The Battle for Schwartz and Weiss

The Battle for Schwartz and Weiss

The Battle for Schwartz and Weiss

“You should be able to fight more easily thanks to my blessing. Remember, however, that we must not strike first under any circumstances,” I said, looking around the room. “All we need to do is defend Schwartz and Weiss until we reach Professor Solange at the library. We are not fighting because we want to—we are fighting simply to protect what Ehrenfest has been entrusted with. Keep this stance in mind.”

It was important that we didn’t act first so that we could make excuses later if anything happened.

Angelica and Traugott both leaned forward slightly, as if preparing to jump out and attack in an instant. “Lady Rozemyne, can we attack anyone who attacks us first?” they asked.

“Do not leave the formation on your own. Our highest priority is getting Schwartz and Weiss back to the library safely; making any moves that are not necessary in realizing this goal will mark you as disappointments of guard knights. Act with the knowledge that Lord Bonifatius shall judge those who are unable to protect their charges as failures.”

“Ngh... Understood.”

I was aware that Lord Bonifatius had trained the absolute heck out of all the guard knights who had failed to protect Charlotte and me, and those guard knights had endured two years of intense training while I was asleep. Angelica and Traugott stiffened up the moment I spoke Lord Bonifatius’s name—both of them seemed to have experience being scolded by him on a daily basis.

“Milady. Not enough mana,” Schwartz said. “Need more mana.”

“Hm? But I just gave you some...” I replied, thinking back to a second ago.

The two shumils patted their clothes. “No. Our clothes. Protect. Fight.”

As requested, I stroked their buttons and filled them with mana. The magic circles woven into their vests lit up for a brief moment before fading again.

“Stronger now, milady. We protect you.”

Schwartz and Weiss were the treasures of the library; I was supposed to be protecting them, not the other way around.

“In any case, let’s go,” Cornelius said. “Don’t let your guards down.”

We all exited the dormitory, prepared to whip out our schtappes at any moment. Cornelius and Leonore were at the front, since they were the fastest thinkers among the archnobles and were best suited to negotiate if we made contact with the enemy, while the more ruthless Angelica and Traugott were kept in the center near me. I held Schwartz’s and Weiss’s hands while I walked, fully surrounded by tense apprentice guard knights.

“Think of this as treasure-stealing ditter,” I said. “We just have to protect Schwartz and Weiss on our way to the library. It’s not about fighting—it’s about protecting. Just don’t make that mistake.”

I was honestly hoping there wouldn’t be an attack at all. We passed through the center building with the auditorium, turned south, and then approached the hall connecting to the library. That was when I saw a bunch of capes flash through the crowd, sporting four different colors in total.

Wait, what?! It’s not just one duchy?!

There were only thirty of us from Ehrenfest, but it seemed there were about one hundred people standing before us. At the very front of the crowd were students wearing blue capes, signifying that they were from Dunkelfelger, a greater duchy placed second in the rankings. I gasped and tightened my grip on Schwartz’s and Weiss’s hands. Not only were we facing several duchies, but one of them was a greater duchy—and not Ahrensbach, the greater duchy we had actually been worried about.

Cornelius stopped a short distance away from the students gathered in our path; then he stepped forward. “Lord Lestilaut. May I ask why you are blocking the hallway?”

Lestilaut was an archduke candidate. He stood in the middle of the hall with his arms crossed and his feet planted firmly on the ground. His build much more resembled that of an apprentice knight than an archduke candidate. He did not even deign to answer Cornelius, instead responding with a dismissive sneer. The nobles from middle and lesser duchies standing behind him called out in his stead.

“That’s our line!” one shouted. “What do you lot think you’re doing?!”

“How disrespectful of you to claim those magic tools left by royalty as your own!” another added.

“We’ll be taking back those big shumils!” declared a third.

From our perspective, these people were villains trying to steal away Schwartz and Weiss—but from theirs, we were the villains who had taken magic tools belonging to royalty. Some of our apprentice knights began to tremble slightly as they endured the shouts, which made Lestilaut break into a wide grin.

“Those magic tools are the heirlooms of ancient royalty, and they belong to the Royal Academy’s library,” he declared. “It is unthinkable for the archduke candidate of a mere thirteenth-ranked duchy to steal them from the library and attempt to make them their own! Return the royalty’s magic tools to where they belong!”

