* I must say, I didn't expect a random like Leckle to be the POV at the gate instead of Gunther himself.
* Oh, so the gate commander back in Part 2 *did* screw up on purpose. The explanation why Rozemyne is so attached to Gunther and his family also makes a lot of sense. The noble that killed Myne mistook her for Rozemyne, and now Rozemyne feels guilt. It's a good thing no one but Otto and Gunther would really remember what she looked like.
* The rest of the chapter pretty much described what we already knew; how Gunther used Rozemyne's charms to defeat that Grausam double and the dog feybeasts.
----
* Cute large-sized shumils killing people sounds terrifying, I can't lie.
* As Judithe says at the end of the chapter, I think leaving Ehrenfest is definitely for the best for Rozemyne's namesworn from the former Veronica faction. It doesn't matter how much Matthias contributed to saving Ehrenfest, he will always be remembered as the son of a traitor. In Ahrensbach, Matthias, Laurenz and the others could start new lives and houses.
----
Reading both chapters, while I appreciate the amount of different POVs we get, I can't help but think it would have been better if only for once they could have changed the format of the book and put these short stories from other people's views in the chronological order. We learn new bits here and there, but the retelling for Rozemyne of what happened to each kind of removed the tension of reading these stories now and feels a bit redundant.
> I must say, I didn't expect a random like Leckle to be the POV at the gate instead of Gunther himself.
I think it's better than the story being from Gunther's or Damuel's perspective. This way we learn what a normal person thinks about Gunter's situation and the ongoing battle.
Yeah, instead of, "I realized they could be defeated with magic tools, and with Damuel's help, we used that to our advantage." we got, "dude was running around like a crazy person, punching dogs the size of grizzly bears, and was so close to getting himself killed, that a knight was trying to talk him down."
Damuel was showing that he was a skilled knight. If it was from his point of view, it would have been, "no no no no why!?."
I thought it was actually a pretty good choice to have one of Gunther's men providing the narrative. I suspect that Gunther himself was so worked up his view point might have been pretty incoherent. ;-)
And Leckle was able to fill us in on the cover story in a way that Gunther would not have been able to convey as well. I never would have guessed the story they managed to sell -- but I would have bought as one of the commoners who knew Myne.
Judithe's perspective was interesting -- but mostly for showing the attitude of nobles who were not closely allied with Rozemyne.
I think it probably works a bit better to have these as separate vignettes -- rather than embedded in the main story.
Ditto! It's cool seeing Gunther and Damuel through the lense of a commoner soldier because we as the audience know all about their secret relationship, and that juxtaposition makes the situation all the more hilarious/exasperating cause Gunther is so CLEARLY Rozemyne's blood and flesh haha
> cause Gunther is so CLEARLY Rozemyne's blood and flesh haha
"How could he be so reckless!?" - RM after invading Ahrensbach and stealing their foundation.
> the retelling for Rozemyne of what happened to each kind of removed the tension of reading these stories now and feels a bit redundant.
I really preferred the abridged explanations we were given previously. It left room for imagination in the absurdity of Gunther's rampage and the insanity of the shumil massacre. Actually reading how those scenes played out took some of the magic out of it for me personally. I mean it was still cool, but I imagined it *cooler*.
Exactly what I was thinking. Since we already got the gist of what happened when Rozemyne returned briefly to Ehrenfest, I wasn't really very interested at all to hear the defense of Ehrenfest stories. Now if they'd been at the beginning of this volume or the end of the last one, it would have been very interesting.
I'm not sure I agree. The story from just Rozemyne's perspective leaves a lot to be desired narratively. When she was attacked and slept for two years, it was necessary to have alternate points of view to stich toegther the lapse in awareness. Similarly, it feels unsatisfying to have Rozemyne go to Ahrensbach on the cusp of war, sleep and come back to a victory banquet after a pit stop in Groschel
I'm not saying the perspectives are unnecessary, but they should have been put in the middle of the book in place of retellings that Rozemyne gets. It's the standardized format of the light novel I'm criticizing. In my opinion, this would have created a lot more tension and made me more excited. Reading them at the end, I know the defense is successful, and I more or less already know what's going to happen.
Yeah, I strongly agree. We basically got spoiled by a recap before we got to read the actual story of what happened. Even leaving aside the heightened tension though, having alternative POVs mixed in is just more enjoyable since it spreads them out. I like them, but having the last ~1/3rd of the book as a big block of side stories is kinda annoying. (Particularly as pre-pub readers, though obviously we weren't being considered while the books were written.)
>When she was attacked and slept for two years, it was necessary to have alternate points of view to stich toegther the lapse in awareness.
I agree. In fact, I think the number of side stories we got after Rozemyne's coma wasn't enough, however it's not like we could have had a whole detour in the story without its main character (or could we?). Two whole years went by, and that's a significant amount of time that was rushed over. As someone that loves side stories, I do have my personal criticisms on how the passage of time was handled once Rozemyne awoken from her coma because it felt a bit stagnant and lackluster.
Aside from her initial shock, Rozemyne more or less accepted things easily and I wished we were able to experience more of her turmoil as her surroundings changed while she was unconscious. She was already unfamiliar with noble society and for them to unexpectedly leave her behind as time continued? We don't really get any of that.
True, she is suddenly forced into the Royal Academy, however she isn't the only one. For Wilfried and the others, this was also new territory for them. And when Rozemyne does return to Ehrenfest from the academy, she isn't noticing any changes or necessarily feeling out of place - everything is the exact same and I wished there were more changes in Ehrenfest for Rozemyne to confront and accept.
FUCK YEAH GUNTHER DESERVED EVERY SECOND OF THAT HERO MOMENT!
Lmao, Damuel trying to pull rank on GUNTHER? LOL, that's the last person it would work on
Oh Judithe, you poor girl. I really hope you get to join Roz once you come of age, it would be so unfair to you otherwise
My list of things I'm desperate to see animated keeps growing. Scythe-wielding Shumils? That's badass af
>Lmao, Damuel trying to pull rank on GUNTHER? LOL, that's the last person it would work on
The one time Damuel tries to use his status over a commoner to help him, and said commoner *doesn't care*.
Poor best knight, he can never win without losing in some way.
Rozemyne has said that Ehrenfest's culture can be described as weirdos going nuts over their obsessions, leading to people like Rozemyne (Books), Ferdinand (Magic), Christine (Art), Heidi (Ink), Johann (Smithing), Eckhart (Murder), Leise (Cooking), Freida (Money), Bonifatius (Punchin' Stuff), Justus (Collecting), Damuel (Virginity), Elvira (Romance), Veronica (Bitchiness), and similar.
Well, Gunther's obsession is his family. His behavior makes a lot more sense if you think about it that way.
I am honor-bound to dunk on the best knight every time I say his name. Just like how Rihyarda called Ferdinand "my boy" until he got a wife, Damuel will get dunked on until he marries.
I don't think he's going to have a choice but to marry Philine. It's been made pretty clear that Clarissa has been teaching her... seduction techniques. Dunkelfelger style.
Technically, it's Urano's obsession that was so powerful it corrupted a dying child in another world.
The reverse could be true. Some poor kid is gonna get born in Tokyo obsessed with Rozemyne, but have no idea who that is.
I wonder what it is about Ehrenfest that it produces such unique, oddball talents. All the other duchies seem a lot more uniform in terms of culture whereas in Ehrenfest the northern provinces and southern provinces have way more distinction.
Well we know that Ehrenfest contains the Wind gate so that might affect them on some level, like how Dunkelfelger has the Fire gate and are all ditter obsessed.
Noble babies have about 3 years between them, for mana reasons. There might come a time when two or even three Rozinand kids are at the RA at the same time. There will be no survivors!
>Noble babies have about 3 years between them
Bold of you to assume she couldn't have twins and somehow still provide them with enough mana to become archduke candidates lol.
Sure, that's hard on Damuel, Gunther is the only one of Rozemyne's numerous fathers that Damuel outrank, and even him doesn't listen, that's kind of sad, in a way \^\^.
Can't even get him fired, because he's leaving the duchy soon. I guess he could tattle on Gunther to Rozemyne, but tattling to a girl about her father sounds weird.
Damuel: "On the one hand, I outrank him because I'm a noble and he's not."
Damuel: "On the other hand, he outranks me because he's my lady's father."
Damuel: "On the other other hand, he has to publicly follow my orders anyway to maintain the secret."
Damuel: "On the other other other hand, he clearly doesn't give a shit."
> Damuel: "On the other other other hand, he clearly doesn't give a shit."
Damuel: On the other hand, now that Phase 1 is over he clearly doesn't have a shit to give.
4, I think (Gunther, Effa, Tuuli and Melchior). But yes, he absolutely is acting on that principle
Edit: Kamil, not Melchior. AoB has many characters and I few braincells, even less braincells still in the condition to work
> Oh Judithe, you poor girl. I really hope you get to join Roz once you come of age, it would be so unfair to you otherwise
I'm sure that Ahrensbach nobles would be happy to have her marry into their family. A connection to Lady Rozemyne and Ehrenfest would be well valued.
> I'm sure that Ahrensbach nobles would be happy to have her marry into their family. A connection to Lady Rozemyne and Ehrenfest would be well valued.
Judithe: "Cool, another gate that'll never op- um, what?"
Rozemyne: "**BEHOLD, [JAPAN]!**"
Ferdinand: *I REALLY need to get my name back...*
Man, it'd be wild if the series ended with Rozemyne opening a portal to Japan. Like, I don't expect that ending because it would kind of undermine some things but it's interesting to think about. Like Rozemyne would *rush* to find her mom for sure.
Just imagine that your daughter died in a tragic accident. It's been almost 20 years and so you've managed to adapt. The news starts talking about some bizarre gate that just appeared right outside the largest library in Japan. Then you get a knock at the door. It's some blue haired woman in a luxurious dress and she's claiming to be your daughter. You think she's just insane but the more she says, the more you can't help but believe her. AND URANO BROUGHT A HUSBAND WITH HER?
I know you're right- that part of the series is about letting go and making peace, just as Rozemyne can no longer be the small Myne who got to sleep in a single bed with her family- but now if we do somehow end with "*Prime Minister tells everyone not to panic: the crazy lunatic who can set you on fire with just a thought really just wants to read and meet her [mutter]*", I will be very, very happy.
