Steel and Mana

With the winter still going, I made sure that the forges were focusing on producing more Dragonfire Cannons. With enough CC sitting in our coffers, we could operate them without worry for a few years. Not that I was hoping to use all it up at once... Still, I wanted the castle to be equipped as fast as possible in case another monster appeared. I was in my study when Luna hurried in, bringing a letter to me.

"It's from Lord Kalash!" She said, presenting it to me in a hurry.

"Breathe! You look like you just won a marathon or something... When did it arrive?" I asked while opening it.

"Just now, the pigeon that brought it had landed had a red ring on it! Um... what is a Marathon?"

"A running competition, but it's not important."

Coming over with a red ring meant it was an urgent message. I was ready to move at once, but after reading the whole letter, my heart rate slowly returned to normalcy. Father described that multiple monsters appeared once again, surveying the Pass, but none approached the spot where the giant demon had died. Maybe it was its scent still lingering in the air or its bones at the walls, whatever made them stop; it was like an invisible barrier. No matter how often they showed up, day or night, they always retreated in the end.

"Weird..." I murmured to myself.

"Is it... bad?"

"Ah, no, no, it is not, I don't think so!" I smiled, making her relax, but deep within, I wasn't so sure.

When I met with Mikan and when I almost died, the beasts showcased that they could learn. They burnt themselves once but then adapted. Whether chasing smaller prey to clear the mines or using magic to fly over the traps, they showed a strong learning capability. Now I was thinking if this behemoth was also something that was led into the valley or not. Was it another attempt by different beasts to test us? To see our defenses? Measure our power? I couldn't tell.

"Maybe..."

"Mhm? What, Master?" Luna asked, hearing me whisper.

"I was wondering if our advancement or show of power is something that the demons can comprehend. Does this mean that they are learning and testing us? Will they attempt it again but with something more... destructive?"

"More scarier than that thing?! No way! Those are demons! They are not smart enough to come up with strategies!"

"Maybe... or maybe not." Looking at the samples of bones on my table, I was getting a feeling that I would need to start developing more destructive weapons than simple cannons. Is this what being in an arms race feels like?

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"Lousie... really, I am fine!"

"You visited the blacksmiths without telling me." She replied with crossed arms, standing before Sasha. It wasn't just her; Mikan also accompanied Leon's mother, looking worriedly at her.

"I was careful!" Sasha complained as she was being held up at the dinner table, looking for help, but Leon had already left for the workshops while Luna acted as if she didn't see her friend's pleading glances, asking for support. "I didn't go close to the fire, and I didn't use magic! What, now I can't go places? Is that it? I can't stay inside all the time; I will get bored to death!"

"Yes, but you are no longer only responsible for yourself." Answered both of them, stunning her for a moment, giving Louise a chance to continue, "You may be a heat-resistant young lady, but your baby may not! We don't know how this works, so no visiting places that are on a blacklist! Here, I wrote it out for you!"

"..."

With a numbed mind, she took away the meter-long parchment, unrolling it and reading the hundreds of places and activities she was barred from doing, including any and all bedroom activities. That was maybe why she had been feeling irritated in the past few weeks, especially when she thought about Leon and Luna doing it. She was hoping for Yuri to finally return so she could make her punish their maid like nobody else could... She was simply jealous and would deny it whenever anyone asked.

"Please, listen to her, Lady Sasha!" Mikan pleaded, holding her hands and looking at her with a kind, warm smile. "It is tough for most bloodlines with potent magic within them to conceive a child!"

"The Empire is still there, isn't it?" Sasha murmured, just so the last word wouldn't be theirs.

"It is, but most emperors and empresses had an extensive harem." Louise shrugged, sounding a bit sad because even though her son had multiple wives, the others were still yet to get pregnant... Even though they were not magical in nature!

"Not to mention the inbreeding." Sasha replied again with a sarcastic smile, making Lousie roll her eyes, speaking like a scolding mother.

"Enough! I am tightening my supervision because you can't be trusted to look out for yourself. We are moving in together; I ordered Luna to get all your stuff into my room; we will also sleep together so your senses won't be swayed by the scent of my son's seed!"

"EEEEEH?!"

The wailing cry was Luna's sign to slip out of the room before being dragged into the conversation or subjected to Sasha's wrath. Sadly, she had no choice but to go against the Queen's wishes, as even Leon did nothing but shrug when his mother made up a new rule, letting her be the true despot of the palace.

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Entering the old shop of Marca, it was nothing like before. In the past years, it had been expanded, and she purchased the neighboring two houses, rebuilding and opening them up as one of the biggest stores in Avalon. She also moved to a different dwelling, where she mainly focused on creating new potion recipes while employees handled the sales and the manufacturing.

"Welcome!" Shouted a lively young woman, running up to Mikan and removing the box from her hands. Every step she took was accompanied by the clanking of multiple empty bottles Mikan had brought back. "Will it be the usual, Priestess?"

"Yes, and thank you, Nia!" She nodded, preparing her money pouch and paying for the medicine bottles being refilled by the staff in the shop.

