There were still a few days to spare before the practical exam on basic Stappe usage. I spent my days working on picture book drafts and previewing second-year coursework.
Once I mastered the use of the Stappe, I'd be able to go to the Library at last. I was counting down the days until the practical lesson that would teach me the basics of Stappe usage.
"I wish Lady
"Lady Rozemyne, it would be fine even if you didn't rush to pass so quickly." "At this rate, I might not be able to go take Schwarz and Weiss's measurements."
The girls were studying with the same desperate expressions as the first-years who had been aiming to pass on their very first try. Encouraged by this, even the boys who still had lecture portions remaining were putting real effort into their studies.
Looking around the multipurpose hall, I smiled and shook my head. I had no intention of waiting any longer to go to the Library.
"I intend to pass quickly and go to the Library right away. I wish the Stappe lectures would start even a single day sooner."
When I declared that I absolutely had to pass on my first attempt,
"Learning the basics of the Stappe isn't so easy, Lady Rozemyne. Lower-ranking nobles truly spend the entire period mastering it. You rarely hear of anyone in the lord candidate course passing on the very first day."
He told me it was impossible, of course, but hearing that only made me all the more determined to pass out of sheer stubbornness.
"I will do everything in my power to pass. If it means getting to the Library, I can put in as much effort as it takes."
"Indeed, Hartmut. With the Library before her, Lady Rozemyne could never stop this advance. We retainers must plan our schedules with the goal of having her pass in the shortest time possible."
Brunhilde muttered that once Rozemyne was sequestered in the Library, it would be difficult to set up tea parties, before lowering her gaze back to her reference book. Apparently, if she passed the lecture for the reference book she was currently holding, her lecture portion would be complete.
"I see. For the Library's sake, you won't cut any corners at all. You're saying you'll face everything with your full effort?"
"That's exactly right."
"Then I shall look forward to witnessing you create a new legend, Lady Rozemyne."
And just like that, I received Hartmut's encouragement.
...A new legend and the Library. ...What should I do?
Honestly, I wanted to avoid having more rumors spread about me. A buried, peaceful life was essential. But the Library was essential for that peaceful life. Which should I choose? This was an extremely difficult question.
"By all means, let's create a new legend."
"Lady Rozemyne, if you wish to avoid standing out, wouldn't it be acceptable to delay passing just once?"
Sending off my retainers' voices, I headed to the practical lesson on basic Stappe usage. I entered the usual small hall alongside
"The Stappe is a tool only nobles can use. Only by absorbing the will of the gods within oneself can one begin to use it."
"What you obtained in the innermost chamber is the stone most suited to you. If it resonates most closely with your own magic power and you absorb it properly, you will be able to use magic power very efficiently."
In order to be recognized as a noble, one apparently needed enough magic power to acquire the "will of the gods." That screening was the magic power check conducted during the
One of the things the gods gave to the first king was this Stappe. According to the founding myth in the Holy Book, the king, who had previously been unable to put his own magic power to use, was able to freely manipulate it through the Stappe given by the gods... I didn't know whether everything in the Holy Book was complete fact, but I could now honestly believe that some event like that must have been the basis for the story.
"We'll start by forming the shape of the Stappe. Everyone, please create a Stappe that is easy for you to handle. To confirm whether you can produce it stably, you will repeat the process of bringing out and dismissing your Stappe three times."
Hirschur said, "Once you can stably create the shape, please come to me."
"Alright, I'm going to make an awesome Stappe!"
Everyone probably had the same thought. They all began bringing out their Stappe, focusing on the shape and size. The lord candidates, who were somewhat accustomed to handling magic power, were thinking about what kind of Stappe would be most suited to them and going all out to create the best one possible. The high-ranking nobles, who couldn't be said to be accustomed to handling magic power, were already struggling just to move their magic power to form the shape of the Stappe.
"I'm going to make a cool Stappe. What kind of Stappe are you planning to make, Rozemyne?"
Wilfried peered at me with his deep green eyes sparkling excitedly. On the day I absorbed the "will of the gods," I had already played around with it while rolling around in bed, so I had absolutely no intention of fussing over the Stappe's design. I had already reached the conclusion that simple was best.
"...I'm going to make an ordinary Stappe, like the ones other adults have."
"What? That's boring. Shouldn't you make something more elaborate? Your ride is already so unusual. If your Stappe were unusual too, nobody would be surprised."
"There's no need to make the Stappe elaborate."
I whispered in my heart that he should make it as elaborate as he wanted until he was satisfied, wished Wilfried the best of luck, and headed over to Hirschur.
"Oh my, Lady Rozemyne. What's the matter?"
"I'm going to form my Stappe. Please watch."
"...You've been practicing in secret, haven't you."
Shrugging lightly, Hirschur gestured for me to proceed. I formed my Stappe. Moving my magic power, I created the same Stappe shape three times in a row, and Hirschur's eyes went slightly wide as she let out a breath.
"Excellent stability. There seems to be absolutely no problem moving on to the next stage. Next, the task will be to use the Stappe to channel magic power into a Magical Tool. Lufen, is the magic stone ready?"
"Yeah, Hirschur. It's ready."
Tapping the leather pouch hanging at his hip, Lufen walked over to a spot away from the students. Watching him go, Hirschur explained the next task to me.
"Over there, Lufen will teach you how to make an Ordinance. Please try sending an Ordinance to me."
"Okay."
When I nodded, Hirschur's expression softened into a smile as she lowered her voice.
"The Ordinance was chosen as a teaching material because it can be formed with only a small amount of magic power. Please keep the magic power you pour in to a minimum."
"Understood."
This was something I had learned in the lecture portion on magic, but the magic stones used to make Ordinances were not ordinary magic stones. They were pre-blended magic stones with a limited purpose. Since they were shaped like magic stones, everyone called them magic stones, but strictly speaking, they were a type of Magical Tool.
Similarly limited in purpose and commonly used in daily life were the green magic stones. These were frequently used by attendants and were apparently used to connect a water bottle to a water pitcher. When you struck the magic stone embedded in the bottom of the pitcher with a Stappe, water would come out continuously. They were used primarily to fill baths with water.
When I went to Lufen, I was handed a yellow magic stone that looked familiar. As I gazed at the magic stone in my palm, Lufen spoke.
"If you don't learn how to use the Ordinance, you won't be able to deliver your voice to others. This is used by everyone regardless of their profession, so if you can't use an Ordinance, you'll have trouble even with apprentice work. Got it?"
"Yes."
"That response is too quiet!"
"Yes, sir!"
When I answered with all my might, Lufen smiled with satisfaction. "That's the spirit." But I felt a little anxious about how far I could keep up with this hot-blooded attitude. Even if there was no problem with magic power, there was a big problem with physical stamina.
"First, like this, lightly tap with the Stappe while channeling magic power into this magic stone to create an Ordinance."
Watching Lufen's demonstration, I placed the magic stone I'd been given in my left palm, gripped the Stappe that appeared in my right hand, and then, just as Hirschur had cautioned, poured in as little magic power as possible.
The Stappe really did allow one to use magic power efficiently. Before, my sensation had been like dumping water from a bucket, but now it felt like being able to control the amount from a faucet.
When I lightly tapped the magic stone with the Stappe, the yellow stone transformed into a white bird that I recognized.
The white bird spread its wings once with a flutter, perched on my arm, and folded them again. I could barely feel its weight. Eyes wide at this mysterious creature, I thought...
...Wow, I totally feel like a magic user.
The Stappe, a tool for freely manipulating magic power at will, had appeared, and when I struck the yellow stone with it, it became a white bird. Before I knew it, I myself had become a completely fantasy existence.
"Oh, you did that well. Now, when the Ordinance opens its mouth, try sending your voice."
Waiting for the Ordinance to open its mouth wide, I spoke.
"This is Rozemyne. Hirschur, the Ordinance is complete."
The moment I stopped speaking, the Ordinance closed its mouth. Good, I thought, and was about to send the Ordinance to Hirschur when Lufen waved his own Stappe lightly like a pointer.
"If you still have more to say, tap the beak with the Stappe again, and it'll open its mouth."
That was the first I'd learned of this. Nodding to myself, I tapped the Ordinance's beak with my Stappe. The Ordinance opened its mouth wide.
"...How do I close it?"
"Just speak and it closes. ...See?"
"Huh? A-And how do I cancel it!?"
