The Night of Stürelia

After dinner, I changed clothes in my room.

I put on pants like the female knights, dressing in an outfit where it wouldn't matter if my skirt got hiked up. The dress I wore was simple and unadorned, made from sturdy fabric.

"It's not very cute, is it?"

Nicola said that with a disappointed look, but Monica—who fundamentally shared Wilma's love for simplicity—just gave a light sigh.

"You don't need decorations to go gathering in the forest, Nicola. Ease of movement is what matters most. Isn't that right, Lady Rozemyne?"

"Monica is right. Tonight, I have no need for frilly decorations."

I slicked my hair back firmly with hair pomade so it wouldn't get in the way, then tied it in a single ponytail behind me. Then, trading the short boots I'd been wearing—thinking they'd be fine just for walking around the winter lodge—for knee-high leather boots suitable for trekking through the forest, I felt a surge of excitement every time I pulled the laces tight.

...It's been so long since I've been to the forest, and so long since I've been gathering. I've got to give it my all!

Since entering the Temple, my opportunities to visit the forest had plummeted. After becoming the Lord's adopted daughter, I naturally had no chance to go at all. I'd watch as the children from the papermaking workshop headed out into the forest with Lutz and Gil, thinking how I wished I could go too, but since my stamina made me dead weight, I always ended up as the one staying behind.

...Ugh, I'm so excited.

After having my boots put on, I stood up and had a leather belt fastened around my waist.

Attached to the belt were leather gloves for gathering, a leather pouch for materials, and a holder for magic stones. Today, I also strapped on a second leather belt and equipped the Magical Tool knife the Chief Priest had prepared.

With that, I was all set for the gathering I'd been briefed on.

Looking down at the various gathering tools dangling at my waist and the handle of the knife, I let out a little laugh.

...I feel really cool.

Unlike Brigitte, I didn't have any armor or anything, but today's outfit made me look more gallant and impressive than ever before.

"Monica, Nicola, how does it look?"

Unlike the composed Monica, Nicola's eyes sparkled with excitement as she clenched her fist emphatically.

"You look really strong, Lady Rozemyne. It's so cool!"

Pleased by Nicola's praise, I left the room.

"Eckhart, don't you think I look very strong?"

Now fully prepared, I headed to the room where Eckhart and the others were waiting and threw both my arms wide open to show off.

Eckhart's eyes went round, then he shook his head slowly with an extremely disappointed expression, speaking in the tone one uses to lecture an unruly child.

"Rozemyne, you are not to lay a hand on anything other than gathering. Understood?"

"...Yes."

Once everyone was ready, we headed outside. It was a full moon, so the night road should have been somewhat bright, but it was dimmer than I'd expected. Puzzled, I looked up at the sky and saw the moon was a color I'd never seen before.

"The— the moon is purple!?"

Startled by how unsettling it looked, I pointed at the moon and cried out, but everyone merely glanced at it and showed no particular reaction.

"It's the Night of Stürelia," Justus said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Eckhart looked mildly surprised as he gazed down at me.

"...You've never seen it, Rozemyne?"

"It's my first time. I'm never outside this late, and I spent most of this season bedridden."

"I see."

Perhaps it was no surprise I'd never seen it, but after living in this world for three years, I'd never even heard that the moon could turn purple.

"They say that after the Night of Stürelia, the cold suddenly intensifies—which means the Wind Goddess Stürelia's power surpasses that of the Life God Erwirhebe on this night. Conversely, at the beginning of spring during the Night of Flutrüne, the moon turns red. Since the snowmelt begins after the Night of Flutrüne, it's said that the Water Goddess Flutrüne's power surpasses that of the Life God Erwirhebe."

So the moon didn't just turn strange colors in autumn—it happened at every seasonal turning point. Since it was an annual occurrence, and whether magic power grew stronger had absolutely no bearing on a pauper in the lower city, it must not have been worth telling a family member who was bedridden with fever, I reasoned.

"My lady, the ruel flowers bloom under the light of the full moon. It should be about time now."

So saying, Justus summoned his riding beast, leapt onto it nimbly, and took off.

Watching the eerie purple moon, I summoned my own single-rider lowerbeast and chased after Justus. Brigitte and Damuel flanked me on either side, while Eckhart guarded from behind.

Justus had said at dinner that the ruel tree was located just a little deeper in the forest, past the farmland that had emptied out since everyone had moved to the winter lodge.

True to his word, he plunged into the forest without the slightest hesitation. He'd mentioned marking the way, but I couldn't see any signs at all.

"My lady, that is the ruel."

