Skill Level MAX

After the Magi Stone necklaces, I turned my attention to Magi Stone rings.

Unlike necklaces, rings required much smaller stones.

And that was the problem.

"The effect dropped?"

Shrink the stone below a certain size, and its ability to drive off goblins weakened. It looked like I needed stones at least as large as a thumb.

"Shame. Rings would sell well too."

If the effect stayed the same, the smaller the Magi Stone, the better. There was only so much Magi I could inject in a single day, after all.

"The Magi Stone necklaces are already bringing in decent money. Might as well stick with those for now."

The materials were simple enough. An ordinary pebble. A cord. Absorb Magi from the farmlands, inject it into the stone, and you were done.

"Not a bad side income."

It was extra revenue from work I had to do anyway — clearing Magi from the fields.

Even while I focused on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠purifying the farmlands and producing Magi Stones, the Frontier territory kept growing. New villages went up, and wandering settlers moved in. That wasn't all. Production of trigger-equipped firearms continued at a steady pace.

And so, while I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was busy clearing Magi from the cropland and concentrating on small Magi Stone production, an unexpected visitor arrived.

"Lady Alencia?"

"Do you have a moment?"

"Of course."

I brushed the dust from my knees and rose to my feet.

"This way, please."

I led Alencia to the temporary administrative office in the new village. Tea was prepared, and she said nothing until she had finished every last drop. Only after a long stretch of silence did she finally force the words out.

"A few weeks after the Battle of Paonia ended, a visitor came to the Vampires estate."

Where was this going? For now, I focused on her story.

"The visitor was from the Valois Count family."

House Valois. A powerhouse of the northern coastal region. Military strength, economic might, political influence — a true pillar of the Empire's great houses. They were especially famous for being one of the prince-electors with the right to choose the Emperor.

"Why would they come to Ireland...?"

"The Cult seems to have made a move. House Valois serves the Moon Goddess, after all."

Father and I had executed the Moon Cult's temple knights and priests. Apparently the Cult had decided to act on that.

"What did they say?"

"They intend to hold you responsible for killing the Goddess's servants."

"Weren't the priests and temple knights the ones at fault? They—"

They had murdered Mother and tried to seize the Frontier.

"I know. But their claim is different. They insist that a temple and its knights, who came merely to measure Ireland's Magi levels, were ambushed."

"That's absurd. We have the materials the hunters collected. If we use those—"

Alencia shook her head.

"They won't accept it. They'll just claim the evidence was fabricated. And given their political power..."

If they refused to believe the evidence, there was no way to persuade them. But that cut both ways.

"Then they don't have evidence either, do they?"

"Correct. That's why the young lord of Valois has challenged you to a duel. Might makes right, after all."

"It won't be one-on-one, I assume?"

"Of course not. A multi-versus-multi engagement. They seem to want a reenactment of the Battle of Paonia."

"Is there no way to avoid it?"

We had lost many soldiers at Paonia. If possible, I wanted to stay clear of another fight.

"I'm sorry. Even the Ducal House can't keep stalling forever. If the duel falls through, the next step is a real war."

A duel. One of the means by which nobles resolved their conflicts. It was a hybrid of war and sport — complete with referees and rules. Everything else, though, was the same as actual combat. Blood spilled. People died.

The whole system existed to reduce large-scale wars within the Empire and prevent the erosion of imperial military strength. If nobles went to war every time they clashed, common soldiers, knights, and mages would die by the thousands.

A real war, huh...

Regrettable as it was, Monster Island simply could not afford a war against the continental nobility. We weren't even food-independent yet.

"Have the rules been set?"

"It's a contest between you and the young lord of Valois. Each side may only field the forces under the young lord's personal command."

If it was limited to a young lord's personal forces, I wouldn't fall behind.

"The problem is that House Valois maintains a knight order under the young lord's direct command."

As expected of a great house. A personal knight order for the heir, no less.

"That's what they're counting on."

"Exactly. They'll have a rough idea of how Paonia went."

Back then, a hundred temple knights had given us serious trouble. Without Alencia and Father's help, we might well have lost.

"Please accept the challenge."

"...I'm sorry."

"Just buy me as much time as you can. I need to prepare."

"...If the situation turns against you, you may surrender. I will protect you, no matter what."

With those final words, Alencia left the village.

I left the village as well, setting out for Iron.

"They think they can beat me if they reenact the Battle of Paonia?"

After that fight, I had felt the shortage of military power keenly. That was why I had gone so far as to develop gunpowder weapons. Of course, not every problem had been solved. Even with guns, knights remained a serious threat.

Upon arriving in Iron, I received a report on the firearms situation first.

Even pooling every gun we had — trigger-equipped or not — the total came to a hundred and fifty.

"Can't pierce a Sword Expert's mana."

Every knight was a Sword Expert or higher. In other words, if they deliberately reinforced their bodies, firearms alone couldn't kill them.

Once the firearms report was finished, the cannon data followed.

The difference from the Battle of Paonia was this: we now had a hundred and fifty firearms and four cannons. I would have to use them to force a victory.

"First... attach artifacts to the fifty non-trigger firearms."

"Artifacts, my lord...?"

"You remember the idea from before. Using an artifact to ignite the gunpowder."

"Wasn't that cancelled due to cost?"

"It's fine. For fifty guns, we can manage. And we need them urgently."

I ordered the modification of the fifty non-trigger firearms, then visited the firearms training ground. Soldiers were practicing loading powder and shot.

"Hmm..."

My first impression of the training was that it was a complete mess. Everyone loaded their weapons however they pleased.

"Hans."

"Yes, Young Lord!"

Hans, who had been overseeing the firearms drill, came running over.

"Design an efficient loading sequence. Break the motion into discrete steps, and train them stage by stage."

"Ah... Yes, sir! Understood!"

I thought back to my military service in Korea. Before being assigned to a unit, there had been a few weeks of basic training. In that short span, we covered everything — drill, chemical warfare, grenades, individual combat, and marksmanship. That meant the actual shooting practice lasted only a few days. In that brief window, we learned how to handle a rifle and even completed zeroing.

These guns will be harder to handle than a Korean assault rifle, but they should still be comfortable with shooting by the time the duel arrives.

At the Vampires estate, a war of words was underway.

"It has been over two months since the duel was requested. We can delay no longer."

Alencia frowned at the adjudicator's words. Elwin had asked her to stall the battle, but it wasn't easy. The Vampires side had already been dragging things out for some time.

"We will set the duel for the first of next month. Does House Vampires accept?"

"Make it the end of next month."

"A duel is a small war. We cannot extend the period indefinitely at one party's request."

"Then I'll compromise — mid next month. It takes time to travel from Valois territory to the Frontier, does it not?"

The adjudicator considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well. We shall set the date accordingly. Next, the troop numbers for both sides..."

Settling the date was not the end of it. A duel was a measure designed to produce fewer casualties than open war. The numbers each side could field had to be strictly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠controlled. That issue ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sparked yet another round of heated negotiation.

In the village of Iron, a letter from Alencia arrived.

"So the date is set. And the force size is..."

The authorized numbers were listed, and below them Alencia had added her own notes.

The Vampires northern subjugation. A battle I had taken part in. Elena and my classmates from the academy had moved with me then. Alencia was claiming them as my subordinates. Thanks to that, I could field two mages — even if they were only 3rd Circle or below.

I looked up at the person who had brought the letter.

"Don't worry, big brother. I'm here now."

Elena, the 3rd Circle mage, spoke with a voice full of confidence.