"
That was the first thing the Chief Priest said to me upon arriving at the dormitory, before we even went inside. Healing could mend wounds and alleviate pain, but it wouldn't restore Magic Power, so I understood why recovery potions were needed. Still, the Chief Priest always kept recovery potions on hand.
"You must have some, Lord
"If I use those, I'll lose my recovery potions as well. Having used up nearly all of my Magical Tools, I'd like to at least keep my recovery potions close at hand."
...He had looked composed enough, but had his victory actually been that close?
I handed him the metal tube resembling a test tube that held my recovery potion, which I carried at my waist. At the same time, I stretched out my arm and asked, "Wouldn't it be wise to hold on to at least one protective charm as well?"
"No. I'd rather not thin your defenses any further."
Without changing his expression in the slightest, the Chief Priest downed the foul-tasting medicine in one gulp, then handed the empty tube to
"Um, Lord Ferdinand."
"You needn't worry. No other territory would be brazen enough to suddenly challenge us to a Ditter match."
I could tell he was trying to end the conversation there, so I released his sleeve and smiled lightly to ease the mood.
"It would be troublesome if there were several territories like
"No, if there were several, they'd be busy fighting each other to their hearts' content. That would make things much easier for us."
"I'm not so sure about that. I have a feeling Higashitze would challenge you to a match no matter what."
"...Don't say such unpleasant things."
We returned to the dormitory, but everyone else had already finished lunch and headed back for the second half of the tournament. The dining hall was deserted. The Chief Priest and I quickly ate and returned to the training grounds where the Inter-Territorial Competition was being held.
"Did we make it in time?"
"Yeah,
The order for the second half apparently depended on the results of the mock battles held during lectures. Ehrenfest had done quite well this year, so they were scheduled near the end.
Walking to our designated area, we passed through the various territories' socializing zones. With family members coming and going, the Nobility tower—normally dominated by black robes—was now full of colorful outfits. It was a pleasure just to watch.
Everyone was dressed according to central trends, but looking closely, each territory had its own subtle flavor.
"That's Finsturm. This one should be over quickly."
"Since it's a common magical beast used frequently in training, it should go down easy," the Chief Priest murmured, glancing toward the arena.
The people from Ahrensbach were clustered at the front, cheering. From my height, all I could see was a sea of wisteria-colored cloaks and the occasional riding beast soaring above the arena, its wisteria cloak fluttering. I couldn't even tell what magical beasts were out there.
Giving up on watching Ahrensbach's battle, I hurried along. We had to get back to our spot before Ehrenfest's turn. That was the top priority.
"What place do you think Ehrenfest will end up in this Ditter?"
"Speed-based events have a significant element of luck. The ranking changes a great deal depending on whether a familiar or particularly troublesome beast appears."
"If they could just overpower everything with raw attack power, it'd be simple enough—but the knight apprentices probably got complacent. You never know what kind of creature might show up that students can't handle alone. That's the dangerous part."
As the Chief Priest murmured about the difficulties, we arrived at Ehrenfest's area.
Our Lord spotted us and asked, "Did you win?" I nodded broadly.
"Your demonstration of kingly authority was magnificent, sir. I've been reminded once again that Ferdinand possesses no knightly qualities whatsoever."
"I'm not a knight, so being un-knightly isn't a problem. But you were cheering for the other side during the match, weren't you? I'd appreciate it if you showed a bit more saintly behavior."
The Chief Priest huffed and glared at me.
"Oh my. I formed a Szeria shield, sent the blessing of Anglivief the God of War, and even used Lungschmerz's healing at the end. I'm sure it must have looked very saintly to the observers."
Unlike last year's Ditter against Dunkelfelger, I hadn't employed any unusual strategies or issued any commands. I had sat obediently in my riding beast, watching the match unfold.
My Lord raised his hand lightly, cutting off my rebuttal.
"Rozemyne, the match details can wait. How did it actually end up?"
"The Aub of Dunkelfelger said she would discuss the specifics of the book sales at a later time."
My Lord nodded in understanding and turned his gaze to his wife. She smiled more deeply. Was I imagining the hint of menace behind it?