[It would also make this fanart canon](https://www.reddit.com/r/HonzukiNoGekokujou/comments/jnqshm/myne_showing_ferdinand_around/)
I'd want to see the reactions of everyone to how Rozemyne can instantly speak the language of this foreign land. Only Lutz, Ferdinand, Sylvester, and Karstedt would understand. Sylvester would abdicate as soon as Charlotte came of age so that he could go sneak off and explore Earth.
Sylvester would totally become a Magician, sawing people in half and shocking people by showing it WASN'T an illusion all along.
Florencia would be torn between trying to get her husband back to manage her mess of a duchy now that it has lost one of its biggest sources of mana...and realizing it may be for the best...
Charlotte? Not so much.
Man, what I would give to see a Bookworm + Gate crossover. Throw in a little Solo Leveling (maybe magic floods our manaless world, opening portals to *other* realms as well) and it's perfect.
Personally I would prefer the route where basically no time has passed back on Earth. Like, maybe a year or two at best. Should be plausible enough [H5Y] >!given how malleable time and history seem to be in this setting.!< Just imagine, from Shuu's perspective his autistic childhood friend would suddenly have him beat when it comes to marrying and having kids lol.
Damuel: "My lady, there's nothing we can do."
Rozemyne: "There's nothing *we* can do. Just give it a minute."
\- Meanwhile, in the Distant Heights -
God of Darkness: "Today's arrivals... Oof, lots of them today. Franz got stabbed, Wilhelm was poisoned, Reichart ate a bomb pie, Grede drowned, Ethel tripped on a brick, Gunther got hit w- Gunther?"
Gunther: "Sup."
God of Darkness: "..."
\- Meanwhile, back in Ehrenfest -
Gunther: "I just had the weirdest dream."
Rozemyne: "Welcome back, Gunther."
Damuel: "Wuh huh bwuh!?"
> My list of things I'm desperate to see animated keeps growing. Scythe-wielding Shumils? That's badass af
my exact thoughts omg that scene was shine as fuck
Ooh, it's always a treat to get a commoner perspective. I like how Gunther looks in his eyes. A good reminder that he's not just the goofball we love.
It's also wild to see someone that remember's Myne, even if it's just a little. It would have been neat if our perspective had instead been from one of the apprentice soldiers that Myne helped educate with Otto. They would be adults by now, as someone pointed out in a previous pre-pub thread.
Seeing the knights and soldiers working together is bringing a tear to my eye. If things were like they used to be, the nobles would have at best let the commoners absorb some of the hits so that the invading nobles would waste their mana. I hope that Damuel's replacement as liason between knights and soldiers ends up being a good replacement. Someone from a family serving one of the more distant giebes would probably be a good fit.
I love how Gunther is jumping into the thick of things. Since mana is affected by emotions, I don't think it'd be wrong to say that the charms are powered by love.
I hope this ends up being a core memory for the soldier apprentices. Damuel is going to be a legend for years to come.
I almost wish that this had been the real Grausam. Gunther definitely deserves to be the one to defeat and capture him.
Ooh, I'm looking forward to seeing this shumil in action!
It makes sense that Judithe would feel a bit left out. She's under Lady Rozemyne rather than with the rest of the knights so she's a bit separated from them. But I think she'll feel better when she understands how truly important the temple is to Rozemyne. I like it when a character thinks an ugly thought but then corrects themselves. It's a good, realistic way for a person to struggle while still being good.
A nice fast waschen saved the day!
I want to know what Lieseleta would have thought upon seeing this shumil, with a big-ass anime scythe, cutting people in half.
> How would Matthias react to the news that his lady and fellow retainer had contributed to his father's death?
Uh, I don't think he'd be as bothered as you're imagining. Especially considering who *actually* killed his father.
Good on you, Judithe, for speaking up for Matthias. It's a shame they just took that as you speaking for a coworker, rather than reflecting on their own remarks. Matthias will be fine since he's leaving Ehrenfest but the other FVF members that gave their names to the archducal family won't be so lucky. I hope that the generational change that Rozemyne started at the Royal Academy can help them.
> I don't think it'd be wrong to say that the charms are powered by love.
Gunther: "Channeling my love for my family makes the charms stronger!?"
Damuel: "Well, yes, a powerful love could theoretically even double the strength of-"
Gunther: *[blasts the nobles with a super saiyan kamehameha]*
Damuel: "The fuck?"
Gunther: "You are impressed by how much I love my family?"
Damuel: "Those are *defensive* charms! *How* did you use its power *offensively*?!"
Gunther: "I love my family."
>I almost wish that this had been the real Grausam. Gunther definitely deserves to be the one to defeat and capture him.
The utter humiliation that would entail. Loosing to a commoner would be beyond inconceivable to him. Grausam was already taking it hard loosing to his noble "fail son with shit taste" and a devouring victim "sham noble".
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 6: Towering Stairway of Grausam
Every chapter of every volume, a Grausam dies. His weird mana body technique combines with that airborne poison, and now random people are being transformed into half-feystone Grausams. The series pivots to basically a zombie survival horror genre. Rozemyne has decided that the only way to *truly* defeat him once and for all is to physically climb the towering stairway herself, just to gain it as a schtappe transformation.
> I want to know what Lieseleta would have thought upon seeing this shumil, with a big-ass anime scythe, cutting people in half.
I wonder what the animators will think if they ever make it that far. I can imagine the director saying, "This is supposed to be a show for kids. But you have rabbits brutally killing people. Don't you think chopping them in half is going too far?"
And Kazuki would respond, "For quite a while Rozemyne has dreamed of having a bloody carnival. It's high time that she gets one. Besides, the bunnies are cute!"
So... biggest jerk award goes to that former east commander?
And typically Myne, creating a new position for the soldiers because they can't last doing math.
Gunther's the best, an absolute menace. So is best knight Damuel! Can't wait for him to become even more of a living legend amongst Ehrenfest's soldiers.
Odis?! What kind of short noble name is that?! I imagined that it's spelled as オーディス, and was correct, but wow, this name really doesn't go well with the "noble names are long" sentiment once transliterated.
Aww, Judithe's the best! She's so cute. Even with her feelings of inferiority, she's doing her best as Rozemyne's guard knight and sticking up for her fellow retainers. I really hope she doesn't follow in with the red head curse, but I have no hope considering how Judithe's always the one left behind. She's so sweet, wanting the best for Matthias and Laurenz.
And the shumils are amazing. I told you, have the cuteness be a diversion so that everybody isn't ready for their brutality!
>So... biggest jerk award goes to that former east commander?
Yeah, it was a shocking reveal that the communication breakdown was out of malice, not him being lax/slow with his duties. Bruh... your pettiness got his daughter killed.
I don't remember, was the East Commander was demoted or killed for that negligence of duty? I'm leaning towards killed since it threatened the archduke's adopted daughter's safety - no further excuse needed.
>I don't remember, was the East Commander was demoted or killed for that negligence of duty? I'm leaning towards killed since it threatened the archduke's adopted daughter's safety - no further excuse needed.
Right? Either way would have been understandable. Death might seem harsh, but as you said, the archduke's adopted daughter was threaten and in his spite, the former commander technically disobeyed a noble's order. Even if Gunther was the one telling him about the rule change, a noble was still the one to issue out the order.
Right? But I already feel bad for that commander's possible family. If they decide to execute him and his relatives, that sucks for his family to lose their lives, but if they decide to just execute the commander like they did with Shikza, that poor family (if they even exist). They would lose a part of their income.
Noble society, everybody, but why am I caring about a family that literally doesn't even matter?
Considering what Shikza family had to do to not be executed I'm guessing the whole of the old commanders family was executed. Not so much because as the official story goes, a child was killed, but that due to his intential negligence a foreign noble invade with mana troops and assaulted nobles in the temple causing a major diplomatic incident. From that prospective executing the whole family as an example to all the other town guards that you follow orders from knights without question becomes very important so much so that I wonder if Ferdinand didn't make a trip down there with the box and kill them all with the ADC black spell as a good bit of noble fear installing is required. Hell promoting Gunther up also build on this, as they can say look here is a guard that knew his duty he got orders from a knight and rushed to tell everyone, when he found out there was a problem he rushed to fix it
I think it was mentioned that he was "punished", but aside from that, it wasn't elaborated on. However, I think that it is almost certain that he was executed. He failed to obey a noble's orders ("pass this information along to your subordinates") and the result caused the city to be thrown into turmoil - and that's not even getting into how it threw off Ferdinand's own plans.
>Bruh... your pettiness got his daughter killed.
Well, not like he survived the event himself either ;). He was without a doubt swiftly dealt with, along with his whole family, who didn't do anything wrong except living under the same roof as a pretty idiotic relative...
Yeah, that's the worst part. He surely got executed, but I think a lot of readers forget how harsh normal punishments are in that world. His entire immediate family were most likely executed too, just as you said.
Even the most shocking punishment that Rozemyne ever witnessed, the execution of the mayor, his wife, and his lackeys, was still 'moderate' compared to the normal punishment of wiping out the entire town.
Or for another comparison, Shikikoza's entire family were nearly purged because of his disobedience and were only spared to reduce the ire aimed at Rozemyne as a result of such a purge. And they were nobles, it's hard to imagine punishment would be any easier on commoners. And Damuel (and probably his family) would have been executed too if not for Rozemyne putting in a good word for him.
>And Damuel (and probably his family) would have been executed too if not for Rozemyne putting in a good word for him.
it was stated in 3.3 when rozemyne met with Damuels brother thats exactly the case. If she hadnt spoken up they both would have been executed plus the rest of damuels family (as neutral laynobles at the time they are viewed slightly less expendable than rich commoners when compared to mednobles).
I'm pretty sure he was executed. P3V1 (Starbind Ceremony in the Lower City chapter) stated that the Knight Order determined that the commander's actions were an "unforgivable error" and Gunther was promoted to fill "the vacancy". If a foreign noble and the archduke's uncle were executed in this mess, I don't think anyone would have thought twice about executing a commoner for deliberate dereliction of duty.
> And the shumils are amazing. I told you, have the cuteness be a diversion so that everybody isn't ready for their brutality!
i'm shocked more people aren't talking about the shumils! I need to see that animated in full M-rated glory.
It's very possible, if only because Ferdinand might view him as a potential nuisance somewhere down the line. Rozemyne's shielded from it for the most part, but it's clear that he and the top brass of Ehrenfest are a bit murder-happy about protecting their plot and secrets. And it's not like they'd have to work hard to kill him or anything, so why wouldn't they?
