"In any case, my book has gone missing, so searching for it is only natural. I'll be heading out now."
As I moved toward the door, the Chief Priest raised his hand lightly.
"Where do you think you're going? Do you have any leads?"
"No. I plan to search the city with my Magic Power, the same way I did before."
When I insisted that I would search both the lower city and the Noble District together using Magic Power, the Chief Priest looked at me with an exasperated expression.
"Searching by Magic Power will tell you whether something is someone else's magic or not, but you won't detect your own. The Noble District is practically built on other people's magic. It's completely useless. A waste of Magic Power, you fool."
"Guuh..."
"Rather than that, think about what the culprit's objective might be. If you can narrow down their goal, you might get closer to identifying them."
...The culprit's objective? There's only one possibility. I don't even need to think about it, so what on earth is the Chief Priest talking about? I tilted my head.
"Isn't it obvious that there's only one motive for wanting the Holy Book? They must have wanted to read Ehrenfest's one and only precious Holy Book!"
If they had come and asked for permission directly, I might have granted them access. But someone who would eliminate the Gray Priests, break in on their own, and swap things out through criminal activity—there was no way I could grant them permission.
My perfect deduction was dismissed by the Chief Priest with a single sigh.
"If reading the Holy Book were their only goal, there would be no need to sneak into your room and swap it out. A copy from the
"But what if they wanted to read the parts about the Prayer of Darkness that aren't included in the Library's copies? Or the parts describing the Miracle of
I grasped at straws, trying to highlight what made my Holy Book superior to others. The Holy Books of other domains, from which the High Priests are chosen among the Blue Priests, allow access to fewer sections. I was sure there were plenty of people who would want it.
...My Holy Book is amazing, after all!
"As you say, nobles who want detailed knowledge of the Miracle of Haldenzel, or the Central Temple which desires the Prayer of Darkness—those could serve as motives. But I don't understand the reason for the swap, and if they can't read it without your Magic Power registered, it would be meaningless."
"Couldn't they simply re-register as the owner? I re-registered the keys after becoming High Priest myself. Re-registering shouldn't be that difficult."
"Wouldn't the accessible range change?"
"...Could they have swapped it because they wanted to read the sections that fall outside the range of their own Magic Power?"
Because we had compared it with the Holy Book of the Central Temple, we knew that access depends not only on the owner High Priest's Magic Power but also on the reader's. However, I didn't think this was widely known.
...Was there ever a time I was inconvenienced by not having the Holy Book?
Honestly, I did bring it to the chapel during ceremonies, but in my case it was purely for show. I had no problem reciting the prayers without the Holy Book. Since I never used it outside of ceremonies, it was basically just decoration in the High Priest's quarters most of the time. I couldn't think of any situation where not having it would cause problems.
Conversely, was there anything that could only be done with the Holy Book? Thinking about it, I remembered how my Holy Book had changed.
...Could it be that those floating magical circles and letters are what they're after?
The Holy Book could be called a guidebook for becoming the King, but only the Chief Priest and I could see the floating magical circles and letters. Even
"Could the Holy Book of Ehrenfest itself be the target?"
Without mentioning the magical circles, I looked up at the Chief Priest. He extended his index finger slightly from the hand resting against his chin, just enough to press against his lips—the signal for "be quiet." It seemed he understood what I wanted to say.
Without answering my question, the Chief Priest began sharing his own deductions.
"...One possibility is that tarnishing your reputation is among their goals. Losing a Holy Book that exists only once per domain—that would invite complaints about mismanagement, deeming you unfit to serve as High Priest. The loss of the Holy Book is a significant blemish not only for you, but also for me as your guardian and the Chief Priest residing in the Temple."
"Th-there's a replacement Holy Book, though!"
I pointed at the Holy Book on the altar. The Chief Priest stared at it menacingly, then shook his head.
"...That may not be an authentic Holy Book. It could be nothing more than a Magical Tool made to resemble one. Even if it were a genuine Holy Book from another domain, once you prove that, the culprit could claim that we stole it from another domain. You wouldn't just face the loss of the Holy Book—you'd be further burdened with accusations of theft. That's likely part of their plan as well."
