The Top of the Altar

"Besides, no matter what kind of face the person who came from up there has, it changes nothing about what I'm about to do."

Answering Leonore, I stared at Gervasio standing atop the altar. If Gervasio became Zent like this, not only would I—who had stolen Ahrensbach's foundation connected to Lanzanave—be in deep trouble, but Ferdinand, who had been slated for elimination during the planning stages, and Ehrenfest, which had defeated Georgine—someone who was believed to have had close ties with Gervasio—would be in a truly terrible position.

...I supposed it would be best to assume there was no room for negotiation.

I couldn't imagine the people of Lanzanave—who had been eliminating those who stood in their way with lethal poison—would treat us gently and leniently. Gervasio's people would surely come with everything they had to reclaim Ahrensbach's foundation. There was no way they would leave me alone after I had scattered Lanzanave's soldiers, destroyed their ships, and rescued Ahrensbach's nobility.

At the very least, if I were in their situation—where my companions had been defeated, the ships needed to return home had been destroyed, and the villa serving as our base had been attacked with all my allies captured—I would never say something like, "You have your circumstances too, so it can't be helped even if people from your homeland are killed or captured."

"Indeed, the appearance of the enemy is irrelevant. But how shall we capture that man? As long as Raoblut is in front of the altar, we'll need to either defeat him and the rest of the Central Knights or have an attack that can reach the top. If only we had more people, or could communicate with those who are farther away..."

Leonore cast her gaze back and forth as she watched the Central Knights' movements. At that moment, something tapped lightly against my hand. Looking down, I saw a small paper airplane about five centimeters long stuck to my hand. The unnatural sight made it clear that the airplane was made from magic paper and was a message meant for me.

Glancing around to check on our surroundings, I unfolded the paper airplane. In Ferdinand's handwriting, a scrawled message read: "Draw attention with the Grutrissheit and the stacking of blessings. Use Feardrenna to handle interference around you. We're ready over here."

...So in other words, he was planning to do something while I drew everyone's attention?

I moved the letter slightly so my guard knights could see it too. Leonore glanced toward where Ferdinand and the others were, while Hartmut and Clarissa reached for the leather bag containing magic paper.

"Grutrissheit!"

Following Ferdinand's instructions, I raised my right hand and brought forth the Book of Mestionora.

"What!? The Grutrissheit!?"

"Look carefully! That's not it! The real Grutrissheit isn't that size! The one Lord Gervasio holds is the genuine article!"

"What are you talking about!? Lady Rozemyne's Grutrissheit is the real one! She was able to open and close the border gate!"

Ignoring the Central Knights' cries of surprise and the Dunkelfelger knights who insisted my Holy Book was genuine, I began performing the stacking of blessings I had stolen earlier.

God of Valor Angrif, God of Hunting Schlagetil, Storm Goddess Strahlise, Goddess of Patience Durtozetze, Goddess of Fortune Greifsharn... As I called upon the names of the gods one after another and prayed, noble-colored pillars of light rose each time, and rays of blessing rained down upon my allies.

"Lady Rozemyne, who receives countless blessings from the gods, is the incarnation of Mestionora who grants the Grutrissheit to the next Zent. It is Lady Rozemyne's mission to choose the Zent from the people of Yurgenschmidt and bestow the Grutrissheit upon them. There is no need to deliberately crown an invader from Lanzanave as Zent."

...Hartmut!

Since I couldn't stop my prayers midway and couldn't clamp shut Hartmut's mouth as he puffed out his chest so self-satisfiedly, I succeeded in drawing the attention of everyone in the auditorium. Raoblut's murderous gaze was firmly fixed on me as well.

"So it's not enough to merely confine her to the Central Temple—I truly must put a stop to her once and for all."

"As Lady Rozemyne's attendant says, there is no need to choose an invader as Zent! You, who served as the Commander of the Zent's knights yet failed to protect the kingdom, betrayed your father, and brought in a foreign threat—I will never forgive you!"

Anastasius, who had apparently made a full recovery, and his attendant were also under the effects of the stacked blessings. They began making their way toward the altar where Raoblut stood, scattering the nearby Central Knights with relative ease.

"I see. So prayers to the gods do reach this place..."

