# E6 - Meeting
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/G6ZJEVNKY/meeting)
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names. This is handled on a best-effort basis depending on how the subtitle file was created so they may be incomplete or inaccurate. Dialogue is left as is.)
**[00:00] Benno**
**[00:00] Ferdinand**
* One failure after another throws*
* Main into despair and illness.*
**[00:06] Main**
The fever in my body is smaller now?
**[00:10] Ferdinand**
*While bewildered by her strange fevers,*
**[00:12] Ferdinand**
* she looks to walk down a*
* new path all the same.*
***SIGN*** Ascendance of a Bookworm
***SIGN*** Ascendance of a Bookworm
***SIGN*** Chapter Six Meeting
**[02:04] Main**
Lutz, you will do as I say.
I won't hear any objections.
**[02:08] Lutz**
Wh-What's gotten into you?
**[02:11] Lutz**
Stop! Don't do this!
**[02:15] Lutz**
You could've just said you
were gonna wash my hair.
**[02:17] Main**
If I had, you would've ran away.
**[02:20] Lutz**
Urk.
**[02:22] Lutz**
What brought this on, anyway?
**[02:24] Main**
First impressions are important.
**[02:27] Main**
So you'd better dress
your best tomorrow, too.
**[02:31] Lutz**
I don't think it'd change much, honestly.
**[02:34] Main**
You should still do everything you can.
**[02:37] Lutz**
Ah, that felt good.
**[02:44] Main**
Say...
**[02:45] Main**
What do you wanna achieve by
becoming a traveling trader?
**[02:50] Lutz**
Where did that come from?
**[02:52] Main**
Your parents can't get you a referral here,
so you should really think about it.
**[02:58] Main**
Unless you have a goal in mind,
you won't land an apprentice gig.
**[03:06] Lutz**
Do *you* have a goal in mind?
**[03:09] Lutz**
You wanna be a merchant yourself, don't you?
**[03:12] Main**
As my second option, but yes.
**[03:14] Main**
And I do know what I wanna do
as an apprentice merchant.
**[03:19] Lutz**
What's that?
**[03:20] Main**
I wanna sell paper.
**[03:22] Lutz**
Paper? Not books?
**[03:24] Main**
I don't think there's much
demand for books here.
**[03:28] Main**
But paper is a different story.
**[03:37] Lutz**
Hey...
**[03:38] Lutz**
He said the third bell, right?
Aren't we here too early?
**[03:41] Main**
Better too early than late.
**[03:50] Main**
Oh, there he is.
**[03:53] Main**
Remember your greetings.
**[03:55] Lutz**
Y-Yeah.
**[04:07] Main**
*He brought someone with him?*
**[04:12] Otto**
Heya, Main.
**[04:14] Main**
Good day, Mister Otto.
**[04:21] Main**
Thank you very much for taking
the time to meet with us today.
**[04:26] Main**
This is Lutz, my friend.
**[04:36] Lutz**
Hello, I'm Lutz!
**[04:38] Lutz**
It's a pleasure to meet you!
**[04:40] Otto**
This is Main. The captain's
daughter, and my assistant.
**[04:46] Benno**
An unbaptized child is your assistant?
**[04:49] Otto**
I'm grooming her for the role by
teaching her how to read and write.
**[04:53] Benno**
Huh...
**[04:58] Otto**
This is Benno, an old buddy of mine
from my days as a traveling trader.
**[05:02] Otto**
He may have a foul mouth, but
he's a nice guy deep down.
**[05:05] Main**
Hello. I'm Main.
**[05:08] Main**
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
**[05:10] Benno**
Oh, how very polite of you.
**[05:13] Benno**
My name is Benno.
**[05:15] Benno**
The pleasure is all mine.
**[05:19] Benno**
If you don't mind me asking,
what is that on your head?
**[05:30] Main**
A hair stick. I use it to tie up my hair.
**[05:38] Benno**
Just a piece of wood, I see.
**[05:42] Main**
Indeed.
**[05:43] Main**
It is just a piece of shaved wood.
**[05:47] Benno**
Wow.
**[05:49] Benno**
Tell me, lass.
**[05:51] Benno**
What did you do to make your hair so shiny?
**[05:54] Main**
I made a mix of surprisingly common items.
**[05:57] Main**
The details are confidential.
