Published: September 6, 2025
“What do you mean by Schwarz and his group? How did you suddenly come to that conclusion?”
My Foster Father asked me with a truly puzzled expression, so I explained the flow of my thoughts. Still, he shook his head as if he couldn’t understand it.
“I understand that you want to use the magic tools of the library that you know about to guide others around the library. But weren’t those magic tools requiring a lot of attributes and mana to keep them operational? You will be going to the capital at the end of spring, but after that, who will supply the mana? Will there be enough? I think your older sister’s attack is most likely around the time of the prayer ceremony, but it could happen later than that. This is just my intuition—there is no certainty.”
“Ugh!”
Unlike Schwarz and his group at the noble academy, the mana needed to operate the tools could probably be lowered by dividing their functions, but there were few who had the attribute of darkness. Besides, I don’t think Ehrenfest will have any mana surplus after I leave. Even if it’s to protect the temple, continuously supplying mana would be tough.
“Also, do you really think your cautious older sisters would follow you to guide such suspicious magic tools? Even I would be wary.”
“They’re not suspicious. Schwarz and his group are cute, after all.”
“It’s not about being cute or not; I’m saying that if such magic tools exist in the temple, they would be suspicious. Instead of making things like that, wouldn’t it be more effective to give the gatekeepers multiple amulets?”
When I was told to have many amulets that could counterattack when the gray priests were attacked, I snapped my fingers.
“So, you mean it’s better to create Schwarz and his group specialized in combat for the gatekeepers. Understood.”
“No, you’re not getting it at all!?”
“That’s because most gray priests don’t have any mana. It’s difficult for them to carry multiple effective amulets. If that’s the case, it might be better to have knights guard the temple gates or create Schwarzes specialized in defense using as little mana as possible...”
I recall that when the Schwarzes entered attack mode, mana had to be supplied to a button. If the gatekeepers carried mana-infused mana stones they could activate only in an emergency, perhaps they could operate with very little mana ordinarily. I’ll check The Book of Mestionora later; maybe there will be a hint.
“As for temple defense, leave it to me. For now, Foster Father, considering the possibility of your entering the foundation magic area, it would be good to set traps there as well. Maybe build a simple gate at the entrance using development, place some objects there, and have them collapse and fall the moment Lady Georgine passes through, or lay round stones instead of marbles at the entrance to make her slip…”
“I’ll consider that too, but it’s best to prevent your older sister from approaching the foundation magic area as much as possible.”
Foster Father said that and began thinking where else she might enter from besides the boundary gate. If we consider places he is familiar with, Gerlach is still the most likely candidate.
“How did the conversation with Grandfather and Matthias go?”
“There was no sign of intrusion yet. Because the snow hasn’t melted, no suspicious footprints were found, and Bonifatius’s intuition didn’t pick up anything, it’s believed they haven’t entered Gerlach.”
If one completely hides their mana by covering themselves with silver cloth, they can cross the territory boundary unnoticed by Aub, but since their entire body must be wrapped, they can’t use a stave or mount. It’s unlikely they will move on foot, so they must be using some vehicle.
“I don’t know what means the enemy might use, but wouldn’t it be better to mobilize all the close aides of the lord family to produce more healing potions and magic tools? The generation that did treasure hunting ditter would know better about battle-prepared magic tools.”