After consulting with
When we entered the gathering spot, which gave off a faint yellow glow, I could see from above how the lush, colorful vegetation was sharply divided from the areas where black sludge had been scattered by the rampaging Tanisbefaren. About a quarter of the gathering spot had been ravaged—a fairly wide area.
"It's in terrible shape."
"This will interfere with the lectures."
Nodding along with the guards' words, I scrutinized the area, trying to determine whether I could perform a healing ritual. Unlike the healing I'd done after the Trombe subjugation, I needed to grow the plants back to a usable extent, or the lectures would be immediately hampered.
"I'll be performing the healing to make sure the lectures aren't affected. If any magical beast appears, I'll be counting on you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Once we touched down, I turned back and called out to Filine in the rear seat.
"You mustn't get off, Filine. Please wait here."
"Understood."
Leaving Filine to wait inside the lesser beast, I dismounted. I had no intention of stepping into the black sludge, so I stopped just in front of it.
"Lady
At Leonore's command, the knight apprentices on their riding beasts spread out to stand guard around the perimeter. Leonore and Hartmut flanked me on either side while Judith took up a position behind me to protect my back. The Tanisbefaren had been rampaging until just moments ago and had scattered black sludge all around the gathering spot, but for now, there were no signs of magical beasts. Still, it never hurt to be cautious.
I materialized my Stab, then lightly closed my eyes to concentrate, visualizing
"Streitkolben."
Satisfied that what I held in my hands was truly Flutrane's Staff, I plunged it into the ground with a thud and gripped it firmly with both hands. Then I began pouring magic power into it.
"O Water Goddess Flutrane, bringer of healing and transformation! O twelve goddesses who serve at her side! Hear my prayer and grant me sacred power! By the hand of one who belongs to darkness, your sister
I could feel the magic power flowing steadily into the staff. The large green magic stone embedded in it blazed with brilliant light. I recognized this state—magic power swirling around me, wind rising at my center. My hair whipped in the wind and the hems and sleeves of my clothing fluttered as I confirmed with certainty that the healing ritual had succeeded.
The next moment, the ground beneath my feet lit up.
The magic stone of Flutrane's Staff shone brightly, and light began racing across the ground. From where the staff was planted, green light started flowing outward at a uniform width, like water coursing through an irrigation channel.
"Whoa?!"
"What is that?!"
Hearing the startled cries around me, I too stared at the green lines, wondering whether I should abort the ritual.
This was different from the ritual after the Trombe. Back then, the magic power had quickly spread through the dark soil, and small sprouts had immediately begun to emerge.
...What should I do?
While I was still deliberating, the green light kept extending until a glowing green magic circle was complete upon the ground. It must have been the one that originally existed here—the same size as the gathering spot itself.
"Lady Rozemyne, I'll go document what kind of magic circle it is. I'll need to include it in my report."
Hartmut, the only attendant present who was free to move, mounted his riding beast and shot up into the air, looking so excited he couldn't sit still.
The instant the completed magic circle released a powerful burst of light, the black sludge left behind by the Tanisbefaren vanished as if evaporating, dissolving into a shimmering haze like steam. What appeared beneath was exposed reddish-brown earth.
But that reddish-brown earth was visible for only a few seconds. It was quickly filled with magic power, its color shifting to dark soil.
...It felt strange, but it seemed like the healing was working, at least.
Small sprouts began popping up from the dark soil. I let out a breath of relief that the ritual was going the way I'd wanted and continued channeling more magic power. If I didn't grow them further, the herbs wouldn't be usable for lectures.
...Grow!
"Sprouts..."
Catching Leonore's awed whisper, I watched the small sprouts emerging one after another and noticed the magic circle glowing on the ground seemed to have risen slightly.
I squinted to get a better look, and sure enough, it had risen about two fingers' width off the ground.
As if in sync with the rising magic circle, the plant sprouts were steadily growing. Watching the staff planted in the ground, I could clearly see the magic circle slowly rising bit by bit.