**[06:01] Benno**
Your hair looks just as splendid, lad.
**[06:04] Lutz**
Main washed it for me.
**[06:06] Benno**
Tch. I see.
**[06:08] Main**
*Too bad!*
**[06:09] Main**
* I have no intention of putting my*
* golden goose into play just yet.*
**[06:15] Otto**
So...
**[06:17] Otto**
Lutz, you want to join the
traveling trade, I hear?
**[06:20] Lutz**
Oh, yes.
**[06:23] Lutz**
I...
**[06:24] Otto**
Forget about it.
**[06:26] Otto**
Only a fool would relinquish
his citizenship.
**[06:30] Main**
"Citizenship"?
**[06:32] Otto**
The right to reside in any given city.
**[06:35] Main**
Then if you don't have one...
**[06:37] Benno**
Without it, you'll have no proof of identity.
**[06:41] Benno**
You won't be able to get a job,
rent a home, get married,
**[06:45] Benno**
or anything else.
**[06:47] Otto**
You know how children get
baptized at age seven?
**[06:50] Both**
Yeah...
**[06:51] Otto**
That's when you get your citizenship.
**[06:54] Otto**
If an outsider wants to obtain one,
**[06:56] Otto**
he has to cough up an absurd sum of money.
**[06:58] Lutz**
But...
**[07:00] Otto**
Besides,
**[07:00] Otto**
the life of a nomad is
nothing like city life.
**[07:03] Otto**
For example, what do you
do when you need water?
**[07:07] Lutz**
Draw it from a well?
**[07:09] Otto**
Right. But you won't necessarily have
access to a well on your travels.
**[07:13] Otto**
You'll have to find a
watering hole yourself.
**[07:16] Lutz**
Couldn't I just go to the river?
**[07:18] Main**
And how would you know where it is?
**[07:21] Main**
You won't be traveling
along one the entire way.
**[07:24] Lutz**
Oh...
**[07:25] Otto**
Main's right.
**[07:27] Otto**
That's why a family's routes are passed
down through generations in this trade.
**[07:33] Otto**
Those routes are too valuable
to share with outsiders.
**[07:37] Otto**
And the most important issue
here is the finish line.
**[07:42] Otto**
Do you know what a traveling
trader's ultimate goal is?
**[07:49] Otto**
Citizenship.
**[07:51] Otto**
They save up money so they can
leave their rough travels behind
**[07:55] Otto**
and live in peace in the city one day.
**[07:57] Otto**
That's every traveling trader's dream.
**[08:02] Lutz**
But that's...
**[08:03] Otto**
Do you really think they'd accept you
after you cast your citizenship away?
**[08:11] Otto**
That is the reality. Give up on
joining the traveling trade.
**[08:21] Otto**
That said, Main did a propose an idea.
**[08:25] Otto**
Is becoming an apprentice
merchant not good enough?
**[08:29] Lutz**
Main?
**[08:30] Main**
I figured you should hear from
someone who has lived that life.
**[08:35] Main**
But now that I've heard all that, even
I think the traveling trade's a bad idea.
**[08:47] Lutz**
So you've been looking out for me, huh?
**[08:53] Main**
But hey, apparently apprentice merchants
get to go out of town to stock up.
**[08:58] Lutz**
Apprentice merchant, huh?
**[09:02] Benno**
Do you want to be a merchant?
**[09:11] Lutz**
Yes, sir!
**[09:12] Benno**
I see.
**[09:14] Benno**
And what can you sell?
**[09:16] Benno**
What do you *want* to sell
when you're a merchant?
**[09:25] Lutz**
Well...
**[09:31] Benno**
If you can't answer that, we're done here.
**[09:43] Main**
Do you want to make my paper for me?
**[09:56] Lutz**
I do have a goal, sir!
**[10:00] Lutz**
I'll bring all of Main's ideas to reality!
**[10:10] Benno**
So the lass will think of creations,
and you'll make and sell them?
**[10:14] Benno**
Do you want to be a merchant too, lass?
**[10:17] Main**
As my second option, but yes.
**[10:19] Otto**
Is handling paperwork
at the gate your first?
**[10:22] Main**
My first option is to be a book
seller, or a librarian, even.
**[10:26] Benno**
Say what? "Librarian"?
**[10:29] Main**
Uh... A caretaker of sorts for books.
