Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter 4

To Battle

“HRAAAHHH!”

As I endured the swaying sensation of the teleporter, I started to hear low, booming roars from some distance away—the exhilarated war cries of people ready to play ditter. I’d definitely arrived in Dunkelfelger. At the same time, the ambient temperature seemed to get maybe five degrees higher. It sure was hot here.

When I opened my eyes, I was inside Dunkelfelger’s country gate. The teleporter was shining, as was the gate itself. The roof was still shut, though, so I couldn’t see the knights anywhere.

“Yet I can still hear their voices,” I mused. “I hope they don’t exhaust themselves before we even reach Ahrensbach...”

“You may rest assured, Lady Rozemyne—none of our knights are that weak,” Clarissa said, sticking out her chest and donning a proud smile. But her declaration just gave me a new reason to worry: how was I going to lead the knights when they were this pumped up? “Not to mention, the country gate is being activated for the first time since the Zent stopped visiting over a decade ago. It’s only natural that everyone is excited.”

Oh, right... It’s been about a decade.

Clarissa’s response was strangely convincing. Those back in Kirnberger had only known about the phenomenon through historical records, whereas the Dunkelfelgerians had seen it with their own eyes. Of course they weren’t stunned speechless.

I climbed out of my Pandabus, pressed the Book of Mestionora against the wall, and then started channeling mana into it. The roaring outside grew louder as the roof parted ever so slowly. Once it was fully open, I got back into my highbeast and took to the sky.

There were even more knights gathered than I’d expected. One hundred stood atop the right gatepost, fully armored and divided into ten equal rows, behind two figures whom I took to be their commanders. I could also see Lestilaut, the archducal couple, and their retainers. The left gatepost was several times as populated with plainclothes spectators—here to see the knights off, I assumed. It was very overcrowded.

I went to the roof of the right gatepost.

Hm? I don’t see Lady Hannelore. Maybe because she’s underage...

It was late enough that I wasn’t too surprised, but it was still a shame that she wasn’t present. We hadn’t interacted much at the Royal Academy this year, so I’d wanted to at least greet her.

“Aub Dunkelfelger, everyone who volunteered to participate,” I said, addressing those gathered, “I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your speedy response and support.”

Everyone except the aub gasped and stared. Lestilaut in particular looked stunned; his eyes were practically boring into me. There was a drawn-out silence... and then, to my surprise, Hannelore’s voice came from behind me.

“The aub informed us of your growth, but... is it really you, Lady Rozemyne?”

“Indeed, it is,” I replied instinctively. But when I turned around to look at her—

Wait, what? Hold on.

I’d accepted that only the knights were going to join us, but that quickly changed when I saw Hannelore and what she was wearing. Now it was my turn to gasp.

“Lady Hannelore, don’t tell me...”

She was fully clad in feystone plate armor, evidence enough that she was going to join our attack force.

“I disgraced myself during our third-year ditter game,” Hannelore began with a timid smile. “And in Dunkelfelger, the shame of one match can only be cleared through victory in another. That is why I must ask you to include me. I shall do everything in my power to support you.” Her calm, gentle demeanor really clashed with what she was saying.

Come again?! “The shame of one match can only be cleared through victory in another”?!

Was it seriously acceptable for an underage female archduke candidate to accompany me to Ahrensbach? We weren’t going there to sightsee; this was war. I turned my attention to the archducal couple, my lips twitching. They seemed to view Hannelore’s participation as a foregone conclusion, and they certainly weren’t going to stop her this late into the game. As Hannelore had once said, our two duchies had very different customs.

Still, this culture shock is way too extreme!

But then it hit me: how could I say it was weird that Hannelore was being sent into battle? I was an underage female archduke candidate too!

Nooo! Am I the ridiculous one here?!

“Lady Rozemyne, may I have a moment?” Leonore asked, prompting me to straighten my back. “I wish to brief the knights while you exchange greetings with the aub. There will not be time when we arrive at Ahrensbach’s country gate.”

Judging by Dunkelfelger’s earlier clamor, I could guess that Ahrensbach’s gate would start shining when we teleported there; the knights stationed nearby would immediately notice our arrival. We wouldn’t have the time to leisurely discuss plans then, as even the slightest delay would give our foes time to gather their forces. And since my aim was to fly straight to the temple with as few battles as possible, now really was the best opportunity to share and discuss intelligence.

