B: {ED}
F: One failure after another throws Main into despair and illness.
M: The fever in my body is smaller now?
F: While bewildered by her strange fevers,
F: she looks to walk down a new path all the same.
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Title ,Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Ep Ep Title: Chapter Six Meeting
M: Lutz, you will do as I say. I won't hear any objections.
L: Wh-What's gotten into you?
L: Stop! Don't do this!
L: You could've just said you were gonna wash my hair.
M: If I had, you would've ran away.
L: Urk.
L: What brought this on, anyway?
M: First impressions are important.
M: So you'd better dress your best tomorrow, too.
L: I don't think it'd change much, honestly.
M: You should still do everything you can.
L: Ah, that felt good.
M: Say...
M: What do you wanna achieve by becoming a traveling trader?
L: Where did that come from?
M: Your parents can't get you a referral here, so you should really think about it.
M: Unless you have a goal in mind, you won't land an apprentice gig.
L: Do you have a goal in mind?
L: You wanna be a merchant yourself, don't you?
M: As my second option, but yes.
M: And I do know what I wanna do as an apprentice merchant.
L: What's that?
M: I wanna sell paper.
L: Paper? Not books?
M: I don't think there's much demand for books here.
M: But paper is a different story.
L: Hey...
L: He said the third bell, right? Aren't we here too early?
M: Better too early than late.
M: Oh, there he is.
M: Remember your greetings.
L: Y-Yeah.
M: He brought someone with him?
O: Heya, Main.
M: Good day, Mister Otto.
M: Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with us today.
M: This is Lutz, my friend.
L: Hello, I'm Lutz!
L: It's a pleasure to meet you!
O: This is Main. The captain's daughter, and my assistant.
B: An unbaptized child is your assistant?
O: I'm grooming her for the role by teaching her how to read and write.
B: Huh...
O: This is Benno, an old buddy of mine from my days as a traveling trader.
O: He may have a foul mouth, but he's a nice guy deep down.
M: Hello. I'm Main.
M: It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
B: Oh, how very polite of you.
B: My name is Benno.
B: The pleasure is all mine.
B: If you don't mind me asking, what is that on your head?
M: A hair stick. I use it to tie up my hair.
B: Just a piece of wood, I see.
M: Indeed.
M: It is just a piece of shaved wood.
B: Wow.
B: Tell me, lass.
B: What did you do to make your hair so shiny?
M: I made a mix of surprisingly common items.
M: The details are confidential.
B: Your hair looks just as splendid, lad.
L: Main washed it for me.
B: Tch. I see.
M: Too bad!
M: I have no intention of putting my golden goose into play just yet.
O: So...
O: Lutz, you want to join the traveling trade, I hear?
L: Oh, yes.
L: I...
O: Forget about it.
O: Only a fool would relinquish his citizenship.
M: "Citizenship"?
O: The right to reside in any given city.
M: Then if you don't have one...
B: Without it, you'll have no proof of identity.
B: You won't be able to get a job, rent a home, get married,
B: or anything else.
O: You know how children get baptized at age seven?
Bo: Yeah...
O: That's when you get your citizenship.
O: If an outsider wants to obtain one,
O: he has to cough up an absurd sum of money.
L: But...
O: Besides,
O: the life of a nomad is nothing like city life.
O: For example, what do you do when you need water?
L: Draw it from a well?
O: Right. But you won't necessarily have access to a well on your travels.
O: You'll have to find a watering hole yourself.
L: Couldn't I just go to the river?
M: And how would you know where it is?
M: You won't be traveling along one the entire way.
L: Oh...
O: Main's right.
O: That's why a family's routes are passed down through generations in this trade.
O: Those routes are too valuable to share with outsiders.
O: And the most important issue here is the finish line.
O: Do you know what a traveling trader's ultimate goal is?
O: Citizenship.
O: They save up money so they can leave their rough travels behind
O: and live in peace in the city one day.
O: That's every traveling trader's dream.
L: But that's...
O: Do you really think they'd accept you after you cast your citizenship away?
O: That is the reality. Give up on joining the traveling trade.
O: That said, Main did a propose an idea.
O: Is becoming an apprentice merchant not good enough?
L: Main?
M: I figured you should hear from someone who has lived that life.
M: But now that I've heard all that, even I think the traveling trade's a bad idea.
L: So you've been looking out for me, huh?
M: But hey, apparently apprentice merchants get to go out of town to stock up.
