Heartwarming / Ascendance of a Bookworm

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"I have Lutz and my family, but you don't have anyone to hug you like this, do you?"

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Part 1

Volume 1

• Myne getting attached to her new parents and sister, despite the fact that she didn't initially consider them her family. There's also the fact that when she gets the 'original' Myne's memories, the feeling that is associated with their images is love.
• Myne and Tuuli need to go to the gate to give Gunther something he forgot at home. On their way they meet the neighborhood boys Ralph, Fey, and Lutz. Lutz, the golden-haired one of the three is the nicest boy to Myne, who acts like an older brother towards her despite being the same age. He is also the first one that offers Myne his help when she trips. Ralph carries her instead, but Myne nonetheless expresses her thanks to Lutz for worrying about her first, which makes him happy.
• Myne begging her father to buy her ink and parchment doesn't work, since it's far too expensive for him. To his embarrassment, he also can't really write. Otto defends Gunther from Myne's disappointed looks and offers to give her his stone slate and teach her letters. Myne's mood lightens and she thanks Otto wholeheartedly. At a later visit, Otto makes good on his promise, and just the act of writing something for the first time in her new life and seeing the letters makes Myne blissfully happy.
• Myne deepens her friendship with Lutz and his family after teaching them how to make parue cakes with their leftovers. They are genuinely thankful to her because they get to eat more food during the winter- especially Lutz, since his brothers take his food- and Lutz vows to support Myne with anything she needs help with in the future as a result.
• Gunther is a bit jealous and mad because Myne looks up to Otto for teaching her letters, which he isn't able to do. In order to make a hair ornament for Tuuli, she needs a thin sewing needle and begs Gunther with Puppy-Dog Eyes to make her a needle and a pin. Gunther- his pride as a father restored- cheers up and Myne ends up making a nice flower ornament for Tuuli-all to make her baptism extra special and repay her for all that her sister helps her with.
• Lutz becoming the one who walks Myne back home from the gate while she's building up enough strength to go to the forest for three months straight, eventually becoming the one who knows her ideal walking pace best and is able to accurately judge how long she can keep going before risking a collapse.
• Myne is overcome by her fever and almost gives up on life after her mother burns the wood she and Lutz gathered multiple times, thinking it was firewood. Effa doesn't understand Myne's wish to make a book and record the story Effa told her. What keeps Myne going is the promise she made with Lutz to meet with Otto and help him become a merchant, giving her the will to fight back the fever and recover. Subsequently, she puts her all into getting Lutz ready for the interview- getting him clean, making sure they get there early, and giving him some advice in advance so that he can have the best chance possible of a favorable outcome.
• Benno pressures Lutz and asks him what kind of merchant he wants to be. Lutz can't give him an answer and Benno almost leaves, but Myne then asks Lutz to make her paper, which gives him the resolve to face Benno and tell him that he will make and sell whatever Myne thinks up. Myne then takes over, proud of Lutz for standing his ground. She also holds his hand during the whole interview- at first for her own support when Benno and Otto approach, but then to support Lutz when he gets nervous.

Volume 2

• Effa expects Myne to fail her job interview. She asks Tuuli to cheer Myne up when she comes home, which Tuuli does (before asking whether Myne actually failed though).
• Myne learns that Otto, a low-ranked soldier with no money, is actually living far up in the northern part of the lower city. Benno insisted that Otto should move in because he was worried about his sister.
• Corinna asks Myne about Otto's life as a guard at the gate. Myne tells her that Otto is doing rather well and he can still do merchant work, which makes her happy, as he gave up his dream of a store of his own and used that money for his Ehrenfest citizenship so that he could marry her.
• Myne passes out while she was trying to gather the utensils for paper-making with Mark. She wakes up in Corinna and Benno's house. Benno then decides to send Myne home, as she clearly is too tired, but Myne wants to keep going. He then gets really angry and forbids her from coming to the store if Lutz isn't with her. Mark also gently but firmly threatens her and then carries her home.
• Lutz went through a Heroic BSoD because he thought Myne didn't need him. Seeing how poor her health is, he sees that he was wrong and his mood lightens again. He apologizes for acting cold towards her the previous day, thinking she wasn't Myne.
• Lutz figures out that the Myne in front of him is someone else. When she explains to him that she didn't want to be in the body of an ill girl either, and that the only reason she clung to life was her promise to him, he realizes that she is also suffering. He decides to not tell Myne's family about this, as it's her secret to tell. He also doesn't want Myne to disappear, as the 'Urano' Myne, who has become his best friend, is the Myne he knows best anyway.
• Guildmaster Gustav would do anything for Freida. He immediately accepts Myne and Lutz's temporary memberships the moment he learns they are selling the hairpin Freida has desperately been looking for. He also listens to Myne's advice and lets Freida choose the kind of hairpin she wants instead of surprising her.
• Myne takes part of the money she earned with the paper she sold to Benno to her family, who are very thankful and proud of her. This is in contrast to Lutz's family, who appreciate the money, but still don't want him to become a merchant.
• After Myne's meeting with Freida, she tells Benno that Freida is a bit of a money-obsessed weirdo, who doesn't act like she looks. She is shocked when Lutz tells Benno that she and Freida are Birds of a Feather. After returning home, Myne hugs and apologizes to Tuuli after realizing what a burden she's been to her family and for being a weirdo all the time.
  Myne: You're an angel, Tuuli. The healer of my heart. You’re the greatest older sister in the world, but I'm just sick and useless. I didn't realize it until Lutz told me today, but I'm a weird little sister who acts way different from how she looks. Sorry, Tuuli.
  Tuuli: (pats Myne's head) Haaah... You just now realized?
• When Myne and Lutz want to deliver the hairpins to the guildmaster, he somewhat desperately asks Myne to give them to Freida personally, happy that she has made her first friend.
• Benno, Gustav, Myne and Lutz use a carriage to go to Freida's house. Myne never rode in a carriage before and she is surprised how much it shakes. She loses her balance and falls off her seat, causing Benno to sit her onto his lap and wrap his arms around her protectively.
• While Myne and Lutz present the hairpins to Freida, Benno is actually negotiating with Gustav the price for the magic tools that would save Myne from the Devouring. Both are worried about Myne's life. Myne notices that Benno's guard around the guildmaster has lowered ever since they talked.
• Benno offers to buy Myne's tips of how to improve the shampoo he's having made, offering the price for the magic tool Myne will need to survive. This is his roundabout way to give her the money she needs, but it's not because he's worried about her! (Myne balks at first, worrying that Benno will cast her aside or find her creepy for knowing things she should have had no chance to learn, but he just cheerfully grins and notes that he's a merchant, so he won't throw away a source of so much profit, much to her relief).
• A bonus chapter in Volume 5 of the manga is told from Benno's view, where a merchant meeting ends with Guildmaster Gustav bragging about the hairpins he was desperately looking for and presents them to the merchants. He also thanks Benno and the Gilberta Company for finding the craftsman and delivering his order. This gets Benno lots of orders from the other merchants, which gets him in trouble because he'd have to ask Myne to move up with her winter handiwork plans. Benno internally curses Gustav for getting him into this situation while grinning smugly, but in hindsight this was actually Gustav's attempt to give Benno some good business and improve his reputation.
• After Lutz sees Myne pushing back the Devouring heat, he carries her to Benno while crying. While she is sad, she is also glad to have a fiend who would cry for her, which she doesn't believe she had back as Urano. After having a talk with Lutz to calm him down, Benno tells Myne to go rest and sends Mark with them, who carries Myne home.
  ...You're just too nice, Lutz. You stay with me no matter how much of a useless waste of space I am. You accepted me even though you know I'm not the real Myne.
• Both tearjerking and heartwarming. While Myne is losing consciousness due to the Devouring heat overtaking her, Lutz confesses that he is the one who is useless without her, not the other way around. Myne is dear to him because while everyone in his family mocked his dream of becoming a merchant, she believed in him and supported him. He tearfully begs Benno for help, but even Benno bitterly admits that his hands are nearly tied. Benno instead encourages Lutz by telling him to be there for Myne and not make her worry about him. He should make everything that she thinks up, just as he promised, and then earn enough money so that they can buy the tools she needs to survive. That is the only way he can help her. This motivational speech lights a fire in Lutz's eyes.
• Corinna's side chapter:
  • Benno is very protective of Corinna, but he is also determined to let her make her own decisions and respects her. This is shown in a flashback when Otto came to the city and fell in love with Corinna. If Otto was truly not after the Gilberta Company and Corinna agreed, Benno wouldn't say anything and let them do what they want.
• Effa's side chapter:
  • Effa really treasures Lutz because he's been a good and caring friend for Myne, and speaks up for him despite Karla's complaints, and also defends Benno against Karla and her bias against merchants, because he's been taking care of Myne and Lutz and pays them well.
  • Effa fondly remembers the time Gunther won her over. Gunther fell in love with Effa because she didn't mock his dream of wanting to protect the people and city he loves. He dreamed of being a knight, but ended up becoming a guard because he wasn't a noble. He courted Effa like a knight courted a lady and his genuine dream and determination convinced both Effa and her father that he was the right choice.

