The West Gate Soldiers and the Groundwork

"We have been awaiting you, Lady Rozemyne, Lord Melchior. The men lined up here are those who distinguished themselves in the battle at the West Gate."

Damuel and Matthias came out to greet us. As Ferdinand helped me dismount from my riding beast, I surveyed the soldiers. Every one of them was on one knee with their face lowered, though some bore visible injuries. Damuel had told me there were no serious wounds, but the bandaging suggested they were hardly minor.

"Sister, some of them are hurt."

Melchior, who had ridden alongside his attendant, dismounted and came to stand beside me, speaking in a low voice. Knights belonging to the knight order received healing from the knights or the physicians, but the commoner soldiers had been given nothing.

"It's all right, Melchior. I will give them my healing."

"Do you still have enough Magic Power left to heal multiple soldiers?"

Melchior, who had prayed with me at the Temple, blinked in surprise. Having not yet enrolled in the Royal Academy nor undergone compression, he must have spent a considerable amount of Magic Power during the funeral rites for the dead. I smiled and gently ruffled his hair, which sat below my line of sight.

"The more blessings of the gods you receive, the less Magic Power you need. You will be the High Priest from now on as well, Melchior. You need only pray for the territory and its people and strive to earn the blessings of as many gods as possible."

"I will do my best to become like you, Sister Rozemyne."

"If it's you, Melchior, you will make a far better High Priest than I ever could. You are exceptionally talented."

Chuckling softly, I withdrew my hand from his head and turned back to the soldiers.

"My attendant Damuel has told me of your valor. You fought bravely to defend this city. If the Wolgenir that the enemy led had breached the gate, the commoners would have suffered terribly."

As I spoke, the soldiers who had been kneeling with bowed heads raised their faces. Seeing me, their mouths dropped open and their eyes went wide. I had come to the West Gate a year ago in the same High Priest vestments to collect Clarissa, so unlike the commoners who only caught a glimpse of me during religious ceremonies, they were able to see the change in my appearance clearly. Father looked at me as though blinded by something bright, squinting with a complicated expression—joyful, proud, and lonely all at once.

Turning a blind eye to the soldiers' astonishment, I continued.

"Thanks to you, this city was protected—there is no exaggeration in that. But it seems some of you were wounded in the process. As your High Priest, I would like to give you healing so that you can continue to serve as soldiers and defend this city. …Streitto Korben."

I closed my eyes, transformed my Stab into Fluträne's staff with a flick, and began my prayer.

"O Luschweil, goddess of healing, divine attendant of Fluträne, goddess of water—heed my prayer and grant your sacred power. Grant healing to those who fought and were wounded in defense of Geduldh. To you I offer this sacred melody—cast forth the supreme ripples and bestow your pure blessing."

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the green light of blessing overflowing. Not only the soldiers—even my attendants cried out in surprise, "Such immense healing!"

"Rozemyne, that is enough. Stop there."

At Ferdinand's slightly anxious voice, I ceased pouring in my Magic Power. I murmured "Ryūken" to dismiss the staff, then slowly opened my eyes. The soldiers who had been kneeling in pain were unwrapping their bandages and examining their injuries, then crying out in astonishment and joy, "It's healed!"

Relieved that no one with a painful-looking wound remained, I noticed one soldier step forward. He struck his left chest twice with his right fist.

"I wish to express our deepest gratitude for your excessive kindness toward us commoner soldiers. As their captain, I offer you my thanks."

"Oh my? Wasn't the captain Gunther?"

I had seen this soldier before but did not know his name. Blinking in surprise, I compared the man who had introduced himself as captain with my father.

"Gunther has been reassigned and will be departing as part of Lady Rozemyne's personal retinue. The handover has already been completed."

Losing the captain suddenly would indeed be a problem. It had been nearly a year since I had asked for preparations to be made for my relocation. If the handover at the Temple was complete, it was only natural that the handover among the soldiers had been done as well.