**[10:33] Benno**
That's a job for nobility.
**[10:35] Main**
*Tch! Darn those lucky nobles!*
**[10:38] Benno**
So, do you have any ideas right now?
**[10:41] Main**
Yes.
**[10:43] Main**
I want to produce and sell paper
that's not made from animal skin.
**[10:47] Benno**
Paper that isn't made from animal skin?
**[10:50] Main**
That's right.
**[10:51] Main**
I'll produce paper using plants.
**[10:54] Benno**
Did you just say "plants"?
**[10:56] Main**
I did. It'll be cheaper to
produce than parchment,
**[11:00] Main**
so I'm sure it'll make for some
very profitable merchandise.
**[11:02] Benno**
I see.
**[11:04] Benno**
So, how exactly will you produce it?
**[11:06] Main**
The details are confidential!
**[11:10] Benno**
I'd like to see this paper. Do you have it?
**[11:13] Main**
Not yet.
**[11:15] Main**
We'll have a prototype by the
time of our baptism next summer.
**[11:20] Main**
You can decide whether
it's usable or not then.
**[11:30] Benno**
Very interesting. That's fine by me.
**[11:33] Lutz**
Yes!
**[11:34] Main**
We did it, Lutz!
**[11:40] Main**
Let's do our best!
**[11:41] ---**
Yeah!
**[11:44] Main**
Mister Otto, thank you very much for today.
**[11:47] Otto**
It certainly was a fun day off.
**[11:52] Benno**
Be it her conduct or her speech,
**[11:55] Benno**
nothing about her indicates an
unbaptized child of a soldier.
**[12:00] Otto**
Her family is perfectly ordinary.
**[12:02] Otto**
She's the odd one out.
**[12:04] Benno**
Plant-based paper, eh?
**[12:07] Benno**
If they succeed, it will turn
the market on its head.
**[12:10] Otto**
Wait just one moment! Are you thinking
of making her your apprentice?
**[12:13] Benno**
Of course I am.
**[12:14] Benno**
She's already thought of hair
sticks, a way to make hair shine,
**[12:17] Benno**
and plant-based paper.
**[12:19] Benno**
She's sure to have all kinds
of other ideas up her sleeve.
**[12:21] Benno**
I'm going to have both of them join me.
**[12:25] Otto**
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
**[12:30] Lutz**
I know you're pleased,
**[12:32] Lutz**
but don't get too worked up or
you'll develop another fever.
**[12:35] Main**
But we're gonna make paper!
That's one step away from books!
**[12:39] Main**
Yahoo!
**[12:42] Lutz**
Okay, sure, but how are we gonna make it?
**[12:47] Main**
Uh-oh...
**[12:50] Main**
We don't have the tools.
***SIGN*** Ascendance of a
Bookworm
***SIGN*** Ascendance of a
Bookworm
**[13:02] Tuuli**
How'd Main's meeting go?
**[13:04] Eva**
Looks like she and Lutz have been
accepted as apprentice merchants.
**[13:08] Tuuli**
What? Really?
**[13:11] Tuuli**
I was sure she had no chance.
**[13:14] Eva**
It's conditional, though.
**[13:17] Main**
We need a steamer, a deckle, and...
**[13:23] Main**
Paper making happens in two steps:
extracting the fiber, and molding it.
**[13:28] Main**
First, you chop wood,
**[13:29] Main**
steam it,
**[13:31] Main**
and then skin it.
**[13:32] Main**
When that's done,
***SIGN*** When
***SIGN*** When that's
***SIGN*** When that's done
***SIGN*** When that's done!
**[13:34] Main**
once you've separated the useful
fiber from everything else,
**[13:37] Main**
you beat it down and unravel it.
**[13:39] Main**
And after that,
***SIGN*** And
***SIGN*** And after
***SIGN*** And after that
***SIGN*** And after that!
**[13:41] Main**
you screen a mix of the fiber,
water, and starch with the deckle.
**[13:45] Main**
You then couch the paper
and press the water out.
**[13:48] Main**
And once you dry it, you're done!
**[13:51] Main**
If we don't have the tools, we
just have to make those, too!
**[13:55] Main**
I'll ask Lutz tomorrow if we
can make all this equipment.
**[14:00] Gunther**
I'm home.
**[14:01] Tuuli**
Welcome back, Dad!