Volume 3

• In the prologue, Freida opens her grandfather's room where their magic tools are stored. It is noted how Gustav used everything in his power and a fortune to secure them, which is a testament to his love for his granddaughter. Myne later expresses her gratitude to him for selling one of these precious tools to Myne.
• Freida isn't just looking at Myne with greed in her eyes, her worry for Myne is genuine, as Myne is her first friend. They could find a good agreement with a noble for Myne if she decided to come to the Othmar Company. She tells Myne for her own good that she should seek an agreement with a noble, as they are the only ones who can save her in the long term by providing her with the magic tools she needs. Freida later declares that she will take care of Myne and become her Best Friend, after seeing how differently Myne treats her compared to Lutz.
• While bathing, Myne tells Freida that her grandfather must really love her considering how much he supports her dream to be a merchant, and how to her he looked like a grandfather who would do anything for his granddaughter. Freida, who at that point still thought that he just viewed her as a good investment, apparently didn't notice this and Myne then realizes that Freida feels very lonely and pressured, which is probably the reason why she clings to Myne so much.
• On Freida's baptism day, she receives high praises from her family for looking absolutely adorable.
  "The hairpins you bought look wonderful on me, do they not?" Frieda smiled with a finger on one of her hairpins.
  The guildmaster practically broke down where he stood. "Yes, they quite do. Your happy smile is worth all the money in the world."
• After Freida's baptism, Myne's family comes to get her. Tuuli is a bit disappointed that Myne declined Freida's invitation for lunch, but when Myne says that she missed her mom's cooking, Gunther immediately agrees. Despite all the luxury in Freida's home, Myne realizes how much she missed her family and her home.
  Aaah... At some point, this place became home to me. My stay at Freida's had made me notice a surprising change within myself.
• In the next chapter, Lutz tells Myne how worried Benno was. When Myne remarks that he probably heard her cry for help, he starts pouting because he assumes Myne wasn't asking for his help. She assures him that she did and he did come to her help when he visited and pointed out how sick she was, for which she is genuinely thankful. As a bonus, she also didn't have to deal with Freida's pushy family at dinner.
• Tuuli, Effa, and Myne are working on Myne's baptism clothes. They have fun together and the whole family is proud of how fancy and cute Myne's outfit turned out to be.
• Effa brings up the topic of Lutz becoming a merchant against his parents' wishes. She wonders whether Lutz only wants to become a merchant because of Myne, which Lutz immediately denies. Effa sympathizes with Lutz, but she genuinely worries about him surviving his apprenticeship if he also wants to look after Myne. When she asks him whether he'd quit if Myne had to quit, Lutz denies it. She really only wanted to hear Lutz's side of the story about his dream and actually thinks he should follow his dream. She thanks him for being honest to her.
• Myne explains the Devouring to her family and that she only has the option to become a noble's slave or die in less than a year. She decides to stay with her family, even if it means her death. Myne allows Tuuli to sleep with her in the bed to calm her down, as she is crying the whole time.
• When Myne tells Lutz that she will not become a merchant apprentice, Lutz gets into a fight with his mother, who thought Lutz was merely dragged around by Myne. Lutz gets her to understand that being merchant and traveling the world is his own dream and that he and Myne carved their own path through hard work. He will become an apprentice, even if he has to live under terrible conditions as a live-in apprentice.
  
