“I hate this.”

“This is the only way, Eirlys.”

I slammed my fist on the table before me, scattering splinters through the air. It was a momentary loss of control that I shouldn’t have allowed, but I simply couldn’t stop myself. I doubt anyone else in my shoes could.

Except maybe him.

Across from me, Bradley crossed his arms unflinchingly. The expression he wore on his face was stony and stoic. Impassive. Inhuman. I’d never seen him be so detached in my entire life, and I’d known this man for years.

“They’re children, damn it!” I grit my teeth, attempting to control my emotions. “It should be us who are going out there, fighting those damn monsters!”

“And who will be left to defend the civilians in the academy?” Bradley said matter-of-factly. “The children will be forced to fight regardless, not out of necessity, but out of duty. Can you truly say there is a single knight—No, a single student in this academy who would willingly put their own lives before the lives of the civilians we harbor?”

I already knew the answer in my heart, but I couldn’t bring myself to utter it. I knew he was right. I just didn’t want to admit it.

“Of course not. We taught them better than that. You taught them better than that.” Bradley finished.

“...They should be enjoying their youth right now, whiling their days away in those mock matches.” I said, barely noticing that my voice had fallen to a whisper. “They should be preparing for the winter gala... The winter rodeo, and the celebration of the coming new year...”

“...I know.” Bradley said, the first flicker of emotion appearing on his face. He held my pained gaze with one of his own for a split second before putting on that stony mask of his once more.

I sighed, collapsing in my chair. My shoulders slumped in resignation as I stared at the shattered desk in front of me. Papers were strewn across the floor, decorated by chips of wood and spilled ink. An ugly mess crafted by the consequences of my own actions.

“...We’ll have to make our choices now,” I said. Even with my documents in tatters, my mind couldn’t forget them. The lists we’d made and the plans we’d drafted, all of them sins that would forever haunt my memory. The country had been ill-prepared for a sudden attack on this scale.

Had it only been Kaslavna’s grand attack, we would’ve dealt with it perfectly fine. The students never would have needed to get involved. I mean, sure. The academy’s normal curriculum would’ve been disrupted thanks to the war efforts and many knight-instructors would’ve been called to the front line, but the students themselves would never have to deal with it directly.

Even now, I regretted telling Medrauta and her friends that they couldn’t make that cafe booth they wanted for the festival. Sure, provisions for the soldiers in the north needed to be prioritized, but if I had known it would be their first and final festival before they were inadvertently thrown into this mess, I would have permitted it no matter what. The mere fact that we now needed students to fight our battles was proof of our failure as senior knights.

Bradley stooped down and picked up the ruined papers, the sound of his hand smacking the parchment interrupting my thoughts. He glanced over them slowly, looking at the damaged lists of names. It was obvious that he was just putting on an act. I could tell from his eyes.

Whoever he was going to nominate, he had already decided in his head long, long ago.

“We’ll need several teams. Mobile teams who can clear an area quickly and construct barriers. They’ll create chokepoints where we can funnel the witchspawn through and offset the advantage of their numbers,” Bradley mused to himself.

I sighed. There was no point in any further protest or tantrums when I knew just as well as he did—if not more—that there was no way around this. Although I still despised the idea of sending students to battle, this shameful option was the only one left for us, and continuing to oppose it immaturely would only lose us more precious time. 

Only around six senior knights and their nobles were still stationed here at the academy, and it was downright impossible for us to defend the borders of the academy grounds by ourselves. Had the full force of my Snowflower Order been present, it might’ve been a different story.

Alas, they were needed on the front line despite my temporary appointment as headmaster of the Avalyne Academy, forcing me to stay in the ruined capital and abide by my orders, protecting what little was left of the city. Truth be told, I had been doing a pretty good job, and I wasn’t afraid to admit it. The problem was that the witchspawn were quickly encroaching upon the academy grounds, and we would have to respond quickly to the sudden threat.

However, the strangest thing wasn’t even the abrupt appearance of the Spire. Rather, it was the presence of one particular survivor and the luggage she brought along. Her name was Sophia, one of the youngest clergy members to ever be appointed the honorable rank of cardinal. While an impressive feat, it would not have been relevant if not for her timely appearance that coincided with the rise of the Spire.

Almost as if someone had known this would happen and had specifically orchestrated Cardinal Sophia’s appearance.

The matter of her luggage had been brought to my attention mere hours ago when the Spire first burst from the now-destroyed grounds of the Imperial Academy, even before witchspawn began pouring out from its base and sending displaced civilians in panicked rushes to safety. We managed to save most of them and escort them to the academy, but I digress.

