Temple Tour — Part 2

"Welcome back, Lady Rozemyne. We have been awaiting you, Lord Melchior."

When Fran and the others opened the orphanage doors, we found ourselves in the orphanage dining hall. Wilma, Gil, and Fritz — my three attendants — were kneeling in a line at the front, and behind them stood every Gray Priest and Gray Priestess. Toward the back, I could also spot apprentices and children who had not yet undergone their Baptism Ceremony.

Since my only memories of small children were Dirk and Conrad, seeing so many kids around their age struck me as strange. These must be children who had arrived at the orphanage as part of the Purge. In addition, it seemed that more Gray Priests and Gray Priestesses had been returned to the orphanage after Blue Priests were sent back to their families as part of the Purge. The numbers had swelled considerably. Looking at them like this, I was keenly reminded of just how large the Purge had been.

"…So the Temple's orphanage has this many people."

"There used to be fewer. That tells you how many Blue Priests have been reduced. And of course, the number of children has grown…"

I caught Melchior's quiet murmur and gave a light nod. Then I stepped forward and addressed my attendants.

"Wilma, Gil, Fritz — thank you for gathering everyone from the orphanage."

After that, Hartmut, who oversaw priest transfers, addressed the assembled group about recruiting attendants for Melchior and the other children who would newly become Blue Apprentices. He flashed a bright smile while looking at Melchior and the others.

"Since you already understand the daily routines and the facilities in the Noble District, one of you should definitely be a former attendant who served a Blue Priest. As for the rest, anyone is fine. Everyone here has been well educated, so they should pick up new duties quickly."

He told them they could even choose apprentices, provided they had completed their Baptism Ceremony. Melchior looked over the Gray-clad crowd with great interest.

"Lord Melchior should take about five attendants, and everyone else three each. It would be wise to include someone who can help with cooking. For starters, please pick one experienced person. Gil, Fritz — gather the former attendants."

When Gil and Fritz called out, those with experience serving Blue Priests or Blue Priestesses stepped forward before Melchior and the others. Hartmut began further screening from a noble's perspective, selecting those who would be most useful, as more Gray Priests and Gray Priestesses gathered at the front. He separated the former attendants into a left group and a right group, then told those on the left to step back.

"They worked diligently without complaint when their posting changed from serving Blue Priests to the orphanage. On top of that, they are sharp and considerate. They will serve even a young master faithfully."

It seemed that those who had sulked, complained that this kind of work was beneath them, or taken out their frustration about being returned to the orphanage had been weeded out. I was surprised that Hartmut had gathered such information.

"Hartmut, you have a thorough grasp of the orphanage on top of your duties as Chief Priest."

Philine caught my murmur and smiled softly.

"Hartmut visited the orphanage most frequently of anyone, and he maintained close contact with Lady Rozemyne's attendants as well. He's well-liked by Dirk and Conrad, and he gathers information from the children's perspective too. He said he wanted to hear candid opinions."

Damuel quietly leaned in and told me, "He's happy to show an easygoing manner even around Gray Priests and Gray Priestesses, but Hartmut is evaluating everyone from the perspective of what would happen if Lady Rozemyne were to take on new attendants. His grading is quite strict." Roderich murmured, "He's just as strict with his fellow attendants." Since he himself was so capable, everyone around him lived in a state of nervous tension.

Nicholas and the others listened to Hartmut's words with serious expressions, waiting for Melchior to select his attendants first. Those without any experience as attendants looked on with a mix of surprise and fear at Hartmut's screening, quietly waiting for someone to call their name.

"Wilma, please call the children who haven't had their Baptism Ceremony yet."

Children who had not completed their Baptism Ceremony and therefore had no chance of being chosen as attendants lined up in a row. Aside from Dirk, Conrad, and Lily's child, all of them were newcomers who had arrived this past winter. I caught Conrad and Philine exchanging a glance out of the corner of my eye, and then one of the children piped up in a small voice: "Big brother." I followed the child's gaze.

"Is that Lorenz's younger brother?"

"Yes. Bertram is my half-brother. Our mother passed away, so my own mother plans to take him in and perform his Baptism Ceremony."

Lorenz looked at Bertram with a pleased expression. Come to think of it, when they had explained how pre-Baptism children were handled, Lorenz had been overjoyed at the news that his brother had been saved as well.

"You can have a proper chat later."

I asked the children whether their lives over the winter had been lacking anything and what they had managed to study. With slightly nervous expressions, the children told me about their winter. Dirk and Conrad had been the strongest at karuta and cards, but lately the others had been winning more often.

