Guh... I’m starting to hate being in bed.
I was feeling lethargic, but I got up nonetheless. Lieseleta peered down at me with concern, then informed me that everyone had come back for lunch.
“The divine instruments have been emptied,” she said. “Should we bring them to you first...?”
“If you would.”
Lieseleta and Clarissa brought in the instruments, allowing me to fill them one by one. My mana quantity had returned to the same level as before I’d slept, which relieved me so greatly that I openly sighed.
“You look much better now,” Lieseleta said. “Gretia has prepared some lunch if you are hungry. I would rather not bring it here, as you would need to eat in bed, but... we were asked to save as much time as we can.”
“Ferdinand must be back, then.”
There was only one person who would give an order like that. If we ate in the dining hall, our retainers wouldn’t be able to eat until we were done. But if we ate somewhere secluded—our rooms, for example—they could all eat at once. It was a clever trick but also painfully inelegant, so it had to be used in moderation.
Lieseleta took her leave, and Gretia entered with several dishes on a tray. They were arranged so that I could eat in bed.
“From what Justus told me, Lord Ferdinand was exceptionally busy this morning,” Gretia said, noting his labors in the castle and that he had returned with many of his work implements. “He contacted the giebes of Seitzen and Vulkatag, sent an update to Ehrenfest, and spoke with Zent Eglantine. According to a report from Giebe Vulkatag, there is a horde of ravenous feybeasts approaching Alexandria from the direction of Old Werkestock. He believes they have come seeking mana now that the land is being filled with divine power.”
I was reminded of how restoring the Academy’s gathering spots had attracted strong feybeasts hunting for mana. “And these ravenous feybeasts are most likely to target me, I assume.” My body contained an abundance of divine mana; from the feybeasts’ perspective, I must have been a feast like no other.
“The plan is to head straight to the border between Seitzen and Vulkatag to prevent the land you replenished from being drained again. In the meantime, you will remain under heavy guard.”
Seitzen was south of Griebel and Garduhn, the latter of which connected to the Ehrenfest-Ahrensbach border gate. Vulkatag was west of Seitzen and shared its northern border with Illgner and Griebel, the same border where Bonifatius had done battle while my team fought in Gerlach. Moving to protect the area from feybeasts would, in turn, protect Ehrenfest.
“Illgner and Griebel are still recovering from the war,” Gretia continued. “For their sake and ours, we should draw the feybeasts into Alexandria before hunting them down.”
My thoughts turned to Illgner, a rural province with a small population. Brigitte had joined the early stages of the war as the giebe’s younger sister and sent important warnings to the capital. I wanted to ease their burden as much as I could.
Not to mention, Vulkatag must have plenty of the same feyplants.
Vulkatag was connected to the same mountain range that included Mount Lohenberg, where I’d acquired the riesefalke eggs for my jureve. It was rich with Fire mana and dense forests, making it the perfect place to establish Alexandria’s paper-making business.
Though I doubt the nobles living there think too highly of Ferdinand and me. They sided with Georgine and agreed to invade Ehrenfest.
“Let’s hope we can earn the giebes’ favor by restoring their land and slaying the feybeasts...” I said. “For the printing industry’s sake, we’ll need it.”
“Lord Ferdinand proposed using Leidenschaft’s spear several times in quick succession, though he said not to overdo it; the divinely charged instrument will ravage the land unless you use Flutrane’s staff promptly afterward. That warning aside, he described this as the perfect opportunity for you to drain your mana.”
I certainly hope so.
As it stood, replenishing the divine instruments was just enough to rid me of the mana that came back while I slept. I doubted that slaying a few feybeasts was going to do much for me, but I swallowed those feelings and did my best to smile. No way was I going to complain when Gretia was doing her best to cheer me up.
“It is time,” Ferdinand announced. “Let us move to the border between Seitzen and Vulkatag. Both giebes know of our intentions, of course; we could never hunt their feybeasts and pour mana into their land without telling them.”
Divine power was cataclysmic in strength. In mere moments, it had changed the appearance of an entire ocean. We couldn’t overstate its impact on barren earth, so it stood to reason that we’d contacted the giebes.
If only the task ahead were as simple as just replenishing the earth.
No sooner had Ferdinand given his explanation than he set out with his knights. I drove my Pandahouse behind them.
“The area has been secured,” came Leonore’s voice. I opened the passenger door for her, and she climbed into my highbeast. She grabbed the divine shield sitting on the back seat, then prepared to leave at Angelica’s signal.
“How does it look out there?” I asked.
“The feybeasts just keep coming—not that I am surprised. It will not be long before we need to use this shield. That said...” Leonore paused, then burst into laughter. “The farmers below were most amusing. They clamored and pointed up at your highbeast. Some rushed out of their homes and even started chasing after us.”
