Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.1 - Chapter 16

Hirschur’s Personal Librarian

With my final exam for the scholar course now complete, I speedily made arrangements for a tea party with Dunkelfelger. There were many things complicating when it could be held, though, including how much progress Lestilaut, Hannelore, and Clarissa had made with their classes, and whether their aub had responded to our request to collaborate with our research. I told Brunhilde to inform them that there was no need for them to rush with their reply.

“It seems that Aub Dunkelfelger has not yet given his response,” Brunhilde informed me after dinner that day. “They are going to wait until then before informing us of their free days.”

In other words, our tea party wasn’t going to happen right away. I turned to Lieseleta. “I am going to be visiting Professor Hirschur’s laboratory from tomorrow onward. Could you begin preparing?”

“You may leave everything to me,” she replied. “I will be extra sure to prepare enough cleaning supplies; Professor Hirschur’s laboratory must be appropriately tidy if you are to enter, Lady Rozemyne.”

Lieseleta immediately started selecting the cleaning tools she would use, her eyes alight with a fire that seemed to say, “At last—a worthy opponent!” Leonore took this opportunity to leave and consult the other guard knights about their availability. My retainers truly were reliable.

“I will leave tomorrow’s preparations to you all,” I said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go to my hidden room to write some letters.”

This was a good time for me to pen a letter for Raimund to give to Ferdinand, and there was too much I needed to write in disappearing ink for me to stay here. And so I went into my hidden room.

After writing several pages with the ink that Ferdinand had given me, I paused to review my finished letter. It was a linear timeline of everything that I had done, with questions inserted when relevant... but something about it felt a little hard to comprehend.

“‘During the ritual for obtaining divine protections, I climbed the stairway to the great heights where the supreme gods live. Professor Hirschur wishes to know what I found there. I’ve recorded the magic circle that I could see from the top of the shrine, but should I show Sylvester? Also, I received so many divine protections that my schtappe can no longer keep up. Every little thing I do results in a blessing. I’ve been trying to decompress and expend my mana as much as I can to remedy this, but is there anything else I can do?’” I paused. “Hm... I-Is that clear enough? Surely Ferdinand, of all people, will understand what I mean!”

After convincing myself that everything was going to be fine, I put all of the pages on my desk so that the ink could dry. In the meantime, I also considered adding a secret message to the letter that would pass through Fraularm. As an experiment to see how much longer Fraularm’s would take to reach Ferdinand—that is, assuming it arrived at all—I wrote, “This letter is coming to you via Professor Fraularm. Did it arrive?” Once the disappearing ink dried and the message disappeared, I would need to write something innocuous over it.

But what would I be okay with Professor Fraularm reading...? This is tough.

“Now then—I am off to the laboratory.”

It was the first of many days I would be spending in Hirschur’s lab, and I was speaking to Charlotte in the common room. She was still in the process of completing her practical lessons, but she didn’t have class today, so she was going to discuss the feyplant paper research with Marianne.

“It hardly looks like you are on your way to a laboratory, Sister...” Charlotte blinked in surprise at Lieseleta, who had with her a cart stacked with various things. There seemed to be about as much as when we would attend tea parties in the library—which was far too much for a simple trip to Hirschur’s laboratory.

I gave a troubled smile. “We have decided to take cleaning tools and some food.”

Hirschur and Raimund didn’t live healthy lives by any means. I explained the disastrous state of the laboratory to Charlotte, at which point Rihyarda sighed and insinuated that I was one to talk. Apparently, I neglected my health just as much whenever I was absorbed in a book.

I responded with an evasive smile and then exited the dormitory. Classes had already started, so the hallway was quiet and devoid of people. Accompanying me today were Rihyarda and Lieseleta as my attendants, Matthias and Theodore as my guard knights, and Roderick as my scholar.

“This is going to be my first time entering the scholar building...” Matthias said as we approached it. Theodore gave a nod of agreement, implying that this was the case for him as well.

Once we were inside, Matthias muttered that the scholar building had so many more individual rooms than the knights’ one. There were countless storage rooms as well as laboratories here, so I could see exactly what he meant. In contrast, the knight building was a collection of generally large training facilities, with most of the smaller rooms belonging to the professors. It was the tallest and widest of the specialty buildings and was located farther away than the rest.

“Ngh. What’s that weird smell...?” Theodore asked, looking around. I could tell that he wanted to pinch his nose, but, as a guard knight, he had settled for just wrinkling it instead.

