Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.1 - Chapter 14

Gretia’s Circumstances and Gathering Ingredients

I asked for a separate room to be prepared, then made my way there with Gretia. She was a fourth-year, the same as Judithe, which made her one year older than me. Everyone in their grade had worked together back when they were in their second year and the Better Grades Committee was first established, so they were closer with each other than they were with their seniors. That might have explained why Gretia was almost hiding behind Judithe. It was rare to see a noble acting timid so openly.

Gretia always wore her gray hair in a large braid that reached down her back. It was very similar to how Lieseleta wore hers, except that Gretia took care to ensure that not a single strand was out of place. She was dressed in particularly bland clothes, which I assumed was so that she wouldn’t stand out—but, unfortunately for her, she had developed shockingly well for a young woman her age, so my eyes were naturally drawn to her chest.

“Gretia,” I said.

“Y-Yes?” she replied. Our conversation had barely even started, but it was already apparent that she was something of a gloomy shut-in. She was maintaining a neutral expression, but her voice was quavering and she was clasping her hands together.

“I heard from Judithe that you wish to give me your name.”

“Yes, my lady. Please accept my request.”

“I wish to hear your reasoning before anything else. There is no need for you to take such action, is there?”

Gretia looked at Matthias and Laurenz with wavering eyes, then looked down at her feet. “I want a guardian...” she finally said.

“A guardian? You wouldn’t need to...”

I stopped mid-sentence. The children of the former Veronica faction certainly couldn’t become retainers without first giving their names.

“This is... my only chance,” Gretia said, shooting her head up and staring at me in desperation. Her eyes had thus far been hidden by her bangs, so this was my first time seeing them properly. They were a pleasant bluish-green.

“This is my only hope,” Gretia stressed.

“I’m sorry, but... I don’t understand,” I said.

Gretia pressed her lips together, then took out a sound-blocking magic tool. “I don’t want others to know about my family circumstances.”

I gave Rihyarda a look, silently conveying my question of whether it was safe for me to comply. In response, she directed Brunhilde to inspect the magic tool for any danger. My retainers were now extra sensitive about what I touched, owing to our previous incident, so she checked it over thoroughly for poison or any dangerous magic circles. It was all done so smoothly that I couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly my retainers had adapted.

After finishing her checks, Brunhilde handed me the sound-blocking magic tool. Meanwhile, Gretia was watching me carefully, wanting to confirm that I was firmly grasping the tool. Her confession really must have been one that she didn’t want others to hear.

“I was... born in the temple,” she eventually admitted.

“Wha?”

“I’m the daughter of a blue priest and a blue shrine maiden. At least, that’s what I’ve always been told.”

I could only listen in a daze as Gretia continued her completely unexpected story. It had all started before the country-wide purge, she said—before the temple had experienced its mana shortage, when there were still many blue priests and shrine maidens. Hearing the words “blue priest” had consistently brought images of old men without much mana to my mind, but, apparently, that trend hadn’t always existed.

According to Gretia, during these older days of the temple, a blue shrine maiden and a blue priest of mednoble origins had fostered a secret romance. They had attempted to keep their relationship a secret, only for everything to be revealed when the shrine maiden became pregnant.

“They couldn’t get married due to being in the temple,” Gretia explained. “My birth mother asked if she and the priest could return to their respective families and marry there, but she was mocked for making a request so far above her station. She was sent back home in the end, but she was considered a disgrace and confined to a side building. I’m told that my birth mother never saw the blue priest whom she loved again.”

Gretia had ended up being raised in this side building until she was baptized—and, all the while, her birth mother had grumbled about how much better her life had been before she was burdened with a child.

“Before she became pregnant with me, my birth mother received support from her family and subsidiary payments from the archduke. She had been pampered when traveling across the provinces for rituals, receiving money and gifts. Loyal gray priests and shrine maidens had served as her attendants—a stark contrast to the guards she had received in the side building—and she had apparently been very happy with the man she loved. That is, before I was born and ruined everything...”

The purge and mass exodus to the Sovereignty had then occurred, leaving each duchy with a considerable lack of nobles and spurring the integration of temple children back into noble society. Gretia had spent her entire life up to that point being raised to be a servant, but the circumstances had resulted in her mana being measured. The next thing she knew, her birth mother’s older brother and his first wife had taken her as their daughter so that they could use her for a political marriage.

