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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.1 - Chapter 7




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Discussing Divine Protections with Hirschur

Come dinnertime, Hirschur arrived at the dormitory. She appeared to have a headache, but she wasn’t the only one.

“Professor, the ritual yesterday has made my mana so much harder to control,” I said. “I don’t feel any being spent when I use it, and I couldn’t stop myself from giving a blessing during music class. What should I do?”

“I obviously do not have an answer. Blessings cause no harm to anyone, so perhaps you can simply allow them to happen. If you wish for any further advice, consult Ferdinand.” Hirschur evidently had zero interest in working through problems centered around having too much mana. “Lord Wilfried, might we speak after dinner?” she said, swiftly moving the conversation along.

“Of course,” he replied. “I will have my attendants prepare a room so that anything we discuss remains confidential. We can move there after eating.”

Eating with one’s supervisor was a completely normal occurrence in other duchies—but here in the Ehrenfest Dormitory, it was exceptionally rare. The students all eyed Hirschur, wondering what had happened to warrant her appearance.

Hirschur didn’t even touch on what the third-years had done during the divine protections ritual; instead, she praised everyone for passing a second day of classes on the first go.

“Ehrenfest truly is spectacular when it comes to written lessons,” she said. “Once again, everyone has passed on the first day. Your grades are rising by the year, and the professors are rather impressed.”

Now that more people were learning the Rozemyne Mana Compression Method, our practical grades were steadily rising too.

Hirschur continued, “I thought that Ehrenfest would start doing far worse in practical lessons once Angelica, Cornelius, and Hartmut graduated, but Leonore, Matthias, and Laurenz are all showing continual improvement, and the three archduke candidates are all scoring excellently. I look forward to another successful year.”

We students had reached a point where we no longer saw our grades as accomplishments—we would pass one of our classes and then immediately move on to the next. That was why third-party praise was so important; hearing that the professors were seeing Ehrenfest in a better light and that our duchy was improving as a whole meant a lot.

“It is because Ferdinand demands so much,” I said. “I was once again tasked with ensuring that we pass all of our classes on the first day.”

Not to mention, there were many students who risked growing mentally unstable without a goal to focus on. We hadn’t received any more news about the purge, but we still didn’t intend to reveal the situation to Hirschur anytime soon.

Hirschur was positively delighted with the food she was served—although the rest of us were entirely used to it by now. We were gradually selling more and more recipes during the yearly Archduke Conference, but no other duchies had produced their own spins on them just yet. Such was to be expected; recreating the meals as per the recipes was already challenging enough.

“It was several years before even my own chefs started to create new dishes instead of sticking to preexisting recipes,” I said. “I expect it will only be a matter of time, though.”

I was most interested in seeing how faithfully other duchies would follow the steps that went against the common sense of this world, like with making broth and such. Each duchy would then need to begin the trial-and-error process of adding local ingredients and sampling the results to see what best suited its people’s tastes.

And, in the meantime, we need to make new variations ourselves.

“Lady Rozemyne, what dessert is this?” Hirschur asked.

“A sweet known as ‘mousse’ in Ehrenfest,” I replied. It was a high-effort dessert composed of yogurt mousse sandwiched between two slices of sponge cake. Incidentally, we were giving away the recipe for this very dessert as our reward this year. We were free to start spreading it, since the Othmar Company had now begun to make gelatin.

I’ll do my best to make gelatin popular, especially since Freida is working so hard in the Italian restaurant.

Freida may have been giving me gelatin so that I could introduce other nobles to its many wonders, but this wasn’t a bribe; rather, I just wanted more tasty foods to be popular. I already knew from experience that jiggly desserts like jelly and caramel custard weren’t very well received, which was why I was planning to combine the mousse with last year’s reward and create fallold mousse tarts.

I wanted to see how the Sovereign nobles would respond to this dessert, which was why we had specially prepared some to be served. The plan was to bring some to small tea parties with royals, but not to any larger gatherings; the chefs still struggled to make sponge cake, and there were still occasions when their efforts ended in failure.

“I thought the mouthfeel might seem unusual, so I flavored it with honey and yogurt to make it taste a bit more familiar. How is it?” I asked. The sour taste of the yogurt eased the sweetness of the honey mousse—and since the mousse was between two pieces of sponge cake, I was sure that the texture wouldn’t be too off-putting.

“The texture certainly is unique,” Hirschur replied. “It really does melt in the mouth—and, I must say, it is quite delicious.”

“Would it be safe to serve to the royal family?”

“You would do well to make it look a little fancier, but the flavor will suffice.”

Having received the go-ahead from Hirschur, I decided to think about how to make the dessert look better. Decorating it with fallold or rutreb jam would allow us to mix in red and white—very fitting for a winter sweet.