"They probably need time as well. The First Wife and the others around her will need to talk things over. We're in the same boat."
My Lord murmured that if the men hadn't gone on their rampage and arranged the match on their own, the women would be furious right about now. It seemed he'd been reprimanded by his wife for letting the Ditter challenge happen without consulting her.
"It will become an important matter at the Lord's Conference with Dunkelfelger. In exchange for getting our way on printing matters to some extent, they'll extract a trade deal in return. I'm counting on the Aub's skillful handling."
Just as the Chief Priest shrugged, a tremendous cheer erupted, and Luewen's amplified voice—boosted by a Magical Tool—boomed across the venue.
"Ehrenfest, move forward!"
The knight apprentices who had been stationed in the forward area, where the arena was visible, mounted their riding beasts and descended one by one. Bright yellow-brown cloaks filled the arena as they galloped around it.
"So, how much have they grow?"
The one who said this with keen interest was Father, the Knight Commander. Mother had come a step behind him to witness brother
Starting with my Lord and Lady,
"My Lady, please use this."
Before I could even turn around, Rihyarda had quietly set up a platform. When I stepped onto it, my head cleared the wall with no problem. I could see the knight apprentices' positions clearly.
"Thank you, Rihyarda."
"Now then, let us cheer them on."
My retainers gathered around me. My heart fluttering with anticipation, I watched the arena as the teacher responsible for creating magical beasts through magic circles arrived. As cheers erupted, the person who waved in response was Frauleurm.
She glanced toward Ehrenfest and gave a little chuckle. I had a terrible feeling. And it wasn't just me—voices saying "Oh no" and "Of all people..." drifted from the surroundings.
"Why isn't it Luewen-sensei?"
When I puffed out my cheeks at Frauleurm's appearance, Father—who watched the Ditter every year—explained.
"It's very taxing for Luewen-sensei to activate all the magic circles by himself, so multiple teachers handle each Ditter match. According to
...Meaning Ehrenfest drew the short straw.
"She won't pull any more of her usual tricks, will she?"
When I said this, Father shrugged and the Chief Priest said, "She can't do much."
"Given how many eyes are on her, she'd have to limit herself to things that won't hurt her reputation as a teacher. At most, she can throw in a lesser-known magical beast or one that's tedious to defeat."
"It's easy for you to say, Lord Ferdinand, but wouldn't that put us at an enormous disadvantage in a speed-based competition?"
Because of our excellent sixth-place finish in the mock battles, Ehrenfest was competing in this position. If we performed embarrassingly when those before and after us were putting up solid showings, it would give everyone yet another reason to mock Ehrenfest—especially since we'd been climbing rapidly in the rankings.
The Chief Priest lowered his voice. "There's someone at that field who knows obscure magical beasts and remained calm even then. There's not much to worry about."
It seemed he had a high opinion of how they'd handled the Ternisbefallen. In other words, everything hinged on whether
Frauleurm drew her staff and spoke a few words. The magic circle activated, blazing with brilliant light. When the glow subsided, a large, lumpy mass was visible. It was enormous, but unlike the previous beasts, it didn't roar or attack immediately. I couldn't even tell where its head was—I briefly wondered if Frauleurm had failed to create the beast properly.
"Hunderttairen. How troublesome," the Chief Priest muttered with distaste.
It was a beast that kept splitting apart when attacked. It would keep dividing until it reached the smallest size, making it impossible to defeat until it was fully split. It wasn't particularly strong, but it consumed a great deal of time. It apparently lived near the sea close to Ahrensbach.
"What is that? I've never seen anything like it."
"Is that really a magical beast?"
While the spectators looked down and murmured in confusion, Frauleurm briefly glanced our way, then exited. Luewen, acting as referee, shouted, "Begin!"
With the motionless Hunderttairen below, Leonore gathered everyone together and gave them instructions.
I could see
"Ho? She knows how to handle the Hunderttairen. She's studied well," the Chief Priest said, clearly impressed, his voice sounding very satisfied.
