I passed all my lectures. I could finally go to the library freely. I puffed out my chest in front of everyone with a smug "Ufufu~n," and it was my very first free visit to the library.
I was so excited that I leaped out of bed even before Richhilda came to my room. Caught up in my giddiness, I shouted into the pitch-black room, "Today is the library! Prayers to the goddess!" and sent out a blessing, then quickly dove back into bed and pretended to sleep.
However, my Attendants had apparently already gathered in the room where they kept their tools and were holding their morning meeting by the time I sent out my blessing. I was woken up by Richhilda, who had slipped into bed and then immediately entered the room, with a wry, exasperated smile. "Your Ladyship, pretending to be asleep won't make the light of your blessing disappear, you know." Lizelora looked at me with a fond, amused expression.
At breakfast, those who would accompany me to the Library were selected. In principle, those who had finished their lectures and had free time would be my companions.
"Is that so? Then Schwartz and Weiss would go, along with Richhilda and
"Cornelius, I'm worried about Lady
"
Leonore cut Angelica off, then turned back to Cornelius Brother.
"Lady Rozemyne was so overjoyed about being able to go to the Library that she offered morning prayers and sent out a blessing from dawn. I really can't tell her to wait any longer. I'll be fine on my own."
"True, I can't exactly tell her to wait any longer. It can't be helped, then. I'm counting on you, Leonore."
"There are still more students who haven't finished their lectures yet, so it should be fine, Cornelius."
Leonore smiled, and Cornelius Brother nodded once before looking at me and scolding me with the tone and expression of someone trying to reason with a disobedient child.
"Lady Rozemyne, for your safety, promise me you won't head to the Library until everyone has started their lectures. Is that understood? If you can't even manage that, next time you'll have to wait until we can arrange a guard escort."
"I absolutely promise!"
...I can't wait around until Angelica is free!
After seeing everyone off to their lectures, I waited restlessly for Richhilda's permission until the second-and-a-half bell rang, then headed to the Library.
Since the lectures had already begun, the white corridors were completely devoid of people. The lectures were probably being held behind those closed doors, but no voices leaked through. The only sounds echoing through the quiet corridors were our footsteps and my cheerful singing.
"The Library, the Library, a place of happiness~ Lu lu lu lu, la la lan~"
"...Lady Rozemyne, the music teacher set different lyrics to that song, didn't she?"
"This is different from that, so it's perfectly fine."
The
Incidentally, I had originally written lyrics that went "Prayers to the goddess, and then, gratitude~" but if a blessing accidentally burst out, that could be dangerous, so I took the initiative to delete those and just muddled through with "lu lu lu" and "la la la" instead.
"Leonore."
I looked up at Leonore, the only one among my guard knights who had been recommended for her Scholar Aptitude. She had the appearance of a Scholar Apprentice, and her intellectual indigo eyes gleamed brightly.
"Yes, Lady Rozemyne?"
"As far as I can tell, the Knight Apprentices all seem to be poor readers. Is reading difficult for you too, Leonore?"
Judging from how the knights had been yesterday, not a single one seemed to be a book lover. Perhaps those who excelled at physical activity chose the Knight Course.
"I certainly cannot say I love reading to the same degree as you, Lady Rozemyne, but compared to the other knights, I wouldn't say it's difficult for me."
"In that case, would you look through the Library for reference books on strategies and tactics from before the civil war, or books about magical creatures? Then you could read through them and share the information with everyone, all right?"
Leonore blinked in puzzlement at my words. "We're already compiling lecture notes together, though?"
"The materials I took from Lord
"There's no need to trouble yourself, Lady Rozemyne. I can look on days when the other guards are free—"
Leonore protested that it was unnecessary, but I was the one who wanted to search. I wanted to bask in the atmosphere of being a Librarian, even if just a little.
"Don't worry about it, Leonore. Searching for books in the Library is what a Librarian does—ah, no, what a library committee member does."
When I said that proudly, everyone, starting with Leonore, looked utterly confused.
"...Lady Rozemyne, what exactly is a library committee member?"
"It's a student who helps the Librarian in the school's library."
The confused expressions around me remained unchanged, as expected. Philine tilted her head with a hand against her cheek, murmuring "Hmm~."
"Something like a Scholar Apprentice?"
"Yes. I am a Lord Candidate, but I'm also a Scholar Apprentice."
I puffed out my chest and declared that in my third year, I would take both sets of lectures to become a Librarian. Upon hearing this, everyone briefly closed their eyes.
"I would like to say that such a thing would be impossible, but..."
Richhilda's words were followed by Philine, who wore a helpless, ambiguous smile.
