Recaps

Claire inspected lakes as possible reserves for the dried-up river and devised a magical Water Pump to move lake water into the riverbed. After Claire, Isaac, and Teklin built it, the Minotaurs dug a trench, and the pump began sending water toward the dry riverbed.

• Claire inspected lakes near the riverbed and concluded that their water could sustain the villages for fifteen to twenty days, but needed a way to move it uphill.
• Claire proposed making a Water Pump, and she, Isaac, and Teklin spent the night designing and building a magical version powered by Magic Ore.
• Claire sent Regan out with the Water Cloud Beast to help water the villages while the pump was being built.
• Claire recruited Iron Hammer and the Minotaurs to dig a trench from a lake to the riverbed and had the villages block the riverbed to retain the water.
• Isaac activated the Water Pump, and lake water flowed through the trench toward the dry riverbed as Iron Hammer praised Claire.

Claire oversaw the delivery of water to a village and explained to Isaac why she cared for her subjects. After learning that Rona had advanced to Intermediate Mage by eating a Black Seed fruit, Claire examined the remaining fruits and found one that seemed especially powerful.

• Regan urged the exhausted Water Cloud Beast to help water another village, and villagers cheered when the water arrived and filled their storage pools and fields.
• Claire told Isaac that providing for her subjects was her duty and that she believed Nafu City would bring greater returns in the future.
• Claire sent the sleeping Water Cloud Beast back to the Baronial Manor and went to see Rona, who had advanced to Intermediate Mage after eating a fruit from the Black Seed.
• Rona told Claire the tree had borne six fruits, with five remaining, and Claire noticed one fruit was much larger than the others and made her magic power stir when she touched it.

Claire ate a magical fruit that transformed her body and increased her magic power, apparently allowing her to advance. When Count Grein’s steward brought back three tortured knights and threatened Claire over the iodized salt formula, Claire subdued him and declared the knights were his family.

• Claire ate the fruit, felt her body and magic power transform, and confirmed with Rona that its effects could also benefit knights who cultivated Battle Aura.
• Claire returned to the Baronial Manor and ordered Hant to investigate when Kellan and the other knights failed to return from their mission.
• Regan reported that Bill, Count Grein’s steward, had arrived with three knights from Claire’s territory.
• Bill demanded the iodized salt formula and threatened to cut off Claire’s territory’s water, then presented Kellan and the others as captured bandits, visibly wounded and tortured.
• Claire suppressed Bill and his knights with an invisible force, while Hant freed Kellan and the others.
• Claire took a sword, confronted Bill, and called the tortured knights his subjects and family before stepping on Bill’s hand.

Claire tortured Bill, learned that Count Grein had blocked Griffin Barony’s water supply to force her to surrender the Iodized Salt formula, and declared war on Count Grein’s Barony. After Bill fled, Claire ordered treatment for her knights and began preparing for the battle in three days.

• Claire severed one of Bill’s arms, burned it, and wounded his other shoulder while demanding to know why Count Grein’s Barony had cut off Griffin Barony’s water.
• Bill admitted that Count Grein wanted Claire to hand over the Iodized Salt production process and formula, but Claire rejected negotiation and stabbed him through a parchment declaration of war before healing the wound.
• Claire declared war on Count Grein’s Barony and set the battle for three days later, while Hant executed the captured knights who had attacked her men.
• Bill fled with the declaration still lodged in his chest, and Claire ordered her injured knights taken to Doctor Rona for treatment.
• Claire told Regan to gather intelligence on Count Grein’s Barony by the next day, and Isaac offered to help in the war in exchange for Claire’s promise to build an airship with him.

Claire visited Kellan in the hospital and helped him regain the courage to remain her knight and fight in the coming battle. She gave Kellan and Hant rare fruits that advanced Kellan from Bronze to Silver Knight and caused Hant’s Battle Aura to surge.

