Chapter 645 - The Ritual of Succession
In the end, the ants disappeared after Price-sama's tenth turn. At the last, there weren't enough to fill the room; there were so few they could be counted, so we must have wiped them out. I illuminated the depths of the holes where the ants seemed to have come from with a lantern, but none came out. I don't know how many we defeated, but there must have been some that escaped, and it was probably several thousand. We three joined in Price-sama's prayer and sent off the souls of the ants.
I went further in, using the [Firefly] attached to the tip of my staff as a light.
When we climbed the small burial mound where the graves were, two graves with stones placed on them were lined up at the top.
Stone slabs were buried in front of the graves, with names and years of birth and death engraved on them. I didn't quite understand her mother's birth year, but it was probably her home country's era name or something.
Her father's death year was twenty years ago. It was the year the members of the Class of 175 were three years old. If Lyudmila's growth stopped at twelve as she looks after receiving the ritual at that time, she would be nine years older than me. Even with some variation and estimating conservatively, she would be six or seven years older. And her mother died nine years after the ritual. Lyudmila entered the orphanage that year as a twelve-year-old, along with her ten-year-old brother. No wonder she's reliable despite her appearance. In reality, she came to the orphanage after reaching adulthood.
"This one is your father's grave. Jeanne, put [Firefly] on the tips of mine and Price's staves too."
The Headmistress said after briefly checking the characters engraved on the two graves.
"Ah, yes."
I put [Firefly] on the tips of the three staves.
"Then, we will begin the Ritual of Succession."
"Yes."
Lyudmila knelt in front of her father's grave as planned. She had changed into a white tunic. To be precise, she was wearing nothing under the tunic. This was because there was a possibility her body would grow as soon as the ritual ended. She had also taken off her shoes and was wearing adult sandals. They were oversized, but better than being barefoot.
The placement of people was decided. Lyudmila was in front of her father's grave, and the Headmistress was directly behind her. Price-sama was to the left of the Headmistress, and I was further to the left. Since her mother's grave was on the right side from our perspective, I was at the far end.
Price-sama took out four sheets of parchment and handed them to everyone. Characters were lined up on them.
"These are the words of the prayer for performing the ritual. Basically, Catherine and Lyudmila will chant, and I will join in. However, there are times when I will ask Jeanne to help. I will give a signal beforehand, so please join in then."
"When there is no signal, I shouldn't join in?"
"Yes. Rather, please do not join in."
"Y-Yes. I understand."
It was the first time I was instructed not to join in. Normally, one joins in even without instructions. Is this also the continental style? However, I was surprised when I saw the words. They were probably not the language of the White Island.
"Olga made it. It's originally the language of her hometown. These are just the pronunciations extracted and written down. When you read it, don't worry about the meaning, just pay attention to the pronunciation."
"Y-Yes."
I was allowed to practice several times. In particular, the parts I was to read were fixed, and if it was just those parts, I could manage the sounds even if it was awkward.
The Headmistress straightened her posture. She took a beautiful posture that would serve as a model for many priests. The way her shoulders were relaxed was masterful.
"Well then, I'm starting."
When the Headmistress took a deep, slow breath, she began chanting as if singing. No, this was clearly a song. The Headmistress's calm and gentle voice echoed in the room. Lyudmila's voice was small, but the melody was the same as the Headmistress's. Lyudmila must also know the song. On the other hand, Price-sama, who was joining in, didn't seem to be following the melody in particular, but just sounded like he was reading it aloud. And the timing for joining in was unusual. It wasn't by verse, but he started joining in several characters late. The timing started from characters marked on the parchment, and if read normally, it was almost the same as or slightly later than the end of a verse of the song. That in itself could be heard sufficiently as part of the song. Probably, the person who made it chose the words so that it would be so.
As we proceeded to the second and third lines, Lyudmila's voice began to lag, and finally, it could no longer be heard. Before I knew it, she was crouching.
"Jeanne, stay as you are and maintain your original posture."
"Ah, yes!"
When I stepped forward to help Lyudmila, I was cautioned by Price-sama. I hurriedly returned to my original position and straightened my posture.
By the fifth line, Lyudmila began to sway, and by the seventh line, she finally fell over. She was curled up small with her back rounded and her arms and legs bent.
When I looked at Price-sama, he shook his head with a stern look. I must not move.
By the time the seventh line ended and we were about to start the eighth line, Lyudmila began to make soft sleeping sounds. It seemed my worry was unnecessary.
When the ninth line ended, she began to mumble. She's quite relaxed.
"She's asleep, it seems."