"Once you learn of Lady Rozemyne's passion for the Library, you can't bring yourself to say it."
"She really will accomplish it, just like getting every first-year student to pass, so it's quite the dilemma."
I shot Philine a sympathetic look as Leonore let out a wry laugh.
"Lord Ferdinand said he would help arrange it so I can take both sets of lectures, so it'll be fine. I will take both!"
"Princess, came."
"Princess, welcome."
When I entered the Library's reading room, Schwartz and Weiss perked up their ears and came out from the work area.
"Oh my, Lady Rozemyne!?"
"Good morning, Professor Solange. Schwartz, Weiss."
I walked over to Schwartz and Weiss, who lightly closed their eyes as if to say "worked hard" and "praise us, Princess." I stroked their foreheads and infused a bit of Magic Power into their magic stones. Solange then emerged from the work area and walked toward us.
"Good morning, Lady Rozemyne. But didn't you say you wouldn't come here until you passed all your lectures?"
"I passed all of them yesterday."
I puffed out my chest and declared that I had worked hard so I could read books in the Library. Solange looked at me with an expression of disbelief, checked with Richhilda and Philine, then let out a soft breath.
"...I'm surprised by your unexpectedly outstanding performance. I can now understand why Schwartz and Weiss have the qualities to have you as their master."
Since the lectures had already started, there was hardly anyone in the Library. This meant I could enjoy reading at my leisure. Grinning to myself, I looked around the Library and let my gaze settle on the wide staircase to the left.
"Last time, I couldn't even go up to the second floor, so I've been looking forward to visiting it."
"Going up."
"Second floor, Princess."
Clearly pleased to be doing their job, Schwartz and Weiss began walking with their heads bobbing slightly left and right. The staircase to the second floor was made of the same white material as the rest of the building, wide enough for about five adults to walk up side by side.
"How many volumes does this Library have?"
"Let me see. If we include the old materials that are no longer in use and have been moved to the storage archive, I'd say roughly thirty to forty thousand."
Schwartz and Weiss nodded at Solange's words.
"First floor, many. About twenty thousand."
"Used for lectures. Everyone, reads."
"Just as they said, most of the books are reference materials managed on the first floor. We've kept quite old copies for every subject, so as Schwartz mentioned, it comes to around twenty thousand."
Among those twenty thousand volumes, some were written on Parchment and others on wooden tablets. The ones bound in Parchment had been written by individuals and donated to the Library, so sometimes a single volume might contain material for several different subjects, Solange explained.
"What do you do about volumes that cover multiple subjects?"
"What do you mean? We simply keep them as they are—published by their author and shelved. It's rare for someone talented enough to leave such a book in the Library, after all."
"...Someone who can create reference materials for several subjects must be quite talented, but if one volume contains material for multiple subjects, classification would be terribly difficult. And if someone takes it, wouldn't multiple people end up needing the same book?"
I asked whether the situation might arise where someone needed material from one subject that happened to be in the same volume as material for another subject that someone else had taken. Solange smiled placidly and replied that the borrower had priority.
"As the final exams approach, usage will increase and we'll run out of both carrels and books, so it would be nice to separate them by subject... but unfortunately, we simply don't have the manpower for that sort of thing."
"I intend to look through every book here, so if it's possible to sort them by subject, shall I do it?"
"Oh my, Lady Rozemyne, you intend to read all the books here? That would be quite the undertaking."
Solange chuckled with the fond expression of a grandmother telling a child's dream, "That would be nice, dear." I was entirely serious.
With the click-clack of my shoes echoing, I climbed the staircase. The sight that spread out before me drew a sigh of admiration.
The second floor, like the first, had pillars and windows arranged at equal intervals. On the first floor, there were desks and chairs set up in the recessed window spaces between pillars to form the carrels. On the second floor, however, two bookshelves were placed back-to-back at the pillar positions, with a desk section built directly into the shelves like a writing desk. Light from the windows fell perfectly onto the desk surfaces.
The bookshelves were divided into three tiers: one reachable by sitting and extending an arm, one only reachable by standing, and one beneath the desk near the floor. Books were stacked on every shelf. Chains dangled from them, visible and jingling.
"How wonderful! It's a Chained Library!"
"...Lady Rozemyne, I couldn't quite catch that."
"It just came out of sheer excitement. Please don't mind it."
The
Here on the second floor of the Royal Academy's reading room, however, the books were chained to the shelves and stacked inside. I was overwhelmed with wonder at how many books could be kept here.
...Amazing, absolutely amazing! I feel like I've time-traveled! I want to dance with joy! What should I do?
