F: Main went to the cathedral for her baptism,
F: where she got lost and stumbled upon a library.
Flashback,M: So many books...
Flashback,M: Part of it's like a chained library, too.
F: With her heart set on reading all those books,
F: she met the high priest
F: and asked to join the church as an apprentice priestess.
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Ep Ep Title: Chapter Thirteen The Choice to Be an Apprentice Priestess
L: What did you do, Main?
M: Uh... I got lost looking for water and collapsed.
L: There's more, isn't there?
M: I found a library and got too excited.
L: Huh? A library?
M: Yes, a library! A god-given paradise on earth!
M: A room with lots of books!
L: Okay, never mind. I get it now.
W: You left out the most important part.
W: She said she wanted to become an apprentice priestess to read the books.
W: She collapsed while talking to the high priest about it.
L: What's wrong with you, you moron?!
M: Sorry...
L: We're leaving before you get up to any more stupidity!
M: Okay...
M: Even I know I should've been more rational.
M: But now I know how to become a priestess,
M: and they said they'd let me read the scriptures,
M: so all's well that ends well, right?
T: You really stood out during the march today.
G: Of course she did! She's so cute!
M: Hey, Dad.
G: What is it?
M: I'm thinking of becoming an apprentice priestess at the cathedral.
G: What? I dare you to say that one more time!
M: I wanna be an apprentice priestess...
G: Screw that! I'm not letting my daughter go to the church!
M: Wh-Why are you getting so mad, Dad?
G: Priest and priestess apprenticeships
G: are the last resort for orphans who have nowhere else to turn!
G: They're not fit for you!
M: The last resort for orphans? Really?
G: Really! Now never bring it up again!
E: Gunther, Main didn't know. Go easy on her.
G: You're right. Sorry.
E: Why do you suddenly want to become an apprentice priestess?
M: The cathedral had a lot of books.
G: That's what gave you the idea, huh?
G: But you'll have to forget about those books.
G: Stick to what you've been doing and make your own.
G: Would you rather cut ties with us and live with orphans to read those books
G: or live with us like you always have?
M: Huh? Cut ties with you?
M: Why?
G: Apprentice priestesses live at the cathedral and are worked to the bone.
G: You're not cut out for it when you can't even stay on top of your health.
G: Besides, books are very valuable.
G: Do you really think becoming an apprentice will guarantee that you'll get to read them?
T: Do you wanna be a priestess that badly?
T: Didn't you promise to stay with us?
M: Nah.
M: I just wanted to find a way to read those books.
M: I don't wanna be a priestess, if it means parting with you.
T: Thank goodness!
T: So you'll stay with us, right?
M: Yeah! I'll go turn the high priest down when I feel better.
G: I'm so glad you understand.
G: You're my little girl. I'm not letting the church have you.
G: She's starting to develop a fever!
E: She must've relaxed too much, since the discussion's over and all.
E: Go to bed, Main.
M: Okay...
M: In my Urano days, books took priority over everything.
M: I guess I love my family too much for that now.
M: But...
M: I finally found some books.
M: I wanna read them!
M: It wasn't until two days later that the fever got back under control.
L: The master said he wants to talk to you.
L: But you still look pale.
M: I'll visit the cathedral tomorrow and then go see Benno.
M: Will you come with me?
L: Sure, but why the cathedral?
M: To read the scriptures.
M: And while I'm there, I'll worm my way out of the whole apprentice priestess thing.
L: I see.
L: I mean, you're clearly not cut out for life there.
M: Yeah.
M: The next day...
L: Later. I'll come pick you up at the fifth bell.
M: Thanks, Lutz.
L: Don't you dare wander off.
M: Gotcha!
M: Pardon me.
F: Would you be Main?
M: Yes.
F: I'm the head priest here.
F: The high priest has told me about you.
F: Take a seat.
M: Thank you very much.
F: I've been asked to read the scriptures to you until he returns.
F: Sit there and listen.
M: U-Uh, Head Priest...
M: I...
F: If you have something to say, spit it out.
M: I don't want to listen! I want to read it myself!
F: And why is that?
F: Do you not want to learn more about the gods?
M: I do, but I also want to learn all these new words.
F: I see.
F: But these are the holy scriptures.
F: Do you promise not to lay a hand on them?
M: I promise!