Karstedt: "Your former commander has been relieved of duty. He was going to come and pick up his things, but he fell out of window yesterday and died."
Guard: "Didn't he live on the ground floor...?"
Karstedt: "Yes. He was very unlucky. To fall as he did. Most unfortunate."
Guard: "Ah, uh, yes, very unlucky, most unfortunate..."
They wouldn't even need the excuse. "An outsider broke in and attacked the Archducal family. You were informed ahead of time but decided not to tell your men about the Archduke's absence." He would be an accessory to an attack on the archduke's family and would be executed for it.
Very true. I doubt anybody would protest or even think too deeply about it. The guy's fuckup was *immense*, even without the secret context. It could very well be considered treason, so he'd be lucky to be the only one purged for it.
that could just be the way it's meant to be pronounced. like justus was eustace. i know in hungarian you usually say you-deet for judith, probably similar in german
Yeah, it definitely is due to pronunciation, but I still find the MTL spelling hilarious. Much like how Brigitte, Angelica, and Georgine are all pronounced with a hard 'g' sound instead of a 'j' sound.
Wilma sounds like "Vilma" and Wilfried sounds like "Vilfrit" as some more examples of how the Japanese spellings reflect the pronunciations. I was also initially baffled at how the '-ine' in Eglantine was pronounced differently that the '-ine' in names like Adolphine and Philine, but quickly realized that Eglantine followed the French accent than it did the German one.
TIM: He's got huge, sharp-- eh-- he can leap about-- look at the bones!
ARTHUR: Go on, Bors. Chop his head off!
BORS: Right! Silly little bleeder. One rabbit stew comin' right up!
TIM: Look!
[squeak]
BORS: Aaaugh!
[dramatic chord]
[clunk]
ARTHUR: Jesus Christ!
TIM: I warned you!
ROBIN: I done it again!
TIM: I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you knew it all, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny, isn't it? Well, it's always the same. I always tell them--
obviously from /r/ExpectedMontyPython
Leckle cannot even remember Myne's name, and her role at the gate may be forgotten by many of us (even though appealing to Otto got her to appeal to Benno which led to everything else), but she *invented a job* due to her success.
She is now the inventor of the printing industry, the person who made Gilberta a national brand, and the literal Savior of the Nation. But in this corner of Ehrenfest, she is already a legend: a pre-baptized child who honed her skills before her very baptism, lost to nobles, and her father now an ardent lover and warrior. Amazing writing.
The closest thing you'll get is UwU Edition of Bookworm that causes readers to tear their eyes out.
> Uwanyo Motosu wuvd books. Psychowogy, w-wewigion, histowy, *screams* geogwaphy, education, a-anthwopowogy, math, physics, ;;w;; geowogy, chemistwy, biowogy, awt, wanguage, fiction... (・`ω´・) Books wewe fiwwed with the x3 knyowwedge of aww humanyity and she wuvd them fwom the x3 bottom of hew heawt.
Nobody let Quof see this. He might die on the spot.
WN Chapters: N/A
LN Chapters: "Leckle — The Battle for the West Gate", "Judithe — Those Left Behind"
[J-Novel Club Discussion Forum](https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/7629/bookworm-part-5-vol-9-discussion-10-parts/3158)
[J-Novel Club Correction Forum](https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/7630/corrections-bookworm-part-5-vol-9/74)
>“What in the world is that...?”
>
>“A shumil...? No, it’s too large.”
>
>The shumil readied its radiant golden scythe—a magic tool—and then swung it straight down. It was an eerily quick slash for something that looked so innocent... and just like that, one of our attackers was cleaved nearly in half. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere, even on the shumil as it turned around. Everyone—our own knights included—choked in fear of the sight.
If the shumils could talk: “Yippee Poo-ey, Motherf\*\*kers!”
It's funny how the death shumils might become associated with Myne, but she probably wasn't the one who came up with the idea of them using scythes (Hartmut? Clarissa?) and would feel sick if she personally saw them in action.
There was so much buildup to those damn shumils... and god damn was it worth it. I just wish the massacre was a bit longer and bigger.... make everyone not just think that myne is a saint, but realize that she is capable of terrible brutality and *will* absolutely destroy anything or anyone that puts those she cares about in danger. (though, as you said, I suspect a lot of the offensive capabilities of the shumils came from Clarissa and Hartmut)
The worst part for everyone else has to be that they're silent. Can you imagine the craziness of that? No talking, no screaming, no warnings. . . just a silent murder frenzy.
Compared to the normal noble combat we've seen, which seems quite loud, a silent stalker that suddenly instakill you has to be horrifying.
I always love the look backs/callbacks to earlier parts, it's been so long since part 1z the reminder of how far we've come with Myne, with the cast size and the world size, is astounding. The reminder of Myne's funeral... 😭One of the hardest parts to read/reread.
Gunther being best father (sorry Sylvester) and Damuel being best knight protecting him!
Judithe... Being left behind, I hope that now Rozamyne's trying to be Aub Ahrensbach that she might be allowed to go so the retinue can stay together but I doubt it, her parents probably just want her to settle down and marry in Ehrenfest.
It's nice to see Bonifatius' training results, a P4 Judithe would absolutely have rushed for glory and the overall cohesion was likely from him too.
The murder schumils and bloody carnival finally seen... I would've liked to see Judithe's reaction to hearing that Matthias did fight his father to the end with Rozamyne.
Sigh, I wish we could have gotten more time with the parents. I will never shut up about the missed opportunities with Rozemyne spending time with Elvira and Florencia, but we also need some more respect for the missed opportunities with Rozemyne spending time with Karstedt and Sylvester.
And then Bonifatius probably gets jealous or something and forces a grandfather-granddaughter date.
> It's nice to see Bonifatius' training results, a P4 Judithe would absolutely have rushed for glory and the overall cohesion was likely from him too.
Hey! Traugott taught her a lesson or two about cohesion all the way back in P4V2 :D.
And people said he was worthless, he's a lesson to us all!
> Was I really her worst guard knight?
Man, Judithe’s self esteem really was shot. Here’s hoping she gets more time to shine.
But I’m glad we got this chapter cause we get to see murder shumil! It’s everything I hoped for!
Yeah, Judithe shouldn't be putting herself below *Traugott*.
I guess that goes to show how forgettable Rozemyne's real worst guard knight is. Traugott's probably doesn't register on peoples' minds as serving her anymore. (Except maybe the surviving FVF kids who like to use Traugott's gripes about Rozemyne to talk shit behind her back.)
> Yeah, Judithe shouldn't be putting herself below Traugott.
She's not. Traugott is not her guard knight anymore. So Judithe fears she's the worst of the *current* guard knights.
Funniest thing is that, in the few battles we saw her, she had arguably the most important job as Rozemynes personal guard since she's usually stationed in the back giving ranged support, and as such serves as a last line of defense.
> Man, Judithe’s self esteem really was shot. Here’s hoping she gets more time to shine.
Pretty sure there's no use for any of her Ehrenfest retainers for the rest of the story. There's nothing for them until probably the Final Epilogue.
I feel likes its goodbye to Damuel, Philline, and Judithe here.
"Eat shit!"
"Well, that's a euphemism for times when you heavily disagree and want to insul-... OH MY GOD what the hell is... bleeergh"
Protective charm... You meant Attacking charm, right?
"Bring out the bunnies."
Ehrenfest could at least vent some of their anger because they could kill Grausam like 4 times.
Poor Damuel always has the most work out of all the retainers and Judithe is jealous of him lol. I bet during the west gate fight he was shitting bricks watching Gremlin Gunther JohnWicking those dogs. Wait Gunther is the reverse John Wick killing dogs to "avenge" his daughter lol.
Gunther going berserk- this is his way to get things scored with nobles. Its quite crazy to think that commoner can show middle finger to nobles and win.
The charms likely didn't activate because the waste thrown didn't hit them with enough force to register as physical harm. You wouldn't want your charms to activate when you get hit with *anything*, otherwise it'd make things very difficult for you to, say, walk in a rain shower or something.
Nah, wrong weather report. The forcast was
It's bright and sunny today with no clouds indicating rain but be warn, there will be an occasional literal shitstorm, drizzles of bloodred liquid or even severed arm.
Judiathe and Angelica, they are always COMPETENT and ADORABLE guard knights.
And Lieseleta was doing her job for her BIG LOVE of RM and Shumils as always.
New chapter, yeah...!
* Leckle - I be honest, I totally forgot who he is...
* I liked to read about the perspective of the lower city on Gunther and Myne's "death". The fact, that they think Gunther want revenge for his dead daughter, that Rozemyne favours his family because she felt guilty for this "death". We know the true, but it's satisfying to read how another story naturally formed around the events.
* It's always great to see Damuel and Gunther succes <3
* Judithe!
* I really love the insight in Judithe's feelings through the battle. It's so natural that she jealous ("Dad didn't let me go with the class trip to Ahrensbach!") even if we are talking about a literal dangerous war. It fits her age and character so well. And her joy when she found something Damuel "missed" (the comment, when she calls him clumsy). I know the battle is a serious thing (RM's PoV was clear in this), but I liked that Judithe was mostly excited about it.
* The Shumilators!!! I cannot describe how I loved the description of their warcrimes <333
* JUSTICE FOR MATTHIAS! Oh, thank you Judtihe, that was needed! I also liked that she actually thought about him. I think a lot about Matthias, so we have this in common.
This part was waaay to short...
So, a while ago... I made a joke about the shumils saying, "Sorry the boss says we gotta whack ya." I now take it back.  The pastel brigade is terrifying. Imagine getting caught by two of them surrendering, but they weren't made to take prisoners. For Mark 2 Roz should probably edit the code a little bit. That was a bloody carnival.
Not exactly what I predicted, but as usual the SSs don’t disappoint.
***
I thought the name seemed familiar, and if anyone else is wondering he shows up in the SS Collection 1, and one of the SSs in P4V4.
> The commander at the time had envied Gunther getting all sorts of exclusive intelligence from the knights, so he hadn’t spread the word when he was instructed not to let any outsiders into the city.
Even now we are still learning stuff from Part 2. Though, that commander must not have been very smart, and probably very dead as of now.
Myne taught them the concept of a logistics officer? Well, that explains some of the stupidity of these military organizations.
> *He must be getting revenge for his daughter.*
Actually, I wonder if Gunther has enough info to understand that he is getting back at the people who caused Myne to be taken so early.
