Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.7 - Chapter 6

Meeting Gramps

“Where am I...?”

I gazed around, but there was only darkness. Where had my retainers gone? It was probably best to assume I’d been teleported somewhere on my own.

“I supplied mana to the statue of Mestionora, a magic circle appeared, and then I ended up here...” I muttered. “This is kind of like when I was pulled into those shrines, I guess.”

But even then, I’d at least encountered statues—indications that I should start praying. Here in the darkness, I didn’t know what was happening or what to do.

Getting locked in a library is one thing... but I don’t want to perish in an infinite void of eternal darkness.

I carefully reached out my hands, trying to probe my surroundings. There were no walls around me, meaning I wasn’t stuck in a box, at least. Then I crouched down to feel what I was standing on. There was something hard—a floor of some kind.

“Ah...”

Starting from my fingertips, lines of mana began stretching out across the floor. As they continued to move and expand, I was afforded a better view of where I was standing. Either my surroundings were hidden by darkness that needed to be washed away or my mana was actually creating them.

I removed my hands from the floor in shock, but the darkness continued to recede. The most I could do was watch as scenery formed around me in spreading waves. A thick carpet that seemed perfect for absorbing noise spread out underfoot, then suddenly dropped off at a specific point. I was inside a cylindrical building with a spiral stairway that descended along the circular wall.

Once the growing wave reached the walls to my left and right, it began expanding upward instead, creating bookshelves packed tight with books. They extended all the way to the ceiling before expanding infinitely to the sides. The darkness had shrouded a massive library with books on every wall and a dizzying spiral staircase.

“Eep! What is this place?! A paradise given to me by the gods?!”

My eyes flitted all over the place; this was truly overwhelming. Not once since my arrival in Yurgenschmidt all those years ago had I encountered such a tremendously vast collection of books. Sure, seeing the Royal Academy’s library had moved me, but this dwarfed it. The sight before me now was like a foreign library I’d only ever seen in pictures.

“AAAH! Books! Books! From here to there, top to bottom—nothing but books! Gyahahahahahahaaa!”

By offering my mana to the Goddess of Wisdom, I’d obtained entry to a genuine utopia. My appreciation and admiration for Mestionora could no longer be expressed with words alone; I needed to do something much, much grander.

“PRAISE BE TO MESTIONORA THE GODDESS OF WISDOM!”

My elation practically erupted into a blessing of epic proportions. Then, with an uncontrollable smile on my face, I bounded over to the nearest bookcase and reached out to stroke one of the countless volumes adorning its shelves.

But instead of touching a luxurious cover, my hand struck the surface of a flat wall.

My mind went blank. I couldn’t pick up any of the books. It was like the shelves were all painted on. I slapped one after another, but there was no way to get any books out.

“NOOO! What treachery is this?! My hopes were raised to extraordinary heights and then crushed to tiny little pieces! This is too cruel. Too cruel! Give me back my special prayer!”

I wanted to give Mestionora a piece of my mind. How could she fill me with such euphoric joy one moment and then put me on the brink of despair the next?

“Art thou one who seekest knowledge?”

“I am!” I shouted, tears in my eyes. “From the very bottom of my heart, I want to read!”

Wait, who said that?!

There was someone else here—which meant someone had seen me act in a way entirely unbefitting an archducal family member. This was bad. Like, really bad. I’d instinctively treated this place like one of the divine shrines and allowed my true feelings to bubble to the surface. Cold sweat ran down my back—this truly was a blunder of epic proportions—as I turned around to see...

“Wha...?”

A golden shumil. It was the same size as Schwartz and Weiss, except this one seemed to speak fluently.

“Then follow. Thou who seekest knowledge.”

The golden shumil started down the spiral staircase, and at great speed—it descended at least five steps with each hop. I didn’t know how far down I was expected to go, but I was on the top floor of a massive cylindrical library. Attempting the journey on foot would surely be impossible. I carefully looked around, then climbed into my highbeast. That was fine, right? There was nobody else around, after all.

“Where are we...?” I asked as we made our way down. “Are you the ‘Gramps’ person Schwartz and Weiss told me about? I think they said you were waiting or calling for me...”

