M: {ED}
F: To sate her desire to make books,
F: Main completed her clay tablets.
F: But her attempt to fire them ended in another failure.
F: Then came summer...
F: And the day of Tuuli's baptism.
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Title ,Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Ep Ep Title: Chapter Five Baptisms and Strange Fevers
Karla: My, Tuuli! You look adorable!
W: Congratulations, Tuuli.
T: Thank you.
M: It is customary in this world to throw a grand celebration for seven-year-olds.
M: The same day, they are baptized at the cathedral.
C: Must be nice to have girls.
E: You do only have boys, Karla. Ralph, Lutz, Sascha and Sieg.
C: What can I say?
C: It's so tiresome.
C: Wow...
C: You even did your hair up so nicely.
C: You look like a princess, Tuuli!
T: Main did it for me.
C: What? Main did?
C: So she has more to her than her unusual recipes.
W: Hey, look. I've never seen a hair ornament like this before.
W: You're right. It's so pretty.
W: How was it made?
W: Wow! Amazing!
M: The hair ornament I made is that unusual?
G: No way!
G: I'm not going to a meeting on such an important day!
M: Only the kids get to enter the cathedral, right?
G: It's a father's duty to wait at the cathedral's plaza during baptism.
M: Isn't it also a father's duty to go to work and provide for the family?
G: I know, I know.
G: Let's go down Central Avenue!
T: What?
M: Smile.
M: As long as you're smiling, you're prettier than anybody else.
T: Sheesh, Main. Don't lie to me.
G: Time to go!
M: Dad...
M: We need to go.
G: Tuuli...
M: You won't make it for the meeting!
O: You're late, Captain!
O: I told you about the meeting today, didn't I?
M: While Dad attended the meeting,
M: I was to practice writing.
G: Otto.
M: Mister Otto's in a meeting right now.
G: Hey, Main.
G: I forgot about that.
G: What do I do now?
M: Shall I read it for you?
G: You can read?
M: I know how to read identification papers and introductory letters from nobility.
M: Mister Otto taught me.
G: It's the latter.
G: Please.
M: He has a referral from Baron Blon,
M: and is going to visit Baron Glaz.
M: This needs the captain's stamp,
M: but he's in a meeting.
M: Show him to the waiting room for lesser nobles.
M: A merchant with a noble's referral
M: should understand if we explain the situation to him.
G: We're going home, Main.
G: We're leaving before Otto catches us.
M: Wait, Dad!
M: I need to report something to him!
O: Main?
M: Oh, Mister Otto!
M: A merchant with a noble's referral is here!
M: I've had him shown to the waiting room for lesser nobles,
M: so please see to him immediately!
O: Well done! That's my assistant!
G: My daughter, you mean!
M: Dad...
E: Is that so?
T: Also, the cathedral was really beautiful and spacious!
G: Really? Good for you.
T: Yep!
M: Tuuli.
M: This is for you.
T: What is this? So cute!
T: And so yummy!
E: Those are some interesting shapes.
E: You may really have a talent for cooking, Main.
T: Thanks for making this.
T: And the hair ornament, too.
T: I was really happy today.
M: Tuuli is such an angel!
G: We have presents for you, Tuuli.
E: They're work clothes and tools.
E: Take good care of them.
T: Thank you, Dad, Mom!
M: Good luck being an apprentice seamstress.
T: Thanks!
M: Will she have to go to work every day?
E: Only for half the week at first.
T: For the other half, I'll go to the forest like always.
M: I see. Thank goodness.
E: Main's baptism is coming up next year, too.
T: Have you decided what to do for apprentice work?
M: Yeah. I wanna run a bookstore.
T: A bookstore?
M: Uh... I'd be selling books, so a merchant, I guess?
G: Well, I don't really understand,
G: but it's fine as long as you have a goal.
G: That aside, this is for you.
M: What is it?
G: You'll be helping with housework in Tuuli's place from now on.
G: You'll need this to get firewood and forage in the forest.
