Published: August 10, 2026
A large hole had been blown open in part of the ship, and a pale white smoke was pouring out. I wanted to go see what was happening, but if we approached carelessly, silver needles that could pierce even Mounts and armor might fly out.
Ferdinand checked the distance between the silver ship ahead and the boundary gate, then brought his Mount to a stop at a height and distance beyond the reach of the silver needles reported by Dunkelfelger's knights.
"Rozemyne, use sight enhancement to check the situation and report to me."
I turned slightly toward Ferdinand and replied, "Yes."
There was no point in asking, "Why don't you enhance your own vision?" If he wasn't doing something he needed to do, then clearly he couldn't. My role, since I was riding with him, was probably to accurately report what was happening.
I enhanced my sight and strained to see through the smoke.
"A man who seems to be wearing silver clothing has come out through the large hole."
"Lanzenave? Dunkelfelger?"
The man who had come out, looking around, climbed onto the smooth top of the ship. I leaned forward to watch what he would do, and he threw off the silver clothing and fired mana with his stave.
"A stave! He's definitely a knight from Dunkelfelger."
At the same time as my report, Heisshitze's bright voice rang out.
"That's the signal that the ship has been secured, Lord Ferdinand!"
It seemed there had been an arrangement: if help was needed in an emergency, they would use laut, but if mana was simply being fired, it meant the operation was complete. The explosion had apparently been caused by the Dunkelfelger knights who had infiltrated the ship from inside.
"Well done!" voices rose from the surrounding Dunkelfelger knights, and then Ordnance came flying over.
"Ship secured! We are beginning the rescue of the hostages. The hostages have had their Mount mana stones taken away as well, so the rescue may take a little time."
Hearing the words of the flying Ordnance, Ferdinand said, "Good," and tightened his grip on the reins. The lion's wings flapped once with a loud rustle.
"Sixth squad, move to rescue the hostages and recover the mana stones that were taken. Seventh and eighth squads, attack the leading ship. Ninth and tenth squads, attack the trailing ship."
"Yes!"
Mounts are faster than ships. If we accelerated and chased them, we would catch up. We sped over the sea while carefully adjusting our distance so that we would drive the ships toward the boundary gate without fully catching them. The sky was brightening, and the color of the sea was becoming lighter as well.
"Rozemyne, when the color of the ship begins to change, I want you to cast aub's protection on the leading ship. Is your mana sufficient?"
"Only about two more times, I think... Anything more than that would probably be impossible."
I reported honestly.
Lying here or underestimating my mana capacity would be forbidden. It would greatly affect the success of the operation afterward.
"When the national border gate was moved, and when the foundation was dyed, I drank healing potions one after another. If I drink any more, I'll probably feel sick and won't be able to act. The next time I drink one will be before I go to sleep."
"It is good if you can keep track of your own dosage. ...But two more times, hmm."
The thoughtful note in Ferdinand's voice made unease spread through my chest.
"Is there some concern?"
"That ship changes from silver, which repels mana, to black, which absorbs mana. I only heard this from a knight on the boundary gate who watched the ship return to Lanzenave at the end of autumn, so it may not be certain, but it seemed that by drawing out the mana of the national border gate, they were circulating mana throughout the ship to make it possible to transfer. In other words, it may not simply be black, but black with the mana-absorbing property of a black mana stone. ...I thought it might require more mana than the protection you used at the port earlier."
Ferdinand had never been aub, so even if he knew it was a magic that used large amounts of mana, he had no way of knowing how much of a burden it was on me. The amount of mana consumed also varies greatly from person to person, depending on how much mana they pour into their stave.