Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.7 - Chapter 3

The Fellowship Gatherings (Fourth Year)

The advancement ceremony was due to begin at third bell, and the atmosphere in the dormitory was electric. Lieseleta and Bertilde were doing my hair while Brunhilde and Gretia were off distributing hairpins to the new girls.

“You have a real talent for styling hair, Bertilde,” I said.

“Lady Elvira said the same thing. I simply love doing it.”

Bertilde went on to tell me about the jobs she’d done while working for Elvira and the various things they had discussed. Her rose-pink tresses were adorned with two hairpins: one she had just been given as a first-year and another she had received from her parents in celebration of her enrollment at the Royal Academy.

Lieseleta observed us for a while, then started preparing my hair ornaments and double-checking my luggage—a clear indication that Bertilde had passed as my apprentice attendant.

“Lady Rozemyne,” she said, “will Brunhilde, Matthias, and Roderick suffice as your retinue for the fellowship gathering?”

“Indeed.”

“I also have information from the scholars who went gathering the other day: it would seem that Klassenberg has a new archduke candidate in attendance this year. Would you like me to remind you of her name so that you can greet her?” There was a teasing smile on her face; I suspected that someone had already told me this while I was reading and that I’d completely ignored them.

“Please.”

“Her name is Lady Gentiane. She is the daughter of Aub Klassenberg’s third wife. I expect you will see her frequently concerning the Dedication Rituals.”

Lady Gentiane. Lady Gentiane...

“Good morning, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Good morning, Damuel.”

I’d moved to the common room once I was ready for the advancement ceremony only to find Damuel there waiting for me. Hartmut and Cornelius were also present, but we’d already attended the Academy together, so I didn’t find that particularly strange. Damuel, though... Seeing him here felt very strange indeed, especially with the blue robes he was wearing.

“Leonore, Angelica,” I said, “I am glad to have you in my service today.”

The men were wearing blue robes because they were going to attend a meeting with the Sovereign temple while I went to the advancement ceremony and my fellowship gathering. I didn’t know whom Klassenberg was going to send, but Eglantine had sent word that today was the day.

“I shall entrust any discussion about the Dedication Rituals to Hartmut,” I announced. “Damuel, Cornelius, make sure he does not do anything... crazy.”

“Understood,” they chorused.

There was bound to be some lingering tension between Hartmut and Immanuel, so I wanted someone to keep an eye on them.

“You intend to reunite with some of your friends, right?” Cornelius asked. “Go and enjoy the fellowship gathering.”

“As you will, dear brother.”

Cornelius then sent me out into the entrance hall, where the other students were standing in lines and wearing their Ehrenfest capes. It was cute seeing the first-years look so tense. Brunhilde and Charlotte had distributed rinsham, so everyone had glossy hair.

“Let’s go, then,” Wilfried said. “First-years, make sure not to forget our door number or lose your capes or brooches; otherwise you won’t be able to get back into the dorm.”

With that, we opened the door and stepped out of the dormitory. There had been a slight change in the duchy rankings, but nothing too major. We lined up in the eighth spot.

The advancement ceremony began as usual and segued into an explanation of the Royal Academy’s classes. It was announced that students would now obtain their schtappes in their third year, as had been decreed during the Archduke Conference, and that each class’s lesson plan had been heavily modified to incorporate past curricula.

“But I was so looking forward to obtaining my schtappe...” Bertilde groused, her lips pursed. The other nearby first-years seemed more dissatisfied than not—which made sense, as the reason for these changes hadn’t been revealed.

“A schtappe proves you are a noble,” I said, “so I understand your desire to obtain one posthaste. But believe me—you have far more to gain from obtaining it later.”

“Is that so?”

“Indeed. We learned that one can obtain an abundance of divine protections from the gods through prayer and offerings of mana. If you were to obtain your schtappe in your first year, before your mana changed due to these protections, it might not be able to control your mana in later years. That is why these adjustments have been made. If you see any first-years complaining about the decision in class, be sure to educate them.”

Bertilde nodded, her pout replaced with a look of understanding. Nikolaus did as well, having apparently overheard my explanation.

The advancement ceremony concluded, and we all separated into groups for the fellowship gatherings. We archduke candidates moved to the Small Hall, each with three of our retainers.

“Lord Wilfried, Lady Rozemyne, and Lady Charlotte of Ehrenfest the Eighth have arrived,” announced a scholarly man standing at the door.

We went inside, then saw Hildebrand, who was in attendance this year as well.

It soon came time for us to greet the prince, so Wilfried spoke as our representative: “Once again, Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time has woven our threads together and blessed us with a meeting.” I was squished between him and Charlotte.