The importance of the matter was what Cardinal Sophia had brought to us. I was well aware that the witchspawn could only be slain by one of two methods outside of simply cutting off their mana source by killing the witch who had brought them into existence in the first place. 

These two methods were the usage of Chivalric Arts, techniques that quite literally destroyed the mana of whatever they struck. Unfortunately, I was the only knight in the academy who knew how to use such techniques, their method of obtainment having been lost to the ages. In fact, not even I knew how I managed to manifest Chivalric Arts. I remember a rush of emotion followed by the desire to win during a duel in my more youthful years. After that, I felt a cold tingle that burst throughout my body and behold, I could simply use such abilities.

Obviously, the witchspawn issue was not going to be solved through my Chivalric Arts. Instead, our best shot at vanquishing them came from the mana neutralizers and the artifact weapons that Cardinal Sophia had brought with her.

I knew not where she had obtained such tools, but it was clear that someone had helped her prepare from behind the scenes. mana neutralizers were not exactly pieces of equipment that were publicly available, especially as they could only be manufactured by Lady Merlynne who had gone missing ever since the start of the war with Kaslavna. That disappearance was still under investigation, not that I was actually privy to any of the details.

Meanwhile, the artifact weapons were supposed to be held by the central temples of each duchy. Secace, Rhongomyniad, Myarmadose, and Carnwennan. Of the four, only the first three were present with the cardinal’s luggage, but honestly, they were all we needed. I had never actually seen the weapons before, but the last time they had been wielded was before the last witch, Morgause, was slain.

Both the mana neutralizers and the artifact weapons were capable of slaying witchspawn with impunity, though the former pieces of equipment had a few minor limitations, with the most major issue being their limited uses. Though based on the amount that Cardinal Sophia managed to bring, I doubted that would be an issue.

In any case, the—

Smack!

“O-Ouch! What the hell are you doing, Bradley!?”

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Bradley scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m saying we need to hurry up and start picking out teams. We’ve got around two, maybe three hours, at best before the goddamn witchspawn show up on our doorstep.”

Would we even have enough time to build defenses in that case? I clicked my tongue in annoyance and bit my lip. “Who do you have in mind?”

“Melindra’s the best knight on horseback, even amongst the senior knights we have here. We’d best leave the mobile cavalry unit to her.”

“She’s got flowers for brains. She couldn’t even command a donkey to shit.”

Bradley nodded, digesting my words for a few seconds. “You’re right. Let’s put someone level-headed in her squad to keep her in line and ensure the mission’s being carried out. How about Charlotte? She’s Lady Shallie’s knight. Got a good head on her shoulders and she’s got a pretty good record in both dueling and jousting. Not bad in matches either.”

I leaned over Bradley’s shoulder, looking at the file on Charlotte. It was slightly ruined due to my outburst earlier, but it remained largely readable. “Looks like her performance skyrocketed ever since she became Lady Shallie’s knight. She’s got around the same average as Brigitte when it comes to tactics too.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll decide the other members later,” Bradley nodded in satisfaction. “Next, we’ll have to handle the three main chokepoints.”

“Three? We aren’t exactly built against the face of a mountain, Bradley.”

“We’re handling the fourth.” He said. “What? Did you think we were just gonna sit on our asses and leave everything to the kids?”

I hastened to shake my head. Of course I’d never think of doing that. We were already placing enough of a burden on the junior knights as it was. “Esmeralda can fill one of the chokepoints. She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she’s strong and she can follow orders. If we tell her to hold a position, she’ll hold it damn well.”

“Not as stupid as Melindra, I’d hope?” Bradley raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think anyone even comes close. I’m surprised Lady Jocelyn even managed to teach that girl two-digit subtraction, but maybe we’re all just looking down on her a bit too much. She can be surprisingly insightful when it comes down to it.”

Bradley grunted in agreement reluctantly. “...S’pose so. She can tell when someone’s hungry, that’s for sure.”

I raised an eyebrow. Despite my burning curiosity, I decided I’d pursue that particular conversation some other day. “As for the other two chokepoints...”

“How about Leila? She’s quite good with her twin swords. If we pair her up with an archer, the two should have no trouble holding the point while assisted by other knights.”

“Leila? You mean Lady Mina’s knight?”

Bradley nodded.

“Worth a shot. She’s not too bad. We can assign Arenen with her, he’s a decent archer who’s learned to shoot quite quickly ever since he witnessed Lady Sakura’s impressive archery.”

