Published: September 6, 2025
“What exactly do you mean by that? I was raised in the temple and I believe I know it well.”
My words seemed to have been interpreted as venomous, just as Hilsure said. Immanuel spoke quietly. His gray, emotionless eyes looked straight at me.
…Ah, I did say to someone raised in the temple that they knew too little about the temple. When put that way, my words truly came off as quite sarcastic.
“My earlier remarks were directed at the teachers. In your case, it’s not the temple but the nobility that you don’t understand.”
Immanuel frowned, and I glanced around at the teachers, who all wore similarly puzzled expressions.
“Do you seriously believe you can equate the mana capacity of a blue priest or blue shrine maiden who cannot enter the noble academy, who don’t even possess a stave or know about mana compression, with mine—a lord candidate who achieved the highest honors at the noble academy?”
Starting with Rufen, the teachers’ eyes widened considerably. Many of them showed expressions of understanding.
Immanuel seemed to want to argue but couldn’t. He opened and closed his mouth several times, then clenched his back teeth.
“You mentioned that multiple blue priests perform the ritual over many days, but how many blue priests’ worth of mana does Teacher Rufen have?”
“I can’t say precisely how many, but I believe I can supply mana equivalent to several blue priests.”
That made sense. Rufen transferred to the Central Temple and is an excellent noble who serves as a teacher. Comparing him to blue priests is presumptuous.
Gundolf nodded a few times in agreement with Rufen’s words, then leaned in slightly and looked at me.
“It’s clear that Lady Rosemine and we others can supply mana equivalent to several blue priests, but how can a ritual that takes days be completed in such a short time?”
“Nobles possess many things that priests do not. That’s all there is to it. Of course, there’s the simple difference in mana capacity, but more importantly, it’s whether they have healing potions or not.”
Gundolf murmured, “Ah, healing potions,” as he stroked the belt around his waist and the pouch attached to it. Since nobles sometimes use too much mana in lectures, they basically always carry healing potions.
Priests in the temple do not attend lectures at the noble academy, so they cannot make healing potions themselves. They can only wait for natural recovery. That difference is significant.
My healing potions are made by the high priest, so their effectiveness differs completely from those learned at the noble academy, but there’s no need to say that out loud. The point is to show that nobles have means of recovery, unlike priests who must wait for natural healing.
“In other words, Lady Rosemine, as a lord candidate, has a large mana capacity and carries healing potions. There’s no need to wait days for recovery or arrange replacements so the ritual isn’t interrupted. That’s all there is to it, right?”
Gundolf summarized it simply, and an air of understanding spread among the teachers. This was a good flow. I just needed to keep it going.
“As Teacher Gundolf said, it’s special only because I, a lord candidate, hold the position of head priest. With the divine relic and knowledge of the blessing incantation, even teachers could perform the land regeneration. It is nothing special at all.”
Just as I quietly exhaled, relieved at the neat conclusion, Rufen looked up.
“Lady Rosemine, I heard you created a divine relic used in the regeneration ritual. Please explain that in detail.”
“It’s disrespectful to create fake divine relics!”
Fraurelm interrupted, but everyone seemed to have grown used to it, barely reacting beyond a sidelong glance. I did the same, briefly glancing his way before returning my gaze to Rufen.
“As you all know, I was raised in the temple, so I only know of the weapons and shields the gods of the altar carry. Lord Ferdinand can easily create both ordinary weapons and divine relics, but embarrassingly, I’m not as skilled as him. Therefore, I can only transform my stave into the divine relic I’m most familiar with.”