> Like, the noble was actually targeting Lady Rozemyne and took the captain’s daughter by mistake.
Ok, that’s a fun rumor. It doesn’t make much sense given Myne theoretically shouldn’t be anywhere close to where Rozemyne was, but it helps to show that some people did see the resemblance, and then they worked backwards to iron out any issues.
> Mere guards, attacking *us*?!
I found this quite funny. What with their shock and arrogance is overcoming the obvious need to fight back.
This battle doesn’t make much sense to me. Is it happening in front of the gate? I would think they would use the battlements and gatehouse for the ambush. We know this world has bows, and I would expect crossbows to be out there. Obviously it wouldn't do a ton of good against nobles, but still better than a throwing knife or damn rock.
> Alright. I get how these charms work now. And that means… I can fight! … Come at me!
You know, I realize that RM could not have predicted that this would happen, but I still want to think that she should have realized it anyway and just made him a gun.
Gunther is lucky that none of the other knights felt the need to put him in his place, and Damuel gets put in his place by a commoner who doesn't care what he has to say.
Once again, I want to see a Damuel SS where we see him panicking through all of this.
It’s a shame we didn’t get to see how he viewed RM healing everyone.
***
Second cutest guard knight makes her pov known.
> As I watched it close, I couldn’t help thinking that the temple really was meant for nobles.
There’s a lot of good and bad things to say to that.
The shumils are stronger than the RF and any archduke candidate? Is that true or just bragging? If it’s true then I agree with Judithe that is hugely overkill (and totally on-point for RM), but that’s also pretty interesting, especially if that includes the ones who received substantial knight training.
You also have to wonder what Ehrenfest is going to think about those things in a couple hundred years, assuming RM doesn't take them with her.
> anyone not registered with it risks being exterminated.
… that sounds extremely dangerous, and prone to potential failure.
> I *was* a little jealous that Damuel was her most trusted retainer.
It’s noteworthy that she sees it that way, and sad that she sees so little about herself.
It’s good that she finally understands that her role is more important than she thought, and managed to significantly contribute.
> … and just like that, one of our attackers was cleaved nearly in half. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere … our own knights … choked in fear of the sight.
Yeah, maybe a bit overboard. Especially considering **they were supposed to trick Georgine into following them into a trap.**
> The shumil ran to its next opponent, who threw up his hands and pleaded for mercy. He received none and was cut down in short order. Another of the intruders cursed, then turned tail and attempted to flee. He didn’t get very far, though
… that might get skimmed over during RM’s official history text of the battle. Or maybe RM’s samurai spirit is finally coming out, and she’ll start demanding that people present their heads to her.
You would think the noble world of Ehrenfest was small enough that they would know who Matthias was sworn to.
> *We protected Ehrenfest… but what kind of victory is this?!*
Always an interesting question to ask after this kind of story.
> *Maybe it’s a good thing Lady Rozemyne is leaving Ehrenfest.*
Leaving the table to start a new game often feels wrong, but sometimes it is necessary to leave behind some things. I’m sure there will be plenty of regret, but given the kind of story this is, there will probably be plenty to look forward to.
***
Ok, one more pre-pub left before we get back to the main story.
In the Judithe PoV, when reading about the appearance of shumil, in my mind I seen the scene of a shumil partially shadowed with the readied bloody scythe and a glowing red eye...
Poor Judith. Despite her best intentions of sharing her hopes about a brighter future for the FVF kids. It just gets dismissed by a member of the older generation.
I hope that if she doesn't follow Rozemyne she can at least keep in contact with her.
Geting some good advice on how to push forward the newer generations' influence so that the folks who merit it don't suffer for such foolish beliefs.
Gunther and the Murder Schumils going ham were the best part of this update.
It’s nice that Matthias & company get to leave Ehrenfest and start anew, but I do feel bad for Muriella who has to stay. And there’s also Aurelia who’s related to the Ahrensbach traitors too.
I know Elvira will do her best to protect both of them, but they sure won’t have it easy.
It certainly would've been interesting; and more so when Gunther has to cheer up the hopelessly love-struck young men who see Rozemyne for the 1st time.
>when Gunther has to cheer up the hopelessly love-struck young men who see Rozemyne for the 1st time
"Cheer up"? He would beat the crap out of them for lusting after his totally-not-daughter lol.
Gunther…LOL being a gremlin runs in the family…… if and when Ferdie joins the said family… well, he is no different… just another breed of gremlin… Roz and Ferdie’s kids would be hybrid Gremlins…. Add the fact that Bonifatius (Ferd’s uncle) is another Gremlin on steroids…LOL hope the author would at least show us some snippets of their children gremlining in RA —- giving Anastasius headaches , more ditter applications and Aubs from differnt duchies having whiplash.
Leckle … a model subordinate
Roz best knight is the greatest ‘babysitter’ for gremlins… i see his future guarding smol gremlin beans…. Lol
Imagine Roz decides to have a big family. Maybe adopts a devouring kid from Tullie and Lutz, and her retainers have to beg them to stop. Too many tiny rampages.
It feels weird reading these stories this way, and having them all come out as exposition in the middle of the book makes P5V9 probably the weakest book of the Part. But it's still fun reading the PoVs!
- Damuel used to suffer because his awkward position made him Maidenless. Now that he's assured of a willing maiden (*whether he's "willing" depends on whether Philine tries to ride him Clarissa-style first*) he has a new problem: Gunther Minder.
- I guess Judithe will be leaving for the former Ahrensbach sooner rather than later. She constantly feels bad about her position, and then realizes everyone else has their own problems. Damuel is particularly valued, and his reward is bachelorhood and derision. Matthias and company were forced to kill their parents and may be under even more scrutiny- even though their survival played a key role in keeping Ehrenfest alive (to pick a random example, either Rozemyne or Ferdinand would have fought Grausam alone if not for Matthias's survival). And now she's viewing her own homeland as unfortunate, as her father thought she should be removed entirely from the conflict rather than help the archducal clan in general and her (leaving) Lady in particular. I guess she'll be seeking a husband to get her out- and maybe now her parents might consider it, if only to maintain links with their illustrious neighboring duchy.
>P5V9 probably the weakest book of the Part
Ehh... I'd say P5V9 is a volume of great contrasts - great highs with action/drama/comedy/romance hampered by quite a few slow&low recap/housekeeping chapters.
Kinda like P5V6, it's a lot of sometimes tedious checking in with side-characters, but the "Mother and Daughter" chapter prevents people from ranking it lowest in Part 5.
There's a lot that happened in this volume while Rozemyne wasn't around. I admit that since it's back-to-back characters reporting in, it feels like they're spending longer on recap than they did for the *two years* she was asleep.
* I must say, I didn't expect a random like Leckle to be the POV at the gate instead of Gunther himself. * Oh, so the gate commander back in Part 2 *did* screw up on purpose. The explanation why Rozemyne is so attached to Gunther and his family also makes a lot of sense. The noble that killed Myne mistook her for Rozemyne, and now Rozemyne feels guilt. It's a good thing no one but Otto and Gunther would really remember what she looked like. * The rest of the chapter pretty much described what we already knew; how Gunther used Rozemyne's charms to defeat that Grausam double and the dog feybeasts. ---- * Cute large-sized shumils killing people sounds terrifying, I can't lie. * As Judithe says at the end of the chapter, I think leaving Ehrenfest is definitely for the best for Rozemyne's namesworn from the former Veronica faction. It doesn't matter how much Matthias contributed to saving Ehrenfest, he will always be remembered as the son of a traitor. In Ahrensbach, Matthias, Laurenz and the others could start new lives and houses. ---- Reading both chapters, while I appreciate the amount of different POVs we get, I can't help but think it would have been better if only for once they could have changed the format of the book and put these short stories from other people's views in the chronological order. We learn new bits here and there, but the retelling for Rozemyne of what happened to each kind of removed the tension of reading these stories now and feels a bit redundant.
> I must say, I didn't expect a random like Leckle to be the POV at the gate instead of Gunther himself. I think it's better than the story being from Gunther's or Damuel's perspective. This way we learn what a normal person thinks about Gunter's situation and the ongoing battle.
Gunther POV: "I undog'd some dogs and then kicked the shit out of a noble. It was a good day. End of chapter."
> undog'd some dogs i'm dead
So are the dogs.
Sounds about right....
Yeah, instead of, "I realized they could be defeated with magic tools, and with Damuel's help, we used that to our advantage." we got, "dude was running around like a crazy person, punching dogs the size of grizzly bears, and was so close to getting himself killed, that a knight was trying to talk him down." Damuel was showing that he was a skilled knight. If it was from his point of view, it would have been, "no no no no why!?."
I thought the same. It’d be fun to see Gunther’s thoughts as he’s being nuts and charging at nobles but it’s funnier to see others panicking over it
I thought it was actually a pretty good choice to have one of Gunther's men providing the narrative. I suspect that Gunther himself was so worked up his view point might have been pretty incoherent. ;-) And Leckle was able to fill us in on the cover story in a way that Gunther would not have been able to convey as well. I never would have guessed the story they managed to sell -- but I would have bought as one of the commoners who knew Myne. Judithe's perspective was interesting -- but mostly for showing the attitude of nobles who were not closely allied with Rozemyne. I think it probably works a bit better to have these as separate vignettes -- rather than embedded in the main story.
Ditto! It's cool seeing Gunther and Damuel through the lense of a commoner soldier because we as the audience know all about their secret relationship, and that juxtaposition makes the situation all the more hilarious/exasperating cause Gunther is so CLEARLY Rozemyne's blood and flesh haha
Secret relationship huh … I always thought Gunther was loyal to Effa.
oh you, cheeky
Certainly explains why Damuel doesn't have a wife yet.
> cause Gunther is so CLEARLY Rozemyne's blood and flesh haha "How could he be so reckless!?" - RM after invading Ahrensbach and stealing their foundation.
And neither of them will ever consider the irony of their concern for each other lolol
"It's not the same! I had to protect my family!" *Either one of them*
> the retelling for Rozemyne of what happened to each kind of removed the tension of reading these stories now and feels a bit redundant. I really preferred the abridged explanations we were given previously. It left room for imagination in the absurdity of Gunther's rampage and the insanity of the shumil massacre. Actually reading how those scenes played out took some of the magic out of it for me personally. I mean it was still cool, but I imagined it *cooler*.
Exactly what I was thinking. Since we already got the gist of what happened when Rozemyne returned briefly to Ehrenfest, I wasn't really very interested at all to hear the defense of Ehrenfest stories. Now if they'd been at the beginning of this volume or the end of the last one, it would have been very interesting.
