Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.7 - Chapter 18

The Library and Going Home

Just as planned, I pretended to feel unwell after the dedication whirling and left early. Karstedt and Elvira continued watching Cornelius, while I returned to the dormitory with Rihyarda, Lamprecht, and Angelica.

“I’m glad nothing happened,” Lamprecht said with a sigh and a partial smile. “You seem to have a strange tendency to get wrapped up in dangerous situations, Rozemyne.”

Angelica nodded in agreement. “That’s why guarding her is worthwhile. Master was especially concerned about Lady Rozemyne. He trained us all over the winter, so now Stenluke is a lot stronger too!” she added and then eagerly started describing what that training had entailed. She replaced so many words with sound effects that I couldn’t really understand much—beyond the fact that she had an unexpected talent for making “boom” and “bang” noises.

“Lamprecht, how have you liked coming back to the Royal Academy after so long?” I asked, changing the subject. He fell into thought for a moment before he replied.

“It’s a bit more startling than fun; after all, this place is a lot different from the Royal Academy I remember. Angelica and Cornelius were chosen for the sword dance, and Mother and Lady Ottilie came with their heads held high. The times really have changed...”

I inhaled sharply. From the way he described things, it sounded as though Elvira and Ottilie hadn’t been allowed to attend previously.

“Lady Veronica was just that harsh,” Lamprecht explained, answering my unspoken question. “She even ordered me to marry an Ahrensbach girl, since I serve Lord Wilfried as a guard knight. Mother protested, so Lady Veronica forbade her from going to the Royal Academy on the grounds that she would disturb Aurelia’s family.”

“That sounds cruel...”

“At the time, it was standard practice. I didn’t even think I needed to introduce Aurelia to our family, since her father was opposed to the marriage, but Lady Veronica required that I escort an Ahrensbach girl. So, I passed on her message, thinking it was better than Mother attending and having a bad time. I thought I was protecting her, but seeing her now, I realize I was being a bad son...”

I smiled, hoping to cheer him up at least a little, and said, “Mother is not so foolish as to miss your intentions, Lamprecht. Although I am sure she was sad to have missed the graduation ceremony, there are none who ostracize her now, and she is on good terms with Aurelia, no? The god of ordeals gave her a challenge, and she overcame it.”

Lamprecht gave a weak smile in return. Given this opportunity, I wanted to ask how Aurelia was doing with her pregnancy. Surely it would be safe, since we were all family here.

“Incidentally, Lamprecht... How is Aurelia? Is she doing well? Is she bored, by chance?”

“She is leisurely passing the time with books she received from Mother.”

“Gosh, I wish that were me. I mean, erm... Do take good care of her; it must be stressful to be pregnant so far from home. You have a tendency to unload work onto Mother, Lamprecht, so take care that Aurelia does not run out of patience with you.”

My fears were unfounded, however; Lamprecht noted that he was spending a lot of quality time with Aurelia while his lord Wilfried was attending the Royal Academy.

“Though, well...” Lamprecht muttered. “She did say that she misses her duchy’s cooking.”

“Its fish, I presume. The plan is to have some of the court chefs teach my personal chefs how to cook it once we return from the Royal Academy. I already have permission from Sylvester.”

“I appreciate it,” Lamprecht said with a smile.

I smiled in turn. “There is no problem with us sharing the food with Aurelia, as she provided the ingredients in the first place, but teaching the recipes and techniques to your chefs will come at a price, Lamprecht. Do earn plenty of money for your lovely new bride.”

“You would charge your own brother?” Lamprecht asked, balking.

“Of course,” I replied. “I am charging Father, Ferdinand, and even Sylvester, while also granting recipes as rewards to students who raise their grades. Not to mention, the court chefs are only teaching mine in exchange for recipes. Even they aren’t working for free.”

Incidentally, Aurelia had traded me her ingredients in return for the Ehrenfest cloth used to make her veil—at her own suggestion, of course, since she had been hesitant to accept it for free. Had she known any fish recipes, she could have traded those, but the niece of an aub was naturally too important to have ever cooked for herself.

