Myne (Anime)/Story

Urano Motosu, a college student who loves books, dies when she is crushed by her book collection during an earthquake. On the verge of death, she prays: "May my next life once again be filled with all kinds of books." Her memories awaken in the body of Myne, a 5-year-old girl who is battling a life-threatening fever. Their memories combine, and she begins her new life as Myne.

She soon discovers that she is the sickly daughter of a commoner soldier in Ehrenfest, a city with a strict class structure and medieval-era technology. Her family — comprising her father, her mother, and her older sister — lives in a dirty townhouse without plumbing. Most distressingly, there seem to be no books at all.

When she struggles to tie her hair back with a ribbon, Myne asks Tuuli to make a hair stick for her. She later goes out to the lower city with her mother, where she discovers that the only writing in the entire lower city is the numerals used to list prices at the market.

Myne becomes faint at the sight of a butcher killing a chicken, and her mother leaves her with a local merchant as she finishes the shopping. The merchant has a book locked away in a case. Eagerly, Myne asks to see it. But he refuses, saying that books are extremely valuable and owned mainly by nobles. Undeterred, Myne resolves that if there are no books, "I'll just have to make them myself!"

Myne struggles to adjust to life as a poor commoner and continues her plans to make books. When her sister Tuuli returns from foraging in the woods with an avocado-like meril fruit, Myne learns how to extract oil from it and uses it to make homemade shampoo. It leaves her hair glossy and sweet-smelling, and her sister and mother are eager to use it as well.

Later, she and Tuuli go to the city gate to deliver their father's lunch. Myne is too frail to walk the entire way, but the neighborhood boys Ralph, Fey, and Lutz volunteer to help carry her. Myne is amused when Ralph compliments Tuuli's hair, but extremely flustered when Lutz compliments hers.

When they arrive at the gate, their affectionate father Gunther praises them for their help. He also introduces them to Otto, a fellow soldier who can read and write. Seeing the parchment and ink he uses, Myne eagerly asks her father to buy her some, but he says it would cost him an entire months' salary. To cheer her up, Otto offers to give Myne a secondhand stone slate and promises to teach her to read and write.

As winter approaches, Myne attends the local Pork Stocking Festival, where commoners slaughter pigs to make bacon and sausage for the cold weather ahead. Once again, she goes faint at the sight of blood, and her family takes her back to the city gate to recover under Otto's supervision. While she's there, he gives her the slate he promised and teaches her how to write her name in the new world's alphabet.

Two months have passed since Urano's memories awoke in Myne, and a harsh winter is underway in Ehrenfest. She and her family spend the season working on winter handiwork, including sewing and basket-making. Myne tries to use reed fibers to make papyrus, but even with Tuuli's help, the work progresses far too slowly. After three days, she gives up and decides to make clay tablets in the spring instead.

Tuuli brings home parues, a winter fruit, and the girls work together to harvest the sweet-tasting juice. Myne is surprised to learn that the parue's soy-like pulp is usually discarded as animal feed. When Lutz and Ralph come to buy some of the extra feed, Myne uses it to make delicious paruecakes. The boys are delighted, since their family usually goes hungry over the winter. Lutz tells her that he'll lend her a hand whenever she needs help in the future.

Myne runs out of pencils for her stone slate and asks to go back to visit Otto at the gate to get more. Jealous of her admiration for Otto, Gunther tells her that she can't go visit him until spring. However, he has no choice but to take her with him to the gate when both Tuuli and Effa leave to harvest parues the next day. While she practices the alphabet, she notices an error in Otto's accounting and corrects him. He asks her to help him with his paperwork, and she agrees in exchange for an unlimited supply of slate pencils and more reading lessons.

At home, Myne talks her father into making her a crochet hook to make a decorative flower hair ornament to complete Tuuli's baptism outfit. Her sister is delighted with the gift.

As spring arrives, Myne announces her plans to go to the forest and make clay tablets, much to her family's dismay. Her father tells her to focus on building up her stamina and improving her health, and forbids her to go foraging until he is satisfied with her progress. In the meantime, he suggests she begin working as Otto's unofficial assistant in hopes of eventually becoming a clerk.

For several weeks, Myne walks to and from the city gate each day with Lutz and Tuuli, works as Otto's assistant, and continues learning to read and write with the apprentice soldiers. Just as she becomes able to walk to the forest without tiring out, she falls ill with a fever and doesn't recover until the end of spring.

Myne's father permits her to go with the other children when she is feeling better, but makes her promise to spend the day resting in the forest instead of foraging. Unwilling to delay her plans further, she secretly brings a trowel with her and begins digging for clay. Lutz catches her doing it and loses his temper, accusing her of making a promise she never intended to keep. Nevertheless, he helps her dig up clay and shape it into tablets. As they wait for the tablets to dry, Myne explains the concept of reading and books to Lutz.

To her horror, Fey and another neighborhood boy stomp on the clay tablets, unaware of their importance. She loses her temper and her eyes change color, frightening Fey and alarming Lutz and Tuuli. Lutz calms her down and promises her that they'll all work together to make new tablets. However, it rains for the next several days and the tablets are once again ruined. As Myne cries in disappointment, Lutz comforts her and helps her make a third set of tablets. While they work, he asks her about her plans for the future. She tells him she wants to live a life surrounded by books, and he admits that his own dream is to become a traveling trader.

