune, the chant to call the spirit… I see, with this, it will be fine.”

Laune released her materialization and turned into a spiritual body and got inside me –at that moment, I was able to know what Laune had seen in the spirit world and I was able to know a new chant.

That plant has an ecology that the plants of this world cannot possess –looking at that spectacle in my mind, as always, when I learned about a new plant, I can’t help but feel amazed.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Well then, let’s start… Leslie, when the summoning is over, erasing our presence, I’ll leave that to you.”

Leslie nodded. While everyone paid attention, I put my hand on the swiftly flowing large river and start to chant.

“『Oh water lily that springs out from the Abyss, you who floats from the miraculous spring, show yourself once in this world. 』”

Magical power from Her Highness flows into me. Instead of supplementing the magical power used for summoning, as the vessel, I feel that I’m about to be filled to the brim –I wonder if every time I borrow her power, I was left with such a tremendous power.

A large circular faint light is produced on the dark water surface. It’s not just one, but it’s innumerable and it extends to the other side of the canal.

“This is… a huge lotus…?”

“I-Is there a plant like this…? It’s floating in the air…!”

『Floating prickly water lily』―It is an aquatic plant that exists in “Elmir’s Spring” in the spirit world, it has a large circular leaf that adults can ride on, and it has the ecology of floating in the air and moving to sunny places.

By summoning countless floating prickly water lilies, they can serve as a foothold. This way, we can cross the river in the shortest time without being affected by the flow of the canal.

Knowing that we have no time to loose, Presha-san takes the lead. She jumps on the floating prickly water lilly leaf and immediately jumps to the next one ―watching how it easily catch one adult and bounce back with its elasticity, Her Highness followed after.

Then Raquel-san, Dite-san, Leslie ―and finally, me. The river is flowing below me, looking at the dark water surface that seems to suck me in, I am a bit scared, I then concentrate on crossing forward ―then,

We were done with the river crossing without taking much time, it would have taken us half an hour using the boat though. Like they are fusing with the darkness of the night, the summoned water lilies are sent back to the spirit world.

It doesn’t stop there, we crouched down on the reeds and began to move. We are headed to the west –While paying attention whether the enemy’s scouts are patrolling, we continue moving towards the forest that is hard to see.

We have one hour time –while listening to the howling wolves that can be heard in the distance, me and Leslie who is following Her Highness and the others moving at a tremendous speed fall behind a little. Dite took care of us as our escort and accompanied us without leaving us behind.

“You have followed quite well, both of you. But, we can’t rest for a while.”

I am surprised as Dite-san can talk while running. She is indeed a Knight, and this can the effect of her regular physical training ―I thought that I should have build up my physical fitness too but I can’t whine about that now.

Eventually, Presha-san, who was ahead, slows down. There were some lights emerging in the darkness of the night ahead of her.

“Your Highness, look, I can see some light.”

“Watchtower… and we can see Zirconia soldiers on the lookout. That’s the enemy’s base… It looks like that place was where the warships are built.”

A portion of the canal runs toward the enemy’s fort surrounded by high fences. The surrounding trees in the forest were cut down, it was the evidence that and large amount of timber was collected.

How many enemy soldiers are there? How do we occupy it? ―And, will we encounter Noin? Whatever happens, together with Leslie, we can only fulfil our roles as a magician.

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Properly speaking, it would be reckless if Her Highness, the General of this fortress infiltrates the enemy’s territory.

But there’s no other individual comparable to her exists in this fortress. Raquel-san can play a unique role as a heavy cavalry, but she will use a sword when infiltrating missions, and she is one step less than Astina-denka’s swordsmanship.

Still, Raquel-san is the second best swordsman in this Fortress. If Presha-san uses her one-handed spear, nothing will be left on her right side –with the addition of Dite-san, the lead archer, I can hold on to my expectations with these four people together as they can perform any the difficult task.

The question is, can I counter the enemy magician? There is also Leslie but, neither of us have any experience fighting a combat magician. When I was in school, I could not even participate in a mock battle…

Compared to combat magicians, we’re treated like ordinary persons. Even a magic warrior can get killed without being able to make the most of his strength if he is up against a magician. My role is to contribute by doing things that only my spirit’s magic can do. And with Leslie accompanying me, I can plan a strategy that makes use of her spirit as well.

