Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Scroll
Luna leads the army and departs from Vain.
Riding a white steed, clad in resplendent armor, she sets off.
Taylor and Raoul follow behind Luna.
"She'll be okay, right?"
The thought of her actually heading to the battlefield leaves me feeling strangely uneasy.
Sending a woman off to war while I, a man, stay back in the rear.
It crushes my male pride, but... in truth, she's the strongest person in this world.
Compared to her, I don't even have the skill to beat a single squire.
"Sigh... I should just focus on my own tasks."
Though my martial prowess pales next to Luna's, my mission isn't a light one.
I'm handling logistics for this civil war, after all.
Of course, I won't be doing the transporting myself, but I need the war supplies to arrive at headquarters on precise schedules, so I have to be adept at calculations.
I arrived at the office and reviewed the supply plans.
Most war materials can now be sourced from Vain and are stably secured, but...
There's one critical shortage: magic scrolls.
Scrolls that serve various roles in wartime.
Unfortunately, the sole magic shop owner in the Grand Duchy left Vain with Luna.
So we hurriedly purchased scrolls from other regions, and they're en route to Vain.
"The scrolls... not bad for an emergency buy."
Here, scrolls contain all sorts of magic.
From fireball scrolls for firepower to barrier spells that block them, and healing scrolls for emergency treatment of the wounded.
We secured a decent quantity, but the problem is...
If a skirmish breaks out before entering the Ethyl Dukedom, the scrolls will deplete fast.
It already takes three days just to unload at the port, stop in Vain, and reach Luna.
"Hmm... what to do?"
Luna's army only took enough for one battle.
If fighting erupts, it'll be days before resupply.
"Isn't there some way?"
My girlfriend and future wife is heading into bloody combat.
Isn't there something I can do?
A scroll rolls across my desk.
These unassuming scraps of paper let you cast magic—fascinating, so I grabbed some samples before.
"Hmm, still just looks like an ordinary roll."
It's cloth wound tightly, bound with string, with a red wax cross sealed over the knot—nothing special otherwise.
"Tear the paper to use it, right?"
Mages clearly write something on the paper...
Just in case, I carefully peel off the wax holding the knot.
-Tchick.
"Hmm?"
-Swish...
Unrolling it reveals geometric shapes, indecipherable runes, and script.
"Is this the mana circuit?"
Elaborate designs in blue ink.
"Can just anyone use this?"
Probably not.
If so, mages wouldn't monopolize making and selling them.
"The paper's ordinary enough."
It has a slight thickness and pristine white color—clearly high-quality stock.
Local paper tends to be yellowish.
"Is it the ink?"
Magic activates via mana, they say.
Infused mana in the ink?
They have various paints and pigments here for inks.
But this blue isn't just mixed pigment.
"Color's like cobalt."
Dilute cobalt's vivid blue in water, and it'd look like this—but surely not that simple.
"No clue..."
What if I copy the pattern?
I don't grasp how the magic works, but it seems clear I need to draw it exactly like this on paper.
Last time at Taylor's shop,
I saw her workshop.
Various tools.
Saws, compasses, protractors, pen holders.
Definitely for crafting these metaphysical diagrams.
Tracing the shape should be easy.
"Shall I give it a shot?"
I grab the scroll and head out to find the craftsman who made the previous printing forms.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Late at night.
Taylor drops by the Grand Duchess's tent.
"What's up?"
Wearing comfy pajamas, clutching a pillow in one arm, no less.
"Hehe, let's sleep together for old times' sake."
Luna frowns at her beaming smile.
"Me, with you? Why should I?"
Back when Luna saw Taylor as just a friend as kids,
they often slept together.
Chatting innocently as pure pals until they dozed off.
Their friendship dated back to the previous Grand Duke's time.
Until Taylor confessed to her.
"Why not? We did it all the time as kids."
"That was..."
Luna trails off as an awkward childhood memory surfaces.
"You won't try anything weird?"
Taylor giggles and nods at her words.
"Of course not? I'm hooked on Raoul's... thing now. A woman's touch doesn't cut it anymore. Unless Your Grace orders me to lick there by force..."
But she can't finish.
Luna shoots her a murderous glare.
"Wanna die?"
"No way? I can't die yet. I'll live till Lucas has grandkids."
How long does she plan to live?
"Haa, fine. Go to Raoul."
With her husband around, no reason for Taylor to bunk with her.
She turns to study the strategy map.
Until Taylor's next words...
"Thing is... trying to sleep with Raoul heats me up too much—I can't."
"Hey!"
Luna's forehead vein throbs.
"Come on! That's why I came here. Thin tent walls don't block my moans."
"Use a soundproof spell!"
Magic's perfect for that, unless you're cooking soup...
"Ugh! It unravels after a few rounds."
With that, Taylor plops her pillow by Luna's bed.
Like she owns the place.
"You don't secretly want your friend humiliated mid-act with Raoul, do you?"
Luna's feelings tangle at Taylor's brazenness.
"Haa, do whatever."
She examines the map.
Ethyl Dukedom's key gates look easier to breach than expected.
But...
'The siege is the issue.'
Ethyl Castle is a defensive stronghold.
Plus, rich in mines, so densely populated with migrants.
If a siege happens, the Ethyl Duke will shelter them inside.
Thrusting civilians into war's heart—and if noncombatant casualties mount mid-war, it shrinks the manpower she, Aiden, merchants, and guilds painstakingly gathered.
'That stings the most...'
The Ethyl Dukedom, so hard to develop.
Even if she dislikes the duke, this happening in her nation is tragic.
'Short on manpower... how we scraped that together... any way around it?'
Subduing the Ethyl Dukedom with Grand Army forces is easy.
Cut supplies, bombard with magic—they won't hold long; she knows it.
'But if explosive magic veers into civilian areas and slaughters them?'
No matter Taylor's genius, she can't thread spells past inner-city homes.
Breaching walls? Centuries ago, anti-magic wards were applied—tough to shatter.
"So, do Raoul and I sneak in to open the gates?"
Even Swordmasters going deep into enemy turf against thousands is suicidal.
As Luna's face hardens, Taylor sits beside her.
"Hee? What's the worry?"
"Pondering how to win without casualties."
Taylor blanks at Luna's dreamy words.
"Hmm... as if."
Wishing no harm in war? Contradictory, but as Grand Duchy's ruler, it's her duty.
"How about this? Blanket them with fire magic while layering recovery spells inside."
"No way that's possible..."
Blasting the castle with firepower while healing?
Utter nonsense.
"Even a genius like you can't dual-cast fire and healing lines. I know your limits. One fragment from the blast, and you're dead. Scrolls? Massive waste too."
Her logic was sound.
"Forget that idiocy. Let's chat like old times. They say Aiden's a beast in bed?"
"Beast? What's to say? He's a man like any."
Luna always loathed men cracking lewd jokes at pretty girls.
Stuff like great from behind eyeing waists, big asses perfect for gripping.
She knew they fantasized grotesquely about her too.
Revulsion hit naturally—but Taylor ribbing her lover irked her still...
"Sometimes Raoul makes me pass out. Swordmasters are animals there. When you pounce on Aiden..."
Taylor cups her flushed cheeks, delighted.
Luna blushes at the sight.
"Eek! Enough of that!"
"First night, I was sweating you'd fuck Aiden to death."
"N-No! It wasn't that intense!"
"Mine hurt at first. Pinning down like that right off... so hot!"
Luna finally snaps.
"Yaaah! You crazy bitch!"