Finally the third set of tablets are finished, and Myne reflects on how far she's come. She resolves to write down all the stories her mother told her and keep them with her forever. However, when she puts the clay tablets in her family's clay oven to bake them, they crumble and explode.

Summer arrives, and Tuuli, who is turning seven this season, prepares for her baptism. She uses shampoo and wears the hair ornament her sister made her, which draws attention and compliments from their neighbors. (Myne and Lutz, who were also born in summer, are now six years old.)

Myne and Gunther leave the baptism early to hurry to the city gate. While her father and Otto are in a meeting, Myne helps a soldier read an important letter from a nobleman, advises him on how best to handle the situation and alerts Otto after his meeting is over. At dinner, Gunther gives Myne a knife and tells her that it's her duty to collect firewood for the family now. She eagerly decides to use the knife to make a scroll out of wood tablets (mokkan).

Lutz sees her at work, guesses that she's working on a replacement for her clay tablets, and offers to help. In exchange, he asks her to introduce him to Otto so he can get advice on how to become a traveling trader. Otto tells Myne that becoming a traveling trader isn't something a city child should aspire to, but he agrees to meet Lutz and tell him that in person. She also asks him to pay her in ink instead of slate pencils, but he tells her she'd have to work for free for three years to pay for it. Instead, Myne gathers soot from her family oven and mixes it with clay to make a crayon.

However, when she returns home, she finds out that her mother used her clay tablets as firewood. Distraught, Myne's eyes once again change color, and she collapses with a dangerously high fever. Lutz encourages her not to give up and brings her a less flammable kind of wood; however, her mother accidentally burns those as well. Myne gives into her frustration and despair, and her fever intensifies. However, as she remembers Lutz's encouragement and the promise she made him, she feels inspired to keep trying. Her fever goes down, leaving her wondering what kind of illness she has.

When she returns to the gate, she and Otto reschedule their meeting. She also asks how he would go about making something after several failed attempts, and he advises her to hire someone to make it, and find an investor to fund the concept.

Myne determinedly prepares Lutz for his meeting with Otto, washing his hair with shampoo and advising him to wear his best clothes to make a good first impression. To her surprise, Otto brings along his brother-in-law, the merchant Benno. He immediately notices her glossy hair and and hair stick, and asks to take a closer look at it. When he inquires about her shampoo, however, she tells him that the details are confidential.

Otto tells Lutz that becoming a traveling trader is a foolish idea and suggests that they become merchant apprentices instead. Benno asks the two children what they plan to achieve as merchants, and Lutz eventually arrives at his new goal: to make all Myne's ideas become a reality. Meanwhile, Myne explains that while her best-case scenario is to become a librarian, her backup plan is to make and sell paper made from plants. She says she can have a prototype ready by their baptism next summer, in about one year, and Benno agrees to take them on as apprentice merchants if they succeed.

Delighted, the two children get ready to leave; however, Myne hurries back when she remembers she wanted to ask Otto and Benno whether they know of any illness that causes sudden fevers. Both of them tell her that they don't.

Myne and Lutz begin trying to make paper using the washi method, which she remembers from her life as Urano. She strikes up a deal with Otto to trade him some of her shampoo in exchange for nails, so she can make the equipment they need to get started. She goes with him to meet his wife Corinna and help her wash her hair, and is impressed at the wealthy neighborhood they live in. While Myne is there, Corinna asks her if Otto seems happy at work and whether he seems to miss his life as a merchant. She assures her that he's quite contented with his current lifestyle. Both Otto and Corinna are highly pleased at the results of the shampoo; Otto hurriedly pays Myne her nails and sends her on her way.

Later, Lutz confesses that he's not sure his family will allow him to become an apprentice merchant, since they're all craftsmen and distrust merchants. When they return from the woods, Otto meets them at the city gate and gives them an invitation from Benno, asking them to join him for a meeting.

Lutz and Myne meet Benno for lunch at the Gilberta Company, which turns out to be the same place Myne went when she met Corinna. He scolds the children for going to Otto, not him, for supplies for their paper prototype. He explains that they should come to him first, since the Gilberta Company plans to claim sales rights for the paper they produce. Myne bows in apology, perplexing Benno who isn't familiar with the gesture.

Benno tells them he'll fund all the supplies for their prototype in exchange for the recipe for shampoo, and that once the plant paper is developed, they'll receive ten percent of the profits added to their pay as royalties. However, Myne says she wants to retain the production rights to paper and give Lutz exclusive sales rights, to ensure that they won't be fired immediately after joining. Benno has them secure the deal using contract magic.

Lutz is surprised and wary of how comfortable Myne seems during the negotiations, easily understanding the concept of collateral and doing math without an abacus. On their way home, he asks her: "Are you the real Myne?" She deflects his questions, and he apologizes for acting strange. However, he still seems bothered, and Myne worries that he'll stop being her friend if he finds out the truth.

She wants to finish her dealings with Benno while Lutz isn't watching, to avoid arousing his suspicions. However, she faints on the way to visit the lumber workers with Mark. When she recovers at the Gilberta Company store, Benno strictly orders her to go straight home and recover, and forbids her to come to the store without bringing Lutz to keep an eye on her.

