Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.2 - Chapter 8

Using the Rest of the Mana

“That should do,” Anastasius said.

The feystone-filled net was pulled out of the chalice with a wet plop. After absorbing the mana, the previously transparent feystones had turned red, the color of the chalice. Anastasius held them up to show everyone.

“We intend to use the mana gathered from this ritual to enrich Yurgenschmidt in its entirety.”

“Each and every one of you has my sincerest gratitude,” the king added.

There were many small, proud smiles among the crowd. Some of the students had given so much mana that they had ended up collapsing in front of the royal family. Partly to apologize to them and thank them for their efforts, I decided to reveal some information.

“What I am about to say will be made public during the Interduchy Tournament, but I shall tell those of you who participated now. Our research thus far has shown that, to obtain divine protections, one should pray when supplying mana to one’s foundational magic, as well as before and after putting one’s all into things such as brewing or training. This is made even more effective by channeling mana into a protective feystone engraved with the sigil of the god whose divine protection one wishes to obtain.”

I turned to Hannelore, who smiled and showed the Dregarnuhr charm on her wrist. She had apparently received it from one of her attendants.

The apprentice scholars looked at the charm with bright eyes; unlike the archduke candidates, they lacked chances to pray to their foundational magic. “In that case, we can pray without going to the temple,” one said.

I would have liked to change their opinion on the temple, but getting them used to prayer came first. Perhaps adults would see the god-worshipping temple more favorably when their children started to earn divine protections.

“You say that one can earn more divine protections through prayer, but I have already performed the ceremony for divine protections,” Ortwin said. “Praying now will not earn me any more.”

He wasn’t alone; most of our participants had already completed the ritual, and their looks of optimism quickly faded.

The king raised a hand, seizing the attention of everyone present, and then said in a collected tone: “In that case, I would suggest granting those who are gathered the right to repeat the ceremony after their graduation. This will allow us to confirm the accuracy of Dunkelfelger and Ehrenfest’s research.”

Everyone’s expressions lit up. Ortwin seemed motivated as well. Many of the students had years until their graduation; I was confident that, if they prayed seriously, many of them would obtain new protections.

“Naturally, the sixth-years will find themselves at a disadvantage,” I said, “but know this: Aub Ehrenfest obtained the divine protections of Liebeskhilfe the Goddess of Binding and Glucklitat the God of Trials after just a year of prayer, then wonderfully obtained a first wife from a duchy of a higher rank than his own. You would all do well to offer your prayers and mana to the gods while striving toward whatever you may desire.”

Leaking the divine protections that Sylvester had obtained earned me a few giggles. Hopefully that would make people see him in a better light.

So much of what happened today wasn’t according to plan, but I’m glad everything ended safely.

As I watched everyone leave the Farthest Hall, looking satisfied, I clenched and unclenched my fist, confirming that my mana really had settled down. I seemed to be in the clear.

“Rozemyne, explain how in the world you produced two divine instruments at once,” Anastasius asked as the participants were replaced with Ehrenfest and Dunkelfelger students coming in to clean up. The other members of the royal family were silently urging me as well, but I just knew that they wouldn’t believe the truth: that I had completely winged it.

“You ask for an explanation, but I do not believe the process is that unusual,” I replied. “Even apprentice knights can use a weapon and a shield at the same time.”

“Yes, but only after taking the knight course. You have done no such thing.”

Oh yeah...

“My predecessors were simply inspiring,” I said with a smile. “The record of an old sovereign in the underground archive mentioned the spear and shield being used at the same time, and I have seen someone produce multiple shields of Wind at once.”

Anastasius grimaced, evidently displeased with my answer.

“So the weapons and shields used by knights are the same as divine instruments to you?” Sigiswald asked. He was wearing a calm smile, but his features were noticeably stiff.

“The spell is the same, so yes, that is my opinion.”

“Lady Rozemyne... you certainly have a perspective unique to the rest of us,” Adolphine remarked. Both she and Eglantine seemed rather unsettled, and not in a good way. It was probably best that I not say anything I didn’t need to.

