Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.9 - Chapter 12

The West Gate and Groundwork

“Welcome, Lady Rozemyne, Lord Melchior,” Damuel said, greeting us together with Matthias. “Everyone you see here took part in the battle at the west gate.”

I cast my eye over the gathered soldiers while Ferdinand helped me dismount his highbeast. They were kneeling before us, their heads lowered. Damuel had told me that no one was gravely wounded, but looking at their bandages and weakly hanging limbs, they certainly weren’t in top shape. Such injuries would almost certainly impact their work lives going forward.

“Sister, there are wounded...” Melchior murmured as he climbed down from his retainer’s highbeast. The knights had been tended to by their peers and doctors, whereas the commoner soldiers must not have received any care at all.

“Fear not, Melchior. I shall heal them.”

“You have enough mana left to do that?” Melchior asked, awestruck. Given that he wasn’t yet attending the Academy or compressing his mana, he must have really exerted himself during our prayer for the deceased.

I smiled at Melchior and put a hand on his head, which was now far lower than my eye level. “The more divine protections one obtains from the gods, the less mana one needs for these things. You are soon to become the High Bishop. Pray for the duchy and its people, and strive to obtain divine protections from as many gods as you can.”

“I will do my best to be like you, Sister.”

“You are already so skilled and considerate, Melchior. I do not doubt that you will become a far greater High Bishop than me.” I chuckled, then removed my hand from his head and addressed those kneeling. “My retainer Damuel has told me of your heroics. You fought valiantly to protect this city. Had the invaders’ wolfaniels made it through the gate, the casualties among the commoners would have been devastating.”

The kneeling soldiers raised their heads... and then gawked when they saw me. I’d visited the west gate last year to retrieve Clarissa—and while wearing the same robes—so everyone here recognized the change in me far better than the commoners who only saw me from afar at the chapel.

Dad squinted a little, like he was beholding a dazzling light. There was joy and pride in his expression... but also sadness.

I continued, pretending not to notice their shock, “It would not be an exaggeration to say that your brave actions yesterday saved our fair city—and at the cost of your own wellness, it would appear. I wish to heal you all so that you can continue your fine work. Streitkolben.”

I closed my eyes, turned my schtappe into Flutrane’s staff, and then started to pray.

“O Goddess of Healing Heilschmerz, of the Goddess of Water Flutrane’s exalted twelve, hear my prayers. Lend me your divine power and grant me the power to heal those who have been hurt. Play the divine melody and cast the blissful ripples of your pure divine protection.”

Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the green light flowing from my staff. The soldiers and my retainers cried out, surprised that I could produce such a large blessing.

“Rozemyne, that’s enough,” Ferdinand muttered, urgency in his voice. “No more.”

I stopped channeling mana into my schtappe, dispelled it with rucken, and then slowly opened my eyes. The soldiers who had just moments ago been grimacing in pain undid their bindings, examined the skin underneath, and then joyously declared that they were healed. The news came as such a great relief.

One of the soldiers stepped forward and then thumped his left breast twice with his right fist. “Your consideration is far more than what we deserve, but we thank you for it. As the commander of this gate, allow me to personally express my appreciation.”

“Hm...?” I stared at the man, bewildered. I’d seen him before, but I didn’t know his name. “I thought Gunther was the commander here.”

“He has resolved to join you and your personnel when you move. Thus, we have already carried out his handover.”

That made sense. Nearly a year had passed since I’d asked my family to prepare to accompany me, and the temple had also been busy with its handovers. I could only imagine the chaos that would have ensued if the position of commander hadn’t been passed on before my departure.

“To be frank with you, losing Gunther will deal a great blow to Ehrenfest,” the commander said. “As I am sure you know, he is a talented guard who will protect your personnel without fail.” He was clearly worried about my dad, who was leaving his job to travel to another land with his family.

“It brings me great comfort to know that Gunther is going to be with them. And on that note, I have with me rewards from my adoptive father, the archduke, to be distributed to those of you who fought to protect your duchy.” I called over Melchior and made my announcement: “My little brother, Melchior, is going to succeed me as the High Bishop.”

“I wish to become a High Bishop the people of this duchy can rely on, as my sister was before me. I am looking forward to working with you all,” Melchior declared. He then signaled for his retainers to begin distributing the rewards.

As the soldiers received their compensation, I started asking them about yesterday’s battle. I’d seen some of them on several occasions during our trips to Hasse, and while they were very cautious about how they spoke, they started to relax as they told me tales about Damuel.

“At third bell, he flew to each of the gates and warned us to strengthen our guard,” one said. “He did the same for the workers when the ship drew near. If not for his actions, there would have been so many more casualties.”

“He ensured that as many knights as possible were assigned to the west gate,” another added. “Our evacuating apprentices who saw him slay those vicious dogs one by one have even started to idolize him. Seeing the knights use the same weapons we do also motivated them to train harder.”

