"Did you pour a lot of Magic Power into the Library for Professor Ottansia? I'm glad for you, Schwartz and Weiss."
"I am sure my Magic Power is quite insignificant when compared to the amount the Library requires."
Ottansia, who had come out to see off the royalty, humbly said this, but I couldn't help but think that anyone who worked hard for the Library had to be a good person.
"More importantly, what is 'Grandfather'?"
As Ottansia and I smiled at each other,
"Grandfather is Grandfather."
"Old and great."
The answer was exactly the same as what I'd heard before. The way their little ears twitched was cute, but as always, it was completely incomprehensible.
I looked up at Anastasius and
"...What is that, exactly?"
Anastasius seemed to quickly give up on extracting information from Schwartz and Weiss, and turned his gaze back to Ottansia and Solange. They were probably struggling with how to answer.
"Previously, Professor Solange mentioned that Schwartz and Weiss might be Magical Tools older than the other Magical Tools, didn't she?"
My words prompted Solange to nod.
"Yes. However, I can't say anything for certain, Lady
Apparently, to prevent confusion about what a Magical Tool's function was once nicknames fell out of use, the records didn't include such pet names.
"Oh? But in the Librarian's journal I borrowed before, Schwartz and Weiss were written by their names just as they are..."
"That was a personal diary, not a document preserved for public use."
Very few personal diaries remained, apparently.
"I was also researching Magical Tools, but the name 'Grandfather' never came up."
Ottansia, who said she'd been researching Magical Tools together with Laiment recently, spoke as if searching her memory.
"However, given that today's Magic Power supply made Grandfather happy, could the Magical Tool in question be the one we're referring to?"
"I see. And what kind of Magical Tool is it?"
"It must be a Magical Tool that can be called the foundation of the Library. That much is certain, and it was definitely created in an era before Schwartz and Weiss."
Anastasius seemed satisfied with Ottansia's explanation, nodding lightly as he said, "If it's the foundation, then it must indeed be an old and great Magical Tool." He appeared ready to leave with the matter settled, so I hastily called out to him.
"Prince Anastasius, when will you be visiting the archive? I need to announce the date in advance so that the Library can make preparations."
Having obtained the King's permission to enter the Library, I asked about the next schedule with barely contained excitement. But Anastasius's brows shifted slightly, and he bluntly stated that he had "no plans."
"Why not? If you recognized the importance of the archive through this ceremony, shouldn't examining the valuable documents stored there be your top priority?"
What on earth had I dragged the royalty into this ceremony for? Suppressing the surrounding grumbling and complaints had been part of it, but my true goal had been to make them understand the ceremony's importance so that they would insist on examining the precious documents in the underground archive.
...The ceremony ended without a hitch, so why?!
Where had I miscalculated?
"I'll be busy for a while. I must replenish Yurgensmidt with the Magic Power entrusted to me."
Of course the royals would be busy the moment they received everyone's Magic Power. It was obvious from the King's expression that supplying Magic Power had to come before reading documents. They'd probably rather catch their breath after supplying Magic Power than dive into documents.
...Aargh! What a devastating miscalculation!
My plan to frequently invite the royals into the archive was crumbling with a resounding crash.
"But you said you'd grant permission for the archive..."
"I'm here, aren't I? Father never promised that I would go to that archive today, nor that I would set a specific date."
...I'd failed to secure a concrete commitment! My approach was too soft! How stupid of me!
Seeing my dejected expression, Eglantine smiled gently.
"Lady Rozemyne, reviewing old documents is certainly important as well. But at this time of year, supplying Magic Power to Magical Tools and divine instruments has a significant impact on next year's harvest. Therefore, we must rush to complete the Magic Power supply before spring arrives. Please bear with us for a while."
"I understand."
I am the High Priest, after all. I know full well how important the winter Deduction Ceremony is. I want to enter the archive—I really, really want to—but it seems I'll just have to endure it.
