Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.3 - Chapter 14

Spring Prayer 

It didn’t take long for Sylvester to get bored of my “pooey” chirping and stop poking me. But in reality, it seemed that rather than getting bored, his interest had just shifted to something else. 

“What’s this thing?” he murmured before pulling my hair stick right out. Before I could react, my hair was falling down behind me. I shot my head up and saw that Sylvester was looking over the ornamental hair stick that my family had made me. He looked to be an adult in his late twenties, and yet his behavior was exactly that of a wild elementary school boy—unpredictable and unrestrained. 

He’ll break it! I realized, and the blood drained from my face. 

“P-Please give it back.” 

I reached my hand out. My plea made Sylvester grin like the Cheshire Cat; he raised his hand higher than I could reach and shook the hair stick, telling me to try and get it. As far as I could tell, he had absolutely no intention of giving it back to me. 

“Give it back!” 

I chased after Sylvester, jumping up to try and grab the hair stick as he moved it around to keep it out of reach. I ran out of breath in no time. 

“I’m... asking you... to give it back... It’s my... hair stick... The hair stick my father... and mother... and sister made...” 

Geez... I hate boys like this. 

I looked up at the hair stick dangling above me and clenched a fist, eyes narrowed. I could feel the mana inside of me heating up my entire body, rising forth as anger consumed me. 

“G-Gah! Apprentice, no!” Damuel cried out in a panic, leading both Karstedt and the High Priest to turn around and shoot their eyebrows up in anger. They took out their shining conductor’s baton-like wands and swiped them through the air. 

“You fool! I told you not to tease her too much!” 

“Do not bully a small child!” 

Two sharp chops landed on Sylvester’s head with a very pleasing thumping sound. Their shining wands had transformed into maces before my eyes. I gasped at the thought of how much damage they must have done, but Sylvester himself just shrugged. 

“Why so angry? I was just playing around a little.” 

Sylvester hadn’t learned his lesson at all, but now that I knew Karstedt and the High Priest would punish him whenever he went too far, all the anger boiling up inside of me just faded away. 

The High Priest snatched the hair stick out of Sylvester’s hand and gave it back to me. “You can put this back on yourself, I imagine?” 

“Yes. Thank you, High Priest.” 

I quickly bundled my hair back up with the hair stick. Sylvester watched with interest, then reached out for it again. Karstedt smacked his hand away with a roar, then pointed at the quaking Damuel. 

“Have your fun with Damuel, not Myne. He is made of much stouter stuff,” he said. 

The High Priest concurred, shooing Sylvester away. “Indeed. Go play with Damuel in the corner. Myne, you come here.” 

And so, after picking me up and bringing me to his desk, the High Priest resumed his meeting with Karstedt. They continued poring over the map, blatantly ignoring Damuel’s agonizing cries. 

Speaking of which, the map spread out across the desk made me let out an awed gasp; it was much more detailed than the one I had seen in the Merchant’s Guild. That one had only shown the names of cities and roads, so this was my first time seeing one that actually depicted the whole duchy. 

The duchy itself was long but thin, stretched out to the north and south with some areas colored red and others colored blue. It seemed that the areas around cities were mostly red, while there was more blue the further away from them you went. 

...I wonder what the colors signify? 

I was curious, but their discussion seemed serious enough that I deemed it better to keep my silence and just keep looking at the map. 

“...Yes, that should do.” 

“Let us depart, then.” 

Once Karstedt and the High Priest had agreed on everything, it was time to head to the Noble’s Gate. 

“Damuel, carry Myne. Sylvester, take this. And Karstedt, this.” 

Karstedt and Sylvester left the room carrying large pieces of luggage while Damuel followed with me in his arms. 

I whispered into his ear. “Sir Damuel, I would like to stay as far away from that blue priest as possible.” 

“You have no idea how much I agree.” 

Damuel and I saw eye to eye on this matter. He stepped back from Sylvester a little, on guard. It seemed that despite being a blue priest, Sylvester’s family was of an overwhelmingly higher status than Damuel’s. 

I wanted to stay as far away from Sylvester as I could, for fear of him turning into another Shikza when angry, but he actively followed after us. 

