F: {ED}
F: With the help of the people around her,
F: Main finally finished a book—the picture-book version of the scriptures.
M: I couldn't have done it without you two!
M: Thanks!
F: Meanwhile...
HP: Listen, leave that little devil out from the Harvest Festival.
HP: She'll eat into our share.
HP: She makes enough from her studio, anyway.
P: Indeed. Let's put that cheeky plebeian in her place once and for all.
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Title Card: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Ep Title: Chapter Twenty-Three Harvest Festivals and Staying Home
M: It's been a while since we've visited the library, huh, Fran?
Fr: Indeed. You've been busy with the picture book lately.
M: I want to read to my heart's content today.
M: Carriages?
M: What's going on?
Fr: They're for taking blue robes to the Harvest Festival.
M: What's the "Harvest Festival"?
Fr: A ritual held in the domain's farming settlements.
P: I see our resident plebeian is quite ignorant.
P: You seem to know your place rather well already.
P: Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered after all.
Fr: Lady there was no need for you to kneel before him.
M: Well...
M: While we may both be blue robes, I'm a commoner and he's of higher status.
M: If I can avoid needless squabbling this way, it's a small price to pay.
Fr: If you've thought this through, I shall say no more.
Fr: However, you mustn't be a pushover.
M: I understand.
M: Anyway, let's hurry on to the library.
Fr: After you, Lady Main.
M: Wh-What happened here?
M: Who could have...
Flashback,P: Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered after all.
M: That accursed blue stooge!
M: I know who did this!
M: It's not too late to get him!
Fr: Lady Main!
Fr: You should report this to the head priest and ask for advice!
M: But he'll get away if we waste time...
M: Hey, Fran!
Fr: We're going to the head priest's office.
M: Put me down! Now!
F: What in the world happened?
Fr: We found the library all messed up.
Fr: Lady Main figured out who did it and wanted to go catch them.
Fr: I brought her here instead.
F: Very good. A wise decision.
F: to the hidden room.
F: Tell me how you found the library.
M: Sure. Both big bookshelves were empty.
M: Their contents were all over the floor. You can't even set foot in there.
F: And who did it?
M: I don't know his name, but the blue-robed priest I met earlier said,
M: "Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered after all."
M: There's no doubt! He did it!
F: And so what if he did?
M: I shall hold a bloody carnival right here in town.
M: A bloody carnival where I'll paint the town red in more ways than one!
M: Raiding the library is an obvious declaration of w*r!
M: The culprit deserves the guillotine!
F: Stop right there.
M: What? Why?
F: You seem to be having some rather unsavory thoughts.
F: It's written all over your face.
F: Also, the blue-robed priests have already departed for the Harvest Festival.
F: They won't be back for another ten days.
M: Ten whole days?
F: The church sends priests to hold the ritual in settlements all over.
F: While they're there, they collect taxes and produce as tribute to the gods.
F: It's likely that the library was att*cked as a way of keeping you from the harvest.
M: They damaged the books for that?
M: Very well. Challenge accepted.
M: I'll clean up the library myself!
F: Everything in there was ordered by date of acquisition.
F: You can't handle it.
M: Then I'll sort them my own way!
M: That's it!
M: I can take this chance to arrange everything my way!
M: It'll be a library by me, for me!
M: I'm a genius!
dream,Sign: Every Bookworm's Dream
personal,Sign: A Personal Library
M: But wait just a damn second.
M: Can I really arrange the books entirely haphazardly, by my whim alone?
M: I know what this calls for.
NDC,M: N
M: The Nippon Decimal Classification.
NDC,M: N D
NDC,M: N D C
NDC ,: Nippon
NDC ,: Nippon Decimal
NDC ,: Nippon Decimal Classifi-
NDC ,: Nippon Decimal Classifi- cation
M: That's the system I'll classify the books under.
M: Now, allow me to introduce to you the nine major divisions of the NDC!
M: Come on!
Class,Sign: . General
M: General.
