In his previous life, Rias was the top student since kindergarten. Studying was still one of his escapes.
Understand. Apply. Modify. Invent.
He was a scientist of the soul, disappointed by mankind, forced to converse with ideas and machines.
After her talk with Rubi, Anna went back to her daily routine: getting good ideas from her younger brother, Rias. And he was never hard to find: he was either in the library, in his room, or at the old shack.
And sure enough, Anna found him in the shack, as usual.
— "Hey Rias. What are we doing today?"
But Rias didn't hear her. He was still frozen, focused on a strange drawing she barely understood.
At the bottom of the pages, notes and symbols appeared — all foreign to her.
He was mumbling as always.
So she whispered in his ear:
— "You know, you're starting to seriously scare me right now…"
— "Wh-what! Since when have you been here?" he answered, hurriedly hiding the plans he was working on behind his back.
— "That thing looks really interesting. Can I see?" Anna asked.
— "Please, Anna… I'm not sure this is something that would excite you..."
But Anna already had an idea what he was working on.
— "So, you know economics? And math? And physics too?"
He was a bit embarrassed, struggling to explain.
— "Anna…"
— "Oh! So that's the issue Aunt Rubi was talking about with the lands.", she murmured, noticing the connection between Rias's analysis and Rubi's problem.
— "Wait… you understand what I wrote?"
— "Of course I do. You really underestimate me, little genius. I learned to read and write at four, you know? And I'm the best at tactical development in the sorority.
Unfortunately, for the knightess ranking, combat skills are what count the most."
Rias said nothing. He was simply fascinated.
He just smiled, happy to finally have someone to share his ideas with.
— "What you're holding is a report on the state of our marquisate. It's pretty sad, but according to my calculations, our marquisate is starting to collapse."
— "Really? Are you sure?"
— "Yes. Our lands have been used, season after season, for ages to feed us. At some point, some minerals inside it will run out…"
Anna just stared at him. She had no idea what he was talking about. And judging by her expression, Rias understood. So he used a metaphor:
— "You know, Anna, everything in the world follows one rule: 'Nothing is lost, nothing is gained, everything is transformed.'
You need to eat to have energy, right?"
— "Yes."
— "And animals also need to eat to grow. And guess what? It's the same for plants."
— "Yeah, they eat water!" she said, excited like she'd found the answer.
— "… Yes, but they eat more than just water, Anna. Would you survive by drinking only water?"
— "…I guess not… so the minerals you were talking about — they're the plants' food?"
— "Exactly. You got it."
— "Woooow… I get it… But if the land stops producing, what are we going to eat?"
— "We need to change our production methods. And we'll need to import food until the lands recover their potential."
— "Well, Mom has a lot of money.", she said, still excited.
But then her smile faded as she saw the troubled look on Rias's face.
— "…No?"
— "Let me explain it to you, Anna…"
And Rias explained to Anna the problem the marquis was facing with the decline in plant production across their territory.
Rias had done all the calculations using his own resources — namely, the library for records of past transactions and his fathers' notes for current values. So, he was able to determine the exact monetary flow within their territory. He even identified the presence of immigrants, simply by analyzing the expenditure reports.
He explained, then explained again, simplifying each time — but even Anna, who was already a precocious child, ended up holding her hot forehead in both hands, completely overwhelmed by the flood of information.
— "How do you even think about all this stuff without getting a headache?" she asked, sulking.
— "Oh trust me, Anna, I had a headache for two whole months trying to figure this out."
(That was a lie. He understood everything at a glance. He just had some trouble acquiring certain data.)
— "And how long will it take you to find the solutions? Don't try to fool me. Even if I don't understand your inventions, I know those drawings of yours are valid solutions."
She paused, then continued:
— "You and Eli… you both always succeed at everything. I'm the only weak link in the family.", she muttered, still lying on the ground.
Rias was happy about the compliment — but not if it came with that bitter aftertaste. So he replied:
— "And yet, you're the only one who can speak to Mom about our project. You're a girl — her firstborn, even. You can fully grasp the concept, and that means you can explain it to her."
— "But…"
Anna was stunned. She stood up, trying to confirm Rias's words — but before she could say anything, he had already taken her hands and said:
— "Big sister… you know if you don't do it, it's the end of our family — maybe even of our entire nation."
Anna blushed, timidly at first.
Then, she gathered her courage with both hands.
— "Explain everything to me. I'll save our family."
She listened carefully to Rias's explanations. She even took notes. She gave it her all.
In that moment, she realized — above all — that the world was filled with monsters like Rias and Eli. She felt the weight of this project on the future of an entire nation, even though she was only ten years old — and the one crafting it was barely half her age.