  Lutz then explains how unhappy he is at home, because his brothers keep stealing his food and the clothes he gets are all hand-me-downs. When his parents buy him something new, his brothers just take it away immediately. He wants to be a merchant because everything he earns there will be his alone. Karla genuinely is worried and just wants the best for her son, but decides to let Lutz try it, since he is very serious about it. In the next scene, Lutz's brothers return home with parues to make savory faux-okonomiyaki with Myne. When Ralph tries to steal one from Lutz, Karla smacks his hand away and tells him to make another one for himself if he wants more.
• Benno later asks Mark to go with Myne and Lutz and order Gilberta Company apprentice clothes, so they could enter the store without appearing suspicious. While on their way, Mark carries Myne, clearly worried about her health again despite her protests.
• On their way to the forest to teach Benno how to make paper, Myne learns that Benno is a Confirmed Bachelor. He tells her how the love of his life died before they could marry and Myne, clearly sad to hear this, pats his head affectionately.
• In the forest, Benno learns that Myne doesn't really do much and just lets Lutz do the bulk of the work, since she is so weak. Benno is astounded how patient Lutz is with Myne and Myne readily praises Lutz some more to his embarrassment. While Lutz is busy, Myne tells Benno how important Lutz is to her, and since he has helped her so much until now, she wants to do anything she can to help him too. Seeing how strong their bond is, Benno loudly thinks that he really should secure Lutz and with an Affectionate Gesture to the Head tells Myne to trust him on that.
• Myne visiting Freida in the summer:
  • Despite knowing that Freida is using Tuuli to get Myne to come to her house without Lutz keeping an eye on her, she lets it happen. She just can't disappoint her big sister like that.
  • Freida is scolding Myne out of worry for not cutting ties with Benno and come to her family for help, as they are probably the only ones in the lower city who can save her life. She is frustrated with Myne for being idle and is shocked when she hears that Myne has basically given up because she doesn't want to leave her family.
  • Myne sells Freida exclusive rights to sell the pound cake for one year. Freida is doing it to finance Myne's family in case Myne passes away, similar to how Benno bought Myne's rinsham knowledge for several small golds. Freida also informs Myne about what constitutes fair market prices, and that she's been underselling her knowledge. Freida offers to pay more, but Myne declines. She then asks Freida to publicize the recipe if she doesn't survive the next year and not hoard it. Freida exclaims that she has no intention to do that, so if Myne wants to prevent her hoarding the recipe, she needs to survive past that point. Myne sees that Freida said that while looking away, almost crying.
• Myne and Lutz's baptism:
  • Myne's family, but especially Gunther, lavish her in praise for looking cute, probably the cutest girl at the ceremony. Myne notes that he said the same to Tuuli, but that's just Gunther really loving his daughters. She later receives similar praise from Lutz's family and the rest of their neighborhood. Tuuli also expresses how proud she is of her little sister in front of her friends.
  • Otto, Corinna, Benno and Mark are outside of the Gilberta Company to wave at Myne and Lutz during their baptism. Their employees also cheer for the two. Myne happily waves back. Similarly, while passing by Freida's house, Myne can also see Freida and her family, along with her attendant and chef, Jutte and Leise, being outside to congratulate her.
  • Once they are entering the temple Myne takes Lutz's hand, and Lutz uses this opportunity to tell her how cute she looks. Myne later learns after she came home that the people around her thought that she and Lutz looked like they're getting married (to Gunther's dismay).
  • The blue priest who performs Myne's citizenship registration is very gentle and not mean to her like some of the other blue priests that draw the children's blood without regard for how much pain they're inflicting. Myne didn't describe how the priest looked like, but the manga and anime reveal that Myne's priest was High Priest Ferdinand.
• Myne tells Gunther that she wants to become a shrine maiden and he immediately gets angry. He doesn't want his daughter to be worked to the bone and leave her family behind, as only orphans usually join the temple. When he learns that Myne wanted to become a shrine maiden because she wants to read books, he asks her what she wants: her family or books? Shocked, Myne tells him that she prioritizes her family. Myne thinks about how dear her family has become to her, as back as Urano she probably would have chosen books.
• Myne visits the temple for a reading session and the High Priest was asked to read to her. She convinces him to let her sit on his lap and read for herself. Together they spend some pleasant time with him teaching her words- the unflappable High Priest clearly being amused and almost charmed by her enthusiasm to learn- and Myne being able to read a book for the first time in her new life.
• Benno is briefed about what Myne did in the temple. He, Mark, and Lutz react with facepalms and anger when she tells them everything that happened. He explains to her the hierarchy in the temple and that they have their eyes on Myne now, now that she's revealed that she has the Devouring. Benno immediately makes up a plan to give Myne better conditions and protect her from the nobility of the temple. He suggests signing several magic contracts with him and Lutz that keep her connected to them and make her the forewoman of her own workshop to stay in contact with her family. This will drag Benno and Lutz into her mess, too, and dealing with nobles as a commoner is life-threatening, but both are willing to risk their lives for Myne. Benno claims it's merely for profit, but Mark says out loud what Benno is actually thinking: He goes so far because he's worried about Myne. Myne thanks them both.
  Mark: The master is merely worried about you. You are always putting yourself in danger and causing unexpected problems, it is truly poor for our health.
  Benno: Shut it, Mark.
  Mark: Apprentices here tend to learn the fundamentals of trade at their own home, so the master had not met a child he needed to take so dearly care of himself before now. I will refrain from saying you are like a daughter to him, but you are like the daughter of a brother and he worries about you as if you were a family member. Of course, I do as well.
