Ascendance of a Bookworm P4V6 TO Books Bonus SS – Raimund’s POV: The relationship between my duchy and my mentor-disciple bond

“Hey you. What’s your name?”

“Huh? …Umm, I’m Raimund.”

I can still clearly remember my first encounter with the monocle-wearing Professor Hirschur. This happened last year, during a practical lesson for my second grade brewing course. Professor Gundolf was usually in charge of the practical lessons, but he had something to do that day and Professor Hirschur came in as his substitute. At the beginning of the socializing season, with the courses nearing their end and the final exam fast approaching, it wasn’t particularly unusual for there to be a change of teachers as classrooms combined. It was my first time being taught by Professor Hirschur, so I was confused as to why a teacher for a different grade would call out to me.

“It’s rare to see a second grader interested in developing magic circles and improving the efficiency of magic tools.”

“Yes… Umm, it’s embarrassing to admit, but my mana capacity is rather low for a mednoble. I was wondering if I could save mana by simplifying the magic circles on magic tools, or perhaps reduce the mana consumption by separating the components.”

During practical lessons that require a lot of mana such as brewing, I often find myself running dry. Even if I found the theory lectures easy, I couldn’t improve during practical lessons at all. There were also many cases where I’d fail due to supplying an inconsistent flow of mana as a result of having a low mana capacity. Most of my time during brewing lessons was spent drinking restoration potions and waiting for my mana to recover rather than doing the brewing itself. I usually spent this downtime studying magic circles.

Professor Hirschur picked up and carefully read the notes on mana conservation ideas that I’d written on a wooden board. As if deep in thought, she placed a finger under her chin and looked up at the ceiling before smiling at me.

“It seems like you’ve got talent for improving magic circles. Would you like to become my disciple?”

The people in our surroundings broke out into a fuss. Many of them looked surprised as they watched my conversation with Professor Hirschur unfold. Well, of course they are. Why would she send an invitation to a mednoble like me whose mana capacity is close to that of a laynoble’s? Even if I were to ask to become a teacher’s disciple, I would probably be rejected since they’d most likely prioritise students with a good shot at moving to the Sovereignty in the future.

…Is this a prank? If she invites someone like me to be her disciple, I can already foresee trouble brewing from other people’s jealousy.

At least, that’s what I thought for a moment. But when I looked into Professor Hirschur’s purple eyes, there were no signs of this being a joke or a prank. It was the first time in my life that my talents had been acknowledged by someone. Since I was born with a low mana capacity, my family held no expectations for me. I didn’t think there’d ever be someone who’d acknowledge me like this. There was a voice resonating within the depths of my body, telling me “A chance like this will never come again. Don’t let it slip out of your grasp!”

“Gladly! Please let me be your disciple!”

“This is my research laboratory. As long as you pass your final exams, you can research anything of interest to you here. Right now, there’s a mana deficiency problem across all of Yurgenschmidt, so improvements to the efficiency of mana consumption of magic tools is a highly desirable research topic.”

At first, I was surprised by the messy state of Professor Hirschur’s research laboratory, but I soon got used to it. Even if I jotted down an idea I thought of and left it alone, there wouldn’t be any attendants mistaking it for litter and disposing of it. I could freely read any of the research materials scattered around without being scolded. I could freely research to my heart’s content until the 6^th bell rang. Professor Hirschur’s laboratory was a very comfortable place for me.

…Well, I guess the only drawback is she wouldn’t give any fulfilling answers to my questions.

Professor Hirschur wasn’t the kind of teacher to show her disciples the ropes. She would point me in the direction of some research materials and tell me to find the answer myself. If I asked her a question, she would give a very rudimentary answer, but if I asked any further questions, she would only give me advice on how to find the answer rather than giving me the answer itself.

“Just letting you know, it’s not like I think it’s a nuisance to teach you. Only by looking for the answers to your own questions, will you be able to further your research. I want to nurture you into a researcher who I can have constructive discussions with.”