I didn't want to send my first Ordinance with such a foolish exchange. At my question, Lufen laughed and told me, "If you absorb the magic power with your Stappe, it will return to its original magic stone state." I carefully absorbed the magic power with my Stappe and re-recorded my voice.
"After you've loaded your voice, imagine it flying to Hirschur and wave the Stappe as if pushing it forward with magic power."
Lufen said to give it my all, but if I really gave it my all, I thought it would be too much magic power. Especially since Hirschur was right there in plain sight—I figured I barely needed any.
Gently, as if pushing, I waved the Stappe.
The Ordinance flew to Hirschur, and just as I knew it would, it repeated the same words three times.
After that, an Ordinance carrying Hirschur's reply flew over, repeating "Well done. Lady Rozemyne, please proceed to the next task" three times before turning back into the yellow magic stone.
I returned the stone to Lufen.
"What's the next task?"
"Training in firing magic power with the Stappe. You can simply fire magic power for an attack, but this time the task is to launch a Rotte. A Rotte is a red light used to call for rescue. If you can do this, you'll be able to call for help if something happens. A knight should come running to assist."
With that, Lufen brought out his own Stappe and taught me how to launch a Rotte.
"Like this, you gather magic power at the tip of the Stappe. From your whole body, you pull in..."
As Lufen spoke, he seemed to be channeling magic power to the tip of his Stappe, and fist-sized light began gathering there. Before long, crackling sounds like static electricity started up.
"Rotte!"
Lufen shouted and swung his Stappe upward with a broad motion. At the same time, red light shot toward the ceiling, and after a moment it faded away. Nothing remained on the white ceiling.
"The buildings of Creation Magic won't be damaged by magic power, and the Rotte won't punch through them either. So give it everything you've got without worry."
"Um, Lufen. I don't mind giving it everything, but will today's practical lesson end with this task?"
If I gave it everything, wouldn't I be in trouble afterward? When I asked this question, Lufen blinked in surprise several times for some reason.
"There are still more tasks. But were you really planning to finish all of them today?"
"Yes. That's what I intended—is there a problem?"
"...No, I just thought you might want to conserve your magic power."
"Then wouldn't it also be wrong to give everything on this task?"
"W-Well. Fine. Give it your moderate best."
...I have no idea what that means. Moderate best—in other words, what am I supposed to do?
In any case, I now knew there were more tasks ahead, so I decided to take Lufen's words with a grain of salt and conserve my magic power.
Just as Lufen had done, I slowly channeled magic power to the tip of the Stappe, accumulating it to about the size of an adult's fist. The magic power gathered at the tip grew steadily and smoothly larger.
"Good, that's it! Keep it up! Make it bigger! Keep pouring in more magic power!"
...But seriously, this Stappe is really amazing.
The claim that it was a tool for using one's own magic power with maximum efficiency was no exaggeration at all. My magic power, which had been unstable and difficult to fine-tune, was now much easier to handle. It felt almost the same as how I could handle magic power when using Jureve to sleep.
"Now, release it! Shout 'Rotte' and fire it upward with all your might!"
...It's the ceiling, though.
I raised my right hand, gripping the Stappe, high and fired the fist-sized light toward the ceiling.
"Rotte."
The red light shot straight up toward the ceiling. The magic power regulation seemed to be working properly too. I let out a sigh of relief at having completed the task without any issues.
"Good, you pass. ...But you're not running low on magic power, are you?"
Lufen looked around and said with a hint of worry. I followed his gaze and looked around as well.
It seemed the high-ranking nobles were already exhausted from the effort of forming their Stappe. And the lord candidates, who had been absorbed in creating their own cool, original Stappe, had wasted quite a bit of magic power and were sitting down looking thoroughly tired.
Wilfried must have tried particularly hard to make his Stappe impressive, because he hadn't moved a step from his original position and wore a fatigued expression.
Only those who hadn't been particular about creating their own original Stappe design and had made a simple Stappe were attempting the Ordinance. Even so, some were apparently so fatigued that they gave up just before trying the Ordinance, while others collapsed after completing it.
...I really do have extraordinary magic power.
I could tell just by lightly closing my eyes that I still had plenty of magic power to spare.