“I thought that the danger of being perceived by the enemy must be taken care of when crossing the river, but… With the “spirit of the air”, you can completely erase our presence.”

“Yes. With my magical power alone, as soon as I use it to erase the presence of many people, it will be quickly depleted. But with Princess’ help, the time I can maintain it will be longer.”

Leslie removes her glasses and shows her real face. Raquel-san’s eyes turned wide at first, but seeing Dite-san who is calm, she too calmed down. She cleared her throat as if to imitate Dite-san then she returned to her usual calmness.

“…I’m not Lendl but Leslie. For now, don’t ask me why I attended to Grass as a man. It’s just that… it was necessary.”

“If a man was wearing a women’s appearance to infiltrate here, it’s necessary to punish him. However, because there are many soldiers of the right age in this fortress, so some people may be discouraged to know that you are women you see.”

“I can interfere with the air around me which can change the impression that others have around me, before I become a man or a woman, I can’t be recognized if I erased my presence.”Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Is that so?… That’s amazing then. Up until now, does that mean that you have done that as much as possible?”

“Yes. It’s hard to interfere with a wide range of air, but in a limited range, I can alter the air in many ways.”

The more I know about Leslie spirit, the more I think of something. I feel like I understand why she hasn’t talked too much about her spirit up until now – it is too suitable for “infiltration works”.

It completely erases one’s presence by altering the air –For example, it can deprive the air which is a necessary component for the human body, then, she can attack by suffocating the target. If the Lenklus family knew that she could do that, Leslie might have been brought home earlier. An ambitious man who even wants to use his daughter for political strategy, if he knows the power of air spirits… The fact that no plot is involved yet, I can say that I can still be optimistic.

“Grass, Leslie… Bringing you on a dangerous mission is something that I shouldn’t do, but we are unlikely to be able to break this stage without the help of magic… Please forgive me.”

“The enemy army also borrows the power of a magician. Only a magician can go up against another magician….We are not combat magicians, but we are also magicians. I can prevent you from being defeated without knowing why.”

“….Sensei, thank you. If that’s true, Sensei is more…”

Giving up on becoming a court magician and work as a doctor in the Royal Capital. That too, certainly did exist as an option for me. However, if I did that, I don’t think that it’s good at all. I am sincerely honoured that I was allowed to accompany Her Highness.

The people in this fortress, the people of this territory –there are many who should be healed. I would like to do my utmost to restore the beauty of the garden of the sacred tree.

I even thought that I had to stop Zirconia someday. If I don’t do that, it’s of no use –for that reason…

“Fuuaa… they’re talking very seriously. Rei, are you thrilled?”

“…I will not let Summoner-sama die. We will protect him.”

“That’s right! Summoner-sama, I want you to rely on our power and in all of our friends too. If you feel like it, you can summon all of Rei’s friends in the hideout of those bad people, they can beat all of them!”

We were talking in the strategy room in preparation for our departure, in there, Arlaune and Rei peeped in.

“That’s right… Say, Grass-sensei would really be strong even with a rough estimate right? What do you think?”

“Hmm…Since Grass came here, he always tries to contribute. Certainly, it’s not like those large-scale attacks like what a combat magician does, but I do feel quite a considerable power of support from the shadows.”

“It’s not just that. Grass’ evening care is also perfect you see.”

“…Dite, what does that mean?”

It’s a suggestive way of saying it but I knew exactly what Dite-san was trying to say, so I deliberately said nothing. It was also because Astina-denka’s soft tone felt somewhat powerful.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“When I talked about how I can only sleep lightly, he told me about a good flower. Just by leaving it in my room, I finally had a good dream after a long time.”

“D-Dream you say, in that sense… Dite-san intentionally said something weird?”

“Fufufu… you guys look so tragic. It’s indeed dangerous to sneak into the enemy’s territory. But in such time, you should be calm as you normally would. Only those who fears gets closer to the death god you see.”

