Ascendance of a Bookworm

"Today, Rosemine passed all her lectures."

On the night I passed all my lectures, during dinner where everyone gathered, Wilfried said just that.

"Brother Wilfried... what do you mean by 'passed all her lectures'?"

"I mean you could have taken a bit more time."

At his words, the girls who had been studying desperately nodded. Apparently, some of them hadn't finished their classroom studies yet.

Losing a goal you had worked hard toward and looked forward to is like aiming to go to the library but having it closed before you pass. Putting myself in that position, it’s an unbearably harsh situation.

…Just when I was about to pass, the library closes? That’s just not fair!

Feeling my chest tighten, I glanced around at the girls.

"As for the measurements of Schwarz and Weiss, we need to coordinate with Teacher Hilsure, so we won’t be heading there immediately tomorrow. We still have some leeway until we hold the meeting and decide the date."

Though it's decided that I will go to the library tomorrow, I told them there wouldn’t be any measurements done then. The girls seemed slightly relieved. However, Wilfried frowned and shook his head.

"I don’t care about the measurements. There’s something we need to properly discuss before Rosemine gets more excited than she already is after going to the library."

…Hmm? Was there something we needed to talk about?

"Now that you’ve finished the lectures, it’s time to engage in social activities. As Ehrenfest, I think it’s best to decide how much information we release as the current trend, and prepare common answers to frequently asked questions. What do you think?"

"Recently, there have been many questions we’ve struggled to answer, so this will be helpful."

At Wilfried’s words, all the civil official apprentices lit up. It seemed information exchange was lively among them, and they’ve been bombarded with questions lately.

"Those who have already contacted other territories, what questions were you asked? And how did you respond? I want to use those answers as a basis. From now on, even the lower years will attend social events."

Answers came quickly in response to Wilfried’s question. The initiative to group students by specialty for the academic improvement committee seemed effective, as opinions were coming in regardless of factions.

Some upperclassmen had even held tea parties on the previous earth day, and it seemed information exchange during lectures was also active.

The hottest topic was apparently the secret behind Ehrenfest’s academic improvements. Besides the first-year students passing classroom studies at once, rumors were spreading that two lord candidates were among the top performers.

"They ask about the sudden improvement in classroom scores, but the answer has already been decided, right? It’s the achievement of Ehrenfest’s saint. Next year will be even more surprising, so we've been instructed by Hartmut to answer like that."

I haven’t given any instructions, but that’s apparently how it’s being handled.

"So far, the improvement is basically in classroom studies, so this will suffice for this year. Next year, it will depend on how much mana those who learn Rosemine-style mana compression can produce. That's when Ehrenfest’s evaluation will change significantly."

It sounds like next year will be even more troublesome. I’m already not looking forward to it.

"Please keep the information about education in the lord of winter’s nursery, picture books, karuta, and playing cards confidential. We want to maintain our advantage in classroom study scores for now."

"Understood."

Wilfried nodded gravely. "That should be fine regarding academic improvement."

"I was asked about the shine of my hair at the tea party. I just answered that Lady Rosemine lent me Rinshan the day before the promotion ceremony. I was asked many things, like where to buy it and how to make it."

It seems the effect of using Rinshan to make hair shiny was noticed among the female students at the promotion ceremony. I hadn’t heard much about it around me, so I didn’t know.