When I entered the small hall, I immediately noticed a cloth bearing a magic circle spread across the floor that was usually pristine white. It appeared to be the teleportation circle used to transfer goods for the tax collectors and the High Priest. I was wondering what it was for when I caught Ruffen's eye—he was standing in front of it, hands planted firmly on his hips in a wide, imposing stance.
"Oh, Lady
Ruffen was smiling with a brightness that could have made his white teeth gleam, but I had no idea what he was looking forward to. I deflected with a polite smile and began scanning the room for
As I looked around, I spotted Hannelore chatting with
"Good day, Brother Wilfried, Lady Hannelore."
"You're late, Rozemyne."
"I came straight from the Library, even so. This is the best I can manage."
As I answered Wilfried, Hannelore tilted her head with a smile. "Lady Rozemyne, were you at the Library?"
"Yes. I needed to register Ehrenfest's first-year students and supply Magic Power to Schwarz and Weiss."
"Schwarz and Weiss must be doing well, then. You've made me want to visit the Library as well."
As expected, Hannelore was interested in the Library. Pleased by this, I decided to broach the subject of the tea party right away. If I planted the idea now, I could send a formal invitation later through her attendants.
"I was speaking with Teacher
"The book lovers' tea party?"
"Yes. Since Teacher Solange is the only Librarian, she can't leave the Library. So we hold the tea party in the Library's office during periods when few students are using it. Would that work for your schedule?"
Hannelore murmured "Let me see..." while tilting her head slightly in thought.
"The lectures tend to end fairly quickly, so I should have time in the mornings about ten days from now."
"In that case, I'll prepare for the tea party and invite both Teacher Solange and Lady Hannelore. The venue will be the Library, though."
"I'll look forward to it."
Hannelore was still smiling happily when the bell for the half-past-four hour began to ring. The chatter died down as everyone turned their gazes toward where the instructors were lining up. Primverre was visible near Ruffen, but it was Ruffen alone who stood out with his eyes sparkling with almost unsettling enthusiasm.
As soon as the bell finished, Ruffen swept his gaze across the students and raised his voice.
"Good, everyone's here? Today we'll be practicing Schtappe transformation. This year's assignment is to create a weapon and a shield."
...Wow, Teacher Ruffen is really, really getting into this.
"Nobles must possess the power to fight—to protect themselves and to defend their territories! This isn't limited to knights alone!"
Ruffen launched into a speech about the role
"The lord's family must have the power to fight in order to protect their domain. Only the lord can ultimately protect the Foundation's magic. And the high-ranking knights who serve close to the lord are naturally expected to possess combat-specialized abilities. Even the attendants who manage daily life must be able to protect their lord. Civil officials are no different. You never know when danger might strike. At the very least, you must be able to buy enough time for the lord to escape—that is the bare minimum for a close retainer. Am I wrong? Strength! That is what matters above all else!"
The girls looked on with mixed reactions to Ruffen's heated declaration, fists clenched and eyes blazing. The boys were fired up, but the girls were considerably less enthusiastic. The temperature difference was stark. At a glance, a few girls were listening with genuine interest—they were almost certainly knight apprentices.
...Teacher Ruffen's intensity is a bit much and I kind of want to back away, but what he's saying isn't wrong. Combat strength and defensive capability are essential. Emergencies really do happen without warning.
Nobles from other duches had caused disturbances in the
But the apprentice civil officials and apprentice attendants wore expressions that clearly said this didn't resonate with them. Perhaps, with the political upheaval over and the noble population drastically reduced, fewer of them felt personally threatened.
At that moment, Primverre glided forward with a serene smile and came to a stop before Ruffen. She surveyed the girls with a slow, sweeping gaze and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Some of you may think that fighting should be left to knights and men. But that is a mistake. It is precisely women who must have the power to defend themselves. After all, you mustn't let unsavory gentlemen get too close."
