Louise was starting to enjoy people's reactions to Utsuho. The revelation had snapped Agnes out of her 'cool' persona.

Currently the Musketeer was stating the obvious. "That woman is that crazy crow?"

"Raven," Utsuho corrected.

"Whatever. That doesn't change the fact that you were eating people's eyes this morning!" Agnes snapped.

Louise wondered if the woman had been watching Utsuho eat. She'd personally skipped the presentation of Richeliu's head.

"I only had one," Ustuho protested. "I'm not greedy."

Henrietta set down her teacup loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "I think it's more important that Utsuho here is a very powerful youkai, the embodiment of the Yatagarasu, and most importantly, Louise's sworn friend and familiar." The princess grimaced. "And as of this afternoon, one of the four people I can trust without reservation. Along with the rest of you."

Louise felt her cheeks warm, while Siesta blushed deeply. Even Agnes looked impressed by the words, if only for a moment. "Your Highness, we can't be your only trustworthy advisors. Cardinal Mazerian-"

"Is still a servant of the church and the nation first." Henrietta shook her head. "Which is admirable. But just because someone wants what's best for the nation doesn't mean they are actually helpful. And it seems many nobles believe what's best for the nation is avoiding scandal. Even to the point of defending treason."

"Wait," Louise leaned forwards. "People were defending that bastard? He sold us all out! Repeatedly."

"Some nobles thought the punishment was too harsh." Henrietta sighed. "Mostly people who had claim on his estate if the crown didn't confiscate it. But there were a number of nobles who are just squeamish when it comes to punishing high ranking peers."

Agnes snorted. "Fucking weak willed idiots. Want all the power but none of the responsibility. Magic's made them complacent."

Louise's jaw dropped. She knew Agnes was rude but that was practically heresy. "Are you questioning the prophet Brimir? I thought you supported the royal family?"

"I support the princess because she helped me," Agnes replied. "Nothing more. I have no need for nobles and their wand fetish. I don't need magic to succeed."

Utsuho grabbed a cookie. "I mean magic really does help. Especially for you humans. You're so fragile without it."

"Indeed," Henrietta said. "You'll need to learn at least some spellwork, as leader of my personal guards. I can't have you less skilled then schoolchildren in that matter. Fortunately Siesta should be able to help there."

Agnes sniffed. "I can't see how learning how to throw fire poorly will improve my life at all. Better to use my brain then desperately try to match elements to my problems."

Louise felt offended for a moment, but Satori's constant annoyances kept the remark from biting too deep. "I admit that a lot of nobles need to think more, but Siesta's magic isn't for idiots." She looked at her friend. "I bet you could have figured out a much better way to block Richeliu's fire blast then just throwing water bottles at him."

Siesta blinked in surprise. "Eh? Well..." She thought for a moment. "Marisa would probably develop some way to make her cloak fireproof. But that'd be hard. Maybe a potion that smothers fire? That shouldn't be too difficult!"

"Hm..." Agnes' demeanor shifted. "That's a lot different then what most mages do. Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to learn what's possible. Especially if people will be able to create magical items like that easily."

"That reminds me." Utsuho turned to Siesta. "Why do you humans default to making magic items? Is it because of your hands? I know I was kinda iffy on spending a lot of time on tools until I got hands."

That was, well almost a good question Louise mused. Not the hands bit, but most of Siesta's students gravitated towards items. Potions were most common but there was a surprising number of trinkets with minor enchantments as well.

"It's easier to pool magic that way," Siesta said. "We're usually weaker than a dot mage, so making a useful spell requires gathering our power and storing it somewhere. And since our power isn't elementally charged we can fuse it into almost anything."

Henrietta nodded. "I thought so, but having it confirmed makes me happy. Item creation will vastly improve our nation."

Agnes looked at the princess. "I like the nobles losing their stranglehold on magic, but how's that going to help us? It won't be enough to win us a war."