“I would absolutely be willing to trade for some more Ahrensbach fish,” I said, “but Aurelia has no connections to make that possible, does she?”

“Fine, fine...” Lamprecht said, sounding defeated. “I’ll work as hard as I can.”

I put on a big smile, again trying to cheer him up. “The more dutifully you work for your family, dear brother, the more they’ll adore you as a father.”

Like Dad...

Everyone else returned to the dormitory for lunch not long after we did—the only part we had missed after the dedication whirling was the Sovereign High Bishop speaking a greeting. The archducal family, the graduating students, and their guardians ate first, since there wasn’t room for everyone to dine at once, while the other students would eat later.

At my table were Karstedt, Elvira, Lamprecht, Angelica, Cornelius, and even Leonore. We talked about the coming-of-age ceremony and sword dancing while eating a special menu only served during the graduation ceremony.

“Your sword dancing was positively wonderful, Cornelius,” I said.

“Thanks, Rozemyne,” he replied with a soft expression, having allowed the tension to leave his body. Leonore, in stark contrast, was stiff as a board as she sat beside him. I spoke to her next, hoping to help ease her nerves a little.

“Leonore, you were chosen to sword dance next year, no? I am looking forward to it ever so much.”

“I suppose I must practice often and strive to ensure that my dancing does not appear inferior to Cornelius’s in your eyes, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Indeed,” Karstedt added. “Many in the Knight’s Order are rejoicing that more Ehrenfest students are being picked for the sword dance each year. Do your best.”

“I will strive to meet your expectations,” Leonore replied. She had a very diligent personality, so I trusted that she would practice as was necessary and very reliably deliver on her promise.

“Incidentally, Leonore,” Elvira interjected, “I believe you had that outfit ordered just for today? Will you be ordering another for your own coming-of-age ceremony next year? That would be most unfortunate, since you’ve used such good cloth to make such a beautiful outfit already...”

As one was required to wear longer skirts upon coming of age, it seemed that Leonore wouldn’t be able to wear her current dress again next year. However, she shook her head with a small smile and said, “I consulted Lady Brunhilde and ultimately settled on using a style that Lady Rozemyne designed herself, which allows the skirt length and decorations to be easily changed. It is our privilege as Lady Rozemyne’s retainers to know how to make such clothes.”

Brunhilde had seen me reusing outfits by simply adding cloth and changing the decorations, so with her advice, Leonore had ordered a dress that could easily be altered when the time came.

After our peaceful lunch, Cornelius hurried up to his room; he needed to change out of his sword dancing outfit and into his proper clothes before the graduation ceremony, which meant he didn’t have much time. He was ready by the time the other students finished eating and departed for the hall alongside everyone else.

“I shall remain here and read in silence,” I said.

“Just don’t randomly bless anyone this time...” Sylvester replied.

I nodded in response, assured him that I would be careful, and then got right to reading. As much as I would have rather gone to the library, if anyone spotted me outside the dormitory now, they would realize that I wasn’t actually unwell and was skipping the graduation ceremony. I didn’t want to risk losing my perfect excuse.

Also staying behind in the dormitory was my regular jailer, Ferdinand. I spoke with him about the magic tools I wanted Raimund to improve while he looked over the documents I had borrowed from Solange.

“Ferdinand, are you familiar with the magic tool this document describes?” I asked.

“I am,” he admitted after a pause. “I have a document on it in my laboratory and plan to have Raimund examine it for his next task. As for these”—he gestured to two others—“I am familiar with this one from the library, but not this one. Perhaps it has already broken. It is quite the ordeal to repair a magic tool without the assistance of its creator.”

It was rare for one to publicize how a particular magic tool was made—that is, outside of situations where a professor needed to publish their work to continue their research or when someone from the Sovereignty wanted to start selling a tool all throughout the country. As a result, there was often nothing that could be done after its creator died.

“Documents concerning magic tools made by Royal Academy professors are generally passed down to their disciples, while the rest are donated to the library,” Ferdinand explained. “Other researchers tend to hide their documentation, however.”

“You have tons of secret magic tools, I would guess.” I was certain there were a tremendous number he was keeping hidden: dangerous ones, ones he had decided were best not introduced to the world, and ones he had chosen to leave in Hirschur’s laboratory.

