That evening, Erza's birthday party was held in the hall of the guest house.

The guests of honor were Erza, her cousin Reinhardt, Count Kuzma, Bina, and Jin.

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There was also Meine, the nanny, Adberg, the butler, and Hermann, the guard.

"Thank you all for coming today."

Elsa, dressed in a young grass-colored dress, greets the guests briefly.

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Then Count Kuzma, on behalf of the others,

"Happy birthday, Miss Elsa! Cheers!"

The toast was proposed. Glasses are raised and clinked.

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And they all present gifts.

"Happy 17th, Elsa!"

Reinhardt gave a pendant with a large aquamarine stone. Of course, he bought it in Borgia, the capital of the Kingdom of Elias.

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At that time it was just a round polished cabochon, but now Reinhardt cut it and it is shining brightly.

"Thank you, brother Rai."

Erza's eyes narrowed and she looked happy. She immediately puts it on a chain and hangs it around her neck. The color of her dress matches the color of the chain.

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"Congratulations, Miss Elsa!"

Count Kuzma presented her with a perfume. It is a citran fragrance, which Elsa loves. It is not a strong fragrance, but a subtle refreshing scent.

"Thank you, Count."

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Elsa takes a little out and puts it behind her ear. The faint fragrance is pleasant.

"Happy birthday, Elsa."

Jin gave her a brooch. It is made of mithril silver and is studded with colorful stones.

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Erza received it with a slight downcast look, but the beauty of the shape and color made her open her mouth, which she had been keeping shut.

It is beautiful. Is this a magi crystal?

"Yes. They're too small to be practical, but they have all the attributes of magi scattered throughout."

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The shape of the crystal is also magnificent. The entire piece is made of mithril silver, but the flowers and buds are coated with gold, and the leaves surrounding them are coated with light silver, giving them a greenish color.

The drops of dew on the flowers were represented by colorful magi crystals.

"Lovely. I'll treasure it."

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Jin said to Erza, who clutched the brooch to her chest,

"Actually, I made it, but the design was guided by that ...... stearina," he said honestly.

He said honestly. Hearing this from Jin's mouth, Erza understood what he meant last night. Then she said,

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"No, this is from Jin's heart. Thank you."

He smiled at her and said, "Thank you.

Bina gave him a bouquet of flowers. She had asked her maid of honor to buy them for her.

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"Thank you, Bina. I wish you and the Count all the best.

When Erza said this to Beena, Beena blushed and looked down, and Count Kuzma looked a little embarrassed.

Count Kuzma also looked a little embarrassed. And Hermann also had a handkerchief, which made all three of them flustered,

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"Thank you, everyone. You can never have too many handkerchiefs. I'm glad."

Elsa said and bailed.

Reinhardt saw this and nodded happily.

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The rest of the dinner followed. Meine, who knew Erza's tastes, prepared the menu in collaboration with the cooks of the guest house.

Elsa was very happy and ate deliciously because she liked all of her favorite foods.

Who could not feel the warmth in her face?

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After the meal was over, they were chatting in harmony over a cup of after-dinner tea,

"Well, Elsa, I have a special gift for you today.

Reinhardt said and handed a long, thin package. It was about 40 centimeters long and a little heavy.

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"Thank you. What's this?

"Well, open it."

Elsa opened the package as she was told. Her hand stops and her eyes widen.

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Out of the package emerges a dagger with a golden sheath and a golden handle. The scabbard is elaborately decorated and covered with colorful magic stones. On the hilt was a small but light blue magi crystal, the same color as Erza's eyes.

"Is this ......?"

You were interested in it before, weren't you?

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"Yes. I wanted something like the dagger my mother cherished.

To Erza's reply, Reinhard said,

"Yes. That's the one Jin made for me."

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"What?"

Erza's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Gin asked me if it was okay to give a knife to a girl for her birthday. That's what I call mature consideration.

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"Jin, you ........."

Jin was embarrassed and looked down when she said that. Erza walked up to Jin and said

"Thank you, Jin-kun.

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She bowed her head and went back to her seat. But she did not sit down in her chair, but held a sword in her hand,

"I'm going to pull it out."

With that, he pulled out a dagger.

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"Oh!"

"How brilliant!"

Count Kuzma and his escort, Hermann. It seems that these two understood the value of the dagger. No, the steward, Adberg, also understood its value, but he barely uttered a sound.

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The dagger is about 3 cm wide at the base. The blade is about 30 centimeters wide at the base, gradually becoming thinner toward the tip, with a sharp edge.

The tsubaku, hilt, and scabbard are gold in color, which is due to the coloring of light silver. The magi crystals on the pommel are small, but they are clear and beautiful.

"Mithril?"

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Erza seems to have an idea of what it is made of. A person with magical powers would know that the sword is capable of transmitting magic power and serves the same function as a staff.

For a mage, a wand is a very useful item for directing and focusing magic.

But it is difficult to give a sword the properties of a wand. Hard mithril silver is difficult for magic to pass through, and mithril silver is soft.

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However, the sword Jin had made was hard enough to allow magic to pass through, and seemed to be strong enough to be used as a sword.

But..,

"Elsa, a sword is not a weapon for a noblewoman to kill her enemies. Remember that."

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Reinhardt spoke to her in an unusually calm tone of voice.

"...... brother Rai?"

"For a noblewoman, the sword is the last vestige of dignity she has to protect. You can pull it out only when you really, really do not want to bend your will.

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"......?"

"You still don't understand it well. But that's okay. Someday you will understand it naturally. And when you do, I want you to remember my words."

"Yes, brother Rai. Okay. Thank you."

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Elsa thanked him honestly. To be honest, she understood what she was saying, but she was far from understanding. But she understood that her cousin had told her something important, and she promised herself that she would not forget his words.

"............"

And those words were not only in Elsa's mind, but also in the mind of her nanny, Meine.

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When she did not want to bend her will. Twice before, she had given in to violence the first time and to power the second.

I am not an aristocrat. So it can't be helped, she tried to think so, but Reinhardt's words strangely stuck in her mind.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

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"I see that you have received detailed information.

Yes, a pigeon arrived this morning.

And how did it go?

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Yes, it seems there's a golem with extraordinary power.

Not the black knight Schwarzlitter?

Yes, we have already investigated the power of the Black Knight (Schwarzritter). The thing that slaughtered most of the runaway golems this time has more than five times the power of the black knight (Schwartzritter).

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"What?　Are you sure?

"Yes. However, I don't think a golem with that kind of power can move for a long time. I suspect that it is designed for short term combat using eladrites.

"Hmmm... You're right, you've already analyzed it. And the prospect of making a better golem.

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Yes, sir.

You are indeed the genius I knew you would be.