Table of Contents

1. Cover

2. Color Art Gallery

3. Cover Art Gallery

4. Miscellaneous Art Gallary

5. Anime End Cards Gallery (Seasons 1 and 2, Episodes 1 Through 26)

6. Anime Character Cards with Text by Miya Kazuki

7. Cover, Color Art, and Miscellaneous Art Rough Draft Gallery

8. Color-Mixing and Engagement Ceremonies

9. “Liz’s Troubles” by Suzuka

10. Character Design Sheets

11. “Becoming a Gutenberg ~Zack’s Ordeal~” by Ryo Namino

12. “Drama CD 4 Post-Recording Report” by Miya Kazuki

13. “Drama CD 4 Post-Recording Report” by Suzuka

14. Q&A with Miya Kazuki

15. “A Comfy Life with My Family” by You Shiina

16. Messages from the Creators

17. About J-Novel Club

18. Copyright

Landmarks

1. Table of Contents

Color-Mixing and Engagement Ceremonies

Midway through autumn, while Lady Rozemyne was traveling around the duchy for the Harvest Festival, an ordonnanz shot into the retainer room. It flew over our heads in a great circle before perching on my arm.

“A message for you, Lieseleta? How rare.”

Most ordonnanzes that came here were meant for either Rihyarda or Ottilie, so even I could only stare at the bird on my arm in surprise. I tapped it with my schtappe, which prompted it to speak in my father’s voice. Its message was simple:

“Take some time off work.”

“He must have chosen a partner for me...” I muttered.

As the head of our household, it was my father’s duty to find me a husband. Some people my age tried to start their own relationships at the Royal Academy, but such unions rarely lasted; one or both parties’ parents usually shot them down. I was a successor to my household, so I could only marry someone who would properly assimilate with my family. It was all very complicated, which was why I’d entrusted my engagement to my father from the beginning.

Of course, I wasn’t completely out of the loop when it came to my future husband. I wanted to follow in my father’s and mother’s footsteps and support the next archducal couple by serving in the castle as an attendant. To that end, I’d made it clear that I strove to marry someone serving Lord Wilfried or a member of their family—or an attendant serving the castle, at least. My father would do his best to accommodate my wishes.

“You are about to enter your last year at the Academy...” Rihyarda noted. “If your engagement has been set in stone, then there is much you will need to do, from ordering clothes to preparing for the ceremony. Take this opportunity to rest; Lady Rozemyne will not return to the castle before the Harvest Festival concludes.”

With that, Rihyarda and Ottilie sent me on my way. They had granted me leave before I could even ask for it.

I wonder whom my father has chosen for me... Lady Rozemyne’s retainers will consist primarily of Leisegangs, so I sincerely hope it’s someone who can help me form a bridge with the former Veronica faction.

My heart raced with concern and anticipation as I made my way home. Father had said he would try to grant my wishes, but there was no guarantee that he would actually succeed.

“Lieseleta, I’ve found you a marriage candidate.”

“Only a candidate?” I asked, tilting my head. Father was the head of our household; what must have happened for him not to have made a decision?

“Your mana capacity has grown through Lady Rozemyne’s compression method, no? I can no longer tell who will match you, which means you will need to meet with him first.”

Under normal circumstances, unwed children had roughly the same mana quantity and elements as their parents, which was why their heads of houses could choose their partners for them. This became a lot more complicated when a person’s mana had grown and changed to an uncertain degree; a single wrong move could impact all future branches of their family tree.

As wondrous as Lady Rozemyne’s mana compression method might be, the sudden changes it brought about in me do have their problems.

I could hardly even sense my father’s mana anymore; it was but a faint, faded presence, and one that would surely vanish entirely if I stuck with compressing for another year or two. Though I supposed my mana could technically stop growing before then.

“I tried to find you an attendant, but none matched your mana, age, and status,” Father explained. “We don’t want a repeat of that earlier incident, do we?”

My house was known for producing attendants, so my father had attempted to secure me someone from the same profession. Neither he nor Mother had managed to find any suitable candidates among those they knew well. In truth, Father had set me up with a prospective husband once before, only for the engagement to fall through; my partner’s and my mana had barely matched at the end of winter, and only a short while later, we had stopped being able to sense each other entirely.

“I apologize for the trouble my compression has caused you,” I said. “However, as I am serving Lady Rozemyne, I wish to increase my capacity as much as I can.”

My father was in quite an unusual predicament—my mana was great enough now that only archnobles would suit me, but few were enthralled with the idea of being reduced to the rank of a mednoble.

Though I regret being such a burden to him and Mother, one can never have enough mana when serving Lady Rozemyne.

Indeed, it was unavoidable when serving a lady as exceptional as mine. I refused to slow the growth of my mana for the sake of marriage, especially when I was more concerned with my work than taking a husband.

“A friend of mine introduced me to a scholar whom he said might suit you,” Father explained. “Do you know Lord Thorsten of Lord Wilfried’s retinue?”

“Yes, of course. He wore his chestnut hair long during his days at the Academy. We’ve rarely spoken, but he seems like quite the scholar.” Perhaps because he was an archnoble who served the archducal family, he felt reasonably similar to Hartmut in how he wore a bright smile while mercilessly entrapping those against him. “Does he have some grave circumstances? I, um... doubt most archnobles would want to give up their status.”

“Lord Thorsten may be an archscholar, but as a third son, he has no inheritance to speak of. He hasn’t accumulated enough wealth to form his own house, so he’s been looking for a family to marry into.”

Setting up a new house was a tremendous investment; in general, only successors inherited their family’s feystones and magic tools, so anyone attempting to forge their own path had to purchase their own furniture and tools in accordance with their status. Without his family’s support, it would take Lord Thorsten a long time to form a new house through marriage.

“Would it not be easier for him to stay single and focus on his work as an archducal retainer?” I asked. “Giving up status to marry me is sure to inconvenience him.”

“Lord Thorsten’s family have their reasons for supporting the engagement. They wish to be connected to Lady Rozemyne, but the Leisegangs are so hard to approach that they settled on our house instead. Is that an issue?”

Noble weddings were often the product of two parties seeking to gain something. If the head of one’s house arranged a marriage to keep their house alive, then refusing was inexcusable outside of the most dire circumstances. Not to mention, I understood just how arduous it must have been for Father to arrange an engagement with an archnoble whose mana matched my own; turning it down now was out of the question.

“Not at all,” I replied. “This arrangement sounds respectable enough and mutually beneficial for both our houses. Lord Thorsten is on board despite having to give up some of his status, correct? Then I can hardly complain. I was prepared to marry someone younger than me to match their mana.”

“I see.” Father’s shoulders relaxed as his tension drained. “My only concern is your color-mixing—the results weren’t ideal the last time we tried it. Did you get some time off work? In two days’ time, you can attempt to mix colors with Lord Thorsten. If all goes well, we can move on to the next step.”

“Understood. I thank you for your exceptionally hard work in this matter.”

“Hah! Compared to all the trouble with Angelica, this is nothing.”

At the end of spring, Lord Ferdinand had received a royal decree ordering his move to Ahrensbach. Lord Eckhart, his guard knight and my sister’s husband-to-be, had decided to go with him. My father and mother had both assumed that Angelica would follow him as his fiancée, but when they attempted to consult with her...

“I already said no.”

Angelica had taken action without even speaking with our parents, inadvertently disrespecting them both. It had made them want to put their heads in their hands.

“If nothing else, we have less reason to worry about Angelica causing trouble among the archnobles,” Father said. “I wanted to pair her with someone more reasonable this time, but...”

Lord Bonifatius and Lady Elvira had said they would make up for the trouble by finding Angelica another partner within their house. My sister had declared that she would only marry someone whose strength surpassed her own, leaving Lord Bonifatius as the one potential candidate to become her husband.

It surprised Lady Rozemyne, as it would anyone. Her retainer, a mednoble, had thus asked to wed into a branch of the archducal family.

My sister genuinely admired strength—I understood that much—but any regular noble would consider her an upstart attempting to worm her way into a prestigious branch family. Mother had shrieked, “Spare me your nonsense! Anything but the third wife of an archducal family member!” while Father barked, “Think of the age gap! Think of your status! You can’t claim to want ‘the strongest partner’ without consulting us first!”

“Good grief...” Father sighed at the memory. “I don’t know how it happened, but Angelica’s future is entirely out of our hands. She might as well already be married into Lord Bonifatius’s family.”

Father had elected not to dwell on the matter any longer, and who could blame him? Lord Bonifatius and Lady Elvira were too invested in the matter for our mednoble family to speak out against them.

“Um, in any case...” Father said. “Your mana capacity is already hard enough to plan around, but I would still appreciate you not marrying a member of the archducal family.”

“Worry not—I shan’t cause you the same troubles as my sister. It is my every intention to carry out my duty as your successor.”

That said, I suspect Lord Bonifatius will choose a more suitable partner than Father could ever have hoped to.

Father had done his best to find Angelica a husband, but she, too, had more mana than most other mednobles. He and my mother were also mostly connected to other attendant houses, so I doubted they would come across anyone strong enough to satisfy my sister’s demand. Lord Bonifatius, meanwhile, was known to dote on her. He would respect her request to continue serving as a knight and do everything in his power to secure her a partner as strong as she desired.

I strove to perform my duties as my house’s successor for both my sister’s happiness and my father’s peace of mind.

“This is Lieseleta,” I said, contacting both Rihyarda and Brunhilde by ordonnanz as soon as I returned to my room. “Two days from now, I will be meeting with Lord Thorsten. Please tell me what you know about him and his extended family.”

“This is Rihyarda,” came my first response. “Goodness, what an excellent choice for supporting the next archducal couple. That man has been with Wilfried since the boy’s baptism; I imagine he is beaten only by Oswald in length of service. He endured many hardships due to his engagement being canceled and his lord’s unstable position, but even then, his loyalty has never once wavered.”

Rihyarda went on to detail Lord Thorsten’s grades at the Royal Academy, the circumstances behind his serving Lord Wilfried, and the current quality of his work. Her information network really was unbeatable; she had served as an attendant longer than anyone else and seemed to know more or less everything. The only downside was that she always spoke from the perspective of whether something was good for the aub and the duchy at large. Perhaps because she had spent so long serving the archducal family as a branch member, she seldom considered the preservation of noble houses.

“This is Brunhilde,” said the next ordonnanz that arrived. “Lord Thorsten is an archnoble of the former Veronica faction. He joined Lord Wilfried’s service at Lady Veronica’s request, and his engagement was canceled when she was detained. I cannot speak for him personally, but I doubt his family holds Lady Rozemyne in high regard. You will need to take great care to avoid your house’s faction and rules being swayed against the patriarch’s will.”

Brunhilde was being educated to serve as a future giebe, so she knew exactly what to be wary of when it came to taking a husband into one’s household. My only qualm was that she spoke as a Leisegang, which made her especially cautious about Lord Thorsten.

Taking both responses into account, I started rehearsing the color-mixing and engagement ceremony. Both would need to be done in accordance with archnoble customs.

Color-mixing was performed with a magic tool and allowed two people to check the balance of their mana, the ease with which it dyed, and the compatibility of their elements. The process often took place three times before an engagement was formally decided: first between parents to see whether the engagement was feasible, then between the prospective couple as they met for potentially the first time, and then once more when announcing the engagement to their extended family.

In two days, I would perform the second of the three color-mixings. This was normally done for safety’s sake and usually served as more of a social event than anything else, as it took place only after the parents had confirmed the harmony of their children’s mana, but mine would prove far more important. Lord Thorsten and I didn’t have the same mana as our parents, so we didn’t yet know whether we were a good match. If our color-mixing went well, we would demonstrate as much to our parents, receive their blessings, and exchange engagement feystones. Only then would our engagement be publicly acknowledged.

Few mednoble houses had the funds to host multiple large events, especially when their extended family comprised several generations. To remedy the issue, many had taken to grouping their engagement ceremonies. Branch houses could save money by sharing venues with the main house, so they frequently questioned Father about when Angelica’s and my ceremonies were scheduled to take place. Of course, we were both due to marry archnobles, so allowing them to tack on to ours was out of the question. Father had apparently been busy turning them down with profuse apologies.

It is tremendously useful that I can use Angelica’s color-mixing and engagement ceremony with Lord Eckhart as a reference.

Angelica was due to become Lord Eckhart’s second wife—a decision that Lord Bonifatius had fiercely supported—so Lady Elvira was doing everything in her power to minimize the burden on our house. Because she had graciously taught my sister and me the archnobles’ way of performing the relevant ceremonies, we wouldn’t embarrass ourselves and invite scorn during my color-mixing with Lord Thorsten.

“Dregarnuhr the Goddess of Time has woven the threads of our fates together on this day. May we be blessed by Liebeskhilfe the Goddess of Binding.”

Lord Thorsten attended the color-mixing with his parents and their successor, his elder brother, who had arrived with his wife. His other brother was absent, as he lived with his own wife in Reunwalt. As for my house, only my father and mother had elected to join me. The heads of our houses greeted one another, and the standard introductions were exchanged.

For some time, Lord Thorsten’s family watched us quite curiously. It felt like we’d made a mistake of some kind. Father politely asked if something was amiss, which prompted my potential groom’s mother to place a hand on her cheek.

“Where might your other daughter be?” she asked.

“Angelica is attending Lady Rozemyne as she participates in the Harvest Festival.”

“Lady Rozemyne must have other guard knights,” she said, her tone considerate. “Your daughter’s absence during such an important event gives the impression that she does not support this engagement.”

“She does support it,” I said with a smile, trying to ease her concerns. “Had she been present, she would only have sat and watched with a bright look on her face. It is how she avoids matters she does not wish to deal with.”

“I see... I suppose there is no problem if her absence is not an act of defiance.”

“Indeed. Now, let the color-mixing begin,” Lord Thorsten’s father interjected. “If our children’s mana does not match, then we have no reason to take this further.”

He moved to the table where the magic tool was already set up. Under normal circumstances, my father would have taken the lead, but archnobles were so used to giving orders that he didn’t consider it worthwhile to argue.

“Thorsten, here. You, there.”

Lord Thorsten and I moved to opposite ends of the magic tool and touched our rings against its round feystones. As they drained our mana, the rectangular feystone sitting between them started to fill. The yellowish-green mana was mine, while the bluish-purple mana belonged to Lord Thorsten. His occupied more space within the feystone than mine, but we matched well within the acceptable range, and our contrasting mana slowly bled together.

“Oh...? She truly does have more mana than her parents.”

As our fathers peered down at the magic tool, a gentle burst of mana rebounded in my finger—a sign that my role in the color-mixing was complete. Lord Thorsten and I retracted our hands.

“Hmm... Their colors are mixing well enough,” Lord Thorsten’s father remarked. “The rest is up to them.” He gave his son a firm pat on the back before gesturing to a nearby table. “Remember, son—going through with this will cost you your status.”

Lord Thorsten’s attendant prepared some tea and then presented me with a sound-blocker.

“In case we end up discussing those we serve,” Lord Thorsten explained.

I nodded and accepted the yellow feystone. If we were to be engaged, then we would need to speak about his lord and my lady.

