When I stood up alongside the apprentice knights competing in the speed-based Ditter,
"I don't know what you're planning, but don't. Given everything so far, I have a feeling something absurd will happen if you go down there."
"I'm just imitating
As I said this, pointing to Dunkelfelger's fervor and the already-intimidated Ehrenfest apprentice knights,
"Um, Sister. If Dunkelfelger doesn't win this Ditter match, we won't be able to perform the subsequent ritual, so shouldn't we leave things as they are? I don't think you need to imitate Dunkelfelger's ritual."
"...Now that you mention it, that's right."
Dunkelfelger's ritual was performed before and after the Ditter, with the latter being a ceremony to celebrate victory and offer thanks to the gods.
Convinced by Charlotte's words, I was about to sit back down when
"Wouldn't investigating whether there's a difference between performing the same ritual in Dunkelfelger versus Ehrenfest be necessary for research purposes?"
"W-well... that is... what Lord Lestilaut says is true, but..."
Wilfried and Charlotte exchanged troubled glances.
"I'm curious whether performing the same ritual at the same place and time yields different results when the performers differ. It's for research. Go ahead."
"Understood. It is for research, after all."
Nodding to Lestilaut, I descended to the arena on my riding beast with the apprentice knights. When we landed, Yudit quietly asked me while showing me where to stand.
"
Hearing the anxiety in her voice, I looked around and noticed the apprentice knights who had been told to perform the ritual just like Dunkelfelger looked even more nervous. Only
"No, I can't. I only saw it for the first time today, so I'll just hold the spear alongside Lestilaut, mimicking him. I thought it would be convenient for quietly sending blessings of Angrieff, though."
Yudit's violet eyes widened slightly, and she gave a small smile.
"But wouldn't that make the results different from Dunkelfelger's? The pretense of joint research would fall apart."
"It'll be fine. I'll use the same prayer as Dunkelfelger. I just wanted to secretly give everyone blessings, but this way it should be somewhat useful for research, right?"
Yudit nodded and returned to her position. In her place, Leonore came over and explained that everyone was in position, and then described the key points I absolutely had to nail. Simply put, I needed to get the beginning and the end right.
I looked around at the apprentice knights surrounding me. Nothing would start unless I gave the call and summoned the spears with my Stappe.
"To us who stand upon the battlefield, grant us strength!"
...Right, and then I summon the spear?
"Lance!"
I drew my Stappe and transformed it into the Leydenschaft spear. On that signal, all the apprentice knights transformed their Stappe into spears, but their eyes were fixed in astonishment on the Leydenschaft spear.
...Come to think of it, I had briefly shown it during a lecture last year, but had I never shown it to the apprentice knights?
The Leydenschaft spear wasn't something you'd normally show off, so apart from my attendants who came and went to the
...Hey. Don't stare at me—you need to be singing!
I lightly glared at the apprentice knights who were gazing at me, then shouted as loudly as I could, "I am one who offers prayers and gratitude to the gods who created this world," and slammed my spear into the ground.
Whether it was the familiar words of prayer or the movement of the spear that did it, the apprentice knights seemed to snap to attention and began moving.
"To win victory into my hands, grant me the power—Angrieff's mighty strength that knows no defeat! To win victory into my hands, grant me speed—Steifeireize's swiftness that surpasses all!"
Everyone was swinging their spears while singing, and in the middle of it all, I just stood there holding my spear. On top of that, I hadn't memorized the melody, so I couldn't sing along. However, I could recite the prayer. I murmured it softly, letting it hide beneath everyone's voices.
...And then at the end, I raise the spear and shout "Fight!", right?
I timed it carefully, raised the spear, and shouted "Fight!" as loudly as I could.
The next instant, there was a tremendous booming sound.
"Whoa!?"
The dopey sound I inadvertently made apparently went unnoticed because everyone's eyes were riveted on the magic power that erupted from the Leydenschaft spear and went flying.
Still looking up, I slowly lowered the spear I had raised high. What I held in my hand was the Leydenschaft spear, its blue light gone, its magic power spent. The magic stone portion had become transparent.
Pushing the now-inconvenient spear aside, I watched what would happen to the magic power that had been shot out. I wanted to tell it to come back to me if possible, but I had no idea whether that was feasible.
