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The Light Novel series is the source material for the adaptation of the Anime and Manga series. The information and terminology on the article will be based on the source material rather than the adaptions. |
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This is the second volume of the short story collection.
Synopsis
Rozemyne’s third year at the Royal Academy reaches its conclusion. So much has changed since her days as an apprentice blue shrine maiden — her name, of course, but also her height, as she’s now twenty-five centimeters taller than she used to be! More and more books have been printed, and a lot of things have happened without her knowing. Lutz and Tuuli are engaged now?! What?! This second volume of Bookworm’s Short Story Collection is packed with previously unpublished chapters that expand upon an already extensive world. Nineteen stories spanning Parts 2 to 5 cover events never seen in the main series, supplying readers with a greater insight into Myne’s attendants, her lower-city family, the nobles of other duchies, and even members of royalty! Includes behind-the-scenes notes from author Miya Kazuki and more four-panel manga by You Shiina.
Contents
- Chapter 1: Effa — Meeting the Attendants
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection, set at the beginning of Part 2. Effa meets Fran and Gil, Myne’s new temple attendants. Would someone from the lower city welcome such well-dressed strangers? How does she feel about them bringing her daughter home, especially so soon after the High Bishop threatened her with execution?
- Author’s Note: This was one of my ideas for the anime Blu-ray bonus short story. I went with Delia’s in the end, so I posted this one online.
- Chapter 2: Rico — Change Begins
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection that takes place early in Part 2. Rico, a child stuck in the orphanage’s basement, experiences the start of a great change. Though he always had a name, it never came up in the main story because he barely remembered it and nobody really spoke to him.
- Author’s Note: This started out as a short story for the manga but was too dark for a volume aimed at younger readers, so I posted it online instead. Please enjoy a happier story featuring Rico in Part 2 Volume 3 of the manga release.
- Chapter 3: Brunhilde — Debuting Dyes with Lady Rozemyne
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection, set partway through Part 4 Volume 5. Brunhilde depicts the dyeing contest from the perspective of an apprentice archattendant. Rozemyne seems a little out of the loop, but she makes it through socializing by the skin of her teeth.
- Author’s Note: This used to be part of the main story but seemed a little out of place, so I made it into a short story instead. Hopefully it conveys the contrast between Rozemyne’s perspective and those of most other nobles.
- Chapter 4: Brunhilde — As the Daughter of Giebe Groschel
- Description: A bonus short story for Part 4 Volume 5 set during Rozemyne’s trip to Groschel. Brunhilde receives a warning that Groschel’s branch of the printing industry could fail. As the daughter of the province’s giebe, she feels duty bound to see it succeed, but Rozemyne’s mindset is too hard to comprehend. Only through a conversation with Hartmut and Elvira does she come to better understand her lady’s way of thinking.
- Chapter 5: Lutz — Growing Healthily
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection, set midway through Part 4 Volume 5. Lutz brings back souvenirs from Groschel and takes a trip around the lower city. He sees Dirk and Konrad in the orphanage; Otto and Corinna’s daughter, Renate; and Gunther and Effa’s son, Kamil. Everyone is growing healthily.
- Author’s Note: I wrote this story during the publication of the web novel. I’d spent so long writing exclusively about nobles that I suddenly found myself craving a change of pace. It was fun writing about all the kids growing up.
- Chapter 6: Raimund — Duchy and Mentor Relations
- Description: A sales bonus story for Part 4 Volume 6, set around when Rozemyne went to Hirschur’s laboratory for the first time. This story elaborates on how Raimund’s meeting with Rozemyne led to his apprenticeship with Ferdinand.
- Author’s Note: How does an archduke candidate surrounded by guard knights appear to a mednoble from another duchy? How do her actions become the basis for decision-making? These are the questions I tried to answer with this story. I also made sure to sprinkle in some family circumstances and details about the Ahrensbach Dormitory.
- Chapter 7: Otto — Winter Preparations and a Traveling Merchant’s Request
- Description: A sales bonus story for Part 4 Volume 7. On the cusp of winter, Otto meets with an old friend from his days as a traveling merchant.
- Author’s Note: It was fun having Otto return to the bar he used to frequent as a soldier, and the fact that Tuuli was able to bargain with him shows how much she’s grown as a leherl. I tried to touch on how traveling merchants feel about the changes to Ehrenfest’s lower city as well as Benno’s and Otto’s thoughts on Karin, which Rozemyne never had a chance to hear about.
- Chapter 8: Florencia — Completing The Story of Fernestine
- Description: An unpublished short story from the online collection, set after Ferdinand’s engagement is announced in Part 4 Volume 8. Elvira wails and curses the royal decree, prompting Rozemyne to advise her to channel her emotions into something creative. Florencia watches over the newly founded Make Ferdinand Happy Squad to ensure their enthusiasm doesn’t go overboard.
- Chapter 9: Tuuli — Self-Awareness amid Everything
- Description: A sales bonus story for Part 4 Volume 8 set during the run-up to Karin’s return to Klassenberg. It explores how marriage is seen by lower-city merchants and how Tuuli felt about Benno and Karin’s relationship.
- Author’s Note: The bonus short story for the second drama CD depicted the blossoming of this first love, though Tuuli had yet to recognize it. I wrote this installment to pave the way for what comes next for her. Benno’s quite a catch, so he’s sure to have opened many women’s eyes to the world of romance.