The ruel tree already had flowers in bloom. On branches devoid of leaves, with a smooth, almost metallic texture, several dozen white magnolia-like flowers stood upright along the boughs, releasing an intense fragrance.

"As the full moon's light falls upon them, the petals peel away from the outside one by one, and the ruel fruit grows in their place. It looks like it will still take some time for the fruit to fully develop."

Nodding along to Justus's explanation, I moved my lowerbeast closer to the flowers. The scent grew stronger the nearer I got.

I gently closed my eyes and slowly drew in the sweet fragrance drifting toward me. It was an intoxicating scent.

"Couldn't this flower be used as some kind of material? It seems like it would make a wonderful perfume."

At my question, Justus squinted and stared intently at the ruel flowers.

"Hmm, I didn't know the ruel produced such a strong fragrance. The Night of Stürelia really might be different from other full moons. Shall I bring back a flower as well?"

His tone wasn't directed at me so much as lost in his own hobby, mumbling about how this differed from ruel he'd gathered before. Excitedly, Justus drew out his staff and chanted, "Messer."

Holding his staff transformed into the shape of a knife, Justus steered his lowerbeast up to a branch.

He planted his foot in the stirrup, stood, and cut the branch to gather the flower.

Trimming away the excess length of branch and leaving only the part with the flower, he carefully placed it into a leather pouch.

"Justus, I'd like to try too."

"Hm? Ah, ah, yes, my lady."

He'd been so absorbed in his hobby that he'd completely forgotten about everything else. At the sound of my voice, Justus looked up as if startled. After a slightly sheepish expression, he immediately broke into a grin.

"Then, take out your knife, channel magic power into it, and try cutting a branch and gathering a flower, just as I did."

"Yes!"

Following Justus's example, I decided to try cutting one with the knife the Chief Priest had given me. A little dry run. I needed to properly verify whether I could actually gather on my own.

I took out the Magical Tool knife with my right hand, drew close enough to touch the flowers, and leaned out of my lowerbeast's window. Reaching out, I grasped the smooth-textured branch, channeled magic power into the knife, and pressed it against the wood.

Heart pounding as I wondered whether it would actually cut, I applied force—and the branch sliced through as smoothly as if cutting butter.

"Amazing. It cut so easily..."

I compared the ruel branch in my hand with the knife the Chief Priest had given me. The Magical Tool knife was a splendid device: by channeling magic power into it, even my feeble strength could cut through branches properly.

With this knife, I might have been able to help with forest gathering. While thinking such things, I trimmed off the excess branch and placed the gathered flower into my leather pouch.

"Hmm, there don't seem to be any problems with the gathering."

Eckhart, who had been worried about whether I could manage, said with a relieved look.

"My lady, the method for gathering the fruit is the same. Cut the branch, trim away the excess, and you're done."

"Understood."

It looked like I would be able to gather the ruel without incident. Practicing the gathering method put my mind at ease, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"...Ah, the flowers."

As the moonlight poured down, the flowers began to scatter. Petals peeled away one by one, drifting lightly, lightly downward, swaying in the wind as they danced.

Unlike cherry blossom petals, these were large, like those of a white magnolia. White as a bird's feathers playing in the wind, they spun round and round as they fell.

The moment a petal touched the ground, it vanished as if merging with the earth—the sight was so ephemeral and beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off the falling petals.

The dreamlike moment was brief.

By the time I noticed, all the petals had already fallen away, and not a single flower remained on the branches.

And looking closely at the ruel branches, where the flowers had been, purple crystals about the size of my little finger had sprouted from the wood.

"This is the ruel fruit. It grows to about this size under the light of the full moon."

Justus indicated roughly ten centimeters with his thumb and index finger, frowning as he examined the ruel fruit.

"But the last time I gathered it, the fruit was a somewhat pale yellow. It wasn't this color."

It seemed Justus had become absorbed in his own thoughts again. It was easy to tell because his tone shifted.

"Could the fruit's color be influenced by the moon's color?"

"That may well be. For the report to Lord Ferdinand and for my own research, it would be best to gather several. ...Don't you agree, my lady?"

"It's for the report and research, after all. As long as we don't take every last one, it should be fine?"

While I was discussing the matter with Justus across the ruel tree, I heard rustling sounds approaching from a distance—the sound of grass being parted. And not just one or two sets of footsteps.

The moment I thought there must be dozens of them, cat-like and squirrel-like animals no bigger than Damuel's knee burst from the undergrowth and came charging toward us.

They were large enough not to qualify as small animals, but what made them anything but cute was their eyes, glowing an eerie red in the darkness.