The magic power that had been swirling in the sky had, at some point, taken on several hues. Blue predominated, but yellow, red, and green were also visible. The light poured down all at once, and the brilliance forced me to close my eyes.
Even with my eyes shut, my surroundings were blazing bright, but that too faded quickly. When I cautiously opened my eyes, I saw the Ehrenfest apprentice knights standing around me with the same bewildered expression—none of them any more sure of what had just happened. I looked up, but there was nothing left in the sky.
After several seconds of silence, the spectator stands erupted with "What was that just now!?" The commotion came mainly from Dunkelfelger, while in the Ehrenfest stands, I could see Wilfried and Charlotte clutching their heads. Even from here, I could tell that when I returned to the stands, they'd say, "I told you to stop."
"Rozemyne, the match is about to begin, so please return to the stands."
"Leonore, do you have any idea what happened?"
"All I know is that you performed a very large-scale blessing. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Please discuss it with everyone above. Those watching from a distance might have seen more clearly."
When Leonore said that, I had no choice but to return to the stands. The moment I arrived, everyone started firing questions at me. Dunkelfelger was far more eager than the Ehrenfest archduke candidates who were clutching their heads.
"Rozemyne, what on earth was that?"
"I've never seen that happen during a ritual before. What exactly did you do!?"
"I believe it was a blessing, but since it was my first time performing the ritual, I'm not sure what happened. From below, it looked like there were blessings of various colors, but what did it look like from up here?"
Hannelore and Lestilaut looked at each other, then told me what the ritual had looked like from an outside perspective.
"You summoned the Leydenschaft spear, Rozemyne? I've seen it before, but the others hadn't, so they were quite startled."
"I seem to recall receiving a report about something like that some time ago, but I never expected such a thing would actually be produced here."
At Lestilaut's words, those around him nodded, and Hannelore made a slightly pouty face. "When I reported it, didn't you declare it had to be a counterfeit?"
"That was truly a magnificent sight. I've seen this same ritual performed at Dunkelfelger many times, but this was the first time I realized it was such a sacred ceremony. As expected of Rozemyne, the renowned Saint of Ehrenfest."
"Um,
Clarissa's blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she launched into a description of how beautiful it had been.
"The Leydenschaft spear, crackling and bursting with blue light, was truly worthy of being called a divine instrument, and Rozemyne, standing serene while singing the prayer, was as pure and beautiful as
"Someone shut her up."
Lestilaut said that while looking at Clarissa. Indeed, with Clarissa chattering on in her excitement, the conversation wasn't going anywhere.
"I truly, truly feel from the bottom of my heart that it was worth being alive just to witness this with my own eyes. I want to engrave even more of Rozemyne's image into my memory, so why do we have to be from different territories and different years!?"
"Clarissa, I have a request."
"What is it, Rozemyne? Please, command me for anything!"
When Clarissa turned to me instantly, I handed her several sheets of paper
"I'd like you to write a letter to
"As detailed as possible... Understood. Leave it to me!"
Clarissa took the paper and began writing furiously. That should keep her quiet for a while. Deciding that was good enough, I turned my gaze to Lestilaut and Hannelore. "Shall we continue?"
"I mimicked Lord Lestilaut's ritual and raised my spear, and at that moment the magic power stored in the Leydenschaft spear suddenly erupted, which surprised me."
Wilfried murmured, "You were surprised too? You didn't look it." Apparently, magic power had burst from the spear I raised, spun in the sky, taken on color, and then rained down.
"It looked to me like part of the blessing's light flew off somewhere."
Charlotte's comment was affirmed by everyone. I couldn't see it from directly below, but apparently it was clearly visible from the spectator stands.
"Somewhere? Where?"
"I don't know exactly, but while spinning around up in the air, part of the light went... swoosh, like this..."
"Come to think of it, magic power flew off like that during another ritual before as well. It may be a phenomenon that occurs when rituals are performed at the
The ritual to obtain the names of the Darkness God and the
"It seemed like the blessings of the gods I prayed to all rained down, but what's the difference from Dunkelfelger? Is the Leydenschaft spear normally required?"
Lestilaut's expression turned serious as he fell into thought, so I also considered the differences.
"The spear might make a difference, and there's also the matter of magic power offering. A large amount of the magic power stored in the spear went flying. Dunkelfelger's ritual didn't include a magic power offering, did it?"
