Ascendance of a Bookworm

“Now that the first cla.s.sification has been completed, we will continue it according to the second-level category and the third-level category. However, I have not seen these files, and if you have kept them separately, it does not matter. But if they are lost or stolen, it may be a serious problem, which is why I am reporting to you.”

“They"re in my room, so you needn"t worry about them… but, Maine, with all the files in the library, how did you find out they weren"t there?”

“Because I"ve been waiting for them to appear in order to code them, and I haven"t seen them at all.”

Those were the real magic-related files I had never read when I was Urano. I"d been waiting for them to show up for seeing their true colours, but in the end I didn"t see any. Anyone would have noticed in this situation. And although the Head Priest said the library was full of files, it didn"t feel like many to me with Urano"s memory.

“What do you mean by ‘code them"?”

“Means to code a file using Maine Decimal Cla.s.sification.”

I took out my writing board with the cla.s.sification I had written for Fran.

“I don"t know anything about magic, so I"m worried about whether to cla.s.sify it as science or technology. I planned to read the files before I made a decision.”

“Oh, interesting. Did you come up with it?”

The Head Priest looked at me with suspicion. That suspicion was quite right, because I couldn"t have come up with something so great.

“No, it"s based on Melvil Dewey"s Dewey Decimal Cla.s.sification. It"s been drastically changed to the Nippon Decimal Cla.s.sification, and I changed it to the Maine Decimal Cla.s.sification.”

“Melvil Dewey? Who is he? I"ve never heard of him.”

“He"s pa.s.sed away, and I haven"t seen him in person. Anyway, what would you cla.s.sify magic into?”

I pointed to the writing board and consulted with the Head Priest about the cla.s.sification codes for magic. To my surprise, the Head Priest actually thought seriously: “If it"s basic magic… no, but if it"s a magic tool…” I waited excitedly for his answer, but he cleared his throat and shook his head as if suddenly remembering something.

“You have to read the files to be sure, but you don"t have to worry about it.”

“Why? If you don"t make a code, you can"t sort it out.”

The Head Priest slowly looked around the room, then handed me an anti-eavesdropping magic tool. I held it and waited for him to speak.

“Magic is a field that only aristocrats can dabble in. I"m not going to put anything about magic in the library, as they can"t be seen by the blue-robed priests who haven"t graduated from Aristocrats Academy.”

In other words, the files in the secret room must all have something to do with magic. At the same time I realized this, I was also surprised, for what the Head Priest had just said seemed to imply that the blue-robed priests and priestesses were not aristocrats.

“You said only aristocrats can dabble in, but blue-robed priests and priestesses are also aristocrats, right?”

“They are not exactly aristocrats. They are people of n.o.ble blood and magic, but only after graduating from Aristocrats Academy will aristocratic society recognize them as true members.”

“Huh? But I heard before that some of the blue-robed priests and priestesses had returned to the aristocratic society.”

Did they go to Aristocrats Academy when they returned home? From the gray-robed priests, who had spoken of their former masters in the orphanage and workshop, I had heard that several of the blue-robed priests and priestesses who had returned to the aristocratic society were already adults.

“After the coup, the number of aristocrats dropped sharply. In order to maintain the stability of the aristocracy, they were allowed to enter the Aristocrats Academy. However, the premise that only those who graduated from the Aristocrats Academy would be recognized by the aristocratic society did not break down. Even if they did not enter the Aristocrats Academy, their families still hold the power, so in the eyes of the commoners, there may not be much difference between the priests, the priestesses and the aristocrats… however, there is still a clear distinction.”

According to the knowledge of Urano and the words and deeds of the blue-robed priests and priestesses, I mistakenly thought that people with n.o.ble blood were aristocrats. If the prerequisite for aristocracy was to graduate from the Aristocrats Academy, none of the blue-robed priests and priestesses in the temple were considered aristocrats.

“… I didn"t expect the aristocratic society to be so strict.”

“Magic is very powerful, and if you don"t know how to control and use it, or how to make a magic tool, you can"t get a n.o.ble t.i.tle. So, no matter how you plead with me, I can"t show you the files. That"s all.”

The Head Priest gave me a special warning at the end. He seemed to have discovered from the very beginning that my greatest ambition was to read the magic-related files.

“Head Priest…”

“No means no. Hurry to your room.”

I left the Head Priest"s Office demoralized under the icy eyes of the Head Priest.

… Humph, I just couldn"t restrain my curiosity. The Head Priest was really annoying.