Class,Sign: . Philosophy
M: Philosophy.
Class,Sign: . History
M: History.
Class,Sign: . Social Sciences
M: Social Sciences.
Class,Sign: . Natural Sciences
M: Natural Sciences.
Class,Sign: . Technology / Engineering
M: Technology.
Class,Sign: . Industry / Commerce
M: Commerce.
M: Arts.
Class,Sign: . Arts
M: Language.
Class,Sign: . Language
Class,Sign: . Literature
M: Literature.
M: Eek!
M: Love you, Natural Sciences!
M: Lead me, General!
M: I'll take a quick glance at the books strewn about
M: and start sorting them into these ten divisions.
M: Then I'll place them in their appropriate shelves, thus completing the first step.
class ,M: . General
class ,M: . General . Philosophy
class ,M: . General . Philosophy . History
class ,M: . General . Philosophy . History . Social Sciences
class ,M: . General . Philosophy . History . Social Sciences . Natural Sciences
class ,M: . Technology / Engineering
class ,M: . Technology / Engineering . Industry / Commerce
class ,M: . Technology / Engineering . Industry / Commerce . Arts
class ,M: . Technology / Engineering . Industry / Commerce . Arts . Language
class ,M: . Technology / Engineering . Industry / Commerce . Arts . Language . Literature
class ,Sign: Literature
Class ,Sign: For Example...
M: The second step will need a closer look,
class ,Sign: Literature Japanese Literature
M: classifying the books into several sub-categories, but...
class ,Sign: Literature Japanese Literature Novels & Fiction
class ,Sign: Literature
Class ,Sign: However...
M: The sub-categories will require heavy adaptation to this world.
class ,Sign: Literature From Unknown World
class ,Sign: Literature From Unknown World Of Unknown Genre
M: Which means I'll have to create a whole new classification system!
M: You know, it feels like...
M: I'm a real librarian or something!
M: Please leave the library to me.
F: It's quite unsettling how your mood suddenly changed for the better,
F: but very well. You can handle the cleanup.
M: Thank you!
F: This is a list of the books I donated to the library.
F: Use it if you need to.
M: Thank you kindly.
M: He donated so many books?
M: Just who is he, really?
D: What in the world happened here?
D: I can't believe anyone would have the heart to do this!
Gi: If Lady Main sees this, she's sure to blow her lid...
M: I need you all to clean up the library today.
Gi: Uh, why do you seem to be in a good mood?
M: Because I am delighted.
M: I want to offer the culprit my thanks, and the gods my prayers.
M: I get to sort the books in the library as I please.
M: Nothing could bring me more joy!
M: Yahoo!
M: Now, let's get right to work!
M: First, separate them all into paper- and tablet-based.
M: After that, we'll place them in the appropriate shelves depending on their content.
M: Those go under Social Sciences, so place them by the " " marker.
Fr: Understood.
M: Let's see what this one has to say, then.
D: A moment, Lady Main.
D: Could you save your reading for after we clean this mess up?
M: Oh, sorry. I got drawn in.
M: Gil.
M: That book goes in the shelf above, not there.
G: Oh, I'm sorry.
M: I already know which books will go there.
M: I saw in the head priest's catalog books that can only exist in a fantasy world.
M: That's the shelf for magic books!
M: I wonder what they're like.
M: I can't wait to read them!
M: Where are the books on magic?
M: But as the cleanup went along...
Fr: Is that all?
D: That didn't take too long, huh?
Fr: What's the matter, Lady Main?
M: The books on magic that the head priest donated are missing.
F: Are you finished with the cleanup?
M: Head Priest...
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
Eyecatch: Ascendance of a Bookworm
M: Head Priest, I don't see these books around.
F: They're in my quarters, so it isn't a problem.
M: Oh, is that so?
F: Yes. Still, I'm surprised you figured out they weren't in the library.
M: We classified the books by genre and placed them accordingly,
M: but the shelf I set aside for these ended up empty.
F: You... classified the books?
M: Yes.