"Magical beasts!"

Eckhart drew his staff as he spoke, transforming it into the shape of a spear. He leapt from his descending lowerbeast and, with the momentum, drove the spear straight through a rabbit-like magical beast—one with horns growing where long ears should have been.

Sticking out from the beast's back was the tip of the spear, pierced through from belly to spine, with something tiny and gem-like glinting at its point. In the next instant, the rabbit's form melted and collapsed, and the gem-like object at the spear's tip dissolved into the weapon and disappeared.

"From what I can see, none of them are strong individually, but there are many. Make sure to finish every one!"

"Yes, sir!"

Damuel and Brigitte also leapt from their lowerbeasts, drew their staffs, transformed them, and took their stances. A swift sweep knocked several beasts to the ground.

"Eckhart, there are so many more coming!"

From my vantage point floating on my lowerbeast, I could clearly see the magical beasts swarming toward the ruel tree. Many more glowing red eyes were visible beyond the undergrowth. The eerie eyes and the unmistakable hostility directed at us sent a shiver down my spine.

"Rozemyne, whatever you do, do not dismount! Justus, prioritize Rozemyne's gathering above all else!"

With their backs to the ruel tree as if to shield it, the three knights raised their weapons and began to cut down the magical beasts in unison. Spears swung wide to mow them down, then thrust forward to pierce and finish them.

Some beasts dissolved and vanished as their forms collapsed; others simply fell still and lay there.

"Ah!?"

Other magical beasts swarmed around the fallen ones and began to tear into them—prioritizing the consumption of their own kind over the armed knights. The sight of that cannibalism made goosebumps rise all over my body.

When the swarming beasts finally lost interest and leapt away, the fallen beast had vanished completely. And among the remaining ones, I could see a single beast noticeably larger than the rest.

"Damuel! Even the weak beasts—make sure you extract their magic stones! If they get eaten by the others, they'll grow! The fight will only get harder and harder!"

From Eckhart's words, I deduced that the magical beasts apparently grew by consuming magic stones. And once a beast grew a bit, it would try to consume the weakened beasts around it to grow further.

Damuel hurriedly stabbed the slightly larger beast several times with his spear, piercing its magic stone. If cannibalism made the beasts a little stronger, it would become an increasingly difficult fight for Damuel. Compared to the other two, he was clearly struggling with no room to spare.

"Th- there must be something I can do... something..."

Frantically searching for anything I could contribute, I saw Justus shake his head.

"There is nothing you can do, my lady."

I understood what he was saying, but I still wanted to help however I could. I forced my mind, frozen by the terror of the magical beast attack, to work.

There was almost nothing I could do in a fight. About the only thing was to pray to the gods.

"Wh- what about a shield!? If I cover the area around the tree with a Schutzaria Shield, the magical beasts won't be able to get in!"

"That won't work! If you cover it with a magic shield, the full moon's light won't reach it either!"

When Justus shot the idea down on the grounds that gathering would become impossible, I bit my lip hard.

"My lady, you need only think about the gathering. Leave the fighting to the knights."

Justus was right to say leave it to the experts. He wasn't wrong. But compared to the seemingly endless stream of magical beasts pouring out of the undergrowth, the number of knights who could fight was overwhelmingly small.

"Justus, do magical beasts normally appear in this kind of number?"

"No. During my previous full moon gathering, there were almost none. This is abnormal. Lord Ferdinand himself said the Night of Stürelia was special. The fact that this many beasts are attracted proves the quality is genuine. ...The number of them is beyond expectation, though."

Justus spoke through gritted teeth, and it was clear he had his own thoughts about the current situation. But in all things, he was prioritizing my gathering.

With growing frustration, I watched the ruel fruit slowly expand in size—but its growth was agonizingly slow.

"Justus, how much longer!?"

Eckhart's voice rang up from below, and Justus, glaring at the ruel fruit, answered with a growl.

"It hasn't even reached half size yet!"

"There are too many magical beasts targeting the ruel fruit to count! There's no end to them!"

Damuel, who had the lowest magic power among the three, looked like he was having an especially hard time. His shoulders heaved and his breathing was ragged. With less magic power to work with, he was relying on brute force, which must have been causing severe exhaustion.

"...Justus, the Schutzaria Shield blocks magic power, so I can't use it, right? But what if instead of blocking, I invoke divine protection? Would it be alright to pray to the God of War, Angriff, and grant a blessing of martial fortune?"

Justus looked up sharply and gazed at me. His eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

"Ah, yes, that would work perfectly! My lady, grant them your blessing!"

