Ascendance of a Bookworm (2019) s01e06 Episode Script

1
One failure after another throws
Main into despair and illness.
The fever in my body is smaller now?
While bewildered by her strange fevers,
she looks to walk down a
new path all the same.
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Chapter Six
Meeting
Lutz, you will do as I say.
I won't hear any objections.
Wh-What's gotten into you?
Stop! Don't do this!
You could've just said you
were gonna wash my hair.
If I had, you would've ran away.
Urk.
What brought this on, anyway?
First impressions are important.
So you'd better dress
your best tomorrow, too.
I don't think it'd change much, honestly.
You should still do everything you can.
Ah, that felt good.
Say
What do you wanna achieve by
becoming a traveling trader?
Where did that come from?
Your parents can't get you a referral here,
so you should really think about it.
Unless you have a goal in mind,
you won't land an apprentice gig.
Do you have a goal in mind?
You wanna be a merchant yourself, don't you?
As my second option, but yes.
And I do know what I wanna do
as an apprentice merchant.
What's that?
I wanna sell paper.
Paper? Not books?
I don't think there's much
demand for books here.
But paper is a different story.
Hey
He said the third bell, right?
Aren't we here too early?
Better too early than late.
Oh, there he is.
Remember your greetings.
Y-Yeah.
He brought someone with him?
Heya, Main.
Good day, Mister Otto.
Thank you very much for taking
the time to meet with us today.
This is Lutz, my friend.
Hello, I'm Lutz!
It's a pleasure to meet you!
This is Main. The captain's
daughter, and my assistant.
An unbaptized child is your assistant?
I'm grooming her for the role by
teaching her how to read and write.
Huh
This is Benno, an old buddy of mine
from my days as a traveling trader.
He may have a foul mouth, but
he's a nice guy deep down.
Hello. I'm Main.
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Oh, how very polite of you.
My name is Benno.
The pleasure is all mine.
If you don't mind me asking,
what is that on your head?
A hair stick. I use it to tie up my hair.
Just a piece of wood, I see.
Indeed.
It is just a piece of shaved wood.
Wow.
Tell me, lass.
What did you do to make your hair so shiny?
I made a mix of surprisingly common items.
The details are confidential.
Your hair looks just as splendid, lad.
Main washed it for me.
Tch. I see.
Too bad!
I have no intention of putting my
golden goose into play just yet.
So
Lutz, you want to join the
traveling trade, I hear?
Oh, yes.
I
Forget about it.
Only a fool would relinquish
his citizenship.
"Citizenship"?
The right to reside in any given city.
Then if you don't have one
Without it, you'll have no proof of identity.
You won't be able to get a job,
rent a home, get married,
or anything else.
You know how children get
baptized at age seven?
Yeah
That's when you get your citizenship.
If an outsider wants to obtain one,
he has to cough up an absurd sum of money.
But
Besides,
the life of a nomad is
nothing like city life.
For example, what do you
do when you need water?
Draw it from a well?
Right. But you won't necessarily have
access to a well on your travels.
You'll have to find a
watering hole yourself.
Couldn't I just go to the river?
And how would you know where it is?
You won't be traveling
along one the entire way.
Oh
Main's right.
That's why a family's routes are passed
down through generations in this trade.
Those routes are too valuable
to share with outsiders.
And the most important issue
here is the finish line.
Do you know what a traveling
trader's ultimate goal is?
Citizenship.
They save up money so they can
leave their rough travels behind
and live in peace in the city one day.
That's every traveling trader's dream.
But that's
Do you really think they'd accept you
after you cast your citizenship away?
That is the reality. Give up on
joining the traveling trade.
That said, Main did a propose an idea.
Is becoming an apprentice
merchant not good enough?
Main?
I figured you should hear from
someone who has lived that life.
But now that I've heard all that, even
I think the traveling trade's a bad idea.
So you've been looking out for me, huh?
But hey, apparently apprentice merchants
get to go out of town to stock up.
Apprentice merchant, huh?
Do you want to be a merchant?
Yes, sir!
I see.
And what can you sell?
What do you want to sell
when you're a merchant?
Well
If you can't answer that, we're done here.
Do you want to make my paper for me?
I do have a goal, sir!
I'll bring all of Main's ideas to reality!
So the lass will think of creations,
and you'll make and sell them?
Do you want to be a merchant too, lass?
As my second option, but yes.
Is handling paperwork
at the gate your first?
My first option is to be a book
seller, or a librarian, even.
Say what? "Librarian"?
Uh A caretaker of sorts for books.
That's a job for nobility.
Tch! Darn those lucky nobles!
So, do you have any ideas right now?
Yes.
I want to produce and sell paper
that's not made from animal skin.
Paper that isn't made from animal skin?
That's right.
I'll produce paper using plants.
Did you just say "plants"?
I did. It'll be cheaper to
produce than parchment,
so I'm sure it'll make for some
very profitable merchandise.
I see.
So, how exactly will you produce it?
The details are confidential!
I'd like to see this paper. Do you have it?
Not yet.
We'll have a prototype by the
time of our baptism next summer.
You can decide whether
it's usable or not then.
Very interesting. That's fine by me.
Yes!
We did it, Lutz!
Let's do our best!
Yeah!
Mister Otto, thank you very much for today.
It certainly was a fun day off.
Be it her conduct or her speech,
nothing about her indicates an
unbaptized child of a soldier.
Her family is perfectly ordinary.
She's the odd one out.
Plant-based paper, eh?
If they succeed, it will turn
the market on its head.
Wait just one moment! Are you thinking
of making her your apprentice?
Of course I am.
