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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter 1




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Rewarding Hartmut’s Hard Work

After our visitors from Ahrensbach departed from Ehrenfest, I worked toward advancing my studies for the archduke candidate course under Ferdinand’s supervision. Time passed in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, the summer coming-of-age ceremony had arrived. I finished it without incident while Hartmut “babysat” me. It was actually kind of scary seeing him with a look of such complete satisfaction. All in all, the ceremony was more than enough for me to resolve to learn to do everything myself so that I wouldn’t need his help anywhere near as much in the future.

The autumn baptisms came soon after, and a meeting was held about the Harvest Festival. One key topic of discussion was which blue priests would be going where. It was a task that Ferdinand would normally deal with himself, but as he was busy preparing documents for his successors, Hartmut and I were doing it instead.

“The Harvest Festival, yes?” Hartmut asked. “I wish to travel with you, Lady Rozemyne.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You have your own duties to perform as a blue priest, Hartmut. You obviously cannot accompany me.”

“I am aware, but that is still my wish. Otherwise, what reason was there for me to have remained behind during Spring Prayer and focused on learning tax work? Ngh... I was a fool!”

Oh yeah. He stayed at home last spring and said that he’d accompany me in the autumn as a tax official.

The Archduke Conference had taken place after this Spring Prayer, and that was when Hartmut had been assigned to take over from Ferdinand as the High Priest. I understood the disappointment of knowing that one’s hard work had ultimately been for naught, but I had grown tired of his impassioned speeches.

“I wished only to burn into mine unworthy eyes the sight of you baptizing the common folk, performing their coming-of-age ceremonies, and binding their stars all at once. How I yearn to once again experience Groschel, where the sparkles of great blessings and stunned awe on the faces of the commoners gave way to eternal praise for your works, and...”

Something tells me we’re going to be here a while...

Still, no matter how annoying he was being now, I was certain that he would adopt the role of a future High Priest to perfection when it came time to hold the meeting with the other blue priests and depart. I placed a lot of trust in his talents... but I still wasn’t interested in hearing his various complaints and excessive praise for me.

“Fran, Zahm, let us put Hartmut aside and focus on preparing a list of which blue priests we can potentially send out.”

“Understood.”

I ignored Hartmut as he continued his incomprehensible speech and instead returned to the task at hand. We were going to be sending the blue priests who took their jobs seriously to the locations with the biggest harvests. Years of this had apparently led the blue priests of the former Veronica faction to start doing a bit of work themselves.

Once our list was complete, I asked Hartmut and Zahm to deliver it to the High Priest’s chambers. “Assuming he approves, all we need to do now is announce our choices during the meeting. You will be in his chambers preparing to succeed him henceforth, right, Hartmut? Best of luck.”

Thankfully, Hartmut had given up on his speech and joined our discussion the moment serious talks began. He had a bit of madness inside him, but all things considered, he was a very diligent person. It was also important to consider that he had only lost the chance to accompany me because he had volunteered to serve as the next High Priest. He was working hard for my sake, so it only seemed fair to reward him.

The problem is that I don’t really know what Hartmut would want. His last request was for a coming-of-age blessing, so...

I racked my brain for ideas, thinking back to all the times I remembered seeing him happy or excited.

Hm? Um... Huh. How strange. Is it just me, or did all of these events have something to do with me?

From an objective point of view, his obsession was creepy to the point of being deeply unsettling. Far from rewarding him, I wanted to put as much distance between us as physically possible.

Nah, nah, nah. I assume there’s just a side of this I’m not seeing. I’ll ask someone closer to Hartmut about it; I’m sure they’ll put my mind at ease.

I was only familiar with the “retainer” side of Hartmut, but he had a more private side as well—as proven by the fact that he had started dating Clarissa without my knowing. There were bound to be many other things he liked; I just wasn’t aware of them.

Cornelius might have an idea...

I turned to Cornelius. Apparently, he and Hartmut had been socializing since before their baptisms, since Elvira and Ottilie were both family and close friends.