• Kellan told Hant and Rona that he felt useless and wanted to go home and quit being a knight, while Hant struggled to comfort him.
• Claire arrived and told Kellan that his capture was expected for a Bronze Knight, that she had fought to defend him, and that she ordered him to pull himself together for the battle in three days.
• Kellan agreed to fight for Claire, and she gave him a fruit that caused him to break through from Bronze Knight to Silver Knight.
• Claire gave Hant another fruit, and his Battle Aura began growing rapidly after he ate it.

Claire used a Great Strength Pill to help Hant break through to Gold Rank and gave him two magical fruits for the territory’s strongest knights. After learning that Count Grein’s Barony had over three hundred knights equipped with enchanted armor, she went to the northern blacksmith shop to commission weapons.

• Hant reached the peak of Silver Rank but failed to break through, so Claire gave him a Great Strength Pill that pushed him into Gold Rank.
• Claire gave Hant two remaining magical fruits to pass on to the territory’s two best knights, and Hant told Kellan to rest before resuming training.
• Regan reported that Count Grein’s Barony had more than three hundred knights, likely including Gold Rank knights, and equipped them with enchanted armor.
• Claire told Regan to train spies after the battle and went to the blacksmith shop in the north district.
• Claire asked Teklin and Isaac to make weapons, interrupting Teklin’s promised days off.

Claire prepared Nafu City’s forces for war by testing the Nether Spirit Lamp’s brief ghostly protection and teaching the knights guerrilla tactics. She led them out of the city toward battle, leaving the citizens watching and the young boys inspired to become knights.

• Claire learned that Hant’s force consisted of one Gold Rank knight, three Silver Rank knights, and fifty-six Bronze Knights, then used the Nether Spirit Lamp to make them temporarily immune to physical attacks.
• Claire explained that the knights’ ghostly state lasted only seconds and taught them to retreat, harass, attack when enemies tired, and pursue withdrawing foes.
• Claire left the forged weapons with the knights, had Rona help her make Healing Potions, and marked Kellan and the Gale Wolves with the Nether Spirit Lamp.
• Claire led the mounted knights through Nafu City as citizens gathered to watch and boys said they dreamed of becoming knights.
• Outside the city gates, Claire turned the wolf king toward the citizens as they waited for her to speak.

Claire led the people of Nafu City and sixty knights toward Count Grein's Barony, then discovered enemy troops had already entered the area. She concealed her force and followed the larger enemy group, waiting to learn more before attacking.

• Claire rallied the residents by explaining Count Grein's Barony's wrongs, and the crowd and knights shouted their support for victory.
• Claire led the sixty knights west, and Isaac learned they had departed a day early to scout and prepare for an advantage.
• At the border, Claire's Water Cloud Beast detected nearly four hundred enemy troops moving toward them.
• Claire hid her knights and Isaac on high ground as the enemy passed, then signaled her force to follow them from a distance.

Claire led Griffin Barony’s knights in a probe against Count Grein’s Barony, using scrolls and a surprise charge to test the enemy’s defenses. The knights broke through the lance formation with Claire’s ghostification, and Claire and Isaac prepared to join the battle.

• Claire confirmed the enemy had no reinforcements in ambush, assessed their strength with Isaac, and planned a probing attack.
• Claire ambushed the enemy force of more than four hundred with two Level Four Magic Scrolls, while a High Mage blocked the spells with defensive scrolls.
• Hant led the knights of Griffin Barony into a charge, and their Gale Wolves’ wind blades knocked down enemy knights before Silver Knights blocked the attack.
• When Count Grein’s Barony formed a lance wall, Claire used the Nether Spirit Lamp to turn Hant’s charging knights ghostly and let them pass through the formation.
• Claire ended the ghostification and equipped the knights with Meteor Hammers, which they used to knock enemy soldiers from their mounts as Hant engaged a Gold Knight.
• Claire turned to Isaac, who activated four revolving diamond-shaped metal blocks, and told him it was their turn.

Claire and Isaac fought three enemy mages in the air, with Isaac’s Magic Power Defense Array Armor blocking attacks while they gained the upper hand. Below, Griffin Territory’s knights were overwhelmed and Hant was badly wounded against three Gold Knights, so Claire left Isaac to help them.