"We've also been practicing hard at fespiel. I'm the only teacher at the moment, but once Lady Rozemyne returns to the Temple, we'll be able to receive Rosina's instruction as well."

Wilma told me which children were skilled at fespiel and how they had been practicing. The children who had initially struggled with the completely different lifestyle had apparently gotten used to Temple life.

"Dirk and Conrad set examples for them and helped them out when they were having trouble."

"Is that so? Thank you both."

I praised Dirk and Conrad and promised, "I'll send down some Paru cake for you later." I wanted to pass along the leftovers from teatime.

"Please include Deria and Lily as well, Lady Rozemyne. Those two looked after the growing number of children more than anyone else."

At Wilma's words, I turned my gaze to Deria and Lily, who were waiting in the back. Since Deria could not leave the orphanage and Lily's child had not yet undergone the Baptism Ceremony, neither of them could participate in the attendant selection.

"You were both a great help. Please enjoy the Paru cake together with Dirk and Conrad."

"We are most grateful."

After hearing about how things had gone over the winter, I slowly looked over the lined-up children.

"In fact, five of these children have had requests for adoption, and their parents will be coming to pick them up soon."

When I called out the five children's names, their faces lit up with delight. But the expressions of the children who would be left behind grew dark.

"Additionally, I have a message from the Aub for the children who will remain at the orphanage. He will meet with you once in autumn to decide whether to treat you as nobles or not. Those who are decided to be treated as nobles will have their Baptism Ceremony in winter. I know you'll have all sorts of thoughts about this, but please do your best to become nobles."

"Yes!"

The one who answered with a powerful voice was Bertram, Lorenz's younger brother. Judging by his height and manner of speech, his Baptism Ceremony must be approaching. His eyes were brimming with ambition for a life as a noble. Inspired by Bertram, the other children raised their heads as well.

"That is all I have to say. While Melchior and the others finish choosing their attendants, would you show me the results of your studies? Philine and Lorenz, you may go talk to your younger brothers."

I addressed the children, then led my attendants toward the area where books and toys were kept. Lorenz and Philine headed off to their respective brothers. Matthias and the others, who were entering the Temple and orphanage for the first time, stared wide-eyed at the fespials lined up for everyone to use.

"There are this many fespials in the orphanage?"

"The fespials were confiscated from various families so that the children could practice for their debut. I've never seen them lined up like this before either."

About ten smaller fespials sat on a slightly elevated shelf — it looked just like an elementary school music room. I suspected they had been placed up high to keep the little ones from tampering with them.

"It's not just the fespials. Apart from the lack of reference materials, this is no different from the Noble Academy's library shelves."

"Those reference materials are important, but the orphanage's shelves are quite impressive, aren't they? We even have commoner storybooks printed during the test run of the printing press."

The books of tales from around the Gréshir area, collected by Gutenberg's group and printed by Lutz and Gil, contained content different from what was sold among nobles and were quite entertaining. Since they weren't merchandise, nobles had never been able to read them.

"If you're curious, would you like to take a look? You might find it interesting to catch a glimpse of commoner life in the lower city, so different from noble life."

"If I'm going to be involved in the printing industry going forward, I'd love to read them."

Muriella popped her head out from behind Matthias, her green eyes sparkling, and drifted over to the bookshelf. Would Muriella, who loved romance stories, enjoy tales from the lower city as well?

…If lower city stories were also accepted, the range of printable books would increase dramatically.

As I thought this, I listened to the children playing fespiel and watched them read books aloud. One girl who had finished playing the fespiel looked at the children being chosen as attendants and asked, "Why doesn't Big Brother join the orphanage?" She must have been referring to another boy who was Nicholas's brother — a different one.

"Those who have already completed their Baptism Ceremony as nobles cannot enter the orphanage. So they will be living here as Blue Priest apprentices or Blue Priestess apprentices. Later, please tell your big brother what kinds of things you study at the Temple and what kind of life you lead here."

"Is that so…"

She might have wanted to spend time together with her older brother, but there was a clear difference between a pre-Baptism child and a child who had already completed the Baptism Ceremony as a noble. Even if they had time to study together in the orphanage, their daily lives were entirely separate. Orphanage children were forbidden from entering the Noble District.

Simply saying "it's fine" would have been easy, but with meetings with merchants and blessing ceremonies on the schedule, noble traffic was going to increase going forward. Allowing children to wander about freely in that situation was dangerous. I had no idea what kind of accusations could be leveled and what punishment might follow. Pre-Baptism children with parents who had committed crimes were in an extremely weak position — just like me when I had been called an upstart Blue Priestess commoner. Living with family in the Temple. That alone was difficult.