As though jolted awake, the girls' faces lifted, their eyes turning serious. Seeing this, Primverre gave a single nod, stepped slightly back behind Ruffen, and yielded the floor.
"Everyone seems motivated—that's good. Now, let's start by practicing shields!"
Weapons had their individual advantages and drawbacks, and the weapons needed by knight apprentices differed from those of civil official or apprentice attendant candidates. He explained that they would begin with shields so that everyone could make the same item regardless, and Ruffen and Primverre began pulling shield after shield from the teleportation circle. They were rectangular metal shields engraved with a simple wind magic circle.
"We had these made from metal to standardize the shield shape. Envision this shield and chant Geteilt to transform your Schtappe. Like this—Geteilt!"
Ruffen transformed his Schtappe and produced a shield. Come to think of it, during last year's Retrieve the Treasure Ditter, both Dunkelfelger's knight apprentices and Ehrenfest's knight apprentices had been wielding identical shields. That made sense if this was what they learned in lectures, I thought with a nod of understanding as I examined the shield in Ruffen's grip.
"When aligning shields to block a large attack, having uniform size and width makes it easier to form a proper defense. Since Geteilt creates shields with Magic Power, they're not heavy. Even female civil officials and attendants should be able to make them without trouble."
The shape seemed to have been designed with knights in mind, but apparently they weren't heavy. That was welcome news for someone as physically weak as me. I was about to try making one when Ruffen raised a shield high and pointed to what appeared to be a simple magic circle engraved on its surface.
"Can you see the magic circle engraved here? By layering the protection of the Wind Goddess
...Hm? Doesn't that mean I'd get better results visualizing the Divine Instrument shield of Schutzaria from the Temple, rather than this simple magic circle?
The Divine Instrument shield bore a far more complex magic circle and was studded with numerous magic stones.
...But making Schutzaria's shield rectangular was going to be really difficult.
To me, the Wind Goddess Schutzaria's shield was round. More than that, it was most often used as a hemispherical dome that enveloped me and those I wanted to protect in a circular barrier. Being told to make it rectangular, I couldn't quickly overwrite the fixed image in my mind. If I did a poor job of it, it might even affect my ability to create Wind shields going forward.
While Hannelore and Wilfried took out their Schtappes and began practicing Geteilt, I stood there alone, wrestling with my dilemma.
"Lady Rozemyne, you look terribly troubled."
"It can't be that difficult, can it?"
Hannelore and Wilfried peered at me without even taking out their Schtappes, watching me think.
"It is difficult. To me, Schutzaria's shield has always been round. Being told to suddenly envision it as a square— I simply can't switch that quickly."
"Schutzaria's shield is round? Lady Rozemyne, have you seen it yourself?"
Nobles who didn't regularly visit the Temple apparently didn't even know the shape of the
"The Divine Instrument shield displayed on the altar is round. It just feels more natural to me that way."
"Why not ask Teacher Ruffen whether a round shield won't work?"
"Good idea. At this rate, I won't pass by the end of today. I'll go ask."
I made my way over to Ruffen, who was watching everyone practice, and asked, "Would a round shield not be acceptable?"
"As someone raised in the Temple, the Divine Instrument shield feels more natural to me."
"But Lady Rozemyne, knight apprentices must use the same shape so they can train together."
Ruffen's troubled expression made me tilt my head. Knight apprentices did need to coordinate with others during training, so matching the shape made a certain amount of sense. But I was a lord candidate, and I had absolutely no plans to fight alongside anyone.
"Teacher Ruffen, I'm a lord candidate, so I have no intention of fighting in tandem with anyone. I don't see the issue with a round shield."
Ruffen folded his arms and cocked his head as though he couldn't comprehend my words.
"
"When you ask me why... it's because I'm not interested."
Ruffen's jaw dropped so far I thought it might dislocate, and he shook his head back and forth. "No, that can't be... surely not..." he muttered, before his eyes went wide and he leaned in close.
"Lady Rozemyne, what about the Ditter!? If you don't take the knight course, you won't be able to participate in the Ditter!?"
