“In that case, how about having some drinks tonight for our acquaintanceship?”
He carefully suggested.
“By no means, if we were to slip out of our rooms in the middle of the night, we would be instantly found out by patrolling ship officers.”
Everyone started to worry. They wanted to escape ship officers anger from being drunk. It would be discovered by tomorrow anyways.
Saito, who had an idea, put out his finger and said,
“How about making jackstraws? Make straw bundles and place them in beds.”
“Lets do it!” the dragon knights laughed.
However, Louise alone did not laugh. She bit her nails, as if thinking about something.
“What’s wrong?”
Conversely they asked.
“…You. What did you say just now?”
“Eh? Well… Making jackstraws?”
“That’s right. Jackstraws. We just have to make 60,000 jackstraws.”
“Huh? 60,000? The number of members here is smaller.”
“First of all, making such a large number of straw bundles would really be problematic, right?”
One dragon knight asked with a serious expression on his face.
“Bundle of straws? Use magic!”
With that, Louise ran out.
“What, she?”
Dumbfounded Saito watched Louise leaving. Once again they were not understanding each other.
Louise jumped into the private room given to them, and opened the Founder’s Prayer Book.
For a moment she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. With her mind totally focused on the Founder’s Prayer Book, she carefully held it.
One page began to shine… Louise smiled.
At the Academy of Magic, where classes had just ended, a group of riders appeared. It was the same day when Colbert watched Saito and Louise leave.
Entering through the gates were Agnes' musketeers.
The girls who stayed behind in the school were surprised by the appearance of household troops who rode horses. What’s going on? they wondered. Old Osman, the school headmaster, came out to meet Agnes.
“Welcome, Musketeer Commander Agnes. What brings you here?”
“Just doing my work, thank you for your patronage.”
Old Osman muttered something in his beard. In his heart, he had subtle thoughts. She probably came here to take the remaining female pupils for military training?
Last night he had received a report.
Apparently, Henrietta’s royal government recruited a majority of nobles for war. The way it turned out - schoolgirls also were recruited as preliminary officers, if the officers were consumed in the Albion war. Old Osman doubted the methods of the royal government.
That’s why Old Osman did not take part in the ceremony at La Rochelle, saying farewell to the army.
The schoolgirls attendance was similarly prohibited too. As a result, Royal government decided to stimulate things by itself.
“Even though this war is inhuman?”
“The royal government at this moment is calling this war an ‘All-out war’.”
“All-out war. There is no plausible name to call it. The war that takes women and girls, what kind of righteousness could it ever have?”
Agnes watched Osman with cold eyes.
“Then what righteousness does a war where only noble men and soldiers die have?”
Old Osman was at a loss for words.
“Death is equal. It does not discriminate between women or children. Nothing else.”
Agnes determinedly headed towards the tower.
At that moment, the classes had ended in Kirche's and Montmorency's classrooms. Because the male teachers went to war, the number of classes had decreased a lot…
“However, there is an exception.” Kirche muttered watching a man fully engaged in teaching.
It was Colbert.
He keeps teaching as always. Somehow the school girl’s face was not calm at all.
“Ehm, look. Because of the flame’s high temperature the color brightens.”
He was roasting a metal stick on an open flame.
The heated stick was bent as he continued to explain,
“Well, there are a lot of metals that cannot be manipulated if the flame is not hot enough. Therefore, when using ‘Fire’, controlling the flame’s temperature is fundamental.”
Montmorency suddenly raised her hand.
“Do you have a question, Miss Montmorency?”
Montmorency stood up.
“The country is in the middle of a war. How… can you teach classes with such a carefree attitude?”
“Leave your worries at school… I am your teacher, and you are my student.”
Colbert settled down, and answered without changing the intonation.
“But… all classmates… even teachers, face the war.”
“And your point is? We should learn even more, because it is a time of war. To use it in war, it is necessary to learn to use ‘Fire’ for destruction. Study now, so you will have something to share with the boys who return from the war.”
Colbert said and looked around the classroom.
“You are just afraid of war,”
Kirche declared in a slightly thready voice.
“Indeed.” nodded Colbert.
“I’m afraid of war. I am a coward.”
From the schoolgirls throats escaped gasps of amazement.
“However, I feel no guilt.”
When Colbert clearly asserted it, a group of people rudely barged into the classroom. It was Agnes and her people.
They were wearing chain hemps, and long swords with pistols at their waists. The schoolgirls got slightly noisy, seeing women entering in such exaggerated attire.
“Y-y-you, w-what…”
Agnes, completely ignoring Colbert, ordered the students.
“I am Her Majesty's musketeer. I order you all in the name of Her Majesty to discontinue all classes from this point. Dress up and line up in the courtyard.”
“What? Discontinue the class? Don’t joke around.”
After Colbert’s words, Agnes turned her head,
“I had enough of babysitting… This is an order.”
Schoolgirls began to stand up grumbling.
Colbert blocked Agnes' way in panic.
“Hey! hey!. The class is not over yet!”
“It’s a direct order from Her Majesty. Haven’t you heard?”
Agnes said in an unpleasant voice.
“Following Her Majesty orders, I am teaching right now. 15 more minutes, the time given to me by Her Majesty to make the student learn. It cannot be ordered by you. All of you! Return to the classroom! For another 15 minutes I will teach! You can go playing war after that!”
Agnes pulled out her sword and pointed it at Colbert's throat.
“War game you say. Are you going against us? Mister, this is not for a mage to decide, do not go too far.”
“N-not at all…”
Watching the sword pointing to his throat, Colbert dropped into cold sweat.
“Are you a Fire user? They always reek of a burnt smell, an unpleasant smell that wafts from under the robe. Teacher, I hate mages, specially the ones that use Fire.”
“Huu…”
Colbert's legs began to tremble. He had to support his back against the wall.
“Listen, do not obstruct my duty.”
Agnes looked at the trembling Colbert as if looking at garbage, and walked away, placing her sword back into its sheath. Schoolgirls, with a similar scorn on their faces, passed Colbert by.
Left alone, Colbert buried his face in his palms… and released a deep sigh.
Chapter Seven: The Illusion at Dartanes
The 8 o’clock bell rang across the battleship Redoubtable, signifying the start of the morning shift.