HOT NOVEL UPDATES

Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.2 - Chapter 2




Hint: To Play after pausing the player, use this button

Onward to the Library 

I had passed all my classes, meaning I could finally visit the library whenever I wanted. Today was my first opportunity to go there during my free time, and I was so excited that I ended up leaping out of bed before Rihyarda even came to get me. In my fervor, I made a praying pose in the pitch-black darkness of my room and shouted, “It’s library day! Praise be to the gods!” which caused a blessing to shoot up into the air. 

I scurried back into bed and pretended to sleep, but little did I know, my attendants had already gathered for a strategy meeting in a nearby room. Rihyarda came in with an exasperated smile and reminded me that fake sleeping would not hide the light of my blessing. She then helped me out of bed while Lieseleta watched on with a warm smile. 

“You may begin today in the library, milady, but from tomorrow onward, you’ll need to complete your harspiel practice first,” Rihyarda warned. 

After breakfast, I would need to have a meeting with my retainers and see off the senior students. I would then have to work with Wilfried to organize reports regarding the progress of the Better Grades Committee. Harspiel practice would follow, and just like in the temple, I would need to keep practicing until third bell. Leaving before then simply wasn’t an option. 

I can’t believe this. I passed all of my classes and I’m still not free. Boo! Boooo! 

During breakfast, we selected who would be accompanying me to the library. Cornelius asked everyone their plans for the day as we ate; the likelihood was that my least busy retainers, who had also finished most of their classes, were going to attend me. 

Brunhilde had just completed her written lessons and now needed to prepare for the tea party with the music professors, while Lieseleta was studying for her last lesson so that she could accompany me when Schwartz and Weiss were measured. Hartmut had morning classes, as did pretty much all of my apprentice knights. 

“Alright. Looks like it’ll be Rihyarda and Philine then. And Leonore is the only guard knight who’s free right now,” Cornelius concluded. 

“Cornelius, I am concerned about Lady Rozemyne having only one guard knight. I may need to skip my classes for this, but it is my duty to keep—” 

“No, Angelica. Just no. Go to your classes,” Leonore said, interrupting her before turning back to Cornelius. “Lady Rozemyne is so excited about this that she prayed and gave a blessing first thing in the morning. I could not bear to keep her any longer. I will be fine on my own.” 

“Yeah, I doubt she’ll wait any longer than she already has,” Cornelius noted. “Oh well. Good luck, Leonore.” 

“It’s no trouble. Hardly any students have finished their lessons this early,” she replied with a small smile. 

Cornelius nodded, then looked at me with the stern expression of a parent about to let their troublesome child out of sight. “Lady Rozemyne, for the sake of your own safety, please promise me that you’ll go to the library only once morning classes have started. Is that acceptable? If you cannot do that, then from now on you will need to wait for more guard knights to become available.” 

I gave him a firm nod. “I promise!” 

I’d need to wait for Angelica to pass her classes otherwise, and no way could I survive that! 

After seeing everyone off, I waited until second-and-a-half bell, which signaled the start of classes. Rihyarda wouldn’t permit me to leave right away, and so I wiggled impatiently in my chair for what must have been an eternity, staring at the door all the while. 

“Okay, I’ve surely waited long enough now,” I eventually said. 

We exited the dormitory and stepped into the pure-white hallway outside, which was completely empty now that classes had started. These classes were supposedly being held on the other side of some doors, but no voices leaked through; the only noises were our footsteps and my eager humming. 

“Library! Library! Oh, what a place of joyyy! Tralala! Tralalalala!” 

“Lady Rozemyne... Did your musician not completely rewrite the lyrics to that song?” Philine asked. 

“I don’t see your point,” I replied, shrugging off the comment. The library here in the Royal Academy was much larger than the book room back in Ehrenfest’s castle, and tearing my way through its contents would be quite the welcome challenge—a challenge I could finally begin, since today was my first time actually getting to read in the library. What song would be more appropriate to sing? 

Incidentally, my original lyrics contained “Praise be to the gods!” and “Glory be to the gods!” but I had replaced these with “Tralala!” and “Tralalalala!” respectively so that I wouldn’t accidentally give a blessing. 

