"Milady. Milady, it is time to wake up now." A childish voice said as small hands pushed at Rozemyne's shoulder.
"Mm…" Rozemyne whimpered, not wanting to get up.
The last few days had been rough on her, with her mana causing a giant spike in the number of monsters in her territory, all hell broke loose… politically.
Needless to say, half the adventuring population of the country all migrating to a single city would have serious economic and political repercussions. The rest of the country was stuck with mixed feelings, as they wanted the increase in strength to their country that would come from adventurers leveling up, and the wealth it would bring the country as a whole, but adventurers being drawn away from their own territories would cause security issues. Not to mention that the increase to the country's economy wouldn't help them if their own territories didn't see a boost.
So Rozemyne was called into all kinds of discussions with various noble factions on what kind of restrictions would go to her trade and how she would compensate them for the damages done to their territories. Which was fair, but also a horrible burden on her. And she had to be in charge of managing the security risk caused by the higher level monsters, as nearby lands didn't like the sudden appearance of monsters way too high of a level for their town guards.
She also had to negotiate hunters rights and what kinds of fees she would be placing on the Adventurer's Guild, and about management of the three separate dungeons that had spawned.
The Guild finding out that she could further manage the division of mana throughout her territory, making some areas spawn more and stronger monsters than others, caused her even more work to do, as the Adventurer's Guild insisted on running experiments to maximize the benefits. They also wanted her to section off the different areas with her barriers to keep everything as contained and safe as possible. Now there were three separate zones where monsters would appear at a fast rate, one with level 25 monsters, one with level 40 monsters, and one that had level 60 monsters.
She could produce higher level monsters if she increased the density even further, but didn't trust her passive barriers to contain them or her fighters to keep track of them all. Perhaps she'd raise the ceiling on it later, once her men were better trained and stronger. …If she ever found the time to train them.
Other guild, ranging from weapon smiths to carpenters, also tried to force its way into her city and she had to manage the terms that they could operate under fairly, which was a nightmare. There was also an incident where she had to put several people to death to show she was serious when she said there would be no child sex workers in her city.
The adventuring industry was going to make Alexandra stupid rich, but it was SO much work, and no one wanted to talk to her about setting up a book making industry! Worst of all, she didn't have any scholars trained to help her with this, so everything had to be done by HER!
IT WAS CUTTING INTO HER READING TIME!
She hadn't had time to crack open a book all week!
"Milady, please. You have a busy schedule to keep."
"Alright." Rozemyne said, pushing herself up and saying a sweet goodbye to dream land library. Though as she pushed herself up and tried to wipe the sleep from her eyes, she saw something that made her think she was still dreaming.
There was a child next to her bed. He looked to be only seven years old, with dark blue hair and honey golden eyes. And that face, it was a face that Rozemyne often thought about.
"Kamil?" Rozemyne said, her heart breaking as the homesickness she had been keeping at bay these last few weeks came bubbling up.
"Kamil? Who is Kamil?" The child said, confused. Not that Rozemyne was listening.
"Kamil!" She shouted, jumping on the child and pulling him into a surprise hug.
"Mi…Milady? Wha… What are you doing!?" 'Kamil' said, panicking and trying to struggle his way free from his big sister's grip.
"Kamil! Kamil!" Rozemyne said again and again, tears coming from her eyes, causing 'Kamil' to stop and return the hug, slowly starting to absorb the mana that was going out of control and redirecting it elsewhere.
"Milady, please calm down. It's alright. Everything is alright." 'Kamil' said, patting Rozemyne's back until she did calm down enough to separate from him in order to get a better look.
The hair, eyes and face were just like her baby brother's… but as Rozemyne regained her senses, she could spot obvious differences. Differences like the pair of rabbit ears growing out of his head. Or the small black stone peeking out from behind his bangs. Rozemyne also doubted that Kamil would be wearing a maid's uniform, no matter how cute he looked in it.
"Has Milady woken up properly now?" 'Kamil' asked her, seeming a little jumpy.
"...Indigo?" Rozemyne said as she read the child's stat window.
Name: Indigo
Race: Crystal Library Rabbit
Level: 40
"Yes, it's me." Indigo said with a sigh of relief.
