Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.5 - Chapter 6

The Locations of the Shrines

“Was going outside a nice change of pace?” Magdalena asked.

Upon our return, our attendants had immediately prepared some tea for us. I was parched from our time in the sun, so it really hit the spot.

“Yes, Mother,” Hildebrand replied. “Professor Solange helped us to escape through a door in the closed-stack archive. It led us to a garden, but the sun was too strong for Rozemyne, so we ventured into the forest. We found a shrine hidden among the trees and ended up resting there—though the door was locked, so we could not go inside...”

Magdalena listened with a motherly expression. “If you were unable to enter, then how did you know it was a shrine?” she asked, prompting him to continue.

“Rozemyne said that its entrance resembled the one to Ehrenfest’s temple.”

“Ceremonies once held a surprising amount of significance here at the Royal Academy. The shrine you found was surely important as well.”

I resisted the urge to nod like crazy and instead offered a more innocuous response: “It has since been repaired, but my grandfather once broke a shrine during a game of treasure-stealing ditter. He said that it was near the edge of the Royal Academy’s grounds, though, so it must not have been the one we came across today. I doubt that we reached the outskirts after coming out of the library and taking a brief stroll through the nearby forest.”

The central, scholar, and attendant buildings—as well as the library—were all at the center of the Royal Academy. The “edge” was surely closer to where the dormitories were located. I was implying that there were other shrines out there, but would the others notice?

Hannelore seemed to pick up what I was putting down. “It would seem that there are other shrines or places of worship around the Royal Academy’s grounds. Does the royal family have a map of the Academy, perhaps? Or keys to the shrines...?”

“In the past, the dormitories each maintained their own maps for ditter,” Magdalena said, “but the royal family has never had a map that marks the locations of any shrines—not to my knowledge, at least. I shall ask Solange and the librarians of the royal library.”

That reminded me—Ferdinand’s ditter instruction manuals included a simple map of the Royal Academy. Perhaps it would be a good idea to look around the dorm when we returned.

“Lady Magdalena, what did you discuss with Lady Detlinde?” I asked.

“Allow me to say this: she is both very extraordinary and very bold to call herself a Zent candidate.” She smiled. “Now, let us resume our work. We do not have much more time.”

I got the message—whatever they had discussed, Magdalena really didn’t want to repeat it here.

Well, Detlinde did manage to stun even the first wife of Dunkelfelger. I’d like to think she didn’t repeat what she said in the closed-stack archive to Magdalena’s face, but you never know with her...

Detlinde had said some pretty rude things even during Royal Academy tea parties—but that had been to lower-ranking nobles, and it had only been bad enough to inspire a few wrinkled brows. Plus, now that Aub Ahrensbach was gone, she was due to become the highest authority in Ahrensbach; it was hard to imagine her being discourteous to the royal family and putting her entire duchy at risk. One’s retainers would normally stop at nothing to prevent such a thing from happening.

However, Magdalena’s refusal to discuss the matter made me extremely concerned. It really did seem like Detlinde had proclaimed herself the next Zent in front of an existing royal. Her blatant, uh... treachery put her future husband, Ferdinand, in danger of being deemed guilty by association. At the very least, I was glad that their Starbind Ceremony had been delayed; Ferdinand couldn’t attend the Archduke Conference while he was still merely her fiancé, so he was presumably safe from punishment.

Wait, actually... Would it be best for me to obtain the Grutrissheit as soon as possible?

By doing so, I would secure the perfect bargaining chip. There was no point in coming to the negotiating table empty-handed, and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the royal family would spare Ferdinand in return for their beloved Grutrissheit. Anything else I could offer would probably result in him getting punished anyway.

Am I worrying about this too much?

I placed a hand on my chest. If Detlinde really had been foolish enough to repeat what she had said in the archive to Magdalena, then it was only a matter of time before my fears became reality. Surely I was within my rights to keep quiet and worry about things for a bit.

The Book of Mestionora might not even be the Grutrissheit. Maybe it just serves as a stepping stone. Even then, it probably won’t be easy to obtain. I’ll search in secret for now.

I took some paper and writing utensils from Ottilie, then went back into the underground archive. Schwartz looked up at me and said, “Milady. Not enough prayer.” I only had the blue tablet inside of me, so that seemed like a fair evaluation.

I need to figure out where those other shrines are.

“Schwartz, is there a map of the Royal Academy with the locations of the shrines for prayer?” I asked. It was worth a shot.

“Yes,” Schwartz replied, then took several slates from the rightmost end of one of the bookshelves. It would have taken me ages to reach them, considering that I always started at the top left.

“Thanks, Schwartz.”

I gave the shumil a pat on the head, then started examining the maps. The crudest and the most detailed ones had markers in completely different places, so I still didn’t have any definitive answers. I couldn’t even see the dormitories or any other landmarks on them, so I was even more confused about where to go. I would need to make copies of the maps and then compare them to the ditter maps in the Ehrenfest Dormitory. That would probably take a while.

“Rozemyne! Time’s up!”

“Eep?!”

I was working from one of the slates when it was suddenly snatched away from me. I stared up in shock and saw Sylvester handing it back to Schwartz.