"I don't understand why Teacher Ruffen is so surprised. It's not as if I'm particularly fond of the Ditter."
"Whaaat!?"
...Just how much of a Ditter fan did people think I was?
As Ruffen launched into an impassioned speech about the glories of the Ditter, the conversation about shield shapes drifting further and further away, I looked around desperately for someone to save me.
...S-someone, help!
The one who came forward, responding to my silent plea with graceful steps like water flowing downstream, was Primverre. She touched her cheek and smiled. "How troublesome," she murmured.
"The Ditter is not to be discussed during class, Ruffen."
"But Primverre, Lady Rozemyne..."
Primverre raised her hand lightly to cut Ruffen off, then looked down at me with a gentle smile.
"Please show me your shield, Lady Rozemyne."
"Yes, Teacher Primverre."
I drew my Schtappe and gripped it in my hand, filling it with Magic Power. Then I closed my eyes lightly and clearly visualized Schutzaria's shield in my mind. There was no one I needed to protect today. Something about the size of a large pot lid should do.
"Geteilt!"
The Schutzaria shield I had created countless times in prayer appeared in my hand. It was a noble yellow, semi-transparent. And across its surface, an intricate pattern that looked like a complex magic circle was displayed. It was exactly the shield I had envisioned.
"...A Divine Instrument."
Ruffen stared at my shield in stunned disbelief. Murmurs rippled through the surrounding students. When everyone else was practicing square shields and I was the only one who had created a round one, standing out was inevitable.
...What matters is passing.
Still holding the shield, I turned my questioning gaze toward Primverre. She smiled, nodded, and said, "Then let's proceed with the examination."
"All right, take your stance!"
Ruffen, his face alight with fighting spirit, pulled a magic stone from his leather bag—roughly the size of the first joint of his thumb. He held it between thumb and forefinger to show its size, then wound up and hurled it at my shield with all his strength.
"Eeek!"
Even knowing I was supposed to block with the shield, having a stone thrown at you full force was terrifying. I instinctively poured Magic Power into my shield.
"Whoa!?"
The instant it struck, the magic stone burst apart with a spectacular bang. Wind erupted from the shield and sent Ruffen flying. At the same time, one of the protective charms I was wearing activated. Apparently, having a magic stone hurled at me counted as being attacked. A bracelet on the wrist gripping the shield began to glow.
"Teacher Ruffen, defend yourself! A counterattack is coming!"
"Geteilt!"
Perhaps it was combat instinct. The instant the charm on my wrist began to glow, Ruffen's face went pale. He threw himself into action and had his shield up almost simultaneously with my warning.
A beam of attack Magic Power shot from the charm on my wrist, flying straight toward Ruffen like an arrow. Seeing him block the counterattack with his well-prepared shield, I let out a breath of relief.
"Lady Rozemyne, what was that just now?"
"A protective charm Ferdinand-sama gave me to ensure I could defend myself if something happened. Since all he did was throw a magic stone, I'm glad it was only a mild counterattack."
"*That* was a mild counterattack!?"
Ruffen's eyes went wide with shock, but what had just activated was actually the weakest counterattack charm among the terrifyingly powerful ones the High Priest had given me. Even if he'd taken it without a shield, it wouldn't have killed him. It would have hurt terribly, but he'd be fine. For reference, the most brutal charm was one that guaranteed you *couldn't* die—the High Priest had told me that with the corner of his lips curled upward.
"The details are a secret. ...More importantly, how did I do? Did I pass?"
"Lady Rozemyne, you were able to reproduce a Divine Instrument itself. Your shield passes."
"Thank you, Teacher Primverre."
I beamed at Primverre, who had declared me passed, then chanted "Lueken" to cancel the transformation. I turned to head back toward Wilfried and the others.
Instantly, the crowd parted as though fleeing from me. I could see a hint of fear on their faces—undoubtedly the High Priest's charm at work.