• Isaac used his Magic Power Defense Array Armor to block an enemy mage’s Multiple Ice Cones, then joined Claire in fighting the three mages.
• Claire battled one mage with Flame Burst and Whirlwind spells, while stray Wind Blades nearly struck Isaac.
• Isaac held off two mages with his defensive armor, and Claire forced her opponent back as they gained the advantage.
• The enemy knights surrounded Griffin Territory’s forces, while three Gold Knights wounded Hant and drove him onto the defensive.
• Claire saw the knights in danger, knocked back her opponent, and told Isaac she was going down to help.

Claire coordinated the fight against three High Mages and several knights, helping turn the battle around with spells, a potion, and buffs. After Isaac killed one High Mage with the handgun, Claire ordered her exhausted forces to retreat.

• Claire gave Isaac a Magic Handgun and told him to kill the strongest High Mage while she went to help Hant.
• Claire drove off an attacker, then rescued Hant from three Gold Knights and restored his strength with a Bloodlust Potion.
• Claire fought alongside Hant with spells and buffs, while Isaac held off two High Mages and the youths struggled against the surrounding knights.
• Kellan fought three Silver Knights at once, but the other youths began to tire and suffer serious injuries.
• Isaac shot and killed one High Mage, prompting the other two to retreat behind defensive spells.
• Claire ordered the knights to retreat before the battle could wipe out Nafu City's remaining forces.

Claire and Griffin Barony's knights escaped Count Grein's forces, then turned their retreat into a counterattack using crossbows and the Water Cloud Beast's flammable rain. The enemy formation caught fire, leaving the battle in chaos.

• Claire used the Nether Spirit Lamp to make Griffin Barony's knights ghostly, and Hant led them through the encirclement while Claire and Isaac covered their retreat.
• Count Grein's leading Gold Knight ordered the High Mages to pursue Claire's force and stall them until the knights could attack.
• Claire signaled her knights to fire penetrating bolts at the pursuing force, killing or disabling twenty to thirty knights before the High Mages scattered a second volley with wind magic.
• Claire had the Water Cloud Beast soak the pursuing force with an unusual rain, then turned Griffin Barony's knights around to prepare a counterattack.
• Claire's fireballs were intercepted by enemy spells, but the falling sparks ignited the soaked knights and their mounts across Count Grein's formation.

Claire and Viscount Griffin’s knights routed Count Grein’s forces in their first battle, suffering no deaths. After withdrawing to avoid a desperate counterattack, Claire treated the wounded and prepared the group for the next fight.

• Hant ordered Kellan and the lance-wielding knights to charge while Claire and Isaac kept the High Mages from interfering.
• Kellan and the knights broke through Count Grein’s disorganized, burning ranks, and the enemy soldiers fled.
• Claire stopped the Gold Knight from counterattacking, and he ordered his troops to retreat as Viscount Griffin’s knights pursued them.
• Claire halted the chase after more than ten miles and ordered her knights to withdraw; Isaac returned without having killed the fleeing High Mages.
• At camp, Claire treated the wounded with Healing Potions and ointments, then warned Kellan to fight more carefully.

Claire and Isaac launched a midnight ambush on Count Grein's Barony after scouting its camp. Isaac's fourth-tier spell struck the camp's knights, while the enemy mages were driven away from the battle.

• Claire ordered the knights of Griffin Barony to rest before attacking Count Grein's camp at midnight.
• Count Grein berated his defeated forces and promised to bring Archmage Hughs to help them.
• Claire led the knights to the enemy camp while she and Isaac hid inside the Water Cloud Beast.
• Claire fired her Magic Handgun at the two enemy mages as Isaac opened a fourth-tier spell scroll.
• Hant led the charging knights into the camp, and Isaac's fireballs crashed down on Count Grein's knights.

Claire and Isaac helped Griffin Barony defeat Count Grein's Barony, killing one High Mage as the other fled. Isaac and Claire continued pursuing the survivor while Hant chased a fleeing Gold Knight.