"Rozemyne, your attitude toward Eglantine is quite different from how you treat me, isn't it?"
"Not at all. If the royalty is entrusting religious matters to the Central
I may be dejected, but I can endure it. Without permission, I can't enter, so there's nothing to be done.
"A time will come when you must enter the archive. In the meantime, stop overthinking and start preparing your research presentations. Understood, Ehrenfest? And
Anastasius's gaze wasn't just on me—it turned to
"The pillar of light was witnessed by many during today's ceremony. We will no longer handle complaints or inquiries about the pillar of light on our end. Dunkelfelger can deal with them."
Whether Dunkelfelger even had the leeway to handle matters on top of Ditter, Hannelore seemed to shrink as she replied, "Understood." The Ditter participants were the apprentice knights, and yet it was Hannelore who received the warning—how unfair.
"Let's return to the lecture hall and check whether the cleanup is finished."
Anastasius said this and started walking. Hannelore and I followed behind the royals in turn. It was nice that even if I walked a bit slowly, there was no one behind me to inconvenience.
"It looks like it's already done, doesn't it?"
When we arrived at the lecture hall, the only people remaining were my retainers and
Hartmut was a Chief Priest who had come today with special permission for the ceremony. He was, in principle, an adult with no business being at the Noble Academy. Even if they were engaged, it wouldn't be appropriate to leave Hartmut and Clarissa alone together.
...Though I could sense everyone's sentiment that, if it were possible, they'd just leave them to it.
Lieseloreta, who had noticed our arrival promptly, walked over with a slightly quickened pace and reported the current situation.
"After all the cleanup was finished, I contacted Prince Hildbrand and had the doors sealed. Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest have dispersed. Now, only Lady Rozemyne's retainers remain here to watch over the two's conversation without interrupting, as you permitted, Lady Rozemyne."
"I'm sorry for leaving such a large task for you to handle, Lieseloreta."
Hartmut was a high-ranking noble, and the other remaining retainers were of middle and lower rank. No one had been able to stop Hartmut and Clarissa.
...Perhaps I should have left
As I reflected on this, Anastasius looked down at me and murmured, "Then our work here is done," before extending his hand to Eglantine with a soft smile.
"Let's go back, Eglantine."
"Yes, Anastasius."
The two royals confirmed the state of the lecture hall and then headed straight back to their own wing. Anastasius, escorting Eglantine, was in excellent spirits.
After seeing off the happy newlyweds, I turned my gaze to the couple lost in their own world of love.
"Hartmut, Clarissa. It pains me to sound like I'm tearing apart a pair of lovers, but the sixth bell will ring soon. Let's return to the dormitory."
When I spoke up, Hartmut and Clarissa—who had been completely immersed in their own world—finally turned to face me.
"Lady Rozemyne... There's nothing to be done. It seems this is as far as we go today."
"I wish we could have talked more."
Clarissa's blue eyes shimmered with emotion as she clung to Hartmut's mantle, reluctant to part with her beloved. Hartmut wore an extremely regretful expression as he gazed at Clarissa, smiling as he said, "I feel the same way."
"It's the first time I've enjoyed talking about Lady Rozemyne this much."
It was clear that only each other existed in the world those two shared. The disappointed face from when Hartmut had been denied permission to accompany us to the Library was nowhere to be seen.
I was wondering what to do when Hannelore turned slightly and looked up at her Attendant, calling "
"Clarissa, if you keep this up, you'll become Eviribe who lost Eavermiin."
The moment Cordula spoke to her, Clarissa immediately released Hartmut's mantle and fell in line at the end of Hannelore's Attendants. When I blinked in surprise, Hannelore gave me a little smile.
"Clarissa was terribly rude, Lady Rozemyne."
"No, it was I who caused you the trouble."
We agreed to meet again to discuss the research presentation for the Inter-Duchy Tournament, and then Hannelore and I parted ways, each returning to our respective dormitories.