Rainbow Lessy didn’t look the slightest bit like a regular highbeast. He was enormous—the equivalent of a two-story house soaring through the sky. It must have been one of the strangest things the commoners had ever witnessed.
“The whole rainbow thing really stands out, huh?” I mused.
“I don’t think the color is the problem...”
It was then that Angelica shouted, “Feybeasts!” from outside. I opened the door of my Pandahouse without a second thought. Leonore climbed out, chanting the prayer for Schutzaria’s shield, and Angelica took her place.
“There are many strong feybeasts here,” she sharply informed me. “Someone said the lack of mana must have driven them to start eating each other.”
I nodded and brought Lessy to a stop in midair. My instructions were to stay still until the fighting was over. My divine mana really must have made me the perfect feast because several strong feybeasts started their attack. The sight would normally have made me cry out in fear, but on this occasion, I actually wanted them to come close to me.
“We’re going to get so much use out of our divine instruments,” I said.
Leonore was using Schutzaria’s shield to prevent the feybeasts from getting too close while Matthias and Cornelius took turns blasting them with Leidenschaft’s spear. As each one fell, Flutrane’s staff was used to heal the massive craters in the earth. My mana-packed instruments were doing a ton of work.
For once, I’m glad the spear ends up drained of mana after a single use. Thank you, Leidenschaft!
“Lady Rozemyne, we humbly request that you refill these for us,” my knights said, returning to Lessy once the instruments were all empty.
We weren’t moving very fast—every time we slew some of the feybeasts, we had to stop and wait until the land was healed—but that didn’t bother me. I welcomed anything that would ease the pain of the divine mana swirling within me. We’d actually managed to drain even more than I’d expected.
At least now I’ll get to rest comfortably tonight.
We continued to hunt feybeasts while we traveled, then stopped at the border between Seitzen and Vulkatag. Ferdinand immediately instructed Leonore to form Schutzaria’s shield.
“O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, protector of all. O twelve goddesses who serve by her side...”
The shield soon appeared around us, announcing the start of our break. I moved out of the driver’s seat and entered the massive house behind me. From the outside, Lessy looked more like a huge tortoise with a red panda’s head attached.
This really isn’t cute. It’s comfortable, though.
I went to the first-floor living room, which was next to the dining hall, and saw Ferdinand giving instructions for what to do next. “Rozemyne, how are you faring?” he asked when he noticed me.
“My nap this morning left me very refreshed, and pouring so much mana into the divine instruments has done me a world of good. I’ve even regained my appetite.”
“I see you are feeling a little better,” Lieseleta said with a chuckle. “I was worried when you barely touched breakfast or lunch, but I shall see to it that you receive an especially large dinner.” She spun on her heel and went to speak with the chefs.
“Lady Rozemyne, if you would,” Gretia said, indicating the nearby sofa.
Once I was seated, Ferdinand approached and started another inspection. “You seem better than you were this morning,” he said, “though I can hardly describe you as being in good health.”
I was feeling a lot less poorly now that my mana wasn’t leaving me in agony. The pleasant chill of my head doctor’s hands reminded me that my fever hadn’t completely vanished, but still.
“I am not unwell enough to warrant that frown, Ferdinand. My appetite has returned; what more could we ask for?”
“Do not overeat now that your hunger has returned,” he dryly warned, wearing the plain expression of a doctor and tapping his temple. He probably thought I was being unladylike again or that I shouldn’t judge my health based on my hunger. I wasn’t able to find out which because he then got up and took his leave.
“Your rudeness aside... I won’t.”
As it turned out, my risk of overeating was even more nonexistent than I’d expected. Though I wanted to eat, my body outright rejected whatever I tried to feed it. I ended up eating only the bare minimum.
So I still can’t eat even now that my appetite’s back? This sucks!
My retainers still needed to eat, so I went to the living room for some after-dinner tea. Ferdinand stopped me before I could even sit down.
“As I said, your health is anything but good. You should rest, not waste your time drinking tea. I would advise you to spend tomorrow using the chalice to drain your mana.”
“Do I really have to rest?” I asked. “I’d rather spend some more time discussing my library city. I was told you brought schematics and was looking forward to going through them...”
Despite my best attempts to change his mind, Ferdinand shut me down. “Return to your room for now. You are in a worse state than you realize. As you cannot drink potions, rest is your only way to get better.”
I don’t wanna sleep. By the time I wake up, my mana’s going to be back where it started.
Irritated at my never-ending mana reserves, I conceded and returned to my room. I clutched my empty stomach as I climbed into bed.