M: A Kn*fe!
M: Can't I use this to make wood tablets?
M: I'll chop wood into thin strips,
M: shave the surface to smooth them,
M: and write on them.
M: All done!
wood,Sign: ABCDE
M: If I make a lot, they'll be a fine substitute for a book!
M: Thank you, Ancient China!
M: Yahoo!
M: This Kn*fe... is too heavy!
M: Lutz and Tuuli are amazing.
M: I should start with what I can do, too.
M: Well, that's how it goes at first.
M: This could work!
L: What are you making now to replace the clay tablets?
M: Lutz.
M: How could you tell these were a clay tablet replacement?
L: I mean,
L: you're having so much fun.
L: Looked like you were about to rub your cheek against the wood.
L: You were also fascinated by the clay tablets, remember?
M: I had no idea! That's so embarrassing!
L: So, what're you making?
M: Wood tablets.
L: Wood tablets?
L: You'll write on these this time?
M: Yeah. I need lots of these.
L: Okay, I get it. I'll help you.
M: Really?
L: Yeah! But in return...
L: Can you introduce me to this Otto person?
M: Mister Otto?
L: I wanna ask him about the traveling trade.
M: I'll ask when I go to the gate tomorrow.
M: But he's a busy man.
M: Sorry in advance if he refuses.
L: That's fine.
L: Thanks, Main!
M: Mister Otto.
M: How does one join the traveling trade?
O: Huh? You want to be a traveling trader?
O: Wait, is this my fault?
O: The captain's gonna k*ll me!
M: Oh, no! My friend does, not me!
O: Oh...
O: Then you should tell them not to bother.
M: Ah, I knew it.
O: You know what?
M: From the way he spoke, I figured it wasn't a popular profession.
O: Well, he'd probably catch hell from his parents.
M: Also, I thought that a life of constant travel
M: would be too hard on a city kid.
O: If you know that much, why not give him your own advice?
M: Rather than a city kid like me,
M: he'd probably listen if you gave him a dose of reality.
O: Hmm...
M: You have ties with merchants, don't you?
M: If he looks to become a merchant,
M: he can leave the town at times to stock up on goods.
O: If you're acting as a go-between,
O: you must like that kid a lot.
M: Lutz has helped me loads.
M: I want to repay him when I can.
O: I see. Hmm...
O: The next day off should be fine.
M: Thank you, Mister Otto!
M: Oh, right.
M: How do I write on the wood tablets?
M: Slate pencils won't work.
M: Mister Otto, can I be paid in ink instead of slate pencils?
O: You'd have to work three years for free. No advances.
M: What?!
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
M: Mister Otto said he can see you on his next day off.
L: Really?
L: Thanks, Main!
M: I hope it proves to be a good meeting for you.
M: Now I just dry them.
M: Next up is...
M: Ink. Ink?
M: Should I go catch an octopus or a squid or something?
M: Now I can write!
M: Not! Where's the sea even supposed to be?!
M: Ash?
M: Ash could work!
M: Mom!
M: Can I have that ash?
E: No. It's used to make soap,
E: thaw ice, and do all kinds of things.
M: I see.
M: How about soot, then?
E: My! You'll clean the oven for me?!
M: Huh?
E: Good luck, Main.
M: So yeah, I did my best.
M: I was bedridden after that, though.
L: Bedridden again?
L: Are you okay?
M: I'm fine now.
M: Anyway, let's try using this soot to write.
M: Guess I'll try mixing it in water first.
M: The soot and water will probably separate.
L: Why not try writing with it?
M: Okay.
L: It's getting fuzzy.
M: This won't work.
L: What next?
M: I think mixing it with oil is the obvious choice, but...
L: No way you can get oil.
M: Mom won't let me have any.
M: What else?
M: It doesn't have to be a liquid. If I can make something like a crayon or pencil...
M: That's it!
M: Let's try mixing it with clay.
Bo: All right!
M: Done!
M: How long should we let these dry?
L: Beats me.