“Please do,” I said.

“Angelica and the scholars can guard you in the meantime. Everyone, let us go.”

Carrying the map I’d given her, Leonore went over to Dunkelfelger’s knights. Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable to entrust one’s safety to scholars, but the scholars here were all talented warriors. We had Justus, Taught by Ferdinand; Clarissa, Scholar of the Sword; and Hartmut of the Flapping Tongue. Leonore had been wise to put me in their care.

I’m guessing Heisshitze is commanding Dunkelfelger’s troops.

He had arrived with Hannelore and was now squinting down at Leonore’s map, muttering his disbelief about its detail. I recognized the cape he was wearing.

“Please excuse me, Lady Rozemyne,” Hannelore said with a smile. “As a commanding officer, I would do well to participate in the briefing.” Then she moved to join the others.

I turned to Lestilaut and the archducal couple, thanked them for granting us the aid of a greater duchy, and then informed them that Ehrenfest had contacted the royal family. “This pendant bearing the royal family’s crest should clear away any doubts. Prince Sigiswald gave it to me as proof that I act with their permission.” I pulled it out from under my clothes, and everyone widened their eyes.

“I must admit,” Sieglinde began, “when the aub first informed me of the situation, I doubted the authenticity of your claims. But there can be no mistaking a crest of such high quality.” She looked at her husband with a sigh, then smiled at me and said, “Our duchy shall obey the will of the Zent.”

“I thank you ever so much, Lady Sieglinde.”

“And to answer Ehrenfest’s call, we shall participate in true—”

An intense smile from Sieglinde, his first wife, stopped the overeager aub in his tracks. His inertia wilted, rendering him speechless.

“During this expedition,” Sieglinde continued, “the aub will remain here in Dunkelfelger, ready to move troops to the Sovereignty at the Zent’s order. For obvious reasons, business with the royal family and the Sovereign Knight’s Order cannot be entrusted to Lestilaut so soon after his coming of age.” Her dry smile made it clear that she had needed to thoroughly scold the aub, who had no doubt been determined to participate in “true ditter.”

“It surprises me more that Lady Hannelore is coming to Ahrensbach in his stead,” I replied.

Lestilaut glanced at his father. “If our archduke must travel to the Sovereignty, then we will need someone to guard our foundation. And as you know, Lady Rozemyne, I am this duchy’s next aub. The duty is mine and mine alone, which is why I cannot go with you.”

“Your motivation is most admirable, Lord Lestilaut, but must you speak so politely? I find it somewhat off-putting...”

In the past, he had always bad-mouthed me to my face and acted with great arrogance; did my sudden growth spurt really warrant this abrupt change of attitude? Even when considering the fact this was a public space, he was being way too sycophantic. Anytime our eyes met, he averted his gaze almost straight away.

“My sincerest apologies, but the owner of the Grutrissheit must be treated with the utmost respect. My old way of speaking would cause great offense.”

Oh... It’s not because I’ve matured, then.

The Grutrissheit was the mark of a true sovereign—a mark that neither the Zent nor any of the other royals currently had—so I could see why Lestilaut was being so polite. His duchy as a whole really seemed to value it. Reading their massive history book had made that clear to me.

“Still...” I said, “I would rather you speak more naturally. It saddens me that you are acting so distant.”

“Hmph. Fine. If you insist.”

And with that, he had returned to normal. It was quite a relief, to be honest.

Lestilaut glanced at me, then asked in a low voice, “You do expect to win this, don’t you? I’m not asking out of concern for you; this is the perfect opportunity for Hannelore to right her wrongs. I realize you’re leading this mission, and it seems unlikely that she would surrender a second time, but... erm...”

Here in Dunkelfelger, throwing a game of ditter was extremely shameful. Our foray against Ahrensbach was Hannelore’s best chance at redemption after our match last year, when she had taken Wilfried’s hand and willingly left her duchy’s base. Lestilaut’s red eyes betrayed worry for his younger sister.

“We shouldn’t have any trouble stealing Ahrensbach’s foundation,” I said. “The true challenge is going to be rescuing Ferdinand.”

