Chapter 7

Mount Lohenberg

“Is this your first time on a highbeast, Rozemyne?” Brigitte asked.

“I am familiar enough with the concept. This height is of no concern to me. Though it is cold.”

We had soared high above the ground, to the point where the chilled wind blew through my clothes and bit at my face. I missed Lessy. The cold was never a problem with my insulated highbeast. Thankfully, Brigitte noticed my shivering and covered me with her cape. She seemed to be operating under the assumption that I was a “proper” noble, and I was not about to correct it.

Ferdinand led the way to our destination, where we traveled southward for the next few hours. We closed in on a campfire relatively close to the entrance, with someone already there. The sun was already beginning to set, so it wasn’t until I had gotten closer that I realized it was Eckhart. He must have scouted ahead and set up camp.

We landed, and Brigitte helped me dismount. “Lord Eckhart, you did not travel with us?”

A brief flicker of surprise flashed across his face. “I went ahead to secure the area. We are safe here.”

“Report, Eckhart,” Ferdinand said.

He saluted at once, his face stern. His entire demeanor shifted to that of a knight once more. “My Lord, the Riesefalke has been spotted flying around the mountain during the day. I personally saw it go inside just a bell prior. There are no dangerous feybeasts in this area, either.”

“Good,” he nodded once, then turned to the rest of the group. “We shall camp here for the night and secure its egg at fourth bell. Do not kill the feybeasts within unless absolutely necessary.”

“Right.”

Everyone began to prepare for the night and started to boil the field rations for dinner. This time I managed to use the correct amount of water for my ration and hold my breath in time before Brigitte waschened me. Since I didn’t have Lessy, I slept in a tent that night next to Brigitte.

Once fourth bell came around, it was time to head inside Mount Lohenberg. We had barely walked for thirty seconds before Ferdinand ordered someone to carry me. I wanted to dispute it, but he was right. Without Lessy, I needed to save my strength to get the egg and fight off the eiderots and bataffes.

Then it was time for the eye drops. I knew they were necessary, but I still hated them. Especially Ferdinand’s eye drops, whose potions always tasted nasty. Brigitte was the one who held my eyes open, instead of Eckhart. I assume due to gender rules. “Blegh. They taste awful.”

“What manner of eye drops have a flavor?” Despite asking a question, he didn’t want to hear my answer. I barely got two words out before he moved on. We took breaks along the way, beside the spring pools that looked incredibly inviting. I didn’t say anything, though. I knew what lurked inside, and commenting on how pleasant it would feel would only earn me a lecture. At last we arrived at the last rest stop before the Riesefalke nest. “We shall use an empty fire feystone to draw the ambient mana of the area into itself, allowing us to take the egg without risk of Leidenschaft’s fury.”

“High Priest, what if the feystones aren’t enough, and the animals in the pool try to take the egg from me?”

“That is what your guards are for. They can use a net, preferably.”

In other words, I would be running. Again. I frowned at him, hoping my displeasure was clear enough in this dark sauna volcano for him to come up with some other plan. If he saw it, then he didn’t comment on it. Or he actively ignored me. I couldn’t tell which was worse.

“Lord Ferdinand is right, Rozemyne. Simply stick close to us, and we will protect you.” Damuel flashed a soft, comforting smile. The kind used toward scared kids, which I most definitely wasn’t. I was trying to alert them of future dangers without raising suspicion, but nobody seemed concerned. Well, this was what happened in the previous weave, so I suppose it needs to happen this time as well. Doing it differently could have disastrous consequences that I wouldn’t be prepared for.

I held back my grumbling and focused my attention on the bird. It was almost time for it to leave. While we waited, I stuck close to Damuel. He would most likely be the one to pick me up and dash over to the nest, since he was the one with the least amount of mana in the group. Then I realized I could fix that right now. Well, he still wouldn’t be an immediate match to Brigitte, and he likely would forget all about it in the heat of battle. But it could come in handy in a season from now.

I tiptoed closer. “Psst, Damuel. Do you have one of those eavesdropping tools?” He looked at me, extremely confused, but obliged. Once he activated the other end, I continued while covering my own mouth. “What if I told you I had an impressive compression method that would get you enough mana to go a solid mednoble tier?”

