The Battle on the Altar

……I'll just wash away every last dangerous item brought over from Lanzenave!

Even if the contents of the silver tube weren't instant-kill poison, it should be fine as long as I washed everything away. That was my reasoning as I chanted "Waschen" on the wide-area magic circle and slammed my Magic Power into it, so naturally, a torrent of water came cascading down from near the ceiling all at once like a waterfall.

"What is this water?!"

The Central Knights' cries of shock were mixed in with the voices of my guard knights shouting, "Whoa!? It's swirling!? Why!?" The auxiliary magic circle had been designed with the assumption of enough water to flush out the entire lecture hall, so naturally, the water summoned by my Magic Power began filling it up. That part was exactly as I'd planned. I'd figured that once the hall was flooded, I just needed to hold my nose and wait for the spell to dissipate.

But perhaps because I'd imagined a washing machine when I thought about washing everything away, the water within the hall—regardless of whether friend or foe—began violently swirling at high speed, dragging everyone in. "What's going on, Rosemi— glub glub!" By the time Anastasius's shouts were swallowed up by the water and vanished, I could no longer stand either. My body floated, all sense of direction lost, as I was swept along by the current.

……Gyaaaaaaah! I failed! Someone help me!

I want to praise myself for pinching my nose before completely going under. I, the caster, as well as my guard knights, Raublut, and Anastasius—we were all spinning around inside the whirlpool like laundry. This was completely beyond anything I'd imagined.

……My head's spinning! Air! I need air! Ugh!

While I was screaming sounds that weren't even words, I was suddenly flung out into the air with a *poof*. The water that had surrounded me was gone, and air rushed into my open mouth. Breathing became easy again, and my vision cleared in an instant. Even though I'd just been ejected from the water, I wasn't wet anymore, and I could see my hair swaying gently.

……Huh? The ceiling?

Along with my hair, the ceiling had come into view. It was close enough to touch if I reached out. The moment I realized the water current had carried me to such a tremendous height, gravity claimed my body. Without any ceremony, the distance between me and the ceiling began to widen, and all the blood drained from my face at once.

……I'm falling!

"W-w-wahh!"

Even though gravity had me and I was plummeting, everything around me seemed to move agonizingly slowly. I desperately reached out, trying to grab onto something, but there was nothing within reach.

From somewhere below came a strained "Guh!" and Ferdinand's panicked voice shouting "Rosemine!" At that moment, two charms on my wrist reacted. Before I could even think about whether someone had attacked me, beams of counterattack light shot from the charms, and a ribbon of light wrapped around me with a *shrr* sound. Was this also an attack? The thought had barely formed before I was yanked powerfully, tossed about by a force different from gravity, and my angle of descent changed.

"Gyaaaaah!"

As I screamed, I apparently flew straight into Ferdinand's arms on the altar. He told me to "be quiet, it's noisy," and before even asking if I was unhurt, he immediately began scolding me with "You idiot, what exactly do you think you're doing?"—so I knew I'd landed here for certain.

"Um, well, a silver tube was aimed at Lord Ferdinand, so I used Waschen, and then I got swept up in water currents I hadn't anticipated and was flung out and started falling, but now that you ask me directly, it's rather difficult to answer."

"That much of an answer is sufficient, but did you think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"

Ferdinand jerked his chin toward Gervasio, who was holding his face and groaning, and scowled in displeasure. It wasn't that he didn't trust me. I'd just panicked out of worry and cast Waschen. I wish he wouldn't look so annoyed about it. My heart was racing from both the relief of being safe and the tension of facing a lecture.

"A-a-anyway, why was I the only one sent over here? Everyone else is still spinning…"

To escape both his anger and the impending lecture, I shifted my gaze and saw people spinning around in the lecture hall that had become a giant washing machine. It seemed my Waschen hadn't reached the altar. There was a transparent wall—the same one that had stopped Raublut—and the water was raging only on the other side.

……My full-power Waschen was meaningless.

Since my Waschen was meaningless, and Ferdinand had easily escaped the crisis on his own, I'd been caught in my own spell and sent crashing onto the altar, only to face Ferdinand's lecture. I deflated with a whimper.