"One of the weaknesses of our nation is we are incredibly devoted to magic, but we lack a way of producing it in large quantities." Henrietta motioned to the city outside the window. "Magic preserves our food, keeps our cities clean, and builds our walls. Every single part of society is touched by magic, and yet it lies in the hands of the nobility. The people we expect to run the country, serve in the military, and conduct themselves with an air of wealth."

Louise frowned. "But we have enough nobles to do all that. In fact without those jobs a lot of third and fourth kids of lesser houses would be short of work."

"We have just barely enough," Henrietta replied. "We can do that, and nothing else. There's no room to advance, because all our development is tied into magic, and all our magicians are keeping the system we do have running. Yet commoners are stifled because magicians can do things in an instant. Why burn your life away developing a new medicine if a water mage can cure any disease? You'll never recoup the costs even if your medicine ends up cheaper in the end.

"But if a commoner can brew their own magical remedy, then water mages are freed up to focus on spells only a water mage can accomplish. Or perhaps water magic is still better for diseases, and commoners find some other thing they can improve upon. Something that they can share with the nation" Henrietta folded her hands. "I look forward to seeing what gets created."

A silence filled the room as Henrietta's words sank in. Louise let the concept churn in her brain. Stagnation? It was hard to view her country as stagnant, especially given how turbulent things were. But then again she didn't know any huge developments in the recent past. The last huge change was probably... the discovery of gunpowder? And from what Momiji said Helgakia's powder weapons were at least 300 years behind Earth's.

But it was still hard to imagine how they could move forwards just from a few potions and minor magic items. And all because Siesta had learned a few spells. Only the princess seemed to even grasp the edges of the idea, and Louise was certain there'd be plenty of surprises even for her friend.

Finally Agnes turned to Utsuho. "So how did that bastard's eye taste anyway?"

"It was great! A faint-"

"Don't encourage her!" Louise shouted.

Louise was coming to the conclusion that today was going to be a long day. Satori had one of her youkai smiles on. Which meant she was going to be insufferable for a bit.

"The princess is a much better study then you are," Satori said. "She knows better than to be infuriated by the truth. I'm surprised that Keine managed to teach her so much in such a short time."

"Maybe Keine's a better teacher," Louise retorted.

"That's not what the village children think. But then again she's teaching history to them. Not the fabric of reality." Satori's smirk vanished. "Still I am impressed. It's difficult for any ruler to understand the production model of the celestial order. Especially since so many rulers who claim to believe in it don't."

Louise thought for a moment. "That's the idea that farmers are the most important members of society because they create things right? You mentioned it along with the failed caste system of the Tokugawa shogunate."

"Yes." Satori shook her head. "You of course saw through the failures of the mindset, but this princess Henrietta saw past that to the truths. Society advances when people have abundance. With a surplus of food people can expend effort on achieving other goals. She sees the advances that can be obtained with a surplus of magic."

Satori's praise made Louise feel conflicted. She was happy the princess rated so highly in her tutor's eyes, but annoyed that she'd been left in the dust figuratively. But she threw those feelings to the side. There was a bigger question she had. "But won't creating a magic surplus cause problems with the nobility? There's a lot of poor nobles who rely on being the sole provider of magic. With nothing to do they're going to have a hard time, and the resources to be a problem."

Satori's smirk returned. "Indeed. I expect Agnes will be killing a lot of people in the future. You'll have at least two petty revolts. But given how weak and foolish the nobility is, Tristan will probably come out of it fine."

"You don't have to look so happy about it," Louise muttered.

"Enjoying chaos is a requirement for youkai," Satori said happily. "On that note, let's look at the Thirty Years War. I expect one of your fellow nations will collapse into infighting so you'll want to know how to manipulate the conflict."

Orin watched Siesta pick up and set down her tea cup without drinking for the fourth time and decided she should speak up. "So sis, what's eating at you? Don't tell me you're waiting for that girlfriend of yours to make a move, because she's dense as brick I figure."