"Whoa! Incredible!"
"I've never seen a ritual like this before!"
The people around me were gazing at the recovering gathering spot, crying out in wonder.
...I've never seen it either!
I swallowed down the retort and clenched my back teeth.
An unexpectedly enormous amount of magic power was being drained by the staff. If I kept growing the herbs to a lecture-worthy size, my magic power was going to run dry.
...If this keeps up, I might be in real trouble.
I released one hand from the staff and reached for the magic stones and tubes on the belt at my waist. I had an emergency recovery potion that tasted absolutely terrible, but I couldn't grab it with one hand. I couldn't even open the cap.
"Leonore, please retrieve the medicine pouch from my waist."
Leonore, who had been staring wide-eyed at the growing sprouts, turned as if snapping back to reality. She looked at my face and frowned.
"Lady Rozemyne, aren't you pushing yourself far too hard?"
"The tube with the green magic stone attached. Please hurry. I can't very well stop partway through."
"...Pardon me."
Leonore opened her mouth as if to say something, but then fell silent and retrieved the medicine pouch from my waist, opening the cap for me.
I took it in one hand and downed the contents in a single gulp. The herbaceous pungency that shot through my nose and the numbingly awful taste made tears well up instantly. It was just as terrible as always. I wanted something to cleanse my palate immediately, but I didn't carry anything that convenient.
...Gugh! This potion is going to kill me before I even recover!
Though the sacrifice in taste meant this was an extremely potent recovery potion and I could feel my magic power returning, the staff was siphoning it off as fast as it came in. As I continued feeding magic power through the staff, the grass and trees began growing before my very eyes.
"Wow!"
Judith's cry of delight rang out from behind me. The plants were surging upward at Trombe-like speed.
They surpassed my ankles, my knees, and kept rising to thigh height along with the magic circle.
When the herbs reached roughly waist height, they stopped growing further. So this was the target growth, then. Magic power no longer flowed into the fully grown plants, and the magic circle began rising faster.
Once the magic circle rose above the tip of Flutrane's Staff, I could see magic power now streaming straight upward from the green magic stone. As if being pushed up by sheer magic power, the enormous glowing green magic circle ascended higher and higher.
With its rise, the trees stretched upward as if swaying of their own accord. Branches split off one after another, spreading outward, their tips thickening with leaves that grew ever greener. Some trees even began to bloom.
"This is incredible, Lady Rozemyne!"
By the time the trees in the gathering spot had mostly returned to their original state, the magic circle seemed to have reached the very top of the cylindrical gathering spot.
It released one final, brilliant flash of green light, then vanished entirely.
At the same time, there was no longer a need to channel magic power. I relaxed my shoulders and leaned slightly against Flutrane's Staff.
"...Regeneration complete."
"That was truly magnificent. I'm genuinely astonished. Have you always done this kind of work at the
"During Temple work, I would only grow them to the sprouting stage. But this is Ehrenfest's gathering spot, and it's necessary for the lectures, so I pushed myself. I'm just glad the herbs came back."
This gathering spot was essential not only for the attendant course but for the knight course as well, since they needed to collect recovery potion ingredients. At my words, Judith turned to me with a smile, saying, "It's all thanks to you, Lady Rozemyne," then her expression changed.
"Lady Rozemyne, you don't look well!"
"It took far more magic power than expected, and I pushed myself a bit even while drinking recovery potions, so my head is spinning."
I attributed it partly to rarely using magic power while recovering from exhaustion. My body couldn't keep up with the unfamiliar drain.
"Let's hurry back to the dormitory. All right?"
"But we need to put Roderich on a riding beast, so we should go to the collection site first..."
"We can send an Ordinance to explain the situation and have him return on his own riding beast. Lady Rozemyne's condition is more important than Roderich's."
When Judith said this, Leonore gave a slight nod and raised her hand to gather the knight apprentices.
