The Harvest Festival season had ended, and the blue priests had reportedly returned to the temple. I hadn't seen any of them directly, so I couldn't be sure, but at the orphanage, the increase in divine blessings was clearly noticeable.
The High Priest had been dispatched to a nearby village, so he'd returned relatively quickly. As a result, my assistant duties had been restored, and after the third bell, I'd been making my way to the High Priest's room as usual.
"High Priest, I've finished these calculations."
Today too, I'd been diligently working on the calculations the High Priest had entrusted me with. Just as I'd finished and looked up, I could see a white bird flying straight toward the window.
"Ahh?!"
The instant I cried out, thinking it would crash into the glass, the white bird passed cleanly through it. It then circled the room once before landing on the High Priest's desk with a soft flutter, folding its wings neatly.
"Wh-whoa?!"
Unlike me, who was gaping in shock, the attendants around the High Priest seemed to understand what this bird was. They tensed up and stared intently at the white bird.
"
The moment the High Priest scolded me while touching the white bird, a man's voice echoed from its beak.
"
After repeating the same words three times, the bird's form vanished, and a yellow stone rolled onto the desk where it had been.
The High Priest produced a glowing wand-like rod from somewhere and muttered something while lightly tapping the stone. The stone warped and grew, taking on the shape of a bird once more.
"Understood."
The High Priest said this to the bird and waved his wand with a swish, and the bird flew off in response. Just as it had arrived, it passed through the glass and took flight.
...Wow! Fantasy!
As I watched the High Priest perform this magic-like phenomenon right before my eyes with barely contained excitement, he shot me a cold glare. Looking around, the attendants who had been quietly working until now were bustling about, tidying up and preparing for what came next.
"Myne, stop spacing out! This is a request from the Knights. Change into your ceremonial robes and come to the Noble's Gate."
"Yes!"
Caught up in the High Priest's intensity, I answered energetically, but I had no idea where the Noble's Gate was.
"...Um, where exactly is the Noble's Gate?"
"I know the way."
"Myne-sama, you remember the ceremonial prayers, right?"
"Yes."
"This is a request from the Knights. Once we return to your room, please prepare for departure immediately."
Clinging to Fran's shoulders, I nodded.
Fran hurried back to my room, and the moment he opened the door, he called out in a voice louder than I'd ever heard from him.
"
"Right away!"
Even as he gave the order to Delia, Fran didn't stop. He hurried up the stairs.
"Delia,
Once we reached the second floor, Fran set me down gently. The moment he did, he immediately turned and hurried back downstairs.
Delia rushed over with the ceremonial robes in hand, placed them on the table, and immediately stripped off the blue robes I was currently wearing.
"Wh-whoa?!"
"Oh my! Please hold still!"
When I stumbled from the slightly rougher handling than usual, Delia shot me a fierce glare.
While I was still dizzy from the rush of activity, the ceremonial robes were thrown over me. As I slid my arms through the sleeves, Rosina came with the sash and began wrapping it.
Delia brought a yellow, ribbon-like strip of fabric and handed it to Rosina, who wound it over the sash and tied it decoratively.
...What amazing teamwork.
Almost at the same moment Rosina finished adjusting the sash, Delia smoothly pulled out the hairpin. Before my hair could even fall, Rosina guided me to a chair by the arm and had me sit down.
"Myne-sama, you'll be dealing with the Knights. No matter what unpleasant things happen, please be careful never to let it show on your face."
"...Yes."
While I sat in the chair and Rosina brushed my hair, Delia retrieved an ornate hairpin from the closet—the one that had been used for my baptism ceremony.
"Myne-sama, please use this hairpin."
"Yes."
I took the hairpin offered to me and affixed it as I always did.
"Myne-sama is ready."
At Delia's voice, Fran came running up the stairs. Wearing a waist-pouch-like bag, Fran set down the tools he used for paperwork in the High Priest's room onto the table.
"Rosina, please take care of tidying up here. Myne-sama, we're in a hurry, so forgive the rudeness."
Saying this, Fran scooped me up again and began striding forward.
"Fran, where is the Noble's Gate?"
"It's located at the very back of the temple's noble district. The Noble's Gate connects to the Noble's Quarter—it's the gate blue priests use when returning home or heading to the Noble's Quarter for ceremonies."
I see. Not only had I been careful not to wander around the noble district too much to avoid running into blue priests, but as a commoner with absolutely no business in the Noble's Quarter, it was a gate I'd never had any reason to use.
"Thank you for waiting."
Stepping through the door at the back of the noble district, we found the High Priest clad in silvery-white armor and
The High Priest wore what could be called plate armor, covering his entire body, and held his helmet in his left hand. The blue cloak against his silvery armor added a vivid splash of color.
Ahead of us rose a towering wall, as if meant to separate the city from the outside world, and a massive double door that seemed impossible for human strength to open. Both were built from the same white stone as the temple, reflecting the sunlight so brightly it was blinding.
"Are those your ceremonial robes?"
"Yes."