After dessert, which had doubled as a test run for our future tea parties, we moved elsewhere with Hirschur. We archduke candidates had a duty to be present for the discussion that was about to follow, as we had to report back to the archduke. Also joining us were Philine and Roderick, whose acquisition of new elements had pretty much necessitated this meeting in the first place.

Six seats were prepared, and, once the attendants had served us our tea, Hirschur motioned for them and the guard knights to step back. “I shan’t go so far as to clear the room, but we will be using sound-blocking magic tools,” she said. “Lady Rozemyne, activate this one, if you would.”

“What? Me?” I could only blink in surprise as Hirschur handed me an area-of-effect version of the tool in question. Under normal circumstances, the onus to activate it would have been on her, considering that she had brought it.

“You have so much mana that merely playing a song in class caused you to release a blessing. That could not have happened if you had so little mana that you were on the verge of death.”

She had a point, so I channeled mana into the sound-blocking tool and then set it down as instructed. It consumed much less mana than expected; in fact, it barely seemed to consume any at all.

This is so similar to after my first jureve, when I ended up losing fine control of my mana. Maybe it actually would have been best for me to return for the Dedication Ritual this year... I could have used that opportunity to expend some of my mana and helped in the fight against the Lord of Winter.

I sighed and returned to my seat, at which point Hirschur looked over us all. “Now then, let us begin by sharing what we know,” she said. “Lady Charlotte is here, though she did not participate in the rituals to acquire one’s divine protections. Furthermore, while I am aware that you have spoken with Gundolf about the incident, I was by the shrine and thus could not hear your conversation.”

Hirschur went on to tell Charlotte what had occurred yesterday—though I noticed that she didn’t mention my ritual. Philine’s and Roderick’s circumstances were already considered unusual, so I was sure that mine would be absolutely bizarre. I glanced at Hirschur, but it seemed that she wasn’t going to mention my ritual at all.

“Gundolf spoke with you after Philine returned to the auditorium with more elements,” Hirschur said. “Tell me, what did you discuss?”

We collectively started to recount the conversation, working together to fill in the gaps in one another’s memories. Once we were done, Charlotte tilted her head at us in confusion.

“The purpose of the ritual is to obtain divine protection from the gods, correct? I struggle to see why receiving the protection of various subordinates is so surprising...”

We were completely on the same wavelength. Aside from Roderick becoming omni-elemental, none of what had happened seemed that odd to me.

Hirschur sighed. “Allow me to explain what things are like for a normal noble—that is, not a student from Dunkelfelger or an apprentice knight expected to earn protections from the fighting-centric subordinates. They will obtain the protection of the primary god of whatever elements they have and nothing more. Unless there is some dormitory supervisor purposefully holding their tongue, no students have obtained the divine protection of subordinates not involved in warfare for over a decade.”

Everyone had, of course, been calling what happened a rare occurrence—but only now did it occur to me just how rare it was. We could only blink at each other and exchange glances as Hirschur continued.

“In the past, the majority of those who received the divine protection of multiple subordinates were the archduke candidates or members of the royal family. It was extremely rare for laynobles and mednobles to receive any at all; in fact, one has to go back a hundred years or more to find any such examples.”

“So, in short... Philine and Roderick are both extraordinary,” I concluded.

Hirschur fixed me with a stern glare. “I am asking that you understand the abnormality of this situation, Lady Rozemyne.”

I nodded in response. Although the reason for these events was still very much beyond me, I recognized that they were a bit weird. I also understood that there was a “dormitory supervisor purposefully holding their tongue” right in front of me.

“Apprentice knights and students from Dunkelfelger often receive divine protection from the fighting-type subordinates, but we do not know why this is the case,” Hirschur went on. “Anyone else receiving the protection of subordinates is exceptionally rare—though not entirely unprecedented. It is for this reason that Lord Wilfried received a few words of surprise and admiration but nothing more.”

That much made sense. Hirschur even noted that Hannelore had received a similar reaction.

“Philine, however, is another matter entirely. She is a laynoble who did not have an affinity for Wind, did not receive Schutzaria’s protection, and obtained a new element solely from the divine protection of the Goddess of Wisdom. One would struggle to find a similar case in recent history—and that is to say nothing of the now omni-elemental Roderick.”

Philine’s and Roderick’s expressions clouded. They had just been happy to have received more elements; I couldn’t imagine that they had expected this to become such a major incident.

 

    

 

“Professor Hirschur, what about me?” I asked, conscious that I had received the divine protection of so many more subordinates and even caused the shrine’s statues to move. I still didn’t know how rare that was.

Hirschur merely waved away my question. “This is not the first time you have done something incomprehensibly bizarre, and it surely will not be the last. Your circumstances are not worth discussing.”

“Yes, they are!” Wilfried suddenly cried out. “We can’t ignore her when she’s the one most likely to cause problems!” He sounded kind of desperate, since he was always flung around the most when I did something strange at the Royal Academy.


