Part 2 Volume 2

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

Synopsis
As Myne continues her busy life as an apprentice blue shrine maiden, some good news changes everything: Her mother is pregnant! Naturally, Myne immediately sets out to make a picture book for her future little sibling. But there's still so much she doesn't know about the temple that doing anything is a struggle. She's forced into the education of a shrine maiden and has her hands full with her new attendants. She has a mountain of work as the orphanage director, too. As always Myne has bitten off more than she can chew, but she charges forward with her love of books giving her strength. And as it becomes clear that someone with her level of mana will not continue to go unnoticed, the door to the world of nobles opens and the plot escalates dramatically! Winter approaches, and a blizzard is about to fall upon this bibliofantasy!

Characters
Characters are listed in order of appearance.

Contents

 * Prologue
 * Chapter 1: One Wilma, Please
 * Chapter 2: Rosina and Harspiels
 * Chapter 3: An Attendant’s Job
 * Chapter 4: The Italian Restaurant’s Interior Decoration
 * Chapter 5: How to Run a Restaurant
 * Chapter 6: The Significance of Going Outside
 * Chapter 7: Preparing to Make Ink
 * Chapter 8: Black Oil Paint
 * Chapter 9: Making Picture Books with Woodblock Printing
 * Chapter 10: Black-and-White Picture Books
 * Chapter 11: Preparing for the Children’s Bible
 * Chapter 12: Binding Children’s Bibles
 * Chapter 13: Missing the Harvest Festival
 * Chapter 14: The Myne Decimal System
 * Chapter 15: A Book for Benno and First Fitting
 * Chapter 16: Cinderella and a Book for the High Priest
 * Chapter 17: A Discussion About Winter Preparations
 * Chapter 18: Off to Buy Winter Clothes
 * Chapter 19: Butchering and Absence
 * Chapter 20: The End of Winter Preparations
 * Chapter 21: Summons from the Knight’s Order
 * Chapter 22: Trombe Extermination
 * Chapter 23: Rescue and Reprimand
 * Chapter 24: The Healing Ritual
 * Epilogue
 * The Attendant of an Apprentice Blue Shrine Maiden
 * Apprentice Chef in the Temple
 * Afterword

Summary
With Effa, Myne's mother, getting pregnant, Myne is all too thrilled to get a little sibling and decides that she will make a picture book for the new baby. However, as a picture book needs art, and Myne's art is seen as appalling by everyone around her, she speaks with Wilma, an artist in the Orphanage and eventually hires her as an attendant. Due to Wilma's past, she is placed in the Orphanage as the caretaker of the orphans.

The High Priest on the other hand, things music is more important to Myne's upbringing as an apprentice Blue Shrine Maiden and buys her a harspiel, as well as bedding due to Myne not having supplied her own. He also tells her to make Rosina, a former attendant of the particular Blue Shrine Maiden, Christine, who is trained in music, as an attendant.

While Myne contemplates ways of printing a picture book, Rosina, due to not understanding the duties of an attendant due to Christine's irregularities, causes trouble. Myne talks with her and with Wilma, who also served under Christine, to get a picture of the situation, as taught to her by the High Priest during Lutz's family meeting. Rosina accepts Myne's expectations.

The preparations for the Italian Restaurant continue with interior decoration, and Myne takes Rosina and Fran there in order to get their opinions for noble culture. Myne also continues providing Benno with ideas for running the Italian Restaurant, including an introductions-only system, menus, and waiters. Thanks to the status and lifestyle differences between the Lower City and the Temple, the High Priest forbids her to use the Gray-Robed Priests as waiters. After experiencing a noble's meal, she reports back to Benno.

As Myne needs ink to make books, she visits an ink shop. After speaking with the store owner, she resolves to make her own ink, as well as games for winter handwork, such as playing cards, reversi, and chess. As she goes through the material list to make ink, she starts making plans to get her hands on each of them.

After she recovers from a fever, she makes her first batch of ink for her picture books. As Wilma can only draw religious art, they decide to make a picture book bible. After receiving permission from the now slightly suspicious High priest, she starts trying out woodblock printing. However, woodblock printing is a failure and she starts considering something new.

Returning to the picture book for a baby idea, Myne visits Johann to request a precision knife to cut plant paper. From there, Myne considers mimeograph printing and using stencils. While Myne memorizes prayers for the Knight's Order, the mimeograph printing tools are prepared, and Wilma's first piece of art is printed, with Wilma leaving the orphanage to watch.

Finally, after many more illustrations, and a binding session, Myne's first picture book is complete.

With the approach of the Harvest Festival, to prevent Myne's participation, a Blue Priest messes up the Book Room, causing Myne to clean it up in with a version of the Dewey Decimal System. Myne also begins to hand out the picture books to her attendants so that they might learn how to read.

After giving a picture book to Benno and getting fitted for her ceremonial clothes, she considers the next story to print. After meeting with the High Priest however, her story is changed significantly. In addition, the High Priest learns about printing and its implications. Myne discusses winter preparations with him and learns that she would have to stay in the Temple during winter for the Dedication Ritual, complicating her preparations immensely.

Due to having little money, she is forced to consider selling some books. Lutz ends up buying her winter clothes. While everyone else is away on the Harvest Festival, Myne makes hide glue. Winter Preparations finally come to completion and Myne's ceremonial clothes are complete.

The Knight's Order calls for assistance, and Myne finally begins to realize that she truly lives in a fantasy world with magic. After traveling to the rampaging Trombe by Highbeast, she accidentally prays a blessing and is assigned two guards. As Myne watches the Knight's Order and the High Priest fight the Trombe with transformed and blessed schtappes, one of the knights assigned to guard her assaults her with a knife for being a commoner. The other knight, Damuel, being of a lower status, is forced to stand by, and it results with Myne bleeding, causing another Trombe to appear. The High Priest is forced to heal her by reverting his weapon to his schtappe and sealing her wound with his mana.. His anger rising to the surface, the High Priest publicly embarrasses Shikikoza. Myne performs her healing ritual.

After it is complete, Myne requests new ceremonial robes as recompense and tells the Commander, Karstedt, that Damuel had tried to help her in an effort to lessen his punishment.

After returning home, and recovering from her fever, the High Priest uses a potion and a magic tool to peer into Myne's memories as he is worried about who she is and whether she is a threat to the Duchy of Ehrenfest. Stunned by Myne's home world and overwhelmed with Myne's emotions at her returning to it and saying goodbye, the High Priest breaks the communication, and stumbles to the ground. Myne gives him a hug.

Adaptation Notes
Differences from the original web novels: