Kazuki Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 5 Volume 10

1. Auflage 2024
ISBN: 978-1-7183-4660-4
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Under the cover of darkness, Rozemyne, Ferdinand, and their Dunkelfelger allies set out to subjugate the Adalgisa villa. But when Gervasio's absence and a betrayal within the Sovereign Knight's Order come to light, the party must switch its focus to the Royal Academy's library. The Divine Avatar of Mestionora goes on a rampage, the Lord of Evil pulls strings from the shadows, and the Zent's sword is finally brought to bear!

The Battle of the Sovereignty reaches its climax in the newest volume of this biblio-fantasy as the wills of the royal family, the Sovereignty, Lanzenave, and Erwaermen all come to a head. Features more than a hundred pages of original content and four-panel manga by You Shiina!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kazuki, Miya

Weitere Mitwirkende

Shiina, You

Quof

Leseproben

Prologue

The scale tipped and creaked under the weight of the herbs placed atop it. One scholar watched it settle through narrowed eyes before removing some of the herbs, while another set about chopping what remained with messer. Detlinde’s elder sister, Alstede, was stirring the pot they were brewing with.

Detlinde couldn’t help but sigh. As part of her plan to obtain the Grutrissheit, she was staying in a villa on the Royal Academy’s grounds. She was waiting quite impatiently in its brewing room, watching her sister and retainers work.

Her boredom aside, Detlinde had known well in advance that it would take them many days to secure the Grutrissheit. She had no qualms about the villa’s bed and board; it was meant for princesses from Lanzenave, so the furniture and such were of the highest quality imaginable, and the rooms were outfitted with all the magic tools one would need to live comfortably. They had already brought chefs, servants, and provisions from the Lanzenave Estate, but that wasn’t all—Raublut, who had prepared the villa for them in the first place, had given them attendants and other supplies from his own home, meaning they even had servers tending to their needs.

On the night of their arrival—or perhaps the following day—something unexpected must have occurred, for Raublut had ordered everyone to stay in the villa. Some voiced their worries and concerns, but Detlinde was unfazed; being stuck in the villa meant she could spend each day as she pleased.

Detlinde chuckled. The Lanzenavians had showered her with praise for teaching them to brew rejuvenation potions. They had watched longingly as she’d ridden her highbeast and then listened intently while learning to create their own. It was thanks to her that they could now make themselves full sets of armor and produce their own mounts. Yes, her had technically taught them how to shape their armor, but the accomplishments of retainers belonged to their charge.

The more she thought about it, the more favorable her circumstances seemed to be. Her jealous fiancé wasn’t around to complain about her relationship with Leonzio, and there were no scholars demanding that she get back to work. It was paradise.

It had taken Raublut three days to lay the groundwork necessary for them to leave the villa without drawing attention to themselves. Leonzio and the Lanzenavians had gone to fetch their schtappe stones, and just a day ago, Detlinde had circled the Academy’s shrines as part of the process to become the next Zent. Having to wait for Raublut’s permission to leave the villa was inconvenient, but there was no helping it, since they did not have the entire Sovereign Knight’s Order on their side.

Detlinde had just finished cleaning the last shrine and was eager to take her next step toward the throne when Raublut received a slew of ordonnanzes announcing that there were intruders at the Royal Academy. She and the others had needed to retreat into the forest and make their way back to the villa, where they were to wait until the Order relaxed its search.

It wasn’t the first time Detlinde had needed to wait in the villa, but that didn’t make it any easier; Leonzio was stuck in his room waiting for his schtappe to be absorbed, meaning she had no one to keep her entertained. She had attempted to have a tea party with her elder sister to ease her growing boredom, but her sister had refused, since she had already agreed to brew with the scholars.

Alstede was an honor student and a responsible young woman who always did exactly as their mother instructed. As commendable as that sounded, it meant she would outright ignore Detlinde until she was done carrying out whatever orders she had received.