I won’t take back my comment on the messy state of her laboratory, but it seems like her laissez-faire educational policy had a lot of thought put into it. To others, Professor Hirschur’s laboratory may have looked like a mountain of junk, but that mountain was full of magic tools that I’d never even heard of. The small storeroom next to the brewing room was also filled with a mountain-pile of magic tools and research materials.

“Feel free to research any of the magic tools here. Many of them require a lot of mana to operate which makes them rather impractical to use. But aside from utility-based magic tools like the scrying one here, there’s also a lot of dangerous attack-based magic tools. Don’t play around with them carelessly without the proper knowledge of what they do.”

“What’s a scrying magic tool? How do you use it?”

“Do you remember the projection magic tool I used during the brewing lecture to display the procedure? It seems to be a magic tool developed from that. It’s supposedly able to project an image of objects moving in real time… I think this was the first prototype?”

…Projection of moving objects…?

Professor Hirschur is the only teacher who uses a magic tool to project her writings onto a white cloth. Personally, I think it’s very convenient, but no one else seems to be using it. I didn’t think there’d be a more advanced version of that magic tool. I looked over the mountain of magic tools, barely able to conceal my excitement. The entire pile is a mess and I have no idea what any of it is supposed to do.

“If you said that was a prototype, then perhaps, could the finished product be here as well…?”

“It’s probably buried somewhere here. I’ve left it lying around for years, so I won’t be able to find it immediately.”

Professor Hirschur lightly shooed me away with her hand.

Some of these magic tools are so innovative that I would never have even considered that the concept was possible. I can’t believe all these convenient magic tools are just lying around, going to waste.

“Professor Hirschur, they seem useful so why don’t you use them?”

“The things made by that person consume ridiculous quantities of mana. I want to develop my own research, so I can’t afford to waste my mana on mana-hungry tools like this.”

“…That person?”

“I’m talking about my disciple, Ehrenfest’s Lord Ferdinand. He had a brilliant mind for coming up with new ideas for magic tools and had the talent to actually make his ideas come to fruition. It’s really a shame that he couldn’t move to the Sovereignty since he’s an archduke candidate.”

I was told that these were the inventions of an archduke candidate who attended the Royal Academy more than 10 years ago, so I became interested in the person called ‘Lord Ferdinand’. Apparently, Lord Ferdinand had taken the archduke candidate course and scholar course simultaneously. He had an extraordinary passion for researching magic tools and came up with new ideas, one after another.

“Professor, do you know if Lord Ferdinand left behind any research notes from when he invented these magic tools?”

“His apprentice scholars compiled the information, but I imagine he probably has the final documents. The only things left in this research laboratory are incomplete research into unsolved problems, problems which he lost interest in due to solving them too easily, and notes that he took himself in the process of finding a solution.”

“…Lord Ferdinand’s compiled research notes… I’d like to read them one day. Can you please tell me more about him? Such as how he thought up ideas for new magic tools…”

Professor Hirschur laughed while stacking up a pile of books and other materials.

“Right now, you wouldn’t be able to understand Lord Ferdinand’s notes or magic circles even if you saw them. The first step is to acquire all the knowledge you need. Read these by next Winter so that you’ll be able to analyse and improve Lord Ferdinand’s magic circles.”

After that, I spent all my time reading books. In such a short span of time, I can confidently say I read more books than I had in my entire life up until that point. The books that Professor Hirschur lent me were packed full of knowledge. Usually, it would be impossible to imagine someone being willing to lend out such valuable, expensive books without even a collateral. For a poor noble such as me, it’s difficult to even borrow a book from the library.

On top of that, when it was time for me to return to my own duchy, Professor Hirschur gave me a list of tasks and the materials required to solve them while saying “Understand all of this by the time you return next Winter”. Can anyone comprehend just how happy I was to receive this homework?