"Lady Rozemyne is unwell, so we're returning to the dormitory immediately. Half of you will return with us as Lady Rozemyne's escort. The other half, head to the material collection site to help with the cleanup. Filine, summon your own riding beast. Lady Rozemyne, please dismiss your riding beast and divine instrument. I will carry you to the dormitory."
If she lost concentration midway from feeling ill or lost consciousness, her riding beast could vanish, risking a fall. Leonore gave crisp, efficient orders and had preparations for returning to the dormitory ready in no time.
Just as I mounted Leonore's riding beast while being held in her arms, something came hurtling toward the gathering spot.
Leonore's arm wrapped around my waist tightened, and the knight apprentices around us immediately drew their Staves.
As everyone stood on guard, a dark-clad group began entering the gathering spot one after another.
"Lady Rozemyne!"
A familiar voice called from the front. Rufen came into the gathering spot, his blue cloak billowing behind him.
Behind him was a group of knights wearing black cloaks. Judging by the color, they were likely the Central Knight Order.
At the very rear were
"We heard a Tanisbefaren had appeared, so I came with the knight order. Where is it?!"
Rufen drew his riding beast close and asked. I glanced back at Leonore, then replied simply, "It's been defeated."
They had gone to the trouble of coming all this way, but the subjugation was already finished. Now was material collection time.
"I see. Well then, may I return to my research lab?"
"Wait, Hirschur. Even if the danger to Ehrenfest has passed, we still need to determine the cause of the Tanisbefaren appearing in the
Without sparing a glance at the professors trying to keep Hirschur from leaving, Rufen grimaced and shook his head at my response.
"Hirschur, it's not just 'I see.' The students shouldn't be able to use black weapons. How were Ehrenfest's students able to defeat a Tanisbefaren?"
"Because I'm the High Priest."
The "black weapons" must be weapons imbued with the blessing of the Darkness God.
"...Lady Rozemyne is the High Priest, and so what?"
"I'm skilled at reciting prayers."
"...Prayers?"
Rufen and the professors alike furrowed their brows, clearly unable to wrap their heads around it. Perhaps the black weapons used by knights were created through incantations different from prayers. Questions swirled in my mind, but none of it mattered. I felt awful. I just wanted to go home and sleep.
"My prayers granted them the blessing of the Darkness God, and Ehrenfest's knight apprentices defeated the Tanisbefaren. If you find that hard to believe, we are currently in the process of collecting materials, so please see for yourself. I need to return to the dormitory urgently, so if you'll excuse me."
I wanted to slip away quickly, but Rufen was not the kind of man who would let me.
"Please wait, Lady Rozemyne. When a Tanisbefaren appears, the land withers, so why is Ehrenfest's gathering spot unharmed? The black trail clearly leads into this place, but there's no damage inside."
"It was protected by the gods' blessing. Because I'm the High Priest, you see."
I pressed one hand to my cheek to keep my lolling head from dropping. This gesture must have looked like I was trying to dodge the question, because Rufen's expression sharpened and he glared at me.
"You seem to be using the position of High Priest rather conveniently, but the Temple possesses no such power. Lady Rozemyne, what did you do?"
"As I said, I performed a healing ritual in my capacity as High Priest. I worked hard on this gathering spot since it belongs to Ehrenfest, but the land beyond this is under Central's jurisdiction, so I didn't touch it."
In other words, I'd wordily told them that what happened next was Central's problem, so they could do as they pleased.
As long as Ehrenfest's people wouldn't be inconvenienced in their lectures, I was fine. If I were being honest, I had wanted to secretly heal the reddish-brown land scorched by the Darkness God's mantle, but since the professors had come out here in person, there was no way to do it secretly. They might as well heal the surrounding areas that the Tanisbefaren had ravaged all at once.
"It's true that healing the land is the Temple's duty, but..."
The elderly professor who had come during the riding beast creation peered at my face while stroking his chin.
"There are no divine instruments here, so how did you manage it?"
"If there are no divine instruments, I simply made one."
