I really enjoy getting to talk to other people about quality content that I am also consuming, which at the moment would include other light novels, manga, and anime. Ideally, from my point of view, there would be some new comments to read and engage with every day. The scope of the exact subject matter for the server is not that important to me personally if the comments are interesting.

Another great part. How can we be so close to the end though?

Her library city. After everyone telling her it was impossible.

My mistake. It wasn't the smile he wears when dumping work on others--it was his revenge smile. 😂

The Zent gives her a final exam of destroying some medals, perfectly logical and normal, of course.

But man - this feystone exchange. It was a delight to see each of them react with such heartfelt feeling, and both messages basically "I will watch over you and protect you and the things you care about." The image for this part is just spectacular too.

I hope Adolphine gets a future that works for her. Rozemyne didn't seem to be able to figure out how much Adolphine dislikes Sigiswald and she's clearly not on anyone's mind. Glad she was finally able to speak up, and I hope she gets the divorce she wants and a better situation.

I loved her description of the necklace that Ferdinand made, and wonder how he possibly had the time. He must have been planning/thinking about it for a little while, but everything is so very busy! It did leave me wondering if he also made one for the feystone he received. And I was reminded of the first time she was gifted a necklace, by Sylvester.

I kind of melted at the scene where he makes the teleportation circle in her new hidden room. Both that he embraces her, and that she insists that he come to her first meeting with her family. And the way he resists but melts. Awww. Though, I don't blame him for being a little afraid to face Gunther!

I am super curious about Ferdinand's plans for purging troublesome nobles of Ahrensbach...

I appreciated that Wilfried is squicked by her being engaged to Ferdinand after all. From his point of view, he absolutely should be, and it's funny to see him kind of wrestling with the former fiancee that he totally didn't want... going to someone else.

Surely with all this teasing we are getting a Damuel and Philine side story.

I love the cover and where it suggests the story is going!

Justus' point of view - wow, that was very welcome and it surprised me how powerfully it landed with me.

And then when Justus and Rozemyne get to confer - them coming together with resources and ideas is as fabulous as I had hoped. And high praise from Eckhart!

Of course Rozemyne is not going to start following Ferdinand's instructions now. Sylvester's amusement at the prospect of Ferdinand dealing with the mess she's about to make... I look forward to that too.

I was quite struck by Eglantine saying she owed Ferdinand and Rozemyne an apology, that there were things she hadn't realized before becoming Zent. WHAT THINGS? You can't drop a nugget like that and do nothing with it. 😂 Hoping it comes out in a side story then.

And then Rozemyne CAN WE STOP TALKING ABOUT WINTER PLEASE? Genius of Kazuki to make that her euphemism.

Somehow in my head I have to fix that Giebe Gerlach is now a wholly different person and not Grausam. There were a couple of times where I got confused about who was doing what to whom until I realized there was a new person in that office.

I don't know what "used as a pawn" means in Ehrenfest or even Japanese, but I understand that phrase to mean that the person had no agency, possibly neither control nor knowledge, about their actions or how they might affect others.

Not to mention, this girl is not even old enough to go to school yet. Of course she is easily manipulated and fooled by someone experienced in human manipulation.

If you haven't read the novels, I highly recommend them. The various noble reactions to Myne are heavily explored and deeply entertaining.

Even in the section covered by the anime, for example where Ferdinand explores her memories, the novel goes much deeper. Ferdinand is extremely clear after that that indeed she only cares about books. 😅

We are spending so much time in relatively mundane interactions that I can't even see how there's only one more part left. And I guess no side stories?

I'm going to so miss having Bookworm releases as part of my Mondays.

I realize it adds to the drama, but this tradition where people placed in different duchies basically are no longer able to interact, even if they are family, seems like something that Aubs Alexandria and Eherenfest could agree to drop. Hopefully they will continue to be close allies.

It's great to see Sylvester acknowledge what a favor Rozemyne has done for him, taking the Aherensbach threat off his plate. And I'm still a little misty and interested in the way that Sylvester earlier specifically thanked Rozemyne for taking care of his little brother, perhaps acknowledging his failures in doing so. His relationship with her is so interesting and I hope eventually we do get a side story from his point of view, tying up how he sees her progression from this problematic commoner to his adopted daughter to his peer.

I also really want to see Ferdinand ask Rozemyne more about her past as Urano and maybe better understand her life their. He had to shy away from that to avoid being overwhelmed by her emotions but they can afford that now.

I assume the last part will include the Archduke conference and then it must include a reunification with her family. Even bare bones I hardly see how there's room for just that.

What a great story this has been and I look forward to Hannelore's story and hopefully more side stories even if the main thread ends here.