• At the Merchant's Guild, Lutz is unhappy that Myne didn't keep their promise of making books together and selling them in a bookstore. Myne tells him that they both have their own dreams and Lutz is frustrated that he can't help Myne much. He wanted to work hard in Benno's store and sell what they make together. They hug each other and Myne assures him that she still needs his help to make what she dreams of.
• At home, Myne reports that she's got an invitation from Corinna for her baptism dress for her and Effa. Myne promises Tuuli that she will ask Corinna to invite Tuuli too and emphasize that Tuuli was the one who made the hairpins, causing Tuuli to express how much she loves Myne and start skipping for joy.
  Tuuli... You're so cute. Just what I'd expect from my angel.
• At the temple, Effa and Gunther refuse the High Bishop's "benevolence" to take Myne in, as they love their daughter and don't want her to be treated like an orphan. Angry at their insolence to refuse him, the High Bishop orders his priests to lock Myne up and capture her parents, which triggers Myne's protective instincts. She starts leaking mana and Crushes the High Bishop and the High Priest, who asks Myne to stop. She only calms down once the High Priest tells her that if she kills the High Bishop, Myne and her parents will be treated as criminals and will be executed.
  • After calming down, Myne asks the High Priest why he was only watching. He tells her that this was the most efficient way for him to get what he wants. He did not expect to see the love between a child and her parents go so far. He considers the damage he took from Myne's Crushing to be his punishment.
    High Priest: ...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.
  • Upon finding out that her eyes change colors and she surrounded by a yellowish mist when she has a tantrum, Myne admits that she is creeped out by the idea and wouldn't have blamed the parents of a child doing such things for having thrown said child out on the streets. She is greatly impressed that Gunther and Effa continued caring for her despite this, after having the worry that they might abandon her if she made a wrong move in the back her head for more than a year.
• Epilogue:
  • Gunther and Otto go out drinking. The two of them start talking about Myne. Despite having negotiated good conditions for Myne, Gunther is still worried that Myne will not be treated well, because she is still a commoner. For now he is just happy that he can still keep an eye on her, and Myne has said that she doesn't want to sign a contract with a noble, but Gunther just wants his daughter to live as long as possible. He wants to help her, like Benno and the guildmaster did, but he doesn't know how. Otto then suggests that as a guard captain at the gate, he can keep an eye on suspicious people who might try to kidnap Myne one day. Otto's family is also deeply involved, so together they promise each other to protect their families.
• Leise's side chapter:
  • Leise's background is revealed in this chapter. She was a court chef, but was never able to become a head chef because despite her skills she was a commoner with no connections. The guildmaster took her in, allowing her to prove herself for which she will always be grateful by working her hardest every day.
  • Leise asks Myne about how to make better soup, but Myne has to refuse telling her, because she will need a trump card when she inevitably has to deal with nobles. Having worked for nobles before, Leise immediately understands and changes the topic.
  • Leise is overjoyed though when Myne tells her that she is willing to share her sweets recipes. She respects Myne a lot, seeing as Myne seemingly has lots of recipes in her head that Leise wants to learn. Being acknowledged by Myne for her skills and passion, and willing to teach her more (and not sell it to Benno) fills her with warmth and pride. Leise promises to make anything Myne thinks up if she is willing to tell her how to make it.
• Benno's side chapter:
  • Once again, Benno is exasperated at Myne openly exposing herself to the public by participating in a taste-testing where very influential merchants are present, despite his best efforts to keep her identity a secret to protect her.
  • Lutz, who is accompanying Benno to the taste-testing, states that he doesn't like Freida being so close to Myne, either. Benno can't tell whether that's just Lutz being protective of Myne or if it's a sign that he's starting to fall in love with her.
• Mark's side chapter:
  • The chapter makes it clear that Benno has Mark's Undying Loyalty. Mark was taken care of by Benno's father and has known Benno since he was born. Mark even ruined his own brother and his family's store, as they refused to help Benno after Benno's father passed away. He is prepared to follow Benno anywhere, as Benno wants to open his own store once Corinna has given birth and he trained a successor.
  • Mark promising himself to train Lutz well enough for him to be able to withstand being dragged along by Myne and Benno no matter what.
  • Benno plans to adopt Lutz and make him his successor, as when the time comes for Myne to leave the city, he wants Lutz to be by her side. Myne and Lutz remind him of himself and Liz. They also remind Benno of his own dream as a merchant to hold influence all over the world. He is prepared to go with Myne. Benno asks Mark if he will accompany them then, who assures him that he will follow Benno anywhere.
• Gustav's side chapter:
  • The Perspective Flip reveals that his "harassment" of Benno is all a misunderstanding. He wanted to help Benno's family, but the timing was always off. Gustav being the Obstructive Bureaucrat is also just him worrying that Benno is biting off more than he can chew. He also doesn't like Benno monopolizing Myne, because her knowledge benefits all and is a boon to Ehrenfest.
  • Gustav letting Myne wear Othmar Company clothes during the pound cake taste-testing was an attempt to get more attention for Myne. That was his idea to give her connections to nobles who could save her from the Devouring.
  • The reader also learns that Gustav could have found a noble for Freida who could bring more profits to his family. However, Gustav chose Lord Henrik because Henrik is a Nice Guy who will treat Freida well, and that's more important to him.
  • At the end of the chapter, Gustav receives a letter from the temple asking for information about Myne, who will soon become a shrine maiden. Although Gustav doesn't think it's going to do much, he writes a very positive report about Myne in the hope that they see her value and won't treat her roughly.