Thinking only of getting home quickly, I answered somewhat dismissively. If I were a Blue Priest without a Stab, that would be one thing, but since I had a Stab, I could make one whenever I wanted.
"You can create not only
"The method isn't really that different between weapons and divine instruments. You simply visualize it in your mind and recite the incantation."
The important thing was clearly visualizing what kind of divine instrument it was and what purpose it served. If I couldn't visualize it precisely, I couldn't create even a weapon, so to me, regular weapons and divine instruments were essentially the same.
"I knew the Temple could heal the land, but why have the plants completely returned to normal?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by 'why.' When you heal the land, plants grow back, don't they?"
It seemed the priests of the Central Temple couldn't grow plants like this. From what I had seen of
"Wait just a moment, Lady Rozemyne. How do you know the incantation to transform it into a staff? The second-year lectures don't cover that kind of spell. Specialized weapons like a staff are taught in the knight course."
Rufen was right—the second-year lectures on weapon transformation didn't include the spell for a staff. The Chief Priest had only taught me incantations related to defense. But I knew it regardless.
"I was the person in charge of improving
For Angelica's sake, I had reread the Chief Priest's and Eckhart's materials several times, and I had listened from the sidelines as
At my words, Rufen's eyes began to shine with delight.
"Is that so?! If you've already studied the knight course's theory, then next year you'll be taking the knight course as well? I look forward to our rematch in the Ditter!"
Looking up at Rufen, who was letting out a triumphant whoop of joy, I immediately shook my head.
"No. As I've said before, I will not be taking the knight course."
"Why not?!"
Rufen's eyes flew wide open and he thrust his face toward mine with such force that saliva nearly sprayed everywhere.
"Because I'm unable to participate in the knight course's practical training."
Theory was one thing, but there was no way I could handle practical training. Rufen dismissed my perfectly reasonable explanation with a shake of his head.
"If you have the will, you'll be fine! You just need to get through it with perseverance and determination!"
Just like the historical accounts that said you should fight until you won, it was an extremely
"I have no willpower, no perseverance, and no determination. Most of all, I lack physical stamina. Today alone, just coming to teach the prayers and performing the healing ritual has already pushed me to my limit. Please. Let me go back to the dormitory."
As I went limp, the strength draining from my body, Leonore—who had been supporting me—glared at Rufen.
"Professor Rufen, any further questions will be detrimental to Lady Rozemyne's health, so I must ask you to refrain. We can discuss this another day. Also, while the subjugation of the Tanisbefaren is complete, determining its cause is not. The Tanisbefaren is not a magical beast that inhabits the Royal Academy. Please investigate where it came from and how it got here. If there is a possibility that more exist, other duchies need to be warned."
At Leonore's words, Rufen pressed his lips together and nodded.
"I'll be happy to discuss Lady Rozemyne's enrollment in the knight course at a later date. For now, let's prioritize the cleanup from the Tanisbefaren."
"...Um, Professor Rufen. There's nothing to discuss, though."
"You there, knight apprentice—please guide me to where the Tanisbefaren was defeated."
"Yes, sir!"
My words were completely ignored, and the knight apprentices who had been about to return to the material collection site took the lead, guiding the professors and knight order as they departed from the gathering spot.
After confirming that everyone had flown away, Leonore gave the order and we headed back to the dormitory.
"Sister!"
"Lady Rozemyne!"
When we arrived at the dormitory, I was surrounded by those who had been eagerly awaiting my return and bombarded with questions.
I left the answering to Hartmut, Filine, and the knight apprentices who had returned with us, and was carried to my room by Richarda.
"You've taken your medicine, yes? Then please rest immediately. Your body is running a fever."
As Brünhilde and Lizelotte joined in and efficiently changed my clothes, I mumbled, "The report and correspondence..." but Richarda let out a soft sigh.
"Lord
Richarda was right. Having invited
While I was sleeping, a report was apparently sent to Ehrenfest.
