Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 1.3 - Chapter 24

Confrontation 

Despite my body feeling hot to the point of boiling, my head was so clear I honestly felt better than I usually did. I could see the blood draining from the High Bishop’s face even though I was just calmly looking at him while he pressed his back against the door. 

...If you’re that much of a coward, don’t be so cruel to other people. Idiot. The High Priest must have seen the High Bishop getting increasingly pale, as he broke his silence to stand up with a clatter and yell. 

“Myne, your mana is leaking! Control your emotions!” 

I shifted my gaze from the High Bishop to the High Priest. The moment I stopped looking at him, I heard the High Bishop collapse onto the ground like a heavy weight falling to the ground. The gray priests seemingly regained the ability to move by me looking away and I could hear them rushing to the High Bishop while calling out to him. Their worried voices faded into the distance for me as I spoke to the High Priest. 

“How do I do that?” I looked at him firmly with anger in my eyes. The High Priest held down his chest and let out a grunt. 

“Ngh... Haven’t you been doing it your entire life?” 

“He summoned me here to talk, started ordering us around, got violent, and on top of all that, threatened to execute us when we fought back. How could I control my anger in a situation like this? You’ll have to tell me, I don’t have a clue.” 

I glanced back at the High Bishop. Now that he was collapsed on the ground, he was short enough that we could make eye contact. He flinched and shook with so much fear it was actually comical, sliding backwards to get as far away from me as possible with terror covering his face. 

...What a funny face. He doesn’t look like a kind grandpa, and he doesn’t look like a smug noble either. I’m just a weak little girl, but he’s looking at me like I’m some kind of monster. I felt a little angry at how two-faced the High Bishop was, always changing his expression at the slightest thing, and took a step towards him. 

“S-Stay away! Stay away! Stay away from me!” The High Bishop, gasping desperately for air, was so terrified that he was just repeating the same thing over and over. I heard the High Priest call out to me from over my shoulder, his voice panicked. 

“Stop! If you give in to your emotions and continue hitting the High Bishop with mana, his heart won’t last!” 

I replied with an uninterested “Hm” and took step after step towards the High Bishop. 

“He can just die, then. You’ll kill my mom and dad if I leave you alive, right? I’ll just kill you first instead. I imagine that if you’re willing to kill other people, you’re prepared to be killed yourself. Just think of all the people who your death will make happy. I bet there’s a lot of people who want to be the High Bishop.” 

After I took four steps forward, the High Bishop’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out while frothing at the mouth. 

Within moments, the High Priest was on his knees in front of me, protectively blocking my line of sight to the High Bishop. His brows furrowed in pain and he looked at me with deadly serious eyes as sweat dripped down his forehead. 

“Let us talk.” 

“Talk? With fists? Or with mana?” 

The High Priest’s eyes widened, then he coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. My eyes were drawn to the red droplets trickling down his chin. 

“You must not kill him. If you kill the High Bishop, your family will be stained with the crime of murdering a noble. That cannot be what you want,” said the High Priest, snapping me back to my senses. I couldn’t let my family end up as criminals due to me going on a rampage to save them. I blinked repeatedly and heard the High Priest sigh in relief. 

“Back to your senses now, I presume?” 

“...I think so.” 

The High Priest loosened up with relief and took a handkerchief out of his pocket to dab his mouth before moving his hair out of his eyes. That was all he had to do before returning to his cold, calm expression from before, as if nothing at all had just happened. 

“Let us talk. Just as you wished for.” 

“Does that mean you’ll listen to every condition we have?” The High Priest frowned for a moment, then shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder. 

“...You will need to control your rampaging mana for that. Can you manage?” 

I took deep breaths and focused on the heat that had spread throughout my body, pushing it back inside of me. Doing so was harder than I expected and it felt that I had a lot more Devouring heat built up within me than I had thought I did. 

...Or wait, it’s mana inside of me, not Devouring heat. As meaningless thoughts passed through my head, I managed to fit all the mana into a box within me and shut the lid tightly. Instantly the strength drained from my body and I collapsed like a marionette with cut strings. 

“Careful now.” The High Priest embraced me to keep me from falling onto the floor. 

“Myne!” 

“Are you alright?!” 

The High Priest offered me to my parents as they rushed in our direction. Mom bent her knees to take me and hug me close. Dad looked down at my limp body with worry in his eyes. 