“Yes, as I determined they were best kept secret. Furthermore, I am told it is difficult for others to use my tools due to the amount of mana they expend. There would not be much point in me introducing tools to the world that most people cannot even use.”

“We can just have Raimund modify them. Then, there wouldn’t be any issues with you introducing them,” I said, thinking only that it would be nice for there to be more magic tools in the world, but for some reason, Ferdinand gave me a very confused look.

“And whyever would we do that?”

“I mean, isn’t it obvious? You went out of your way to make them, so could you not use them to better people’s lives? You have a genius mind for these kinds of things, so you might as well improve the world while you’re at it.”

“I cannot say that interests me. I simply make the tools that I wish to make; not once has their potential role in improving the world come to mind. Even if some do end up being useful to others, that is purely coincidence, I can assure you. I have not made and never will make a magic tool with that purpose in mind.”

Ferdinand gave an answer that was very much like him, while Justus gave a wry smile as I stared on in bewilderment. It wasn’t long before our conversation on magic tools resumed, however, and as I was telling Ferdinand about the ones I wanted for the library, the graduation ceremony came to an end.

On the day after the ceremonies, everyone was preparing to return to Ehrenfest. I was given permission to go to the library to supply Schwartz and Weiss with mana, so I quickly gathered together Solange’s documents and a large feystone from the necklace Ferdinand had given me, which was filled with mana from my most recent tea party.

Ferdinand was going to be accompanying me today. The public reason was because he was the one who owned the large feystone, but in reality, it was so that he could send ordonnanzes to those with overdue books. Considering the added possibility that Hildebrand might show up for that very same reason, it wasn’t an option to send me to the library alone.

“I would not need to worry about this if you had not involved the prince in this matter...” Ferdinand muttered.

“My sincerest apologies,” I replied.

I mean, I didn’t think it’d end up being such a big thing...

I pursed my lips as we walked down the central building’s hallway for a bit, then noticed a bunch of highbeasts flying through the air. “Those are black capes,” I said, “so I presume they’re the Sovereign Knight’s Order?”

“There was just a major attack,” Ferdinand noted. “I am sure they have much to do: searching for hidden circumstances, inquiring with various archdukes, carrying out investigations...”

I nodded along to his explanation as we continued toward the library. The walk felt exceptionally long, maybe due to how little exercise I had been getting lately.

“Professor Solange,” I said. “It’s been a while. I have finally been allowed to come back to the library.”

“Oh my, Lady Rozemyne! And Lord Ferdinand as well,” Solange replied, beckoning us into the reading room with wide eyes. “Welcome, welcome. Schwartz and Weiss told me you were coming”—she gestured to the two shumils with her—“but this is still quite the surprise. It has been so long.”

“Ferdinand forbade me from visiting the library while it was filled with students preparing for their final exams. Cruel, isn’t he?”

Solange laughed off my response and said that he surely had good reason for his concern. Ferdinand merely scoffed in response, bringing our talk on the matter to a swift close. Meanwhile, Schwartz and Weiss were hopping around me, not caring for our conversation at all.

“Milady’s here again.”

“Going to read, milady?”

“I am only here today to provide some of my mana,” I said. “It has become time for me to return to Ehrenfest once again.”

I patted their heads and filled them with mana, all the while allowing them to heal me in turn with their cuteness. Solange took this opportunity to tell me how the Library Committee had functioned in my absence. There had apparently been a few occasions after our tea party when Hildebrand popped in to supply mana, and once more students started coming to the library, Hannelore had taken over.

“Although it seems that more students have attempted to touch Schwartz and Weiss since seeing Lady Hannelore supply them with her mana...” I noted.

“Indeed,” Solange replied. “Since then, the other students have been told that those wearing armbands are special.”

The Library Committee armbands had proven immediately useful. Since we were talking about the third prince and the archduke candidate of a greater duchy, nobody questioned them being special, and it immediately became easier for other students to accept them supplying mana to Schwartz and Weiss.