When I returned to my home duchy, I engrossed myself in reading the pile of materials borrowed from Professor Hirschur and completed her tasks, one after another. To give myself more time for reading, I told my family that I had gotten myself a mentor at the royal academy and that I wished to move to the Sovereignty in the future. Most people in my family initially had expressions of disbelief on their faces, but the mountain of studying materials borrowed from Professor Hirschur was indisputable evidence.

I continued to read the study materials, absorbed the knowledge within them, carefully examined the magic tools whenever I was doing apprentice scholar work and contemplated how to simplify their magic circles.

It was as if my entire world had changed. It didn’t bother me that my family kept saying “You don’t have a high enough mana capacity to move to the Sovereignty”. I was just pouring all my efforts into what I wanted to do. It was the first time I had ever lamented the passage of time. I was so absorbed in my studies that eating and sleeping only felt like a nuisance. I truly understood the meaning of the word ‘fulfilment’.

Winter came around and I was now a 3^rd grader at the Royal Academy. I returned the books to Professor Hirschur and hurried to finish my courses as quickly as possible to make more time for research in her laboratory. It was finally time to put my knowledge to practical use in improving magic circles. I split up the different sections of the magic circles into their individual functions before taking steps to simplify them. It was tremendously enjoyable to put the knowledge I learnt from books into practice, and I became so absorbed in my research that I lost track of time.

I hope these days will continue forever. However, the winds of change soon blew in my direction. It was brought by Ehrenfest’s archduke candidate, Lady Rozemyne.

“Well then, I shall take my leave.”

After various discussions about making improvements to magic circles, Lady Rozemyne and her retinue left the lab. Once I confirmed the sound of the footsteps fading into the distance, I relaxed my tense shoulders and let out a heavy sigh. Professor Hirschur chuckled at my reaction and asked me, “What was your impression of Lady Rozemyne?”.

“I’m sure she’s not a bad person but having to explain things to her while being glared at by a bunch of intimidating guard knights wasn’t easy on my nerves. I’m relieved she didn’t stay for very long.”

I’m happy that I got to share in some of the delicious gifts she brought for Professor Hirschur, but nevertheless, I found it very uncomfortable to share the room with her. Archduke candidates bring their guard knights with them everywhere they go. I wish they’d stop bullying nobles with lower status who have no one to protect them. Even if archduke candidates can’t gripe to each other about the rankings of their duchies, I wish they’d stop using mednobles as their punching bags.

“I’m just a mednoble who’s powerless to do anything. I have no desire to get caught up in the affairs of another duchy’s archduke candidate… I don’t know the circumstances or reasons for conflict, but I wish those standing at the top would resolve their differences without involving the rest of us.”

“Unlike laynobles or mednobles who only need to worry about domestic politics, the archducal clan also has relationships with other duchies to think about.”

I thought it was only those with a low status who were having a hard time, but it seems like the nobles at the top had their fair share of problems and concerns. Although it doesn’t really feel that way when I watch how Lady Detlinde acts within the dormitory.

“Professor Hirschur, this mean Lady Rozemyne is going to continue to visit the lab in the future, right? Does this mean I’m going to be glared at by guard knights again? …Are they going to ban me from being your disciple because I hail from Ahrensbach…?”

It’s easy to tell just by watching Professor Fraularm. Out of all the Sovereign nobles, dormitory supervisors are the ones who are influenced the most by the duchy they originated from. If an archduke held feelings of enmity towards Ahrensbach and ordered the dorm supervisor not to accept any disciples from the duchy, the supervisor would have no choice but to accept.

Since Ahrensbach is ranked higher than Ehrenfest, if I was a noble close to the archduke, there was a possibility I could appeal and have the order rescinded. However, I’m just a mednoble who isn’t in the dominant faction, nor am I an honour student.

…Just like everything until now, I’m sure that even this will be stolen away from me.

“There’s no need to worry. It doesn’t matter what Aub Ehrenfest says. I do not owe anything to Ehrenfest, hence I do not need to follow their orders.”