“I’m fine. My body just can’t keep up with the rapid temperature changes that happen when my Devouring heat goes crazy. This happens all the time, I’m still conscious.” 

“It does?” said Dad, anxiously. I let out a tiny laugh. 

“It’s not normal for me to get that emotional, but well, I lost control of the heat constantly about six months ago, back when I nearly died.” 

“I had no idea...” The High Priest stood while I was talking with my parents and gave orders to the gathered priests. He left the High Bishop to them and instructed them to prepare a room for our discussion. 

“Once you’ve put the High Bishop to bed, return to your own rooms and rest. You all must be quite exhausted after being directly hit with the Crushing of that much mana.” 

“But High Priest, you yourself are...” The priest’s worry was justified. Out of all the priests there, it was likely the High Priest who was the most exhausted of all. Not only had he gotten in between me and the High Bishop, he had talked to me while looking me in the eyes. 

“High Priest... Are you okay?” I remembered the blood that had trickled out of his mouth and reflexively called out to him. He looked at me, surprised, and forced a smile. 

“This is a punishment I brought upon myself. What else could I expect to happen after silently watching the High Bishop anger you, a child with the Devouring who somehow managed to survive until her baptism ceremony?” 

The High Priest walked towards us after finishing giving out orders. Up close I could tell from his thoroughly exhausted expression and heavy breathing that he was pushing himself. 

“Why did you just silently watch us, High Priest?” 

“Because the best possible result from my perspective would be you unconditionally joining the temple. I greedily sought the easy route with the most rewards. I did not expect your commoner parents to firmly deny the orders of a noble, and I certainly did not expect them to embrace an execution for the sake of protecting you.” The High Priest shook his head and Dad grinned a little. 

“Myne’s my precious daughter. Didn’t I make that clear?” said Dad, which made the High Priest look at me. He gave a complicated smile, one seemingly dripping with self-derision, and gently patted my head. It was like he had seen a dazzling sight too bright for him. 

“...Myne, I am envious of how loved you are, of how deeply your parents care for you. This temple is filled with those abandoned by their parents, be they orphans or nobles, and we know no such warmth.” 

The High Priest’s words, spoken within an ornately decorated room, filled me with sadness and stuck with me as my life became intertwined with the temple. 

Since the High Bishop was put into his bed, we moved to the High Priest’s room to have our discussion. It was fundamentally the same as the High Bishop’s room with the same furniture, but there was no shelf with decorations and his desk was buried in a mountain of paper and boards. It seemed that the High Priest was doing the real work in the temple. 

This time, he offered us seats as was proper, including a bench so I could slump in exhaustion. Then, the discussion began. 

“You called what happened the Crushing, didn’t you? What in the world was that? Myne’s eyes shone like rainbows and a yellow mist was drifting off her body...” 

...I had no idea that kinda bizarre thing was happening to me! Rainbow eyes?! A mist coming out of me?! What?! My dad’s question stunned me. But I was the only one who hadn’t seen myself, so nobody else was surprised and the discussion continued on normally. 

“It is what happens when one with mana loses control of turbulent emotions. Mana races through their body, energizes, and crushes those they identify as an enemy by putting immense magic pressure on them. It should be a common event for children, as they are poor at keeping their emotions in check. Has it not happened before?” My parents looked at each other and fell into thought. 

“I’ve seen her eyes change color several times. Mainly when she’s being unreasonable. But none of that Crushing has ever happened. She always calmed down after I told her why she was being unreasonable.” 

Those were good memories to my parents, but from a third party, I really stuck out as abnormal. Even I thought a kid whose eyes changed colors when throwing tantrums was borderline creepy. 

...It wouldn’t have been weird for me to get thrown onto the streets. I’m impressed they actually raised me well like they did. 

“The effects depend on the quantity of mana, so it is possible that the Crushing we saw was the result of Myne’s mana growing bit by bit over the years. Please be careful to prevent her from losing control like that again.” 

“I won’t get emotional like that unless it’s something really horrible.” 

I indirectly blamed the High Bishop for what happened. The High Priest gave me a measured look and narrowed his eyes. 

“It is known that those with the Devouring have abnormal amounts of mana, but I still did not expect you to have enough mana to knock the High Bishop unconscious through the Crushing alone. Forgive my phrasing, but why are you alive...?” That was a hard question to answer. I tilted my head in confusion and the High Priest elaborated. 

