02x02 - Blue Robes and Uncommon Sense

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F: Main has become a blue-robed apprentice priestess at the cathedral.

F: However...

Flashback,D: The high priest asked me to give you a headache.

Flashback,Gi: You're just a commoner, not a noble, right?

Flashback,Fr: The head priest just told you to discipline any misbehavior.

F: The class discrimination, difference in values,

F: and her retainers' rebellious attitudes leave her bewildered.

Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Ep Ep Title: Chapter Sixteen Blue Robes and Uncommon Sense

F: Now...

F: Let me give you a rundown on the work you're expected to do here.

M: Sure.

M: As I'm sure you're aware,

M: blue robes are for born nobility.

M: But you were granted them as a commoner,

M: and you can assume that nobody looks favorably upon that fact.

M: The high priest even refused to administer your oath-taking.

M: As such, it has fallen upon me to supervise you.

M: Does it not bother you that I, uh...

F: Merit is what matters to me.

F: Especially now, with the blue robes dwindling in number,

F: and most of the work coming my way.

F: I know I can count on you to handle paperwork with ease,

F: so why would I ever hold anything against you?

M: Did he investigate my work at the gate, too?!

M: I'll do my best.

F: Good.

F: I'll have you file paperwork as my assistant.

F: And then comes your work as a blue-robed priestess: prayers and mana dedication.

M: Mana... dedication?

F: Fran, bring us the dedication shield.

F: Main, touch the magic crystal in the center.

F: Imagine sending your mana into it.

M: Whoa, a magic circle?

M: Oh, my mana's being drained.

M: So this is how I'm supposed to discharge and "dedicate" my mana.

M: Wait, are those lighting up?

F: Hmm... Seven small crystals' worth.

F: How do you feel?

M: Er, kind of refreshed. My body feels much lighter.

F: I see.

F: When you dedicate your mana, make sure not to strain yourself.

M: Well, the mana offering doesn't seem like too much hard work.

F: Your final task for now is to read the scriptures and memorize them.

M: You've got it! I'll head over to the library right now...

F: Before that, I'd like to discuss your donation.

F: Arno, bring the account book.

M: I get it! This is important, but I don't care!

M: Right now, all I care about is the library!

M: Library, library!

Gi: Why do you wanna go to the library? Are you stupid?

D: Seriously.

D: A poor, pea-brained kid wants to read? Give me a break.

Gi: What's with that look?

Gi: You're not all that different from us!

Gi: Where do you get off wearing blue robes and acting all bossy?

Gi: Those robes don't make you the least bit scary.

Gi: I have the high priest backing me up.

Gi: Must be nice having a real master, Delia.

Gi: I don't think of you as my master.

Gi: I won't listen to a word you say,

Gi: and I'll give you hell.

Fr: Gil!

M: I'm glad we agree on that.

M: I don't see you three as my retainers, either.

Fr: Lady Main... I'll have to report this to the head priest.

F: Feel free. I bet that's your job, anyway.

M: You can't just dump three strangers on me and expect me to trust them.

M: I can smell the ink...

M: and the old paper in the air.

M: Paradise on god's green earth!

Fr: This is a copy of the scriptures.

M: Whoa! It's like the book wants me to read it!

M: How long has it been since I last read a book?

Gi: ...y.

Gi: Hey!

Gi: It's time for lunch!

M: I don't need any.

Gi: Huh? Who doesn't need lunch?

M: Go ahead and eat without me. I'm not your master anyway, right?

Gi: What the heck are you talking about?

Gi: Retainers have to be granted the gods' blessings by their master...

M: Stop bothering me.

M: All quiet now. Much better.

M: Lutz!

M: That wore me out!

L: Oh, you do look a little pale. Good job fighting it out.

M: Is Benno at the store?

L: Yeah.

M: I'll stop by, then.

M: I need to talk about my donation.

M: Uh, why are you following me?

Fr: Well, we're your retainers.

D: Meeting someone without your retainers is out of the question.

M: You don't have to come along.

Fr: I'm afraid we're going to need to.

Gi: Fine, then. I'm out.

Gi: I'm starving thanks to a certain clueless someone, after all.

M: Delia, Fran. You two may head back, too.

Fr: But Lady Main, when you're meeting someone...

M: Delia, I want you to pass along a message.

D: Who, me?

M: Yes, you.

M: I'll be back with my donation whenever Benno's free.

M: Tell the head priest that for me.

M: I need this message to get across, so do it right.

D: Oh, you need it, do you? Very well.

Fr: I don't know about this.

