Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.02 - Chapter 3

My Handful of a Little Sister

(Told from Tuuli’s perspective. Originally posted on Miya Kazuki’s Narou page.)

On the day I learned to bind books at the orphanage, Myne was bringing home one of the finished picture books. She’d technically made one here yesterday, but that was just an example for her to bring to the workshop. This was her first time bringing home a book that was actually finished.

“Aah! So this is what it’s like to bring a book home!” Myne exclaimed. She was hugging the picture book Lutz had given her from the workshop, wearing the biggest smile I’d ever seen. “It was such a long road to get here—such a long and painful road—but I’ve finally done it! I’ve got a book I can keep in my room! Yesss!”

“Sister Myne. Be mindful of your behavior,” her attendant Rosina warned, having watched Myne jump for joy even though she was still wearing her blue shrine maiden robes. Myne responded with a polite smile and said that she’d be more careful, but I really didn’t see that happening—I could already see her well-mannered expression giving way to a very dopey grin.

“Myne, you’re getting too excited,” I said with a chuckle.

“I mean, duh! I can start keeping books at home now!”

Aah, it’s over. She’s gonna get sick for sure.

I shook my head and looked at Lutz, who shrugged in turn. “Let’s go home already,” he said to Myne, not even trying to hide the exasperation in his voice. “At this rate, you’re gonna collapse on the way back.”

“Okay!” Myne exclaimed. She bounded up the stairs with the picture book in hand, rushing to get changed, which resulted in another scolding from Rosina.

“I don’t think she’s going to listen to anything we say today...” I observed.

“True, but she finally got what she’s been working toward for two whole years,” Lutz replied. “Can’t blame her for being so happy. Plus, I mean, when I think about the days she was gathering up grass and trying to make clay tablets, I feel more like giving her a pat on the back than anything.”

Lutz had played a bigger role than anyone in Myne’s book-making attempts. Dad had given him a little money and shared some food with him, but still—even as her big sister, I was really impressed that he’d managed to tolerate her weirdness for so long.

“It’s all thanks to you, Lutz. Thanks for helping make Myne’s weird dream come true,” I said sincerely. Lutz frowned in response, looking like he didn’t really feel right about it.

“You and my brothers always talk like being with her is hard, but she’s done a lot for me. I’ve pretty much been helping out so she can make my own dream come true too,” he said, looking down at the apprentice clothes he was wearing and tugging on the shoulder a little. As far as he was concerned, he and Myne were equal. If not for her help and advice, he wouldn’t have become an apprentice merchant.

“I mean, I do think Myne paved the way for you, what with her weird inventions getting Mr. Benno’s attention, but you’ve definitely been having a harder time than she has.”

“Maybe, but you and my brothers really don’t get how amazing she is,” Lutz said, his expression nothing but serious. I knew from when I’d seen her negotiating with Benno over the hairpins that she was doing something special, but I usually saw her being a burden on everyone, so it was hard for me to actually think about her that way.

“I guess we just don’t know what Myne’s like in the Gilberta Company.”

“Yeah, but, like... that’s not what I’m talking about. Look, do you remember how Myne taught me math and reading?”

I nodded, recalling how Myne had tutored Lutz over the winter. He really had worked hard to become an apprentice merchant.

“Do you know how much merchants pay for home tutors who teach that kinda thing?”

“Nuh uh. How could I?”

“A large silver per month, and that gets you three one-bell sessions a week. A large silver. That’s one hundred thousand lions. Myne did that much for me without asking for any money in return.”

Lutz had apparently been stunned silent when he heard other apprentice merchants talk about how much their parents were paying for tutors. They had asked him how he had learned math and reading without being able to afford one himself, and it was then that he understood just how amazing Myne was.

Mm... When he puts it like that, I guess she is kind of amazing...

I entertained the thought for a moment, but it was blown away in an instant when Myne came rushing down the stairs. “Sorry for the wait! Let’s go hooome!” she exclaimed, completely missing a step just a beat later. She would have fallen down the stairs had Rosina not caught her at the last moment.

Never mind. She’s not amazing. She’s a clumsy goof.

“Myne, put that book in your basket,” I said. “If you fall again, there’s no way you’ll be able to catch yourself while you’re holding it like that.”

Myne looked between me and the basket I was holding out, her brows knitted in a frown. “But I wanted to enjoy the smell of the ink and paper on the way home...” she mumbled. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with new books? Revel in their glorious existence?”

