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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 1.2 - Chapter 4




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Lutz’s Most Important Job 

Even after getting home, Lutz’s words kept stirring in my head. The fact he said what he did despite struggling so much to do so reflected just how suspicious he was. 

...What would happen if he learned I wasn’t Myne? He would definitely demand that I give Myne back or otherwise blame me for making her disappear. I could imagine his angry, confused, fearful shouts already. 

If he told the truth to my family, I would have nowhere to live. Getting booted from home would be the best-case scenario. If this world had a church that supported witch hunting, I might end up tortured and then murdered by people mistaking me for a demon possessing an innocent girl. I shuddered, imagining the illustrations I had seen of women getting tortured in the witch hunts of the past. ...I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want that scary stuff to happen to me. I’d rather die than be tortured. 

I didn’t want to get tortured or driven from my home, but if the heat inside me ate me before then, I could die feeling only the pain of a fever. If I decided to die, I had the power to throw myself into the fiery depths without any interruption whatsoever. If all else failed, I could just kill myself before getting tortured. That sounded pretty extreme, but being eaten alive by the heat would be a lot more pleasant than torture. 

That realization calmed me down. I always had a way out. Not to mention that, thinking about it, the only thing that kept me tied to this world when I was on the verge of dying earlier was my promise to Lutz. I escaped the heat after thinking that I hadn’t fulfilled my promise to him. I apologized for that and made the meeting happen later, so all things considered, I had no more regrets. 

Now that I had met Benno and paper-making was no longer a dream, I wanted to go all the way and make books, but I didn’t really have much attachment to this fantasy world itself. If Lutz started avoiding me in disgust after finding out my true identity, which was very possible, my quest to make paper would fail then and there. 

That said, it was likely that if given a proper explanation, Lutz would stay quiet until we finished making paper and he was accepted as a merchant apprentice. I could manage until the paper was ready, and I could choose to die at any moment. Framing things that way made me feel a lot better. It wasn’t entirely logical, but it worked for me. 

Regardless of what I did, everything relied on Lutz. My only choice was to put my all into making paper and living so that I could die at any moment without regrets.

All that talk of suicide might have sounded cool in a self-sacrificial way, but really, I was feeling anything but cool. I was a bit afraid of seeing Lutz again. And indeed, when morning came the next day, I felt anxious when I met up with him. 

“I’m going to the forest today. Gotta get some firewood,” said Lutz, which made my eyes gleam with excitement. Today I had to go to Benno’s store to write the remaining supply orders and teach him how to make my simple all-in-one shampoo. This was a perfect chance to finish up a lot of things which would make me look suspicious, and thereby stall Lutz finding out about my secret. 

“Okay, I’m going to Benno’s. I need to write the supply order for the screen and discuss where all the stuff will be delivered.” 

“...You’re going on your own?” 

“Uh huh. Is there something wrong with that?” If Lutz wasn’t coming with me, I had no choice but to go on my own. And since today would involve negotiating with adults, it was better for me if no one close to me was around. 

“...Can you manage that?” 

“I’ll be fine.” I clenched my fist to show strength. Lutz looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept it to himself and just said “Later” before heading to the forest. 

I had gone to Benno’s store before, twice if you included me visiting Otto’s home. Going on my own wouldn’t be an issue at all. After filling my usual tote bag with my stone slate, slate pen, and supply order stuff inside, I started walking to Benno’s store. 

...Okay! I’m gonna finish as much stuff as possible today. 

“Good morning. Oh, Mr. Mark. Is Mr. Benno here? I’ve brought the supply order.” I entered Benno’s store, which must have been in a busy period due to how many customers were going in and out of it, and rushed up to the first familiar face I saw. 

“The young master is presently busy, so I will handle them in his stead,” said Mark, holding out his hand. I took the supply order out of my bag and handed it to him. That included the ink and tape measure I had used to write it. 

“I would like to directly discuss this order with the craftsmen, as we talked about yesterday. Can we make an appointment for that?” 

“Lumber yards tend not to be busy in the morning, so we can go now if you wish.” 

“Would that be okay? The store looks pretty busy right now.” I looked over the employees dealing with the constant stream of customers and Mark gave me a smile that resembled Otto’s dark merchant grin. 

“I have not raised these employees to be so weak that they would cry over my absence,” he said flatly. 

Um... It sure looks like some of the employees are about to cry. 

“Not to mention that, as the young master said himself, you are quite the special customer. He decided that it is best if I personally take care of you when you arrive. Worry not.” 

“Ummm... Okay. Thank you.” I left Benno’s store with Mark and began walking. Our destination was the lumber yard by the west gate and the market. It was close to the river, so that made it convenient for lumber yards to be near there since that’s where shipping boats came in. 