When the tenth line ended, the Headmistress also took a breath.
"Is it okay for her to be sleeping?"
"It's fine. Let's let her have a good dream for a while."
Indeed, her sleeping face looked somewhat smirking.
"Umm, Papa... mumble mumble."
I was startled by her sudden sleep-talking. She herself was sleeping happily.
"A dream... is it?"
"In a sense, she's possessed. By her father's soul."
I see... so that's it. The Headmistress's song-like prayer was to put Lyudmila to sleep and call forth her father's soul. The souls of the two are joined. It's a state where their hearts are connected, so to speak, so the sleeping Lyudmila is meeting him in her dream.
After resting for about half an hour while looking at Lyudmila's sleeping face, the Headmistress stood up, deciding it was the right time. Lyudmila remained asleep.
"From the eleventh line. Jeanne's part is a little later, but don't forget. You don't have to force a loud voice. It doesn't matter if the timing of your reading is slightly off, just stay calm and read to the end. It's important that your voice reaches Lyudmila's soul."
"Yes. I understand."
The prayer was resumed. It was to separate the two connected souls and advance Lyudmila's stopped growth.
The Headmistress began to sing slowly. Price-sama joined in. Until now, I had been listening to the prayers of the two while comparing the parchment and Price-sama's face, but Price-sama, so that I could match the timing well, when a place with a mark for vocalization approached, he looked at me, inhaled through his nose with his mouth closed, paused for a moment, then raised his chin slightly before opening his mouth to vocalize. He was making it easy for me to understand. Inhaling only through the nose was also an unexpected discovery. Since the Headmistress seemed to be inhaling normally through her mouth, it must be different between singing and chanting.
Finally, the place where I was to participate approached.
Price-sama looked at my face and raised his chin.
I was able to match the timing well. While inhaling deeply through my nose, I glanced at the characters on the parchment. Since I was holding it down with my finger, the first sound was also correct. I looked at Price-sama again and raised my chin together with him to vocalize.
I had roughly grasped the pace of reading, so I was able to match it well. Price-sama nodded and smiled at me.
From here on, I would participate until the end. I joined in while looking at the parchment, Price-sama, Lyudmila, and her father's grave.
As the end approached and there were about two lines left, Lyudmila made a fussing sound. The time for parting was near.
I heard later that the song the Headmistress and Lyudmila sang was about the meeting and parting of a man and a woman in the forest, and it truly described the feelings of Lyudmila's mother and father. Lyudmila's mother, who was born as a half-Vampire, abandoned her hometown and moved to this forest. In this forest, she met her father, who was a hunter. The two married and made a home, and then her father died first. The first verse was about the meeting and the second about the parting. At the end of the second verse's lyrics, there was apparently an expression like the departing man left a light for the woman, and that light must be Lyudmila. It was Lyudmila's mother who made those lyrics into the incantation for the dispelling of the seal, and the Headmistress also helped.
When they finished singing to the end, a single small light came out of Lyudmila's body and entered her father's grave. A single tear flowed from Lyudmila's closed eyes. At the same time, the Headmistress began the incantation for [Ascension].
When Lyudmila opened her eyes and sat up, the incantation ended.
"[Ascension]!"
A mass of light was formed in the Headmistress's right palm, which she held high at the moment of activation. The light that came out of the grave was slowly circling Lyudmila's body.
"It's okay now. Papa, thank you. Please meet Mama at the Goddess's side."
When Lyudmila, who had wiped her tears with her hand, said this, the light rose as it was and was absorbed into the mass of light the Headmistress had made.
"Lyudmila, let's go outside and send off your father's soul. Hold my staff. Jeanne, will you lead the way?"
"Yes!"
When we went outside, the Henry Party was waiting for us. We all watched as the mass of light rose into the sky while performing the funeral prayer.
"Eh? Lyudmila, did you grow?"
Since the mass of light could no longer be seen, I looked at Lyudmila, and her height, which had only reached my chest, had surpassed mine. Her hair, which she had cut short like a boy's, also passed her shoulders.
"Really? It's true. Jeanne became smaller!"
Lyudmila, who had been looking at the sky all the while, peeked at my face and was surprised again. She's a tremendous beauty. Until now, she was only expected to become a reasonable beauty in the future, but rather, her childlike cuteness had taken priority. Thinking about it now, her father's blood must have been strongly reflected. That had become something between a beautiful girl and a beautiful woman in terms of age, with deep features and beautiful double eyelids. If she continues to grow like this, she might become even prettier than Will. If that happens, those who could rival her would be royalty... and even then, only the royalty of Medioland or Northern Gram, who are famous for being exceptionally beautiful.