An all-out attack from the start? I blinked in surprise, but the Chief Priest's words reassured me that Traugott hadn't gone berserk. I breathed a sigh of relief.
When Leonore's raised right hand swept downward, brother Cornelius swung his sword, sending a mass of Magic Power hurtling toward the Hunderttairen. Traugott swung his sword in sync with Cornelius.
Immediately after, while Traugott raised his shield to brace for the impact, brother Cornelius began charging Magic Power once again. Leonore moved in front of him, shield raised, protecting him from the shockwave.
...Even in the middle of a battle, those two look like they're in their own little world.
I wasn't the only one who thought so—Mother let out a delighted voice. Good. Let this serve as material for a new knight story.
Sheltered behind Leonore's shield as she withstood the impact, brother Cornelius finished charging his Magic Power and raised his sword.
"Haah!"
The mass of Magic Power he launched was smaller compared to the first strike, but it flew straight toward the Hunderttairen. With a deep boom and a crackling shockwave that made the air vibrate, something small exploded and scattered in all directions.
"Go for the head! Take them down quickly before they can recombine!"
At
What had looked like a lumpy mass turned out to be a snake-like magical beast made of numerous smaller snakes clustered and merged together. The combined assault of Traugott and brother Cornelius had apparently split it completely.
"Once the Hunderttairen is fully split, all you can do is finish them off one by one. If you only partially split them, their numbers just multiply and you'll never beat them. Worse, they'll recombine if they're close together. You'll never finish, and exhaustion will just keep piling up. The key is whether you can dump enough Magic Power into a single hit to split them completely—that's what determines the outcome."
As the Chief Priest provided his commentary, I nodded and looked down at the battle below. The knight apprentices had a hard job chasing down the scattered small snakes to prevent them from recombining. However, the small ones were reportedly weak enough that even I could easily defeat them by stabbing a knife into their head.
Brother Cornelius pulled back slightly to drink a recovery potion while the other knight apprentices raced around the arena.
"Everyone in front of me, please move back!"
Leonore shouted this as she, still mounted on her riding beast, swung something around and flung it outward, where it spread wide open.
"A net?"
It was similar to the net the Chief Priest had once used during the night of the Szeria attack to take out a wide swathe of magical beasts all at once. It unfurled, and the moment Leonore shouted "Now!", the net glowed, and the Hunderttairen inside it vanished.
After using the net three times to eliminate the relatively concentrated clusters of Hunderttairen, Leonore handed command over to Matthias and withdrew to recover.
"That net consumes quite a bit of Magic Power. I didn't notice it much during regular training, but it seems Leonore has increased her capacity considerably," Father remarked, sounding surprised. Mother's dark eyes sparkled as she let out a soft sigh.
"She must have worked hard to become worthy of Cornelius. Love makes a woman strong. The sheer willpower of a young woman who wishes to be at least a little bit worthy of the one she loves—I find it truly moving. I must absolutely write this down."
...Oh dear. Brother Cornelius, my condolences.
I wouldn't stop Mother from doing whatever she wanted—after all, brother Cornelius had kept things from me out of fear that she'd get involved, and the only promise I'd made to my Lady was to ensure Leonore didn't feel uncomfortable at the dormitory. I would just watch in silence.
...After Leonore graduates and ends up in one of Mother's books, she'll have plenty to worry about. Serves him right.
"Oh!
At Father's voice, I looked down at the arena and saw Judithe holding a bunch of small knives, hurling them one after another with cries of "There!" Every knife found its mark in a Hunderttairen's head, and each one struck vanished immediately.
"Judithe, sector 3-1-1—they're widely scattered over there, so handle that. Traugott, sector 2-5-1, recombination has started.
Matthias, who had been instructed by Leonore to take over command, was issuing orders from a slightly elevated position. Traugott, who had been known for his recklessness last year, now seemed capable of following the mid-rank knight Matthias's instructions. Perhaps he had grown a little after all.
"Matthias is saying numbers—what do those mean?"
"They're for mapping out the arena space. It makes it easier to give orders and is also useful for Gewinnen debrief sessions. I used them often as well."
