Main began crafting paper as the first step in her book-making process,
but her attempt to make pseudo-papyrus ended in failure.
"I'll go to the forest and make clay tablets in the spring."
Main now had her sights set on a new goal.
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Chapter Four Forests and Clay Tablets
Wow, what a feast!
Did you cook all of this, Main?
Yeah, since it was my turn to cook today.
Well, eat up before the food goes cold.
I don't know... I'd never seen anyone cook like that.
What are you doing with the water we used to boil the veggies?
Don't worry about it.
Let's eat.
Delicious!
This pome soup is really great!
"Pome" being the unholy lovechild of paprika and tomato.
You're right. This is delicious.
In this world, it's standard practice to dump the water used to boil veggies.
Isn't it? The veggie flavors really pack a punch, right?
This wine-steamed chicken is great, too.
You must have a talent for cooking. The paruecake was just as good, too.
Maybe you could become a chef when you grow up.
We'll have to find a place that'll take her as apprentice.
Apprentice Chef
Making Books
Crap! I won't get to make my books!
I need to go to the forest and make clay tablets already!
Apprentice Chef
B-But I already have a goal in mind!
And what is it, Main?
I want to go to the forest.
"Go to the forest," she says!
Main, we're talking about work right now.
I'm serious!
I wanna make clay tablets! That's why I need to go to the forest!
Clay tablets?
Yep! I'll write on them and make a book!
Write...
You, going to the forest? No way.
Yes way! I haven't fallen sick lately!
But you can't walk as far or as fast as the rest of us.
I'll be fine! I can go all the way to the well without being out of breath now!
And what if you're only able to walk part of the way?
You'll be a burden to everyone.
Well...
Turi goes to the forest all the time. She knows best.
You should listen to her.
What can I do to get your permission?
Build up your stamina and strength. No forest until then.
Got it.
With no means of going to the forest,
my desire for books could only simmer inside.
But then, one day...
Mister Otto's assistant? Who, me?!
He wants your help with files that need lots of calculations.
Can she even handle that job?
Yeah. She has worked with him once before, apparently.
He said she was a huge help.
She did?
But it's against the law to employ an unbaptized child,
so officially, you'll be going there to learn how to read and write.
What? Really?
Yeah.
He has to teach the apprentice soldiers, and he'll teach you with them.
You should learn everything you can from him.
You're a frail girl, Main.
But Otto said you were really smart,
and that you could make a good scrivener.
Scrivener?
Someone who helps people with paperwork to send to nobility or public officials.
The work pays well and isn't too demanding physically.
Dad!
Otto was in the traveling trade before he became a soldier,
and he still has connections with merchants.
The jobs your mother and I can refer you to wouldn't suit you.
So try to maintain a good relationship with Otto.
Thank you, Dad.
Oh, before I forget, these are the terms of employment.
You'll be paid in slate pencils and be allowed to take time off when sick.
Otto was stressing how favorable these terms were for him, budget-wise.
How can he be so petty with a kid?
He'll reap all the benefits of an assistant without burning a hole in the pocket.
Once a businessman, always a businessman.
Anyway, walk to the gate for a while,
and once you're able to keep up with the other kids, you may go to the forest.
Does that sound good to you?
Yep! I'll do my best!
Don't force yourself, okay? Take your time.
Yeah, I know.
Ultimately, Dad had to carry me to the gate from midway.
Let me introduce your new classmate.
This is Main, the chief's daughter.
Don't you boys dare mess with her.
Yes, sir!
Okay, let's begin.
The basic alphabet consists of 35 letters.
Let's start with practicing how to write them.
You really do learn these letters quick.
I much prefer this to physical activities.
That aside, Mister Otto,
I think it's time to move on from the alphabet.
What? Already?
Look, they're starting to fidget.
It shows that they've lost focus.
You should switch to a different subject.
Oh, but...
That does it for the alphabet.
Next up is numbers.
That's all for today.
Be sure to memorize all the letters and numbers you've learned today by next time.
If you come unprepared, you won't be going home until you get everything down pat.
Okay!
They got out of here fast. Boys will be boys, I guess.
Main, they won't learn anything if I make it easy for them.
Oh, it's not that easy.
If they don't do their homework, they won't get to go home at all.
Yeah, but...
Mister Otto, you shouldn't compare them to me.
That's right.
Guess I'll do things your way for a while and see how it goes.
Thank you.
Now, it's your turn.
You should learn how the alphabet works in practice.
Yahoo! Letra!
So many new things to learn!
New words!
I meet up with Turi and gang on the way back from the forest and head home with them.
What are you even doing at the gate?
Paperwo... I mean, learning how to read and write.
What? You can write?!
Only my own name so far, but yeah.
You're awesome! You can write your own name!
You think?
There are so many letters, right?
In this world, just knowing how to write is a big deal.
Must've been hard to figure out how "Main" is spelled!
Of course Otto would want me for an assistant.
Do you know how to write "Lutz," too?
You guys... walk too fast.
You can take your time.
But...
Your father and Turi asked me to take care of you.
I'll walk you all the way home, so don't worry.
Thanks.
Why am I so tired when I've only come this far?
I'm here with you.
Lutz...
Hang in there.
'Kay.
And so, my days of commuting to the gate began.
At first, I would go one day and spend the next three in bed,
but later, I could go three days and only take one day off.
And finally...
I went to the gate on five straight days this week!
