"I command the origin of Wisdom. I have deciphered all truths and rewrote the winds of fate. Gather to me, all powers great and small, and answer my prayers. Revelation Impart Blessings All!"
A massive wave of magic power came from Rozemyne's body, washing over the 25 Shumil, 25 Filolials and 100 Human and Demihumans who acted as Rozemyne's Knight's Order.
Each and every one of them felt the overwhelming strength of Rozemyne's support spell entering into them, fueling their strength and increasing all of their stats by at least 50%. They felt ready for anything.
Rozemyne couldn't help but to have mixed feelings, seeing all of them trying so hard to help her perform her duties as the Hero of the Shield, proud to be useful to her.
…Why couldn't they understand that what she really wanted them to do was to help produce books. So many of the children were forced on fighting or supporting their fighters with armor and weapons, but what about her printing industry? What about sweets and pretty clothes and soft beds?
Why couldn't they understand her feelings!?
"Alright everyone. That buff should last for the next 12 hours. Remember, safety first and try to get home before dark." Rozemyne said, as if she was talking to her teenage kids who were about to take out the car, rather than a group of soldiers going out for a routine patrol.
"Yes, Milady!" Many replied before getting ready to leave.
25 groups of 6 bodies each, including 1 Shumil, 1 Filolial and 4 either Humans or Demihumans adventurers. The Filolial getting connected to wagons that Rozemyne had enchanted to absorb shock so that the fighters didn't get too sick, given the Filolials… unusual nature.
Rozemyne had purchased the Filolial to pull wagons for her adventuring parties as they became more independent, and the giant ostrich-like birds had also been very keen on fighting. So for the first few days, it was all going swimmingly, even if they did eat a lot.
…Then the Filolial all evolved into Royal Filolial and puffed up like giant balls of fluff and had their strength literally double. This made them adorable, but also meant that they pulled their wagons way too fast, nearly throwing off their occupants at times. Before Rozemyne took the time to modify the wagons, they were completely unusable because of the overly excited birds.
The fact that those who saw the Royal Filolial called them the birds of god, and they were apparently a big deal also left Rozemyne embarrassed.
"As usual, your magic is just absurd." Ren deadpanned as Rozemyne walked back to him. Who'd ever even heard of a buff that lasted for a whole 12 hours, especially such a strong one and on some many people at once. "But don't you think it is a bit of overkill? There aren't any monsters in this territory over level 15, and not that many of them."
"It is merely a habit for me. I used to give the War God's blessing before every battle to my retainers back home." Rozemyne explained, waving it off. "Now that everything is in order here, let us get moving."
Rozemyne then drew Lessy's Feystone out from within her body before willing it to manifest into its Highbeast shape. The Lesser Panda Bus was extended a little in order to fit two of Ren's companions who were going to join him in the fight against the dragon, as well as Raphilia and Lynna, who were once again acting as Rozemyne's guard knights.
Rozemyne got into the driver's seat, with Ren riding shotgun and the others in the back. Everyone strapped in and Lessy took off gracefully into the air before accelerating to speeds that would rival a jet engine.
"I still can't believe how convenient this thing is." Ren said as he watched the landscape flying by below them.
"Would Lord Ren like to make one for himself?" Rozemyne asked, surprising Ren as she had gone back to talking like a noblewoman, now that people were watching.
"Is that possible?" Ren asked.
"Of course. All you need to make a Highbeast is a modified high quality Feystone filled with the owner's mana. Learning to shape it takes a bit of work, but most first year children at the academy get it down in five to ten hours of practice. Though with how talented Lord Ren is, it wouldn't surprise me if you succeed in one." Rozemyne said.
"Ah… We'll see." Ren said, embarrassed by Rozemyne calling him talented.
He did have a knack for water and weapon enhancing magic and had learned them quickly under Rozemyne's tutorage. Though his magic training had gotten weird since after the Wave, when he had returned to visit the Magic Shop owner to buy some supplies, only to be told that his elemental affinity had somehow changed.