“Actually, Leonore, now that I think about it... most apprentice knights seem to have a proclivity for disliking reading. Does that hold true for you also?” 

Leonore, the only one of my guard knights who had been recommended to me based on her intellectual nature, gazed up toward the ceiling. She had the look of a scholar to her, with intelligent blue eyes that carried a thoughtful glimmer. As far as I could tell, it was rare for knights to actually like sitting down with books; the knight course seemed to be more for those who preferred moving around. 

“Compared to you, Lady Rozemyne, I could hardly call myself much of a book lover, but I appreciate reading more than most knights.” 

“In that case, will you read over the documents I find and teach them to the others? I intend to search the library for books on feybeasts, as well as study resources written on pre-civil war tactics and strategies. Our notes from Ferdinand and Eckhart have led me to believe that modern classes on tactics and strategies are less substantial than they used to be. I want to find reading material on ditter and analyses on feybeast weaknesses in the hope that they will prove useful to the apprentice knights.” 

“There is no need for you to go through such trouble, Lady Rozemyne. I can do that myself another day,” Leonore said, but this was something I actively wanted to do. I wanted to feel like a librarian, even if only for a little while. 

“Think nothing of it, Leonore. It is the duty of a librarian—rather, the duty of a library committee member—to search the shelves for books,” I replied, proudly puffing out my chest. 

Leonore, along with everyone else, was gazing at me in confusion. “Lady Rozemyne... What is a library committee?” 

“An organization of students that assists the librarians of a school,” I explained, but their stares remained just as uncertain. It was another reminder that Japanese school culture was not universal in the slightest. 

Philine placed a hand on her cheek. “So they are like the apprentice scholars who work in the castle?” she asked, tilting her head in thought. 

“More or less. I intend to take two courses in my third year so that I can become a librarian, meaning I am going to be both an archduke candidate and an apprentice scholar,” I said, puffing out my chest again. Everyone winced in unison at my sudden declaration. 

“I wish I could say that is too much for you to handle, but...” Rihyarda trailed off, so Philine finished the sentence with a difficult smile. 

“It is hard to call anything impossible when one understands the unmatchable fervor Lady Rozemyne has for the library.” 

“Truly. Considering that she actually managed to lead all the first-years to pass their classes on the first day, I’m not certain what I should say here...” Leonore admitted, giving Philine—one of the first-years in question—a sympathetic smile. 

“Ferdinand himself advised me to take both courses, so there is no cause for concern,” I assured them. “I shall pass them both!”

“Milady’s here.” 

“Milady. Welcome.” 

Upon entering the library’s reading room, Schwartz and Weiss came out from behind the work counter, their ears wobbling slightly as they walked. Their voices alerted Solange, who poked her head out from the office with wide eyes. 

“Oh my! Lady Rozemyne?!” she exclaimed. 

“Professor Solange. Schwartz. Weiss. Good morning to you all.” 

Schwartz and Weiss closed their eyes upon reaching me, telling me they had worked hard and that they wanted praise. I stroked their foreheads, pouring some mana into their feystones while Solange also started making her way over. 

“Good morning to you too, Lady Rozemyne. Were you not forbidden from coming here until after you passed all your classes?” she asked. 

“I finished them all just yesterday. I worked my hardest for the sake of the library and its books,” I explained proudly. Solange gave me a disbelieving stare before looking over at Rihyarda and Philine for confirmation. When they nodded, she cooed in admiration. 

“To think you would pass even your practical lessons so quickly... I am stunned by your excellent academic performance. Perhaps it was only natural that you would have the qualities necessary to become the master of Schwartz and Weiss.” 

The fact that classes were currently being held meant there was nobody else in the library, so I could read at my leisure. I gazed around the reading room with a broad grin on my face until my eyes rested on the wide staircase to my left. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing the second floor ever since my first visit...” 

“We’ll take you.” 

“Second floor, milady.” 

Happy to have work to do, Schwartz and Weiss began leading the way, their cute little heads bobbing from side to side. The stairs were made of the same ivory material as the rest of the building and were wide enough that five adults could climb them side by side. 

