Royals and the Library, Part 2

It wasn't just Hildebrand who froze with wide eyes at Weiss's words. When Weiss stated plainly that Hildebrand "lacks the Magic Power to enter despite being royalty," the attendants present exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to say to comfort him.

This was no time to mope about the prohibition on removing documents. I headed over to Hildebrand.

"Hildebrand, the records clearly stated that this archive is a place for adult royals to visit. Since you haven't enrolled in the Noble Academy yet, it's only natural that you don't have enough Magic Power. You haven't learned compression yet, you haven't obtained a Stab, and you haven't received the blessings of the gods."

"Rozemine…"

"Your growth period is still a ways off, Hildebrand. Until you've grown, why don't you wait here with me for everyone else? All right?"

As I spoke, I gestured toward the numerous chairs with my hand. Hildebrand raised his head and looked around.

"…You'll be waiting here, Rozemine?"

Hildebrand asked while glancing at the chairs and tables set before the transparent wall. This area offered a clear view of the archive's interior. It was likely a spot for attendants to prepare various things for their masters while standing by to confirm there was no danger, all while keeping watch.

"I do wish I could go in there myself, but I've been forbidden from entering rashly. I plan to wait here, sipping tea, and see whether truly useful documents can actually be found."

"Then I'll wait here as well."

Hildebrand brightened with a smile and headed for a chair. Artur relaxed his shoulders in visible relief.

"Didn't Teacher Solange mention she had helped prepare tea before? Brünhilde, please go ask her how it's done."

"As you wish."

Brünhilde turned and headed for the stairs. At the same time, the attendants began considering what they should prepare and set about their tasks for their respective masters.

"I would also like to prepare tea for my master, if I may have your permission?"

"I'm counting on you, Artur."

"Riezelera and I went back to the dormitory earlier, but I can't carry everything here alone, of course."

Brünhilde returned with part of the tea preparations and smiled apologetically. "Since you went all the way back to the dormitory, take a rest for a bit," said Richarda as she went upstairs to fetch the remaining items.

"Once the tea is ready, Brünhilde, you should sit down over there and rest for a while too."

"I can't take my eyes off Lady Rozemine. I never know when she might charge into the archive."

Brünhilde said this with a light giggle, and Leonore nodded in agreement. Apparently, with me fidgeting and staring longingly at the archive, I had earned very little trust.

But I mean, right there was a library filled with documents and books I'd never read. It could only be opened when all three keys were gathered, and who knew when that would happen again — so surely everyone would sympathize with how hard it was to exercise restraint.

"How should I go about increasing my Magic Power?"

"You'll learn that at the Noble Academy, so this isn't the time to overexert yourself. Once you find a method that suits you, your growth will accelerate. Surely the royal family must have effective methods that generations of kings have researched and refined, don't you think?"

I'd heard that compression techniques were either clan secrets or personally guarded knowledge. The royals undoubtedly had their own methods for increasing Magic Power. Since Hildebrand looked like he would dive into compression the moment I said anything specific, I kept my answers vague while watching Hannalore and the others read through the documents.

They were probably skimming the contents to get a general idea of what was written. The three of them divided the work, pulling out white, board-like documents here and there, reading through them, and returning them to their original places. Hannalore shook her head while the two princes wore troubled expressions. After that, I watched Anastasius open a large book propped against the wall and call Sigiswald over.

…I want to go in there too. I want to read those books.

I nibbled on the snacks Richarda had brought me while watching the archive's goings-on, when Hannalore and the two princes emerged from their discussion.

"Lady Rozemine, please come in as well. There are so many old documents that it's difficult to determine their contents. You can read the Dunkelfelger history books, so you must be proficient with ancient script, aren't you?"

"Rozemine, I know it's terribly unfair to make you break your promise with your guardian, but could you help us?"

Pleaded by both Hannalore and Sigiswald, my heart wavered back and forth. I want to go in. I want to read books. But I don't want to get scolded.

"U-Um, but… I…"

I turned to Richarda and Leonore, seeking permission. Both wore deeply troubled expressions, but still lowered their eyes slightly, signaling a quiet "No." Hildebrand, too, wore a face that pleaded "Please don't go."

At that moment, Anastasius's voice rang out.

"Rozemine, come here."

"Anastasius, you mustn't use that commanding tone. She's a willing collaborator."

