Ascendance of a Bookworm (本好きの下剋上 司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません)

After discovering it could provide the means

to save her life,

Myne decided to join the church,

but the negotiations with the high priest ended in failure.

Don't you dare lay a finger on my parents.

I won't allow it.

As a result, while she was allowed to join on her terms,

many trials and tribulations lay ahead for her.

CHAPTER 15 APPRENTICE PRIESTESS

I am officially joining the cathedral as an

apprentice priestess!

Yahoo!

Now, finally, I can read my books!

-Now, Myne. -Try to settle down.

You're going to get feverish again.

Right. I can't have that.

There's still time until you actually join them.

Well, my apprenticeship was confirmed.

It seems that various preparations need to be made,

meaning it'll be a while yet

before I officially start as a priestess.

You're going to see Mr. Benno tomorrow, aren't you?

Yeah. I need to fill him in on how the negotiations went.

Good morning!

Uh... Welcome to our store.

Good. But you should always welcome customers with a smile.

Now, miss, what might you be looking for today?

I've heard you sell the loveliest hair ornaments.

They're right over here.

Hey, Lutz, give me a hand.

Excuse me.

Thanks, Myne. Lutz needs to work on his customer service.

That was good practice.

Of course.

I see he's trying his best.

Unlike me, Lutz has already begun his apprenticeship

and is off to a great start.

I know he feels overwhelmed by everything he has to learn,

but he's still smiling.

Now then, your negotiations went well? Tell me.

Long story short, they were successful.

I'm joining as a blue-robed priestess,

and I can keep living at home.

If you need Myne's mana that badly,

we have to insist that she be treated like nobility.

Don't force her to do gray-robed apprentice work.

So be it. She'll be granted blue robes as an exception.

Any other requests?

We're too worried to let her live here where we can't

keep an eye on her.

We'd like you to let her continue living at home.

-Yes. Myne is frail, so each morning

we'd need to determine if she's strong enough to go to work.

No problem.

She isn't an orphan, so she can stay at home.

And if she isn't feeling well, she doesn't need to push herself.

-Uh... -Hm?

Even when I feel okay, I can't make it here without Lutz.

Really?

Yeah, sometimes I just collapse out of nowhere,

so he monitors my condition.

So, you're saying you'll need a personal retainer?

Every blue-robed priestess has a few to serve her,

so that's fine.

A retainer?

Anything else?

Oh...

I'm the owner of a small business that's been registered

with the Merchant's Guild.

Is it okay if I keep running my studio?

A servant of the gods has no need for such things.

Yes, that's what the high priest would say.

But sir, it's an important source of income for my family.

I can hire several of the orphans here,

paying them well for their work.

Or I could even donate a portion of the revenue.

I'm sure we can find a middle ground somehow.

How much does this kid know?

Hm?

Oh, I was just talking to myself.

I'm lacking quite a lot of information.

We'll come back to that later.

What else?

That's it.

Good. She'll be a custodian then.

Of all magical items and the library, as she requested.

But the library?!

I thought you were uptight, but you're a really nice guy!

Thank you for your time.

So in summation, they baited you with the books.

A bit, but only after he accepted all our terms.

Yeah. I have no complaints on that end.

This priest seems reasonable.

If you ever need help over there,

he's the one to go to.

Right. I'll do that.

I just saw Lutz working really hard.

You'd be proud, Mrs. Karla.

Really?

That's good.

I was worried about how he was doing.

By the way,

what did you end up deciding to do about that career of yours,

since you declined the merchant apprenticeship?

I don't think I'm strong enough to handle working outside,

so I'll be with my dad and Otto up at the gate.

And of course, helping my mom around the house like usual.

Good luck with that.

Guess you have to focus on getting healthy.

Bye.

We're keeping my apprenticeship with the church a secret

from our neighbors.

It's because a lot of them dislike most of the church's practices.

Oh, right.

There was a man asking around about you the other day.

Huh?

Asking about me?

Yeah. About your studio and stuff.

I said he had the wrong person and ran him off.

But stay on your toes, Myne.

There are all sorts out there.

I will. And thank you.

Oh really? Is that so?

That's a bit of a problem.

Only Benno and the guild master should know about the studio.

Our feast thanks to Wentoll!

Really? You're going to be a father, huh?

Yeah.

So wait, why are you resigning from your post

when you have a little one on the way?

It's Myne's fault, if I'm being honest.

All of the products that she came up with are just

flying off the shelves.

Because of that, they need extra hands around the store,

and Benno asked me to help out.

Really? The stuff my girl made?

The gods seem to love Myne as much as I do.

She is Benno's Fruhtrane after all.

That's... the water one?

And you must be beside yourself.

I'm glad you found a way for Myne to survive.

Have your feelings changed?

Are you okay with her joining the church now?

How could I be okay with it?

They say they're going to treat her like a noble.

But knowing them, that ain't happening.

Even then, it's better than her dying.

You never know, Captain.

Maybe this is why the gods made you a soldier.

What do you mean by that?

Your daughter possesses mana

and is able to make a lot of money,

which also means she's at risk of being abducted by outsiders.

Being abducted, you say?!

It's your duty to prevent that from happening to her.

Huh?

As gatekeeper, you'll see every visiting noble,

which means it's the perfect job to have if you're trying...

...to protect Myne.

Yeah, you've got a point there.

And I'll help you out too, sir. Promise.

Thanks.

I'll keep my family safe while working to protect our town.

A man who's going around investigating you.

That's probably the same individual who broke into...

...the merchant guild the other night.

Someone broke in? Seriously?

Yeah. And I'm sure he got his hands on the file...

...on your studio.

It's likely that someone in the church is trying to gather

information about you.

This reeks of the stench of nobility.

But I never imagined joining the church would be like this.

Don't you worry.

I'll always be here for you.

Oh.

Thanks.

After that, we went to show Corinna my hairpin...

...and the alterations to my dress as she'd requested.

That, in turn, led to selling Benno the rights to the hair ornaments.

Mr. Benno, welcome to the pound cake tasting!

Do you have rocks in your head? What are you doing here?!

Just helping out.

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!