Being told I could be treated as a thief without even realizing it, I felt the blood drain from my face.
"First, we need to determine whether this is a real Holy Book!"
"Don't touch it carelessly!"
The Chief Priest slapped my hand away as I reached toward the altar. A tingling pain shot through my fingertips. He had swatted it away without any restraint, and I stared at my throbbing fingers.
"Ow, that hurts..."
"The loss of the Holy Book, false accusations of theft, and then—your assassination. Those are the culprit's objectives as I see them."
The Chief Priest directed a severe gaze at the Holy Book on the altar. The words were so alarming that my eyes went wide.
"Assassination?"
"Ideally, they'd abduct you and imprison you where they could freely use your Magic Power, but killing you would be easier than kidnapping. Abduction carries a higher degree of difficulty."
"Killing me would be easy?"
"Yes. Someone who could prepare something this elaborate and secretly swap it in—I would certainly factor assassination into the equation as well."
When the Chief Priest turned his gaze to Brother
"W-wait! What are you doing?! It'll get dirty... huh?"
The moment the juice hit, the Holy Book turned red, as if stained with blood. Brother Eckhart looked at the Holy Book with a disgusted expression while passing the squeezed-out pulp to
"This red residue is a poison commonly found near the border between
As the Chief Priest spoke, he waved his hand lightly, and Justus withdrew a tube from the medicine pouch hanging at his own waist.
"Hah, I never thought I'd get to use this again."
With a sigh, Justus soaked a gauze-like cloth with the medicine. In the meantime, Brother Eckhart pulled on leather gloves, received the cloth as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and began wiping down the Holy Book. It was easy to see the poisonous red residue come off cleanly as he wiped with the medicated cloth.
"Acquiring knowledge of poisons and protecting one's lord—that is also the duty of a close aide. Do you lot have the knowledge and the awareness? Poisons are actually being used in close proximity to your lord right now. Are you prepared with several types of antidote?"
When Brother Eckhart posed this question,
"
Brother Eckhart spoke in a calm voice as he continued wiping the Holy Book. I could see Cornelius clench his fist tightly. The realization of just how much attention and preparation the Chief Priest's attendants—who lived with the daily threat to their lives—paid to such dangers was thrust right before our eyes.
"Cornelius, you lack the decisiveness and reaction speed that
Basically, because she never thinks twice about anything, Angelica never hesitates. She would point her weapon at anyone to protect her lord. What was needed were guard knights who could do more than simply throw themselves in front of danger, and there weren't enough of them, Brother Eckhart said.
"You don't need to do alone everything that Ferdinand has done until now. Obviously, you can't replicate what Ferdinand does. But Rozemyne has many guard knights, so all of you should at least make an effort to get closer to doing what Ferdinand did alone."
After applying a magic stone to the detoxified Holy Book, sprinkling it with other medicines, and running various tests to confirm there was no danger, Brother Eckhart presented the Holy Book to the Chief Priest. The Chief Priest layered magical circles over it, then shook his head.
"...It's a Magical Tool made to closely resemble a Holy Book, but it doesn't appear to be the real thing. If you brought this to a ceremony and tried to open it, it wouldn't open, and you would have made a fool of yourself in front of everyone."
"So you're saying it's not a real book?"
"It's a Magical Tool that copies the outward appearance. The inside is empty."
At the realization that this wasn't even a swap between Holy Books, my anger hit its limit. I could feel the dam holding back my Magic Power break open, and fury surged through me in a torrent. My body burned as though I had a fever, yet my mind was ice-cold.
"My Holy Book..."
"Lady Rozemyne?"
The next moment, I heard Judith's voice, filled with shock and fear, and my vision was blocked by a large hand.
"Rozemyne, don't let your emotions take control. The consequences will be catastrophic."
That voice told me the person blocking my vision was the Chief Priest.
"The method—layered harassments upon harassments—reminds me of
Having been given a thorough, meticulous explanation of how every misstep and every trap would inflict damage on the people around me, I took a deep breath and desperately suppressed my rampaging Magic Power.
"You must recover the Holy Book the way you originally planned. That is certain. If you cannot recover it, you must choose the path that minimizes damage. ...Have you calmed down a bit?"
"Yes."