When Dite-san smiled, everyone’s facial expressions softened. Once again, I felt that I understand what role she played in this fortress.

“Now then…Since the equipments for infiltration is all been prepared, shall we change our clothes? Your Highness, I’ll help you with the equipment.”

“No, I can do it alone….. but, it’s better to check the equipment of each other.”

“Your Highness, for crossing the river, shall we use a small boat or…”

“For crossing the river, you can borrow the power of my fellow plant. Summoner-sama, can I borrow your ears?”Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Hmm…what is it?”

I leaned over to Arlaune, then she whispered at my ear.

“I see… There is “that plant” in the spirit world huh…!”

“Yes, it’s sure to be useful. I’m going to the spirit world and call it!”

A plant that can be used to cross the river –if I summon it, we can effortlessly cross the canal and its presence can be erased thru repatriation.

While Arlaune returned to the spirit world, I decided to finish equipping myself. It is said that there are no equipment for men, but the staff of the fortress armor maintenance adjusted and prepared things for me. I think it’s rare for a military doctor to be armed, but I too need to be prepared to save my own life.

The military operation time is the moment the day has changed. Thinking about what else to prepare for, I went to pick up the armor.

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When I went up to the 4th floor, the color of the setting sun dyed the area.

Her Highness goes out to the corridor and crosses the rampart. She never looked back and just kept on walking –then she stopped on the rampart located at the east of the fortress. It was a place where you could see the town where people live in.

Flock of white birds fly in the sky from the opposite direction then get past the fortress. Beyond that is Zirconia’s territory.

“…Up until today, I thought that if I just endured, that if I don’t fight for the throne, I would be able to solve my worries one day.”

A rectangular window for shooting a bow. I wonder how many arrows were shot from here to shoot the knights led by General Alejandro the other day.

With the sky cut into square at her back, Her Highness turned around and looked at me.

―It’s as if she’s not a person. It’s a beauty that God created without making any mistakes. The deep sorrow in her eyes had the magical power that froze my body in place. I can’t move even one fingertip. I almost forget how to breathe normally.

“My real mother… Amneria, the first queen, wasn’t strong when she was young. The first prince… my brother, also tend to stay in bed from an early age. Then before I knew it, His Majesty said that he wanted a “strong successor” from the Royals around him.”

One of the most important things that a King needs to do is to make a heir. In the Kingdom of Lezenia, the Royals with the lineage of the founding King has always inherited the throne. If the first prince, whose body is said to be weak, becomes a king, his cohesive power will easily be weakened. It is inevitable that a stronger heir will be required to solidify the Royal’s power.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“…But then, all three who were born after turned to be princesses. Although we princesses also have the right to succeed the throne, in this kingdom only the son, the prince, has succeeded the throne, and since the first Prince holds the highest succession order, he was supposed to be the next king.”

“The situation has changed… the Second Queen became His Majesty’s concubine.”

Her Highness nods back when I continued what she was saying.

But at the same time I was thinking of another possibility. Is it possible that Astina-denka has made meritorious services as a military personnel because she has eyed the throne’s succession? –In fact, she contributes to the kingdom so much that it would not be strange if that would be the case.

“His Majesty did not want to exacerbate the position of the First Queen. Even after accepting the Second Queen, His Majesty showed compassion for Her Royal Highness Amneria. In order to protect my mother, my brother and sisters, I volunteered to enter the Knight’s Academy and received an education as an officer. And that is also because I wanted to relieve His Majesty’s heart who is concerned about us.”

Then, Astina-denka became popular at the Knight’s Academy with her unique swordsmanship.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

―There is one thing I’m concerned about. It is with the fact that Her Highness was interrupted when she’s having her “Spirit Selection Ceremony” when she was a child.

Astina-denka did not become a “magician”, but she became a “magic warrior” without realizing it and gained unreasonable strength –However, it was in such unstable state as she constantly consumes a large amount of magic power.

“I became a knight and I was even unconsciously utilizing my magical power to exert my power as a magical warrior… To protect the kingdom, I continued to fight at the front line in the Eastern border. At first, I was a platoon leader who holds and direct five knights… then I went to countless battlefields until I was appointed as the Attack Captain in half a year.”