“But rescue him we shall,” Heisshitze interjected, tapping his chest as he approached. The knights’ meeting must have concluded. “I will put my absolute all into this mission. A grave error marred my last attempt to save Lord Ferdinand—but this time, I act with your guidance. I swear to be of use and to avoid erring again.”

Regret was heavy on Heisshitze’s face. He had played a hand in sending Ferdinand to Ahrensbach, and that knowledge clearly weighed on him. His attempt to do something nice had completely backfired; it was no wonder that he felt so terrible.

Heisshitze continued, squeezing his cape and staring up at the night sky with an expression of true resolve: “We shall rescue Lord Ferdinand; then I shall give him this cape of mine. It is something I should regain only through beating him in a true battle.” I could tell this was immensely important to him, but when I thought about how Ferdinand would react, something told me things were going to be awkward.

Ferdinand doesn’t want it back. He’s going to be furious.

A smirk crept onto my face; I could picture Heisshitze shoving the cape at Ferdinand and challenging him to ditter the moment he was safe. Ferdinand would definitely be annoyed, but I’d much rather that than the empty look of resignation that was still stuck in my mind.

You can suck it up and accept his challenge, Ferdinand. And don’t wrap me up in it this time!

“Your resolve gladdens my heart,” I said. “Let us save him without fail.”

“Indeed, we shall act faster than Steifebrise!” he replied, his voice sharp and crisp. Then he turned to Hannelore. “The ritual, Lady Hannelore!”

“Yes, sir!” she replied. “Lady Rozemyne, do stand in the center.”

“Um, hold on!” I cried. “I’m not whirling for you!”

I didn’t want to dance, but Hannelore just smiled while moving to her own position. “You do not need to whirl,” she said. “You need only do what you did the first time. There is no one better suited to raise morale than you, Lady Rozemyne.”

“HRAAAH!” one of the knights cheered. “Lady Hannelore is right!”

“We’ll receive a blessing from Lady Rozemyne herself!”

“From the Saint of Ehrenfest, who revived the true nature of our duchy’s rituals!”

I wanted to tell them to forget about the ceremony, but performing it before a ditter game was a tradition here, and the blessings would aid us in the coming battle. Plus, I was the one instigating this match, and it had been my decision to use the country gate that had gotten everyone so riled in the first place. I couldn’t waste time being reluctant, nor would it make sense to hurt morale.

There’s no escaping this—I already know that—but isn’t the flow of things a little strange?

Hannelore told me to stand at the very center of the border gate’s roof, so that was what I did. I couldn’t just ignore all the hopeful stares or the cheers I was getting from the audience.

Eep... I need to be careful not to overbless them.

I took a deep breath, watching the knights surround my retainers, then thrust my schtappe up into the air. “Grant power to those of us going into battle! Lanze!”

That cued the knights to transform their own schtappes. Unless my eyes deceived me, I wasn’t the only one wielding Leidenschaft’s spear; some of the knights had managed to make it as well.

“We are those who offer prayers and gratitude to the gods who have created the world,” I chanted.

Everyone slammed the butts of their spears against the ground. The crowd roared in approval, shaking the very air around us. My heartbeat quickened, and my adrenaline started running high.

I continued, “Grant us power so that we might obtain victory. Grant us Angriff’s mighty power, which is second to none. Grant us speed so that we might obtain victory. Grant us Steifebrise’s speed, which is second to none.”

But while I spoke the prayer normally, the surrounding knights practically sang it, twirling their spears faster at the same time. They had a nice spin going before they suddenly slammed the butts of their spears against the ground again and again, filling the air with the resounding clatter of metal. The spectators roared with each clash, and the temperature seemed to rise even higher. My body was practically on fire. It felt like we had all merged into one, and with that, I raised my spear.

“TO WAR!”

Even the audience shouted with me. I thrust my spear into the air, causing blessings to pour down as though I’d torn the night sky in two. Battle cries echoed—and that was when Aub Dunkelfelger stepped forward, raising a clenched fist.

“Go forth, my elite! Fight, and steal Ahrensbach’s foundation! Move faster than Steifebrise!”

“Hoorah!” the knights chorused. “Faster than Steifebrise!”