Damuel held back a smile, as if he didn’t believe me. But something in my expression must have told him I was serious, and the amused face he had before slowly transformed into a concerned frown. “If you did have a compression method, and if it did do as you say, how much would it cost?”

Cost, hm? “I’m not looking for money. When the time comes, I want you to be my permanent guard knight. I own my own business, so I can pay you full wages as well.”

He blinked a few times. “Me?” He mumbled, and his eyes drifted down as he fell into thought. After a moment, he nodded. “Very well, then. What is this method?”

I immediately took out my diptych and showcased my three-step compression method as best as I could, with the help of Damuel’s cape. I spotted Ferdinand watching me from his spot. But I wasn’t worried, since I had my mouth covered whenever I spoke, and Damuel had his back to him.

I finished just in time, thankfully. The bird’s long wings flapped in the air, and it took off just as Damuel put his cape back on. “You will have to try it another time. It looks like it’s time to infiltrate the nest.”

I gave back the eavesdropping tool to Damuel. Clutching my ring in one hand, I began to pour mana into it and prayed. “O Steifebrise, Goddess of Gale, please grant us your divine protection so that it might aid us in our swift mission.” At once, pale yellow motes of light fell upon us. I heard gasps all around me as the blessing settled, and I felt a bit faster. “There. That should help.”

I spoke too soon. The shift in mana had been noticed, and one of the larger eiderots jumped out of the spring pool. It growled at me, specifically, having caught the scent of my mana. Ferdinand huffed but thankfully didn’t rebuke me. Then began to administer orders. “Eckhart, you know how to gather the egg. Damuel, keep watch for the Reisefalke’s return. Brigitte, keep the feybeasts off them.” That was fine by me. Basically the same as last time.

Eckhart picked me up, and we all made a mad dash to our spots. The blessing had made us faster than the feybeasts, and they simply couldn’t catch up to us. We came upon the narrow passageway, where Ferdinand and Brigitte stood their ground. Eckhart squeezed in first, then me. Quickly, I continued on to the pond of water. “You must gather the egg yourself to prevent mana contamination. Wait one moment while I adjust the temperature.”

I watched as he took out the bag of feystones and tossed one in the pool. Once it was safe, he grabbed me and helped me dive under. Ahhh, the temperature was so nice. I wish I could stay in here for a little while longer. Such a shame.

I reached out, searching for a hot second for the eggs. Once I found one, I wrapped it tight around my arms and motioned for Eckhart to pull me up. I gasped for breath once my face breached the surface. “I got it! Let’s go!” I really didn’t want to be here when the bataffes found us.

Eckhart waded out of the pool as quickly as he could. But even with the blessing, we were still not fast enough. When I looked behind, I spotted one. “Bataffe!” Eckhart followed my line of sight and cursed under his breath upon spotting a singular baby bataffe swimming our way. I couldn’t use my Crushing here. Even just a little bit risked killing it and having the entire group come after us.

Eckhart picked up the pace, now carrying me under his arm. We were just coming up on the halfway mark to the passageway when Damuel shouted, “The Reisefalke is returning!”

“Keep running!” I urged Eckhart on. The rest of the Bataffes could be heard splashing around in the spring pool. Compared to us, the bird would rather protect the rest of their eggs than retrieve the one we had stolen. He didn’t need much encouragement, and we soon reached the narrow passageway we came through. Damuel went first, then me, then Eckhart took up the rear. I could hear the bataffes still screeching behind me, louder than before. Some of them must have followed us, and the passage that had slowed us gave them a chance to catch up.

Ferdinand came into sight soon enough, barely holding back the eiderots with multiple transformed schtappe nets. I didn’t have any breath to spare a thought on it, and neither did Eckhart as he dashed right past him and Brigitte, despite him asking for a report. “We got the egg! Run!”

