That morning, I had just started training to use a sword with Kimmel. I listened to everything he told me and followed his instructions as I practiced my swings.

  "Great, Daphne! You're doing good!" He was very encouraging, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fliers' info. Somewhere along the line, I felt tempted to look at everything optimistically. Maybe they don't have enough manpower. I also couldn't rule out the possibility that they were looking down on us, but... The Empire's not stupid. They were probably more experienced at war than I could imagine, so they'd certainly bring a Mage that could use water magic. At least, it's what I would do if I were them. Bringing a Mage like that along would sure beat building bridges or using boats...

  At that moment, a messenger came running into the room to deliver news about the Empire's approach. I'd have loved to learn more from Kimmel, but it was time for me to give the party a pep talk. Sensing this, they all gathered around me as I cleared my throat, thinking, Damn, what do I say to them here? Oh, yeah!

  "Guys, go out there and make me proud!" I felt like face-palming as soon as those words escaped my lips. I spoke off the top of my head without even telling them what I originally meant to say, and their confused faces did nothing to help. How embarrassing! "Um, ah, what I really meant to say was..." I tried to salvage the situation, but I somehow made everything more awkward. I wanted the earth to swallow me up at that moment, but then, Kimmel came to my rescue.

  "It's okay, Daphne. We're all feeling it. This battle, this war... it's all so nerve-wracking." He spoke with an understanding, almost sympathetic look on his face.

  "Y-yeah, I'm feeling it, too." You're kinda missing the point, but thank you, Kimmel, for being such a gentleman. "We're up against the Empire this time, human enemies. And from what we've gathered about them, they'll likely use water magic to create a path for their soldiers. Now, I doubt their Mages would do anything that'd put their fellow soldiers at risk, but don't forget that you'd be in a water Mage's territory, so be aware of your surroundings. Kimmel, you'll be fighting with Sarde, and Batti will fight with Kathryn."

  "Aren't all four of us going to fight together?" Batti asked, and I shook my head, saying,

  "That would have been ideal, but we can't rule out the possibility of this being a two-pronged attack."

  "What makes you think so?" This time, Kimmel asked the question, but I had an answer prepared for that,

  "The information we were given seems... sketchy. I refuse to believe that the Empire is dumb or proud enough to attack us with only 500 soldiers. Another group had to have followed a different route."

  "I see," Kimmel said, understanding the situation immediately. As we were all beginning to wrap up, I called out,

  "Hertz! Is your ring working?"

  "Yes, don't worry about it," he answered with a reassuring smile. Last night, I asked Phildina whether she had any sort of communication item on hand, and she gave me three rings that allowed for instant communication between wearers. It really made me wonder how many magic items she had in her possession, but that was not important right now. I'll be overseeing things until he finds our target, I thought as I watched him leave the room. Spies were not very well suited for combat, but they had a plethora of stealth and concealment-type skills to choose from, so he was the right man for the job. Stay safe out there, Hertz.

  "Lucia! What about you?" I asked her, and she smiled and answered,

  "No problems here!" Early this morning, I called the two of them and briefed them about the pn and what they were supposed to do.

  Just then, Kathryn came up to me and said, "I'll make you proud, Daphne." Aww, how adorable, I thought to myself as I watched her leave the room with the others.

  From there, Lucia and I went to one of the towers while the others took their respective positions. "I forgot to ask this earlier, but what's your compatibility?" She widened her eyes in surprise at my question and said,

  "I was just about to ask that, too!"

  "You mean?"

  "We share the same compatiblities..."

  "And there's no one else?" I asked, almost not believing it.

  "You're the only one," She said with a confused look on her face. Hmm, that's... odd, I thought to myself. Normally, I'd be compatible with her, and she'd be compatible with someone else or a combination of myself and someone else. What's the reasoning behind this? And how can I make this work? I wrestled with these questions as we trudged on in silence, eventually reaching one of the towers which gave us a bird's eye view of the battlefield.