"To be perfectly honest, Gunther's departure from this city is a tremendous loss. However, his performance in this battle has proven that he will be a formidable guard who will surely protect Lady Rozemyne's personal attendants."

It was clear that they were worried about Father leaving his post and moving to another land. I smiled and nodded.

"I am very grateful that Gunther will be coming with us. …For those of you who fought to defend this West Gate and protect the domain's citizens, I hold awards from my adoptive father, the Lord. Melchior."

I called Melchior over and introduced him to the soldiers as the new High Priest. A few of them had likely seen his face at the small temple in Hasse, but it was better to establish connections with as many of them as possible.

"After me, my younger brother Melchior will serve as High Priest."

"I hope to become a High Priest whom the citizens can rely on, just like my sister Rozemyne. I look forward to working with you."

Once Melchior had addressed the soldiers, he signaled to his attendants and began distributing the awards. I asked the soldiers who had received their rewards what the battle had been like. Some of them were soldiers I had seen a few times in Hasse, and though they seemed to be watching their language, they spoke in a somewhat casual tone and told me about Damuel's exploits.

"Starting from around the third bell, we went around to each gate calling for vigilance, and we also warned the workers near where the ships dock. If Lord Damuel hadn't been here, the damage would have been immense."

"Lord Damuel lobbied to have as many knights as possible deployed to the West Gate. The way he took down those huge dogs one after another has become the talk of the soldier apprentices. Since the knights used the same weapons as we did in this battle, the apprentices seem far more motivated in their training now."

The apprentices, who had watched from slightly further back than the soldiers who were at the heart of the battle, seemed even more excited. As Damuel issued instructions via ordnanz one after another to organize their fighting strength, then stood before the soldiers and fought to protect them, the children gazed at him with burning admiration. When I stole a glance at Damuel, he was frozen with an expression caught somewhere between embarrassment and utter discomfort.

…Damuel, you should just stand tall at times like this.

Father came over after receiving his award, and the soldiers who saw him immediately began telling each other about the reckless things he had done with the protective charm I had given him.

"The greatest hero among the soldiers was Gunther, but when he tried to punch a dog-type magical beast to protect his subordinates, I nearly had a heart attack. I thought he'd be eaten!"

"Only Gunther would fight until every last one of his family's charms was used up."

The soldiers unanimously told Father he was reckless beyond all reason, but he simply grinned without a hint of regret.

"Thank you for the powerful charms, Lady Rozemyne. I am terribly sorry for having used them up. But I had no room to be choosey about my methods when it came to protecting what was precious to me."

"Well, I can't fault you for that. Human lives are more important than charms."

…I really am Father's daughter, don't I know it.

If even I couldn't help but think that, then Damuel and Ferdinand, who knew the full extent of our relationship, must have thought it even more. Both of them wore expressions that defied comment.

"…Lady Rozemyne, Lord Melchior. Forgive my forwardness, but is there a possibility that a similar battle could occur again in the near future? How much preparation will we need next time?"

At the new captain's question, delivered with a stern expression, the soldiers' faces tightened as well. Ferdinand stepped forward and spoke firmly: "Do not worry." The moment Ferdinand moved to the fore, the atmosphere shifted entirely. The soldiers who had been speaking with me snapped into formation with a rustle and straightened their backs.

"That the battle is over should be clear from the fact that awards have been issued by the Aub of Ehrenfest. Moreover, it is utterly inconceivable that Ahrensbach, our enemy this time, will ever attack again."

As Ferdinand spoke, he grasped my hand and tugged gently. As I nearly stumbled, he steadied me and positioned me before the soldiers so they could clearly see me.

"In this battle, Rozemyne, an archduke candidate of Ehrenfest, seized the foundation of Ahrensbach and has in effect become the Aub of Ahrensbach. Should she receive the Zent's approval, the lord of the once-dangerous neighboring territory will be Rozemyne. Ahrensbach will never again attack Ehrenfest."

"Hah!"

The soldiers raised cries of joy and excitement, cheering that it was wonderful. Melchior and his attendants, though silent, were wide-eyed, glancing between me and Ferdinand. My mind went completely blank.