“I am told you seek to marry one of Lord Wilfried’s retainers so that you can serve the next archducal couple,” Lord Thorsten began.

“That is correct,” I replied. “Our engagement would grant me exactly what I desire. Do you have any wishes of your own? Um... As your father said, marrying me will require you to lower your status.”

Lord Thorsten’s eyes wandered the room. “You would suit my needs perfectly. I... do not know how much you have learned about me, but I was thrown around quite violently by the changes in Ehrenfest and with my lord. I was in my fifth year at the Academy when Lady Veronica instructed me to serve Lord Wilfried, who was, at the time, soon to be baptized. My family all threw up their hands in celebration.”

Unfortunately for Lord Thorsten, Lady Veronica had been detained not even a season after Lord Wilfried was baptized, and his engagement had subsequently fallen through. His situation had only worsened when his charge’s poor education came to light, culminating in the Ivory Tower incident that had almost resulted in the boy being disinherited. Lord Thorsten really had been through a lot.

“How does your family feel about Lady Rozemyne?” I asked. “As I understand it, she attracted the ire of many nobles for her role in Lady Veronica’s detainment.”

“We are grateful to her. By saving my lord, she saved me as well. My family would surely have been brought down with him.”

In other words, we would probably work well together. That was promising. Knowing that my aspirations were still within reach brought me great joy.

“Ah, and though I am grateful to Lady Rozemyne, it was your reputation that convinced me to go through with this. A friend of mine was quite envious to learn we were going to be seeing each other.”

Lord Thorsten was an archnoble; what about me would make one of his friends envious? I couldn’t quite understand it, especially when I remembered just how many others had said they would welcome me as a bride but simply weren’t willing to surrender their status.

“I do not have any other concerns,” I said. “The final decision is up to you. May the Goddess of Binding tie our threads to the God of Stars.”

“I, too, pray that the Goddess of Binding’s threads reach the God of Stars.”

We expressed that we were both interested in each other, and our engagement ceremony was scheduled for the end of winter.

“Ideally, I would want us to swap engagement feystones at the start of winter, but that would not give you enough time to prepare,” Lord Thorsten mused aloud. “Still, may we trade stones before our engagement ceremony?”

“You seem to be in quite a rush,” I said. “Is there a reason for your urgency?”

Lord Thorsten’s lips curved into a slight smile. “I wish to ensure you have an engagement feystone before your graduation ceremony. Women without them receive much attention from the students of other duchies, do they not? I feel compelled to act quickly, especially knowing that my own graduation is behind me.”

Indeed, those who entered their final year at the Royal Academy without an engagement feystone were bound to receive more romantic propositions from the opposite sex. I wished to prioritize my work as Lady Rozemyne’s attendant, so I generally refused any such invitations, but having an engagement feystone would stop them from coming in the first place. Lord Thorsten’s consideration warmed my heart.

“Father, may I receive my engagement feystone early?” I asked. It would prove crucial when Lord Thorsten came to the Royal Academy to escort me and greet Lady Rozemyne. A verbal agreement wouldn’t mean too much, but having an engagement feystone would enable me to formally introduce him as my fiancé.

“That is up to you and Lord Thorsten,” my father replied. “I agree that it would be best for him to escort you, but the two of you will need to prepare the stones yourselves.”

By the end of winter, a lot had changed in Ehrenfest—Lord Ferdinand moved earlier than expected, a crucial report from Matthias led to the acceleration of a duchy-wide purge, and the former Veronica faction collapsed.

Still, my engagement to Lord Thorsten proceeded as planned.

First, we mixed our colors again, this time in front of our relatives. Father held the tool up high, showing everyone that our mana was compatible, and they raised their lit schtappes in a blessing. We then exchanged engagement feystones. Mine was engraved with the words “Let us serve the next generation together,” while his said, “To my Darkness-dispersing Goddess of Light.”

And with that, we’re formally engaged.

We went around the room to greet our extended families, whereupon we were showered with praise.

“Oh my, Lieseleta. What a wonderful engagement you have secured. As your relative, I am delighted to see you with an archnoble.”

“Thorsten, to think you would secure us a connection to the archducal family now, when getting through to the Leisegangs is harder than ever... You have my gratitude.”

“Lady Rozemyne protects even her laynoble retainers; she will surely devote her attention to whatever Lady Angelica desires. Our family is saved.”

My family rejoiced at my fiancé being an archnoble, while Lord Thorsten’s family rejoiced over his newly made connection to Lady Rozemyne and Lord Bonifatius, members of the archducal family. My heart grew heavier as we continued our round.

It may be natural for each house to have its own reasons for seeking engagements, but even so...

Lord Thorsten’s family members were fine with him giving up his status because Lord Bonifatius favored my sister, and they saw me as a convenient means of getting close to Lady Rozemyne. I was gravely saddened to learn that they saw no value in the rest of our house; they were far more interested in greeting Angelica than they were in speaking with my father or me.

In the future, Lord Thorsten and I will need to manage our families ourselves.

I let out a small sigh, at which point I saw my elder sister beckoning to me. She had been surrounded by Lord Thorsten’s family for some time now but must have managed to break free from them.

“My apologies, Lord Thorsten,” I said. “I need a moment with my sister.”

“Go ahead. We have finished the initial round of greetings, so take all the time you need.”

I thanked him for his generosity and then went over to Angelica. She led me somewhere private so we wouldn’t be interrupted.

“You must be so tired,” I said. “My apologies. I never knew how deeply Lord Thorsten’s family valued your connection to Lord Bonifatius.”

“It’s fine,” Angelica replied with a smile. “I wasn’t listening to a word they said.”

My sister’s assertion that she couldn’t even remember the archnobles’ names or faces was entirely in character for her. She was a radiant star guiding me through the darkness. As those thoughts ran through my mind, she watched me carefully and then frowned.

“Lieseleta... If anything dangerous happens, tell me. I’m not good at much, but I can at least cut people down.”

“Goodness, Sister... Where did that come from?” It was a strangely violent declaration for what was meant to be a celebration.

Angelica paused, actually thinking before she spoke for once. “Well... it’s because I’m such a failure that you took over as our house’s successor. It must be a heavy burden to bear.”

“Sister... You aren’t a failure.”

She couldn’t become the attendant our house needed as its successor, and she wasn’t the best when it came to written lessons, but she had chosen the path best suited to her skills and earned Lord Bonifatius’s favor in the process. She served Lady Rozemyne with complete dedication.

“If you were, would most of today’s guests have flocked to you?” I asked. “It is thanks to you that this engagement even—”

“I don’t care about politics; I just know there’s something strange in the air. I’ll protect you just as much as I protect Lady Rozemyne.” Angelica placed one hand on her hip and the other on her chest, which she puffed out bravely. “After all, I’m your big sister.”

I stared at my sister for a moment, trying to figure out whom she reminded me of. “Are you mimicking Lady Rozemyne?”

“She said that big sisters have a duty to do their best for their little sisters.”

Angelica must have felt something when she saw her lady work so hard to impress Lady Charlotte. Still, it was shocking to hear her say that she would cut people down for my sake.

If she’s mimicking Lady Rozemyne, how did she end up sounding so violent...?

Her intensity aside, I could tell from her serious expression that she was worried about me. The melancholy weighing heavily on my chest was blown away in an instant, and I started giggling.

“With such a capable guard knight protecting me, I truly have nothing to fear.”

Angelica returned a bright smile.

Winter concluded, and my engagement with Lord Thorsten was set in stone. None of us expected the situation to change yet again at the end of spring.

Ascendance of a Bookworm
Drama CD 4 Post-Recording Report

By Miya Kazuki

During a certain month in 2019, we started recording the fourth drama CD. I met up with the usual suspects, and together we headed to the studio.

“Whew. We finally made it.”

We’d organized the session so long ago that I was relieved to actually be there. Our plans for the third and fourth drama CDs had started at the same time, shortly after we’d completed the second one—in other words, over a year ago.

“We should take this opportunity to plan our next drama CDs,” the project manager had said to me back then. “Do you know how many volumes Part 4 will end up being?”

“Nine, I think? Maybe eight, though I’d probably need to trim a lot.”

I opened the web novel version, told them my subtitle for Part 4, and started thinking things through. Cutting out some of the more casual interactions toward the end was always an option, but I worried it would make the overall mood of the part a little too heavy. Mm...

“Uncertain elements are dangerous for long-term plans, so let’s play it safe. And if we divide Part 4 into nine volumes, we can squeeze in an extra drama CD.”

“Yes, assuming we start planning now, but what about Kunisawa-san? I’m not sure she has the time to write two scripts at such short notice.”

Kunisawa-san was working on not just the drama CDs but the anime as well. Scripting for the latter was already underway behind the scenes, so I think she was deathly busy. My memories of those days are somewhat vague, but I was busy as well.

And so, we’d scheduled the third and fourth drama CDs in one fell swoop. Our plan had always been for the fourth CD to coincide with the end of the part, but choosing what to put in the third one required more thought.

Now, back to the studio!

We had just arrived, and one of the first things we did was check out the cast list. As one can imagine, it covered all the roles our voice actors were due to play—even generic nobles and scholars—and who would need to stay later to record solo. Hondo Kaede (Charlotte), Uchida Yuuma (Hartmut), and Morikawa Toshiyuki (Karstedt) weren’t scheduled to join us until the afternoon, while Inoue Kazuhiko (Sylvester) would perform his lines another day. As I mentioned in the previous fanbook, getting the guardian trio in the same place at the same time was no easy feat. It was too bad.

“If you would sign these, please.”

Suzuka-san and I were asked to sign books and autograph cards as commemorative goods for the anime, so we worked our way through them in our free time. I was used to signing autograph cards from when we’d recorded the other drama CDs, but the books meant we had more on our plates than usual. Still, it was nothing compared to signing new volume releases. (Hahaha.)

Once we’d discussed the day’s schedule, Suzuka-san got straight to work drawing on her autograph cards. I just sat and watched as she quickly drew one cute Myne after another. How blessed am I, right?

To my disappointment, I couldn’t just sit and watch Suzuka-san all day—I needed to sign things too! But when I tried to get started, I realized that the pen I’d been given had a square tip that messed up my handwriting. We didn’t have spare books or autograph cards, so the thought of messing them up terrified me.

“Do we have any of the pens from TO Books?” I asked the project manager.

“Sure. I’ll prepare some for you.”

“Oh, wait! I’ve got some here!”

“That’s Suzuka-san for you! A woman you can count on!”

As it turned out, business cards weren’t the only thing I needed to bring on my work trips; I would also need pens I could use when signing autographs! The more you know.

Everyone gathered, and we exchanged the usual greetings. It didn’t take us long—most of the cast had participated in the third drama CD—so I got straight to answering the voice actors’ questions. For the most part, those who had recorded with me before already understood what they needed to do, but I still received questions from Uchida-san (Hartmut) and our first-time participant Kobayashi Yuusuke (Eckhart).

Seki Toshihiko, who was voicing Raublut, asked me for a summary of the character and his relationship with Immanuel.

“Raublut is a knight commander serving as the king’s guard, while Immanuel is the High Priest of the Sovereign temple, which claims the king doesn’t deserve to be on the throne. In other words, they don’t get along. This line here is mocking the Sovereign temple, and in general, his tone is meant to be scornful. He’s basically like, ‘You lot are always so smug, and this is the best you’ve got?’”

Kobayashi-san asked about Eckhart. He thought the character seemed to be on bad terms with Rozemyne, especially compared to her interactions with Cornelius.

“They’re not on bad terms,” I said. “It’s just that Eckhart values Ferdinand above all else. He’s looking out for Rozemyne only because his lord told him to. He would praise her if she did something to help Ferdinand, and so on...”

Kobayashi-san said, “I see,” seeming taken aback. I suppose Eckhart and Rozemyne’s relationship as siblings is a little strange. (Haha.)

Then there was Iguchi Yuka, who was playing Myne. She told me she thought the incorrect first-person pronoun was being used when our protagonist was in her hidden room.

“Oh, no, that pronoun is correct. It’s meant to indicate her tone while she’s emotional.”

Every now and again, I wonder whose great idea it was to write a confusing story where people’s first-person pronouns change all over the place. Oh, right... It was mine. Sometimes I regret it when it causes all these problems with the other adaptations. There’s value in simplifying certain parts of your world-building to make them easier for everyone to intuitively understand. Do take care when you write your own books that might one day end up in a media mix.

Question time came to an end, and we started testing the characters’ voices. Our script for this CD focused on Ferdinand as we tried to generate excitement for the end of Part 4, meaning a lot of the dialogue belonged to him and Rozemyne. Hayami Shou and Iguchi-san had already mastered their voices from the previous CD, and their scenes went so smoothly that I didn’t have anything to say. Good work all around.

Initial testing concluded, and the staff spoke among themselves. Before anything else, we had to decide on a voice for Raublut.

Me: “That was amazing! Wow! I wouldn’t change a thing!”

Suzuka-san: “It really was something.”

Raublut was voiced by Seki-san, who was as excellent as one would expect a veteran to be. His performance matched my mental image of the knight commander perfectly.

Me: “Rauffen sounds a little too cheery. He needs to be more macho.”

Suzuka-san: “More macho? (Hahaha.)”

Me: “I mean more passionate.”

Suzuka-san: “Yeah, he could do with some more enthusiasm.”

I’m not sure what the sound director said to Yamashita Seiichirou, Rauffen’s voice actor, but his next take was just as macho as I wanted.

Kunisawa-san: “In this section, having all these names in sequence is a bit hard on the ears. We might want to rearrange them.”

Me: “How about we add their titles to their names? Raublut the knight commander, Relichion the High Bishop, Immanuel the High Priest, and so on.”

As it turned out, some of the text that was fine on paper didn’t sound right when it was spoken aloud. Kunisawa-san usually notices these things; my ears aren’t quite as perceptive, it would seem.

Sound director: “Sensei, how big are these ‘taunadels’?”

Me: “As large as soccer balls. I suppose each one’s about... this big.”

Sound director: “That’s surprisingly large.”

Me: “And you set them on the floor, not a table. Just smack ’em down.”

Sometimes I went beyond directing the voice actors and answered questions about the sound design. Everything else comprised really precise instructions.

“On page X, it seems that ‘Shall we go?’ ended up becoming ‘Let us go.’”

“On page Y, there needs to be a heavy sigh after ‘It’s just so delicious, I...’ Be sure to include it.”

The second round of tests progressed without issue, so we moved on to the actual recording. Terasaki Yuka made Wilfried just as cute as last time. It was nice hearing the tension in her voice after her character was summoned.

We rerecorded a few sections with ambient noise, then pressed on. Georgine needed to be perfected next, so we turned to Sanpei Yuuko, who was also playing Gil. Her voice befitted the first wife of a greater duchy, but her interpretation of Georgine as an aloof beauty didn’t quite suit the character.

Suzuka-san: “Shouldn’t she sound older than that?”

Kunisawa-san: “That’s right. Let’s add another five years to her voice. And try to add a sense of veiled disgust.”

Me: “It’s not really Georgine unless she’s giving backhanded compliments.”

