Immediately after being asked, Vigdis tilted her head and stared blankly into the air.
I guess she was reading the description of [Iron-Blooded Steel Body] on her status screen.
Risi glanced at Vigdis, gauging her reaction. When Vigdis showed no sign of speaking up, Risi reluctantly offered her answer first.
“Well, my skill works in an additive way…”
“Then it would be best for Lady Risi to use her skill first before receiving a buff from Master Karbaldr.”
Fjodra reached that obvious conclusion from her words and turned her gaze toward me. It was likely a sign that if we were ever in battle, I shouldn’t just activate my buff skills blindly; I should first ask Risi if she had used her physical enhancement skill.
I nodded to indicate I understood, and Fjodra’s gaze shifted back to Vigdis.
“Lady Vigdis? What of your skill?”
“The description for [Iron-Blooded Steel Body] says, ‘The physical strength reinforced by the use of this skill is influenced by Defense.’ Does this mean that Defense increases in proportion to the existing value…?”
“That seems likely, does it not? If it were an additive calculation, it wouldn’t be described as being ‘influenced’ by the existing value.”
The premise was wrong. As far as I knew, Vigdis’s skill didn’t change the stats themselves.
“Then Lady Vigdis doesn’t need to worry about the order of skills—”
“Wait. I would like you to hold off on reaching a conclusion. There is something that is bothering me.” — I had to cut in before Fjodra could finish her sentence.
“What is it?”
“Just because Defense is high doesn’t mean the strength of the bones, flesh, and skin increases to become hard like metal, right? Therefore, this numerical value is merely an indicator of how much damage is reduced. However, Vigdis’s skill physically hardens the body. So…”
“So?”
When I trailed off, the Imperial Princess urged me on, repeating my last word as if telling me to hurry up and explain.
However, I could only stare silently at the person sitting next to me. To continue the explanation, I needed Vigdis’s cooperation, but it was impossible for me to speak to her first unless it was an unavoidable situation.
“……?”
“……”
“……Ah! Why?”
‘It was about time she immediately recalled Clause Four of the Disengagement Contract. Seeing this delay, my contractor must not have engraved that content into her head yet.’
“Vigdis. Use your skill and tell me how your stats changed on the status window.”
“Wait a moment. Um……, okay, done. Next to the Defense stat, there is a (+17) in parentheses.”
“As I thought…”
I had merely reconfirmed something I already knew from reading the original work. I muttered significantly and even nodded intentionally. I was acting as if it were a natural reaction to my hypothesis being proven correct.
“What do you mean?”
“Your skill merely reinforces physical strength. The number in the parentheses is the correction value for that; it doesn’t increase Defense itself. On the other hand, if my buff skill is applied, the stat itself changes.”
To prove this, I borrowed the Yeouiju from Yor and used the [Goyang] skill. I targeted everyone present, not just Vigdis. It would be easier to understand if they saw the numbers on their status windows change with their own eyes.
“I see. The value shown on the status window really did change. Is it the same when Lady Risi uses her skill?”
“….”
As if she had already realized what I was trying to say, Fjodra checked the way Risi’s skill was applied.
“The Aether stat is the same…”
“Well, obviously. I’ve never heard of a buff skill that increases someone else’s Aether capacity.”
Pret responded to Svein’s idle murmur, subtly dropping information about the world.
“Vigdis. Is there any change to the value in the parentheses?”
“No, none.”
“What is the stat change? Currently, my buff increases the existing value by 1.25 times. Is it higher than that?”
“It was originally 43, but it changed to 53.”
Forty-three multiplied by 1.25 results in 53.75, and since decimals are omitted on the status window, the calculation was correct. However……
“Do not carelessly reveal your own stats in a place where there are people you’ve only met for the first time today.”
“We are comrades who have to fight together anyway… Allies? Something like that, aren’t we?”
“Just because we’re on the same side doesn’t mean we can trust each other unconditionally, right? There is nothing more dangerous than an ally you cannot trust. They could drive a blade into your back at any moment.”
The traitor here would drive a spear into us instead of a sword, but in terms of the danger of dying if one wasn’t careful, it was the same thing.
“Anyway, back to the point. If the stats changed like that, it means my buff effect only applies to the value that doesn’t reflect the number in the parentheses. Now, deactivate [Iron-Blooded Steel Body] and use it again.”
“……Ah! The number in the parentheses got bigger!”
“Then you should activate your skill after I have applied the buff.”
“Yes, I should do that.”
After finishing my conversation with Vigdis, I turned my head toward Fjodra. A conclusion had already been reached, but since I had interrupted her, I felt like I should say something.