"You can see your big brother when you study in the orphanage, and if you are able to receive your Baptism Ceremony as a noble, you may be able to live in the Noble District the same way. Please do your best."

"Yes."

I smiled at the girl, who had found a goal, though my mood dipped slightly.

…If I could spend time with my family by putting in effort, I would try incredibly hard too.

While I was wondering whether I could at least see them occasionally, a voice said, "I don't think effort in the Temple would be of any use in a noble's life." I looked up and saw Lorenz stopping his brother.

"Bertram!"

"But isn't that true? Crawling on the floor to clean the Temple, drawing water from the well, tidying your own clothes and bedding, digging through snow-covered soil in the forest to find things to eat… These are not things a noble should be doing."

Lorenz murmured at what kind of life that must have been, and I could see pity in his eyes for the brothers who would have to live in the orphanage. It might sound pitiful, but looked at another way, the experience of living in the orphanage was by no means insignificant. It could be applied to handling Magic Power and Magic Power compression. It was also a valuable opportunity to experience moving one's own body and see things that noble life would never show you. It all came down to your own perspective.

"Of course, going suddenly from a noble's life where attendants handle everything to orphanage life where you must take care of yourself would be difficult. Honestly, I don't think I could survive in the orphanage."

My attendants, who knew of my frailty, nodded in agreement. It wasn't anything to boast about, but I truly could not survive without someone's care. And yet even I had experienced things in commoner life that proved useful in noble life.

"However, whether the experience of orphanage life and interacting with people from the lower city can be put to use once you begin living as nobles — that depends entirely on each individual."

"Huh?"

Perhaps not expecting a rebuttal, Bertram blinked in surprise, and I gave him a gentle smile.

"The workshop here does business with merchants I am close with, doesn't it? How goods are made, how they reach the market, making connections with merchants, and figuring out how to present your ideas to merchants in a way that benefits both sides — if you watch carefully, you will understand. And if you ask the merchants, they will teach you."

Benno and the others knew that having even a few nobles who could deal with merchants was beneficial. If I wanted to improve the precarious situation of being the only go-between, they should teach without complaint.

…Well, they might make a bit of a sour face, like when they taught me. But I didn't think they'd punch me in the head. Yeah.

"If you know how to deal with merchants, you will be extremely valuable as civil officials in Ehrenfest going forward. What Ehrenfest lacks most right now is civil officials who can handle merchants."

The girl who had decided to enter the Temple as a Blue Priestess apprentice whipped her head around. Was she aspiring to become a civil official?

"Furthermore, now that the weather is warming up, trips to the forest will become more frequent, won't they? Summer is the season when merchants from other dergs come to Ehrenfest. You might overhear things on the way to the forest about what merchants from other dergs want or what they find unsatisfying. People from the lower city who accompany you might teach you things as well. If you want to use this for your future after becoming nobles, there are countless ways to put your current life to use."

The ones wearing expressions of utter surprise were, if anything, the noble attendants. If they could make good use of their current position, children raised in the orphanage could become remarkably capable civil officials.

"As for one more thing… yes. There's something only I can do — something ordinary nobles cannot. Would you like to see a secret skill of mine, born and raised in the Temple? Once you see it, you might want to try all sorts of things yourself."

When I stood up, Hartmut somehow appeared at my side, his amber eyes sparkling with excitement. "What are you going to show us?" he asked.

…Huh? Wasn't he supposed to be helping Melchior choose attendants? When did he…?

The question crossed my mind, but Melchior, having apparently finished his selection, was also heading over with a curious "What are you going to do?"

…Well, whatever.

There was no point thinking too deeply about Hartmut. I told the children to step back a little for safety's sake, then took out a magic stone for my rideable beast while eyeing the well-cleaned white floor.

"This is a magic stone for my rideable beast. Noble children must have seen your family's rideable beasts, so you should know that this stone can freely change shape, yes?"

At my question, Bertram nodded with a wary expression, clearly on guard about what I was about to do.

"I'll do this…"

In the same way I had once done in front of Ferdinand, I inflated the magic stone like a balloon. Now that I was accustomed to handling Magic Power, I could even crack it without scattering the pieces too much. The magic stone split apart and crumbled like puzzle pieces falling apart.

"The rideable beast's magic stone!?"

"How do you plan to get back to the castle!?"

Amid those exclamations, I gathered the fragments of the shattered magic stone with my hands. Then, channeling Magic Power, I chanted "Round, round" and pressed the pieces back together. And with a proud chest, I held the now perfectly round magic stone high for everyone to see.