"Ferdinand."

"We must now set out to govern Ahrensbach. Soldiers of Ehrenfest—I leave the defense of this city in your hands. Guard this city's peace so that we may depart without concern."

"Yes, sir!"

At Ferdinand's words—born of long experience rallying knights—the soldiers struck their right fists against their chests in response.

"Gunther, you will relocate with the rest of Rozemyne's attendants to Ahrensbach, where things are not yet settled. You must protect Rozemyne's attendants—that is your charge."

As Ferdinand spoke, he removed the charm from his own arm and handed it to Father. Father looked at me, at Ferdinand, and at the charm placed in his hands, his expression growing complicated before he vowed, "I swear it."

"…We will survey the lower city, then return to the Temple."

With that, Ferdinand had me mount his riding beast as we had done when coming to the West Gate. Rather than heading straight back to the Temple, we began circling through the lower city. From the West Gate to the South Gate, from there to the East Gate, then over the North Gate, and finally back to the Temple.

People peeked out from windows when they spotted us flying overhead on riding beasts. Pedestrians on the street looked up and pointed. As we neared the South Gate and the increasingly familiar scenery unfolded below me, I turned back to Ferdinand and complained about his earlier statement.

"What were you thinking, making a declaration like that, Ferdinand?"

"I was not lying. This is what you wanted, was it not?"

"I never said anything untrue, and I do think it would be lovely to have a library city, but I have no idea whether it will actually be approved. This is hardly the sort of thing to declare publicly at a ceremony where the archduke family is distributing awards from the Aub, is it?"

Hope and expectation are not the same as reality. I understood that much, and there was no way Ferdinand didn't.

"Everyone keeps telling me I'm not cut out to be Zent. Surely there is someone absolutely necessary to bring the Grutrissheit inscribed by Mestionora to the royal family? If I became Aub, Yurgenschmidt would collapse, wouldn't it? Please don't get my hopes up when we haven't even begun to sort out the myriad problems involved."

Being tossed up and down was harder than flying at a constant low altitude. When I turned to glare at Ferdinand, he murmured, "Since when did you become this pessimistic?" and began steering the riding beast toward the East Gate.

"I'm not pessimistic—I'm being realistic."

"Then look at reality more carefully. Is there truly a need for you to marry into the royal family, or for you to become royalty, in order to install a Zent who possesses the Grutrissheit?"

"…Without the Grutrissheit, a Zent cannot be installed. There is nothing to be done about it."

To obtain the Grutrissheit, registration as a member of the royal family was supposedly required. When I pouted, Ferdinand gave a wry smile.

"What would you do if you didn't have something you wanted? Isn't that precisely what you've always done?"

"…If you don't have it, make one?"

I could not imagine Ferdinand saying something so exasperating that I would actually be the one saying it, so I answered with a question mark floating above my head.

"That is exactly right. Take the necessary materials from our workshop and create one in Ahrensbach. …It shouldn't take that long."

"It's already halfway there," Ferdinand murmured as we passed over the East Gate. Even though it was the day after the battle, the city seemed to have regained its vitality.

"Ferdinand, looking back at history won't solve this, surely?"

The decline of the royal family and the loss of the Grutrissheit were largely caused by the practice of passing down the Magical Tool that was the Grutrissheit. If we gave out another one, the same cycle would simply repeat.

"I would rather create something that vanishes after a single generation. It serves as a stopgap, but fundamentally, we should return to the system of selecting the Zent from among those who can obtain it on their own merit."

Just as Ferdinand said, with obvious distaste, that he wanted to install a Zent in order to eliminate the royal family, we arrived back at the Temple via the North Gate.

"Trust me a little more, will you?"

"I do trust you."

At my words, Ferdinand shook his head and pushed his back toward Fran and the others who had come out to greet us, saying, "Go change quickly."

"How was the lower city, Lady Rozemyne? Were there many things destroyed or many casualties?"