“You have yet to attend any brewing classes, so it makes sense that you aren’t accustomed to it,” I said with a giggle. “You are smelling herbs and various other ingredients. They can be a bit much when they’re all mixed together, but you will grow used to it eventually.”

Theodore gave us all doubting looks. “This really doesn’t bother you?”

“You will adapt whether you want to or not once you learn to make potions yourself and start drinking them during training. You will even learn to drink worse-smelling concoctions when necessary. Besides, what you are complaining about now might as well be a flowery perfume compared to the potions Ferdinand creates.”

Theodore twitched, regarding us with an expression that practically screamed, “What the heck do you guys drink?!” He didn’t know the half of it, though. Ferdinand’s potions tasted so vile that, after trying one, Charlotte had assumed that we were pulling some kind of twisted joke on her—and that had been the “kind” version. The original was the stuff of evil.

“Please wait here for a moment, Lady Rozemyne,” Lieseleta said upon our arrival at Hirschur’s laboratory. “I must first ensure that everything is in suitable condition for your entry.” She then went inside ahead of the rest of us, bringing along her cart laden with magic tools and cleaning utensils.

During my first visit to Hirschur’s laboratory, Lieseleta had placed a vacuum-like tool on the floor that had sent Hirschur and Raimund into a panic. “I just hope Professor Hirschur doesn’t lose anything she holds dear...” I muttered to myself.

“We sent her an ordonnanz yesterday informing her of our expectations,” Rihyarda said calmly. “I am sure she has put away all that she deems important.”

“LIESELETA! NOOOOOO!”

Evidently not...

Judging by her scream, Hirschur had prioritized research over cleaning her lab, even when given a clear warning. Rihyarda sighed and shook her head.

“My apologies for the wait, Lady Rozemyne.” Lieseleta opened the door for me with a smile, meaning we could finally enter the laboratory. There were sizable mountains of documents stacked on the brewing desks—no doubt those that Hirschur had saved from the floor during Lieseleta’s ruthless tidy-up.

“Professor Hirschur, is Raimund not here?” I asked.

“He is in class at the moment. We will wait for him to return before discussing the joint research,” Hirschur explained. Raimund was passing his classes steadily and securing more free time as a result, so he was popping in every now and again. “Use the time until then to look over these documents. Our discussion with Raimund will go much smoother once you understand what is written here.”

Hirschur had given me blueprints and memos about what we were planning to make. My eyes wandered from the mountain of documents precariously teetering on the desk to the tidy bookcase against the wall.

“Professor Hirschur, I wish to organize your documents before going through them. Would you permit me? I want everything to be as neat as that bookcase over there.”

“That bookcase only contains documents that I am no longer using for research—and it was Ferdinand who organized them like that. You two truly are alike, asking to sort through my things the moment you arrive. You may organize the documents on these desks as you like.”

“Ferdinand organized them? Does that mean they’ve been untouched for ten years?!”

“He came by last year, no? To get his magic tools.”

As well as his magic tools, Ferdinand had taken many blueprints and research documents that he had determined he would need while having Justus and Eckhart organize the rest.

Wowee. Ferdinand must have it rough, having to look after his own teacher.

Following in his footsteps, I took several documents from the bookcase; I wanted to see how everything had been labeled and organized. The boards were sorted into subjects, and each subject was arranged in chronological order. Among the documents were various sheets of parchment that I immediately recognized as belonging to Ferdinand—the handwriting was a clear giveaway.

Hm? This is about the Royal Academy’s twenty mysteries.

There was a list of mysteries that Justus had gathered, as well as a simple map.

And this must be a map of the Academy. Wow. It’s basically a circle.

I didn’t know much about the layout of the Royal Academy—it was always too cold for me to leisurely tour the grounds in my Pandabus—but Rihyarda and Bonifatius had told me that, back in the day of treasure-stealing ditter, it had pretty much been common knowledge.

These spots here must be where the mysteries were.

The map was covered with way more than twenty circles and crosses, most likely indicating things and places they had checked. It was aged, having likely been handwritten over a decade ago, and looked entirely like a treasure map. However, this research into the Royal Academy’s mysteries ended so abruptly that it was actually suspicious.

“Professor, this is Ferdinand’s research, right?” I asked. “I can’t see any results or conclusions...”

“Indeed. He never finishes research that he doesn’t intend to publicize.”

“Really?”