They stacked the books instead of standing them upright because the leather covers had metal edging and rivets. If they were stood upright, the rivets would scrape against the covers of adjacent books when pulling them from the shelf, scratching the leather. By lifting and removing them sideways, the books were protected from damage.
And Parchment swells when it absorbs moisture. To prevent this, books were often fitted with leather straps, but stacking them kept them compressed so they wouldn't swell.
...I knew this from theory, but seeing it for the first time is something else entirely! I'm so excited I could burst! What should I do?
If I could become a library committee member here, I could share the worries of ancient Librarians—the kind I had only ever read about in books—and think about the evolution of libraries. My excitement was rising steadily.
...In a Chained Library, when the collection grows, the chains on the shelves get tangled, right? And depending on which direction the sunlight came from, people would fight over which books or reading desks were best positioned?
At the current time, the desks on the east and south sides seemed easiest to read at, but the chained books couldn't be moved. If you wanted to read in a bright, comfortable environment, you had to aim for just the right time slot and come to the desk then. Apparently, it wasn't uncommon for two people wanting to read the same book to bump into each other at the same time, leading to arguments over who got to read first.
"What should we do? How does the Library handle that sort of thing, Professor Solange?"
Solange gave me a supremely nonchalant answer.
"It's decided by rank, so there are no disputes. Among those of the same social class, the higher-ranking territory takes priority."
...What did she say?!
This was serious. Until now, I hadn't been particularly concerned about territory rankings. My attitude had been more like, "People keep saying various things to me and it's annoying, so I'll just raise our ranking a bit."
But if territory ranking affected priority for books and reading desks, that was a completely different matter.
"I absolutely must raise Ehrenfest's ranking, no matter what!"
The moment I was about to rally the entire Ehrenfest dormitory into action, Richhilda lightly tapped my shoulder.
"Your Ladyship, please calm down. There are very few people who would be given priority over a Lord Candidate like yourself, and high-ranking nobles or Lord Candidates often borrow books to read in their private rooms. It's very rare for you to run into anyone."
"Is that so...?"
My enthusiasm and determination subsided. Still, just in case, I felt it might be wise to raise Ehrenfest's ranking anyway.
I had been captivated by the Chained Library, but after looking around the entire second floor, I saw that there were only about a thousand books in volume form—they were only the ones stacked on the wall-mounted desks with shelves.
Away from the wall-mounted bookshelves, in the central area, there were shelves for scrolls, shelves for wooden tablets, and barrel-like containers for scrolls slightly too large for the shelves. There were also several reading stands for examining scrolls, and even a sideboard for holding ink and pens.
After seeing the orderly, evenly spaced bookshelves on the first floor, this area seemed a bit cluttered by comparison. Walking through it, Solange explained.
"This area houses part of the research output of past professors. Scrolls, wooden tablets—there are more collections here from older times that haven't been converted into book form."
In principle, secrecy was the norm, so few professors seemed eager to make their work public. Apparently, after a professor's death, their assistants often donated materials that were no longer needed.
Even now, scrolls were gradually increasing in number, because some professors couldn't be bothered to convert their materials into book form. Making books cost money and required time and effort, so very few materials actually made it into the Library in book form.
...Scrolls are easier to make than bound volumes, but rereading them is a real pain.
Searching for specific pages, rolling them back up after reading—it was all so troublesome. How different from books, where you simply flip through, snap them shut, and fasten the strap.
"We try to compile research recognized by royalty into book form as much as possible, but it's difficult."
"The budget is limited, after all. ...Professor Solange, what is that statue? I've never seen it in the Temple."
I turned my gaze toward the stone statue between two bookshelves, and Solange's face broke into a warm smile. It was a white goddess statue, matching the building's color, holding a book adorned with gold and magic stones reverently in her arms.
"This is the statue of
Just like the Royal Academy's Library, the Royal Palace Library also apparently had a statue of Mestionora, Goddess of Wisdom. The one in Ehrenfest's castle library had no such statue. Shouldn't we hasten to install a statue of Mestionora, Goddess of Wisdom, in the castle library as well and offer daily prayers so the collection would grow?
"Which books would you like to read first, Lady Rozemyne?"
"...Let me see. I'll start with the first-floor books. There are probably many with similar content, so classification and organization should be relatively straightforward."
"Classification and organization?"
Solange blinked. I nodded firmly.
"Yes. I'd like to organize them to make them easy to use—ideally by subject, by academic year, by era, and so on. Since some subjects had dramatically different content before and after the civil war, I could separate the shelves for those subjects... Would you allow me to do the classification?"