“You really do block out the world around you when you read, huh?” he said. “Do you know how many times I called your name?”

“Not at all...”

“Hurry up and get ready to leave,” he said, exasperated.

I handed my completed translations to Magdalena, then folded up my copies of the maps and put them in my pouch. “I didn’t expect you to come get me,” I said to Sylvester.

“Seemed pretty obvious to me. Can’t have Florencia entering a magic tool this big while she’s pregnant.”

As it turned out, one could describe the underground archive as a giant magic tool. There were those doors, to begin with, and only those who met strict mana criteria were able to enter. It was impossible to say what kind of an impact such a magic tool might have on an unborn child, which was why Sylvester didn’t want Florencia to come here.

“Does that mean you’re going to retrieve me every day?” I asked.

“That’s the plan. C’mon.” Sylvester offered me his hand, but I merely cocked my head at him. Was I supposed to grab it or something?

“What’s the holdup? My escort not good enough for you?”

“Oh, no... I just never expected you to escort someone other than Florencia.”

“If she were here, she would be my first choice.”

I reached out and grabbed on to Sylvester’s arm; then he escorted me out of the archive. It was strange—as we ascended the stairs, I actually felt a bit like a princess.

We exited the library and made our way down the dusky corridors; the sun had already begun to set. Back in my commoner days, I had sometimes walked hand in hand with my family and friends, but I couldn’t remember holding on to anybody’s arm like this. Even as a noble, I had only ever done this for banquets.

Sometimes I hold on to Grandfather’s finger, but that feels more like taking on a dangerous mission than being escorted. Besides, whenever I’m in the castle, I tend to just ride in my highbeast.

“Rozemyne, do you have to look so somber?”

“I’m simply not used to being escorted like this. To tell you the truth, I’m at something of a loss.”

“You aren’t used to it? But you’ve had plenty of experience with Ferdinand and Wilfried, haven’t you?”

Sylvester looked surprised, but I was completely bewildered. “Ferdinand would never escort me in a normal situation like this. Oh, but we did have a bit of an arrangement—anytime he was moving too fast, I would grab his sleeve, then he would slow down enough to keep me from falling on my face. He’d go from a light jog to a brisk walk.”

“Whaaat? That’s it?”

I desperately tried to remember the other things that Ferdinand had done for me. “Umm... whenever we rode his highbeast, he would help me climb up and then set me down again. Although that was only because I was too short to do either on my own...”

“And Wilfried...? You’re engaged, right?”

“He escorted me for the feast, but that was about it... Oh, when we have our archduke candidate classes, he carries my heavier belongings into the classroom for me, since my retainers can’t follow me inside.” It had impressed Hannelore and inspired her to say that I was engaged to someone very kind, so it was probably a good thing.

Sylvester gave a displeased frown. “I know you usually ride your highbeast in the castle, but come on. The heck is that boy doing when you two are walking together?”

“Well, I can’t think of any students who serve as escorts on a daily basis.”

“I did.”

Yeah, because you were looking for an excuse to spend time with Florencia. In any case, your situations really can’t be compared. You were desperately trying to get the girl of your dreams to notice you, whereas Wilfried is mechanically carrying out the functions of a political engagement.

That seemed obvious, but apparently Sylvester was kind to all women, not just Florencia. The men of the world could stand to learn a lot from him.

“You are far more considerate of women than Wilfried or Ferdinand, that is for sure. I must say—I am surprised.”

“As am I... How did my little brother end up so inept around women? Sure, he plays the part of a perfect gentleman during feasts and the like, but, what, he won’t even accompany someone on a daily basis?”

“The closer you are to Ferdinand, the less effort he puts into how he treats you.”

I was pretty sure that Sylvester had received the same lackluster treatment. Ferdinand often acted with exceptional attention to detail, and on the rare occasions when he was kind, he was really kind... but actually interacting with him could be pretty rough.

The next thing I knew, Sylvester was looking down at me with a conflicted smile. “What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing serious. Just occurred to me that some things only time can reveal.”

“Well, if we’re being honest... You might want to start acting a bit younger. You’ve been way too curmudgeonly as of late.”

“And whose fault do you think that is?”

My own, without a doubt... Sorry.

I was starting to feel nostalgic—Benno had used to scold me just like this—when I suddenly remembered that I needed to have a very important discussion with Sylvester. “As much as it pains me to say this, I need to tell you something that might age you another year or two.”

“I don’t really wanna hear it, but I’m guessing I don’t have a choice...” Sylvester replied with a grimace, urging me to continue. We were still moving through the corridors, and our retainers were within earshot, but this matter wasn’t “clear the room” important.

“So... the Starbind Ceremony caused a magic circle to appear, hm?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I didn’t notice at the time, since I was gazing upward in prayer, but that was the same circle that appeared during Lady Detlinde’s coming-of-age ceremony—the one for selecting Zent candidates.”

It seemed that the audience had accepted Sigiswald as the next Zent. That was a good thing in itself, but the circle was simply one part of the selection process. Merely activating it did not a Zent make.