Since they'd so graciously cleared a path, I walked straight back to Wilfried.
"I passed the shield, Brother Wilfried. It seems knight apprentices have to match shield shapes, but since I'm a lord candidate, a round shield is apparently no problem."
"Rozemyne—is *that* really the only thing you have to say about this situation?"
Wilfried held his head in his hands as he said this. I looked around for something else to address.
"Something else...? Oh, right. The Divine Instruments' shields use more complex magic circles, so they have greater defensive power as well. Since you're not taking the knight course either, Brother Wilfried, perhaps you could try making a Divine Instrument shield."
"That's not what I— you're carrying around some rather dangerous charms, aren't you? At the very least, couldn't you remove them during practical lessons? You're endangering everyone around you."
Wilfried shook his head slowly, his brow furrowed in a troubled expression. I understood what he was saying, but these were charms the High Priest had deemed necessary and told me to keep on me. I couldn't just remove them on my own.
"I certainly don't want to put anyone else in danger. If Brother Wilfried could obtain Ferdinand-sama's permission for me to take them off, I'd be happy to oblige. Would you ask for me?"
At my words, Wilfried put on the polished, practiced smile of a proper noble and shook his head slowly.
"Shield practice time is over. Make sure to continue practicing on your own."
At Ruffen's announcement, Hannelore let out a quiet sigh. It was easy enough to shape a shield with Geteilt, she explained, but layering a magic circle on top of it was the difficult part.
Wilfried was torn between making the same rectangular shield as everyone else and attempting to recreate the more powerful Divine Instrument shield. Since you couldn't transform your Schtappe without a clear image in your mind, he needed to decide quickly, but he seemed to be in a real bind. Having learned about Schutzaria's shield through both Kartas and the Holy Book, he felt he could probably do either one—which only made the decision harder.
"Ugh, today I haven't done anything except agonize over decisions."
"You don't need to visit the Library, Brother Wilfried, so you can take your time thinking it over. That's how you came up with the crested Schtappe last year, isn't it?"
He'd spent a considerable amount of time crafting his Schtappe back then too, so maybe he'd end up creating an impressive shield as well.
While we talked, Ruffen and Primverre began pulling weapons from the teleportation circle one after another. Swords, spears, scythes, axes—they were laid out in a long row. Every single weapon was designed for slashing.
"...There are no bows, I see. Ferdinand-sama used one, though."
It was Hannelore who answered my murmur.
"Bows require training to hit a magic stone, so I hear they aren't covered in a basic instruction session like this. They say bows are handled in the knight course."
"Lady Hannelore, you're remarkably well-informed."
"Dunkelfelger has a higher proportion of knights than other duches, so conversations in the dormitory naturally tend to revolve around the knight apprentices."
Hannelore ducked her head with an embarrassed smile. Dunkelfelger's dormitory apparently had quite an athletic culture. Bookish, soft-spoken Hannelore might well have felt out of place there.
"Next up: weapons. For the apprentice civil officials and attendants, there may be some you've never seen up close. Choose the weapon that suits you and transform your Schtappe. Knight apprentices, I want you to learn to handle a sword plus one additional weapon. Understood?"
At the sound of Ruffen's voice, everyone began moving toward the array of weapons. Wilfried, apparently intrigued as well, hurried over.
"Schwert for a sword, Lanze for a spear, Riesicher for a scythe, Axt for an axe..."
As I listened to Ruffen explain the transformation incantations, I thought to myself.
If all I needed to do was transform my Schtappe into a weapon, a spear would be the simplest. I'd held one before and saw one regularly, so I could easily visualize Leydenhaft's spear.
...But being able to hold it was a different matter from being able to wield it.
"Lady Rozemyne, aren't you going to look at the weapons?"
"Oh. I think I'll be able to bring mine out immediately..."
"You can bring it out right away? Could it be that your weapons are Divine Instruments as well?"