“Aren’t you two being a little cold to me?” 

“I-It must be your imagination,” I replied while looking around for someone who could take care of Sylvester. But Karstedt was nowhere to be seen, having already gone off ahead. I looked back over Damuel’s shoulder and saw the High Priest catching up to us from behind, having finished giving his final orders to his attendants. 

“High Priest...” I whimpered, making him rub his temples. 

“Sylvester, keep your distance from Myne. I do not want to deal with her falling apart before the Spring Prayer has even begun.” 

“She’d have to be pretty weak to fall apart from this. Isn’t that kinda pathetic?” Sylvester poked my cheek, probably because I was closer to his height now that Damuel was carrying me. 

The High Priest swatted his hand away and gave Sylvester a cold glare. “Yes, it is. Myne is so weak and sickly that we must all take great care when dealing with her, however tedious that may be. Do not make me repeat myself yet again.” 

Karstedt had opened the Noble’s Gate and was waiting for us in the plaza on the other side. He, Damuel, and the High Priest summoned highbeasts from their feystones while the High Priest gave instructions. 

“You lead, Karstedt. Myne and Damuel will stay in the middle, while Sylvester and I shall follow from behind.” 

“Does that sound good to you, apprentice?” asked Damuel. 

“Sir Damuel, you were not willing to protect me from Brother Sylvester.” 

Damuel hadn’t protected me at all from Sylvester’s teasing; he hardly seemed like a reliable bodyguard. I would feel much safer riding with the High Priest, to be honest. 

“Th-That’s because...” Damuel froze mid-sentence. He thought for a moment over whether he should continue, then murmured a quiet “Forgive me.” 

Damuel’s highbeast was a winged horse. I got on its back, then Damuel sat behind me and took the reins. The horse spread its wings and flew after Karstedt’s griffon, which had departed first. 

Once we flew over the lower city and passed the outer walls, the griffon immediately began descending. We were heading to the winter mansion of the closest farming town to the south gate, the same town that my neighborhood went to on pig killing day. The structure was tall and wide like a centuries-old elementary school, with a field that resembled a sports ground. 

Even from high up in the sky, I could tell a ton of people were gathered there. At a glance it looked like about one thousand people. As we descended to the plaza, the people in the middle pushed their way out to make space for us. 

Karstedt gracefully landed in the newly formed clearing and dismissed his highbeast as Damuel’s winged horse descended next to him. Karstedt picked me up from its back, then Damuel slid off and dismissed his highbeast as well. 

“Outta the way!” Sylvester cried out from above as the High Priest’s lion descended. Karstedt took a few steps back, still holding me in his arms, and looked up as a blueish thing leapt down from the lion with a loud shout. 

“What?!” 

“Bwuh?!” 

The crowd stirred at the sudden development, and as everyone watched on, the blue figure flipped in the air before landing and striking a pose. His energy seemed contagious; excitement raced through the crowd and everyone cheered as if they were watching a show. 

“That idiot’s getting carried away.” 

I felt a vague sense of frustration in Karstedt’s voice, and soon enough the High Priest’s lion plummeted down as if attempting to smash into Sylvester and crush him. But he simply dodged with an acrobatic maneuver and struck another pose. 

“Oooooh!” 

The crowd cheered even more. Sylvester had a very satisfied smile on his face, like an elementary school boy who had just shown off his special talent. 

“...Is the Spring Prayer a ceremony where priests give performances to the people?” I murmured, taken aback by how different Sylvester was from the blue priests I knew. 

Karstedt shook his head with a grim expression. “Myne, take no heed of him. He is no example to follow. Or rather, he is an example of something you must strive to never become.” 

“I imagine that Sylvester is a high-ranking noble, considering how casually he interacts with you, Lord Karstedt. Will he make unreasonable demands of me like the late Shikza once did?” 

I then asked how I should deal with someone who did what they pleased to those beneath them with no ear for protest, which made Karstedt look a little conflicted. 

“He is not a violent man. You can rest assured that he will not harm you. He just happens to be unreasonable... and a walking headache.” 