“Still, the healing was necessary, was it not?” I asked. “Collapsing in front of the royal family and not even being able to kneel is seen as a serious blunder. I could not have left the archnobles in that condition.” I’d needed to prevent them from thinking that they’d shamed themselves, and the blessing had clearly made the archduke candidates and those of the royal family feel better. In other words, it hadn’t been a waste. “Furthermore, I wished to grant healing to the Zent.”

“To Father?”

“Although this is my first time meeting him, I can tell that he is pushing himself beyond the limits of what is healthy...”

The king may have resembled Anastasius in appearance, but his exhausted demeanor and the sickly sweet scent of rejuvenation potions that hung in the air around him kept making me think of Ferdinand. I was aware that they didn’t want my sympathy, but things had to be bad if not even his standard noble poker face was enough to keep his true feelings hidden. My concern was entirely justified.

“It did ease our burden, yes,” the king said. “I express my thanks.”

“I am honored to have been of use to the Zent.”

I’d wanted to add, “Be sure to eat, and get enough sleep each and every night” but I stopped myself. That was a sign of growth, surely.

“Putting that aside, what should we do with the mana left in the chalice?” Anastasius asked, shooting a glance at it. The royal family hadn’t brought enough empty feystones to absorb it all—understandably so, as I’d stealthily added more to blow off some steam.

“I cannot keep the chalice formed forever, and we declared that it would all be offered to the royal family... so I believe we should use it for the sake of everyone at the Royal Academy.”

“Oh? Do you have something splendid in mind, Lady Rozemyne?” Adolphine asked, watching me closely, her amber eyes betraying her interest. Eglantine looked equally as absorbed.

“Let us give it to the library,” I said. “In the past, it depended on the mana of three archscholars and several medscholars, but for the past several years, Professor Solange, a lone mednoble, was managing everything herself. Even the preservation magic has worn off from the archives, and the rotting of valuable documents has created a lot of extra work.”

Hortensia, the Sovereign knight commander’s first wife, was apparently doing her best to maintain things, but they still were two archnobles short. I couldn’t help them either, both due to an order from Sigiswald and because I needed to avoid registering with Schwartz and Weiss.

“I request your permission to use the mana to preserve those valuable documents, and to enter the library myself,” I concluded.

The king thought for a moment, then nodded—perhaps because the royal family now knew about the underground archive, which was absolutely of use to them. “Very well. The remaining mana may be used for the library. We cannot all go there at once, so Anastasius, Eglantine, I ask that you see it done.”

“Understood.”

“I leave the rest to the both of you. We will excuse ourselves first.”

With that, the royal family and the Sovereign Knight’s Order filed out of the room. The cleanup could not proceed while the king was present, so he had probably acted out of consideration. We all knelt as we saw him off, then began discussing our immediate plans.

“One moment, Anastasius,” Eglantine said. “I will send an ordonnanz to the library to inform them.”

“Yes, thank you,” Anastasius replied, flashing her a sweet smile. It must have been a look reserved exclusively for his wife, as he had returned to his usual expression when he turned to me. “Hannelore will come with us as Dunkelfelger’s representative. You will need to see this done as well, I expect.”

Hannelore flinched upon hearing her name. “W-Wait, I’m going with you? Should it not be my brother...?”

Lestilaut briskly waved away the suggestion. “It is better that you go, as you have already been entrusted with one of the keys. I will stay here and oversee the cleanup as Dunkelfelger’s supervisor.”

Hannelore nodded and began selecting retainers to accompany her. I turned to my own retainers and did the same.

“Matthias, Laurenz—you two carry the chalice. The rest of my apprentice knights will accompany me as guards. Rihyarda, Brunhilde—you will be my attendants. Lieseleta, Gretia, and the apprentice scholars shall stay here and assist Hartmut.”

“Understood.”