“So there weren’t any problems, then. That’s a relief. What about the reminder ordonnanzes? Did Prince Hildebrand receive permission from the king in the end?”

“It seems that he asked, only to be told not to leave his room. He apologized by ordonnanz. However, thanks to the reminder ordonnanzes Lord Ferdinand so graciously provided us last year, many more books have been returned this year—so many, in fact, that we need not send any reminders at all. I am truly grateful.”

Upon hearing this, Ferdinand returned a smile. “I do not mean to force your hand at all,” he said, “but as a show of thanks, would you consider showing us the magic tools here that have stopped working?”

“The magic tools?” Solange repeated, confused.

I showed her the documents she had let me borrow. “These suggest there are plenty of magic tools that could only be used when there were three archnoble librarians in the library. If you don’t mind, would you lend them to us for research purposes? There’s an Ahrensbach apprentice scholar called Raimund who might be able to improve them for us. He’s exceptionally skilled at making tools more mana efficient.”

I wanted to see the magic tools as inspiration for my own creations. Ferdinand wanted to see them, research them, and make them for himself. Raimund wanted new jobs. Solange wanted more magic tools she could run with her own mana, to make her life easier. In other words, this was good for literally everyone involved.

Solange accepted my proposal with a half-smile. “It certainly would be an enormous help if the magic tools required less mana to use.”

“I will summon Raimund, then. He will understand the tools much better once he has seen them in person,” Ferdinand said and immediately produced an ordonnanz.

Raimund must have been in Hirschur’s laboratory, considering how little time passed before he sprinted into the reading room. His clothes were dirty and disheveled; he had evidently been in too much of a rush to tidy himself up.

“Make yourself presentable before leaving the laboratory,” Ferdinand said with a grimace. “You are an eyesore.”

Raimund wasted no time in producing his schtappe, so I reached out to stop him. “Raimund, do not cast waschen in the library! You’ll get the books wet!”

“You are the only person who would cast such a sizable waschen...” Ferdinand said with exasperation, but just for safety’s sake, I made Raimund step outside the reading room before he cleaned himself up. From there, we moved to Solange’s office, where she showed us the magic tools that were no longer in use.

“This one here is for cleaning the library, and this one is for quieting loud voices in the reading room,” she explained. Both were convenient to have, but not essential—she could clean the library on her own, even though doing so was far from easy, and everyone knew that being loud in the library was forbidden. Some students even got mad at those who spoke too disruptively. “These you may research as you like.”

“May we borrow them?” Ferdinand asked. “Even if we fail to improve them, I shall fill the tools with mana before returning them, to make it worth your while.”

Solange gave the less important magic tools to Ferdinand, then looked around the office. “I would not want the magic tools used more regularly to be broken in the process of research, and giving them to you even for a short while would disrupt my work. May I ask that you only look at them?”

“That will suffice,” Raimund said. “It isn’t often that one has the opportunity to see them at all.”

Speaking to Solange like this was a rare opportunity as well, and Raimund started asking all sorts of questions about the magic tools here. Some she could answer, while others went to Ferdinand, who seemed strangely well equipped to respond.

“To improve this one, could we not isolate this part and connect it to this one?” Raimund suggested.

“No, it would be best to first move this part,” Ferdinand replied. “For this one, if we use an ingredient with both Wind and Earth, we can shave this part off entirely.”

Ferdinand and Raimund spoke at length while discussing the immovable magic circles embedded into the library itself. To be honest, I didn’t have a clue what they were saying. I decided to leave them alone and give Solange back the documents she had allowed me to borrow, which Rihyarda was now carrying. Solange, in turn, returned the book of romantic knight stories she had received from us.

“The documents were very useful,” I said. “They spoke of so many magic tools that I would one day like to use in my own library, and it was great fun to read about the daily lives of the librarians.”

“I similarly enjoyed your duchy’s book. The language was clear, and it comes as no surprise that students have taken such a liking to it. Please allow me to borrow another one day.”

As we continued to share our thoughts on the books, a bell rang on the other side of the office door. “Now, who could that be?” Solange wondered aloud. “Now that the graduation ceremony has concluded, I don’t believe I have any arrangements with anyone...”

