Part 3 Volume 5

This is the twelfth volume of Ascendance of a Bookworm light novel.

Synopsis
Rozemyne now only needs the ruelle fruit she failed to gather last year. With it, she and Ferdinand can brew a potent potion known as a jureve, the power of which will finally make her a normal, healthy girl! Well, probably... Her joy leads to a flurry of activity as she pours her all into advancing the paper-making industry and gathering more support, all so that she can create a world with more books for her to read. As the High Bishop, she eventually has to travel through the Central District for the Harvest Festival, and in the midst of all this, she even gets her first little sister. But as everyone prepares for winter, the political struggle between nobles intensifies. Their plots sow discord within the temple, and what happens next will change Rozemyne’s future forever... Shocking developments abound in this climactic conclusion to Part 3!

This volume ends with a series of short stories leading into Part 4, alongside the now familiar four-panel manga drawn by You Shiina!

Characters
Characters are listed in order of appearance.

Contents

 * Prologue (Benno POV)
 * Chapter 1: The New Orphans and Operation Grimm
 * Chapter 2: Hasse and the Gray Priests
 * Chapter 3: Ruelle Gathering (Take Two)
 * Chapter 4: Damuel's Growth
 * Chapter 5: Conditions for Compressing Mana
 * Chapter 6: Illgner's Harvest Festival
 * Chapter 7: My First-Ever Little Sister
 * Chapter 8: Wilfried's Actions
 * Chapter 9: Wilfried's Punishment
 * Chapter 10: The Jureve and Mana Compression
 * Chapter 11: Charlotte's Baptism Ceremony
 * Chapter 12: Kidnapped Daughter
 * Chapter 13: Rescue
 * Chapter 14: And So, the Future
 * Epilogue (Ferdinand POV)
 * Grandfather on the Day of the Baptism (Bonifatius POV)
 * In Place of My Older Sister (Charlotte POV)
 * Two Marriages (Giebe Illgner POV)
 * No Rest for Us (Lutz POV)
 * Meanwhile at the Temple (Fran POV)
 * The Laynoble Guard Knight (Damuel POV)
 * One Handful of a Chef (Ella POV)
 * Afterword

Summary
Benno meets with Rozemyne in the hidden room to discuss the paper industry and future plans. He shares news from the lower city, and then visits the workshop, where he realizes the implications of Rozemyne's leaving the temple. Rozemyne visits Hasse's new mayor to inform him of his terrible letter writing manners and that she would be sending two gray priests to educate them. She also buys orphans to send to Hasse's monastery. Rozemyne selects 4 gray priests to send to Hasse. She also prepares to visit Illgner again, and warns Brigitte about the behavior of the commoners and reminds her of Hasse. Brigitte realizes the situation.

Rozemyne departs for the Harvest Festival, beginning in Hasse, where she secures good treatment for her gray priests. The Harvest festival continues and Rozemyne journeys onwards until she reaches Dorvan. They begin the ruelle gathering. During the gathering, Damuel's mana growth reveals results, Rozemyne gets the final ingredient, and embarrasses Brigitte, to the amusement of Ferdinand and Karstedt. Ferdinand questions Rozemyne about her mana compression technique. Rozemyne secures conditions and a contract as well as a hefty fee, depending on status.

Brigitte prepares Illgner for visits, and then questions Rozemyne about marriage of gray priests. Volk wants to marry, so Rozemyne meets with him to discuss the true feelings present, and then prepares the documents for Volk to be sold. As Giebe Illgner's funds are not sufficient, they decide to delay it until the new industry increases monetary supply. Rozemyne meets her little sister Charlotte for the first time and falls in love, vowing to be the best older sister she can possibly be. They plan a tea party. Rozemyne is then asked to teach the compression method, and accepts, with the additional condition that her jureve is made.

Wilfried interrupts the tea party with Charlotte rudely, and it is discovered that he visited Veronica in the white tower, making him technically a traitor to the Archduke, a serious crime. Wilfried realises his error and apologizes. Ferdinand takes some time to listen to him, and Rozemyne helps them figure out the scheme and presents a solution. He will be searched with the memory tool as a criminal, and his spot as the next Archduke is no longer guaranteed.

Rozemyne ensures the brewing of her jureve. Afterwards, Rozemyne presents her compression method to the Archduke and his family. Rozemyne crams for the baptism ceremony for her sister and it goes well. She protects the two from subtly insulting euphemisms and then are attacked. Charlotte is kidnapped and Rozemyne uses a highbeast to go after her. Charlotte is rescued but Rozemyne and her knights, Cornelius and Angelica only for Rozemyne to get kidnapped and drugged.

Bonifatius arrives in a rage and rampages to rescue Rozemyne. Ferdinand rescues her from Bonifatius, realises she is dying and brings her to the temple, where he places her into the jureve. She wakes up again after two years have passed, ready (by age) to enter the Royal Academy.

While she sleeps, Bonifatius trains Angelica and Cornelius as well as Damuel and then considers training all the guard knights of the archducal family. Viscount Joisontak, the kidnapper responsible for Charlotte's kidnapping is arrested, however, Rozemyne's kidnapping is still unknown, though Giebe Gerlach is a suspect.

Charlotte and Wilfried try to take Rozemyne's place and realise how much work she does. Brigitte gets married, but not to Damuel and leaves Rozemyne's services. Volk also gets married. As news of Rozemyne's situation spreads in the lower city, worry and stress alike rebound. More books are printed, and Tuuli learns etiquette. Elvira requests the printing of a book. Hugo and Ella request to be married.

Adaptation Notes
Differences from the original web novels: