Preparing for the Ceremony

It had been decided that the Offering Ceremony would be held in front of the Noble Academy's altar, but it couldn't be done right away. First, Restlauf's lectures and Ehrenfest's Offering Ceremony had to be completed. In the meantime, Dunkelfelger—which had called upon the other duchies—would hold a Ditter to select the participants.

"Muriella, when the same ceremony is performed, the Magic Power difference places a heavy burden on whoever has less, so please limit the participants to upper nobles or Lord candidates. Also, please send an Ordinance to Dunkelfelger informing them that first-year students who have only just learned Magic Power compression cannot participate."

Wilfried and Charlotte, who had performed the ceremony while holding my mana-infused magic stones, had struggled to adjust at first, and I'd heard that in other duchies, it was common for students to supply to the Foundation's magic only after learning Magic Power compression at the Noble Academy. Since we couldn't assign adult assistance to every beginner, those who had never supplied at all would be in danger.

"Lady Rozemyne, we've received a reply via Ordinance. They've agreed to the participation criteria. It seems Dunkelfelger has their Ditter preparations in order and is waiting for the medium and small duchies to form joint teams."

...My condolences to the medium and small duchies.

I silently pressed my palms together in prayer, then reached for the book I'd borrowed.

"Until our preparations are finished, we'll need the Temple's Offering Ceremony to conclude first. Why don't we relax and read while we wait?"

I spent my time leisurely—reading books borrowed from other duchies, visiting Hirschur's research lab, and attending tea parties. The tea parties were dominated by complaints about the Ditter that was a prerequisite for participation.

Apparently, my fleeing to a speed-based Ditter had been a sore spot, because I was told they'd been made to do Treasure-stealing Ditter instead. Even though they'd studied it in lectures, they hadn't practiced the practical skills, so even after forming joint teams, they'd been thoroughly crushed. When I heard the complaint that no amount of recovery medicine was enough, I let out a small laugh.

"It seems a Ditter is mandatory for joint research with Dunkelfelger. Ehrenfest held one before, too."

...The Treasure-stealing Ditter had been during my first year, though. I didn't lie. Yep.

Since the tea party stayed on the topics of joint research and Dunkelfelger's Ditter rather than bad rumors about my adoptive father, the mental burden was lighter, and for the first time, I was grateful to Dunkelfelger's Ditter enthusiasts.

There were also progress reports from the apprentice scholars conducting joint research with Drewanchel. Gundolf was apparently researching quite enthusiastically, experimenting with various combinations to bring out the characteristics of each magical tree more strongly as paper materials.

It seemed the Nansen paper used as cross-reference paper had changed slightly—moving faster and displaying movement at greater distances than before.

"The performance has improved, then. I'd like to use it to transport books in the library, so please raise the performance enough to bear the weight of books. Ultimately, I'm thinking of incorporating magic circles, but I'd like you to improve the material quality as much as possible first."

Eifen paper could apparently play music like an organ when you wrote musical notation and slid magic stones across it, but there still seemed to be room for further research.

"If sliding a magic stone produces sound, it would be wonderful if you could attach it to an instrument for automatic playback."

I murmured this somewhat idly, but Marianne had been listening carefully.

"I'd like to propose that to Professor Gundolf. Ehrenfest was just told off for lacking interesting perspectives."

"...If it's fine for it to be my perspective rather than Marianne's own..."

The Drewanchel apprentice scholars pouring their efforts into research were still a bit beyond what Ehrenfest's apprentice scholars could match. The apprentice scholars involved in the joint research looked a bit discouraged.

"After graduating from the Noble Academy and returning to Ehrenfest, there won't be many opportunities to participate in research at this level, such as the joint research with Drewanchel. There may be concerns about the level of those around you and the criticism, but please don't lose heart and continue your research."

"I appreciate your kind words."

Before long, Clarissa delivered a report that Restlauf's lecture had ended, along with the compiled questionnaire results. In Dunkelfelger, it seemed many of the more martial-oriented scholars and attendants had received divine blessings as well.

"In a way, it really feels like a duchy that exists for Ditter and has flourished alongside it," Philine remarked.

I nodded deeply.

"At the tea party, they said even now, the knight apprentices unite as one for Ditter competitions. Only Dunkelfelger is lively and vibrant, while the other duchies end up looking completely exhausted."

"I can picture it perfectly. And here is the roster of ceremony participants. Please take a look."

I received a wooden tablet from Philine and looked it over. It listed the names of the duchies and participants who had been selected for the religious ceremony. More than half the duchies would be participating. While there was a difference in participant numbers between the large and small duchies, each entry listed between three and eight names. Just the student participants numbered over sixty.

"The large duchies are participating too, I see."

"It's a splendid opportunity to join the joint research, and research to increase the divine blessings of the gods is where everyone's interest is most focused in interduchy competition."

It seemed they intended to seize any opportunity they could participate in openly. Classenbrick, Drewanchel, and Ahrensbach were on the list. Drewanchel was sending all its Lord candidates, but Ahrensbach wasn't sending Dietlinde, the Lord candidate—an apprentice scholar would participate instead.

"Oh my? She said at the tea party that she wanted to participate so badly, yet Immerdink's name isn't here."

"There are few medium and small duchies with the resources to hold a Ditter. Especially after hearing about how thoroughly the other duchies were beaten up and how burdensome the recovery medicine materials were, many seem to have backed out."

...Hmm, I understand the impulse to back out. I passed the headache to other duchies because it was troublesome, too.

If they were already consuming huge amounts of recovery medicine at the Ditter stage, wouldn't things get dire when it came time for the Offering Ceremony? Ehrenfest's gathering grounds had an abundance of high-quality materials, but those in other duchies didn't.

...Maybe I should distribute recovery medicine?

"Lady Rozemyne, now that the participants have been decided, we'll need to explain the precautions for the ceremony," Philine prompted.

I'd been thinking about the number of participants and the recovery medicine materials we'd need to prepare, and I looked up with a start.

"Right. ...Cleanse yourself on the morning of the ceremony, prepare recovery medicine, memorize the words of prayer... Is that about it?"

As I recalled what I'd been made to do at the Temple, I ticked off the precautions on my fingers. Not having ceremonial clothing couldn't be helped.

"Send the precautions via Ordinance, and for duchies that need the words of prayer explained in detail, have the apprentice scholars teach them. Write everything on this wooden tablet and have each person copy it down."

"Understood."

When my apprentice scholars nodded in unison, Wilfried spoke up with an uneasy expression.

"Rozemyne, I don't know the words of prayer for the Offering Ceremony either. I only participated in the Prayer Ceremony and the Harvest Festival."

"The words for the Offering Ceremony are the same as when supplying Magic Power to the Foundation. Want to review them quickly?"

I handed him the wooden tablet with the prayer written on it. Wilfried scanned it and visibly relaxed, letting the tension drain from his shoulders. Charlotte, who had been watching him, also looked it over and smiled. "This should be fine, then."

"Oh, by the way—a report arrived from Ehrenfest. The Temple's Offering Ceremony has apparently concluded. They're preparing the necessary equipment now. Apparently, transporting everything from the Temple to the castle in the snow has been quite the ordeal."

If I had my Lesser Bus, transporting luggage would be easy, but doing it on riding beasts was difficult. Especially now, when we hadn't yet defeated the Winter's Lord and the blizzards were at their worst. It seemed Hartmut and Cornelius had been making multiple trips back and forth, working hard to move things gradually.

"It also said I should ask the royalty for permission for the adult Hartmut to participate in the ceremony."

Hartmut was apparently arguing that transporting the equipment for a religious ceremony required a supervisor—just like when Ferdinand had brought the Holy Book in last year.

"Although, I also think he just wants to see Lady Rozemyne's ceremony," Eudicit said, and Leonore nodded, saying "Undoubtedly." But Roderick and Philine exchanged glances and smiled wryly.

"While there's no doubt Eudicit's words are sincere, there aren't any gray priests at the Noble Academy who can handle ceremony preparations, so I think Hartmut—who knows about religious ceremonies—is necessary. Lady Rozemyne can't prepare everything herself, can she?"

The two who had watched up close all the various things Hartmut was being taught to become Chief Priest at the Temple knew that ceremony preparations had many detailed rules. They knew of them but hadn't memorized them, and since non-priests were prohibited from the actual ceremony venue, they'd never seen one done. With only the Ehrenfest dorm residents, preparing for the Offering Ceremony was already a tremendous task. They needed someone to direct the whole operation.

"...It seems we have no choice but to call Hartmut."

I immediately wrote a letter and had it delivered via Eglantine. Since any questions or requests directed to anyone ended up getting responses from Anastasius anyway, it would save trouble to just send letters to him from the start.

And sure enough, the letter sent via Eglantine to Anastasius arrived safely. A reply came via Ordinance. A white bird appeared with Anastasius's voice, granting Hartmut permission to enter, and continued speaking.

