Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter 3

Teleporting

“Do wake up, Lady Rozemyne.”

I was roused from my sleep by Lieseleta; I had decided to take a nap after stealing Ferdinand’s name and was now feeling quite refreshed. I got her and Gretia to help me change into my riding clothes, made sure to put my newly acquired name stone in one of my pouches, and then exited my room. Downstairs, my knights were all gathered and wearing feystone armor.

“Lieseleta, Gretia, Lasfam—please look after my library while I am gone,” I said. “The defensive magic tools I am leaving behind can be used by—”

“Worry not, Lady Rozemyne—we know exactly what to do,” Lieseleta interrupted me with a smile. “Think only of saving Lord Ferdinand. The aub is waiting.”

I nodded and then sent an ordonnanz: “This is Rozemyne. I am leaving now. Is everything ready?”

“Sure is,” Sylvester’s bird replied. “We’re set up in the first training area. Hurry over.”

Leonore and Cornelius took the lead as we flew to our designated meeting spot by the castle. I didn’t know which of the grounds was the first one, so I was glad not to be at the front.

Lessy was packed with magic tools and rejuvenation potions, so Hartmut and Justus were riding with me to manage them. I could still remember verbatim their conversation before our departure.

“I don’t believe we need you to ride with us, Justus...” Hartmut had said.

“Oh, then I will need to teach you which potions to give Lord Ferdinand and how to administer them,” Justus had retorted. “If anyone should stay behind, it should be you.”

Of course, Hartmut had outright refused to leave my side, so they had both ended up riding with me. Hartmut was immensely excited to see what miracles I might create during our rescue operation, while Justus was patting Lessy all over, remarking again and again that my highbeast was as fascinating as always.

Are these two going to stick together throughout the entire operation...? I wondered, unable to suppress a sigh. Neither one of them seemed at all tense.

The Noble’s Quarter was quiet, as one would expect in the dead of night, but not the castle; its bright windows cut through the darkness, indicating the people busily moving around inside. Even more light was coming from the grounds below where the Knight’s Order carried out their training.

“It’s Lady Rozemyne!”

“Make space, knights! Highbeasts coming down!”

Despite the late hour, the crowd gathered in the first training area was even larger than usual; more guards had been added to tonight’s night watch so that they could be summoned to battle at a moment’s notice. The atmosphere was so tense and everyone’s expressions so dour that I could immediately tell they were preparing for Georgine.

The mood inside my highbeast was the complete opposite.

“Come here,” Sylvester said. He was waiting with his retainers atop a massive teleporter used to transport people—a teleporter that only archdukes could place. It would take us straight to Kirnberger, where our duchy’s country gate was located.

“I thank you ever so much for your support,” I replied.

“Don’t sweat it. This is a trial run to see if we can move a lot of manpower before Ahrensbach’s invasion begins. If everything works, it should give us a huge advantage.”

As we continued our conversation, the others dispelled their highbeasts and stepped onto the teleporter with us. Karstedt took the opportunity to pat Eckhart and Cornelius on the shoulder.

“Eckhart, Cornelius,” he said, “protect Lord Ferdinand and Lady Rozemyne. Bring them home safe.”

“You may count on us,” they replied together.

Once everyone was on the teleporter, Sylvester raised a hand, signaling the guards lined up behind him to kneel and touch the circle. As their mana flowed into it, black and golden lights started to swirl through the air. Our dark-yellow capes caught the wind as Sylvester held his schtappe aloft and chanted.

“Nenluessel. Kirnberger!”

My vision warped and twisted, and a floating sensation overcame me, like whenever I teleported to or from the Royal Academy. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to ride out the queasiness I was feeling... and then heard a voice say, “Welcome, Aub Ehrenfest.” I slowly opened my eyes again to see Giebe Kirnberger and several knights.

We’re actually here...

We were inside Kirnberger’s summer estate. The first archduke had placed teleporters here and inside the other giebes’ estates so that the Knight’s Order could mobilize from the Noble’s Quarter in the event of a disturbance. But because no such disturbances had occurred, the archducal family had ended up forgetting about them. I’d rediscovered their existence through the Book of Mestionora, and Sylvester had agreed to revive them.

