Rose’s growth seemed to worry her guardian deity, Ashes.
“Lady Rose, may I have a moment of your time?”
Ashes asked timidly on the way from the command room to the guesthouse, making me flinch.
“Ah! Could it be that some seaweed from the okonomiyaki I ate at noon stuck to my face? Oh, Ashes! You should have told me sooner!”
Before returning from the laboratory, I ate two delicious okonomiyaki grilled by Mizar.
“…No. During the meeting earlier, your face was entirely different from the Lady Rose I know… I just became a little worried.”
Good, it wasn’t seaweed on my face.
My face looked like a different person, huh. That makes sense. I myself felt like a completely different person, so Ashes must have seen me that way too.
“…Is that so? My face looked like a different person.”
“Yes. But I’m relieved now. Your face now is the Lady Rose I know.”
“Is my flustered face, worrying about seaweed, the usual me?”
“Fufu, the usual lovely Lady Rose is like that.”
How rude! I’m a proper lady too!
“Let’s inform you both of the successful negotiations and prepare for tactical training. As a knight, I have been looking forward to the day I can fight under Lady Rose’s command.”
Ashes looked a little sad. I understood the feelings of this knight, who was like an older sister.
“…Despite looking forward to it… you don’t look happy, do you?”
“I suppose one doesn’t even know their own heart until the time comes. It seems I… did not want to expose Lady Rose to the flames of war.”
“Thank you. But this is the path I’ve chosen. Ashes, I have a request, not as a princess, but as a person living in these turbulent times. Please lend me your strength until the end?”
“Yes. I and the knights of the Rose Cross will accompany you on whatever path you take. As knights serving Lady Rose… no, with the pride of comrades fighting together, we will surely complete this arduous march.”
Our destination is far away, and the path is fraught with hardship and thorns. But I’m not alone. That’s why… I can fight.
I returned to the guesthouse’s living room with Ashes.
What caught my eye was Quester and Clifford earnestly debating at the living room table, and Major Toma sprawled on the sofa, eating potato chips and drinking a can of beer.
I nudged him with my elbow, beating him to the punch, and Ashes swallowed the words that had nearly reached her throat.
“I’m back. Major, I have successfully secured command of Ashes and Quester.”
“Good work. Three hundred from the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Knight Orders, and eleven hundred from the other Rose Cross knights, bringing the total to fifteen hundred with the Ghost Brigade. We’re still short about five hundred. Princess, could you ask Benio for some corporate mercenaries from Specs?”
The Major, a perfect compatibility, and the quasi-compatible knights of Sword and Shield – not only in number but also in quality, they are admirable.
“Yes, asking is my specialty. Major, what strategy should we take to confront the Alliance Army?”
Actually, I should be the one thinking about strategy, but I know I’m still not strong enough.
“It seems command has been delegated, but are you free to move as you please?”
“No, we’ve only received operational authority as a squad under Colonel Roogetsu’s command.”
“That’s about right. But it’s excellent work. If you can achieve that against Setsuna, you’ve fulfilled your duty as a general. Now, we must consider Setsuna’s intentions.”
I felt relieved to be praised as doing excellent work. It seems I didn’t disappoint the Major after all.
“Lord Toma, I believe Setsuna will consider destroying the Alliance’s strongest unit, the Asura Unit.”
The Major shook his head at Clifford’s question.
“The opposite. He will try to avoid a situation where the corps and the Asura Unit clash and destroy each other.”
The Major rolled up an empty bag of potato chips and threw it at the trash can, but missed. Mizar picked it up and threw it away properly.
“Toma, could you tell us your thoughts?”
Urged by Quester, the Major, who had been lounging, sat up on the sofa and crossed his arms.
“Before, you mentioned using Zahat and Balbanes together as a separate detachment… but if Ashes and Quester aren’t there, things change. …He’ll probably divide them into an attack team and a defense team, like a power ball. The attack team will launch a flanking maneuver to capture key strongholds, while the defense team will come to the rescue of the outnumbered friendly forces.”
“It seems likely that we, who have the guardian deity Ashes, will be assigned to the defense team.”
“That’s a strong possibility. Baksu’s old man is one thing, but the others aren’t suited for defense. He’ll probably use Alhambra as a diversion, and Setsuna will move to gain points. Princess, please train the Rose Cross for a situation where they support the fleeing friendly forces. Any further strategy can be formulated as the situation develops.”
“So, you’ll wait until you see the Alliance’s invasion progress. That’s too vague, Toma.”
The Major answered Ashes’s complaint with a question.
“Ashes, do you know what humans can do that computers can’t?”
“I can think of plenty of the opposite…”
“The answer is fuzzy. Computers are too serious; they can’t handle flexible, improvised responses. But humans can.”
“Hmph, you’re particularly good at that kind of trick, aren’t you?”
“Don’t praise me too much. Princess, you understand what it means to ‘use’ me, don’t you?”
“…I understand. I’m prepared.”
The three knights, who didn’t understand the meaning of the Major’s words, looked bewildered.
For now, it’s enough that I understand. …When the time comes, whether I want to or not, I’ll understand.
After sweating it out mentally with Colonel Roogetsu, I will have to draw blood from my hands with Ashes.
Because I cannot become strong without training both my mind and body.
The training sword, which had its edge blunted, swung sharply towards me.
I barely managed to block it, but the heavy blow sent me stumbling.
“Lady Rose! Don’t take direct hits! That attack was aimed to let you receive it!”
“Yes!”
“Your opponent will surely take advantage of your lightness! For rapid consecutive attacks, block them firmly; for heavy blows, evade or deflect them!”
“Y-Yes!”
Ashes lectured me and then unleashed a flurry of rapid attacks. She was holding back, so my eyes could barely keep up.
The problem was my hands… Am I going to lose?! I’ll keep up, even if I have to force myself!
“Your feet are exposed!”
I was kicked in the shins and fell awkwardly. Shifting my attention everywhere is also a common tactic, isn’t it?
“Ashes, isn’t this a bit too strict? Lady Rose is still a beginner, such advanced techniques…”
“I’m holding back plenty! But Quester, the enemy won’t hold back just because she’s a beginner!”
Ashes is right; the battlefield is equal in every way. It’s either life or death for anyone.
“Lady Rose, first, we will thoroughly hone your defensive techniques.”
“OnlyDefense? Aren’t I allowed to attack? They say offense is the best defense, and if they don’t expect me to attack, won’t they become less aggressive?”
“That’s presumptuous. With your current skills, whether you attack or not, the enemy will come at you aggressively. Therefore, concentrating solely on defense is the best approach. Lady Rose’s victory is not about defeating the enemy, but about ‘surviving.’ Endure until someone can come to your rescue.”
“Survive and endure, huh. That’s right. If I’m completely isolated, anything I do is useless. If it’s based on rescue, then surviving, no matter how clumsy, is paramount. Teach me the defensive swordsmanship of the renowned guardian deity, Ashes!”
“If you acquire just one-fifth of my skill, you won’t be defeated easily. However… it won’t be easy, you know?”
“I’m prepared! Come on!”
My breath hitched from the rigorous training, my entire body was drenched in sweat, and my palms were covered in blisters.
When the blisters broke and blood seeped out, Ashes told me to stop training, and I collapsed onto the ground.
“…Haa… haa… Hey, Ashes. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
Ashes, who wasn’t even out of breath, walked over to me as I sat there gasping for air. She disinfected my bloody hands and bandaged them.
“What fraction of my skill level would you say it is compared to yours?”
“…Let’s see. I’d say about one-hundredth.”
…I felt faint. How long will it take… to reach one-fifth?