M: Thank you so much!
F: I'll start reading now.
F: The God of Darkness spent an unbelievably long spell of time all by himself,
M: I finally get to read a book myself!
F: but one day, he...
M: Head Priest, does this say "Goddess of Light"?
F: That's right.
M: Is this "God of Darkness," then?
F: Correct.
F: That was quick.
F: If you're such a fast learner, teaching you will be worth my time.
HP: Oh, did I make you wait long?
M: The head priest read the scriptures with me, so I had a lot of fun.
M: I truly appreciate it.
HP: That's good to hear.
M: Thank you, Head Priest.
HP: So, what did your parents say?
M: They yelled at me, saying becoming a priestess is for orphans.
F: It's not only orphans. There are nobles, too.
F: Of course, orphans are the majority,
F: but that's because they have nobody to take care of them or refer them to other jobs.
F: I want you to understand that it doesn't take an orphan to be a priestess.
M: But I'm frail and sickly, too.
M: A live-in apprenticeship is impossible for me.
HP: So you didn't collapse the other day because you were unwell,
HP: but because you're sickly by nature?
M: That's right. I have the Devouring...
F: The Devouring?
M: Yes, what about it?
HP: Bring it here!
F: I know.
M: Huh? Wh-What's going on?
HP: I offer the gods my prayers!
M: Wh-What's happening?!
F: Try touching this grail.
M: Huh? May I really?
HP: Yes. Hurry up.
M: Whoa! What's going on?!
F: Main, we would like to speak to your parents.
M: I'm sorry, Dad, Mom.
M: Looks like this has become some kind of big deal!
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
M: Lutz!
L: What's the matter?
L: Did you mess up again?
M: I'm not sure what I did,
M: but I feel like I did mess up, yeah.
L: Urk. Not again.
L: Anyway, Master's waiting.
L: He told me to drag you there by the collar if I had to.
M: N-No!
B: It's been a while, Main!
M: Y-Yes.
B: Now, you will come clean.
B: Tell me everything that happened after you collapsed during the baptism.
B: Depending on that, I may have to rethink our business relationship.
M: So I met the high priest and asked to become an apprentice to gain library access.
B: Use your brain a little, you thoughtless nitwit!
M: O-Ow!
B: And? Did you get permission?
M: When I went home and spoke to my parents,
M: they yelled at me, saying becoming a priestess was for orphans.
M: The head priest was saying there were nobles, though.
B: Didn't you notice the two different church uniforms, blue and gray robes?
B: The blue is for nobility, and the gray for orphans.
B: The orphans get ordered around by the nobles and work for no pay.
B: Since you're not a noble, you'll be a gray-robed apprentice priestess.
B: Of course your parents wouldn't allow it.
M: Oh, so that's why Dad got so angry.
B: So? Were you able to worm out of it?
M: Well, when I told them about my Devouring,
M: they gave me a formal invite for my parents.
B: They're totally out to reel you in.
B: The silver lining is that you can still negotiate with the high priest.
B: You're in luck.
M: What do you mean?
M: And then Benno filled me in on the current situation with the church.
B: A few years ago, there was a coup and political purge in the capital.
B: The number of nobles went down drastically.
B: That reduction in the political class meant a downturn in the nation's power.
B: That's where the blue-robed priests in the church came in.
noble,Sign: Noble Society
B: They had fallen out of favor with their parents and been dumped in the church,
B: but now they returned to noble society.
B: That meant the church lost the blue robes' obligatory donations.
B: They were also the ones employing the orphans,
B: who were now out of work and having a hard time surviving.
M: That sounds like a disaster!
B: There's an even bigger disaster.
B: The grail you touched is actually a magical item.
M: A magical item?!
B: That's right.
B: Normally, the blue robes stored their mana within it,
B: but a lack of supply could mean smaller harvests.
M: What? Mana even affects the size of harvests?!
B: Yeah. That's why, with fewer nobles around now,
B: the church is in dire need of people with the Devouring.
M: Uh, what does mana have to do with the Devouring?
B: Wha... You didn't know?!
M: Most commoners have next to no mana,
M: but the few who are born with a lot of it suffer from the Devouring.
M: Ah! That raging fever is actually mana?!
B: Before the coup,
B: nobles despised those with the Devouring for possessing mana as commoners.