Her Highness puts her hands on the sword on her waist. Rather than gripping the handle, she wraps her hands around the handle, closed her eyes for a moment without saying anything. When I realized that she’s praying, I too closed my eyes. She is praying for the many enemy soldiers she has killed with her sword.

“…It was the second spring when I went to the Eastern border. When the General who was commanding the army died from the enemy’s arrow, I took over the title of “General” from that time. Raquel has been my subordinate for a long time, and I’ve walked with her all the way from Knight’s Academy.”

Her Highness looks at her hands. She continued to speak as she watched her hands then she gazed at the sunset.

“I thought I don’t have such thing as human emotions. No matter how strong a Knight is, if you kill someone, you’ll have a nightmare and wear your heart out… It was not the case for me. I was able to kill anyone as much as I needed, and I just thought that I could scare the people around me.”

“…That’s not the case for Raquel-san.”

“Yes… she’s a nobler and stronger woman than I am. She said that she admires me. That she wants to be a knight like me.”

For Raquel-san, Her Highness’ very existence is far from being someone to be proud of. Not just her, everyone in this fortress thinks so. Even I, who just arrived here, can say that without any hesitation. We revered Astina-denka.

“I’ve been killing a lot of enemy soldiers, so it would be presumptuous of me to say this, Grass… for the knights in this fortress you are… No. From the moment I saw you treating the ranch owner who got hit by the goblin’s arrow, I had thought that if it is possible, I wanted a power like yours.”

“…I… For Your Highness to tell me that…”

It has never been needed. Only spirits that are useful in war are valued. Even in the Academy… I vowed that I would never lose my heart like my fellow “flop” students. It’s not a “flop”, it should be worth something. Even if it is not recognized now, someday―

It’s something that I wanted so much. To be needed by someone…

Though not for combat, I was finally seen for healing people. I initially thought that Her Highness was not looking at me but she remembered me from our very first encounter. If I say something now, it feels like a pathetic voice will come out. While looking at me, Her Highness laughed faintly-the wind blew and shook her hair for a very short time.

“I have to question His Majesty’s will. Vaiseck did not mind the deaths caused by Zirconia’s attack and was even enthusiastic with his provocation to overthrow me. He has not buried dead people with his own hand or prayed for them. And those who have died for this Kingdom was not even rewarded.”

I thought that the one who was most angry was Presha-san and Raquel-san… But I was wrong. Her Highness, as a General who went on the front line and defends with the Knights could not forgive Vaiseck’s insults.

“The Capital is not willing to help in defending against Zirconia’s attacks. If they want to kill the Knights of this order, I won’t just accept it.”

“Going against the Capital… you’re saying like that, right?”

“No… I’m not yet openly expressing that resolve. After this, we will release the prisoners but we won’t just free them. Grass… With your strength, it may be possible to get a clue as to who is trying to do this.”

Make the prisoners carry a plant that would be a medium of a spirit. I was thinking about that as well –I’m now able to materialize Arlaune in remote areas, so if it’s done well, I can collect information via the prisoners of war.

“Moreover, Zirconia doesn’t think that we’re going to attack. We’ll take their base across the river and use it as a material for negotiation with the prisoners of war. To make them think that it’s not a good idea to oppose us, we must shake them on a grand scale.”

In order to do that, the water magician who made Zirconia’s raid possible –Noin, we should defeat her in some way.

“I already have a spy to follow Vaiseck. He is not trying to get straight out of the Western territory… If he has been ordered to observe the situation in the Western territories, he should not have reported to me. In my case, I have the authority to punish even those military personnel who are not under my command once they did unauthorized intelligence activity within my territory.”

If that regulation was disregarded, even if Vaiseck pleads, he must explain why he acted against the rules. Perhaps he will remain silent. But at that time, I just have to perform the magical “interrogation”, as I’ve done so far.