**[14:04] Gunther**
I'm home.
**[14:06] Main**
Oh, welcome back, Dad.
**[14:09] Gunther**
Don't feel too bad, Main.
**[14:12] Gunther**
You can find someone else to apprentice with.
**[14:17] Main**
Why did all three of you
just assume I had no chance?
**[14:23] Main**
I'll have you know I was accepted.
**[14:25] Tuuli**
It's conditional, though.
**[14:33] Lutz**
A tree that'll provide the raw material?
**[14:36] Main**
Yeah. I want you to find a soft, young-ish
tree with long and sturdy fibers.
**[14:41] Lutz**
Hmm...
**[14:44] Lutz**
I'll try asking someone who knows
a lot of about trees and wood.
**[14:46] Main**
Thanks.
**[14:47] Main**
Also...
**[14:49] Main**
Could you make these tools, Lutz?
**[14:54] Lutz**
Do you have nails?
**[14:57] Main**
Nails?
**[14:58] Lutz**
Yeah. I can't make anything without them.
**[15:02] Main**
So yeah, we don't have the equipment
to make the equipment we need.
**[15:08] Otto**
I guess you'll have to make the nails first.
**[15:10] Main**
It's no laughing matter!
**[15:13] Main**
By the way, what made you
want to become a soldier?
**[15:18] Main**
Didn't you say citizenship was expensive?
**[15:24] Otto**
I did it so I could marry Corinna.
**[15:27] Otto**
It was not long after I turned
fifteen and became an adult.
**[15:31] Otto**
I came to this town and met The One.
**[15:35] Otto**
I was shot through the heart
the moment I laid eyes on her.
**[15:38] Main**
*Long story short,*
**[15:39] Main**
* he fell for Corinna at first*
* sight, bought his citizenship,*
**[15:43] Main**
*and became a soldier.*
**[15:45] Otto**
Oh! Do you want to make a deal, Main?
**[15:49] Main**
A deal?
**[15:50] Otto**
Yeah. If you tell me how to make hair shiny,
**[15:55] Otto**
I'll pay for your nails.
**[15:57] Main**
Really?!
**[15:59] Main**
* But why would he care about the*
* Simple All-In-One Shampoo?*
**[16:04] Main**
*Who actually wants it?*
**[16:06] Main**
*The wife?*
**[16:08] Main**
*It's the wife, isn't it?*
**[16:11] Main**
I can't teach you how to make it, but
I don't mind trading some for nails.
**[16:16] Otto**
Bartering, eh?
**[16:19] Otto**
Very well.
**[16:20] Otto**
We have a deal!
**[16:24] Main**
* And so, I was invited to visit*
* Otto's home on the next day off.*
**[16:34] Main**
Wow.
**[16:35] Main**
This place hardly feels
like the same town anymore.
**[16:39] Otto**
Is this your first time
coming to the north side?
**[16:42] Main**
Yeah.
**[16:43] Main**
Soldiers aren't very rich, so most
of them live in the south, right?
**[16:48] Main**
How come you get to live here?
**[16:52] Otto**
My brother-in-law didn't want to
be separated from his dear sister,
**[16:55] Otto**
so he told us to live
upstairs in the family home.
**[16:57] Main**
Huh...
**[16:59] Otto**
Here we are.
**[17:01] Main**
What? *This* is your home?!
**[17:06] Otto**
We live on the third floor here.
**[17:08] Main**
* I'm amazed he got the green light*
* to marry such a rich girl.*
**[17:13] Corinna**
Welcome! I'm so happy you came!
**[17:16] Corinna**
I'm Corinna, Otto's wife.
**[17:20] Main**
Hello, Missus Corinna. I'm Main.
**[17:23] Main**
I've been looking forward to seeing you!
**[17:28] Corinna**
You really are a polite young lady.
**[17:33] Corinna**
Also...
**[17:35] Corinna**
Your hair is so pretty!
**[17:38] Corinna**
Forgive me.
**[17:40] Corinna**
Let me show you inside.
**[17:43] Main**
* Corinna may be young, but she's already*
* part of the top brass at the Seamstress Guild.*
**[17:48] Main**
* Tuuli was greener than her hair with envy*
* that I was getting to meet her idol.*
**[17:53] Corinna**
I'm ready, Main.