It amazed me how quickly Sanpei-san incorporated our proposals into her work. She’s just that good. I’m always in awe of the talent our voice actors display.

From there, we started tweaking the other performances.

“Can you make Cornelius’s battle cry sound a bit younger? It’s so heavy at the moment that he might be mistaken for Rauffen.”

“On page X, add a bit more weight to ‘It disappeared...’”

“On page Y, don’t pause before she mentions ‘the seed of Adal-something.’ She didn’t forget the term; she’s trying to keep its meaning hidden from the others.”

Usually, it took only a single wave of corrections for us to clear up any of our concerns. Everything progressed smoothly as a result.

Again, Miyazawa Kiyoko did an excellent job as Solange; her gentle voice was perfect for the kindly old librarian. It was cute to see her embarrassed about mixing up the words “through” and “thorough.” It happens to the best of us.

Philine didn’t have any lines this time around, so Iwami Manaka focused on her roles as Brunhilde and Weiss instead. She performed both during the previous drama CD and delivered each piece of dialogue with aplomb. Let’s all applaud her adorable voice!

We completed the last of our work for the morning and then took a break for lunch. The voice actors ate, then signed some autograph cards. Suzuka-san and I were in another booth, but we were doing the same thing.

“Kazuki-sensei, Suzuka-sensei, what would you like to eat?”

“A sandwich, please.”

Suzuka-san chose a sandwich. I’d already eaten one for breakfast, so I sought out my favorite of the onigiri options.

“I’ll have the salted rice balls.”

“How plain...”

I strongly disagreed; the balance of salt was to die for. I think the staff were uneasy about serving me rice balls with nothing in them because they also gave me a side portion of chikuwa. I munched my way through them while signing more autographs.

After lunch, we needed voices for Justus, Fran, and Zahm. Seki-san had mastered Raublut in a single take, but Justus gave him some trouble; his interpretation sounded too much like a normal scholar. As I tried to come up with a description of how the character should sound, I realized that I couldn’t find the words.

Suzuka-san: “He doesn’t seem breezy enough.”

Me: “Yeah. He just needs a bit more... panache.”

Kunisawa-san: “As it stands, he barely feels like an eccentric.”

We gave our feedback, and the tests resumed.

Suzuka-san: “Now he’s too breezy.”

Me: “Right? He sounds kind of like an idiot.”

Kunisawa-san: “He might be eccentric, but he’s still a noble.”

Justus was an enigma. We really had to put our heads together to provide an adequate description of his nature.

Kunisawa-san: “Didn’t we have this same problem with the last CD? What did we say then?”

Me: “Umm, I probably included it in my report...”

Suzuka-san: “We need a manual to explain Justus’s personality and atmosphere.”

It took a lot of back-and-forth, but we finally ironed out the details. The sound director passed along the rest of our instructions and, upon his return, informed us that Seki-san had thought Raublut was the more important character and devoted more attention to him as a result. I never knew voice actors focused on that kind of thing.

In any case, Seki-san did just fine once he had clear instructions to work from. The hard part had been creating those instructions in the first place.

Karino Shou voiced Fran. His performance was a little rough at the start, as he gave the character too many sudden swings of emotion, but a quick correction sorted that out in an instant.

Suzuka-san: “Oh, this is good.”

Me: “He sounds both stiff and serious. No complaints from me.”

Okai Katsunori played Zahm. He accommodated our request to make his character sound a bit softer than Fran.

Me: “He passes. No problems age-wise.”

Suzuka-san: “Same here.”

Once we were satisfied with the voices, we started reviewing the script.

“The exchange on page X needs to be quick. Try to minimize the pauses between lines.”

“Should page Y begin with Rozemyne crying?”

“I think some of the voicing marks on page Z are messed up.”

“Rozemyne needs to be calm but peeved during her line on page X.”

“I want Rihyarda to sound a bit more sad for this scene.”

“Fran, try to keep your emotions under control.”

For previous drama CDs, this part of the process had consisted mainly of warnings and requests for the voice actors, but the script needed more corrections this time around. It was my own fault for not reviewing it thoroughly enough. I’d checked it during one of my busiest periods, so I’d overlooked some details and allowed a few errors to escape my notice. Kunisawa-san and I worked together to get everything up to scratch.

“Page X should say ‘several generations,’ not ‘several years.’”

“This should say ‘boy,’ not ‘prince.’ He hasn’t been baptized yet, so he doesn’t hold the title.”

“In this section, the characters say ‘Ferdinand’ too many times in quick succession.”

“This part here says ‘Aub Ahrensbach of Ahrensbach.’ That can’t be right. Can we not just shorten it to ‘the aub of Ahrensbach’ or something?”

“Oh! On page X, it says ‘the Gilberta Company’ when it should say ‘the Plantin Company’!”

“Director, this is unrelated to the performance, but this charm doesn’t jingle. It’s just... one thing.”

Oh, speaking of the sound director—we had a funny exchange while going over the script.

“Sensei, it says here that the consommé is ‘beautiful.’ Shouldn’t it be delicious?”

“Oh, that’s not a mistake; Ferdinand praised it as beautiful when he tried it for the first time back in Part 3. It’s a Bookworm thing.”

“A Bookworm thing... I see...”

I thought it was interesting that, from an outside perspective, consommé being described as beautiful came across as an error. It felt like I’d made a discovery of some sort.

From there, we ran a few more tests.

“Finally! I can say something other than ‘Yes, my lord’!”

We all smiled at that declaration from Kobayashi-san, our voice actor for Eckhart. Most of his lines had needed to be cut to save time, and while it was inevitable for a man so devoted to his lord, he and Cornelius had done little more than respond to orders and provide battle cries. Now that he had something more meaningful to say, we refocused on developing his voice.

Suzuka-san: “Hmm... Doesn’t he sound a little too young?”

Me: “He’s a guard knight, so yes, he should exude more gravity.”

Kunisawa-san: “I agree; Eckhart could use a bit of an older voice. He’s with Hayami-san’s Ferdinand and Seki-san’s Justus, so he should match them, at the very least.”

I thought that was a tall order, but Kobayashi-san incorporated our requests in an instant. Eckhart’s voice was as cool as we’d wanted, so we moved on to yet another conversation.

“Hm? There’s a line from Fran even though he isn’t in the scene.”

“Let’s say Eckhart said it, then.”

“Kazuki-san, should Ferdinand come across as more emotional during these parts? It certainly seems that way.”

“Yes, I want him to open up a little. This is a rare case of him actually venting his emotions.”

“And when he says ‘very good’?”

“Add a heavy dollop of kindness.”

It always amazed me how easily the voice actors accommodated us.

Truthfully, this drama CD really tugs at your heartstrings. Getting to hear Ferdinand’s and Rozemyne’s voices adds so much depth to the already moving climax of Part 4. Listen to it. I’m serious. If you’re anything like me, then you’ll find yourself at a complete loss for words, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of that scene as tears stream down your cheeks.

Once we’d recorded the main content, we took the opportunity to do a few group takes. These included the chattering of retainers and the audience’s reaction to a certain attack. Most notable of all was the joint blessing Ferdinand received from his attendants in the High Priest’s chambers.

“Sensei, how many attendants are in the chambers? And what’s the gender ratio?”

“Five attendants, all male.”

“Alright, we need five men.”

The voice actors all exchanged looks before five men stepped forward. It was hard enough getting two people to speak in unison; expecting five people to manage it while reciting the complicated names of Bookworm’s gods seemed completely unreasonable.

First, the men went over how to pronounce the names and which syllables they needed to stress. Iguchi-san and Hayami-san took the lead in teaching them, since they’d spoken the names before. Our five attendants practiced speaking together at the same tempo, then got ready for the real thing.

Tension filled the booth... And they nailed it on their first try! Wow! The staff actually started clapping for them, only for one of the voice actors to throw his hands up and shout, “Sorry! I made a mistake! I said ‘Ewiliebe’ instead of ‘Ewigeliebe’!”

“Nobody would have known if you hadn’t said anything... Well, let’s try again.”

The sound director seemed bemused, but they tried again nonetheless. Voice actors sure are critical of their own mistakes. We also recorded some crowd reactions to the omni-elemental blessing. There were cries of “Omni-elemental...?” and “I’ve never seen anything like this before!” to give a sense of presence that was somewhat lacking in the original script.

“We should also have Hartmut going nuts in the background.”

“We can record him later.”

Uchida-san, Hartmut’s voice actor, was booked for a later session. We settled on recording his lines separately, and with that, we were done.

“Good work, everyone.”

The voice actors who had arrived that morning started to disperse. I spoke to them all as they took their leave and exchanged a few pleasantries with the new actors. “I look forward to working with you again” and all that. My most memorable exchange was with Yamashita-san, who also voiced Cornelius.

“Sensei,” he said, “please have Cornelius show up in the anime as well.”

Yamashita-san even waved his hands around as he made his plea. It was adorable, but Cornelius wasn’t due to appear for quite some time. I could always give him more attention in the books, but the anime was outside of my control.

“You’ll just need to be patient, I’m afraid. I’ll call for you when his time comes.”

Indeed, may the anime continue long enough for Cornelius to appear.

The studio was empty for a short while until our three later arrivals... arrived. Morikawa Toshiyuki portrayed Karstedt, Immanuel, and the king of Yurgenschmidt, known henceforth as the Zent. Uchida-san was our Hartmut, while Hondo-san played Charlotte, Schwartz, and Hildebrand. We got straight to perfecting the voices for Morikawa-san’s Immanuel and the Zent and Hondo-san’s Hildebrand.

Me: “Immanuel needs to sound more... slimy.”

Suzuka-san: “Right? He needs to make your skin crawl.”

Kunisawa-san: “Like Hartmut?”

Suzuka-san: “No, not quite. They don’t share the same obsessions, and they’re passionate in their own unique ways. You can’t really lump them together.”

Me: “Right. Hartmut is a Rozemyne supremacist, while Immanuel would only use her as a tool for the sake of the Sovereign temple.”

Putting aside what makes Hartmut stand out from Immanuel, we ended up with the perfect voice for our slimy Sovereign High Priest.

Suzuka-san: “Doesn’t the Zent sound a bit too much like a grandpa?”

Me: “He should be about Karstedt’s age.”

Kunisawa-san: “But if we don’t distinguish them, listeners might get them mixed up. What should we do?”

Fear not, Kunisawa-san—voice actors are capable of all sorts of nuance! Thus, a more dignified, authoritative Zent was born!

Me: “Hildebrand sounds a-okay to me.”

Suzuka-san: “Hondo-san’s younger voice is so cute.”

We didn’t have a single note for her. She really was good.

As soon as we finalized the voices, we moved on to even more testing. The sound director instructed our three actors to start with pages X and Y. They thumbed through their scripts to get a feel for their scenes, and Uchida-san smirked.

“These lines are all for Morikawa-san.”

“Wait, what? They’re all mine?”

In the sections Uchida-san had pointed to, the other characters had already recorded their lines. Morikawa-san was playing single-player. (Haha.)

The performance that followed was astounding. Morikawa-san started as a very frustrated Immanuel, transformed into Karstedt praising the students in a knightly voice, and then switched to the Zent giving a formal greeting. I was in awe that he didn’t get all mixed up.

“Next, pages Y and Z.”

Because so much of the script had already been recorded, we were jumping all over the place. Morikawa-san’s voice changed again and again as though he were three people in one, stopping only when Hondo-san let out a small “Ah...”

“Hold on, Morikawa-san. Charlotte’s line comes first.”

“Sorry. I forgot she even existed.”

Her lines were so sparse that you couldn’t really blame him.

“That’s all for Hondo-san and Morikawa-san. Good work.”

Both voice actors were preparing to leave when the sound director told Morikawa-san to wait.

“Sorry, but we might need you to record some background voices.”

Hondo-san went on her way. At long last, Uchida-san (Hartmut) could step in front of the mic.

Suzuka-san: “I don’t think he sounds Hartmut enough. Do you?”

Me: “He needs an extra dose of grossness.”

We conveyed our thoughts to the sound director, who passed them along to the voice actor. Uchida-san seemed troubled when he heard our notes.

“But, wait...” he said. “Isn’t he only like that in front of Lady Rozemyne? I thought he was serious with the High Priest.”

Uchida-san was overwhelmingly correct. He really did understand the character, and the way he said “Lady Rozemyne” made it seem like the most natural thing in the world to him. One standing ovation, please.

Kunisawa-san: “Still, we need to be able to recognize him from the start...”

Suzuka-san: “There needs to be some of that signature grossness to make people think, ‘Yep, that’s Hartmut.’”

Me: “Just a tad more Hartmut, please.”

Uchida-san followed up on our request.

Me: “There he is!”

Suzuka-san: “The one and only Hartmut!”

He also raved about Rozemyne’s omni-elemental blessing—in character, of course. His grossness was on full display. If you listen to the CD, then I’m sure you’ll notice his voice among the crowd. Classic Hartmut...

“Good work, everyone. That’s a wrap.”

Once again, Hartmut had stolen the show. Or so I thought. Morikawa-san gave one last mutter.

“So... was there any point in me staying?”

A quick check confirmed that we didn’t actually need him to record anything else. Morikawa-san had waited around just to listen to Hartmut raving... (Haha.) My sympathies.

And with that, another drama CD concluded without incident. Thank you, everyone.

Q&A with Miya Kazuki

Here are my responses to questions taken between June 17th and June 30th, 2020. There were a lot more than usual this time around, maybe because of the anime adaptation. I thank those who provided their assistance.

Miya Kazuki

Q: Does astronomy in Yurgenschmidt include concepts such as waxing and waning moons, shooting stars, and constellations? In the commoner-focused creation myth, the Goddess of Light was called the Goddess of the Sun, so I was wondering if there’s also a god connected to the moon. I also wanted to ask how they explain the day and night cycle; does the standard geocentric model apply there?

A: The day-and-night cycle occurs due to the movements of the God of Darkness and the Goddess of Light. People see the moon’s phases as the Goddess of Light being hidden behind the God of Darkness’s cape; its waxing and waning depends on the latter’s mood. Shooting stars are said to appear when Sterrat the God of Stars visits to check on humanity. As for constellations, they aren’t recognized in Yurgenschmidt.

Q: Do the people of Yurgenschmidt track the days and seasons by looking at the moon and stars? Do merchants use the night sky to guide them on their travels?

A: The color of the moon changes with the seasons, so they keep a close eye on it, but they don’t use the night sky to work out where they’re going. The stars move a surprising amount, so merchants instead rely on the regular up-and-down movement of the sun.

Q: Supplying a duchy’s foundation has a direct impact on its harvest, but does it also help ward against natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes? Or are they beyond the scope of what human mana can prevent?

A: Some disasters can be prevented, but not all. Spring Prayer can prevent a drought in Haldenzel, for example, but hurricanes from Verdrenna the Goddess of Thunder will wreak havoc no matter what.

Q: Are there lucky and unlucky numbers in Yurgenschmidt? If so, what’s the logic behind them? Some examples would be nice.

A: Not really. Seven might be considered a lucky number because it matches the number of elements.

Q: Are there any heretic cults in Yurgenschmidt?