Fran set me down, and the High Priest looked down at me, narrowing his eyes slightly. He twirled his finger, signaling me to turn around.
"The pattern is a bit unfamiliar, but it's better than I expected."
The High Priest relaxed his expression slightly as he complimented the ceremonial robes, then called out, "Arno." Arno came toward me, holding something out.
"Myne, you were born in summer, right? I'll lend you this. Wear it on your middle finger."
At the High Priest's words, Arno handed me a ring with a large blue stone. I accepted the obviously oversized ring and expressed my thanks.
*It's way too big?* I thought as I placed it on my left middle finger as instructed. The next instant, the stone glowed blue and shrank on its own until it fit me perfectly.
"Wh-whoa?!"
"Don't be so surprised by something like this."
"E-even if you say that..."
There was no way I could stay calm. This was far from "something like this" to me.
The fact that the High Priest was lending me this ring meant I was going to a place where it was necessary. A fantasy world where none of my common sense would apply.
"Wait there."
After calling this to us, the High Priest walked forward with a clanking sound and placed his hand before the massive gate. Just as when he opened the hidden room in his quarters, a large magic circle appeared and glowed. Then, slowly but on its own, the gate opened.
Even though I'd been used to automatic doors in my former life as Rinne, seeing one for the first time in this world still made my heart nearly leap out of my chest.
"Wha—?!"
"You're showing your commoner side. At least stay quiet."
The High Priest was quite the demanding one, telling me—someone who was nothing but a commoner—to do the impossible. Yet Arno and Fran, who regularly accompanied him to the Noble's Quarter as his attendants, seemed completely used to it, remaining composed without batting an eye.
If this was normal for nobles and common enough that attendants experienced it alongside their masters, then my constant amazement would surely earn me strange looks from the Knights. I clenched my jaw tightly.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
The High Priest strode toward the fully opened gate, followed by Arno and Fran, who had once again scooped me up.
Beyond the gate lay the Noble's Quarter. I was stunned by how dramatically a single gate separated it from the Lower Town where I lived.
Before the gate was a stone-paved square with a large fountain. The stones gleamed white, and the same stone formed roads and wide avenues. Unlike the Lower Town, where narrow, tall buildings were crammed together, as far as the eye could see, white stone paving and lush green parks stretched on endlessly.
Above all, unlike my foul and dirty neighborhood, not a speck of filth was to be found. It was terrifyingly clean and beautiful. As if separated by some barrier, even the air felt different.
"Myne-sama, please behave like a noble."
Fran, still holding me, whispered in a voice so quiet only I could hear. I nodded and put on the elegant smile Rosina had taught me.
In the square of white stone paving stood about twenty men in silvery-white armor similar to the High Priest's. The difference was their matching ochre cloaks. They were undoubtedly the Knights. The men seemed to notice the gate opening, gathered together, and formed four ranks.
Only the man in the front row held his helmet tucked under his arm. He was a large, red-haired man. His movements were refined and graceful, but his aura was distinctly that of a warrior—imposing and fierce. When he knelt before the High Priest, the assembled Knights knelt in unison with a clatter.
"It's wonderful to see you in good health, Lord Ferdinand."
"Ah,
The man called Karstedt, who was speaking with the High Priest, was likely the commander—some kind of leader, the person in charge of the Knights assembled here.
"There are few of you."
"Many still haven't returned from the Harvest Festival."
"It can't be helped. This isn't something that can wait."
The High Priest sighed lightly in resignation and raised his hand slightly. Fran set me down and gently nudged my back forward.
"Karstedt, this is Myne, the apprentice shrine maiden who will be performing the ceremony. Please take good care of her."
"My name is Myne. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Karstedt."
I knelt before Karstedt and greeted him the same way I would a noble. Our eyes met as he remained kneeling, and his pale blue eyes narrowed as if scrutinizing me.
"The pleasure is mine."
"Then, let's depart."
At the High Priest's words, all the Knights rose in unison and touched the stone set into the right gauntlet of their armor. The stones glowed, and animal sculptures burst forth, filling the square. The motionless, multicolored animals seemed to have been created from the stones in the gauntlets. Every Knight's gauntlet now had a round hole where the stone had been.
"Karstedt, have someone share a ride with the attendants. Myne will ride with me."
As he gave these orders, the High Priest—now wearing his helmet—lifted me up and placed me atop an animal that looked like a white lion with wings. Prioritizing stability, I straddled the lion-like creature.
The High Priest leaped onto the creature behind me with a lightness that belied his full suit of armor, and the moment he gripped the reins, the sculpture began to move like a real animal.
"Gyaa?!"
The unexpected movement jolted my body, and I slammed the back of my head hard against the High Priest's chest.
"I-ouch..."
"Keep your mouth shut. You'll bite your tongue."
I clenched my back teeth, leaned my body forward slightly, and gripped the reins swaying before me tightly.
The winged lion took a few light galloping steps, then spread its wings and soared into the sky. I felt something catch midway, like a spider's web being torn through, but it lasted only a moment. We soared through the sky, flying over the Lower Town.