  "It looks like the enemy is making their move," One of the Dragon Rider commanders commented. Then, he turned to me and said, "We've already told the soldiers and adventurers to work with you." He then focused his gaze at a distance and said, "However, the enemy commander is approaching, and we must stop him, so can we leave things in your hands?"

  "Yes, sir! I am fully confident!" I answered, but it was essentially a gamble. If they had a water Mage, it would work. If not, we could still take advantage of our preparations, but it'd make wiping out the enemy with fewer casualties more difficult. But just then, the moat started undergoing some changes, and it was like the tension in the air reduced a little.

  I guess you can trust a competent enemy at the end of the day, I thought to myself as I watched the moat part into two at both ends, creating a dry path for the Empire soldiers to pass through and confirming my suspicions. It's a two-pronged attack! On one end of the moat, Mercenaries and Swordsmen started making their descent while Knights and Cavalry were on the other end. Batti and Kathryn would deal with the Mercenaries and Swordsmen while Kimmel and Sarde would deal with the Knights and Cavalry. Ooh, boy! What are these numbers?! I thought as I watched hundreds of Cavalry charge towards the Fort, where Kimmel and Sarde were waiting for them with a combined force of about a hundred soldiers and adventurers.

  My heart was thumping as I watched, almost thinking to myself, What have I done? It's like five to one with these numbers... But just then, a group of Mages fired a barrage of elemental spells from one of the towers opposite ours, creating enough confusion for Kimmel and Sarde to charge into their ranks and start causing havoc.

  "They've gotten so strong," I muttered to myself as I watched Kimmel fight with the elegance that befitted a hero and Sarde fight with the ferocity of a beast. Their styles were so different, yet they worked so well together. If they were injured, Matilda and the other healers who could use the Aura staff would heal them from the towers, allowing for a small but dangerous assault team.

  How's the other side doing? I turned to see Batti going on a rampage. He had not used the [Berserk] skill, but his wild fighting style and [Killing Intuition] had him lining up bodies in no time. Of course, he was steadily accumuting injuries with the way he was fighting, but the healers were responding quickly, so that helped to ease my worries.

  I scanned the battlefield looking for Kathryn and eventually found her squaring off against five Swordsmen. They attacked her all at once, but she dismembered all of them in the blink of an eye. The poor things. They probably thought she was an easy target... From there, she started moving like the wind, cutting down countless opponents before they even knew what hit them. I was having a hard time following all of it, but the smile she had on her face stuck with me. Once again, it reminded me of her mother, but I started to feel something... uncanny. Is this really the power of a recently promoted Swordmaster? I wondered.

  Kimmel, Sarde, and Batti were doing just fine as well. The Knights, Cavalry, Mercenaries, and Swordsmen couldn't quite keep up with their greater fighting prowess as promoted csses, but they weren't blowing through their enemies as effortlessly as Kathryn was. I felt like I was onto something that could help me understand why the Empire was after her in the first pce, but just then, Hertz dialed in,

  "Daphne, I found the Mages," He sounded a bit strange, almost displeased even, but I was gd to hear the news! Now, I can bring this battle to a close!

  "Did he find the Mages?" Lucia asked, and I answered,

  "Yeah, I'll be going to kill them now."

  "I wouldn't want to lose another friend, so be careful, Daphne." Her look of concern as she said that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It was really nice to have somebody worry about me like that.

  "Don't worry," I began, "I have no pns of dying soon!" I said as I ran with everything I had to the stable, where I randomly "borrowed" one of the horses and started galloping away. It's weird how natural this all feels, I thought to myself as I approached the thick of the battlefield. I'd never ridden a horse before, yet here I was, riding like a Mongolian nomad.

  "Daphne!" Phildina, who had been keeping an eye out for me, swooped down to carry me to the thicket that surrounded the Fort. Hertz spotted the Mages there, but I bet the Archers who were shooting at us were also hiding in there. Phildina dodged everything sent her way as I deflected a few arrows with shots of my own. Once she was sufficiently close, she dropped me into the thicket, where a new mission began as soon as I nded.