A: There are discontented people who can’t receive blessings or divine protections. They can’t use magic either, so they’re not much of a threat, meaning they tend to get ignored. At most, they’re seen as owners of unusual goods.

Q: It was mentioned in the previous fanbook that Mestionora disguises her age so she won’t be seen as a potential marriage candidate. Is there a reason for this?

A: It was drilled into her that, as with her father and mother, only bad things would come of her getting married.

Q: How are the statues of the gods made? The ones in the Royal Academy moved—or at least their bases did—and their divine instruments shone, so mana must have coursed through them. Was the statue by Flutrane’s bath made in a similar fashion?

A: Anytime a new duchy is founded, the Zent creates its foundation, temple, and divine instruments all at once. Statues in the Sovereign and archducal temples and in the Royal Academy are made by Zents, whereas those in Flutrane’s bath and the country’s monasteries are made by commoners.

Q: On the map of Yurgenschmidt, there’s a circle at the very center labeled “Sovereignty.” Is all of that the Royal Academy? And is the unnamed space around it also part of the Sovereignty? Do people live there?

A: Yes, the circle represents the Royal Academy. It isn’t on the same surface, so to speak, as the rest of the royal capital, which is why it needed to stand out. The Sovereignty has the palace, villas, and people living there.

Q: Are there any “no man’s lands” of sorts near the borders where nobody farms?

A: The borders are clearly defined with mana barriers, so no. That said, if some knights were to drive a wounded feybeast into another duchy and it ended up causing trouble, there might be some formal complaints.

Q: Are there specific criteria that distinguish between lesser, middle, and greater duchies?

A: Their population, size, history, and value to the Sovereignty are all taken into account. In the past, Zents drew borders based solely on who won wars and what they achieved, which is drastically different from the current state of affairs.

Q: Damaging an ivory building seems to be a criminal offense, but are nails not used when installing windows, doors, flooring, and the like? And what about when people add extensions? Are such things allowed as long as you get a permit ahead of time?

A: Consider the monastery in Part 3. The protective magic isn’t put in place until the building is complete. Modifications are indeed allowed as long as one receives a permit.

Q: Do ivory structures deteriorate with use in the same way that a footpath might wear down over time?

A: They can get dirty, but they don’t chip or get worn down as long as they’re supplied with mana.

Q: I think Yurgenschmidt has feybugs, but are any of them human-sized or bigger? If so, do they ever reach the level of, like, a Lord of Summer or Winter?

A: Yes and yes.

Q: Each duchy’s name seems to be based on its respective aub’s house. Are house names also used for the royal capital, or is it unnamed, since there’s only one?

A: Zents don’t have a house name, and the Sovereignty is just called the Sovereignty.

Q: Is the hierarchy among Sovereign nobles based on the origins of their births, or is it more about how close they are to the Zent and the royal family?

A: Both are relevant, and the same logic applies within duchies. Philine may only be a laynoble, but serving as Rozemyne’s retainer means she places highly on the Ehrenfest hierarchy.

Q: Who are the Sovereign priests? I’m curious to know why they’re more hostile to the royal family than the archducal families of greater duchies.

A: They’re tasked with performing the Zent’s coronation and the Sovereignty’s religious ceremonies. Among them are people who came close to joining the royal family but never actually made it.

In the past, the Zent would work with the Sovereign temple to choose his or her successor from a pool of several viable candidates. Trauerqual doesn’t have the Grutrissheit, so the Sovereign temple doesn’t recognize him; they’re simply “allowing” him to rule because they don’t have a replacement. As for the greater duchies’ archducal families, they worked to put Trauerqual on the throne in the first place. Even if they have their own opinions about him, they’re fundamentally his allies.

Q: Is Ferdinand actually related to Trauerqual? I don’t really see the resemblance, but if the previous Aub Ehrenfest is his father, then his mother must have been a member of the royal family.

A: The women in Adalgisa are registered as branch royals, so Ferdinand certainly does have royal blood. As for whether he’s a blood relative of the current king, well... If we go by the criteria set out in Japanese law, the answer is no. They’re too distant.

Q: How was the elderly woman who taught the archduke course before Eglantine related to Trauerqual? Why wasn’t she caught up in the purge?

A: She was his aunt—that is, the first wife of his paternal uncle. She avoided the purge because she was from Klassenberg and assisted Aub Klassenberg during the civil war.

Q: Is the Zent’s full name just “Zent” plus their first name? I guess it would get pretty long if they included their house and family names too.

A: Yes, it’s just “Zent” plus their first name. There’s only one Zent chosen by the gods, and they stand alone. It used to be a position earned through one’s own power, not inheritance. Zents need to devote their all to Yurgenschmidt; they can’t get caught up with supporting a house or a family. For all these reasons, they have no house name.

Q: If we define the current year as Rozemyne’s third year at the Royal Academy, how long ago did the civil war end?

A: It depends on what you define as the “end.” Is it when the fifth prince won the war, when he secured the temple’s cooperation and took the throne, when the fourth prince was executed to remove all other potential Zents, or when the purge finally concluded...? In any case, one could say it ended roughly a decade ago.

Q: Are there any surviving former royals who married out of the royal family before the civil war? Are they now unable to support the royal family?

A: Top-ranking duchies have several, and they are, in fact, supporting the royal family. Some middle duchies are as favored as greater duchies, remember? The former royals in question were raised as vassals to be sent to other duchies, so they weren’t ever educated to become Zents. They know only a little more than what’s taught for the archduke candidate course.

Q: They say that Adalgisa princesses are sent “once every few generations.” From whose perspective are we speaking here? The king of Yurgenschmidt’s? The king of Lanzenave’s? The Adalgisa princesses’?

A: The king of Lanzenave’s.

Q: It was said that seeds of Adalgisa were housed and fed until they turned six, but what kind of education did they receive?

A: Girls joined a royal branch family and were therefore educated, but the same couldn’t be said for the boys. However, since all pre-baptismal children stayed in the same place, the boys could watch the girls learn as long as they didn’t cause problems. They weren’t allowed to write or even use pens, though.

Q: How well are the deposed duchies of executed archducal families maintained? For example, do they receive mana through their Mana Replenishment halls? Do their barriers function? Are their ivory buildings still standing? Do their magic contracts still work?

A: It depends on the duchy. In some cases, the aub gave the royal family the whereabouts of their foundation and their keys so their people would survive in their absence. In others, the keys were taken by force, and the foundation was discovered through careful searching. Some aubs even hid their keys while mocking the king for lacking a Grutrissheit, knowing the royals wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Q: Can the nobles in deposed duchies under new management freely cross the border into the duchies now overseeing their territory? If, for ten years, their nobles exclusively married into other duchies, I expect their populations would plummet.

A: They can leave by obtaining a home in another Noble’s Quarter, becoming an archducal retainer, and so on. The younger generation tries especially hard to leave through marriage, so the population is indeed entering dire straits. It’s an unfortunate cycle where the land continues to lose its mana and people want to stay even less.

Q: It seems that certain black feybeasts are native to Old Werkestock. When their strength grows enough to warrant slaying them, as one does with trombes, do Ahrensbach or Dunkelfelger send knights? Or does Old Werkestock have to manage on its own?

A: For the most part, the duty falls to the knights of Old Werkestock. The giebes’ Orders do what they can. If they find the task is beyond them, they contact Ahrensbach or Dunkelfelger for support.

Q: Do the deposed duchies under the Sovereignty’s management wear black capes when they attend the Royal Academy?

A: No, they use their old capes. Black capes are the symbol of chosen nobles and are handed out accordingly.

Q: I want to know about Klassenberg’s underground cities. They sound valuable during winter, but what about during summer? How tall are their buildings?

A: Even in summer, their residents sleep underground, though they still go outside to farm, hunt, and such. In the past, the surface was much busier due to summer-only festivals and the border gates being open.

Q: How good at combat do Dunkelfelger’s scholars and attendants of the sword need to be?

A: They need to be able to train alongside apprentice knights.

Q: To my knowledge, Dunkelfelger is the only duchy with a Lord of Summer. How are the summers there? How do nobles spend them?

A: Nobles have access to magic tools, so they have more options than commoners when it comes to beating the heat. Those in Ahrensbach wear feystone armor during the hottest points of the day since it dulls both hot and cold weather. In comparison, those in Dunkelfelger wear light armor at basically all times. Because children aren’t able to form armor, they’re forbidden from going outside during the day.

Q: Can you tell us more about the Lord of Summer?

A: It forms under mostly the same circumstances as the Lord of Winter, so use that as a reference point. The main distinguishing factor is the response to them. Compared to Ehrenfest, which requires its Knight’s Order to unify in a desperate assault, Dunkelfelger has so many knights and faux knights that such events are pretty much treated as a festival. As soon as the Lord of Summer appears, they eagerly share the news and rush off to fight it.

Q: Dunkelfelger and Klassenberg sport primary colors—blue and red, respectively—but Drewanchel uses emerald green. Is that because they aren’t direct descendants of those originally entrusted with their territory? If so, what led to them taking over a greater duchy?

A: Historically, duchies were split up and made anew in accordance with wars between archduke candidates fighting to be the next aub. It depends on the circumstances, but the victor would normally use a color comparable to that of the original duchy. At times, the original duchy would end up being destroyed or swallowed up by its neighbors.

Q: Did the Ahrensbach Dormitory’s previous supervisor die during the civil war? Were they executed for being a pupil of someone from a losing duchy or some such? Is that why Fraularm took their place?

A: More so the latter. They weren’t executed, but they retired for fear of being charged with a crime alongside their mentor. Georgine put Fraularm forward as a replacement.

Q: Does the fact that the Royal Academy’s underground archive grants access only to archducal family members registered as royalty mean the Academy is connected via mana to all other foundations?

A: Yes. To begin with, a foundation was placed in each duchy because it was difficult for the Zent and their family to fill the entire country with mana.

Q: Why did Hortensia cover her mouth with a shaking hand when Weiss said that books couldn’t be brought out of the underground archive? Was it because, as Rozemyne assumed, she’s just that much of a bookworm?

A: Yes, she wanted to read them. She also hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t be able to enter the archive despite having become a guardian of knowledge to inform the royal family of any crucial information she found.

Q: I wish to ask about the closed-stack archives. It was said that the librarians allow only those they deem worthy to go inside, but what exactly is their evaluation based on? Is it mana and elements? General intelligence? Or maybe a sum of other criteria?

A: They determine a person’s knowledge through the books they’ve borrowed and read, then draw further conclusions based on their reputation among the professors, their grades, how often they visit the library, how long they stay, and so on.

Q: It seems to me that Solange views Schwartz and Weiss as people while Rozemyne sees them as pets, so to speak. I assume this is because Solange considers them coworkers while Rozemyne sees them as beings in her possession, but which is more accurate?

A: Solange’s perspective is more accurate. Rozemyne treats them as pets because they look so much like giant versions of the rabbits she was used to back on Earth. As for Schwartz and Weiss themselves, they categorize people into three general categories: their master, whom they call “milady”; cooperators, meaning their master’s retainers; and everyone else.

Q: The guardians of knowledge have sworn their loyalty to Mestionora. Does that process follow the same concept as name-swearing? Can someone who has given their name become a guardian of knowledge?

A: To answer your last question, no, they can’t. The process isn’t exactly the same, but it’s comparable to giving one’s name to a god.

Q: The leftover mana in the chalice was poured into one of the library’s magic tools. What kind of tool was it, exactly?

A: It was basically the library’s foundation. If allowed to run dry, the entire library would crumble.

Q: I suspect that gathering at the Royal Academy isn’t the same as gathering elsewhere. Is it true that gathering spots provide access to resources not native to their respective duchies? If so, why don’t nobles re-create them at home?

A: The Royal Academy is closer to the gods than anywhere else, which means it has plenty of resources to choose from. And yes, nobles can even gather ingredients they wouldn’t be able to find at home. That said, the magic circles only exist to make local materials easier to acquire; re-creating one in your home duchy wouldn’t give you access to new resources.

Q: How do the magic circles used to make fey creatures during the Interduchy Tournament work? If abused, I’m sure they could open the door to all sorts of terrorist attacks and assassinations. Are there measures in place to prevent that?

A: The feybeasts are composed of the caster’s mana. Those made for the Interduchy Tournament are restricted to the arena, so they wouldn’t even make it out into the audience.

Q: The Royal Academy seems to have an excess of dormitory doors to accommodate duchies being made or deposed. How many are there?

A: In total, there are a hundred teleportation doors for dormitories and villas. Each duchy uses two—one for its dormitory and another for its tea party room. The royal villas and the palace each have only one door.

Q: During the Academy’s fellowship gatherings, archnobles represent duchies that don’t have any archduke candidates among their students. Do they attend alone, since they have no retainers?

A: No. Inaccuracies in their reports would only cause problems, so they aren’t allowed to attend alone. There’s a representative to speak, an apprentice scholar to record what happens, and an apprentice knight to guard them, at the bare minimum.

Q: How does one go about becoming a noble doctor? In the fourth fanbook, there was mention of a medical room, the professor who runs it, and apprentices trying to become healers. Would such things not already be covered as part of the scholar course?

A: Aspiring doctors take lessons about the human body and the way mana courses through it, not to mention the provision of emergency aid and the brewing of medical potions and magic tools. They also need to learn how to tend to the wounded, which requires them to take classes from the knight, scholar, and attendant courses. The basic requirements for becoming a noble doctor are taking all the relevant lessons from the various courses and demonstrating that you can cast healing magic with ease. A person might know more about some subject areas than others, but there aren’t specialty doctors as there are in modern-day Japan.

Scholars tend to gravitate toward medicine because of their brewing skills, but some attendants aim to be doctors too. Lieseleta tried to become one for Rozemyne’s sake, but she didn’t have enough elements or the mana capacity to brew potions. Ferdinand never took the attendant course’s practical classes about nursing the ill, so he isn’t officially recognized as a doctor.

Q: Could anyone supply the foundation with the right dyed feystone? Or would you need to be part of your duchy’s archducal family?

A: One needs the aub’s permission to enter; a dyed feystone wouldn’t be enough on its own.

Q: Does one need to be a doctor to deliver a baby? Would an experienced retainer be able to participate despite not being a doctor?

A: Being a doctor isn’t an absolute must. Expectant mothers who aren’t archnobles or members of an archducal family tend to rely not on doctors but on regular women with relevant experience.

Q: How many days does it usually take for an archducal family to replenish their foundation? How long can the foundation last without replenishment?

A: It depends on the duchy. One might replenish its foundation on a daily basis, whereas another might do it as a group every Earthday. Some entrust the duty to whoever has the most leeway at the time, while others have so few archduke candidates that everyone has to consistently take part. How long a duchy can last without being topped up depends on its size and the amount of mana in its foundation to begin with.

Q: Can one get married without going through the Starbind Ceremony?

A: In the same way that people in Japan need to register their marriage to have it properly recognized, people in Yurgenschmidt need to be Starbound. Otherwise, the woman would end up being considered a concubine, not a proper wife.

Q: Archducal family members have their Starbindings during the Archduke Conference, but is that also true for second and third wives? Would an archnoble woman due to marry an archducal man who already has a first wife get to have her ceremony during the conference?