“Hm. Pretty convenient,” he said, looking at the circle beneath our feet. “We could use this if something happens in the south of the duchy.”

One of the knights who had been channeling mana into the teleporter wore a slightly troubled frown. “The circle is convenient, but if we are to use it before charging into battle, we will need to prepare rejuvenation potions for those of us tasked with supplying it and set aside some time for our mana to recover. I would struggle to fight in my current state.”

“Could we get scholars or attendants to activate the circle for us?” asked another.

Sylvester shook his head. “That would mean bringing them into battle. It simply isn’t worth the risk.”

“In an ideal world, those channeling mana into the circle wouldn’t have to come with us,” Karstedt added. “They need to touch the circle to activate it, though, so trying to leave them behind would probably result in them losing their hands. Not something we can test either.”

This quickly snowballed into a discussion about the functions of the teleporter. We really didn’t have time to get lost in speculation, so I cleared my throat and said, “Should we not open the border gate?”

“Ah, right,” Sylvester replied. “Come on, then. This investigation can wait.”

The border gate towered above us, gleaming in the moonlight. I suppressed the urge to rush forward on my own and instead waited patiently as everyone formed their highbeasts. Sylvester led with his retainers, while I followed along with mine.

Once we had arrived at the border gate, Sylvester tapped it with his schtappe and chanted, “Oeffnetor.” The ivory doors slowly began to open, revealing the country gate behind them. Its slightly iridescent glow, reminiscent of the finest pearls, was probably the result of mana, not the moonlight.

“Rozemyne...” Sylvester muttered, staring up at the gate. “Can you seriously activate this thing?”

“Wait and see,” I replied. The second son of the previous Zent had left to open and close country gates with only a Grutrissheit, and Tollkuehnheit had managed to open one when fleeing to found Lanzenave. In other words, dyeing the country’s foundation wasn’t necessary to use its gates; the only requirement was a Grutrissheit.

That said, because my Book of Mestionora is incomplete, it only lets me use teleportation circles that already exist. I can’t open or close the gates themselves.

That was good enough, though. I climbed out of my highbeast, approached the country gate, and produced my schtappe.

“Grutrissheit.”

At once, the Book of Mestionora appeared in my hands. Ignoring the gasps behind me, I pressed it against the gate.

Eep!

My mana was sucked out much faster than I’d anticipated, maybe because the gate had gone without any for such a long time. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but I didn’t pull the book away. The gate went from being only faintly iridescent to a vibrant rainbow, a quiet rumbling noise came from within, and its triangular roof started to open.

“Oho... How splendid...” Hartmut crooned.

“I can think of nothing more magnificent,” Clarissa agreed, sounding equally as euphoric.

“By the God of Darkness’s grace, her hair is the color of the night sky. By the Goddess of Light’s kindness, her eyes are a radiant gold. Not to mention her beauty, which could only have come from countless divine blessings. Seeing her wield the Grutrissheit and make the omni-elemental gate shine again, I can say only this: she is the very picture of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom!”

Please shut up. You’re creeping out everyone from Kirnberger!

Or so I’d assumed. In truth, they didn’t seem creeped out at all. Cries of awe from Sylvester and the Kirnberger knights mixed in with Hartmut and Clarissa’s enthused ranting.

“The gate’s shining...” Sylvester whispered. “Is this real...?”

“Then is that... the Grutrissheit?!” Giebe Kirnberger exclaimed.

“Is Lady Rozemyne...?” one of his knights began.

Kirnberger’s country gate hadn’t been active for roughly two hundred years, so everyone was surprised to see it shining brighter. That didn’t concern me, though; my eyes were locked on the opening roof. Inside was the teleportation circle that would allow us to move between the different country gates.

“There is a spiral staircase in the gatepost,” I said. “For lack of time, however, I will simply fly up to the roof. The gate won’t allow anyone else to approach, so those of you who are coming with me to Ahrensbach will need to ride in my highbeast.”

As instructed, my retainers started climbing into Lessy.