"Eh?! That's not-" Siesta blinked a few times before recovering. "I'm not worried about that. We're both taking our time figuring out such matters. It's all the stuff the princess was talking about."

Utsuho stretched her wings. "You mean the whole changing the world bit? Why is that worrying you?"

"Why shouldn't being the focal point of a revolution worry me?" Siesta replied. "I'm expected to teach an entire country magic! And I started learning only months ago!"

"I don't think she's expecting you to do it all," Orin replied. "That's for teachers and stuff right? I bet she just gets you to ship over some books and teach some basics to the people she's gonna have set up everything."

Utsuho nodded. "I'm pretty sure you couldn't teach everyone anyway. Even the village school can't teach everything the kids need to know. And they've got lots of humans."

Siesta stared at the table. "But I'll still be the person everyone's eyes are on. The figurehead."

"Do you want to be?" Orin asked. "Because if not, I've got a good solution. Just disappear into the background when your time is done. I'm sure the princess has plenty more people to fill the gap."

"Eh?" Siesta blinked. "It can't be that easy?"

"Well I mean sure, some people will still be pissy about it." Orin waved her hand. "They'll go on and on about the 'damn cat that stole my lunch'. But most people are just 'oooh kitty!' and then they forget about you."

For some reason Utsuho and Siesta both looked at her like she was crazy. "I don't think that works for humans," Utsuho replied.

"Despite the ears on my robe I'm not a cat," Siesta added.

"Eh I'm sure you could brew up a potion to fix that," Orin replied leaning back. "Shouldn't be too hard sis. And then you'll be a cat! Always a plus."

Utsuho looked over at Siesta. "Maybe we should talk to Henrietta. She might have some good ideas. And she's your friend right?"

"Well..." Siesta fiddled with her cup a bit. "I suppose we are something like friends. As strange as it is saying that about her majesty."

Orin's tails lashed. "Hey! Are you ignoring me!? My idea was great sis!"

"Turning into a cat doesn't solve everything Orin," Utsuho said with a sigh.

"Don't you give me that, you birdbrain!"

Louise looked over the map of Albion she'd smuggled out. It was sadly inferior to the many maps Momiji had but it was good enough she supposed. Nothing like the utter garbage in some of Satori's history books. "We're going to need to take Dover, Rosais, or Dartanes."

"Dover of course is the worst choice, as it has strong fortifications, and a small port comparatively." Momiji moved several little figures to block off the city. "Which means Rosais or Dartanes. Which would be better to your eye?"

"Rosais," Louise said. "It's easier to stage a breakout and while it's a little further away, that doesn't matter as much. The only downside is it's closer to the enemy army, so they can reinforce it faster."

Momiji placed down another set of markers. "Which is why you've planned a diversion at Dartanes, using that new magic you picked up. Illusion right?" Momiji shook her head. "Always a dangerous power on the battlefield."

"Yeah." Louise stared at the markers, judging distance and speeds and grimacing at every calculation. "But I don't like it."

"How so?" Momiji asked. "With the diversion you should be able to secure a landing on Albion, one of the most difficult stages of the war cleared with minimal losses. Don't tell me you'd prefer to use Utsuho as the head of the spear?"

Louise shook her head empathetically. "No, that'd be a huge mess. Especially since we need the ports intact." Utsuho was a wonderful familiar but when she was asked to destroy something she did so with enthusiasm. "I just don't like losing our own dragon knights at the start of the campaign. The nobility's going to be angry enough with the Princess' reforms. Having them act as a screening force for a diversionary movement will only start rumors that Henrietta deliberately tried to kill them off."

"Hm." Momiji looked at Louise. "Is she not?"

"No!" Louise snapped. But a second later a traitorous thought slipped into her mind. What if Henrietta was trying to remove them from the board? It was a dangerous force with suspect loyalties.

She forced that fear down and tried to confront the problem head on. "Losing another knightly order after the collapse of the Griffon Knights would remove the majority of our airborne cavalry. I can't imagine it being a good idea in the short term, and that's honestly more important right now."