"You were able to come up here because you're qualified, which is why you bounced off that wall while spinning rather than being stopped. I'm more concerned about the fact that the Waschen still hasn't disappeared. What did you consider dirty enough to wash away?"

Ferdinand dismissed the light ribbon, set me down, and reshaped his Stab back into a water gun while casting a glance at the Waschen vortex that still hadn't dissipated after several seconds.

"Dangerous items brought from Lanzenave. If the contents of the silver tube weren't instant-kill poison, I thought it might be dangerous, so…"

"I see. If the Truk was among the dangerous items, it might take time to wash away."

While Ferdinand fired his water gun at Gervasio, who had picked up a recovery potion, and contemplated the situation, the water swirling in the lecture hall vanished in an instant. The knights who, like me, had been carried by the water and left floating began crashing down with a tremendous clatter.

"Watch out!"

"Knights are wearing armor. Even if they fall, they won't die."

"Some of my retainers are attendants, though!"

"Don't lean over. You'll roll off the altar this time."

Ferdinand calmly pointed this out, so I checked my footing and hurriedly looked for Hartmut and Clarissa. Those who knew I used Waschen in wide-area magic—like the Diitama—seemed to be acting relatively calmly. I could see Brother Cornelius and Leonore, who had already brought out their riding beasts. Angelica was nimbly leaping down, using the wings of riding beasts spread across the air as footholds.

"Lady Rosemine, the incarnation of Mestionora, the altar suits you perfectly!"

"How divine! The Supreme Goddess's…"

……Ah, Hartmut and the others seem perfectly fine.

They hadn't been lifted very high, it seemed, because Hartmut and the others were pointing at us on the altar and making some kind of commotion. I didn't want to hear the details, so I decided it was best to tune them out.

……I'm glad they're safe, but could they be a little quieter?

As I sighed in relief while scanning for mantles in Ehrenfest's colors, I heard Anastasius shouting, "At least report what you're going to do in advance!" His voice came from an odd direction, so I looked around and spotted what appeared to be Anastasius's figure launched into the spectator seats. It seemed he'd survived being caught in the Waschen too.

……Where's Raublut?

Raublut, who had been positioned to guard the altar, was no longer in the same spot. I strengthened my vision and scanned the lecture hall, wondering where he'd been swept off to, when the hall doors were violently thrown wide open.

……Now what?!

I instinctively fixed my gaze on the doors and saw a flood of blue mantles pouring in like an avalanche. There was no mistaking them. They were the knights of Dunkelfelger.

"Support Lady Rosemine and Lord Ferdinand!"

"Ooohhh!"

Leading the charge, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was Aub Dunkelfelger. Beside him stood what appeared to be a female knight wearing black and blue mantles layered together. Her helmet obscured her features, but the shape of her breastplate made it immediately clear she was a woman.

"As the commander of the knight order sworn to protect the Zent, I cannot forgive you, Raublut, who poisoned Lord Traokval. While my husband is unable to act, I, his wife, will cut you down."

She pinpointed Raublut's position—invisible to me—in an instant and aimed her weapon at him. She wore the black mantle of the Central Knights, but the combination of her declaration and her combat stance alongside Aub Dunkelfelger reminded me of Hannalore on the battlefield.

"……Is that perhaps Lady Magdalena?"

"Is there any other wife who would call Lord Traokval her husband and naturally take up arms beside Aub Dunkelfelger?"

……Even after becoming the wife of the Zent, what she does doesn't change at all…… The Dunkelfergers are truly Dunkelfelger to the core.

"Aub Dunkelfelger, I leave the capture of Raublut and the other traitors in the Central Knights to you!"

Ferdinand issued orders from the altar while continuing to press his attack against Gervasio, who was defending with Getilt's shield. With Dunkelfelger joining the battle, our forces had increased dramatically. It would be best to entrust the lower-level fighting to the Dunkelfelger and Ahrensbach knights.

"Consider it done! …But the formations are a mess and there's no telling friend from foe! For now, capture every black-mantled Central Knight starting from one end! Listening to their stories and identifying them by face can wait!"