Part 2

Volume 1

• The reader learns in the prologue that High Priest Ferdinand, the son of a noble's mistress, had a very rough childhood due to his stepmother. However, it's clear in the narration that her son, his half-brother, loves him very much.
• After a tiring first day at the temple, Lutz comes to pick Myne up. She immediately goes for a hug and he starts patting her head and praises her.
• Benno and Mark immediately dress up and prepare to go to the temple when they learn that Myne accidentally told the High Priest that they would immediately deliver the donation. Lutz does not blame her for this, but he advises her to adapt quickly to her new environment. Benno also quickly forgives her for this mishap and tells her to leave the talks to him.
• When they enter the temple, Benno treats Myne very gently and tries to help her talk and act more like a noble. He also scolds Fran for not paying attention to Myne and her health, as he walks too fast for her. Benno then tells Mark to carry Myne and he does so. In a Bridal Carry.
• Benno defends Myne when he tells Ferdinand that she is "generous". Up until then, Ferdinand viewed her as a dangerous and emotional person with a short temper. Benno explains that she only gets mad if it concerns her family, friends or books. Otherwise she trusts others very quickly. Even if they have deceived her in the past, they are Easily Forgiven because she is rather apathetic to being tricked or mocked.
  • Benno also asks Ferdinand to let someone watch over Myne's health and teach her about temple culture and the nobility. Ferdinand responds that he intended to do so from the start, which is also the reason why he assigned Fran to her, since Fran is one of his best attendants. Fran begins to realize that he completely misread Ferdinand's intentions. Ferdinand trusts Fran more than anyone.
• When the rumor that Myne is Benno's "Goddess of Water" is brought up, Mark helps clearing up the Mistaken for Pedophile misunderstanding. Myne could indeed be viewed as the Gilberta Company's Goddess of Water in the sense that thanks to her business is doing better than ever before. They are genuinely grateful to her for that.
• When Myne collapses, Benno hurriedly carries her to the carriage. Fran also starts worrying about Myne and wants to carry and come with her, as he now takes his role as her head attendant seriously. Myne sympathizes with Fran, since he surely must have initially thought he got demoted for disappointing Ferdinand somehow, and promises to do her best to help Ferdinand.
• In the carriage, Benno lets Myne rest her head on his lap, caresses her forehead and holds her cold hands while looking at Myne the way he would look at his beloved. Mark assures Benno that everything will be fine.
  Mark: Master Benno, Myne is not Liz. She will be fine.
  Benno: ...I know that. I know that, so don't say she'll be fine. It's not that simple.
  • Lutz is initially worried to see Myne's cold and unmoving body, but rightfully gets angry when he figures out that she probably collapsed because she ignored lunchtime to read more. Benno also starts yelling at Myne, while Mark kindly but firmly reprimands Myne. They all just worry about her health.
• When discussing Myne's weird food that will be served at the Italian restaurant, Benno learns that while Myne thought up the recipes, her and Lutz's family are doing the actual cooking because Myne is too small and weak (due to the Devouring). Myne sadly murmurs how she wants to grow too. Benno, who is carrying Myne, is the only one who hears this and starts patting her back to console her.
• Myne seeing Lutz behaving like a proper store employee makes her proud, which she compares to a mother watching her child grow up and do well at their job.
• After procuring the unused orphanage director's chambers, Myne orders Gil to clean the chambers. Ferdinand asks her why she entrusted him with this and Myne responds that she is giving him a chance to prove his worth despite his previous animosity towards her.
  • After Gil promptly rewards her faith by thoroughly cleaning a large section of the chambers, she praises him and gives him headpats. Unlike Lutz, who finds this embarrassing, Gil gratefully accepts this, since he was probably never praised for his efforts. Myne realizes that rather than divine gifts, what Gil really wants is being loved and acknowledged. Over the days, Gil has been entrusted with accompanying Myne in Fran's stead. Gil is quite proud of himself and it has become a regular routine to receive praise and headpats from Myne.
• Myne gifts Fran and Gil the commoner clothes she bought in the secondhand clothes store, so that they may accompany her to the lower city. Having never received personal gifts for their work before, Gil happily accepts, which makes Myne happy as well. Even the usually composed Fran clearly shows his happiness and gets embarrassed when he notices Myne staring at him.
• Seeing how the people in the lower city react to Gil's behavior, he realizes that temple members and commoners from the lower city act completely differently. He apologizes to Myne for saying she lacked common sense and calling her stupid before for not knowing how the temple works.
• After Hugo and Ella's first try of making new recipes in the orphanage director kitchens, Myne takes her and Benno's share of the food and then gifts the rest to her attendants and chefs, so that they may enjoy the food while it's hot. She can hear their excitement even behind the doors.
• Myne lets Delia work for her, after Delia genuinely begs Myne to not abandon her. Fran and Gil react with relief when Myne accepts. They also sympathized with Delia. Myne then gifts Delia the clothes she bought for her, who is very happy about it (if a bit embarrassed).
• After Myne's attempts to get the High Priest's help for the orphanage fail, she gets nauseous and is on the brink of tears. When Lutz comes to pick her up, she jumps into his arms to hug him and cries her heart out. He consoles her and after Myne makes it clear that she can't just peacefully read while children next to her are dying, he brainstorms ideas to help Myne which gives her new hope. While Myne is scared of taking on so many responsibilities, Lutz encourages her to just try, as doing nothing would be worse, and if it doesn't work out, she should just stop. Lutz will be there to help her. Fran concedes and promises to help Myne as best as he can as well.
• Secret Talk with the High Priest:
  • Myne tasks Gil to keep delivering food to the pre-baptism children secretly. By the time Myne has fully discussed her plan with the High Priest, they all look much better already.
  • Through Fran, Myne communicates with the High Priest, who approves of Myne's plans to become the orphanage director and build a workshop in the temple. As Fran expected, the High Priest was not against Myne saving the orphans.
  • Inside the High Priest's Secret Room, he starts lecturing Myne for her reckless actions earlier. She didn't notice that one of the High Bishop's attendants was also present, and she openly criticized and insulted the High Bishop. He was dying inside, which is why he acted so cold towards her. He warns her that if she doesn't learn the names and faces of her enemies, she won't survive for long. Myne realizes that just like with Benno, the High Priest is showing Anger Born of Worry. In hindsight, it becomes obvious that the High Priest speaks from experience.
  • Myne gives the reason why she wants to help the orphanage: she can't in good conscience read while next to her children are starving. She frames it as a very selfish reason, but the fact that she feels guilty about it is a testament to her good character.
  • Myne notices that the High Priest is very understanding when she explains things properly and wonders why he acts so differently from the other priests. While he doesn't want to tell her his life story, he tells her that just like her he wasn't raised in the temple. He warns Myne not to anger the High Bishop too much, but he will make it look like he forced the role of the orphanage director on her to shield her from his suspicions. Since she doesn't know anything about temple and noble culture, she should come to him and listen to Fran's advice.
  • Myne decides to be honest with Delia and tells her that she plans to save the pre-baptism children. However, she doesn't want the High Bishop to interfere, so she asks Delia to keep quiet. For the sake of the children, Delia will not report what is going on for which Myne thanks her. In her own Tsundere way, Delia tells Myne that she has faith in her.

Volume 2

• The moment the binding of the first copy of the children's bible is finished, making it the first book to come out of the Myne workshop.