My retainers here at the Royal Academy all nodded in response, while Hartmut alone looked at me in shock. “Lady Rozemyne, I would very much like to go as well,” he said.

“Oh, but you are the High Priest, granted entry only to manage the tools needed for the ritual. We cannot allow you to simply wander the grounds at your leisure. Not to mention... you have so little time to spend with Clarissa; this is an excellent opportunity for you to speak with her.”

I was trying to be considerate, but Hartmut looked exceedingly disappointed for some reason. We were going to be channeling mana into the library, not performing a ritual, so I wanted him to focus on cleaning.

“Wilfried, I would like you to stay here as well and represent Ehrenfest,” I said. “Once everything is finished, send word to Prince Hildebrand and have him shut the door.”

“Got it.”

And so, I started making my way to the library, leaving the cleaning to Wilfried and Charlotte. I couldn’t walk very fast, as always, but I did my best to avoid falling too far behind Hannelore’s group.

“There was excess mana from the Dedication Ritual, so we received permission from the Zent to use it for the library,” I explained upon our arrival, having brought the chalice with me.

Hortensia and Solange enthusiastically welcomed us inside; it seemed that the library’s mana shortage was severe indeed.

“If possible, use the mana on this magic tool,” Hortensia said. “I understand it as being the most important tool for the library’s operation, but my mana alone is not enough for it.”

As it turned out, Raimund had asked Hortensia all sorts of questions about what kind of magic tools were in the library. She had only recently been assigned here, however, and she still wasn’t very well informed, so the two of them had started investigating the library’s construction and magic tools. Meanwhile, Solange, Schwartz, and Weiss oversaw the daily operations.

“After looking into the library’s mana requirements and reading the diaries of past librarians, we deduced that this magic tool, abandoned since the departure of the previous archlibrarians, is more important than any other. After calculating how much mana remains in the tool, we realized that it might run out within one year. We were planning to discuss this matter with the royal family as soon as possible—tomorrow, even, if we were so lucky.”

“Then let us pour the mana in now,” I said.

Hortensia directed my retainers as they brought in the chalice, then Matthias and Laurenz slowly poured the red liquid that was inside onto the massive feystone atop the tool, covering it completely. None of the liquid spilled onto the ground; it was all quickly absorbed.

Soon, the almost transparent feystone slowly became a veritable rainbow of colors. The mana we had poured onto it had been red, so this didn’t really make sense to me, but I didn’t expect an explanation.

Hortensia sighed in relief. “The color is returning! I tried so hard to refill the magic tool myself, but no matter how much mana I channeled into it, nothing seemed to change. I truly had started to fear that it would cease operating during my tenure, but now... I am so very thankful.”

Solange was also glad. She noted that, with the magic tool replenished, she could finally relax again.

“During today’s Dedication Ritual, we received the assistance of not only archnobles and archduke candidates, but members of the royal family as well. That is why we had so much mana,” I explained. “I am glad that we have been able to use some of that to assist you.”

Anastasius and Eglantine checked that the chalice no longer contained any mana, then gave brisk nods, signaling that it was safe for me to unform it. I was pleased to have helped the library, despite how unexpected it had been.

As we went to leave, Schwartz and Weiss hopped over merrily.

“Milady. Lots of mana.”

“Gramps very happy.”

By “milady” they were referring to Hortensia, so she must have been working very hard for the library’s sake. I was genuinely moved to hear that.

“Schwartz and Weiss are glad to have received your mana as well, Professor Hortensia,” I said.

“Oh, well, considering how much mana the library requires, my contribution is almost inconsequential,” Hortensia replied. She was speaking humbly, of course, since we were in the presence of royals.

I smiled at Hortensia, and she smiled in turn. Anyone who was willing to work hard for the library was a good person in my book.

“More importantly, who is this ‘gramps’?” Anastasius asked, intruding into our pleasant conversation.

Hortensia and Solange exchanged looks, wary of the prince’s scrutinous eyes. They didn’t have an answer that would appease the royal family, it seemed... but in their place, Schwartz and Weiss spoke up.