Probably the work of the workshop was finished, so when I returned to the Dean"s Office, I found Turi and Lutz waiting for me in the small living room on the first floor.

“Turi, Lutz, I"m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

I sat in the chair in the small living room with them. As Delia made her way to the kitchen to make tea, I turned to them and asked, “Are the books finished?”

“The children in the orphanage were doing needlework for the first time, so the work is only half done now.”

Lutz said, and Turi nodded in a hurry.

“Yes. It surprised me that everyone was holding a needle for the first time… since they haven"t sewed before, and they don"t have any sewing tools, they can"t mend their own clothes even if they are torn. Why don"t we teach them how to sew as well as cook?”

The children worked in cheap old clothes, so I often saw holes in their clothes. But unlike the children of the commoners, the orphans did not know how to sew, and my skills were not good enough to teach, so I intended to use the old clothes as rags when they were worn out, and to buy another batch for the orphans.

“I can get sewing tools if you want to teach them. I can"t even do things myself here, and I"m not good at it…”

“Indeed, if you were to teach them, they would never improve. At least they should learn the rudiments of needlework. Please help them with the tools.”

The orphans didn"t even have the most basic life skills, which made Turi hard to believe. Her face was full of worries, just like when I asked her to teach orphans to cook.

“Thanks to you and Ella, the children in the orphanage can cook soup now. This time, you will also serve as a sewing teacher.”

“It is better to learn more than to know nothing.”

When I jokingly called her teacher, Turi pouted but immediately dropped her head.

“… but all the children in the orphanage can read, can"t they? When I was instructing the bookbinding just now, I noticed that they could read a lot. It"s a blow to me that so young a child can read.”

“Because they usually play Karuta. You can play together next time.”

Karuta seemed to have made a great contribution to the study of words. The Children"s Edition of the Scripture also included all the words that appeared on the Karuta, so the children in the orphanage quickly became familiar with the content. But, for those who lived outside the temple, I thought it was hard to read right away. I wanted to show Benno the Scripture first and see how he would react.

“Lutz, are you ready for Mr. Benno"s book?”

“Yes, we have finished the books for those who usually look after us, and I have them with me.”

With a look of pride, Lutz pulled out four books that had already been bound.

“Oh, thank you! Take one to Mr. Benno tomorrow!”

“No problem!”

Even if we go unannounced, we usually got to see Benno, or we could ask Mark to deliver the book. However, if I wanted to send the book to the Head Priest, I must start by writing a letter requesting a meeting.

“… do we have to write a letter every time? Aristocrats are troublesome.”

“Master Maine, will you ask Rosina to write for you?”

Although it was a question, Fran"s expression and tone were full of the intention of “I want to test her competence”. Writing letters for me was an attendant"s work, so it would be an excellent exercise for Rosina to write to the Head Priest. If she made some mistakes, the Head Priest would send the letter back after correcting it.

“All right. Let Rosina try it.”

Rosina shuddered, but then, with a graceful smile, she accepted the task. “I really must learn from Rosina.” As I was thinking, I found Delia staring at Rosina, as if she envied her so much for her new work. Gil had been in charge of the workshop and whenever I wanted to make a new product, he had new work. Fran"s work was to vary from day to day according to my situation. Rosina was not good at calculation or writing, but she could do it, so she was bound to be a.s.signed Fran"s work, and her work grew. Only Delia, still in the Dean"s Office, would feel like she was standing still.

…Although she is also very serious in the study of writing and calculation.

Gil must have learned faster because the children in the orphanage were compet.i.tors. I had tried so hard, but I could not feel the progress — I understood Delia"s anxiety. Because I often felt like I wasn"t making any progress and was left behind by Lutz, who was my age.

Did I praise Delia too little?

Gil would report the results to me succinctly and ask for praise, so it was easy for me to give it to him. But Delia always did her work as a matter of course, so it was hard for me to praise her.

“Delia, this book is for the Head Priest. Put it in my desk drawer.”

“Yes, at your service.”

When she took it, I placed another one in her hand.

“Will you put this one in the little parlour for me? I hope you will be the first to read it, and let me know what you think of it when you have finished.”

“… you want me to be the first one to read it?”

Delia blinked, and I nodded to her.

“Yes. Gil is tied up in the workshop, and the Dean"s Office can"t be kept clean without you. So I want you to be the first one to read it.”

“That… that"s right, I also have the credit!”

Delia threw up her chin, clasped the book to her bosom, and hurried up to the second floor. Seeing her happy face, everyone smiled softly.