"What are you going to do? Are you going to attempt the next task too?"
For just an instant, I agonized over whether to choose to blend in with everyone around me or to get to the Library as quickly as possible even if it meant being called extraordinary.
"I'll attempt the next task."
When I said that, Lufen's eyes widened slightly. Then, with eyes burning with passion, he said, "Challenging your own limits is also necessary in life. Alright, give it a try!" and explained the next task.
"Last task. Transform the Stappe so it can be used as a magic-infused tool."
The transformation I had seen most often was when knights transformed their Stappe into weapons during battle. But the first-years' task was apparently to transform the Stappe into a knife, a pen, and a mixing rod.
Hmm hmm, as I listened, I could see Hirschur walking over toward me. It seemed none of the other students had moved forward—everyone had retired.
Looking around at the students who were slumped from overusing their magic power, Hirschur spoke.
"Training to transform the Stappe is extremely important. Next year, you will learn the basics of blending Magical Tools, and if you can't transform your Stappe into a knife, pen, and mixing rod, your blending success rate will drop significantly."
The students' expressions grew tense at the words of Hirschur, who primarily handled Magical Tool blending. Apparently, you had to cut materials with a knife, inscribe a magic circle with a pen, and stir the blending pot while pouring in magic power with a mixing rod.
But having made Jureve, I knew this: you didn't necessarily need a Stappe to blend. As long as you had substitute Magical Tools, blending was possible.
"How do I transform it?"
"Let's start with the knife. Bring out your Stappe and visualize clearly in your mind how you want it to change."
Following Hirschur's instructions, I brought out my Stappe. Then I pictured the knife the Chief Priest had used during blending. As Hirschur murmured "Messer," I also intoned "Messer."
"...Ah."
The Stappe changed shape and became a knife in my hand. Looking at Hirschur, a very similar knife was gripped in her hand as well.
"Excellent. Now say 'Ruchen' to dismiss the transformation."
Holding the knife, I intoned "Ruchen." The Stappe returned to its original form instantly.
"Ohhh," voices of admiration rose from those around us.
"Now, please make a pen and mixing rod in the same way as the knife."
Following Hirschur's guidance, I said "Stilo" to create a pen and "Bimein" to create a mixing rod.
"...I never imagined you would pass every task on your very first day. This is an accomplishment not seen since Lord
At Hirschur's words, which came with an exasperated sigh, the students exchanged surprised looks. A buzz began, and some of the voices reached me.
"Ferdinand of Ehrenfest—do you mean that famous one?"
"Wasn't he known as the Treasure Stealing Ditter? I heard he was skilled in military strategy. It's said that in the years he was present, our domain always missed the victory. You lot are fortunate he's not around, I was told."
"No, he should have been a genius who invented Magical Tools one after another. My uncle bought a large number of Magical Tools from him, so I'm certain of it."
"Wasn't he a battle maniac who hunted down all the magical beasts in the area to gather materials? I heard he took most of the high-quality materials."
"Wasn't he a master of the Fespiel? My aunt said it was a wonderful performance and..."
"Which one of those is actually true!?"
...They're probably all true. He was a lord candidate, an apprentice knight, an apprentice scholar, and achieved excellent results in everything—I had heard as much.
I blinked at the newly learned exploits of the Chief Priest as recounted in other domains. His superhuman reputation apparently wasn't just mere family favoritism.
"If Ferdinand's dear student exists as a lord candidate, then it makes sense why Ehrenfest's results suddenly improved."
The conversation around me shifted to the Chief Priest, and everyone began sharing the legends they knew. By the time the rumors had grown so much that I thought multiple people's legends were being mixed in—not just the Chief Priest's—the attention directed at me had dropped considerably.
...When there's already a genius who's done amazing things, it's great that I don't have to stand out.
While everyone around was worked up talking about not just the Chief Priest but also legendary students from the past, Hirschur spoke to me.
"Please practice so you can transform quickly along with the incantation, without needing to close your eyes and picture the shape every single time."
"Okay."
...Yay, yay! I passed everything! Now I can go to the Library!
That was the basics of using a Stappe.
Wilfried is still trying to figure out how to make a cool Stappe.
Rozemyne's legend was replaced by Ferdinand's legend.
Next is a meeting about the tea party.