Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.8 - Chapter 5

Ahrensbach’s Temple

The ocean below was as dark as the night sky. We had parted ways with Dunkelfelger’s knights, who were headed to Ahrensbach’s castle, and were now en route to the temple, which was at the center of the Noble’s Quarter. The placement seemed strange to me, since I was so used to the temple in Ehrenfest.

The port soon came into view, dotted with several tiny lights—an indication of nighttime fishers, perhaps. There also appeared to be a number of people moving around. As I enhanced my vision to get a better look, I prayed that no commoners would get wrapped up in the coming battle. There were some normal ships and some large silver things between them.

“Justus, what are those silver things?” I asked.

“Those are Lanzenave’s ships, milady.”

“They look more like (submarines)...” I muttered, then felt a chill run down my spine. “Could they also be immune to mana?”

“Perhaps,” Justus replied. “They were black when they came through the country gate but changed color atop the water.” He sounded more serious all of a sudden; had they not given the ships much thought before now?

“That would mean Lanzenave has mana-immune goods other than its silver cloth... Send a warning ordonnanz to Lady Hannelore and the others at once. Justus, Hartmut, how can we warn Ehrenfest and the Sovereignty?”

“Only letters can pass the border gates, but I don’t have any ink or paper on me. We’d need to get some from the castle.”

“As a scholar serving Lady Rozemyne, I came prepared,” Hartmut announced, taking out his letter set. “I shall write to them at once.” Barely a moment later, he had sent letters to both Ehrenfest and the Sovereignty. My tendency to write letters to my commoner associates had come in handy.

“There’s the temple, milady.” Justus pointed ahead of us and to the left just as the first of many explosions thundered above the castle. Dunkelfelger’s knights must have started their diversion. “Let us hurry.”

We passed over the temple gate and descended into the garden on the other side. It was eerily silent. We hadn’t encountered a single guard, nor had anyone raised a shout at our landing.

“This isn’t right...” I said. As glad as I was that we hadn’t encountered anyone—the thought of capturing them and making them take us to the High Priest or High Bishop didn’t sit right with me—the silence was a little concerning. “Does this temple not have guards?”

“We know very little about the operation of the temple,” Justus replied. “The priests brought their chalices to us during Spring Prayer, so we never had cause to go inside. I apologize that we cannot be of more use.”

I shook my head. Justus had already done his best to gather information for us; slipping away from his Ahrensbach peers and sneaking into the temple mustn’t have been possible. “We will need to ask someone in the temple, then. I shall go inside with my name-sworn knights and conclude my business here. In the meantime—Justus, Hartmut, the two of you can—”

“One moment, Lady Rozemyne,” Hartmut interjected. He picked up one of the boxes on the back seat with him and smiled. “This is not Ehrenfest’s temple; we cannot allow you to venture inside before we have looked around ourselves.”

“Hartmut, what are you saying? There’s no time for that.”

“We must purify the temple before we can allow you inside. I shall carry out the process as High Priest, so please wait in your highbeast until my return. If you would allow me, I would ask Laurenz and Matthias to aid me, as they can be ordered to keep their silence. Cornelius, Leonore, and Angelica will remain, both as guards and as those who have not given their names to you. Does that seem reasonable?”

Hartmut was asking my opinion, but his tone brooked no argument. I could guess from his knowing smile that he’d already worked out where in the temple the foundation was located, even though I’d shared that information only with Sylvester.

“Can I assume you know where I plan to go?” I asked, not wanting to be too direct.

“You said you would steal Ahrensbach’s foundation to save Lord Ferdinand and then came straight to this temple. Anyone privy to the circumstances of your disappearance would understand. Not to mention, the same location is receiving special attention back in Ehrenfest.”

Hartmut was as sharp as ever. He had deduced pretty much everything.

“Am I mistaken?” he pressed.

I saw no reason to dwell on the matter. Hartmut knew where I wanted to go and wasn’t going to let me inside the temple before he had purified it, so it was easier to let him do as he pleased. I took several pieces of fey paper from my bag and gave them to him.