"She was already about this big when she came out."
"That's right~"
Will and Bonnie said they thought a different person had come out at first. Even though they had heard about it beforehand, she grew that much in height.
According to the Headmistress and Eleanor-sama, she is currently about seventeen or eighteen years old, and from now on, she will grow slightly faster than the actual passage of time and catch up to her actual age.
"It will probably take a few more years. Her food expenses might increase a bit accordingly, but work hard and earn it."
The Class of 175 will be twenty-three this year. Even if her true age is the same, she's five or six years different.
"Lyudmila, I've prepared new clothes at your house. Let's change."
It was Eleanor-sama.
Lyudmila was just wearing the tunic. At the time of the ritual, her ankles were barely visible, but now everything below her knees was exposed. Her legs had become quite long. The oversized sandals also fit perfectly.
We returned to the house and had Lyudmila change. What Eleanor-sama had prepared were adult undergarments and a one-piece dress. She kept the sandals as they were. When I handed her a [Firefly] for light, she went into the storehouse.
Lyudmila, who came out after changing, was a complete princess. Her grey eyes and red hair were the same and must have been inherited from her parents. Her gaze was exactly like her mother's, making one feel her strength of will. On the other hand, the way she looked embarrassed was cute. As Mary predicted, she should be a model for the new works. No, rather, she could even be in a shop under royal patronage on the main street instead of the third shop. The men, regardless of whether they were royalty, high-ranking priests, or bandits, were all sighing. If the King made her his adopted daughter, couldn't she be used for diplomacy?
"Um, you know, Jeanne. I have to apologize."
Her way of speaking remained that of a twelve-year-old. This wasn't related to the seal, so it must be her personality.
"What? Did something happen?"
"Um, you know."
"Yeah."
"I, you see."
"Yeah."
"I'm not the same as Jeanne anymore."
She was holding her chest with both hands.
"A-Ah, you know, Lyudmila. You don't have to apologize for that."
"Yeah. I knew it."
Dammit! Don't say such things with that cute smile. Yeah, diplomacy is impossible for you.
Lyudmila, who was reborn... or rather, grew, learned new magic. Since Price-sama had already returned to Medioland, she's probably treated as a secret weapon. Originally, they had said her body might grow, but they hadn't said she would learn magic in front of Price-sama. Nevertheless, immediately after seeing off Price-sama at the port, they flew the ultra-high-speed bowl to Finis to receive an oracle. It must be Eleanor-sama's scheme. For some reason, I was made to participate too. But it's probably been found out.
"I became ultra-high-level."
She came out with a full smile. In Finis, it takes time, but the oracle and the magic guidance are finished in one go.
"Isn't that great!"
Finally, she's the third ultra-high-level of the Class of 175. What she learned was fire magic, apparently [Prominence]. As expected, it must be her mother's blood.
"Also, [Wind Barrier], [Mist], and [Clump Water]."
"You learned two high-level spells at once?"
One ultra-high-level, two high-level, and one mid-level. I've never heard of learning so many at the same time.
"And, you know, I also learned dark magic."
"Eh?"
It seems she learned [Dark]. Is it going to be okay?
When I looked at the Priestess who was the oracle-giver, she was laughing, "Ho ho ho."
"It's only because you are from Sertoria. Please keep it a secret."
"We appreciate your cooperation. It's a small amount, but please let us donate this. Also, similar things might happen in the future. Please look after us."
Eleanor-sama held out a leather bag. Since it was clinking, it must be gold coins.
"My, my, you are always so admirable. Oh, don't worry, I won't speak of this to anyone. Of course, not even to the Finis Royal Family."
She was receiving it with a "Ho ho ho."
Somehow, she's like a bad politician.
According to Eleanor-sama, it was apparently within the range of expectations that Lyudmila would learn dark magic. It was because she inherited her mother's power. From now on, every time she comes to receive an oracle, she will apparently learn some kind of magic for the amount she has grown. Incidentally, they won't seal [Dark] with a [Magic-Sealing Ring].
"Never use it in front of people."
She winked. In other words, she was telling her to practice secretly. This is already an ultra-secret weapon even more than Wilson-san or Mary.
"Olga wished for a very ordinary life for you. Since the Sertorian Royal Family will provide as much support as possible, please by all means succeed as an agricultural researcher."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
"Also, if you are looking for a marriage partner, don't hesitate to say so. I have plenty of connections within Sertoria."
She's being very thorough. I don't think she's ordinary anymore.
Lyudmila just laughed brightly, "Ahaha."