Prologue
“May I return this book?” asked one student.
“I would like to borrow a carrel key,” said another.
As soft evening light streamed in through the rows of windows, the high-pitched voices of excited girls echoed throughout the Royal Academy library. Most were here to see Schwartz and Weiss, the two shumils who had become such star attractions that even professors sometimes put their research aside on Earthdays to come and look them over. It was only natural that they would draw such attention after having been immobile for so many years.
Solange smiled to herself, pleased by the crowd thronging around Schwartz and Weiss, then warned the girls to quiet down. They apologized for their poor manners and obeyed at once, but Solange knew from experience that their voices would steadily rise again over time. It was surely annoying for the students who wanted to study in peace, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but be glad the library was so lively at a time of year when it was usually a ghost town.
Oh my... I see there are Ehrenfest students transcribing books again.
Upon looking around the library’s reading room, Solange discovered a number of students wearing Ehrenfest capes. Rozemyne was a first-year archduke candidate, and the fact she had become the new master of Schwartz and Weiss was perhaps a sign that she loved the library and its books enough to earn the approval of Mestionora herself.
The students of Ehrenfest were exceptionally passionate about their studies this year, and according to what Solange had heard in the staff dining hall, there were several who had already finished all of their written classes. Given that Rozemyne’s retainers were instructing the students to transcribe learning materials—something no students from other duchies were doing—she could tell that this wasn’t an exaggeration.
This transcription work must all come back to Lady Rozemyne, Solange absentmindedly concluded as she walked along the carrels. Laynobles and mednobles wouldn’t waste parchment if not acting under the orders of archnobles or archduke candidates, and if one pondered who in Ehrenfest would want books transcribed, only one answer came to mind.
That is very strange parchment, however. Is it an Ehrenfest specialty?
Solange was not at all familiar with the parchment the Ehrenfest students were writing on. She had asked the professors in the staff dining hall about it the first time she saw some, but it apparently wasn’t being used in their classes. She could guess it was only used when the students were given work by the archduke candidates, so it most likely wasn’t yet widespread throughout Ehrenfest.
That said, there certainly are quite a lot of new things coming from Ehrenfest.
The music professors had mentioned that Ehrenfest had all sorts of new and original songs hidden up its metaphorical sleeves, and it was said that Rozemyne had composed them all herself. Solange could guess that it was her music teacher who had actually composed them, but that point aside, Rozemyne was skilled enough at the harspiel that few could believe she had missed two whole years of practice.
Perhaps Lady Rozemyne has the divine protection of Mestionora the Goddess of Wisdom and Kunstzeal the Goddess of Art...
As Solange was recalling the time Rozemyne had overflowed with blessings while praying to the gods, a rain of multicolored light poured down from above. It was closing time.
Students shot their heads up, then hurriedly began preparing to leave. Some returned their carrel keys, others started putting their books back on the shelves, and still others moved to borrow what they were using. The reading room became very busy in the blink of an eye, and Solange was getting ready to close up shop as well.
“Please return your carrel keys to Schwartz. Weiss will handle the borrowing of books. Hurry now, everyone; sixth bell will ring before you know it,” Solange announced, walking by the carrels and giving final warnings to the stubborn few students trying to stay for as long as possible. She looked over the first floor, then went up to the second. There were few who used the second floor, but at times she would find professors sitting in the shade, consumed in their reading.
It was only because of Schwartz and Weiss that Solange was able to properly look over the reading room. Before their return, she had needed to wait until after she had gotten all the carrel keys and dealt with all those wanting to borrow books. Now, she could close the library several times faster than before.
After finishing her patrol of the second floor, Solange began turning off the magic tools used to protect the books from sunlight and the magic tools responsible for the library’s warning lights. In truth, there were also magic tools for managing the humidity in the reading room and such, but she didn’t have enough mana to use them all; she was forced to run only the bare minimum.
The last thing Solange did was stand in front of the statue of the Goddess of Wisdom, located at the back of the second floor, and report that the day had once again been spent in the service of knowledge.
After confirming that Schwartz and Weiss had finished their work, Solange locked the reading room and the bookshelves before returning to her office just in time for sixth bell. As she put the collected deposits into the safe, she hoped that the last students to leave the reading room had made it back to their dormitories by now. Then, once her duties were completed, she turned off the lights.
“Work is done,” Schwartz said.
“Solange. Time for food,” Weiss added.
Solange nodded. “Catherine will be bringing it today. She should be here soon.”
With that, Solange left her office with a key in hand and walked down the hallway leading to the central building. She would need to lock the door to the central building as well once her attendant Catherine returned with food brought from the central building’s dining hall.
Solange opened the door to a second, empty hallway. When she stepped outside and glanced both ways, she noted that the scholar building had many lit-up windows, while the attendant building was all but completely dark. The professors running the attendant course maintained a strict schedule out of consideration for their own attendants, but many scholar professors tended to prioritize their research above all else. It was as this thought passed through her mind that Solange spotted a figure pushing a cart toward her.
“Welcome back, Catherine.”
Solange welcomed Catherine into the library, then closed and locked the door before returning the way she came. She slept in the dormitory for librarians, which was located at the back of the office.
“I’ve brought your food here as you requested, Lady Solange, since you wish to eat in your room. But how will you fare without gathering information in the dining hall...?” Catherine asked.
Solange was a normal professor—one not entrusted with supervising her home duchy’s dormitory. While it was common for dormitory supervisors to eat in their respective dorms, other professors ate in the staff dining hall located in the central building. They could also have their attendants bring them food when they had guests or were feeling unwell.
Considering that Solange worked alone in the library, meals were her only opportunity to socialize and gather information. Having only Catherine to talk to made her feel deathly lonely, and up until recently, she had quite looked forward to her meals. Now, however, she was faced with a barrage of questions about Schwartz and Weiss whenever she ventured to the dining hall. She had found it rather enjoyable at first, but everyone asked the same questions over and over again to the point that it was now exhausting. It was particularly tough trying to answer those who wanted to know how someone had managed to change the two shumils’ master.
Nobody believes me when I say they need the blessings of the goddess.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, but is it not nice to eat quietly in one’s room every now and again?” Solange replied. “I find it unlikely that the internal politics of the Academy will shift that drastically overnight.”
“It certainly is fine every now and again, so long as you have not abandoned the dining hall entirely due to not wishing to leave Schwartz and Weiss alone,” Catherine noted, indirectly referring to all the librarians of the past who had stayed holed up in the library for as long as possible.
Solange chuckled. “Those two have certainly brightened my life and lessened my workload, but they can hardly socialize with me. Fear not—I will be back in the dining hall tomorrow.”
Solange opened the door to the library dormitory, then shut off the magic tools that lit the office. Schwartz, Weiss, and also Catherine were coming with her, partially for security’s sake. She locked the door behind them, and with that, she finally felt as though her workday was over.
It sure is a shame I still need to write today’s log...
“Lady Solange, I am going to take the cart to the elevator,” Catherine said.
“Please do. I shall write my log with Schwartz and Weiss.”
After watching Catherine push the cart off to the elevator, Solange slowly climbed the staircase in the middle of the silent dormitory with Schwartz and Weiss, heading to her room. There had been many librarians in the past, but now she was the only one, meaning the parlor and common room were left entirely unused.
“If only they would hire one other librarian for me...” Solange sighed. Now that Schwartz and Weiss were active again, however, that was even less likely than it had been before.
As Catherine prepared their meal, Solange wrote out a log for the day while Schwartz and Weiss detailed who had used the library. They had received quite a few more visitors than they had the previous years.
To think I would need to write so much at this time of year... Just how many people will be visiting the library when final exams are around the corner?
Solange finished up her work, feeling both fear and excitement for the future, then noticed that Schwartz and Weiss were staring at her. “Yes, dears? Is something the matter?”
“Milady’s not here.”
“Why is she gone? Why?”
It seemed the two shumils were confused by Rozemyne’s absence. That was understandable; their previous masters had generally stayed in the library dormitory.
“Lady Rozemyne will be visiting the library once she finishes her lessons,” Solange assured them. “According to the professors, she is working exceptionally hard and passing her classes with very high grades, so it should not be much longer.”
Rozemyne was an archduke candidate from Ehrenfest. Solange had been told that the young woman’s exceedingly youthful appearance was due to her having slept for two whole years, but her high grades made that seem somewhat questionable.
Though her high grades are not all she is known for...
There were also inglorious rumors about her attacking Fraularm with a feybeast-shaped highbeast and collapsing in the Farthest Hall. None of that mattered to Solange though; Rozemyne was an extraordinary lover of not just the library, but books themselves, such that simply praying to the gods had caused Schwartz and Weiss to move once again. The Goddess of Wisdom had recognized her as their master, and for Solange, that was more than enough; she was sure it was a sign that both the library and her continued work had received the goddess’s approval as well.
“She’s coming soon?”
“Milady’s coming soon?”
“Of course, of course. I too have various matters to discuss with Lady Rozemyne—matters involving the two of you as well... I am much looking forward to her finishing her classes,” Solange said as she reached out toward the feystones on the shumils’ clothes. She lacked the mana to keep them operational, but she had continually poured her mana into their protective magic circles to ensure they were never stolen away. She added more, praying to lessen Rozemyne’s burden by however much she could.
Her work for the day now truly complete, Solange started her meal, completely unaware that the staff dining hall was abuzz with the news that Rozemyne had finished all her classes.
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