“The skill description didn’t say ‘Increases Defense,’ but used the expression ‘Influenced by Defense.’ I thought it would be best to clarify that.”
“Now that I hear it, the phrasing is indeed a bit subtle. You did very well.”
It would have been nice to end the conversation and leave then. Unfortunately, Fjodra brought up another agenda. One that made me very uncomfortable.
“By the way, Master Karbaldr, you said you and your familiar can make it rain with Sky-Blue Aether, right? If Master Svein can control the water created that way, he would be able to pour all the Aether and mental strength usually used for creating water into his attacks. Don’t you think that would allow for more efficient combat?”
Since I had said with my own mouth that Sky-Blue Aether could only make it rain, Fjodra was simply suggesting a way to utilize it in battle. However, I didn’t feel good about it. So much so that my brow furrowed automatically.
“Are you telling Yor and me to be water boys now?”
“I was merely speaking of efficiency. It’s to ensure the most stable combat possible.”
“I understand well that Your Highness is trying to establish various strategies, considering our Aether Attributes, out of a desire for us to be safe even after entering the Demonic Realm.”
“You understand, but you’re saying you’re displeased.”
In my case, it was because Svein was the traitor from the original work, and I hated the idea of giving him an advantage. If the real Karbaldr had heard this, he would have been genuinely enraged. He would have asked how she could possibly tell a direct descendant of a Dukedom to act as a water boy for a mere commoner.
“It wasn’t as if you brought it up without knowing I would feel this way, was it?”
Considering Fjodra’s personality, she was likely possessed by a sense of responsibility to lead everyone and ensure their safety. Thus, if there was a way to maximize the synergy of the students’ abilities, she would have decided to push for it even if it meant gaining their resentment.
‘But no matter how good the intentions are, this is ultimately no different from the Imperial Family’s behavior of organizing the Special Class while ignoring the students’ will!’
‘Is it a mindset unique to those who give orders from high positions?’
‘Or is it because the only thing she learned from the Imperial Family was a dictatorial attitude, and so Fjodra has been unwittingly tainted by it as well?’
“This isn’t a situation where we’re all discussing and coming up with ideas together. No, even if it were, finishing a thought in your own head and saying it’s better to do it this way isn’t a suggestion—it’s an order.”
The only reason I could say such things was because the status of the body I possessed was Karbaldr, a direct descendant of the Dukedom. In other words, the other students were in a position where they couldn’t voice a single complaint against Fjodra’s words and had no choice but to follow orders.
“Does Your Highness wish to dominate us through power? Or have you decided that if you act as the villain and take on all the resentment, we will become comrades who can bond tightly and rely on each other? If it’s the former, I have nothing to say. If it’s the latter, you’ve thought wrong.”
“Hmm…. First, I would like to hear your reason.”
She could have pushed back and accused me of being stubborn and hating to support a commoner because I was from a Dukedom. Instead, Fjodra requested an additional explanation without clarifying which side her judgment fell on. It seemed she had decided to listen to what I had to say in case she was missing something.
“It’s only because I am from the Dukedom that I can even say this. Others would never be able to show their dissatisfaction to Your Highness, and it’s a topic they’d be careful even talking about among themselves. If so, where would that resentment go?”
“Do you expect that resentment would be directed at those close to them?”
“Yes. Helping each other in difficult situations is only possible when there is hope that enduring it will allow one to escape the hardship. If not, sensitivity reaches its peak, and one ends up unwittingly raising thorns and hurting those close to them.”
While I spoke, Fjodra stared at my face with an intensity that was almost burdensome. Then, when it was her turn to speak, she said this:
“But how do you know such things?”
It was experience. Back when the bullying at school was at its peak, I found myself blaming my innocent mother. My mother, perhaps due to the stress from her job, would also get angry and say harsh things to me. After hurting each other like that, we would late realize our mistake and apologize.
However, we knew instinctively. Thorns that were driven too deep to be pulled out would occasionally make their presence known in a corner of our hearts and cause us pain.
A sudden regretful memory came to mind, making my heart ache, but I tried not to show it. I put on an arrogant expression and spoke.
“Isn’t that just human nature? This much is just common sense you learn naturally as you live.”
“Is that… so? Perhaps my vision was narrower than others’ because I only stayed inside the Imperial Palace. To think I didn’t know such common sense….”
Whether she believed me literally or not, Fjodra offered an embarrassed excuse. Then, she fell into deep thought for a long time. Suddenly, she looked up, checked the clock on the wall, and blurted out something unexpected.
“It might feel a bit early, but let’s go have dinner. All of us together, to promote friendship.”
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