Ch#141
"Waaah."
Only Lucarion responded soullessly.
Selina and Ppuppue clapped with their hands and nose respectively.
"Ahem!"
Proudly watching them, Tie turned around with a solemn expression and pulled something out of her bag.
Just moments before.
It was a circular schedule she had diligently drawn on paper.
"This is the schedule. First, at nine in the morning! Everyone wakes up together and washes their faces and brushes their teeth!"
The squad members exchanged glances.
"Then from ten until four in the afternoon is free time!"
Veil furrowed his brow.
"Hold on. Why is the free time so long? That's basically all day?"
As if she had anticipated such a question, Tie straightened her shoulders.
"This means free time only for the squad members! Tie goes to the tutorial hall during this time."
Basto's lips parted.
Come to think of it.
Currently, Luminen's Clan Leader was investigating suitable tutorial halls for Tie to attend.
Once they found a way to come and go without drawing attention, Tie planned to start attending right away.
‘But isn't the schedule too packed?’
Going to the tutorial hall during the day and sieging Mana Stones at night.
Tie was only four years old—it was too much for one day.
After agonizing, Basto raised his hand.
"Tie. That schedule seems too overwhelming for you."
Raoul and Veil chimed in.
"I agree. Won't it be too tiring?"
"Yeah, kiddo. Kids need sleep, rest, and eating the most."
However, Tie stubbornly shook her head.
"No, becoming the number one mercenary group is more important to Tie!"
Then she continued in an enthusiastic voice.
"Look, Tie is a king. Necro-man-cer King! But it's a disgrace that Tie's mercenary group isn't number one."
"Disgrace?"
"Yeah!"
Disgrace was a new word Tie had just learned from Selina.
Selina had explained noble society and taught her words like 'disgrace' and 'shame'.
"Tie thinks anything less than number one is disgrace and shame. So we're gonna siege Mana Stones fast and become the strongest legend-level mercenaries."
Veil ruffled his hair as if his head hurt.
Then he stood up and said.
"Alright, fine. We should get back to our main job anyway."
Due to various incidents lately, Agavert hadn't sieged any Mana Stones for a while.
"Let's give it a try. Rising in the ranks is good for us anyway."
He looked around at the squad members.
"In that sense, start with small ones on the outskirts? This area's all Holy Knights territory anyway."
Tie tilted her head.
"Veil bro, what are you talking about? We have to take out small and medium ones too. That's how we become number one fast."
Veil let out a hollow laugh as he stared at Tie.
"Kiddo. You think medium Mana Stones are a joke? Why are you so obsessed with number one?"
Tie rolled her eyes instead of answering.
She couldn't exactly say to Veil, 'We have to become number one quick to cut off Dad's rice bowl!'
The child changed the subject by looking at the schedule.
"But we sieged a medium one in Pearl City, right? The one that came out of the sea wasn't that hard......"
"That was because you summoned shipwrecks and stuff."
Veil added in a strange tone.
"Of course, with our current forces, medium ones are manageable too......"
"If we're sieging anyway, targeting mediums over small ones is more efficient."
Basto interjected.
He stroked his beard, deep in thought.
"Like Tie said, if our goal is to raise our ranking, skipping the trivial small Mana Stones and going straight for mediums is a better strategy."
A bright smile spread across Tie's face.
"Right? Waaah, Uncle Basto is the best!"
The child toddled over and hugged Basto tightly.
But then, Nordics, who had been silent, spoke up.
"Then how do you plan to handle transportation, Tie?"
Tie dashed back to the table stacked with Teleportation Circles.
"For transportation, Selina's mom and dad gave us tons of Teleportation Circles, so we'll use those!"
Nordics nodded as if he had expected that.
Then he said.
"Tie. There are limits to approaching Mana Stones with Teleportation Circles."
Tie's eyes widened round.
Meanwhile, Nordics placed his hands on his knees and explained calmly.
"Because every Mana Stone has mana waves around it."
"Waves......?"
"Yes."
Nordics approached and picked up one Teleportation Circle.
He showed Tie the back side engraved with complex formations and runes in detail.
"The magic formations and runes here basically flow with mana extracted from monster cores. That's the principle that allows teleportation."
"......"
"But the mana waves from medium Mana Stones interfere with the Teleportation Circle's activation. Specifically, the waves tangle the mana flow inside the Teleportation Circle."
Tie's lips slowly parted.
"If that weren't the case, why wouldn't everyone approach Mana Stones with Teleportation Circles? Shortening travel time would make sieges much easier. It's not that they don't—it's that they can't."
"......"
"Because of the waves, you can't teleport directly near Mana Stones."
Tie was so focused she nearly drooled without realizing.
But thinking about it, she recalled hearing something similar before.
The day she first met Edmund.
In the conversation between him and his adjutant.
‘Uncle Edmund couldn't send supplies back then either.’
Because there were too many Mana Stones where supplies needed to go, the Teleportation Circles wouldn't work.
So Tie had given them a good idea.
To hang supplies on lanterns and send them.
Eventually, after agonizing, Tie stared at Nordics.
"Th-then what do we do......?"
The child's eyebrows drooped like wet feathers.
Nordics lightly patted Tie's head.
"Well. Not right next to the Mana Stone, but teleport as close as possible to an adjacent area and walk the rest."
"How far do we have to walk?"
"For small Mana Stones, you can teleport leaving about 20 daio. That's around four hours on foot."
"Four hours......?!"
Tie's mouth gaped open.
Even with Teleportation Circles, four hours!
And importantly, that was just for approaching small Mana Stones.
"Th-then for mediums?"
"To be safe, leave about 100 daio. Going closer risks accidents."
Tie already knew about Teleportation Circle accidents from bits she'd overheard.
Inputting non-existent coordinates or interference during activation......
‘Did you hear? Viscount Mathias's son got his hand severed.’
‘Yeah, that brat used a Teleportation Circle drunk and ended up like that?’
‘Exactly. Still having accidents like that.’
‘Right? Why drink and teleport. Just input the coordinates right. Even for a 20-minute carriage ride, rushing it like that...... Ack! Kiddo! Why are you under the stairs?!’
Tie had overheard Veil and Raoul while playing bear hibernation under the stairs.
And gotten a huge shock.
‘Using Teleportation Circles near Mana Stones severs hands......!’
Tie fidgeted with her own hands and shut her mouth.
If it took four hours—or up to twenty—with Teleportation Circles, her entire plan was ruined.
First, she couldn't cut off Dad's rice bowl quickly, and second,
"Tie can't do a side job......?"
Her schedule of tutorial hall by day and Mana Stone sieges by night completely fell apart.
"What do we do......?"
But at that moment.
Tie's eyes caught Marbas standing off in the distance amid her worry.
