"Da... Dammit!"
"Behave yourself."
Fritz pinned the bandit, wrenched his arm behind his back, and bound it tightly with a belt. He hauled the man to his feet and led him over to Moritz and Elsa.
"I'll leave this one to you."
One of the servants hurried forward with a rope and finished the job, tying the bandit up thoroughly and stuffing a gag into his mouth.
Fritz muttered, "That's the first one dealt with. Now for the others," and turned to intervene in the struggle between Edgar and Glar.
"Wait, Ani-sama. Heilung."
Elsa cast healing magic on her brother. Fritz had sustained several more wounds during the skirmish; though they were shallow, they needed attention.
Moritz stepped forward as well, offering the short sword he carried for self-defense. "Fritz, use this."
"Aniki, I appreciate it."
The blade was somewhat slender, but it offered far more reach and power than a dagger.
"Ani-sama, one more moment... Toughening."
Elsa enchanted the short sword to bolster its durability.
"Oh, that helps."
"But if you’re going to support Edgar, I think you should stick to magic," Elsa advised.
The clash between automata and golems took place at a level of speed and reaction that no ordinary human could match. There simply was no room for a person of flesh and blood to interfere safely.
"...You're probably right."
Accepting her judgment, Fritz turned his attention to rounding up the remaining unconscious bandits. With the servants' help, he bound them with ropes and gagged them to ensure none could cast spells.
As she watched, Elsa made a mental note to borrow a Magi-Jammer from Jin for the upcoming interrogations.
Meanwhile, the other two battles had reached a fever pitch.
The red-eyed golem known as Sword was locked in combat with the blue-eyed golem that sought to restrain it. The blue-eyed unit was now on the verge of collapse. While it felt no pain to hinder its movements, its physical integrity was failing. Its right arm was gone from the shoulder down, and its left leg was badly bent at the shin.
Finally, the damaged leg snapped.
"Ngh... Is this the end? Regrettable."
The blue-eyed golem slumped to the ground. Ignoring its fallen opponent, Sword pivoted and charged toward the ongoing battle between Edgar and Glar.
Having lost an eye, Glar was struggling to defend itself, taking the brunt of Edgar’s relentless strikes. Its movements were becoming as sluggish as the blue-eyed unit's had been.
Sword joined the fray at the precise moment Edgar’s knife sank into Glar’s right elbow, causing the arm to lock up.
"Edgar, look out!" Elsa cried.
But her warning was too slow compared to the golems' speed.
"Whoa!"
Edgar, his focus entirely on Glar, was sent flying by a heavy roundhouse kick from Sword. Fortunately, he managed to roll with the impact and avoided critical damage.
"...Two against one? This is a bit of a disadvantage."
Edgar sprang back to his feet and glanced at Elsa. Once he confirmed his Creator was at a safe distance, he turned back to face the two golems.
Suddenly, a Thunderbolt struck the ground between the combatants.
It was Fritz, acting on Elsa’s request.
"Thank you."
The magical blast forced the two enemy units to scramble in opposite directions, one leaping left and the other right. Their coordination was broken.
"I'll finish this one first!"
Edgar drew a second knife and lunged at the crippled Glar. He targeted the leg—specifically the knee joint. The blade found its mark, sliding perfectly into the narrow gap in the metal armor.
Glar’s movements ground to a halt. With the one-eyed golem effectively neutralized, Edgar could focus entirely on Sword.
Watching from the sidelines, Elsa let out a small sigh of relief. But the situation was about to become even more complicated.
"Pardon us, Elsa-sama."
"Eh? Who's there?"
Startled by the voice, Elsa looked around frantically until two figures shimmered into view beside her.
Maron and Plum of the Hourai Island Secret Mobile Unit deactivated their Invisible magic. They had been guarding Elsa from the shadows ever since her return home.
A third figure appeared as well: Deneb 22, the Quinta unit known as Jumi. She stepped forward as their representative.
"I am Deneb 22, also known as Jumi. The Chief instructed us to respect Elsa-sama's wishes and avoid interfering unless necessary, but the situation seems to have stabilized enough for us to step in."
Jumi offered a polite bow and provided a succinct report.
"While investigating the bandit group, we discovered a mysterious golem and an automata. We traced them here."
"A mysterious automata?" Elsa asked. So far, she had seen nothing but golems.
"Yes. That is the one."
Jumi pointed toward the downed blue-eyed golem.
"He goes by the name 'Lance'. He is currently disguised as a golem."
"...I still don't quite understand everything that's happening. We need to end this first."
"Understood. This is Elsa-sama's home. We shall resolve this immediately."
As Jumi spoke, three more shadows blurred into motion beside Edgar. They were Land 783, 784, and 785.
"Edgar-kun."
"The Land squad!?"
"Indeed. Elsa-sama has requested that we bring this to a swift conclusion. We are here to assist."
"Thank you very much!"
With the three Land units—each possessing specs superior even to Edgar’s—joining the fight, Sword and Glar stood no chance. They were dismantled in seconds.
"It is a pity, but since they will not listen to reason, we have no choice."
Both enemy units were systematically disabled, their legs snapped at the knees and arms broken at the shoulders.
Finally, silence returned to the estate.
To sort out the mess, they divided the captives into three groups: the bandits, the hostile golems, and Lance.
"You're the ones who have been terrorizing the Shouro Empire lately, aren't you?"
"..."
Fritz began his interrogation of the bandits.
Meanwhile, Elsa walked slowly toward the golem named Lance. Edgar and Jumi stood at her sides, and a barrier was raised for protection.
"Are you Lance?"
"...I am."
"I need you to explain exactly what is going on."
"I have no reason to speak with you," Lance replied curtly.
"That's not true," Elsa countered firmly. "This is the property of House Randol. You have caused us a great deal of trouble, and that gives us the right to an explanation."
Lance seemed to process the logic of her statement.
"Hmm. You have a point. Very well. I will provide a brief explanation."
"Please do."
Moritz, who had no experience dealing with such sophisticated automata, could only watch his younger sister in silent amazement.