“How many books are there in the library?” I asked. 

“If you include the old documents moved to the storage area for preservation, I would say about thirty to forty thousand,” Solange answered. Schwartz and Weiss bobbed their heads a little more eagerly, seeming to be nodding. 

“Most on first floor. Like twenty thousand.” 

“Because classes. Everyone reads them.” 

“Yes, as they say, the majority of our books are stored on the first floor as study resources,” Solange explained. “The documents for each subject are preserved, and as Schwartz said, there are about twenty thousand in total.” 

Among those twenty thousand, one could find anything from simple wooden boards to books that were actually bound and made with parchment. The bound ones were written by individuals and then given to the library, and they often covered several different subjects. 

“How do you sort the books that aren’t limited to a single subject?” I asked. 

“The same way we sort all our other books...” Solange replied. “We record who they were written by and then put them with the rest. Though it is somewhat rare for such skilled students to give their books to the library.” 

“It must be hard to categorize them in any other way... And it must cause even more problems when one person keeps a book checked out for a long time,” I mused. 

“Whoever borrowed it first has all the authority,” Solange replied with a smile. “There are never enough books and carrels once final exams draw near. If possible, I would divide up the books and organize them better, but I simply haven’t found an opportunity.” 

“I’m going to read them all anyway, so would you like me to organize them according to their subject in the process?” 

“Oh my, Lady Rozemyne... Is that truly your intention? That will be quite the endeavor.” Solange was still regarding me with a smile, but in a way that made it clear she wasn’t taking my claim very seriously. It was the expression of an old grandma nodding along to her granddaughter’s ridiculous dreams, but I was more serious than I had ever been. 

My shoes clinked against the ivory steps until, soon enough, we reached the top. The sight before me was so glorious that I let out a breathless sigh. The second floor was similar to the first in that there were rows of pillars and windows, but while the first floor had carrels and desks between the pillars, the second floor had pairs of sizable bookcases standing back-to-back. Attached to each bookcase was a writing desk, positioned in such a way that they received more than enough light. 

The bookshelves had three layers, such that an average adult could reach one layer while standing up, another while seated, and the third while reaching down beneath the desk. The books themselves were chained to the shelves. 

“Oh, my stars and garters! It’s a (chained library)!” I exclaimed. 

“What was that, Lady Rozemyne...? I didn’t quite catch it.” 


“Oh, nothing important. I was simply so moved that I tripped over my tongue.” 

The temple’s book room had similarly chained books. There, the reading desks were slanted, and there were few enough books that they were chained directly to the desk so that they could be opened and read at will. Here on the second floor, however, there were so many books that they had to be chained to shelves instead. The sheer quantity of reading materials almost moved me to tears. 

Yes! Yes!!! Forget traveling to another world; it feels like I’ve traveled back in time! 

The books stacked on the shelves had leather covers and were secured to their chains with metal plating and rivets. Had they been positioned vertically as one would normally have expected, the metal would scrape against the leather covers of the neighboring books, thereby ruining them. For this reason, the books were usually kept in neat piles so that they could be carefully lifted off of each other instead. This stacking method was also apparently used to prevent the parchment from swelling—something that happened when it absorbed too much moisture. Leather belts were attached to the books to help prevent this as well. 

I knew all this trivia from before, but this is my first time actually seeing it in action! This is so fun that I could dance! Maybe I should...? 

There was no doubt in my mind that, once the Library Committee was established, I would get to share the troubles of past librarians and ponder the future of the library just as I had always dreamed of doing while reading books about it. 

 

Once there are more books, there’ll be more chains on the bookshelves! People will fight for reading desks in the sun! And when several people want the same book, they’ll fight over that too! 

At the moment, it was easiest to read on the desks located at the east and south portions of the library, but picking up and moving the chained books just wasn’t an option. If one wanted to read in a bright environment, they would need to time their visit in accordance with the movement of the sun. Due to the limited developments in printing technology, however, pretty much none of the books here had duplicate copies. 

“Do people ever butt heads when they both want to read the same book?” I asked, trembling with excitement. But Solange casually shook her head. 

“There is no fighting here. Status decides all, and if two students are of the same status, then the person from the higher-ranked duchy gets priority.” 