"Hartmut, you need to hurry back to Ehrenfest quickly, or the sixth bell will ring."
In principle, work ended when the sixth bell rang. There were knights stationed in the transfer room for emergencies, but during off-hours they wouldn't move without a very good reason or contact from the Aub.
And Hartmut, as an adult and a Chief Priest, was only permitted to stay at the Noble Academy on the day of the ceremony. If he didn't make it back in time, he would be punished.
I loaded the boxes of divine instruments onto a wagon along with Hartmut in his Priest's robes and dumped him into the transfer room.
"Please tell my foster father that I'll have our ceremony garments cleaned and delivered at a later date. Also, I'll be sending one in as well, but please submit a report about today's ceremony from Hartmut as well."
"Understood."
It was exceedingly hectic, but Hartmut managed to transfer within the allotted time. When I saw him off and returned to my room, the sixth bell was just beginning to ring.
"It's time for dinner, Lady Rozemyne. Let's get you changed."
I had Lieseloreta and Gretya help me change out of the High Priest's ceremonial robes and into casual clothes for moving around the dormitory.
Then I headed to the dining hall.
"You're late, Rozemyne."
"I was supplying Magic Power to the Library's foundation Magical Tool with everyone. It's not a place regular students can enter, so it was a bit far. But it was fun. There were so many Magical Tools."
Ottansia and Laiment were apparently investigating the functions of the non-operational Magical Tools. If there were useful ones, I intended to introduce them to my own Library as well.
"How was the cleanup?"
"There was nothing particularly noteworthy to report... Oh, I received an invitation for a tea party from Lord
I had also made a similar promise with Hannelore, but apparently the two men had been discussing the same thing. As I said, "When would be good?" while looking around at my Attendants, Charlotte giggled.
"Big Sister, Brother is meeting with Lord Lestilaut and..."
"Charlotte!"
Wilfried's slightly panicked voice overlapped with Charlotte's. I was struck by a sudden reminder of a childhood friend from my time as Toshiko, who desperately tried to hide the location of questionable books from her mother.
"Where are you hiding it, Brother Wilfried? Under the bed is so cliché."
"What are you talking about, Rozemyne?"
Wilfried's face showed complete incomprehension, and I tilted my head in surprise. I'd thought I was onto something, but I was completely off the mark. When I turned to Charlotte, she gave a small nod.
"There's no need to hide it, Brother. If anything, shouldn't you be reporting it properly? At the next tea party, Lord Lestilaut is apparently bringing a number of illustrations. He wants you to purchase the ones you think would be suitable as book illustrations. He apparently wants to read the Ditter story with illustrations as soon as possible."
Charlotte's words brought a slightly disgruntled look to Wilfried's face.
"Lord Lestilaut said the illustrations turned out really cool, so I was looking forward to them. But Rozemyne, you just don't understand a man's heart, so it makes me a bit hesitant to report it. Besides, wouldn't you hear about the tea party through the Attendants anyway?"
Wilfried's words made me want to sigh.
"The illustration purchase would take place at the Noble Academy, Brother, but the funds wouldn't come from the dormitory budget—they'd come from my personal budget or the printing industry budget."
"Hm?"
"Whichever budget we draw from, we'll need to discuss it with Ehrenfest first, and we'll need to exchange letters to handle the money, so it'll take time."
I'd already exchanged some letters with my mother when we decided to purchase Lestilaut's illustrations, but nothing was set in stone. First, it depended on whether Lestilaut's illustrations were of sufficient quality to be used as book illustrations. If they weren't up to that level, I'd purchase them with my personal funds and produce a small print run to sell specifically for Dunkelfelger.
If they were high quality and could be sold more broadly, they'd be purchased with the printing industry budget, which would require my mother's approval to release the funds.
"I see. I didn't realize that was how it worked, since you cover all the expenses related to books."
My personal funds, now that
"So please, report it properly."