Ferdinand held on until the last possible moment. Our party rushed on together, chased by a number of feybeasts. None of them could catch up to us, but no one wanted to stop and chance it. Even when the screeching and noise fell away, we continued to run as fast as we could until we all felt the blessing fade away. Even then, we only slowed to a fast walk for a bit further on until Ferdinand deemed it safe enough to stop. I requested a waschen immediately. The last time, I had stood in my wet clothes for far too long and ended up sick. This time, it hadn’t been too long, so I was hoping to have cut it off in time.

The exit was just ahead, so we decided to continue on until we were fully clear. The sulfur stench blew away with the wind, and the sky and land became a vibrant blue and green. I took a deep breath of the fresh air, now almost sweet compared to before. Brigitte looked me over worriedly. “Are you not tired from using so much mana, Rozemyne? That was a rather large blessing you made.”

She was such a sweetheart. “I thank you ever so much for your concern, Dame Brigitte, but that much mana was nothing to me. I am fine.” It really wasn’t much, but Damuel and Eckhart stared at me, and Ferdinand’s eyebrow twitched.

Brigitte blinked a few times before recovering with a small smile. “I see. I am glad you did so. The blessing was very helpful in our escape.”

“Indeed. How did you think to pray to Steifebrise, out of all the gods, instead of one of the major gods? And didn’t I explicitly tell you not to use it?” Ferdinand had come over and was looming over me, a dazzling smile present on his face. How scary! For some reason he was mad, even though my blessing made sure we got out quick and nothing died.

I glared at him as best as I could, since my arms still held the egg. “I studied the bible, of course! It was on your order that I was to memorize it, not to mention your never-ending study materials referencing them all. How could I not call to Steifebrise for help?”

Eckhart turned to him, completely surprised. “You’re handling her education, my lord?”

“I am hardly doing any such educating. I merely send her tests that she passes."

Eckhart turned to me with a new sense of awe. “She passes your tests…?” he mumbled. “First she feeds him, then helps with his work, now this…”

Uh oh. I knew that look. For a split second, I saw the same face Hartmut made when I prayed. I shuddered. Perhaps helping Ferdinand too early in my plan was the wrong idea. Well… It was too late now. I elected to ignore him for now and focused on the egg in my arms.

With the mission a total success, we were back at the temple by the next day, and the Reisefalke egg had been fully dyed. I had to place it in a mana-blocking bag while I was being transported on Briggitte’s highbeast to avoid any chance of contamination. After which, it was placed in Ferdinand’s hidden room. Surprisingly, I have not been in it this weave yet. I have been trying my best at not earning a lecture, and I also have demonstrated my noble training already. Maybe he thought it was unnecessary.

Back at the temple, I continued to get them up to speed with the workshop, preparing for winter, and helping Benno with setting up the restaurant. Then, it was time. I was on my way to the book room as usual when I noticed the carriages being loaded for the harvest festival. “Is it that time already?”

Fran glanced to where I was looking. “It seems so. Soon the temple will become empty, and the divine gifts will dwindle.”

“The orphanage will not starve this year. I have made sure of it.”

“What a shame.” I whipped my head around to see Egmont looking at me with the usual disgust nobles hold toward a commoner. Instinct told me to cross my arms and kneel, but that would ruin my plans of becoming a noble that was hidden in the temple. Instead, I only stared at him. His disgust quickly turned to anger. “What a filthy little commoner. Know your place, brat.”

He charged right at me, and his hand reached out to grab me. Fran was faster and quickly knelt in front of me, blocking his path. “You have my deepest apologies,” Fran said. It stopped Egmont short of attacking me.

“Tch. Don’t think the High Bishop won’t know of your insolence,” he snarled. He then left, making sure to bump me and Fran hard enough to make us stumble.

Once he was far enough, I helped Fran up, even though I was sure I was useless. He gave me a sympathetic smile in response. “I’m so sorry, Fran. Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am fine. Thank you for your concern, Sister Myne. Shall we continue?”

I nodded, and we continued to the book room. As expected, it was now a mess. Books had been thrown everywhere, and scrolls had been tossed haphazardly about. I could barely see the floor. Fran gasped beside me, now trembling. He must have thought I would want a bloody carnival. I do, but that can come later. “Fran, go ahead and summon everyone except Wilma. And have one of them bring the instructions for my decimal system. It’s time to reorganize the book room!”