As I sank into the depths of anxiety, Professor Hirschur reassured me with her usual nonchalant expression. Apparently, she hadn’t received any assistance from Ehrenfest for her research and the only one who had helped her was her disciple, Lord Ferdinand.

“As my disciple, Lord Ferdinand is very understanding of my educational policy.”

I felt relieved just looking at the confidence beaming on Professor Hirschur’s face, so I returned to the laboratory the next day to continue working on the magic circle. I want to analyse the magic circles in Lord Ferdinand’s magic tools and create magic tools that serve similar purposes whilst consuming less mana.

…The projection aspect seems to be copied from the magic circle used in water mirrors, but if I want to make it reusable…

“Professor Hirschur, I am Ehrenfest’s Brunhilde.”

A voice called out to us from the other side of the door so I naturally turned to look in that direction. However, Professor Hirschur didn’t even bother to move an inch from her seat. Seeing her lack of action, I also turned my attention back towards the magic circle I was analysing. Both of us want to prioritise our research so there was an unspoken feeling of ‘The first to move is the loser!’.

“Professor, there’s someone calling for you.”

But even though I emphasised that it was her guest, not mine, Professor Hirschur still didn’t even bother to raise her head.

“You’re closer to the door. You should be the one to open it.”

I’m definitely in the weaker position here so I decided to suck it up and open the door. Brunhilde appears to be Lady Rozemyne’s apprentice attendant who accompanied her yesterday. She’s probably an archnoble. She looked irritated as she cast a glance over the laboratory before holding out a wooden board with a “Hmph!”.

“Professor Hirschur, please come to the dormitory for dinner tonight. Lord Ferdinand would like to speak to you in person. This is the invitation.”

Professor Hirschur received the wooden board and skeptically read its contents. However, once she finished reading, her purple eyes despondently looked to the ground.

“Why is Lord Ferdinand coming to the Royal Academy? …Are Ehrenfest’s adults trying to meddle in the students’ affairs?”

“The inventor of the magic tools is going to take responsibility and come dispose of them. As you’re surely aware, there’s quite a lot stacked up here.”

Brunhilde flashed an implicative smile as she gestured to all the magic tools in the room, her gaze eventually stopping at the magic tool I was currently researching. That’s right… Even the magic tool I’m working on right now is Lord Ferdinand’s invention. How did she know? Is it something that’s commonly used in Ehrenfest? I could feel chills running down my spine.

“Lord Ferdinand thinks it would be troublesome if his magic tools and research findings were to leak to other duchies. Well then, Professor Hirschur. We shall be awaiting your arrival at the chime of the 6^th bell.”

Having passed over the invitation, she immediately turned and left the room with an attitude suggesting she didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer. It didn’t feel like she had any respect for Professor Hirschur. I think I can somewhat understand why Professor Hirschur doesn’t like to stay in the Ehrenfest dormitory despite being the supervisor.

“…Are you going to go?”

“Yes. I can’t find any faults with Ehrenfest’s excuse to send Lord Ferdinand to the Royal Academy. I won’t know what kind of message Aub Ehrenfest has for me unless I hear for myself.”

Professor Hirschur smiled at me, but she no longer had the same confident tone that she had yesterday. I could tell that she was forcing herself to suppress her panic.

“If Professor’s standing worsens because of me…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. You’re my disciple. That’s not going to change, regardless of anything that anyone says to me. Come on, let’s continue researching until the 5^th bell rings.”

Professor Hirschur immediately went back to holding a pen. I also decided to follow her instructions and tried to focus again on the magic circle.

…Are they going to force me to stop being Professor Hirschur’s disciple? I felt am ominous foreboding in my chest. I tried to suppress my anxiety and agitation by reading over my notes.

…Umm, what was I thinking about again…?

Just earlier, I’d been steadily making improvements to the magic circle, one after another, but now nothing was coming to mind. I felt like the shape of the magic circle was twisting and turning.

…What attributes did I need again if I wanted to make it reusable…?