Anastasius, chided by Sigiswald, shook his head while saying, "No, brother. Rozemine has been instructed by her Ehrenfest guardian, so without a higher-ranking royal's order as justification, a mere request won't be enough to move her. …Read the documents here and assist us, Rozemine. This is an order from the royal family."

…This is an order from the royal family! I can't refuse this! Heck yeah!

"Richarda, Brünhilde, Leonore. When it's a royal order, there's nothing to be done, right?"

When I turned to my attendants, all three let out a sigh in unison.

"My lady, you don't look the least bit reluctant."

"I can't help it even if I can't help it…"

"Lady Rozemine, you mustn't get too excited."

When it's a royal order, there's no defying it. I stood up from my chair with a smile.

"Well then, I'm heading in."

The moment I stepped through the transparent wall in high spirits, Schwartz tilted his head slightly to look up at me.

"Rozemine, insufficient prayers."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I didn't understand what I'd just been told, so I tilted my head. Hannalore, who had entered behind me, asked, "Did Schwartz say something to you as well, Lady Rozemine?"

"Yes. Something about insufficient prayers, but…"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I was told the same thing the moment I entered here. Insufficient attributes. Insufficient prayers."

Hannalore tilted her head in puzzlement. Both princes had apparently been told the same thing. As I pondered what it could possibly mean, Anastasius shrugged.

"If even you, Rozemine, who serves as High Priest, don't have enough prayers, then there's nothing to be done about it. It's pointless to think about."

"Indeed. Well then, let's get to the books right away…"

No point thinking about it — I wanted to read. When I reached toward a book propped against the top shelf, Anastasius stopped me and led me over to a bookshelf packed with white boards.

"Those books are written in relatively modern language, so even we can read them. What you'll be reading is over here."

"Hannalore said you could read them, Rozemine, but can you really?"

Anastasius pulled one of the white boards lined up on the bookshelf and handed it to me. It was a white slab, similar to the building itself, with ancient words carved into it. With the Magic Power that sustained the Noble Academy and the library, it would never deteriorate.

…Slate. Great for preservation. A bit heavy, and not much can be written on a single one, though.

I traced the carved characters with my finger and read them.

"This is a ceremonial method from quite a long time ago. …Hmm. So the Holy Book's passage describes a ceremony like this."

This ceremony originated from the tale of how the Sea Goddess Feuerflemeer cooled the heads of Leidenschaft's divine beasts after they fought and burned so intensely that summer became scorching hot. If the Haldenzel ceremony was one to summon spring, then this was apparently a ceremony to suppress the excessively hot summer.

The Holy Book contained only stories, songs, and pictures, but these slates detailed the precise manner of performing the ceremonies. If there were a board describing how to conduct the Haldenzel ceremony, it would certainly be possible to recreate it faithfully.

"This is extremely interesting to me, and I'd love to continue investigating the relationship between the Holy Book and the ceremonies, but it wouldn't really serve the current royals, would it? I'll go through them in order — Schwartz, please bring them to me starting from the beginning."

"Understood."

I went through the slates that Schwartz brought me.

Meanwhile, Sigiswald and Anastasius read the book-format materials containing relatively more recent information, and Hannalore carefully made her way through the white boards.

After reading several ceremonial methods, the first slate Schwartz brought me that contained something other than ceremony-related content finally appeared.

"Prince Sigiswald, Prince Anastasius — couldn't this be useful reference for the royal family? It's a memoir from a king of long ago. It describes methods of Magic Power compression and the blessings he received. The descriptions of blessings around here might also be helpful for the joint research with Dunkelfelger."

Rather than a memoir, it was more like a how-to guide — a document in which the author recounted his own struggles in a "this is how I became king" sort of fashion.

However, since everything had to be carved onto a slate that wasn't particularly large, common knowledge of the time had been omitted, and reading it made it hard to grasp the meaning in places.

"…But I don't quite understand this part. It seems to say he prayed while circling around over and over to all the gods, but where and how would one circle? Surely he wasn't offering prayers while performing a dance of dedication? Is there some place in the center to circle around?"

I was picturing someone spinning in circles while praying, and even Anastasius wore a troubled expression.

"There's surely no one at the Noble Academy who knows more about prayer than you, the High Priest. Isn't there something in the Temple? Something about circling while praying?"

"Perhaps it doesn't mean spinning in circles, but rather visiting and praying to various gods in turn?"

At Sigiswald's calm words, the image of spinning round and round faded, and I felt relieved. I'd been seriously worrying about what the people of old did, but if it was just about offering prayers to various gods, that was perfectly normal.