"Father will also be participating in the ceremony, so send detailed instructions for the ceremony procedure and the participant roster. Since he's receiving a large amount of Magic Power from many people, he says he must personally offer his thanks."

I'd thought it would be good for the royalty to experience the ceremony, but it seemed the King had decided to participate as well.

...He really does desperately need the divine blessings of the gods.

If he participated and learned the way of prayer, the royalty—who poured enormous amounts of Magic Power into Jürgenschmidt—would surely receive many divine blessings. I was thinking that if this helped the royalty even a little, it would be wonderful. But unlike me, Wilfried, Charlotte, and everyone around them had gone pale.

"Hold on—the King is going to participate?! Hasn't this become far too much?!"

"...It was unexpected, but we can't exactly cancel at this point, Brother," Charlotte said with a slightly distant look.

"...All we're doing is asking everyone to cooperate and offer their Magic Power, though," I said.

Charlotte looked at me with a deeply troubled smile.

"Sister, you're so rich in Magic Power—and ever since receiving the divine blessings of the gods, you've been wondering how to use it all—that you may not place that much importance on Magic Power. But in today's world of Magic Power shortages, this is something so important that the King himself feels he must personally offer thanks."

"Being personally thanked by the King is something only the most outstanding are granted. And you're proposing to do that for every single participant. That is how significant a matter your proposed ceremony is."

I hadn't placed much importance on it since I was practically overflowing, but my plan to extract a huge amount of Magic Power from many duchies was apparently a far bigger deal than I'd realized.

My little scheme had escalated into something far more important than anticipated. I immediately wrote the ceremony procedure and participant roster on wooden tablets and had them delivered to Anastasius's estate.

"...If receiving Magic Power is that important, perhaps we should include recovery medicine as a participation reward?"

"A participation reward?" Charlotte blinked.

I nodded firmly.

"Just forming joint teams with Dunkelfelger for the Ditter already required a lot of recovery medicine. This time, the ceremony will surely require not just Magic Power but also recovery medicine, won't it?"

I shared the thought I'd briefly considered—that requiring both Magic Power and recovery medicine might be too much of a burden for the medium and small duchies. If they could recover their Magic Power quickly, perhaps their resentment at having it taken could be softened.

"Since we're receiving a large amount of Magic Power from everyone, what about distributing recovery medicine made with Ferdinand's kindness as a reward for recovering that Magic Power?"

"Sister, I know you're just trying to be generous, but there's a risk that medicine could be received as an insult. Is there perhaps a more palatable medicine that recovers Magic Power?"

If we had Brenliuse fruit, we could make a recovery medicine that was quite easy to take, but it could only be gathered in the Haaldenzahl region. It wasn't available at the Noble Academy.

"...There is a medicine that recovers a significant amount of Magic Power, but it doesn't relieve fatigue."

Those unaccustomed to ceremonies would probably feel utterly exhausted. Even with Magic Power recovered, the fatigue wouldn't go away.

"If Magic Power is restored, that should be sufficient. More importantly, how's the taste?"

"I don't think it's that bad."

"Aunt's medicine being 'not that bad' coming from Rozemyne, who can drink it with a straight face, isn't very trustworthy. Shouldn't we taste-test it first?" Wilfried suggested, and Charlotte nodded repeatedly. So I made a Magic Power recovery medicine in the dorm's brewing room and brought it to the multipurpose hall for a trial run.

The guinea pigs were the knight apprentices who had gathered materials, along with Wilfried and Charlotte as taste testers.

"...The taste isn't that bad. Not much different from regular recovery medicine."

"The recovery amount and speed are quite different, though. Ferdinand's kindness recovery medicine is definitely better."

Since we were distributing it to other duchies anyway, I thought it would be better to give them something more potent. But that turned out to be only my opinion, since I regularly took Ferdinand's kindness recovery medicine. The knight apprentices, who used the standard recovery medicine taught in lectures, shook their heads.

"To us, who use regular recovery medicine, the recovery speed feels plenty fast, and even a single dose recovers a remarkable amount."

"Rather than having people avoid it because of the taste or smell, wouldn't it be better to distribute something they can take normally?"

Convinced by the knight apprentices and Charlotte, I decided to distribute the Magic Power-only recovery medicine. With this medicine, we could easily make it from materials that could be gathered simply at the gathering grounds, so we wouldn't have to worry about sourcing ingredients.

"Then I'll prepare enough for all the participants."

Since I couldn't confirm with Ferdinand whether it was alright to let the recipe leak, I had Roderick and Muriella—who had sworn their names to me—help under strict orders of absolute secrecy.

