Ascendance of a Bookworm

I am Ferdinand.

What I am about to do is not a pleasant thing. However, for the sake of this town, for the country, I must confirm whether Myne is a harmful presence that brings disaster or a beneficial existence that brings profit.

I looked down at Myne, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to medicine and a magic tool. The hairpin slipped from her relaxed hand with a soft clink.

I picked it up and examined it. Myne is the only one who ties her hair with just a simple carved wooden stick. I thought this was something common among commoners, but even the hair ornaments seen at recent baptism ceremonies are just inserted into tied hair; no one else uses a hairpin like Myne to hold their hair together.

A strange child.

She seems to already have a highly advanced way of thinking, yet she completely lacks thoughtfulness and caution. She knows about Melvil Dewey, who does not exist anywhere in this country, and is aware of the decimal classification system that can't be found anywhere here. She invents things she wants one after another with such imagination.

She rebuilt the orphanage, gave children jobs, and in return provided them food. She loves books dearly and even created a version of the Sacred Scripture for children.

Myne is, without a doubt, not an ordinary child. Even the children of nobles who have been strictly educated couldn’t accomplish what Myne has done. These are not things a toddler who just finished baptism ceremonies would be capable of.

She was originally a peculiar child, but since she never headed in a bad direction, the lord would not lend this magic tool just because of her strangeness.

However, Myne displayed unbelievable mana power during the recent healing rite. To fill such a vast wasteland with mana in an instant is something no ordinary self-eater could do.

Honestly, her mana power now surpasses even the lord’s. As she grows, who knows how far her mana capacity will extend.

A commoner's daughter with terrifyingly abundant mana, who can earn a large amount of money through inventions, is someone everyone would try to win over, causing nothing but conflict among the nobles. Declaring her under my protection will likely provide some safety in this town, but it is only a matter of time before nobles from other territories become aware of her.

If that happens, I don't know if I can protect her fully. And at this point, I can’t even say if she’s worth protecting to that extent.

That’s why this time, the lord told me to use this magic tool. By probing her memories and seeing the "dream world" she spoke of, I must assess her value and judge whether she is harmful or harmless.

"I wish at least to know that she is harmless…"

If dealing with criminals, it's easy to confirm from memories whether they actually committed a crime, but with Myne, I have to find out her value and whether she is a threat by looking through her memories. The judgment will be very difficult.

"... Above all, she will probably be resented."

I will use the magic tool to peek into her memories. After this, she will be wary and will no longer come near. In noble society, where hiding emotions and being extremely careful not to be caught out by words and actions is mandatory, there’s no one like Myne whose thought process shows plainly on their face.

Even at the temple, the head priest must always consider how well they know the person and how trustworthy they are. But with Myne, there was no need to think about double sides. It was a relief to have someone whose emotions were transparent yet did not require caution.

I realized only after losing her that, surprisingly, I liked Myne more than I thought.

I let out a light sigh and took the magic tool left on the desk. I placed the ring with the same red mana stone as Myne’s on my forehead.

Kneeling by Myne lying on the bench, I clicked our mana stones together on our foreheads. Slowly, I poured mana in and synchronized our consciousness.

Normally, since different mana flows in, resistance would be natural. Yet, when I poured mana into Myne, there was no resistance or opposition whatsoever. My mana flowed steadily into her.