Teleportation Circle

"Lady Rozemyne, please wake up. It's time to prepare."

I was roused by Lieseleta after dozing off for a bit. Even that short nap left me feeling much refreshed. I had Lieseleta and Gretia help me change into my rideable-beast outfit, tucked Ferdinand's name-swearing stone into a leather pouch without forgetting it, and headed out. Downstairs, the guard knights in their magic-stone armor were already assembled.

"Lieseleta, Gretia, and Lazafam. I'm counting on you to watch over the library. The defensive Magical Tools should be used by..."

"Don't worry, Lady Rozemyne. Leave everything here to us. Just focus on rescuing Lord Ferdinand. The Aub is waiting for you."

Lieseleta smiled and cut off my words, urging me to contact my adoptive father. I sent an ordtour to him.

"Adoptive father, it's Rozemyne. I'm departing now. Are the preparations complete?"

"They are. The first training ground. Come quickly."

With Cornelius and Leonore in the lead, we took off on our rideable beasts toward the knight order's first training ground in the castle. Even being told it was the first training ground, I had no idea where that was. I just followed along at the front. My lesser beast was loaded down with all sorts of Magical Tools and recovery potions, and Hartmut and Justus were riding along to manage them.

"I don't really think Justus needs to be riding along..."

"I need to review the types of medicine and procedures for administering them to Lord Ferdinand. If anyone should be getting off, it would be Hartmut."

Hartmut would never agree to that, so in the end, both of them stayed aboard. Hartmut was excited to find out what I would do in this rescue, while Justus kept touching the lesser beast and remarking that it was "an interesting rideable beast, as usual."

...So these two will be with me the entire time this go-around.

"That's Lady Rozemyne!"

"Hey, clear the way! A rideable beast is landing!"

Even in the dead of night, the first training ground was filled with far more knights than usual. The night-shift knights had been bolstered, and they were on standby so they could respond at any moment. Their expressions were grim, and I could sense the tension—they were bracing for Georgine.

"Here we are."

Atop the massive teleportation circle set up in the first training ground, my adoptive father and his retainers were waiting. This was a teleportation circle that only an Aub could use to transfer people. We would use it to travel to Kirschnelzeit in one jump.

"I truly appreciate you going to all this trouble, adoptive father."

"This is a rehearsal to confirm whether large-scale transfers are feasible in preparation for an attack on Ahrensbach. Don't worry about it. If we confirm it works properly, it will benefit us greatly as well."

While my adoptive father and I talked, all the rideable beasts except mine—loaded with supplies—were cleared away, and everyone stepped onto the teleportation circle. In that brief interval, Father lightly patted Eckhart and Cornelius on the shoulder.

"Eckhart, Cornelius. As guard knights, protect Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne, and return safely."

"Leave it to us."

Once everyone was on the circle, my adoptive father raised his hand. The guard knights lined up behind him moved in unison, kneeling and placing their hands on the teleportation circle. Several people's worth of Magic Power flowed into it, and darkness and light swirled within. The Ehrenfest-colored mantles billowed in the wind. Amid it all, my adoptive father raised his staff.

"Nenryüssel, Kirschnelzeit."

My vision warped with a sickening squelch, just like when teleporting to the Royal Academy. Feeling nauseous, I closed my eyes and waited out the brief sensation of floating, when a voice reached me: "Welcome, Aub Ehrenfest." I opened my eyes to find the Gebe of Kirschnelzeit along with several knights there to receive us.

...We actually made it.

This was one corner of the Gebe of Kirschnelzeit's summer estate. In order for the knight order to rush in when an incident occurred within the territory, the Gebe's estate had a teleportation circle installed by the Aub. Since no incident requiring a large deployment of knights had occurred for generations, even the Aub had apparently forgotten about its existence. I had learned of it from Mestionora's Book and proposed using it for this transfer, and my adoptive father had restored it to working order.

"This is quite useful. We could deploy it in the south too if an incident arises."

"Aub, using the teleportation circle requires recovery potions and time to recover before battle."

"Would it be possible to activate the magic circle using an attendant or an attendant?"

As the group began verifying the teleportation circle the moment we arrived, I called out to my adoptive father: "Adoptive father, we can discuss that later—please open the border gate."

"You're right. The verification can wait. Let's go."

Even from this position, the border gate was visible, glowing white under the moonlight. Suppressing the impulse to dash ahead first, I waited for everyone to bring out their rideable beasts. My adoptive father and his retainers went first, and we followed behind, driving our mounts forward.

