The Reward for Saving The World is a Husband - Chapter 32
The dark surroundings began to lighten faintly.
‘This should be enough.’
After checking my condition one last time, I opened my eyes.
It seemed that the servants of noble families in this world usually began moving around this time. Since I had secured enough mana, it was also time for me to start my day if I wanted to make it long.
Recalling the method Elias had used, I manipulated the water system, washed my body, and dressed in the simple dress that had been brought with me last night.
Then, I pulled the cord hanging by the bed. About five minutes later, I heard a knock.
As expected, without waiting for a response, the door burst open, and a man with reddish-brown hair entered the room.
“You woke up early.”
It was Callen, Elias’s lieutenant, who had been assigned to look after me while Elias was away.
“Yes, good morning.”
As he strode over to the window and flung the curtains open, he asked, “Shall I bring your meal now?”
“Would you?”
“Understood.”
With that brief reply, Callen left the room and returned about thirty minutes later, carrying a tray with a bowl of potage and a pitcher of water.
“If you need anything else, please let me know now. I may be leaving the castle soon.”
I paused, spoon in hand, and stared at Callen.
Standing there with his usual stern expression, he didn’t seem inclined to bring up Luna, the woman who had promised to return and apologize, nor did he mention the physician or the priest.
‘Hmm… what should I do…’
It was obvious that last night’s conversation had left him in a bad mood.
‘He seemed fine yesterday.’
Perhaps he had grown more irritated after walking away.
I had no intention of going out of my way to build a close relationship with Elias’s lieutenant, but I also didn’t want to alienate him entirely. So, I decided to pretend nothing had happened.
“Never mind that. Just bring me some books.”
“What kind of books?”
I handed him a list I had prepared. It contained the titles of useful books I had noted while reading in Elias’s office yesterday.
“Ten books from each of these fields. Is that possible? The language doesn’t matter.”
Callen’s eyes flickered slightly as he took the list and scanned it with a curious expression.
“You need these?”
“I need to find something. I know it’s a hassle, but please do me this favor.”
“…Understood. I’ll find them for you shortly.”
Callen left the room with a slightly altered expression from when he had entered.
Thankfully, not long after, he returned with exactly what I had requested. It seemed he was competent enough for his role as Elias’s lieutenant, even if his personality was a bit prickly.
“Will this suffice?”
He had brought over sixty books, using a cart to transport them, and now stood waiting for confirmation.
“It’s plenty. Thank you, Callen.”
Perhaps curious whether I could actually read all these books, Callen lingered in the room, watching me for a moment.
‘He said he had to leave.’
I began to wonder if his earlier comment about leaving the castle had been an excuse to avoid being summoned too often.
Either way, I was in a rush to make every second count. I organized the books by category and immediately started skimming through those I had prioritized.
The first category I tackled was the myths, legends, and heroic tales of this world.
Though such stories are easy to dismiss as fiction, they often hold hidden truths that connect to the “fundamentals” of the world’s structure.
Next, I skimmed through books on geology, biology, pharmacology, medicine, and magecraft
There were two main things I needed to find.
One was the existence and location of materials necessary for reviving my companions. The other was to figure out what I could do to help Elias in this world.
To achieve anything beyond survival, I needed a foundational knowledge of this world, equal to or better than that of someone born and raised here. Acquiring that quickly was essential.
‘Fortunately, it seems the distribution and names of resources, as well as their uses, are not very different from my world.’
If this world had no knowledge of mana or the technology to incorporate it into daily life, I would have been in serious trouble. But just looking at the magic water system gave me hope.
With speed-reading and memorization as the first abilities I had implanted in the laboratory, I could finish skimming through a book in about thirty minutes. As I went through more volumes, I began to skip over redundant information, further shortening the time.
‘Rachdel… It’s one of the most underdeveloped regions of the empire, huh?’
As my understanding grew, Elias’s situation became more apparent to me.