While waiting, she couldn't help but play with her bracelet and think how much more she managed to do without magic than when her ancestor was silently fooling her. Making her believe she was a witch... People were coming to her sermons, listening to her retellings of the ancient lore, and thanking her for holding a ceremony for those who passed away or when she gave the blessings of the Gods to the newborn children. Some people even donated some of their money to the temple, which Mikan used to buy the medicine and send it out to the farms completely free. It was especially useful to prevent or deal with colds in the winter, keeping everyone safe and healthy, no matter where they lived.

By now, everyone within the Frontier was using Leon's new coins while the old money was solely in the hands of the Ministry. When a caravan headed out, they exchanged their local funds and did the same when returning, paying a minimal tax, which was also gradually introduced to the populace at the start of this year. Mikan expected some complaints, but the people were not that annoyed by it so far, which was surprising.

After she paid for the medicine and left the shop with a now much heavier box, Mikan stopped at one of the roadside bulletin boards, looking at the notices and important news pinned to it. She couldn't help but sigh with admiration, as this and the weekly newspaper always explained Leon's decisions to the people. Maybe it was what so many others missed... People can accept it much more readily when they know why something happens. Same with the traders she saw coming and going; they themselves vowed to keep the secrets of Avalon, no matter what.

There was a kind of fanaticism that was building in Avalon that she noticed while living amongst Leon's people. She couldn't tell where it originated from, but everyone in the city had a certain kind of unity that was no longer present in the Imperial cities. Whatever the source was, the air inside Avalon was different. But... In a good way. She had never felt so free and happy before, no matter where she was.

"Brainwashing their people... the typical Vasa-route."

"Those are... just... legends..." Mikan answered, feeling herself being drenched in a cold sweat as she heard the voice of Elyzien, her ancestor's faint presence, appearing in her mind out of nowhere.

"Oh...? So you finally hear me... you bitch."

It was a sudden rush of strength that came from nowhere that made Mikan able to hold onto the crate and not drop the medicine right there on the streets. Hurrying back to the temple, throughout the way, she could still hear Elyzien's thoughts flood into her consciousness. It was quiet, and if she ran through a more noisy street, she couldn't pick up on it. Yet... whenever she focused inward, she could feel the presence that had eluded her for the past three-plus years.

"Try to fight me, you whore, one day, I will be back, and I will take over your body. Then, I will kill that son of a bitch too... What? Afraid? Then be very afraid, Mikan! You are simply borrowing MY body; do you hear me? DO YOU?!"

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I was in my workshop, where I was doing one of my old hobbies: Modelling. Of course, if anyone asked, I was building a scaled-down prototype of my future big project... constructing a mech. This time around, I was making it out of wood, carving it by myself, and putting it together piece by piece. While doing so, it also helped me relax my mind and come up with solutions to the problems my blueprints were having.

I tried using the usual mecha-like legs for the first models, but I found it to be pretty much unstable. We need much more sophisticated systems to attempt something like that, so I went with a much bulkier approach, giving them wide tower or elephant-like legs. With a wide enough stance, the 40-centimeter tall model itself was stable enough to stand on its two feet and be capable of supporting the rest of its body, even if the weight-reducing formations were turned off. The torso would sit on a base that could rotate 360 degrees, making it possible to whip it around and start walking in the opposite direction without any issues. I didn't want my future machine to be stuck like that monster in the valley.

The head would not sit on the top of the torso. Instead, it would be placed lower, giving it a bit of a hunched appearance, but that would also let me install weaponry on its bulky shoulders... and I had in mind to provide it with some Dragonfire Cannons on top while leaving his hands free to be armed as the mission required it. The head... well, I gave it a knight-like look because the mix of a bit of medieval and modern design is always cool-looking.

"Gyroscopes..." I murmured, drawing its fifth plan while eying my unpainted model on my desk.

It was one of the ideas that occurred to me, and right now, I was trying to come up with one that we would be able to build. Placing them into its massive leg and torso would help the machine keep its balance. I went through a ton of books both in my head and things that the caravans brought back, and neither of them had anything like a gyroscope. So, it would be the first of its kind in this world.

"Now... how do I-"

"Lord Leon!"

"...?!"

The loud shout and the slamming of my door made me pour ink all over me and the blueprint... I wanted to scold the intruder, but when I looked up and saw the panic-stricken, crying face of Mikan, all my anger evaporated at once.

"What happened?" I asked, grabbing a towel and trying to wipe the black ink off my hands, but my arms stopped moving when I heard her.

"She is back! I can hear her!"

I didn't need to ask who she was talking about. I could feel it because the wind coming from the corridor swept her sweet, vanilla scent into the room, something that I had not smelled since we imprisoned Mikki-2 with the bracelet.

"Relax!" I answered, raising a hand but drawing it back before I smeared ink all over her, too. "It means that the CC has degraded to a level where it starts to fail within the bracelet. We will call upon Merlin, and we will go and give you a new one which is fully charged with some bestial mana. It should last longer than this one!"

"Please... I don't want her to be back..." She sniffed, coming forward and hugging me as she began crying, something that I did not expect... and damn... she was the softest woman I have ever had a chance to hug back.