F: Tell me more. To my room, now.
M: There's a system of library classification
M: called the Nippon Decimal Classification, based off Melvil Dewey's Decimal System.
F: Melvil... Dewey?
M: Dewey is a name etched forever in the history of libraries.
M: Time for a history lesson!
M: Melvil Dewey was an American librarian, educator,
M: and inventor of the Dewey Decimal System,
M: which influenced libraries across the world!
M: He's a man who left his mark on culture as we know it!
M: I went by the Nippon Decimal Classification,
M: and sorted books into General, Philosophy, History, Social Sciences,
M: Natural Sciences, Technology, Commerce, Arts,
M: Language, and Literature, and put them in their respective shelves.
M: I couldn't decide whether to classify magic books as Natural Sciences or Technology.
M: So I'd like to read them before making the call.
M: By the way, how would you classify them?
F: Hmm...
F: You could say the basics of magic are all about observing and understanding nature.
M: Okay, and?
F: But magical items are a different story altogether.
M: Ah, is that so?
M: Okay, so what will you do?
F: I'm highly curious about these "classification systems,"
F: but classifying books on magic isn't a matter you need to concern yourself with.
M: Why, Head Priest?!
F: Because these books won't ever line the shelves of the church's libraries.
M: What?
F: Magic is the exclusive domain of the nobility.
F: Blue robes have no right to peruse these books as they please.
M: But aren't blue robes nobles?
F: Technically, blue robes are of noble birth and possess mana.
F: But nobles aren't recognized as such unless they graduate the Nobles' Academy.
M: "The Nobles' Academy"?
F: It's a school for noble children.
M: You mean nobody's a noble unless they complete their education there?
M: That's a harsher criteria than I was expecting.
F: Nobles are allowed to channel the great power of magic.
F: Thus, peerage isn't granted to those who haven't learned
F: the right way to control or use it.
F: So I have no intention of letting you see these books...
M: Head Priest!
M: Let me read them!
M: Please!
F: No means no.
M: Pretty please!
Fr: What's wrong, Lady Main?
M: I couldn't get him to let me read the books on magic.
M: Lutz and Turi are visiting the orphanage today.
M: They're teaching the kids how to bind books.
L: Nice, looking good.
L: Then you push the needle through the hoop and pull it out the other side.
Or: Like this?
L: Yeah, that's the way.
T: Then you put the leftover thread into the hoop and cover it up.
Or: Wow! I did it!
T: Good job!
Or: Will this do?
Or: Teach me how to do this.
Or: Hey, Turi!
M: Hmm... I don't have any specific complaints, but just do it better.
Or: Uh... How, exactly?
M: You'll get better with practice!
Or: R-Right...
L: These kids have never even used needles before.
L: Looks like we'll only get through half of what we planned.
T: I wanna teach them how to sew sometime.
T: That'll help them patch up their own clothing.
M: Yeah, it'd be a great help if you could teach them.
L: Anyway, here. Copies for the people who helped us.
M: Thanks!
M: Lutz, let's go give Benno one tomorrow.
L: Sure.
M: Ta-dah!
M: The picture-book version of the scriptures for kids is complete!
B: Oh?
B: It's rare to see a book without a leather cover.
B: A flower watermark, eh?
B: Is this bound with thread alone?
B: You haven't used glue?
M: That's right.
B: This art is amazing.
M: Wilma really outdid herself.
B: Very good.
B: You did a great job.
M: Thank you!
B: So, how much are you going to sell these for?
M: Huh? I'm not selling them.
M: I'm going to use them as textbooks in the orphanage.
B: What? You're not selling them?!
B: What are you thinking?!
M: And what are you saying?!
M: These books are going to be textbooks for kids!
B: Good products ought to be sold!
M: Hell no!
Ma: Have you two calmed down?
M: I'm going to make a bunch of similar picture books for the time being.
M: My artist doesn't leave the cathedral, so she can't draw what's considered common.
L: But I don't know about making book after book about the gods.
B: Lutz is right.