Upon reaching the border gate, my adoptive father took out his staff, chanted "Efnetoa," and lightly tapped the gate. The pure white border gate began to slowly open. At the same time, a faintly iridescent national gate came into view, its shimmer like the nacre layer of shells used in mother-of-pearl inlay. It wasn't just the moonlight—it seemed to glow faintly, likely due to Magic Power.

"...Rozemyne, can you really use it?"

"It'll be fine."

My adoptive father gazed up at the national gate and murmured that. Even without holding the Foundation, one could use the national gate if one possessed the Grutrissheit. The previous Zent's second prince had only borrowed the Grutrissheit when he set off to open and close the national gate, and Torquoonheit, who had founded Lanzanave, had opened the national gate on his own and fled the country.

...My Mestionora's Book is missing a magic circle, so I can't open or close gates—I can only use teleportation circles that are already set up.

That would be enough for now. I dismounted my rideable beast, approached the national gate, and took out my staff.

"Grutrissheit."

Mestionora's Book appeared in my hand. I could hear the people behind me gasp, but I ignored that and pressed the book flat against the gate.

...Whoa!

I could feel an enormous amount of Magic Power being drained. It was probably because no Magic Power had been supplied to it before. As I channeled Magic Power in, the faintly iridescent gate began to glow brightly. At the same time, a groaning sound—zzzzzzzz—as something began to shift, though not all that loud. I could see the triangular roof beginning to slide to either side.

"How magnificent... With the hair of night blessed by the Darkness God and the golden eyes of the Goddess of Light's divine protection, granted blessings from countless deities, that beautiful visage now restoring light to the all-attributed national gate by wielding the Grutrissheit—surely this is the Goddess of Wisdom Mestionora herself..."

...Quiet, please. The people of Kirschnelzeit are going to think you've lost it!

"I never imagined..."

"This is...!?"

"Could Lady Rozemyne actually be...?"

Clara and Hartmut's excited praise mixed with the astonished voices of my adoptive father and the Kirschnelzeit knights. The Kirschnelzeit national gate had not moved in roughly two hundred years. Just seeing it given Magic Power and glow brighter was probably astonishing enough.

But the surprise of those around me didn't matter. I needed to get moving. I focused on the shifting roof. Inside there, a teleportation circle for traveling from one national gate to another should be laid out.

"It's also possible to ascend via the stairs on the gate pillars, but time is of the essence, so we'll go by rideable beast. Those heading to Ahrensbach, please board my mount."

Since any rideable beast other than mine would be rejected after opening this gate, I instructed the attendants accompanying me to Ahrensbach to put away their beasts and board my lesser beast instead. While everyone climbed aboard, I turned to my adoptive father.

"Then, I'll be off. I will absolutely bring Lord Ferdinand back."

"Wait, Rozemyne. Take this. I received it from Prince Sigiswald."

My adoptive father held out a necklace—a Magical Tool resembling an amulet, inscribed with the royal crest in gold on six magic-stone gems. It wasn't particularly sturdy, but it did have a protective magic circle engraved on it.

"From Prince Sigiswald? When did you meet with him?"

"After hearing from Justus and the others."

According to my adoptive father, when he sent an emergency communication to the Zent, he was told they wanted to hear about it directly. Since Rozemyne was involved and anything could happen, Prince Anastasius had apparently instructed that they get ahead of things as much as possible.

"At first the Zent said to meet in three days, but when told that it would be over by then and this would be a post-report, Prince Sigiswald was sent to the Ehrenfest tea room."

Busy as he was, and with the Knight Commander off today of all days, the Zent couldn't come personally. My adoptive father spoke with Prince Sigiswald, and the prince apparently entrusted him with the amulet in his stead.

"He said this proves you have royal permission, so be sure to wear it. Turn around. I'll put it on for you."

There was a world of difference between having royal permission and not. Gratefully accepting Prince Sigiswald's concern, I turned around and pulled my hair aside to make the necklace easier to put on. Unlike before, I was now accustomed to having attendants fasten Ferdinand's amulet for me regularly. No one would say "Haven't you ever received accessories from a man?" anymore.

...I've grown, haven't I? I'm accumulating accessories left and right.

"It looks just like the black amulet you gave me, adoptive father. Will Prince Sigiswald's amulet protect me now as well?"

"It should protect those you wish to protect, in turn. ...Go."

I heard a soft click as the clasp fastened, and my adoptive father gave me a gentle push on the back. I nodded and climbed onto my rideable beast, then drove it up over the top of the border gate and descended into the exposed interior.

The floor where I landed was a smooth, iridescent surface. A large teleportation circle was laid out upon it. This was because the Zent came every year with their retainers. Mestionora's Book even described an older era in which the Zent would ride through the city with the border gate in grand style on a rideable beast with their retainers. As the generations progressed, the number of people brought along decreased, and they apparently began conserving Magic Power.