When they meet again, Lutz confesses that he was upset at seeing Myne handle everything alone, saying he felt unneeded. He assures her that he doesn't hate her. However, he no longer refers to her as "Myne". They go to the Gilberta Company together, and Benno assigns Lutz to look after Myne as his number one priority. He also gives them a workshop near the south gate of the city.

Lutz and Myne begin work on their paper prototype in earnest, using their new workshop as a headquarters. They start by going to a range of craftsmen, lumber workers, and carpenters to commission the materials they need. A month and a half later, they go to the forest to collect wood and make paper. Lutz goes to collect firewood, while Myne picks up kindling nearby.

She inadvertently picks up a taue fruit that turns into a trombe when she touches it. Seeing the fast-growing feyplant, Myne calls for help, and Lutz calls the other children to help cut it down. Once the plant is cut down, Lutz explains that trombe usually drains nutrients from the soil to grow quickly, and that the Knight's Order needs to be called if it gets big enough. Myne suggests using the cut trombe to make paper, since it's freshly sprouted and should be soft. To her delight, it works well.

Lutz still seems to be acting strange. He helps her with the paper, but is more withdrawn than usual. He also seems suspicious about her familiarity with using chopsticks and her in-depth knowledge of paper-making, something which the Myne of this world has never tried before. Once they finish their first batch of paper, Lutz insists that they have the conversation they postponed. He asks who Myne really is and she admits that she isn't the original Myne.

Outraged, Lutz demands that she give back the "real" Myne. She says she doesn't mind giving back her body, but explains that she believes the original Myne is already dead. When he lashes out at her, she becomes angry and says that she wouldn't have chosen to steal such a sickly, frail body. He asks how long she's been "Myne", and is surprised to find that his memories and his friendship were formed with her, not the original Myne. In the end, he forgives her and accepts her for who she is.

Together, they bring their paper prototypes to Benno for him to test, and he is thoroughly satisfied.

Benno pays Myne and Lutz for their prototype. When Myne shows him the flower hair ornament she made for Tuuli, he asks the children to go with him to the Merchant's Guild to register for temporary guild cards, which will allow them to do business before their baptism. While they wait to meet the Guildmaster, Myne sees a file cabinet with documents and scrolls on it. She finds a map of the city of Ehrenfest, and Benno helps her learn more about the area.

The Guildmaster isn't inclined to give them temporary guild cards, but is swayed when Benno has Myne show him the hair ornament. It turns out that he has been eagerly searching for the craftsman of the hair ornament so he can commission a baptism accessory for his granddaughter Freida. He approves their registration and orders a hair ornament from Myne. She suggests that they consult with his granddaughter first to make sure it matches her outfit.

Myne is proud to bring home some of the profits from her prototype paper, and her family enthusiastically praises her for her hard work. Lutz's family, however, is still upset that he plans to become a merchant.

Lutz and Myne meet with Freida at the Othmar Company to examine the prototype. She shows them her outfit and they pick out a color scheme, select thread, and agree on pricing. Myne points out that she'll need two ornaments for her two ponytails. Freida insists that she'll pay for both, but Myne wants to give it to her for free in exchange for the thread. Lutz suggests they give her the second hair ornament for half price as a compromise. Freida tries to recruit Myne to the Othmar Company, but she braces herself and manages to firmly refuse.

One month later, the hair ornaments are completed and Myne delivers them to Freida. As they talk, Myne explains that she's naturally frail, and Freida asks if she has the Devouring, the same illness she herself has. She says that the Devouring can't be cured, only controlled using expensive magic tools.

One year has passed since Myne's awakening in the new world. As Freida warned, her fever seems to be growing stronger. Although Myne tries to "shove it in a box" and keep her feelings under control, she still becomes ill more often than before.

As winter approaches, Benno assigns Lutz and Myne to improve their manners, their appearance, and their reading and writing skills. He also asks for Myne's help troubleshooting the production method of the shampoo. Benno and Myne negotiate a deal for any information she can provide about the shampoo. He offers her two small golds, but she negotiates for three. He allows it, telling her to make and save as much money as she can to treat her Devouring. Benno becomes suspicious that Myne is not the person she seems to be, but he doesn't press the issue when she's reluctant to explain. They also agree to call the product "AIO Shampoo" instead.

Tuuli and Effa are startled when Myne explains they have to ramp up production of their hair ornaments, but they're highly motivated when she promises them a bonus of two medium bronzes for each one. She later advises Lutz to do the same to encourage his brothers to help out.

Gunther takes Myne to the gate. While she's there, an alert comes in for a trombe. She and Lutz go to collect trombe wood from the site and use it to make more paper. As they finish, Myne develops a sudden fever, even though she isn't feeling anxious or upset. She admits to Lutz that it's flaring up more often than before, and as he gives her a piggyback ride home, he breaks down into tears.

They meet with Benno to discuss product ideas. Lutz resolves to help Myne make all of her product ideas to save money and find a way for her to survive. However, just as they optimistically make plans for spring, Myne collapses with a dangerous fever. Benno calls for a carriage to take her to the Guildmaster's house.

