[V6 Bonus 2] Ohlendorf
Translated by Jodas 6: Secrets of the Wedge TowerClassical Magecraft’s famous Ohlendorf Family sent its most talented mages to the Wedge Tower.
These days, it was Modern Magecraft that dominated the Empire, and in certain regions, their magic was considered heretical. As a result, the Wedge Tower was one of the only places where Classical mages could wield any actual power.
To join the Wedge Tower’s Extermination Office and defeat countless Monsters was to bring honor and fame to their family.
That was the identity of the Ohlendorf family in the present day.
Roswitha Ohlendorf never knew the face of her father. This was not unusual in the Ohlendorf Family.
Since Classical mages were occasionally considered heretics, Ohlendorf women would often conceal their identity as they took a lover in the outside world. Then, once they were pregnant with his child, they would leave that man and return to the Ohlendorf household.
This was a reasonably common tale throughout the older mage families, so Roswitha never saw it as a reason to doubt the ways of the Ohlendorfs.
When she grew older, she assumed it would be a matter of course for her to follow the Ohlendorf traditions by conceiving a child and abandoning the man to return to the Ohlendorf household.
And Roswitha’s mother, Leona, was the most talented witch in the entire Ohlendorf Family.
While the word ‘witch’ held different meaning depending on the region, in the Empire it usually referred to a woman who used Classical Magecraft. Practitioners of Modern Magecraft were not often called ‘witches’ here.
In a neighboring country, where a certain ancient family of witches maintained their influence to the present, it appears that the word ‘witch’ had expanded to refer to any female mage, but if you asked Roswitha, she would tell you that custom was nothing short of offensive.
A ‘witch’ was a special title.
She swore to her heart that she would someday become a witch in her own right and fight at the Wedge Tower like her mother had.
When Roswitha was seven years old, an incident occurred.
Her mother, who had deployed for the Wedge Tower, had been injured and returned to their home.
Apparently her mother had fought a Monster known as the Primordial Beast and been gravely wounded.
On top of that, a massive, X-shaped scar now marred her mother’s beautiful face. It was clear at a glance that this scar had been made on purpose.
“Mama, why…?”
Her mother, who always answered her with a smile overflowing with confidence, now hung her head with a dark expression. The traces of tears were evident under her eyes.
Roswitha sprang forward to embrace her mother. However, one of her relatives grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away.
“You can’t. You should not touch Leona.”
“Why!? I’m Mama’s daughter…!”
“I’ve told you before. Those who’ve been marked my Monsters will attract more Monsters. We must keep them quarantined.”
Among Monsters, there were some who applied marks to prey they favored. The scar on Roswitha’s mother’s face was one such mark.
The Primordial Beast liked strong fighters, and it would make scars on those peoples’ faces out of a desire to fight them again.
However, such customs of Monsters were nothing but a nuisance from the perspective of humans.
The Wedge Tower would never drive away a capable fighter just because they have been marked.
But, certain families with long held traditions — For instance, prominent Classical Magecraft families or Monster Hunting Families — treat marked people with disdain, believing they attract Monster attacks.
With evidence of losing against a Monster clear as day, it would be a dishonor to allow such a person to continue representing them at the Wedge Tower. Therefore, the Ohlendorfs force marked individuals to return home and isolate them in a detached cabin.
Some Monster Hunting Families are even more extreme, going as far as to kill marked individuals with their own hands or using them as bait to lure out Monsters.
Monster Hunting Families did not have the luxury of crossing the Wall, so driving such people to the other side was not an option.
(Yeah, I read about that in books, but… But, it can’t be….!)
Roswitha took pride in her family and in Classical Magecraft.
However, prominent Classical Magecraft families came with all sorts of incomprehensible baggage.
She knew somewhere in her mind that an outside observer would see their tradition of seeking outside lovers and their rule of isolating the marked as unreasonable. Nevertheless, she stopped thinking about it too hard by convincing herself ‘I’m an Ohlendorf! This stuff is only natural for a Classical Magecraft family!’
Her relatives surrounded her mother and dragged her off somewhere else.
Then, for the first time, Roswitha understood just how unreasonable all of this truly was.
“No! Don’t take Mama away! Mama!! Mamaaaaa!!!”
A week had passed since Roswitha’s mother was isolated in a detached cabin.
The cabin was a horrid living environment to which an attendant would only visit once in a while. It was said that those living there would not live for long. In reality, her relatives were probably hoping that she would just die off sooner rather than later.
Roswitha had tried to slip past the eyes of the adults around her and sneak off to see her mother. However, the adults of the Ohlendorf Family would not allow this, and saddled Roswitha with an insurmountable list of assignments.
“You’ve got talent. Make sure you don’t end up like Leona.”
All of the adults said the same thing.