I dismounted and stood on the teleportation circle. Above the Kirschnelzeit border gate and in the sky, I could see my adoptive father and Father and the others on their rideable beasts. I smiled and waved, then took out my staff.

"Grutrissheit."

The surface of my Mestionora's Book glowed so it would be easy to read even in the dark of night. Extremely convenient and legible. I lightly moved my finger to search for how to activate the teleportation circle, then tapped the magic circle displayed on the screen.

"Këshüssel, Dunkelfelger."

The magic circle launched from the screen. Radiating the light of all attributes, the circle hovered in the air and rotated above the teleportation circle, casting its glow downward. As if responding to its light, the teleportation circle below began to move as well. Surprised by the sensation of Magic Power being drawn from both above and below, I channeled my Magic Power in.

A flood of light whited out my vision. I closed my eyes against the peculiar floating sensation of teleportation. The last thing I heard was my adoptive father's voice: "Counting on you to bring back Ferdinand, Rozemyne!"

"Ooooooh!!"

Amid the gentle swaying sensation, a booming war cry echoed around me. That alone told me we had arrived in Dunkelfelger. I figured the perceived temperature had risen by at least five degrees. Honestly, it was hot.

I opened my eyes to find ourselves inside the national gate. The teleportation circle was glowing and the gate itself radiated light, but since the roof was open, I couldn't see the Dunkelfelger knights outside.

"Even with the roof closed, the sound carries this far, does it? I feel like the knights might exhaust themselves from excitement before we even arrive in Ahrensbach..."

"We have no such feeble knights in Dunkelfelger. Please rest easy."

Clara reassured me with a smile, but that only made me anxious for a different reason. Were these same excitable knights really going to be led by me?

"Besides, this is a border gate that hasn't seen a Zent's visit in over ten years. It's only natural for everyone to be excited."

...Ah, right. For Dunkelfelger, it had been over a decade.

Clara's words struck me with a strange sense of understanding. A phenomenon that in Ehrenfest could only be seen in history books was something the people of Dunkelfelger had witnessed with their own eyes. It apparently wasn't the kind of thing that left them too stunned to even shout.

I dismounted alone and pressed Mestionora's Book flat against the wall. I had to channel Magic Power in to open the border gate's roof. As it opened little by little, the war cries grew louder.

Once I saw the roof fully open, I mounted my rideable beast and drove it upward into the sky to cross to the Dunkelfelger border gate.

On the roof of the Dunkelfelger border gate, an even larger number of knights had gathered than expected. On the right gate pillar's roof, knights in full armor, battle-ready, stood in formation—ten rows of ten. Before them, I could make out two figures, likely commanding officers.

On the left gate pillar's roof, several times that number of people thronged together—those apparently there to see us off or observe, not wearing armor. The left gate pillar's roof was packed.

I headed for the right gate pillar's roof. There I saw the Aub and Aubess of Dunkelfelger along with Lestenaut, standing before the assembled volunteer knights with their retainers.

"Aub Dunkelfelger, and all of you volunteer knights—I am truly grateful for your swift response and cooperation."

As I dismounted, the people other than the Aub of Dunkelfelger, whom I had spoken to via water-mirror communication, stared at me with bated breath. In particular, Lestenaut's gaze, filled with shock, was almost painful.

"The Aub briefed us, but... is this truly Lady Rozemyne?"

"Yes. There is no mistake."

I turned reflexively at the sound of Hannelore's voice. I had assumed she wasn't standing with the Aub and Lestenaut because she was still a minor, but she was apparently here.

...Wait a moment.

Aside from the Aub and the others, the only people here should have been knights clad head to toe in armor. My eyes widened as I took in Hannelore, who was gazing back at me, and I too caught my breath.

"Hannelore, your outfit—that can't be..."

Hannelore, who had called out to me, was clad entirely in magic-stone armor. It was clear she had been included in the expedition party.

"I was a third-year student at the Royal Academy when I committed a terrible blunder in the bride-stealing ditter. In Dunkelfelger, the shame of ditter must be washed away with a victory in ditter. I will do everything in my power to be of use to Lady Rozemyne, so please allow me to accompany you."

Hannelore said this with a bashful smile. Her gentle, fluffy demeanor was completely at odds with her words.

...Wash away the shame of ditter with a victory in ditter—what does that even mean!?

From Ehrenfest to Kirschnelzeit via teleportation circle.

And then, to Dunkelfelger.

I also received Prince Sigiswald's amulet.