M: Wanna try f*ring them?
L: Don't try anything stupid. Do you want another expl*si*n?
M: Urk.
M: Anyway, I can write on wood tablets with this.
M: I've taken a step toward my book-making goal.
M: I'll dry these in storage, too.
M: Huh? They're gone!
M: Why?
E: What's wrong, Main?
M: Mom! Do you know where the wood tablets here went?
E: Wood tablets?
M: They were wood pieces in all shapes and sizes,
M: but they all had their surface smoothed!
E: Oh, the firewood you brought home?
E: I used it, of course.
M: You used it?
M: Why?
E: You can finally help with housework,
E: and you tried so hard to bring that firewood home.
M: I wanted to turn your bedtime story into a book.
M: That's why I gathered those.
E: Oh, if you just want me to tell you bedtime stories,
E: I'd be glad to.
M: That's not... the point...
E: Main?
M: What's happening?
E: Main?
E: Main!
M: I feel like the fever's eating away at me.
M: I'm slowly fading away.
L: Main!
M: Lutz...
L: Are you okay, Main?
L: I heard you collapsed suddenly.
M: Sorry to have worried you.
L: I'll go get your mom.
M: It didn't work out again.
M: Mom b*rned... my wood tablets.
L: Ah... Well, they do look like pieces of wood.
M: I'm fated to never finish a book!
L: Don't b*at yourself up.
M: Lutz?
L: You just need to pick a material that doesn't burn, right?
M: You're so nice, Lutz.
L: I-I need you to introduce me to Mister Otto!
L: So you have to get better no matter what. Got that?
M: Yeah. Thanks, Lutz.
M: But even the bamboo strips Lutz brought me...
M: What was that noise?
M: Mom, what happened?
E: I thought Lutz brought us bamnicht wood,
E: but apparently not.
M: You b*rned it?
E: You don't need to worry. Just rest up.
M: The anger at something I made being b*rned,
M: the frustration of that anger not being understood,
M: the reality that no matter how many things I try, I can never have my books...
M: I've had enough.
M: If my efforts will never amount to anything,
M: then I might as well disappear, right?
Flashback,F: Main.
Flashback,F: Main!
Flashback,F: I'll help with whatever you want to do.
Flashback,F: I need you to introduce me to Mister Otto!
Flashback,F: So you have to get better no matter what. Got that?
M: That's right! I have to keep my promise!
M: I must get better and introduce him to Otto!
M: It's gone down.
M: The fever in my body is smaller now?
M: There's something wrong with this fever.
M: It att*cks me from the inside
M: and keeps changing in size.
M: What illness does this body have, anyway?
O: Are you all right now?
O: The captain told me that your fever didn't go down for five days.
M: Yeah, but I'm fine.
O: You look pale in the face.
M: I've been racking my brain over something.
M: I've tried all sorts of things to make something I want,
M: but I just couldn't do it.
M: What would you do in my shoes?
O: You can just hire someone to do it for you.
M: Hire someone myself?
M: That sounds like a great idea,
M: but what if I don't have any capital?
O: Persuade someone who can do it into doing it for you.
O: If it goes well, you don't hurt your bottom line at all.
M: Once a businessman, always a businessman.
M: But I'll keep that in mind.
O: Oh, right.
O: About that meeting we had to postpone...
M: And so, we decided on a suitable day for Lutz and Otto to meet.
M: "Be at Central Plaza by the third bell."
O: He's a boy you're referring,
O: so I'm sure he'll be very amusing.
O: I'm looking forward to a fun day off.
M: Huh? What's that about?
M: Isn't it gonna be just a meeting?
Next_Chapter,Title: Next Chapter Meeting
M: Head Priest, is there anything special about the upcoming meeting?
F: Why would I know anything about the affairs of commoners?
M: Even you don't know, huh?
F: Unlike you, I do have a good idea,
F: but I'm not going to jump to conclusions.
M: What? Tell me if you have an idea!
01x05 - Baptisms and Strange Fevers
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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.