“…Everything depends on your power. I was once told that I was good at strategy, but it was nothing but logical reasoning, such as feeling the signs and directions that the enemy would attack.”Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“No… that power will always help the Knights. Now that Your Highness has been connected to the sacred tree, your power to read things ahead was even superior from before, right?”

“Yes… You’re right. The feeling that the sacred tree whispers to me, I certainly felt those. There will come a time where I will ask for an “oracle”, right?”

The things that we definitely need to know… That is the whereabouts of the key figures in the enemy forces, such as General Alejandro and Noin. We’ll have Zirconia reach a conclusion that they should no longer fight us. It’s not easy, but we should not conclude that it’s impossible from the start.

Before the enemy sends a large army again, we should change the war situation. When should we make a move for that? –The sooner we go, the better, seeing me considering such thing, Her Highness said,

“We’ll infiltrate the enemy’s base tonight. We will do it at midnight when their vigilance is at its lowest.”

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After I finished the doctor’s round for those injured with Katie-san and Leslie in the sanitary building, I was immediately called by Raquel-san’s subordinate.

There’s a room on the second floor of the fortress that is used to accommodate visitors from outside. We passed that and I was brought to the next room –Chloe-san and Solfa-san were also there. I saw them on the round table before but this is the first time I’ll talk to them directly.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

Chloe-san has a similar atmosphere to Raquel-san, but I can feel that Raquel-san’s sense of intimidation as a warrior is higher. I don’t feel any magical power though, well, I think it’s natural, but with her deep green hair and eyes she appears to be a mysterious woman.

Solfa-san is a dignified woman with long flax-colored hair tied in two, in the left and right side. I wonder why she refers to Dite-san as “ane-sama” though she is quite young. But since she is an archer, she has that sharp gleam dwelling in her eyes.

“…By nature, this kind of thing is dangerous. Knight Captain Raquel must have been so trusting in Grass-dono. Ane-sama too…”

“…No need for such preamble… I’m sorry if I called out Grass-dono so suddenly. Right now, there’s a messenger who came from the Capital with a decree from His Majesty, the King. Astina-denka, Knight Captain Raquel and Dite-dono already met him and were now talking to him.”

“From the capital… Does that mean that His Majesty has received the request for reinforcements and the reply has come?”

If so, it would have been a good thing for this fortress. But neither Chloe-san nor Solfa-san answered anything, and Chloe-san just urged me to come to the back of the room.

There was a faint conversation from the next room. Chloe-san looks at me without saying anything –does that mean we are here to listen to the conversation between Her Highness and the messenger from the capital in the next room?

“I’ve got the permission from Knight Captain. Grass, you don’t need to force yourself if you’re afraid to be at odds with those in the Capital. We cannot possibly deceive someone who has contributed a lot as a military doctor.”

“I would like to hear that from your own volition. I think you should definitely listen to Raquel-san’s instructions but, you should do so not only because it’s an order.”

 “……Is that so?”

Chloe-san replied briefly and said nothing more. The three of us listen to the conversation coming from the next room –then,

What I heard was an overbearing male’s voice. I don’t think he even thinks that he’s facing the guardians of this fortress, it was such an insolent speech.

“―A direct command from His Majesty, the King. Release all those detained at this Isle Rose Fortress.”

“…I can still understand if it’s about the Zirconian soldier. However, the others were captured because they acted against this fortress. Why should we release them?”

“Watch your mouth, Raquel-dono. If you still object, I’ll have this relayed to His Majesty the King.”This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Uh…”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Not only the Zirconian prisoner, but also those people who were sending weapons to Zirconia and it was even “His Majesty” who ordered the release.

―I shudder while thinking of my suspicion. Although such a thing can’t be true, the sequence of events so far, shows one possibility.

Someone is having trouble releasing “everyone” detained in this fortress… then that person either borrowed His Majesty’s name or urged His Majesty to issue a decree.

“…Northern Knights… Through the member of the royal family… they give us weapons…”

It was the information pulled from the prisoner with the power of Arlaune. I recalled those words of the person who had communicated with Zirconia across the border.

The other possibility is almost gone.

―A member of the Royal family who is familiar with Zirconia urged His Majesty the King.