Myne awakens in Freida's bed with a shattered magic tool bracelet on her wrist. It reduced the symptoms of the Devouring by drawing of excess mana, but eventually broke when it reached capacity and can no longer be used. It's estimated that Myne has less than a year before her fever once again overwhelms her.

Freida tells her that the only way for her to live a long life is by making a contract with a noble to become a mistress in exchange for access to magic tools, and explains that she has already signed a contract to move to the Noble's Quarter when she comes of age. If Myne chooses to remain with her family, she is certain to die soon.

Myne pays the Guildmaster for the magic tool used to treat her illness. He's disappointed, since he planned to use her debt to force her to join the Othmar Company as an apprentice merchant, but accepts the payment.

Myne and Lutz develop the idea of selling games for commoner families to play during the winter when they're stuck inside.

Myne's family is deeply relieved that she recovered, believing that her illness has been permanently cured. However, after finishing her baptism outfit, she calls a family and explains her true circumstances. She admits that she is likely to die soon, but tells them she would rather die with her loved ones than live a long life alone in the Noble's Quarter.

Myne begins to make plans under the assumption that she will die before the next winter. She decides not to take an apprenticeship with the Gilberta Company, since she is too frail to handle the usual work of an apprentice merchant. She also sells the paper-making rights to Benno, while Lutz retains sales rights.

When Freida next encounters Myne, she is surprised at her decision to remain with her family at the cost of her life. However, she purchases several of Myne's dessert recipes and pays her fairly, since Myne plans to save as much money as she can and leave it behind for her family.

Summer baptism arrives and both Myne and Lutz turn seven. She wears Tuuli's modified dress and a brand-new flower hair ornament to the ceremony, earning high praise from the neighbors. Benno also attends the baptism to watch Lutz and Myne.

When they enter the temple, Myne is excited to see the High Priest reading out of a heavy book of scriptures. However, she can't help but burst into laughter when she realizes the religious prayer pose of this world resembles the "Glico" pose she remembers from Japan. The priests mistake her trembling with laughter for illness and escort her to a waiting room to recover.

Myne looks around the temple, trying to find her way back to the main hall. As she explores, she discovers a small book room filled with scrolls and documents and attempts to rush in, but realizes too late that the room is restricted to members of the clergy, and a magic barrier prevents her from passing.

Eagerly, she asks to become an apprentice priestess to be able to read the books at the temple. The gray priestess she meets takes her to meet the senior authority in the temple, the High Priest. Mistaking her for the daughter of a wealthy family, he explains that he can permit her to join the temple in exchange for a sizeable donation.

When Myne asks her family for permission to become an apprentice priestess, her father strictly refuses. He explains that the only commoners who join the temple are unwanted orphans, and that the life of a gray priestess is brutally demanding. Myne is heartbroken to be forbidden after at last finding a place she can read books, but eventually agrees to give her refusal.

She returns to the temple and encounters the Head Priest, the second-highest authority in the temple under the High Priest. He is assigned to read to her out of the temple scriptures, and he comments that she learns very quickly.

When she explains that she can't join the temple because she has the Devouring and is very frail, the priests call for the temple's golden grail to check her mana capacity. Shocked by the results, they tell Myne to bring her parents back with her for a secondary discussion.

Myne and Lutz later meet with Benno, who realizes that the temple sees her as a valuable source of mana due to the recent shortage. He tells her that she is likely to be forced into the temple and warns her to take all possible precautions to negotiate for better treatment and secure access to her friends and family.

Myne tells her parents and her sister about the letter of invitation she was given and explains that entering the temple under the right conditions could allow her to treat the symptoms of her Devouring by giving mana to the church. Gunther agrees that it's a good plan to ensure her survival, but Tuuli is very worried about trying to negotiate her treatment with nobles.

Myne, Gunther, and Effa go to the temple to meet the High Priest and discuss terms. However, as soon as he realizes that her family is not wealthy or educated, he begins treating them arrogantly and demands that Myne be taken from him by force. Her father fights back to protect her.

When the High Priest threatens her family's execution, Myne loses her temper and her control of her mana. She chokes the High Priest and nearly kills hem before the Head Priest intervenes to stop her.

With the High Priest unconscious, the Head Priest sits down with Myne and her family, apologizes for their previous treatment, and negotiates with them properly to settle Myne's conditions for entering the temple.

When Justus goes to investigate Myne in the lower city of Ehrenfest, he passes her by a few times without realizing it. On the first occasion, he arrives at the Gilberta Company moments after she left. The second time, he passes by her and her mother Effa on their way home from shopping at the market.

Myne is invited by Corinna to show her the dress and flower hair ornament she wore at her baptism. Effa is very nervous at having her work shown to such a prominent and skilled seamstress, but Tuuli, a big fan of Corinna's work, eagerly asks to go along for the visit.

Corinna warmly welcomes them with tea and snacks, and praises the dress and ornament. She asks if her studio can make and sell hair ornaments like it, and Tuuli is happy to agree. However, Myne firmly interjects that she will need to purchase the rights and negotiate terms before doing anything of the sort. Effa tells her daughter to hush and not be rude, but Corinna agrees and brings them over to Benno to write out a contract.