Momiji nodded slowly. "Hm, so we need to find a way to keep those knights alive. And unfortunately you staying with them won't help. If you travel slowly enough to escort the dragons, you'll be ripped to shreds by enemy spells. And if you move quickly you'll just be cleaning up their corpses..." The wolf tengu looked over the map, fiddling with pieces.

Finally her ears perked up. "Ah that was foolish of me. Louise, are civilian airships faster or slower than military airships?"

"Faster usually," Louise replied. "Smaller ships move quicker obviously, so every navy has small boats to run down pirates and smugglers. But a galleon can't catch up with a cutter that wants to run to ground. Why do you ask?"

"Because with sailing ships it's the exact opposite," Momiji replied. "More sails means you can catch more wind. But since you use magic as well as wind the rules are different. This gives us a new option."

Calloused hands shifted the main battle fleet to Dartanes. "In addition to the dragon knights you should send the majority of the fleet. The extra firepower will keep the enemy's cavalry from catching your knights, while you and Utsuho can destroy any fleet that sorties to stop you. It will also make your feint much more believable."

"Because it's crazy!" Louise replied. "Are you really suggesting we leave the main invasion force unguarded?"

"No. You leave the picket ships and a few ships of the line to defend them. But if your diversion fails their orders should be to run," Momiji replied. "One of the nice things about being the attacker is you can decide not to fight. And as a bonus if they completely ignore your diversion you can take Dartanes with the marines."

Louise chewed her lip. It was a risky plan and she didn't really like it. But she liked it more than letting her country's elite soldiers get chewed up and spit out yet again.

"Alright. Teach me all the details. I'm going to have to work really hard to convince the princess and the generals."

"Of course. Let's begin with comparative risks and rewards..."

"Incoming," Utsuho relayed calmly.

Louise whirled reaching for her wand, mind racing. And as she saw Kirche's tanned chest approaching she made the mistake of freezing.

"Looouiseeee~" Kirche's hug caught her and she found herself once again in the Germainian's cleavage. "I've missed your sour looks so much. It's been dreadfully boring with all the politics back home." Utsuho was no help, fluttering off her shoulder to caw menacingly at Flare.

Louise squirmed, trying to find a way to slip out without pulling Kirche's top off. "Mrph."

Sadly Kirche didn't get the hint. "You must tell me everything that happened while we were gone. I didn't get a single letter, so you must have been quite busy."

Bold of Kirche to assume she'd write, Louise thought as she managed to get some breathing room. Then again boldness was something Kirche had in spades.

"Welcome back Tabitha," Siesta said from behind her.

"Mm. Good to see you," Tabitha quietly replied.

Wonderful. Even her supposed friends were leaving her out to dry. She had half a mind to just grab Kirche in return to make Siesta jealous- and oh Founder she really had been reading too many romance novels.

"Ha, so this is the young knight you found so interesting," a man's voice boomed out. "She's taller than you said, Zerbst! Though I suppose it's hard for me to judge, ha!"

Strangely, Kirche immediately let Louise go and stepped back. Bowing she said, "Kaiser Albrecht, allow me to introduce Ser Louise Francois Valliere, and Baronet Siesta Takao. As you said I've spoken often about them, and I consider them close friends."

Louise immediately turned to the man and bowed. "Welcome to Tristain, Your Majesty." As her mind caught up with the automatic response she took stock of the man. He was indeed quite tall, and a little heavyset, though he carried himself like a fighter. His eyes seemed cheerful, but there was a dangerous glint behind them.

"No need to be so formal," he replied. "Besides I should be moving on. I interrupted your reunion after all. I imagine you've got a lot to catch up on, and I must give my greetings to the Princess. Though I would like to speak to you at a later time. Perhaps along with Her Highness and von Zerbst here." He turned to where Cardinal Mazerain was standing. "Please continue on good sir. Wouldn't want to be late."

