Gacha Kingdom Building

---This chapter is written using Ellie's POV---

Our first night's watch went off without a hitch!

No incidents occurred, and after we were done, it was resting time.

I got to enjoy being by Miwen's side that night thanks to us heading to our tent together too after our turn, so in every way I see, it was absolutely great.

The next day was a little different though...

It started with us heading out of the forest to test Hamperlon's defenses.

One of Isabella's knights led the way, Miwen asked us to accompany him, so as soon as daylight hit us we were already up and walking towards the city.

Much like last time, we weren't required to participate in anything. The soldiers ought to handle themselves, and we were only to be a helping hand as a contracted party of adventurers or Isabella's aides.

But asking this of them was a little hard considering what happened last time during the battle against Edmond.

After witnessing Anna and the rest of us fight, the soldiers changed a lot of their attitude, and now, they were in high spirits, practically counting on us to lead them to more victories.

Obviously, I can't say this is the worst. Especially compared to how we were being treated before, but...

We could definitely do without the high expectations and all the pressure.

But yes, it was better than having them mess up around Miwen.

I can only imagine what this could result in...

Miwen: "Oh... That's a lot.."

It was funny seeing him so over-excited about a simple combined attack.

He always runs around trying to prevent Claire from causing too much damage, but inside, he has a similar, boyish desire, to see strong attacks.

Hrm...

Quite cute...

Ah, the attack itself was also pretty impressive.

Once the city was in plain view, the soldiers used a basic system set by the knights to try and prevent attacks from colliding with each other as much as possible.

They separated everyone according to their elements, and the plan was to simply hit the fortress with all they had in different spots all at once.

As long as the first layer breaks and the second layer receives damage, we could call it a win.

Basically, because the second layer uses resources outside of the mana generated by the mages every time they have to repair or reinforce it, they'll be wasting something, even if it's just a small monster core.

And of course, if we could go past it and damage the walls themselves, we could potentially hit a mage and their casualty would make the first barrier weaker and our job that much easier.

Eventually, we should be able to create enough of an opportunity for the army to advance and storm the city.

Miwen seemed interested in seeing how war is waged in other worlds, but to be honest, from my experience, different people have different methods...

And it was already abnormal that we would try to siege a city so protected like this when it's not a key location.

Normally, the attacking army would try to scout for weaker spots or, at the very least, focus their men on the most important places, cutting them off from reinforcements. This might also delay or completely disrupt the plan of winning the battle through attrition.

However, Miwen insisted on attacking this city, so I think it would be unfair for him to complain that this is not the most common demonstration.

Miwen: "Nuts... Imagine if they had your help, huh, Bea?"

Bea: "Hmph... I already wasted time and effort coming all the way here. Don't ask me to participate in something so... Crude."

At the very least, this small deviation didn't seem to make him less excited.

He was so confident that his teasing even started to bring out Bea's bad side a little.

Miwen: "So you say, but... I've heard some guys say that if we keep going like this, we'll be inside the city within the month~"

Bea: "...Only more reason for me to focus on my solution then, no?"

Thankfully, it seems like the soldiers didn't hear them...

Or at least, they pretended not to.

But these two...

Sometimes I wonder if they like each other or not.

It can be really hard to tell with the way they talk to each other, almost as if challenging them...

However... Between all the teasing and messing around, I always notice a peculiar smile from the corner of their mouths...

Just slightly, but... I think this strange dance of theirs is fun for both.

But while they were having fun drawing out each other's bad sides, Anna was trying to help the soldiers a little by testing out a few different swords.

Cassandra did her best to help her, even going as far as trying to simulate her original sword herself, both weight, height, and even its effect, but...

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work too well.

The original sword used Anna's power through a curse to cause the earthquakes. The sword has a lot of power due to Anna's strength, and it seems like Cassandra and Anna, using their combined mana, can't produce the same result.

It's not like Anna was dependent on the sword though. She demonstrated once again how valuable she can be using anything. Even if she were to go to the barrier and punch it with her bare fists, it would probably deal as much damage as an entire mage corps combined.

That would be a little dangerous though, so maybe it's best to focus on a brighter note.

And that would definitely have to be Angelica.

It melts my heart to see the usually quiet and collected angel showing such a sincere smile, and she definitely earned it.

She only became capable of reading spellbooks recently, but she's already developing her skills.

The [Light Magic] she has is still not on par with that of a Saint, but with her being an angel and her second Gift boosting her [Light Magic], there's no reason to believe she won't surpass them.

Her buffs are still on the weaker side, and she only knows a handful, most of them being simple stats boosts, but...

Her new ability to cast it in a wide area instead of doing it individually proved itself and earned Miwen praise, which I think is the main reason for her happiness.

It would be fine if she acted even more smug about it... I'd certainly love to see it.

Especially since I know she's been wanting to show this to him for a long time now.

It's just one small step, of course, but still... I think she is amazing.

And she has the cutest smile.

I want to see it more often, so I'll be sure to help her whenever I can.

Paul: "Huh... They haven't sent the garrisons out..."

Miwen: "...Is that strange?"

Paul: "A little. From what we gathered, Mercoler has been sent to oversee the city since you've left. This is not how we expected him to act."

Miwen: "He's not very passive, right?"

Paul: "Yes... He earned the title of General after the losses of the previous generation during the conquest of Maides' Island, and ever since he's been using his Gift to earn quite a lot of victories in diplomatic missions. Especially when outnumbered."

Surprisingly, we know quite a bit about his Gift since he's famed in other countries.

It's an ability that strengthens the ones under him and makes them less tired.

It doesn't heal them, but as far as we've heard, it almost turns the men into an army of undead.