“Gramps is gramps.”

“He is old. Powerful.”

It was exactly the same answer that I’d once received, and no more comprehensible—though their flopping ears certainly were cute. I gazed up at Anastasius and Eglantine, wondering whether the royal family had any ideas, but they both seemed just as unsure.

“What was that supposed to mean...?” Anastasius asked the librarians; he had presumably concluded that there was no point questioning the shumils.

Hortensia and Solange both looked troubled.

“Professor Solange, you said it might be a magic tool even older than Schwartz and Weiss, right?” I asked.

“Indeed,” she replied with a nod, “but that was only speculation. I thought it might be a named magic tool, like Schwartz and Weiss, but none of the documentation we have mentions such a nickname. At present, we cannot tell what purpose the magic tool might serve or whether it even exists in the first place.”

According to Solange, the register that listed all of the library’s magic tools omitted nicknames and such to avoid any confusion when they fell out of use.

“Is that so?” I mused aloud. “But in the diary I borrowed, Schwartz and Weiss were referred to by name...”

“Yes, but that was a personal effect, not an official document to be stored publicly.” It seemed that most diaries weren’t left behind for long.

Hortensia looked upward, perhaps searching her memories of the documents she had read while looking through the magic tools. “I personally investigated the library’s magic tools and can confirm that no ‘gramps’ was mentioned. However, we do know that it was pleased by this tool being refilled, so perhaps the tool is gramps.”

“I see. What does it do, exactly?”

“One could call it the very foundation of the library. There is no mistaking that it was created at a time before even Schwartz and Weiss.”

“As a foundation, it must be an old and powerful magic tool,” Anastasius said with a nod, completely satisfied. He then went to leave, but I called out to him first.

“Prince Anastasius, when will we next be going to the underground archive? You must inform us in advance so that the library can prepare.” I was only here today because the king had granted me his permission, so it made sense that I was eagerly awaiting our next visit.

Anastasius’s brow twitched a bit, then he casually replied that there were no plans for us to go there again.

“Why not? If today’s ritual helped you to understand the importance of religious ceremonies and divine protections, then shouldn’t investigating the archive filled with valuable documents be your highest priority?”

Part of my rationale for getting the royal family involved in all this had been to quell everyone’s dissatisfaction, but that wasn’t my true objective. I’d wanted them to learn the importance of ceremonies and then be like “Wow, we’ve gotta investigate all the documents in the underground library right away!”

And the ritual went so well too... Was there a mistake in my expert calculations?!

“We are going to be busy for the near future,” Anastasius said. “We must enrich Yurgenschmidt with the mana we have received.”

It was only natural that this sudden offering of mana would make the royal family very busy, and the king’s sickly appearance was enough for me to gather that he valued supplying the country over reading documents. They no doubt wanted to get through all the mana and then take a breather instead of poking through an old archive.

NOOOOOO! There really was an error! A critical one!

My master plan to make the royal family want more frequent archive visits was turning to dust before my very eyes.

“But the Zent gave me his permission to come to the library...”

“And here you are. Father said nothing of going to that archive today or of scheduling a date.”

I failed to get proper assurance! I made it all this way and then fell at the final hurdle! Gahhh, I suck!

Seeing me get depressed, Eglantine gave a kind smile. “As you suggest, Lady Rozemyne, looking over the old records is very important... but supplying mana to magic tools and divine instruments will have an enormous impact on next year’s harvest. Thus, we must hurry and act as soon as we can, before spring comes. Have patience for now.”

“As you wish.”

Despite my crippling disappointment, I was a High Bishop; I understood the importance of the winter Dedication Ritual. I wanted to go back into the archive—I really, really did—but I had no choice but to wait.

“Rozemyne, do you not treat Eglantine with far more respect than you treat me?” Anastasius asked pointedly.