“Cornelius, does Hartmut have any interests other than me?” I asked, staring up at him in anticipation. “I am conscious that he isn’t able to accompany me for the Harvest Festival, despite having so diligently learned tax work on top of his various other duties as my head scholar and the future High Priest, so I wish to give him a reward of some kind. The problem is that nothing comes to mind...”

He fell into thought for a short while, but then his expression became one of complete despair. “I... apologize for not being of any use,” he said, looking at me intently, “but nothing comes to mind. That said, I am once again steeling my resolve to stay on guard against Hartmut—even more so than before. I will protect you no matter what may happen.”

So not even Cornelius can think of anything...

“Philine? Roderick?” I asked. They spent time with him as apprentice scholars, so maybe they knew something. “Anyone...?”

“Unfortunately, although over half a year has passed since I first began speaking with Hartmut, I have yet to see him take an interest in anything unrelated to you...” Roderick said apologetically. It really, really wasn’t something I had wanted to hear. “However, Hartmut is a skilled scholar, so I must imagine he is fond of magic tools and circles.”

It was true that he had joined Ferdinand and Raimund in their conversation at the Interduchy Tournament, and the gathering spot’s healing magic circle had made him excited enough to start taking notes. These things might have been indirectly related to me, but I was sure that his interest went beyond that.

As I was deep in thought, Philine came up with something. “Hartmut wishes to become a scholar you can rely on,” she said, “so perhaps you could consult him when making magic tools or circles?”

“Can that really be considered a reward...? It sounds more like adding to his workload.”

“This is Hartmut we are talking about; I am certain he will adore it,” she said confidently and with an innocent smile.

The most I could say in response was: “I have learned so much.” I then fell into thought for a bit—at which point Damuel made a hesitant suggestion.

“This is not unrelated to you, Lady Rozemyne, but he is very interested in learning about blessings, religious ceremonies, and the divine instruments. Perhaps you could permit him to view especially precious documents?”

“That is a good idea. There are many such documents in the temple.”


Perhaps giving Hartmut the means to research blessings and the divine instruments would inspire him to lock himself away in his hidden room like Ferdinand. Either way, it was sure to stop him from obsessing over me.

After finishing his administrative work with the High Priest, Hartmut returned to the High Bishop’s chambers. I wasted no time in putting my plan in motion.

“Hartmut... do you want to try making the divine instruments?”

“You intend to give me the divine instruments, Lady Rozemyne?! If even that is within your power, then you are even greater than a saint. A goddess, perhaps? Splendid! Truly splendid! Praise be to the gods!” Hartmut exclaimed, offering a prayer. His eyes were sparkling more than ever, but his delight was entirely unfounded—I certainly hadn’t said whatever he was going on about.

 

    

 

“No, I do not, so stop praying!” I replied, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding. “I will simply be explaining why I can make them—or, rather, the method that I use. You may be able to make them yourself, but that will depend entirely on you. I, um... I was thinking this could serve as a reward for your hard work and as an apology for you being unable to accompany me during the Harvest Festival. Does it sound acceptable?”

I was concerned that Hartmut wouldn’t actually like the reward, but he knelt before me with an exceptionally bright smile. “It is the greatest reward that I could ask for, and one that should lead to significant progress in my research.”

It seemed that scholarly things really were the best reward for Hartmut. Relieved that he hadn’t rejected my idea and demanded something strange in its place, I started explaining how I had obtained the divine instruments. It was very simple: you just had to keep offering mana to the divine instruments in the temple. Once you had supplied enough, the magic circles would start coming to mind with relative ease.

“I was able to use Schutzaria’s shield after about half a year as a blue shrine maiden. Perhaps an adult archnoble such as yourself will make faster progress, since you can use rejuvenation potions and other such magic tools already. That said, do not become so devoted to your studies that you overconsume potions or start allowing other aspects of your life to fall apart.”

“Understood.”

Standing behind the very enthusiastic Hartmut were my other retainers, also listening with great interest. They seemed excited about the prospect of learning to use the divine instruments themselves.