She's already thought of hair
sticks, a way to make hair shine,
and plant-based paper.
She's sure to have all kinds
of other ideas up her sleeve.
I'm going to have both of them join me.
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
I know you're pleased,
but don't get too worked up or
you'll develop another fever.
But we're gonna make paper!
That's one step away from books!
Yahoo!
Okay, sure, but how are we gonna make it?
Uh-oh
We don't have the tools.
Ascendance of a
Bookworm
Ascendance of a
Bookworm
How'd Main's meeting go?
Looks like she and Lutz have been
accepted as apprentice merchants.
What? Really?
I was sure she had no chance.
It's conditional, though.
We need a steamer, a deckle, and
Paper making happens in two steps:
extracting the fiber, and molding it.
First, you chop wood,
steam it,
and then skin it.
When that's done,
When
When that's
When that's done
When that's done!
once you've separated the useful
fiber from everything else,
you beat it down and unravel it.
And after that,
And
And after
And after that
And after that!
you screen a mix of the fiber,
water, and starch with the deckle.
You then couch the paper
and press the water out.
And once you dry it, you're done!
If we don't have the tools, we
just have to make those, too!
I'll ask Lutz tomorrow if we
can make all this equipment.
I'm home.
Welcome back, Dad!
I'm home.
Oh, welcome back, Dad.
Don't feel too bad, Main.
You can find someone else to apprentice with.
Why did all three of you
just assume I had no chance?
I'll have you know I was accepted.
It's conditional, though.
A tree that'll provide the raw material?
Yeah. I want you to find a soft, young-ish
tree with long and sturdy fibers.
Hmm
I'll try asking someone who knows
a lot of about trees and wood.
Thanks.
Also
Could you make these tools, Lutz?
Do you have nails?
Nails?
Yeah. I can't make anything without them.
So yeah, we don't have the equipment
to make the equipment we need.
I guess you'll have to make the nails first.
It's no laughing matter!
By the way, what made you
want to become a soldier?
Didn't you say citizenship was expensive?
I did it so I could marry Corinna.
It was not long after I turned
fifteen and became an adult.
I came to this town and met The One.
I was shot through the heart
the moment I laid eyes on her.
Long story short,
he fell for Corinna at first
sight, bought his citizenship,
and became a soldier.
Oh! Do you want to make a deal, Main?
A deal?
Yeah. If you tell me how to make hair shiny,
I'll pay for your nails.
Really?!
But why would he care about the
Simple All-In-One Shampoo?
Who actually wants it?
The wife?
It's the wife, isn't it?
I can't teach you how to make it, but
I don't mind trading some for nails.
Bartering, eh?
Very well.
We have a deal!
And so, I was invited to visit
Otto's home on the next day off.
Wow.
This place hardly feels
like the same town anymore.
Is this your first time
coming to the north side?
Yeah.
Soldiers aren't very rich, so most
of them live in the south, right?
How come you get to live here?
My brother-in-law didn't want to
be separated from his dear sister,
so he told us to live
upstairs in the family home.
Huh
Here we are.
What? This is your home?!
We live on the third floor here.
I'm amazed he got the green light
to marry such a rich girl.
Welcome! I'm so happy you came!
I'm Corinna, Otto's wife.
Hello, Missus Corinna. I'm Main.
I've been looking forward to seeing you!
You really are a polite young lady.
Also
Your hair is so pretty!
Forgive me.
Let me show you inside.
Corinna may be young, but she's already
part of the top brass at the Seamstress Guild.
Tuuli was greener than her hair with envy
that I was getting to meet her idol.
I'm ready, Main.
Okay.
My hair is so smooth now
I hope you like it.
I very much do!
Thank you, Main.
Say, may I ask you something?
Yes?
How is Otto at work?
I'm worried because he had to give
up his merchant's life for me.
I don't think you have
anything to worry about.
He's still very much a merchant at work.
He always haggles with people
that come on deliveries,
with his merchant's spirit burning bright.
I see. His merchant's spirit
I feel like a great weight has
been lifted off my shoulders.
How do I look, Otto?
M-M-Main! Don't you have something to do?!
I might remember something
once I have my nails.
Score!
We decided to use the nails
to make a deckle right away.
Can you make them to exact measure to
avoid any gaps when they're stacked?
Exact measure?
I don't have the tools for that
unless I ask my dad or brothers.
Do you think they'll let you borrow them?
Hmm
I dunno.
Merchants are cold, heartless monsters
that only have money on their minds!
Forget becoming an apprentice merchant
and become a craftsman like
your father and brothers, Lutz.
Lutz, will you be all right?
Don't worry! I'll work things out!
Oh, I went around asking
lumberers about the tree.
Really?
Really. They told me about soft trees like
Main, Lutz.
For you.
An invitation for you two.
What's it say?
Mister Benno wants to see you and me.
I'm going to have both of them join me.
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
Mister Otto.
What's the matter, Main?
I wanted to ask you something.
Do you know of any illnesses where your
fever suddenly grows or shrinks?
It always feels like the
fever's eating into me.
Never heard of anything like it, sorry.
No idea.
I see.
Thank you.
She's unbelievably frail.
There's no way she can work for you.
It may be the Devouring.
If it is the Devouring,
she'll die very soon.
Next Chapter
Seeds of Suspicion
It seems you've taken a step closer
to making plant-based paper.
That's exactly right!
Anyway, Head Priest,
what did he mean, I'll die very
soon if it's the Devouring?
Exactly that, but what do you want to know?
How someone with the Devouring dies?
Terrifyingly, a person on the
brink of death due to it
Eek! Not another word!
I can't stand pain or scary things!
As you wish.
Illustration by Kitora Con