(Why!? Mama is the most amazing Ohlendorf there is! Mama has fought so many Monsters in the name of the Ohlendorfs! In the name of the Empire! Why does she have to be treated like this!?)
Even then, the thought ‘I hate this family, I’m gonna run away!’ never passed through Roswitha’s mind.
From her very first memories, she had always been taught that Classical Magecraft was a wonderful thing.
She was always told that she had talent. That she would become an outstanding Classical mage.
She had always dreamed of becoming a mage like her mother.
……How could she turn her back on that life now?
Without abandoning her pride as an Ohlendorf, nor averting her eyes from the irrationality of her family, she spent those days feeling as if her heard was about to tear itself apart. Then, one day, visitors came to the Ohlendorf household.
A tall silver-haired man and a large old woman with braided white hair.
The man was in his thirties — about the same age as Roswitha’s mother. He wore a mage’s robe with a sword hanging from his waist.
“I am Headmaster Möbius of the Wedge Tower.”
“Also from the Wedge Tower, I’m Medical Office Director Treu.”
Möbius had only ascended to the post of Headmaster at the Wedge Tower recently, and apparently Treu was the doctor who healed Leona from her injuries.
The head of the house asked what business they had here, to which Möbius replied forcefully.
“We came to see Leona Ohlendorf. She is an exceptional mage. If her honor is being besmirched in any way, we cannot stand idly by.”
“Leona is marked now. The marked have to be isolated; that is a firm rule of the Ohlendorf Clan… I would like you to leave.”
Möbius must have known the situation Leona was in.
So, he came to visit in order to save Leona, who was being abandoned in that detached cabin.
The head of the house spoke with a firm voice.
“When Leona was injured, her mana organs were damaged. It would be hard for her to continue acting as a mage.”
The injury on her face was not all that Leona had suffered. Her body and legs were also gravely wounded.
To respond to the Ohlendorf side’s argument that Leona wouldn’t be able to return to the Wedge Tower, the large woman, Treu, cut in pointedly.
“In that case, has the injured Leona been receiving sufficient medical attention? I’ve heard that the Ohlendorf family squirrels away the marked in a squalid environment.”
“That is an inviolable Ohlendorf tradition…”
The head of the house clammed up. The sharpness of Möbius and Treu’s glares overpowered him.
Neither of them ever raised their voice in anger.
Yet, she could sense their words cutting like a sharp, tempered blade of fury.
They were angry. Angry at the state Roswitha’s mother was put in.
Möbius began to speak.
“The marked are discriminated against because their presence attracts Monsters. However, there are no Monsters in this area. We at the Wedge Tower have already cleared out countless nests of Monsters in the area around the Crystal Territory. There should be no reason to keep Leona isolated.”
“…But, should the unthinkable occur?”
“I have brought documents containing every recorded Monster sighting in the past ten years. Please, take a look for yourself.”
Möbius pulled out a large stack of papers and laid them out on a table.
It seemed like he brought that in anticipation of the arguments that the Ohlendorf side would make.
The head of the house was surprised by the detail and precision of the repots, then asked cautiously.
“…For the Headmaster to come all the way out here on your own time, I can’t imagine this is your only objective. What do you want from us?”
The Headmaster was the highest authority at the Wedge Tower. The most important person there.
What reason would such an important person have to go out of his way for Leona, who wouldn’t be able to rejoin the fight as a mage either way?
Möbius answered plainly.
“My only wish is to preserve her honor and dignity.”
When she heard those words, Roswitha felt a shock run through her body.
Honor and dignity. Those things that had been besmirched for an incomprehensible reason simply because she was an Ohlendorf.
That was what these people had come here to protect.
Treu and Möbius spoke in turn.
“Leona Ohlendorf has been a lifesaver to tons of my buddies. I’m sick of all this chat, just let me take a look at her.”
(That’s right…)
“She is a truly stupendous mage who has done invaluable work for the Wedge Tower. She is not someone you can treat so heartlessly.”
(That’s right… Mama is amazing… She’s really, really amazing….!)
Before she knew it, her vision had gone blurry. She couldn’t see anything through the tears.
Roswitha wiped her eyes with her sleeve and committed the likenesses of the people who fought for her mother’s honor to memory.
Afterwards, the Ohlendorf family held a meeting and agreed to call Leona Ohlendorf back from the cabin to the main house.
She would still be isolated from the rest of the family due to her mark, but Roswitha would once again be able to live with her beloved mother.
Roswitha would never forget those people who won back her mother’s honor.
Still, she had not been able to reconcile her pride and adoration for the Ohlendorf Family with the anger and resentment she felt.
Nevertheless, she decided to continue moving forward.
(Just you wait, Primordial Beast! …I’m going to be the one who takes you down! Me, the daughter of the great genius Leona Ohlendorf — Roswitha Ohlendorf!)