"…Oh! Come to think of it, I remember being told by the Temple attendants that gods are carved and hidden throughout the Temple. If every Temple is the same, perhaps the people of old went around praying to the gods located throughout the Temple."

"That may well be."

When I recalled what Monica had told me, Anastasius's expression grew troubled, and Sigiswald let out a thoughtful "Hm" and began pondering.

"This king's memoir seems important, so I'd like someone to translate it into modern language and copy it if possible. Could you do that? If it were simply copied as-is, perhaps the scholars could translate it, but there seem to be many things that only someone well-versed in the Temple and prayer — like you, Rozemine — would understand."

"Very well. Then I'll step outside and receive paper and ink from Philine. My own attendant wasn't able to come downstairs."

When I said that, Hannalore spoke up: "I'll go."

"Lady Rozemine, who can read the ancient script, should verify the documents here to make progress. I'll go speak with your attendants."

"Y-You can't ask Hannalore to do something like that!"

There was no way I could send a higher-ranking lord candidate running errands like a errand girl. But even though I shook my head in protest, Sigiswald smiled gently and said, "Please, Hannalore."

"If you send word to Rozemine's attendants, you can take a short break. You've been working hard from the very beginning, Hannalore."

…Right. She does need a break.

Unlike me, who lost all track of time when reading books and documents, becoming so absorbed that I forgot I needed meals and rest, other people actually required breaks — something I had completely forgotten.

I watched Hannalore leave the archive and returned my gaze to the white boards.

"Rozemine, I heard that research is being conducted on how prayer increases divine blessings — but does praying really increase them?"

"It seems several elements are required: praying sincerely, frequency and number of repetitions, offerings of Magic Power, and so on. To determine the extent of those effects, we'll be asking those who have received the blessings of Leidenschaft and Angriff for their cooperation — specifically the Dunkelfelger knights and the knight apprentices."

But I assured Sigiswald that blessings definitely increased through prayer. Sigiswald looked down at the king's memoir and let out a soft sigh.

"I received blessings from the Greater Gods suited to my affinities, but all it did was make my Magic Power slightly easier to use. I didn't feel any particular change. Does receiving blessings from the divine beasts change things? I'm torn over whether prayer should take priority over the royal family's current duties."

The implication was clear: he had no time to leisurely read documents in the archive when he needed to pour ever more Magic Power into supporting Yogurtsmund.

"Prince Sigiswald, I believe it's better to choose the safe, steady path even if it seems like a detour, because the faster you try to go, the more dangerous the shortcuts become. In the end, the safer route is quicker."

"What do you mean?"

When Sigiswald tilted his head, I gave him a gentle smile.

"To you, Prince Sigiswald, reading documents like this and learning about compression methods and gaining blessings through prayer might seem like a detour. But in the end, increasing your Magic Power and gaining blessings will make things much easier. When you receive blessings from many divine beasts, your Magic Power efficiency — or rather, your consumption rate — changes."

"Such a change occurs?"

Deep green eyes widened in surprise.

"This is based on personal experience, so there will be individual differences. But Prince Wilfried, who has received blessings from all twelve gods, told me he can now perform potion-making with roughly seventy percent of his previous Magic Power."

"Seventy percent…? How many prayers did that require?"

The intensity of his piercing stare made it crystal clear just how desperate the royal family was, and how urgently they needed Magic Power.

"…And what about you, who seems to have received even more blessings than Wilfried?"

Anastasius glared at me, and I pressed my lips together. Should I tell them? Would it be better to stay silent? But I felt the royals should know just how effective prayer could be.

"I assume you'll be presenting this as part of the prayer research findings at the Temple? Telling you here won't change much."

"There'd be too large a discrepancy with what other people have, so I plan to be modest during the research presentation. However, I want the royal family to understand the importance of prayer, so I'll be honest. I haven't even reported the exact numbers to Ehrenfest. Please don't tell anyone else."

"Understood."

"…I give you my word."

Seeing Anastasius and Sigiswald nod, I slowly opened my mouth.

"I have received blessings from a total of forty-three gods, and my Magic Power consumption has been reduced to approximately forty percent of what it was. Whether for potion-making or Magic Power supply, it takes less than half the Magic Power it used to, and adjusting to the sensation has been a real struggle."

"What!?"

"Less than half?! How on earth do you pray?!"

Both of them were so stunned they raised their voices. I reminded them firmly, "You absolutely must not tell anyone," and then began writing the words of prayer on my writing board.