But even if there is evidence to show that, the decision is left to Her Highness. It’s such a heavy decision as it will determine the fate of this fortress –however, if we do nothing about it and just release the prisoners, Astina-denka and the others will fall right in the palm of the person who’s plotting against Her Highness.

Are all of these the Second Queen’s plot…? Why do they go this far? Astina-denka is fighting to protect her country. If they join hands, this country will be more…

I am not the only one holding a fist. Chloe-san and Solfa-san were also angry as they are even biting their lips. They may still not know that the enemy is in the Royal family. Nonetheless, anyone in this fortress knows that the Capital is doing something unreasonable.Translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“…The Zirconia side has been constantly attacking us without rhyme or reason. We are here to protect Lezenia…”

“If you release the people in custody, the integrity of Isle Rose will surely be appreciated by the people as well as in the Capital. His Majesty the King will also be pleased.”

―And again, something ridiculous happened. The messenger interrupted Her Highness, Princess Astina’s remark, and expressed her opinion as if it was not necessary.

“You bastard…..uh!”

“Raquel, it’s okay. Vaiseck-dono, thank you very much for telling us about “His Majesty, the King’s intention”. However, for the prisoners of war, it is a matter directly related to the defense of the Western territories….I would appreciate if you could understand that immediate release is not possible.”

“…Princess, you should be able to comprehend this. Your position in the Royal Army was given in consideration of your position as a princess. Rumor has it that you are active on the battlefield. But, it was always your subordinates who say that and it’s quite doubtful on up to what extent of it is a true merit. Don’t get carried by such picture too much.”

The man roughly gets up from his seat and leaves the room. It sounds like Raquel-san stood up too –but she must have been restrained by Her Highness.

“G-Grass-dono…!?”

I couldn’t help but take action.

Why don’t they understand…Astina-denka is not just sitting by on the army, she goes in the battlefield while risking her life. Will they try to treat even the achievements she has given so far as if they never existed?

I can’t forgive that. But I wasn’t the only one to think so.

Presha-san too was standing behind the door. She is more upset than anyone. Fury, indignation, and murderous impulse –her clenched fist was bleeding as she forcibly restrains her killing intent.

“…I know it’s completely useless. If I kill him now, all the things we’ve endured up to now will be in vain… He was sent here to disturb Her Highness, I also know that much.”

“…Presha-san”

What happens if someone kill Vaiseck here –Her Highness will be robbed of her right for the throne as she will be deemed rebelling against His Majesty, the King.

Only one person can benefit from it. If we could pinpoint the person behind Vaiseck, that person should be the one being blamed. However, in a situation where Her Highness is far from the Capital and he have no personal connections linked here, he have no means to see the situation, His Majesty the King could only listen to the person nearby.

“…I can’t let him say such a thing to Her Highness…I can’t forgive them. I, one day, I’ll spare none from them…”

“…Me too, I feel the same. Such kind of thing can’t be forgiven.”

Tears spilled from Presha-san’s eyes which had begun to turn into the shade of hatred. She faced the wall and punches her fists on it many times.

“Why… Why do they only think about their selves…!? Can’t we not be one for this country… why!!”

The fist that was once again raised was stopped. Raquel-san who came out of the room holds Presha-san’s wrist.

“…I made you experience something painful. I too… I can only watch Vaiseck’s insolence in front of me…”

“That’s wrong. The one who should feel ashamed the most was…I myself.”

“Uh…..What are you saying, Your Highness? For the people’s sake… and for our sake too, Your Highness personally wield your sword and we have come to this point. Astina-denka is only thinking about the people and you have become a true shield for all of us. That was why we are so proud of you but, why did you not command as to kill Vaiseck…!”

Raquel-san speaks in front of Her Highness. It would have been more painful for her, who had a deep respect for Her Highness.

Her Highness looked at me. Then, without saying anything, she walks towards the upper level.Translated by Yume Neiji

I know that means to follow her. Raquel-san doesn’t say anything, she just cast her eyes downwards –Presha-san looks at me like she’s about to cling on me.

I have to go in order to hear Her Highness’ real intention with my own ears.

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