“I had something I wanted to ask Benno, but since he’s busy, can I ask you instead?” While walking along main street on our way to the plaza, I started talking about what I couldn’t in the store. “I would like to borrow a storage building, or like, a work place to put everything.” We had been told we could order what we needed, but we didn’t have anywhere to put all the stuff. 

Judging by how Mark was blinking his dark-green eyes, he must not have expected me to ask about that. “What was your plan before now?” 

“We were going to split the tools between our homes and carry them to the well or river whenever we needed to use them, but...” Our initial plan involved using makeshift replacements from what we already had available at home and in the forest. I was going to beg my mom for the pot and ashes, and we were going to cut the trees right in the forest. 

Ordering these things saved us from having to do that, but in turn we suddenly had a lot more stuff to take care of, and we needed a place to put things we weren’t using that day. But neither Lutz’s nor my home had a spare room or the leeway to leave unimportant things (unimportant to our families, at least) lying around. 

“We only have so much space to put things, and at this rate, it’ll be hard to do our work. Nothing would help us more than a workplace with a roof. I’m asking for help, but I know that it’s probably unreasonable. Or does the contract include things like this?” I said. 

“Unbelievable,” Mark murmured, rubbing his temples. “I see you were prepared to push yourselves unreasonably far.” 

“We didn’t have any adult allies until now.” There was very little children could do without the help of an adult. I had earned Benno’s help with my shampoo as leverage and I intended to exploit it as much as possible. If I missed this opportunity, I would no doubt be unable to make paper for the rest of my life. Now was the time to play my hand to the fullest, not to meekly hold back and risk everything. 

“I see. In that case, I will negotiate in your favor for a storage building.” 

“Thank you very much. With you at my side, I feel like we’ve already gotten one.” Judging from how they interacted before, Mark was probably Benno’s right hand man, his trusted confidant, the fist that executed his orders. If Mark negotiated on our behalf, there was no doubt that we would get our storage building. 

“Are there any particular requirements you have for this storage building?” 

“Umm, we’ll be going to the forest a lot, so I would appreciate one close to the south gate. Other than that, all we need is a place with a roof to put the stuff we order.” 

“Understood... Ah, we’re almost there. That is the lumber yard over there,” said Mark, pointing up ahead, but I was too short to see anything. Not even jumping made me tall enough. 

I took Mark’s hands and sped up my pace. “Let’s hurry, then.” Then, the moment I started eagerly power walking in the direction of the lumber yard, my knees suddenly gave in and I fell unconscious with a choke.

When I woke up, I was somewhere I didn’t recognize. I was in a bed covered with a thick cloth that felt amazing, since it meant no straw was poking into me. It was a simple room that even had clean ceilings, but I didn’t recognize it at all. 

“...Where am I?” I sat up to look around and saw Corinna, who was sewing nearby. She heard my voice and stopped her sewing to race to my side. 

“Dear Myne, have you awoken? I truly thought my heart would stop when my Benno carried you inside saying that you had collapsed without warning. Otto once said that walking to the gate once left you immobile, so we assumed your illness was born of exhaustion and took you to bed for rest.” 

“I-I appreciate your kindness. I’m really sorry about this.” Gyaaah! I screamed on the inside while groveling on the bed. I had passed out on the way to the lumber yard and gotten carried to Corinna’s home by Benno, which suffice to say wasn’t a pleasant experience to anyone involved. Mom and Tuuli would probably yell at me if they found out. 

...Aaah, I’ve gotta apologize to Mark. He probably came close to dying of shock after I collapsed mid-conversation right in front of him. 

I could tell retrospectively why I had collapsed. First, I was sleep-deprived due to thinking about what Lutz had said. Second, I was pushing myself really hard to finish everything while he was away. On top of that, I was so enthusiastic about how well everything was going that I didn’t take the time to think about my own health. There was nobody nearby who understood my health well enough to stop me from pushing myself too far. I had the motivation, but my body just wasn’t keeping up. This body sure is a piece of junk. 

“I shall contact Benno and inform him that you have awoken. I would have liked to contact your family immediately, but it seems that could not be arranged...” 

That made sense; nobody was home today. Plus, my family thought I was with Lutz. They definitely didn’t expect that I would go to Benno’s store on my own and pass right out. The thought of my dad going on a mad rampage with worry was honestly pretty scary, and I didn’t even want to imagine how furious Mom would be that I bothered Corinna like this. 

“U-Um, Mrs. Corinna. C-Can you keep this a secret from my family?” 

“Myne?” 

“They thought I would be with Lutz, so if they hear about this, he might get in trouble...” I tried using Lutz as a shield to escape my family’s wrath, but Corinna beamed an angelic smile and shot me down. 

“I’m afraid not. Those who deserve trouble shall receive it.” 

