Chapter 233 I Had A Feeling This Would Happen
After the music appreciation event, Sara was heading to Jeffrey's house early.
Many noble ladies invited Sara for tea, but she made an excuse, saying she was "nervous and hadn't slept much since the day before," and quickly left the venue. When an 8-year-old girl says she's sleep-deprived, not many adults push her to stay.
It was a bit early to call it evening, but the late autumn sun was already starting to set. Scott and Blaze were probably still at Maiden's Tower with Mister Thomas.
Then, suddenly, Sara heard Sedrick's voice close to her ear.
"Milady Sara, it seems there's been trouble at Maiden's Tower."
"What do you mean?"
"One of the alchemists cast magic on a golem, and everyone who was with them, including the guards, has been captured by the golem."
"Seriously. What a hassle."
Sara turned around and called out to the knights who were guarding her.
"Excuse me. I'm changing my destination."
"Where are you going? The captain told us to avoid unexpected actions..."
"To Maiden's Tower. Some people from the academy have illegally entered and been captured by a golem. One of you needs to inform the knight headquarters and direct them to send knights to Maiden's Tower."
After saying that, Sara urged Durandal to run as fast as possible.
The knights who were a bit late hurried to follow her.
"Hey, how did the young lady find out about what happened at Maiden's Tower?"
"I don't know. Maybe she's just playing around on a whim."
"Since we've been ordered, we have no choice but to follow, but I hope the young lady doesn't get scolded later..."
But the knights' worries were replaced by a different concern when they saw the terrible state of Maiden's Tower.
"What is going on here?!"
Sara shouted from her horse.
In front of her, about 20 adults were tied up with ropes, rolling on the ground. A large man, who looked like a knight, was disarmed, and nearby, weapons and armor were piled up, shining in the evening sun.
The 3 from the group looked old enough to be called elderly, so Sara instructed the golem to untie them. They were probably gagged to prevent them from casting magic, but for now, she ordered that to be removed as well.
"I'm Sara Grandchester. Who are you?"
Without even getting off Durandal, Sara called out to the group of intruders. The intruders looked up at her with mocking expressions, as she spoke from a physically higher position.
"Ah, the young lady of the Grandchester family. I am Colin di McKellen, a professor in the Academy's Alchemy Department. These 2 are also professors at the Academy."
"I'm Michael Ains."
"I'm Ian Hill."
The elderly men introduced themselves after being freed from their bindings. However, it seemed that they were offended by the impudent young girl who wouldn't even get off her horse.
"Young lady, isn't that a bit rude? First, you should dismount."
"How interesting. A trespasser lecturing the owner of the house they invaded."
"Hah. The owner is Marquis Grandchester, not you. It's not pleasant to see a noble's daughter relying on her parent's status."
"Unfortunately, this land and building were given to me as a gift for my magic awakening from Marquis Grandchester. In other words, I am the rightful owner."
"What!?"
Colin was surprised, but he thought it would be easy to deal with this young girl.
"I see. Then I just need to get permission to visit your lady, right?"
"I have no intention of giving such permission. The Grandchester Knights will be arriving here soon, so I will leave my safety in their hands. What happens after that will be up to Marquis Grandchester and the knights."
"What! I am a professor at the Academy and the younger brother of the former Viscount McKellen!"
Sara signaled to a nearby knight and had him help her down from Durandal. Since she was wearing a dress today, she was using a side saddle, and it was difficult to get down gracefully by herself. The hem of her dress would get messy no matter what.
"Professor McKellen, may I speak?"
"What is it?"
"It's not pleasant to see an old man relying on the Academy and the Viscount family."
"Wha――!?"
After saying that, Sara handed the reins of Durandal to the knight and began to walk slowly toward Maiden's Tower, calming the golems that were dancing and playing an ocarina she had pulled out from somewhere.
"Zero, Two, you did well. Let's keep working together."
She encouraged the golems and poured her magic into them.
Then Colin shouted.
"Wait, can the magic stone inside these golems also be recharged with magic!?"
"At this stage, I believe I have sent all the materials you can receive to the Academy. The requested magic stone has also been sent, so there is no need for you to entertain the nonsense of this young girl any longer. Please return to the royal capital as soon as possible. However, depending on my grandfather's decision, I cannot deny the possibility of legal action."
Colin, moving with surprising speed for an old man, stood up and tried to rush towards Sara. However, he was unable to move because a golem was holding his shoulder.
"First unit, I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you hand him over when the knight squad arrives?"
"Should I restrain him again?"
"Since he's an old man, please be gentle. It would be a problem if he suddenly passed away here."
"Understood. Then, let's have Zero and Two help out."
Without a word, Zero and Two walked over and began to lift the professors. The golems from Three and beyond were monitoring the other alchemists and guards, so for now, it should be fine.
"What!! The golems can talk so fluently?"
"The golems should have given a warning about the illegal intrusion. I can't believe you didn't hear it, Professor."
"I thought they were just saying set phrases."
"It seems you've been bothering the golems quite a bit yesterday and today, but you didn't talk to them, huh?"
The golems all turned to look at Sara.
"We don't want to talk to such a weird person either. It's gross!"
"This person keeps touching our bodies all over."
"There was even a fool playing an ocarina bought from a souvenir shop in the capital. You'd think they'd realize after a little thought. Are these people really important figures at the Academy?"
The golems were saying whatever they wanted. At this point, Sara was starting to feel that the learning effects of the magic system were terrifying. Soon, they might start claiming golem rights instead of human rights.
"Can you please stop? It seems like the academy's alchemist are about to break down."
Sara scolded the golems.
"Understood, Milady Sara."
"If Milady Sara says so, I guess we have no choice."