That voice drifted down from atop the altar. Gazing down at the auditorium with its pillars of light standing in disarray with an expression of admiration, Gervasio raised his own Holy Book in imitation of me and began chanting the hymn in a deep, resonant voice.

"O God of Valor Angrif, kin of the God of Fire Leidenschaft—"

As Gervasio prayed, the Holy Book he held aloft began to be wreathed in blue light.

I hadn't expected Gervasio to be able to chant the hymns so effortlessly. When I first became a Shrine Maiden Apprentice, I had struggled to memorize the hymns. I had grown so weary of having to remember all the different hymns and the absurdly long and numerous names of the gods that I had actually considered giving them nicknames.

"Hear my prayer and grant me sacred power—grant us the martial might to vanquish all our enemies!"

A pillar of blue light struck down with a thunderous sound. Cheers of jubilation praising Gervasio rose up, and the advancing movements of Prince Anastasius and his allies were brought to a halt.

"Hmm. So I too can bestow the blessings of the gods."

Gervasio looked up at the pillar of blue light and smiled, then began stacking blessings just as I had, starting with "O Storm Goddess Strahlise, kin of the Goddess of Wind Steriaz—" If this continued, all the effort I'd put into stealing the enemy's blessings would be for nothing.

...The stacking of blessings had drawn everyone's attention back to Gervasio again. What is Lord Ferdinand doing!? Wasn't he supposed to be doing something while I drew everyone's attention?

I instinctively turned my gaze toward where Ferdinand and the others were. I could see Brother Eckhart fighting against the Central Knights who had received Gervasio's blessing, but Ferdinand himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Hear my prayer and—gh!?"

Suddenly, the words of his prayer were cut short. It seemed he had been hit by a Magic Power attack from somewhere, as several of the charms Gervasio had been wearing burst into pieces.

"Where!?"

Raoblut, who had been guarding the front of the altar while watching Prince Anastasius and his allies' movements, cried out in shock and spun around, drawing his weapon to try to locate where the charms' counterattack was headed.

"Getilt."

Ferdinand's voice rang out, and a shield materialized near the top of the altar. The counterattack from Gervasio's charms was deflected immediately, and Ferdinand revealed himself. I didn't know where or how he had made his way up there, but I understood that he had made effective use of charms dedicated to the God of Concealment Feberücken, and that he had told me to "draw everyone's attention" in order to maximize their power.

"You—when did you get up there!?"

Raoblut shouted, but Ferdinand paid him no mind, keeping his gaze locked on Gervasio. Just as a knight would hold a shield in one hand and a weapon in the other, he held his shield and a black water gun at the ready, unleashing attacks one after another.

"Lord Gervasio!"

Seeing Raoblut charging toward the altar, Clarissa declared "I won't let you interfere!" and activated her wide-area magic support. Since the instruction to use Feardrenna when blocking interference had already been given, I aimed at the magic paper Hartmut had laid out and immediately swung my Stappe.

"Lightning of Feardrenna!"

From multiple magic circles spread across the ceiling, lightning rained down upon the Central Knights near the altar. Almost simultaneously, magic circles that Ferdinand appeared to have prepared also activated, and lightning began striking the Central Knights fighting Brother Eckhart and the Ahrensbach knights as well.

Screams filled the air, and while the counterattacks from their charms flew toward the magic circles, Raoblut's voice rang out: "Your cloaks! Block them with your silver cloaks!" Calling out that they could block some of the damage if they held up the silver cloth that repelled Magic Power, Raoblut himself raised his cloak over his head and attempted to rush up the altar.

"Uwah!"

Raoblut was repelled by something. I thought someone's attack had reached him, but it didn't seem to be the case. Raoblut reached out his hand, and in an irritated voice said, "...What is this? There's an invisible wall."

Raoblut was seething with fury at being repelled as though he had no right to ascend, but I felt a small wave of relief. As long as the battle was at the top of the altar, no unwanted reinforcements could interfere. I couldn't imagine Ferdinand losing a one-on-one fight against Gervasio, who wasn't even a knight.

"So you are the Quinta..."