“Well, I’m going,” I told Sylvester. “I will return with Ferdinand.”

“Hold it, Rozemyne. Take this—I got it from Prince Sigiswald.”

Sylvester held out a charm-looking necklace decorated with a six-element feystone and the royal family’s crest. I noticed there was also a protective magic circle carved into it, but it didn’t seem particularly strong.

“This is from Prince Sigiswald...?” I repeated. “When did you meet with him?”

“After my conversation with Eckhart and Justus.”

According to Sylvester, the Zent had requested a meeting immediately upon learning of the emergency. Anastasius had urged him time and time again to gather as much information as he could about events that involved me, since they wouldn’t be able to predict what might happen otherwise.

“At first, the Zent tried to arrange a meeting three days from now,” Sylvester explained. “I agreed, though I made sure to warn him that the emergency would probably be over and done with by then and that he would only receive a report of the fallout. He sent Prince Sigiswald straight to Ehrenfest’s tea party room.”

The Zent hadn’t been able to visit in person, both because he was immensely busy and because Raublut, the knight commander, happened to be off duty. Sylvester had thus spoken with Sigiswald, whereupon he had received the charm he was giving to me now.

“He said to wear it no matter what to prove you’re acting with the royal family’s permission. Turn around; I’ll put it on you.”

Having the royal family’s permission would save us a lot of trouble when it came to stealing Ahrensbach’s foundation. If nothing else, it would silence any disgruntled nobles we might encounter along the way. My only focus was saving Ferdinand; I wasn’t at all interested in fighting Ahrensbach’s nobles as long as they didn’t try to stop me.

Having this crest should keep everyone out of my way.

Ahrensbach had plotted the downfall of the girl who, by royal decree, was both their future archduchess and the third prince’s fiancée. Even worse, they had disregarded the Zent’s wishes a second time by attempting to kill the man he had sent to join their archducal family. I didn’t think this pendant from Sigiswald would make every noble back down, but it would surely work on Letizia’s allies and those of the neutral faction.

I turned my back to Sylvester and scooped my hair out of the way to make things easier for him. At once, I was reminded of my days as an apprentice blue shrine maiden—specifically when he’d given me that necklace with a pitch-black feystone. It had seemed unusual to me then, but now my attendants adorned me with accessories every single day. Sylvester definitely wouldn’t say, “Have you never been given jewelry by a man before?” this time.

Because, I mean, I’ve received so many accessories since then. I sure have grown.

“This is just like when you gifted me that black pendant,” I said. “Do you think this charm from Prince Sigiswald will protect me too...?”

Sylvester nodded. “It should protect you and anyone else you want to keep safe. Now... Get it done.” There was the clink of clasping metal, and then he gently urged me onward.

I nodded, climbed into my highbeast with the others, flew up to the top of the gate, and then descended into the room now revealed. The floor was glossy and iridescent, and atop it was a large teleportation circle. It had once been true that the Zent would come here each year with their retainers in tow. The Book of Mestionora’s sections about the older generations said they had originally taken enormous groups with them when circling all the glorious, wealthy cities with country gates. But as time had passed, their retinues had grown smaller and smaller, perhaps indicating their increasing focus on preserving mana.

I exited my Pandabus and stood atop the teleportation circle. Sylvester, Karstedt, and the others were on their highbeasts, waiting atop Kirnberger’s border gate and in the sky. I smiled and waved at them, then formed my schtappe.

“Grutrissheit.”

Because my Book of Mestionora had a shining surface, it was easy to read even while it was dark out. It really was convenient. I moved my finger to search for how to move the teleporter, then selected what appeared on my screen.

“Kehrschluessel. Dunkelfelger,” I said.

The magic circle popped out of the screen, floated above the teleportation circle, and then began to rotate while emitting an omni-elemental glow. As if spurred on by that light, the teleporter activated. The feeling of my mana being sucked out from above and below came as a surprise.

My vision went white as the light continued to flow. Then the floating sensation from before returned, so I closed my eyes. The last thing I heard was a shout from Sylvester:

“Take care of Ferdinand for me, Rozemyne!”