“Really. He stops once he understands and agrees with the results himself, so he never ends up writing down his findings. There have even been occasions when he has determined it best not to leave any written records at all, so as to avoid leaving any traces of his discoveries.”

Those who were receiving funding from their duchy were required to report their findings, but those covering their own costs often chose not to leave any documents behind.

Darn. This research seems pretty interesting as well. I wish I could have seen it all.

I pursed my lips, checked the binding of the document and where it was placed, then closed it.

“Now that I understand how Ferdinand organized these documents, I am going to begin sorting through the rest,” I announced. It would probably be best for me to stick with the same organization method so that Hirschur and Raimund could intuitively follow it—and with that in mind, I undid one of the bindings around my hip and pulled it taut.

“Milady, what are you doing?”

“(Tasuki-gake). First, I must get these troublesome sleeves out of the way.”

“Tasu... Say again?”

Rihyarda looked on curiously as I executed the ancient Japanese art of using a sash to tuck up my billowy sleeves so that they wouldn’t get in the way of my work. But no sooner was my improvised tasuki in place than Rihyarda shook her head and undid it.

“It is unsightly to reveal your arms like that, milady. You will not be doing any of the actual sorting either. Just take a seat; Lieseleta and I will follow your instructions.”

A seat was prepared for me, from which I was made to direct my retainers as they organized the documents on my behalf. My first course of action was to divide the workload between them. Rihyarda and Lieseleta were going to be working together to sort the documents into boxes, bind them, and then put them in the bookcase.

“Are these documents what you’re working on now, Professor Hirschur?”

“Ah! Yes, I’ve been searching for those for quite some time.”

“Would you mind me storing Raimund’s documents in this bookcase too? Or do you expect him to take them back to his dormitory?”

“He can choose to take them with him when he graduates. There are many documents that will become unneeded over time.”

As I went through one document after another, the bookcase started to become more and more organized. The once messy brewing desks were cleared in no time.

“Lady Rozemyne, there are still some documents here,” Hirschur said. “Go through these as well while you’re at it.”

“You may count on me.” I took the documents and put them where they needed to be.

You know, I’m starting to feel like Hirschur’s personal librarian...

My work in the Library Committee only ever amounted to supplying mana, so this was my first time doing actual librarian work since coming to the Royal Academy. I was so content that I couldn’t help but hum to myself.

So, what next...? I’m having so much fun right now!

I was continuing to organize the documents, loving every moment, when fourth bell rang. Time really had flown by. Raimund stumbled in not long after, his legs trembling slightly.

“Bad news, Professor Hirschur... Oh!” He saw me, then his eyes shot open. “Excuse me! I must have entered the wrong room!”

And with that, Raimund was gone again.

“This can’t have been the wrong room, right?” I asked, exchanging a look with Lieseleta.

Hirschur cackled. “My laboratory looks so tidy now that he must not have recognized it. He will return soon enough, so let us prepare a meal. You’ve brought food, have you not?” Her lips curled into a grin as she pointed at Lieseleta’s cart.

In truth, I was getting hungry myself. Rihyarda and Lieseleta gave the now-spacious brewing desks a thorough clean before preparing a meal for us all.

Raimund returned just as we were ready to start eating. He knocked on the door, then peered shyly into the laboratory. His hair was in a complete state, and he seemed to have put as little thought into his clothes as usual. The only noise we heard from him was the slight grumble of his stomach; he really must have been hungry.

“Raimund, make yourself a little more presentable before you come inside, even if only with waschen,” Lieseleta said, shooing him back outside with a smile. “I would not like for you to stand in Lady Rozemyne’s presence as you are now.”

Raimund closed the door, used waschen, then entered again. “My sincerest apologies,” he said.

Now that everyone was here, we could finally begin our lunch. Hirschur brought up our joint research project as she ate, while Raimund sat with his shoulders slumped, having to wait for her to serve him from her plate.

Last night, Raimund explained, he had received a summons from Detlinde. “You are representing Ahrensbach,” she had said. “Make sure to contact Lord Ferdinand on a regular basis, and ensure your research is done carefully so that you do not embarrass Ahrensbach alongside yourself.”

“So it wasn’t a mistake after all...” Raimund sighed. “It came as a shock at first, since she had never spoken to me before, but then I assumed that she must have taken an interest in my work through Lord Ferdinand.”

Raimund, under the assumption that Detlinde was referring to his Interduchy Tournament research, had said that he would treat the matter with the utmost care. It had only been this morning, when he was on his way to class, that he had discovered the truth. Fraularm, his dormitory supervisor, had told him to report to her once the details of our joint research project were decided.

