01x08 - Lutz's Main

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F: After tense negotiations,

F: Main secured the rights to produce and sell her paper.

F: However,

F: that made Lutz suspicious of her.

F: With his unspoken doubts still up in the air,

F: the two were about to dive headlong into the process of paper making.

Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Title ,Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Ep Ep Title: Chapter Eight Lutz's Main

Mk: This will be your workshop.

Mk: It's already been given a quick cleanup.

Mk: You can see your pot and ashes right there,

Mk: and we'll have your materials brought here as they're delivered to the company.

M: Thank you, Mister Mark.

L: Let's carry the stuff we brought from home inside.

M: Okay.

M: Lutz is interacting with me like usual.

M: I was worried that he'd figured out that I wasn't really Main.

M: I'm glad we've made up.

Mk: I have to return to the store.

Mk: Here is the key to this place.

Mk: Be sure to lock up and return the key every day.

M: Understood. Thank you for everything.

L: So, what are we doing today?

M: Hmm... Decide what size the steamer will be,

M: take another look at the order forms, and...

M: Oh, we also need to make bamboo sticks.

L: Bamboo sticks? For what?

Diagram ,Sign: Drainer

L: We'll put a bunch of them together to make a drainer.

M: It's part of the deckle, used to screen the paper solution.

Diagram ,Sign: Deckle

L: It broke again.

M: These are really difficult to make.

M: Maybe we should just decide on a length and have someone else make it.

L: We're going to the lumberer's to order the steamer and stuff tomorrow.

L: We can ask then.

M: Yeah...

C: Huh?

C: What kinda wood did ya say ya want?

M: U-Uh... To make a steamer...

C: Yeah, so what kinda wood?!

M: E-Er... It should be hard and dry so that the steam doesn't alter its shape.

C: Okay, good. You do know your stuff.

C: I'd say you want hedwan, tworso, or peditree.

C: Which will it be?

M: How am I supposed to decide?

M: Do you know, Lutz?

L: Hedwan is probably the easiest to use.

C: Do ya have a size in mind?

M: Yes, it's on the order form.

M: We would also like a mallet to pound fibers.

M: Something Lutz can hold and swing.

C: Pound fibers?

C: What for?

M: Unfortunately, I can't tell you that.

C: Striking the right balance between hardness and weight will be key.

C: What ya use as a base will also change things.

M: A base?

M: I hadn't considered that.

M: Can we have the mallet and the base made together?

M: I'll write another order form now.

C: Sure, that's not a problem... But you're gonna write the form?

M: Yes.

M: Will this do?

C: Y-Yeah...

C: Unbelievable. This looks good.

M: Oh, one last thing.

M: We want bamboo sticks like this one. Can you make them?

C: Hmm... Precision work like this is beyond me.

C: You should ask a craftsman.

M: Understood!

M: Thank you for all your help!

C: Sure. Drop by anytime ya need anything.

Cr: Bamboo sticks, eh?

Cr: Does it have to be wavy?

M: I was trying to make it nice and straight, actually.

Cr: Then coming to me was the right decision.

Cr: Is that all you need?

M: Can you also make a drainer for us?

M: It's a screen of sorts, with the bamboo sticks tied up in a row like this.

Cr: That seems like a pain, but it's not impossible.

Cr: However, I will need really sturdy thread for it.

M: Sturdy thread?

Cr: Like in spinne webs.

Cr: I can pick something out for you if we can go to a thread seller now.

M: Absolutely!

L: Hey, don't push yourself.

L: You'll go down first.

M: I'll be fine! I'm not exerting myself...

Mk: Then I'll bring her there.

Mk: It seems she's once again in the mood to be carried.

M: Sorry to make you do this again and again.

Mk: Oh, it's nothing. Please don't worry about it.

M: A month and a half later,

M: we had everything in place to start making our paper.

M: Blue skies! White clouds!

M: 'Tis the perfect day to make paper, Lutz!

M: Lutz?

M: Are you okay?

M: Do you want me to carry the steamer?

L: Nah, you can't handle it.

M: Maybe you should take a break, Lutz.

L: Nah.

L: Once we start steaming, we'll have to sit around and wait for a bell's time, right?

