Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! Part 2: Apprentice Shrine Maiden, Vol. 3 by Miya Kazuki, You Shiina
Series Name: Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll do anything to become a librarian! (Light Novel)
Genres: Fantasy, Isekai
Intended Age Group: Teen
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Edition: Paperback
ISBN: 9781718356054
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book
An immense display of mana in front of the Knight’s Order has earned Myne the attention of nobles. The result? Yet more people appear, hoping to exploit the young apprentice shrine maiden’s value. And so the High Priest decides to shelter Myne in the temple to safeguard her from the impending danger he foresees. But Myne’s main concern is still books, and she works to advance the printing process so that their price will fall and more people can buy them. Her long winter in the temple away from her family begins, but everything changes as the harsh winter passes and the spring nears, offering a glimpse into what the future holds.
Personal & Info
There’s a new map in this book! I can’t say for sure what exactly it is. I think it’s the country of Ehrenfest and other surrounding countries, but the “Country Border Gate” encompassing the lot of them makes me wonder if I’m wrong. I’m hoping another volume will have more detailed information on this.
Characters
Myne’s Family
Myne, previously Urano Motosu, is the main character. Now that her Devouring is under control, she mainly just suffers from normal poor health. Myne constantly comes up with product ideas from modern Earth that can break or revolutionize the Ehrenfest market.
Tuuli is Myne’s sister. She is one year older than her, and is very responsible and capable for her age. Her current occupation is apprentice seamstress.
Effa is Myne and Tuuli’s mother. She dyes clothes for a career.
Gunther is Myne and Tuuli’s father. He works as a soldier who guards one of the city gates.
The Gilberta Company
Benno is a wealthy merchant. He is Corinna’s older brother, and Otto’s brother-in-law. Benno currently runs the family fabric store, and takes care of Myne and Lutz in relation to their merchant endeavors.
Mark is Benno’s store manager. He teaches all of the apprentices they take on, and tends to important store matters on Benno’s behalf.
Corinna is Otto’s wife and Benno’s sister. She is a professional seamstress.
Otto is Gunther’s coworker. He handles all the important paperwork for guarding the gate. Benno is his brother-in-law, because Otto married Benno’s sister, Corinna.
Lutz is Myne’s friend. He is the same age as she is, and he looks after her to monitor her health. Thanks to Myne, he is now following his dream to become a merchant. Lutz also helps Myne and her workshop make products.
The Temple
The High Bishop is supposed to be in charge of the temple, but he pushes all responsibilities onto the High Priest. Due to events from Part 1, Volume 3, he hates Myne, and will do whatever he can to spy on her and make her miserable.
High Priest Ferdinand is Myne’s guardian at the temple. He is twenty, fairly new to his job, and convolutedly related to the High Bishop.
Sylvester is a blue priest who accompanies the High Priest and Myne during Spring Prayer. He is an eccentric and rather childish person. His actual noble rank remains a mystery.
Fran is one of the High Priest’s best attendants. He is seventeen, and reassigned to Myne upon her joining the temple. By loyalty, he technically works for the High Priest instead of Myne. Fran is assigned to Myne to help her learn and adapt to life in the temple. He is also responsible for watching Myne’s health while she is at the temple.
Gil is about ten. He is assigned to Myne as an attendant, by order of the High Bishop, specifically to cause her trouble. That plan has failed, and he now works hard to be useful and help Myne.
Delia is eight. She is assigned as an attendant to Myne, by order of the High Bishop, to spy on her.
Wilma is one of Myne’s attendants. She is good at art, and permitted to stay in the orphanage to take care of the children.
Rosina is one of Myne’s attendants. She has a talent for music, and previously worked for an eccentric blue shrine maiden along with Wilma. Her primary responsibilities are to teach Myne how to play the harspiel and help Fran with paperwork.
Arno is one of the High Priest’s attendants.
Ehrenfest’s Knight’s Order
Karstedt is the captain of Ehrenfest Knight’s Order. He’s also a close friend of High Priest Ferdinand.
Damuel is a kind knight from the previous volume, currently assigned as Myne’s guard.
Other
Hugo is a chef Benno hired. He is about twenty, and he is learning to cook in a noble’s kitchen by practicing in Myne’s quarters at the temple.
Ella is the apprentice chef Benno hired. She is in her early teens, and is learning to cook with Hugo in Myne’s quarters at the temple.
Johann is an apprentice craftsman at the smithy. He specializes in small detail work that is typically too difficult for others.
Story & Thoughts
After the busywork of the previous volume, this one gets things back on track. Myne starts new projects and inventions, but the story doesn’t heavily focus on them. Instead, the focus is Myne dealing with hardships
It’s already been arranged that Myne will stay at the temple all winter. That on its own is going to be hard. Unlike in her previous life, she’s much more family oriented, so months away from her family is going to be rough. Sure, she’s not alone, because she has attendants, but it’s not the same.
There has to be an obvious master and servant divide between them. Myne can’t treat her attendants like friends. Something as simple as getting a hug is not something she is able to do. When she has to go to the temple for the winter early due to potential danger, it’s even worse, because it’s more like house arrest.
The story talks a lot about how Myne is drawing attention to herself and that Benno is wise to keep her identity a secret. There are events ahead that Myne will have no control over, because it’s either do what she’s told or die for being a potential danger to herself and the country. All of that makes sense, but it can’t possibly be easy for her.
A new character gets an introduction during the spring. It’s unclear who Sylvester actually is, but one thing is for certain. He has too much authority for someone so childish and whimsical. I can’t help wondering about his actual identity and what part he might play in the future. I get the feeling he doesn’t actually live at the temple. It’s pretty clear we’re going to see him again at some point.
This series has easily become one of my favorites. Just one paragraph is enough to make me feel engrossed and comforted. I love all of the characters, even rude Sylvester after seeing more interactions. I can’t express enough how much joy and comfort I get from these books. The world comes more and more alive every volume.
Lunchtime at the Temple
This bonus chapter is in Damuel’s perspective. It takes place before Spring Prayer, while Damuel is dining with High Priest Ferdinand. Throughout their mealtime discussion, Damuel reports his perspective of Myne. In return, Ferdinand points out the “sins” of which Damuel is not aware are included in his punishment. This gives Damuel more insight into how to be a better person and a better knight.
The conversation about Damuel’s money problems in this chapter are likely relevant to Ferdinand’s discussion with Myne at a later date.
The Title of “Gutenberg”
In this chapter, we see Johann’s side of things regarding the presentation of his patron project. We get to see what happens after Myne faints, and the official judgement from the guild for his score. One thing is certain, he is not happy to have the title of “Gutenberg.”