Volume 3

• Upon hearing Ferdinand's report of what he discovered using the memory-searching tool on Myne, Karstedt puts processing the whole Past-Life Memories of another world thing on the back burner in favor of focusing on the soft spot that Ferdinand has clearly developed for Myne.
• Ferdinand and Karstedt re-enact a streamlined version of the discussion they had about Myne being adopted in front of Myne to make it look like the decision is at least being made in her presence. The way they present it to her, Ferdinand starts considering Karstedt as the suddenly-needed adoptive father more or less on the spot and Karstedt is accepting because he considers Ferdinand a friend.
• Myne is told that she is going to be adopted by Karstedt while already missing her family because she needs to spend the winter in the temple. Ferdinand calms her down by giving her a hug and coming up with the idea of waiting until she turns ten, the Royal Academy's admission age, for the adoption to happen.
• When Kamil is born, Lutz goes to the Gilberta Company and the temple to tell people there that Myne is taking the day off. He comes back with gifts from both places.

Volume 4

• Delia is still traumatized enough by the orphanage that when she goes there to check on Dirk, she avoids looking inside it when she ends up needing to open the door for Myne and decides to leave once she's done opening the door. A quick glance at Dirk later, she's running into the building to keep him from rolling off the cushion on which he was left. Her reaction to Myne pointing out that she's now inside the orphanage heavily implies that she was so focused on getting to Dirk before he reached the floor that her mind didn't pick up on what she was doing until that moment.
• Wilma tells Myne she's caring for the pre-baptism children because she had fond memories of her own gray shrine maiden mother raising her up to her baptism. She wants nothing more than to care for other children so that they can receive the same comfort she got from her own mother.
• The same scene reveals that Ferdinand looked for an adoptive family for Dirk in spite of the difficulties and that having Dirk around has allowed Delia to understand why Myne was so heartbroken at the idea of being separated from her family.
• Every single instance of someone outside of Myne's family getting her last blessing. The fact that it avoids some of her acquaintances who wish they were closer to her than they actually are only puts emphasis on how much she means it for people who do get it.
• As Myne's funeral procession comes to an end, the last stop before the cemetery is the temple, where the death is to be reported and Myne's baptism medal collected. Instead of the gray priest who usually handles the deaths of Lower City dwellers, they find Ferdinand, for whom this was probably the only means to be part of the funeral without being too conspicuous.

Part 3

Volume 1

• Ferdinand gifting Rozemyne a decorated hair stick made by her family for her baptism.
• Ferdinand telling Sylvester he considers him to be an overall good archduke. In the middle of telling him that Wilfried is an Inadequate Inheritor, no less.
• When Rozemyne accidentally blesses the crowd during her winter debut, most people react with a Stunned Silence. There is however a little clapping, all coming from her family members. After Ferdinand makes it clear that the blessing was a misstep nonetheless, Rihyarda joins Rozemyne and gives her praise that confirms that the clapping from earlier was completely sincere.

Volume 2

• The Hasse orphans have some trouble adjusting to the temple rules about girls and boys living in separate quarters, even when they're related - but it's sincerely touching to see Nora agree to sleep separately from her brother, because it means that much to her- as a pretty commoner orphan with no rights, to be sold off whenever the mayor pleases- to be able to sleep without fear for once.

Volume 3

• After being Forced to Watch her first execution, Rozemyne returns to the Hasse monastery, where Gunther is among the people welcoming her back. Because of what she just witnessed, she really wants a hug from him, but can't have one because they are no longer father and daughter. Despite Rozemyne's training in hiding her emotions when in public, Gunther notices that she is deeply upset (though he doesn't know why), so he gives her his cloak under the guise of protecting a member of the nobility from the sudden cold snap. Rozemyne sleeps soundly that night, wrapped in his cloak. The following morning, she carefully folds it up with her own hands to return to Gunther, rather than having one of her attendants do it as would be more proper.

Volume 4

• Ferdinand completely transforms in Georgine's presence, showing a gentler side Rozemyne never saw before, easily smiling and laughing and looking so much like the Prince Charming that a star-struck Wilma drew that her mind is left spinning and it freaks her out. It's all an act, kind eyes and all. As Karstedt noticed in Part 2, Ferdinand allows himself to appear nervous, angry and annoyed only around the people he trusts and likes, because he considers showing those emotions to be an unacceptable weakness. The fact that he acts the way he does with Georgine means he doesn't trust her at all. And the fact that he is constantly showing annoyance and anger in private when with Rozemyne, Karstedt and Sylvester means that he likes them and considers them friends.
• When making his proposal to Brigitte, Damuel has a group of friends helping and encouraging him. This significant because many people, including his fiancée of the time, distanced themselves from him after his demotion to apprentice as a result of the trombe extermination incident.
• The chapter from Florencia's point of view reveals that she has come to think of Rozemyne as her own personal saint, her savior. Not just because she is the reason for the fall of Veronica and for the many innovations she brings, but for her work in saving Wilfried from disinheritance. Though initially doubting Sylvester's decision to adopt an outsider, she quickly came to consider it a rare act of wisdom on his part and by the end of the chapter, she begins to seriously consider having Rozemyne and Wilfried marry.
• Rozemyne finally makes the collection of Effa's stories she has meant to ever since her early book attempts. It's a single volume with an illustration she made herself, right on time for Tuuli's tenth birth season.

