One failure after another throws Main into despair and illness.
The fever in my body is smaller now?
While bewildered by her strange fevers,
she looks to walk down a new path all the same.
Ascendance of a Bookworm
Chapter Six Meeting
Lutz, you will do as I say. I won't hear any objections.
Wh-What's gotten into you?
Stop! Don't do this!
You could've just said you were gonna wash my hair.
If I had, you would've ran away.
Urk.
What brought this on, anyway?
First impressions are important.
So you'd better dress your best tomorrow, too.
I don't think it'd change much, honestly.
You should still do everything you can.
Ah, that felt good.
Say...
What do you wanna achieve by becoming a traveling trader?
Where did that come from?
Your parents can't get you a referral here, so you should really think about it.
Unless you have a goal in mind, you won't land an apprentice gig.
Do you have a goal in mind?
You wanna be a merchant yourself, don't you?
As my second option, but yes.
And I do know what I wanna do as an apprentice merchant.
What's that?
I wanna sell paper.
Paper? Not books?
I don't think there's much demand for books here.
But paper is a different story.
Hey...
He said the third bell, right? Aren't we here too early?
Better too early than late.
Oh, there he is.
Remember your greetings.
Y-Yeah.
He brought someone with him?
Heya, Main.
Good day, Mister Otto.
Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with us today.
This is Lutz, my friend.
Hello, I'm Lutz!
It's a pleasure to meet you!
This is Main. The captain's daughter, and my assistant.
An unbaptized child is your assistant?
I'm grooming her for the role by teaching her how to read and write.
Huh...
This is Benno, an old buddy of mine from my days as a traveling trader.
He may have a foul mouth, but he's a nice guy deep down.
Hello. I'm Main.
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Oh, how very polite of you.
My name is Benno.
The pleasure is all mine.
If you don't mind me asking, what is that on your head?
A hair stick. I use it to tie up my hair.
Just a piece of wood, I see.
Indeed.
It is just a piece of shaved wood.
Wow.
Tell me, lass.
What did you do to make your hair so shiny?
I made a mix of surprisingly common items.
The details are confidential.
Your hair looks just as splendid, lad.
Main washed it for me.
Tch. I see.
Too bad!
I have no intention of putting my golden goose into play just yet.
So...
Lutz, you want to join the traveling trade, I hear?
Oh, yes.
I...
Forget about it.
Only a fool would relinquish his citizenship.
"Citizenship"?
The right to reside in any given city.
Then if you don't have one...
Without it, you'll have no proof of identity.
You won't be able to get a job, rent a home, get married,
or anything else.
You know how children get baptized at age seven?
Yeah...
That's when you get your citizenship.
If an outsider wants to obtain one,
he has to cough up an absurd sum of money.
But...
Besides,
the life of a nomad is nothing like city life.
For example, what do you do when you need water?
Draw it from a well?
Right. But you won't necessarily have access to a well on your travels.
You'll have to find a watering hole yourself.
Couldn't I just go to the river?
And how would you know where it is?
You won't be traveling along one the entire way.
Oh...
Main's right.
That's why a family's routes are passed down through generations in this trade.
Those routes are too valuable to share with outsiders.
And the most important issue here is the finish line.
Do you know what a traveling trader's ultimate goal is?
Citizenship.
They save up money so they can leave their rough travels behind
and live in peace in the city one day.
That's every traveling trader's dream.
But that's...
Do you really think they'd accept you after you cast your citizenship away?
That is the reality. Give up on joining the traveling trade.
That said, Main did a propose an idea.
Is becoming an apprentice merchant not good enough?
Main?
I figured you should hear from someone who has lived that life.
But now that I've heard all that, even I think the traveling trade's a bad idea.
So you've been looking out for me, huh?
But hey, apparently apprentice merchants get to go out of town to stock up.
Apprentice merchant, huh?
Do you want to be a merchant?
Yes, sir!
I see.
And what can you sell?
What do you want to sell when you're a merchant?
Well...
If you can't answer that, we're done here.
Do you want to make my paper for me?
I do have a goal, sir!
I'll bring all of Main's ideas to reality!
So the lass will think of creations, and you'll make and sell them?
Do you want to be a merchant too, lass?
As my second option, but yes.
Is handling paperwork at the gate your first?
My first option is to be a book seller, or a librarian, even.
Say what? "Librarian"?
Uh... A caretaker of sorts for books.
That's a job for nobility.
Tch! Darn those lucky nobles!
So, do you have any ideas right now?
Yes.
I want to produce and sell paper that's not made from animal skin.
Paper that isn't made from animal skin?
That's right.
I'll produce paper using plants.
Did you just say "plants"?
I did. It'll be cheaper to produce than parchment,
so I'm sure it'll make for some very profitable merchandise.
I see.
So, how exactly will you produce it?
The details are confidential!
I'd like to see this paper. Do you have it?
Not yet.
We'll have a prototype by the time of our baptism next summer.
You can decide whether it's usable or not then.
Very interesting. That's fine by me.
Yes!
We did it, Lutz!
Let's do our best!
Yeah!
Mister Otto, thank you very much for today.
It certainly was a fun day off.
Be it her conduct or her speech,
nothing about her indicates an unbaptized child of a soldier.
Her family is perfectly ordinary.
She's the odd one out.
Plant-based paper, eh?
If they succeed, it will turn the market on its head.
Wait just one moment! Are you thinking of making her your apprentice?
Of course I am.