“This sounds like a great opportunity for me to try making the God of Life’s sword,” Cornelius said.

“I fail to see how you are involved, Cornelius; I am the one Lady Rozemyne is presenting with this tremendous gift, not you,” Hartmut noted. “Should you not be focusing on guard duty while in the temple?”

As the two glared at each other, smiling all the while, Philine noticed my concern and spoke up. “Um, Lady Rozemyne... If you permit Cornelius to offer his mana, would this not cease to be a reward for Hartmut?”

Hartmut agreed with a firm nod.

I contemplated the situation for a moment. The duchy would benefit from more people offering mana to the divine instruments, and the mana-deficient blue priests could focus on handover stuff without needing to worry about the offerings. That, in turn, would ease Ferdinand’s burden.

“I would enthusiastically welcome more mana being donated to the divine instruments, as long as donating does not interfere with your work,” I said. “But in that case... I suppose I would need to grant Hartmut another reward.”

“Another reward...?”

“Is there anything else you might like, Hartmut? I will provide anything that is within my power,” I said, asking for his own opinion.

Hartmut pondered my question. Then, with an unexpectedly serious expression, he replied, “Please rely on me more.”

I didn’t follow at all. “I am relying on you more than enough already, no?” I was having him work not only as my retainer, but in the temple as well. Was there even anything else I could rely on him for?

Seeing my confusion, Hartmut regretfully clenched a fist. “My status as your head scholar is in name only. I am not doing the work expected of the position.”

Apparently, scholars serving as retainers to the archducal family were meant to prepare and manage brewing ingredients and assist with the creation of specialized concoctions—all things that Ferdinand and his retainers had been doing for me up until now.

Well, now that he mentions it, Ferdinand did give me everything I needed to study for class...

“I feel that I am being useful in the Royal Academy and the temple, but I would like for you to rely on me more as your head scholar,” Hartmut reiterated.

Back when Hartmut had only been an apprentice, and there hadn’t been any adult scholars in my retinue, he had willingly followed the lead and instructions of my guardian, Ferdinand. Now, however, he could no longer work as my retainer in the Royal Academy. He basically wanted to do scholar work in Ehrenfest too.

“It will make things easier for Lord Ferdinand as well,” Hartmut added.

“I understand your wish, Hartmut, but you’re essentially suggesting that I give you more work. Would that really be a reward for you?”

“Yes,” he replied at once. His eyes were sparkling so intensely that I recoiled on instinct; I really couldn’t understand him.

“This does not seem like a reward, though...” I said. In essence, I was just going to be placing a greater weight on his shoulders.

“In that case, I ask for some valuable ingredient or another. Now, what will we do with it? Brew? Make a magic circle? Shall I create a list of all the ingredients you own?” Hartmut asked, once again trying to turn his reward into something that benefited me. I desperately tried to think of another job I could give him.

“U-Uh... You could assist me in making a protective charm for Ferdinand. Do you recall how one of his charms responded to that rock thrown by the Immerdink student during the Interduchy Tournament?” I asked, rolling up my sleeve to show one of the charms that Ferdinand made me wear. “I would like to make a charm to protect Ferdinand from a similar incident, should one occur.”

Ferdinand was going into enemy territory. I wanted to give him absolutely anything that he might need to protect himself.

“I want to pack a single charm full of magic circles that will react to any attack,” I continued. “And, if possible, I want to begin working on it right away. It may require much trial and error.”

I showed Hartmut several of my designs for magic circles, which were based on the charms Ferdinand had given me. I wanted to pack them all into a single charm. Hartmut looked over my sweet little designs founded in hopes and dreams and smiled, a confident gleam in his eyes.

“I see. This is a challenge that is well worth doing. I will support you with my all.”

And so, Hartmut taught me how to make protective charms. I also decided to allow all those who wished to offer mana to the divine instruments to do so, as long as it did not interfere with their work. Of course, this soon blossomed into a competition between Hartmut and Cornelius as they both fought to see who could complete their divine instruments first. All of my other retainers started participating one after another, and soon enough, the instruments were filled with an abundance of mana.



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