Ascendance of a Bookworm Chapter 78 - Prologue

Chapter 78: Prologue

Book 2: The Apprentice Shrine Maiden

My na is Ferdinand. I serve as the head priest of the temple of the city of Ehrenfest. People frequently mistake as being between twenty-five or, if I’m unlucky, thirty years old, but in reality I am twenty. My half brother often comnts that I was not blessed with enough youthfulness and it has already run dry, but this is, in truth, a product of my living environnt.

All the way through my coming-of-age, I was part of noble society. I was the son of a concubine, but because I had just enough mana to contribute to the foundational magical tools and because (although this may be a little self-aggrandizing to say) the pursuit of knowledge posed no difficulty to , my half brother, who is older than , had raised to serve as his assistant. Regardless of my father’s true wife, my relationship with my half brother was not at all bad.

However, my father’s wife seed to be displeased with the fact that I was serving as my half brother’s assistant, so, after my father’s death, she began treating with open hostility. Several politically powerful adults supported her viewpoint, and I could not rely on my biological mother, and I began to fear for my own safety. At that ti, my half brother recomnded to that I should join the temple.

To those in noble society, joining the temple is effectively a declaration that you are withdrawing from the world of politics. However, even at the temple mana must still be used to perform divine miracles, so there are still close ties to the world of noble politics. Also, because the higher-ranked priests and priestesses all originate from the nobility, there still exists a strict hierarchy based on social standing.

My half brother grinned as he told to aim for the absolute top and take control of the temple from the inside. I, however, knew that was far easier said than done, as the current temple master is a man related to my father’s true wife’s family and his behavior could be extrely dangerous to , so I just shrugged as I made my way into the temple.

My days at the temple were peaceful. There were people in charge of the temple’s finances, of managing the orphanage, of making contact with the nobility, and so on, but that work never ca around to . As such, I had no real work beyond the work of maintaining the ritual tools, and found myself with an overwhelming abundance of free ti.

Because I had so much ti, I reached out to my half brother and asked him to send over books and wooden tablets from our ho. I used them in order to build a library, one that even nobles with unfortunate economic circumstances would be able to use. However, the blue-garbed priests and priestesses at the temple were all people who were incapable of returning to noble society, so none of them had any interest in the pursuit of knowledge. The deplorable fact of the matter is that the only person who showed any interest in it whatsoever was a single commoner girl, who wanted to read so badly that she fell to the ground weeping.

Then, a coup happened in Central, and the ranks of the nobility were thinned out. What first happened to us is that our apprentices who were still young enough to be sent to the House of Lords were, one by one, called back ho. Then, the priests and priestesses who were still of marriageable age were called back into noble society. Finally, a demand ca from the temple in Central for all priests and priestesses possessing a particular degree of magical power to make their way there.

Now, there are no priestesses left in the temple, and the only priests left are those who are too old to return ho and who possess not enough mana to be considered useful by the temple in Central. All of the people who were primarily in charge of managing the temple’s affairs had been called away, leaving to take on every single aspect of running the temple. My easy, peaceful days have vanished without a trace. Because of the scope and importance of my work, the stature of my family, and the supplication of my half brother, I beca the head priest, despite the fact that it had not been terribly long since I joined the temple and that I was still very young.

***

“Father, the temple master is calling for you.”

“…It seems he’s alright, then.”

When Fran, my attendant, informs of this, I stand, sighing. As I leave my room and head towards the temple master’s chambers, I lant to myself that, if only the temple master could have been laid out a little longer, I could have gotten a little more work done. Reverend B?sewanz is a man who never assists in my work, but is forceful in giving his opinions, so I am thankful for every mont that he sleeps while I am performing my duties.

As I make my way through the halls, the library room passes through my field of view. The face of Ma?ne, the child who ignited such chaos in order to read the books here, floats through my mory, and I reach up to massage my temples. She is the source of all of my most recent headaches, and it is likely that she is the reason the temple master is calling to him this ti.

During the baptismal ceremonies, Ma?ne discovered the library and declared that she wished to beco a sister-in-training. At the ti, she wore clothing that made her appear to be the daughter of a wealthy family. In order to secure her apprenticeship, she offered an enormous sum of money as a donation. The temple master, dazzled by the sheer amount of coin, t with her to discuss the matter of having the daughter of a wealthy family join the temple. When this happened, it was revealed to us that she possessed mana.