As he walked off Louise turned to Tabitha. "Hello Tabitha." Tabitha looked up from her book and waved.

Meanwhile Kirche had caught Siesta in an embrace, though a less smothering one. "So glad to see you Siesta. I hope you've been well."

"I have, Kirche. Thank you." Siesta returned the hug lightly before shifting back. "I take it your negotiations were successful?"

Kirche placed her hands on her hips. "We will provide three army groups, along with ships and those knights who wished to gain the Kaiser's favor. The Kaiser is here to negotiate the command structure, and the rules of war."

"Thought a general would do that," Louise mused.

"The Princess specifically requested him," Kirche said. "But that's not important right now. What's important is the beautiful woman standing before you!"

"True." Louise turned. "So Siesta, do you want to get tea with our friends now that they're back?"

Kirche staggered. "So cruel, Louise! You wound me!"

Siesta smiled. "Of course. I've got an exotic tea as well today. I believe it was called white tea."

"Interesting," Tabitha said. They started heading to one of the sitting rooms, leaving Kirche to catch up after she finished being dramatic.

Utsuho fluttered over to her shoulder. "So who won?"

"We didn't want to fight right now," Utsuho thought back. "Though he was a smarmy as usual."

"Thanks for holding back," she replied, giving the bird a headrub.

Soon they were all around the table chatting about their respective trips. Apparently Kirche had visited her family before taking the Princess' request to the lords. After that it was just endless bickering, telling the same stories over and over, and flirting.

"So what have you been doing all this time?" Kirche asked.

"We went to ground mostly," Siesta said. "My uncle runs an inn here, so we spent our time there, getting a feel for the mood of the city."

Tabitha looked up. "Good?"

"Mostly," Louise said. "Trashing the invasion fleet really boosted morale. And there's a certain smug satisfaction among the commoners that the High Court Justice got executed for treason."

"Guilty?" Tabitha asked.

Louise frowned. "Of course! The princess doesn't execute people for no reason. We had evidence and a confession. Also he tried to assassinate her when she confronted him."

"She faced him directly?" Kirche looked surprised. "Hm, I underestimated the Princess."

Siesta grabbed a cookie. "She was wise enough to bring an entire squad of guards."

Tabitha nodded in approval before turning back to her book.

Further conversation was interrupted by Cardinal Mazerain arriving. "Forgive me Ladies, but her Majesty has requested the presence of Ser Valliere, Lady Takao and Ser Zerbst." He bowed apologetically to Tabitha. "I fear it is a private meeting so I must ask you to remain."

"It's fine," Tabitha said.

Kirche seemed displeased but she didn't press the issue. Instead she gave Tabitha's hand a squeeze and stood. "We'll have to meet up again after. Perhaps at dinner. I'd like to see this inn that you stayed at."

The thought of Kirche seeing what outfits they'd worn made Louise freeze. That was going to only lead to disaster.

Unfortunately Siesta seemed oblivious to the trap. "Of course! It should be quite fun."

They were doomed.

"It's not that bad," Utsuho thought to her as they walked to the Princess' meeting room. "She'll probably be more interested in getting an outfit for herself then forcing you into one."

"You underestimate Kirche," Louise shot back. "She'll have an outfit within seconds, and then demand I change so we can be matching!"

Utsuho clacked her beak. "Hrm. Okay, possible. You'll have to force Siesta and Tabitha to change too in order to distract her. I can help!"

Louise sighed and shook her head. The worst thing was this was the best idea she could think of.

She put that musing to the side as she entered the hall and bowed to the Princess and Kaiser. The two were at a triangular table, so the monarchs could face all of them without being side to side. Agnes and someone Louise guessed was Kaiser Albrecht's equivalent were in the shadows, waiting.

"Please take a seat," Henrietta said motioning to the chairs.

As they did the Kaiser drummed his fingers on the table. "Forgive me for rushing things, but I'm not sure how these three girls will help make your offers any more reasonable. I've heard everything Zerbst had to say, and none of that makes me think Ser Valliere would be a competent general. Much less better than my own."