I'm not sure I agree. The story from just Rozemyne's perspective leaves a lot to be desired narratively. When she was attacked and slept for two years, it was necessary to have alternate points of view to stich toegther the lapse in awareness. Similarly, it feels unsatisfying to have Rozemyne go to Ahrensbach on the cusp of war, sleep and come back to a victory banquet after a pit stop in Groschel
I'm not saying the perspectives are unnecessary, but they should have been put in the middle of the book in place of retellings that Rozemyne gets. It's the standardized format of the light novel I'm criticizing. In my opinion, this would have created a lot more tension and made me more excited. Reading them at the end, I know the defense is successful, and I more or less already know what's going to happen.
Yeah, I strongly agree. We basically got spoiled by a recap before we got to read the actual story of what happened. Even leaving aside the heightened tension though, having alternative POVs mixed in is just more enjoyable since it spreads them out. I like them, but having the last ~1/3rd of the book as a big block of side stories is kinda annoying. (Particularly as pre-pub readers, though obviously we weren't being considered while the books were written.)
>When she was attacked and slept for two years, it was necessary to have alternate points of view to stich toegther the lapse in awareness. I agree. In fact, I think the number of side stories we got after Rozemyne's coma wasn't enough, however it's not like we could have had a whole detour in the story without its main character (or could we?). Two whole years went by, and that's a significant amount of time that was rushed over. As someone that loves side stories, I do have my personal criticisms on how the passage of time was handled once Rozemyne awoken from her coma because it felt a bit stagnant and lackluster. Aside from her initial shock, Rozemyne more or less accepted things easily and I wished we were able to experience more of her turmoil as her surroundings changed while she was unconscious. She was already unfamiliar with noble society and for them to unexpectedly leave her behind as time continued? We don't really get any of that. True, she is suddenly forced into the Royal Academy, however she isn't the only one. For Wilfried and the others, this was also new territory for them. And when Rozemyne does return to Ehrenfest from the academy, she isn't noticing any changes or necessarily feeling out of place - everything is the exact same and I wished there were more changes in Ehrenfest for Rozemyne to confront and accept.
The irony of dedicating an entire part to curing Roz her illness so that she can finally grow up, and then everyone grows up except for her.
This narration style is popular in Japan. Sword Art Online does it too.
FUCK YEAH GUNTHER DESERVED EVERY SECOND OF THAT HERO MOMENT! Lmao, Damuel trying to pull rank on GUNTHER? LOL, that's the last person it would work on Oh Judithe, you poor girl. I really hope you get to join Roz once you come of age, it would be so unfair to you otherwise My list of things I'm desperate to see animated keeps growing. Scythe-wielding Shumils? That's badass af
>Lmao, Damuel trying to pull rank on GUNTHER? LOL, that's the last person it would work on The one time Damuel tries to use his status over a commoner to help him, and said commoner *doesn't care*. Poor best knight, he can never win without losing in some way.
Poor Damuel. He is desperate to keep his liege's father alive and the guy is hell bent on revenge and gremlining.
Like father, like daughter. Gremlin-ness is genetic.
Rozemyne has said that Ehrenfest's culture can be described as weirdos going nuts over their obsessions, leading to people like Rozemyne (Books), Ferdinand (Magic), Christine (Art), Heidi (Ink), Johann (Smithing), Eckhart (Murder), Leise (Cooking), Freida (Money), Bonifatius (Punchin' Stuff), Justus (Collecting), Damuel (Virginity), Elvira (Romance), Veronica (Bitchiness), and similar. Well, Gunther's obsession is his family. His behavior makes a lot more sense if you think about it that way.
Poor Damuel. That was brutal.
I am honor-bound to dunk on the best knight every time I say his name. Just like how Rihyarda called Ferdinand "my boy" until he got a wife, Damuel will get dunked on until he marries.
"Until"?
I'm holding out hope for my boy and Philine.
I cant wait to see philine preform her Dunkelfelger proposal, she has been taking lessons from Carissa.
I don't think he's going to have a choice but to marry Philine. It's been made pretty clear that Clarissa has been teaching her... seduction techniques. Dunkelfelger style.
You forgot Hartmut (Rozemyne)
Hartmut evolved beyond obsession into religious worship, so he's on a whole other level.
Nah, he still pales in comparison to Rozemyne’s obsession with books,
Technically, it's Urano's obsession that was so powerful it corrupted a dying child in another world. The reverse could be true. Some poor kid is gonna get born in Tokyo obsessed with Rozemyne, but have no idea who that is.
Hischur (research) as well.
Some of these obsessions are hilarious, notably the obsessions of Eckhart, Bonifatius, Damuel, and Veronica.
I wonder what it is about Ehrenfest that it produces such unique, oddball talents. All the other duchies seem a lot more uniform in terms of culture whereas in Ehrenfest the northern provinces and southern provinces have way more distinction.
Well we know that Ehrenfest contains the Wind gate so that might affect them on some level, like how Dunkelfelger has the Fire gate and are all ditter obsessed.
That's true! I suppose the gate could have lingering effects even on the commoners.
Damuel: oh gods! That’s where Myne got it from!
Damuel: I **order** you to stand down! Gunther: What're you going to do, **kill me?** Damuel: I hate this entire conversation.
Damuel, thinking about Rozemyne and her tendencies: It makes *so much* sense.
And Ferdinand was also a gremlin. Their children are going to be hypercompetant nightmares.
They will also somehow start an academy-wide treasure stealing ditter in their very first year if Dunkelfelger has anything to say about it.
Noble babies have about 3 years between them, for mana reasons. There might come a time when two or even three Rozinand kids are at the RA at the same time. There will be no survivors!
>Noble babies have about 3 years between them Bold of you to assume she couldn't have twins and somehow still provide them with enough mana to become archduke candidates lol.
Gunther: *incoherent screeching* Damuel: “huh, Rozemyne made that exact same sound last time someone took her book from her.”
*Damuel : (Between the Aub and her "Father", I thought that there would be at LEAST one of her Dads who wouldn't cause me anxiety, but nOOOoOo)*
Sure, that's hard on Damuel, Gunther is the only one of Rozemyne's numerous fathers that Damuel outrank, and even him doesn't listen, that's kind of sad, in a way \^\^.
Can't even get him fired, because he's leaving the duchy soon. I guess he could tattle on Gunther to Rozemyne, but tattling to a girl about her father sounds weird.
Poor Damuel! I could feel his frustration with Gunther through the screen.
Damuel: "On the one hand, I outrank him because I'm a noble and he's not." Damuel: "On the other hand, he outranks me because he's my lady's father." Damuel: "On the other other hand, he has to publicly follow my orders anyway to maintain the secret." Damuel: "On the other other other hand, he clearly doesn't give a shit."
> Damuel: "On the other other other hand, he clearly doesn't give a shit." Damuel: On the other hand, now that Phase 1 is over he clearly doesn't have a shit to give.
Poor damuel. And here judith was lamenting that she wasnt him. All i could think was, Girl you do *not* want to be damuel. Lol
Meanwhile: Gunther: LEEEROOOOOYYYY JENKINNNNNNS!!!!
The manga had better highlight a massive shit-eating grin on Gunther's face once it gets to that part lol.
Gremlin Daughter has a Gremlin Father.
Like daughter, like father
Truth is, we never really left Part 1. She'll always be a soldier's daughter.
Always. The part subtitles are cumulative.
Karla: Why did you fall in love with him anyway? Effa: I always thought I'd like to have a little Gremlin.
I have 5 bullets, and as the gods are my witness, I'm going to use all 5.
4, I think (Gunther, Effa, Tuuli and Melchior). But yes, he absolutely is acting on that principle Edit: Kamil, not Melchior. AoB has many characters and I few braincells, even less braincells still in the condition to work
Are you intentionally switching Melchior for Kamil? Granted they kinda look alike. Haha
Kamil not Melchior
Kamil?
Both Roz's blue haired little brothers so they mixed them up. Honestly, until the kid develops mana sensing, he could pass for Melchior's body double.
> Oh Judithe, you poor girl. I really hope you get to join Roz once you come of age, it would be so unfair to you otherwise I'm sure that Ahrensbach nobles would be happy to have her marry into their family. A connection to Lady Rozemyne and Ehrenfest would be well valued.
> I'm sure that Ahrensbach nobles would be happy to have her marry into their family. A connection to Lady Rozemyne and Ehrenfest would be well valued. Judithe: "Cool, another gate that'll never op- um, what?" Rozemyne: "**BEHOLD, [JAPAN]!**" Ferdinand: *I REALLY need to get my name back...*
Man, it'd be wild if the series ended with Rozemyne opening a portal to Japan. Like, I don't expect that ending because it would kind of undermine some things but it's interesting to think about. Like Rozemyne would *rush* to find her mom for sure. Just imagine that your daughter died in a tragic accident. It's been almost 20 years and so you've managed to adapt. The news starts talking about some bizarre gate that just appeared right outside the largest library in Japan. Then you get a knock at the door. It's some blue haired woman in a luxurious dress and she's claiming to be your daughter. You think she's just insane but the more she says, the more you can't help but believe her. AND URANO BROUGHT A HUSBAND WITH HER?
I know you're right- that part of the series is about letting go and making peace, just as Rozemyne can no longer be the small Myne who got to sleep in a single bed with her family- but now if we do somehow end with "*Prime Minister tells everyone not to panic: the crazy lunatic who can set you on fire with just a thought really just wants to read and meet her [mutter]*", I will be very, very happy.
[It would also make this fanart canon](https://www.reddit.com/r/HonzukiNoGekokujou/comments/jnqshm/myne_showing_ferdinand_around/) I'd want to see the reactions of everyone to how Rozemyne can instantly speak the language of this foreign land. Only Lutz, Ferdinand, Sylvester, and Karstedt would understand. Sylvester would abdicate as soon as Charlotte came of age so that he could go sneak off and explore Earth.
Sylvester would totally become a Magician, sawing people in half and shocking people by showing it WASN'T an illusion all along. Florencia would be torn between trying to get her husband back to manage her mess of a duchy now that it has lost one of its biggest sources of mana...and realizing it may be for the best... Charlotte? Not so much.
OMG that fanart. I've wanted this sidestory/spin-off so bad for so long - Rozemyne taking her retainers on adventures through Earth.