Effa and Tuuli watch in surprise as Myne haggles over the price with Benno, and are frightened when he starts raising his voice. However, Myne is unfazed and threatens to sell the hair ornaments through Freida if he doesn't give her a good offer. Corinna takes Effa and Tuuli to enjoy tea and talk sewing while the other two finish negotiating terms.

When they finish, Tuuli curiously asks how much Myne sold the production rights for. With visible reluctance, Myne admits the final price was one large and seven small gold coins. Her family is shocked, but she insists that it's a fair price for the value. Besides, she explains that at least part of the fee will be used on the celebratory gift they give Corinna when her baby is born.

Myne is eager to join the cathedral as an apprentice blue-robed priestess, but she has to wait several weeks while preparations are made. In the meantime, she visits the Gilberta Company, where Lutz has begun working as a lehange apprentice. Under Mark's tutelage, he practices welcoming customers to the store and using formal manners.

She tells Benno about her successful negotiations for joining the temple: She'll be allowed to live at home, rest when she's ill, and continue running her studio. Her duties will be to serve as a custodian of the library and magical artifacts at the cathedral. Benno comments that the Head Priest seems like someone she can rely on for help.

On her way back to the lower city, Myne meets Lutz's mother Karla and tells her how hard her is working at his new apprenticeship. However, she keeps her own plans to join the church secret. Instead, she shares the cover story that she will continue working as Otto's assistant and helping her mother around the house. Karla also mentions that a man visited the lower city recently and asked questions about her.

She relays the news to Benno, and he guesses that it's the same person who broke into the Merchant's Guild a few days before. After that, Tuuli, Effa, and Myne go to show Corinna her altered baptismal dress and gain her insight on the new hair ornament, and then sell Benno the rights to produce hair ornaments.

Later, Benno goes to Freida's pound cake tasting event, where Myne is helping out as a waitress. He scolds her for being reckless when he's busy trying to suppress information about her, and complains that she sold the recipe for pound cake to Freida instead of him. Myne points out that he's been ripping her off for new product ideas, and says that it would be useless to give him recipes when he doesn't have sugar, a highly trained chef, or access to a professional oven. With a sense of rivalry, Benno decides he'll just train his own chefs to be able to make the recipes.

The next day, Myne and Lutz walk to the cathedral, where they are formally greeted at the gate by Fran. Lutz bursts into laughter at hearing him call her "Lady Myne," and they part ways. Myne apologizes to Fran, but he coldly tells her there is no need. As he escorts her to see the Head Priest, Myne struggles to keep up with his quick walking pace. They also pass a blue-robed priest, who scornfully calls Myne a commoner. The gray-robed priests and priestesses also seem resentful of her.

The Head Priest guides Myne through her oath-taking ceremony and gives her a set of blue robes to wear at the temple. He then introduces her to her new retainers: Fran, Delia, and Delia, scolding her to maintain the attitude and formality expected of her position.

As soon as the Head Priest leaves the room, Gil begins arguing with her, while Delia admits she only took the position as a way to worm her way into the High Priest's favor and become his concubine. Fran impatiently tells Myne that it's her duty to discipline her retainers. Myne threatens to replace them, but her words leave no impression at all. She wonders how she's supposed to adjust to her new and unfamiliar life as a priestess.

On Myne's first day at the cathedral, the Head Priest briefs her on the duties expected of her, including helping him with paperwork as his assistant. He shows her how to dedicate mana using the church's shield of Schutzaria, and she feels much lighter and more comfortable after giving away some of her mana.

As soon as the meeting is over, Myne eagerly makes for the cathedral library while her new retainers Delia, Gil and Fran butt heads. She decides to ignore them, and settles down to read blissfully. Gil tries to rouse her from her book to go eat lunch, but she tells him to eat without her. When he insists, she unleashes her mana on him and Fran hurriedly clears the room.

After spending the whole day reading, Myne meets Lutz at the gate and heads to the Gilberta Company to talk to Benno about bringing her donation to the cathedral. Her retainers expect to come along with her and are startled when she tells them to stay behind. Gil runs off, saying that he wants to go get food. Myne asks Delia to let the Head Priest know about their impending donation, forcing Fran to stay behind to make sure the message actually gets delivered.

Benno is furious that she walked from the cathedral in her blue robes, putting her at risk of being mistaken for a noble and kidnapped. While she's there, seeing Lutz work so hard to succeed at his merchant apprenticeship makes her realize that she needs to put more effort into her own work as an apprentice priestess. Myne says she told the Head Priest they'd bring the donation to the cathedral as soon as it was ready, not realizing that it would be understood as "we'll bring it at once." Benno and Mark rush to get ready, and they arrive at the cathedral in formal clothing.

Myne begins using formal language to talk to Fran, and notices that he seems to warm up to her. As they walk to the Head Priest's office, Benno warns Fran that he's walking too fast for Myne to keep up, and he agrees after a moment of surprise.

When they deliver the donation, the Head Priest asks Benno about Myne's character and personality. Benno says carefully that she's "magnanimous ... or at least, indifferent" as long as no one tries to harm her loved ones or her books. Benno also warns that she's extremely sickly, causing the Head Priest to instruct Fran to learn how to manage her health.