“If Sylvester makes unreasonable demands of me, may I come crying to you for help, future adoptive father?” I asked, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side. 

Karstedt opened his eyes wide, then gave me a broad grin. “Absolutely. Come to me whenever you like. I’ll destroy any villain that makes my adoptive daughter cry.” 

...My future adoptive father sure is a reliable guy. 

After I stealthily secured Karstedt’s backing, the High Priest dismissed his lion and started making his way toward a small stage at one end of the field. The people parted as he walked, forming a path directly to the stage for him. Meanwhile, Sylvester took out a large chalice about eighty centimeters tall from the bag on his back, holding it reverently while following behind the High Priest. 

Karstedt set me down onto the ground and prompted me to follow, but soon realized just how slow my walking speed was and had me back in his arms within seconds. He then strode quickly toward the stage as well. It seemed that my walking speed really was unbearable. 

But I’m only slow because adults have longer legs than me. It’s not my fault. 

After setting me down onto the stage, Karstedt and Damuel moved to the front and looked out across the crowd with hard looks in their eyes to show they meant business. Sylvester handed the large golden chalice—a divine instrument—to the High Priest, who then set it down on top of a large stand placed in the middle of the stage. 

“The Spring Prayer will now begin. Chiefs of this town and its neighbors, come forth.” 

At the High Priest’s call, five men each carrying a lidded bucket that seemed big enough to hold ten liters climbed onto the stage. 

“Myne, it is time to work.” 

The High Priest picked me up and set me down onto the stand with the chalice, since I couldn’t reach it on my own, and I walked on my knees across the red cloth that had been spread over the stand. The chalice looked something like a wine glass. Large feystones were embedded along its round bowl, with smaller ones dotting their way along its elaborately decorated stem down to the base. 

I settled down in front of the chalice and placed my hand on the feystones in its base. 

“O Goddess of Water Flutrane, bringer of healing and change. O twelve goddesses who serve by her side. The Goddess of Earth Geduldh has been freed from the God of Life Ewigeliebe. I pray that you grant your younger sister the power to birth new life.” 

The watching crowd stirred as I poured my mana into the chalice, making it shine with a bright golden light. 

“I offer to you our joy and songs of glee. I offer to you our prayers and gratitude, so that we may be blessed with your purifying protection. I ask that you fill the thousand lives upon the wide mortal realm with your divine color.” 

Once I finished the prayer, both Sylvester and the High Priest gently tilted the chalice. A shining green liquid poured over its rim and into the buckets of the lined-up town chiefs. 

“Praise be to Geduldh the Goddess of Earth and Flutrane the Goddess of Water!” 

Once the first bucket was filled and capped, a portion of the crowd began yelling out prayers and gratitude to the gods. They were probably the villagers of the town that had just had its bucket filled, as similar cries arose from a different crowd when the second bucket was filled. I took care to keep my hands on the chalice’s base and continue pouring mana until the fifth bucket had been filled. 

“That will be enough, Myne.” 

At the High Priest’s words I finally took my hands off of the tilted chalice, which was then positioned upright again before the High Priest set me back down onto the stage. I stood in the center, having been the one to offer up my mana, Sylvester and the High Priest standing one step behind me to either side. 

“Praise be to the gods!” shouted the High Priest. I reflexively made a sharp praying pose, and so too did all those in the field. The townsfolk were probably used to performing this pose every year; they made it a lot more naturally than anyone in the lower city did. 

“Thus concludes this Spring Prayer. Show the gods your obedience, and live properly with the new life that has been granted!” declared the High Priest to much cheers and elation, all while Sylvester wrapped the chalice in a cloth and stuffed it back into his bag. Once that was done, the High Priest summoned his feystone highbeast and the two jumped onto its back. 

“We must head to our next destination, for we are quite busy this year. May you all be blessed by the gods.” 

The High Priest circled his white lion around the crowd once, gold dust sprinkling down onto them. Meanwhile, Karstedt and Damuel summoned their own highbeasts. Damuel picked me up and set me onto his winged horse, which spread out its wings before soaring up into the sky, putting the farming town far behind us.

