Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.7 - Chapter 5

The Royal Academy’s Dedication Rituals

The day after my conversation with Eglantine, I passed more of my classes and then returned to the dormitory. I was barely through the door when Brunhilde raced over to me; Klassenberg had apparently asked to discuss our joint research before the upcoming Dedication Ritual. But it was already Sproutday. The ritual was due to be held tomorrow, meaning there simply wasn’t enough time.

“What should we do?” Brunhilde asked. “At most, we could make some time for them tomorrow morning. It would need to be while the Sovereign priests are preparing the ritual, though, and it would only be brief.”

“Would that not be rude of us?” I asked, consulting Wilfried and Charlotte. Frowns creased their foreheads.

“There are still two more Dedication Rituals after tomorrow,” Wilfried said. “I don’t see why we would absolutely need to meet before the first one—unless this is just an excuse for them to meet with you, since you’re our representative when it comes to religious ceremonies.”

Indeed, there was a lot we could go over before the ritual, like how to explain things to the gathered students or how much Klassenberg would need to contribute.

“Weren’t your retainers summoned during the fellowship gathering?” Wilfried asked. “I assumed all the details were discussed then.”

I shook my head. “They merely covered the steps necessary to perform the ritual. How can this be called joint research when none of the meetings thus far have involved students? I must admit, I would also appreciate the chance to meet those from Klassenberg before we begin. As it stands, Lady Gentiane is the only one I will recognize—and only because we met her during the fellowship gathering.”

So I wasn’t alone; neither Wilfried nor Charlotte knew the other Klassenberg students involved with the ritual.

I continued, “Lady Gentiane is participating in Wilfried’s ritual, correct? Should we not see her before then?”

“Hm? I guess we should. But that’s happening... next week, right? Making time before then won’t be easy.”

Wilfried was due to spend the most time with Klassenberg over the course of this Dedication Ritual. He and Charlotte were supposedly performing the ceremony for the sake of my health, so I couldn’t be directly involved.

“In that case,” Charlotte said, “perhaps a short meeting tomorrow morning truly is the best option. If we do nothing at all, Klassenberg might say that we refused to make time for them—even though they were the ones who gave us such short notice. So, for safety’s sake, let us respond. It may be inconvenient, but they can decide whether to accept or refuse us.”

Apparently, it was always better to propose a time, no matter how awkward, than to outright refuse.

“Makes sense,” Wilfried replied. “If they refuse us and say that tomorrow morning is too sudden, then we can schedule it for next week instead. Or if they accept, I’ll go. I’m the one who needs to meet with them, and you’re busy doing all the preparations, right? I’m not sure you’d even have time to deal with them.”

Charlotte nodded. “And as Lady Gentiane is, well, a lady, I should go as well.”

“That settles that,” I said. “Brunhilde, inform Klassenberg that we can meet them in the auditorium tomorrow morning—between breakfast and third bell—and that we intend to have a more detailed discussion with them during a future tea party.”

“Yes, my lady. If you would excuse me.”

Brunhilde then took her leave with not just Bertilde and Gretia, but also Melchior’s apprentice attendant. They were all evidently in the midst of being trained.

As we concluded that discussion, Charlotte suddenly looked up. “Oh yes. A short while before you returned, Sister, a letter from Ehrenfest arrived. One of Melchior’s scholars and one of his attendants are going to be participating in tomorrow’s Dedication Ritual.”

“Hm?”

“Melchior submitted a request for his retainers to experience the ritual in advance of the one to be held in our temple, which Father then approved. They will wear blue robes so that they blend in with your guard knights.”

Melchior couldn’t send his entire retinue—or any of his guard knights—to the Royal Academy when he was still at the castle. So, as a compromise, he had settled on two young retainers with a good chance of obtaining more divine protections.

“He also had orders for his student retainers,” Charlotte continued. “They are to experience the Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual, then finish their classes so they can return home with you for Ehrenfest’s ritual.”

Upon receiving this order, Melchior’s retainers had declared their intention to complete their classes as soon as possible. That was what I’d wanted to hear.