• The fourth-tier fire spell killed half of Count Grein's Barony's knights, and Griffin Barony's knights routed the survivors.
• Claire killed two Gold Knights with the Magic Handgun while Hant drove another Gold Knight to flee.
• Isaac revealed that the gunfire had come from Claire, and he and Claire pursued the two High Mages.
• Claire and Isaac caught one mage after his companion trapped him behind Wind Walls, and Claire shot him dead.
• Isaac and Claire continued chasing the remaining mage.

Claire and Isaac faced Archmage Hughs after Count Grein's forces suffered heavy losses, and Claire tried to negotiate their way out of the conflict. Hughs agreed to spare their lives for Isaac's teacher's sake but still intended to serve Grein, giving Claire and Isaac three moves before he attacked.

• Claire signaled Kellan to retreat, and Grein's remaining knights survived as Claire and Isaac confronted Grein and his allies.
• Grein learned that many of his knights and several high-level fighters had died, then rejected Claire's offer to settle the conflict over the Iodized Salt formula.
• Grein asked Archmage Hughs, a Necromancy System mage, to handle Claire and Isaac.
• Hughs recognized Isaac as a student of his old friend Duke Barnett and agreed to spare their lives, leaving their fate to Grein.
• Claire offered Hughs more money to stand aside, but Grein dismissed the offer, and Hughs gave Claire and Isaac three moves before he would attack.

Claire and Isaac faced Archmage Hughs, who effortlessly stopped their Magic Bullets, until Claire loaded a costly golden bullet that pierced his shield and killed him. With Count Grein left helpless on the ground, Claire ordered him not to move.

• Claire fired her Magic Bullets at Hughs, but he stopped the first shot and then suspended six more bullets in the air.
• Claire replaced the revolver's bullets with a golden round, which Isaac suspected was his expensive design.
• Hughs raised a fourth-level Force Field Shield, but Claire's golden bullet pierced it and struck his heart.
• Hughs died and Count Grein fell from the sky, while Isaac confirmed the Archmage's death and celebrated their victory.
• Count Grein tried to flee, but Claire warned him not to move or she would shoot, and he froze in terror.

Claire forced Count Grein to surrender and sign a contract ceding a mining-rich tract of his barony to Griffin Barony. After securing the deal, she flew with Isaac to search Archmage Xius's corpse for loot.

• Claire let the fleeing High Mage escape and confronted Count Grein, threatening him with her pistol as she demanded land in exchange for peace.
• Claire marked a tract containing two iron mines, a copper mine, and a coking coal mine, then invoked Noble Law to pressure Count Grein into surrendering.
• Count Grein agreed to cede the territory and signed Claire's prepared Contract Scroll, making the agreement official.
• Claire waved Count Grein off and told Isaac the mines would earn far more under her management than they had under his.
• Claire flew toward Archmage Xius's fallen body, and Isaac followed, eager to loot it.

Claire secretly offered Archmage Hughs an introduction to the August Family in exchange for faking his death, allowing him to escape Count Grein’s service. After Isaac learned the plan, he hinted that he might have prepared a similar trick of his own as they flew toward Nafu City.

• Isaac tried to loot Hughs’s body, but Hughs revived and revealed that the bullet had not killed him.
• Claire and Hughs’s earlier Mental Connection revealed that she had offered him a chance to join the August Family if he pretended to die.
• Hughs agreed to fake his death, let Claire’s bullet pierce his heart, and conceal his life force as he fell from the sky.
• Claire explained the deal to Isaac, and Hughs flew toward Nafu City.
• Isaac worried about what they would have done if Hughs had refused, while Claire suggested Isaac might have prepared a secret plan too.

Claire gave Archmage Hughs a letter of introduction to Countess Sophia and watched him teleport away. He then sent Regan and the barony’s knights to Cosi City to negotiate the mine handover, while Count Grein planned to delay the transfer and seek a way to reclaim the land.

• Claire gave Hughs a letter for Sophia and falsely claimed she had coveted his body, warning him to keep the story secret.
• Hughs promised to keep Claire’s story quiet, then vanished using short-range teleportation.
• Claire sent Regan, Isaac, Hant, and the barony’s knights to negotiate the handover of Count Grein’s mines.
• Regan’s party arrived at Cosi City, where the gate guards panicked at the sight of the knights before Regan announced they had come to negotiate peace.
• Count Grein ordered his butler Bill to delay the handover while he looked for a way to take back the land.

