Even a Scoundrel Gets Tired

163 – A Moment’s Respite (2)

The Academy’s library

wasn’t as old as one might think.

That’s because among the Academy

students,

not many actually needed books.

Of course, it wasn’t as though

there were no students

who counted reading among their hobbies.

Rather, there were even students who

tucked a book at their side when

eating or even sleeping.

No matter how inherently arrogant

from birth the Academy may be,

a place where only the noblest gathered,

surely there were those among them.

Those who enjoyed reading,

those bursting with academic fervor.

Yet, they did not particularly require books,

because they, too,

were nobles.

At the end, only a few books.

Of course, the value of those books

was determined by

those who read them, but still,

at most, only a few books.

Unless they were grimoires of exponentially

higher value,

they were merely scraps of paper

upon which knowledge was written.

No matter how interesting the topic

written within was to them as individuals,

no matter how academically valuable

the tower’s dissertation might be,

in the end, it was only a book,

something they could surely acquire

with the capital of their noble family.

Rather, they had more than enough.

Then what of the commoner students

who did not even possess such wealth?

From the start, commoners

did not pay much attention to books.

If they had the money to buy books,

they would rather save every penny

to supplement their tuition fees.

However, that did not mean

they were without dissatisfaction.

At least, not within the Academy.

Discontent erupted, a torrent of complaints that the academy ought to subsidize at least a few books in fields related to their studies.

Of course, the grievances stemmed primarily from the commoners.

“I mean, I came all the way here to study, but I can’t because I don’t have the books!”

“I scraped together every last penny to get here, you know?!”

“Just a few specialist texts, and my research would be complete!!”

“Fine, can’t we at least use the club budget?!”

Truthfully, this was an issue the Chairman himself

had been contemplating for some time,

and the fact that the commoner students

had staged such a widespread uproar

provided what he considered a convenient justification.

The speed and scale of the academy’s reforms

immediately following the unrest

made it impossible to think otherwise.

“F-finally, my research will be completed…!”

“Wow, this is the formula you needed to solve this problem…?!”

“Wait a moment. This information contradicts what I already know…?!”

The student body’s reaction

was at fever pitch.

The commoners, who had

continuously chanted for resolute struggle

and demanded the right

to the books they needed,

threw a wild party that night,

and even to the academy’s

nobility, who couldn’t fathom

why anyone would stage such a protest,

the library was welcome news.

Even to those who were not very interested in academics.

The others took it as a given, but…

If you were to ask which facility within the Academy currently

held the most affection,

seven out of ten would likely choose the library.

“Whoa… W-whoaaa… A grimoire I couldn’t even find at home…!”

“No way… *Mana Dynamics and the String Theory of Magic* is in the Academy library…?!”

Under the authority of the Archmage Headmaster – a ninth circle mage,

it possessed a collection of tomes comparable to

most central libraries, making

that tidal wave of information

heaven on earth for magicians.

Especially the books hand-picked by the Headmaster.

But as surely as sweet fruit attracts worms…

“Hey, isn’t that a library book?”

“….”

“Why are you taking it outside…? Hey, where do you think you’re going?!”

Amongst the students,

some couldn’t resist the urge to steal,

taking grimoires and ancient texts –

unequivocally the property

of the Academy –

outside to

sell them.

After that happened to be

discovered quite by chance,

the Academy entrusted

the library’s security

entirely to the Student Council.

To the only force within the Academy

that didn’t discriminate based on status.

“So, like, you won’t believe what I did…”

“Heh heh heh… Really?”

“Yeah, I’m serious… H-huh?”

“Silence in the library, please.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!!”

And to this day,

that authority remains

wholly entrusted to the Student Council.

Even the slightest infraction of the library’s rules,

it was rumored,

meant your name went down in the

student council’s little black book.

The library was known, academy-wide, as

the most strictly governed

place in the entire institution.

*

Though I’d been in the academy

a good while now, the library

was a place I’d never once ventured,

still, finding my way

there wasn’t all that difficult.

Having idled away my days

within the academy,

I had a vague idea of its location,

and if I lost my way for a moment

in this needlessly vast building,

I could simply grab someone and ask for directions.

“Excuse me…”

“Y-yes? Are you, by any chance,

speaking to *me*?”

“No, Jennison wanted

to speak to *me*.”

“Shut it, it’s *me*, isn’t it?”

Of course, the process wasn’t exactly seamless.