“Noooo...” As I flailed in bed, terrified over the scolding I was now fated to receive, someone contacted Benno. I heard his loud footsteps marching this way moments prior to him flinging the door open and coming inside. 

He glared at me with his dark-red eyes and spoke in a low voice. “Girl, you took a year off my life.” 

“I’m sowwy!” Benno’s intense glare was so terrifying that I reflexively began groveling on the bed, slurring my words. I was literally rubbing my face against the bedsheets. “Please forgive me!” 

“...The hell are you doing?” 

“Groveling is the number one way I know to express sincere regret.” 

Benno sat on the bed and let out a heavy sigh as he scratched his milk-tea colored hair. “I heard from Otto that you’re sickly, but I didn’t expect you to be this unhealthy.” 

“Me neither.” I made a big mistake trying to do stuff without Lutz. In my Urano days this would have been no issue, but I couldn’t let myself think like that anymore. Myne’s so weak and sickly that collapsing after what I did was inevitable. 

“This is a problem that motivation alone can’t solve,” Benno murmured. “Well, alright.” He gave me a hard look. “Always come with the boy from now on. No operating alone.” 


“...Okay.” I had no idea that just by going somewhere without Lutz, I ran the risk of passing out. Being able to walk to the forest made me cocky enough to think that the entire city was well within my domain. 

“Go home for today. Mark will see you off. You sure worried the hell out of him.” 

“Bwuh?! I couldn’t ask him to do that. I’ll apologize to him and then go home on my own!” I said, waving my hands in front of me with my eyes open wide. I couldn’t bother Mark more than I already have. 

However, Benno pinched my cheek and glared at me, his gaze sharp. “Didn’t hear me? I just said no more doing things alone.” 

“...I heard you. Okay. I’ll go home with Mark. Ummm, but since you’re here, at least let me tell you how to make the (simple all-in-one shampoo)...” I started to suggest that we do what I set out to accomplish in the first place, but Benno, looking furious, grabbed my head with one of his hands. 

“WHAT! IS! WRONG! WITH! YOU!” 

“Bwuh?!” 

“I said go home!” 

“Kyaaah!” I shook in fear as he shouted at me with my head locked in his hand. As I looked up at Benno with reflexive tears brimming in my eyes, an extremely trivial thought arose in the corner of my mind. I see... This is definitely like being struck by lightning. 

“You are no longer allowed in my store without the boy! If you’ve got a brain in that head, don’t forget that!” 

“I’ll remember! I won’t forget! Ow, ow ow!” 

Afterward, I briefly tried to say that I could walk home without being carried, but Mark gently threatened me by saying, “If you don’t want my heart to stop, please allow me to carry you,” and then sealed the deal by saying “Was your apology mere words?” I had no way to resist that. 

I gave up my futile resistance and let Mark carry me home. When my family saw him carrying me and asked him what happened, they got mad, just as expected. I caught a fever during the hours of lectures and ended up bedridden for two days straight. 

When my fever went down, I figured it might be best for me to go on a pilgrimage of apologizing to everyone I had bothered. I asked Tuuli what she thought and she told me that while apologizing was important, everyone would prefer it if I just didn’t push myself so much.

“And that’s what happened. Please go with me today so everyone doesn’t get mad.” The day after my fever went down, I explained what happened to Lutz and requested that he go to the Gilberta Company with me. 

Lutz gave me a look dripping with exasperation and then let out a heavy, heavy sigh. “That’s why I asked if you were going alone, y’know? I knew you’d need help.” 

“Th-That’s what all that meant? I just thought you wanted to know if I knew the way there... Lutz?” 

“Hahahaha... How the heck did you take it like that? When it comes to you, what else is there to worry about except your health?” 

I pursed my lips, pouting as Lutz laughed. He looked at me with a relieved grin. “If you’re gonna pass out in no time on your own, guess I gotta stick with you, huh?” 

“Uh huh. Benno said I wasn’t allowed in his store if you’re not with me.” 

“Heh... Seriously? He said that?” Lutz was for some reason in a good mood after hearing me report my failures, despite how obviously down I was. That was better than him being depressed, but it kinda ticked me off. I was so worried about what he said that I couldn’t sleep and was afraid to see him! Why’s he acting so normal?! 

“Alright, Myne. Don’t look so pouty. Let’s go.” Lutz lined up next to me, acting like an older brother, and off we went to the store. 

“What did you gather at the forest the other day?” 

“Firewood and bamboo. You’re the one who said I should carve the bamboo to show the craftsman what we need, remember?” 

“Oh yeah, I did. I forgot all about that.” Indeed, I had totally forgotten that I had planned on making a real life example in case my explanation and illustration wasn’t enough for the craftsman to understand what we wanted. 

“C’mon now, get a grip.” 