“I can see why the Sovereign temple was so desperate to revive ancient rituals in their quest to obtain a true Zent...” I murmured. “Of course, they won’t get very far without a High Bishop who can perform them—and they’re sure to want my help after the success of the ceremony.”

Sylvester patted my right hand, which was still wrapped around his left arm. “Relax. Your engagement to Wilfried has the king’s approval; I’m not about to cancel it.”

Maybe not, but what if I obtain the Grutrissheit and end up qualified to become the next Zent? Worst-case scenario, I want to be prepared to rescue Ferdinand.

Sylvester was going all out to protect me while at the same time insisting that we treat Ferdinand as an outsider from Ahrensbach. I wondered how he would react to finding out that I was a Zent candidate now, but I wasn’t going to tell him—not when I didn’t have the slightest desire to rule Yurgenschmidt. Instead, I reported that Detlinde had come to the underground archive, and repeated what she had said.

“I don’t know what Schlaftraum’s flowers are supposed to represent,” I said, “but they can only be obtained in Ahrensbach, it would seem. And there appears to be some kind of connection between Lady Georgine and the Sovereign knight commander.”

“Interesting.”

“You’re going to report the silver cloth we found to the royal family, right?” I asked. “I believe it would be wise to tell them in an environment without the knight commander.”

Sylvester frowned. He had barely ever seen the Sovereign knight commander before. He was completely unaware that the man had deemed Ferdinand to be an enemy or that he was responsible for Ferdinand being sent to Ahrensbach. I didn’t intend to tell him either; Ferdinand had said that he wasn’t going to tell Sylvester, and my understanding of the Adalgisa situation was far from perfect.

Once we were back in the dormitory, I went to the communal bookcase, which stored documents for the knight course, and retrieved the map once used during old ditter preparations. The adults were busy preparing for tomorrow and onward, so I elected to return to my room before getting to work.

“Lady Rozemyne, what might you be doing?” Leonore asked, peering down at the ditter map with great interest. Her curiosity came as no surprise, considering that I was just looking through documents for the knight course.

I spread out the maps I had copied and started comparing the locations of the shrines. “There were maps in the underground archive that seemed to show the locations of other shrines like the one we saw today. They were rather slipshod, so I am still unsure which of the markers are correct, but I thought that comparing them to this map might be enlightening... Oh, is this circle where we found today’s shrine?”

“It appears to be just south of the library, so I would imagine so.” She began pointing at the other circles on the map. “This one is near the scholar building, while this one is a short distance from the attendant building... Lady Rozemyne, do they not seem to be placed at equidistant intervals, with the central building as, well, the center?”

I stared at the six large, equally sized circles on the map. Now that she mentioned it, that did appear to be the case.

“But what about these smaller circles here?” I asked.

“Perhaps they indicate something else.”

“I shall report these findings tomorrow in the underground archive,” I said, then started clearing away the maps. I wanted to visit the rest of the shrines during the Archduke Conference; once winter returned, they would all be engulfed in snow, and traveling to them would be much too unreasonable.

But how? The others won’t let me go just because I tell them that I want to.

It would be strange for an underage student who wasn’t even supposed to be at the Archduke Conference in the first place to start wandering the Royal Academy’s grounds, and my retainers wouldn’t let me go without a good reason. For what it was worth, telling them that I was trying to get the Grutrissheit to save Ferdinand—and also so that I could read it—would probably only make everyone annoyed at me.

The next day, I returned to the underground archive. Anastasius and Eglantine were there when I arrived; again, they were going to spend the morning transcribing documents.

“I investigated the locations of the shrines,” I said, spreading out my maps as I started giving my report. “It would appear that they sit at equidistant intervals, forming a circle around the central building. Does that not just exude mystery?”

“That certainly seems suspicious...” Anastasius said, squinting down at my maps. “I will ask the royal library to search for more detailed documents.”

“There is no need, Prince Anastasius,” Magdalena said. “I contacted them yesterday.” She had already made good use of everything we had told her, however small.

Anastasius thanked her, then stood up. “I would like to see these shrines for myself. Describing them to Father would prove difficult otherwise.”

“Indeed...” Magdalena said, and stood up as well. It seemed that, with Hildebrand as a guide, the royals would all be going to check out yesterday’s shrine.

Hannelore and I stayed in the archive and continued translating. The atmosphere was so much more comfortable when we weren’t in the presence of the royal family.

“I did not hesitate to start reading the Fernestine volume that you lent me yesterday,” Hannelore said. “In fact, I became so immersed in it that Cordula ended up scolding me. I must admit to being a tad sleep-deprived today.” Even after being chastised, she had apparently soldiered on, reading all the way up to the part where the prince raced off to save Fernestine. Only then had she calmed down enough to sleep—but she was still eager to read the rest.

“I cannot wait to reach the end,” she said.

We continued our translating until Anastasius and the others returned from the shrine. Eglantine looked very sickly and was eyeing me as though there was something on her mind.

“Is something the matter, Lady Eglantine?”

“Lady Rozemyne, I wish to consult you about something. May I have a moment of your time?”

Anastasius glared at me, but I only had one answer to give: “I would be delighted to offer my assistance.”