Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 5.5 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

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

This volume’s prologue was written from Bonifatius’s perspective. Despite being retired, he has been training the guard knights at Rozemyne’s request, helping with administrative work in the castle, and even educating Wilfried for when he becomes the archduke. He’s such a considerate grandfather.

The main story began with Melchior and the other children performing the fealty ceremony with Rozemyne naturally serving as the High Bishop. She participated in the same ceremony as a commoner all the way back at the start of Part 2. She sure has grown a lot since then, hasn’t she?

This volume was all about the Archduke Conference, where members of the royal family and aubs from every duchy come together. Those who are underage are usually not allowed to attend, but Rozemyne was summoned to serve as High Bishop for the Starbind Ceremony and to translate the documents in the underground archive. Getting to speak with Hannelore after so long was a rare source of comfort during these trying times.

Rozemyne fled the library to get away from Detlinde, stumbled upon a shrine, then obtained a tablet of a divine color. There sure was a lot going on! After that chapter, many readers of the web novel version said that they wanted to know the words given by the gods, so I made sure to include them in the light novel.

From there, Rozemyne transformed into the merchant saint and took on Sigiswald, fighting to delay her adoption by a year and save Ferdinand from punishment by association. I think that chapter made it very clear how much of an influence Ferdinand and Benno have had on Rozemyne’s growth... though it’s hard to say how they would have reacted to seeing her in action! Would they have given her a thump on the head and cried, “You cannot/can’t use those techniques against a prince!” Or would they have praised her for a job well done? (Hahahaha.)

This time, the epilogue was written from Hildebrand’s perspective. As you might have noticed, he’s in love with Rozemyne and displeased with his current engagement. He’s desperate to have his wishes come true, but he’s young and doesn’t yet understand what’s happening around him. What’s going to happen now that he mentioned Schlaftraum’s flowers to Raublut?

The first original short story in this volume was from Adolphine’s perspective. I focused on how she feels about Sigiswald and the events that followed their wedding. She hasn’t been thrilled about her political marriage from the start, as she wished to become the next Aub Drewanchel. How does her husband approach such a delicate situation...?

The second short story was written from Hortensia’s perspective. It began with Raublut asking her to stay in the library dormitory to prepare for the Archduke Conference. She then investigated trug at Anastasius’s orders, during which she found a connection to Schlaftraum’s flowers.

Magdalena was the only character to receive a design for this volume. She’s the Zent’s third wife, Hildebrand’s mother, and a true Dunkelfelgerian. The moment she learned that Heisshitze and the others had convinced her father to marry her to Ferdinand, whom they were desperate to bring into their duchy, she “proposed” to Trauerqual and secured an engagement with the royal family all on her own. She’s quite strong.

This volume’s cover art represents the circling of the Royal Academy’s shrines. It includes three members of the royal family, the divine-colored slates, and one of the shrines, though you can’t really see it behind the title. Rozemyne isn’t wearing her usual school attire either, since it’s the Archduke Conference and the end of spring. Compared to her black uniform, her colorful getup is so fresh and cute!

The color illustration depicts work in the underground archive. There’s Rozemyne, Magdalena, Hildebrand, and Hannelore. This was Hannelore’s first appearance in the story in quite a bit, so I made sure to ask that she be included. Thank you, Shiina-sama.

And finally, my utmost thanks to everyone who read this book. May we meet again in Part 5 Volume 6.

January 2021, Miya Kazuki