Again, Hirschur responded with a dismissive wave, this time offering the plain smile of someone who had completely given up. “Our best option is to consult Ferdinand and have the monsters solve things between themselves. He is more likely to understand Lady Rozemyne’s situation than anyone else—and dealing with her is outside of my scope in the first place.”

“But you’re Ehrenfest’s dormitory supervisor!” I exclaimed. “Don’t say I’m out of your scope! At least try to help!”

“I refuse,” Hirschur said, broadening her smile. “My time with Ferdinand taught me that attempting to help with these matters only makes one look a fool. To honor his request for my aid, Lady Rozemyne, I will assist you in concealing matters such as this and throw you a bone in class... but you will need to solve the actual problems on your own.”

So... Ferdinand is the reason that Professor Hirschur’s abandoning me?! He’s so mean!

Despite my continued wails, Hirschur pushed onward. “That said, while Lady Rozemyne is not my problem—we have known her to be bizarre from the very beginning—the fact that she has begun to influence those around her very much is.” Her gaze shifted to Philine and Roderick. “Yesterday, eight Ehrenfest students performed the divine protections ritual. Four passed without incident, acquiring as many protections as they have elements. The four of you, in contrast, had some very unusual results. Do you not see the unifying factor here?”

I racked my brain, trying to figure out what she meant. We weren’t all of the same status or gender; what, then, did we have in common?

“I... don’t know,” Wilfried eventually said. “Is there anything that connects us other than the fact we are all from Ehrenfest?”

“Sitting before me are Lady Rozemyne, her fiancé, and her retainers,” Hirschur said. “She is your unifying factor.”

Wilfried clapped his hands together and shouted, “Of course! You’re completely right!” He looked as satisfied as someone who had just received the answer to an especially tricky puzzle.

“I’d rather you not suddenly blame all this on me!” I declared, overwhelmed with the urge to deny absolutely everything. But nobody supported my righteous fury. Even Philine and Charlotte appeared to have been convinced by Hirschur’s awful—and completely unfounded—theory.

That’s right! Theory!

“Any time that something unexpected occurs in Ehrenfest, one can generally assume that Lady Rozemyne is responsible. Thus, I have the utmost confidence here.”

“Ngh...!” I groaned, unable to protest.

Hirschur gave me a serious look. “I believe that, for you all to have obtained so many divine protections, you must be doing something that other nobles are not. Do you have any idea what that might be?”

“Well... yes,” I replied.

“You do?!” Wilfried exclaimed. He and everyone else were suddenly leaning forward, their eyes wide.

“Huh? Shouldn’t it be obvious to everyone but Charlotte? I mentioned it while we were in the auditorium. To be honest, I don’t understand why neither you nor Professor Gundolf can figure it out yourselves. It’s outright written in the textbooks.”

“Do elaborate,” Hirschur prompted, now leaning even closer.

I reflexively leaned away from her and said, “It’s prayer. As the High Bishop, I pray and offer my mana to the gods on a daily basis. And, as my retainers, Philine and Roderick regularly visit the temple and similarly offer their prayers. Hartmut and my other retainers have also started donating their mana even without meaning to, as they have been touching the divine instruments in an attempt to learn how to make them.”

Ferdinand had said that it required too much mana to be useful in a fight, but Hartmut and Cornelius could now make Ewigeliebe’s sword. Damuel didn’t even have enough mana to maintain its shape, which had made him rather depressed.

“I see that Ehrenfest’s temple has changed greatly in my absence...” Hirschur said. “That is nothing like how I remember it.”

“I’ve been putting a lot of work into it,” I replied, puffing out my chest. “Wilfried and Charlotte have similarly been traveling throughout the Central District, performing ceremonies for Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival—which, of course, involves praying. Not to mention, in Ehrenfest, archduke candidates pray to the gods when supplying mana to the foundation. Is that not commonplace?”

“I suppose you did say something like that...”

“It’s written in both our textbooks and the bible that praying to the gods is important for earning divine protections. In my opinion, if the nobles of other duchies revile the temple and refuse to pray sincerely, then it is only natural that they would not receive many.”

Angelica had failed to receive divine protection from a primary god after failing to remember their name, and with this in mind, it seemed only natural that those who did not pray sincerely would be given only the bare minimum.

“I see we were mistaken in our understanding of the text,” Hirschur said with a tired sigh. “The instructions to pray to the gods are not just referring to the ritual itself; they are a custom that we need to adopt into our daily lives.”

“Indeed. The gods who granted me their divine protection were those to whom I already prayed,” I said, placing a hand on my cheek. “Perhaps this theory would receive more weight if you were to ask Lady Hannelore whether she prays often to Dregarnuhr and Angriff, or Dunkelfelger students and the apprentice knights whether they usually pray before battle.”

