Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Even a Treacherous Subject Has Uses - Part 28
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At the same time, in the study of the Callermain Earldom.
"What in the... is this...?!"
Beonald was extremely disappointed.
'Books' were a treasure trove and means of storing knowledge. As such, they were objects of the highest value that nobles, more than anything else, had to secure and keep strictly preserved to protect their authority.
Since no human could remember everything, and oral transmission of knowledge inevitably led to gradual loss or alteration of information, the value of 'books' was considered incomparably high.
'Is this all there is? For an Earldom?'
Beonald was greatly disappointed upon seeing the study.
One, two, three, four, five. A mere five bookshelves, each slightly taller than Beonald himself. With about 200-300 books per shelf, including both sides, the maximum would be 1,500 volumes at most. But the shelves weren't even fully stocked, so the number was likely even lower.
'No, just what happened here? What is this?'
"Oh my~ Is the new face I've heard so much about the one who's come to this study? What brings you here?"
"Ah... um, well, I came to look at some books? More importantly, who are you?"
"I am Selina, a 4th-rank mage dispatched to this Earldom from the Mage Tower. Currently, I'm managing this study while conducting personal research!"
Introducing herself as Selina, she was a woman who stood over 175 centimeters tall, wearing a robe and a wide-brimmed hat, perhaps to emphasize her status as a mage.
Her looks weren't bad either, enough to easily fit Beonald's standard of beauty. However, being in the 'mage' category, he couldn't help but feel wary.
'Those Mage Tower bastards, all they talk about is money the moment they open their mouths. They go on about seeking truth and origins, but it's always sponsorship, research funds...! And they run the mages as a monopoly, those thugs!'
Even as a High Noble who once ruled the Unified Empire, Beonald couldn't recklessly deal with them. Due to the Mage Tower's monopolistic structure, which held strategic, tactical, and intellectual value passed down since ancient times, his attempts to curb them repeatedly failed. In the end, he could barely control their pressure only by paying a hefty sponsorship fee and affiliating himself with the Tower as an 'Alchemist.'
'And even that wasn't easy! Damn it! Getting the Master rank was tough too.'
The Mage Tower's hierarchy ranged from the lowest 1st rank to 9th, with Master above that. Even with his political and power influence, Beonald had earned his Master rank.
Having no fond memories related to the Mage Tower, Beonald instinctively grew guarded upon seeing her.
"Oh my~ Is this your first time seeing a mage? It's alright. I don't bite, Young Master."
"R-really? I suppose so. Hahaha. Anyway, I'll just look around for now. Well then~"
Fortunately, Selina misunderstood his reaction as that of a country bumpkin seeing a mage for the first time, allowing him to deflect awkwardly.
Beonald tried to slip away, not wanting to engage, but she seemed interested and followed closely behind.
"......"
"......"
"Excuse me, is there something you need?"
"I heard you tamed a griffin? Could I see it sometime? I saw it from afar, and it looked quite large! When did you tame it? And how do you handle its food supply? Waste disposal? Hierarchy establishment? Why is one wing not visible?"
Selina bombarded him with rapid-fire questions. Suppressing a sigh, Beonald answered briefly.
"It's in my room right now. I can't just let it roam outside freely, so I left it there. I tamed it when it was a chick, almost half a year ago. The missing wing is probably due to a birth defect. For food supply, it hunts outside, and waste disposal is handled the same way. Is that enough?"
"By any chance... if it's not too much trouble, could I get some blood or feathers? I'd like to make reagents or catalysts! Oh! Of course, not for free! And while we're at it, I'd love to see its face if you could bring it here. A griffin!"
"Blood is out of the question, but I have some collected feathers I can give you."
"Really? When should I come to get them?"
"No need. I'll bring them here tomorrow. Anyway, I should get back to reading..."
Beonald thus distanced himself from Selina and shifted his gaze to the bookshelves, beginning to pull out books one by one to skim through.
He kept searching, wondering if there might be ancient texts here containing clues about his territory, Benofis, or other information from that era.
'...No substantial content at all. But... hmm? Could it be?'
Beonald noticed something odd. Without even turning the pages, he suddenly looked only at the parts where sentences appeared in the middle of the book and then swiftly flipped through.
Ignoring Selina following behind, he rapidly skimmed through the books. After going through about half a shelf, he realized all the contents were 'manuscript copies.'
'Why are there only manuscript copies? Are there no printed books?!'
"Is something wrong? Couldn't find a book you like, Young Master? If you have an area of interest, you could tell me, and I might be able to find something for you~"
'Just what happened in these 500 years? Does this make any sense?'
In Beonald's time, 500 years ago, 'movable type printing' definitely existed.
A technology that created parts for each character, assembled them into sentences, and then mass-produced 'knowledge' contained in writing, including books. This allowed commoners to own books to some extent, and High Nobles like Beonald could maintain libraries of hundreds of thousands of volumes.
"Hmm? Young Master?"
"Um, so... are there no books printed with movable type? I thought there might be some in the city."
"Movable type... you say?"