L: Aren't you going to make any books that customers would want to buy and read?
M: Of course I'm going to make some for the general public eventually!
M: And also books with no pictures, only prose!
L: Do it now, not eventually!
L: This isn't a game!
M: I don't need you to tell me!
M: But to do that, I'll need to get my hands on some other stuff first.
B: Like what?
M: Stencil paper for the mimeo.
mimeo,Sign: Mimeo = Mimeograph Machine
stencil,Sign: Stencil Paper
M: Either that, or...
M: Types for a letterpress.
letterpress,Sign: Letterpress Printing
type,Sign: Type
B: Stencil... types?
M: Yes. With those, I can mass-produce books efficiently.
M: However, I can't make either without lots of capital.
B: Why don't you just pull another product idea out of your hat?
M: How about playing cards?
B: What're those?
M: A plaything much like those flash cards I made.
M: Even adults can play with them.
B: Nobles are sure to love 'em, huh?
B: Can you visit Corinna before you head back?
M: For what?
B: She wants to get you fitted for your ceremonial garb, it seems.
M: And so I got fitted for my ceremonial outfit,
M: and we dove headlong into winter prep.
T: You visited Missus Corinna?
M: Yeah. Her belly's all big now.
M: The baby's going to be born over the winter.
E: I think we'll have to wait for spring.
T: Will it be a boy or a girl?
M: Which would you like, Dad?
G: Hmm...
G: A boy would make me happy, since I'd finally have company at home.
G: But a girl would also make me happy, since she'd be the cutest little thing!
M: Same here! I'd love them either way!
T: I can't wait!
M: I'll help you lots around the house over the winter, Mom.
E: I'd very much appreciate that, but...
T: Don't work too hard and fall sick, okay?
G: Ah... You'll get to stay right at home through the winter, huh?
M: Yep!
Flashback,F: What?
Flashback,F: What do you mean, you finished copies of this book in such short order?
Flashback,M: We inked cut paper and printed several copies.
Flashback,F: Printed?
Flashback,M: Right!
Flashback,M: My goal is to make a ton of cheap books that everyone can read.
F: I had no idea she was capable of this.
F: She's going to turn society on its head.
Fr: Head Priest, I've brought Lady Main.
F: Good.
M: Head Priest, I have a request.
M: While processing pig meat for winter,
M: I would also like permission to make glue and candles at the orphanage.
M: The stench will be terrible, you see...
F: So long as you finish before the other blue robes return, you have my permission.
M: Understood.
F: Also, you stand out too much in whatever you do.
M: Believe me, I'm trying not to.
F: You lose yourself when books are involved.
M: I'll take more care from now on.
M: I never want the library to be att*cked like that again.
F: You fool!
F: Petty harassment like that is not the problem.
F: Anyway, the more pressing issue now is your winter work.
M: Uh, I was planning on doing it at home.
F: You're not aware, then?
F: The Dedication Ceremony happens over the winter.
F: It's where all of the divine objects in the cathedral are replenished,
F: which calls for a vast amount of mana.
F: Your participation is mandatory,
F: and we must avoid a situation where a blizzard keeps you away.
F: As such, you will live here over the winter.
Sign: Next Chapter Knight Orders and Requests
M: Head Priest, what do you think of Cinderella for my next picture book?
F: Oh? What's it about?
M: I'll tell you all about it!
M: A long time ago, there lived a truly kind and pretty girl.
white,Sign: Fast Forward
M: And so, Cinderella lived happily ever after.
M: What do you think, Head Priest? A great story, isn't it?
F: How truly absurd.
F: Your story involves a poor commoner girl marrying the prince.
F: Do you seriously think that that's possible?
F: Don't ignore their difference in status.
F: And if it does go through, the prince will be stripped of his royal status,
F: and his younger brother will be named successor to the throne.
F: As such, I find it hard to believe Cinderella truly achieves happiness...
M: You're far too cynical, Head Priest!
02x09 - Harvest Festivals and Staying Home
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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.