Published: September 6, 2025
As I stood up together with the knight apprentices participating in the speed competition known as the ditter, Wilfried grabbed my hand with a serious expression.
“I don’t know what you intend to do, but stop, Myne. Considering everything so far, I have a feeling that if you go out there, something terrible will happen.”
“I’m just imitating Dunkelfelger, Brother Wilfried. If the knight apprentices here can be even a little inspired, that’s enough.”
I said this while gesturing toward the fiery spirit of Dunkelfelger and the knight apprentices of Ehrenfest who had already been overwhelmed. Charlotte, looking thoughtful, placed her hand on her cheek.
“Um, older sister, this ditter duel can’t proceed to the subsequent rituals unless Dunkelfelger wins, so wouldn’t it be fine as it is? I don’t think you need to imitate Dunkelfelger’s rituals.”
“… Now that you mention it, that’s true.”
Dunkelfelger’s rituals took place before and after the ditter, with the latter being a ceremony to celebrate victory and give thanks to the gods.
Convinced by Charlotte’s words, I was about to sit down again when Restiraut returned from the arena and waved his hand.
“Since you’re at it, why not give it a try? It’s necessary for research to see if performing the same ritual in Ehrenfest differs from Dunkelfelger.”
“Th-That’s… exactly what Restiraut-sama said…”
Wilfried and Charlotte exchanged troubled looks.
“It’s intriguing whether the outcome changes when the ritual is performed at the same place and time by different people. It’s for research. Go ahead.”
“Understood. It’s for research, after all.”
Nodding to Restiraut, I mounted my knight’s mount and descended to the arena with the knight apprentices. Once below, Judith quietly asked while pointing out my position.
“Lady Rosemine, can you perform this song and dance?”
Looking around at the anxious faces of the knight apprentices ordered to perform the ritual just like Dunkelfelger’s, I noticed only Leonore seemed to understand I intended to perform the ritual secretly to bestow a blessing, moving briskly to indicate their positions.
“No. I just saw this for the first time today, so I can’t perform it. I’ll just hold the spear together with Restiraut-sama as imitation. But I thought it would be convenient for quietly bestowing the blessing of angrief.”
Judith’s violet eyes widened slightly, and she smiled softly at my words.
“Then won’t the results differ from Dunkelfelger’s? The pretense of collaborative research would collapse.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll use the same blessing incantation as Dunkelfelger’s. I just wanted to secretly bestow blessings on everyone. This should still be somewhat useful for research, right?”
Judith nodded and returned to her position. Leonore came over to confirm everyone was in place and explained the crucial points I absolutely must not miss. Simply put, it was important to firmly grasp the beginning and the end.
I glanced around at the knight apprentices surrounding me. It should start with me shouting a call and drawing the stave to produce the spear.
“Grant us strength as we face battle!”
…So, all I have to do is draw the spear at this point, right?
“Lanze!”
I drew the stave and transformed it into the Raiden Shaft Spear. As a signal, all the knight apprentices were able to transform their staves into spears, but their gazes were fixed in astonishment on the Raiden Shaft Spear.
…Now that I think about it, I briefly showed it during last year’s lectures, but I never showed it to the knight apprentices, did I?
Since the Raiden Shaft Spear isn’t something to be shown casually, perhaps none of Ehrenfest’s people except my close aides who enter and exit the temple had ever seen it. Still, now wasn’t the time for them to be staring in surprise.
…Hey. Stop looking this way and start singing.
I glared lightly at the apprentices staring at me and loudly said as clearly as I could, “I am one who offers prayers and gratitude to the gods who created the world,” striking the spear into the earth.