Without so much as a twitch of his brow at Gervasio's words, Ferdinand aimed for his face and fired the water gun. It was an attack that made it instantly obvious what he was thinking: "Shut your mouth." Gervasio hastily moved his arm in front of his face to block the direct hit. A charm burst, and a counterattack flew toward Ferdinand's shield.

It was strange how the water gun, which looked like nothing more than a toy when I held it, truly resembled a pistol when Ferdinand wielded it. Thin threads of Magic Power flew toward Gervasio one after another, and each time, one of Gervasio's charms burst apart. It quickly became apparent that each attack was powerful enough to pose no problem even if a counterattack came, and they were stripping away Gervasio's charms one by one.

"Rükhen. ...Getilt."

As his charms were being destroyed by Ferdinand's attacks, Gervasio dismissed the Holy Book he had been holding up and brought forth a shield instead.

"...Just as Leonzio and Raoblut reported—you are remarkably alike."

At Gervasio's words, Ferdinand silently threw a Magical Tool. It sailed over the shield Gervasio had raised and exploded behind him. Without guard knights and with only an ordinary square shield, the area he could protect on his own was limited.

However, Gervasio apparently had charms beyond those against Magic Power attacks, as a counterattack flew toward Ferdinand. Ferdinand, perhaps having anticipated it, blocked the counterattack with ease using his shield.

"Quinta—do you have no reservations about your own birth? Have you never felt anger at being forced to live this way? Do you feel nothing about Lanzanave's way of things, forcing a harsh existence upon people before they are even born?"

I couldn't believe he felt nothing at all. Yet in the face of Gervasio's quiet questioning, Ferdinand remained utterly expressionless, revealing none of his inner thoughts, and wordlessly threw another Magical Tool. It was deflected by Gervasio's shield.

"From the moment I was born as a male in that villa, I had to desperately escape a life of being sorted by Magic Power and turned into a magic stone. Even if registered as a royal of the cadet line, I would be sent to a foreign land upon reaching adulthood. What was demanded of me there was nothing more than to produce children with high Magic Power and maintain the White Building. ...This is finally the perfect opportunity. If I become the Zent of Yurgenschmidt, I can end this way of life. No more unfortunate children will ever be born. And Yurgenschmidt will no longer be jerked around by royals who don't even possess the Grutrissheit until its Magic Power runs dry."

Ferdinand scoffed at Gervasio's explanation that becoming Zent would be beneficial for both Lanzanave and Yurgenschmidt.

"I don't know what you're misunderstanding, but I am not a Quinta. I am Ferdinand of the Archducal family of Ehrenfest."

"You may have been too young when you left the villa to remember, but in your place after you escaped, your mother was turned into a magic stone, and the girl who was supposed to live as a princess to fill your mother's vacancy..."

"As I already said, I am not a Quinta—I am Ferdinand."

Ferdinand let out a short laugh and cut Gervasio off. It was the kind of social smile one wears at moments of extreme displeasure, and I could tell that fierce anger and intense emotion were being suppressed beneath it.

"Of course, Lanzanave has its own circumstances. But what right do you have to speak, having accepted the role of magic stone and lived your life being used for Lanzanave's purposes? You are an invader from Lanzanave. Now that Yurgenschmidt has obtained the incarnation of Mestionora who can grant the Grutrissheit to a new Zent, your presence here serves only to invite confusion and is entirely unnecessary."

Contrasting with his sparkling smile, Ferdinand's words were sharp and merciless.

"There is only one thing I think about when it comes to Lanzanave. Curse Turquinehight and hurry up and perish. That way, no more unfortunate children will ever be born."

"...Is that so. Very well. It seems those who fled that villa cannot understand our pain. Quinta—those born as magic stones should hasten to become magic stones."

Gervasio discarded his shield and aimed a silver tube at Ferdinand. It had to be the silver tube that Retizia had warned us about. The instant I saw the tube, my hands moved before my mind could catch up.

"Wasschen!"

I raised my Stappe and fired with everything I had the magic paper I had prepared in case lethal poison was used.

Gervasio, who had attempted the stacking of blessings.

Ferdinand's blasphemous attack that had begun atop the altar, drawing in the divine statues.

Raoblut, who had been unable to ascend the altar because he lacked the qualification to enter the Garden of Beginnings.