Dedication Whirl

Dedication Whirl

Dedication Whirl

There were a few first-years who didn’t show up for breakfast, but by lunch, we were all gathered together. It seemed that everyone had safely absorbed their Divine Wills into themselves.

“I was starting to worry I wouldn’t be done in time for lunch,” Wilfried said with a bright grin as we headed with our retainers to dedication whirl practice.

All archduke candidates had dedication whirl practice, while apprentice archknights had sword dance practice. Everyone else would be practicing music. It wasn’t feasible for everyone to play the harspiel at once, so they would also be practicing other instruments that resembled flutes and drums, among other things.

“You have sword dance practice as well, right, Angelica? Even though you’re an apprentice medknight.”

“Right. Professor Rauffen recommended me for it. I’m glad everything worked out, because I’m really bad at music.”

When I stealthily asked Cornelius for more details later on, it turned out there had been a good number of reasons for Rauffen’s recommendation: Angelica’s mana capacity was now great enough to rival those of some archnobles; she had amazing potential, since sword dancing involved so much movement; beautiful young women added even more grace to the dance; and not only did she not care in the least about learning to play an instrument, she didn’t get any better no matter how much they tried to force her to play.

“You say that, but have you not had harspiel lessons?”

“Oh, I’d practiced the harspiel since I was little. Plus, when I was a second-year, I practiced so hard to get permission to start raising my manablade that I almost died. I haven’t gotten any better since then, but I’m getting by.”

It seemed Angelica had argued with her parents over what course she would take in the Academy, and it was only after a great deal of work that they accepted her as a manablade-wielding knight. Angelica always worked her hardest when she had a goal in mind that she actually wanted to accomplish—something I could very much relate to.

“I see... It’s nice that you had a professor to vouch for you.”

“Right. Sword dancing is really fun, so I’m glad it worked out too.”

I was fine with all that, since Angelica’s motivation was a precious thing indeed, but little did I know that Judithe was about to drop a complete bombshell on me.

“Angelica really is on a whole nother level,” she said to me, her violet eyes sparkling as she proudly puffed out her chest. “Most archnobles don’t even get picked to sword dance, since it’s a country-wide thing. If you look at Ehrenfest in particular, you won’t find many archnoble graduates who were chosen for it in all of history. It’s, like, really crazy and beyond amazing that Angelica got picked despite being a mednoble.”

It turned out that sword dancers and dedication whirlers were selected out of all the fifth-years at the end of the term. Ernesta, one of Charlotte’s guard knights, had apparently learned my compression method before starting her fifth year, but she hadn’t managed to develop her capacity quickly enough to be chosen. She had more than enough mana by the time she started her final year, which ended up killing her inside.

“I’m just a mednoble myself, and I’m not nearly as strong as Angelica, so I’ll never get picked,” Judithe continued. “Leonore and Traugott have a chance, though!”

Both Leonore and Traugott were archnobles, so if they learned my mana compression method at the end of winter and developed their mana capacities in time for the selection, there was certainly a chance they would be chosen.

“I wish to learn your compression method so that I might be selected to sword dance, just as Angelica was,” Traugott said, his exceptionally blue eyes gleaming with hope.

“I certainly appreciate my guard knights being selected for such an honor,” I said. “Please do your best.”

“Now then, milady, I advise that both Lord Wilfried and you focus on practice today. Students of all years are going to be gathered here,” Rihyarda said, earning solemn nods from Wilfried and me.

Every archduke candidate regardless of school year was practicing in the same hall, from us first-years to the sixth-years. I was rather nervous, since this was going to be my first time seeing the older students from the other duchies since the fellowship gatherings.

“First-years, please watch the older students carefully; you are to spend the first half of class learning by example,” a professor announced. “You shall whirl yourselves during the second half, which is your opportunity to show us all just how skilled you are.”

The other first-year candidates and I sat in the lined-up chairs provided, then I gazed around the hall as those from each grade whirled together. This was the first practice of the term, to see how much better everyone had gotten between spring and autumn.