“The Zent is looking forward to the Dedication Rituals,” Hildebrand said, smiling brightly. “I am not formally a student, but he has permitted me to take part in the mednoble section, which should not put a strain on me. I am quite looking forward to participating in a Royal Academy ritual for the first time.”

Prince Hildebrand sure is a hard worker, isn’t he? He compressed his mana to enter the archive, studied the ancient language, and now this. It’s hard to believe he’s not even a student yet.

This time, he actually wanted to participate in the Dedication Ritual as a member of the royal family. If the young Hildebrand continued to take part in future religious ceremonies as well, he would surely obtain many divine blessings. Perhaps he would even be the most likely candidate among the royals to become Zent.

“It is crucial that Yurgenschmidt’s future rulers play an active role in religious ceremonies,” I said, “so I find your hard work and forward-thinking attitude admirable, Prince Hildebrand. I pray that the upcoming Dedication Ritual will be a productive experience for you.”

From there, we stepped offstage to begin our sweep of the top-ranking duchies. First was Klassenberg. Sitting behind their table was a girl not much taller than me—a little cutie with blue eyes and violet hair. She was with her retainers and welcomed me with a smile. The peaceful, elegant air she exuded was characteristic of a Klassenberg woman.

Wilfried, Charlotte, and I knelt to perform the usual first-time greetings.

“Lady Gentiane, may we pray for a blessing in appreciation of this serendipitous meeting, ordained by the harsh judgment of Ewigeliebe the God of Life?”

“You may.”

Lady Gentiane accepted the blessings from our rings, then gave the same refined smile I was used to seeing from Eglantine or Primevere. “The aub has informed me that we are to perform Dedication Rituals with Ehrenfest as joint research. As you know, I am only a first-year, so there is much about the ceremony I will not understand. I request and will appreciate your guidance, Lady Rozemyne.”

“We greatly appreciate your cooperation, Lady Gentiane.”

Next up was Dunkelfelger. Lestilaut had graduated, so Hannelore was the only archduke candidate at her table this year. Our eyes met, and we exchanged warm smiles.

“Rozemyne,” Wilfried said and gently urged me forward. Because I was closer to Hannelore than he or Charlotte were, he was letting me greet her instead.

“Lady Hannelore. Once again, Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time has woven our threads together and blessed us with a meeting. It’s been too long.” We’d seen one another during the Archduke Conference, but that was how I genuinely felt. “Ehrenfest has produced several more books this year that are sure to delight you. We have A Ditter Story with Lord Lestilaut’s illustrations, and more volumes about the history of your duchy. There is also the third volume of The Story of Fernestine, but I suspect you have already finished it.”

Hannelore’s male guard knight looked very interested in Ehrenfest’s new books, but Hannelore had something else on her mind. “Indeed, the conclusion moved me,” she said. “Is there going to be a new volume of Royal Academy Love Stories this year? I am eager to read more wonderful, romantic tales...”

“Of course. Let us exchange books once again.”

“I am looking forward to it.”

The greeting concluded with more smiles; then we moved to Drewanchel. There were several archduke candidates at this table, including some fresh faces, with Ortwin standing as their representative. Wilfried performed the standard greeting and was invited to take part in more joint research this year.

“I am afraid we already have plans to carry out religious research with Klassenberg and Frenbeltag. If we are to collaborate, it will need to be on a smaller scale. We certainly do not have time for major research involving our entire duchy.”

“Then we will need something to draw your interest...” Ortwin replied. He then turned to look at me as he said, “I shall consult Professor Gundolf.”

So he intends to take that approach again, does he? Well no matter what Professor Gundolf says, I’m not gonna do it.

I wanted to spend my research time here at the Royal Academy creating magic tools for my library and improving the teleportation magic circle to make things easier for Muriella and Raimund. That said, I was going to be very busy this year in both Ehrenfest and the Royal Academy. I would need to attend more than a few meetings with the royal family. I also wanted to inspect my new villa and pick my Sovereign retainers before my adoption. Plus, upon returning to Ehrenfest, I would need to bring the apprentice blues with me from the playroom to perform the Dedication Ritual. I also needed to account for meetings with the nobles returning from the Sovereignty to Ehrenfest and meeting Ehrenfest nobles in general.

In short, I needed as much time back in Ehrenfest as I could get, so it was questionable whether I would receive any opportunities to work on my library’s magic tools. It was likely that I would end up having to entrust the ingredients to Hirschur.

Gah... I expected this, but I really won’t have much time to do the things that actually interest me.

