Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.5 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Hello again, it’s Miya Kazuki. Thank you very much for reading Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4 Volume 5.

This volume covers everything from the end of spring in Ehrenfest to the beginning of winter and Rozemyne’s second year in the Royal Academy. Lamprecht getting married, Groschel grappling with the printing industry, and the dyeing competition being underway have made things especially busy for Rozemyne. An ambush targeting the gray priests was prevented, and while the wedding seemed to end peacefully, there were some rather ominous overtones...

Groschel presumed that its printing industry was progressing smoothly, but this was far from the case, and the province soon encountered many problems that others did not. As they attempted to resolve things, Rozemyne tried to figure out which submitted piece of cloth belonged to her mother, to no avail.

On the brighter side, Rozemyne was able to rejoice over the fish that Aurelia brought with her from Ahrensbach, and she had fun planning her Rozemyne Library.

And so, Rozemyne’s second year at the Royal Academy begins with the coming of winter. Her guardians are no doubt preparing for one intense headache after another as they anticipate the chaos she’s going to create.

This volume’s prologue was from Matthias’s perspective. He is Rozemyne’s schoolmate and the son of the former Veronica faction noble Viscount Gerlach, who is probably better described as a member of the Georgine faction within it. I wrote about how the former Veronica faction perceived the brides coming in from Ahrensbach and the ways in which the views of the children clash with those of their parents. In the end, it is thanks to Matthias’s habit of overthinking everything that the archducal family manage to avoid a potentially big incident.

The epilogue for this volume was written from the perspective of Hildebrand, the son of the king’s third wife. Despite having only recently been baptized and not having undergone his debut at the Archduke Conference, he is assigned to oversee the Royal Academy as a member of royalty. How exactly do Rozemyne and Charlotte look to an unbiased third party, I wonder...?

Also in this volume are two new short stories, one of which focuses on Aurelia and the other on Effa.

In Aurelia’s story, I aimed to describe her situation following the wedding and why she wears the veil. This was my first time writing a conversation between Aurelia and her husband Lamprecht, which was quite refreshing. The bulk of each volume is written from Rozemyne’s perspective, and Lamprecht always ends up feeling a little irrelevant due to how little contact she has with him, so hopefully this chapter gave him more of a presence. Although in terms of standing out, I think we can all agree that he’s losing to his wife. (Hahaha.)

In Effa’s story, I wrote about the dyeing competition from the perspective of the lower city. It was a massive event, and the craftspeople who had to actually dye the cloth underwent a lot to make it happen. Effa wants to perform her role as a lower-city mother by dyeing the cloth used for her daughter’s clothes, but the ambitious men in her workshop are just as eager to secure the special title and exclusive business with a member of the archducal family. Her pride and stubbornness as a dyer is something that her family usually never sees, so I hope you found it entertaining.

Matthias and Laurenz, the two apprentice knights of the former Veronica faction, received character designs from Shiina-sama for this volume. You may find them showing up more often from this point forward. There’s also Hildebrand, the third prince, who you can tell received an honest upbringing from just a glance, and Aub Ahrensbach, who really has the “older man” look that I envisioned. Of course, there are also Freida and Charlotte, who have now grown up significantly. They’re both as cute as I was hoping.

Also, an update: Bookworm won first place in the tankobon category of This Light Novel is Amazing! 2019, meaning we’ve won two years in a row! I never thought it would happen, but everyone’s votes really helped us out. I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am. Thank you all for your support.

In any case, this volume concludes our four back-to-back releases! Did you enjoy them? I poured my absolute all into making this happen. There were days when I had no time to write anything due to personal matters, and sometimes I even thought I wouldn’t make it all the way to the end. It’s a huge relief to be writing this afterword now that the manuscripts are all done.

I am endlessly grateful to my editor, who heroically scheduled this mad dash that I insisted on, and Shiina-sama, who inevitably gets wrapped up in these plans and accepts all the work that gets dumped on her as a result.

This volume’s cover art is based on the dyeing competition, with Effa spreading out the cloth she dyed and Tuuli showing the hairpin she made. And then there’s Rozemyne, wearing their lovingly made creations with a big smile on her face. Meanwhile, the color insert has the top dogs of Ehrenfest lining up at Lamprecht’s wedding. I really do love how tense they look. Thank you once again, Shiina-sama.

And finally, I offer up my highest thanks to everyone who read this book. May we meet again in Part 4 Volume 6.

October 2018, Miya Kazuki