Episode 35.4-5

"How about we take it one step further and rewrite the original manuscript here."

Rakrus suggested that on the 26th of month one.

Such thought had crossed Norma's mind hundreds of times already even without anyone pointing that out.

However, she could never bring herself to do it.

She could make it easier to read. Sorting orders, deleting redundancies, making terminologies easier, keeping it consistent, she could have done all that. Even inserting the insufficient parts with conclusions and examples from other notes, or rewriting some parts using the notes Norma's father left behind, tidying up the whole book. Some of the research make that hard, but most parts can have the above applied, as in the end she simply needs to write down the missing conclusions.

However, doing so would erase away the subtle conflicts and buds of ideas her father put in his writing.

Norma's father, Sasfrey is a true prodigy. He managed to compile a systematic research in a world where experience and skills have been split apart everywhere. No one else could mimic him.

Norma may bossily lecture on medicinal plant study. However, all of it was a compendium, a yarn ball of wisdom her father had spun from nothing. You could analyze and give commentaries on it in hindsight. However, only the one who came up with is the true pioneer.

Sasfrey was not skilled with putting words together. However, each and every words and sentences he left behind contain novel budding ideas of a prodigy waiting to be unraveled.

Rewriting them to make them easier to read is akin to pruning those budding ideas.

Of course, only one in a hundred readers could unravel those somethings found between words and sentences. And then among those who have unraveled the budding idea, only one in a thousand can truly reach the real logic, and develop them into a foundation. To all other people, Sasfrey's writing is nothing more than an unintelligible read. Ah, but.

That illegibility in itself may be the impetus for something new. Fragments of truth as perceived by a genius. Scraping them off is like killing off the unparalleled genius researcher Sasfrey.

As someone who has been studying under Sasfrey, and seen how he thought, acted and came up with something, Norma possess the ability to decipher Sasfrey's words. She's been packed enough to form complete sentences from incomplete ones Sasfrey left. But how is that any difference from dragging down a conversation between men and god to the mortal realm.

The more she thinks about it the more she hesitates to make any change on Sasfrey's writing. She believes leaving every words as is for posterity's sake is her mission. She could just put addendum on passages that are too hard or misleading, thought Norma.

Yet on the other hand, Norma also believes that doing nothing would be a disservice.

Sasfrey's greatness cannot be told if the writing isn't made easier. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity bestowed by gods to publish his books. Shouldn't she try to make it easier to understand even if only for one person?

The pebble Rakrus had thrown ended up causing a huge ripple in Norma's mind as she kept ruminating over the issue.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

"Is there something weighing your mind, Norma-dono."

"Ah, please excuse me. I got lost in thought there."

Norma went to Goncourt House for a house call on the 31st of month one.

Goncourt has been regularly requesting for house calls. They only asked for Eda's <Recovery> twice, afterward, the request was directed to Norma. Eda has been keeping busy with many adventurer quests, even Norma hasn't seen her much lately.

Publicly, her relationship with Goncourt House looks to have been restored. As Prado's heir, his grandson was felled by Lecan, so of course as someone who brought Lecan to Goncourt House Norma felt some responsibility. However, both Prado and Kanner the butler interact as politely as they were with Norma outwardly. Their servants don't seem to think ill of her either.

Mysteriously enough, Norma feels at ease whenever she spends times at Goncourt House.

"To tell you the truth."

Norma divulged the thing bothering her while concealing the details. This is a first.

Prado calmly sipped his tea as he listened, then he looked like he was thinking something before eventually speaking again.

"Norma-dono."

Oh, thought Norma.

Prado might act politely toward her, but he always kept a distance, like they were strangers. But Norma herself always considered him as her grandfather, the father of her mother, she always prayed for his long life regardless of circumstances.

However, the tone used to address her name this time didn't have its usual coldness, it was more gentle and like it had come to grips with something. Perhaps, Prado is trying to narrate something to his granddaughter.

"Have you heard about the tale of Mashka Pere and Tanida?"

"Mashka Pere? No. I know not the family name nor that first name."

As he smiled elegantly, Prado narrated an old tale to Norma.