And so came the day of the ritual. I ate my breakfast, then bathed and got my attendants to dress me in my ceremonial High Bishop robes. They weren’t meant to be worn at the Royal Academy—especially not this often—but Lieseleta had mastered putting them on me. Bertilde was observing closely so that she could mimic the process later.

“Rozemyne, Melchior’s retainers have arrived from Ehrenfest,” Wilfried announced.

I turned to everyone wearing blue robes and said, “If we are all ready to go, let us make our way to the auditorium.” Hartmut would take the lead as the High Priest, with my adult guard knights, Melchior’s retinue, Wilfried, and Charlotte following behind. We were quite a large group. Wilfried and Charlotte also had retainers with them, but said retainers weren’t dressed in blue; they were only coming along for the meeting with Klassenberg.

As our robe-clad mass started toward the auditorium, I asked Melchior’s newly arrived retainers about the castle playroom. Their lord was doing a good job of managing it, apparently. In return, I told them about his student retainers.

“During the free time they obtained from passing their classes, the apprentice knights have been studying how to identify and neutralize poisons under Leonore and Cornelius, and participating in other forms of training. The apprentice scholars study temple paperwork and procedures under Hartmut and Damuel, while Brunhilde takes the apprentice attendants here and there. Of course, this will only continue until my return for Ehrenfest’s Dedication Ritual.”

Once I returned to Ehrenfest, there would no longer be an excuse for adults to remain here at the Royal Academy. Still, we were going to put the retainers through their paces until then.

We entered the auditorium and immediately saw people with black cloaks and others clad in blue busily moving around. Those in blue were most likely the Sovereign priests. Hildebrand was also here with the Sovereign Knight’s Order, having once again taken on the duty of opening the door to the Farthest Hall. He smiled when he noticed me.

“Rozemyne. You are early.”

“Oh, but you are even earlier,” I replied. “You are here to open the door even though you are not participating in today’s ritual, correct? The royal family certainly is busy.”

We were exchanging the usual greetings when those from Klassenberg arrived. Lady Gentiane first greeted Hildebrand, then turned to me.

“Lady Rozemyne, I thank you ever so much for accommodating our sudden request.”

“I realize this is out of order, but our personnel are very busy at the moment, so please allow me to introduce them first.” I turned to indicate Hartmut and the others. “Our associates clad in blue robes are retainers of the archducal family here to assist with the ceremony. You will see them again during the ceremonies for the laynobles and mednobles.”

My knights would naturally remain by my side, but Hartmut and Melchior’s retainers needed to start preparing with the Sovereign priests.

“The final meetings will now be held with the Sovereign priests,” I said. “Does anyone from Klassenberg wish to participate?”

Gentiane glanced at a woman beside her; then several of her retainers followed Hartmut to the shrine. I watched them go before reintroducing Gentiane to Wilfried and Charlotte.

“My brother and sister are going to perform the mednoble and laynoble Dedication Rituals, respectively. They came here today for this meeting. It will need to be brief, but we can have a more thorough discussion at a later date. Has your duchy decided on its research goal for these rituals?”

“There are ancient texts in Klassenberg which we believe relate to old religious ceremonies. To revive them, we plan to study these Dedication Rituals closely and take note of the steps involved. How does that sound to you?”

They believed that by bringing back their ancient rituals, as Dunkelfelger had done, they would make it easier for their nobles to get involved with religious ceremonies in general. This, they hoped, would put Klassenberg in a better position.

I nodded and said, “You have very acute insight. I wish to observe these ancient records, if you would allow me.” My ears had perked up at the mention of ancient documents, and now I wanted nothing more than to read them.

Gentiane beamed a pleasant smile. “They are too old to be moved from their current location, but we intend to transcribe them. I shall bring some copies to a future meeting so that you can read them to your heart’s content.”

Is it just me or is Lady Gentiane a good kid? Like, a really good kid.

“Ehrenfest has also succeeded in bringing back an ancient ritual,” I said. “Its power is magnificent. Perhaps we could turn our collaboration into joint research by focusing on that theme of revival, then independently focusing on our own ancient ceremonies.” We had already recreated the spring-summoning ritual, so this would allow us to contribute while also minimizing our workload.