“The more mana one has, the stronger a mind it takes to control it. To be honest, the weak mind of a child unfamiliar with keeping their emotions in check can generally only withstand a small amount of mana. The more mana a child is born with, the faster they die. Mana increases as one grows, so Devouring children who survive until their baptism ceremony tend to have only slight amounts of mana. It is very unusual that someone with your quantity of mana is still alive.” 

“I should be dead already, you’re right. But a kind person gave me a nearly broken magic tool that saved my life.” 

The original Myne died two years ago. I would have died six months ago if not for Freida. The High Priest was right; it wasn’t easy for a kid with the Devouring to survive until their baptism ceremony. 

“I see. But did you not seek a contract with a noble through that kind person? You will not survive without doing so. That is good for us, since it means you will be joining the temple as you are, but I cannot help but be confused.” He did seem sincerely confused, but the same went for me. 

“What would be the point in living as a noble’s slave? I want to stay with my family. I want to read books. I want to make books. Living a life where you can’t do what you want is the same thing as being dead. There’s no point in it.” 

“...You want to live as you choose, hm? That is a hard philosophy for me to understand.” The High Priest shook his head slowly, collected himself, and then opened his mouth after looking at all three of us in turn. “Myne, I would like you to join the temple. This is not an order, but a request.” 

“I heard from a merchant that there are fewer nobles and you’re low on mana right now. Is it true that mana gathered in the temple impacts the crop harvest?” 

“...That is one well-informed merchant. But I will put that aside for now.” It seemed that the information Benno had gathered was accurate. In which case, their lack of mana would have a huge impact on the region. 

“Can’t you ask other nobles to help?” 

“There are many magic tools that must be kept running. It is largely magic tools that protect our country and its cities.” 

I had thought the problem could be solved by making other nobles help, but it seemed that they were busy with other things. 

“The High Bishop is a man of questionable character as you saw, but I handle the administration of the temple personally. It is rare for a Devouring child to have as much mana as you do. As promised, I will do my best to accommodate your needs.” 

“Dad, you can handle the rest.” 

We had already discussed what I needed. I would leave the rest of negotiations to Dad, the head of our household. Mom patted my head and said I could sleep if I was tired, but if I didn’t pay close attention to the negotiations that would decide my future, Benno would karate chop my head right off. I decided to watch the discussion unfold, slumped against the back of the bench. 

“These are our conditions. Since you need Myne’s mana, we request that you treat her like a noble. Under no circumstances should she be given the hard labor of a gray shrine maiden.” 

The High Priest nodded to my dad’s request without more than a second of thought. 

“I will prepare blue robes for her. Her primary job will be the upkeep of magic tools, just like our noble apprentices. That was what we initially intended to do had the High Bishop not lost his mind, after all. I will make her job be the upkeep of magic tools and the book room which she so passionately desires to enter. How does that sound?” My affection points for the High Priest shot up after he permitted me to enter the book room without any negotiation needed on our part. He looked like a cold person, but he was actually quite kind. 

...He risked his life to stop my rampage, he’s a skilled leader managing all the administration of the temple himself, he read the bible to me, he let me enter the book room, he let me enter the book room, and he let me enter the book room! 

“High Priest, you’re such a good person!” I was so moved that I let out an explosion of joy, but it didn’t get through to anyone. Dad and the High Priest just glanced at me once before returning to their discussion. 

“Furthermore, we are worried about her living in the temple where we can’t see her, so we request that you let her stay at home and commute to work each day. We have no intention of letting anyone take Myne out of our reach.” 

“...I see. Myne is not an orphan, so she can commute from home. That should not be an issue, as there are already many nobles who stay at their homes.” 

“Also, Myne is too weak and sickly to work every day. What are your thoughts on that?” Mom was holding my mouth closed with a hand, keeping me silent as they advanced the conversation on without me. 

“She does not need to force herself to work when ill. But I recall her speaking of going to the forest when healthy, so on those days there should be no problem with her working, correct?” The High Priest looked at me and I shook my head, frustrated at myself for blabbing on about things I shouldn’t have. 

“Even when I’m healthy, I need Lutz to do anything.” 

“Lutz? The boy who came to get you the other day?” 

“Yes. He manages my health for me. Without him, I’ll pass out out of nowhere and catch fevers. I need someone to manage my health to do anything.” 

Before I could continue on and say I could only work when it was convenient for Lutz, the High Priest nodded with understanding. He started writing something onto a board near him as if it weren’t a big deal at all. 