“These are the entrance forms,” I said. “Have the High Priest or High Bishop sign them, then search for the goddess on the bookshelf. Stay on your guard, though—Ahrensbach might have set up defenses just as we did.”

“Understood. Then I must borrow Justus for his capacity to predict, detect, and dismantle traps and tricks.” Hartmut gave the man in question a meaningful smile. “A retainer serving Lord Ferdinand is able to keep secrets, I assume.”

Justus gave a wry smile in response. “I would do anything to rescue my lord.”

“And you, Eckhart?” I asked, wanting to know his plans.

“I shall stay with you, milady. In these circumstances, we cannot reduce your guard even further; Lord Ferdinand would never forgive us.”

Hartmut and Justus climbed out of my highbeast with the box; then Leonore took their place. Eckhart, Angelica, and Cornelius were tasked with defending the area around me.

“I don’t disagree with Hartmut,” I said. “This is another duchy’s temple, so it makes sense for him to check it before I go inside. But having to wait around after we’ve come all this way is agonizing...”

“Given the lack of nobles, he should return soon enough,” Leonore assured me. “I am more concerned about Dunkelfelger. Barely a moment has passed, yet the explosions have stopped. It seems unlikely that they have already conquered the castle, but at the same time, the Knight’s Order has shown not a hint of resistance...”

In the event of a surprise attack, any decent Knight’s Order would start sending out warnings and ringing bells to signify an emergency. But aside from the explosions, we hadn’t heard much of anything since our arrival. I poked my head out of the window of my Pandabus and squinted up at the sky.

It certainly is quiet...

It was then that I spotted an ordonnanz. I stuck my arm out, and the bird perched atop it.

“Lady Rozemyne, this is Clarissa,” came a quiet, guarded voice. “Despite our attempts to create a distraction, we have seen neither hide nor hair of the Knight’s Order. Something most unusual might be happening inside the castle. How should we proceed from here? Should we conquer the castle and search for the replenishment hall where Lord Ferdinand is being kept?”

I exchanged a look with Leonore. “Lady Detlinde said she wanted to obtain the Grutrissheit before Ferdinand ran out of mana. Could she have taken her Knight’s Order to the Sovereignty?”

“I doubt she brought every single one of the knights with her... Let us advise Lady Hannelore to infiltrate the castle but to be wary of an ambush. We will need to reach the replenishment hall at some point anyway.”

I nodded and spoke my response to Hannelore. But as the ordonnanz took flight...

“A white bird, look! We’ve got mana-wielders!”

“Break down the gate!”

“Outta the way! Their feystones are mine!”

Again, I exchanged a look with Leonore. Several people were shouting behind the gate. That wouldn’t normally have surprised us, but the things they were saying were far from ordinary. Barely a moment later, we started to hear dull thuds; they must have been throwing themselves against the small door the guards used.

“They don’t seem to be nobles,” I observed.

“No, they do not,” Leonore agreed. “No knight would speak in such a manner or use such uncouth language. Moreover, nobles would simply fly over the gate rather than attempt to force their way through.”

Indeed, nobles would never waste their time noisily trying to break down a door. And since this temple was right at the center of the Noble’s Quarter, they didn’t even need to deal with the Noble’s Gate, which could only be opened by those who had registered their mana.

“Would the commoners here really react so violently to an ordonnanz?” I mused. It was hard to imagine Detlinde or Georgine allowing them to be so crude, considering their attitude toward the country’s lesser duchies.

“I shall take a look,” Angelica said, then briskly flew up into the air.

Eckhart and Cornelius positioned themselves with their backs to me, keeping a close eye on our surroundings. It wasn’t long before Angelica returned with an update.

“There are three men trying to break through the gate. They are all wearing silver cloth.”

“Then they must be from Lanzenave,” Eckhart said, falling into thought. “Though I’m glad they aren’t Ahrensbach knights, I don’t know why Lanzenave would riot now, of all times.”

Angelica continued, paying him no mind: “They have silver swords and shields. I wish to use this opportunity to see if our weapons work on them and whether I can bind them with my schtappe. Do I have your permission?”