Charlotte nodded. “Haldenzel would serve as an excellent example for this research, Sister. I can be of assistance as I have heard the details from the giebe and the local nobles.”

“I would expect no less from you, Charlotte. Your presence is as heartening as ever.”

We finished our brief exchange and agreed on a theme for our research just as the others finished their preparations for the ritual. The Sovereign blue priests began following Hartmut away from the shrine, at which point he came over to me.

“Everything is ready.”

“I thank you ever so much. You explained the process to everyone, I trust?”

Melchior’s retainers and the Klassenberg students had been observing the preparations. Hartmut must have had his work cut out for him trying to make everything clear to them.

Hartmut smiled, then looked at Immanuel. “The Sovereign blue priests say they wish to observe the ceremony. How should we respond?”

Those from the Sovereign temple had brought their own divine chalice, it seemed, so Immanuel wanted to attend the ritual. Without missing a beat, the Sovereign High Priest began extolling the importance of the divine instruments. Then he segued into a list of reasons why he needed to oversee the ritual, even declaring that he now had a right to participate.

I shook my head. “I need not remind you what happened to the Sovereign blue priests who attended the Archduke Conference’s Dedication Ritual. To prevent that from happening again, I must ask them to stay away from today’s Dedication Ritual for archnobles and archduke candidates. For safety’s sake, only those who are participating are allowed to stay. This rule applies even to guard knights and members of the royal family. If you are truly insistent, bring the Sovereign chalice to the laynobles’ Dedication Ritual.” The mana flow then would surely be weak enough for the Sovereign blue priests to manage.

Embittered, Immanuel picked up the Sovereign temple’s chalice and took his leave.

I went with Wilfried, Charlotte, and Gentiane to the Farthest Hall, whereupon I checked the statues, red carpet, offerings, divine instruments, and so on. The Klassenberg students did their best to note down everything I was looking at. Then, once I was done, I told Hildebrand that everything was ready so he could contact the royal family. Thus concluded the last preparations for the first of the Royal Academy’s Dedication Rituals.

“Lady Gentiane, please return to your dormitory before the participants arrive,” I said. If she lingered, she would lose her chance. “Once the ritual is over, I would advise you to consult with them to find out how things went.”

Gentiane thanked me, then left alongside Wilfried and Charlotte.

The royal family arrived in the same manner as last time. We exchanged greetings; then King Trauerqual turned to me and said, “I understand this ritual is a burden on both Klassenberg and Ehrenfest. Allow me to express my appreciation that you would cooperate nonetheless.”

“It is an honor to be of use to the Zent,” I replied. “I see you have brought the same members of the royal family as last year.”

Once the royal family had entered, the archnobles and archduke candidates started doing the same—but only after my shield of Wind had given them a pass. In the end, not a single participant was refused. I assumed that, after seeing what had transpired last year, the other duchies had decided not to send those at risk of being turned away.

Students of several duchies thanked me for my input on regenerating their gathering spots and asked me to share with them the most efficient form of prayer for obtaining more divine protections during their graduations. It was nice to see others treating religious ceremonies more positively.

“It is best to pray not for your own sake but for someone else’s,” I said. “Might I suggest that you and someone you care about start praying for each other?”

“That is easy for you to say, Lady Rozemyne...” one girl murmured, looking downcast. “You have a partner who would give you such a wondrous hairpin. I, on the other hand, am still unengaged.”

Nooo! I’m so sorry!

“Um, it need not be a romantic partner. You could pray for your parents, other family members, or even a friend. In fact, it need not even be a person; archducal families pray for their duchies, after all.”

“Friends... I see. I thank you ever so much.” The girl recovered, then followed Melchior’s retainer to her designated spot.

Last year, we had arranged the participants in a donut shape around the chalice, but now we were facing the shrine with the royal family at the front, the archduke candidates behind them, and the archnobles at the back. Only those who had volunteered to participate were gathered this time, but we were no longer limited to scholars; there were knights and attendants here too, resulting in quite the crowd.

