The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3, “Spring Prayer,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
With this episode, the dangers surrounding Myne and her unique abilities and knowledge have started to reveal themselves. While things have yet to get truly out of hand, trouble is always around the corner, and it’s not guaranteed that everyone will be able to get out without getting hurt.
In addition, we’re introduced to a new character named Sylvester. He’squite the show-off and a bit of a bully, but his intentions seem good. While there is still a lot to learn about this character, the events of this episode prove that he may be a reliable new ally for Myne.
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“Spring Prayer”
The episode starts off where the last episode ended, with Sylvester being introduced to Myne. Sylvester quickly makes a nuisance of himself by demanding that Myne make squealing sounds and then taking away her hairpin. Myne starts to lose control of her emotions and letsher mana go berserk, forcing Ferdinand and Damuel to quickly scold Sylvester. With that settled, the group all head off to perform the Spring Prayer at various winter estates. Ferdinand, Myne, Damuel, Karstedt, and Sylvester head there by flying on highbeasts, while their attendants follow on land by carriage.
At the first destination, Sylvester makes a scene by jumping from his mount, making a spectacular landing on the ground. Then, the priests take part in the Spring Prayer ceremony, where Myne fills a giant grail with mana. Ferdinand then passes on the mana to the mayors of the nearby villages. Once the ceremony is over, Myne’s party heads to the estate of the local noble. During dinner, Sylvester notices that Myne’s dinner is different from the others. She tells him that it is because her meal was cooked by her personal chef, and when Sylvester asks to try some of the food, Myneallows him to have half of her meal. Sylvester then asks Myne to trade chefs, but Myne tells him that since the chefs work for someone else, she cannot give them to him, but that he can eat at the restaurant they will open soon.
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The next day, the group travels to other winter estates in order to continue performing the ceremony for the winter estate. On one occasion, Ferdinand decides to travel to the estate alone with Myne, and tells her to hide her face with a hood, as the person who they are about to visit, Viscount Gerlach, is not only friends with the high priest, but has also taken an interest in Myne. When they meet, Viscount Gerlach offers to have them stay the night, but Ferdinand refuses. The group stays the night in another count’s estate, and when Myne awakes in the morning, she is told by Ferdinand that bandits attempted to kidnap her last night, likely on the orders of Viscount Gerlach. They managed to capture some of them, but they killed themselves before being questioned, and even the one that ran away ended up dying as well.
Danger shows up again when the group is attacked en route to their next destination. A God of Darkness barrier captures the carriage holding the attendants, leaving them vulnerable to the local villagers, who attempt to attack the carriage. Feeling pressured,Myne’s mana begins to go berserk, so Ferdinand tells her to make a prayer to the Goddess of Wind. Myne does so, creating a barrier around the carriage that blows away the villagers. Sylvester and Karstedt work together to destroy the barrier, and the carriage is saved. However, the person behind the barrier is still a mystery.
Danger Rears Its Ugly Head
In this episode, we see for the first time the kind of lengths that those aiming to kidnap Myne will go to. Thanks to the efforts of Ferdinand and the many people working to protect Myne, their attempts have so far been thwarted, butit’s almost certain that more attempts will be made in the future. Viscount Gerlach has been pointed out as a new enemy that may be behind these incidents, but without definite proof, there is not much that they can do about it.
Thankfully, this episode also introduces a capable ally in the form of Sylvester. While he is quite an odd character with a tendency to tease others, when push comes to shove, he can be quite reliable. His magical abilities have also proven to be quite powerful, as demonstrated when he helped to destroy the barrier surrounding the carriage. While his personality is troublesome, he could be a valuable ally for Myne during these dangerous times.
Overall, it’sclear that rough timesare ahead for Myne and her friends and allies. The Spring Prayer hasn’t concluded yet, and more attacks may occur. The efforts of Ferdinand, Karstedt, Damuel, and Sylvester have managed to fend off trouble so far, but how much longer can that last?
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