“This place reflects its visitors’ desires,” the golden shumil replied without stopping or even glancing back at me. “We confirm the will and qualifications of those who arrive seeking knowledge; then we send them on their way. Your will has been confirmed.”

Huh? So this place—this building with books from floor to ceiling—was my most prominent desire? I suppose I did say I would rather be trapped in a library than a pitch-dark void.

Mestionora hadn’t actually been involved, from what I could tell. I silently apologized for getting unnecessarily excited, unnecessarily blessing her, and then falling into unnecessary despair.

“Oh... So are you Gramps or not?”

“This place reflects its visitors’ desires. We confirm the will and qualifications of those who arrive seeking knowledge; then we send them on their way. Your will has been confirmed.”

“You, um... already said that.”

The golden shumil repeated the same answer no matter what I asked. Perhaps its fluent speech came at the cost of variety.

As it turned out, the library wasn’t actually infinite; we descended maybe three or four stories worth of stairs before we reached the bottom. Before us now was a door decorated with seven feystones.

“Touch the door,” the shumil said. “If you are qualified, it will open.”

I really didn’t want to. Getting blasted away by the door in the underground archive was still fresh in my mind.

“Um, I’m not registered as a member of the royal family...”

“Touch the door. If you are qualified, it will open.”

Attempting to communicate was pointless. So, having no other choice, I cautiously climbed out of my highbeast and approached the door. I made sure to touch it only for the slightest moment, lest it hurt me, but my fears proved unfounded. A single feystone lit up red.

Seems safe...

I touched the door again, this time holding my palm flat against it. The feystones all shone; then the door automatically opened inward, revealing an iridescent film that blocked my vision of whatever lay behind it. I was wondering where it led, still on guard, when the golden shumil came and stood next to me.

“Thou seeker of knowledge, who hast been recognized by the gods. Go forth. That which thou seekest lies beyond.”

“Right! Time to read at last!”

I got back into my highbeast, plunged through the film, and emerged in what appeared to be a rocky cave. An ivory path glowed faintly underfoot, showing me the way forward.

I dashed ahead and soon arrived at an ascending spiral staircase, which was also ivory. It reminded me of when I’d sought my Divine Will as a first-year. Back then, I’d come across an identical staircase leading to the Garden of Beginnings.

“This place feels familiar...” I muttered. “Am I going back to the Garden of Beginnings?”

As I made my way up, my suspicions were confirmed—this really was the same staircase. I was now back in the circular plaza surrounding an ivory-white tree. This was where I’d found my Divine Will when obtaining my schtappe, but there wasn’t anything of note here this time; it was as uneventful as when I’d come for my divine protections class. It seemed to me that nothing was going to change no matter how many times I returned.

The trunk of the massive ivory tree stretched all the way up to the top of the space, where many ivory branches were splayed out. From what I could see, it was stretching toward a large hole, through which sunlight streamed and decorated the ground with shadows.

Well, here I am again, but what am I expected to do? There isn’t a single book as far as the eye can see.

The golden shumil had told me I would find what I wanted, so where were the books? I climbed out of my highbeast and tried searching around the tree.

“Finally back, I see...”

“Hm?”

A voice interrupted my thoughts—but there was nobody else around, was there? I was immediately reminded of my blunder in front of the golden shumil, so I racked my brain for anything embarrassing I might have done. I was pretty sure I was safe.

I mean, I didn’t do anything unladylike, right?

I examined my surroundings, taking care to act more like an archduke candidate... and that was when I noticed it. The tree in the center was slowly morphing into the shape of a person.

“Um, what?!”

The phenomenon was so unexpected that I instinctively stepped away. To be honest, I didn’t have a clue what was happening. It was bad enough that there weren’t any books here, but now I was having to endure these strange goings-on? At this point, I just wanted to leave.

Where’s the exit...?

I’d turned to flee, but the hole through which I’d entered was gone. There was no escape. I was trapped in the circular plaza.

I might not know what I’m looking at, but I do know it’s strange. My warped common sense can’t even begin to comprehend it!