There was a dark cloud hanging over me by the time we left Drewanchel; my winter was going to be so painfully busy. Gilessenmeyer and Hauchletzte were next, but I decided to leave those greetings to Charlotte.

At the first of the two tables, Luzinde of Gilessenmeyer introduced us to her younger brother and sister. The former was a second-year who had been adopted during the autumn. As I understood it, Gilessenmeyer only had female archduke candidates, and it wasn’t rare for them to adopt men from their extended family to serve as grooms and produce more archduke candidates. That said, it was unusual to adopt someone right before they were due to select their specialized course.

The sixth-year girl representing Hauchletzte also introduced us to her two younger siblings. Wilfried appeared to be familiar with the brother, whereas the sister was adopted and a new student.

“There sure are a lot of new archduke candidates this year...” I mused. “The number has shot right up.”

“Don’t you remember what Hartmut told us?” Wilfried replied. “The method to obtain more divine protections has resulted in more adoptions, remember?”

If anyone had told me that, I certainly didn’t remember. As it turned out, more and more archducal families were adopting blood-related archnobles with enough mana who hadn’t yet begun their specialized courses at the Royal Academy.

“Hartmut shared the information with us so that he wouldn’t need to pull you away from your book—he knew you were making the most of a rare opportunity to read at your leisure—but you were still right there when he gave the report. You must have heard something.”

“It isn’t unusual to block out one’s surroundings when reading. That said, it was my first chance to delve into a book in quite some time, so I’ll acknowledge that I might have been a bit more oblivious than usual.”

Wait, Hartmut actively worked to preserve my reading time? The heck? He seems so cool all of a sudden. My heart almost skipped a beat.

I was extremely appreciative of what he had done, but at the same time, I didn’t want to miss any important information. I would need to ask him to at least write out his reports so that I could read them later.

As I pondered the situation, Wilfried finished greeting Ahrensbach. Detlinde had graduated and Letizia wasn’t yet old enough to enroll as a student, so Detlinde’s retainer Martina was serving as her duchy’s representative.

“How are Lady Detlinde and my uncle doing?” Wilfried asked.

“Ahrensbach owes a debt of gratitude to Lord Ferdinand. Now that our foundation has been dyed, he has been helping us by offering his mana.”

What?! They’re making him do Mana Replenishment on top of paperwork and the religious ceremonies?! He isn’t even married yet!

As I stared at Martina in shock, she gave a troubled smile and continued, “To repay Lady Detlinde for accepting the royal family’s tyrannical demands that he be given a hidden room prior to their marriage, Lord Ferdinand offered to temporarily assist us with our Mana Replenishment. He truly is a kind man.”

“Tyrannical demands”? The order had only come because they were being tyrannical, delaying the Starbinding and refusing to let Ferdinand return to Ehrenfest. Making him supply mana on top of that was ridiculous.

Moreover, was Ferdinand really the one who suggested this little compromise? Is he planning something like when he gathered ingredients under the cover of Spring Prayer? Or is Ahrensbach lying to avoid criticism?

I considered these possibilities while Martina asked about Aurelia’s condition. Both seemed valid, so I really wasn’t sure.

We went on to greet Gaussbuttel, then returned to our seats. Now the lower-ranking duchies would start coming to us.

Murrenreue, who was one year above me, came to our table on behalf of Immerdink. She brushed back her purple hair and smiled—a sickly combination of pity and scorn that immediately put me on edge.

“Lady Rozemyne,” she said, “word reached me that your adoption is being undone so that you can join the Sovereign temple. It might be for a good cause—to spread the importance of religious ceremonies throughout Yurgenschmidt—but it must be tough knowing that you will lose your archduke candidate status and enter the temple as a mere archnoble. How tragic...”

Sounds like that rumor is popular everywhere.

Our nobles had come to the same conclusion as a result of all the secret summons we’d received from the royal family. Had other duchies noticed them too? Alternatively, maybe Immerdink was just one of the duchies Georgine had incited to tell the king that the Saint of Ehrenfest deserved to be the Sovereign High Bishop. Based on the giggling I could hear, Murrenreue wasn’t the only one pleased to hear that Ehrenfest was going to lose me.

“The Zent has not and will not order us to send Rozemyne to the Sovereign temple,” Wilfried replied. His flat declaration caused a stir and drew more attention to us.

“That cannot be...” Murrenreue uttered, blinking her orange eyes. “Aub Ehrenfest received several summons from the king during the Archduke Conference.”

“The royal family did propose the idea, but it was refused,” I said with a smile, revealing the flaw in Murrenreue’s assumption. Even if she believed that I was destined to be bumped down to the rank of an archnoble, I was currently still an archduke candidate of a higher-ranking duchy. There was no reason for me to remain silent as she spread her misinformation.