"That would be fine, but..."
I wanted to read through the books starting from one end, compile the bibliographic information, and work out a classification system.
...Ah, but if I'm going to classify them, I want labels.
Once classified, I'd want to paste classification numbers on them. For that, I'd need labels.
Glue was available, but since it was made from pigs, there was a risk of mold or rot.
I wanted something better for the books.
...I'll ask the Chief Priest when I get back.
Within the year, I'd make labels and classify everything using the Rozemyne Decimal Classification System.
"Um, Lady Rozemyne. You seem to be quite enthusiastic about organizing the Library, but we really cannot ask a Lord Candidate to do such work. If you tell us how you'd like things divided, we can take it into consideration."
I was going to classify everything for my own selfish purposes. That meant I absolutely couldn't let Solange do the work for me. If I could get permission, I would do it myself, for myself.
"No, I actually want to become a library committee member, so please let me do the classification work."
"Tosho-iin? What's that?"
"Princess, don't understand. Tell us."
Schwartz and Weiss tugged lightly at my sleeve.
"A student who helps the Librarian at the Royal Academy is called a library committee member. I'll be helping Professor Solange."
"Princess, library committee member."
"Will work."
Schwartz and Weiss's words turned Solange pale. Her eyes widened slightly, and she shook her head in a panic.
"No, no, Lady Rozemyne, I really cannot let you do such a thing. I am a mid-ranking noble, and you are a Lord Candidate. I could never ask you to assist me."
"But I'm also taking the Scholar Apprentice lectures in order to become a Librarian, so I'm a Scholar Apprentice too."
"...Even so, I simply cannot have a Lord Candidate doing that."
Solange shook her head vigorously, and Richhilda stepped forward with a sigh, looking at me.
"Your Ladyship, you must not trouble Professor Solange with your own selfish whims."
"...Yes. Professor Solange, I'm very sorry."
I hadn't expected my offer to help as a library committee member to be rejected so firmly. Solange was managing the Library all by herself, so I thought having an extra pair of hands would be welcome. Apparently not.
"I will gratefully accept your kind feelings, Lady Rozemyne."
...It wasn't really about kind feelings—I just wanted to fiddle with various things in the Library out of pure, selfish desire.
Since I'd been rejected, I quietly withdrew and decided to read for the time being.
I asked Schwartz and Weiss to prepare carrels for me and Philine, had Richhilda bring paper, pens, and ink, and began reading. There were so many books—it was paradise.
The first floor of the Royal Academy's Library contained mostly reference materials used for lectures. There were many copies with the same content, but depending on who had transcribed them, there were significant differences in accuracy, handwriting beauty, and diagram precision. The well-used, precise copies even had annotations and notes written in them, making them rich in information.
While reading and compiling bibliographic information, it was suddenly lunchtime. The book pages, illuminated by light like stained glass, jolted me back to awareness.
"Let's return for lunch, Your Ladyship."
"Yes."
I had Schwartz and Weiss put the books away, returned the carrel keys, and stroked the magic stones on their foreheads to replenish a bit of their Magic Power before heading back to the dormitory.
"Please come again, Lady Rozemyne."
"I'll return this afternoon."
"I look forward to it."
After bidding Solange farewell as well, I walked toward the dormitory.
...How could I become a library committee member?
Solange had rejected my offer, but I hadn't given up on becoming a library committee member. As I pondered with a "Hmm~," Richhilda let out a deep sigh.
"Your Ladyship truly lacks social education, doesn't she?"
"...What do you mean?"
"That request you made at the Library just now. That manner of asking was not befitting of a Lord Candidate."
...A manner of asking befitting of a Lord Candidate?
While Richhilda explained that this was the result of two years of being cut off from proper noble education, I desperately racked my brain trying to think of a more noble way to make a request. What would be the proper way to ask?
As I turned the idea over in my mind, it suddenly struck me, and I clapped my hands together.
"Richhilda, let's invite Professor Solange to a tea party."
"...What's come over you so suddenly?"
I smiled with a "Ufufu~" at the wide-eyed Richhilda.
When I had created the Italian restaurant, I hadn't thought about it at all, but my adoptive father and the Chief Priest had been regarded by those around me as having been flattered, charmed, and persuaded to let me have my way from a position of advantage. The Chief Priest had even marveled at how much better I had become at noble behavior. So this time, I would simply apply the same approach.
...I'll hold a tea party, treat Professor Solange to delicious sweets, and I will absolutely become a library committee member!
This is the Library I've always dreamed of.
To become a library committee member, I'll keep reading and do my best to be a proper noble.
Next time: I want to become a library committee member.