She's already thought of hair sticks, a way to make hair shine,
and plant-based paper.
She's sure to have all kinds of other ideas up her sleeve.
I'm going to have both of them join me.
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
I know you're pleased,
but don't get too worked up or you'll develop another fever.
But we're gonna make paper! That's one step away from books!
Yahoo!
Okay, sure, but how are we gonna make it?
Uh-oh...
We don't have the tools.
Ascendance of a Bookworm
How'd Main's meeting go?
Looks like she and Lutz have been accepted as apprentice merchants.
What? Really?
I was sure she had no chance.
It's conditional, though.
We need a steamer, a deckle, and...
Paper making happens in two steps: extracting the fiber, and molding it.
First, you chop wood,
steam it,
and then skin it.
When that's done,
When
When that's
When that's done
When that's done!
once you've separated the useful fiber from everything else,
you beat it down and unravel it.
And after that,
And
And after
And after that
And after that!
you screen a mix of the fiber, water, and starch with the deckle.
You then couch the paper and press the water out.
And once you dry it, you're done!
If we don't have the tools, we just have to make those, too!
I'll ask Lutz tomorrow if we can make all this equipment.
I'm home.
Welcome back, Dad!
I'm home.
Oh, welcome back, Dad.
Don't feel too bad, Main.
You can find someone else to apprentice with.
Why did all three of you just assume I had no chance?
I'll have you know I was accepted.
It's conditional, though.
A tree that'll provide the raw material?
Yeah. I want you to find a soft, young-ish tree with long and sturdy fibers.
Hmm...
I'll try asking someone who knows a lot of about trees and wood.
Thanks.
Also...
Could you make these tools, Lutz?
Do you have nails?
Nails?
Yeah. I can't make anything without them.
So yeah, we don't have the equipment to make the equipment we need.
I guess you'll have to make the nails first.
It's no laughing matter!
By the way, what made you want to become a soldier?
Didn't you say citizenship was expensive?
I did it so I could marry Corinna.
It was not long after I turned fifteen and became an adult.
I came to this town and met The One.
I was shot through the heart the moment I laid eyes on her.
Long story short,
he fell for Corinna at first sight, bought his citizenship,
and became a soldier.
Oh! Do you want to make a deal, Main?
A deal?
Yeah. If you tell me how to make hair shiny,
I'll pay for your nails.
Really?!
But why would he care about the Simple All-In-One Shampoo?
Who actually wants it?
The wife?
It's the wife, isn't it?
I can't teach you how to make it, but I don't mind trading some for nails.
Bartering, eh?
Very well.
We have a deal!
And so, I was invited to visit Otto's home on the next day off.
Wow.
This place hardly feels like the same town anymore.
Is this your first time coming to the north side?
Yeah.
Soldiers aren't very rich, so most of them live in the south, right?
How come you get to live here?
My brother-in-law didn't want to be separated from his dear sister,
so he told us to live upstairs in the family home.
Huh...
Here we are.
What? This is your home?!
We live on the third floor here.
I'm amazed he got the green light to marry such a rich girl.
Welcome! I'm so happy you came!
I'm Corinna, Otto's wife.
Hello, Missus Corinna. I'm Main.
I've been looking forward to seeing you!
You really are a polite young lady.
Also...
Your hair is so pretty!
Forgive me.
Let me show you inside.
Corinna may be young, but she's already part of the top brass at the Seamstress Guild.
Turi was greener than her hair with envy that I was getting to meet her idol.
I'm ready, Main.
Okay.
My hair is so smooth now...
I hope you like it.
I very much do!
Thank you, Main.
Say, may I ask you something?
Yes?
How is Otto at work?
I'm worried because he had to give up his merchant's life for me.
I don't think you have anything to worry about.
He's still very much a merchant at work.
He always haggles with people that come on deliveries,
with his merchant's spirit burning bright.
I see. His merchant's spirit...
I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
How do I look, Otto?
M-M-Main! Don't you have something to do?!
I might remember something once I have my nails.
Score!
We decided to use the nails to make a deckle right away.
Can you make them to exact measure to avoid any gaps when they're stacked?
Exact measure?
I don't have the tools for that unless I ask my dad or brothers.
Do you think they'll let you borrow them?
Hmm...
I dunno.
Merchants are cold, heartless monsters that only have money on their minds!
Forget becoming an apprentice merchant
and become a craftsman like your father and brothers, Lutz.
Lutz, will you be all right?
Don't worry! I'll work things out!
Oh, I went around asking lumberers about the tree.
Really?
Really. They told me about soft trees like...
Main, Lutz.
For you.
An invitation for you two.
What's it say?
Mister Benno wants to see you and me.
I'm going to have both of them join me.
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
Mister Otto.
What's the matter, Main?
I wanted to ask you something.
Do you know of any illnesses where your fever suddenly grows or shrinks?
It always feels like the fever's eating into me.
Never heard of anything like it, sorry.
No idea.
I see.
Thank you.
She's unbelievably frail.
There's no way she can work for you.
It may be the Devouring.
If it is the Devouring,
she'll die very soon.
Next Chapter Seeds of Suspicion
It seems you've taken a step closer to making plant-based paper.
That's exactly right!
Anyway, High Priest,
what did he mean, I'll die very soon if it's the Devouring?
Exactly that, but what do you want to know?
How someone with the Devouring dies?
Terrifyingly, a person on the brink of death due to it...
Eek! Not another word!
I can't stand pain or scary things!
As you wish.
Illustration by Kitora Con