Schtappe Fundamentals

Schtappe Fundamentals

Schtappe Fundamentals

There were still a number of days left before it was time for my schtappe usage lesson, so I spent the time making picture book manuscripts and studying for my upcoming second year. Once I mastered using my schtappe, there would be no more barriers between me and the library, so I was practically counting down the days until class began.

One girl sighed. “It is only at times like this that I find your talents vexatious, Lady Rozemyne.”

The girls were all studying blisteringly hard to pass their written lessons, eager to accompany me to the library for Schwartz and Weiss’s measuring session. Brunhilde was being especially industrious, as she also wanted to schedule the tea party with the music professors as soon as possible.

“Lady Rozemyne, you do not need to rush passing your lessons,” another girl added.

“At this rate, we may not be able to attend when Schwartz and Weiss are measured,” noted a third.

The girls were working with the same fervent, desperate expressions the first-years had worn when aiming to pass all their written classes in one go. It seemed their passion was at least somewhat contagious, as the boys who still had written lessons left were putting their all into studying as well. I gazed around the common room with a smile, then shook my head at all the pleading eyes; I had already waited long enough.

“I will pass my schtappe lesson as soon as possible and then go straight to the library,” I declared. “Far from slowing down, I would rather the class begin right away, so that I may be done with it immediately!”

Hartmut chuckled. “Learning how to use your schtappe is not so easy, Lady Rozemyne; laynobles have to spend almost the entire term learning to use theirs. Even archduke candidates struggle to pass on their first day. I’m afraid you will simply need to give up on this one.”

His doubts only made me want to pass even more. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that I pass,” I replied. “No effort will be spared in my struggle to reach the library.”

“Indeed, Hartmut,” Brunhilde added coolly as she continued focusing on her studies. “There is nothing that can stop Lady Rozemyne’s surge toward the library. If she intends to pass right away, then we as her retainers must assume it will happen. I am already struggling to plan the upcoming tea party, considering her desperation to do nothing but hole up in the library.”

It seemed that Brunhilde had made much progress herself—she only had one more class to finish before she had passed them all.

“I see. So are you saying Lady Rozemyne will hold nothing back for the sake of the library? That she will throw her absolute all into this endeavor?”

“Exactly.”

“In that case, I look forward to witnessing you give rise to a new legend, Lady Rozemyne.”

Urk... Do I really have to choose between gaining access to the library and avoiding a new legend...? This is rough... I really don’t want to stand out any more than I do already—after all, obscurity is essential to a quiet, peaceful life. Then again, I won’t truly be at peace until the library is mine to explore. What should I do? This truly is a philosophical dilemma for the ages...

Or is it...? Could I ever pick anything other than the library?

No. No, I could not.

“Lady Rozemyne, if you wish not to stand out, we suggest you hold off on immediately passing at least one of your classes,” my retainers noted as I exited the dormitory to go to my schtappe class.

Wilfried and I gathered in the usual hall along with the archnobles and such. Hirschur and Rauffen entered soon after; they were evidently our professors for the day.

“Schtappes can only be used by nobles,” Rauffen began, clenching one hand into a determined fist. “If you don’t have a schtappe, you’re not a noble.”

To be recognized as a noble, one needed to possess enough mana to recover their Divine Will. The mana measuring done at baptisms was for this purpose.

A schtappe was apparently one of the things that the first-ever king had been given by the gods. He had up to that point possessed more mana than he could ever use, and the schtappe he was granted allowed him to freely use it all... or so the bible said, anyway. I wasn’t sure whether everything in the bible was completely true, but after all my experiences in this world, I imagined something similar had actually happened. There was surely some base for the legend to have been formed upon.

“We shall begin by forming the schtappe,” Hirschur said. “Everyone, please create a schtappe in a form that you find easy to use. Once you have done so, please come to me. We will ask you to create and dispel the schtappe three times in quick succession, to confirm that you are comfortable with the technique.”

“Right. I’m gonna make an amazing schtappe,” Wilfried said.

Everyone probably had the same idea; they started forming their schtappes, focusing on the shape and size. The archduke candidates were used to controlling their mana, so they were putting their absolute all into producing magnificent creations worthy of their status. The archnobles, on the other hand, were less used to controlling their mana. Most were struggling to create a schtappe at all.

“Mine’s going to look so cool. What’re you gonna make, Rozemyne?” Wilfried asked, his dark-green eyes sparkling with excitement as he glanced my way. Little did he know, I had already spent an entire day playing around with my schtappe before eventually coming to the conclusion that simple is best.

“I intend to make a simple schtappe like the one most adults use,” I replied.

“Aw, what? That’s so boring though. Why not put a little more effort into it? Your highbeast is already weird enough, so nobody’s going to be surprised if your schtappe is weird too.”

Lessy wasn’t weird—his focus on practicality simply meant he was a little different from other highbeasts. It wasn’t as though I had deliberately made him unique, either; standing out for the sake of standing out wasn’t important to me.