Come again?! 

That wasn’t good. I had mostly ignored the duchy rankings, only bothering with the whole Better Grades Committee thing because Sylvester had asked me to, and it was a bit annoying to have people looking down on me. Now that I’d found out they had an impact on who was granted access to books and reading desks, however, they were a far more serious concern. 

“I must do whatever I can to raise Ehrenfest’s ranking!” I said. But just as I was steeling my resolve to involve the entire Ehrenfest Dormitory in my righteous quest, Rihyarda rested a hand on my shoulder. 

“Please calm down, milady. Few students are going to be prioritized over an archduke candidate, and you will find that most candidates and archnobles read in their rooms. You will almost certainly not experience any such conflicts.” 

“Oh, I see...” 

My enthusiasm disappeared as quickly as it had come into existence. Still, I couldn’t help but feel it would be wise to raise Ehrenfest’s position in the Academy rankings, if only in case of an emergency of some kind. 

While my eyes had immediately been drawn to the chained books, once I actually looked around at the second floor, I saw about a thousand proper books in total stacked on the shelves-cum-desks positioned across the walls. At the center of the room were bookshelves with boards, bookshelves with scrolls, and even broader bookcases holding barrel-looking things that contained more scrolls. There were also several reading stands designed for scrolls, as well as sideboards for placing one’s ink and pens. 

All in all, the second floor looked somewhat chaotic compared to the more organized first floor. Solange gave us a more detailed explanation as we walked. 

“This is where a portion of the research findings made by professors of the past are stored. There are scrolls and boards, in addition to books from older generations,” she said. Most research was conducted in private, and few professors wanted to publicize their findings, so the library usually only received the documents that were deemed useless after the professor who had written them passed away. 

Over the years, more and more research was being recorded on scrolls, apparently due to professors being too apathetic to turn their findings into proper books; doing so required time and money that they didn’t much care to spend. The end result was fewer and fewer books being added to the library’s collection. When I thought about it, I could certainly see Hirschur being the kind of person to write her findings on a scroll in a stream of consciousness, then roll it up for safekeeping. 

Scrolls are easier to make than books, but harder to actually read. 

The lack of conventional pages meant that searching for certain sections of text was more of an ordeal, and they took forever to roll back up once you were done reading them. They were entirely unlike books, which were easy to flip through and could simply be snapped shut. 

“I do my best to bind the research praised by royalty into books, but...” 

“You have a limited budget,” I said, finishing the sentence for her. “Oh, Professor Solange! What’s that statue? I don’t believe I’ve seen it in the temple before.” 

Solange followed my finger with her eyes, then broke into a smile when she saw the ivory statue nestled between two bookshelves. It portrayed a goddess cradling a book that was made of gold and adorned with feystones. 

“That is a statue of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom, cradling the Grutrissheit. It is thanks to her blessings that the transcribed books of students gather here in the library,” she explained. 

As it turned out, the library in the royal palace had a similar statue as well. There wasn’t one in the Ehrenfest castle book room, so I wondered whether it would be wise for me to prioritize adding one and praying every day for more books to come. 

“Which book will you start with, Lady Rozemyne?” Solange asked. 

“Excellent question. I think I will start with the books on the first floor. There are many there that cover similar topics, so categorizing and organizing them shouldn’t pose any problems.” 

“Categorizing and organizing them?” Solange repeated, blinking in surprise. 

I nodded. “Yes. I am thinking of organizing them according to subject, grade, the year they were written, and so on in order to make finding what one needs easier. There are some subjects that changed greatly after the civil war, so organizing them according to pre-civil war and post-civil war might be prudent as well. You are fine with me doing this, yes?” 

“Certainly, but...” 

My intention was to record all of the books in the library as I read them, then I would think about how to organize them properly. 

Aah. But if my goal is to organize them, then I’ll need stickers of some kind... 

I wanted to place stickers on the spines of the books while organizing them. Hide glue was an option, but as it was organic, there was a good chance the stickers would grow moldy or rot over time. These books deserved much better than that. 

I’ll ask Ferdinand what he knows when I get back. 