L: Apprentice merchant, huh?
B: Do you want to be a merchant?
L: Yes, sir!
B: I see.
B: And what can you sell?
B: What do you want to sell when you're a merchant?
L: Well...
B: If you can't answer that, we're done here.
M: Do you want to make my paper for me?
L: I do have a goal, sir!
L: I'll bring all of Main's ideas to reality!
B: So the lass will think of creations, and you'll make and sell them?
B: Do you want to be a merchant too, lass?
M: As my second option, but yes.
O: Is handling paperwork at the gate your first?
M: My first option is to be a book seller, or a librarian, even.
B: Say what? "Librarian"?
M: Uh... A caretaker of sorts for books.
B: That's a job for nobility.
M: Tch! Darn those lucky nobles!
B: So, do you have any ideas right now?
M: Yes.
M: I want to produce and sell paper that's not made from animal skin.
B: Paper that isn't made from animal skin?
M: That's right.
M: I'll produce paper using plants.
B: Did you just say "plants"?
M: I did. It'll be cheaper to produce than parchment,
M: so I'm sure it'll make for some very profitable merchandise.
B: I see.
B: So, how exactly will you produce it?
M: The details are confidential!
B: I'd like to see this paper. Do you have it?
M: Not yet.
M: We'll have a prototype by the time of our baptism next summer.
M: You can decide whether it's usable or not then.
B: Very interesting. That's fine by me.
L: Yes!
M: We did it, Lutz!
M: Let's do our best!
: Yeah!
M: Mister Otto, thank you very much for today.
O: It certainly was a fun day off.
B: Be it her conduct or her speech,
B: nothing about her indicates an unbaptized child of a soldier.
O: Her family is perfectly ordinary.
O: She's the odd one out.
B: Plant-based paper, eh?
B: If they succeed, it will turn the market on its head.
O: Wait just one moment! Are you thinking of making her your apprentice?
B: Of course I am.
B: She's already thought of hair sticks, a way to make hair shine,
B: and plant-based paper.
B: She's sure to have all kinds of other ideas up her sleeve.
B: I'm going to have both of them join me.
O: Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
L: I know you're pleased,
L: but don't get too worked up or you'll develop another fever.
M: But we're gonna make paper! That's one step away from books!
M: Yahoo!
L: Okay, sure, but how are we gonna make it?
M: Uh-oh...
M: We don't have the tools.
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
T: How'd Main's meeting go?
E: Looks like she and Lutz have been accepted as apprentice merchants.
T: What? Really?
T: I was sure she had no chance.
E: It's conditional, though.
M: We need a steamer, a deckle, and...
M: Paper making happens in two steps: extracting the fiber, and molding it.
M: First, you chop wood,
M: steam it,
M: and then skin it.
M: When that's done,
Red ,Sign: When
Red ,Sign: When that's
Red ,Sign: When that's done
Red ,Sign: When that's done!
M: once you've separated the useful fiber from everything else,
M: you b*at it down and unravel it.
M: And after that,
Red ,Sign: And
Red ,Sign: And after
Red ,Sign: And after that
Red ,Sign: And after that!
M: you screen a mix of the fiber, water, and starch with the deckle.
M: You then couch the paper and press the water out.
M: And once you dry it, you're done!
M: If we don't have the tools, we just have to make those, too!
M: I'll ask Lutz tomorrow if we can make all this equipment.
G: I'm home.
T: Welcome back, Dad!
G: I'm home.
M: Oh, welcome back, Dad.
G: Don't feel too bad, Main.
G: You can find someone else to apprentice with.
M: Why did all three of you just assume I had no chance?
M: I'll have you know I was accepted.
T: It's conditional, though.
L: A tree that'll provide the raw material?
M: Yeah. I want you to find a soft, young-ish tree with long and sturdy fibers.
L: Hmm...
L: I'll try asking someone who knows a lot of about trees and wood.
M: Thanks.
M: Also...
M: Could you make these tools, Lutz?
L: Do you have nails?
M: Nails?
L: Yeah. I can't make anything without them.
M: So yeah, we don't have the equipment to make the equipment we need.
O: I guess you'll have to make the nails first.
M: It's no laughing matter!
M: By the way, what made you want to become a soldier?
M: Didn't you say citizenship was expensive?
O: I did it so I could marry Corinna.
O: It was not long after I turned fifteen and became an adult.
O: I came to this town and met The One.
O: I was sh*t through the heart the moment I laid eyes on her.
