Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume Short Story - Chapter Pr

Solange — Prologue

“Oh my. Has the Drewanchel Dormitory closed too?” I asked Gundolf upon seeing him in the dining hall. He was the duchy’s dormitory supervisor, and it was rare for him to be here so early in the year; the higher population of greater duchies meant their students took several more days to leave than lesser duchies.

“We closed it this afternoon,” Gundolf replied. “Given how many professors are here, it seems most dormitories are closed already.”

When the students all returned to their duchies, they brought the servants and chefs who had been working in their dormitories back with them. The dormitories were subsequently closed—otherwise, the only ones inside would be the knights guarding the teleportation circle—and the supervisors started eating in the dining hall for professors. One could trace the closing of the dormitories by the increasing busyness of the dining hall.

“It was quite a handful, since many students had no desire to return home,” Gundolf continued. “I find myself envying how your library is able to close as soon as classes do.”

“Not quite,” I said. “There are some who wait until the day their dormitories close to return their books, and there are some who even visit to study for their remedial classes.”

The library under my command closed only when I finished all my work following the Archduke Conference. In the past, the overwhelming workload had taken me much too long to complete, but thanks to Schwartz and Weiss’s presence this year, it seemed feasible that I might be able to close the library and go to the Sovereignty’s palace library for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“I saw Primevere here as well, so am I right to assume Dunkelfelger is the only dormitory that has yet to close?” I asked, double-checking that Rauffen wasn’t coming to the dining hall.

Gundolf shook his head. “I have heard that Neuehausen, Losrenger, and Quandtreeb are also keeping their dormitories open due to having students with remedial classes. They may be visiting the library.”

“Oh my. I thank you ever so much for telling me.”

Neuehausen, Losrenger, and Quandtreeb had dropped to being bottom-ranking duchies after losing the civil war, and they had neither the manpower nor wealth to dedicate to education. As a result, their grades were decreasing with each passing year, and their students were becoming increasingly more involved in thefts and the disappearance of reading material. There was often very little I could do about that, but thanks to Lady Rozemyne, I could now have Schwartz and Weiss assist in sending out warnings, which was enough to help me manage.

“This year, every single Ehrenfest student was able to attain better grades,” came a voice. “I hear that not a single one needed to wait until the date of the final offered exam.”

I instinctively turned upon hearing someone talk about Ehrenfest, perhaps because I had just been thinking about Lady Rozemyne. It appeared that Hirschur was talking to other professors of the scholar course.

“My sole concern this year was whether Angelica would graduate, but thanks to Lady Rozemyne, she graduated without incident,” Hirschur replied.

Any duchies with students taking remedial classes had to keep their dorms open for them, with chefs and servants staying behind as well. This placed a burden on the duchy, so the dormitory supervisors were tasked with doing everything in their power to get these students to pass and return home. Hirschur grumbled about one spring several years ago when Angelica had needed to attend remedial classes and the misery she had endured trying to get her through them.

“Now, I can finally focus on my research,” Hirschur concluded.

“My my. Are you not always immersed in your research?” another professor asked, prompting giggles from the others. Perhaps Hirschur had already forgotten how she was reprimanded by Prince Anastasius after abandoning her class to research Schwartz and Weiss.

“Still, you always leap right into your research as soon as your dormitory is closed,” a third professor noted. “Most dormitory supervisors remain busy until the Archduke Conference is complete.”

Indeed, most Sovereign nobles returned to their home duchies in the winter to collect intel. Dormitory supervisors needed to gather information from them to prepare for the Archduke Conference, meaning there were still a variety of small tasks they had to carry out even once the Royal Academy term was over.

There was, however, one person who was seemingly exempt from all this: Hirschur, who lived in the scholar building and rarely visited the Ehrenfest Dormitory at all.

“You sure do have it rough,” she said. “I wish you all well.”

“Hirschur, this applies to you too,” a male professor said. “You should expect there to be a fuss about Lady Rozemyne at the next Archduke Conference.”

“Almost certainly, but that has nothing to do with me. I have not heard anything from the aub, so I’ll simply need to perform my research as per usual and wait for the conference to end.”

And with that, Hirschur stood up, having finished her meal; she presumably intended to rush straight back to her laboratory to carry out some more research. I recalled her frequent requests to borrow Schwartz and Weiss from me, although I was unable to agree while their master Lady Rozemyne was absent.

“Solange, who sent out the overdue book ordonnanzes this year?” the Ossvault dormitory supervisor suddenly asked me. “Aub Ossvault has been very curious.”

Several other professors immediately glanced over—the supervisors of duchies whose students had received the terrifying reminders from Lord Ferdinand, no doubt. Only duchies that had slacked on returning books knew what we were talking about, meaning the other supervisors and the normal professors were unfamiliar with the ordonnanzes.

“I received the help of a friendly visitor,” I replied. “Thanks to them, all the books and documents were returned this year. I am ever so grateful.”

“They did not sound particularly friendly...”

I was familiar with the message that Lord Ferdinand had spoken into the ordonnanzes, and indeed, his voice would send chills down the spine of anyone called by name. Still, I had no intention of revealing his identity.

“Please remind your students to return their books sooner next year,” I said with a smile, evading the question entirely. I then returned to my meal and made my way back to the library once I was finished.

“Solange is back.”

“Food time is over.”

I had completely forgotten how heartwarming it was to be welcomed upon returning home. It was thanks to Lady Rozemyne that I could once again work with Schwartz and Weiss, and this year’s term had given me many very special memories to cherish.

“You know, Schwartz, Weiss... what say we reflect on this past year at the Royal Academy together?”