This should’ve been easy to remember, but my mind was unable to focus. I need to continue my research. But the more I tried to do that, the more I could feel my mind going blank. In the end, I was unable to make any progress by the time the 5^th bell rang.

“Let’s pack it up here today. It’s an invitation to a formal meeting, so I do need a little bit of time to make myself look presentable.”

Professor Hirschur called her attendant to help her dress up, so I was chased out of the lab. I left the scholar building and walked down the corridor. As the library came into view, my feet sped up as I contemplated whether I should spend the time until the 6^th bell reading in the library. But then I suddenly recalled Lady Rozemyne’s passionate enthusiasm as she talked about the library yesterday. She said she often visits the library. There was a possibility she was visiting again today. As that thought came to mind, my feet stopped in their tracks.

…Right now, I really don’t want to see Lady Rozemyne or any of her retainers.

I quickened my pace and hurried back to the Ahrensbach dormitory.

“Master Raimund, isn’t this the first time you’ve returned before the 6^th bell since becoming a 3^rd grader?”

In response to my attendant’s exclamation, I replied with “Professor Hirschur had something to do, so she closed the lab early…” before heading for my study desk. I didn’t want to go to the common room where Lady Detlinde and the nobles in her faction were boisterously laughing. In a state where nothing could enter my mind, I spread open my study materials and pretended to study. Once the 6^th bell rang, I wondered if Professor Hirschur was now headed for Ehrenfest’s dormitory. If she had time leftover after getting ready, I’m sure she would’ve tried to get a bit more research done despite being scolded by her attendant. Even if I gazed out the window, the only thing I could see was the snow-covered forest against the backdrop of a night sky.

…Even if I was told not to worry, I can’t help but feel anxious. After all, Professor Hirschur was summoned literally the day after I endured the wrath of Lady Rozemyne’s guard knights. I don’t have the composure to sit still and patiently wait.

…What will I do if they force me to quit being a disciple?

I have so little mana, that I was raised whilst being continuously told “If the civil war and purge hadn’t reduced the number of nobles, you would’ve been sent to the temple long ago. Consider yourself lucky.” Even if I pleaded with another teacher, I doubt they’d be willing to accept me as a disciple.

…Even my family had finally started to acknowledge me…

While having dinner in the dining hall, I thought back to the light snacks that Lady Rozemyne had brought with her yesterday. The food which Professor Hirschur shared with me was shockingly delicious. Ahrensbach’s dormitory serves different food depending on one’s social status. As I thought, archduke candidates get to eat delicious meals all the time. It makes me jealous.

…That being said, why do they treat Ahrensbach like some sort of archenemy?

Ahrensbach’s current first wife is Lady Georgine who originated from Ehrenfest. There’s also two Ahrensbach brides who recently married into Ehrenfest. I’ve often overheard people passing by say “Lady Georgine is really nice to Ehrenfest” or “Is there really a need to accommodate the lower-ranked Ehrenfest to such a degree?”. But I’ve never heard of there being any sort of incident which would spark tension between Ahrensbach and Ehrenfest.

…Maybe the conflict between duchies is just a façade, and only the archduke candidates are on bad terms with each other?

As I ate, I cast my gaze towards Lady Detlinde who was the only archduke candidate. Even within the dormitory, she acted like a selfish tyrant towards the other students. There’s a possibility she leveraged Ahrensbach’s position as a higher-ranked duchy to exploit Lady Rozemyne.

…Yeah, I can definitely see that happening.

When they feel aggrieved by the actions of higher ranked nobles, archduke candidates or archnobles from lower duchies would often take out their frustrations on lackeys such as myself. I just wish they would keep their hands off mentor-disciple relationships. I struggled to sleep that night with my heart gripped in the throes of anxiety.

The next day, I rushed over to Professor Hirschur’s laboratory as soon as my lectures were over so I could find out about the outcome of the talks from last night. The instant I opened the door, I was overcome by an unpleasant premonition from the sheer emptiness of the room. The tables and shelves were noticeably emptier. There used to be so many magic tools that the door to the storeroom couldn’t even be closed.  But now there was nothing there. It’s obvious that Lord Ferdinand retrieved all his magic tools and research materials.