The old woman who ran the store was shocked by this, since it wasn't something she had ever seen happen before. Nor was it common for someone to have all seven elemental attributes at once.
In fact, the only person in history, as far as the old woman knew, who had all seven attributes, had been Rozemyne herself. Though Rozemyne had a wind preference, while Ren's preference was water.
Even so, there was no way Rozemyne was not somehow responsible for this, but Ren felt too awkward to bring it up with her. Instead, he was trying to learn more about his new affinity's on his own, but was not having very good luck with it. Or at least, it was a whole lot slower than when Rozemyne was tutoring him.
"We should be coming up on the village." Rozemyne said after only a few short minutes, having traveled what would normally be two days by carriage in barely any time at all.
The village wasn't large, so it took them a moment to spot it, but after they did, they started to set down in the middle of it.
Lessy's descent didn't go unnoticed, and people were on edge and confused, until they saw people stepping out of the flying vehicle and the Highbeast return to a stone, only to be absorbed back into Rozemyne's body.
"Is this the village that was attacked by a dragon?" Ren asked those who tentatively approached them.
"You… You actually came. I mean, yes! We are the ones who requested help with the dragon!" A man who looked like he could have been a merchant said in disbelief and excitement.
Rozemyne believed he was a merchant, as the hands he was rubbing together lacked the calluses of the working class, but he had small ink stains on his sleeves, meaning he wasn't so wealthy as to have a scribe do most of his writing for him or constantly replace clothes.
He attempted to bow before them, but while of the upper middle class, he didn't seem adept at it. So he wasn't one used to dealing with nobles. So he was probably a local big shot in this unimportant corner of the world, but not actually someone of class.
…Gods, she was sounding like Ferdinand.
"I am the Hero of the Sword, Amaki Ren, and this is Lady Rozemyne, the Hero of the Shield. We've come to offer our assistance." Ren said, his body language and voice commanding the respect of a true noble.
"Two Heroes? My goodness. If two heroes work together, then the dragon will be finished for sure." The merchant said with excitement, the others around him also seeming eager.
"Actually, good sir, I am not here to fight." Rozemyne said, cutting the man off. He looked confused by her sudden declaration. "I will of course support him with magic and assist him if needed, but the dragon is Lord Ren's objective. I am here to assist in helping the village recover from the dragon's attack."
"...Recover?" The still unnamed man said, perplexed.
"That's right, healing the injured and repairing and replacing damaged structures will be my priority." Rozemyne said.
"Oh, I see. That is… very kind of you, Milady." The man said awkwardly.
"Is something the matter?" Rozemyne asked, frowning at the man, making him even more uncomfortable.
"Well… that is…"
"Lady Rozemyne. I can't see any evidence of the village being damaged at all." Lynna said as she looked around them at the village.
"Now that you mention it, I didn't see any sign of damage when we were in the sky either." Raphtalia said.
Rozemyne thought back and realized that they were right. Now that they mentioned it, it seemed so obvious, but while the village looked to be in a state of minor disrepair, or like it wasn't expertly assembled to begin with, there wasn't any that screamed a 'fire breathing dragon attacked here'.
"I don't see anyone with any injuries either." One of Ren's boys said.
"There are a few, but they look like mining accident injuries, not a dragon attack." The other said.
Ren frowned. "That's… odd. You were attacked by a dragon, but no one was injured and no building was damaged. What kind of attack was it? Did it steal your livestock?"
"Yes, that's it! It has been after our livestock!" The village man said, while many around him backed away.
"Your livestock? This is a mining village. You don't have any farm livestock." Ren's companion said flatly.
The man turned red with frustration. "Why are you asking all of these questions!? You are Heroes and it is a dragon, so just go and kill it already!" The idiot shouted at them, though he quieted fast as Rozemyne and Ren's escorts drew their weapons.