“And so I came here, thinking that I should report this to Professor Hirschur,” he concluded.

“News about Ehrenfest’s joint research projects with Drewanchel and Dunkelfelger has become very popular,” Hirschur explained while halving the food on her plate and giving some to Raimund. “Fraularm must want more achievements to her name in the Sovereignty, which is why she has asked us to collaborate with Ahrensbach as well, using Ferdinand as our mutual connection.”

Um, excuse me? Wasn’t it because you lit a fire under her?

I kept that thought to myself, though, since Hirschur had played such a crucial role in helping me pass my final scholar exam. Besides, Raimund would probably find this situation easier to accept if we told him that it was his own dormitory supervisor’s idea and not ours.

“Raimund, both you and Lady Rozemyne are Ferdinand’s disciples, so if you provide the blueprints and have Lady Rozemyne make the prototypes, then keeping as you were should suffice for your joint research.”

“Have Lady Rozemyne... make the prototypes?” Raimund repeated, his eyes wide. “I could not ask an archduke candidate to do that for me.” But while he was trembling at the very idea, Hirschur was entirely unmoved.

“Lady Rozemyne has been trained by Ferdinand, so she is used to practical brewing and can use time-saving magic circles. She also has plentiful mana due to being an archduke candidate—enough that she can brew several times back-to-back. That said, while her mindset and brewing abilities are impressive, her magic circle designs are fairly standard. She will do fine in classes but does not have the skill necessary to become a scientist. Thus, I believe the two of you will produce suitable results when paired together.”

As it turned out, I wasn’t anywhere near as skilled at designing magic circles as Raimund and Ferdinand.

“Furthermore,” Hirschur continued, “if word spreads that your successful research was in part thanks to your mutual teacher, Ferdinand, then his reputation in Ahrensbach will surely improve.”

Well, that meant I needed to give this my all.

“Let us all work hard to secure Ferdinand a better position in Ahrensbach, to get Raimund accepted as the retainer of an archducal family member despite his being a mednoble, and to create the magic tools I want for my library,” I declared.

“Well, I can hardly refuse with everyone so motivated. Besides, turning down this opportunity would make Lady Detlinde and Professor Fraularm treat me as their enemy for life...” Raimund sounded a little annoyed about his last statement, but he agreed to do the research all the same.

“In that case, I will start making the prototypes after lunch. Please provide me with your blueprints and instructions.”

“Understood. Thank you for your gracious assistance.”

Once lunch was over, I gave Hirschur and Raimund a tour of their newly organized bookcase. “Raimund, all of your work documents can be found from here to here,” I said, indicating two points on one of the shelves. “I’ve done as much as I can to put them in chronological order.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen the lab so organized...” Raimund replied, moved.

Pleased to have been praised for my librarian work, I saw Raimund off to his afternoon classes and then got straight to brewing. I produced one magic tool after another while referring to his documents, pausing only when Hirschur asked me to fill a tool with mana. I used physical enhancements to strengthen my body, and rejuvenation potions to recover my stamina...

Yeah, okay. This lab is too much. I’ve ended up downing so many potions without even meaning to.

“So, what do you think?” I asked Raimund when he returned from his class, my chest puffed out. “Made exactly as ordered, right? I worked pretty hard.”

I was buzzing with excitement as Raimund examined the prototypes... but rather than giving me the praise I was hoping for, he slumped over, looking entirely defeated.

“Um... Are they that bad...?”

“No, they’re fine. It’s just... my soul almost left my body when I saw just how much mana you have to work with...”

Raimund, in contrast, had so little mana that he needed rejuvenation potions even when brewing prototypes. Producing a single tool per day was far from a sure thing for him, so seeing four lined up before him served as a painful reminder that the world wasn’t fair.

“I will send these to Lord Ferdinand so that he can grade them,” Raimund said.

“Save that for tomorrow; I’ve written a letter that I want you to send to him as well. Oh, I also have a letter to be given to him through Professor Fraularm.” This was my way of saying that I intended to take the duty of writing reports into my own hands, since nobody else in the lab was likely to.

Raimund gave me a relieved smile. “That will be tremendously helpful. Professor Fraularm has already told me to start giving her reports, so...”

The next day, I entrusted Raimund with my two letters—one for Ferdinand and the other for Fraularm—then prayed to Ordoschnelli the Goddess of Couriers.

May I receive a response from Ferdinand without issue.