“Not at all. Were the royal family entrusting the divine ceremonies to the Sovereign temple, I would want you to prioritize checking the documents in the archive. But if you are supplying the mana yourselves, then, as a High Bishop, I can hardly interfere.”

I was sure that I could endure a little longer without the archive. I didn’t have a choice anyway, since I needed their permission to go inside.

“There will come a time when we must enter the archive again,” Anastasius said. “Until then, push it from your mind, act only as is necessary, and focus on preparing to make your research public. Is that understood, Ehrenfest? And you, Dunkelfelger.”

Hannelore recoiled at being dragged into the conversation so suddenly.

“Many will have seen the pillar of light during today’s ritual,” he continued. “We are in no position to deal with the many concerns and complaints that will surely follow, so, Dunkelfelger, address them in our stead. I expect you have the leeway.”

Hannelore shrank into herself and politely replied, “Understood.” It was so sad to think that even though the apprentice knights were the ones playing ditter, Hannelore would be the one rebuked.

“I will return to the auditorium with you to see whether they have finished cleaning up,” Anastasius said. And with that, we made our way out of the library.

“They seem to be finished,” Anastasius said.

Clarissa and my retainers were the only ones remaining in the auditorium. Even from some distance away, I could see that Hartmut and Clarissa were passionately raving to each other, while my retainers were watching from afar.

Hartmut had been granted special permission to participate in today’s ritual as a High Priest, but that didn’t change the fact that he wouldn’t have been allowed here at the Royal Academy under normal circumstances. Even though he was engaged to Clarissa, it seemed that my retainers didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone with her.

Though it’s clear as day how much they want to leave.

Lieseleta, who was the first to notice our arrival, came over to give us an update. “After finishing the cleanup, we contacted Prince Hildebrand, who came and closed the door to the Farthest Hall for us. The others were dispersed so that Hartmut could speak without being disturbed, which is why only Lady Rozemyne’s retainers remain.”

“My apologies for leaving such a difficult job to you all,” I replied. Hartmut was an archnoble, while the other retainers I’d tasked with cleaning were laynobles and mednobles; none of them were in any position to stop the overzealous couple.

Maybe I should have left Rihyarda here as well...

As I was lost in thought, Anastasius looked down at me and muttered, “Then our job is done.” He then gave Eglantine a soft smile, extended a hand to her, and said, “Let us return, Eglantine.”

“Yes, Anastasius.”

And so, the two royals briskly returned to their villa. Anastasius seemed pleased as he escorted Eglantine.

Once the happy newlyweds were gone, I turned to Hartmut and Clarissa, who were still very much off in their own world. “Hartmut, Clarissa, it pains me greatly to separate a couple waxing romantic, but sixth bell will soon ring. Let us return to our dorms.”

They both snapped back to reality and turned to look at me.

“Lady Rozemyne... Very well. It seems that will be all for today, Clarissa.”

“But, Hartmut... I wished to speak with you even longer,” Clarissa said, gripping his sleeve and gazing at him intently, her blue eyes wet with tears. They really were like two lovers loath to separate.

Hartmut gave Clarissa a truly regretful smile. “I feel the same way. Never have I had such a wonderful time extolling Lady Rozemyne’s virtues with another.”

As they gazed into one another’s eyes, I could tell that they were in their own little world once again. Hartmut’s disappointment at having not been allowed to accompany me to the library was nowhere to be seen. I really wasn’t sure what to do—but then Hannelore turned to Cordula and called out her name.

Cordula quietly said, “In that case, if you will excuse me...” and stepped forward. “Clarissa, if you continue this, then you will become Ewigeliebe upon losing Erwaermen.”

In an instant, Clarissa released Hartmut’s sleeve and hurried to the very back of Hannelore’s group of retainers. I could only blink in surprise at her sudden change.

Hannelore smiled. “My sincerest apologies for Clarissa, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Oh, no; it was I who caused you trouble.”

We promised to meet again soon to discuss the Interduchy Tournament announcements, then went our separate ways and returned to our dormitories.