Right after feeling reassured by Dunkelfelger's cooperation, I became deeply anxious. They were just as rough and reckless as always. But following Aub Dunkelfelger's orders, the blue-mantled Dunkelfelger knights began nimbly moving through the lecture hall, where friend and foe had been scattered about by the Waschen.

"……Lord Ferdinand, it seems the Anastasius princes will also be captured by the Dunkelfelger knights, but is that truly all right?"

"Capturing Raublut and his faction takes priority. Since Lady Magdalena is acting together with Dunkelfelger, you needn't worry about Prince Anastasius."

……Is that really okay?

Perhaps my inner thoughts were showing, because Ferdinand let out an exasperated sigh.

"Rather than worrying about Prince Anastasius's movements, shouldn't you capture Gervasio as quickly as possible and start thinking about the book city plan?"

"You're right!"

Compared to Prince Anastasius, who had only been summoned as insurance, the book city plan Ferdinand mentioned was far more important. I'd become Aub Ahrensbach, so I was obligated to participate in the battle to capture the Lanzenave people, but honestly, I wanted to toss this whole battle aside and move forward with the book city plan.

……I'm going to design a book city that encompasses the Gutenberg collective's printing, Lord Ferdinand's research, and my library—like ancient Alexandria, which had an herbal garden attached to a great library.

Ahrensbach, which even had a sea, was perfect for it. But to make that happen, I needed to capture or defeat Gervasio, who had been leading the people from Lanzenave, and end this battle quickly.

"Their Magic Power levels are in balance, so magical bindings are unlikely to work on Gervasio. While I charge up my Magic Power, I'll leave defense to you."

"Yes! Stuuria, the Wind Goddess who governs protection!"

The moment I lightly closed my eyes and began reciting the prayer, Gervasio said, "You… you're Mine, aren't you?" Surprised at being called "Mine," I opened my eyes—only to be scolded by Ferdinand, who was still continuing his feint attacks against Gervasio: "It's just a distraction. Focus on the prayer."

"The twelve goddesses who serve at my side—"

"Mine, why are you cooperating with Quinta instead of fighting to the death?"

Gervasio, raising Getilt to block Ferdinand's attacks, said that with a suspicious look. Ewermine must have told him something. I couldn't think of anyone else who would say something as alarming as "you should be killing each other."

……I told Lady Ewermine right then and there that I wouldn't do that, but did she not hear me? Or did she choose to ignore it?

I continued the prayer while letting Gervasio's "Mine" slide off my ears as much as possible.

I didn't know how long Ewermine had been in the Garden of Beginnings, but it wouldn't be surprising if her hearing had gone. Even as a former goddess, she couldn't beat the passage of time. Perhaps the depletion of Yurgenschmidt's Magic Power was also affecting certain faculties of Ewermine.

"……Keep malevolent ones at bay, O shield of wind, in my hand—"

With a sharp, crystalline ring, Stuuria's shield was completed. The instant it was, Ferdinand switched from the water gun he had been using for feints to a sword and began charging Magic Power. Without any prior arrangement, we were able to divide roles as a matter of course, and there was something indescribably reassuring about that.

"Quinta is not a being you must protect. Rather, you should kill Quinta and claim everything for yourself. Isn't that what you were ordered to do, Mine?"

"Stop talking and die already."

Ferdinand said it quietly as he swung his sword downward. A mass of rainbow-colored Magic Power shot from the blade, and Gervasio, still defending with Getilt's shield, was blasted away from the altar along with the divine statues.

"Gah!?"

The divine statues were sent flying into the air… or more precisely, the divine instruments they were wearing all blazed with light simultaneously. Pillars of light shot up from the instruments and crossed each other. The light was so blinding that I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

The lecture hall had turned into a giant washing machine.

Just as the influence of the Truk was washed away too, Dunkelfelger made their entrance.

Lady Magdalena is a true Dunkelfelger woman after all.

Thanks to the sinners fighting on the altar, pillars of light rise from the divine instruments.

Next time… I won't spoil it with a preview. (laughs)