Debriefing

I am Heisshitze, a knight of Dunkelfelger.

Today, I visited the Royal Academy for the Interduchy Tournament, and in an unexpected turn of events, I was able to have a ditter match with Lord Ferdinand… and I lost. Right now, we are in the middle of a banquet, or perhaps I should say a debriefing, at the Dunkelfelger dormitory.

“Just what was that hemispherical shield that Lady Rozemyne used? Aren’t shields supposed to be flat and rectangular?”

“That was Schutzaria’s shield, something that only Lady Rozemyne can make due to her temple upbringing. She can actually make the Goddess of Wind’s shield. Is that not entirely saint-like? The Goddess’s shield can have its size changed freely, and it was strong enough to protect all the students of Lady Rozemyne’s duchy in the middle of a ferocious assault. I was so moved to see it!”

Clarissa, an apprentice scholar, was behaving like one of the drunken knights despite not having consumed any vize. The impressively large, hemispherical shield created by Lady Rozemyne during the awards ceremony interruption had certainly captured everyone’s attention.

Setting aside those who were still in high spirits after the attack, I personally reflected on my ditter match with Lord Ferdinand.

“I think the first half of the match went well… I believe I was just a step away from pushing Lord Ferdinand to his limit. How did it look to you?”

The fellow knights who witnessed the match shared the same view. It appeared that I managed to put Lord Ferdinand in a tough spot, even from the perspective of those not directly participating in the match.

“Indeed, it was a mistake to let him create some distance at that point.”

“Certainly. You clearly held the upper hand in close combat, Heisshitze. It’s regrettable that he managed to repel you with that cape.”

The knights, all downing their vize, collectively groaned when recalling the pivotal moment that shifted the tide of the match.

“You could have secured a victory if you had swiftly discarded the cape without hesitation. However, if you tore up the spoils with your own hands, even a triumph in the match would have felt somewhat…”

One of the knights said that to me with pity in his eyes.

After finishing my cup of vize, I nodded in understanding. The cape Lord Ferdinand had was the one my wife had embroidered for me with a protective magic circle back in our Royal Academy days. Winning the match only to end up with a cape I had torn with my own hands would have made facing my wife difficult.

“True to form, Lord Ferdinand excels at employing cunningly nasty tactics that are hard to evade.”

“I must express my desire to acquire the skills Lord Ferdinand displayed as he promptly reversed the course of the match.”

“He went so far as to have that splendid hidden weapon at his disposal.”

I was unable to keep myself from sighing. Beyond the array of magical tools at his disposal, Lord Ferdinand had an entirely new weapon tucked away in his arsenal. The aub sprung the ditter match on us abruptly, and Lord Ferdinand joined the fray without a moment’s respite in his dormitory. Yet, he entered the match wholly unprepared and still harbored that unforeseen surprise.

I was utterly taken aback by the deployment of a weapon entirely unfamiliar to me.

I recalled that mysterious weapon enabling him to effortlessly shoot multiple arrows with just one hand, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.

“He uttered something—a sort of ‘grun’, but I couldn’t quite catch it.”

I could discern that Lord Ferdinand had uttered an incantation to morph his schtappe, but I was unable to properly hear what he said.

“Indeed, that weapon of his! What in the world was it? The moment he unveiled it, closing the distance became an insurmountable challenge for you!”

“I recall Lady Hannelore mentioning that Lord Ferdinand modified a toy crafted by Lady Rozemyne. Perhaps we should approach Lady Hannelore for more information?”

Upon hearing the knights mention that, I glanced over to the corner of the table where Lady Hannelore, today’s star, was seated. She was surrounded by drunk knights raucously singing songs in her honor.

“In the heat of battle, Lady Hannelore shines so bright,

The pride of Dunkelfelger, steadfast and unyielding might,

Ah, Lady Hannelore, our champion in the fight!”

“Please do not sing such songs about me!”

Lady Hannelore, her face ablaze with embarrassment, tried to halt the knights’ singing, but their spirits were high, fueled by vize, and they paid no heed. Despite enduring multiple assaults, witnessing my defeat, and facing a harsh glare when her victory seemed impossible, she steadfastly resisted Lord Ferdinand’s pressure. And since she had taken part in the ditter match, she couldn’t even retreat to her room, enduring a relentless stream of inquiries and praises from the enthusiastic knights.

Lady Hannelore, I’m well aware of the aub’s strict orders that a Dunkelfelger archduke candidate mustn’t surrender before a match is concluded, and I must say, you handled it exceptionally well.

Incidentally, the aub is currently absent after being summoned by his wife. I assume the aub and his wife are having a debriefing of their own in a separate room. I couldn’t help but recall the expression on the aub’s face, suggesting his desire to join our meeting, and it brought a slight smile to my lips as I called out to Lady Hannelore.

“Lady Hannelore! Please tell us more about Lord Ferdinand’s new weapon!”

“I will be right there.”

