The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

To clear up any misunderstanding—Eris hadn’t been slacking off and just fooling around instead of studying.

Her desire to become a grand mage was genuine, and her interest in exploring new theory books was entirely sincere.

It was just that Eris preferred to get the annoying, bothersome tasks out of the way first.

When eating, she started with the things she didn’t like so she could save the tasty parts for later, and when given homework, she didn’t procrastinate until the last minute—she finished it as soon as she received it.

From Eris’s perspective, reading the book handed to her by that ill-tempered librarian was no different from a homework assignment.

That’s why she handled it first before anything else—it wasn’t because she disliked studying and wanted to read a novel instead.

...Well, continuing to read until the end instead of stopping at a reasonable point and finishing the next day—that was a miscalculation. But since it ended up saving her time, there was ultimately no problem at all.

Lunchtime.

Eris, trying to stave off the drowsiness brought on by her lack of sleep and the dull morning classes, was sipping coffee when the noble girls sitting at the same table began chatting.

“By the way, did you hear? Apparently, a weirdo showed up at the Lowten Training School.”

“A weirdo?”

“He’s the adopted son of Count Grimloon. Supposedly, his theory grades are abysmal, but no one can keep up with him in practicals. There’s a rumor he’ll be one of the representatives in the upcoming exchange event.”

There were currently four “training schools” in the Ravellocia Kingdom.

The schools held regular exchange events to promote camaraderie, but as with any such event, rivalry and comparisons between the schools were inevitable.

The highlight of these events was the mock battles between each school’s representative students. And since these battles were observed by members of the royal family and the Sky Academy, students with high ambitions worked hard to be chosen as representatives.

Of course, this had little to do with Eris.

Her skills were so unrivaled within the Aldridge Training School that if she weren’t selected as a representative, there’d be no point in having the event at all. In fact, during the last exchange, she had crushed the other schools’ representatives with overwhelming power.

“What do you think about it, Miss Eris?”

What do I think? Just being compared to some student from a second-rate school is offensive.

“You’ll win again this time, won’t you? Right?”

Of course I’ll win. Is that even a question?

“We can’t let our school lose to the others! I need something to brag about to my parents!”

Even if Aldridge wins, that’s because I am excellent, not you. What exactly are you bragging about?

Though Eris responded inwardly with biting sarcasm, her tone remained calm and composed as she replied aloud.

“Thank you for your support. The world of magic is full of unpredictability, so I won’t let my guard down, but I do intend to give it my all.”

With her words combining grace and humility, the young noble ladies squealed in delight like birds flocking to a nest.

While keeping up her carefully crafted smile, Eris sighed inwardly.

It was a different kind of exhaustion—one that drained her spirit.

Wasting time and mental energy like this was so pointless. She’d be better off reading one of the novels the librarian handed her...

...No, what am I even thinking?

She quickly shook the thought out of her head.

Clearly, she wasn’t fully awake. She figured another cup of coffee would help.

***

Eris returned to the library on the third day after receiving the theory books.

And no one was more surprised by that fact than Eris herself.

To think it only took me three days to finish and fully absorb an entire theory book.

Considering it had taken her nearly three weeks to grasp a theory book of similar difficulty in the past, the improvement was staggering.

Just having an easy-to-understand annotated version had produced such drastic results.

And considering the existence of those magical books she hadn’t yet obtained, she could only describe the discovery of that library as sheer luck.

If only the librarian—who just sat at the counter reading his own books, regardless of who came in—weren’t there, it would have been a much greater stroke of luck.

“Ahem!”

She gave a pointed cough to announce her presence, and only then did the librarian glance her way.

Still as sharp-eyed as ever, Eris muttered under her breath.

“...Do you not understand the concept of customer service?”

The librarian shrugged.

“Not everyone in a given profession is perfect at their job. Sometimes it’s good to have a slightly deficient librarian here and there, don’t you think?”

Was that supposed to be a joke?

Eris stared at him steadily, trying to read any expression from his face, but his blank demeanor gave her nothing to work with.

In the end, she simply shook her head and handed over the books.

The original theory book. The annotated version. And the novel that was... tolerable, though still useless.

“It’d be nice if the next book was a magical one.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t promise that.”

“Isn’t it a librarian’s job to find a book when a customer asks for one?”

“If it’s a book from the first floor, sure. The ones on the second floor are closer to being off-limits items.”

He just had to get the last word in.

Eris sighed and held out her hand.

“Fine, just give me the question.”

“Very well.”

The librarian took a sheet of paper from a drawer and handed it to her.

[In the story, the protagonist Ralph lures a rampaging, starving ogre toward the cottage of a kind elderly couple in order to prevent it from attacking the village. The villagers, saved thanks to Ralph, praise him as a hero, but Ralph himself is tormented with ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) guilt. What is your opinion on Ralph’s actions?]