Dad, may I go to the forest now?
Yeah.
Yay!
She's on cloud nine.
Well, she deserves it for her efforts.
Found some over here!
Same here!
What? Where?
You're right!
We found a lot!
I wanna go... to the forest...
You won't get any better if you don't sleep.
Let me tell you a bedtime story.
A long, long time ago, there lived some little stars in the sky.
Those little stars...
I remember this.
Mom told me this story soon after I became Main.
They liked coming down to the earth.
On land, they met all kinds of people.
When I finally got to go the forest, it was the end of the spring:
three months after I started commuting to the gate.
Ascendance of a Bookworm
It's the forest!
We're gonna gather firewood. You rest up here.
Got it.
I finally made it.
Clay Tablets
I can finally make clay tablets now!
Yahoo!
As if I'd come all this way to go home empty-handed.
Show yourself, clay soil!
Rock hard!
I'm not giving up!
I'm not finding anything.
What do you think you're doing, Main?!
Did you forget the promise you made your father?
The only goal today is to make it to the forest and back.
When you get there, rest up and aim to come back with the others.
Got that?
Yeah!
My goal for today will be to go to the forest, rest up, and come home.
I-I know, but uh...
Bringing that thing means you never had any intention of keeping your word, did you?
You see, I finally got to the come to the forest, so I just...
You just?
...planned this.
So you lied, then?
Mister Gunther said that out of concern for your health!
But look at you.
I never knew you could be so untrustworthy.
Sorry...
So what were you trying to do, anyway?
When I told Lutz I wanted clay soil,
he took me to a spot with very little vegetation or drainage.
Why are you helping me out?
You made me those paruecakes when I was starving, remember?
I made up my mind to help you then.
That's it?
Yeah. I said I'd be there for you, didn't I?
But you need to tell me what you're trying to do.
Just trust me.
Okay. Thanks.
Here. Is this what you wanted?
Yeah, this is it!
Amazing, Lutz. This would've taken me days.
No boy could ever be weaker than you.
So, what will you do with all this?
Make a book.
A book?
Watch this.
Are these letters?
That's right.
When you write things down,
you can turn moments—words, thoughts,
and events that you'd forget— into permanent ones,
and read them over all you want.
Huh...
A book is something that's full of writing like that.
Books, huh...
Yeah.
With books, you can learn what people in the past were thinking,
and experience so much more than you normally could in an average lifespan.
Aren't books amazing?
Well, I gotta get back to firewood.
Okay. Thank you so much, Lutz.
Sure!
I did it.
Long live Mesopotamia!
I made more than I thought. Wonder if they've dried yet.
Hurry up!
Hold up!
Whoa, what are these?
Oh, they're...
Hup!
Me, too!
No...
Stop!
What's wrong, Main?
My clay tablets...
Fey and him ruined them.
What? Those were important?
Hey, something's up with her.
Do you have any idea what it took me to get here?
I went to the gate so many times, had Lutz and Turi help me...
And yet... How could you do this, Fey?!
I'm sorry. I didn't know.
I'll never forgive you!
Calm down, Main.
You know they didn't do it on purpose.
I can see why you're upset.
You worked so hard to get here.
Main...
Let's dig up the soil and make these again.
O-Okay...
Do the rest tomorrow and finish it off.
Yeah...
However, I was bedridden with another fever,
and it continued to rain for a few days straight.
Th-The rain did this, all right?
I know that.
If you have the time to cry, you have the time to give it another try.
Yeah.
The rest of them went to gather firewood,
but Lutz stayed behind to help the whole way.
Say, Main, is this what you wanna do in life?
Well, what I really want is to live a life surrounded by books.
Surrounded by this stuff?
Wrong.
Real books are too expensive to buy, so I'm using these as a substitute.
What do you want to do in life, Lutz?
Me?
Yeah. I'm sure you have a goal in mind, too.
I...
I want to travel to other cities.
Other cities?
I wanna become a traveling trader and see the world for myself.
A journey sounds good.
What? Do you really think so?
It'd mean leaving the city, y'know?
Yeah. It sounds fun.
You see, my dream at one point was to visit libraries across the world.
Libraries?
Yeah. Places with lots of books.
That dream can never come true now, though.
Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll do what you want to.
You should just do that, too.
All done.
It's a book.
At first, I thought I wasn't meant to live in a world without books.
But... I've found things I hold dear here, too.
Now if I have my books, I'll be fine.
I feel like I've finally found a path of life for myself in this world.
Main, what did you write?
It's the story about the little stars.
The story Mom told me on the first night.
The first night?
Yeah. The earliest story I can remember.
Unable to accept that I was now Main,
I found Mom's affection all too oppressive.
Even then, when I decided to make a book,
this story was the first thing to came to mind.
I wanna turn all of Mom's stories into books so I never forget.
That way, I'll be able to read them whenever I want.
I feel like this is the first time I've been able to smile genuinely as Main.
Now if I bake and harden them, they'll be done!
Clay Tablets Explosion
Main?!
No!
Next Chapter Baptisms and Strange Fevers
Clay tablets were a dead end, too, but that's not enough to make me give up!
What will you do next?
Next? Next...
O-Oh, right. Next up is your baptism.
If we're speaking of baptism, it's my time to shine.
Sorry, High Priest. No screen time for you.
Main! You shouldn't talk to weird strangers!
Illustration by Iida Seriko