Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.3 - Chapter Pr

Prologue 

“Lord Karstedt, your visitor Lord Ferdinand has arrived.” 

Upon receiving the announcement from one of his attendants, Karstedt made his way to the parlor. There he found his first wife, Elvira, and his eldest son, Eckehard, engaged in a friendly chat with Ferdinand. Karstedt couldn’t help but grin at how clear their reverence for the man was; only a few nobles still admired Ferdinand after he had been sent to the temple, and it was good to see his family among them. 

“Lord Ferdinand,” welcomed Karstedt, and Ferdinand turned around. After they exchanged greetings and seated themselves, their attendants began setting the table. “I hate to interrupt your conversation, but Lord Ferdinand and I need to talk alone.” 

Karstedt received no more than dissatisfied glares from Elvira and Eckehard, but when Ferdinand waved a hand and said “This is highly confidential,” they both left at once. The way they treated Ferdinand with more respect than him would have frustrated Karstedt had he not been so used to it. 

As soon as wine and food had been placed on the table their attendants left as well, leaving Karstedt and Ferdinand alone in the room. Only once the door was firmly shut did Karstedt relax, switching to the casual tone he was used to using with his old friend. 

“Sorry to make you come to my place instead of the castle, Ferdinand. Things haven’t been pretty over there.” 

Karstedt picked up his silver glass and took a sip to show it wasn’t poisoned, then gestured at Ferdinand, who promptly raised the glass to his lips and took a drink as well. His mouth crinkled with approval, showing that the wine was to his liking. 

“I imagined they wouldn’t be. Shikza’s mother is causing a fuss and complaining to everyone who will listen, no? The High Bishop has been throwing a tantrum of his own about it.” Ferdinand was right, leaving Karstedt no choice but to nod with a wry smile. 

Ten days ago during a standard trombe extermination mission, Karstedt—the captain of the Knight’s Order—had assigned Shikza and Damuel to guard the apprentice blue shrine maiden. They possessed much less mana than the other knights present, and neither of them had firsthand experience exterminating trombes. For this reason, Karstedt thought they would be better served away from the fight, guarding those from the temple. 

However, they had harmed the one they were meant to protect and led to the growth of a second trombe in what could only be described as a disastrous failure. Because of this, they were both under house arrest in the knight barracks until their punishment was decided. Shikza, however, had contacted his family in hopes of a reduced sentence, and his mother was pleading for help from anyone with power who would listen. 

“It seems she even wept in Lady Veronica’s presence, which is exactly why I imagined it would be better for me to return the tool in your place,” said Karstedt, while pointing at the box containing the magic tool Ferdinand had brought with him. 

“Indeed, thank you. I would rather not see her if I can help it.” 

The box, which could only be opened by the archduke or one with the archduke’s direct authorization, contained the magic tool that allowed one to peer into the memories of others. It had been lent to Ferdinand so he could see whether the commoner-turned-blue-robe who had displayed an enormous amount of mana at the Healing Ritual was a potential threat to Ehrenfest—or an opportunity. 

The apprentice blue shrine maiden had hair like the night sky as if she had received the God of Darkness’s blessing from birth, and her pretty face was punctuated by two moon-like golden eyes. But what drew the most attention was her small body, so slight and underdeveloped that it was hard to believe she was old enough to have been baptized. 

But in contrast to her childish appearance, she had exploded with so much mana that it boggled the mind. She had shown no hint of exhaustion after refilling the drained earth, and it was clear at a glance that she had many, many times more mana than Shikza, who possessed no more mana than a laynoble despite being a mednoble, and had only been permitted to leave the temple because the country was experiencing a dearth of mana. 

That was not the amount of mana a normal apprentice shrine maiden would have. Just how much would she have upon growing older and coming of age? 

Karstedt himself had never performed the ritual, nor had he even touched a divine instrument, so it was hard for him to judge how much mana the apprentice shrine maiden truly had. But it was abnormal enough that Ferdinand had immediately petitioned the archduke to determine if she was a threat, and the archduke in turn granted him permission to use the memory-searching tool. 

“...So, how did it go?” asked Karstedt while taking the box. 

In a rare display of transparency, Ferdinand made no effort to hide his grimace as he rubbed his temples. “She has not a trace of malice or trickery within her. Her mind was full of nothing but books—exhaustingly so.” 

So he said with a thoroughly annoyed expression, but Karstedt could sense that something was different about him. Ferdinand seemed vigorous and expressive, perhaps for the first time since the death of his father, where he had said, “I have grown tired of resisting the pressure of those around me. I no longer care what happens in the world,” before giving up on everything and entering the temple with a dead expression. 

“In truth,” Ferdinand continued, “Myne is a child who has memories of living as a high-class noble in another world. Despite her age here, she has the memories of her past life as an adult.” 

“Huh? Come again?” 

Ferdinand’s report on Myne came so far out of left field that Karstedt doubted his ears. Without even thinking, he asked Ferdinand to repeat himself, and so he did. Karstedt wasn’t expecting there to be any mistake given that the tool was specifically intended to remove all doubts, but his report was still hard to believe. 