A: Yes, she would. Anyone taking a second or third wife from another duchy would debut their marriage during the Archduke Conference. Second and third wives do sometimes attend conferences, so it’s important to make the marriage known.

Q: It’s obvious by now that polygamy is normal among nobles, but is three the maximum number of wives a person can have?

A: The estates in the Noble’s Quarter don’t have enough side buildings to accommodate more than three wives or concubines, and not even archnobles are able to construct more; they would need to petition the aub and then borrow one from elsewhere. Given that all nobles gather in the Noble’s Quarter during winter, they would encounter serious capacity issues if people were allowed to take as many wives as they wanted.

There is an exception, though: giebes can construct new buildings outside of the Noble’s Quarter, meaning they can surround themselves with commoner concubines as well as their three wives.

Q: I’m aware that when someone has multiple wives, each one plays a specific role, but do they also have their own titles to identify their ranks? Would the first wife be “frau,” for example?

A: Yes. The first wife is “frau,” the second is “assis,” and the third is “aehrtin.”

Q: Between Veronica, a former archnoble who married an archduke, and Ferdinand, an archduke candidate who graduated from the Royal Academy, who has more status?

A: Veronica, the late Aub Ehrenfest’s first wife, ranks higher than a normal member of the archducal family.

Q: Among the student population, who would rank higher—a first-year laynoble from the top-ranked duchy or a sixth-year archnoble from the bottom-ranked duchy? For example, who would humble themselves during a first greeting?

A: The quality of their clothes aside, it’s hard to tell at a glance whether someone is an archnoble, a mednoble, or a laynoble, so their initial greetings would depend on their duchies’ ranks more than anything else. If aubs got involved, duchy rankings would again take priority. As long as one isn’t an archduke candidate with a horde of retainers, one should assume that duchy rank takes priority.

Q: Are younger brothers ever removed from archduke candidacy due to age or because there are too many other candidates? Are they made to study to be archduke candidates in other duchies?

A: They would most likely be raised to support their duchy or marry into another one. In the event that their personality made them unsuitable in both cases, they might be adopted out before their baptism.

Q: Could an adult archduke candidate reduced to the rank of archnoble regain their former status through adoption or the like?

A: They could, but it wouldn’t be easy. Their reduction would have come about because of something that kept them from remaining in the archducal family or because they were no longer needed.

Q: Can former archduke candidates use the spells they learned during the archduke candidate course as archnobles? Excluding those that only the aub can use, of course.

A: Yes, as their memories aren’t erased or anything.

Q: How does someone end up becoming a noble’s mistress? Being able to bear children means they must have a reasonable amount of mana and status, so would they be widows or the sort? I’m curious about Christine’s mother in particular.

A: They could be widows without a house or children, or women who have a strong lineage but can’t formally marry into another house. This often applies to people with the Devouring, noble children raised as servants, and those who’ve lost family members and their financial support. Christine’s mother fell into the latter camp.

Q: Earth has a history of homophobia, but Japan has a history of open pederasty. How are these kinds of relationships treated in Yurgenschmidt?

A: The supreme gods don’t recognize marriages between people who can’t reproduce together, but same-sex relationships aren’t considered a problem.

Q: In situations where the aub’s first wife is chronically ill, can his second or third wife attend the Archduke Conference in her place? Alternatively, can the second or third wife attend as a scholar or attendant?

A: Of course they can attend. If working together will improve their situation and their absence won’t negatively impact their duchy, then the second and third wives can attend even when the first is in perfect health.

Q: Outside of the Interduchy Tournament and Archduke Conference, do aubs ever come together to have formal discussions? During summer and autumn, do they ever set up large meetings between the aubs of several amicable duchies?

A: It was more common before the civil war, but the winning duchies still arrange their own meetings. The duchies that lost or remained neutral steer clear of such gatherings, as they don’t want to be suspected of plotting treason.

Q: Can someone visit another duchy for a reason other than to get engaged or return home? If she had the aubs’ permission, could Rozemyne stay in Dunkelfelger for a few days to spend time with Hannelore?

A: Not at the moment, but that should change once Ehrenfest starts being treated as a winning duchy. Receiving a visitor from a losing or neutral duchy would only cause problems, so neither of the involved aubs would permit it.

Q: Where does Karstedt’s house name come from? His grandfather was the archduke two generations ago, and Bonifatius inherited “Ehrenfest” as a family name, so I thought Karstedt would receive it as well. Was his house name changed when the previous archduke came into power?

A: An archnoble house was necessary for Karstedt to be demoted when Sylvester was born. The previous archduke thus granted Bonifatius a new house name. House Linkberg was founded, so he became Bonifatius Sohn Ehrenfest Or Linkberg.

Q: Taking archduke candidates out of the equation, is it a rule or custom all across Yurgenschmidt for the knight commander to be the aub’s head guard knight?

A: Not quite. Each knight commander is chosen from among those who have given their loyalty to the aub. That tends to include their head guard knight, who would naturally be well suited to the role.

Q: How often does one bathe or change clothes when living in the castle or at the Royal Academy?

A: The average noble wakes up and changes from their nightwear into their casual attire. Those who have plans to head out or go to work will change into their outside or work clothes, respectively. Upon their return, they change back into their casual attire. Then, once they’ve bathed, they change into their nightwear and sleep. Archduke candidates specifically change into their outside clothes when going to the dining hall. Extra bathing occurs whenever they need to change their hairstyle as well as their clothes.

Q: Do archduke candidates eat breakfast alone in their rooms?

A: In the castle? Yes, with the exception of when they’re on business, such as when Rozemyne visits a province for a religious ceremony. At the Royal Academy, they tend to eat in the dining hall.

Q: It’s customary in Yurgenschmidt for girls to keep their hair down until they come of age, at which point they start putting it up. I used to think it was a way to prevent them from exposing their napes, but now I’m not so sure.

A: It’s mostly about the length. Minors grow their hair long enough to hang below their shoulders, while adults try to keep theirs above their shoulders. That was the idea, at least. As for bangs, the hair near their ears, and such, I gave the character designer my approval to tweak them as appropriate.

Q: How would people react to an adult woman having short hair all of a sudden? Could the woman mask it using veils or wigs or what have you? Would people consider it scandalous?

A: They would ask the woman what happened. She could always hide it with a wig or some such, but indeed, it would turn into quite the scandal.

Q: Is age connected to anything other than a woman’s hairstyle and skirt length? Something other than her clothes and appearance, I mean.

A: During one’s baptism, one receives a magic ring to be worn on one’s left middle finger. At ten, nobles receive a cape (or a scarf) and a brooch, whereas commoner women start wearing a bodice. Noblewomen also receive engagement feystone necklaces once they’re betrothed.

Q: Could it be that hand-screens are popular in Yurgenschmidt, but Myne doesn’t know about them due to growing up in a snowy region? Did they used to be popular only to fall out of use? I thought noblewomen might use them to look dignified when covering their mouths or expressions.

A: I considered introducing them during Part 3, but the text would end up being filled with “she spread her fan” and other such phrases, and most of the illustrations from that point on would depict noblewomen covering their faces. They were very meta reasons, I must admit. Checking the artwork is already such a pain that I also wanted to minimize the room for error, such as rings being worn on the wrong fingers.

Q: There seems to be a culture of noblewomen being embarrassed about showing their feet. Do men consider themselves lucky to glimpse a woman’s ankles and such?

A: They’re polite enough to avert their eyes, though I’m sure they’d sneak a peek. (Haha.)

Q: Why are nobles generally taller than commoners? Is it because they have better access to food? I thought nobles might end up on the shorter side, since they compress their mana in the same way as Myne.

A: Yes, it comes down to nutrition more than anything else. Myne and Freida grew less than average because they let too much mana accumulate inside them, but regular nobles rarely experience that problem, as they have mana-draining devices given to them at birth. It doesn’t impact their growth.

Q: Why do noble babies need to be breastfed for at least half a year after being born?

A: They might have a hard time absorbing mana otherwise, which would cause their health to deteriorate. Noble babies could technically drink commoner milk—most commoner mothers have so little mana that it wouldn’t be a problem—but for reasons of status, a commoner would never be taken as a wet nurse. A baby who loses their mother immediately after being born is given liquid mana formed with their mother’s feystone and their father’s mana.

Q: If people obtain the element of the season in which they were born, it seems to me that knights would benefit from being born in summer while scholars would benefit from being born in autumn. Is it common to time one’s pregnancy so this occurs?

A: I wouldn’t say it’s common. Not all pregnancies are planned, for one thing. On top of that, children (such as Angelica) don’t always pick the career path their parents urge them toward, and the ones that do might not end up with an aptitude for the course.

Q: I read that nobles generally use metal plates and cutlery to detect poison. I doubt everyone makes their own from scratch, so are there places that sell them? Do nobles buy the base dishes and then finish them with their own magic circles?

A: Yes, they order new plates from commoner workshops and engrave the finished product with magic circles. They might hire someone more talented to do the engraving for them, but it’s normal for nobles to modify their own tableware.

Q: Harspiels are expensive and meant for nobles, so I assume they’re high-quality. Does it take a lot of time and skill to create one? How many craftsmen can make them? Do a lot of merchants deal in them?

A: Harspiels, like leather-bound books, are the collaborative product of several workshops. The body is made by carpenters, the strings by other craftsmen, and so on. Nobles treat them with great care, so they’re generally able to be passed down from parents to their children. Laynobles and mednobles tend to get whatever their elder siblings used at the Royal Academy.

Q: I see that some noble clothes have what appear to be decorative buttons. Are they feystones like the ones Schwartz and Weiss wear?

A: Nobles of particularly high status might use feystone buttons, but they’re mostly made of metal or gemstones. Part 2 Volume 1 should contain a conversation about smiths making buttons for nobles.

Q: Is the liquid that nobles gargle with made of mana? Is the recipe simple enough for even commoners to follow?

A: Attendants make it. If a person doesn’t have an attendant, they create it themselves. Commoners can’t make it.

Q: We’ve heard that Ferdinand and Rozemyne have insane amounts of work to do, but how enormous are their workloads, exactly? How much work do archduke candidates Rozemyne’s age normally have thrust upon them?

A: Work always ends up being sent to those best able to complete it, even when they have a hundred other things on their plate. That’s why Ferdinand and Rozemyne have as much to do as your average talented scholar. How troublesome.

Elsewhere, archduke candidates slowly form connections with nobles of other duchies and learn their administrative duties under the guidance of an adult member of the archducal family. They aren’t expected to hold religious ceremonies and run new industries on top of all their other work.

Q: Can you drink the water made with waschen?

A: You can’t, no. It’s mana made by a purification spell, not actual water.

Q: Do you need to chant out loud for a magic spell to work? Could you secretly activate a spell by saying the relevant prayer in your head?

A: Prayers have to be spoken aloud to reach the gods.

Q: Having too much mana in the body can stunt growth, but does it also slow aging? Or does it accelerate aging and weaken the body?

A: It doesn’t have much of an impact on aging. Rather, it restricts one’s growth and negatively impacts one’s health.

Q: Do weapons and armor made with mana vanish when their creator is knocked unconscious?

A: Not as long as they continue to receive mana, which happens when they’re in contact with the user’s body.

Q: Did the regisch scales end up becoming omni-elemental feystones because they were dyed with omni-elemental mana? Could someone else—Damuel, for example—have made them?

A: The feystones they become depend on the elements of whoever dyes them. Damuel wouldn’t be able to turn the scales into omni-elemental stones. In fact, he lacks the mana capacity to turn them into stones at all.

Q: We know that both Rozemyne and Ferdinand get rainbow-colored eyes when they’re angry. Is that because they have all the elements? Would the eyes of someone who isn’t omni-elemental, such as Damuel, instead turn the colors of the elements they do have?

A: Correct. One’s eyes change color based on one’s elements. Damuel’s gray eyes would turn yellow, for example.

Q: Is it possible to dye someone who has more mana than you?

A: Yes, as long as you and that person are within range of sensing each other.

Q: If two people have incompatible mana capacities, they can’t have children. Does that also make it hard for them to dye each other?

A: Yes. They might be able to manage it with magic tools and potions, but if the gap between them is too great, one side normally ends up steamrollering the other.

Q: Heidemarie was poisoned and passed away while pregnant. Did the baby in her stomach turn into its own feystone?

A: In such cases, the baby’s and the mother’s feystones get stuck together. If the baby has barely developed, its feystone might not be visible at all.

Q: Materials are torn from fey creatures to prevent them from deteriorating when the creature gets slain. Does this reduce the quality of the feystone the dead creature turns into?

A: Harvesting materials from a fey creature won’t reduce the quality of the feystone it produces. In fact, the quality would probably increase, as pain, fear, and other heightened emotions cause more mana to course into the feystone.

Q: It seems to me that every human in Yurgenschmidt has some amount of mana, but commoners don’t turn into feystones when they die. How much mana does one need to become a feystone?

A: As much as one needs to be considered a laynoble.

Q: What does it mean for feystones to be high-quality? Are they hard when their quality is high and soft when it’s poor?

A: Quality can depend on various factors—mana content, mana capacity, number of elements, density of mana, ease of dyeing... A feystone’s value depends on a person’s needs at that moment in time.

Q: I saw sound-blockers in the anime design documents. Is the parent device connected to four smaller devices that all need to be activated for the circle to work?

A: That’s correct. Four smaller devices determine the area to be sound-blocked. As a result, four people can be in that private area at most.

Q: Does each ordonnanz feystone belong to someone? Do nobles carve their names into them so they know whose is whose? Or does everyone share them?

A: If you receive an ordonnanz, it’s common etiquette to use that feystone for your response, thereby returning it to its owner. There aren’t names on them, though, so if you receive several at once, there’s nothing wrong with you mixing them up.

Q: Do nobles ever eat from lunch boxes? If so, what might they have inside them?

A: It depends on the situation and their status. When Rozemyne’s retainers brought lunch to Hirschur’s laboratory and the gathering-spot picnic, they used magic tools to minimize the impact on taste. Laynobles, on the other hand, carry their lunches in regular boxes. Knights on lengthy trips eat simple meals softened with hot water.

Q: Do nobles use the same rainwear as commoners?

A: Both use wide-brimmed caps and water-resistant capes, but nobles stick magic circles on their rainwear for extra protection.

Q: Are there any magic tools that function as hair dryers?

A: There are magic tools that use Wind feystones to a similar effect, but the air they create is cold, not hot.

Q: Konrad uses his mother’s feystone as a magic tool, but where’s the feystone he used when she was alive?

A: Philine has it.

Q: Jureves can be used only once, right? Are they tossed after they serve their purpose?

A: Yes. One sticks empty feystones into the melted mana to drain it, then throws the leftover jureve away.

Q: It seems that only archnobles can make magic tools meant for babies. Do they treat it as a way of making money?

A: They’re made to order. The recipient provides the materials and an appropriate feystone and such.

Q: Ferdinand gave charms to Wilfried and Charlotte. Given the gap in their mana quantities, do they feel discomfort when wearing them?