“You’re not going to fool anyone with that nonsense,” I shot back. “Also, that’s your first book, remember?”

Myne looked up with a start, at which point Lutz muttered “dummy” under his breath. I stepped forward, nabbed the book, and stuck it in the basket.

“C’mon, Myne. You’ve gotta understand the dangers here. You can’t have people see you walking around with a bunch of expensive paper. We’re just kids. They’d steal it from us for sure.”

Paper was expensive, though with all the ripped sheets Myne kept at home and did all sorts of things with, that fact was easy to forget. Parchment made from animals was the most common type, and even that was only used by rich people or nobles. It wasn’t something that kids like us, dressed in commoner clothes, should ever be walking around with.

Myne flinched and started to shiver at the thought of the book being stolen.

“Tuuli, Tuuli! Where should I keep it?! Should I ask Dad to make me a bookshelf after all?”

“Keep it in your box until you’ve got more. Just watch where you’re walking.”

Even though I’d put the book away in the basket, Myne kept glancing over at it as we made our way home. She was struggling to walk straight as a result, so giddy that she was pretty much drifting from side to side.

Geez! She should know walking like that is dangerous!

In the end, Lutz and I sandwiched Myne between us, each taking one of her hands. “This is nice. I was just thinking it’s a little cold out,” she said.

You know, Myne, we’re not doing this for warmth. That was what I wanted to say, but she was smiling so happily that I decided to keep my mouth shut.

“I’m back!” Myne announced. “Look, look! This is the first picture book I’ve ever brought into my very own home to keep!”

She had already shown Mom and Dad the same finished picture book yesterday, but she showed it to them again anyway. They exchanged a conflicted glance.

“Myne, ya showed us that one yesterday,” Dad said. “We already looked inside.”

Uh huh. She really went crazy over it yesterday.

Dad was wearing a grimace, probably having flashbacks to last night. Myne had rambled on about bible stories while he drank. He had only given the picture book a quick look through, but she naturally kept going anyway.

“Yesterday’s book was just a test run, so I had to bring it back to the temple. But this one’s staying here forever! Isn’t that amazing?! It’s our home’s first book! Aah, this is bliss. Isn’t it great to have books that we can read whenever we want? Don’t you just want there to be more and more here?”

Not really...

Myne held the book up in the air and started spinning around. It was nice to see her having fun, but this was getting dangerous. She’d shown just as much excitement on the way back too, so her stamina was bound to run out soon.

And the moment that thought crossed my mind, Myne stepped on the ground strangely and tipped to one side.

Oh. She’s falling over.

“Myne!”

“Gyaah! My book!”

Dad threw his arms out toward Myne, but rather than grabbing on to them, she spun around and embraced the fall. Her only priority was making sure the book didn’t get dirty.

I... I’ve never seen Myne move so fast in my life.

I watched with a strange sense of awe as Myne fell on her back, bumped her head against the floor with a resounding thump, and then immediately sprang back up. “Is my book okay?!” she blurted, thoroughly checking it all over.

I was at a complete loss for words. Meanwhile, Dad stood frozen in place, looking forlorn, his arms still outstretched.

“Myne, worry about yourself when you fall, alright? Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “These wounds are honorable.”

More like dishonorable.

She was proudly puffing out her chest, and I didn’t have a clue why. Everyone was looking down at her with exasperation, but she completely ignored us and continued flipping the book around as she looked for any damage.

“My injuries will eventually heal, but I don’t have any tools to fix books. That means a damaged book is probably damaged for good. I might need to start working on that.”

What I was worried about most was Myne’s head. Not because she’d just hit the ground, mind you—it simply didn’t seem screwed on right. Wasn’t there anything we could do to get her to care about something other than books?

Mom rested a hand on her large belly and sighed, relieved to see that Myne wasn’t hurt. “Myne, if you don’t want the book to get dirty, why don’t you just calm down?”

“I’m fine. I’m calm. Now I just need to read the book aloud as much as I can so that my little sibling grows into a bookworm too! Eheheh...”

She cared about a book getting damaged more than she cared about herself getting hurt. As we spoke, she was probably thinking about the next book she was going to make.

Geez, Myne! You’re ridiculous!

I knew Myne was doing a ton of impressive things, like negotiating on equal terms with the owner of a big store, earning tons of money, and getting the respect of a bunch of orphans... but from my perspective, she was just a massive handful.