My mind was racing. I really wanted to know whether this kind of thing was normal in Yurgenschmidt, but before I could even hope to get any answers, the tree finished its transformation. Before me now was a tall slender man who appeared to be in his late thirties. He was pale as ivory from head to toe—his skin, his long hair that flowed down past his waist, and even his clothes were blindingly white. The frown lines across his forehead made him look a little high-strung... but maybe that was just because they reminded me of Ferdinand.

Indeed, the tree had taken the shape of a person—but it was still clearly a tree.

“You are late,” the figure said, his eyes closed. “What in the world were you doing? The foundation is running so dry that only a faint layer of mana now covers Yurgenschmidt.”

“I, um... S-Sorry?”

We’d never met before, so I wasn’t sure why he was getting mad at me, but I’d decided to play it safe and apologize; this was no ordinary man, and there was no knowing what he might be capable of. He had said that I was late, so he must have been waiting for me. Maybe he had even summoned me.

“Um, might you be Gramps?” I asked.

“‘Gramps’...? Ah, how long it has been since I was last called that name...”

So I was right. I stared at the ivory man, whom Schwartz and Weiss had previously described as old and powerful. Being careful and polite was definitely the right call.

“Um, Gramps...” I said, somewhat hesitant to address him so casually. “May I ask a question?”

“Allow me to ask one first. Your vessel appears much smaller than the last time you were here. Was a strange curse of some kind put on you?”

“A curse...?” I repeated. I’d wanted to find out more about Gramps, but he’d interrupted my efforts with that unusual question. Was I cursed...?

“Your current vessel will not be large enough to hold everything. How bothersome.”

“Would you care to elaborate?”

There were so many things I wanted to ask. My current vessel? Large enough to hold what? Gramps did not answer me, though. Instead, he turned to the hole above us, standing as straight as a board, and said, “Could you give me a helping hand, Anwachs?”

An instant later, blue light began to rain down upon me.

Hm? “Anwachs”? Isn’t he the God of Growth? That was a pretty casual way of addressing hi—

I gasped, torn from my absent-minded thoughts by a sudden, sharp pain. My bones were creaking under the fresh strain placed upon them, while my muscles were crying out as if someone were grabbing and stretching them. My body was starting to change!

“O-Ow! It hurts, Gramps! It hurts!”

“You must endure it.”

“So mean!”

It was bad enough that he’d asked Anwachs to intervene without my permission; now he was telling me to suck it up? I wanted to complain, but the blue light kept raining down on me, and the pain shooting through my entire body became too intense for words.

All of a sudden, the suspender around my waist meant to keep my socks up started to feel unbearably tight. It was digging into my flesh and making it hard to breathe. Dazed and weeping from the pain, I tore away the belt holding my highbeast feystone and rejuvenation potions, removed my High Bishop sash, and wriggled out of my ceremonial robes. Then I pulled up the skirt I’d been wearing underneath and undid the suspender while loosening my underwear.

I was finally able to breathe again, but that was far from the end of my discomfort; I could now feel something tugging on my scalp. My hair was locked firmly in place with hair gel, which had to be the reason. Unless I washed it out, the pain would only worsen.

“Waschen!” I exclaimed, then started pulling out my hairpins under the rushing water. As the gel quickly lost its hold, the cords came loose and my hair came undone on its own.

Again, I was allowed only a brief moment before the pain returned. My toes were crushing up against the insides of my shoes, which felt unbearably tight all of a sudden. I was able to free my feet in the nick of time, but it wasn’t enough; now my socks were getting tight. At this rate, I was going to lose all circulation in my legs.

“Messer!” I said, turning my schtappe into a knife before slicing through my socks in a single swoop. This kind of recklessness was only an option because nobles couldn’t hurt themselves with their own schtappes.

Keeping up the momentum, I sliced through the straps on the back of my clothes. They tore open with a dull ripping noise, revealing bare skin. Then the fabric around my arms started to tighten, so I quickly freed my torso of any remaining outerwear. My chest was now larger than it had ever been on Earth, and my underwear was so restrictive that I actually had cleavage, but a few cuts to the material under my arms alleviated the issue. The whole experience made me so relieved that I was wearing bloomers; although they were feeling tighter than before, I wouldn’t need to remove them.