L: That can be my break.

L: Okay.

L: I'm gonna go chop some wood.

L: You watch the pot and rest up.

M: But you need the rest more than I do.

L: I can't have you falling sick before we finish the paper.

L: You can pick up twigs or whatever around here, but don't try to do too much.

L: And yell if anything goes wrong, okay?

M: Got it.

M: We're out of twigs.

M: Guess I'll go pick up some more.

M: What is that?

M: That is one red fruit.

M: Is it edible?

M: Ow, hot!

M: H-Huh? What's with this sprouty thing?

M: Lutz... Lutz!

L: What's wrong?

M: What is this?

L: Trombe!

M: Trombe? What's that?

L: I'll explain later!

R: What's the matter, Lutz?

L: We have a trombe!

L: You run away!

M: Okay.

R: See any more sprouting?

F: There shouldn't be.

M: What the... What a weird plant.

L: Are you okay?

M: Yeah... Lutz, what was that?

L: A trombe.

L: If it's not weeded out as soon as it starts sprouting,

L: it'll suck up all the nutrients in the soil and grow in a flash.

M: So that's why it sprouted so quickly.

L: Yeah. It becomes a real danger if it gets too big,

L: and the knight order would have to be called in.

M: They have a knight order? Sounds like a fantasy world, all right.

L: But that's weird.

L: It's not trombe season yet, and it was growing really fast.

L: But it hasn't affected the soil here much.

M: Huh...

L: What? Don't you find it strange?

M: Well, I've never seen one before.

L: Right.

L: You only started coming to the forest this spring.

M: I have an idea!

M: Why don't we try make paper out of that trombe?

M: There's a bunch lying around, and you chopped it down right after it sprouted,

M: so the fibers should still be soft.

M: And so we started making the paper with trombe.

L: Will this do for the steaming part?

M: Probably.

M: Let me try peeling the bark off.

M: Oh, wow!

M: It came off!

M: This might be the perfect material for paper!

L: I'm surprised you can tell.

L: So, what next?

M: We stretch it out and let it dry.

M: When it's fully dried, we wash it in the stream again.

L: Hey...

M: What?

L: Never mind. We'll talk about it when we finish the paper.

L: You can never predict when trombe will grow.

L: We'll have to try other plants as well.

M: Is Lutz still suspicious of me?

M: The paper making process continued to go smoothly,

M: but I couldn't tell what was on Lutz's mind.

M: Today, we boil the dried bark!

L: We just have to let it boil for a bell, right?

M: Yeah, but we also need to stir it...

M: Gah! I just remembered another thing we're missing!

L: What is it?

M: Lutz, make me two long sticks to stir the pot.

Diagram ,Sign: Basically...

M: Bamboo would be nice.

Diagram ,Sign: Chopsticks

L: Will this do?

M: Yeah! Thanks, Lutz!

L: It's impressive that you can hold them like that to stir the pot.

M: U-Uh... Yeah, aren't I cool?

Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm

M: Today's work involves

M: me removing any knots and bruises in the fiber

M: and Lutz b*ating the fiber down.

M: Once the edile fruit mixed in water produces a sticky starch,

M: we mix the fiber in it,

M: completing the paper solution.

M: We finally got to a stage I'm familiar with!

M: You see, I made paper out of milk cartons back when I was Urano.

L: Are you really familiar with it?

M: I've done this before. I got this.

L: When and where?

M: I, uh... I-I...

M: It's a girly secret! No prying!

L: Why are you shaking it like that?

M: It balances out the thickness of the paper.

L: Huh. And you know that because you've done it before?

M: Lutz...

M: Please don't glare at me like that.

M: A few more days passed...

M: Everything went smoothly,

M: and we finished our first pieces of paper.

M: It's paper.

M: It's actually paper.

M: We really did it.

M: It'll be dry by sunset.

M: Once it's dried, we have to peel it off carefully so it doesn't tear,

M: and we'll be all done.

L: So it's as good as finished, right?

L: I said we'd talk when we finished the paper, remember?

M: Do you want to do it out here or inside the workshop?

L: Here is fine.

M: So, what did you want to talk about?

L: Tell me...

L: Who are you?