"O God of Fire, Leidenschaft, I pray that the divine protection of your retainer, the God of War, Angriff, be bestowed upon them."

I channeled magic power into my ring and offered my prayer. Blue light rained down, cascading upon the three who were fighting around the ruel tree.

Their movements changed instantly. The sharpness and speed of their motions improved dramatically compared to moments ago. It was as if the cutting edge of their weapons had been honed, with each swing felling more beasts than before.

"Lady Rozemyne, what a magnificent blessing!"

The one who cried out in a bright, lifted voice was Brigitte.

With fierce light blazing in her amethyst eyes, Brigitte surveyed the surroundings, then let her skirt flutter as she shifted into a slightly crouched stance. She gripped a weapon with a long handle like a naginata and a slightly curved blade at its tip.

"Haaaaah!"

With a battle cry, Brigitte's weapon sang through the air. Within its sweeping range, several magical beasts lost their form and melted away simultaneously.

The weakened beasts that Brigitte's strike hadn't finished off began to swarm together, seeking power from one another. But Brigitte charged straight at the cluster, weapon raised, running several steps forward.

"Scatter!"

Brigitte planted her feet and flashed her weapon. The elongated blade spun as she mowed through the massed beasts, slicing them apart in a single devastating sweep.

The sight of her wielding her weapon without pause was so gallant and splendid that my father's words echoed in my memory—he had said she was stronger in magic power than Damuel.

"This is a relief."

Both Eckhart and Damuel seemed to have it much easier now, and they began cutting down beasts with renewed vigor.

"My lady, grasp this ruel fruit and pour your magic power into it. You must channel magic until its color completely changes."

"Yes."

Pointing up at the enlarged ruel when he told me this, I nodded while keeping an eye on the situation below.

"My lady, they are knights. Hunting magical beasts within the domain is their job, so there's no need to worry. Rather, focus on your gathering here."

At Justus's words, I looked up, reached for the enlarged ruel, gripped it, and began pouring in my magic power. The fruit, which looked like an amethyst, was hard and cool to the touch, with a smooth surface, just as it appeared.

...I need to hurry and finish.

The knights couldn't stop fighting until my gathering was done. Staring hard at the ruel fruit, I continued channeling my magic into it.

Unlike the magic stone used when making my lowerbeast, the ruel fruit seemed to resist my magic power flowing into it. It was practically screaming that it didn't want someone else's magic inside.

"It's a magic plant, so the resistance is strong, isn't it?"

Justus explained that the same reluctance to accept magic power from another applied here.

I recalled the discomfort and repulsion I'd felt when the Chief Priest had tried to channel magic power into me to close my wounds during the Trombe extermination, and I understood the ruel's resistance.

"I'll keep watch on our surroundings while gathering over there."

Justus, who wanted materials that hadn't been dyed with magic, donned leather gloves to block magic power and swiftly gathered several ruel fruits. Since there was no need to dye them with magic, his gathering was finished in no time.

Gripping tightly, I poured more and more magic power into the ruel fruit that looked like an amethyst in my hand. Despite the cold night air, sweat beaded on my forehead. Pushing through the resistance with force, I hammered magic power into it, and gradually the purple fruit began shifting to a pale yellow.

...Almost there.

While I was gripping the ruel, a squirrel-like magical beast that had slipped through climbed up the tree. Justus immediately kicked it off, and Damuel delivered the finishing blow.

Though I wasn't hurt, I felt an indescribable terror at my current state of being completely unable to move. Thinking faster, faster, I continued to channel my magic.

"Justus! How is it?"

"It looks good. Go ahead and cut it."

At Justus's words—confirming the color had completely changed—I drew my knife and cut the branch.

"I got it!"

"Good, begin withdrawal preparations!"

Eckhart's voice rang out, and the instant the tension eased, a cat-like magical beast that had leapt from another tree came screaming through the air toward me—its mouth wide open as if torn apart, its pointed teeth and gleaming sharp claws bearing down on me.

"Ah!?"

I crossed my arms over my head and squeezed my eyes shut.

"My lady!"

Justus knocked the magical beast away with his staff. The impact wasn't just felt by the beast—I felt it in my hands too. When I opened my eyes, I saw the struck beast flying off with my ruel clamped in its jaws.

"My ruel!"

I lunged after the beast on instinct, but Justus's sharp voice stopped me.

"My lady! Get back! Eckhart!"

Eckhart ran after the fleeing beast, but before it even began to descend, the magical beast carrying my ruel fruit in its mouth exploded midair. ...Or so it appeared.