The Head Priest asks about the rumors that Myne is Benno's "Flutrane" — a common colloquialism for "lover" — causing him to spit out his tea in dismay. He assures him that Myne is merely his protégé, and Mark explains that in this context, "Flutrane" just means someone who brings new ideas and profit.

Just as they settle on the church getting 10% of the profits from Myne's business ventures, she collapses suddenly. Ferdinand scolds her for losing her composure, but Benno stiffly informs him that she falls ill often and begs to be excused. As Benno carries her out of the temple, Fran chases after them. He apologizes to Myne for not serving her well, explaining that he'd felt hurt that the Head Priest had cast him aside. She assures him that his former master values his service, and promises to do her best for him.

When Lutz drops off Myne at the cathedral gate, they are met by her three retainers. While Fran greets her warmly, Gil is still resentful of her and Delia runs off to the High Priest at her first opportunity. Angry at being ignored, Gil grabs Myne's shoulder and she falls over. In response, Lutz immediately tackles him and starts shouting at him.

However, Fran tells Myne that violence is prohibited in the cathedral, and she asks Lutz to stop. When he does, Gil angrily says that Myne has failed him as a master by not providing for his daily needs, including his food and housing. While Fran and Delia have food and shelter from the Head Priest and High Priest respectively, Gil has no one to help him. Myne is startled to realize that she'd overlooked something so important and promises to take responsibility.

Myne heads to the Head Priest's office to help him with his paperwork, and scandalizes him by changing into his blue robes in his office. She says she'd happily change elsewhere if he'd give her somewhere to do it. The gray priest Arno suggests she take the orphanage director's office, which is currently empty, and the Head Priest agrees.

Myne tells Gil that he can go ahead of them and start cleaning up in exchange for some food. The others are dubious of her trusting him with such an important job, but she says it's an important opportunity to prove himself. The idea of compensation is novel to Gil, but he agrees to try his best, and he has the bedroom immaculately clean by the time Myne arrives. She pats his head and praises him, and Gil is moved to tears.

Myne gives Fran and Gil town clothing so they can join her when she walks downtown. They grab lunch at a street vendor. Myne and Lutz are bemused by Gil and Fran's unusual habits, such as saying grace and waiting until those of higher status finish eating to begin a meal. Gil is taken aback by how differently things work downtown compared to in the cathedral, and he apologizes for mocking Myne before.

Benno is ecstatic to learn that Myne now has an oven thanks to moving in to the orphanage director's chambers. He sends his two cooks, Hugo and Ella to practice cooking at the cathedral, and joins Myne for lunch to taste-test their new recipes. The food turns out to be delicious.

Just then, Delia bursts in and accuses Myne of getting her in trouble with the High Priest. Gil tells her that "she who does not work, neither shall she eat." Delia, who is used to being asked to entertain male guests, tries to flirt with Benno, but he pushes her away. Desperate not to go back to the orphanage, she begs Myne to give her some work to do. Myne agrees to provide for her as long as she does her job.

One day, Myne asks Gil to guide her to the orphanage area of the cathedral so she can see it for herself. However, they arrive at a locked underground bunker to see many of the children malnourished. Myne learns that the cathedral dismissed the previous priestess of the orphanage, forcing the children to exist aimlessly and starving, surviving off the leftovers Gil provides them. Though she wants to help, she doesn't have the funds or means to do so, nor the church's approval.

Later that day, Myne and Fran meet with Lutz and discuss the problem, only for Lutz to come up with the idea to turn the orphanage into a working branch of their paper-making studio.

With Benno's advice, Myne arranges a meeting with the High Priest to become the orphanage director and to set up her studio for the orphans. However, he begins by reprimanding her for her lack of noble decorum and to be wary of retainers and other blue robed priests who are loyal to the High Bishop. He then accepts her request to be orphanage director before revealing that he, like Myne, joined the church later in life for personal reasons. With the support of her retainers, Myne heads over to the orphanage and officially begins her role as director.

Under the leadership of Myne, Fran, and Gil, the orphanage is rebuilt and establishes of rule of rewarding those who work. The children go forging for paper supplies in the forest with Gunther and Lutz, and are rewarded by Myne for their productivity and hard work. Myne's three retainers are gifted slates and pencils to practice their writing while the rest of the children were given flashcards to play with made of the wood they collected in the forest, which Benno quickly buys the rights to.

While on a walk with Lutz, Myne learns that Lutz and his brother Seig have grown distant, and that the annual Star Festival is approaching, though Myne is curious if the orphans are able to attend. When she asks the High Priest about this, he informs her that the temple is open to the townspeople during the festival and that the orphans would normally be kept quiet, but allows them to partake in the town's festivities of throwing fruit at each other within the temple grounds as long as they don't cause any problems.

When the day of the ceremony arrives, however, the fruit that was collected suddenly turns into a pod of trombe sprouts when touched by Myne. Lutz and the orphans quickly slay the predatory plant, then proceed to throw the fruit at one another to celebrate. At the end of the day, Myne ends up sick and is carried home by Fran. When she returns to the temple, the High Priest reveals that the temple grounds required some repair from the celebration and that he knew of the trombe attack, forcing Myne into detention for breaking her promise, though Fran's protest fell on deaf ears.