Monica and Nicola, who had not left the Temple, did not know how the lower city fared. "Gil will have a report tonight, I expect…" I said as they helped me remove the High Priest vestments. When I told them that the lower city had largely returned to normal despite being the day after the battle, both of them smiled in relief.

"Will you be the High Priest in Ahrensbach as well, Lady Rozemyne?"

"Huh?"

A bombshell came from an unexpected direction, and my eyes went round. I had no idea why Nicola would say such a thing. As I blinked, Monica explained.

"While everyone was at the West Gate, Lord Hartmut spoke to us. He said that after the lord's conference, Lady Rozemyne would become the lord of Ahrensbach and would want to take some of her Attendants to the Temple there as well. Fran and Zaim were among those invited."

Apparently Monica and Nicola had been told they could serve here until Philine came of age, after which they could move together if they wished.

"He also told us to pack the High Priest vestments in our luggage. May we go ahead and do so?"

"Y-Yes. That's fine."

I turned my gaze to Angelica and Judith, who were in the room as my guard knights.

"Did you know about this?"

"…Before lunch, when you and Ferdinand were talking, Hartmut briefed us to some extent. Right now, Eustachius and Lieseloreta should be in discussions with Dunkelfelger at the castle."

The fact that such large-scale groundwork was being laid simultaneously across multiple fronts meant Ferdinand was unquestionably involved. And not just Ferdinand—it was clear Hartmut was dead serious about this too. It seemed I had been the one least in touch with reality.

…The moment Ferdinand and Hartmut teamed up, that should have been a red flag. When Hartmut didn't come along to the West Gate, I should have realized something was happening behind the scenes!

"Fran and Zaim…?"

"They should be serving tea to Ferdinand in the main entrance hall. They were told to bring you to him once you had changed."

Once I finished changing, I left the High Priest's chambers accompanied by Monica and Nicola. At the main entrance, I could see Ferdinand, Hartmut, and the other male attendants waiting for me to finish. Melchior and his attendants were there as well, already looking convinced—they had clearly received some kind of explanation.

Fran and Zaim were also present, and they looked somewhat anxious upon seeing me.

"Lady Rozemyne, just now Lord Ferdinand and Lord Hartmut informed us that you would be becoming the Aub of Ahrensbach. They asked whether we might move there to help restore Ahrensbach's Temple to the same standard as this one…"

Zaim spoke in his usual gentle tone. Fran, his expression stiff and somewhat skeptical, added: "…Could I also go, if I wished? With Lady Rozemyne and Ferdinand?"

"Um, Fran, nothing has been fully decided yet. It still requires the Zent's approval."

I shot a pointed look at those around me who were speaking as though it were already a done deal, then turned back to Fran. But when I saw his shoulders slump slightly at my words, I instinctively took his hand.

"It—it hasn't been finalized, but if it is decided, will you come too, Fran? I want you at the Temple where I am going."

"I shall look forward to Lady Rozemyne's invitation while training my successor."

The look on Fran's and Zaim's faces was strikingly similar to the expression on Razefam's face when they awaited Ferdinand's summons to go to Ahrensbach. Feeling as though I had to find a way to bring them along no matter what, I glared at Ferdinand, who was summoning his riding beast and beckoning to me.

"Ferdinand."

As he carried me on his riding beast and we sped along, Ferdinand snorted.

"Now that you've expressed your own wishes, perhaps you've finally steeled yourself somewhat instead of clinging to the end?"

"…Do you truly believe that I, who cannot handle magic stones, can become an Aub?"

"If you put your mind to it, anything is possible."

So steel yourself, Ferdinand said. He told me not to waver, and I gazed intently at the sky stretching out before us.

Back at the castle, I found Hannelore and the others smiling, alongside my adoptive father and the rest, wearing expressions that were anything but simple.

"Adoptive Father, I am going to become the Aub of Ahrensbach."

"I already know."

We delivered the awards to the soldiers at the West Gate.

We heard about the exploits of Damuel's group and Father.

The bombshell dropped.

The Temple had already been canvassed by Hartmut.

Next time, we head to Ahrensbach.