They can fight for days under the effects of his Gift, and every man is worth two.

It's very-

Miwen: "Hm... Interesting..."

Hrm...

I suppose if he gets in my line of sight, he'll be gone all the same, but... I would rather not have to face strong enemies.

Especially when they are not acting like their usual selves.

Well, in the end, no matter how out of the ordinary this battle was, at least the first day ended without anything major happening.

We launched three coordinated waves of attack, with the third being able to cross the second layer of the barrier thanks in no small part to our overwhelming numbers compared to the enemy.

The barrier was quickly repaired, so we couldn't advance, and we also had no way of knowing if any men had been killed on their side, but it was a great initial attempt;

The results it yielded were probably more than anyone expected.

And after that, we safely made our way back to our tents.

Ellie: "...Here's the chalk you asked for. They didn't have the black candles, so I asked for these blue ones..."

Bea: "...Oh, no need to worry. It will do fine."

In our tent's room, Beatrice made a small hatch, and using her magic, she created a small underground room where she started preparing her countermeasure to the system implemented by Hamperlon's forces.

She made a big magic circle, and while it was not yet finished, it seemed to contain a lot of different formulas.

It also used a few different gems and monster cores, but I think Miwen provided those...

Ellie: "Hm... Is there anything special about chalk?"

I know the magic formulas help one obtain a premeditated result by not allowing their imagination and lack of focus to interfere, but I always wondered if there was any significance to the materials used...

Even more so since she asked for black candles and I only managed to get the dark blue ones...

And the fact that the black ones were the first to run out too... They almost seemed like a commodity, so surely there was a meaning to their color...

Bea: "...Imagine for a moment that you are blind. What could you use to perceive your surroundings?"

Ellie: "Mana... Right?"

Bea: "Yes... But you wouldn't want to use a spell. Or even formless magic. You'd try to use a very thin layer of mana to feel what is around you...."

That's true...

You'd be a nuisance otherwise, and you'd also risk injuring the people around you if you were to use bursts of mana for this.

It would require a lot of control to be able to see using only mana though...

Bea: "This, while not a combat technique per se, is often used in magic circles like this... We seek the most neutral input of mana possible so that we can replicate the same result repeatedly and develop methods, systems, and theories everyone can use."

Oh...

I see!

Ellie: "Chalk is lightweight and powdery, so... It scatters easily, right? So you can easily tell if you messed up your mana input, flow, and direction..."

Bea: "That's correct... 10000 points for you!"

Yay...?

Bea is so nice to me...

It's a little bit weird that she treats me like a child sometimes, but since she randomly gives me snacks and praises me wholeheartedly, I can't complain.

Although... It's a bit too much when she talks to me like I'm a little sister to her. I get self-conscious of my age...

Ellie: "...I heard blood is also a good material though-"

Bea: "Yes. But for a different reason. And its use is... Controversial, as you might imagine."

Of course...

Ellie: "Hm... But you can use monster blood, right?"

Bea: "If you know what you are doing. As I said, it's not sought after for the same reasons as chalk. Blood from different species will definitely impact the result, so... One needs to be very... Very careful..."

It's so nice to have a witch teach me about the intricacies of magic.

Other practitioners usually shut down people who question them too much.

And if it's things like this... They might even accuse you of heresy...

Ellie: "You really know a lot... I feel a bit ashamed, you know, as an elf and all..."

We're supposed to be better than humans at magic, but I think my tribe had no mages who could hold a candle to Bea in terms of magic knowledge.

Bea: "Your wind magic is powerful... And besides, I've studied this stuff my entire life. Sure, I changed my focus to arcanum at some point, but... There was a time when I devoured spellbooks. One after another..."

Arcanum...

That's something I'm very curious about.

But everyone says it is a demonic power... And I've seen several people fall to madness because of it throughout my life...

Bea: "Do you remember? Back during our first days after being summoned by Miwen, I even tried to gain some sympathy from him so that he'd let me have some spellbooks... I was prepared to do even more too, but... As you know, it was a little naive, and definitely not needed..."

...Did she just confess something evil to me?

I guess I'm not the only one having fun...

Ellie: "As expected of an evil witch-"

I was sitting in a corner of the room.

It wasn't very spacious, so when Bea got up and came in my direction, I thought she simply intended to head out, but...

She stretched her hand, touching my cheek.

Her eyes were seemingly full of power, she smiled and as her face approached mine, I got increasingly uneasy thinking she would kiss me out of nowhere...

But then...

Bea: "Make no mistake, Ellie... I do not consider such child play as an evil deed. It would be very, very disrespectful..."

For a moment, she looked... Scary...

Bea: "Also... I need you to get up, please. It would also be a good idea to change your shorts. You sat on the chalk. And you know... If Miwen sees your shorts stained like this, he might take the chance to touch your butt under the excuse of cleaning it with his hands..."

Ah...

Yes...

That would be dreadful...

I'm not sure why I got so uneasy there, but... The feeling went away quickly.

The idea of getting kissed by Bea remained on my mind though... For some reason...

Ellie: "Bea... Are you good at kissing?"

Bea: "Hm? Of course. I'm the best."

Woah...

Ellie: "Then! Can you give me some tips? Every time Miwen kisses me I just react, and I'm not sure if it feels good for him..."

Bea: "Eh? Sure, I can teach you any-"

Suddenly, we heard a commotion.

Instantly we went out of the tent to check it out only to find a group of people surrounding a... corpse.

My first instinct was to look for Miwen.

This could be one of his schemes but...

The moment I saw his face, although still calm, I knew for sure...

We were in trouble.