"You do not have the right to speak to Our Lady like that." Raphtalia said, eyes full of warning.
Ren was about to stop them, but seeing that Rozemyne didn't seem worried, he held back, trusting that they wouldn't actually start cutting people down and were only trying to stop the momentum of the man's shouting.
"Do you know where this dragon is?" Rozemyne asked the man who looked from the swords to her.
"I… Ah… There is a nest up on the mountain." He said, pointing in the direction with an unstable finger.
"It has been around long enough to have a nest and for you to have located it?" Rozemyne said. "The more I hear about this, the more strange it seems."
"...Agreed." Ren said with a complex look on his face. "But if we just left and the dragon did attack, I'd feel bad."
"That is true." Rozemyne nodded her head. "How about we scout out this situation and see what is really going on up there? Because at this point, I'm wondering if it even is a dragon."
"There is a dragon alright." Ren said, looking at Rozemyne as if he was going to object to her approaching such a dangerous place, before just sighing. "How do you suggest we do this?"
"I can't believe you have a cloak of invisibility." Ren said flatly as he and Rozemyne walked together underneath the Cloak of the God of Darkness, doing his best to not think about how close they were at the moment.
"The God of Darkness created a cloak made of his own power in order to hide Mestionora from Ewigeliebe in the night sky. Though this is only a replica of that cloak, it still contains much of the same power." Rozemyne said, with the fondness she often had when speaking of the mythology of her world.
"I wish I had something like it." Ren said, thinking of how much use he could get out of a cloak of invisibility. It would be invaluable for attacking his enemies while they were unaware… and for sneaking into the girls' side of the hot springs.
He shook his head, trying to remove the mental image of Rozemyne and her attendants in the hot springs together.
"I don't think you'd be able to get much use out of it. While the Divine Instruments are powerful, they weren't exactly made for mortal use. They require a lot of mana. Even I wouldn't be able to use its invisibility function all of the time." Rozemyne chuckled.
No one used Divine Instruments, not because it was sacrilege, but because who had the magic power necessary to do it? Besides Rozemyne herself, only Ferdinand had enough mana to make full use of the Divine Instruments.
Even when Rozemyne gave the royal family a copy of the Grutrissheit, they couldn't use it the way she could.
"This is weird." Rozemyne said as she looked around them at the clear blue sky.
"What is?" Ren asked, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
"They say that there is a dragon here, but the weather is so peaceful." Rozemyne said. "Usually, whenever there is an especially powerful monster like this, their wild mana affects the world around them. If they have a fire element, it would become extremely hot. An earth element would cause an endless blizzard. The wind element would cause violent winds and tornadoes to become a constant. Water elements would result in heavy rain that would quickly cause floods. But… there isn't any sign of any of that."
"Is… that so." Ren said, surprised by the bit of information.
It sounded like something of a video game trope, where a boss's presence would cause a drastic change to the surroundings, coupled with a new soundtrack to set the tone.
The game he used to play also had a mechanic called 'domain', in which especially powerful monsters would cause changes to the mechanics of the game, disabling things like teleportation, or nullifying certain buffs and weapon forms.
"Either the dragon is too weak to produce such effects… or it has a mastery of its mana and doesn't leak it into its surroundings. If that is the case, I'm worried." Rozemyne said.
Even if she doubtlessly had more mana than the opposition, if they had perfect mastery of it, she'd still be at a disadvantage. Rozemyne's magic spells were powerful, but a true master would be able to work around them, rather than having to overpower them.
In the end, raw power would often lose to skill.
"It's the former." Ren said, surprising Rozemyne. "In the game I used to play, this dragon was the lowest level dragon in the entire world. It was basically an introductory fight to boss mechanics in the game. It can easily be soloed by a level 60 with proper equipment."
"Wait, this dragon was in the game!?" Rozemyne asked in shock.