Regan led Griffin Barony’s delegation into Cosi City to demand territory and compensation, mocking Count Grein’s city and manor along the way. At dinner, Bill tried to delay the handover by invoking the Lixis Merchant Guild, and Regan slammed his hand onto the table.

• Regan greeted Butler Bill with mockery and declared that Griffin Barony had come to demand territory and compensation.
• Regan criticized Cosi City’s dirty streets, residents, child labor, and beggars as he and the others traveled to the count’s manor.
• Regan explained to Isaac that he had been nervous about failing Claire’s trust, not about Count Grein, and that victory justified acting arrogantly.
• Count Grein directed Regan to negotiate with Bill, who said the Lixis Merchant Guild needed time to withdraw from the four mines before the territory could be handed over.
• Regan spat out the steak, rejected Bill’s excuse, and slammed his hand onto the table.

Regan, Isaac, and Hant forced Count Grein to agree to transfer the mining territory to Griffin Barony within three days and pay 203,000 Gold Coins. They left Cosi City in high spirits, while Count Grein was left furious.

• Regan rejected Bill’s request for more time and demanded that Count Grein’s people withdraw from the territory within three days.
• Regan demanded 200,000 Gold Coins for battle expenses, and Isaac and Hant backed him as Count Grein threatened them with Battle Aura.
• Count Grein agreed to pay the compensation and signed the contract transferring the territory once Claire stamped it.
• Regan also demanded 3,000 Gold Coins for the dagger Claire had used to stab Bill, and Count Grein agreed to include it in the payment.
• Regan admitted the dagger was worth only a few Silver Coins, then he, Isaac, and Hant rode cheerfully toward the city gate.

Claire rejected the Lixis Merchant Guild’s offer to mine her four newly acquired mines and arranged to buy its equipment and hire specialists instead. After Lord Molton left, Claire asked Regan how the public notices she had posted were doing.

• Claire met Lord Molton, who offered favorable contracts for the guild to mine the four mines and buy their ore at market price.
• Claire declined the contracts and said she planned to operate the mines herself.
• Claire offered two hundred thousand Gold Coins for the guild’s mining equipment and asked it to leave specialists to help her run the mines.
• Molton accepted the deal and promised to send a new contract the next day.
• Claire returned to the manor, told herself she wanted to build her own merchant guild, and asked Regan how the posted notices were doing.

After residents struggled to understand Claire’s business-loan notices, Regan explained the program and organized a flood of applications. He stayed up late sorting candidates, and Claire brought him and the Steward’s Office staff dinner as the work continued.

• Residents crowded around the notices but could not understand them, so Regan arrived to explain Claire’s loan and business-support program.
• Regan told residents they could apply for zero-interest loans, receive business guidance, and benefit from low taxes and other assistance.
• Many residents applied at the Steward’s Office, where Regan and the staff sorted applications and prioritized local merchants and promising business plans.
• Regan reviewed the applications until after midnight and reported the selections to Claire, who praised his work and brought dinner for the staff.
• After Claire left, Regan invited the clerks to eat, and they eagerly devoured the food.

After Count Grein’s defeat became widely known, his reputation suffered while people in nearby territories admired Nafu City’s knights. A merchant from Nafu City then found that the Griffin Barony’s victory had changed how Cosi City’s people treated him, and he proudly celebrated his allegiance to Claire.

• Count Grein learned that news of his defeat and reparations had spread, and he raged but decided not to challenge Claire again.
• Residents of Cosi City felt ashamed of their defeat, while people in other territories grew curious about Nafu City and its knights.
• A merchant caravan from Nafu City arrived at Cosi City, and the gate knights waived its entrance fee after recognizing the Griffin Barony’s flag.
• The merchant bought goods at a lower price than before as the shop owner treated him deferentially.
• The merchant declared his pride in being a subject of the Griffin Barony and praised the viscount.