"Whoa, so high..."
"Weren't you scared?"
"I was just surprised by the unfamiliar phenomenon. Since there's hardly any shaking, it's less scary than a carriage."
"Oh..."
This strange lion flying through the sky was like a slow-speed roller coaster. With less shaking than a carriage, there was no sense of instability. The lack of a safety belt gave quite a thrill, but with the High Priest's arms gripping the reins on either side of me from behind, it wasn't all that scary.
Around us, similar flying animal sculptures began to appear. Pegasi seemed to be the most popular, with pegasi of various colors soaring through the sky. There were also wolf-like and tiger-like animals. Personally, I thought the cutest one was a rabbit with wings.
"High Priest, what are these animals?"
"Magic stones that have been transformed. As long as the supply of mana continues, they'll move freely. What they're transformed into depends on the caster's preference."
We raced through the Lower Town's streets and crossed the gate. The main road continued, and in the distance, the faint outline of another city's outer walls was visible. Around the city, harvested farmlands and lush green forests spread out in patches.
"High Priest, where are we going?"
"There."
The High Priest pointed far into the forest where we usually gathered materials. It looked like a giant crater—a hole yawned open in the forest where nothing else existed.
...A hole in the forest?
Looking more closely, that area alone had exposed soil with no trees or grass, and at its very center, a massive tree was thrashing wildly, swinging its long branches. And the more the tree thrashed, the more the crater seemed to be expanding.
"Wh-what is that?"
"It's a magical plant called a Trombe."
"Huh?! That's a Trombe?!"
The Trombe thrashing in the center of the crater looked nothing like the twiggy little sprouts I knew. I couldn't recognize it at all.
Now that I thought about it,
This was dangerous.
I finally understood why Lutz had been so furious when I'd said I wanted to cultivate Trombe back when I first started making paper.
"It will be your turn once the Knights have finished cutting them down. Until then, it's dangerous, so stay hidden in the forest."
"Yes."
He said that after the Knights defeated the giant Trombe, it would be the High Priest's job to refill the land—stripped of mana down to the roots—with mana once more.
And this time, with so few Knights available, the High Priest would apparently be joining the fighting side as well.
...The High Priest really is good at everything.
The High Priest guided the reins, descending toward an open area a short distance from the Trombe crater, and the Knights followed suit, landing as well.
"Myne, Fran, and Arno will wait here. Karstedt, select about two guards."
The High Priest slipped down from the lion, looked back, and called out to Karstedt. Karstedt gave a slight nod and designated the guards.
"
"Yes, sir!"
Damuel and Shikikoza, the two designated guards, dismounted from their pegasus-like animals and dismissed them. Trails of sparkling light flew back into the holes in their gauntlets, restoring the original stones.
"Thank you for the ride."
"I appreciate your help."
Fran and Arno thanked the Knight who had given them a ride and hopped down gracefully. I tried to follow their example and dismount with similar elegance, but the High Priest glared at me before I could, his eyes alone scolding me to stop.
...I forgot. Elegant, elegant.
I remembered my place, shifted my position on the lion's back—it had become a completely motionless sculpture—and waited with my feet together. The High Priest lifted me down, muttering, "Honestly, you..." in a low voice.
"Make sure you protect the apprentice shrine maiden without a single scratch."
At the High Priest's words, the guard Knights nodded with a firm "Yes, sir!"
Even as we exchanged words, the Trombe crater was gradually growing. Suddenly, I heard the rustling of birds taking flight, followed by a thunderous crash and the ground shaking.
"Gyaa?!"
I saw a massive tree fall between the others. As it toppled toward the Trombe crater, roots burst from the earth as if they had a will of their own, wrapping around it. Before my eyes, the tree's leaves withered and fell, and its thick trunk dried up as if drained of all life. Having taken what they needed, the roots retreated back into the earth.
The monstrous nature of the Trombe—something I'd never imagined—sent cold sweat trailing down my spine. I alternated between looking at the Trombe raging among the trees and the Knights heading into battle, then knelt where I was.
"High Priest, everyone in the Knights... I pray for your martial fortune. May you receive the divine protection of Angriff, the God of Martial Valor and descendant of
The instant I spoke those words, the ring I'd borrowed from the High Priest glowed blue, and light rained down upon the Knights. Realizing the ring's stone was absorbing my mana, I hastily suppressed it. When I pulled my mana back, the ring's light faded.
"A shrine maiden's blessing! Move out!"
"Yes, sir!"
At Karstedt's words, I finally understood what I had done. I glanced up at the High Priest, and he was looking down at me with an indescribably complicated expression.
"Myne, I'm begging you—please, *please* stay quiet until it's your turn."
The High Priest emphasized his plea before mounting the lion-like creature and soaring back into the sky. The Knights followed, gripping their reins and heading skyward as well.
Finally, I was able to let it show. A world that feels like fantasy.
A giant Trombe is on a rampage.
Next time: Trombe subjugation.