"What happened to you?" Rozemyne said as she started to pat Indigo down, checking him all over.
"I am not sure. I woke up like this. Same as the others." Indigo said, talking much more like a person than the automaton that Rozemyne had made.
She'd also not had any sort of gender in mind when she created them, leaving them gender neutral, just like Schwartz and Weiss, yet Indigo was definitely now a boy. A boy who wore her little brother's face.
"Milady, I know you are curious about all of this…" Indigo said, blushing as Rozemyne found his little tail. "But you have a busy schedule to keep. The Parchments Guild and the Leatherworking Guild will be coming soon to speak about the distribution of monster hides. We need to get you dressed and fed before they arrive."
…Rozemyne's face fell at the reminder. Even with an event like this happening, she still couldn't get away from her work.
"Also, something will need to be done about the Filolial as well."
"Hm? What about the Filolial?"
"They will be in need of new clothes."
"?"
"Lady Rozemyne, we've managed to broker a deal with the Grima Town for trade on their metal exports in exchange for an exemption for the fees on our ports." Scarlet said, as the Library Rabbit who had a face like a seven-year-old vision of Brunhilde, Rozemyne's once retainer and step-mother by adoption, passed the necessary documents over for Rozemyne's approval.
She looked super cute, with her long red hair and red eyes, coupled with the bunny ears and a rabbit-like smile, as if she was a school girl sharing a juicy secret.
"And here is the outline for the meeting with Lord Arrus. We have it on good authority that the man is fond of a particular kind of monster fish and will be willing to come to a settlement if we can arrange for him to get a steady supply." Lemon said, a seven-year-old copy of Florencia, Rozemyne's adopted mother.
Lemon wore her golden blond hair in the same swirl as Florencia had and carried herself with an air of grace, compared to Scarlet, who seemed more like a gossiping school girl.
"We've reached an agreement with the Threading Guild on the sales price of the processed spider's threads." Lime added her own report to the pile, her tiny chest puffed out with pride.
Lime looked exactly like a deaged Elvira and carried herself with the same sense of importance as Rozemyne's baptism mother had. Though when Elvira did it, it made her appear to be an unstoppable force of nature, while Lime simply looked adorable. Like a child playing pretend.
"We also have preliminary reports from the Dying and Potion Making Guilds on the tests on Alexandra's unique magic herbs. Everything seems in order, but they need more time to get used to the essence extraction method you provided for them before they are ready to increase production." Mint said with cheer as she pushed down her report as well.
Mint's hair was green like Lime's, but lighter and she wore an orange bandanna over it. Her smile was encouraging and supportive, just like that of Effa, the woman she resembled so closely.
Rozemyne still found it hard to believe, even after three days, looking at the rabbit-eared chibi versions of four women who had the right to call themselves her mother.
She still didn't know what had caused the Shumil to become 'Crystal Library Rabbits' or why they and the Filolial all gained human forms, or why those human forms all looked like younger versions of the people she had left behind when she came to this world. All she can say is that she was glad that many of them were so good at Scholarly work. A lot of organizational skills and bureaucratic work had been programmed into them when they were the Shumil automatons, as part of their work as library assistants and maids, and it carried over even after they gained a greater level of self-awareness. Only now they could carry out more complex tasks.
They also didn't seem to need sleep, as long as they had ample magic power, and had read every book that Rozemyne had collected in this world on the topics of negotiations and trade agreements.
The four Library Rabbits looked up at Rozemyne expectantly with their big shiny eyes, until she smiled and started to give them pats on their Feystones. "Thank you very much. You've all been a huge help."
They all beamed at her as they absorbed her mana, restoring their strength and using the excess to grow levels in place of fighting experience.
Rozemyne supposed there were only two possibilities for how this happened. Either her explosive mana being absorbed by them changed them, or the Legendary Holy Shield's odd buffs did. Either way, their transformations seemed to be influenced by Rozemyne's longing for her friends and family, with nearly all of the former Shumil and Filolial taking on the appearance of one of the people she held close to her heart in chibi form. The Library Rabbits all had the appearance of seven year olds, while the Filolial were closer to ten, and resembled normal humans but with angel wings.