From Wilfried's group came an account of the subjugation brimming with first-battle excitement; from Hartmut, praises for the saintly figure who wielded divine instruments; and from Charlotte's group, a more administrative report covering their dealings with Central and Rufen's findings.
"The reports were filled with completely different things, making it hard to believe they described the same event. Apparently, the Lord of Ehrenfest was thoroughly confused. Based on the evaluation in the official response, they concluded that the sudden incident was handled well. ...With the exception of the recall order for Lady Rozemyne."
Filine read the response from Ehrenfest aloud at my bedside, giving a slight shrug.
There were no harsh words of reprimand in the response, but it did include a recall order: once the tea party with the invited royalty was over, I was to return immediately.
Was it just my imagination, or did the recall order feel like a much more severe scolding than a typical reprimand would have been?
"...A recall order, I see. In that case, please inform Lady Hannalore of Dunkelfelger that I would like to return the book I borrowed at the library tea party. And tell her I'll be bringing new books as well."
"Understood."
I had wanted to return it during a tea party with just Hannalore, but a recall order left me no choice.
"This recall order was likely issued to prevent Ehrenfest from being the only duchy with connections to royalty during a period when few students are present. Once the Dedication Ritual is over, you should be able to return to the Royal Academy, right? Then you could socialize with others as well."
"...As long as I can sequester myself in the library, that's all I need."
Once I returned to the Royal Academy during social season, holing up in the library would become much harder. The blissful days of spending my entire time there would be over. How depressing.
Seeing my spirits sink, Filine consoled me: "While you're away, Lady Rozemyne, I'll gather stories from various duchies for you."
Then she told me the contents of the report from Central.
"Just as Leonore had been investigating, the Tanisbefaren is a magical beast commonly found in
It reportedly took years for a Tanisbefaren to grow to that size. Working backward from the assumption that it had been brought in as a child—small enough to carry—it pointed to around the time the Werkestock dormitory was sealed off after the Great Purge.
However, she continued, some were questioning whether the Tanisbefaren had been lurking there for years, since there were no signs of a burrow near the Werkestock dormitory or any unusually withered vegetation.
The black trail had shown that the Tanisbefaren had traveled from the direction of the Werkestock dormitory toward the Ehrenfest dormitory. What was puzzling, apparently, was that it had headed straight for Ehrenfest.
"On the way from the Werkestock dormitory to the Ehrenfest dormitory, there are the
An alert had apparently been issued, notifying other duchies of the Tanisbefaren's appearance and its characteristics, instructing them to remain fully vigilant.
"When one is found, you're to contact the knight order through the dormitory supervisor and buy time until they arrive. Ehrenfest has also been warned not to attempt subjugation on their own."
Apparently, a little knowledge was a dangerous thing. Rufen's response hadn't been wrong. And yet, when a magic-power-draining beast like the Tanisbefaren appeared, they didn't teach the incantation for creating a black weapon, and they specifically warned Ehrenfest not to use one. I couldn't help finding that puzzling.
"If they just taught it, even the knight apprentices could fight. I wonder why they don't."
"Perhaps it's because some people would act recklessly, so they banned it? If there's no way to fight back, you'd call for reinforcements immediately and respond carefully instead."
I nodded at Filine's reasoning. "That makes sense."
If they wanted to restrict people's actions, that was certainly one way to do it. Even if I had questions or complaints, once Central made a decision, there was nothing to be done but comply.
"Filine, how is Roderich doing? Was he able to collect the materials properly?"
"As for Roderich, he's currently working hard on creating a dedication stone. He was quite dejected because making the stone requires a lot of magic power, so he had to brew a recovery potion first."
Filine giggled as she told me about Roderich's situation.
What was supposed to be a quick trip to pick up some magic stones had turned into quite the ordeal, but the material collection had apparently been completed safely.
Including my own collapse, I let out a sigh of relief that normalcy had returned.
Quietly playing the unbeatable saint. I managed to gather all the materials Roderich needed. Next up is the library tea party.