“I concur, master of my master,” added Stenluke from where he was sitting on Angelica’s hip. Hearing his voice made me jump and then sent a wave of melancholy through me. “It would do us well to test these things now, while our opponents are so few.”

“Knowing our enemy’s strength would prove useful...” I said. “Angelica, I grant you permission to fight, but be careful—they are surely armed with all manner of poisons.”

“Cornelius, stay here with Leonore and protect Rozemyne,” Eckhart instructed, leaping up the moment he had my approval. “Let’s go, Angelica. Take distance as soon as the gate opens. I’ll go over the top and urge the enemy through.”

True to his word, Eckhart then flew over the gate. Angelica immediately removed the bars keeping it closed.

“Guh?!”

“What the—?!”

The gate opened so suddenly that the three men toppled through it. Their silver clothes gleamed in the moonlight.

Eckhart dropped down behind the men. “Get in already. I need to close the gate again.” Then he kicked each of them into the garden. He must have been using enhancement magic because they flopped in much faster than I’d expected.

One of the three flew farther into the garden than his comrades. Angelica tried to restrain him with her schtappe, but nothing happened.

“Ha, haha...!” The man forced out a laugh, clearly still dazed from the kick. “So much for your surprise attack! Your weapons won’t do a damn thing to us!”

Another of the thugs staggered to his feet and, through violent coughs and splutters, started to mock Angelica. That was the most he managed, though; before he had a chance to bring his silver sword to bear, Angelica stabbed the man at her feet. Her eyes went from her blade to the fresh wound she had opened.

“My weapon seems to work just fine,” she observed.

The coughing man stared at his now injured accomplice, no doubt struggling to believe his eyes. The stabbed man looked just as surprised; he tried to press down on the wound, but there was already blood seeping through his clothes. Even in the dark, I could see it pooling on the white stone.

Blood... So much blood...

The sight made me sick to my stomach. Knights needed to be ready to cut down an enemy without the slightest hesitation, but witnessing such brutality always made my breath catch in my throat.

“Angelica, use enhancement magic, not your blade,” Eckhart said while choking the last of the three men. “Their weapons and armor are sure to be of great use to us. I don’t want them damaged.”

Like his associates, the third thug no longer posed a threat; his neck must have given in to the strain because his head now hung at an uncanny angle.

“Cornelius, secure his weapon,” Eckhart said, then threw the man aside.

“On it!”

“Eek!”

Cornelius moved at once to bind the man with rope. I, on the other hand, instinctively shrieked when I saw Eckhart discard the man like an object. I turned to see the others’ reactions, but they were entirely unfazed. Not even the women among my knights batted an eye. Such was the contrast between civilians and trained combatants.

“Ngh!”

With a grunt of exertion, the bleeding man threw what looked to be a silver knife at Angelica. She knocked it aside with the back of her hand, activating one of her charms made to counter physical attacks. The man failed to dodge it and crumpled to the ground.

“The hell was that?! I don’t... We weren’t told a damn thing about this!”

He must not have known that some magic tools reflected physical attacks. The last thug looked around in search of allies only to realize he was now alone.

“Now, your weapon,” Angelica said with a smile. She leapt toward the man, moving so quickly that she left afterimages, and then unleashed a series of precise, majestic kicks.

Leonore sighed in relief, having watched the entire fight from beside me. “Based on the reports, I expected the silver cloth and weapons to be more dangerous. I am glad to see that everything ended so simply. It was a surprise attack against a small group, but the knowledge that the weapons and charms we prepared should work is very valuable. I cannot yet use physical enhancements as well as Angelica, so it eases my mind that I can still rely on my weapon.”

“I-Indeed...” I replied, though our impressions of the battle couldn’t have been more distinct. I tried to avert my eyes from all the blood as Angelica beat the last guy to a pulp, but Eckhart ended up dragging him over to me when she was done. “Um, Leonore... If you don’t mind my asking... does Eckhart normally use physical enhancements in this manner?”

