A Warning from the Magic Tower
“My liege!”
“Ugh.”
I barely blocked the monster's long claws with my sword when Ian rushed in and kicked the creature's half-remaining torso.
“Are you alright?”
“Hah, impressive.”
To charge like that with only half a body left. I needed to update Xavier on the monsters' appearances and traits.
“I'm fine.”
“……”
My hand was a bit numb from blocking so hastily, but I wasn't hurt. Still, Ian's eyes persistently scanned me. Even in the chaos of the battlefield, his gaze never left me.
“I said I'm fine. Let's catch them all before they escape!”
“…Yes.”
If the monsters fled and hid, it'd be more trouble later, so wiping them out now was best. Ian responded slowly to my words, then glared coldly at the monsters battling the knights. The mana emanating from his body seemed to darken, growing thicker.
“Wait, you…”
Just as I tried to warn him, Ian kicked off and charged ahead. He wouldn't lose control again, would he? Glancing anxiously, I turned to Fenrir, who had drawn near.
“Fenrir, give me a ride.”
[Again?]
Fenrir, who had been chewing on a scale-covered monster head like gum, spat it out with a ptui. He shot me a look that screamed annoyance, like a wolf throwing a tantrum. As if he wouldn't carry me anyway.
“Yeah? It's fine, right?”
[Hmph, just this once.]
“Sure, sure.”
I knew full well it never ended with just once, so I hopped onto his back before he could change his mind. Raising my sword high, I shouted.
“Advance!”
“Ooooh!”
For some reason, the knights' morale soared whenever I rode Fenrir and gave orders. Knowing this well, I rode him around, fighting the monsters vigorously. When Fenrir excitedly pounced first, I'd follow up with sword aura. We made a pretty good team. Thanks to that, we drove off the monsters attacking Volta Base fairly quickly.
* * *
“Whew, good thing we finished before sunset.”
Jade said, gazing at the darkening sky. We'd all ridden hard to get to Volta Base without rest, then fought the monsters right away—we were exhausted.
“We need to reinforce the base's engineers.”
I muttered, eyeing the various equipment on the walls. With limited knights stationed here, I'd invested in siege gear to buy time, and it was proving unexpectedly helpful. It couldn't repel monsters outright, just stall them. But anticipating stronger monsters ahead, we needed to upgrade the gear further.
“Haa, how about resting first and thinking later?”
“Mm.”
Jade and the other knights looked at me with weary eyes. I hadn't planned to live like such a workaholic. How did it come to this?
“Haha, yeah. Let's head in.”
I laughed heartily, patting the knights' shoulders as we entered the base. After all that exertion, I was starving. The food here wasn't as good as at the mansion, which was a bit depressing, but I couldn't complain. The mining regions were prosperous even on the front lines, but Volta and Fade weren't. We'd barely survived the last few winters by distributing the food I'd brought. Without it, the already weakened people would've starved in droves from the cold alone.
With monster defenses somewhat in place, it was time to prepare for the brutal cold next.
“That'll require the Magic Tower's help too…”
“…Lady Abigail.”
“Hm?”
I looked up from my soup to see Jade giving me that tired look again. I smiled awkwardly.
“Was I talking to myself again?”
“Yes.”
“Haha.”
Lately, my mind had been racing nonstop, especially since arriving at the front lines. It started as protecting the North from the crown prince, but once I built the base and got involved in the territory's daily life, I couldn't stop caring. The people near monster habitats lived far harder than I'd imagined. I'd naively assumed the whole North was as wealthy as the Carpoem Ducal House. But even in this mining-rich region, the rich got richer and the poor poorer.
To counter monsters with Northern strength alone, without relying on the imperial family, we needed to improve residents' lives too. That kept me and my advisor Xavier scheming nonstop.
“Teacher still not back?”
“No, probably tomorrow.”
“Hm.”
During monster subjugations and base expansions, we'd uncovered ancient stelae that had gone undiscovered before. Xavier went wild, diving into deciphering them. Even he, fluent in ancient tongues, found them twisted and complex. Northern stelae were easier to read, and realizing they held keywords to unlock the language, he'd become obsessed with fetching ones farther north.
Today, right after repelling the Volta Base attackers, he'd taken knights to hunt stelae. I'd told him to leave tomorrow, but he wouldn't listen. He'd probably pull an all-nighter out there.
“That guy better be eating properly.”
I tsked and chewed the tough bread. Xavier had thinned out since coming to the front lines with me, but his face bloomed like a flower. Unraveling the North's mysteries he so craved must've been pure joy.