Louise's jaw dropped. What?

"In terms of leading an army in the field you are absolutely correct," Henrietta replied. "However since neither of us will be accompanying the armies personally I feel it would be good to have a voice of royal authority. Say if our army needs to make a retreat, or perhaps if they must make a stand against the desires of the generals.

"As for her qualifications, she was the one who thought up the new invasion plan. As well as worked out our defenses earlier." Henrietta smiled. "Louise has great value beyond her skills in battle, just as Ser Zerbst is more than a pilot of our secret weapon."

Louise shut her mouth and tuned out Utsuho's happy bragging as Kaiser Albrecht turned to her. "Hm? So you're the one who made that mad plan, eh? It's bold I'll give you that. But what made you suggest it?"

She swallowed. "I didn't want our knights to get torn up at the start of the campaign. I understand losses are inevitable, but giving the enemy a massive calvary advantage and hoping that the rest of our plan works flawlessly is stupid. Better to take a calculated risk."

The man drummed his fingers against the table a few times before leaning back. "Not bad. And where did you learn the tactics needed to solve that problem?"

"My tutor suggested it," Louise admitted. "She's very good."

"Hah!" He leaned back pleased with the quick response. "Well I don't suppose we can get your tutor as a general?"

"Sadly not," Henrietta replied with a grimace. "It would be an impossibility for a... number of reasons."

Probably none of the reasons the Kaiser was thinking of right now, but explaining the truth would take far too long. It would be lovely to have Momiji running the war, but the wolf tengu would probably kill half the generals by the second day.

Kaiser Albrecht cracked his knuckles. "Well if she has another damn good idea like that, I'm willing to take the chance on her. With one condition." He looked over at Kirche. "Ser Zerbst if you think she's making a terrible decision I request that you force her to stop and listen to you."

Kirche blinked. "I'll always speak my mind to Louise, but what specifically are you talking about, Kaiser?

"I'm giving Louise sealed documents allowing her to speak with my authority while on campaign," Henrietta said.

"Eh?" It seemed obvious from the discussion they just had, but Louise was having a hard time understanding why. She wasn't a general. She wasn't even qualified to be a commander. The whole plan had been Momiji's idea.

Henrietta met her questioning gaze, and then looked over at Utsuho. "You understand the facts on the ground better than most. I trust you will only use this if absolutely needed."

That... was a very good point, Louise thought. The tension drained away as she figured out what the princess was getting at. Most people didn't comprehend how powerful Utsuho was. Louise wasn't even sure she fully understood what her familiar could do. Convincing the generals of her familiar's power would be near impossible. Especially if a decision needed to be made quickly.

"I promise to act only in the most dire situations," Louise said.

"And I shall do my best to steady her if it's not that bad," Kirche added.

The two royals looked pleased. However the Kaiser's eye quickly turned to Siesta. "Now since this young lady hasn't spoken I imagine she's related to the other issue I have?"

"Yes," Henrietta said. "I think what Tristain has to offer here will cover any war losses."

"It's not about losses per se," the Kaiser said. "I know the country's going to have a hole in the coffers soon. But while my troops aren't thugs, they're going to battle expecting to get some prizes from the enemy. If I have to pay them even more to keep them in line, people will start thinking I care more about Albion than Germania!"

The bit about his troops not being thugs was a lie of course. Mercenaries were the bulk of most nations' armies, and mercenary tended to mean 'hired thug.' When there wasn't a war, most turned to robbery. Still Louise was a little surprised at how much Princess Henrietta was holding them back.

"Albion has been at war for years," the Princess said. "The only way to gain the favor of the people is by seeming better than all the armies that came before. It will also let us pull some of the former loyalists away from Cromwell."

She looked directly at Kaiser Albrecht. "However I understand your concerns. I've sold a lot of the spare items from my palaces myself to cover the war. However I think I can offer you something priceless in return." She gestured to Siesta. "A completely new form of magic."