“He fights more like Lord Bonifatius than anyone else. I saw it often enough when at the training grounds that it no longer surprises me, but was this your first time?”

“It was my first time seeing a fighting style not focused on schtappe-made swords. It shocks me that Eckhart and Angelica are so used to physical violence...”

Grandfather’s training has impressive results. This is nothing like when we gathered the jureve ingredients.

Eckhart helped Cornelius and Angelica take the weapons from the three bound men, then swiftly rounded on Angelica. “We won’t be able to use the silver cloth while it’s covered in blood. And since the cloth is immune to mana, we can’t even use waschen to clean it. I wouldn’t have minded if you had fought a crowd of them with your back against the wall, but consider your options when you have the advantage.”

“Got it,” Angelica replied. “I think I understand.”

She doesn’t understand in the slightest! You can’t expect Angelica to think anything through!

As the bound men were having their tools, silver equipment, and potions confiscated, Laurenz and Matthias returned. Hartmut had told them to come fetch me. I pressed my hand against my chest to feel the temple key hanging around my neck, then climbed out of Lessy.

“Lady Rozemyne, allow me to come with you,” Leonore said.

“Forgive me, Leonore, but I can bring only my name-sworn.”

“Laurenz and Matthias are not enough as your guard,” Cornelius interjected. “Please bring at least one more person.”

Eckhart stopped what he was doing and stood up. “Justus was allowed to go, so I shall accompany Rozemyne. Everyone else, guard her highbeast. I also want you to watch the prisoners, check their equipment, and share any new discoveries with Dunkelfelger.”

“Understood.”

With that done, he started toward the temple and prompted me to follow. No sooner had we stepped inside than we found gray priests on the floor, bound with light and gagged.

“Hartmut and Lord Justus are already at your destination,” Matthias reported en route. “They are thoroughly inspecting the book room as we speak.”

Laurenz continued, “The High Bishop has been secured, and we have confirmed that the permission form allows us inside as well.”

In short, everything was ready.

Maybe because Ahrensbach was much warmer than Ehrenfest, the windows here were larger than I was used to. Moonlight filtered through them, making the hallway especially bright. I was also feeling uncomfortably hot; the climate hadn’t been much of an issue when I was inside my Pandabus, but my riding clothes were sweltering now that I was on foot.

“Here, milady. The permission form that will allow you inside,” Justus said upon our arrival. He was pointing his schtappe at Ahrensbach’s High Bishop, whose throat was bobbing as he stared at me with pleading eyes, silently begging me to save him.

“I thank you ever so much, High Bishop of Ahrensbach,” I said, accepting the form from Justus. “Please be patient. If you are obedient, we will release you once we are done here.”

The room looked clean but still reeked of dust, and there were far more books here than in Ehrenfest’s temple, maybe because this was a greater duchy. I found myself nearly enraptured.

“Lady Rozemyne, there do not seem to be any traps,” Hartmut informed me. “If the High Bishop of Ahrensbach is to be believed, none of the temple’s many noble visitors have come to the book room.”

“None of the temple’s many noble visitors?” I repeated, my shoulders slumped. “At this rate, Ehrenfest will soon be far behind the other duchies in terms of divine protections, even though we were the first to rediscover how to obtain them.”

He looked troubled. “I do not believe they are visiting for that purpose...”

Aah. Flower offerings.

I asked no further questions, so Hartmut said nothing else on the matter. He merely smiled and guided me to a specific bookcase. “Lady Rozemyne, we found a statue of Mestionora here. Is this the one you were searching for?”

“Yes. I thank you ever so much, Hartmut.”

I stood in front of the bookcase, retrieved the key from under my clothes, and then touched the bible in the statue’s hands. It clicked and opened, revealing a keyhole. I inserted the key and started channeling my mana into it, which caused the bookcase to open to the left and right. There was an iridescent film beyond it, like the one outside the Mana Replenishment hall.

“Lady Rozemyne, we have a stock of rejuvenation potions and empty feystones here,” Hartmut said, tapping the box he had taken from my Pandabus. “I will wait here. If you need them, simply ask.”

I nodded and then went inside.