The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War

"Hahaha! That's right, isn't it?! But that's just how Glis is, so don't follow her example, okay, Alina?" Rafinha laughed playfully, gently patting Alina's head.

"Hahaha! So even Lady Inglis said something like that. She really takes after Lady Selena…!" Ada chimed in.

"Well, I can't help it! I have to enjoy everything I do, after all!" Inglis defended herself.

"And I'm saying that the way you enjoy things is problematic…" Rafinha countered.

"But then, I can't wait to see Big Sister Glis in action! I mean, you defeated the world's strongest Magic Stone Beast, so that makes you the strongest person in the world, right…?! I want to learn from strong people because I want to become a Knight too!" Alina expressed her admiration for Inglis with shining eyes. She was truly an adorable and pure child. Inglis couldn't help but feel the desire to impress her and live up to her expectations.

"I still have a lot to learn myself, you know? But if you really want to see me in action, Alina, then I'll do my best, okay?" Inglis promised.

"No, no need to do your best… You'll be too fast to be seen, and she won't be able to learn from you," Rafinha interjected.

"T-That sounds plausible… Lady Inglis' movements are so fast that she can throw an entire herd of Magic Stone Beasts into chaos with her bare hands. Trying to keep up with her speed would make your neck sore… Not to mention, she must have gotten even faster since then…" Ada added.

"T-That fast…?!" Alina was taken aback.

"Hehe… Look forward to it, okay? By the way, Miss Ada, is there anything you need help with regarding Alina? We'll do whatever we can to assist," Inglis offered.

"That's right. There is something, actually…" Ada responded.

"What is it?" Rafinha inquired.

"Let me help too!" Inglis insisted.

"As we mentioned before, Alina possesses a High-Grade Rune. She can easily wield a Low-Grade Artifact because of it, but we don't have any Middle-Grade or higher Artifacts that suit her. Ideally, we would obtain a High-Grade Artifact to utilize her potential fully, but it's not easy to come by here in Ymir…" Ada explained.

Another aspect that often slipped from Inglis' mind was the scarcity of High-Grade Artifacts. Acquiring Artifacts required negotiations with Highland, but the offerings demanded in return grew exponentially. In some cases, a deal could even demand a tribute large enough to feed an entire town for a year.

Marquis Wilford had faced significant challenges in obtaining Flowing Radiance, Rafinha's High-Grade bow Artifact.

"I see… that is indeed a difficult situation," Inglis mused.

"Money, huh… If only we could borrow some Artifacts from the Knight Academy…" Rafinha suggested.

"But those Artifacts belong to the Academy, so we can't just take them. Besides, everyone would want to do the same," Ada explained.

"You're right… It does sound complicated," Rafinha agreed.

"What did the Marquis say?" Inglis inquired.

"He mentioned that he would look into it, but considering Ymir's financial state, the prospects aren't looking positive," Ada responded.

"Hmm… Very well then!" Inglis exclaimed, tapping her palm.

"May I borrow the Artifact for a moment?" Inglis pointed at the Warhammer Artifact wielded by Alina.

"Yes, we have another one of the same type. Shall I leave it with you?" Ada asked.

"Yes, please! And if you have any other unused Artifacts, bring them to me as well," Inglis requested.

"Understood," Ada agreed.

"What are you planning to do, Glis?" Rafinha asked curiously.

"Hm? I'm going to modify it," Inglis answered with a mischievous smirk.

Meanwhile, back in the royal capital, as the aftermath of the battle against Prisma continued to unfold, various new developments were taking place at the Knight Academy. The Venefique-owned Flying Battleship captured by Inglis had been restored and deployed to the academy. New influential instructors were recruited, and research commenced on restoring human beings who had been transformed into Magic Stone Beasts.

The restoration of the Flying Battleship and the research on restoring the transformed humans were carried out in collaboration with Special Envoy Theodore. The latter was particularly driven by Theodore's desire to restore his own little sister back to her original form. While there might be differences in the difficulty of restoring Midland humans compared to Highlanders, the ultimate goal remained the same.

However, Inglis held a belief that this task would be extremely challenging. The Black Mask from the Ironblood Chain Brigade, who was even more skilled in Ether manipulation than Inglis, had claimed that restoring a person after they had transformed into a Magic Stone Beast was impossible. This meant that Inglis needed to possess a baseline skill in Ether manipulation that surpassed the formidable abilities of the Black Mask. Whether she could achieve this level of skill or not was uncertain.

Nevertheless, Inglis was determined to contribute and cooperate with the research efforts. She would visit the laboratory where Principal Miliera and Special Envoy Theodore conducted their studies, immersing herself in the knowledge of Artifact construction and technology.

Creating an entirely new Artifact from scratch would be a daunting task. However, making adjustments and modifications to existing Artifacts seemed within her realm of possibility. It was the perfect time for her to put her skills to the test.