“Now all that’s left is the last chokepoint...” Bradley mused. “Got any ideas? I was thinking Brigitte, but I can’t help wondering if she’d be better somewhere else. That tactical acumen of hers is really something, and holding a point doesn’t seem to be the best use of her skills.”

I had my own ideas for Brigitte, but I was the type who dealt with one problem first before tackling the next one. My brow furrowed in thought as I wondered who could possibly take on the role of guardian for the final chokepoint before my eyes widened with a very unexpected but welcome realization.

“Lady Rose!” I exclaimed.

“L-Lady Rose!?” Bradley balked. “S-She’s a noncombatant! And besides, her knight is supposed to be in our formation!”

I shook my head excitedly. “Lady Rose is one of the only people other than Lady Merlynne who can make magic tools! I recall Lady Rose has quite the number of useful tools all stored in that library of hers. If there’s any time to use ‘em, now’s as good as any. We can fill her knight’s place with someone from the Imperial Academy.”

“Like who? They’re all students. Traumatized students.” Bradley frowned. “I thought you weren’t on board with making students fight with us, Eirlys.”

I shook my head. “You’re wrong. Captain Verdia’s here.”

“She’s in the infirmary, for Aluvsha’s sake! She broke six bones trying to save those students!”

“And she’ll be fit to fight by the time we need her. Don’t underestimate the captain, Bradley. She’s someone who was personally chosen by Lady Scarlet.”

At that, Bradley had no choice but to fall silent. He nodded begrudgingly, accepting the idea for now. “Well, that’s all positions accounted for. We can take the next ten or so minutes ironing out the details before we start issuing orders. If Captain Verdia’s awake, she could offer us some advice as well.”

I nodded. “There is still the matter of Brigitte, though.”

“Brigitte? What do you mean?”

“I think we should send her out with a squad as we defend the academy. She’ll push to an advantageous position and set up an outpost.”

“...You’re insane. She’ll be torn to shreds.”

“Not if we give her Secace.” I argued. “We have to push back now when it’s early. Not after the witchspawn have firmly entrenched their presence in the city. They’re already spreading through it like a cancer. The quicker we shut them down, the better.”

“...But why Brigitte? Shouldn’t we be the ones doing that, then?”

I shook my head. As much as it made sense and as much as I wanted to, it was impossible. “We have to remain here at the academy in case of any emergencies. Who will give orders if things go wrong? If one of the chokepoints fall and all the senior knights are gone, the academy might as well fall with it.”

Bradley sighed resignedly as he shook his head. He was probably wondering how I’d somehow wrested control of the discussion and the operation despite being opposed to it at first, and honestly, I was wondering that too. I still wasn’t exactly on board with this whole thing, and though I’d just suggested the idea of sending Brigitte out to construct an outpost for us, I truly wished there was an alternative.

But there wasn’t. There were six senior knights at the academy in total. Three artifact weapons, and an abundance of mana neutralizers that were bulky and difficult to carry in large quantities. I alone wielded the fearsome power of Chivalric Arts, allowing me to deal with the witchspawn at my assigned chokepoint without much difficulty.

However, if we were giving Secace to Brigitte, we would be left with only two artifact weapons for the remaining three gates. This issue was compounded by the realization that an emergency response force consisting of cavalry would lose its effectiveness if it wasn’t capable of killing witchspawn through their arriving charge.

This meant that it was mandatory for Melindra to possess Rhongomyniad, leaving us with a single artifact weapon to hand out. Assuming Myarmadose went to Esmeralda, that would leave us with two whole chokepoints without an artifact weapon.

Two whole chokepoints running on the limited fuel of mana neutralizers, making it a very real possibility for witchspawn to breach our defenses. The senior knights simply couldn’t be absent, especially me.

The grim look on Bradley’s face told me that he had realized this fact as well. Of course, it was possible for us to simply cancel the idea of Brigitte’s sortie and the roving cavalry unit, but doing so would force us into a role that was far too defensive and reactionary. Avalyne Academy was an educational institution for knights and nobles, not a castle meant to withstand a prolonged siege. Without offense or a counterattack, we would be crushed within days.

“...I hope you know what you’re doing.” Bradley said as he began making his way to the door, presumably heading toward the infirmary to check on Captain Verdia. “A lot of lives are riding on this.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

That was only part of what I wanted to say. As for the rest, I could never let those words leave my mind. Ever.

...I hope I know what I’m doing too.