…This clearly means I was rejected, right?

I felt despair at this attitude which clearly indicated he was never going to show his research to a student from Ahrensbach. One day, I would like to read Lord Ferdinand’s compiled research. I want to talk to him about developing magic tools. I could feel these hopes and dreams of mine shatter and scatter to the wind.

“…Professor Hirschur.”

I turned my attention towards Professor Hirschur who just as usual, was drawing a magic circle on parchment. Was it really okay for me to continue to come here as her disciple? By keeping me as her disciple, Professor Hirschur will lose the materials that she needs to continue her research, struggle financially and might even be scorned by everyone from her hometown.

I was at a loss as to what I should say as I scanned over the entirety of the laboratory. I could see the materials that I had borrowed last winter and been reading all this time. I could still see the notes that I’d jotted down whenever I noticed something important. The magic circle I’d been reworking was still spread out atop the table. I felt like crying as I recalled all the time I had spent absorbed in my research. I don’t want to leave. I want to continue doing research.

“…I don’t want to quit.”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t I tell you that you’re my disciple?”

Professor Hirschur let go of her pen and stood up straight. With her monocle glistening, she turned towards me and asked an incomprehensible question.

“By the way, Raimund, are you interested in becoming Lord Ferdinand’s disciple?”

“…What?”

Are my ears playing tricks on me? Not even in my wildest dreams would she actually say something as convenient as “Are you interested in becoming Lord Ferdinand’s disciple?”. I wonder what she actually said. When I asked her to repeat herself, Professor Hirschur sighed and told me about the flow of her conversation last night with Lord Ferdinand.

“Last night, Lord Ferdinand and I discussed numerous topics, starting from the disposal of dangerous magic tools and the matter of leakage of confidential information.”

Since I’m good at developing magic tools, Lord Ferdinand decided that he needed to get rid of the dangerous ones. Although they wouldn’t tell me the details, apparently Ehrenfest and Ahrensbach were currently in a state of conflict and hence there were concerns about information leaking.

“He warned me not to leak any confidential information. When I told him that you were interested in the magic tools he invented and that you had talent for making adjustments to magic tools, Lord Ferdinand also expressed interest in you as well. Apparently Lady Rozemyne had asked him to show you his books.”

It seems like Lady Rozemyne had enthusiastically reported the contents of my conversation with her and strongly recommended me to Lord Ferdinand. Thanks to her help, Lord Ferdinand agreed to teach me remotely through the exchange of letters.

“Of course, all of this is contingent on your will as well as whether you pass Lord Ferdinand’s exam. I’m sure you can tell just by seeing the tasks he gives to his beloved disciple, Lady Rozemyne, but Lord Ferdinand is a very strict teacher. If you don’t face this decision seriously, you’re going to regret it later.”

I’m so flabbergasted by this stroke of good luck that I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. But this is the same as back when Professor Hirschur invited me to be her disciple. There’s a voice in the depths of my heart telling me that if I let this opportunity slip out of my grasp, I will definitely end up regretting it. This isn’t the time to be indecisive.

I’ve always hoped that one day, I’d be able to talk with Lord Ferdinand about magic tools. Over the past year, I’ve experienced first-hand that if you don’t put in the effort, you won’t be able to find out what you want to know. I already know just how fun it is to immerse myself in research.

…Who cares that there’s an exam? All I need to do is put in the effort to pass it!

Compared to the anxiety and despair of being forced to quit from the position of Professor Hirschur’s disciple due to factors outside of my control such as my duchy or status, I couldn’t care less about the anxiety of whether I could pass Lord Ferdinand’s exam. As long as I put in the effort, I’m sure everything will work out fine.

“I’ll do it! Please let me sit Lord Ferdinand’s exam!”

I answered her with all my might.