……The ceremony itself went off without a hitch, but everything else was a real pain.
In the innermost chamber, I met fierce opposition when I proposed excluding the guard knights. But even if many lord candidates brought their own retainers, there still wouldn't be enough room for everyone. Besides, if they were present in the same place where everyone was channeling magic power simultaneously, they'd have their magic drained just like the rest of them, rendering them useless as guards. More to the point, when supplying magic power to the Foundation's magic within the domain, the guard knights can only stand watch by the doorway—they're not allowed to enter the room where the supply takes place. It's the same thing.
I expected them to say they couldn't trust
Even taking the Knight Commander's word for it, there was no way a single remark like that would satisfy the royal family and the entire knight order. So I produced Schutzaria's shield in front of the royals, and it was decided that I'd have to prove its durability by withstanding the diverse attacks the knight order threw at me one after another—physical strikes, magic, and even magical tools.
If the guard knights would then stand before the doorway, that was fine, and so I proceeded to take the Central Knight Order's attacks. But with each assault, the knights were sent flying or their attacks bounced right back, leaving them covered in wounds. To be perfectly honest, I was more worried about the knights than I was about myself, standing unscathed inside the shield.
……In addition to that concern, it was actually rather interesting to observe for the first time a phenomenon where a knight who entered the shield without ill intent and tried to attack me was ejected from the outside of the shield.
Still, the
The knights gradually lost their will to fight as their attacks kept bouncing off no matter how hard they struck, and the verification by the knight order continued until the king finally called it off, saying, "That's enough."
The knights had been reduced to such a sorry state that I requested permission from the king and used Flutrine's staff to cast the healing of Lungshurrel on the knights. If I used the ring to heal, I'd have to get nearly close enough to touch them, but with the staff, I could heal multiple people at once without making contact.
While I was at it, I distributed the magic-recovery potions I'd planned to hand out as participation gifts for the ceremony to attendees from other domains, saying, "These are intended for distribution to participants from other territories." This prompted the Knight Commander to suspect contamination with foreign substances, questioning why I'd be distributing items of unknown contents so widely among other territories, and subjecting everything to a thorough inspection.
……Well, suspicion is apparently part of the Knight Commander's job, and both the shield's durability test and the poison tasting of the recovery potion had been carried out by the Central Knight Order in front of the royals and Dunkelfelger, so both could be said to bear the Central Knight Order's official seal of approval, right?
And so, the use of Schutzaria's shield and the recovery potion was approved, and with the Central Knight Order stationed before the doorway, the royals and I were able to enter the innermost chamber.
With the GO sign given by the king and the Knight Commander, I was relieved to see the ceremony proceeding smoothly. However, the Central Knight Order was clearly composed of seasoned veterans, and having taken several powerful attacks during the shield's durability test, my magic power had been considerably depleted.
……Well, for a single offertory ceremony, it would have been manageable.
The problem came afterward—while Schutzaria's shield remained up, the acceptance of participants began, and this turned out to take an unexpectedly long time. On top of that, producing the sacred treasures required quite a bit of magic power. Feeling a twinge of anxiety, I quietly drank my own recovery potion after the royals moved and the shield was dismissed, then waited at the doorway to recover.
……And that was where my miscalculation lay!
Despite having recovered my magic power, perhaps it was because—unlike the other sacred treasures—I created it while staring at the empty Holy Cup on the altar. Producing Geduldhrihi's Holy Cup had required almost no magic. At the time, I'd simply thought it was a bit unexpected, but that first miscalculation would snowball into something truly troublesome as things went on.
The offertory ceremony went smoothly until that point. With so many people, magic power flowed easily, and chanting the prayers together created a sense of unity—it was almost festive. When
The smooth ceremony stopped being smooth right after that. Nobles from small and mid-sized territories began collapsing one after another, losing their composure. The lord candidates, while maintaining their kneeling posture, looked visibly unwell, and the royals appeared somewhat fatigued.
……Even though Charlotte gave me the signal, did I push it too far?!
"Hartmut, the recovery potions."
I hurriedly had Hartmut distribute the recovery potions. Since I also needed to drink one as a poison test for everyone to see, I ended up taking a potion myself. I couldn't exactly say, "I have more than enough magic power, so I don't need to drink one"—just like how I couldn't refuse to taste-test the sweets I'd brought to a tea party by saying, "I'm already full." So I drank the potion that would massively restore my magic power.
……This is bad.
Not the taste—the situation.
The recovery speed was slower compared to my usual potions, so I thought I might be able to manage by compressing the magic as it came in, but at this rate, my magic power would overflow. While watching
……What am I going to do? The recovery won't stop!
"Your Ladyship, isn't your wrist charm glowing?"