M: Long story short,
M: he fell for Corinna at first sight, bought his citizenship,
M: and became a soldier.
O: Oh! Do you want to make a deal, Main?
M: A deal?
O: Yeah. If you tell me how to make hair shiny,
O: I'll pay for your nails.
M: Really?!
M: But why would he care about the Simple All-In-One Shampoo?
M: Who actually wants it?
M: The wife?
M: It's the wife, isn't it?
M: I can't teach you how to make it, but I don't mind trading some for nails.
O: Bartering, eh?
O: Very well.
O: We have a deal!
M: And so, I was invited to visit Otto's home on the next day off.
M: Wow.
M: This place hardly feels like the same town anymore.
O: Is this your first time coming to the north side?
M: Yeah.
M: Soldiers aren't very rich, so most of them live in the south, right?
M: How come you get to live here?
O: My brother-in-law didn't want to be separated from his dear sister,
O: so he told us to live upstairs in the family home.
M: Huh...
O: Here we are.
M: What? This is your home?!
O: We live on the third floor here.
M: I'm amazed he got the green light to marry such a rich girl.
C: Welcome! I'm so happy you came!
C: I'm Corinna, Otto's wife.
M: Hello, Missus Corinna. I'm Main.
M: I've been looking forward to seeing you!
C: You really are a polite young lady.
C: Also...
C: Your hair is so pretty!
C: Forgive me.
C: Let me show you inside.
M: Corinna may be young, but she's already part of the top brass at the Seamstress Guild.
M: Tuuli was greener than her hair with envy that I was getting to meet her idol.
C: I'm ready, Main.
M: Okay.
C: My hair is so smooth now...
M: I hope you like it.
C: I very much do!
C: Thank you, Main.
C: Say, may I ask you something?
M: Yes?
C: How is Otto at work?
C: I'm worried because he had to give up his merchant's life for me.
M: I don't think you have anything to worry about.
M: He's still very much a merchant at work.
M: He always haggles with people that come on deliveries,
M: with his merchant's spirit burning bright.
C: I see. His merchant's spirit...
C: I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
C: How do I look, Otto?
O: M-M-Main! Don't you have something to do?!
M: I might remember something once I have my nails.
M: Score!
M: We decided to use the nails to make a deckle right away.
M: Can you make them to exact measure to avoid any gaps when they're stacked?
L: Exact measure?
L: I don't have the tools for that unless I ask my dad or brothers.
M: Do you think they'll let you borrow them?
L: Hmm...
L: I dunno.
Flashback,D: Merchants are cold, heartless monsters that only have money on their minds!
Flashback,C: Forget becoming an apprentice merchant
Flashback,C: and become a craftsman like your father and brothers, Lutz.
M: Lutz, will you be all right?
L: Don't worry! I'll work things out!
L: Oh, I went around asking lumberers about the tree.
M: Really?
L: Really. They told me about soft trees like...
O: Main, Lutz.
O: For you.
O: An invitation for you two.
L: What's it say?
M: Mister Benno wants to see you and me.
Flashback,B: I'm going to have both of them join me.
Flashback,O: Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
Flashback,M: Mister Otto.
Flashback,O: What's the matter, Main?
Flashback,M: I wanted to ask you something.
Flashback,M: Do you know of any illnesses where your fever suddenly grows or shrinks?
Flashback,M: It always feels like the fever's eating into me.
Flashback,O: Never heard of anything like it, sorry.
Flashback,B: No idea.
Flashback,M: I see.
Flashback,M: Thank you.
Flashback,O: She's unbelievably frail.
Flashback,O: There's no way she can work for you.
Flashback,B: It may be the Devouring.
Flashback,B: If it is the Devouring,
Flashback,B: she'll die very soon.
Next_Chapter,Title: Next Chapter Seeds of Suspicion
F: It seems you've taken a step closer to making plant-based paper.
F: That's exactly right!
M: Anyway, Head Priest,
M: what did he mean, I'll die very soon if it's the Devouring?
F: Exactly that, but what do you want to know?
F: How someone with the Devouring dies?
F: Terrifyingly, a person on the brink of death due to it...
M: Eek! Not another word!
M: I can't stand pain or scary things!
F: As you wish.
01x06 - Meeting
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Anime series based on a light novel and manga series written by Miya Kazuki and illustrated by Yō Shiina.
Anime series based on a light novel and manga series written by Miya Kazuki and illustrated by Yō Shiina.