She had become too aware of too many things in just one day.
Like how something as seemingly insignificant could have a devastating impact on the fate of an entire country. How harmony could be so fragile — that even a simple question of food could shatter it.
She had learned too much, yes.
But more than that — she had awakened.
She now knew her place in the world.
She was the best vessel for Rias's intellect — smart enough to understand and adapt the extent of his power. But above all, loyal enough to never use that knowledge for her own gain.
She also understood something else: That she would have to protect him, from behind the shadows.
And so, she finally found her purpose: To become strong and smart enough to meet Rias's expectations.
To become powerful enough to shield him — from every threat the world might throw.
So, she didn't wait.
She acted.
After a week of preparation and full understanding, she surprised her mother, her biological father Yelo, and her aunt Rubi once again in their office.
She was about to give a presentation.
— "Sorry, Aunt Rubi, for stealing the spotlight, but I know how to fight the demon that's cursing our lands."
The Marquess' territory was once a kingdom. Its fertile lands had always made it a coveted possession. So you can't escape wars. Even when the Kingdom of Rush was eventually swallowed by the mighty Excissil Empire, some conflicts didn't end — especially not between the subjugated realms.
Such was the case for Rush and Gliant, which are now marquisates within the nation.
Where am I going with this?
What I'm saying is: even though prosperous, this kingdom's lands were never properly cultivated. The rulers of this territory have always been too preoccupied with erasing outside threats.
That's when Anna explained to her mother, her father, and her aunt that their lands needed crop rotation. The soil must be given time to rest between cycles of cultivation. And that they needed methodical use of organic waste as fertilizer.
At first glance, the adults seemed convinced — but they didn't really understand where Anna's interpretations came from.
That's when Anna explained the life cycle of living beings. To them, it was just a hypothesis, a theory yet to be proven. Because since the dawn of time, magic has always been the answer to everything for these people. A deep understanding of the world has never truly interested scholars here — everyone already seems to think they have the answer.
Yet in this moment, Anna's theory was the only one that made sense of their problem.
So even if they didn't know whether the little girl's proposed solution would work, at least there was one. They had spent too long behind the four walls of this office without even a shadow of an answer — they couldn't afford not to try it.
Once Anna had finished her explanation, the adults sat in silence, unsure how to react.
Then Diamond took her daughter into her arms.
— "Thank you, Anna. I always knew I could count on you, but I never expected your help to come so early in life."
But Anna wasn't done.
— "But Mother, we still have the monetary problem."
The adults were once again astonished that Anna's analysis extended even to the financial implications. Diamond felt a little uneasy about what her daughter might say next. She replied:
— "But Anna, with your crop rotation plan, we can already survive…"
But Anna interrupted her.
— "You mean… survive by eating modestly for the next four or five years? The marquisate might survive, yes — but banditry will rise. And it would be shameful for the people you just welcomed. They came here for a better life, not another crisis...
Don't forget that the Duchess tax is inflexible."
The adults' astonishment reached a whole new level. They were convinced they were the only ones who knew about the immigrants — but clearly, they'd been outdone by a child.
So Rubi insisted:
— "Go on, little girl. Tell us all your plans."
— "Rubi!"
— "No, let her speak, Diamond. You need to put your pride aside for this crisis."
And following Yelo's words, Anna resumed her presentation.
Anna talked to them about modern methods for making bricks, clay stoves, and pottery. About building water mills near rivers to increase production through automation.
Rias's plans were so detailed that even the number of refugees was accounted for, along with the projected improvement in their quality of life through working in workshops. Rias had even drawn up competitive pricing for each product.
Yelo and Diamond were left speechless as they listened to Anna. They didn't dare admit they hadn't understood everything — but one thing they did understand was that this plan was going to work.
And that made it all the more difficult to figure out where Anna stood in the family dynamic.
Once the explanations were done, Anna was sent off to play, accompanied by her father Yelo, while Rubi and Diamond sat down over a glass of wine.
— "My head feels like it's going to explode."
— "Incredible. I heard Anna got a perfect score in all tactical development subjects and since 4, Idris always told me that Anna is a genius. So she really might be an infallible strategist…"
— "But at this level, she's a monster."
— "Agreed. Honestly, she scares me a little now."
— "… haha. Diamond, you need to register these ideas under your name."
— "But they're not…"
— "I know. But I'm saying it for her protection. Anna is already attracting too much attention with her spellcasting without incantations — and now you want to credit her with this too? Are you trying to doom her?"
— "But…"
— "She would understand. She's a very intelligent child. Didn't what you saw today already prove that to you?"