- Chapter 10: Gunther — Soldiers and Knights Gathering Intel
- Description: A sales bonus story for Part 4 Volume 9 that takes place around the time Ehrenfest’s bible was stolen. It shows the incident in the temple from the perspective of Gunther, the commander of the north gate. Damuel and Angelica arrive at Rozemyne’s order, and the three gather what information they can in a bid to save the four kidnapped gray priests.
- Author’s Note: Gunther’s attitude and enthusiasm make him a fun character to write. He has a growing relationship of trust with Damuel, who just keeps getting stronger, and works closely with him to protect his daughter. What a good dad.
- Chapter 11: Justus — An Aged Board and New Letter
- Description: An unpublished short story from the online collection that takes place between Part 4 Volume 9 and Part 5 Volume 1. Eckhart and Justus are managing luggage in Ahrensbach. They dispose of an old message in Justus's hand—though he doesn't remember writing it-and start their new lives in a new duchy. A response is written to Rozemyne's letter.
- Author's Note: I was told that if I wanted to write some kind of follow-up to the series, I would need to start the foreshadowing sooner rather than later. I spent a lot of time debating whether or not I should write this before lumping it in with the other short stories posted online. Its contents might stand out for not being resolved in the main series.
- Chapter 12: Barthold — Hidden Wrath
- Description: A short story that takes place during the Ehrenfest purge in Part 5 Volume 1. Barthold, whose parents were both name-sworn to Georgine, was the only student who knew the full extent of what the adults were planning How did he feel about Matthias reporting them, and what transpired when he gave his own name?
- Author's Note: This particular story was written as a sales bonus, so I wasn't able to develop it as much as I wanted. I would have liked to write more about how Barthold interacted with Oswald after giving his name, and it hurt not being able to include his future machinations in Part 5 Volume 2.
- Chapter 13: Loyalitat — Sneaking Suspicion
- Description: A sales bonus short story for Part 5 Volume 2 written from the perspective of Loyalitat, the vice commander of the Sovereign Knight's Order. The events of the Royal Academy's Dedication Ritual have made the Order particularly suspicious of Rozemyne. A curious conversation follows but is cut short when a request for aid arrives from Hildebrand, the third prince.
- Author's Note: How do those of the Sovereign Knight's Order view Raublut's past, Ehrenfest, and Rozemyne? It was pretty tense bouncing between Loyalitat's deductions and Raublut's trickeries to hide the truth from him.
- Chapter 14: Anastasius — Various Goals
- Description: A sales bonus short story for Part 5 Volume 3, set during the aftermath of Detlinde’s dedication whirl. How do the royals feel about the circle that appeared onstage? What do those of the Sovereign temple have to say about it? These are the events that precede Eglantine’s attempt to gather information from Rozemyne.
- Author’s Note: I always have a hard time writing stories from the royal family’s perspective, as I need to think extremely carefully about how much information to reveal. The balance of power between royals is also surprisingly complex.
- Chapter 15: Lutz — Tuuli’s Worries
- Description: A short story set during Part 5 Volume 4. Spring has arrived and the snow has just started to melt when Lutz is sent to the Gilberta Company. Ralph’s coming-of-age ceremony is on the horizon, and Tuuli fears he might recognize Myne.
- Author’s Note: The idea for this story came to me when several readers asked whether those of the lower city were worried about Ralph’s coming-of-age ceremony. Rozemyne managed to avoid Zack’s and Sieg’s ceremonies but couldn’t escape them all.
- Chapter 16: Rozemyne — Speaking to Lasfam
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection, set right after “She Arrived Immediately” in Part 5 Volume 4. This is one of Rozemyne’s conversations with the layattendant Lasfam, who looks after her new library. He seeks information about his lord, who was relocated to Ahrensbach.
- Author’s Note: I didn’t have time to include this conversation in the light novels, and it didn’t have much to do with the plot, so I stuck it online instead.
- Chapter 17: Effa — How They’ve Grown
- Description: A previously unpublished short story from the online collection that takes place around the time of Part 5 Volume 4. Lutz and Tuuli come home out of nowhere with news about Effa’s job. They explain that she received permission to visit the temple, though Kamil wasn’t quite so lucky. He sure has grown up fast!
- Author’s Note: This short story takes place at almost the same time as the one that follows it. Both focus on when Effa was permitted to visit the temple.
- Chapter 18: Tuuli — Engagement Circumstances
- Description: A sales bonus story for Part 5 Volume 4, set before the Gutenbergs' trip to Kirnberger. It depicts Tuuli and Lutz's view on marriage from their unusual position as once poor commoners now working for rich merchants. Enjoy their rushed engagement and a look into how such arrangements are made in the lower city. It's a big family gathering!
- Author's Note: I wrote this story in response to the countless requests for more information about how Tuuli and Lutz ended up together and because so many readers wanted to know more about lower- city engagements.
- Chapter 19: Letizia — My First Spring Prayer
- Description: A previously unpublished story from the online collection that takes place during Spring Prayer in Part 5 Volume 4. How does Letizia, an Ahrensbach archduke candidate not at all associated with the temple, respond to being asked to participate in religious ceremonies? Ferdinand, Eckhart, and Justus are excited to have a chance to leave Ahrensbach's castle.
- Author's Note: This story shows what Ahrensbach's nobles think about the temple. The ingredients Ferdinand gathers are later given to Rozemyne in Part 5 Volume 6.
- Afterwords
- Bonus Manga
Summary
Characters
Characters are listed in order of appearance.
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Adaptation Notes
Publication Information
| Language | ISBN | Digital Release | Physical Release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 978-4866994123 | 2022-03-09 | |
| English | 2025-01-22 |
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