Charlotte, who had approached as if casually, pointed out in a low voice. I instinctively clutched my wrist. If this kept up, I'd end up in the same lit-up state as during the Offertory Dance.
"My magic power has recovered too much. Ideally, I should use a large amount of it as quickly as possible, but what should I do? If this continues, the charms will keep lighting up one after another, or I'll suddenly end up performing a blessing."
I asked Charlotte in a whisper, and she glanced around at the royals and their entourage peering into the Holy Cup, then looked back at my wrist.
"How about giving healing to everyone? It wouldn't seem too unnatural, and it would consume magic power."
I seized upon Charlotte's excellent suggestion immediately. Rather than letting my magic overflow uncontrollably into an unintended blessing and struggling to make excuses, it would be far better to explain things beforehand while giving out healing.
……But what should I do?
If I could just bring out Flutrine's staff and cast healing with a whoosh, that would be simple enough, but right now I had the Holy Cup out. And it still contained a massive amount of magic power. The magic stones surely couldn't be fully saturated yet.
……I can't dismiss the Holy Cup. But healing people one by one with the ring would take too long, and to consume large amounts of magic at once, I wanted to create Flutrne's staff and use it all in one go.
"I desperately need Flutrne's staff separately from the Holy Cup."
"Is that something you can do?"
There was a passage in a former king's memoirs about someone who had learned to produce and wield a shield and spear sacred treasure simultaneously, and I'd seen
……And if I couldn't, then in front of the royals and lord candidates from other territories, the magic stones would start sparkling one after another even though I was doing nothing, or blessings would burst forth in a torrent. I had to consume magic in a way that seemed natural. Hang in there, Rosemyne.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, gathering magic power in growing quantities. The magic-recovery potion was finally taking full effect, and my magic was restoring at an alarming rate. I needed to use it up quickly or things would get dangerous. Another charm lit up.
……Aaah! Another charm just lit up! This is bad! It's really bad! Staff, come to me! Another one, right now! Apprentice knights can use a shield and weapon at the same time. I don't know exactly how they do it, but I should be able to!
It seemed my desperate wish, on the verge of overflow, reached the god. Another Staff materialized in my right hand. At the same time, one of the glowing lights on my wrist stones went out. I could hear Charlotte draw a sharp breath.
"I think I can do it, so I'll go ahead."
And so, I avoided disaster—neither making the magic stones glow conspicuously for all to see nor suddenly overflowing with magic like a blessing—by producing Flutrne's staff and bestowing the healing of Lungshurrel upon everyone.
"I'm still inexperienced and it's embarrassing, but healing this many people requires Flutrne's staff. With just the ring, it's too difficult."
Rather than saying "to consume magic power," I deflected with a smile. I was genuinely embarrassed by my own inadequacy in being unable to calculate the magic required for the ceremony, so it was no lie at all.
……I was truly panicked, but all's well that ends well—that's the kind of situation this expression is for, right?
I lightly wiped away the sweat that had broken out from sheer panic.
……Ferdinand, I've become able to dual-wield Staves! Someday I'll be able to produce as many as you can!
Watching the nobles from small and mid-sized territories finally manage to resume their kneeling positions, I basked in a small sense of accomplishment at having drawn a little closer to my teacher's level. Wasn't this worth writing a letter about to earn some praise?
I was pondering whether I'd receive commendation when Clarissa started going on about me being an incarnation of
I needed to reflect on how I'd been worried about what would happen if Hartmut started causing a scene together with Clarissa. I was genuinely grateful to Hartmut from the bottom of my heart.
"It should be about time."
With a zaping sound, the mesh bag full of magic stones was hoisted up. The stones of various sizes, which had been transparent before being placed inside, were now all dyed the crimson of the Holy Cup. Anastasius showed everyone the spectacle of many magic stones having absorbed magic and changed color.
"The magic power gathered in this ceremony will be used in this manner to nourish the entirety of
"We thank you all for your cooperation."
At the king's words of gratitude, I could see everyone smiling with pride.
Since the offertory ceremony had drained people's magic to the point of causing some to collapse before the royals, I disclosed information as both an apology and a thank-you.
"I'll be making an announcement at the Interdomain Tournament, but for those who participated, I'll share this with you in advance. Based on our research, it seems that when praying to the gods for their blessings, it's effective to offer prayers before and after activities where you give your all—such as concocting, training, and so on—when supplying magic power to the Foundation's magic. Praying while charging magic into a charm with a god's symbol carved into the magic stone is also effective."
When I shifted my gaze to
"If that's the case, we can pray without going to the
What I really wanted was to reform the Temple, but first, getting accustomed to praying would be the important step. If the children began receiving blessings, perhaps adults would start paying more attention to the Temple, where the gods were enshrined.