“I'm worried he'll collapse.”
“Agreed.”
The other knights nodded at Jade's words. But I knew Xavier's otaku-level passion all too well. He'd huffed and puffed but stubbornly followed me to Volta for the first hunter hunts. Even if he collapsed, he'd clutch a stele on a stretcher.
I needed his input on monster updates, engineer gear tests, and winter prep. Guess I should rest fully tonight too.
“Everyone's tired—rest up today.”
“Yes, you too, Lady Abigail.”
“Get some good rest, Little Duchess!”
With the knights' farewells, I returned to my room. I firmly sent Ian, who tried to follow, back to his, then entered the small room with Fenrir.
“Haaah, feels like living again.”
I tossed aside the constricting armor and flopped onto the bed. Fenrir, shrunk to fit the room, hopped up after me.
[Master. Aren't you pushing too hard?]
“Me?”
I tilted my head, and Fenrir nodded up and down.
[Yes. I advise resting like other humans for a while.]
“What, are you actually worried about me?”
He squinted unpleasantly.
[Hmph, hardly.]
“Riiight?”
[I'm just averse to my long-awaited contractor collapsing and cutting off my mana supply.]
“Sure, sure.”
Lying down, I rubbed his fluffy underside. Fenrir predictably half-closed his eyes in bliss, belying his cool words. Smiling at his tsundere act, I said,
“It's my bad habit.”
[Bad habit?]
“Yeah. Once I get hooked on something, I see it through to the end.”
That's why I'd died of overwork before possessing this body. Truth was, I didn't need to obsess that much. No one worried about my overdoing it, no one nagged me, so I neglected self-care, using busyness as an excuse. In the end, overwork killed me as much as the company that piled on the work.
Now, with people around who cared after possessing Abigail, I finally understood why I'd died.
“Don't worry. I won't mess up this time.”
Abigail's body was sturdy. I wouldn't drop dead from overwork like before. Still, to avoid worrying everyone, I'd manage it better.
Fenrir stared at my brighter face and muttered,
[Hmph, do as you like.]
“Sure, sure.”
I ruffled his fur wildly again. Pretending otherwise, he purred contentedly. Wolf on the outside, cat at heart. That night, I played with Fenrir to my heart's content before passing out.
* * *
[…Geil.]
“…Hm?”
[…Bigeil!]
“Ah, what.”
A voice calling me roused me groggily. Rubbing my eyes, I saw the small communicator I'd left on the table flashing nonstop. Who the hell at this hour? Half-asleep, I approached, and a familiar voice assaulted my ears.
[Abigail!]
“…Benjamin?”
I blurted his name in surprise. He sighed thinly in relief.
[Haa, thought it wouldn't connect. Good.
]
“What's up? At this dawn hour.”
[…….]
It had been ages since I'd spoken with Benjamin. We'd exchanged comms a few times over oriharcon research in exchange for cheap magic stones to the Magic Tower. Last was advice on boosting wall gear firepower. Curious, I asked,
“What's with the pause?”
[Haa.]
Benjamin suddenly heaved a massive sigh. In that one breath, I sensed some deep anguish or pain he carried.
[Abigail, you asked me to dispatch a mage before, right?]
“Huh? Oh, yeah, once.”
I scratched my head at the abrupt topic. Last year, informally, I'd asked if he could send one. Knights could handle monsters, but fortifying walls sparked greed. This world lagged in science—no cannons yet—but magic filled the gap. With Magic Tower help, we'd developed magic siege weapons. The bait was a mage to upgrade and maintain them. He'd said he'd look into it, then gone silent. I'd forgotten about it.
“But why bring it up now?”
[I can't hold him back anymore.]
“What're you talking about?”
I frowned at the cryptic words. Benjamin continued in a depressed tone.
[Abigail, handle it yourself. It's your mess—see it through.
]
“Handle what?”
Anger crept into his voice toward the end. Shocked wide awake that it was aimed at me, I froze. After dumping his piece unilaterally, Benjamin cut the comm.
[You'll figure it out soon. I can't deal with that guy anymore. Use him up or convince him to come back—your call!]
“What? W-Wait.”
The line went dead with a click. Staring blankly at the communicator, I let out a hollow sigh. Waking me mid-sleep for this, and the distance garbled the end. Glaring at it in a foul mood, I scratched my head furiously and crawled back to bed.
A few days later, I learned what Benjamin meant.