"What? It's back to normal?"

"That's impossible…"

The nobles cried out in astonishment, just as Ferdinand had when he called me inconceivable. I smiled at Bertram, who stood there slack-jawed.

"With clay that's dried out and crumbly, it slips through your fingers and is hard to roll. But if you add water again and make it soft, rolling it would be easy, yes? The same applies to a shattered magic stone — if you infuse it with Magic Power and soften it, you can roll it back together."

"That can't be real…"

The nobles stared at my restored magic stone as though they were looking at something unbelievable. Even if they called it inconceivable, it wasn't my fault that the bounds of their common sense were different.

"Handling Magic Power is all about vividly imagining in your own mind how to move it. Even if someone calls it inconceivable, what you can do is what you can do. Touching soil, tidying clothes, cleaning floors — I don't know which of these might nourish you. Whether you can put them to use is up to you."

My attendants, who had told me that seeing it with their own eyes made the image of Magic Power compression much easier to visualize, must have found food for thought. They began looking around the orphanage as though searching for some kind of hint.

"You're bound to have more interesting experiences than a normally raised noble. Bertram — hang in there."

Bertram gave a firm nod after Lorenz lightly patted him on the shoulder. He didn't seem fully convinced yet, but the determination in his strong-willed eyes conveyed that he intended to make every experience count.

"Lady Rozemyne, I want to have all sorts of experiences too. And I want to become someone who can do all sorts of things, just like you."

Melchior's blue eyes were shining as he told me how amazing it was that no one else could do what I did, and I let out a small laugh. If he frequented the Temple, he could visit rural villages for various ceremonies. There would be no shortage of different experiences.

"The High Priest's experience is something no other noble can claim, so make full use of it."

"Yes!"

With Melchior, a member of the Archducal Family, motivated, the other children also seemed ready to embrace their new lives and the experiences that nobles typically never had. Satisfied that the children's mood had brightened, I heard Damuel murmur, "Things seem to have come together nicely, Lady Rozemyne, but I should point out that casually re-forming a magic stone like that is quite difficult unless you have an enormous amount of Magic Power."

"…Damuel, shh!"

All the attendants had been decided. We discussed how the children would enter as Blue Apprentices after the Dedication Ritual, and that the newly assigned attendants should prepare their rooms before then. Hiring a cook to prepare meals would come after discussions with Benno and Frieda.

"For now, the attendants newly recruited in this way should prepare to welcome their new masters. I will prepare study materials for the children and issue instructions. After the Dedication Ritual, Melchior and the others, now Blue Apprentices, will begin entering and leaving the orphanage. Given that I myself was doing the same, there should be no issue."

…Hartmut was puffing out his chest as he said this, but the orphanage wasn't really supposed to be a place Blue Priests casually came and went from.

I had hoped that the orphanage and the role of Blue Priests would gradually change, but the pace of change was far more sudden than I had anticipated. At the very least, back when I first started visiting the Temple, it had not been a place where an Archduke Candidate came and went with such an excited expression on their face.

After this tour, Melchior's attendants seemed to look at the Temple in a very different way. I was hoping these positive changes would continue when Hartmut began his final address.

"Now then, everyone. Let us offer our prayers and gratitude to the Supreme God who rules the lofty, towering heavens; to the Five Great Gods who govern the vast, expansive earth — the Water Goddess Flutránne, the Fire God Leidenschaft, the Wind Goddess Schutzaria, the Earth Goddess Geduldh, the Life Goddess Ewigeliebe — and to Lady Rozemyne, the Saint of Ehrenfest."

The Gray Priests and Gray Priestesses assembled in the room performed their prayers in a single synchronized movement. The children who had arrived during winter were also fully accustomed to the prayers by now, offering them without the slightest hesitation.

My attendants, who were used to visiting the Temple and praying, were fine, but Matthias and the other new attendants, Melchior's attendants, and the children from the children's room all shrank back slightly.

…Wait. Did something odd just slip in there?

It had blended in so naturally that I almost let it pass, but I could have sworn my name had been included among the deities being prayed to. I wanted to confront Hartmut right then and there, but making a scene here — shaking him by the shoulders and demanding "What was that?!" — was out of the question. So I forced a strained smile and left the orphanage.

It was a nice breath of fresh air.

Rozemyne is surprised to discover that the orphanage's prayers have somehow changed into something strange.

Lorenz and Bertram listened to each other's stories and both thought, "Isn't she a bit too much of a Rozemyne convert?" (laugh) Next up: preparations for the ceremony.