After that we traveled to the winter mansions of four different farming towns, completing the Spring Prayer at each of them. By the time we were done, the sun was setting and I was exhausted. 

“Now we just need to reach where we’ll be staying. Apprentice, don’t fall asleep. You’ll fall off,” chastised Damuel, and I nodded my droopy head while squeezing the reins.

“Myne, wake up.” 

“Bwuh?!” 

I awoke to the High Priest’s sharp voice and looked around, finding myself in front of a large estate. 

“Where is this place?” 

“Baron Blon’s summer mansion.” 

According to the High Priest, nobles entrusted with land by the archduke stayed in their mansions near the farming villages from Spring Prayer all the way to the Harvest Festival. They returned to the Noble’s Quarter during the winter to pay taxes and give a report on the last year while all the nobles in the city got to work gathering information on everything that happened over the past year. 

“The building over there is where the nobles live, while the visiting priests stay in this estate,” the High Priest continued. 

Since priests visited every year during the Spring Prayer and the Harvest Festival, nobles with land in the duchy had estates prepared for visiting nobles to stay inside. You could say it was a means of keeping priests separate from them, since although they were born from nobles, they were technically not nobles themselves. As evidence of this, the priests would only be met with a representative when they arrived. That was it. The noble wouldn’t even come out to greet them. 

“I believe Arno has already performed the greeting and had them open the locks for us.” 

The estate had several carriages parked out front, and the fact that they were all empty allowed me to conclude that our belongings had already been carried inside. 

“Welcome.” 

Our attendants greeted us together when we opened the door to the estate. There were several faces I didn’t recognize, but I could imagine that they were Sylvester’s attendants. 

Arno alone walked forward and whispered to the High Priest. “We would like to prepare for the meal, but there are only two dining halls. What shall we do?” 

“We will all eat together in the larger dining hall. However, ensure that Myne and Sylvester are seated far apart from each other.” 

“As you wish.” 

A farming town wouldn’t yet have enough food to support an entire entourage of priests and their attendants so soon after winter hibernation. They would sell us some vegetables, eggs, and milk, but we had to bring some of our own grain and oil. That was one reason why the priests who stayed behind didn’t want to go to the Spring Prayer. 

“Now then, everyone. Dress yourselves up and gather in the dining hall.” 

At the High Priest’s announcement, the attendants all headed to their respective masters. In my case, Rosina and Fran came hurrying over to me. The sight of them made me feel like I was home again. 

“Welcome, Sister Myne. Let us first change your clothes.” 

They guided me to a prepared room. Priests generally traveled in pairs, and a third fancy room would occasionally be prepared for the unusual case where a third priest tagged along. This time, Karstedt, Sylvester, and the High Priest were using the fancy rooms while Damuel and I, lower status as we were, stayed in rooms that were meant for servants. 

“This may be rough for you, Sir Damuel, but this room is larger than my home. I do not feel out of place here at all.” 

The room may have been on the lower end of the scale for nobles, but it was much bigger than an apartment in the lower city. It didn’t inconvenience me at all. Just having the carpet and sheets that had been brought from my director chambers was more than enough for me. 

Fran brought in a tub of water, which I used to bathe with Rosina’s assistance. It felt amazing since I had spent almost the entire day outside. 

Once I was clean, Rosina selected clothes the color of fresh grass for me and put the fancy cloth shoes that had just been made for me onto my feet. Out of the many hair sticks I had prepared for the Spring Prayer, Rosina selected the one Tuuli made over the winter. It had yellow, orange, and yellow-green flowers arranged to look like blossoms; those were the colors of spring. 

“Hugo and Ella worked quite hard on this meal. They said that they would not allow themselves to be overshadowed by the other chefs.” 

“In that case, I will have to give this meal my all as well.” 

Having a meal with those of noble status would be nothing but suffering for me. Rosina and Fran had beaten noble manners into my head over the winter, but I was sure that Karstedt—as my future adoptive father—would be closely watching my every move to see how much a commoner could do. There was also Sylvester to worry about. Who knew what he might say? If he were actually an elementary school boy then I could just ignore him, but as he was someone of a high-status noble birth, I couldn’t risk that. 

