CH 96

“Margravine-sama. I have brought the person from the pioneering village.”

I was lead into Margravine-sama’s room by the butler.

Inside, she was waiting for me while reading some documents on her desk.

“Good that you came. I believe, your name was Milia.”

“Yes.”

I was a bit taken back.

To think she even remembered my name.

As expected, she must be keeping a close eye on Lain.

With how we were treated this time, as well as the thing with Sieg-san, Margravine-sama’s treatment of us was too good.

I’m sure there must be a reason.

The first thing I thought of was the [Earth Extract].

It was amazing how her expression changed the first time she saw it.

I suppose it’s obvious now that I think about it.

[Earth Extract] is supposedly a very important material.

With it, even broken magic tools can be brought back to life.

Lain and Aria didn’t pay much mind to it, but it could give them an almost inexhaustible supply of weapons and armor.

I might be overstating a bit, but considering the amount of unusable armors sleeping in the Margravine’s family’s armory, which had a long history, it might not be too off.

With volumes of it, the direction of an entire war can change.

I wonder what would happen if the fact that Kili, who’s thought of as just a village girl, was the one making all that [Earth Extract] was found out.

We have to hide this fact from the Margravine at all costs.

“I trusted you would have stopped her from taking part in this tournament.”

“My apologies. Aria said she wanted to participate. Besides, Lain said there would be no problems.”

Lain said she couldn’t lose.

I was convinced by that, which is why agreed to let her go.

However, I never thought she would get sneak-attacked like this.

The martial arts tournament forbade sneak attacks, but fallen aristocrats seemed to be an exception to that.

“…It can’t be helped if that alchemist decided so. Was the magic tool in Aria’s possession really that strong? After all, it could even cut through magic.”

“…About that, I can’t really say…”

“So you can’t answer. Or you don’t know. Well, that’s fine.”

It seems that Aria had cut through magic in her match.

Apparently her abnormal strength was blamed on magic tools.

It’s common sense that you couldn’t counter magic with a sword or shield.

But I knew now, that that common sense was mistaken.

The reason swords and shields couldn’t counter magic was because there wasn’t any magic passing through them.

Magic simply passes through things with little to no magic.

However, Aria must have used magic to cut with her sword out of habit.

That’s why the magic disappeared the moment it came in contact with her sword.

But since I didn’t know how far Lain’s magic secrets go, I shouldn’t tell her too much.

If I did, the war might intensify all of a sudden.

“I must say I’m troubled. Once you enter, it’s not easy to step out from the tournament.”

“Can we not say that’s she’s out due to illness? I believe I’ve heard of aristocrats who disliked fighting, using this excuse to leave the tournament before.”

According to tradition, women had to enter the tournament as well.

However, there are those aristocrats who are unfit for battles, as well as those that are so sickly they can’t do anything.

If they contacted in advance, such aristocrats could be treated as on sick-leave.

Only aristocrats could do that though, so Aria didn’t have that option.

However, with Margravine-sama here, things were different.

“…It would be a problem if I were the one who reported it.”

“Because of factional differences…”

It’s true that Aria’s Flemia house and Margravine-sama’s Floria house belonged to different factions.

I didn’t know why someone from such a Margravate married into the Flemia family, and why her daughter, Aria, came under the protection of the Margravine.

Still, I couldn’t bring up the topic of a different faction here.

“Well, we’re not exactly from different factions. Flemia house is ultimately neutral. Although, they have cozied up to the 2nd prince faction these days.”

Aristocrats paid a lot of heed to saving face.

They wouldn’t take any damage to that face lying down.

At that time, the surrounding aristocrats won’t protect you either.

Since it’s the Margravine who’s ultimately at fault.

“So, if you use magic tools, and have the alchemist protect her, can Aria win this tournament?”

“…I don’t think it’s impossible.”

Aria would never lose if her opponent’s the same level as a greywolf.

But…

“It’s hard on her, mentally.”

It’s well known that fallen aristocrats face abuse.

But the ones abusing are also aristocrats.

It’s not that easy to get something done just because you feel bad for them.

Since poking a bee’s hive would just get you stung.

Aria had no choice but to continue fighting under such conditions.

“…I haven’t seen matches of fallen aristocrats before, but are they that bad?”

Thinking like that, I’ve done something terrible to Aria.

I threw her into the pit I desperately escaped.

I couldn’t even imagine what it was like.

“Ah, come to think of it, Lain entrusted me with a magic tool that recorded everything Aria saw these past few days.”

“What? Is that true?”

“Yes. This is it.”

I take out the magic tool Lain gave me, and hand it over to Margravine-sama.

“This is, a magic tool that can record what was seen…”

Margravine-sama carefully observes the magic tool.

She seemed more interested in the tool, rather than its contents.

“How do you use it?”

“Lain said that if you passed magic through it, it would play the scenes recorded onto it.”

“I see.”

Margravine-sama pours magic into the magic tool without hesitation.

Did she trust me, or did her curiosity over the magic tool surpass her wariness?

Unsure of which it was, the magic tool started displaying the scenes recorded on it because of Margravine-sama’s magic being poured into it.