"Yeah, it was. So was the request from the village to save them from it." Ren said with a nod of his head. "In the game, I didn't really think anything of the fact that the village wasn't damaged at all. It never even crossed my mind as odd. One would just assume the game designers didn't want to spend the extra effort to make several different levels of how destroyed this otherwise unimportant village is depending on when in the story you visit. There weren't even any dialogue options to interrogate the villagers. Guess it is different when the world is something you are actually in."
"You don't sound too happy about it."
"...It just makes me wonder why I am here to begin with." Ren admitted. "The quest rewards aren't that great. The village is a poor one that can't afford to pay a big bounty, and in the game, the dragon's body can't be absorbed for unlocks. It really was just a quest done solely to prove yourself. …And I kind of liked the idea of being the big hero who saved the people from a dangerous dragon."
"I see." Rozemyne nodded her head, understanding having that kind of fantasy.
"...You said that wild mana in the air can have an effect on the weather. What about you? What would happen if too much of your mana got into the air?" Ren asked. He was curious, since even the most absurd monster in the game, the Dragon Emperor, only had 10 million mana, according to those who checked the game files. With Rozemyne exceeding even that unrealistic number, what would her Domain be like?
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. My mana is a fairly balanced mixture of all of the elements, making it pretty close to natural mana. Even if I did lose control, it would make the weather more temperate, rather than extreme." Rozemyne said, which was a relief to Ren. One less thing to worry about with this little magic bomb. "...Though, I suppose if enough of my mana got out without being spread out properly, monsters might start to appear out of thin air, kind of like a miniature Wave of Calamity."
…That was less comforting. "How many monsters are we talking about?"
"Hm… Not sure. The average Seasonal Lord will spawn hundreds of familiars though." Rozemyne said, wondering how many monsters would appear if she let her magic power run completely wild for a long time.
Monsters, or Feybeasts, were beings of mana. They could either be born through normal means, or they could just spontaneously appear when there was enough mana. Even Mednobles could forcibly spawn a mid-tier Feybeast if they prepared a circle for it.
"...Oops." Rozemyne said, as sudden realization passed over her.
"What do you mean, oops?" Ren said.
"It… It's nothing. Let's just hurry up and finish here so we can head back home. Hahaha." Rozemyne said awkwardly before trying to change the subject. "How much farther do you think it is to the nest?"
"...We're here." Ren said as they rounded a rock face and were met with a large cave opening in the cliffside, one that looked way too big to be natural. "Alright, be ready to fight at any moment."
"Right." Rozemyne nodded, shifting her shield and preparing to defend against incoming attacks. While the invisibility was good, if they were caught, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.
The two of them moved slowly together, further and further into the cave, seeing signs of claw marks of various sizes and of animal droppings here and there, but no monsters or dragons as of yet.
But as they went deeper into the cave, they started to hear noises, some of them of claws on stone, but the more puzzling being what sounded like echoing laughter.
It wasn't until they came across a rather large chamber that they found what the sounds had been, and were more than a little surprised by what they saw.
There were a dozen monsters that looked like they were hybrids between dragons and various other creatures, all gathered around a large pot on a bonfire that they were keeping alive with their flames, as a young, brown haired Demihuman girl, no more than ten, with the ears and tail of a dog, steered the contents with a spoon as large as she was.
Some of the monsters that weren't currently adding their flames to the fire were sniffing at the pot, looking extremely eager. "Hey, none of that. Be patient, everyone will get some." The girl laughed, bonking one on the nose with her spoon.
She tasted the soup, and seemingly satisfied, started to pour it into large fancy looking bowls that seemed out of place in a cave being used by monsters. She started to hand them out to the happy reptilian hybrids, before running off to the corner of the room.
"Papa, lunch is ready!" She shouted at the massive dragon that was laying there, admitting a large pile of various treasures.