“I shall consult those from Dunkelfelger, as they consistently obtain multiple divine protections,” Hirschur said; then her face stiffened. “This explains what happened with Lord Wilfried, and also with Philine, who has performed intellectual pursuits in the house of the gods and frequently prayed for Mestionora’s protection. However, it does not explain Roderick becoming omni-elemental. Do you have any theories?”

“I have one,” Roderick said. His fists were clenched and his eyes downcast. “However, I cannot tell whether I am allowed to say it. I will need to consult the aub before I can answer.”

“And the fact that you did not consult him yesterday means he is busy, I assume?” Hirschur asked, looking from me to Wilfried to Charlotte. Indeed, Sylvester was no doubt running himself ragged dealing with the purge and the decided punishments—especially now that Ferdinand, his right-hand man, was gone.

“Every aub is busy during winter socializing,” I said.

“Well, when he has a little more time, I should very much like to speak with him,” Hirschur replied. I always got the impression she was avoiding the archduke, so hearing that surprised me.

“What do you want to talk to him about?” I asked.

Hirschur didn’t respond; instead, she turned to Wilfried. “Tell me, what happens when one obtains divine protection?”

“Magic requires less mana, and spells of that element become easier to cast.”

“Correct. Now then, Philine—what happens when you have more usable mana?”

“You can cast larger spells or, alternatively, use spells for longer.”

“Correct,” Hirschur replied, then looked at me. “Lady Rozemyne, you have introduced a new mana compression method, which has very clearly led to half of our dormitory’s students increasing their mana capacities more efficiently than the students of other duchies. And now, this year, we have perhaps discovered how one can secure more divine protections. If what you say is true, then Ehrenfest students—and Ehrenfest students alone—can expect to earn multiple protections going forward.”

Mana compression increased one’s capacity, while divine protections increased one’s efficiency. If we handled this well, then we would be able to perform several times more magic than before.

“This is going to be a revolutionary... rediscovery for Yurgenschmidt. I suggest that Ehrenfest present these findings during the Interduchy Tournament as its research for this year.”

“Is it not common practice to hide methods that can improve one’s mana and the like?” I asked.

“It is—and under normal circumstances, I would recommend just that. However”—there was a sudden glint in her purple eyes—“do you know how the other duchies view Ehrenfest right now?”

We detailed everything we had learned from the reports of the Archduke Conference.

“I see the aub is not one to shy away from inconvenient truths...” Hirschur muttered. “To be frank, there are few who see Ehrenfest positively. We suffered very little in the civil war due to remaining neutral, we are introducing one trend after another, and we are now biting into the territory of top-ranking duchies. On top of all that, there are many terrible rumors surrounding Aub Ehrenfest. Of course, this distaste has only become more drastic as our grades have risen.”

As it turned out, the state of affairs was even harsher than the Archduke Conference had revealed.

Hirschur continued, “If we were to monopolize not just mana but divine protection as well, then those in the Sovereignty, where the mana shortage is being felt all too keenly, would not be pleased. Do you grasp my meaning? We are in a position where the ideal course of action is to publicize our findings and ease the frustrations of others, are we not? Our knowledge will be perceived as a gift to the Sovereignty.”

“This certainly is something for the aub to decide,” I said.

“Precisely—and you would do well to discuss it thoroughly,” Hirschur said, then heaved a sigh. “Lady Rozemyne, you are attracting much attention as Ferdinand’s disciple.”

It seemed that, in the Sovereignty, most thought that Ferdinand was secretly pulling the strings of my sainthood. Even now that he was gone, they were very interested in finding out whether he had left me any valuable information.

“There are many eager to find out what you know,” Hirschur continued, “but you do not participate in socializing. Thus, you are still something of a mystery. I am summoned often and questioned to no end—in particular about your relationship with Ferdinand.”

Everyone present swallowed.

“Lady Eglantine has been elected as the new instructor of the archduke candidate course for one reason above all others: because she is closer to you than any other member of the royal family.”

“Really?”

“Now that she is married to Prince Anastasius, she is no longer of the Klassenberg archducal family. She is a member of royalty. I would advise that you take great care around her; she will not be able to refuse any orders from the king that are said to be for the sake of the country. I intend to aid you in hiding various matters, but I cannot help to solve any issues once they have occurred.”

Hirschur was clearly set on being as disengaged from these matters as possible. I immediately understood why the ever-doubtful Ferdinand placed so much trust in her.

“I suppose you should avoid the library as well... The new librarian, Hortensia, is the first wife of the Sovereign knight commander. He seems to harbor suspicions in regard to you and Ferdinand.”

Raublut, the Sovereign knight commander, had called Ferdinand a “seed of Adalgisa.” I envisioned the man’s sharp eyes glaring at me from behind Hortensia’s soft smile and instinctively clenched my fists.



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