"To hear those words from you... You make sure you report properly as well. Today is a prime example. A large-scale healing like that wasn't part of the plan, was it? How did that come about? Isn't a report necessary? Don't omit things carelessly—report everything properly to Father."
The lecture I'd been giving Wilfried came bouncing right back at me, and I slumped my shoulders.
After sending the report to Ehrenfest, I collapsed with a fever from exhaustion. Even while I was bedridden, the plans for the tea party with Dunkelfelger were steadily falling into place. When I asked from my futon what had been decided and what was happening with the budget, Rihyarda looked down at me with exasperation.
"Your Highness, please have yourself in shape before the tea party with Dunkelfelger."
"Not scheduling a tea party right after the ceremony was the right call."
As I watched Rihyarda and Brünhilde carefully monitoring my condition while arranging the Dunkelfelger schedule,
"Money has arrived from Lady
If the illustrations were good, the printing industry would apparently purchase them.
"So, Lady Rozemyne, please recover quickly."
I was able to move about two days later. It felt like the time I spent bedridden had shortened a bit. As I marveled at having grown sturdier, I ate in the dining hall and listened to the reports I'd missed while I was ill.
"While you were bedridden, Brother and I were invited to Professor
"Yes. I doubt there's another duchy where everyone has their charms prepared this early."
Wilfried nodded with a serious expression. The fact that Drewanchel could distribute charms to everyone within two days—or at least had provided the materials to do so—was impressive.
"Now I really understand why Drewanchel can reign as a Grand Duchy."
"Exactly. Ehrenfest had advance information, yet no one has charms inscribed with the gods' marks. And even though there are apprentice civil officials who experienced the same ceremony, there's no movement to spread the information and have everyone make charms. I think that gap is enormous."
The apprentice civil officials from Ehrenfest who had been able to participate in the Deduction Ceremony were basically just Wilfried and Charlotte's retainers. My civil official apprentices were middle and lower ranked, so they hadn't been able to participate.
"I'm having
Wilfried muttered that unlike
"I have a tea party scheduled with a middle-ranked duchy tomorrow. I'll observe how the other duchies are reacting. Please do your best with the Dunkelfelger tea party, Brother and Big Sister."
I nodded at Charlotte's words.
And then the day of the tea party with Dunkelfelger arrived. At the appointed time, I headed to Dunkelfelger's tea room together with Wilfried. We were greeted by Lestilaut and Hannelore, exchanged greetings, and were offered seats—all in the usual order of things.
"Now, please take a look at this."
As we enjoyed tea and sweets, Lestilaut said this and gestured toward his Attendant.
"Brother, the illustrations should come after the research discussion..."
"But wouldn't it be better to handle this first so we can focus?"
Hannelore's words were waved away by Lestilaut, and a civil official apprentice drew about ten illustrations from a bundle of materials and began laying them out before Wilfried and me.
"I couldn't determine how the black-and-white shading would turn out, so I decided it would be better to have you choose rather than selecting them myself. Pick the ones that would work well for the book."
The first illustration to catch my eye was a powerful, dynamic drawing of a knight mounted on a riding beast with weapon drawn, the sound of his billowing mantle practically audible.
"...Amazing."
She must have used
...I'll be honest—I'd underestimated Lord Lestilaut's artistic talent.
I should have caught on when Hannelore said it wasn't just a "hobby" but something she was "good at." The level was completely different.
Wilfried leaned in to peer at the illustrations I was looking at, his deep green eyes sparkling as he gazed at Lestilaut with undisguised respect.
"This is wonderful, Lord Lestilaut! With illustrations like these, the Ditter story would be even more engaging. Rozemyne, don't you think?"
"Yes, I think so. However, there's a step in the printing process called trimming, and if we hand that off to someone else, the atmosphere might change somewhat. Would you be willing to accept that as well?"
My words brought a faint frown to Lestilaut's brow.