Using my Pandabus, I took Hannelore, her guards, and my retainers to the country gate. The remaining knights ran up the stairs, which was fine with me; Dunkelfelger’s knights had stamina to spare.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Leonore said, “while we wait for everyone to gather, please drink this rejuvenation potion, make your highbeast as small as possible, and move off of the teleportation circle. In the meantime, we shall distribute the magic tools meant to cause confusion.”

Matthias pointed to the teleportation circle. “The circle is not large enough for a hundred armored knights to use at once. I expect this will place a great burden on your mana, but you will need to divide everyone into two groups.” Having a larger army would make our confusion tactic all the more effective, so he believed it was better to expend more mana than reduce our number. “Those in the first group will go outside via the stairs. They will wait there after teleporting. For the second group, we should pack as many knights into your highbeast as we can.”

The knights in the second group would stay in my Pandabus until we were above Ahrensbach’s country gate; then they would all pile out and mount their own highbeasts. We wanted to distract the gate guards for long enough to ensure the safety of the knights from the first group, who would exit via the stairs.

“In truth, I doubt we’ll encounter any resistance at all,” Eckhart said. “Ahrensbach’s knight commander was relieved of duty when he tried to do as Lord Ferdinand instructed and station knights at the border gate.”

Still, I doubted that Ahrensbach’s gates were completely unprotected, especially now that Lanzenave’s ships were freely using them and the whole Ferdinand incident had occurred. Letizia’s retainers were bound to be in conflict with Detlinde, and there would probably be knights flying all over the place under various orders.

“Given everything that has happened, it would not be strange if Ahrensbach’s knights were moved to positions other than those you and Justus remember,” I noted. “Not to mention, with this many of us passing through the border without permission, the aub will inevitably notice. Negligence is always one’s greatest enemy. For that reason, I shall do as Leonore and Matthias advise.”

“Certainly, milady. It is good to be cautious,” Justus replied. “And on that note, we should remember that Ahrensbach’s country gate sits in the ocean. Those leaving via the stairs will plunge straight into the water if they aren’t careful.”

Yeah, we really don’t want that to happen...

As we continued to discuss the matter, the knights who had taken the stairs began arriving and moving on to the magic circle. Once it was full, I explained our plan and performed the first teleportation. Then I urged the remaining knights into Lessy and teleported with them. The mana requirement for the second teleportation was much lower than for the first, maybe because the circle had already been filled.

In contrast to when we’d traveled from Kirnberger to Dunkelfelger, there were no enthusiastic cries upon our arrival in Ahrensbach. The chilling silence made it feel even more like there were enemies in wait.

“We have descended the stairs,” came the brief, quiet report of the knights who had teleported ahead of us. “Preparations complete.”

I gave everyone a few final warnings, feeling an unmistakable tightness in my chest, then opened the roof above us and drove up into the sky. As we passed over the border gate, the knights riding with me jumped out and mounted their own highbeasts. Likewise, the knights who had taken the stairs flew up to join us. They all cautiously scanned their surroundings, weapons in hand.

“There’s... nobody here,” I muttered. “Surely the aub noticed such a large group cross the border gate.”

The shining rainbow country gate must have stood out like a sore thumb amid the dark waters of the ocean. The border gate too, since it was reflecting the moonlight. We had all come to Ahrensbach feeling so tense, but the lack of even the slightest reaction to our arrival was actually kind of saddening. Not even the Ahrensbach Knight’s Order had come to investigate. We just flew through the air, completely unopposed, listening to the crashing of the waves below.

“Are they moving under cover of darkness to launch a surprise attack?” I asked.

“This certainly feels like a cause for concern...” Hannelore said.

“I told you there wouldn’t be anyone here,” Eckhart added. “We didn’t come to fight, so this is perfect for us. Let’s head straight to our objective. Lady Hannelore, please cause as much confusion around the castle as you can, as we planned.”

Hannelore nodded in response, then flew off with Heisshitze and started instructing Dunkelfelger’s already wary knights.

“Clarissa,” I said, “accompany Lady Hannelore. Your area-affecting support magic should make it even easier for us to confuse our foes.”

“Understood. May Angriff guide you!”

After confirming that Clarissa had joined Hannelore’s group, I grabbed my Pandabus’s steering wheel. “Take care of the directions, Eckhart. I can’t read maps!”