L: You know how to make paper, and even said you'd done it before.

L: There's no way you're Main.

M: You're right.

L: Then if you're not her...

L: Where is the real Main? Give her back!

M: Okay.

M: I don't mind giving her back,

M: but it'd be better if I did it back home.

L: Why?

M: Because I'm pretty sure only a corpse will remain after I'm gone.

L: Y... Wha... Wh... What are you saying?!

L: You mean she's gone forever?

L: She's never coming back?!

M: I think so.

L: Answer me this:

L: did you devour Main with your fever?

M: That's half-right and half-wrong.

M: I believe that the real Main was consumed by her fever, too.

M: But I am not the cause of the fever.

M: Hell, it's eating away at me, too.

L: What does that mean?!

L: Isn't this all your doing?!

L: Didn't Main disappear because of you?!

L: Tell me I'm right!

M: You know...

M: It's not like I wanted to be Main!

M: I lived and d*ed in a different world,

M: but suddenly I found that I'd become some child!

M: If I had the choice, I'd never have picked such a sickly body!

L: You didn't want to take Main's place?

M: Would you want to?

M: Her body is so frail, just walking a little leaves it bedridden the next day.

M: Is that fever gonna eat you alive, just like Main?

M: Yeah, probably.

M: So if you want me gone, just say so.

M: I'll go away anytime.

L: Why are you telling me that?

M: Because I would've been long gone already if it wasn't for you.

M: I fell sick after Mom used my wood tablets as firewood, remember?

M: At the time, I didn't mind if the fever swallowed me whole.

M: Try as I might, I was never getting my books, so I didn't care anymore.

M: But then...

M: I saw your face,

M: remembered the promise I made to you, and came back to myself.

L: What promise?

M: To introduce you to Otto.

L: Oh, but that was...

M: We met Otto and Benno, so I fulfilled my promise.

M: I even managed to make paper.

M: I do still want to complete a book,

M: but if you want me gone, I'm okay with that.

L: That's just absurd!

L: Since when have you been Main?

M: What do you think?

M: When do you think I stopped being the Main you knew?

L: Why, you...

L: Was it when you started wearing that thing?

M: Yeah, that's correct.

L: That's almost an entire year ago!

L: The family hasn't realized?

M: They have noticed that I'm weird,

M: but I don't think they've ever considered that I might not be Main.

M: Besides, Dad was saying he was happy just seeing how active I'd become.

L: I see.

M: Lutz?

L: I don't think it's my place to decide. It should be Main's family.

M: Are you saying things can stay like this for now?

M: And you're okay with that?

L: Again, it's not my place to decide!

M: Are you sure you don't want me gone?

M: I'm not the real Main, you know?

L: It's fine.

L: It's not like Main will come back once you're gone.

L: Besides, if it's been you for an entire year,

L: most of my memories with "Main" are actually of you.

L: So... You can still be Main to me.

M: Lutz's words made everything fall into place deep inside of me.

M: It may have only been a tiny piece,

M: but it was the final piece of the puzzle that is my life here.

M: And as the river grew colder,

M: and paper-making became that much harder...

M: Mister Benno, we've brought prototypes of the paper.

B: Oh?

M: We've made three samples of varying thickness each from two plants.

B: Let me see for myself how good it is.

B: Wow, it works.

B: It's easier to write on than parchment, but it does blot the ink a little.

B: It's not that big a problem, I suppose...

M: So, do we pass?

M: Can Lutz be your apprentice?

B: You pass.

M: Yay!

M: We did it, Lutz!

L: Yeah!

B: This one is higher quality.

M: We made those from trombe.

B: What? Trombe?!

M: Hmm... It'd be nice if we could mass-produce paper from it.

L: No way! Not with something that dangerous!

B: Do you want to turn the forest into a wasteland?!

M: Huh? We can't use it?

Next_Chapter,Title: Next Chapter The Guild Master's Granddaughter

M: How do you like that, Head Priest?

M: I went and finished my paper!

F: Good. Now you can finally start making books.

M: U-Uh, no. There's a lot left to do yet.

M: Apparently, you need some kind of license to sell paper.

M: And the next step in the book-making process will need even more capital...

F: I see you still have a long, long way to go.