**[17:56] Main**
Okay.
**[18:03] Corinna**
My hair is so smooth now...
**[18:06] Main**
I hope you like it.
**[18:09] Corinna**
I very much do!
**[18:12] Corinna**
Thank you, Main.
**[18:18] Corinna**
Say, may I ask you something?
**[18:22] Main**
Yes?
**[18:24] Corinna**
How is Otto at work?
**[18:28] Corinna**
I'm worried because he had to give
up his merchant's life for me.
**[18:34] Main**
I don't think you have
anything to worry about.
**[18:37] Main**
He's still very much a merchant at work.
**[18:40] Main**
He always haggles with people
that come on deliveries,
**[18:43] Main**
with his merchant's spirit burning bright.
**[18:46] Corinna**
I see. His merchant's spirit...
**[18:53] Corinna**
I feel like a great weight has
been lifted off my shoulders.
**[19:01] Corinna**
How do I look, Otto?
**[19:06] Otto**
M-M-Main! Don't you have something to do?!
**[19:11] Main**
I might remember something
once I have my nails.
**[19:18] Main**
Score!
**[19:23] Main**
* We decided to use the nails*
* to make a deckle right away.*
**[19:37] Main**
Can you make them to exact measure to
avoid any gaps when they're stacked?
**[19:42] Lutz**
Exact measure?
**[19:43] Lutz**
I don't have the tools for that
unless I ask my dad or brothers.
**[19:47] Main**
Do you think they'll let you borrow them?
**[19:50] Lutz**
Hmm...
**[19:52] Lutz**
I dunno.
**(Flashback) [19:54] Deid**
Merchants are cold, heartless monsters
that only have money on their minds!
**(Flashback) [19:58] Karla**
Forget becoming an apprentice merchant
**(Flashback) [20:00] Karla**
and become a craftsman like
your father and brothers, Lutz.
**[20:08] Main**
Lutz, will you be all right?
**[20:11] Lutz**
Don't worry! I'll work things out!
**[20:13] Lutz**
Oh, I went around asking
lumberers about the tree.
**[20:17] Main**
Really?
**[20:18] Lutz**
Really. They told me about soft trees like...
**[20:22] Otto**
Main, Lutz.
**[20:24] Otto**
For you.
**[20:27] Otto**
An invitation for you two.
**[20:29] Lutz**
What's it say?
**[20:31] Main**
Mister Benno wants to see you and me.
**(Flashback) [20:37] Benno**
I'm going to have both of them join me.
**(Flashback) [20:40] Otto**
Absolutely not! She's my assistant!
**(Flashback) [20:43] Main**
Mister Otto.
**(Flashback) [20:45] Otto**
What's the matter, Main?
**(Flashback) [20:48] Main**
I wanted to ask you something.
**(Flashback) [20:51] Main**
Do you know of any illnesses where your
fever suddenly grows or shrinks?
**(Flashback) [20:58] Main**
It always feels like the
fever's eating into me.
**(Flashback) [21:01] Otto**
Never heard of anything like it, sorry.
**(Flashback) [21:05] Benno**
No idea.
**(Flashback) [21:06] Main**
I see.
**(Flashback) [21:08] Main**
Thank you.
**(Flashback) [21:13] Otto**
She's unbelievably frail.
**(Flashback) [21:17] Otto**
There's no way she can work for you.
**(Flashback) [21:20] Benno**
It may be the Devouring.
**(Flashback) [21:24] Benno**
If it is the Devouring,
**(Flashback) [21:26] Benno**
she'll die very soon.
***SIGN*** Next Chapter
Seeds of Suspicion
**[23:06] Ferdinand**
It seems you've taken a step closer
to making plant-based paper.
**[23:10] Ferdinand**
That's exactly right!
**[23:12] Main**
Anyway, Head Priest,
**[23:13] Main**
what did he mean, I'll die very
soon if it's the Devouring?
**[23:17] Ferdinand**
Exactly that, but what do you want to know?
**[23:21] Ferdinand**
How someone with the Devouring dies?
**[23:23] Ferdinand**
Terrifyingly, a person on the
brink of death due to it...
**[23:27] Main**
Eek! Not another word!
**[23:29] Main**
I can't stand pain or scary things!
**[23:32] Ferdinand**
As you wish.
***SIGN*** Illustration by Kitora Con