"In Ehrenfest, we offer prayers to the gods while supplying Magic Power to the Foundation magic. The Aub of Ehrenfest also received blessings from multiple divine beasts in this way. Since all you have to do is recite the words of prayer while supplying Magic Power, wouldn't even the busiest royals be able to perform such prayers easily?"

"That's all that's required?"

Anastasius looked at me skeptically.

"Of course, if you want a great many blessings, I believe you should actively visit the Temple and perform religious rites. But the royal family doesn't have that kind of leeway, and if you suddenly started performing the rites, the conflict with the Central Temple would become truly troublesome. So I think it's best to start with what you can do easily. Before long, blessings will start flying out naturally as you become able to pray to the gods without even thinking about it."

The key was habit. And once it became habitual, you'd get strange looks and even get scolded. I knew from experience.

"I haven't conducted formal research on this, but it seems blessings continue to increase even after coming of age, so if you always pray while supplying Magic Power, I think within a few years things will become much easier."

"Even after coming of age? Just how much information is Ehrenfest hiding?"

"We aren't trying to hide anything. Until we compared with others, we simply assumed it was normal to pray while supplying power to the Foundation."

Besides, most of the information that was being withheld came through Ferdinand. It wasn't Ehrenfest keeping secrets — it was Ferdinand. But I saw no need to mention that.

"Paper and ink have arrived."

"How kind of you, Hannalore."

Hannalore had received the paper and ink from Philine and brought them back. I accepted them and began translating and copying the king's memoir.

"Then we'll take our break next. Hannalore, I'm sorry, but could you copy the contents of this slate?"

"As you wish, Prince Sigiswald."

I watched the two princes leave the archive and let out a breath of relief. Hannalore sighed along with me and chuckled softly.

"I never expected that Prince Anastasius's summons would bring three princes to the library, Lady Rozemine."

"Yes. I was truly astonished when I saw Prince Sigiswald."

…Though it wasn't the library that surprised me — it was the princes' wing of the building.

"All I intended was to open the key, and now I find myself copying manuscripts as well. I'm not particularly skilled with ancient languages, so it's reassuring to have you here, Lady Rozemine."

"Even the royals seem to prioritize practical matters and aren't terribly versed in ancient languages, so I think you're remarkable for being able to read as much as you can, Hannalore."

Chatting idly like this, I continued my modern-language translations.

"Oh my — is this the coronation ceremony for the king?"

Hannalore glanced over at the slate in front of her as she spoke. This was a ceremony that would absolutely never be performed in the Ehrenfest Temple. Intrigued, I leaned over to look at her white board.

"This one says the new king reveals his Grundrisshalt, so I believe that's correct…"

"Yes, this does appear to be the coronation ceremony."

…I wonder how the current king, who doesn't have a Grundrisshalt, performed the coronation ceremony.

Harboring that question, I continued reading the white board. Hannalore deemed the ceremonial procedures unnecessary for her purposes, offered me the slate with a "Please, take a look," and had Schwartz bring her a new one.

I read through the white board Hannalore had handed me.

In the king's coronation ceremony, the High Priest apparently wore the crown, a divine tool of the Goddess of Light. Perhaps because she was the goddess who presided over contracts and promises.

…Is this a spell?

The white board describing the ceremony's method contained what appeared to be incantation words for transforming a Stab. I copied the incantation onto my writing board.

…Ferdinand must have been coming here constantly.

Another slate describing a different ceremony contained the incantation for creating the Darkness God's mantle and the incantation for crafting the Earth Goddess's Holy Cup. I'd always wondered why Ferdinand alone had so much peculiar knowledge, and now I knew — it must have been from studying in this archive.

…I'm going to read everything I can too!

And so, by reading through the various slates about different ceremonies, I learned the incantations needed to create all of the divine tools with a Stab.

I became so absorbed in reading that I made no progress copying anything beyond the king's memoir, which earned me a scolding from the two princes. Still, it was an exceedingly fulfilling time.

Prince Hildebrand will be able to enter once he's grown, but for now, it can't be helped.

Rozemine can't refuse a royal order even if she restrains herself, so it can't be helped.

Hannalore can't stand being any closer to royalty than necessary, so it can't be helped.

Sigiswald wants to make Magic Power supply even slightly easier, so it can't be helped.

Anastasius has a headache wondering what Rozemine is going to say next, so it can't be helped.

Next, heading to the Knight's Building for joint research.