The dragon pushed itself up and yawned widely in a very lazy fashion. "Wyndia, I thought I told you that you didn't need to make food for me." The dragon said.
"Ah, but I wanted to." Wyndia said with a sad expression that seemed to pierce the dragon's heart. "Can I not?"
"D…Do whatever you want. Just make sure you take care of your own needs first." The dragon said.
"Yes, papa!" The child said, once again happy as she grabbed onto a claw that was as big as she was and seemed to be trying to drag him towards her cook fire.
Rozemyne watched the odd but touching scene play out before turning her head to see Ren's completely shocked face.
"What do you think?" Rozemyne asked him quietly, whispering so as to not draw the attention of the monsters.
"...Let's go home." Ren said. The pair turned around, and under the Cloak of Darkness, left the cave, without the monsters having ever even known they were there. "Thank you."
"Hm? For what?" Rozemyne asked.
"If you didn't come along, I would have just fought the dragon without ever asking any questions. I would have done something that couldn't be undone."
"Well, you're welcome."
"We really can't explain it. This territory is supposed to be extremely quiet, but we ran into so many monsters today." Luki, one of Rozemyne's orphan turned adventurer reported as they stood in front of the gates, staring at the wagons that had returned from the day's patrols, each one over burdened with that day's kills. "Not only were there a hundred times more monsters than usual, they were higher levels too. I'd never even heard of a monster higher than level 15 in these parts, but all of them were in their mid-30s. Some were even as high as level 50. It is a good thing we had your blessings, or else there might have been serious trouble."
"Y…Yeah. A good thing." Rozemyne said, unable to hide her real feelings on the matter as she stared at what had to be over ten thousand monster corpses stacked to a ridiculous height on the 25 wagons.
"Rozemyne, what did you do?" Ren said in a tone that the girl was all too familiar with.
"I… well… Funny thing. You see. One of the responsibilities of an Archduchess is to coat their entire territory in a thin layer of mana in order to protect against various things. And I MIGHT have forgotten to take into account that my new territory is a… bit smaller than my old one, and that I have a… bit more mana." Rozemyne said in the manner of a child who had to explain to their parents just how the kitchen got covered in flour.
"You mean that you are responsible for this!?" A large man who reminded Rozemyne of her Grandpa, Lord Bonifatius, with his slightly graying hair and few aging wrinkles that completely failed to distract from the fact that they were built like an ox on muscle growth drugs.
"I… ah…" Rozemyne stammered, surprised by the man's sudden appearance.
"Excuse me, I forgot my manners. I am Gasparo, Vise-President of the Melromarc's branch of the Adventuring Guild." The man said, slamming one of his fists against his chest.
"Ah, of course. I have been looking forward to your arrival." Rozemyne said. She had invited a representative from the Adventuring Guild to try to get a Guild House established in her city, making it easier on adventurers to organize. Though she was now worried that the man had just stumbled in at the worst time. "Fear not. I will change the settings on the city's Foundation in order to stop this from happening again…"
"Why in the devil would you want it to stop!?" Gasparo shouted, cutting Rozemyne off and grabbing her shoulders with his massive hands. Past trauma and near death experiences at her Grandfather's hands caused the girl to freeze up in respawns to his grip. "Milady, nearly all territories have strict limits on how many monsters an individual adventurer can hunt because there are not enough to go around, and nearly all of the best spots are taken up by the army. But from what I have seen, the monsters are spawning at a rate and give experience only matched by the Cal Mira Archipelago during its awakening. Lady Rozemyne, I dare say that your city will be the next Adventuring Capital of the world!"
"But… But what about my books?"
Why!? Why couldn't anyone just understand that she really just wanted to make books!?
The Lord of Winter spawns hundreds of ice wolves simply by existing. Rozemyne has roughly 10 times as much mana as the Lord of Winter by the end of canon. Now she has 1000 times as much.
She could literally cause a miniature Wave of Calamity wherever she went just by flexing her mana.