I decided at that moment that I would have stickers made by next year so that I could organize the books according to the Rozemyne Decimal System. 

“Erm, Lady Rozemyne... I understand that you are burning with passion to organize the library, but I cannot have an archduke candidate doing that manner of work. If you would advise me on your planned organization methods, I will take them into consideration,” Solange offered, but I wanted to organize them on my own terms. It wasn’t something I could put in somebody else’s hands so easily; I just needed permission so that I could do what I wanted, for my own sake. 

“No, no. I wish to establish a library committee and fulfill my duty as a committee member. Please allow me to do the organization work.” 

Schwartz tugged on one of my sleeves. “Library committee? Explain.” 

“Milady? I’m confused,” Weiss added, tugging on the other. 

“A library committee is made up of students who would aid the Royal Academy’s librarians with their work. I wish to help Professor Solange,” I said. 

“Library committee?” 

“Milady, working?” 

Solange paled the moment she realized what I was suggesting. Her eyes opened wide, and she firmly shook her head. “Goodness, that would be simply unacceptable. Am I not a mednoble, and you an archduke candidate? I could never ask you to work beneath me.” 

“I plan to take the scholar course to become a librarian myself one day, so please consider me both an archduke candidate and a lowly apprentice scholar.” 

“Be that as it may... I still could never dare ask so much from you,” Solange said, shaking her head even more firmly than before. 

Rihyarda sighed and stepped forward, shooting me a sharp glance. “Milady, please do not trouble Professor Solange with your selfish desires.” 

“My apologies... Do forgive me, Professor Solange.” Not once had it occurred to me that my proposition to help out as a member of the future Library Committee would get so obstinately rejected. I had expected Solange to appreciate the assistance, since she was struggling to run the library alone, but that evidently wasn’t the case. 

“I am satisfied with just the kindness of your offer, Lady Rozemyne.” 

I mean, it’s less kindness and more an obsessive compulsion to mark the library as my territory, but okay... 

With my pleas rejected, I yielded and settled for just reading the books. Schwartz and Weiss prepared carrels for Philine and me, while Rihyarda went to fetch ink and paper. The sheer amount of reading material made the experience very worthwhile indeed. 

The first floor of the library contained mostly documents covering classwork. While many of the books went over similar content, the varying skill and the handwriting of those who had produced them meant that no two were completely alike. The more detailed, oft-used books even had notes and scribblings in the margins that made them especially useful. 

As I was reading and putting together my register of reading materials, a multicolored glow, like light through a stained-glass window, shone on the pages of my book. It seemed that lunchtime was near. 

“Let us return for lunch, milady,” Rihyarda said. 

I gave back the key to the carrel I was sitting in, after which Schwartz and Weiss cleaned up the books for us. I stroked their feystones and filled them with a little bit more mana. 

“I will return in the afternoon,” I said, saying my farewells to Solange before leaving for the dormitory. 

Now, what can I do to get my library committee made? 

Solange had turned me down, but I hadn’t yet given up on my dreams of creating a library committee. I pondered my next move, only to be interrupted as Rihyarda gave a heavy sigh. 

“Milady, you truly are behind when it comes to proper socializing.” 

“In what way...?” 

“An archduke candidate should never have made such a blunt request in the middle of the library like that.” 

How should I have asked, then...? 

As Rihyarda muttered that this was something I should have learned during the two years I was asleep, I desperately tried to figure out a more noble-like method of making requests. After thinking things over for a bit, I clapped my hands together. 

“Rihyarda, shall we invite Lady Solange to a tea party?” 

“Where is all this coming from...?” she asked, blinking with surprise. 

I chuckled, realizing that this was pretty much just a repeat of the Italian restaurant’s test run. While I hadn’t really been planning it at the time, everyone had thought I was intentionally buttering up Ferdinand and Sylvester with a lavish feast before making my request. Ferdinand had praised me for finally learning some proper noble methodology, and now I just needed to put that experience to use. 

I’ll hold a tea party, lavish Professor Solange with delicious sweets, and get my library committee made no matter what! 



Share This :


COMMENTS

No Comments Yet

Post a new comment

Register or Login