“They baptized me, so they became my parents... but not once have they shown me even the slightest trace of warmth or affection,” Gretia continued. “They simply told me again and again not to embarrass myself or disgrace them as my mother had, since I was a tool to be used for political gain.” She gripped her skirt tightly. “My brothers only ever call me ‘the temple girl’ and mock my gray hair, saying that it makes me look like an old woman... and, when my body started to develop at an earlier age than most, they teased me for being a cow. I’ve never known peace.”

This was my first time speaking with someone else who had effectively laundered the circumstances of their birth through a baptism. It was also my first time learning that those baptized into another family were sometimes treated much, much worse than their new parents’ actual children.

Mother sure is something else for looking after me as she does her actual children...

She had prepared my chambers, ensured that several baptismal outfits were made for me, and taken care to educate me into a proper archnoble girl. My older brothers had never bullied me; in fact, on the contrary, my entire family had always done everything in their power to keep me safe. I expected that this would have been the case even if the archduke hadn’t adopted me.

“My family is from a mednoble house,” Gretia said. “We don’t make the plans in our faction; we’re just expected to execute them. Political marriages play an important role in keeping the house secure, with daughters being married off as second or third wives. But I never felt bad about that.”

Gretia wanted to leave her family and start being treated as a regular noble, whether through a political marriage or otherwise. She didn’t even mind if she married a man old enough to be her father. Escaping her current situation would at least keep her from being called “the temple girl.”

“Being forced to offer my name was like the gods extending their hands to save me,” Gretia continued. “It was a chance to finally renounce that ‘family’ and serve a lord or lady of my own choosing. To that end, I thought that the Saint of Ehrenfest, who shows compassion even to orphans as the High Bishop, wouldn’t think anything about me being born to a shrine maiden. I thought that she—that you—would accept me for who I am.”

Gretia believed that she wasn’t skilled enough to work as my attendant, but knowing that she could focus on private rather than public work had apparently brought her great peace of mind.

“But, in the end, my parents were able to avoid execution. Upon hearing this news, my only thought was that I could no longer put on a sad face and give my name to you without any problems,” Gretia said, having internally despaired while all the other children of the former Veronica faction were rejoicing. “I am fully confident that, even if my father wasn’t executed, he still committed grave crimes. Someone else may have come up with the plans and given him his orders, but I saw him struggling with the fact that he couldn’t refuse to carry them out.”

Gretia sighed and continued, “I can’t imagine anyone would want to marry the daughter of a serious criminal. Rather than finding someone who will treat me well, my parents will desperately try to pair me off with anyone who can improve their status. I was belittled so much at home that I’ve developed a talent for reading the expressions of others and imagining the worst-case scenario... and, as I see it, my chances of a pleasant life are practically nonexistent.”

Her eyes downcast, Gretia went on to explain that, when she had been celebrating the opportunity to give her name, the worst-case scenario she had envisioned was her family surviving. She considered it just her luck that it had come true.

“Gretia, to give someone your name is to put your very life in their hands,” I said. “If your lord or lady falls, then so do you. Of course, I will do my best to ensure that such a thing never happens, but there is no guarantee that I won’t end up traversing the same path as Lady Veronica, who lost her power and was imprisoned. Not to mention, there are many areas in which I am lacking as a guardian. Have you considered all that carefully?” I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was seeing me through rose-tinted glasses and ignoring the demerits that would come from serving me.

“I have heard everything from Roderick and Judithe. You treat even your commoner musician and chefs with respect, no? And you have made arrangements such that Roderick never has to see his family. I am confident that my decision here is the right one.” Gretia gave a small smile and then added, “I am an apprentice attendant, after all. I can gather the information I need.”

Gretia’s smile disappeared as quickly as it had come, replaced instead with an expression of complete seriousness. “This is my only chance, here where my family has no eyes,” she said. “I’m... aware that you have too few attendants right now. I will accept any order, even if you tell me to devote my entire life to you and never take a husband. Or, really, that’s what I would want. Please accept my name. I beg of you.”

I could feel the crushing anxiety in her voice. This really was her last chance.

“I was already resolved to accept your name before,” I said. “If you still wish for me to take it, then I will.”

“I thank you ever so much,” Gretia said, a gentle smile arising on her face.

It was at that moment that I truly understood my duty to Gretia; I needed to protect her smile—to ensure that she wouldn’t have to return to staring somberly down at her feet. I gave her back the sound-blocking magic tool and then informed my gathered retainers that I would be taking her name.

“Let us all gather ingredients for Muriella and Gretia next Earthday,” I said.

“Understood,” everyone replied.

Matthias met my announcement with a look of contentment. “In that case, once we return to the common room, I will explain to everyone how to gather the high-quality ingredients needed for a name-giving feystone. I know of a particularly efficient method.”