A: No, not at all. Protective charms aren’t meant to leak the creator’s mana as engagement feystones do. Otherwise, Hannelore would feel constant discomfort wearing charms made by Cordula, and Drewanchel wouldn’t have much success creating and merchandising them. Some people don’t like their partner wearing magic tools given to them by someone else, so Ferdinand gave Florencia her charm through Sylvester.

Q: Angelica uses a manablade. How do people normally obtain one?

A: They make their own or purchase one from a specialist. Angelica received a manablade from her parents to celebrate her making it into the knight course. It was obtained through normal means, but Rozemyne and Ferdinand pushed it in a strange direction.

Q: What would have happened if Rozemyne thought Angelica’s manablade needed something other than intelligence when channeling her mana into it?

A: Stenluke was born from Rozemyne’s and Ferdinand’s mana mixing together. I don’t know what would have happened if only Rozemyne’s mana had been involved.

Q: If Angelica were to die, what would happen to Stenluke? Could someone inherit him and register themselves as his new owner?

A: They could register themselves to the manablade, but it would reset, meaning it would no longer be Stenluke.

Q: The previous Giebe Joisontak was the primary buyer of the trash feystones from that one store. What was he using them for?

A: Feystones are necessary for learning to use mana, so he used them to educate Devouring soldiers. He also sold them to Ahrensbach, where they were necessary for trade.

Q: Do those with the Devouring leave a feystone behind when they succumb to their rampaging mana? Do they leave feystones behind when they die normally? Are the feystones omni-elemental in these cases?

A: They leave feystones when they lose control of their mana, and the stones contain more mana than if they died from being drained by a trombe or after unleashing a lot of magic. If the stone is undyed, it will be faintly omni-elemental.

Q: When those with the Devouring succumb to the heat, does their skin bubble up and explode? Do those with less mana have less gruesome deaths?

A: Those without much mana don’t need to worry about their skin bursting. Their internal organs still explode, though, so they can’t escape a painful death.

Q: In the story so far, we know about four people with the Devouring: Myne, Freida, Liz, and Dirk. Is it a relatively common problem?

A: In the bible, they’re referred to as Geduldh’s children who were hidden from Ewigeliebe for their own protection. Perhaps there are more than is widely known.

Q: I was wondering whether Rozemyne, Wilfried, and Charlotte have embroidered capes. How much embroidery do students normally have on theirs?

A: They do. Wilfried got his embroidery from Florencia. Rozemyne and Charlotte, on the other hand, attempted some of their own. Male students have their capes embroidered when their mothers or sisters want to practice, while girls do their own in preparation for the future.

Most first-years don’t have any embroidery on their capes, since they’ve only recently received them, but they slowly add to them as they continue through the Academy. It’s an important way for girls seeking engagement partners to make themselves look good. Rozemyne’s attendants have had a hard time encouraging Rozemyne to practice ever since she got engaged, as now she argues that she doesn’t need to impress anyone.

Q: Where on a cape would you put the embroidery?

A: Wherever you want. Some prefer it right in the center, while others want it on each corner to frame the cape like a painting. Individual preference matters, but you also have to take the embroiderer’s ability into account.

Q: Does the size of a protection magic circle impact its strength? Or can a smaller circle be better in some circumstances?

A: Construction, elements, and materials matter more than size.

Q: Are there any standard magic circles used for cape embroidering?

A: Yes. Girls are taught them by their parents and attendants.

Q: Ferdinand wore Heisshitze’s cape in Ehrenfest. Is that allowed outside of formal gatherings with other duchies? Are there any limitations on what colors a person can wear? I assume royal colors are out of the question, for example.

A: You have to wear a certain cape if you’re part of the Knight’s Order. Otherwise, there aren’t any restrictions to speak of. Nobody would wear royal colors, though—not because it’s against the law but because they’d get made fun of behind their back.

Q: Ferdinand used Rozemyne’s invisible ink when drawing on his cape. Would a seemingly unembroidered cape not stand out?

A: It would, but not much. Plenty of nobles don’t have mothers or maternal sisters to embroider their capes for them, so people would merely assume the same was true for Ferdinand. Following his engagement, his future wife would embroider it for him, so he wouldn’t receive too much pity.

Q: Can we assume Ferdinand altered Heisshitze’s cape to some degree? If so, did he revert the changes he made before returning it? I assume he’d want to keep his magic circles secret.

A: Out of consideration for Heisshitze’s wife, Ferdinand didn’t make any changes to the cape. Its circles are the same as when he first received it.

Q: Ferdinand used Heisshitze’s cape for a very long time. Why didn’t he ask Sylvester for a new Ehrenfest one, especially after Veronica was detained?

A: He didn’t want Sylvester to know that Veronica had stolen his original cape from him—like how a child might not want to tell their parents they’re being bullied at school.

Q: It was said that when making a highbeast, an archduke candidate can use the animal featured on their duchy’s crest. If said candidate is reduced to the rank of an archnoble, will they need to change their mount to something else?

A: No. In fact, they might use it as a symbol of pride when they marry into another duchy. Only when they’re demoted as the result of a crime or they become an archnoble through adoption are they required to change their highbeast.

Q: Would an archduke candidate about to become an aub need to give their highbeast three heads or base its form on the key component of their duchy’s crest?

A: Not at all. There are many crest components that wouldn’t even work as highbeasts. At most, they would have the authority to change their highbeast if they so wished.

Q: Can a noble from one duchy use the crest animal of another duchy as their highbeast? I ask because Karstedt’s mount resembles a hawk, one of the key components of the Dunkelfelger crest.

A: It’s pretty common for there to be an overlap between house crests and the crests of other duchies. Only when a house uses the same animal as their own duchy’s crest do problems arise.

Incidentally, Karstedt’s highbeast is actually a griffin.

Q: Rozemyne’s drivable highbeast garnered a lot of attention during her Royal Academy lessons. If a noblewoman with a regular highbeast needed to travel somewhere in a hurry and didn’t have time to change into her riding clothes, what would she do? Would she sit sidesaddle?

A: If she was at serious risk, all embarrassment would go out the window, and she’d ride her highbeast even without changing. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a situation in which she’d need to leave in such a rush.

Q: Once a name stone is created, can it not be destroyed safely? Not even by those who made it?

A: There is no way to safely destroy a name stone.

Q: If you return a person’s name stone, can you still give them orders? Is Ferdinand’s promise with the previous archduke impacted by his name stone?

A: Returning someone’s name means giving up one’s control over them. As for your second question, orders aren’t the same as promises.

Q: Do people who have given their name to someone feel their emotions?

A: Do emotions change one’s mana? The impact of a mood swing wouldn’t be strong enough for anyone to notice. They’d only feel something if the person they were sworn to was compressing their mana with all their might or on the verge of death because their mana was rampaging or about to run out.

Q: It was said that becoming omni-elemental through name-swearing improves the efficiency of your mana. Is that true even if you haven’t performed the ritual for obtaining divine protections?

A: The efficiency of your mana doesn’t actually improve. Instead, being enveloped in your master’s mana increases your base mana capacity and elemental aptitudes.

Q: If you have someone’s name stone, how does giving them orders work? Do nonchalant murmurs count, or do you need to speak with purpose? What would happen if you gave someone an impossible order, such as telling them to get rid of all their elements?

A: You need to grip their name stone to give them an order. If you’re doing that, even whispered asides will count. Orders that can’t be completed will cause the name-sworn person an excruciating amount of agony—enough to drive them insane—unless they’re taken back.

Q: How can someone who’s received multiple name stones tell them apart? I’m curious because I picture them as indistinguishable white cocoons.

A: They can’t tell from appearance, but touching one makes the name of whomever it belongs to arise in their mind.

Q: On what basis were priests forbidden from getting married? Flowers are offered in the temple, so I assume they’re still allowed to perform sexual acts. It all seems a bit strange to me.

A: The temple was originally a place for the underage to obtain as many divine protections as they could through prayer, so romance was out of the question. Their blue robes represented a vow to work hard to develop themselves, and they were too young and immature to start their own houses, so they weren’t allowed to marry until they obtained their desired protections and eventually departed from the temple. Anyone who wasn’t recognized as a noble remained in the temple, where the restrictions on marriage continued to apply.

Q: Can gray priests earn their freedom by saving up money and purchasing themselves?

A: No. Someone else needs to buy them.

Q: Do gray priests need to know how to drive carriages?

A: No, but those who can are treasured as attendants by blue priests who regularly visit the Noble’s Quarter or go on long trips for religious ceremonies.

Q: During the temple’s baptism ceremony, was the gate guard wearing what seemed to be blue armor sent by the Knight’s Order?

A: Knights don’t attend the commoners’ baptism ceremonies. The guards are all gray priests, and they wear the color of the season.

Q: It seems to me that ceremonial clothes have a certain degree of status associated with them. How important were Myne’s ceremonial blue robes? Wilfried also had to wear them, but were her robes below his status?

A: In terms of status, Myne’s first robes suited a laynoble, and the robes paid for by Karstedt and Damuel were more appropriate for a mednoble. Minors can’t normally take part in religious ceremonies, so Rozemyne was the only one with child-sized ceremonial robes. Wilfried didn’t understand their significance in the slightest; he was more frustrated with all the “girly” floral patterns.

Q: Sylvester’s pet Blau was apparently the same color as Myne’s hair, while Schwartz and Weiss are black and white, respectively. Do shumils naturally come in a variety of colors?

A: The shumils found in nature are mostly blue. Magic-tool shumils can be made in whatever color their creator desires.

Q: Are there doctors among the commoners? If so, where do they train? Do pregnant women have someone they can visit for checkups?

A: Doctors do exist, and they learn their trade while assisting their parents. Commoners don’t receive pregnancy checkups; experienced women just help with the birth.

Q: Are there veterinarians in Yurgenschmidt? I’d assume that expensive animals like horses getting sick or injured would cause all sorts of trouble for their owners.

A: Carriage providers and other such businesses employ stable boys to care for their many horses. Some people in Yurgenschmidt know a lot about domesticated animals and can provide all sorts of useful advice, but they don’t consider it a job.

Q: Commoners eat hard, black bread. Would it taste good as French toast?

A: It would taste a lot better than if you ate it plain.

Q: How do commoners cut their hair? Scissors are expensive, right?

A: They use knives or more slender blades such as razors.

Q: I was hoping to know more about Effa and Gunther’s marriage. The main volumes already mention Effa’s father, but what were her mother’s thoughts about the relationship?

A: She was just glad to know her daughter was staying local. Dads normally choose their daughters’ partners, so her mom wouldn’t have complained unless she thought Gunther was an especially bad person.

Q: At one point in Part 2 Volume 4, Effa says to Gunther that it’s normal for kids to go independent when they turn ten. That feels really early to me. How many children do commoner wives have on average?

A: Not all children become independent at ten years old. She was mostly referring to leherls, who end up moving into their workshops and stores. Myne was a strange case in that she never went home at all, but Effa tried to rationalize it by comparing the situation to something more familiar. A commoner wife will generally have five or six children in her life, as not many reach adulthood.

Q: Back when Myne was experimenting with tablets and other alternatives to paper, why didn’t she consider wood as an option? I understand that she might not have known about wooden boards before she met Otto, but what about afterward?

A: She made mokkan, which was unfortunately used as firewood. If you mean before then, she didn’t have the means to carve wood. Myne wasn’t given a knife until after Tuuli was baptized.

Q: I assume Ferdinand saw the High Bishop’s notes when reading bible stories to Myne. What did he think about them?

A: “He cannot even read the old dialect? I suppose I am not surprised.”

Ferdinand came to memorize the prayers while studying at the Royal Academy, so he wasn’t as annoyed as Rozemyne, who worked relentlessly to learn them all in time for her ceremonies.

Q: Bezewanst was so kind to Myne when he thought she was a rich girl. Could it be that he looks down on poor commoners but treats the wealthy ones as his equals?

A: As his equals? Not at all. He looked down on her from day one; the whole “nice guy” act only came about because he thought she was the perfect mark to squeeze money from. Bezewanst is the sort of person to win you over with a smile and then get more and more threatening once you’ve let your guard down.

Q: During the trombe hunt, why were Myne’s wounds healed with a schtappe, not Heilschmerz’s blessing? It feels like Ferdinand gave up his Darkness blessing for no reason.

A: Heilschmerz’s blessing spreads mana across a pretty large area, which would only have strengthened the trombe. Using a schtappe, on the other hand, gave Ferdinand more control over his mana, which he used to close Myne’s wound as quickly as he could. He determined it best to take matters into his own hands, unsure what the incompetent guards had done to create such a mess in the first place.

Q: What drove Ferdinand to inspect the place where the orphans had their taue-throwing? Would the damage done to an ivory building be considered a crime?

A: Ferdinand went there because of the damage. He had just arrived at the castle when he received a summons from Sylvester, who explained that something strange had taken place at the temple. Sylvester had sensed the damage and used his water mirror to determine the cause, only to see the orphans throwing things at each other. “They were just playing around, as far as I could tell, but take a look just in case,” he said. Ferdinand apologized, since he had given them permission to play in the first place.

Q: What was the potion that Ferdinand gave Myne after the Spring Prayer attack?

A: It was his mana turned into a liquid, which he kept at hand for whenever he was drained. Running out of mana is fatal, and rejuvenation potions only work when there’s mana in the body to expand, so such potions can quite literally save you from what would otherwise be certain death.

In most cases, another person’s mana tastes bitter and deeply unpleasant. It was only a small dose, so Ferdinand assumed that Myne’s mana would already have dyed it by the time he gave her rejuvenation potions. The potion worked exceptionally well in the end, not just because Myne had the Devouring but also because Ferdinand needed to dye her when peering into her memories.

Q: Back in Part 2, Myne wanted to work as a temple professor but was shot down by her attendants. Why were they against that but not her playing karuta with the orphans?

A: Teaching orphans is the work of gray priests and shrine maidens. An orphanage director playing with toys she gave to those in her care is something else entirely.

Q: During Part 2 Volume 4, Ferdinand reported that Myne was attacked in the lower city. How did he know when he’d just left his chambers?

A: The knights responded to the rott that Damuel sent out at the north gate, and the Order quickly learned about the east gate commander’s blunder. Ordonnanzes couldn’t reach Ferdinand, who was in his hidden room, so Damuel went to the temple with Myne to serve as her guard and give his report in person. At the same time, another knight who had returned to the north gate sent a magic letter with an update.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Arno told visitors that Ferdinand was absent, exactly as his lord requested. He turned away Fran and the High Bishop, but he couldn’t hide the arrival of a magic letter. Ferdinand received reports from his attendants and came out of his hidden room just as Myne was losing control of her mana and destroying the black feystone. He was piecing together the situation using the letter and ordonnanzes addressed to him when he noticed the clash between Damuel and Count Bindewald... which sums up how things went from his perspective.

Q: Having read that one prologue from Bezewanst’s point of view, I can’t help thinking that Sylvester and the others could easily have figured out their enemies’ plans by looking through his, Bindewald’s, and Veronica’s memories. Is there a reason they didn’t?