Lady Hannelore approached us, a look of relief on her face as she escaped the drunken knights. She shared details about Lady Rozemyne’s new creation—a toy crafted during their lessons. Lady Rozemyne herself seemed stunned by the fact that she had been able to make it. The lesson focused on transforming one’s schtappe into weapons, prompting Lady Hannelore to inquire if it was intended as a weapon.

“I had never seen anything like it in Dunkelfelger, so I called out to her out of curiosity. Unfortunately, Professor Rauffen misinterpreted it as a new weapon and practically coerced Lady Rozemyne into testing it on the spot. As for the result, it truly was just a toy as Lady Rozemyne had said. It only released a small amount of water.”

Professor Rauffen couldn’t conceal his disappointment, and so Lady Hannelore had feared that she had caused Lady Rozemyne a great deal of embarrassment.

“The fact that he could turn that toy into a weapon capable of firing multiple arrows at once… It appears that Lord Ferdinand is even more formidable than any of you have described.”

I wholeheartedly agreed with Lady Hannelore’s statement, nodding in acknowledgment.

“Lord Ferdinand truly does all manner of dangerous things. During my first-ever match of treasure-stealing ditter, I assumed that Ehrenfest would be no match for us. Treasure-stealing ditter is played between multiple duchies at once, with their entire dormitories participating in the match, so what can one talented player accomplish on their own? That was my assumption.”

I truly never imagined that Ehrenfest, which had hovered near the bottom of the rankings until the previous year, would be a competent opponent. However, Dunkelfelger lost the match. We were completely at the mercy of that one talented player.

“While we were in the midst of battling our feybeast to weaken it, Lord Ferdinand hurled a potent magical tool in our direction, capable of not only dispatching the feybeast but also us along with it.”

At the time, I believe he said that it would put us on the brink of death even if we used shields. When I shared this with Lady Hannelore, her crimson eyes widened in astonishment.

“Were you able to defend against it? Was everyone safe?”

“Certainly. We anticipated it was a dangerous magical tool, so we quickly morphed shields to protect ourselves. Yet, by that moment, we found ourselves ensnared in a magical net.”

“Eh?”

He deployed a magical net as he hurled the magical tool, ensnaring six of our knights in the brief moment it took to raise our shields. Treasure-stealing ditter is meant to commence with capturing a feybeast, but, in that instant, over half of our treasure-hunting team was incapacitated.

“The net that Lord Ferdinand used was made from his mana, so obviously, it could only be destroyed by someone with even greater mana than him. My first-ever ditter match at the Interduchy Tournament ended with me entangled in a net before we could even capture a feybeast.”

It took a while for word to reach Dunkelfelger’s base about the treasure-hunting team being ensnared in a net. Further delays ensued as we sought a different feybeast for our treasure. Meanwhile, Lord Ferdinand continued to operate discreetly, orchestrating conflicts among other powerful duchies. Dunkelfelger found itself constrained to a defensive stance until our treasure reached the base. While we were stuck on the defensive, Lord Ferdinand sent even more enemies our way. The post-match debriefing revealed the immense difficulty we faced in retrieving our treasure back to our base.

“Th-That certainly sounds like it was terrible.”

The following year, Dunklefelger expanded the treasure-hunting team to counter Lord Ferdinand’s magic tools and mana net. However, during one of our hunts, our base faced a sudden and intense attack. With just a single magical tool, Lord Ferdinand created an opening for other rival duchies to launch a fierce assault on Dunkelfelger’s base. Upon returning with our treasure, I found our base was already devastated by multiple formidable foes. It was a disastrous turn of events.

“I have heard that Lady Rozemyne is Lord Ferdinand’s disciple. Please exercise great caution around her, Lady Hannelore.”

“Thank you for your advice, Heisshitze. However, Lady Rozemyne and I are not enrolled in the knight course—we are both archduke candidates. Moreover, we no longer participate in treasure-stealing ditter.”

“Nevertheless, it’s crucial to remain vigilant.”

“I notice you’re echoing my brother’s sentiments, Heisshitze. I understand. I’ll exercise caution. Thank you for your advice.”

Lady Hannelore chuckled in amusement at my advice and silently moved to leave the dining hall. As I watched her go, I refilled my cup with vize.

“So, a decade has already passed since then…”

As Lady Hannelore and I delved into the past, memories of my time at the Royal Academy flooded back, particularly the countless defeats I suffered at the hands of Lord Ferdinand.

“So it took Lord Ferdinand spending ten whole years cooped up in the temple for me to reach his level. No wonder I could never best him back in our Royal Academy days.”

Over the course of those ten years, I closed the gap. Next time, victory will undoubtedly be mine.

My yearning for victory was mixed with a sense of frustration. It pained me to see a man of Lord Ferdinand’s caliber confined in the temple of a backwater duchy like Ehrenfest.

“I wonder if there’s a chance for him to reclaim the spotlight someday.”

If he does, I would love to play ditter with him again.

Sighing at the dream that would never be realized, I downed my cup of vize in one gulp.