As Eris carefully read over the question, she soon noticed something and raised an objection.

“Hold on. This kind of question doesn’t have a clear answer.”

“That’s fine. For subjective questions, as long as you provide an answer, any response will be accepted as correct.”

“Are you serious?”

“What would be the point of lying about something like this?”

Eris stared at the librarian’s face, trying to gauge whether he was being sincere, but his expression remained aggravatingly unchanged.

She fell into momentary thought.

Purely in terms of difficulty, the question was incredibly easy.

Technically, she could write a single word and still pass.

But—

‘...In the end, he’s the one who gives the reward.’

Judging by her previous experiences, even if Eris did pass with such a shortcut, the librarian would still keep his promise.

Only, the book he’d bring from the second floor would be some worthless, irrelevant item. And that wouldn’t count as breaking the rules.

So it was better to answer sincerely if she wanted to receive a better reward...

“Hmm.”

Eris hesitated to open her mouth.

If the question had asked her to write down something specific from the book, it would be easy. All she had to do was pull it from memory.

But giving her personal opinion like this was a lot more awkward. There was no clear standard.

‘...No, this is all for the magical books.’

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

With the opportunity to improve her skills right in front of her, a little embarrassment was a small price to pay.

Trying to maintain a calm facade, Eris finally spoke.

“I think the protagonist is incredibly foolish.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“If he hadn’t made that choice, the ogre would’ve headed straight for the village. There would’ve been huge casualties. The lives of two elderly people can’t be compared to the whole village’s. The protagonist did the right thing.”

“If that’s the case, doesn’t that make him a wise man, not a foolish one?”

“No. He’s foolish.”

Eris said it with conviction.

“He’s suffering so much, yet he doesn’t take any action. He doesn’t visit the old couple’s surviving family to offer compensation, nor does he even make a grave for them, fearing someone might find out what he did. And yet, he drinks himself to sleep every night because he’s afraid to close his eyes. Isn’t that just pathetic?”

If he believed what he did was right, then he should live proudly with his head held high.

If he believed it was wrong, then he should try to atone for it.

But wavering in that gray area, doing nothing—that was true foolishness. Eris criticized him harshly.

“I see.”

The librarian nodded.

Eris asked, “Do you think the same way?”

“No, not at all. In fact, if the protagonist had done that and then boasted about being a hero, I’d have felt disgusted. But that’s what makes this interesting. Comparing different opinions is enjoyable.”

His face remained unreadable, but his eyes looked a little softer than usual.

“Here is your reward, and the next book for the quiz.”

With that, the librarian pulled out five books and handed them to her.

Two theory books, their annotated versions, and one novel.

“That’s quite a lot.”

“You approached it seriously. It’s only fair you’re rewarded accordingly.”

“Hmph. At least you understand that much.”

She scoffed, but couldn’t hide the satisfaction on her face.

It was a similar feeling to when she had completed a difficult task set by her master and received praise.

‘...No, wait. Get a grip. This whole situation is weird to begin with!’

Startled by how accustomed she was becoming to all this, Eris shot a glare at the librarian.

Had it been one of her classmates, they’d be trembling, wondering what they’d done wrong.

But it didn’t affect the librarian in the slightest.

“Oh, and I recommend saving the novel for last. It’ll be less of a distraction that way.”

That smug, slippery face of his...

Holding back the urge to sock him in the jaw, Eris left the library without so much as a goodbye.

The “I look forward to your next visit” she heard behind her couldn’t have sounded more irritating.

***

That night.

“...If there was a defect in the book, I’d at least have something to complain about.”

Checking over the books she’d received, Eris muttered bitterly.

The theory books were filled with concepts so advanced that most training schools wouldn’t even attempt to teach them, and the annotated editions broke those complex ideas down in a way that just slipped right into the reader’s brain.

If reading unprocessed wheat and eating cake made from milled flour are the two options—well, that comparison said it all.

Back when she lived with her master, Eris had seen real magical books a few times, but honestly, these annotated theory books felt even more valuable than some of those half-baked magical tomes.

Her instincts urged her to dive straight into the theory books, but she pushed them aside for now and picked up the novel lying in the corner.

“So I should read it last because it’s distracting, huh? Hmph.”

What a cheap provocation, she thought, sneering.

The last time she borrowed books, she read the novel first too, and aside from slightly reduced sleep the first night, it didn’t affect her study of the theory books at all.

Like reading one novel could send her emotions all over the place or disrupt her routine. Please.

With complete confidence, Eris opened to the first page.

A detective in a hunting cap and coat, always with a pipe in his mouth.

The trusty assistant who followed him like comic relief.

The charismatic villain rival who radiated menace.

The protagonist and his rival fell together into the waterfall—

[To be continued in the next volume.]

“.......”

Eris said nothing.

It was a very, very long silence.