"Magic power offering is part of the post-victory ritual."
"The blessings and divine protections from the gods require a magic power offering. That's probably the biggest difference."
While we were discussing the differences between the rituals, the speed-based Ditter had already begun without us noticing. Ruffen summoned magical beasts to be knocked down from the magic circle, and the apprentice knights on their riding beasts began fighting. Dunkelfelger had started first, and their coordination was as impressive as ever.
And then it was the much-anticipated turn of Ehrenfest. After receiving such an enormous blessing, what would happen? Everyone leaned forward to watch.
"Begin!"
The magical beasts were summoned and the fighting started, but everyone's movements were strange. They would charge forward at tremendous speed, then slam on the brakes and stumble, or Yudit, who specialized in ranged attacks, would fire from a distance only to be flung backward as if bouncing off something the very next instant. The movements were clearly awkward and odd.
"Did something happen?"
"Their movements are all wrong."
When Wilfried and Charlotte voiced their concerns, Lestilaut snorted.
"Was what she did earlier not a blessing but rather some strange curse?"
"Brother!"
Hannelore hurriedly tried to stop him, but looking at how everyone was behaving, I was starting to feel that Lestilaut might actually be right.
"Yaaaaah!"
While everyone else was flailing about, one person charged at the magical beast alone with a mighty war cry—
"Wait, Traugott! That much magic power is dangerous—you won't be able to control it!"
"If we don't hurry, we'll lose!"
"We're already losing while everyone else is floundering! Don't do anything reckless!"
At
"At least hold it to seventy percent. Otherwise, the attack could reach the spectator stands."
"That's impossible. With my magic power..."
"It really is that dangerous right now. Ease up and attack."
Following Matthias's instructions, Traugott reduced his magic power somewhat. The glow on his sword dimmed slightly, and he swung it lightly toward the magical beast. But even that attack was comparable to what their Knight Commander—my father—could produce. Traugott blasted the magical beast away in a single hit.
As I blinked in disbelief that Traugott could possess that much magic power, Ruffen's voice rang out: "End! Winner—Dunkelfelger!"
"Let's go ask the apprentice knights who received Rozemyne's blessing exactly what happened."
With that, Wilfried summoned his riding beast and descended. Charlotte and I followed, and the two Dunkelfelger students came along as well.
"Do you know what happened?"
"It's incredibly hard to regulate my magic power. Even though it's my own body, I can't seem to control it properly..."
Riding the beast itself wasn't a problem, but when they tried to channel magic power for speed, they'd become far too fast, and when they tried to stop, they'd slam to a halt. When they attacked, the backlash was so much greater than before that they couldn't stay on their feet.
"Could it be too much blessing?"
After finishing the ritual of divine protection, they were probably in a state similar to what I had experienced—struggling to handle my magic power. The apprentice knights nodded vigorously at my words.
"Most likely. Our bodies couldn't keep up with divine protections that were beyond what we deserved."
Overloaded with blessings, unable to move properly, and defeated. That was pretty humiliating. Doing nothing might have made for a better match.
"So Rozemyne's blessing really was closer to a curse."
"When Sister bestows blessings, she'll need to be careful about regulating her magic power."
Hanging my head at Wilfried and Charlotte's perfectly reasonable words, I apologized to the Dunkelfelger group.
"I'm terribly sorry. I had no idea it would turn out like this... I never intended to turn a ritual that Dunkelfelger has treasured and preserved for so long into something resembling a curse."
"It was simply unfortunate timing, Rozemyne. We've made new discoveries as well, so please don't feel so down about it."
...Hnnn, Hannelore is so kind. My dear friend!
As I was moved by Hannelore's kindness, Lestilaut flipped his mantle and pointed to the center of the arena.
"It's time for the final ritual. Hannelore, you go."
"Understood, Brother."
Hannelore mounted her riding beast and headed to the center of the arena. Lestilaut watched her go for a moment before turning to look at us.
"Only knights may remain here. The rest of us are returning to the stands."
We did as told and went back to the spectator seats.
From this distance, I couldn't make out what Hannelore was saying. But she transformed her Stappe into an unfamiliar form of staff and began slowly spinning it in a circle above her head. The staff was adorned with a large, round crystal-like magic stone at its center, and decorated with what looked like the spread fins of a large fish or the wings of a bat.