“May I return to my room once we’re finished eating?” 

“If you are invited to a post-meal gathering, you are of too low status to refuse.” 

Thaaat gives me a bad feeling... 

The meal was served in the larger dining hall. Everyone was dressed up. The High Priest was wearing his own personal clothes, which was quite the treat since I had only ever seen him in priest robes or a full set of armor. The clothes were droopy with the hanging sleeves expected of noble clothing. Sylvester I had likewise only seen in his priest robes, but since I had only met him today, I didn’t consider the sight of him wearing personal clothes anywhere near as momentous. 

“You certainly do look just like a noble’s daughter when you’re wearing clothes like that,” said Karstedt after seeing me. It should be safe to assume that was a compliment. 

I’m glad he didn’t reject me on the spot or get disappointed with me. 

“I thank you for the compliment, Lord Karstedt.” 

“I can see the fruits of her winter training,” noted the High Priest. “Her conduct and speech has very much improved. Though her frank displays of emotion could still use some work.” 

He always followed up his compliments with some sort of criticism, so it was hard to feel like he was ever actually complimenting you. 

“Sister Myne, here is your seat.” Fran guided me to a chair and served me my food. 

“How come you get different food than the rest of us?” Sylvester asked after seeing the bowl in front of me. 

“Perhaps because the meals were made by different chefs,” I suggested. “Fran, do you know?” 

Fran lowered his voice and explained. Of the two kitchens here, Hugo and Ella had been given the smaller one to use while the larger one was used for making normal noble food. 

“It seems that my food was prepared in a separate kitchen. Given my small number of attendants, it makes sense that my chefs would use the smaller kitchen.” 

I was fine with that since it meant I got to eat food I was used to, but Sylvester—sitting in the seat furthest away from mine—was looking my way with eyes full of curiosity. 

“That smells pretty good.” 

“Yes, my chefs are quite talented.” 

Everyone now had their food in front of them, so we crossed our arms and offered up a prayer. 

“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies who doth grace us with thousands upon thousands of lives to consume, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, I offer thanks and prayers to thee, and do take part in the meal so graciously provided.” 

The moment I took my first bite, Sylvester yelled “Guh?! Why are you eating it?!” Having no idea what he meant, I just cocked my head to the side in confusion. 

“...Why wouldn’t I?” 

“Sylvester expressed interest in your food, Myne,” said the High Priest with a shrug. “Did he not compliment the smell?” 

It seemed that Sylvester had been demanding I give him my food using the roundabout euphemisms that nobles loved so much. I hadn’t noticed at all. 

“I won’t give away all of it. You can have half, though.” 

“O-Only half?” Sylvester looked at me in disbelief, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. But I was the one at a loss. 

“This is my food. A proud blue priest of noble status such as yourself wouldn’t take all the food a poor commoner girl has, would you?” 

“O-Of course I wouldn’t. Of course...” 

In the end, Sylvester settled for half of my food, his curiosity getting the best of him. It seemed that although half-empty plates were sometimes given to attendants, nobody gave away just half of whatever they were eating to someone. Karstedt and the High Priest gave exasperated sighs as they rubbed their temples, while Damuel was frozen in place with an expression straight out of The Scream. 

According to what the High Priest later told me, when someone expressed interest in your food it was customary for you to then offer them your plate, and then wait for them to pass it back down to you. In other words, I should have just given him my bowl and waited. 

So giving him half was the wrong answer, hm? Darn. 

Once he finished the soup I had given him, Sylvester demanded with shining eyes that I hand over my chefs as well. But thanks to Karstedt and the High Priest stepping in, I managed to finish the meal without any harm nor foul. I silently thanked the two for keeping our seats separated, then stood up. 

“I must be taking my leave now. I shall leave you to your business.” 

I said my farewells to the men as they prepared for their after-meal gathering and tried to quickly return to my room, but Sylvester glared at me with his deep green eyes like a predator eyeing his prey. He beckoned me over. 

“Hold it, Myne. You’re coming with us. We’ve gotta talk a little more about trading chefs.” 

...Euuugh. Of course he hasn’t given up on it yet.