At the end of the day, Myne ends up sick again, causing the High Priest to realize that Fran was protesting out of safety for Myne's health and begins to regret his punishment to Myne due to her frailty.

After Myne recovers from her illness, she discovers that Lutz ran away from home after arguing with his family and that Benno is considering adopting Lutz as his son so that he can devote his life to the business. At the temple, she struggles to focus on her accounting work with the Head Priest, so she relays the details to him about what's been going on.

After giving it some thought, he proposes to bring Lutz's parents to the cathedral so they can sign away Lutz for adoption. All parties involved are brought before the Head Priest for discussions, including Lutz, his parents, and Benno.

The talks take a turn and it is revealed that Lutz's parents actually supported his choices, even though it was against their wishes, and only want him to be safe and to grow up strong. Lutz apologizes for everything and Benno decides to swap his adoption idea to instead change Lutz's contract to a leherl contract and raise him as his successor in the Merchant Guild, to which everyone agrees.

Lutz reunites with his family while Myne cries tears of joy for everything turning out well. The Head Priest offers her his handkerchief, and she finds out from the embroidery on its hem that his real name is Ferdinand.

Myne learns that her mother, Effa, is pregnant, so she wants to create a picture book for the new baby as a gift. She asks Ferdinand to let her take Wilma, an artistically talented gray priestess, as her retainer to help her make the art.

However, Ferdinand says she should instead focus on learning important noble graces like playing the stringed instrument harspiel. He explains that, because mana is typically inherited from the mother's side of the family, she will be targeted by nobles for her high mana capacity as soon as she comes of age. Learning how to behave like a noblewoman is her best defense in securing a better match and better treatment.

Fran recommends the gray priestess Rosina, a gifted musician who studied under Christine, to be her harspiel tutor. Ferdinand then shows Myne how to play the first few notes on the instrument and is surprised when she picks it up quickly.

Rosina enters Myne's service. However, it soon becomes apparent that she expects to have a privileged position as a music tutor, rather than sharing in the daily work of Myne's other retainers. When Delia angrily asks Myne to do something about it, Myne holds a meeting to discuss the problem and decide how to move forward.

Myne gives Rosina the ultimatum of working and serving or returning to the orphanage, and she decides to stay and work while still teaching Myne music. For the next ten days, Myne rushes to master her first song on the harspiel in preparation for Ferdinand's review. Thanks to Rosina's help, she passes the test with flying colors.

Myne decides to create a children's version of the church's holy scriptures so that both her upcoming newborn sibling and the orphans can read it. However, she runs into an obstacle when she realizes ink is both expensive and in short supply. Instead, she decides to make her own using oil and soot from the town's fireplaces.

When Ferdinand approves of her plan, Myne asks Wilma to draw the illustrations for the picture book, which she then carves into a wooden block and uses as a base for printing. However, the detailed art doesn't translate well to the page.

Meanwhile, Wilma is struggling to reconcile her fear of men and her interest in the printing process. She accidentally lashes out at an orphan boy when asked to come see the studio that finalizes her drawings. Myne decides to use stencil printing instead of woodblock printing. She asks Wilma to work on simplifying her design and later the orphans tell her Wilma's recent odd behavior.

Myne asks Ferdinand to read through her manuscript for the children's bible to make sure the content is okay to print. When he reads it, he immediately becomes suspicious of how easily she was able to synopsize the complicated language of the scriptures into accessible, kid-friendly prose. He calls her to his hidden room and asks about her education and where she got her ideas. Myne replies that she can only say she saw it in a world of dreams to which she can never return.

Wilma finishes the picture. To Myne's surprise, she to join them in the studio to see the book completed, as well as to help conquer her fear of men. Together, the gray priests and orphans print, dry, fold and assemble the books, and Myne brings it home to Tuuli who puts the finishing touches on it by binding all the pages together. Finally, two years after arriving in the new world, Myne has created her first book.

While en route to the library, Myne encounters a blue-robed priest loyal to the High Priest. Myne peacefully steps aside in order to avoid conflict. However, when she arrives at the library she is infuriated to find that it has been ransacked, and she guesses that the blue priest was to blame.

Fran drags Myne unwillingly to Ferdinand's office to consult with him before she does anything rash. She is determined to get vengeance for the harm done to her library, but cheers up when she realizes that this is an opportunity to reinvent her own library classification system and put all the books in a logical order. She and her retainers go back to the library and begin using a modified version of the Nippon Decimal Classification System to sort the books by genre and subject matter.

When they're finished sorting all the books, the shelf she set aside for books on magic remains empty. She asks Ferdinand about it, and he brings her to his hidden room where he presses her about the organization system she used. She tells him about Melville Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System, perplexing Ferdinand who has never heard of either. He then explains that magic books are the exclusive domain of nobles who have graduated from the Royal Academy. Myne is dismayed to learn that, a mere blue priestess, she is not allowed to read them.

Later, Myne and Lutzbring one of the first copies of the children's bible to Benno, who immediately wants to begin to sell them for profit, but Myne refuses since she wants to create actual literature books to sell, but doesn't have the right tools yet. As the winter months approach, Myne intends to work from home and create accessories for the orphanage, but Ferdinand reveals that the annual temple Dedication Ceremony occurs during winter and requires a vast amount of mana to complete. As such, he denies her request to live at home and orders her to stay at the temple.