Based on her reactions when she was reading the scriptures, it was clear to that she was quite intelligent, and from her deanor and polite manner of speech, I could easily guess that she had had an excellent education. As such, when the temple master suggested that she be granted a blue robe when she joined the temple, I could not disagree.

However, when her parents were called out to the temple in order to discuss the matter further, it beca apparent that Ma?ne was not the daughter of a wealthy family, but instead the daughter of commoners.

To my sensibilities, it did not matter whose daughter she was. Provided she brought her donation and possessed mana, there was no problem at all. Reverend B?sewanz, however, thought differently. He adopted an openly aggressive deanor towards the three of them, angering Ma?ne in the process.

If she were a noble, she would have had magical tools to help her manage her mana. Or, in other words, she would have offered her mana to magical tools at regular intervals, so even in the event that her emotions were to stir her mana into motion, it would not have run rampant. However, Ma?ne was a commoner, and as such had no access to magical tools.

Of course, when her mana did run rampant and escaped from her body, it was directed entirely at Reverend B?sewanz. Her mana was far stronger than could possibly have been expected from a girl who managed to survive the devouring all the way through her baptismal ceremonies. The reverend, taking the full force of Ma?ne’s magical coercion, fainted on the spot and did not regain consciousness for so ti. As he slept, I made use of the excellent opportunity to have a conversation with Ma?ne’s parents directly and was able to co to an arrangent with them.

Although the temple master has only just regained consciousness and is still resting, he made the express effort to summon . Most likely, he wishes to confirm how the discussion with Ma?ne had turned out and, of course, voice his complaints. It’s easy for to imagine all of the many complaints that might fly from his mouth.

The figure of the attendant standing next to the door cos into view as I approach. It’s not my place to say it, but it might be good for the temple master, the most important man in the temple, to stand up himself every once in a while. I take in a long, slow breath, and as I let it out I let my irritation out with it.

“Reverend, Father Ferdinand has arrived.”

The attendant opens the door for , matched perfectly with my walking speed so that it opens exactly as I arrive. From the slight tension I see on his face, I wonder if he might be a newcor. When I enter, I see that the temple master is sitting at his work desk, slumping heavily into the back of his chair. It is a pose that highlights his protruding belly.

If one were to think solely of our families’ relative positions in noble society, I would be more highly ranked than he is, but I am an illegitimate son, while he is legitimate. And, as he is a mber of the extended family of the mother of my half brother, the standing of his house is not at all insignificant. As such, since he cannot help but to show his superiority over , whenever he calls to see him, without fail he will always be sitting at his work desk, leaving to stand as he smirks at .

However, today he does not have the emotional leeway to even smirk at . His expression is fiendish, his brows so tightly knit that deep bumps cross the bridge of his nose, and he drums his fingers hard against the surface of his desk in clear irritation. The instant he sees , he vigorously starts to speak.

“Father Ferdinand,” he says, “what happened to that thing?”

I leisurely make my way over to him then, with careful emphasis on the grace a nobleman should comport himself with, tilt my head slightly to one side.

“To what thing are you referring?”

“What else?” he yells. “That unbelievably impertinent little child!”

Like a child throwing a tantrum, he sits up straight, slamming his fist into the surface of his desk. This falls entirely within my expectations, so I have long since raised the wooden tablet on which I had brought my report, pretending to read it while actually using it as a shield to protect my face from his flying spittle.

“Ahh, of course… I believe her na was Ma?ne.”

“That’s right. You sent her away, right?”

He glares at with wide eyes, but I just slowly shake my head.

“I fully understand your displeasure, Reverend, but the temple is facing a serious shortage of mana. You must be very aware of this yourself, seeing as you had been trying to get her to join the temple. This will only be a problem until the number of nobles in this city has increased again.”

“Ferdinand, are you telling to be patient? , the master of this temple…”

Before he can launch into his usual long, long tirade about his parentage and position, I launch into an outline of the current status of the temple.

“If we do not have her, then our dedication ceremonies will almost certainly be fraught with difficulty. And then, when autumn cos… And what if a request for us cos from the knights’ order? Would you be willing to say that we don’t have enough mana and cannot help them? Or, would you be willing to have to constantly ask for help from other temples until the number of nobles here rises again?”

The temple master’s social stature is high and, proportionally, his own sense of self-conceitedness is high as well. I know full well that a man like that would never be able to bow his head to another human being. It seems that my words found their mark, as the temple master starts to turn bright red, perhaps imagining himself having to beg other temples for assistance.

