Ascendance of a Bookworm

Chapter 154: Crusade against the Demon Tree (I)

"What a pointless blessing. How did she do such a stupid thing?"

As I looked up at the soaring knights, I overheard a scornful snort behind me.

"Skicossa, what are you talking about?!"

They were both wearing helmets and I couldn't see their faces, but I guessed that the one standing proudly was Skicossa and that the one stopping him was Damour. Judging by their voices, they were both very young. They were probably young adults and might even be minors.

"Am I wrong? It was foolish of her to bless the Order with her magic when there is a shortage of it everywhere."

Skicossa pushed away Damour and pointed at me.

"It's true that the Order can never lose to Tronbay without a blessing, but it makes a big difference whether it has the blessing of Angleff, the god of valour. After all, there are so few men this time."

I listened to their conversation with great anxiety. I only wished good luck to the knights who were about to fight the giant Tronbay, and when I said something that I thought would not sound strange to aristocrats, it somehow turned out to be a blessing. I was startled to see the ring suddenly glow. It probably wouldn't have turned out to be a blessing if the Head Priest hadn't lent me the ring, so it was just an accident.

… Perhaps the Head Priest was startled too.

And, although Skicossa said it was a waste of magic, I stopped as soon as I noticed that the sapphire on the ring was absorbing it, so it wouldn't have any effect on the ceremony.

"I'm awfully sorry if I've upset you. I'll be more careful about my behaviour in the future."

I kept my rebuttal to myself and apologized at once to prevent the situation from becoming troublesome. Skicossa only snorted, but I hoped that would be the end of the matter.

"You don't have to worry about what Skicossa just said. There are not many of us right now, and we're grateful for your blessing… Look, the battle has begun."

Damour said to me thoughtfully, pointing to the sky. Following his finger tip, knights circling in the air now and then flashed through the gaps between the trees. What exactly are they going to do to defeat Tronbay as a monster? I stood on tiptoe and watched them.

"——————!"

In midair came the voice of the Head Priest. All I knew was that he shouted a command, but I didn't catch it at all. After the command, a black mist rose from each knight's hand, and out of the mist came shining weapons.

"Fran, do you know what that is?"

"I don't know. It's the first time I've ever seen a knights battle up close."

The Order was usually accompanied to the battle by two priests, one carrying the wand and performing the ceremony, and the other providing magical support, so the attendants never followed, Fran said. But this time the Head Priest had to fight with the Order, and I could not carry the wand, which was twice my height, and Fran had to take care of me. With these three points in mind, the two attendants were able to come.

"It's a weapon blessed by the god of darkness, trainee priestess. The enemy loses a lot of magic when attacked by such a weapon, so it is indispensable in the crusade against Tronbay."

I had not expected an aristocrat to act as a narrator for me, so I looked up at Damour in his metal armour with some surprise. I could only see his mouth in the shadow of his helmet, but I had no sense that he discriminated against me as a commoner.

"Very few people can see a knight in action. Enjoy it."

"Thank you very much."

"It starts with shooting to weaken Tronbay. You see, that blue cape is Lord Ferdinand."

In the direction Damour was pointing, a knight was sitting astride a lion, drawing his bow. His posture was very similar to that of horseback archery. All the capes fluttered in the wind, and in a patch of bright yellow, only one was blue.

… That is the Head Priest! He is so cool! Come on!

In order to maintain my dignity, I could not shout at will, but in my heart I tried desperately to cheer on the Head Priest. Though I was too far away to see the bowstring, I could tell from the movements of his arms and the black arrow that flew out that he had fired. With a wheeze, the arrow burst through the air, splintering into myriads of tiny arrows, raining down on the giant Tronbay. The spots where the arrows had struck gleamed, and then a series of small explosions were heard, but Tronbay seemed completely oblivious to the scale of the attack and continued to brandished branches.

"It takes quite a bit of magic to make an arrow rain like that. It's impressive that Lord Ferdinand can even do it several times, isn't it?"

In a tone of adoration, Damour explained to me what was so wonderful about the Head Priest. He evidently held him in great esteem.

"If only Lord Ferdinand would rejoin the Order soon…"

I blinked in bewilderment as Damour blurted out this remark in a long speech in praise of the Head Priest. Seeing me looking up at him, he whispered after an awkward silence:

"… it's a secret."

"Got it. I won't tell."

I had heard from the Head Priest that he was not born and raised in the temple, but I had no idea that he had ever served in the Order. No wonder he and Castid seemed to have known each other for so long, even their armour was identical. He was a slender man, with a sensitive personality, and the appearance and temperament of a man at ease with his room. It was inconceivable that he ever served in the Order. But he didn't strike me at all as a discordant note in this battle symphony.

… As an aristocrat, he was not only proficient in literature and martial arts, but also proficient in the art of music. He really could do anything.

I wish I could spare some of his abilities. So I thought, and looked up at the Head Priest. His blue cape fluttered in the wind like a flag, and arrows, driven by his magic, rained down on Tronbay.

"It's working. Tronbay is turning black. Can you see it?"

It was true, as Damour had said, that tiny black spots had begun to appear where the arrows of the Head Priest had struck. And as the arrows rained down, their numbers grew.

"I can see it. Ah, the branches…"

As if corroded from the black spots, the surprisingly powerful branches suddenly broke and fell. The broken branches turned into firefly lights and disappeared.

Tronbay stretched its movable branches, trying to knock the knights out of the air, but failed to hit them who could fly at will. Instead, the knights seized the opportunity to counterattack and impaled the brandishing branches with black weapons that seemed to be a combination of axe and lance. The branches that were under attack all turned black and thumped down.

I didn't know how many branches had fallen, but by the time I noticed, the Tronbay hole had stopped expanding, and the number of branches flailing had decreased. The knights cut through the dying remains of the branches and began to attack its trunk directly. The trunk was huge and strong, but it was already dotted with black spots. Tronbay gradually lost its life under the continuous attacks.

"It's almost over."

Whispered Damour, who seemed relieved. I had been worried about how to defeat the giant Tronbay when I saw how dangerous it was, but now that it was coming to an end in such a short time, I could not help but sigh with relief with Damour.

"I was worried about what would happen to the knights fighting such a demon tree, but I was relieved they didn't seem to be hurt."

"Tronbay comes out every year, so after all these battles, even though the Order is small, it's never lost. And this time with Lord Ferdinand's help, even killing the branches was very easy."

Damour said the arrow rain of the Head Priest greatly increased the effectiveness of the crusade against Tronbay. If too few men were able to attack Tronbay from a distance while avoiding its attack, it would be slow to weaken it, so each time a few knights would be hit by brandishing branches.

I couldn't see Damour's face, but his voice was gentle. So I looked up at him with a smile on my face, but suddenly there was a grunt of displeasure behind me.

"Why are you so close to a commoner, Damour? Don't you know? She's a commoner. It's arrogant of her, a commoner, to wear a blue robe that only an aristocrat can wear. What was Lord Ferdinand thinking? It's true that the number of aristocrats is now greatly reduced, but that is not a reason enough for a commoner to wear a blue robe."

"Skicossa, what are you talking about… Please don't talk nonsense."