...Ah, maybe he picked that up from the Chief Priest's materials?
"But there are no lines or markers on the field. How do they keep track? If someone called out those numbers, I wouldn't be able to move quickly enough."
There were the circle for the magical beasts to spawn, the standby circle, and the line between them—but nothing to mark the finer subdivisions. Even now, if someone rattled off those numbers at me, I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to go.
"As you noted, some of the female knights had a hard time grasping it. It takes considerable time for some to become able to move as directed. There's no remedy but repeated training."
Brother Cornelius and Leonore had also recovered and were finishing off the remaining small Hunderttairen.
"Judithe, that's the last one!"
At Matthias's call, Judithe flung her knife. The blade struck true, crushing the Hunderttairen's head. In the next instant, the faintly glowing magic circle went dark.
"Ehrenfest, finished!"
We stepped back to make room for the knight apprentices to return. The Ehrenfest knight apprentices filed back from the arena one by one, while Haufletze's purple cloaks entered to take their place.
The returning knight apprentices put away their riding beasts, lined up before my Lord and his wife, and knelt. Brother Cornelius, as the senior-most among them, spoke first.
"Aub Ehrenfest, we apologize. We were unable to raise our ranking as much as was expected."
"No need. Ehrenfest is so obscure that even I only know of Ferdinand, yet you handled an unfamiliar beast with precise countermeasures. You've studied and trained well. All of you have clearly improved in Magic Power, technique, and coordination compared to last year. Well done."
"We are grateful for your generous words."
At my Lord's praise, the knight apprentices bowed in unison. My Lord nodded and turned to Father.
"
My Lord yielded the floor. Father, who always stood behind him as a guard knight, stepped forward. He spread his feet shoulder-width apart and looked down at the knight apprentices.
"Indeed, in a speed competition like this tournament, their score may seem low. But they drew an unfavorable beast. Even so, they showed commendable performance—you wouldn't think they were fighting an unfamiliar creature for the first time. There are still rough edges, but they've learned to follow orders and do their individual tasks, and they can now read how those around them are moving. Continue to improve."
"Yes, sir!"
And with that, the knight apprentices were dismissed. We headed back toward the tables for more socializing. Wilfried and Charlotte took their seats at the frontmost table, chatting about the knight apprentices' efforts.
I walked further with my Lord, his wife, and the Chief Priest.
"...Looking at the whole dormitory working together like this, as the report describes, it's almost pitiable that the children from the old
My Lord sighed as he said this. Having three Lord candidates while all of them cooperated rather than competing in separate factions was apparently quite rare. Since the growth rate differed between enrolled students and graduates, he wished the children who would carry Ehrenfest's future into their own hands could increase their Magic Power.
"I know perfectly well that's difficult in the current situation..."
I nodded at his murmur. When the Chief Priest and I took our seats, my Lord and his wife moved toward the tables further inside. Around us, the Attendants were bustling about, preparing to resume socializing.
Then
"My Lady Rozemyne, I'd like to introduce the person I'll be escorting tomorrow. Would you have a moment?"
"
My words made Hartmut's eyes go wide for a moment before he broke into a bright, refreshing smile and placed his right hand over his chest.
"Please don't spread such terrible rumors about me, My Lady Rozemyne. My name is always with you, and I live each day thinking 'My life is for you.'"
"Please don't steal Loderich's heartfelt words," I said, frowning in annoyance.
The Chief Priest sighed and waved his hand lightly. "Be quiet."
"He says he wants to introduce someone to you. This must be someone he's considering for a potential future marriage."
If he was formally introducing a partner to me, his superior, it meant this wasn't just about an escort for the graduation ceremony. The two families must have met during this Inter-Territorial Competition and begun discussing marriage arrangements.
"I'd also like to see what kind of woman Hartmut, who serves at Rozemyne's side, has chosen. Bring her here."
"Very well, my Lord."
Inter-Territorial Tournament: Ditter.
Thanks to Teacher Frauleurm, Ehrenfest's ranking wasn't all that impressive.
But everyone did their very best.
Next time: Hartmut's partner.