Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.9 - Chapter Aft

Afterword

Hello again, it’s Miya Kazuki. Thank you very much for reading Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 4 Volume 9. This marks the conclusion of Part 4.

The prologue begins with Florencia watching Georgine’s group leave Ehrenfest. She, too, found the presence of Ahrensbach’s first wife discomfiting.

Florencia wished to stay in close contact with her children, but the fact that they lived apart from her in the northern building and all moved with their retainers made this easier said than done. It became exceedingly hard for her to get a full grasp on the situation, as the updates she received from her children were at times contradictory, and she had few opportunities to speak with Rozemyne, despite receiving her reports from Sylvester.

Naturally, Rozemyne had no way of knowing that Florencia was suffering—she was too preoccupied with the handover process in the temple and with studying for the Royal Academy. Still, she assisted Ferdinand in preparing for his departure and thought about their farewells...

In a surprising turn of events, Rozemyne and Ferdinand ended up giving each other charms during their farewell meal, which they attended with their retainers. The rainbow feystones they harvested from the regisches proved very useful indeed.

Unfortunately, their excitement after exchanging such wonderful gifts only lasted a brief while; someone infiltrated the temple while they were gone, kidnapped several of the gray priests, and stole the duchy’s bible. The matter is resolved thanks to the diligence of their retainers and some cooperation from the lower city, but Ferdinand ends up having to leave Ehrenfest even earlier than expected. Rozemyne fights back her tears as she gives him one last blessing with all the elements, and with that, Ferdinand departs for Ahrensbach.

After the epilogue, this volume transitions into a collection of short stories entitled “The Beginning of a Winter Apart.” I wrote these as per reader requests gathered to celebrate us reaching the end of another part. They focus on how the lives of certain characters have changed with Ferdinand and the others leaving.

Two newly written short stories are told from Rihyarda’s and Fran’s perspectives.

In Rihyarda’s story, I included some reminiscing about the past while she helped Justus to prepare for his departure. These two tend to be carrying out their duties as attendants whenever they appear in the main story, and they certainly don’t exude the same “family” vibe as other characters. I want to believe that this little encounter in their estate served to reinforce their relationship as mother and son.

Fran’s story was about preparing for the Dedication Ritual. Now that Ferdinand is gone, the High Priest’s chambers remain largely empty while nobles get ready for winter socializing. Fran prepares ceremonial robes for the guard knights due to assist with the ritual, with the aid of two other priests. I really enjoyed the opportunity to expand on the attendants working in the High Priest’s chambers. Lothar has popped up before, but this was Ymir’s first appearance.

Letizia received a wonderful design by Shiina-sama in this volume. She’s an Ahrensbach archduke candidate who will be taught by Ferdinand moving forward. Her family environment is exceedingly tragic.

This volume had more original content than usual, including the chapters “Rewarding Hartmut’s Hard Work” and “Irreplaceable.” Hopefully, readers of the web novel found them particularly entertaining and enlightening to read.

The cover art for this volume focuses on the wistful departure. Ferdinand and Rozemyne are both such a mixture of emotions as they say their last farewells. Amusingly, Eckhart and Justus are there as well, but they’re hidden behind the title card. Be sure to look out for them in the title-less version within this very book.

For the color illustration, I requested the scene where Ferdinand gives Rozemyne the key. I kind of visualized them being surrounded by a huge crowd, but Shiina-sama said the scene looked so much prettier with just the two of them. It’s like they’re in their own little world. (Haha.)

Shiina-sama, thank you as always.

And finally, I offer up my highest thanks to everyone who read this book. May we meet again in Part 5 Volume 1.

October 2019, Miya Kazuki