Hety had no way of knowing what was on her ancestor Gawain's mind—those lofty, distant plans were far beyond her comprehension. However, as she followed Gawain's gaze toward the lively, bustling camp in the distance, she couldn't help but feel inspired. This was a land starting from scratch, a new order in the making, and a promising future. Though Hety considered herself well past the age where outside influences could easily move her, she now found herself hoping for something better to emerge on this land.
This, she thought, was what set her apart from traditional nobles—who rarely, if ever, hoped for change.
"Just keep what I've told you today to yourself for now," Gawain advised, turning back to Hety. "These ideas are too forward-thinking. If you speak of them to the common folk, they won't understand. But if you tell other nobles… those who don't understand will think you're mad, and those who do understand will make you their enemy."
Hety blinked, quickly grasping Gawain's meaning. Although this new order was still only a faint outline, it was enough to rattle the nerves of the nobility. While it could bring prosperity, that prosperity might not align with what the traditional aristocracy valued. After all, unlike the Cecils, most nobles were still quite content with their current lives.
"I understand," Hety nodded, before hesitating and asking, "But could I perhaps tell Rebecca? Though… I doubt she'll understand these complicated matters…"
"You're underestimating her," Gawain chuckled. "Rebecca may be smarter than you realize. It's just that she's never had the right stage to showcase her talents. Look at her lately; I think she's…"
Gawain's words trailed off as he spotted a small figure running along the edge of the field. It was Betty, the young maid with a smattering of freckles on her face, who skidded to a halt in front of him, panting heavily. She managed a clumsy bow before blurting out, "Sir! Miss Rebecca needs you!"
Gawain started to respond, "What does she…," but stopped mid-sentence, then shook his head knowingly. "Ah, I'm sure you forgot."
"I didn't forget this time!" Betty replied cheerfully. "She says the project is starting! She wants you to come see what she's done!"
"What project?" Hety asked as she approached.
Betty thought for a moment, then shook her head again. "Forgot!"
Gawain and Hety shared a look.
"Alright, I think I know what it is," Gawain chuckled, ruffling the girl's hair. "It seems Rebecca finally completed her work on the 'magic net.' I thought it would take her a bit longer. Well, Hety, shall we go see how her first 'engineering project' turned out? There's nothing pressing here for now."
"I'll admit I am somewhat worried about what she might have created," Hety said with a grin. "After all, she's a wizard who only knows Fireball and now she's working on a large-scale magic formation… even if it's just basic runes…"
Hety looked back at the camp, where Philip the knight was on duty. "Philip, Sir Gawain and I are going to the forge to check on things. We'll leave matters here to you."
The young knight stood at attention and tapped his chest plate with a fist. "I won't let you down!"
Watching the knight shout his affirmation with the weight of an epic vow, Gawain couldn't help but chuckle. This young knight was overly formal, perhaps a bit of an old soul. He wondered if it was the power of faith that made him so serious.
As Gawain and Hety headed to the forge, Betty, seeing she had no further duties, wandered back to the camp. It wasn't yet mealtime, and she had already finished the laundry, so the idle maid's curiosity was piqued by the papers left on the table, covered with unfamiliar symbols and drawings. Philip, seeing the girl approach, kept a close eye on her to ensure she didn't mess up anything important.
Betty looked over a drawing of a waterwheel with interest but quickly turned her attention to a work log filled with numbers and names. She peered at the table and pointed to the pen and paper, asking, "Can I write?"
Philip moved the pen away, looking at her seriously. "Do you even know how to write?"
"No," Betty shook her head. "And I don't know how to read either."
"Then you can't touch it," Philip replied sternly. "Paper and ink are costly, bought with the lord's money, not for you to play with."
Betty looked down, crestfallen. "Oh…"
Feeling a twinge of regret, Philip softened. Although protecting the lord's resources was his duty—especially since even simple writing materials had to be imported from Tanzan Town—he realized he might have been too harsh. In the end, he murmured a few comforting words, but the girl walked off with lingering disappointment.
Watching her small figure moving along the field's edge, Philip couldn't help but recall Gawain's words to Hety: *Teach them to read. Teach everyone to read.*
Could that really be done? Could it actually happen?
If it did… then perhaps this little maid could write, too.
When Gawain and Hety reached the "forge," it looked like a construction site. The large yard bustled with activity as "workers" moved about, and several soldiers stood guard over various supplies in one corner. Rebecca stood in the center of the yard, clutching a stack of papers and explaining something animatedly to the blacksmith, Hammer, while his apprentices listened attentively.
She seemed to have the operation well underway and had only called Gawain over after things were in motion.
"Oh, Ancestor!" Rebecca shouted when she saw Gawain's towering figure approach. "And Aunt Hety!"
Hety, feeling the girl's palpable respect, responded with a gentle smile. Though she wasn't sure how effective Rebecca's work would be, the orderly scene did look promising. "You seem confident."
"Yes! I've been studying this for days!" Rebecca said proudly, hands on her hips. Despite her sleep-deprived, slightly disheveled look, she exuded boundless energy. "This magic formation is amazing! And those formulas… Ancestor, they're incredible! They're so much easier to use than rigid rune alignments and spell models, and you can apply them in so many ways! Plus, this formation—"
"Hold on," Hety cut in before Rebecca could launch into an endless explanation. While she respected her niece's knowledge of theory and computation, she worried that Rebecca's enthusiasm would overwhelm Gawain. "Just explain how you plan to finish the formation."
"Oh! I'm going to bury it underground," Rebecca replied.
"Underground?!" Hety stared in surprise. "You've dug all these trenches… and you actually plan to bury it?"
As Gawain entered the yard, he'd noticed Rebecca directing people to dig trenches—curved, straight, crisscrossing lines that formed a geometric structure across the expansive area. In several places, stakes marked key points, with white lines drawn for guidance.
Since most of the workers couldn't read or count, Rebecca had clearly done all the planning herself, marking where to dig and how deep. This seemed to be her process.
Gawain redirected his focus from the trenches to Hety, who looked back at him questioningly. "Is there any harm in burying the magic formation?"
"Well… it's not forbidden," Hety admitted, "but most magic formations are above ground for ease of monitoring and maintenance. Burying it makes those tasks harder."
While what Hety said was common sense, Rebecca—a level-three mage who only knew Fireball—would certainly know it too, yet she had chosen this approach anyway, revealing her unorthodox thinking. Hety worried Gawain might be displeased, which could harm Rebecca's hard-won confidence.
But Gawain, undeterred by tradition, asked instead, "Leaving aside why you want to bury it, how did you manage to draw it so precisely on the ground?"
Rebecca looked blankly at him, unsure why he was asking.
Gawain asked with genuine amazement. Rebecca had drawn a complex geometric formation across a vast field—a task that demanded high precision, especially given the risk of visual distortion over such a large area. Back in Gawain's world, such a task could be done easily with surveying tools and mathematical aids. And here, mages could use spells like *Mage's Eye* or *Eagle's Sight* for aerial views to align large-scale formations.
But Rebecca had no such tools. She didn't even have a sophisticated mathematical system to guide her. And besides Fireball, she knew no other spells—not even *Mage's Eye,* a spell a second-level mage would typically master.
So, how did she do it?
Repeating his question, Gawain asked, "How did you draw it so accurately on the ground?"