As far as I could tell, the second-years were all of a similar skill level, but this certainly wasn’t the case among the older students. There were several people in particular who caught my eye due to the undeniable grace with which they spun and flicked their wrists while artfully moving their fingers. The sixth-years were the smallest group of all, since their whirlers had already been selected; there were three boys and four girls in total, all dressed in their respective divine colors as they prepared to begin practice. They wore thin veils over their faces, as well as silver sashes. They would apparently wear golden sashes when celebrating their coming of age ceremonies.

Those designs look a lot like the temple’s ceremonial robes.

Unlike those ceremonial robes, however, the clothes these students wore were mostly transparent and made of a light enough material that they majestically floated through the air with each spin. There were several incisions running from the waist down to the hem, probably to make the clothes easier to move around in and to ensure they ballooned out as intended.

And so, the sixth-years began their practice. Once the girls had their outfits on, they spread their arms out and spun, causing their wide sleeves to open up while the hems softly fluttered around them.

As I watched the sixth-years, I noticed there were seven boys and girls waiting nearby without any special clothes on. They were probably the back-up whirlers, judging by the way they were enviously eyeing the twirling dancers.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world,” began the familiar prayer. The dancers’ seven voices echoed throughout the hall as they celebrated the end of the harsh winter, hoped for spring to bear new life, thanked the gods for all the protection they had given up until their coming of age ceremonies, and asked for protection moving forward as well.

My eyes widened in surprise. Back in Ehrenfest, my lack of time meant I had only practiced the whirling itself, so this was my first time hearing the prayer at the start. It was so unusual watching a prayer from the bible being spoken by nobles rather than by priests, especially considering that nobles often looked down on the temple. It seemed that the religious leaders of the past had once been equivalent to royalty, but the temple’s reputation must have plummeted at some point across its long history.

“Praise be to the gods!” they declared, raising their arms and their left legs before beginning the dedication whirl.

My whirl instructor back in Ehrenfest had said it was hard to maintain one’s balance in such a pose, but I was used to balancing on one leg from all the praying I had to do, so my focus had simply been on learning the choreography. It hadn’t occurred to me at the time, but now that I was seeing how an actual dedication whirl was performed, I was even more convinced that the temple of the past had been a lot stronger than it was now.

The sleeves of seven differently colored outfits fluttered in time with the dancers’ gentle movements. It was only a practice session, but they were moving with such grace that it reminded me of a traditional Japanese dance.

Anyway... I see that Prince Anastasius was selected to pray to the God of Darkness. I assume the duchy rankings play a considerable part in who’s chosen for that role .

As I watched Anastasius whirl, I noticed his dancing was clearly inferior to that of the girl praying to the Goddess of Light. They were supposed to be a pair, praying to the King and Queen gods respectively, but the skill gap was more than noticeable.

Not that I can blame him; anyone would look bad whirling next to her. It can’t be good to show up a prince though.

The girl praying to the Goddess of Light was completely unrivaled in her dancing ability. Even the smallest details like her finger movements and the direction in which she gazed were refined to perfection, and she was so beautifully elegant I simply couldn’t look away.

“Oh my. Hello there, Wilfried.”

“Lady Detlinde...”

As soon as the older students took a short break, Detlinde—an Ahrensbach archduke candidate—strode over to us with a smile. She brushed back the gorgeous blonde tresses that had settled over her shoulder, looking at Wilfried with eyes that were just as green as his.

“I have heard much about your efforts, Wilfried. Few have ever managed to lead an entire duchy to pass their written classes on the first day. I truly am proud to be your cousin.”

“Thank you for your praise, but it was Rozemyne who—”

“My my. There is no point trying to give someone else the credit when everyone already knows the truth. That will only further emphasize your humility.”

“No, that’s not—” Wilfried began, only to be interrupted as Detlinde reached out her slender, white fingers and stroked his forehead with an amused smile.