A: Under normal circumstances, the memory-reading magic tool is used only in situations that could impact the entire duchy. It puts a heavy burden on both parties, and one wrong move could turn those being read into vegetables. Though the archduke’s mother using his seal in his absence and going against his order not to allow nobles from other duchies into the city was a pretty serious crime, it wasn’t severe enough to warrant looking into her memories.

Georgine targeting Ehrenfest’s foundation was far more deserving of the memory-reading tool than Veronica’s transgression, especially considering how the latter put her all into making Sylvester the archduke. The same could also be said for the appearance of a strange child with an even greater mana capacity than the aub, and the sudden decision by Wilfried to trespass inside the Ivory Tower to rescue Veronica.

Q: Neutral nobles criticized Sylvester for not laying the proper groundwork before detaining Veronica. Wouldn’t that have made his plan obvious and given Veronica time to get away?

A: As far as most people were concerned, cutting ties with his mother and faction was a pretty bizarre move for Sylvester. However, as you observe, laying any groundwork at all would have allowed Veronica to evade capture. His mother and retainers would have stopped him, as they did every time he tested the waters in the past.

Q: The mana shortage led to starvation even in Ehrenfest, so was Florencia criticized for wanting to send mana to Frenbeltag? Is that why Elvira remained the de facto leader of the Florencia faction years after Veronica’s detainment?

A: Florencia might be a first wife, but she didn’t have the final say in the matter; it was Sylvester who gave up the mana. Not to mention, she wasn’t Ehrenfest’s only tie to Frenbeltag—one of the aub’s maternal sisters married into its archducal family. Florencia’s poor reputation came about from Veronica ostracizing her, and it wasn’t going to improve when nobles such as Oswald complained about her all the time. As for your second question, Elvira is the de facto head of the faction because of everything she does to support Florencia. It isn’t like Florencia will “replace” her one day.

Q: Why did Bezewanst write a letter to Georgine exposing the location of Ehrenfest’s foundation? Doesn’t that count as betraying Veronica?

A: He didn’t. Any correspondence of that nature wouldn’t have been in the box. Bezewanst knew from the moment he discovered the foundation that it was exceptionally important—and completely beyond him—so he noted its location in a code that his attendants wouldn’t understand and stashed it with the letters he had received. He never meant to betray Veronica; instead, he recorded the discovery for his own satisfaction. Rozemyne happened upon it when she took over as the High Bishop, and Sylvester made the call to give it to Georgine. The “code” was the same one Georgine had developed to secretly complain about Veronica, which is why she was able to understand it.

Q: Ferdinand seems to grasp the importance of allowing Rozemyne to meet with her lower-city family in her hidden room. Is that because Fran or Damuel reports everything that happens inside to him?

A: Ferdinand does indeed receive reports on what happens inside Rozemyne’s hidden room, which is why he understands how much those meetings mean to her. He wouldn’t have permitted them or been so cordial otherwise.

Q: During Part 4, was Rozemyne able to sense the mana in materials and spread out her mana to detect things because she’d developed mana-sensing?

A: No. As stated in the epilogue of Part 5 Volume 1, Rozemyne hadn’t yet developed mana-sensing. There’s a spell that allows you to spread out your mana to detect things, but it isn’t the same as naturally sensing those with mana close to yours.

Q: Could Ferdinand or Karstedt detect Devouring soldiers by spreading out their mana as Rozemyne did? Inversely, does it work when you have less mana than what you’re trying to detect?

A: The process simply allows you to feel external mana, so yes, it can work. It does have its shortcomings, though: you wouldn’t be able to detect commoners, it isn’t easy to spread your detection across an entire room, and it requires enough focus to leave you defenseless during combat.

Q: When making the second jureve, Ferdinand spent a long time thinking after Rozemyne drained the ingredients of their impurities. Why was that? Did she perform too well, or was it something else?

A: He thought it was strange that her mana was so close to his that he didn’t feel much resistance from it.

Q: During the era when schtappes weren’t obtained until one’s graduation, how did students fight during treasure-stealing ditter? Did they wield manablades or just use normal iron weapons?

A: They used magic tools in the shape of swords and spears, among other things. Remember the chapter where second-years learned to make weapons and shields? The examples provided then were actually used in the past. Scholars developed and spread a wide range of brutal magic tools.

Q: Is it against the rules to kill someone while playing treasure-stealing ditter?

A: No. Deaths during treasure-stealing ditter used to be quite common. The Academy switched to speed ditter after the civil war because the country couldn’t afford to lose more nobles.

Q: Why does Lueuradi, an archnoble, address Philine as “Lady Philine”?

A: Because she recognizes that Philine serves an archduke candidate from another duchy. Being rude to her could cause problems later, and when you add crest-certified work to the mix, it was safest to be polite to her whether she was a laynoble or not.

Q: Before the Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual, two Ahrensbach students were blown back by Schutzaria’s shield. Toward whom was their malice directed?

A: They were apprentice scholars from Old Werkestock, so the Zent.

Q: Rozemyne formed two schtappes at once during the Royal Academy’s Dedication Ritual. How? Was it the same as when knights form a sword and shield at the same time?

A: Many factors aligned: her Divine Will was omni-elemental, she wasn’t touching what she’d made with her first schtappe, she was saturated with mana, and she wished for another schtappe. Nobody else in modern Yurgenschmidt can use two schtappes at once—not even Ferdinand—but what Rozemyne did was far from unprecedented. In the past, there was a Zent who wielded every divine instrument at once, to name but one of many examples.

Students of the knight course learn how to create a weapon and a shield as a set, but that splits one schtappe into two. Creating multiple shields at once is another part of their lesson.

Q: Rozemyne always seems to be the treasure during her ditter matches. Do the people of Dunkelfelger not find that strange? Each side’s treasure is usually a feybeast, right?

A: During the game held in Rozemyne’s first year, the feybeast thrown into her highbeast was the treasure. During the game held in her second year, Ferdinand made her the treasure as part of a scheme. It wasn’t deemed strange because it saved them from having to find and secure a feybeast, which was especially useful when they had so few players. As for the game held during her third year, that was bride-taking ditter, which made her being the treasure completely normal.

The matches seem a little strange when considered together, but each one was fairly standard. The speed ditter played during the Interduchy Tournament was a lot more unusual, as archduke candidates from duchies other than Dunkelfelger seldom take part.

Q: During the bride-taking ditter match, why was Lestilaut’s hand knocked away when he tried to touch Rozemyne’s cheek?

A: She didn’t want him to touch her.

Q: Dunkelfelger’s treasured shield was turned to gold dust during a ditter match. Did Lestilaut get in trouble for that? If so, was Hannelore yelled at too?

A: Rozemyne’s mana capacity was underestimated not only by Lestilaut but also by Aub Dunkelfelger, who allowed the shield to be used in the first place. He wasn’t angry about its destruction; instead, he dryly asked about compensation. Hannelore wasn’t scolded as she wasn’t involved with its deployment, but she was taken to task for leaving her circle.

Q: Could Aub Dunkelfelger or Lestilaut have turned the black shield into gold dust?

A: The aub of a top-ranking duchy certainly could, but most people in that situation would consider it a waste, especially when they’d expended and recovered their mana once already. Rozemyne did it precisely because she was inexperienced in battle.

Q: I assume those allied with Raublut and Lanzenave were behind the Sovereign knights interrupting Rozemyne’s ditter match. What was their objective?

A: Their goals included getting rid of those knights, sowing the seeds of distrust among the Sovereign Knight’s Order, and preventing Dunkelfelger from securing Rozemyne for themselves.

Q: Rozemyne was bedridden after she drank too many rejuvenation potions during her game of bride-taking ditter. Given her poor health, shouldn’t she have undergone a medical examination?

A: There was no doctor present to examine her, as Rihyarda and the other retainers saw no reason to summon one. Even when they had access to Ferdinand, they wouldn’t have thought to bother him, as only in the worst-case scenarios are potions not enough to inspire a full recovery. Not to mention, because Rozemyne was sick from drinking too many rejuvenation potions, they had no choice but to wait until it was all out of her system. Had she remained sick even after that, they would have summoned the archducal family’s doctor.

Q: In the prologue of Part 5 Volume 2, Ferdinand and Trauerqual agreed that preventing another war was their main priority. Why, then, didn’t Trauerqual name a successor when his eldest sons were on the verge of starting a war for the throne? Instead, he entrusted the decision to Eglantine.

A: He let Eglantine choose in accordance with a request from the previous Aub Klassenberg. The aub thought his granddaughter was far more talented than either of the princes and should rightfully have been raised as a princess. His desire for her to live happily and make her own choices led to the outcome in question.

Q: Lueuradi was told to give up on marrying into Ehrenfest because its students were in such great demand. Was the duchy’s spike in popularity enough for Damuel’s ex-girlfriend to want to get back together with him? Probably not if she’d already married someone else. I also want to know whether students of the same grade mostly lose contact with each other after their graduation.

A: As you guessed, Damuel’s former partner had already married someone else. The same went for most of the women in his class, so he’d need connections from elsewhere to land a partner from another duchy. The chance of two friends from the Academy staying in contact depends on the relationship between their duchies more than anything else.

Q: If Ahrensbach had somewhere for Justus to brew, why couldn’t Ferdinand brew there?

A: Retainers brew in the castle’s brewing room. Justus was allowed to use it as long as Sergius or some other trusted member of Ahrensbach kept an eye on him, but Ferdinand wouldn’t have had such an easy time. Just as Gundolf said, archduke candidates normally ask their retainers to brew for them. It’s also important to remember that Ferdinand needed to prioritize his work and socializing. He didn’t have time to hang around with his retainers in the brewing room.

Q: Where in Ahrensbach does Ferdinand keep his rejuvenation potions and the time-stopping box full of meals sent from Ehrenfest? He doesn’t have a hidden room, so couldn’t someone poison them?

A: Only those who register their mana to a magic key can enter his chambers, and someone would notice if an intruder went into his private space. Ahrensbach requested the engagement in the first place, and it was for their sake that Ferdinand moved earlier than scheduled, so his Ahrensbach attendants (such as Sergius) ensure his chambers are protected.

Q: In a world with healing magic, why does Raublut have a scar on his face? Was the wound especially severe, or does he leave it there on purpose?

A: He leaves it there on purpose so as not to forget his pain and regrets.

Q: I assume that Eglantine being the third prince’s daughter was kept secret, but she has “Tochter” in her name. Whose daughter do people believe her to be?

A: Well, the daughter of her late mother. Eglantine’s baptism ceremony took place before the aub was succeeded, so she ended up with the name of an adopted daughter. A person’s name gets shortened when the names of their original and adoptive houses are the same, which is common for adoptions within the same house. Had she been baptized as the third prince’s daughter before being adopted, she would have had the name of a branch royal with Klassenberg blood. As it stands, though, she doesn’t have any royalty in her name.

Q: Under what circumstances did Prince Sigiswald marry Nahelache? I can’t imagine he wanted to be with her out of true love.

A: The circumstances were perfectly normal. Having decided to take Eglantine as a first wife so he could claim the throne, Sigiswald chose his second wife from a suitable age range and duchy. He had plenty of potential candidates and selected who appealed to him most, so while it was a political marriage, it wasn’t completely without feeling.

Q: What are Eglantine and Rozemyne to Lestilaut? His idols? Women who stole his heart? Works of art to be admired...?

A: He sees them as worthy models for his art. In the modern world, one might say they’re his muses. Of your choices, I would probably say “idols” was the closest.

Q: Was Lestilaut’s fiancée—assuming he has one—jealous about his bride-taking ditter match? Did they fight over it? Or is there no romance in their relationship whatsoever? Did she accept it as a political decision?

A: His fiancée was displeased on the inside, but she always knew she was destined to become a second wife. Lestilaut was acting for his duchy’s sake, and the archducal couple approved the ditter match, so she couldn’t openly complain.

Q: How does Heisshitze’s wife feel about Ferdinand having the cape she embroidered?

A: She’s annoyed and exasperated at her stupid husband. Ferdinand wasn’t to blame for what happened, so she doesn’t resent him or anything. She actually kind of sympathizes with him, as they both have to deal with Heisshitze’s strange way of showing affection.

Q: Does Detlinde not like Rozemyne simply because she’s adopted?

A: Correct. In Yurgenschmidt, siblings who don’t share a mother tend to treat each other as strangers. She mainly felt that an adopted daughter she’d never met before shouldn’t act like her family out of nowhere.

Q: Detlinde causes a lot of trouble, but does she at least have the mana quantity and elements necessary to be a suitable interim aub? Georgine must consider her a tough piece to move properly.

A: Georgine only made Detlinde the interim aub because she had no other options. There were concessions all around. She considers Detlinde a failure of a daughter—one she couldn’t even hope to put to good use. If she had another available child who wasn’t of age, she wouldn’t even have looked at Detlinde.

Q: With the right education, could Detlinde have been a proper aub, not just a stand-in? Would she have been able to find an archduke candidate groom with ease?

A: Her education wasn’t the problem—Ahrensbach has as many talented, quality teachers as you’d expect from a greater duchy. Instead, I’d ask how things might have changed if she had decent motivation, determination, and patience. In terms of securing a husband, her father’s health mattered more than her own potential. If not for his sickness, there wouldn’t have been a need to find an interim aub, and she would easily have been married away.

Q: What kind of person was the Sovereign knight whom Detlinde spoke about being in love with during Part 4 Volume 8’s epilogue?

A: In truth, he was just a knight sent to gather intelligence. He was diligent in his work and didn’t once get the impression that he and Detlinde were lovers.

Q: What did Detlinde write in the engagement feystone she gave to Ferdinand? Given her personality and attitude toward him, I suspect she got her retainers to make it for her.

A: Even she knew not to delegate the creation of an engagement feystone. Her message was pretty standard: “Praise be to the gods who brought us together.”

Q: What was the cause of Aub Ahrensbach’s death? Was he poisoned in such a way that the exact time of his death could be controlled?

A: The same poison that was smeared on Rozemyne’s bible.

Q: In reality, what did the former Aub Ehrenfest think about Veronica?

A: He saw her as someone he had to respect for her Ahrensbach blood—as someone unfairly mistreated by the Leisegangs since she was a child. He considered it his duty as her husband and the aub to protect her.

Q: Did the previous Aub Ehrenfest remain neutral during the civil war so as not to put Ferdinand, a seed of Adalgisa, on the front lines? Was it the bold decision of a protective father or the calculated response of a ruler looking out for his duchy? Both, maybe?

A: He didn’t want to put Ferdinand on the front lines and risk exacerbating the war, but I wouldn’t say his decision to remain neutral was “bold,” by any means. As you might expect, he was acting as an aub above all else. A bottom-ranking duchy such as Ehrenfest wouldn’t have made a meaningful contribution to the war, so it wouldn’t have gained much from a victory. Defeat, on the other hand, would have resulted in complete devastation. To ensure that his successor, the young Sylvester, even had a duchy to rule, the aub had no choice but to remain neutral.

Q: What convinced Florencia to marry into Ehrenfest?

A: Sylvester’s enthusiasm surprised her, and he removed all the obstacles between them before she could recover. She didn’t exactly choose to marry him; her older brother and sister-in-law recommended Sylvester to their father, who gave his approval and thus secured the marriage.