Fr: I can go talk to the head priest, but...

M: I have Lutz with me, so I'll be fine.

L: You sure about this?

M: Yeah. It seems like Fran would rather serve the head priest, anyway.

M: Maybe that'll change if I become a better master than him,

M: but what are the odds of that happening?

L: None. You have zero gravity and presence.

M: You can say that again!

B: Main, you complete and utter moron!

B: Please don't tell me you walked here from the cathedral dressed like that!

M: I did... What's the problem with that?

B: Everything!

B: You're wearing blue priestess robes!

B: Blue robes are normally nobles, and nobles travel in carriages.

B: Do you know why that is?

B: It's because they get kidnapped for ransom!

M: Kidnapped?!

B: If you understand, never wear that outside the cathedral again!

M: U-Understood!

M: After I changed,

M: I told Benno that I was asked to bring in my donation.

B: Just do that, then.

M: It's a lot of money. I'm scared of taking it all the way myself.

M: So I want you to come with me.

B: Just have your retainers take care of it.

Ma: Come to think of it, where are your retainers?

Ma: I don't see them around.

M: I can't trust them with this!

B: For someone so thoughtless all the time, you're being surprisingly careful.

B: I guess they must've assigned you some awful servants.

M: Awful doesn't begin to describe it.

B: I can't say I didn't see it coming. They must really see you as a nuisance.

M: I don't care as long as I get to read!

L: Mister Mark, do you have a moment?

Ma: What is it, Lutz?

L: I have a question about this product.

M: Lutz...

B: The lad's giving his all to become a merchant.

B: He's asking questions about everything he doesn't understand

B: and trying to learn what's common knowledge in this trade.

B: How about you?

B: Are you trying to grow into your role as a blue-robed priestess?

M: All I've done is complain.

B: Remember, you chose this path.

B: If you want to read your books in peace, learn to command your retainers first.

B: Learn how to act and speak like nobility.

M: Got it.

B: So, when do we have to deliver the donation?

M: I told them we'd do it whenever you were free.

B: You thoughtless nitwit!

B: That's basically saying we'll bring it at once!

B: Mark, hurry up and get things ready!

Ma: Understood, sir!

Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm

Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm

M: The heck? I've never seen this place.

M: Wait, is this the front entrance?!

Fr: Lady Main.

M: Hey, Fra—

M: Oh, right.

M: I need to act like a noble.

M: Mister Benno, please meet my retainer, Fran.

M: Fran, can we see the head priest now?

Fr: Everything is ready for you.

M: Fran actually responded to that.

M: I guess speech and mannerisms really do play a big part.

B: Boy.

B: You're going to make the lady collapse.

Fr: My apologies.

B: You should pay attention to how fast you're walking.

Fr: I understand.

BMa: On this auspicious day, bathed in the light of the God of Fire, Leidenschaft,

BMa: we pray that the gods bestow their blessings upon this meeting they guided.

B: Nice to meet you, Head Priest.

B: I'm Benno of the Gilberta Company, and I'm here at Lady Main's invitation.

B: It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

F: I bless you from my heart.

F: May the God of Fire, Leidenschaft, guide the Gilberta Company to greater heights.

M: They call that "blessings"?

M: I didn't know they used mana like that.

M: How do I climb on like a noble?

M: No way! Impossible!

M: Whatever shall we do now, Fran?

Fr: Pardon me, Lady Main.

M: Whoa, I got through to him.

M: His attitude has changed a little.

M: And then,

M: after Benno presented my donation and a gift from himself...

F: Since you're here,

F: I'd like you to answer a few questions for me, Benno.

M: I'm not sure what's going on, but I do know a brutal fight's about to break out!

M: Don't lose, Benno!

M: Bong!

F: Here in the cathedral,

F: the staff see Main as a loose cannon who let her mana go out of control.

B: Her mana went out of control? I hadn't heard that.

F: Benno, I've heard that you're a man of keen insight who discovered Main's talents.

F: I want to hear your frank opinion on what kind of person she is.

B: I am but a merchant.

B: I don't know much about mana,

B: but Lady Main is a genius, at least when it comes to product ideas.

B: However, she fails to realize that.

B: At Gilberta Company, we see her as having an easygoing and magnanimous personality.

M: But he usually calls me careless and thoughtless...

M: I guess wording can make all the difference.

F: Magnanimous?

F: Who, this loose cannon?

B: Yes.

B: She holds her family, friends, and books very dear, and refuses to compromise on them.

B: As long as you don't mess with those things, she's magnanimous...

