It’s Been 500 Years as an Extra, and the Original Story Still Hasn’t Begun - Chapter 115
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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500 Years as Just an Extra,
The Original Story Still Won’t Begin
Episode 115
‘They have all sorts of books here?’
Since Retis was a family that placed great importance on magic, most of the ancient books on the third floor were related to magic.
However, one bookshelf was packed with combat-related books, including various mana cultivation methods and weapon arts.
‘Well, knights would need theoretical study when training too.’
But was it okay to just leave these kinds of books openly in the library? In most noble families, all of this content would be treated as secret techniques.
Ailesia leaned against the railing and looked down below.
Elenora was quite diligently searching for books, with Hilda beside her giving various explanations.
Rebecca was also skimming through a book, and from what she could see, she seemed interested in orthodox romance novels. Even the cover title and illustrations were quite explicit.
‘Amazing, what unexpected charm.’
What was with that innocent sensibility from one of the few Aura Masters in the Tigel Knight Order? She thought Rebecca only liked cute things, but this was surprising.
Anyway, the three people on the first floor seemed to be enjoying themselves, so she should take care of her own business. Ailesia sent a message to Bella, who was sitting quietly at the central desk.
[Bella, if you’re not busy, could you come up to the third floor? I need a little help.]
Bella, who had been reviewing documents, flinched and looked around. Then, as soon as she spotted Ailesia waving from the third floor, she hurriedly got up from her seat.
“You didn’t need to come up so urgently.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t keep Teacher waiting.”
Bella, who had grabbed her skirt with both hands and run straight up to the third floor, smiled while her shoulders heaved.
It wasn’t flat ground but stairs she had sprinted up at full speed, so she was bound to be out of breath. Ailesia looked around at other bookshelves for a moment until Bella caught her breath.
“…In the end, I delayed time. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.”
When Ailesia gently patted her shoulder and smiled brightly, Bella’s earlobes turned bright red.
‘I thought she was really wonderful even from a distance, but…’
Her tall stature, brilliant blonde hair reaching her waist, and sparkling blue eyes. Up close, she had such gorgeous looks that even another woman would fall for her.
In contrast, her humble actions and friendly smile had a charm that melted people’s hearts. It seemed natural that the servants who had met Ailesia praised her beyond compliments to the point of worship.
“I’d like guidance about the books here, if possible? Since they’re ancient books, I feel a bit burdened to just take them out and read them carelessly.”
“Should I give you an overall explanation? Or you can comfortably tell me what specific part you’re looking for.”
“Have you read all the books in the library?”
“I only know the essential information including main contents, authors, and publication years.”
Isn’t even that much incredible? If you combined all the books in here, there would easily be tens of thousands, and if she had memorized them all, she was no different from a walking library search engine.
“Then could you briefly explain the books on this bookshelf?”
“This is a section that gathers books necessary for the knights’ training. These are books that must be read to become an official member of the Tigel Knight Order.”
“All of these?”
“To become an official knight, you must pass two written exams. It’s the same when getting promoted.”
The Tigel Knight Order wasn’t an elite group for nothing. It meant they didn’t just accept anyone as a knight simply for training hard.
Usually in other families, once experience and skills accumulated, they would appoint knights, but there were often cases of waiting because positions weren’t available. This was because there were limits on the number of knights proportional to the head’s title or territory size.
There was only one family without such restrictions. Naturally, it was Retis.
The Retis Duchy was not only responsible for defending against magical beasts in the Gardbale Mountains but was also a border region with the adjacent Melantia Kingdom. Even before being elevated to Grand Duke, they already held the title of Marquis as a border count.
‘I read a book about the history of the Retis family in the Town House library.’
While asking questions about several notable books, Ailesia stopped in front of an unusual bookshelf.
Unlike the other open bookshelves, this one had sliding doors covering the front and even a large lock attached. It clearly looked like it stored important documents.
“What are these bookshelves?”