Nonetheless, Alstede had cast aside the proposal of a tea party with her younger sister to make rejuvenation potions and magic tools for Lords Raublut and Gervasio. Detlinde was far from impressed.

Their mother had departed to obtain Ehrenfest’s foundation. Detlinde had no idea why the woman was so obsessed with such a backwater duchy... but if obtaining what she desired would make her less unpleasant, all the better.

“Sister, that must be enough for now,” Detlinde said and rose from her seat. “We would not want to miss dinner.” Though she had come to the brewing room, she had not taken part; she had simply watched while one of the attendants worked on her nails.

“We have plenty of time,” Alstede shot back. She made eye contact with the scholars, then returned her attention to the pot she was stirring. She really did value her brewing above a member of her own family.

Detlinde turned away and pouted. “Oh, but you cannot go to the dining hall in your brewing clothes, can you? You will need to return to your room to change. Let us not drag this out; if you insist on continuing to brew, then please make extra rejuvenation potions for me.”

“For you? We are making them for .” Alstede glanced at the scholars and said, “Is that not correct?”

The scholars confirmed that they had made potions for Detlinde as well.

“No, no,” Detlinde protested. “I want rejuvenation potions. Twice as many as anyone else should do. Those are scholars brewing with you, remember; under normal circumstances, every single one of their potions would belong to me. The Lanzenavians are receiving some only as a result of my immense generosity. Preparing more for me should not be a problem at all.”

Her eyes tinged with concern, Alstede explained that they would not be able to make those arrangements while they were following such a strict schedule. “If you desire more potions, then you really should make them yourself... But we can prepare at least two more for you before dinner.”

“Oh my... That simply will not do. Having to cleanse shrine was more exhausting than I can describe. To make matters worse, this is my only day of rest; I will need to resume work on obtaining the Grutrissheit tomorrow, no? As you are going to be staying here in the villa, it seems like the natural conclusion that you should make them for me.”

Though her feet weren’t aching—she had relied on her highbeast to take her from shrine to shrine—she had spent more time outside than she usually would. Spending her entire morning in bed had done wonders to refresh her, but that didn’t mean she was in the mood to brew. She had never really cared for the task and all the tedious labor it required.

“Tomorrow?” Alstede stopped stirring her pot. “Do you have Lord Raublut’s permission?”

Detlinde placed a hand on her cheek. “Not yet, but I must obtain the Grutrissheit posthaste. And you wish to return home, no? I shall ask for your sake as well; that will surely move him.” She was the next Zent, so she saw no reason he would refuse.

“Lord Raublut has the entire Sovereign Knight’s Order to oversee; let us wait here for him. You were spotted while circling the shrines, were you not? If you go outside without permission, I suspect you will get caught.”

“‘Caught’?!” Detlinde cried, her eyebrows raised in outrage. “I am this country’s next queen! To think anyone would mistake for one of the intruders... Even for you, Sister, this is unacceptably rude!”

“I suppose so...” Alstede muttered.

Detlinde sighed. How could anyone make such a basic mistake? There were times when she had to wonder whether the woman before her now really was her sister.

“Do be more careful going forward...” Detlinde eventually said. “In any case, were you not desperate to return home? If we work together as sisters and ask Lord Raublut for this one favor...”

“Of course I want to return to Ahrensbach; Benedikta must be worried about how Lord Blasius and I are faring. But we cannot put Lord Raublut at risk over a little discomfort. Mother told us to follow his instructions when it came to matters of the royal family and the Sovereignty.”

Benedikta was Detlinde’s niece. Any decent mother in this situation would want to rush home to her daughter, but Alstede was prioritizing Georgine’s instructions. It was unfortunate, really—they could easily have resolved the situation by emphasizing the importance of obtaining the Grutrissheit or asking Gervasio to order Raublut to let them proceed.

“Sister... You are always so obsessed with what Mother thinks...”

“That reminds me—has she responded to our letter yet? She should have arrived in Ehrenfest yesterday or earlier today.”

Detlinde had sent out an update as soon as they’d arrived at the villa. In response, Georgine had ordered...