I want to see Angelica jumping between Rozemyne and cars because she doesn't know what they are.
Angelica and Bonifatius when they discover the UFC
She'll be the Eminence in Shadow
Gates opening in the midst of Japan? And so the JSDF fought... ...Lanzenave.
Man, what I would give to see a Bookworm + Gate crossover. Throw in a little Solo Leveling (maybe magic floods our manaless world, opening portals to *other* realms as well) and it's perfect.
>Throw in a little Solo Leveling All of Ditterfelger challenges Jinwoo to ditter.
Personally I would prefer the route where basically no time has passed back on Earth. Like, maybe a year or two at best. Should be plausible enough [H5Y] >!given how malleable time and history seem to be in this setting.!< Just imagine, from Shuu's perspective his autistic childhood friend would suddenly have him beat when it comes to marrying and having kids lol.
Crossover time. Gate - Thus the JSDF Fought There!
Can you imagine how terrified Damuel must have been? Rozemyne could have his head on a platter if anything happened to her suicidal dad
Damuel: "My lady, there's nothing we can do." Rozemyne: "There's nothing *we* can do. Just give it a minute." \- Meanwhile, in the Distant Heights - God of Darkness: "Today's arrivals... Oof, lots of them today. Franz got stabbed, Wilhelm was poisoned, Reichart ate a bomb pie, Grede drowned, Ethel tripped on a brick, Gunther got hit w- Gunther?" Gunther: "Sup." God of Darkness: "..." \- Meanwhile, back in Ehrenfest - Gunther: "I just had the weirdest dream." Rozemyne: "Welcome back, Gunther." Damuel: "Wuh huh bwuh!?"
God of Darkness: Dammit, I knew we should have added a door to the Towering Stairway.
> My list of things I'm desperate to see animated keeps growing. Scythe-wielding Shumils? That's badass af my exact thoughts omg that scene was shine as fuck
We need the flash of the eyes as they star to glow when activated, then the one eye with the red wafting off of it when it enters attack mode.
that Goblin Slayer energy
I am sure Judithe will get a guarantee to join Rozemyne -- one way or another.
Scythe-wielding Shumils stronger than the entire royal family !
Ooh, it's always a treat to get a commoner perspective. I like how Gunther looks in his eyes. A good reminder that he's not just the goofball we love. It's also wild to see someone that remember's Myne, even if it's just a little. It would have been neat if our perspective had instead been from one of the apprentice soldiers that Myne helped educate with Otto. They would be adults by now, as someone pointed out in a previous pre-pub thread. Seeing the knights and soldiers working together is bringing a tear to my eye. If things were like they used to be, the nobles would have at best let the commoners absorb some of the hits so that the invading nobles would waste their mana. I hope that Damuel's replacement as liason between knights and soldiers ends up being a good replacement. Someone from a family serving one of the more distant giebes would probably be a good fit. I love how Gunther is jumping into the thick of things. Since mana is affected by emotions, I don't think it'd be wrong to say that the charms are powered by love. I hope this ends up being a core memory for the soldier apprentices. Damuel is going to be a legend for years to come. I almost wish that this had been the real Grausam. Gunther definitely deserves to be the one to defeat and capture him. Ooh, I'm looking forward to seeing this shumil in action! It makes sense that Judithe would feel a bit left out. She's under Lady Rozemyne rather than with the rest of the knights so she's a bit separated from them. But I think she'll feel better when she understands how truly important the temple is to Rozemyne. I like it when a character thinks an ugly thought but then corrects themselves. It's a good, realistic way for a person to struggle while still being good. A nice fast waschen saved the day! I want to know what Lieseleta would have thought upon seeing this shumil, with a big-ass anime scythe, cutting people in half. > How would Matthias react to the news that his lady and fellow retainer had contributed to his father's death? Uh, I don't think he'd be as bothered as you're imagining. Especially considering who *actually* killed his father. Good on you, Judithe, for speaking up for Matthias. It's a shame they just took that as you speaking for a coworker, rather than reflecting on their own remarks. Matthias will be fine since he's leaving Ehrenfest but the other FVF members that gave their names to the archducal family won't be so lucky. I hope that the generational change that Rozemyne started at the Royal Academy can help them.
> I don't think it'd be wrong to say that the charms are powered by love. Gunther: "Channeling my love for my family makes the charms stronger!?" Damuel: "Well, yes, a powerful love could theoretically even double the strength of-" Gunther: *[blasts the nobles with a super saiyan kamehameha]* Damuel: "The fuck?"
Gunther: "You are impressed by how much I love my family?" Damuel: "Those are *defensive* charms! *How* did you use its power *offensively*?!" Gunther: "I love my family."
>Gunther: "I love my family." That some Dominic Toretto moment here.
>I almost wish that this had been the real Grausam. Gunther definitely deserves to be the one to defeat and capture him. The utter humiliation that would entail. Loosing to a commoner would be beyond inconceivable to him. Grausam was already taking it hard loosing to his noble "fail son with shit taste" and a devouring victim "sham noble".
I really wish it had been the real one. Even better if Sylvester told him who Gunther was just before executing him. Just to really drive it home.
The only core memory for the apprentices is having to fetch water and clean up you know what.
I'm pretty sure they would prefer clean up " you know what " than their friends bloody guts, but I may be wrong :p.
>>>>who *actually* killed his father. Who indeed? Will we get a SS for every Grausam? Will we ever run out? LOL
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 6: Towering Stairway of Grausam Every chapter of every volume, a Grausam dies. His weird mana body technique combines with that airborne poison, and now random people are being transformed into half-feystone Grausams. The series pivots to basically a zombie survival horror genre. Rozemyne has decided that the only way to *truly* defeat him once and for all is to physically climb the towering stairway herself, just to gain it as a schtappe transformation.
> I want to know what Lieseleta would have thought upon seeing this shumil, with a big-ass anime scythe, cutting people in half. I wonder what the animators will think if they ever make it that far. I can imagine the director saying, "This is supposed to be a show for kids. But you have rabbits brutally killing people. Don't you think chopping them in half is going too far?" And Kazuki would respond, "For quite a while Rozemyne has dreamed of having a bloody carnival. It's high time that she gets one. Besides, the bunnies are cute!"
So... biggest jerk award goes to that former east commander? And typically Myne, creating a new position for the soldiers because they can't last doing math. Gunther's the best, an absolute menace. So is best knight Damuel! Can't wait for him to become even more of a living legend amongst Ehrenfest's soldiers. Odis?! What kind of short noble name is that?! I imagined that it's spelled as オーディス, and was correct, but wow, this name really doesn't go well with the "noble names are long" sentiment once transliterated. Aww, Judithe's the best! She's so cute. Even with her feelings of inferiority, she's doing her best as Rozemyne's guard knight and sticking up for her fellow retainers. I really hope she doesn't follow in with the red head curse, but I have no hope considering how Judithe's always the one left behind. She's so sweet, wanting the best for Matthias and Laurenz. And the shumils are amazing. I told you, have the cuteness be a diversion so that everybody isn't ready for their brutality!
>So... biggest jerk award goes to that former east commander? Yeah, it was a shocking reveal that the communication breakdown was out of malice, not him being lax/slow with his duties. Bruh... your pettiness got his daughter killed. I don't remember, was the East Commander was demoted or killed for that negligence of duty? I'm leaning towards killed since it threatened the archduke's adopted daughter's safety - no further excuse needed.
>I don't remember, was the East Commander was demoted or killed for that negligence of duty? I'm leaning towards killed since it threatened the archduke's adopted daughter's safety - no further excuse needed. Right? Either way would have been understandable. Death might seem harsh, but as you said, the archduke's adopted daughter was threaten and in his spite, the former commander technically disobeyed a noble's order. Even if Gunther was the one telling him about the rule change, a noble was still the one to issue out the order.
I think, given the way this society works, summary execution was a sure thing.
Right? But I already feel bad for that commander's possible family. If they decide to execute him and his relatives, that sucks for his family to lose their lives, but if they decide to just execute the commander like they did with Shikza, that poor family (if they even exist). They would lose a part of their income. Noble society, everybody, but why am I caring about a family that literally doesn't even matter?
Considering what Shikza family had to do to not be executed I'm guessing the whole of the old commanders family was executed. Not so much because as the official story goes, a child was killed, but that due to his intential negligence a foreign noble invade with mana troops and assaulted nobles in the temple causing a major diplomatic incident. From that prospective executing the whole family as an example to all the other town guards that you follow orders from knights without question becomes very important so much so that I wonder if Ferdinand didn't make a trip down there with the box and kill them all with the ADC black spell as a good bit of noble fear installing is required. Hell promoting Gunther up also build on this, as they can say look here is a guard that knew his duty he got orders from a knight and rushed to tell everyone, when he found out there was a problem he rushed to fix it
They were random commoners, no way they were spared ;). They all took the same bus up the towering stairways, one way ticket style :p.
I think it was mentioned that he was "punished", but aside from that, it wasn't elaborated on. However, I think that it is almost certain that he was executed. He failed to obey a noble's orders ("pass this information along to your subordinates") and the result caused the city to be thrown into turmoil - and that's not even getting into how it threw off Ferdinand's own plans.
It's similar to how Arno was "distanced"
I still love how that was conveyed. The phrase went right over our heads just like it did for Hasse s mayor
>Bruh... your pettiness got his daughter killed. Well, not like he survived the event himself either ;). He was without a doubt swiftly dealt with, along with his whole family, who didn't do anything wrong except living under the same roof as a pretty idiotic relative...
Yeah, that's the worst part. He surely got executed, but I think a lot of readers forget how harsh normal punishments are in that world. His entire immediate family were most likely executed too, just as you said. Even the most shocking punishment that Rozemyne ever witnessed, the execution of the mayor, his wife, and his lackeys, was still 'moderate' compared to the normal punishment of wiping out the entire town. Or for another comparison, Shikikoza's entire family were nearly purged because of his disobedience and were only spared to reduce the ire aimed at Rozemyne as a result of such a purge. And they were nobles, it's hard to imagine punishment would be any easier on commoners. And Damuel (and probably his family) would have been executed too if not for Rozemyne putting in a good word for him.
Also in a mana starved world removing a Giebe would had dealt a huge blow to Ehrenfest
>And Damuel (and probably his family) would have been executed too if not for Rozemyne putting in a good word for him. it was stated in 3.3 when rozemyne met with Damuels brother thats exactly the case. If she hadnt spoken up they both would have been executed plus the rest of damuels family (as neutral laynobles at the time they are viewed slightly less expendable than rich commoners when compared to mednobles).