“These shelves store the personal collections and records of previous Grand Dukes.”
Was this the family record Termion had mentioned? He had definitely said it couldn’t be accessed without his permission.
“Can I look at this too?”
“Of course. Please wait a moment.”
Bella unhesitatingly pulled out the string hanging around her neck and selected one key from the key ring at its end to unlock the lock.
“It may look like an ordinary door and lock on the outside, but if forced open, an emergency bell will sound throughout the entire building. Simultaneously, spatial distortion will occur inside the library, sealing it so no one can enter or exit.”
No wonder there was such an enormous magic circle carved into the ceiling—it must have been a security device. It was so sophisticated that anyone below High Mage level wouldn’t even notice it.
“Termion gave permission for me to read these, right?”
“Yes. However, you must read them standing here, and the list of books and documents you access will be reported to His Highness the Grand Duke. Is that acceptable?”
“Of course.”
Just opening the family records to an outsider was already an extraordinary measure, so it wouldn’t make sense not to follow even simple rules. Ailesia nodded and examined the books on the shelf.
“Some of these books overlap with ones on other shelves. Why are they specifically kept here?”
“Because handwritten notes or hidden notes are often found between the pages of these books.”
“Do you organize all of those too?”
“No. For the books here, I only record the titles and dates. The contents can only be accessed by His Highness the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess Dowager. To be precise, the Grand Duchess can access them as well.”
In other words, these were books that only direct family members could read. She had to find as much information as possible, if only out of gratitude to Termion for readily opening them to her.
‘…I have no idea where to start.’
The Retis family’s history was a little over 400 years, right? If her memory was correct, it should be around that long.
The first time she had gone out for entertainment was about 100 years after her possession, when the Retis family was just establishing itself.
Thanks to that, she had lost all motivation and headed to the Northern Continent. It would have been terrible if she had interfered and caused complications even before the original story began.
“Ha, how ridiculous.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing.”
Ailesia, who had momentarily gotten emotional thinking about the past, smiled awkwardly and pulled out five books at once.
She had chosen them because they had no titles and were just thick leather bound with string, and as expected, there was a memorandum from one of the previous Grand Dukes mixed in.
‘These must be records from an era when even basic bookbinding methods didn’t exist, but they’re in good condition.’
She floated the five books in midair and turned the pages simultaneously. This was speed reading magic she had learned from Master, a good method for acquiring a lot of information in a short time.
The only downside was that overusing it would cause headaches. It required concentrating several times harder than usual.
Whether Bella, who was watching from the side, gasped or not, Ailesia mechanically repeated the process of skimming through books and putting them back.
Her page-turning speed was so fast that it took at most about 5 minutes to finish reading all the books she had taken out.
After thoroughly going through three bookshelves and reaching the fourth, the pages floating in midair suddenly stopped.
“This is…”
Ailesia, whose head was starting to throb, pressed it once and waved her hand. The other books returned to their places, leaving only one notebook bound in fine leather.
“Bella.”
“…Yes?”
Bella, who had been half-dazed by Ailesia’s incredible reading method that was hard to believe even while watching, hurriedly straightened her posture.
“I tried to put them back in their proper places, but I’m not sure if they’re correct. I’ll read this one slowly, so please check them first.”
“It’s, it’s fine. You can do it later after Teacher has finished reading everything.”
“Oh come on, since we’ve already opened it, it’ll be easier to organize it right away, won’t it? You’re standing there like you’re on guard duty, so I feel bad about it.”
“…Then I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”
After directing Bella’s attention to the bookshelf, Ailesia leaned against the railing and leisurely opened the notebook.
‘The Former Grand Duke’s diary.’
Next to the traces where paper had been neatly torn out, neat handwriting caught her eye.
April 13th
A young boy named Termion came to the castle.
It was the day my life changed for the second time.
This was the content written on the first page of the diary of Landrit, Elenora’s father and Termion’s half-brother.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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