'The Mage Tower definitely existed 500 years ago and still exists now. Then they must know the reason for this.'
"Hmm? What's that? Some kind of calligraphy style? We don't have books on calligraphy styles here."
'What?'
Stunned by the answer that she didn't know what 'movable type' was, Beonald couldn't hide his shock.
Just what happened over these 500 years? The fragmentation of the Unified Empire could be seen as a natural historical flow, but for a well-established civilization to regress like this was utterly incomprehensible.
To understand what had happened, Beonald cautiously inquired in a casual, passing tone.
"I see. By the way, if you came from the Mage Tower, you must have come from very far away. The Mage Tower... the image is of a grand tower standing majestically within a mountain range... I've been hunting in the mountains, so I know. Wasn't it quite dangerous?"
"Ah~ I heard they lived in such a place about 500 years ago... but it's destroyed now. So while the name is still 'Mage Tower,' it's essentially a 'Magical University' located in the imperial capital. Of course, they kept the name 'Mage Tower' for symbolic reasons."
'...What happened?'
"Hoo~ Just how incredible is the 'Legacy of Benofis'~ That the sanctuary and homeland of knowledge, the Mage Tower, would collapse, and such a massive upheaval would occur across the entire continent..."
'Could it be... me again?'
He wanted to cry out in disbelief, but Beonald held it in for now.
Just what did they do with his legacy 500 years ago?
No matter how consumed by greed, he couldn't understand how civilization could regress to the point of forgetting printing technology.
'Or is there a Dark God's scheme involved here? No, even in my time, printing technology was ultimately used only as a tool for our noble and clergy rule, and its external dissemination was heavily restricted and controlled.'
Commoners could own books, but that was only because nobles sold off unnecessary volumes. Printing technology itself was managed with extreme importance—to the point of killing those involved without a second thought.
'If something monopolized by a few was suddenly attacked and disappeared, it wouldn't be entirely impossible... but there are too many far-fetched elements.'
"Anyway, there's no 'Tower'-shaped Mage Tower anymore. Any other questions?"
"Ah, none for now. Then I'll quietly get back to reading."
Suppressing another sigh, Beonald realized once more that this world 500 years later, while seeming similar, had changed far more than he'd imagined.
He diligently explored the collection for clues about Benofis or historical records, but as they were all handwritten copies or transcriptions rather than properly printed books, the content was haphazard, with sudden, irrelevant sentences inserted, indicating severe information corruption.
"Young Master, it's almost dinner time."
"Ah, alright, Sein. I'm coming."
Lost in skimming through books, dinner time had arrived before he knew it.
Beonald had to leave the library without achieving any results.
Still pondering the mysteries of the past 500 years, he finished dinner with the Callermain family. Afterwards, Beonald began preparations for hunting and training with Alterio.
'The first day really does feel long. Hoo~ Is it because it's an unfamiliar place?'
Peep!
"Alterio. Paw~ Good boy~"
Knock knock.
As he watched Sein and Alterio play while preparing, a knocking sound suddenly came.
When Beonald called for them to enter, the door opened, and an unfamiliar man walked in, knelt before Beonald, paid his respects, and introduced himself.
"Greetings, Young Master Beonald! I am Erasol Malderob, son of Sir Malderob and squire serving 'Sir Geral.' By order of my father, the commander of this territory, Sir Malderob, I have been assigned to attend to your protection and training from this time onward."
"Hmm..."
The man named Erasol who introduced himself was a tall, handsome youth with bright blond hair and neatly tanned brown skin.
Though a squire serving a knight, being Sir Malderob's son, his appearance—fully equipped with sturdy armor and weaponry—was like a painting, hardly seeming like a mere squire.
With a refreshing smile and a confident, dashing demeanor, he had a likable impression. Yet, somehow, he didn't seem particularly earnest, giving off a somewhat frivolous vibe.
'Well, can't judge everything by appearance alone.'
"I look forward to working with you! Young Master!"
"Right, likewise. But tonight, I'm going hunting to feed this guy, so I won't be using the training room. I'll need you from tomorrow onwards."
"Ah! Then I shall accompany you. Since you haven't been here long, problems might arise while moving through the territory, so I shall attend you."
Erasol's statement, spoken confidently, was reasonable. However, Beonald felt troubled.
Even if he was Sir Malderob's son, Beonald didn't fully trust him yet and didn't want to bring him along, unsure if Erasol knew about his 'knight' status.
But having no grounds for refusal, he had no choice but to let him accompany.
"Fine. Let's go together."
"Yes! Then I shall fetch a horse and have it ready immediately."
"Y-yeah. Oh, right. Sein, don't wait for me. Go in first and rest, and come wake me gently tomorrow morning."
Beonald sent Sein back like that, then left the mansion with the youth named Erasol and Alterio.
Left alone, Sein followed Beonald's instructions, secured his room, then walked through the mansion corridors toward somewhere.
Her destination was the room of Ralt's mother, Lady Meira.
"You came earlier than expected, Sein. Good, now tell me about that wretched Beonald."
"Yes, My Lady."