"You mentioned that we can receive blessings through prayer, but I have already completed the ceremony for receiving blessings. Even if I were to pray, I wouldn't be able to increase them."
Most participants had already finished the blessing ceremony. So the gazes that had been turning hopeful dimmed somewhat.
It was the king who responded to those voices. He simply raised his hand in a measured gesture, drawing everyone's attention, and let his unhurried voice resound.
"Then how about this—after the graduation ceremony, we grant the graduates the right to undergo the blessing ceremony once more? Whether the research of Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest is effective or not, it would be necessary to verify."
At the king's words, everyone's expressions brightened. Ortvin's eyes also filled with determination.
There were still years until graduation. If they prayed sincerely, I believed people would emerge who received blessings.
"Of course, with so few days remaining, this year's graduates will find it challenging. However, the Aub Ehrenfest received the blessings of Lieseblest, Goddess of Matching, and Gluckritat, God of Trials, through only about a year of prayer and successfully gained a first wife from a territory of higher rank than his own. I ask that you all offer your prayers and magic power to the gods and strive with everything you have toward your goals."
When I revealed the blessings my adoptive father had gained, a few chuckles rippled through the crowd. Perhaps I'd been able to add a slightly more approachable, favorable impression.
……It was full of miscalculations, but I'm glad it ended safely.
Watching the satisfied participants file out of the innermost chamber, I squeezed and relaxed my hand, confirming that the magic power in my body had settled, and let out a breath of relief.
"Rozemyne, how on earth did you produce two sacred treasures at once?"
Once all the participants had left, students from Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger entered to handle the cleanup. Watching this, Anastasius posed his question. The other royals were nodding as well, but if I answered honestly with "Sheer determination," I doubted anyone would believe me.
"When you ask how I did it... apprentice knights can use a shield and weapon simultaneously as well, so I don't think it's particularly unusual."
"Wouldn't that require completing the practical training in the knight course?"
……Oh, right.
"Well, then it was because I had a good predecessor. There was a passage in a former king's memoirs about learning to produce and wield a shield and spear sacred treasure simultaneously, and I had previously seen someone produce multiple Wind Shields, so—"
I answered with a smile, but it didn't seem to satisfy Anastasius. His face scrunched up. Sigiswald maintained a mild smile and asked, "So to you, a knight's weapons and shields are equivalent to sacred treasures?"
"They come from the same incantation, so I don't think it's wrong to consider them equivalent..."
"Lady Rozemyne... your perspective differs considerably from ours, doesn't it."
"But the healing was necessary, wasn't it? We couldn't very well leave the nobles in that state..."
Collapsing without even being able to kneel before the royals would be an obvious blunder. It was necessary to prevent the other territories' nobles from thinking I'd made them lose face. Plus, applying the healing clearly improved the complexions of the lord candidates and royals alike. I didn't think it was a wasted effort.
"And besides, I wanted to give healing to the Zent."
"To Father?"
"From the very first time we met, he looked as though he was pushing his body far too hard..."
The king's face on our first meeting had been the same shade as Ferdinand's when I first entered the Temple. His features resembled Anastasius's, but the king's exhausted atmosphere and the lingering scent of recovery potion that couldn't be fully masked kept reminding me of Ferdinand.
……Our features are different, but he has the same silvery-blue hair as Prince
I knew full well this was meddlesome, but when you spot overwork that even a noble's poker face can't fully conceal, worrying about it is only natural.
"...That's a relief. My thanks."
"It is my honor to be of service to the Zent."
Rather than telling him he needed to eat properly and get adequate sleep, I wrapped things up with a lord-candidate-like smile and words—proof that I'd grown.
"Now then, what do you intend to do about the magic power remaining in this Holy Cup?"
Anastasius glanced at the magic still in the Holy Cup. It seemed the magic stones the royals had brought weren't enough. That was only to be expected, since I'd been secretly adding magic power to consume it.
"We cannot leave the Holy Cup out indefinitely, and since I've declared it a gift to the royal family, I believe it would be best to use it for everyone at the Academy."
"For everyone at the Academy? Lady Rozemyne, do you have some splendid plan in mind?"
Adolphine seemed intrigued, fixing me with her amber eyes. Eglantine also looked at me with her orange ones.
"Let's use it in the Library. Originally, three senior scribes and several intermediate scribes were supposed to supply magic power to operate it, but for years there was only Madame
It seemed Ortancia, who was now the Knight Commander's first wife, was doing her best, but there still weren't enough people. I couldn't approach the Library because I needed to avoid changing Schwarz's management and because of Sigiswald's orders.