The fact that she now had a trio of ten-year-old angels that looked like Tuuli, Charlotte and Hannelore had caused Rozemyne more than a few girly squeals.
They looked exactly like she always figured they would!
"Lady Rozemyne, Lord Ren is here to see you. Would you like to receive him in your study or in the dining hall?" Leafy, the Library Rabbit who had the face of Leiseleta, announced from the doorway, looking simply happy to be alive and a Shumil.
"Hm, it is around time for a break. I'll see him in the dining hall. Could you ask Copper to prepare a meal for us?" Rozemyne asked as she got up from her seat.
"Of course." Leafy said before half skipping down the hall with a dreamy expression on her face.
"The Adventurer's Guild is making a fuss about the lack of a weapon smith in the city." Ren said, having spoken to the Adventurer's Guild on Rozemyne's behalf.
"I know, but there isn't much we can do about it. Most cities only have a single weapon smith and we will make political enemies of our neighbors if we lure theirs away. We could send someone to be trained under them, but that would take years, and we can't exactly wait that long." Rozemyne said with a sigh. "I guess the only logical thing to do is pick a Lord who hates us anyway and try to poach his. I honestly don't think I could ever work with Count Idol."
The Legendary Holy Weapons could be used to turn raw materials into basic weapons, and they had the weapons for item drops that could be put on the market, but they needed someone who could do repair work on existing weapons, since most didn't want to just discard their old stuff when it started to show wear.
Ren chuckled a bit at Rozemyne's 'plan' to get a weapon smith. "Well, that is certainly an option, but how about we look somewhere else first. I'm sure we could find a few smiths willing to move in Zeltoble."
"Zeltoble? Isn't that the merchant's principality to the south-west?" Rozemyne asked, curious. She was vaguely aware that the other Heroes had gone there early for equipment upgrades, but she had never gone herself.
"That's the one. They have some of the world's finest craftsmen for every type of work. Maybe we could find one willing to join Alexandra, and if not… there are probably a few slaves there that are trained in the field." Ren suggested.
He was uncomfortable with the idea of slavery, but buying a man's freedom and then giving him a place to work could hardly be considered enslaving him. It would suck if the guy then left, but it would keep his conscience clean.
"That's a pretty good idea. We are also missing a few other kinds of craftsmen too. We could really use someone who specialized in footwear, and a few more carpenters." Rozemyne said thoughtfully. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to advertise our new city there too. But my amount of immediate funds is running low. It will take a few days to gather investors and donations. I'm not sure if we can get this done before the next Wave."
The Wave of Calamity was always a ticking timer over them, and they had about ten days remaining until it went off again.
"Yeah, the Wave is approaching fast." Ren nodded in agreement. "Speaking of which, you really need to make time to Class Up your companions."
Without undergoing Class Up at the Dragon's Hourglass, any non-Hero would have their level capped at 40, which was a serious problem going forward.
"Right, how could I forget." Rozemyne said with a sigh.
She'd been meaning to for the last 20 days, but hadn't found the time.
Stupid work. When was she ever going to find the time to do anything?
"I really can't afford to put it off any longer. I'll set up the teleportation circle to transport everyone to the castle town orphanage and we can get it done tomorrow." Rozemyne said.
"I'll meet you there then. Rishia needs to Class Up too." Ren said.
After what happened with the previous village, Ren was upset about almost killing a little girl's adopted father because of what amounted to racism and the villagers' greed. So in order to vent his frustrations, he searched for a non-morally ambiguous target to beat senseless. He found it in a town being attacked by bandits, secretly under order of a corrupt Lord who was using it to force a young noble daughter into becoming his sex slave.
That young noble girl was Rishia, and after her life was saved, she wished to dedicate her life to helping Ren save the world. It was a heartwarming story and Rishia was a cute girl. But as heartwarming at the story sounded on paper, the truth was, Rishia was a rape victim and this was her way of coping.
She wasn't strong or particularly brave, but that didn't stop Ren from coaching her and directing her in how to most efficiently and safely level up. Ren wouldn't cast someone aside because of a lack of talent, and Rishia was at least talented in magic, possessing five elements; fire, earth, wind, water and life.