“It’s okay, you’re staying on top of things for me.” There was no way I could remember everything without taking memos. Back in my Urano days, I was a notepad monster. I would write everything I could into my notepad so I could remember. Anything written on a notepad could be safely forgotten, and I became so reliant on that convenience that my memory probably suffered a lot for it. 

I told Lutz that we could just remember stuff together, that way we’d overall forget less. He frowned, looking a little close to tearing up. “...To tell the truth, I started to kinda hate myself after seeing that you could write, do math, and deal with adults like that.” 

“Wha?” 

“You didn’t need me. I started to think I wouldn’t be any help at all to Benno’s store.” 

Nobody in the store would suggest that a pre-baptism child needed to be useful immediately. Mark valued Lutz quite highly for being able to write his own name and for taking his studies seriously. Lutz just didn’t notice that and got depressed after comparing himself to me. 

“You don’t need to compare yourself to me,” I started, trying to console him, but he stopped me with a smile. 

“But y’know, now I get it. You collapse in no time. You’re smart but careless, you’re weak, you’re tiny, and thinking about it, there’s a ton of things you can’t do. Now you can’t even go into the store without me.” 

“So mean, Lutz! I’m useful to people too, sometimes!” He was being so harsh that I started to protest, but for some reason he started laughing so hard he had to clutch his stomach. 

After laughing for a bit, Lutz placed a hand on my head and gave it a rub. “I was being a jerk when I asked if you weren’t Myne. Sorry.” 

“...Really. That was just you being mean?” Unbelievable. I had taken what Lutz said extremely seriously, but to him, he was just being mean. I felt the tension draining from my body. “That’s a relief. I thought you hated me now...” 

“Nah, definitely not. C’mon, let’s go.” Lutz held out a hand. I took it and we walked off, holding hands. I felt that I had returned to my normal daily life.

“Good morning.” We entered the store and found Mark, who took us to Benno’s room. Benno glared at me with his sharp eyes, rubbing his temples, then looked at Lutz. 

“Boy, your highest priority is now protecting that ridiculous little girl. Think of it as your most important job here that only you can do. Got it? I don’t have enough hearts to survive hearing about her collapsing without warning around town.” 

Lutz, upon hearing Benno’s displeased orders, pointed at himself with his eyes sparkling. “...I’m the only one that can protect her?” 

“You think anyone else is gonna bother keeping tabs on her? Has anyone else put up with her nonsense?” 

“No.” 

“You think someone in this store is going to?” 

“No.” Lutz immediately shook his head at each of Benno’s questions. It probably wasn’t my imagination that there was a proud look in his light-green eyes. Grr... I wanna squeeze his cheeks for getting all proud on me. 

“Alright, boy. Tell me. Do you think the girl could walk all the way to the south gate today?” 

“Yeah, if she walked slowly. And the south gate’s so close to her home that she can go back as soon as she starts feeling bad.” 

As always, it felt kinda bad that Lutz and my family knew more about my body than I did. I had intended to build up strength, but I still had next to no stamina. It just doesn’t make sense. Aren’t kids supposed to grow like crazy? I looked down at my body, which in fact had not grown like crazy at all. 

Before long, Benno rung the bell on his desk. The door opened and Mark walked in. “You called, sir?” 

“She can make it if she walks slowly. Take her there for me.” 

“As you wish.” 

“Wha? Where are we going? The lumber yard’s by the west gate, right?” I didn’t have any business by the south gate. 

Benno gave a light shrug as I blinked in surprise. “Mark told me what you said. I’ll lend you a storage building close to the south gate.” 

“Really? Thank you very much!” I jumped up in thanks. 

But Benno just said, “It’s not for your sake. It’s for the boy’s. He wouldn’t survive if he had to carry all that stuff around and keep an eye on you.” 

“Bwuh?! I can carry stuff too! I’m a lot stronger than I used to be.” I tapped my right arm to show my strength, only to be shot down by all three of them at once. 

“Don’t try and do things you can’t. Let the boy handle it.” 

“It’s my job to do the heavy lifting, don’t do anything that’ll make you pass out.” 

“There is no need for you to carry things yourself. Please focus on managing your health.” 

How about no? I can’t let other people do everything for me. I made a promise with Tuuli. I’ll do what I can and I’ll increase the number of things that I can do. If there’s something I can do on my own, I’ll do it, and if there’s something I can’t do, I’ll work hard until it becomes possible. I nodded to myself, steeling my resolve, when Lutz suddenly pinched my cheek and leaned in close, looking into my eyes. 

“Myne, I know that look. You’re just pretending to agree, aren’t you? You’re not listening to us at all.” 

He... He saw through me?! I rubbed my cheeks while looking up at Lutz in surprise. Benno and Mark shared a look, then nodded. 

That day marked the day that Lutz became “Myne’s Manager,” an invaluable role within Benno’s store. 



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