Apparently the Gervasio chapter is fairly long and the next part will contain the conclusion, so his POV doesn't stop there!

This was quite a volume, and quite a conclusion!

I really enjoyed how Sigiswald was just kind of lame and spoiled from Rozemyne's point of view... and then absolutely hammered by Adolphine's story. Rozemyne thinks some of the noble errors he's making (like not offering her a villa) are about them being in a rush and thus unusually frantic, but Adolphine's account makes it clear that Sigiswald and his retinue are that thoughtless as a matter of course.

No wonder Eglantine was willing to do just about anything to avoid marrying Sigiswald.

I hadn't realized that Adolphine was so against marrying into the Royal Family, and yikes the idea of what would happen to her if Detlinde became Zent after she married... and that she loathes it so much that the idea of the loathed Detlinde becoming Zent before becomes oddly attractive.

I loved the part where she reads between the lines to assume that Rozemyne crushed him in her negotiations, and cheers. I hope they get to talk soon, as allies. It's nice that Adolphine sees her as an avenue to pursue for their mutual benefit.

Keep praying to the Goddess of Separation, Adolphine!

Thank you for posting this - what an interesting interview!

Since I cannot read the source material, I am now curious about how many light novels that I experience as weak or trite are actually higher quality in Japanese and then butchered by machine translations versus just being pulpy in the original. I have been having this reaction more and more lately but didn't realize this was a possible reason.

It's not just text that needs translation for literal meaning, but metaphor. A good translation carries the intent of the author which includes handling some phrases in a non-literal way.

In the short term, if the reading public has no way to know the translator, then yes, speed will win. But in the longer term, as I start more series and find them unsatisfying, will that end up hurting sales across the whole genre?

Quof, if you're reading this, or if any other decisionmaker is, I disagree that the story alone is why I read. Bookworm is by far the best light novel series I've read in English and I directly attribute that to the synergy of Kazuki + Quof. Once really invested in the characters, there's motivation to find out what happens, but that's only present because of the strong writing I enjoyed back in the beginning. So thank you.

I think he wants her to have his namestone for a couple of reasons.

First, I think it's sentimental, it makes him feel needed and closer to her. And probably having it returned when his father was dying is not the best memory.

Second, I think it's intentional to give her power over him. It neutralizes the imbalance that began their relationship, when he had life and death power over her, not to mention the mentor-student power. He is always seen (and probably knows himself to be) manipulative and dangerous and he wants very much not to hurt her, to give her absolute power to stop him should she choose.

Schutzaria's shield of wind prevents anyone from entering who means harm to those inside. He's giving her that, to ensure that he cannot harm her, at least not until she comes of age. He doesn't fully trust himself.

For a relationship with an underage fiancee, it does seem very appropriate.

I loved this section - Effa's point of view, learning just how far her daughter has risen; Gunther learning his sickly daughter is now leading a squadron of knights; and Ferdinand, hearing phrases like there's no point in saving a country without you in it, and his thoughts about how he's never been anyone's top priority before.

I am even more curious about the circumstances of his adoption, though - it seems he was smuggled out? So maybe he was someone's top priority, once, just before he remembers. I wonder how Aub Ehrenfest became involved in that - and I guess his sister? Did someone just decide to stop sending Lanzenave mana (and man, what a weird way to do it!) or did someone become fond of him in particular? And then what did happen to his mother?

For that matter, I assume the death of the Aub's sister / Ferdinand's guardian was at Veronica's hands.

Watching Ferdinand aggressively challenge the gods themselves is flat amazing.

I'm so looking forward to the establishment of Alexandria, but also so sad that the next one is the last volume.

I reread this part today and realized I forgot to mention another moment that really caught my attention, Sylvester telling Rozemyne that he entrusts his little brother to her.

That seems to me to be a hugely significant thing to say, particularly to one's legal daughter, and I'm still turning it over in my mind trying to understand what exactly Sylvester is thinking. Not that he's wrong of course. We've established many times that Myne saved Ferdinand even as he saved her, but it's super interesting to me that he specifically gives her the upper hand with that statement. And of course he knows that Rozemyne was an adult in another world before she was Myne also.

Then I also love that when Sylvester teased her about cleaning up nice until she opens her mouth, that Rozemyne shot it right back at him.

😂

I think it's remarkable how much she has to upend everything just so a little commoner girl can read some books.

Also I enjoy how every time she becomes competent in one space, she gets isekai'ed into another space.

She would really be fine with spending the rest of her life in Ferdinand's estate reading his books, if only they'd let her.

"okay two books."

I love our gremlin.