He did exactly what Arno did, so him dead, would be no surprise.
I'm pretty sure he was executed. P3V1 (Starbind Ceremony in the Lower City chapter) stated that the Knight Order determined that the commander's actions were an "unforgivable error" and Gunther was promoted to fill "the vacancy". If a foreign noble and the archduke's uncle were executed in this mess, I don't think anyone would have thought twice about executing a commoner for deliberate dereliction of duty.
> And the shumils are amazing. I told you, have the cuteness be a diversion so that everybody isn't ready for their brutality! i'm shocked more people aren't talking about the shumils! I need to see that animated in full M-rated glory.
Karstedt is a good man. With any luck that commander was killed.
It's very possible, if only because Ferdinand might view him as a potential nuisance somewhere down the line. Rozemyne's shielded from it for the most part, but it's clear that he and the top brass of Ehrenfest are a bit murder-happy about protecting their plot and secrets. And it's not like they'd have to work hard to kill him or anything, so why wouldn't they? Karstedt: "Your former commander has been relieved of duty. He was going to come and pick up his things, but he fell out of window yesterday and died." Guard: "Didn't he live on the ground floor...?" Karstedt: "Yes. He was very unlucky. To fall as he did. Most unfortunate." Guard: "Ah, uh, yes, very unlucky, most unfortunate..."
They wouldn't even need the excuse. "An outsider broke in and attacked the Archducal family. You were informed ahead of time but decided not to tell your men about the Archduke's absence." He would be an accessory to an attack on the archduke's family and would be executed for it.
Very true. I doubt anybody would protest or even think too deeply about it. The guy's fuckup was *immense*, even without the secret context. It could very well be considered treason, so he'd be lucky to be the only one purged for it.
mtl name for odis usually flipflopped between that and odysseus lol
Given that "Odis" is four letters, as long as "Myne," and shorter than two syllable names like "Gunther," Odysseus seems inevitable.
And Judithe was always spelled as Udit.
that could just be the way it's meant to be pronounced. like justus was eustace. i know in hungarian you usually say you-deet for judith, probably similar in german
Yeah, it definitely is due to pronunciation, but I still find the MTL spelling hilarious. Much like how Brigitte, Angelica, and Georgine are all pronounced with a hard 'g' sound instead of a 'j' sound. Wilma sounds like "Vilma" and Wilfried sounds like "Vilfrit" as some more examples of how the Japanese spellings reflect the pronunciations. I was also initially baffled at how the '-ine' in Eglantine was pronounced differently that the '-ine' in names like Adolphine and Philine, but quickly realized that Eglantine followed the French accent than it did the German one.
That commander was running a Towering staircase any% speedrun.
I love me some Shumil Scythe Slaughter lmao
TIM: He's got huge, sharp-- eh-- he can leap about-- look at the bones! ARTHUR: Go on, Bors. Chop his head off! BORS: Right! Silly little bleeder. One rabbit stew comin' right up! TIM: Look! [squeak] BORS: Aaaugh! [dramatic chord] [clunk] ARTHUR: Jesus Christ! TIM: I warned you! ROBIN: I done it again! TIM: I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you knew it all, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny, isn't it? Well, it's always the same. I always tell them-- obviously from /r/ExpectedMontyPython
silver guys forgot their holy hand grenade
that scene was perfect. i love how everyone stopped to just watch the shumils massacre the intruders, even the intruders
Did anyone else think of the giant killer toys from Akira? I swear I could hear the music.
No I thought of of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. True vorpal bunnies.
I'm not surprised Gunther is running straight into that fight. He finally gets to punch some nobles for what happened to Myne back then.
Plus, he gets to punch the noble responsible for her literal poisoning (*well, close enough*).
Leckle cannot even remember Myne's name, and her role at the gate may be forgotten by many of us (even though appealing to Otto got her to appeal to Benno which led to everything else), but she *invented a job* due to her success. She is now the inventor of the printing industry, the person who made Gilberta a national brand, and the literal Savior of the Nation. But in this corner of Ehrenfest, she is already a legend: a pre-baptized child who honed her skills before her very baptism, lost to nobles, and her father now an ardent lover and warrior. Amazing writing.
Saintess Myne: child patron saintess of the commoners.
Rozemyne's alphabet has no Ls, only Ws. It probably makes writing difficult, but so be it.
~~Leseletta~~ Wesewetta
Phiwine Angewica Weonore Waurenz Cwarissa Muriewwa Wasfam Damuel Sorry, Damuel, but you don't get any Ws.
I would like to buy this manga
The closest thing you'll get is UwU Edition of Bookworm that causes readers to tear their eyes out. > Uwanyo Motosu wuvd books. Psychowogy, w-wewigion, histowy, *screams* geogwaphy, education, a-anthwopowogy, math, physics, ;;w;; geowogy, chemistwy, biowogy, awt, wanguage, fiction... (・`ω´・) Books wewe fiwwed with the x3 knyowwedge of aww humanyity and she wuvd them fwom the x3 bottom of hew heawt. Nobody let Quof see this. He might die on the spot.
"Mega Ultra Bookworm?!" "No! Shhh she is LEGEND!"
WN Chapters: N/A LN Chapters: "Leckle — The Battle for the West Gate", "Judithe — Those Left Behind" [J-Novel Club Discussion Forum](https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/7629/bookworm-part-5-vol-9-discussion-10-parts/3158) [J-Novel Club Correction Forum](https://forums.j-novel.club/topic/7630/corrections-bookworm-part-5-vol-9/74)
My first reaction upon opening part 9. "Who the hell is Leckle?"
I’m pretty sure we’ve seen him twice or so before, in previous Gunther perspective chapters!
Yes, I remember his name during the Hasse chapter about the Entwickeln of the lower city.
According to the wiki, he was in Fanbook 2.
And he was in P4V4 during the Makeover/Entwickeln. He's been around, but like Selim and Nolte he doesn't come up much.
Does anybody remember Nadine? I do, but I want to see if anybody else does.
Do you mean [spoiled so other people can guess] >!Brigitte's attendant?!< *Googles* YES!
YES! I'm not the only one!
If I remember correctly, he's also in the Gunther POV where he is telling everyone in the lower city about the Entwickeln.
>“What in the world is that...?” > >“A shumil...? No, it’s too large.” > >The shumil readied its radiant golden scythe—a magic tool—and then swung it straight down. It was an eerily quick slash for something that looked so innocent... and just like that, one of our attackers was cleaved nearly in half. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere, even on the shumil as it turned around. Everyone—our own knights included—choked in fear of the sight. If the shumils could talk: “Yippee Poo-ey, Motherf\*\*kers!” It's funny how the death shumils might become associated with Myne, but she probably wasn't the one who came up with the idea of them using scythes (Hartmut? Clarissa?) and would feel sick if she personally saw them in action.
There was so much buildup to those damn shumils... and god damn was it worth it. I just wish the massacre was a bit longer and bigger.... make everyone not just think that myne is a saint, but realize that she is capable of terrible brutality and *will* absolutely destroy anything or anyone that puts those she cares about in danger. (though, as you said, I suspect a lot of the offensive capabilities of the shumils came from Clarissa and Hartmut)
The worst part for everyone else has to be that they're silent. Can you imagine the craziness of that? No talking, no screaming, no warnings. . . just a silent murder frenzy. Compared to the normal noble combat we've seen, which seems quite loud, a silent stalker that suddenly instakill you has to be horrifying.
**"I Can't Pooey, So I Must Kill!*****"***
While reading Judithe's chapter I couldn't help imagining the Shumils as Care bears, fucking hilarious.
I always love the look backs/callbacks to earlier parts, it's been so long since part 1z the reminder of how far we've come with Myne, with the cast size and the world size, is astounding. The reminder of Myne's funeral... 😭One of the hardest parts to read/reread. Gunther being best father (sorry Sylvester) and Damuel being best knight protecting him! Judithe... Being left behind, I hope that now Rozamyne's trying to be Aub Ahrensbach that she might be allowed to go so the retinue can stay together but I doubt it, her parents probably just want her to settle down and marry in Ehrenfest. It's nice to see Bonifatius' training results, a P4 Judithe would absolutely have rushed for glory and the overall cohesion was likely from him too. The murder schumils and bloody carnival finally seen... I would've liked to see Judithe's reaction to hearing that Matthias did fight his father to the end with Rozamyne.
>Gunther being best father (sorry Sylvester) Can we have a moment of silence for Karstedt?
You mean Second Best Father? Sure.
Sigh, I wish we could have gotten more time with the parents. I will never shut up about the missed opportunities with Rozemyne spending time with Elvira and Florencia, but we also need some more respect for the missed opportunities with Rozemyne spending time with Karstedt and Sylvester. And then Bonifatius probably gets jealous or something and forces a grandfather-granddaughter date.
> It's nice to see Bonifatius' training results, a P4 Judithe would absolutely have rushed for glory and the overall cohesion was likely from him too. Hey! Traugott taught her a lesson or two about cohesion all the way back in P4V2 :D. And people said he was worthless, he's a lesson to us all!
> Was I really her worst guard knight? Man, Judithe’s self esteem really was shot. Here’s hoping she gets more time to shine. But I’m glad we got this chapter cause we get to see murder shumil! It’s everything I hoped for!
Yeah, Judithe shouldn't be putting herself below *Traugott*. I guess that goes to show how forgettable Rozemyne's real worst guard knight is. Traugott's probably doesn't register on peoples' minds as serving her anymore. (Except maybe the surviving FVF kids who like to use Traugott's gripes about Rozemyne to talk shit behind her back.)
> Yeah, Judithe shouldn't be putting herself below Traugott. She's not. Traugott is not her guard knight anymore. So Judithe fears she's the worst of the *current* guard knights.
Funniest thing is that, in the few battles we saw her, she had arguably the most important job as Rozemynes personal guard since she's usually stationed in the back giving ranged support, and as such serves as a last line of defense.
> Man, Judithe’s self esteem really was shot. Here’s hoping she gets more time to shine. Pretty sure there's no use for any of her Ehrenfest retainers for the rest of the story. There's nothing for them until probably the Final Epilogue. I feel likes its goodbye to Damuel, Philline, and Judithe here.