"Tch. I'll let it slide for today."
'Hmm. I wonder why each golem has its own personality? I should try talking to the ones at the main store next time.'
"Did Aristo, or rather Alicia create these golems?"
"Most of it is based on her design."
It was definitely Alicia the Alchemist Girl who took over Paracelsus's research and created the basic design of the magic system. Sara generously provided funds and materials, and she also supported with her knowledge from her previous life. However, watching Alicia easily grasp and make her own what Sara casually mentioned made Sara realize what a true genius really is.
For example, when Sara explained the basics of neural networks, within just ten minutes, Alicia said, "So, we just need to create a lot of intermediate layers," and when they talked about generative adversarial networks, she suggested, "Let's have the golems generate and identify information." Alicia was so outstanding that it made Sara feel embarrassed for only knowing the basics.
'Ah, I want to let her learn as much as she want in the world of my past life. I'm really sorry for being out of my area of expertise. At least, I'll prepare plenty of funds and materials!'
As Sara was lost in thought, she heard a sound like rumbling. It was probably the knights riding in on horseback.
When she looked up, she saw Jeffrey with his red hair flowing at the front.
"Oh, Sir Jeffrey has come personally."
"Eek!"
The knight guarding her next to her let out a small scream.
"Sara, are you okay?!"
Sir Jeffrey got off his horse and hurried over to Sara, picking her up.
"You don't need to worry. After all, this is the Maiden's Tower, protected by golems, right?"
"That doesn't mean you should go to a place where you know there are criminals!"
"This is my land and my building. The maidens are employed by me. If I don't protect it, who will?"
"That kind of thing can wait until you're an adult."
"Of course not! Criminals won't wait for me to grow up, will they?"
"That's true, but..."
Then, Jeffrey shouted at the guards behind Sara.
"You guys, what do you think you're doing putting the person you're supposed to protect in danger?!"
"Sir Jeffrey, please don't scold them. I ignored their warnings and made Durandal run. Besides, do you think they could stop me when even you can't?"
"But, Sara..."
At that moment, Scott's voice came from a window on the upper floor of the tower.
"Hey, Sara! Can you turn off the golem's alert mode? It's dangerous outside, and the golems won't let us out of the tower!"
"Are you sure you want to go out with the intruders still here?"
"Come on, father is already here, right? You can leave the intruders to him. More importantly, Ms. Alicia is crying because her stomach hurts."
"What? Is she sick? That's serious!"
Sara hurriedly deactivated the golems' alert mode and rushed into the tower. Naturally, she completely ignored the old man and the others behind her.
The knight squad was trying to take the intruders away quietly, but the old men being carried by the golems started to make a fuss.
"I am a professor from the Academy. Many of those tied up there are top alchemists from the Academy. I will report this unfair treatment to the king!"
"I apologize for the rudeness. I never imagined that a professor from the Academy would illegally enter a tower owned by an 8-year-old girl."
"We came to visit Alicia who works here. These golems are getting in our way."
Jeffrey put his hand on his chin, thinking.
"May I ask your name, Professor?"
"Colin di McKellen."
"Hmm. I am Jeffrey di Grandchester, the captain of the Grandchester Knights. From your name, it seems you are also a knight, Professor McKellen. Are you related to Viscount McKellen?"
"He is my uncle."
"Then, a protest letter will likely be sent from the Marquis of Grandchester to the Viscount of McKellen later. After all, Sara is the beloved granddaughter of the Marquis of Grandchester and is soon to be the daughter of Viscount Astley."
Colin glared at Jeffrey and shouted.
"Why! I'm just saying I came to visit!"
"This tower and the Sara estate do not allow visitors without permission. You were told this when you entered Grandchester territory."
"But no matter how many letters I send, they come back unopened. How am I supposed to get permission?"
"If you had gone through someone from the Grandchester family, Sara might have acted differently. But now, who knows? What did you do to make Sara so angry?"
"We have no idea! Today is our first meeting!"
Jeffrey sighed.
"You said you 'just came to visit,' but that alone wouldn't make the golems restrain you. If you trespass, they just carry you out of the property. Someone must have attacked the golems, right?"
Everyone's gaze turned to Colin.
"Uh, I was just a bit persistent, so I lightly used some magic. It's not a big deal to use magic on a golem."
Then the first golem holding Colin began to speak.
"Professor McKellen's group visited Lady Alicia yesterday. Since there was no prior appointment, we asked them to leave, but during that time, the alchemist petted us golems, slapped us, and sniffed us as they pleased... it was very humiliating."
'O-oh. Golems can feel humiliation too!'
"I'm sorry to make you do such a tough job."
"I'm sorry, but protecting the maidens is our pride and joy!"
Jeffrey noticed that the golems were becoming smarter every day, looking more and more like members of the knight squad.
"So, can you tell me how they ended up in this situation?"
"When the group entered the premises, I asked them to leave as usual. However, they did not listen. I had no choice but to lift them and try to take them outside, but Professor McKellen cast earth-type destruction magic at me."
"So, you mean he tried to destroy the golems' bodies?"
"Yes, that's correct. I recorded the audio from that moment."
One of the golems' functions is to "take messages." It's basically a voice message, but it seems the golems also use this function to preserve evidence.
'What a troublesome golem. But its function is amazing. I think I'll take it apart and bring it back.'
Colin's voice played back, and the knights present turned their harsh gazes toward him.
"Professor McKellen, were you planning not only to trespass but also to steal the golems? As an alchemist, I believe you understand that the magic stones inside these golems, which allow such actions, are not cheap. I never thought the academy's alchemists would engage in such thievery!"
Thus, the academy officials and their guards were captured and taken away by the Grandchester knight squad.
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