The students behind Lestilaut cheered in approval, which caused the apprentice knights from Ehrenfest to falter even more.

“How rude!” I protested, pursing my lips in frustration. “We have not stolen them! I became their master through something of an accident, and so I brought them to my dormitory to fulfill a duty expected of my new position. I acquired Professor Solange’s permission before doing anything!”

The moment I revealed that I had gotten permission to take Schwartz and Weiss, our opponents lost some of their momentum. “You have permission?” one of them asked. “So you didn’t steal them?”

It was true that Lestilaut had numbers on his side, but he had gained them through supplying misleading information. He had most likely used his authority as a member of the greater duchy Dunkelfelger to whip these lesser and middle duchies into place so that he could strike at us.

Sensing the tremor running through his allies, Lestilaut theatrically flourished his cape and raised a fist into the air. “Regardless! For you to have become the master of magic tools belonging to royalty in the first place is the peak of arrogance. And on top of that, you even brought them to the Ehrenfest Dormitory?! Considering that Professor Hirschur thought it necessary to abandon her practical lesson to supervise you, we can only assume those magic tools were highly at risk of getting either dissected or destroyed. Only a failure of a master would expose them to such extraordinary danger!”

Curse you, Professor Hirschur! I can’t believe she skipped her afternoon classes for this. That must be part of the reason why Lestilaut is so mad...

“If anyone must become their master, better they be from Dunkelfelger than the pitifully ranked Ehrenfest. Accept the transfer of your mastery and give them to me; then I will spare you from being accused of stealing the royalty’s magic tools. I very much doubt you wish to be accused of treason!”

Some of the apprentice knights near me echoed the word “treason” in hushed murmurs. There was visible doubt in their eyes; it was all too painful for members of the nobility to be accused of treason against the crown.

“You are right. I would not like to be accused of treason. Furthermore, I am completely fine with giving Schwartz and Weiss to someone who is willing to treat them in the way they deserve,” I said, looking at Lestilaut. It was true that I wouldn’t have become their master in the first place if there were still archnoble librarians in the Royal Academy. The ideal was for someone working in the library to become their master, not me.

“Lady Rozemyne...” Angelica began with a cautioning tone, but I shook my head to interrupt her and kept staring Lestilaut down.

Schwartz and Weiss were the property of the library, made to assist with the work that needed to be done there—one couldn’t simply do as they pleased with them just because they possessed an abundance of mana. If someone were capable of giving them more mana than I and was willing to join my unofficial library committee then I would be happy to transfer my position as master to them. I would need to return to Ehrenfest for the Dedication Ritual, so having someone to keep the ball rolling while I was gone was a very reassuring thought.

The guy in front of me, however, was clearly a musclehead; I couldn’t imagine he was the type of person who would ever want to join any library committee.

“If you want Schwartz and Weiss, there are some things I must first ask you,” I said. “What do you plan to do upon becoming their master?”

“What do I... plan to do...?” Lestilaut repeated, crossing his arms. He clearly didn’t understand the reasoning behind my question.

“Allow me to rephrase: how often do you visit the library? How frequently have you been going there, and how many books have you borrowed thus far?”

“The library is no place for an archduke candidate, and so I have never been,” Lestilaut answered. “If we want books, we simply order apprentice scholars to take them out for us. What in the world are you saying?”

He had never once gone to the library—that alone was enough to disqualify him from becoming Schwartz’s and Weiss’s master. I shook my head, signaling that I was refusing his request.

“You are unsuited to serve as Schwartz’s and Weiss’s master. One must visit the library once every few days to supply them with mana, and one must give them a great amount so as to not trouble Professor Solange. Someone who has never visited the library before would surely fail in this regard.”

“I am unsuited...? What do you think you’re saying?”

“We are in the middle of returning Schwartz and Weiss to the library, and it is my duty as their master to protect them. I will not allow for the library’s magic tools to be stolen by someone who will not use them for their intended purpose. If you stand in our way, you will be the one accused of treason!”

“Watch your mouth!” Lestilaut barked, but I shouted right back without missing a beat.

“I shall protect Schwartz and Weiss, and I shall protect the Royal Academy’s library! No matter how much you insult me, nor how powerful of a greater duchy you belong to, I will show no mercy to anyone who attempts to steal these two shumils!”