And so, we returned to the common room. Wilfried and Charlotte looked concerned when they saw me, but I gave them a smile and merely said, “According to Matthias, there is a more efficient method of obtaining high-quality ingredients.”

“Naturally, it is not every day that one gets to hunt a feybeast with parts as mana- and element-rich as a ternisbefallen,” Matthias noted. “Plus, feybeasts on that level are generally too strong for scholars and attendants to gather materials from. Doing so may take longer, but I am of the opinion that we should use more reliable and consistent methods here.”

I nodded; if there were feybeasts like ternisbefallens hanging out all over the place, then “terrifying” wouldn’t even begin to describe it. Matthias was going to be explaining what were essentially pro tips for gathering ingredients, so even children not intending to give their names came to listen.

“So, what do you do?” Wilfried asked.

“Go to the gathering spot, dye a teigenehm fruit with your mana, and then feed that dyed fruit to a feybeast. The mana inside will cause the feybeast to swell to an enormous size—at which point you slay it and obtain its stone. I discovered this method when watching Lady Rozemyne enlarge Dunkelfelger’s treasure during that first-year ditter game.”

Evidently, these teigenehm fruit found in the Ehrenfest gathering spot produced similar effects to ruelles.

“However,” Matthias continued, “there is one problem: teigenehm fruit can only take one kind of mana at a time. You will need to dye as many as you have elements.”

It was necessary to separate one’s mana into its elements before dyeing the fruit, so this method could only be used by those who had such fine control—in other words, those in their third year and above. Luckily, this posed no issues at all, since only the older students had ended up needing to give their names.

“Have the apprentice knights weaken a feybeast, then feed it a mana-filled teigenehm fruit,” Matthias summarized. “Finish the beast off immediately after it grows, before it can get used to all the mana.”

“I see... That’ll take a while, yeah. I wanted some high-quality feystones myself, but I think I’ll leave it for later,” Wilfried said, opting out for the time being.

Leonore looked at both Wilfried and Charlotte, her brow furrowed. “Given that students will need to be guarded while dyeing the fruit and the feybeasts will need to be weakened to the brink of death, this trip will require many knights. How many can you lend us, Lord Wilfried, Lady Charlotte?”

“Sister,” Charlotte said, turning to me, “how many of your guard knights are staying behind in the dormitory on the day?”

I didn’t know everyone’s plans for Earthday, so I gave Leonore a meaningful look, prompting her to answer in my stead.

“The plan is for all of us to come,” Leonore said with a smile. “Lady Rozemyne is going to the gathering spot, and we must see to her protection.”

“This is my first time hearing that, Leonore...” I said.

“That would be because I am only now deciding it, after hearing Matthias’s explanation,” she replied casually. “I have many reasons for this. First, I do not want us to be separated—it is unwise to split the party. Second, dyeing a teigenehm fruit can be quite a lengthy process, and I would like for you to protect them in the gathering spot with Schutzaria’s shield during this time. No matter how many apprentice knights we bring with us, it carries too much risk to guard four charges simultaneously while hunting feybeasts.”

She had a point—by having me shield the tree and its surroundings with Schutzaria’s shield, the apprentice knights could hunt without needing to worry about us, and the four dyeing teigenehm fruit could focus on just that. Dyeing ruelles had been a nightmare precisely because they needed to grow in the moonlight, which had meant that I couldn’t use Schutzaria’s shield, as it would have blocked the light.

We even ended up failing that first attempt.

“Furthermore,” Leonore continued, “if we are to collect ingredients for this many people at once, then the gathering spot may need to be replenished with a blessing—which will also be an opportunity for you to expend some of your mana. This, alongside your prolonged efforts to maintain Schutzaria’s shield, should aid you in decompressing more of your mana.”

Right... That last reason is pretty big.

I responded with a firm nod. We had started to receive considerably fewer feystones from Ehrenfest, so I needed to take all the chances to let out my mana that I could get.

“Well,” Charlotte interjected, “if Sister is going to be shielding us, perhaps I should go along as well.”

“Lady Charlotte?”

“A teigenehm fruit dyed with one’s mana is a valuable ingredient all on its own, no?”

“Good point,” Wilfried agreed. “In that case, I’ll go too. Even if we don’t end up feeding them to feybeasts for their feystones, the fruit alone is bound to be worth having.”

And so it was decided that everyone in the dormitory, excluding the first-years, would go on this trip together. My shield would provide us all with much greater safety than usual, and we could all gather as much as we wanted, since everything was going to be regenerated right after.