Solange rang a bell sitting on her own desk, at which point her attendant, who worked in the librarian dormitory, came to open the door for us. Standing on the other side was Raublut, the Sovereign knight commander. He entered the office, fully clad in feystone armor.

“I’m here on behalf of Prince Hildebrand,” he said. “The king and the royal family are remaining in private due to the attack.”

Solange wavered, her eyes wide with surprise. “Oh, but I told Prince Hildebrand that we do not need any reminder ordonnanzes. You see, so many books were returned this year...”

“Oh, no. That’s not the only reason I’m here. I wanted to ask you more about this ‘forbidden archive’ I’ve been told about. It was brought up at the tea party the prince attended, but the thing is, I’ve never heard of it before.”

All of a sudden, Ferdinand grabbed Raimund and me by the arms and muttered, “We’re leaving.” I nodded in response; as much as I wanted to hear more about the forbidden archive, I was a complete outsider. Ferdinand probably didn’t want us getting in Raublut and Solange’s way.

“The forbidden archive can only be opened with three archnoble librarians gathered together,” Solange explained. “The keys are contained in their rooms, which I am unable to enter. I would need to request for new librarians to be sent.”

“Hm?” Raublut replied. “I was told only royals could enter it.”

“That is something Lady Rozemyne said,” Solange noted, drawing me into the conversation just as we were about to say our farewells. “It is an unconfirmed rumor, though.”

Raublut turned to look at me, and I immediately twitched. “The Saint of Ehrenfest, hm?” he said, his smile broadening. “Perfect timing. Where did you hear that rumor, Lady Rozemyne?”

Unable to endure the knight commander’s reddish-brown eyes piercing into me, I gulped in fear and moved to hide behind Ferdinand. He most likely knew about the forbidden archive as well, considering that Justus was the one who had told me about it in the first place. I didn’t know whether it was something I was meant to have revealed, so I entrusted everything to Ferdinand.

“It is a rumor of unknown origin, commander,” Ferdinand said, stepping forward. “However, in the documents Rozemyne recently borrowed from Professor Solange, there was an archive described within that royals specifically came to enter. I do not know whether it exists, or if it could also be entered with the keys Professor Solange speaks of.”

Raublut shot Solange a questioning look, and she presented him with the documents I had just returned to her. “These are diaries written by former librarians,” she said. “They detail how royals came to the library during the Archduke Conference upon coming of age, as Lord Ferdinand says. If you wish to investigate, please read through these.”

Raublut took the documents, nodded, and then gave Ferdinand a close look. “Lord Ferdinand. Do you, a seed of Adalgisa, know nothing of this?”

“No,” he replied briskly. “Ehrenfest is my Geduldh.”

We said our farewells to Solange and made a swift exit, with Raimund following us out. “Lord Ferdinand, thank you very much for the enjoyable conversation and the task,” he said, then turned right and made for the scholar building. Once he had gone, Ferdinand and I continued walking straight to the central building.

“Ferdinand, could you slow down a little?”

He must not have heard me, as he offered no response and continued walking to the dormitory at a brisk pace. His expression seemed even harder than usual.

“Ferdinand!”

“You walk too slowly.”

“You’re walking too fast! Just what happened back there?”

Ferdinand gave a heavy sigh and scratched at his hair. He looked up at the flying Sovereign knights, then slowly shook his head. “It is nothing.”

So he said, but it was clearly something. He had started acting strangely after our encounter with Raublut, but seeing the Sovereign knight commander couldn’t have been the only reason—after all, they had seen each other during the bible comparison meeting as well.

“Do you think Raimund will finish improving the magic circles by next winter?” I asked. “This is much harder than the previous tasks you gave him, right? Do you think he’ll manage to dissect the tools he’s borrowing?”

My questions received no answers. Ferdinand had slowed down to match my pace, but he was even less talkative than normal. Not even talk of magic tools seemed to get a response from him.

Hey, Ferdinand... What’s a seed of Adalgisa?

And so, my second year at the Royal Academy came to an end. Yet another question was now preying on my mind, but I suspected that I could never in my life ask it, no matter how desperately I wanted to.