Volume 5

• During the second shot at ruelle gathering, Rozemyne watches the knights fight and mentally grades their coolness while using Gunther as her gold standard. Eckhart is one eighth of Gunther, while Karstedt lands second place to Gunther himself.
• When Rozemyne suddenly offers to take advantage of the ruelle gathering to allow Damuel to get one for his proposal, everyone is on board with it, including Karstedt, who mentions that Elvira wants to see how things will pan out, as well.
• Rozemyne reads a dossier about the Georgine faction that was apparently put together by Elvira at Ferdinand's request. The end of the last page contains a note asking Ferdinand to say hello to Rozemyne for her. She's so touched by the effort and care Elvira put into it that she forgoes reading books all day as she'd planned to in favor of studying the dossier, despite the complexity making her head spin.
• When Rozemyne finds out that there is a gray priest and a commoner in Illgner that want to marry, rather than simply agreeing immediately to sell him, she seeks out the priest and gently questions him to make sure he genuinely wants this rather than being pressured into it by Giebe Illgner or the commoner, Carya. She does this since she knows gray priests sometimes suffer from Culture Clash when interacting with normal commoners and that grays tend to be submissive and accommodating (as well as having really no idea what romance and marriage even are like), but is pleased to confirm that his feelings are genuine.
• During the negotiations to sell Volk to Giebe Illgner, so that Volk can be set free and marry the woman he loves, it comes out that Giebe Illgner doesn't have enough money to buy him. Rozemyne is so distraught that she ends up tugging Ferdinand's sleeve and calling his name, like a little girl trying to get her father's attention. Despite warning her not to be too soft during price negotiations, instead of scolding her like he usually would, Ferdinand gently rebukes her with a simple question. Rozemyne's feelings improve immediately and she resolves the issue quickly.
• Before leaving Illgner, Rozemyne meets with Volk again and advises him to use the year he stays there making paper to help acclimate to living among people who weren't raised in the temple and understand how they live and think differently, as well as observe other married couples so he can learn from them and build a healthy relationship with Carya.
• Wilfried's response to being told that Rozemyne is dangerous was an attempt to get Charlotte away from her.
• Wilfried messed up hard then learns his lesson and apologizes to Ferdinand and Rozemyne. Ferdinand's cold unemotional face turns angry and strict and he keeps frowning, causing Wilfried to stutter. After the situation is resolved, Wilfried again apologizes and calls Ferdinand 'Uncle' for the first time. Ferdinand immediately exits the room, as if he doesn't have anything to say. Only Rozemyne notices that he walked out at slightly faster speed than usual. Reminder that Ferdinand doesn't show any emotions like anger and sorrow or ever frowns among people who are not his friends. This is the first scene when Ferdinand starts considering Wilfried his family!

Part 4

Volume 1

• Rozemyne wakes up after her two year coma. The tub full of jureve potion she is lying in is surrounded by a lot of printed books that are a product of her workshop. Some of which she didn't help making (or order to be made) but her attendants and friends created so she will have something to read when she wakes up. It is literally her lifelong dream come true! Rozemyne's eyes fill with grateful tears as she reaches for the closest but is too weak to even pick it up. Her tears of happiness and gratitude turn into tears of frustration. Then Ferdinand comes into view and immediately calls her an idiot and yells at her to sit down before she hurts herself. The first thing she tells him, the books completely forgotten? "You look horrible. You haven't been sleeping enough and taking care of your health. You have been abusing mana potions again, haven't you?" His response: "And whose fault is that? You left me big shoes to fill! All the temple work you did previously fell back to me. Additionally, I had to take care of you while you slept in jureve." Then he tells her everything she missed during her coma. And lets her hold on to one book as he carries her to bed.
  • Tuuli also continued making "seasonal" hairpins for her, expecting she would wake up sooner. And Ferdinand paid for every one of them and put them with the books. Rozemyne starts crying again when she sees them.
• At dinner, Sylvester and Florencia thank Rozemyne for saving their children, Wilfried calling Ferdinand 'Uncle' has become routine, and it's clear that Bonifatius just plain adores the letter Rozemyne wrote for him.
• Rozemyne takes a discussion about the roles of first/second/third wives as an opportunity to rhapsodize about how incredible her mother Elvira is and declare that she's her ideal role model; easily convincing Leonore to also strive to some day become as amazing as her as well.

Volume 3

• When meeting Viscount Illgner and Brigitte for the first time since her two-year jureve convalescence, Rozemyne is surprised by a familiar face attending on the meeting- Volk, the ex-gray priest who was sold to Illgner and freed so that he could marry a local woman. She steals a moment to inquire after his well-being, in spite of Ferdinand's disapproving look.
  "I took your sage advice well to heart, Lady Rozemyne. Rather than endure all of my problems in silence, I regularly speak with Carya so that we may work together and find compromises. While you were asleep, we were blessed with a child, and I was able to learn the true meaning of the word 'family'. I experience moments of joy each day, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for guiding me down the path of happiness."
  [Volk] spoke with pride, wearing the expression not of a gray priest serving his lord but of a father supporting his family.

Volume 4

• Konrad started off having a difficult time adjusting to the orphanage after being taken out of his abusive home for his safety- but things improve rapidly when Dirk attaches himself to him, clearly delighted to have another boy his own age around.
• Claudio's point of view chapter establishing that Karstedt and Elvira's relationship is rekindling, alongside the fact Claudio is supporting Rozemyne all while knowing she's not Elvira's daughter. He and Karstedt also have a little brother-in-law bonding.

Royal Academy Stories - First Year

• Angelica bonding with Rozemyne's temple attendants, with the end result of having someone tell her they'd rather have her company than someone else's for the first time she can remember.
• Crossing over with Tear Jerker - all the librarians of the Royal Academy except Solange were told they were to be executed for a crime it's almost certain none of them committed. Nonetheless, they didn't protest the injustice or try to escape, but instead asked for a few days to wrap up their affairs. They spent that time locating and moving as much of the research and documents relating to duchies like Werkestock that were being purged (or that just were authored by executed professors and nobles) to the closed archives so that they wouldn't be destroyed.
  • In addition, they pushed themselves to the brink of death charging Schwartz and Weiss as much as possible so that Solange could keep the library going on her own with their help for as long as their mana reserves could keep them moving.
  • And to cap it all off- in the diaries where they recorded their workdays right up to the date of their executions, they added messages of support and well-wishes meant for Solange to read after they were gone. In the present day, Solange reflects on how grateful she is for what Rozemyne has done for the library, wonders how moved her coworkers would have been if they had been alive to see the blessing that reactivated the shumils, and decides to take out the diaries to lend them to Rozemyne later- ostensibly for the reason that since she wants to become a librarian, she might enjoy reading about their daily lives, but also since she wants Rozemyne to share in the memories she has of her colleagues.

Volume 5

• Lamprecht is doing his best to be a good husband to Aurelia. He also has a lot of good things to say about Rozemyne, which is a nice side of him to see as he usually gets the short end of the stick in terms of interacting with Rozemyne as a brother compared to both Cornelius and Eckhart.
• Hugo and Ella's marriage and what leads up to it, with Rozemyne taking care to help them out with their wedding preparations since they're so busy working for her and having a hairpin made for Ella, is sweet on its own. What caps it off is that after Rozemyne blesses the couples, Hugo calls out thanks to Rozemyne directly and other couples join in, which no one's ever done before at the Starbind ceremonies she's presided over, even when they're surprised and happy at her blessings.