The Chief Priest's hand withdrew, and my vision was filled with the shocked faces of my attendants. As I stared at them, slack-jawed, the Chief Priest let out a sigh.
"Now is not the time to stand around stunned. She rarely becomes emotional, but whenever a book or someone precious to her is in danger, Rozemyne tends to go on a rampage. It is also the duty of attendants to stop this."
"...I now understand firsthand just how difficult it will be without Ferdinand."
Cornelius spoke in a dazed voice, and both
While the Chief Priest was considering several countermeasures regarding the loss of the Holy Book,
"Lady Rozemyne! Conrad is acting strangely. He won't come out of the futon—he's just trembling in there, asking for your help."
"He likely knows something. Let's go."
The Chief Priest looked around at his attendants. Justus and Brother Eckhart nodded.
"Men are only allowed as far as the dining hall. I'll take Leonore and Judith as guards, along with Philine and Monica."
Passing through the door to the orphanage that Monica opened and entering the dining hall, I could see Deria and
"Deria, how is Conrad?"
"He wasn't feeling well, so I let him take a nap today. He must have seen something during that time. When Philine went to talk to him, he was trembling and wouldn't come out."
As I listened to Deria's account, I left the Chief Priest and the others in the dining hall and descended the stairs toward the back. I entered the room for children before their
"I'm sorry, but could everyone please leave? Only Philine, myself, and the guard knights should stay."
The room for pre-Baptism children wasn't very large. After having Wilma and the others leave, I called out to the futon where Conrad was hiding.
"Conrad, it's me. Can you tell me what happened, and who I need to save and how?"
Conrad slowly poked his face out of the futon. His expression was rigid with fear.
"Please... save the Gray Priests."
"Are the Gray Priests still alive?"
Conrad nodded repeatedly, his teeth chattering. I had half-resigned myself to the Chief Priest's statement that they'd been eliminated, but apparently that wasn't the case. Hope surged through me.
"I'll save them. Tell me everything, Conrad."
"The Gray Priests at the gate—they were wrapped up in circles by Stappes... by a scary woman..."
Fear seemed to overpower him. Conrad's gaze wouldn't stay focused, he blinked repeatedly, and his words came out in halting fragments. Tears began to spill from his eyes.
"She was scary, like Lady Yonasara! She... she did terrible things to everyone."
"Conrad!"
Philine pulled Conrad into a tight embrace. He clung to her, crying, but found some comfort, and his words continued.
After finishing his meal, Conrad had apparently come to the room alone when Deria and Wilma told him to take a nap. From the window, one could see the gate used for carriages, and it happened to be open at that moment. Finding it unusual, Conrad had watched from the window.
"The gate opened and a carriage came in, but then it suddenly stopped..."
As he watched with wonder, blinking in confusion, a woman who had stepped down from the carriage drew a Stappe and wrapped the Gray Priests in ribbons of light, binding them up. Then three men carried them into the carriage. After that, the men closed the gate and boarded the carriage again. Only the noblewoman rode a riding beast toward the main entrance, apparently.
"There might still be time to save them. Just as you saved me from Lady Yonasara, please save them too."
The sight of the Gray Priests being bound in ribbons of light and kidnapped must have triggered the trauma of Conrad, who had been abused with a Stappe. I gently patted his head, which was clammy and cold enough to make me shiver.
"I will save them. We've already issued instructions to gather information about the carriage from the soldiers at the gates, so we should soon know which gate they left through. Please wait here and rest easy."
I tried to smile as gently as possible to reassure Conrad, but inside I was seething with a fury so intense it felt like my insides were boiling. They had stolen my Holy Book, prepared a poisoned counterfeit, kidnapped the Gray Priests, and triggered Conrad's trauma.
But the information that the Gray Priests—whom I had thought might be dead based on the Chief Priest's words—were still alive was a significant breakthrough.
"Philine, will you stay here?"
At my words, Philine looked between me and Conrad, whom she was still holding. The moment her arms tightened slightly around Conrad, he pushed against her.
"Sister, go with Lady Rozemyne. And save everyone. I'll wait here with Dirk until they come back."
"...Understood."