Everyone froze at that. Siesta and Louise at the admission, while the Kaiser straight up looked shocked. Kirche seemed to be slowly putting two and two together, but she was still lagging behind.

"I hadn't heard about this," the Kaiser managed to say. "Perhaps a simple demonstration?"

"Ah. Um. Well I mostly work with potions..." Siesta was flustered.

Louise put a calming hand on her friend's arm. "Try the light spell. Without the wand."

"Oh!" Siesta started then seemed to relax a tiny bit. "Of course." With a quick chant a ball of light appeared.

The Kaiser looked at it carefully, judging the spell. "Not that impressive. But I can't sense any elements from it. Are you saying she's developed magic that's outside the elements?"

"Discovered," Henrietta said. "She found some magical tomes that explained how to tap into non elemental magics. And she's successfully taught others how to use it."

"And here I thought she was just using water well," Kirche muttered, poking at the light.

"Hm, that is interesting. But I imagine there's a catch or two," he looked over at Henrietta. "Especially if the girl just discovered it. How can I sell this to my subjects? They'd probably prefer gold."

Henrietta raised her hands, and repeated the spell causing a second light orb to appear. "The catch is everyone can use it. Every commoner and noble. Though that little orb took a dot spell's worth of power so I don't recommend it."

Louise stared. She hadn't expected the princess to learn Siesta's magic. But then again what better way to understand what they were all banking Tristain's future on?

The Kaiser seemed similarly impressed. "Everyone? From square class mages to the village idiot?"

"My strongest student is a little slow," Siesta said quietly. "They performed something Louise said was triangle class."

"She turned fire into brass," Louise muttered.

"What?" Kirche nearly fell out of her chair. "Did she spend the week in a coma after?"

Siesta shook her head. "She was playing with it. I don't think she even slowed down."

Kirche rubbed her temples. "So she has to be at least a square mage in willpower. Because that would knock me out."

Kaiser Albrecht sat there thinking. Which was fair. Henrietta had just dropped a bomb on his world view and plans for the future. Finally after a while he looked over at her. "So you're offering this magic?"

"No," Henrietta replied. "The spells are going to become common knowledge no matter what anyone does at this point. Enough people know the truth that it'll be universal across Helgakia in two decades I imagine.

"What I'm offering you is a chance to join Tristain as the forefront of the magical revolution that is coming." Henrietta said. "I have copies of the spellbooks, and tutors for you to give to your people. I'm also interested in opening up a school for research into this new magic. If Germania is interested, I feel it could be a good joint project between our two nations." She looked over at Louise and Kirche. "Perhaps at the Valliere Zerbst border. It would help keep peace between our nations as well I feel."

Louise looked over at Kirche who seemed similarly shocked. It was true that having a university on the border would make fighting impolitic. And calming that part of the border would deescalate a lot of the tension between the two nations. It would also give Siesta a reason to stay in the area...

Kaiser Albrecht laughed and slapped the table. "Oh my. How cunning." He shook his head ruefully. "A shame the engagement fell through. I'd feel much better about my nation if you were next in line for the throne. Very well. Seeing as the future is inescapable I'll accept. All three proposals in fact. The people will love it, and the smarter nobles will to. And the dumber ones won't be nobles after their money runs out."

That was right. Germania based nobility on money, not magic. Louise didn't think much of the process, but in this case it would help.

"We are agreed then," Henrietta said. "Thank you, your Majesty. I leave to you the decisions on who your general should be, and how you wish to receive our magical envoys."

"Aye." The Kaiser looked across the table to them. "And I'll leave the fate of the invasion in your hands. Keep it quick if you can. No one wins a long war."

Louise bowed, ignoring the weight in her stomach. What the Kaiser said was true. But she knew better then to assume war would be easy.

Especially since she hadn't won a single practice skirmish against Momiji. The tengu woman refused to hold back.