The apprentices had seen the fight from a much better vantage point than their peers on the front line, and the spectacle had excited them out of their minds. They had watched in astonishment as Damuel sent out ordonnanzes, held the line, and protected the soldiers from enemy attacks. I glanced over at our man of the hour and saw him rooted to the spot, looking as awkward as ever.

Just enjoy it, Damuel. I think you’ve earned that much.

Dad came to join us once he’d taken his portion of the reward, and the guards launched into stories about his unbelievable antics.

“Gunther did more during that battle than any of us. Still, my heart leapt into my throat when I saw him lunge forward to punch one of those dog feybeasts! I thought he was gonna get eaten!”

“It was so much like him to keep fighting until all the charms from his family were gone.”

As his peers all spoke about his recklessness, Dad grinned without an ounce of regret. “Lady Rozemyne, thank you for providing us with such powerful charms. I apologize for using them all, but I could not play it safe when it came time to defend what mattered to me most.”

“I understand,” I said. “Your lives are far more important.”

Like father, like daughter, huh?

If even I could see the similarities between Dad and me, they must have been clear as day to Damuel and Ferdinand. They were both wearing hard-to-read expressions.

“Lady Rozemyne, Lord Melchior...” the new commander said, a stern look on his face. “This might be an inappropriate question, but are we likely to see another fight anytime soon? How much will we need to prepare?”

The other soldiers tensed up as they awaited our answer.

“Fear not,” Ferdinand interjected, responding in our stead. He took a step toward us, and the tone of our conversation turned on its head; those who had moments ago been lost in their stories briskly moved into a line, standing bolt upright. “Your rewards from Aub Ehrenfest mean the battle has concluded. Moreover, it was Ahrensbach who attacked us, and they will not be invading again.”

Ferdinand took my hand and pulled me over to him. He supported me enough that I wouldn’t stumble and presented me to all those gathered. “During the recent battle, Rozemyne stole Ahrensbach’s foundation as an Ehrenfest archduke candidate, making her the de facto Aub Ahrensbach. Once the Zent has given his approval, she will rule our once dangerous neighbor. It will never invade Ehrenfest again.”

“Ooh!”

The soldiers erupted in cheers, but Melchior and his retainers remained silent, their eyes flitting between Ferdinand and me. My mind went blank as well.

“Ferdinand,” I eventually said.

“We must now leave to begin our rule of Ahrensbach. O soldiers of Ehrenfest, I entrust the protection of this city to you all. Preserve its peace so that we may depart without fear.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ferdinand was clearly used to giving motivational speeches; the soldiers thumped their chests in a vigorous salute.

“Gunther,” he continued, “you are to accompany Rozemyne’s personnel to Ahrensbach before the situation there has completely settled. Protect them no matter the cost.” He removed one of the charms he was wearing on his arm and proffered it to my dad, who gazed at it before looking between Ferdinand and me.

Dad seemed unsure for a moment but accepted the charm and said, “Without fail.”

“Let us scout the lower city and then return to the temple,” Ferdinand said—a surprising remark, as I’d thought he would take me straight back to the temple. He put me on his highbeast as he had done before, and we took to the sky. Our plan was to travel to the south, east, and north gates in that order.

We drew a lot of attention as we flew around the city. People pointed up at us from the street or poked their heads out of their windows to watch us. As I took in the nostalgic sights near the south gate, I decided to air my frustrations.

“Ferdinand, what were you thinking back there? Did you really need to say all that?”

“I told not a single lie. And you asked for this, did you not?”

“You might not have lied, and it certainly is true that I still want to create a library city... but we don’t yet know if the Zent will give me his approval. Should you really have revealed such information when we were only there to give out a reward from the archduke?”

As much as I wanted things to be smooth sailing from here, we couldn’t risk being overly optimistic. If even I understood that, Ferdinand must have too.

“Everyone I speak to tells me I’m not fit to be the Zent,” I said. “And the royal family absolutely needs someone to bring them the Book of Mestionora or the Grutrissheit. Say I did cast all that aside and choose to remain an aub—would the entire country not collapse? I would rather you not get my hopes up when we have so many unresolved problems and not a single solution.” As far as I was concerned, it was better to keep one’s expectations low.

In response to a stern glare from me, Ferdinand simply muttered, “Since when did you get so pessimistic?” Then he started taking us to the east gate.

“This isn’t pessimism; it’s realism.”

“Then get a better grip on reality. If you wish for Yurgenschmidt to have a Zent with the Grutrissheit, is it really necessary for you to marry a royal or enter the royal family through some other means?”

I pursed my lips. “Well, no matter who takes the throne, they’ll need the Grutrissheit to be a true Zent, won’t they?” And to obtain the Grutrissheit, one had to be registered with the royal family.