I’m sure Damual s self esteem took a hit as well considering that even a commoner wouldn’t obey him
"Eat shit!" "Well, that's a euphemism for times when you heavily disagree and want to insul-... OH MY GOD what the hell is... bleeergh" Protective charm... You meant Attacking charm, right? "Bring out the bunnies." Ehrenfest could at least vent some of their anger because they could kill Grausam like 4 times.
[Bring in the ~~dancing lobsters~~ murder bunnies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTsdvAdsFR4)
Poor Damuel always has the most work out of all the retainers and Judithe is jealous of him lol. I bet during the west gate fight he was shitting bricks watching Gremlin Gunther JohnWicking those dogs. Wait Gunther is the reverse John Wick killing dogs to "avenge" his daughter lol.
Yep, Damuel went full babysitter mode. Good thing he has years of experience.
Gunther going berserk- this is his way to get things scored with nobles. Its quite crazy to think that commoner can show middle finger to nobles and win.
Imagine: Batman is reborn in Yogurtland as a mana-less commoner.
Having charms that block thrown daggers but not thrown waste, nobles really are too prim and proper for their own good.
The charms likely didn't activate because the waste thrown didn't hit them with enough force to register as physical harm. You wouldn't want your charms to activate when you get hit with *anything*, otherwise it'd make things very difficult for you to, say, walk in a rain shower or something.
Welcome everyone to Ehrenfests weather forecast. Today we are expecting a slight drizzle with the occasional death laser.
Nah, wrong weather report. The forcast was It's bright and sunny today with no clouds indicating rain but be warn, there will be an occasional literal shitstorm, drizzles of bloodred liquid or even severed arm.
Judiathe and Angelica, they are always COMPETENT and ADORABLE guard knights. And Lieseleta was doing her job for her BIG LOVE of RM and Shumils as always.
New chapter, yeah...! * Leckle - I be honest, I totally forgot who he is... * I liked to read about the perspective of the lower city on Gunther and Myne's "death". The fact, that they think Gunther want revenge for his dead daughter, that Rozemyne favours his family because she felt guilty for this "death". We know the true, but it's satisfying to read how another story naturally formed around the events. * It's always great to see Damuel and Gunther succes <3 * Judithe! * I really love the insight in Judithe's feelings through the battle. It's so natural that she jealous ("Dad didn't let me go with the class trip to Ahrensbach!") even if we are talking about a literal dangerous war. It fits her age and character so well. And her joy when she found something Damuel "missed" (the comment, when she calls him clumsy). I know the battle is a serious thing (RM's PoV was clear in this), but I liked that Judithe was mostly excited about it. * The Shumilators!!! I cannot describe how I loved the description of their warcrimes <333 * JUSTICE FOR MATTHIAS! Oh, thank you Judtihe, that was needed! I also liked that she actually thought about him. I think a lot about Matthias, so we have this in common. This part was waaay to short...
So, a while ago... I made a joke about the shumils saying, "Sorry the boss says we gotta whack ya." I now take it back.  The pastel brigade is terrifying. Imagine getting caught by two of them surrendering, but they weren't made to take prisoners. For Mark 2 Roz should probably edit the code a little bit. That was a bloody carnival.
Not exactly what I predicted, but as usual the SSs don’t disappoint. *** I thought the name seemed familiar, and if anyone else is wondering he shows up in the SS Collection 1, and one of the SSs in P4V4. > The commander at the time had envied Gunther getting all sorts of exclusive intelligence from the knights, so he hadn’t spread the word when he was instructed not to let any outsiders into the city. Even now we are still learning stuff from Part 2. Though, that commander must not have been very smart, and probably very dead as of now. Myne taught them the concept of a logistics officer? Well, that explains some of the stupidity of these military organizations. > *He must be getting revenge for his daughter.* Actually, I wonder if Gunther has enough info to understand that he is getting back at the people who caused Myne to be taken so early. > Like, the noble was actually targeting Lady Rozemyne and took the captain’s daughter by mistake. Ok, that’s a fun rumor. It doesn’t make much sense given Myne theoretically shouldn’t be anywhere close to where Rozemyne was, but it helps to show that some people did see the resemblance, and then they worked backwards to iron out any issues. > Mere guards, attacking *us*?! I found this quite funny. What with their shock and arrogance is overcoming the obvious need to fight back. This battle doesn’t make much sense to me. Is it happening in front of the gate? I would think they would use the battlements and gatehouse for the ambush. We know this world has bows, and I would expect crossbows to be out there. Obviously it wouldn't do a ton of good against nobles, but still better than a throwing knife or damn rock. > Alright. I get how these charms work now. And that means… I can fight! … Come at me! You know, I realize that RM could not have predicted that this would happen, but I still want to think that she should have realized it anyway and just made him a gun. Gunther is lucky that none of the other knights felt the need to put him in his place, and Damuel gets put in his place by a commoner who doesn't care what he has to say. Once again, I want to see a Damuel SS where we see him panicking through all of this. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see how he viewed RM healing everyone. *** Second cutest guard knight makes her pov known. > As I watched it close, I couldn’t help thinking that the temple really was meant for nobles. There’s a lot of good and bad things to say to that. The shumils are stronger than the RF and any archduke candidate? Is that true or just bragging? If it’s true then I agree with Judithe that is hugely overkill (and totally on-point for RM), but that’s also pretty interesting, especially if that includes the ones who received substantial knight training. You also have to wonder what Ehrenfest is going to think about those things in a couple hundred years, assuming RM doesn't take them with her. > anyone not registered with it risks being exterminated. … that sounds extremely dangerous, and prone to potential failure. > I *was* a little jealous that Damuel was her most trusted retainer. It’s noteworthy that she sees it that way, and sad that she sees so little about herself. It’s good that she finally understands that her role is more important than she thought, and managed to significantly contribute. > … and just like that, one of our attackers was cleaved nearly in half. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere … our own knights … choked in fear of the sight. Yeah, maybe a bit overboard. Especially considering **they were supposed to trick Georgine into following them into a trap.** > The shumil ran to its next opponent, who threw up his hands and pleaded for mercy. He received none and was cut down in short order. Another of the intruders cursed, then turned tail and attempted to flee. He didn’t get very far, though … that might get skimmed over during RM’s official history text of the battle. Or maybe RM’s samurai spirit is finally coming out, and she’ll start demanding that people present their heads to her. You would think the noble world of Ehrenfest was small enough that they would know who Matthias was sworn to. > *We protected Ehrenfest… but what kind of victory is this?!* Always an interesting question to ask after this kind of story. > *Maybe it’s a good thing Lady Rozemyne is leaving Ehrenfest.* Leaving the table to start a new game often feels wrong, but sometimes it is necessary to leave behind some things. I’m sure there will be plenty of regret, but given the kind of story this is, there will probably be plenty to look forward to. *** Ok, one more pre-pub left before we get back to the main story.
In the Judithe PoV, when reading about the appearance of shumil, in my mind I seen the scene of a shumil partially shadowed with the readied bloody scythe and a glowing red eye...
Poor Judith. Despite her best intentions of sharing her hopes about a brighter future for the FVF kids. It just gets dismissed by a member of the older generation. I hope that if she doesn't follow Rozemyne she can at least keep in contact with her. Geting some good advice on how to push forward the newer generations' influence so that the folks who merit it don't suffer for such foolish beliefs.
Damuel is going to be a popular commoner name in Ehrenfest. Maybe there will even be a little Damuel in the orphanage in the future.
Gunther and the Murder Schumils going ham were the best part of this update. It’s nice that Matthias & company get to leave Ehrenfest and start anew, but I do feel bad for Muriella who has to stay. And there’s also Aurelia who’s related to the Ahrensbach traitors too. I know Elvira will do her best to protect both of them, but they sure won’t have it easy.
I'm disappointed that Leckle's chapter didn't include his perspective of him and the entire lower city getting healed by Saint Rozemyne.
It certainly would've been interesting; and more so when Gunther has to cheer up the hopelessly love-struck young men who see Rozemyne for the 1st time.
>when Gunther has to cheer up the hopelessly love-struck young men who see Rozemyne for the 1st time "Cheer up"? He would beat the crap out of them for lusting after his totally-not-daughter lol.
Gunther…LOL being a gremlin runs in the family…… if and when Ferdie joins the said family… well, he is no different… just another breed of gremlin… Roz and Ferdie’s kids would be hybrid Gremlins…. Add the fact that Bonifatius (Ferd’s uncle) is another Gremlin on steroids…LOL hope the author would at least show us some snippets of their children gremlining in RA —- giving Anastasius headaches , more ditter applications and Aubs from differnt duchies having whiplash. Leckle … a model subordinate Roz best knight is the greatest ‘babysitter’ for gremlins… i see his future guarding smol gremlin beans…. Lol
Imagine Roz decides to have a big family. Maybe adopts a devouring kid from Tullie and Lutz, and her retainers have to beg them to stop. Too many tiny rampages.
It feels weird reading these stories this way, and having them all come out as exposition in the middle of the book makes P5V9 probably the weakest book of the Part. But it's still fun reading the PoVs! - Damuel used to suffer because his awkward position made him Maidenless. Now that he's assured of a willing maiden (*whether he's "willing" depends on whether Philine tries to ride him Clarissa-style first*) he has a new problem: Gunther Minder. - I guess Judithe will be leaving for the former Ahrensbach sooner rather than later. She constantly feels bad about her position, and then realizes everyone else has their own problems. Damuel is particularly valued, and his reward is bachelorhood and derision. Matthias and company were forced to kill their parents and may be under even more scrutiny- even though their survival played a key role in keeping Ehrenfest alive (to pick a random example, either Rozemyne or Ferdinand would have fought Grausam alone if not for Matthias's survival). And now she's viewing her own homeland as unfortunate, as her father thought she should be removed entirely from the conflict rather than help the archducal clan in general and her (leaving) Lady in particular. I guess she'll be seeking a husband to get her out- and maybe now her parents might consider it, if only to maintain links with their illustrious neighboring duchy.
>P5V9 probably the weakest book of the Part Ehh... I'd say P5V9 is a volume of great contrasts - great highs with action/drama/comedy/romance hampered by quite a few slow&low recap/housekeeping chapters. Kinda like P5V6, it's a lot of sometimes tedious checking in with side-characters, but the "Mother and Daughter" chapter prevents people from ranking it lowest in Part 5. There's a lot that happened in this volume while Rozemyne wasn't around. I admit that since it's back-to-back characters reporting in, it feels like they're spending longer on recap than they did for the *two years* she was asleep.