Though the girl was disappointed by how Ren left her to her training after confirming she would be safe, rather than actually being beside her for it.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you there."
There was a bit of tension as Rozemyne, Ren and their party of 176 level 40 companions entered the Temple.
This was probably understandable, as that was a lot of people. Even if the Temple staff still outnumbered them three-to-one, the central Temple really being a massive structure, capable of holding a thousand priests and priestesses in comfort, rather than in barracks like Rozemyne's old Temple.
To Rozemyne, it felt more like a structure meant to defend the Dragon's Hourglass, rather than a place of worship.
Rozemyne and Ren walked at the front, with Rishia a few steps behind Ren, visibly nervous.
"Don't worry, Lady Rishia. I'm sure it will all work out just fine." Rozemyne told the girl with an encouraging smile.
"I… But I…" Rishia stammered, looking down at her feet as she walked. "But what if, even when I Class Up, I'm still too weak to be of use to Lord Ren? My stats are so low in comparison to everyone else's."
"Rishia, it's alright. There is more to being an Escort Knight than raw power. Every individual is like a piece of twinge that all work together to make a rope. Even if the individual is weak, they can still contribute to the group by supporting one another." Rozemyne said. "Back home, my most trustworthy and useful knight was not my strongest one, but my weakest. And it wasn't even by a close margin. His strength was not even half that of my other knights, but he made up for it with intelligence, leadership and skill. You might not be as numerically strong as Ren's other companions, but you are a clever girl. I'm sure you will figure something out."
"Th…Thank you." Rishia stammered, turning a little pink, making her look even more adorable.
"L…Lord Sword, it is good to see you again. How may we be of assistance?" A nun said, coming up to them with a very forced smile.
"Lady Rozemyne and I wish to Class Up our companions. Would you please prepare the ceremony?" Ren said while in 'Hero' mode.
"Is that so?" The nun said awkwardly. "While we are more than ready to help Heroes like yourselves… I am afraid that performing the ceremony for so many people is just not possible. The Class Up ceremony takes a good deal of magic power, so even doing it for 5 people would be a stretch."
This was of course a lie, but they really didn't want to Class Up ALL of Rozemyne's companions. They didn't want to do it for any of them, but couldn't admit that in front of Ren.
"If it is a lack of magic power, then I can provide that myself, so you needn't worry." Rozemyne stated.
"...Alright then."
The sand from the Hourglass was poured into the magic circle and Rozemyne got into position as Rishia stepped nervously forward.
"Remember, your talents lie in magic, so try to find a Class that is well suited for it." Ren reminded the girl as she walked up.
"R…Right." Rishia said with a nod.
"Ready?" Rozemyne asked the girl, who nodded once again before she clapped her hands together and then pressed them against the magic circle.
Rozemyne had been told that 50 people would normally be putting their magic into the circle together, so she figured 10,000 units of mana should be enough… but she could add an extra zero and still have enough for everyone, so she gave it a bit more.
The light coming from the circle grew stronger and stronger, until it was completely blinding everyone with a rainbow of colors.
"Rozemyne, too much! Stop! Stop!" Ren shouted, knowing from experience that this wasn't normal.
So Rozemyne did stop, letting the light die down and leaving a very dazed Rishia in the center of the circle. She looked fine… actually, her hair was more glossy than before, but she was disoriented by the amount of light.
"Rishia, are you alright?" Ren asked, checking on the girl.
"I… I think so. But I wasn't able to choose my Class." Rishia said, a hand to her head. "Did the ritual fail?"
Ren quickly checked her stats through their team network and then choked. "No… No, it didn't fail."
Where a normal Class Up would cause 1 of the individual's stats to increase by 30%, and a special Class Up could increase 1 by as much as 50%, whatever Rozemyne had done had caused all of Rishia's stats to increase by 100%.
Everyone stared in shock at this unbelievable occurrence, not sure what to do. Even the Priests and Priestesses were all floored.
"Congratulations, Rishia." Rozemyne said before looking towards her own retainers. "So, who's next?"