Ferdinand gave a slight smile. “And what should someone do when they do not have what they want? The answer should come easily to you.”

“Um, make it themselves...?” I ventured. Surely that wasn’t the correct response; Ferdinand would never bring up the philosophy that had given him so many headaches in the past.

“Indeed. I shall take the necessary materials from my workshop and create the Grutrissheit in Ahrensbach. It should not take long—I am halfway done already.”

We passed over the east gate. It was only the day after an intense battle, yet the city was already as lively as ever.

“Ferdinand...” I said. “A quick look at history should tell you that’s a bad idea.” The main reason for the royal family’s decline and the loss of the Grutrissheit was the requirement for the tool to be passed down from one ruler to the next. Would giving them a new one not result in the same problem?

“I shall make one that will disappear after a single generation. My aims are simply to get us through this crisis and to return the Zent selection process to a meritocracy. If we wish to do away with royals, then we must make it so that Zent candidates once again need to obtain the book themselves. You would do well to trust me more.”

“I do trust you,” I said as we used the north gate to return to the temple.

Ferdinand shook his head and snapped, “Get changed. Quickly.” Then he pushed me over to Fran and the others.

“How was the lower city?” Monika asked when I was back in my room, having come to greet me with Nicola. They had stayed at the temple during our brief trip. “Was there a lot of destruction? Did anyone die?”

“I am sure Gil will report on it later, but...”

As the two attendants helped me out of my robes, I explained that the city had seemed almost entirely untouched. They were relieved to hear the news.

“Will you also be the High Bishop in Ahrensbach?” Nicola asked.

“Wha...?” My eyes widened at the bomb she had just dropped. Why was Nicola asking me that, of all people?

Monika must have noticed my shock because she was quick to explain: “Hartmut spoke to us all while you were at the gate. He invited Fran and Zahm to go with you to Ahrensbach and attend the temple there, since you’re going to be made the next Aub Ahrensbach following the Archduke Conference.”

The two girls had apparently been told they could come along as well. But first, they needed to stay here and serve Philine until she came of age.

“We were told to pack your High Bishop robes with the rest of your luggage. Should we?”

“Um... Yes. Go ahead.”

I turned to Judithe and Angelica, who were in the room as guards. “Did you two know about this?”

“Hartmut told us bits and pieces before lunch, when you were with Lord Ferdinand,” Judithe hesitantly replied. “As we speak, Lieseleta and Lord Justus are in the castle, spreading the same rumors to our guests from Dunkelfelger.”

For a scheme this large to have been set in action so quickly, Ferdinand must have been involved. He was just as gung ho as Hartmut when it came to these things. I supposed that I really was out of touch with reality.

This got dangerous the moment Ferdinand and Hartmut decided to team up. How was I such a fool...? I should have realized something was up when Hartmut elected not to accompany me to the gate!

“And where are Fran and Zahm...?” I asked.

“They are serving Lord Ferdinand tea in the hall near the front entrance. We were told to take you there once you are changed, so...”

I stepped out of my High Bishop’s chambers with my two attendants. Ferdinand, Hartmut, and my other male retainers were waiting for me at the front entrance. Melchior was there too with his retainers in tow; they all wore convinced expressions like something had just been explained to them.

Fran and Zahm were also present. They looked somewhat uneasy when they saw me approach.

“Lady Rozemyne,” Zahm said, his tone more peaceful than his face suggested. “Lord Ferdinand and Lord Hartmut were just telling us you are soon to become Aub Ahrensbach. He asked if we would go with you so that we could make Ahrensbach’s temple like this one.”

“Can I really come with you?” Fran asked, looking doubtful. “Is it really okay for me to join you and Lord Ferdinand...?”

“Um, Fran... These plans are far from set in stone,” I said, shooting a glare at everyone who was treating it like a done deal. “We still need the Zent’s approval.”

Fran slumped his shoulders in response. He looked a little dejected, so I took his hand in mine and continued, “Th-That said, if they were set in stone, of course I would ask you to accompany me. I would want you in whatever temple I moved to.”

“I shall await your invitation while training my replacement,” Fran said. His and Zahm’s expressions reminded me of when Lasfam had waited to be invited to Ahrensbach, and at once, I was struck with the feeling that I absolutely needed to make this happen.

Ferdinand gestured me over to his highbeast, and we took flight once again. I couldn’t help but glare at him as I reproachfully spoke his name.

“Have you finally made some resolve?” he scoffed. “You stated your wishes, and it was unsightly to see you act so noncommittal toward them.”

“Can I really become an aub when I can’t bear to even touch feystones?”

“That issue can be resolved with more determination on your part. Follow your desires! Do not let your fears misguide you.”

Ferdinand then pushed me forward. As I gazed at the vast sky sprawled out ahead of me, memories of the wishes I’d shared with Leonore and Hannelore flitted through my mind.