How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Volume 18 Web Novel

Episode 83 - Everyday Life in the Sinister Euphoria Kingdom (Part 2)

　While Jeanne and Lumiere were complaining to Hakuya and Shukin respectively. Elulu, who accompanied Shukin and the others to the Kingdom of Euphoria, asked Jeanne for permission to tour Valois Castle because she was bored during the negotiations. She is, of course, the princess of the Garlan Spirit Kingdom, and if something happens to Elulu, the guest general of the Great Tiger Kingdom, something bad will happen to her, so her guard assigned by Hakuya will act as her escort, and watcher at a distance. watching over her

　Elle said to Jeanne,

"I definitely want to see the library of this castle, which is famous for being the best in the world!"

　I said chamberlainmaidI came to the library after receiving the guidance. And he arrived at the Valois Great Library in Valois Castle. Adjacent to a garden full of beautiful flowers, the mansion was just like the palace of a middle-sized country. That should be it. This mansion was originally a building positioned like a villa in the castle of the Euphoria family. In the past, the emperor's mistress used to live there, but now it's been renovated into a large library.

　Originally, Valois Castle's collection of books was stored in the Great Archives, which was also a splendid library facility, but Hakuya, who loved books, became the king and prime minister, and Sami, who also loved books, became the head librarian. With Jeanne's consent, it was expanded, and this great library was built. From its majestic appearance, you can see how proud this country is of this library.

(Collecting books as knowledge and stuffing them into such a splendid building... huh? It's unthinkable in the Spirit Kingdom, isn't it?)

　Although letterpress printing existed before Soma was summoned, books were expensive for the common people, and the literacy rate in each country was low (although it improved after Soma was summoned in the Kingdom of Freedonia), so reading was a common practice. The custom has not yet taken root in the people, and it has not yet become a form of entertainment. That's why the first value of a book was the 'inheritance of knowledge'.

　People know books because they want to leave their knowledge and thoughts to others and future generations, and those who want to know them to receive them. that's the book how it sways. And it seems that the desire to leave behind knowledge tends to be strong among races like humans and beastmen who can only live for around eighty years at the longest.

　Because I can't live as long as the elves and half-dragons, I guess I desperately want to connect my current knowledge and thoughts to the next. Conversely, long-lived races are less likely to do so. For example, in order to learn about things that happened more than 100 years ago, such as the human race, we would have to seek knowledge from recording media such as books, but in the case of long-lived races, it would be good to ask their comrades who were alive at the time. After all, even a story from over a thousand years ago can be heard with as much credibility as the story my grandmother told me.

　It is said that the "Kojiki" of the country where Soma used to be is a transcription of the origins of the country recited by Hieda Are, but in countries with long-lived races, Hieda Are is everywhere. It is an environment where if there is something you want to know, you can ask the person in question, the need to leave knowledge in the form of a book has diminished. The same goes for Elulu's hometown of the High Elves, the Garlan Spirit Kingdom.

　Then I entered the Great Library. Once you step inside, you will be overwhelmed by the shelves full of books already lined up at the entrance. The air you breathe in is filled with the scent of old paper and ink, and the difference from the air outside makes you think you've wandered into another world. A forest of books. sea ​​of ​​books. It felt like a labyrinth of books.