"Lord Lestilaut, what is that staff?"
"They say it belongs to the Goddess of the Sea, Feuermeere. Whether that's true, I don't know."
Lestilaut's words had to be correct. As Hannelore continued to spin the staff, the sound of ocean waves grew audible—crashing, crashing—the sound of surf. Magic power began to waver and gather from the bodies of the Ehrenfest apprentice knights like heat haze.
...If I'm the Saint of Ehrenfest, then Hannelore is the Saint of Dunkelfelger.
As I watched in admiration the magic power gathering in wave-like undulations, Lestilaut squinted and murmured, "What is that...?"
"When you say 'what'..."
"It's a ritual that Dunkelfelger always performs after the Ditter, isn't it?"
"But I've never seen a phenomenon like this."
"Eh?! The magic power is coming from the Ehrenfest apprentice knights—is that all right?"
"I don't know."
"W-well that's..."
Feeling anxious, I looked down at the arena.
The magic power emanating from the apprentice knights spiraled according to the movement of Hannelore's staff, gradually converging toward its center.
When Hannelore said something and thrust the staff upward, the gathered magic power shot skyward like a dragon.
That seemed to be the end of the ritual.
Hannelore and the apprentice knights who served as her retainers returned to the stands.
"Hannelore, what exactly was that?"
"I've never seen that happen during a ritual before."
At my and Lestilaut's questions, Hannelore smiled ruefully.
"I understand now how Rozemyne must have felt earlier—bewildered. I don't know what happened either. I just felt it wouldn't be right to stop the ritual midway, so I carried it through to the end."
It was Leonore and Matthias who answered the questions about what had occurred.
"I believe Dunkelfelger's final ritual is a ceremony to return the blessings received from the gods."
"I agree with Leonore. It felt like the blessings bestowed upon Rozemyne had disappeared, and our magic power returned to normal."
"Also, there may be a calming effect that settles one's emotions. After everything that happened, I feel remarkably at peace—as if nothing troubling occurred at all."
"A calming effect?"
At Leonore's words, Hannelore blinked and looked over at the Dunkelfelger apprentice knights.
"You're right—they don't seem very excited for having just finished a Ditter match."
Hannelore clenched her fist and murmured, "I need to learn how to use this properly..." Despite a ritual that produced entirely different results from what was expected, Hannelore was remarkably upbeat. That she wasn't fazed at all was exactly befitting of an archduke candidate from a greater duchy.
I felt like an idiot for having panicked over the unexpected effects. I should follow Hannelore's example and think about how to use the ritual more effectively.
...If I could adjust the magic power I put in, it would surely be useful for subduing the Lord of Winter too. I'll have to research it thoroughly.
"Far too many unexpected things happened, but there were also many new discoveries. I'd say it was a worthwhile experience."
"I'm glad to hear you say that."
I stood a step behind, watching as Lestilaut and Wilfried exchanged courtesies.
"So, when will Ehrenfest's ritual be performed?"
"Brother, Rozemyne already showed you her ritual just now."
Hannelore lightly tugged on Lestilaut's mantle as she said this, but he shook his head.
"That was an imitation of Dunkelfelger, not an Ehrenfest divine rite. The condition was that Ehrenfest would show its own ritual in exchange for ours."
Now that he mentioned it, I indeed hadn't shown an Ehrenfest ritual.
"When?"
Lestilaut looked down at me with his red eyes brimming with curiosity. After the unexpected results of this ritual, he was clearly dying to know what kinds of rituals Ehrenfest had.
"Let me see..."
I glanced at the apologetic Hannelore, the expectant Lestilaut and Clarissa, and the other Dunkelferger students, then smiled gently.
"Once Lord Lestilaut's lectures are all finished, please let me know. If the Aub of Dunkelfelger thought my grades had dropped because of Ehrenfest's books and rituals, it could put a strain on relations between our territories going forward."
Hannelore's face lit up. "That's a wonderful suggestion, Rozemyne!" she exclaimed happily, and everyone around simultaneously directed questioning glances at Lestilaut.
"Hmph! ...If I put my mind to it, the lectures will be finished in no time."
Lestilaut scowled, then flipped his blue mantle and strode out of the training grounds.