19

Chapter 19: Arriving strangelyNotes:

Was reading all day so it is later than usual.

EDIT: 4000 Hits! Let´s go!!!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

If you had access to flight, illusion-, optic- and tracking formulas then finding out where somebody lived was a trivial affair. Especially if that someone wore very distinct white clothing and hid her face in public. Following such a person and arranging discreet patrols around her house were child´s play.

So, Tanya could exactly predict when Emilia would leave her house and react accordingly by sending a messenger to enquire about Roswaal´s decision as soon as possible. To the silver-haired girl and her pink-haired maid it must have looked like the courier appeared straight out of the shadows, because of his precisely timed arrival. No second was wasted as the man collected the information and went off to disappear in the next side alley just as Tanya had taught him to do.

Receiving an answer about whether or not Tanya could come back to the Roswaal mansion was made easy, since she already knew the response before Emilia even stepped through the door. Sound enhancing spells worked at astounding distances if you used them in a relatively silent city at night-time instead of a booming battlefield. Tanya made interesting discoveries like that very day in this new world. Honestly the best magician of the country should know better than to have important conversations directly in front of a large window, even if it was closed.

Yesterday, Roswaal had been surprisingly open about the idea of collaboration between his sponsored candidate and "the stranger girl" as he had called Tanya. Luckily Emilia had been wise enough to omit the details of her proposal, because he would have certainly reacted quite different if he knew that Emilia potentially planned to abandon the royal selection altogether. Fury and disappointment would have been understandable responses in Tanya´s eyes, seeing as the man had invested much time and money into the half-elf to participate at all.

Tanya arrived exactly ten minutes later which she deemed as inconspicuous enough. Emilia appeared happy enough to see her and even somewhat excited about a new guest at the mansion. The girl must have been quite lonely. They chatted for a while before Roswaal finished whatever he was doing and came out of the house. Her best guess was that he had needed the time for his extravagant makeup. She would have died of shame if she dressed herself up like this guy. He honestly looked like a clown. How could anybody take him seriously?

Flying was not an option if she wanted to remain relatively inconspicuous; so she took a separate carriage that followed Emilia´s closely. The driver and two of Reinhard´s most experienced guards were the only personnel she brought with her. The reasons were simple:

Firstly, less staff would mean that Roswaal would have to provide for fewer guests which meant that her debt to him would be smaller than if she had brought a dozen meat-shields.

Secondly, the more unguarded she seemed, the easier would she gain trust, because she appeared like she was trusting them. A high security would cause suspicion and send the wrong signals.

Thirdly, even the best soldiers would be next to useless against a fighter who used magic. Her own experience proved as much. One combat mage equalled around two hundred ground troupes and that had been the truth in the empire! Tanya had no idea how powerful magicians in this world were. Especially Roswaal could possibly surpass even a group of veteran. So bringing more people who would die in seconds in any real confrontation was just plain stupid.

She could have brought Reinhard who was allegedly the best fighter in Lugnica, but he was the only one that she trusted to continue the training of her new battalion. He was a very good teacher who would polish her little investments until she would take over to put the finishing touches on them. Her 204th needed to be at peak fighting condition as soon as possible and no day could be allowed to go to waste just because she was absent.

The trip only took a few hours which was surprising when one considered the distance they had travelled. Ground dragons were an astonishingly fast method of transportation, but Tanya would have preferred a train. Perhaps she should introduce this country to the majesty of a national railroad system in the future? She filed that thought away for later evaluation.

Roswaal´s mansion was impressive to say the least. It might have been even bigger than the Astrea estate. The gardens were certainly bigger. Even the front lawn was big enough for multiple football fields. Odd, was only that when the maids presented themselves in the entrance hall there were only two of them. The pink one that had accompanied Emilia to the capital and a nearly identical looking one with blue hair. Were only two people in charge of keeping the mansion clean? Impossible.

"This is your room Lady Degurechaff. Lunch will be served in half an hour. I or my sister will come to notify when it is ready." said the blue one after she shown her the guest quarters

"Thank you kindly. If I am allowed to ask, how many servants are under Lord Roswaal´s employ?"

"Only myself and sister, Lady Degurechaff."

Tanya urgently wanted subordinates as capable as them. Only these two were in charge of the whole house? Magic was the only explanation.

Her room was big and richly decorated which she could appreciate after sleeping in muddy tents for years. Her bed looked delightfully soft which she was also very grateful for. She went to explore the adjoining room when she noticed it.

Something felt strange about that door. Without touching it, she knew that it radiated magical energy. Was it a trap? Carefully she applied a sound suppressing formula to her footsteps to not be noticed and strengthened her passive barrier into an active mage shield. In a flash she ripped open the door and was totally unprepared for what lay beyond.

A giant library was not what she had imagined her restroom to look like. Now that she thought about it... this room was too big to fit into this part of the mansion. It was geometrically impossible for a room this large to be behind the small door near the edge of the building. Was it magic? Could magic distort space? Were there more hidden rooms all around the mansion?

"What are you doing in Betty´s library, I suppose?"

Tanya had been so overwhelmed with the endless possibilities that such magic could create, that she had completely overlooked the little blond girl directly in front of her. Her attire looked incredibly ridiculous and the little crown on her head made her look like a spoilt princess. At least she read in here which was a good sign that the little girl tried to expand her mental horizons. Acquiring and refining one´s theoretical knowledge was important for any worker who took their career seriously. Not that the girl with her impractical haircut and absurd dress looked like she was making herself useful often.

But then other details were registering in Tanya´s magically enhanced brain. Those pupils... were they butterfly-shaped? No normal human had eyes like that. Was she a demi-human? None of the species she had seen in the capital matched the girl´s appearance. If she was indeed not human than her physical form did not necessarily dictate her age. "Betty" could be far older than the twelve or so years she had initially guessed. It was probably best to treat her with the same respect as an adult. Tanya herself was the best example that looks could be deceiving.

"Please forgive my sudden intrusion. I was on my way to a certain room when this door led me unexpectedly into this place. I am Tanya von Degurechaff, pleased to make your acquaintance Miss...?"

"Beatrice. You may address me as that. Now, why are you here? Are you a friend of the annoying elf girl perhaps?"

It seemed like these tow were not on the best of terms. Maybe she could exploit that.

"You could say that. I hope to do business with her in the future. For this reason I am going to stay for a week at this mansion."

"What is this strange magic you are using? Betty has never seen something like this. What element even is that, in fact?"

She had not dropped her mage shield yet so it would be only normal for the denizens of this world to be confused by imperial magic formulae. Still, she would not directly answer that question, because it would reveal too much. By evading it she could hopefully distract the girl.

"I have been told that I have an affinity for shadow."

"Mph... Let me see, I suppose."

The petite girl (she was smaller than Tanya, which gave her some satisfaction) stretched out her hand and touched her just above her heart. Suddenly she could feel some of her mana draining faster than normal. It was not much, especially for someone with as a large reserve like her, but it was noticeable. Was Beatrice absorbing mana from her?

"Are you sure your affinity is shadow?"

"Yes. Was the magician wrong? I hired a professional just for diagnosing me."

"He was not much of a professional then, I suppose. Mph."

"Was he wrong? Can´t I learn shadow magic?"

"No. The imbecile just forgot to notice that you have a talent for light magic as well."

Notes:

You could say that arc 2 has officially begun for Tanya .