Q: Did Veronica really expect Wilfried to make it at the Royal Academy while rude, illiterate, and unable to play the harspiel?

A: In the blink of an eye, she would have gone from being far too lenient with him to relentlessly criticizing his every move. “You aren’t even as good as Sylvester was at your age? Good grief... Your mother’s blood really must be poor.”

Q: Was Oswald involved in the Ivory Tower incident? The timing was too perfect to have been a coincidence.

A: No, Oswald wasn’t involved. He doesn’t serve Georgine and actually had to be monitored to make sure he wouldn’t be around to interfere.

Q: Wilfried seems fond of Detlinde, but what does he think about her words and actions?

A: His fondness for her is rooted in nostalgia, as she looks a lot like his grandmother. He probably doesn’t think about much more than that.

Q: How did Justus earn points for the Royal Academy’s attendant course without serving anyone?

A: It might be harder for those without a lord or lady to gain or lose points outside of class, but it certainly isn’t impossible. Consider that even those serving as retainers won’t always end up at the Academy at the same time as their charge. It’s a lot more common for the archduke candidate to be too young to attend, to have already graduated, or to have gone to another duchy.

Q: Did Justus give his name as soon as Ferdinand got his schtappe—presumably during his third year—or did he wait a little while?

A: Ferdinand was in his third year and had just obtained his schtappe when Justus approached him and said, “You command so much of my loyalty that I would even give my name to you.” Ferdinand didn’t believe him and replied that he shouldn’t make such bold claims, only to have to eat his words when Justus promptly brought him a name stone.

Q: What does Justus think about Gudrun?

A: She was told to serve Georgine when Rihyarda switched charges, then got engaged to Traugott’s sickly father when her lady married into Ahrensbach. Her husband falsely borrows that former valor, as does his son. Justus himself uses her name for his cross-dressing antics. All in all, he thinks she’s had a rather unlucky life.

Q: Gudrun was Georgine’s attendant before getting married—why wasn’t she told to give her name?

A: As both Rihyarda’s daughter and Justus’s elder sister, she was too close to the aub.

Q: When did Leberecht find out Hartmut was taking over as the High Priest? What did he think about the decision?

A: He attended the meeting where Hartmut volunteered. It came as quite a shock to him, as you can imagine. “You idiot,” he thought. “You’re meant to be getting Lady Rozemyne out of the temple, not joining her there!”

Q: Hartmut seems to be working hard to improve his combat potential. How strong is he now, exactly? How would he fare in one-on-one duels against Clarissa and Damuel, respectively?

A: He wouldn’t stand a chance against Clarissa, but he could probably best Damuel on occasion by overwhelming him with mana and magic tools.

Q: What were Leonore’s, Gretia’s, Muriella’s, and Matthias’s reasons for choosing their current professions?

A: Leonore chose to be a knight because she was told that Leisegang needed more nobles who could slay feybeasts and that Lady Rozemyne would need a female family member to serve as her guard. She also took inspiration from Cornelius putting his all into becoming a knight. Gretia was forced to become an attendant by her family because it was the easiest way for her to socialize with other houses. Muriella chose a position that brought her closest to books, her primary means of escape. Matthias was in a similar situation as Damuel—he could have been a scholar but, after considering his place in his house, chose to be a knight instead.

Q: Was anyone else in the same situation as Gretia? If so, what happened to them?

A: By “the same situation as Gretia,” do you mean being born in the temple? A child in that predicament might be taken in by their mother’s family to work as a servant or thrown into the orphanage’s basement to hide the fact they were born at all. Gretia was taken in due to her large mana capacity at a time when there was a shortage of nobles, and while she had some traumatic experiences because of her family, one could say she was fairly lucky compared to other children of the temple.

Q: On what basis did Muriella advise Lueuradi to see Rozemyne’s ceremony?

A: She and all the other Ehrenfest students had seen Rozemyne give a blessing by playing the harspiel, heal the gathering spot for her name-sworn, and create Schutzaria’s shield during the attack on the award ceremony, to name but a few examples. They also understood that prayer led to obtaining more divine protections. Muriella knew that nothing she could say would change how Lueuradi felt about religion and the temple; some things have to be seen with one’s own eyes.

Q: Where did Philine get the commoner clothes she wore?

A: She had a servant go to the lower city to buy them.

Q: Was Matthias on good terms with his elder brothers?

A: They weren’t super close, but they weren’t on bad terms either. He was much younger than his eldest brother and seldom interacted with him.

Q: Were Lady Christel, her elder sister, and their family affected by the purge? What about Sister Christine, the artistic shrine maiden, and her family?

A: Christel wasn’t, though her elder sister’s husband received a light financial punishment. Christine married someone who hadn’t given his name to Georgine but who committed some of the gravest crimes in the former Veronica faction, so they received a punishment just short of execution.

Q: Ferdinand was called as abnormal as Rozemyne. How many divine protections did he obtain when he performed the ritual in his third year? Why did he receive that many when he hadn’t yet gone to the temple?

A: Ferdinand received around twenty in total. He, unlike Sylvester, was taught the prayer for Mana Replenishment and supplied the duchy ever since his baptism. On several occasions, he was forced to provide so much mana that he ended up on the brink of death. Desperate to survive, he prayed to the gods, “If you truly exist, save me,” all while giving up exorbitant amounts of mana.

Q: What did Ferdinand actually think about his potential engagement with Magdalena? I doubt he was in love with her, but was he on board with the idea?

A: Yes, he was. He thought escaping Veronica and joining the archducal family of a greater duchy far beyond her reach was a dream come true.

Q: Ferdinand’s hidden room seemed relatively neat and orderly in the anime. Does he enjoy cleaning?

A: Each tool in his room has its place. But when it comes to documents and such, he just stacks them wherever, since he remembers exactly where they are. His room isn’t particularly dirty because he has an excess of mana and can easily cast cleaning spells, but his time in Hirschur’s laboratory made him less concerned about clutter.

Q: Where did Ferdinand learn to dissect fish? I thought it was a strange talent for him to have, considering Ehrenfest’s lack of an ocean.

A: He has plenty of experience with dissection. During his days at the Royal Academy, he was constantly trading magic tools for various ingredients and such.

Q: Is Ferdinand receiving financial compensation for his work in Ahrensbach? He isn’t paying his retainers out of pocket, is he?

A: Because his work is so crucial and Ahrensbach made him move even earlier than expected, he does receive a sizable salary. Rest assured, his retainers are paid as part of the budget dedicated to him.

Q: When and under what circumstances did Ferdinand give his name to the previous archduke?

A: The previous archduke proposed that Ferdinand give his name to him or Sylvester so that Veronica wouldn’t be able to take it by force.

Q: There must be records showing that Ferdinand came from the Adalgisa villa. Can anyone view them?

A: Yes, the royal family can. The records don’t mention him by name—they merely state that the previous Aub Ehrenfest took a boy from the villa—but one can deduce it was him just from the time period and the boy’s age.

Q: Ferdinand seems to have more or less doubled his mana capacity using Rozemyne’s compression method. How many people in Yurgenschmidt can still sense his mana?

A: I suppose Eglantine can just barely sense him, maybe? And the elderly teacher who retired. Pretty much no one, for sure.

Q: As we know, Ferdinand attended the Royal Academy even outside of winter. Did he take any classes during that time?

A: No, he didn’t. The only classes held outside of winter are the remedial classes for students who weren’t able to pass during the academic term, and the only teachers who remain at the Academy are those obsessed with their research. He studied and carried out research of his own from spring till autumn, then passed every one of his classes as soon as winter came around again. In short, he did the same thing as Rozemyne.

Q: Ferdinand and Veronica could apparently sense each other’s mana, but from what distance? Could they always sense each other in the castle?

A: They’d need to be in the same building to sense each other. It wouldn’t work if one of them was in the eastern building while the other was in the southern office, for example.

Q: Is Ferdinand a good artist? If so, how good is he? Could he beat Wilma and Lestilaut?

A: He’s good, though I’m not sure how to decide who would “win.” Ferdinand excels in detail and precision, which makes him great at drawing educational pictures of herbs and what have you, but there’s no passion or personality to his art, so I doubt anyone would consider it moving.

Q: It was said that Myne would find anyone’s synchronization potion sweet due to having the Devouring. Does that mean color-mixing would produce the same result no matter whom she tried it with? How does her color-mixing compare to that of a regular noble?

A: Her color-mixing wouldn’t always have the same outcome; the results would depend on the mana dyeing hers. She would, however, be much easier to dye than most. Nobles find it relatively tough to dye one another, so one could call that trait of hers unique.

Q: Do blessings spill out of Rozemyne because she has so much mana or because she has the Devouring?

A: Her mana capacity plays a large role, but it mostly comes down to the fact that she conflates prayer and releasing mana due to her time spent in the temple. Letting out mana was precisely what she was expected to do during religious ceremonies.

Q: How strange is it for Rozemyne to have inherited Ferdinand’s estate, ingredients, and so on? Is that kind of thing normal between uncles and nieces or guardians and their charges?

A: There’s nothing unusual about inheriting things from one’s guardian—though it might have been strange if Ferdinand had children.

Q: Does Ferdinand give Rozemyne a checkup whenever she has a fever?

A: No, only when she still seems unwell two days after drinking a potion, when she needs a doctor for some other reason, or when he has to push her to her limit despite how much it could impact her health. In general, whether she’s in the temple or the castle, her attendants are the ones caring for her. Rozemyne doesn’t mind, as she merely sleeps until she feels better. She did the same thing during her commoner days.

Q: Was the Urano household wealthy? Despite not having a breadwinner from a young age, Urano went to college, her mother remained a stay-at-home mom, and they had an entire home to themselves. Either they received a sizable inheritance from the dad or Urano’s mom was super high up in society.

A: They had a house because the terms of their loan stated that payments would cease if the father passed away. The pair lived on his life insurance, compensation from the accident, and assistance from Urano’s grandparents.

Q: Myne’s really squeamish when it comes to blood and such, but she must have come across pictures of the human body in anatomy textbooks. Did she have a stronger stomach during her Urano days? Was she bad with horror movies or thrillers?

A: She’d be fine with educational pictures but would scream at a blood splatter in a haunted house. Not even the most grotesquely written description would do much to faze her, though she’d shy away from any visual depictions.

Q: Rozemyne makes all sorts of things, but she doesn’t seem too attached to the foods she ate on Earth. Is that a correct evaluation? I should note that I remember her being nostalgic for her old mom’s cooking.

A: She’d re-create those dishes if she managed to find the ingredients, but she doesn’t think much about them otherwise. Books rank much higher than food on her list of priorities.

Q: Rozemyne thinks Karstedt is second only to Gunther on the coolness scale. Does she have so much admiration for her fathers because she had to grow up without one?

A: Gunther did the best job of bringing Myne out of her comfort zone and showering her with almost overwhelming love. Karstedt counts as cool simply because, despite how busy he must have been, he went to the trouble of helping his daughter gather ingredients. She definitely has a hugely inflated appreciation for fatherhood.

Q: If Karstedt had adopted Myne as planned, would he have announced that he was adopting a commoner? Had he prepared a story to tell people? Would she have been able to meet with her lower-city family?

A: Yes, he’d prepared a story. Myne might have been able to see her family at first, but once she turned ten, her connection to them and the lower city in general would immediately have been severed. An archnoble girl wouldn’t have been allowed to become the High Bishop, so she wouldn’t even have been able to see her mom and dad while performing religious ceremonies. At most, she might have secured a few meetings with the Gilberta Company... but Elvira might not have given her permission to summon a store that had done business only with laynobles and mednobles. Reuniting with Lutz and Tuuli would have needed to wait until they were of age.

Q: Does Myne have a favorite color?

A: That’s a tough question. She likes the colors of her family’s hair and takes comfort in the green and dark red of Lutz’s and Benno’s eyes, respectively. During her days in the lower city, she was especially infatuated with the more neutral tones of newly made paper. And before she came to remember her time on Earth, she loved the colors of the outside world—of the trees, the grass, and the sky.

Q: Tuuli is great at making hairpins, but how talented is she as a general seamstress? Is she good at embroidery and such?

A: She hasn’t had all that much time to practice, so she’d probably be average in Corinna’s workshop. Her reputation for making hairpins is far more notable.

Q: It was mentioned that Freida gave up on her chance of becoming a second wife. Can nobles marry people who aren’t nobles—such as servants, blue shrine maidens, and those with the Devouring—or would she have been sent to the Royal Academy if she agreed?

A: To become a second wife, she would need to have been adopted prior to her baptism and turned into a noble proper.

Q: What do Freida’s family and her servants think about her love of money?

A: “That’s our girl.” Bringing wealth to Henrik will strengthen her position and give her a foothold in the Noble’s Quarter, so they find it heartening how much she acts like the daughter of a merchant.

Q: Can we have an update on Freida?

A: As of Part 5 Volume 2, she’s got the Othmar Company, the Italian restaurant, and her home chefs working at full throttle to make enough sweets for the Interduchy Tournament.

Q: Otto is super busy, but does he ever go visit his parents? Will he bring Renate once she’s baptized?

A: He hasn’t seen them since getting married, though he still sends them letters, but he can stop by whenever he wants. That said, even for a former traveling merchant, bringing a child on such a long trip wouldn’t be easy. It might take a while—perhaps a few years for Frenbeltag to secure better harvests and the land to become more peaceful—but he will take Renate there eventually.

Q: How did Benno know Sylvester?

A: He saw him when visiting the castle to fetch ink, which he planned to use for business-related magic contracts with nobles.

Q: Are all the stories in the comic anthologies canon?

A: No. Ordonnanzes can’t become penguins, and Rozemyne would never show Elvira wotagei dancing.

Q: Is there any Bookworm merchandise you’re hoping to get made?

A: Quite a few ideas come to mind, but announcing them here would get me in trouble with my manager. I mention what kind of merchandise I want to see when we have our meetings.

Messages from the Creators

Miya Kazuki

The fifth fanbook! This one includes the anime’s end cards and more Q&A answers than any of the previous volumes. It has a broader range but also more depth. Please enjoy.

You Shiina

The fifth fanbook... More and more people are getting involved with this series, to the point that it feels like it levels up each year. And despite that, my workload hasn’t increased in the slightest! How amazing! (I’m one of the lucky ones!)

Suzuka

I told Kazuki-sensei that I definitely wanted to read about one of the things she’d tweeted, only to end up drawing it... Strange! I hope you enjoyed it.

Ryo Namino

Zack’s guts and Johann’s concentration... Both exude the best qualities of a craftsperson! They’re so fun!

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Copyright

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Official Fanbook Volume 5

by Miya Kazuki

Translated by quof

Edited by Kieran Redgewell

Lettering by Nicole Roderick

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2020 Miya Kazuki

Illustrations by You Shiina, Suzuka, Ryo Namino

Cover illustration by You Shiina

All rights reserved.

Original Japanese edition published in 2020 by TO Books, Tokyo.

This English edition is published by arrangement with TO Books, Tokyo

English translation © 2024 J-Novel Club LLC

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

Ebook edition 1.0: November 2024