“Ah, you need servants. That will be no problem, as it is customary for several servants to be assigned to each blue priest and blue shrine maiden.” 

Wait... Um, servants? Several of them? I-I don’t want that. 

“Are you still opposed to her joining? Do you have any other conditions?” The High Priest looked away from me and back to my parents as I floundered. There was no doubt that he was being exceptionally lenient with me. Benno was right when he said they would want me to join the temple no matter the costs. 

“Um, High Priest. I’m registered at the Merchant’s Guild right now. Can I continue running my workshop?” 

“...Such things are unnecessary to those serving the gods. Or so the High Bishop would say, in any case.” 

For the first time, the High Priest showed hesitance towards a condition. He furrowed his brows and fell into thought. I tried negotiating along the lines Benno had taught me. 

“But I’ve been making things for a long time. It’s an important source of income for me. There’s an orphanage here, right? I could give work to the orphans and pay them, or give a portion of my profits to the temple. Isn’t there some kind of compromise we could make here?” Unlike the High Bishop, who would probably say no without even thinking about it, the High Priest ran the temple and knew the state of their finances very well. Benno had said that with fewer nobles, the temple would be receiving less donations and be seeking alternative forms of revenue. I waited for the High Priest’s answer. He frustratedly murmured “Just how much does she know?” to himself and rubbed his temples. 

“...Very well. At a later date we will discuss your profit margins and how much of it you will dedicate to the temple. The final decision can be made then. As it stands I have so little information on your work that nothing can be said.” 

“Okay. We can talk about money stuff another day, including my initial donation.” 

I didn’t really want to talk about how much money I had in front of my parents. The High Priest picked up on that and raised an eyebrow, but looked back to my parents without saying anything about it. 

“Any other conditions?” 

“No. If she will be treated as a blue shrine maiden and given work only on days when she is healthy while staying at home otherwise, as a parent I am satisfied.” 

“Very well. Come to the temple again in one month. We will need time to prepare her blue robes and such.” The High Priest waved his hand, signaling us to leave the room. 

Once we left the temple and the tall walls surrounding it, the bright blue noon sky helped a sense of release flow through me. 

Dad carried me home. For some time we all walked in silence, but after seeing the plaza and returning to our part of the city, Dad finally let out a murmur. 

“It’s over...” 

“Uh huh.” 

“We won, yeah?” said Dad in disbelief. I replied with a big nod and a full smile. 

“We won big. Mom, Dad, thanks for protecting me.” I clenched my fist victoriously and bent my elbow, having finally regained the strength to move a little. Dad grinned his usual grin and held me up with one arm while clenching his other hand into a fist. 

“You’re the one who protected us, remember? With that Crushing of yours.” 

“Mmm, I just got so mad my mana went crazy. I don’t really remember what happened exactly.” I giggled and tapped my fist against Dad’s. They had accepted all of our terms and my money situation was up for negotiation. If I consulted Benno and formed a plan ahead of time, there was no way I could lose. 

“I’m a little relieved, to be honest. I think you’ll do just fine with the High Priest there,” said Mom, making me tilt my head in confusion. The High Priest was definitely a capable leader, but I didn’t know what about him would make Mom relieved. “He stopped you when you went on your rampage, didn’t he? You need someone to stop you when you run off on your own like that. I would be worried if something happened to make your mana go berserk and there wasn’t someone who would stop and scold you.” 

That was just the kind of reason I would expect from Mom. She knew me well. I could already imagine that the High Priest would be lecturing me constantly in the temple with my Mom’s silent endorsement. 

“...He’s probably going to get angry at me a lot.” 

My prediction made Mom and Dad laugh. It hit me that none of this would have been happening if I hadn’t been able to stop the High Bishop from executing them. I sighed in relief. 

...I’m glad things worked out. I went on a rampage, but I wasn’t wrong to do so. As relief that everyone was safe welled up in me, we walked down the main street and turned into the small alley that led to our home. 

Tuuli was waiting by the well. She was walking around it in a circle, so obviously waiting for us to get back that I couldn’t help but smile. 

“Tuuli!” 

“Myne! Yay! You came back!” The moment she saw us Tuuli came running our way, stepping on the somewhat overgrown weeds by the well. Dad set me down, standing such that I could lean my back against him. When Tuuli jumped into my arms, he was ready. 

“Welcome back, Myne! I was waiting for you!” Tuuli smiled with tears dripping down her face and I smiled back at her. 

“I’m home, Tuuli!”