“Tch, if we didn’t have a mana shortage, I’d have that impertinent girl executed imdiately…”

“Provoking her to her face is quite dangerous, Reverend. If you are on the receiving end of that much mana again, your heart might not be able to withstand it.”

I wonder if he has forgotten that it was his heavy-handed behavior towards Ma?ne that caused her to use her magical coercion on him until he fainted? This is the problem with old people.

Reverend B?sewanz audibly grinds his teeth together. As a mild diversion, I decide to bring up the topic of the discussion I had had with Ma?ne’s parents and the agreents that we had co to.

“As the two of us had discussed prior to the eting, it was ultimately agreed that we would provide Ma?ne with a special set of blue robes. Her parents also agreed to our other proposal that she be assigned to not only maintain the magical tools, but also to be given work in the library room as she herself had asked for. This is all as we had planned beforehand.”

I make very sure to hamr in multiple tis that these were points that the temple master and I had agreed on beforehand. This may be due to his age, but he has lately been prone to forgetting the contents of conversations he was part of, whenever it seems to suit him. And, perhaps because he forgot everything just as I expected, he sits there glaring at , with an extrely unwilling expression, like he wanted so badly to object but was unable to.

“Grrrr…”

“Ahh, and then, we agreed that Ma?ne would not live in the orphanage, but instead be able to commute between her ho and the temple. Since there are already many nobles here who have hos that they return to, I did not judge this to be particularly problematic, and gave it my approval.”

“What did you say?!”

The temple master’s eyes fly open wide as he snaps at . This, too, is well within my expectations.

“…I believe that allowing her to live at ho would be preferable to having her demand that since she has been given blue robes she should be given a room in the parts of the temple reserved for the nobility. Do you not agree?”

“Hmph! Well, you’re right in that.”

The choice between giving her a noble’s room and letting her live at ho seems easy for the temple master to understand, so he gives a very unpleasant smile as he nods in approval. It seems that he’s already forgotten his own declaration that he wouldn’t think twice about throwing her into the orphanage, but since he has just agreed, Ma?ne’s ability to commute has been established.

“In addition, because Ma?ne is very frail, it seems that she may be unable to perform her duties every day, but since there is ultimately not a trendous amount of work for a blue-robed sister-in-training to do, I believe that it should not be a problem for her to rest when she is not feeling well.”

“Hah, what an unmotivated little girl.”

It seems like he will not be satisfied if he doesn’t find so way to complain about every single thing. He appears to understand, though, so I rely shrug my shoulders and continue.

“I rely judged that doing so would be preferable to her falling ill while at the temple. …On that note, we also agreed that Ma?ne, in order to manage her condition, would be assigned attendants.”

“That’s unnecessary!”

Reverend B?sewanz’s objection was very much within my expectations, so I simply breathe a small sigh, then deliver yet another rehearsed answer.

“If soone from outside the temple were to see a blue-robed priestess without any attendants, it would only reflect poorly on the temple and, in turn, I believe it would reflect poorly on you. …Besides, as of now we have an excess of gray-robed priests and priestesses. Do you not think that it would be a good idea to simply assign so of those to Ma?ne?”

“…I see.”

Although the blue-robed clergy has left, the gray-robed priests and priestesses have largely been left behind, save for those few who were the favorites of any individuals who were being called away. Given that the donations to the temple from the families of blue-robed priests have diminished, the ever-accumulating expenses of the largely masterless gray-robed clergy are nothing but a problem for the temple.

“Next, according to my investigations into Ma?ne, it seems that she has been registered with the rchant’s guild as the manager of a workshop. It would have been quite simple to be able to tell her that those working in the service of the gods have no need to make money, but I believe that if we can regularly acquire so of the profit from the workshop for ourselves, it would be quite beneficial to the temple. What do you think?”

“Wring her dry.”

“As you wish.”

As the size of the clergy has decreased so much, the amount of money that the temple can earn on its own has diminished. To Reverend B?sewanz, this money is far more useful than the public doctrine of the temple. With this, I have finally gotten his approval on all of the points I had co to an agreent on with Ma?ne’s family. I breathe a sigh of relief.

“For the ti being, in order to avoid causing you any trouble, I plan to personally see to handling all of the burden Ma?ne will bring. If the rchant’s guild is going to be involved, I believe I should be able to handle the additional paperwork. Also, I shall ensure that she never shows her face in this room. Then… ah, yes. When selecting the gray-robed priests to be her attendants, I will assign one of my own attendants to her as well, so that we can receive detailed reports on her activities.”