Once everyone was inside, the doors were shut, and the ritual could commence. Hartmut began the opening speech, had everyone kneel, then rang his bell. “The High Bishop shall now enter,” he said.

As I made my way toward him, surrounded by my guard knights, a thought ran through my mind: This might be my first time performing a Dedication Ritual at a shrine with statues of the gods. Even the ones in Ehrenfest are held in the noble section’s ritual chamber, not the chapel.

I walked the path leading through the gathered students and past the royals, then came to a stop at the very front of the room. My knights were all carrying mana-filled stones, which would ease the burden on them as they knelt with me by the shrine.

My eyes wandered the room; then I exchanged a glance and a nod with Hartmut. He set down his bell, moved next to me, and swiftly knelt. I went down too and pressed my hands against the red carpet.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world.”

At once, our participants repeated the prayer; the students who had taken part in last year’s Dedication Ritual and the adults who had taken part during the Archduke Conference must have explained the process to them. It was a smooth start, to say the least. Light began to illuminate the carpet underneath us before gathering into waves that raced up the shrine.

Today’s ritual was being carried out entirely by mana-rich nobles, so the light moved faster than I was used to seeing back in Ehrenfest. It wasn’t long before even the shrine was dazzlingly bright.

More and more mana flowed toward the shrine, and the feystones embedded in the divine instruments carried by the pure-white statues began to shine their respective divine colors. It was the first time I’d seen this happen.

“We honor you who have blessed all beings with life, and pray that we may be blessed further with your divine might.”

In the blink of an eye, pillars of each divine color shot out of the instruments. They went straight up into the air, curved around one another until they had formed a single mass, then flew away.

Wow, things sure do get flashy when you involve lots of divine instruments.

“Lady Rozemyne, I am nearing my limit,” Damuel said, sounding exhausted, as he knelt on my other side. He took his hands away from his feystone and the carpet.

“Thus concludes the ritual,” I announced. “Everyone, please remove your hands from the floor.”

I didn’t expect all the divine instruments to shine, but I’m glad nothing else happened.

A sigh escaped me. The royals must have been relieved too, especially after my warning that something unexpected was going to happen, but they looked more underwhelmed than anything else.

After a short break to rest and drink rejuvenation potions, the students began leaving the Farthest Hall. The royal family drained the mana from the chalice into feystones and gave them to the guards, while the Sovereign priests put everything away.

“Zent Trauerqual,” I said, “could some of the mana be given to the library? Professor Hortensia is not working there this year, so I expect it is experiencing a shortage.”

“Father, we certainly do not want the library to run out of mana,” Sigiswald added in support of my suggestion. “Please do share some with Rozemyne.”

The Zent agreed without hesitation, at least in part thanks to that great assist from the first prince.

“How shall we have it transported to the library?” Sigiswald asked.

“My chalice will do,” I replied. “Erdegral.”

As mana was poured into my newly made chalice, Anastasius shook his head and muttered, “As always, common sense does not apply to you.” The others agreed with him, which made me very tempted to protest. I wasn’t the only one who could produce divine instruments with her schtappe.

I shouldn’t rock the boat, though. Starting an argument now would only create problems.

Once my chalice was full of as much mana as we’d donated to the library’s feystone last year, I told my retainers that we were going to see Solange. Leonore sent an ordonnanz ahead of us, while Cornelius and Damuel picked up the chalice. As I recalled, a member of the royal family had needed to oversee our previous donation, so I turned to look at the royals.

“I shall observe,” Sigiswald said upon meeting my eye. I didn’t care who filled the role, so I gave him my thanks, and then we set off.

We made our way out of the auditorium, and the students waiting outside took a quick step back upon seeing us. My retainers were all dressed in blue robes, so maybe onlookers assumed they were from the temple. Or maybe it was just because Sigiswald was taking the lead.

We continued to turn heads as we reached one of the hallways leaving the central building—and that was when I caught sight of the magic circle in the sky above. It was shining brightly. I instinctively stopped and stared out the window.

Eep... I knew it. Praying to the shrine in the Farthest Hall really did trigger something.