“Highbeasts I can understand, but I don’t see the need to obsess over schtappes too much,” I explained. You can just keep messing around with yours until you realize I’m right , I silently added as I walked over to Hirschur.

“Oh my. Lady Rozemyne,” the professor said. “How can I help?”

“I can make my schtappe. Can I do the test now?”

“...You practiced on your own, didn’t you?” she asked, looking at me like I was some kind of problem child before encouraging me to demonstrate.

I worked my mana and made a schtappe of the same shape and size three times in quick succession. Hirschur blinked in surprise, then sighed.

“You have excellent control of your schtappe; there should be no issue with you moving forward to the next step. You will now need to use your schtappe to fill a magic tool with mana. Rauffen, are the feystones ready?”

“Yep. All ready,” Rauffen replied, patting a bag on his hip. Hirschur watched as he started walking over to the side of the hall, away from the other students.

“Lady Rozemyne, you will follow Rauffen and learn to make an ordonnanz. Attempt to have it fly over to me,” she said. I nodded in response, spurring her to lean forward with a grin. “Ordonnanzes are used in this introductory class because they can be created from the smallest drop of mana,” she added in a hushed voice. “Do try to restrain yourself.”

“Okay.”

I had previously learned for my magecraft test that the feystones used for making ordonnanzes were no normal feystones—they were specially crafted for a specific and limited purpose. Everyone called them feystones because they looked very similar, but in reality, they were a kind of magic tool.

Green feystones were likewise crafted for a particular purpose, and they were oft used in daily life. Attendants in particular found them useful, since they allowed for a source of water to be linked with a pitcher. The feystone embedded in the bottom of the pitcher could be activated with a tap of one’s schtappe, causing water to endlessly flow from inside. These feystones were primarily used to fill tubs with water for baths.

When I caught up with Rauffen, he gave me an all-too-familiar yellow feystone. I looked it over while he explained what to do.

“You’ll struggle to communicate with people if you don’t learn how to make ordonnanzes right. This is something everyone in every course will use, so if you don’t master it, you won’t even be able to take on apprentice work. Got that?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t hear you!”

“YES!” I replied more forcefully, earning me a grin and an approving nod. I was getting a little worried about how much longer I could keep up with Rauffen’s passionate teaching style; having enough mana for the task wouldn’t matter if I ended up dying from exhaustion before it even began.

“First, lightly tap the feystone with your schtappe while pouring mana into it,” he explained, demonstrating the process. I placed the feystone on the palm of my left hand, then whipped out my schtappe with my right. Keeping Hirschur’s warning in mind, I made sure to pour in as little mana as possible.

Ooh... Wow.

As it turned out, schtappes did indeed allow one to use their mana more efficiently. While using my mana had previously felt like water pouring from a bucket, it was now like a water faucet I could adjust at will. I tapped the yellow feystone lightly, then watched in wide-eyed amazement as it turned into a familiar white bird. It spread its wings, then dug into my arm and folded them back down. It was practically weightless.

Wowee. Now I’m really like a wizard.

I could summon a tool for better controlling my mana at will, then tap a yellow stone to turn it into a white bird. At some point, I had turned into a fully-fledged denizen of fantasy.

“Oh, not bad!” Rauffen exclaimed. “Now, once the ordonnanz opens its mouth, put your voice into it.”

The ordonnanz promptly opened its mouth, so I spoke my message. “This is Rozemyne. Professor Hirschur, I’ve finished making the ordonnanz,” I said. When I fell silent, the bird closed its mouth.

I was about to move my schtappe to send the ordonnanz off to Hirschur, but Rauffen stopped me. He then swung his own schtappe like a conductor’s baton.

“If you have anything else to say, tap the ordonnanz’s beak with your schtappe again and it’ll open,” he noted.

The more you know...

I nodded, intrigued, and tried tapping the ordonnanz on its beak. Just as Rauffen had said, it opened its mouth again.

“How do you make the ordonnanz close it?”

“All you have to do is speak. See?” he said, gesturing toward the ordonnanz that had now closed its mouth again.

“Wait, what? H-How do I erase the message?!” I yelped. I didn’t want my first ordonnanz to carry such a dumb exchange.

Rauffen laughed, then explained that I simply needed to suck the mana from the ordonnanz with my schtappe and return it to its feystone form. I did just that, then re-recorded my message.

“Once you’ve said your piece, picture the ordonnanz flying to Hirschur, then swing your schtappe while pushing out your mana. And put some real oomph into it!” Rauffen declared. Given how much mana I had though, I felt that wantonly giving it my all wasn’t a good idea—especially considering that I was only sending the ordonnanz to Hirschur a short distance away.

I swung my schtappe, ever so gently sending out some mana, then watched as the ordonnanz flew over to Hirschur. It repeated its message three times, just as I was used to, before returning with a message for me.

“Well done,” the ordonnanz said in Hirschur’s voice. “You may now move on to the next step.” It repeated this thrice before returning to the form of a yellow feystone, which I then handed to Rauffen.