"Lady Rozemyne, I don't think having us help makes much difference," Roderick said, looking exhausted from cutting materials and assisting with the brewing. He hung his head. "I wasn't much use at all." Muriella, on the other hand, smiled as she began carrying boxes of medicine out of the brewing room. "Lady Rozemyne can't very well stay shut up in the brewing room all alone, after all."

And then, on the morning of the ceremony. The Lord candidates had finished breakfast and were doing final checks in the multipurpose hall when Hartmut arrived.

"Lady Rozemyne, I've brought the equipment for the ceremony. The ceremonial robes are here as well."

"Richara, Gretia—please carry the ceremonial robes to the room and prepare everything so we can change."

When Richara and Gretia got moving, Wilfried and Charlotte's attendants started bustling about as well.

"Wilfried and Charlotte don't have the winter-colored decorative cords and such. I've asked their respective attendants to prepare substitute cords and fabrics."

The castle attendants had apparently found suitable items from among what they had on hand.

"The ceremony begins in the afternoon. I need to contact the royalty to have the Innermost Chamber opened, and we must have everything prepared by the morning. Would it be alright if I used some of the Lord candidates' apprentice scholars and some of the guard knights to help with preparations?"

"Please leave it to us. This is the ceremony of Lady Rozemyne, the Saint of Ehrenfest. It must be perfect. Let us pray to the gods and offer our thanks for being granted permission to participate in a ceremony held at the Noble Academy!"

As Hartmut began praying in his blue-priest ceremonial robes, all eyes turned to him. His extremely high energy level was a bit worrying, but since the royalty would be attending, his drive for perfection was incredibly helpful.

While keeping an eye on Hartmut offering prayers to the gods, I sent an Ordinance to the royalty requesting that the Innermost Chamber—where the altar was located—be opened. Only royalty or a Lord could open the Innermost Chamber. That was apparently one of the reasons royalty was permanently stationed at the Noble Academy.

"Richara and Gretia will handle the changing preparations. The rest of you attendants, let's head to the Innermost Chamber. It would be rude to arrive after the royalty."

Wilfried and Charlotte left behind only the attendants needed for the ceremonial robes and headed together to the Innermost Chamber with their retainers carrying the equipment. While we waited in the lecture hall, Hildebrand arrived almost immediately.

"Rozemyne."

"Prince Hildebrand, I look forward to working with you today."

After exchanging long pleasantries, Hildebrand had Artur lift him up so he could touch the magic stone on the wall and open the door to the Innermost Chamber—just as he had during the ceremony to receive his divine blessings.

"Usually, we borrow magic stones infused with the royalty's Magic Power from the professors to have them open it, but today I insisted on doing it myself."

Hildebrand, who hadn't yet enrolled at the Noble Academy, had no qualification to participate in today's ceremony. He'd said he wanted to, but making the royalty faint would be extremely problematic, so I'd had Anastasius decline for us.

Wanting to do at least something rather than be left out, he'd apparently requested and received permission to be the one to open the door.

With the door open, Hartmut had everyone carry the equipment inside and began organizing preparations while assigning tasks. When I tried to go with them, Brünhilde lightly tugged my sleeve and gave me a small smile. Apparently, my job was to keep Hildebrand company.

"Father has ordered that no one other than the Ehrenfest members preparing for the ceremony is allowed in here until the ceremony begins."

"Prince Hildebrand, you always work so hard to find tasks you can do yourself, don't you?"

Watching him take pride in his assigned duties was so endearing that I smiled and nodded. As Hildebrand asked question after question, I described what would happen in today's ceremony.

"Rozemyne, there are a lot of participants today, right? Where will the guard knights stand?"

"Guard knights aren't allowed in for religious ceremonies. Only ceremony participants may enter this Innermost Chamber."

"...Eh?"

Hildebrand blinked, and I blinked too.

"When conducting a religious ceremony, only priests are allowed in the room. Even for the Star Binding Ceremony performed at the Central Temple, it's the same, isn't it? When I was serving as High Priest and tried to have guard knights assigned to me, I was met with considerable resistance. This time is the same—the guard knights will wait in the lecture hall."

"You're sending away the guard knights?! How do you intend to protect the royalty?!" Artur demanded.

I gave a small smile.

"I'll use the Shield of Schutzaria to select those who may enter. Those with malicious intent or harmful will toward the royalty won't be allowed in from the start."

The ceremony, which had grown more and more important as large duchies joined and the King's attendance was confirmed.

Hartmut was absolutely thrilled.

Next, the Holy Maiden's ceremony from the perspective of Ruelra of the medium duchy Jossbrenner.