As we traveled by carriage, I had Ada pass the time by attempting the 64-disk Tower of Hanoi.
The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle where you stack disks with holes onto three rods, but each disk must be larger than the one placed above it.
If you’ve ever played Professor Layton, you’d get it, so go buy it.
And thirty minutes later…
“…Um, Exus-sama?”
“Oh? What is it?”
“This puzzle… it’s not going to end, is it…?”
“Not quite! It’s not eternal!”
“So…?”
“If you move one disk per second, it would take about 500 billion years!”
“I knew it!”
“Haha, it’s good you realized that. Well then, let me explain how this puzzle works. It’s like this…”
………………
…………
……
“That’s why. By the way, this is known as a Mersenne number. Got it?”
“Yes! …Ugh, what was all that time for then?”
“Well, you figured it out in thirty minutes, didn’t you?”
“Yes…”
As I patted Ada’s head, we continued our journey by carriage.
Now that I think about it, there are two carriages, each pulled by two horses and large enough to carry about six people.
One carriage carries us, while the other carries supplies.
Two guards on horseback accompany us as well.
In this world, horses are as expensive as cars in modern Japan, so this treatment is honestly quite luxurious.
For a low-ranking knight’s son like me to travel with the same treatment as an ordinary noble… I’m grateful.
I should send my teacher a new game once it’s finished.
So, with that, we’ve completed more than half of our journey.
We’re now less than a month away from the royal capital.
And then…
“Whoa, what’s that?”
“It looks like a carriage is being attacked by a group of orcs.”
The carriage I’m riding in is a fairly decent one for guests of the Count of Carranheit , but the one under attack is a splendid four-horse noble’s carriage.
It’s made of high-quality walnut wood with carvings by a renowned craftsman, adorned with gold thread decorations and a crest on the canopy.
Seeing that crest, I immediately recognized the owner of the carriage.
I don’t know the crests of minor knights like us, but I’ve been taught the crests of high-ranking nobles.
The crest on this carriage is…
The crown above the shield signifies high nobility, and the helmet signifies nobility.
The shield is supported by Jormungand, the serpent said to support the world.
The shield itself is yellow with a silver tower, and the motto engraved reads, “Strong in body and mind.”
There’s no mistake.
“This is the crest of the House of Klein, one of the most prestigious families!”
The House of Klein.
A historical family of earth mages since the founding of the kingdom, said to rival the royal family in martial power.
I recall this area is the territory of the House of Klein.
Then…
“Pop, ‘Metal Bullet,’ output, front!”
An iron bullet pierces an attacking orc!
Indeed, the occupant of the carriage is a mage!
A girl, likely around my age, jumps out of the carriage and fights the orcs.
She’s probably a fellow student heading to the academy.
With sunburned skin, red hair, and brown eyes, she continues chanting with her high-pitched childlike voice.
“Pop, ‘Metal Blade,’ output, front!”
A rotating saw blade shoots out with a whistling sound, gouging the orc’s flesh.
“Pigiiii!!!”
An orc’s scream. Its limbs are severed.
For the record, orcs are formidable enemies.
Over 2 meters tall, with muscles and fat that would make a pro wrestler flee barefoot, and bear-like bones and skin, they’re hideous humanoids.
They’re also intelligent, wielding thick clubs as big as a woman’s torso or weapons stolen from humans.
Ordinary people wouldn’t stand a chance against them.
They probably have combat abilities on par with my despicable father.
Even though my father can’t use magic, he can manipulate mana unconsciously to enhance his physical abilities, and with his daily training, his combat skills are on par with elite soldiers.
In other words, orcs are as strong as elite soldiers.
And yet, this girl, about twelve years old like me, is handling multiple orcs by herself.
It’s brutal, but this is a mage’s power.
No matter how strong my father’s combat skills are, on the battlefield, he’d be nothing more than a target for a mage like this girl.
It’s sad.
Now, the red-haired, tanned twin-tailed brat continues chanting rapidly.
She has considerable mana, enduring this assault for five minutes without any sign of fatigue.
A mage’s mana is generally proportional to the number of spells they can use, so she must be quite capable.
Five minutes may seem short, but holding the front line alone for that long is truly extraordinary.
Facing dozens of orcs, each as strong as ten ordinary soldiers, this is like a tactical weapon!
But she’s starting to get overwhelmed.
There are too many orcs.
“This is strange…”
Ada muttered beside me.
“Indeed.”
I replied.
What’s going on?
Hmm, let’s see.
Monsters.
When you think of monsters, you might imagine terrifying beasts that attack relentlessly without fear.
But in reality…
Monsters are just creatures with magic stones inside them, behaving no differently from animals.
They’re just strong and smart enough to choose to attack humans and steal from them.
What? Smart creatures should avoid humans? No way, humans have tasty livestock and crops, and convenient weapons and tools. Of course, they’d attack.
However, being smart means they’d flee from strong humans.
In short, these orcs should be fleeing after taking so much damage…
But these orcs are attacking as if they’re sacrificing themselves…
Something’s not right.