Though Ferdinand holds firm on requiring Myne to stay at the temple, he offers the concession that her family can come visit to check on her. Myne tells her family about her required stay at the temple over winter, only for them to react poorly, particularly Gunther. He and the rest of the family eventually concedes after Myne explains that the only reason she's alive is because of the temple taking her in, and follows it with her responsibilities for the children of the orphanage.

While preparing for a new picture book at the temple, Fran informs Myne that she needs to prepare for the Knights' Order, a group from the Noble’s Quarter of Ehrenfest, by memorizing the necessary prayers and completing her ceremonial robes. During a meeting with a newly returned Ferdinand from the Harvest Festival, he suddenly receives a message that the Knights' Order requires immediate assistance with a raid and a blessing.

Once dressed, Myne meets with a Ferdinand, who is dressed in knight's armor to fight alongside the Knight's Order. He gives her a magic ring, and they pass through the main gate of the cathedral to the to the Noble’s Quarter.

Greeted by the Knights' Order captain, Karstedt, the group fly away to take on a massive rampaging trombe. Myne is given two guards, Damuel and Shikikoza, to protect her as she prays for the knight's safety. As they fly off to battle, Shikikoza suddenly mocks Myne's prayer as useless and sneers at her.

Shikikoza criticizes Myne for wasting her mana on a useless blessing, but Damuel comforts her by saying that her prayer will aid in the battle. Determined not to cause a stir, Myne apologizes to Shikikoza and he lets it go.

As the battle turns in the knights' favor, Shikikoza reprimands Damuel for being so friendly with a commoner. Damuel is shocked to learn that the blue shrine maiden he's been talking to is a commoner. Although Myne tries to apologize, Shikikoza grabs her hair and then threatens to gouge out her eyes with a knife. Both Damuel and Fran attempt to intervene, but Damuel is forced to stand down due to his lower rank.

Seeing Ferdinand in the sky behind Shikikoza, Myne calls out for help, causing him to accidentally cut her with his blade. When her blood hits the ground, a second trombe appears and wraps itself around her. Fran rushes to her aid, and Damuel begins trying to cast a blessing on his weapon to save her. As Myne struggles, she calls out to Lutz. While working at his apprentice job across the city, he has a vision of her struggling.

Ferdinand arrives, but his weapons have no effect on the trombe because her blood is feeding the plant's growth. He dismisses his weapon, heals her wound, and has the rest of the knights chop down the plant without harming Myne. He then gives her a recovery potion to regain her lost mana.

An open interrogation occurs to figure out what happened. Shikikoza refuses to defend himself, saying there is no need for a noble to justify his treatment of a commoner. Damuel hesitates to give his testimony, since Shikikoza outranks him. However, Myne asks Ferdinand and Karstedt if they can guarantee her safety if she provides honest testimony. Damuel apologizes for failing to help her.

As the highest-ranking knight present, Ferdinand issues his verdict. He says that everyone must remember their place in society, and that by failing to protect Myne as ordered, the knights defied the will of the lord of Ehrenfest himself. As they fly to the center of the crater, Ferdinand asks Myne to put her full power into the ritual and says he has a plan to set her up for success.

As punishment for Shikikoza's failure, Ferdinand orders him to lead the healing ritual and restore the land. When he fails to do so, Myne is the next to attempt the ritual. She succeeds far beyond anyone's expectations — even Ferdinand's. As the Knight's Order regards her in shock, he warns them that she is under his custody and protection. As they return to the city of Ehrenfest, Ferdinand apologizes for allowing her to come to harm under his supervision.

When they return to the temple, Ferdinand asks Myne what demands she has for reparations. She asks for a new set of ceremonial robes from the Gilberta Company, since hers were damaged, and asks Karstedt to be lenient to Damuel, the laynoble knight who tried to help her. As she leaves the temple and heads home, she is met by Lutz, who heard her calling out for help when she was trapped by the trombe. As he hugs her, she bursts into tears.

Myne spends several days bedridden after her strenous adventure and returns to the temple at the end of fall. Ferdinand calls her to his hidden room. He gives her a red potion to drink, which she finds sweet, and then places a circlet on her head. As she falls into a deep sleep, he uses the magic tool to explore her memories.

When she realizes what's happening, she enthusiastically takes him on a tour of her memories — showing him her past as Urano Motosu, her fond memories of books in the other world, and her life with her family in Japan. As Myne relives her troubled relationship with her mother in her past life, and feels regret for failing to appreciate her family, her emotions become overwhelming.

Because Ferdinand is synchronized with her emotions, he is forced to break off the connnection and return to the present. When Myne wakes up, she sees him looking distressed. She hugs him tightly and thanks him for allowing her to connect with the memories she was starting to forget.

Back home, Myne thanks each member of her family for being there for her. She reflects that while she can't go back to her old life and appreciate everything her mother did for her, she still has a chance to appreciate her family in this world.. The next day, Myne returns to the temple to have a music lesson with Rosina, while Gil and the orphans create new books.

< Myne (Anime)