Mana had filled the magic circle, which now looked ready to activate at any moment. I could guess that one last nudge would set it off.

But what could that final nudge be? Praying one more time?

I desperately wanted a hint of some kind, but without Hortensia and the key in her possession, I wasn’t sure we would be able to enter the underground archive.

“Rozemyne, is something wrong?” Sigiswald asked. He had stopped in his tracks and was now giving me a look of concern. “That is quite the frown.”

Having deduced that he couldn’t see the circle above us either, I shook my head and continued down the hallway. “I am just terribly worried about Professor Hortensia being absent this year. She manages one of the keys to the archive, does she not? Are there any archscholars who could oversee it until she returns?” It was my very subtle way of hinting that we wouldn’t be able to enter the underground archive unless the situation was remedied.

Sigiswald gave a conflicted smile. “Raublut had to do a lot of convincing to get Hortensia in the library in the first place. Plus, we only found out about her poor health just before the start of the term. Arranging her replacement will take some time. That said, there have been calls for Gentiane of Klassenberg to be allowed into the Library Committee. To my knowledge, she plans to register as soon as her classes are finished. That should take care of the key.”

Well, I was worried about Schwartz and Weiss’s mana supply. More committee members would also help ease Solange’s loneliness, but...

“Will it be possible to enter without any archnoble librarians?” I asked.

“That is not something I can answer without first testing it.”

With that, we arrived at the library. Solange and Sigiswald exchanged greetings, while Schwartz and Weiss hopped around me as usual.

“Milady is here.”

“Read, milady?”

“Oh my...” I said. “That is a most enticing offer, but I am only here to donate some mana.”

Solange smiled warmly. “I am always grateful for your consideration, Lady Rozemyne.” Then she guided us to the magic tool serving as the library’s foundation of sorts.

“You received a feystone from Professor Hortensia, correct? Allow me to refill that first. I would hate for Schwartz and Weiss to run out of mana before those of the Library Committee finish their classes.”

“That would be tremendously helpful. I expend most of my mana simply carrying out my everyday duties.”

I took the empty feystone from Solange and soaked it in my chalice. The mana that remained was then poured over the same large feystone as last year. Its rainbow colors grew more vivid, which probably meant it would be fine for the time being.

Aaand that should do it. What a productive day.

Sigiswald was peering at the magic tool with great interest, but I merely sighed and reabsorbed my chalice. It was then that Schwartz and Weiss tugged on my hands.

“Gramps needs mana, milady.”

“Gramps is calling.”

“Oh, right. Professor Hortensia is absent, so nobody is supplying that statue. Professor Solange, would it be acceptable for me to give it some mana?” I’d entrusted the duty to Hortensia when she’d started working here, but something had to be done while she was away. We didn’t want crucial parts of the library to stop functioning overnight.

“If you are able to, Lady Rozemyne, then I would welcome it,” Solange said apologetically. “As a mere mednoble, it is impossible for me to supply all the magic tools on my own.”

She really was having a tough time without Hortensia.

“Prince Sigiswald, I must go up to the second floor for a moment to supply a magic tool,” I said. I’d imbibed a rejuvenation potion after the Dedication Ritual, so my mana levels were doing fine.

“You truly do care about this library...” he said. “To be frank, I did not know you were giving it so much mana.”

I smiled and nodded, then climbed upstairs with my retainers and the shumils. Supplying mana to this “Gramps” person was as simple as approaching the statue of Mestionora and touching the feystones embedded in the Grutrissheit it was holding. And indeed, no sooner had my fingers brushed them than my mana started flowing out of me. I allowed this to continue, unsure how much mana the statue needed, until a magic circle arose clearly in my mind. It began to shine, obscuring my vision.

I squeezed my eyes shut on instinct. Even in the darkness, the circle was clearly visible.

This feels like when I learned to make the divine instruments...

As soon as that thought entered my mind, I felt my body rise up into the air. My eyes shot open as I frantically tried to get my bearings.

“Huh? What?”

For some reason, I was alone, standing in a pitch-dark space.