B: Or, well, just indifferent.

F: I see.

F: Anything else that could make her mana go berserk?

B: Not that I'm aware of.

B: However, I need to bring something about her to your attention.

M: Benno's going on the counterattack!

B: The lady is incredibly frail and unbelievably sickly.

F: Sickly?

F: Ah, yes. She said she needed someone to monitor her condition.

M: Yes.

B: At the moment, one of our apprentices is the best man for the job.

M: Stay on the att*ck, Benno!

F: And this apprentice is a boy named Lutz, I take it?

M: Correct.

F: Can you do it, Fran?

Fr: Not yet, as ashamed as I am to admit it.

M: It's impossible to figure it out so quickly.

F: But we can't have that.

F: Make sure you can do it before the knight order's convocation.

F: Understood?

Fr: Certainly. I'll learn how to by the fall.

B: Also, Head Priest, the lady is highly intelligent,

B: but she has very little social experience,

B: and very little knowledge of the church's values and noble society.

B: So please...

F: Yes, I'm aware.

F: That's why I assigned Fran to her.

F: He is one of my best retainers.

F: She can ask him about anything she doesn't understand.

M: Wait, did Fran not realize why he was assigned to me?

F: Meanwhile, Benno, I hear that Main is your Fruhtrane.

F: Can you explain that?

F: I want to know exactly how you see her.

B: I'm not sure how to answer that.

B: I don't understand myself why people are saying that about me.

M: Yikes, Benno's reeling!

M: But Fruhtrane? Isn't that the Goddess of Water?

F: What is it, Main?

M: I hate to ask, but what is "Fruhtrane" being used to mean in this context?

M: Would you tell me, Fran?

Fr: Well, uh, you see...

F: Sweetheart, lover, one who moves their heart.

F: That's the common usage of the name.

M: No, no! No way!

M: Not a chance!

M: That's ridiculous.

M: We could be father and daughter, you know?

B: As the lady says, it's absurd.

F: That age gap isn't exactly uncommon, though.

M: One of my retainers wants to be the high priest's concubine,

M: so I get that it may be common here, but it's not a thing downtown!

Ma: Head Priest, I realize that it's not my place as a servant,

Ma: but may I be allowed to say something?

F: Go ahead. What is it?

Ma: I need to state this to defend my master's good name.

Ma: The common usage of "Goddess of Water" doesn't apply here.

F: How so?

Ma: Lady Main miraculously opens doors to one business venture after another.

Ma: She is our Goddess of Water, who brings great change to the Gilberta Company.

F: Thank you. I understand now.

F: Lastly, I would like to discuss the distribution of the Main Studio's earnings.

M: Go, Benno!

M: Benno wins!

M: They settled on the church getting ten percent of the earnings.

M: Just as I was marveling at Benno's negotiating skills...

Fr: Lady Main?!

F: On your feet. You disgrace yourself.

B: This happens often.

F: It does?

B: As I mentioned earlier,

B: she's very sickly.

F: I see now...

B: We're profoundly sorry that you had to see this.

B: We would like to cut our farewells short and leave immediately.

Fr: Let me carry Lady Main!

B: I refuse. We're in a hurry.

Fr: But I'm her retainer.

M: Fran?

Fr: I failed to understand the head priest's intentions

Fr: and took my frustrations out on you.

Fr: Please forgive me.

M: It must've been painful.

M: You felt like you'd been cast aside, right?

M: But the head priest has absolutely no intention of letting you go.

M: He was even giving you orders like nothing back there,

M: even though I'm your master now.

Fr: Right.

M: Fran?

Fr: Yes?

M: I'll do my best to become a master you can be proud of.

M: Will you help me out?

Fr: From now on, please feel free to ask me anything.

B: Don't you dare drop her.

Fr: I won't.

M: While I was bonding with Fran, elsewhere...

HP: Oh, they're bringing in the donation, are they?

D: Yes, High Priest.

HP: Good. Keep bringing me information about that little devil, Delia.

D: Yes, sir!

Flashback,G: Gil, you have a master now. Have her feed you.

Gi: I can't eat anything thanks to that clueless idiot!

Gi: Stupid idiot!

Gi: Damn, I'm so hungry...

Title: Next Chapter Needs

M: What did you make of the head priest?

B: He's still young, but for a blue robe, he has a decent look in his eyes.

M: Wait, what? Young?

B: Yeah, I bet he's around twenty-two or twenty-three.

M: No way! I was sure he was in his thirties!

B: Don't you dare let that slip in front of him.

M: My lips are sealed.