* * *
The other servants scrambled to grab a cookie, and the room was soon filled with crunching sounds and gasps of delight.
“Holy crap, what did they do to these?”
“I’ve never tasted anything like this in my life!”
“They actually give these to a servant? Wow. Nobles really live in a different world.”
“I’m so jealous. I can’t wait to finish training and get posted to a better household.”
“You will. They say graduating from this academy is as good as a letter of recommendation from the Holy School these days.”
As the chatter buzzed around him, Ranshel casually threw out a question.
“Anyone here planning to go to a monastery?”
“No way. Everyone’s here to earn money.”
“Yeah, unless you’re a super devout believer, no one’s going to bother finishing this whole program just to enter a monastery.”
‘So there’s no one here like that… huh.’
Ranshel glanced around, then said offhandedly,
“Oh. I actually came here to work at the Grand Cathedral of Lima.”
“…What?! But you serve a ducal family! Why would you do that?”
The others stared at him, practically bouncing in their seats with shock.
“Oh, I’m not quitting my current job or anything. I just plan to make time for both. See, my young master is incredibly devout, so he encouraged me to get involved with the church as well. That’s why I enrolled here.”
He waved his hands as if to dismiss their misunderstanding.
Though in truth, he was probably feeding them more false impressions—but hey, a loyal servant like him had to make sure his master’s reputation stayed flawless.
The room went quiet.
Even those mid-bite stopped chewing to gape at him, their eyes filled with a mix of admiration and envy.
Ranshel did his best not to look away.
“…You really have an angel for a master, huh?”
Someone muttered, and another whispered,
“Maybe that’s why the Saint chose him.”
Ranshel’s fingers twitched.
The others turned toward the speaker.
“What?”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t know? It’s all over the place now. People are saying the young master and the Saint are romantically involved.”
“I actually saw them today—walking side by side down the hall at the Holy School…”
“No way. Ranshel, is that true?”
The murmuring died down.
Everyone stared at him, eyes shining, waiting for him to say something.
Ranshel hesitated.
Would confirming this help Zavad in any way?
Sure, he’d heard it straight from the man himself, but saying it out loud to others was a different matter.
Still, he had seen it with his own eyes today: the two of them walking close, affectionate even amid a crowd, completely unbothered by the looks they were getting.
Zavad Pomel wasn’t careless.
Neither was Frey.
If they were acting like a couple in public, then it meant they wanted to be seen that way.
In that case, Ranshel had no choice.
He had to support Zavad.
“…This stays between us, okay?”
He put a finger to his lips and glanced around the table.
Everyone nodded enthusiastically, their faces alight with excitement.
“Yeah, they’re… kind of close. But don’t talk about it outside, got it?”
“Of course!”
“We won’t say a word!”
They all swore to keep the secret, their eyes gleaming with pride.
Ranshel already knew: by tomorrow, this story would be all over the dorm.
Give it a week, and it would spread through every household they worked in.
In a month, there wouldn’t be a soul in Lima who didn’t know.
That’s how rumors worked.
They were passed around under the pretense of being “just between us,” so people wouldn’t feel as guilty sharing them.
That was exactly how the rumors about Zavad being a lunatic possessed by evil spirits had spread, too.
‘Although, to be fair, this one’s not nonsense. They really are a couple.’
A couple…
Ranshel mulled it over and shoved the last of his cookie into his mouth.
He must’ve been low on sugar—he was feeling drained.
He grabbed another big one and popped it in, cheeks puffing out as he chewed.
“That might actually be useful for Ranshel.”
Just then, someone pointed to a stack of books on the dormitory shelf.
Ranshel swallowed and asked,
“What’s that?”
“Probably scriptures or prayer books. I saw the seal of the Holy Temple on the covers.”
Ranshel squinted at the shelf.
This dorm was for beginners who couldn’t even read.
Like Gary, who carried around his prayer book like a lucky charm, even though he couldn’t make sense of it.
“Whose is it? Is it okay to just look?”
“No one’s, really. Basically abandoned. This place used to be a retreat for monks before they turned it into dorms. They left all the furnishings—beds and such—but no one really touches the religious books. Just be careful of the dust when you take it down.”
“Man… Kind of scary to mess with that stuff.”
Ranshel smiled as he lightly skimmed his fingers across the shelf filled with old books.
Just then, someone pushed back a chair and stood up, quietly edging toward the shelf.
“Kon, what are you doing? Are you interested in prayer books too?”
“No, just… looking around.”
“Even if you need money, don’t touch those. You know you’re not supposed to sell things from the temple, right?”
“I said I’m just looking.”
Ranshel gave a sideways glance at Kon, the servant, then glanced down at the cookie box.
The servants were all eyeing the very last cookie, nibbling at the crumbs around it instead.
Ranshel moved the cookie to the center of the box and stood up.
“I’m full now. You guys can split this and share.”
“Wow, thanks!”
“We’ll enjoy it!”
The others broke into smiles, quickly dividing the last cookie among themselves.
Thinking they really were kindhearted people, Ranshel made his way toward the shelf.
“What are you looking at?”
“Oh, nothing really…”
Ranshel watched Kon fumble for a reply.
The cover of the book hadn’t been touched in so long it was completely caked in dust.
Kon extended the sleeve of his robe and gently wiped the edge of the book, not caring if his clothes got dirty.
Ranshel lowered his voice slightly.
“…Do you want to work at the temple someday?”
“W-What? No, I mean, I need money. The temple doesn’t pay well, so…”
“You need money? Why?”
“Well… doesn’t everyone need money?”
“…That’s true.”
Ranshel picked up one of the prayer books from the shelf.
He tried to open it—but the pages wouldn’t budge.
It didn’t feel like paper.
More like he was holding a sculpture made of plaster.
“Has this been sitting here so long the pages fused together?”
“…Oh…”
Kon instinctively brought his hands together in a prayerful pose, then quickly hid them behind his back when he noticed Ranshel watching.
A devout believer, it seemed.
Not that there was any reason to hide it.
Pretending not to notice, Ranshel turned his attention back to the books, taking out one scripture and prayer book after another—but every single one had pages stuck solidly together.
“Guess even if you can read, you can’t read these. Let’s just say they’re for decoration.”
Despite saying that, Ranshel opened his Item Encyclopedia every time he put a book back.
[Item Encyclopedia
+ Unreadable Scripture
A scripture intended for the monks of the temple.
Cannot be restored.
+]
Whether it could be restored or not—he didn’t need to inspect each one by hand.
The system would tell him.
Might as well make use of the tools available.
But every book brought up the same notification.
If it couldn’t be restored, its state couldn’t be changed, and he couldn’t register any further information in the encyclopedia either.
He was just about to return the last book and turn away when—
[Item Encyclopedia]
+ Unreadable Prayer Book
A prayer book with a Primula bookmark.
Restoration required.
+
Ranshel froze.
“Primula?”
The name was all too familiar.
He’d seen it many times before—because it was Charlotte’s favorite flower.
* * *