"For the preservation of precious documents, to use magic power in the Library. And I would like to request permission to enter the Library."
Having learned of the Archive's existence—containing materials important to the royal family—the king considered for a moment before granting permission.
Even if he needed to keep a close eye on how the magic power was used, the royals couldn't very well troop into the Library en masse. Anastasius and Eglantine were assigned as my overseers.
"Anastasius, we'll leave the rest to you. The rest of us will head back ahead of you."
With the two of them entrusted to handle the aftermath, the royals and the Central Knight Order filed out of the room. If the royals stayed behind, the cleanup couldn't proceed, so I took it as them reading the room.
We all knelt to see the king off, then discussed our next steps.
"Well then, Anastasius. I'll send an ortnance ahead to the Library as a heads-up."
At Eglantine's words, Anastasius gave her a sweet smile and said, "Yes, please do." The sweet smile, of course, was exclusively for Eglantine—when he looked my way, his face was back to normal.
"From Dunkelfelger, I'd like Hannelore to come. You'll need someone to oversee that side as well."
"M-me, to accompany? In cases like this, my brother would be more..."
Hannelore flinched when Anastasius nominated her, but Restlaute lightly waved his hand.
"You're the more suitable one, since you're in charge of the Archive's key management. I'll stay behind as Dunkelfelger's representative to oversee the cleanup here."
"...Understood."
Hannelore nodded at Restlaute's words and began selecting the retainers she would bring to the Library, so I surveyed my own retainers.
"I'll have
"Understood."
The retainers from the Academy nodded immediately, but Hartmut alone looked like he'd been struck by lightning.
"Lady Rozemyne, I would very much like to accompany you as well..."
"Oh my, Hartmut, you're the Chief Priest responsible for managing the sacred treasures. You can't possibly leave here, can you? Besides, the time you have with Clarissa is limited, so you should spend at least a little while talking with her."
Despite my considerate gesture, Hartmut and Clarissa both looked utterly disappointed for some reason. I was only going to the Library to infuse magic power—there wouldn't be any ceremony—so I wanted them to focus on the cleanup.
"
"Got it."
I left things in Wilfried and Charlotte's hands and set off for the Library. My walking speed was slow as always, but I tried hard not to let Hannelore and the others pull too far ahead.
"There was leftover magic power from the offertory ceremony, so I intended to use it for the Library. The Zent granted me permission."
When we arrived with the Holy Cup, Ortancia and Solange welcomed us enthusiastically. The Library's magic power shortage was apparently quite severe.
"Please pour the magic power in here. This appears to be the magical tool most essential to the Library's operation, but my magic alone isn't sufficient."
After Limeunto had asked Ortancia various questions about the Library's magical tools, she had delegated most of her daily duties to Solange and been investigating the Library's structure and magical tools alongside him.
While examining the magical tool that drew in magic power—based on the journals of former librarians—Ortancia had apparently determined that this particular tool, which had been neglected for years after the senior librarians disappeared, was the most critical to the Library's operation. And today, when the remaining magic in the tool was calculated, she turned pale upon learning it might run out within a year.
"The conclusion was only just reached, so I was planning to consult the royal family starting tomorrow."
"Then let's pour in the magic power right away."
At Ortancia's words, I carried the Holy Cup to where she indicated and had her slowly pour the magic power into the large magic stone. Matthias and Lorenz tilted the Holy Cup, and crimson liquid flowed out, being absorbed as it was poured. The liquid dripping onto the surface of the large magic stone didn't spill a drop—it was drawn right into the stone.
The stone, which had been nearly transparent, gradually shifted to a rainbow hue. The liquid being poured had been red, so why was that? I stared at the magic stone, puzzled, but couldn't make sense of it.
Unlike me, still tilting my head in confusion, Ortancia let out a sigh of relief.
"The color is recovering! I couldn't see any change at all by myself. Thank you so much."
She'd apparently feared that the Library would have to cease operations during her tenure. Solange was also smiling with relief, saying, "Now we can rest easy."
"Today's offertory ceremony had the royals as well as many lord candidates and senior nobles participating, so there was plenty of magic power."
Anastasius and Eglantine, having confirmed that all the magic had been drained from the Holy Cup, gave a light nod, and I dismissed the now-empty Holy Cup with "Lücken." Unexpectedly, I was satisfied at having been of use to the Library.
Not just Ortancia and Solange—even Schwarz and the others, on their way out, were bouncing up and down with joy.
"Princess, so much magic power." "Old Master, very happy."
The recollection has made this quite long.
Leftover magic goes to the Library. That's Rozemyne's justice!
Old Master, very happy.
Next, it's the discussion with Dunkelfelger.