“The first-years will stay here, as they naturally cannot travel to the gathering spot without a highbeast,” I said. “Please look forward to joining us next year.”

The first-years looked on with envy, having not started their brewing classes or learned to form highbeasts. Among them, however, a lone voice spoke up.

“Lady Rozemyne, I already know how to make my highbeast. Plus, I’m your guard knight, so please take me with you!”

It was Theodore, looking like the absolute last thing he wanted was to be left behind. He really was just like Judithe.

“Now, now, Theodore,” Judithe said, putting on her big-sister face, “you’re barely used to using your highbeast, so won’t you just slow everyone down? I think you should sit this one out.”

A smirk crept onto my face. Had their positions been reversed so that Judithe was the one being left out, she absolutely would have gotten all teary-eyed and pleaded for us to bring her too. And, with that in mind, I granted Theodore permission to come.

“We do need as many apprentice knights as we can get,” I said. “You may come, Theodore.”

“Thank you,” he replied, his expression shifting from a look of relief to a subtle proud smile.

Now that we had decided which apprentice knights were going to be coming with us, Leonore, Alexis, and Natalie began to discuss the finer details. They went over how best to use Schutzaria’s shield, how to go about gathering ingredients, which feybeasts would need to be exterminated, and which ones would need to be weakened to turn into feystones, among other things.

For the most part, this had become a meeting of apprentice knights. Philine listened for a short while, then suddenly clapped her hands together and said, “Let us prepare lunch boxes, Lady Rozemyne. The gathering spot is warm and free of snow, and, with your shield of Wind, we will be free to eat at our leisure and without fear of any feybeast attacks.” There was an excited grin spread across her face.

“Oh my! What a splendid idea!” Charlotte cried with delight.

“I believe I shall have quiche.”

“We will also need to prepare warm tea, Lady Charlotte.”

Charlotte’s and my retainers’ suggestion that we should prepare lunch quickly snowballed into our Earthday gathering trip becoming a picnic, and with that in mind—

“Meat pies would be delightful as well.”

“Oh, but would sandwiches not be easier to eat?” Charlotte replied.

“Ngh... I’m going to prepare something too!” Wilfried interjected, forcing his way into the conversation after seeing how much Charlotte and I were enjoying ourselves. Our picnic had now gone a step further into a full-blown dormitory field trip.

The first-years had gone from looking disappointed to outright vexed. I would need to ask Hugo and Ella to cook them something special to make up for this.

“What will you have your chefs make, Sister?” Charlotte asked.

You can’t have a bento without onigiri, right?

“Why, there are so many tasty choices that I simply cannot decide.”

And so came Earthday. Several apprentice knights had gone to the gathering spot early to reduce the feybeast population, and, when we received word that they were done, we went along after them. All of our lunches were packed securely in my extra-large Pandabus, and our group soon became caught up in excited chatter.

Once we arrived, I produced my shield around the teigenehm tree, and the gathering began. The apprentice knights got to work weakening the feybeasts outside of the barrier, while Theodore stood by my side as a guard knight.

“Hold this teigenehm fruit, focus, and pour mana of only one element into it,” Matthias instructed. “Continue this until the entire fruit has turned the color of that element.”

We all gripped our teigenehm fruit and started doing as Matthias had said. Just like with the ruelle, the teigenehm fruit were very resistant to the flow of mana, but I continued to force my mana into them until three were completely dyed. Naturally, I didn’t want to go so far as to make one of each element right away.

“Lady Rozemyne, my mana isn’t going in at all...” Muriella said, looking at my three dyed fruit with troubled eyes. I followed her gaze and then gave a nostalgic smile; it hadn’t been all that long ago that I had been in that same position.

“Feyplants are living beings too,” I said, “so they are very resistant to mana. You will not have much choice but to take your time and use rejuvenation potions.”

I was feeling somewhat tired from having dyed three fruit at once, so I decided to rest in Lessy. I may have gotten a little healthier since my second jureve, but there was still a very genuine risk that I might overdo it and collapse again. Still, thanks to decompressing my mana, I was feeling noticeably better than before.

Oh yeah... I think I heard once that too much mana is bad for the body.

I picked up a book and started to read, hoping that I would be able to reach the end of my time in the Royal Academy while remaining healthy. The sun was shining bright, and, as I reclined back into one of my Pandabus’s soft chairs, I thought about what an elegant way this was to spend one’s day off.

While I was reading and maintaining the shield, all those who wanted to give their names secured the feystones they needed. From there, we enjoyed a tasty lunch and some nice conversation.

Overall, it was a very fun Earthday.