Hannelore's red eyes blinked rapidly as she fixed me with a stare. The expectation was palpable. When your friend looked at you like that, there was no refusing.
"Lady Hannelore, if you'd like... would you care to see Leydenhaft's spear?"
"May I?"
I drew my Schtappe first and closed my eyes lightly. In my mind, I visualized Leydenhaft's spear—the one I'd gripped while defeating the Schneeturm. The size, the number of magic stones—I could recall it all with crystal clarity, burned into my memory.
Beneath thick gray clouds, the Schneeturm had whipped up a blinding white blizzard. To defeat it, a figure in a golden-yellow mantle had fought desperately. And in my own hand, I had held Leydenhaft's spear, glowing blue as I poured Magic Power to its very limit.
"Lanze."
The spear materialized in my hand exactly as I had envisioned it. Perhaps because I had visualized it so clearly during the battle against the Schneeturm, the moment it appeared it was already brimming with Magic Power and radiating a brilliant blue glow—utterly alarming.
"...Is that Leydenhaft's spear? It's so beautiful."
I was still basking in Hannelore's awestruck whisper when the appearance of the glowing blue spear sent Ruffen rushing over in a panic, his face drained of color.
"Lady Rozemyne, what is this!?"
"It's Leydenhaft's spear. It was the one I was most familiar with. After all, I was raised in the Temple."
I deflected the questions about my expertise with Divine Instruments using my go-to excuse of being "Temple-raised," then tilted my head with the spear still in hand.
"Teacher Ruffen, is there also an examination for weapons?"
"...If that much Magic Power were unleashed, it would be quite devastating. I'll pass you—please cancel the transformation."
He muttered this with a look of extreme frustration, clearly wishing he could verify the weapon's power with his own eyes—but this wasn't the knights' dedicated training hall. With that, he granted me a pass.
I chanted "Lueken" and canceled the transformation.
"Lady Rozemyne, thank you for showing us such a magnificent display."
Using Leydenhaft's spear as my personal weapon wasn't particularly practical, but I'd gotten my pass and Hannelore had been delighted, so I'd count that as a win.
"Still, I can't think of a weapon that would actually suit me. What should I do?"
Hannelore, accustomed to seeing weapons everywhere in Dunkelfelger, didn't need to examine the display. But she couldn't seem to decide what to transform hers into either.
As Hannelore pondered beside me, I agonized along with her. Swinging a sword seemed out of the question. I'd used a spear once, but it wasn't really my type of weapon. I wanted something more convenient and easy to use.
...If I were going to make a bow, something like a crossbow would be ideal—something that didn't require much strength. If I could make it like the High Priest's bow, where the arrows split apart and rained down in a barrage, I could compensate for poor accuracy.
Hmm, I groaned as I thought.
...A weapon I could easily use. Ideally, one that could attack from a distance, preferably from Lesser Beast form.
No matter how I looked at it, I was not suited for close combat. Being able to attack from range while protecting myself was the way to go. Call me cowardly if you want—safety first. My own life was precious to me.
But thinking back to my days as Reina, I couldn't recall ever wielding anything that could properly be called a weapon.
...Kitchen knives, pocket knives, craft knives, box cutters, scissors—any of those could technically be weapons, but I wouldn't want to use them as such, and they'd be pretty useless against magical beasts. I was a pacifist, so I'd never gone on the offensive. Well, I did have memories of being attacked, though.
When I was a kid, Shu-chan had a toy gun that made electronic noises and flashed lights. I was forced to be shot and pretend to fall down, after which I'd lie on the ground reading a book. And whenever summer rolled around, I'd often get shot in the back while reading.
"...A water gun?"
Still clutching my Schtappe, the words slipped out—and in my hand appeared a translucent, cheap-looking water gun perfectly sized for a child's grip.
...How weak!
My Schtappe transformation was a pass, at least. Yep, a pass.
But the development and strengthening of a Rozemyne-exclusive weapon was sorely needed.
Next time: weapon upgrades.