I could understand this eagerness

from the nobles, wanting to forge

some connection with me,

but even the commoner students

treated me this way.

Rumor had it I was being

held up as some sort of hero…

I really wish they would

stop that.

It’s mortifying, in more ways than one.

Anyway, after those various trials,

I finally, barely,

managed to arrive in front of the library.

And there I stood, right before it,

He stopped, just like that.

The sight laid out before his eyes…

it hardly looked like the door to a library at all.

‘…Just what sort of library in the world

would be layered so thickly

with magic circles like this?’

≪Significant amount of magical power detected≫

≪Deriving observation results of magic circle…≫

Various protective magics were laid down as if a matter of course,

and looking at the amount of magical power

flowing through those magic circles,

or rather, seeing that there wasn’t a shred of magical

waste in that flow,

it became clear the caster’s magical level

wasn’t low by any means.

Even so, as if they didn’t feel safe enough,

it felt as though each and every one of those magic circles

had been imbued with divine power.

A force as if they would break the

magic circle and burst out at any moment.

It felt like a single line forged

by compressing and re-compressing a very high concentration of divine power.

It was probably imparted by at least

John, who healed him before, or perhaps even a priest beyond that.

How many people would have a higher divine power

than a high-ranking bishop was difficult to imagine, but

he was only speaking of possibilities.

Besides, if the amount of divine power

was great enough, it wouldn’t necessarily

have to be a high-ranking bishop.

With conditions like that,

however improbable,

there might be a few among the regular priests.

Or maybe they asked the Holy Maiden,

who is currently enrolled here,

to do it.

If it were anyone else,

she wouldn’t have been able to

coldly refuse a request.

“Well… shall we go in?”

Protective magic wasn’t exactly

her forte, so she hadn’t yet

fully grasped the nature of

all these magical circles.

But surely, within the Academy walls,

they wouldn’t be some sort of bizarre magic?

Security was said to be tight,

so it must be related to that.

Of course, she hadn’t expected

it to be *this* tight,

but at least it wouldn’t be

magic that harmed the students.

She gripped the handle

and pulled the door straight open,

and a scent she’d only ever encountered in ancient forests assaulted her nose.

The scent of wood, of raw lumber.

And even the scent of sawdust.

A myriad of familiar wood smells greeted her first,

and then, wafting in next, was the scent of damp paper.

The melancholic scent of tears,

emanating from white drawing paper as it absorbed moisture,

its color slowly fading.

A scent that anyone who loved books would adore.

Bookshelves crafted from raw lumber,

and within them,

books sleeping peacefully.

Their grandeur was such that one could almost call it a tomb of books.

‘At this scale, the

books I’m looking for might very well be—’

“…Jennison?”

And from within that silent

scent of tears,

she heard someone calling her name.

Considering the location,

it wasn’t a loud voice,

but she certainly heard it.

That voice, it felt so familiar, like I’d heard it just recently.

“..Princess?”

“Jennison, why are you here…?”

“….”

“Could it be…you’re stalking me?!”

“…?”

“How brazen! I know

Father said you and I

would make a good match, but─”

In a flash, her cheeks

flushed a vivid scarlet.

Before I could even retort to

her preposterous misunderstanding,

from the bookshelves far off,

someone was watching us.

A man, a yellow armband with

[Student Council] emblazoned on his shoulder.

If my memory served,

he was quite the stickler,

an unyielding sort of man,

who wouldn’t even permit

something as common as

tossing trash onto the floor.

Of course, there were

students disgruntled by his

rigid system, but

he was a son of the Ron family, a Marquis family,

so few dared

to challenge him.

Besides, the reason he acted so

fastidiously in the first place

was because they had broken the rules first,

so they had no grounds to stand on.

“..Princess.”

“Ah, who…?”

“..I’m Juniel Ron, Student Council.”

“Pleased to…Student Council…?”

“..Silence in the library, please.”

“..Yes, sir.”

It was rather surprising to see the student council, of all people, bowing first, when they were the ones who should have been issuing a stern warning… but given her status, it was inevitable.

If she’d been born a duchess and disliked bowing her head,

she should have been born with the blood of the Imperial Family.

“Then… I shall take my leave now…”

“Ah, yes… please, go ahead.”

One, bending their pride and breaking their conviction.

The other, ashamed of their mistake and at a loss for what to do.

A rather amusing sight to behold.