Ngh... At least I managed to hold on to some of my dignity... I was dangerously close to ending up naked.

Of course, I was only able to think that because I’d grown up on Earth. From the perspective of a Yurgenschmidt noble, my current predicament was still extremely shameful. This was an unimaginably cruel act to inflict upon a fair maiden.

I mean, I did pray to get bigger... but not like this!

At some point, the blue light finally vanished, as did the pain that had racked my body. I supposed that I’d finally stopped growing. I glared up at the sky from whence the light had come, and that was when my exhaustion truly hit me. It was better than being in agony, at least.

I need a rejuvenation potion...

I chugged a kindness-filled potion, then reached for my ceremonial High Bishop robes. They had been made with my eventual growth in mind, so I assumed they would continue to fit me as long as I released the hems. We had done this to save money in the long term, not in anticipation of such a bizarre situation, but still—I wanted to give my past self a round of applause.

First, I undid the hems. Then I attempted to put on my sash. I couldn’t tie it as prettily as Lieseleta and the others, but that didn’t matter; my only concern was not having to return home in my underwear.

As a weary sigh escaped me, I realized that the ivory man—he who had asked Anwachs to do this to me in the first place—hadn’t moved a muscle. He was still standing bolt upright. I shot him a very stern glare.

“Gramps, you saw me undressed, didn’t you?!”

“I see not your form. I see only mana.”

Huh?

I was taken aback for a moment, but it was true that his eyes had remained shut the entire time.

“Your vessel has grown, at least,” Gramps continued. “You can now hold more than you could before, which is good. And you came here via the proper route. I must commend you for learning some degree of manners.”

“Before”? “The proper route”? Hold on... He must be mistaking me for someone else, right? Is that why he did this to me?!

It was no wonder that we’d ended up in this situation. He hadn’t even looked at me!

“Um, excuse me...” I ventured.

“Hurry up and create your schtappe. Prayers must be offered.”

“Huh? Um, hold on. I think you—”

“Yurgenschmidt can wait no longer,” he interrupted, sounding strict all of a sudden. “You must hurry.”

“Understood,” I replied on instinct, then produced my schtappe. Since my arrival in this world, I’d prayed more times than I could count; doing it again felt like a small price to pay to get Gramps to listen to me. But the moment I conceded and took out my schtappe, one divine color after another began shooting from its tip.

“Eep!”

The colors—seven in total—ended up floating in a rainbow circle around me. They hovered at my chest, about a meter in diameter.

The more time seemed to pass, the more vivid each of the colors became. They changed form into seven rectangles, eventually becoming the tablets I’d obtained from the Royal Academy’s shrines during the Archduke Conference.

Straight in front of me was the blue tablet—the first one I’d obtained. The word it had taught me spilled from my mouth all on its own.

“Kraeftark.”

The tablet turned into a thin pillar of light. Then, as if on cue, the remaining tablets rotated clockwise until another one was floating in front of me. It was prompting me to say its word.

“Willedeal.”

The process repeated. A new tablet moved in front of me, I said the name associated with it, then the tablet turned into light.

“Teidihinder.”

“Neigunsch.”

“Tolerakeit.”

“Austrag.”

“Rombekur.”

Once I was done and there were seven lights surrounding me, Gramps slowly looked upward, eyes still closed. I gazed up as well. Because the giant ivory tree had transformed into a much smaller ivory man, the huge hole above us was now fully visible. Through it, I could see a patch of blue sky.

“Pray to the supreme gods and the five primaries,” Gramps said. “From the bottom of your heart, beseech them to let you borrow Mestionora’s wisdom.”

There was no reason to protest, so I did as instructed: I dropped to my knees and prayed to the gods.

“I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world. O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies, O God of Darkness Schicksantracht, O Goddess of Light Versprechredi, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, O Goddess of Water Flutrane, O God of Fire Leidenschaft, O Goddess of Wind Schutzaria, O Goddess of Earth Geduldh, O God of Life Ewigeliebe, hear my prayer. Grant me the wisdom of Mestionora.”