Volume 6

• Roderick having decided he wants to serve Rozemyne after finding one of his stories in one of her published books, at a time where he had lost the only asset he had in his family's eyes (being the right age and sex to easily befriend Wilfried), is heartwarming enough. However, he wouldn't have found out about the story in the first place if one of Rozemyne's guard knights hadn't made sure he read the book. After the Ivory Tower incident, during Rozemyne's coma and for no other reason than the fact that Rozemyne would have done it herself had she been present. In other words, circumstances in which the guard knight would have had every right to ignore Roderick outside of his status as a Veronica faction child and would have been able to do so without Rozemyne being the wiser.
• After dismissing Rozemyne's ideal library as impossible, Ferdinand gives her the information necessary to make a magic tool that can help with one of the more feasible features.

Volume 9

• Even when she's gone from the temple for long periods of time, Gil and the others from the orphanage make sure to set aside parues and send over parue juice for Rozemyne without it being asked of them, because they know how much she loves it.
• Crossing over with Tear Jerker - unprompted, when Ferdinand's leaving the temple for the final time, all of his temple attendants have already lined up and pray for Ferdinand's safety in his new home and express their gratitude to him. It even gets a genuine smile out of Ferdinand. Fran and Zahm ask him to take care of himself and express what an honor it's been to serve him, both of them clearly aware that they likely will never see him again.
• Despite having no memories of Myne and just being puzzled by all the reverence his family holds for 'Lady Rozemyne', Kamil loves the toys and books that Rozemyne has quietly had delivered to him via Lutz since his infancy so much that he jumps at the chance to work for the Plantin Company instead of following his father's path as a soldier or following his revered sister Tuuli to the Gilberta Company.
  Lutz (under his breath): "Ah, Myne... You sure raised him into a bookworm, huh?"
  

Part 5

Volume 1

• While Ferdinand giving charms to Sylvester and Rozemyne is expected, he also gave some to Florencia, Wilfried and Charlotte before leaving.

Volume 2

• When Lestilaut is laying out the advantages and reasons that Rozemyne should accept his proposal to break off her engagement to Wilfried and instead move to Dunkelfelger as his first wife, Rozemyne's resolve to remain Ehrenfest is increasingly shaken when he promises increased access to resources and money for bookmaking as well as the largest collection of reading material of any duchy in Ehrenfest. But he makes one critical blunder- claiming that Dunkelfelger's workers are far more skilled than backwater Ehrenfest's, instantly shocking her out of her rapture and turning her completely and utterly against Lestilaut and his offer.
  EXCUSE ME?! I don't think there's anyone in the world who can match my Gutenbergs!

Volume 3

• Rozemyne spares no effort in making Ferdinand's short stay in the Ehrenfest dormitory as comfortable as possible- most notably, arranging for the cushioned bench he commissioned in Ehrenfest (but never got to use, as it was delivered shortly before he departed for Ahrensbach) to be brought for him to rest on, and arranging for his personal chefs- also left behind in his move- to make all his favorite foods, both for the meal in the dormitory and to restock the supply of Ehrenfest meals for Ferdinand to bring back to Ahrensbach and store in his time-stopping magic tool. Despite him trading barbs and avoiding complimenting Rozemyne the previous night, he's genuinely grateful for everything she's done.
  "At times like this, a simple 'thank you' will suffice," I said, being snarky in an attempt to push my sadness from my thoughts. I expected Ferdinand to respond with his usual sardonic smirk... but instead, he gave me a kind smile, which I seldom ever saw from him.
  "Thank you, Rozemyne, Rihyarda."

Volume 6

• The volume is full of reminders that people around Rozemyne genuinely care about her, with highlights including:
  • The extent to which Lieseleta is pleased to be asked to accompany Rozemyne to the Sovereignty.
  • Both Elvira and Hartmut having known Rozemyne was a commoner for years, but still treating her well. Elvira even has a moment of talking about "her children" while referring to both Cornelius (her biological son) and Rozemyne. She also explicitly calls Rozemyne "her daughter" right before that.
• Frietack, whose role so far has been "competent blue priest taking over some of Ferdinand's duties, who had to be bailed out by Rozemyne during the purge," turning out to have become a role model to Konrad while she wasn't looking.
• Tuuli comes of age and calls back to Myne's efforts to embellish her hair during her baptism as part as her temple-visiting outfit.
• Lutz and Tuuli turning out to be engaged to each other.

Volume 7

• Wilfried wanting a piece of jewelry showing his sibling bond with Rozemyne, after the antagonism he has shown in previous volumes.
• Sylvester spelling out that the life he would like Rozemyne to have, if it weren't for her involvement with the Royal Family, actually has a lot of overlap of the life she'd like to have. The same scene reveals that he could have asked Ferdinand to assassinate Georgine at any time since he moved to Ahrensbach, but hasn't because it would mean certain death for Ferdinand.

Volume 8

• The prologue is from the point of view of Justus as he and Eckhart flee from Ahrensbach to Bring News Back. During the escape, he gets the sentiment that he and Eckhart are the only people in the world who care about Ferdinand, to the point that unless the meetin with Sylvester meets a very high bar, he plans to return to Ahrensbach and kill its entire archducal family. Upon meeting Sylvester, the two of them find out that Rozemyne already knows part of what's happening, that she also has sent rejuvenation potions for them, a rescue operation for Ferdinand is being prepared and Sylvester approved of it. To top this off, they discover that Sylvester brought the means to allow Justus and Eckhart to return to the status of Ehrenfest nobles with him to the meeting, which means he intended to do it regardless of the value of the information they provided. Part of Justus' inner monologue mentions that usually, in similar circumstances, the likelihood of getting accepted into a duchy one has left is proportional to the quality of the intelligence one can provide.
• Rozemyne telling Ferdinand that Yurgenschmidt is not worth saving if he's not in it.
• Brigitte's daughter is named Lilaroze.

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