B: But things have changed.
M: The church needs my mana?
B: Correct. If you join the church, you'll be able to live on.
B: But at the same time, it's risky.
B: As you possess both mana and money, nobles will see you as fine prey.
B: So, Main, how about you sign a new contract with magic?
M: A contract for what?
B: One that states Lutz will sell everything you make.
B: Even if a noble tries to steal you away,
B: this contract will guarantee that you can contact us.
B: Forge an unbreakable pact with Lutz while you still can.
M: An unbreakable pact with Lutz...
M: But what if that puts Lutz in danger or hurts him?
L: Your survival is more important.
L: Besides, if I sent you off alone, I'd have a constant headache
L: worrying about what you might do.
: Jeez.
B: Listen up. If you already have your invitation,
B: that leaves you very little time.
B: First, officially register the Main Studio with the Guild,
B: and secure an outlet for your goods.
M: Got it.
B: If money can buy you better treatment,
B: have a revenue stream ready before you negotiate with the church.
B: Prepare all the means you can think of to survive in that world.
B: Rather than getting exploited after you join,
B: find someone there to have a give-and-take relationship with.
B: Consider each and every aspect of your situation.
B: Fight with all you have to live on!
M: Uh...
M: Why are you getting so worked up for me?
B: The longer you live, the more products you'll create,
B: and the more profits for us.
Ma: Master's worried about you, since you're always walking a tightrope.
B: Shut up, Mark!
Ma: I won't go as far as saying he sees you like his own daughter,
Ma: but he is genuinely concerned for you.
Ma: Of course, so am I.
M: Thank you, Mister Mark.
B: Just him?
M: Of course I'm grateful to you too, Mister Benno.
M: Please help me with the contract magic and registering with the Guild.
F: Oh! You want to register Main Studio?
F: And here I thought you would be an apprentice merchant at the Gilberta Company.
M: I gave up because merchant work would be too physically demanding.
F: In that case, would you divert Main Studio's products to our company?
M: Hey, I gave you the pound cake, remember?
F: You did. And Liese's obsessively trying out different flavors for it.
F: You should come taste them.
F: Not with Lutz, but your older sister.
M: If you want to estimate the demand for a product,
M: you should canvas opinions from a wide range of people.
F: A wide range of people, you say?
M: I know! How about throwing a sampling party?
M: You prepare bite-sized portions of various pound cake flavors
M: and ask the guests which ones they liked best.
F: That sounds like the perfect idea!
F: Things are about to get busy!
F: I'll send word as soon as we set a date!
F: Toodles!
L: See? Isn't she just like you?
B: She sure is.
M: What's up, Lutz?
L: Are you really gonna join the church?
M: Yeah, probably.
L: Oh...
M: Look, Lutz. If you wanna say something, out with it.
L: I don't wanna. It'll make me sound lame.
M: I see.
L: You liar.
L: You said we'd make and sell books together.
M: I'm sorry, Lutz.
L: You don't have to apologize.
L: I know I can't do anything for you.
L: But...
L: It still hurts.
L: You said you'd run a bookstore with me...
L: I really wanted to make books with you.
M: I know...
M: But I won't give up on making books even if I join the church.
M: I'm not giving up on my ambition so easily!
L: What, to live a life surrounded by books?
M: Exactly. Let's both do our best to make our dreams come true.
L: I... I was only able to give my all because you were with me.
L: And I wanted to keep it up at Master's store with you.
L: I wanted to do so much more with you!
M: Don't worry.
M: Nothing will change if I join the church.
M: Whenever I wanna make something, you'll be the first person I ask for help.
L: But people already know your creations are valuable.
L: They'll be lining up to help you.
M: Even if I do work with someone else, I get the feeling it won't go so smoothly,
M: and that I'll end up calling on you anyway.
M: Will you help me?
M: You're gonna bring all my ideas to reality, right?
L: Yeah! I'll make anything and everything you think up!
L: {ED}
Title: Next Chapter Conclusions
M: Take that! And that!
M: Next up, we answer the summons from the church!
M: Take that! And that!
F: What are you doing?
M: I need to fight to secure the best treatment for myself!
F: Leave that to your parents. You can't handle it.
M: No, but I need to fight for myself...
F: I warned you.
01x13 - The Choice to Be an Apprentice Priestess
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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.