I left Conrad in the care of Deria and Dirk and returned to the dining hall. Philine smiled softly, saying, "I'm glad Conrad has become braver, but as his older sister, it does make me a little sad."
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
When I returned to the dining hall, Justus was in the middle of speaking with
"Chief Priest, the Gray Priests at the gate are alive."
"What did you say?"
"Conrad witnessed them being restrained with Stappe ribbons of light and loaded into a carriage. As soon as the gate information comes in, we'll go rescue them."
"I didn't expect them to be taken. Eliminating them would have left no evidence—it's far simpler."
The Chief Priest murmured this while stroking his chin, and Justus gave a slight shrug.
"The former
"I see. However, even if they're captured, they could end up like Self-Eating Soldiers. The rescue operation will require both speed and stealth. We're returning to the High Priest's quarters."
As we left the orphanage, we listened to Philine and Justus report on the information gathered there. In addition to Conrad's crucial testimony, several other accounts had been gathered at the orphanage. Philine read from her notes as she spoke.
"A Gray Priestess who was performing purification was seen conversing with a gate guard who was heading to notify the Noble District. She was told that a noble guest was arriving and to finish up quickly."
The gate guard had apparently said, "That person is very strict with Gray Priestesses and Gray Priests." Justus continued further.
"According to Fritz, that gate guard is a former Attendant of Shikikouza. If he recognized the noble, she must be a relative of Shikikouza's. If Conrad witnessed a scary noblewoman, the likelihood points toward Baroness Daldorf."
...Baroness Daldorf.
The woman from the former Veronica faction who hated me—the one whose actions led to Shikikouza's execution. The head of the family had promised to keep her from involving our family in a collective punishment, but had she decided she could risk it after all? Or did she have some way to escape the consequences?
While I was deep in thought,
"Lady Rozemyne, we gathered the gate captains from each gate and questioned them. We've also asked them to keep watch on all future carriage traffic."
The information from the gates, which managed carriage entries and exits, was critical. All eyes turned to Damuel and Angelica.
"Please share what you've found."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"This is the period when nobles gather from the north for the upcoming winter social season. Just today, ten noble carriages have entered Ehrenfest. No noble carriages have left."
The north would have already started seeing snow. The south hadn't received snow yet, so there was always a difference in when nobles from each direction made their way to the Noble District for winter socializing.
"Normally they should be using the Noble Gate to enter the Noble District, but there were four carriages that used the North Gate while complaining that the Temple gates were unmanned and they couldn't enter the Temple. The times were concentrated around midday—I heard this from
Damuel relayed the information from the North Gate. It seemed Father had quickly gathered the intelligence.
"No carriages leaving means the Gray Priests were taken to the Noble District?"
"If they used the Noble Gate to enter the Noble District, then magic authentication is required for entry. If we inquire at the castle, we should be able to determine who used the Noble Gate."
The Chief Priest said this, but waiting days for a response from noble bureaucracy was honestly painful.
"Lady Rozemyne, I—rather, Stinluke—also has a report to share."
Angelica smoothly stroked Stinluke. Speaking in the Chief Priest's voice, Stinluke began.
"There was a report of an unusual carriage entering through the West Gate. The carriage itself looked like something a well-off Commoner might use, but the driver's speech and mannerisms were clearly those of someone serving a noble. It entered before the Third Bell rang, and was confirmed leaving through the South Gate some time after the Fourth Bell."
"The South Gate...?"
"At the South Gate, when a soldier heard noises inside the carriage and attempted to check its contents, he was shown a ring bearing a noble's crest and told to stay silent."
At Stinluke's words, I looked at the Chief Priest. No matter how you looked at it, this was far too suspicious.
"They probably haven't gone very far yet. Let me at least go confirm."
"I'll come with you. I can't just leave you to go alone."
The Chief Priest looked around the room as he spoke.
"I must say, I'm genuinely impressed by the lower city's intelligence-gathering ability. ...However, Commoners' testimony holds little value against nobles. We must either secure the ring bearing the crest—which will serve as evidence—or apprehend the kidnapped Gray Priests. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
The Chief Priest's deductions on the culprit's objectives.
And the information gathered from Commoners—whom ordinary nobles wouldn't give the time of day.
Next, we head out for the rescue.