I continued, “Because of my health, I would not be able to endure the long trips to perform religious ceremonies in other duchies. Thus, Aub Ehrenfest imposed a rule: he would only allow me to become the Sovereign High Bishop if archduke candidates of each duchy and members of the royal family went to the Sovereign temple to learn the ceremonies themselves.”

Murrenreue paled upon hearing that I’d intended to drag the archducal families of every single duchy down with me. It was clear from her expression that she’d never even considered entering the temple.

“Unless the royal family and the country’s aubs agree to enter the Sovereign temple, I will not be going there,” I concluded. “Still, depending on the Zent’s decision, we might end up there together very soon, with you clad in blue apprentice robes.”

Because of my sharp response to Immerdink, none of the other duchies asked about the rumor.

Frenbeltag’s archnoble spoke with Wilfried and Charlotte about this year’s joint research. They were leading it, not I, so I took a back seat and merely listened. As it turned out, Frenbeltag’s nobles were already visiting their temple to pray and dedicate their mana, hoping to obtain as many divine protections as possible.

Oh, that reminds me—our nobles still aren’t going to the temple aside from when they meet with the commoners.

That thought lingered in my mind as I sat through the rest of the fellowship gathering. There were so many new archduke candidates that it ended up much busier than usual.

By the time we returned to the common room, Hartmut and the others had already come back from their meeting. At once, I asked for a report on the state of the Dedication Rituals. Wilfried and Charlotte listened as well, since they would need to oversee the lower ranks when they took part.

“Good work on the negotiations,” I said. “What did you decide?”

“Because the rituals count as joint research and not part of the curricula, they cannot be held in place of classes,” Hartmut replied. “Instead, they will take place on Earthdays.”

Most students wanted to experience a religious ceremony as soon as possible to increase their divine protections, but the professors considered joint research an optional addition for those who had already finished their classes. Thus it was decided that those who wished to participate could do so on their own time.

“Not all students will participate, since this is joint research and not a class,” Hartmut explained, “and making an exception now would only lead to trouble in the future. The earliest time this can be done outside of class is on an Earthday.”

I’d thought Klassenberg would push to hold it even sooner, but apparently not. The Sovereign temple had asked for the ritual to be done all at once rather than in three parts, but the Royal Academy had declined, since the mana disparity between the laynobles and the archduke candidates was simply too great.

“The Sovereign temple kept hounding Lady Eglantine to agree with them, but because those blue priests and shrine maidens fell unconscious during the previous Dedication Ritual, Immanuel was left without a leg to stand on,” Hartmut said with an amused smirk. “Lady Eglantine then suggested that the young students participate in a group below their current status, for safety’s sake, in the same way that Prince Hildebrand intends to participate as a mednoble.”

Charlotte sighed in relief. “Prioritizing the students’ safety is a wise move. Offering mana is hard when you are not used to doing it.”

“The younger laynobles might be better off not participating at all,” Wilfried added. “It can be hard to tell how much mana you have left when performing replenishment. Do we know which Earthday we will need to perform on?”

“Lady Rozemyne needs to return to Ehrenfest as soon as she can,” Hartmut said, “so we have decided to hold the ceremony for archnobles and archduke candidates on the first Earthday. The mednobles will perform on the second one, then the laynobles on the third.”

I nodded along with Hartmut, but Cornelius glared at him. “I thought we should be more considerate of Rozemyne’s health, so I suggested we start with the laynobles and work our way up from there,” he said.

That wasn’t a bad idea. The first week of the academic term was invariably loaded with classes, so being able to rest on that Earthday was essential. By the third week, I would already have passed them all.

Damuel sighed. “Cornelius wanted to prioritize her health, while Hartmut wanted to carry out her wish of returning to Ehrenfest as soon as possible. It was a terrifying battle to behold.”

Leonore similarly shook her head with a sigh. “Lady Eglantine intervened as an arbitrator, and it was decided that the first ritual would comprise the archduke candidates and archnobles, since acting in descending order of status is ideal.”

“They argued in front of the royal family?” Wilfried and Charlotte asked in unison, both wide-eyed. I was surprised as well.

Just what were those two doing?!

“Lady Eglantine gave a half smile and said that she respected them both for being so dedicated to their charge,” Damuel explained, a distant look in his eyes, “but I thought I was going to die then and there.” Leonore looked equally as exhausted.

I wanted to put my head in my hands and plead with them never to argue in front of the royal family again. Was this how my guardians felt whenever I did something crazy?

“I suppose I will need to apologize to Lady Eglantine the next time we meet.”