“I, uh... I don’t know what to say. It’s absurd.” Karstedt managed to squeeze out a response, and Ferdinand nodded in agreement. 

“Even I think it’s absurd, and I saw the world in her memories. I doubt many will believe it, but it’s the truth. Myne’s extraordinary behavior is the result of having lived in the lower city on top of retaining her memories of living in another world. However, she has no malice or ill intentions toward the city. If we can use her memories in service of Ehrenfest, she will be a tremendous boon to us. But as she is solely concerned with books, it will be necessary that those around her guide her into being useful.” 

What interested Karstedt the most wasn’t the ridiculous tale of Myne having lived in another world, which he still couldn’t believe, but rather how talkative Ferdinand was being. Despite having synchronized minds with another to forcefully peer into their memories, he surprisingly didn’t seem all that displeased. 

“You’ve taken quite a liking to her, I see.” 

“Who are you talking about?” 

“Who else but the apprentice blue shrine maiden named Myne?” 

Karstedt knew full well the importance of an apprentice shrine maiden in the current day where there was a drastic shortage in mana and nobles, but Ferdinand was showing more care to this Myne than he would expect him to give to a lowborn girl. Ferdinand had allowed her to ride on his own highbeast, opted to bring not just one but two attendants, showed an extraordinary amount of overprotectiveness by assigning two guards to her while she waited for the ceremony to commence, and had even given her a ring and a potion of his own creation. 

But above all else, he had declared that she was under his custody in front of all the knights. Karstedt could remember how shocked he had been when that happened, having never expected Ferdinand to say something like that. 

Karstedt’s observation made Ferdinand grimace with clear displeasure. “I have not taken a liking to her or anything of the sort. She is just that valuable.” 

“Oh?” 

As Ferdinand began discussing how much her abundance of mana and exceptional math skills were useful in the temple, on top of her frequent discoveries and inventions, Karstedt was struck with the urge to ask how that was different from him taking a liking to her. But he deliberately kept quiet. Ferdinand had a tendency to hide the things important to him or otherwise distance himself from them, and that tendency had only intensified since he joined the temple. 

...Ferdinand, for all his obstinacy and stubborn tendencies, had finally found someone to like. There was no need to tease him for it and risk spoiling everything—that was the conclusion Karstedt had come to. Having known Ferdinand since he was young and thus knowing how prone he was to self-sabotage, Karstedt was aware there were many things he would have to be cautious about. 

“She showed an enormous amount of mana to everyone,” Karstedt began. “Rumors have spread like wildfire through the Noble’s Quarter with the Knight’s Order at the center of it all. Myne will be in even more danger now than she was before.” 

“Undoubtedly. Her mana was more extraordinary than I had anticipated. Although I declared that she was under my custody, I am ultimately no more than a mere priest. Nobles seeking mana will hunt her down, and one day she will be put in harm’s way. It is impossible to say whether I will be able to stave off all of their advances.” Ferdinand spoke blandly, his face as expressionless as ever. There were exceedingly few who could tell that he was in fact making the expression of one immensely frustrated with their own lack of power. 

“What will you do, then?” 

“I would ask you to adopt Myne,” requested Ferdinand, which made Karstedt open his eyes wide with surprise. As the captain of the Knight’s Order, Karstedt was an archnoble. By suggesting that he adopt Myne, Ferdinand was insinuating she had at least as much mana as an archnoble. 

“The sooner she is taken in by a noble the better,” Ferdinand continued. “She has far too much mana to be kept as a mere shrine maiden. That means she will need to learn to control her mana at the Royal Academy, but as a man of the temple, I will not be able to support her ascension into the nobility. There are few I would trust to shield her from the dangers that await.” 

Karstedt considered the proposition. Who could Ferdinand trust to treat Myne well despite her lowborn origins, and give her an upbringing suited to someone with her amount of mana? As far as he could tell, nobody but himself and his family. 

“I intend to educate Myne such that she will not prove to be an embarrassment to your family. Furthermore, Myne has enough talent to financially support herself, and I will ensure that you are not burdened by adopting her.” 

“It truly is rare for you to be so concerned with another,” mused Karstedt. 

Ferdinand lowered his gaze. He sank deeper into his chair and fell silent, his long fingers laced around each other as he searched for what to say. Then, he slowly began to speak. 

“As she is a commoner, it is impossible to say what might happen to her without a powerful ally supporting her. I would not like for anyone to go through what I have been through. That is all.” 

That probably wasn’t all. But at the very least, Ferdinand was telling the truth, speaking from the heart with no intention to deceive. Karstedt, knowing Ferdinand’s painful past well, let out a sigh and looked out of the window. 

“...I am willing to adopt her, but there are some who would find fault with you for requesting my help before anyone else’s, no?” 

Ferdinand could guess who Karstedt was referring to. His expression darkened and he drummed his temple while saying “Must everyone be so difficult to deal with...?” 

There were exceedingly few who could tell that his expression visibly darkening was actually a sign that he was fairly relaxed. Karstedt once again gave a wry smile at how tough Ferdinand was to understand.