A light glimrs in the temple master’s eyes, as if he’s found sothing interesting in the idea of being vigilant about Ma?ne. He thoughtfully strokes his white beard, smiling that unpleasant smile that he gets whenever he cooks up another worthless sche.

“Hmm? …In that case, perhaps I should assign soone to her as well? Even that girl should confide in another girl around her age. Delia, I think, would work hard for my sake. And for the others, let’s give her the most troubleso kids we can dig out of the orphanage. Inconvenience her as much as humanly possible. Squeeze every last drop of donation that we can get out of her. After all, there’s nothing else that that… thing is good for.”

“As you wish.”

This beca sothing problematic. Ma?ne is unfamiliar with the details of noble society and the workings of the temple, so I had planned to assign to her an assistant who could help her navigate both of those things, but if the temple master’s protege is assigned to be her attendant as well, then my own actions will wind up being brought to the temple master’s attention as well.

I weave my fingers together in front of , thanking him, then leave his room. Bitter regrets plague as I return to my own room.

“Good grief…”

What a profoundly troubleso temple master. The blue-robed priests and priestesses given to the custody of the temple are largely illegitimate children. Amongst such company, he, a legitimate son from an influential family, finds much to boast about. In truth, he has comparatively very little mana, so he has a terrifyingly powerful inferiority complex towards those given to the temple who have more than he does.

If we are not careful with our behavior towards Ma?ne, there is a good possibility that he may cause her to run rampant again. Besides the fact that her social standing is even lower than mine, she brings with her not just mana and coin, but an aptitude for writing reports and handling paperwork, so to , she is a far more capable person than Reverend B?sewanz.

I look over the report on Ma?ne, and my eyes find their way to the section on her comrcial dealings. With the backing of the Gilberta Company, she was registered with the guild under a provisional apprentice’s license. The products that she has transferred rights to up to this point are “rinsham”, a vegetable-based paper, hair ornants made by knitting thread, “pound cake” and many variations thereof. It would seem that she, as an individual, commands sizable financial assets, to the point where her declaration that she could afford to donate a large gold coin was no exaggeration.

Due to concerns with her physical condition, she abandoned her path towards becoming an apprentice, and instead plans to use Ma?ne’s Workshop, set up for her by the Gilberta Company, to continue to profit from the goods she invents.

“To make this many contracts for new products within just one year… she seems to just think of one invention after the other.”

It seems that the goods Ma?ne’s Workshop will produce will generate spectacularly large amounts of profit. I must ensure that I assign an attendant to her who will be capable of making very detailed reports to , if we are to avoid being deceived by any greedy rchants.

As I consider that thought, I look around at the attendants currently stationed in my room. Now then, who must I assign to be Ma?ne’s attendant? I will need soone deeply loyal to , capable of making accurate reports, and very patient, I think. They will, after all, need to be able to flawlessly handle the trouble that the temple master’s chosen attendant will cause.

“…Fran.”

“Yes, Father, how may I assist you?”

Upon hearing his na, he smoothly steps closer to .

“I will have you beco Ma?ne’s attendant. I would like you to provide with reports on her actions, as detailed as you possibly can. Additionally, please ensure, to the best of your ability, that she does not cross paths with Reverend B?sewanz.”

“Um?! ……Very well, Father.”

For an instant, a discontented frown flashes across his features, but then he nods slowly in agreent. Fran had been present when Ma?ne’s mana went out of control, so it’s possible that the image of the temple master fainting flashed across his mind.

“Her other attendant should be… Ah, yes. Do we have anyone who is particularly difficult to handle, to the point where they would be a poor fit to be assigned to a noble? We must, after all, at the very least appear to take the reverend’s opinion into consideration.”

A look of bewildernt enters Fran’s eyes as he glances nervously around the room. After a mont, he lowers his gaze. Arnaud, who had waited on as I went to Reverend B?sewanz’s room, speaks up, coming to his rescue.

“Ah, I see. How about Gil? He is frequently sent to the ditation room, but never seems to learn. He very much troubles the managing priest.”

“…Hm. Then, let’s have Gil, Delia, and Fran be Ma?ne’s attendants.”

It has been decided who Ma?ne’s attendants shall be. It will take her blue robes another three days to arrive, and Ma?ne’s apprenticeship is set to start in five days.

All of the preparations for Ma?ne’s arrival are very much in order, but I wonder just what might happen next?

Although at this point I was able to imagine that Ma?ne might stir up strife with her arrival, I had not even the slightest idea of just how much chaos she would incite.