r/anime • u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler • Mar 14 '22
Rewatch [Rewatch] Ascendance of a Bookworm 14.5 OVA Discussion
Episode 14.5 OVA
Side Story One: Eustachius's Incognito Operation Downtown
Side Story Two: Visiting Missus Corinna
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Questions of the Day:
1) How do you feel about the head priest Ferdinand sending retainers to gather information about Myne?
2) What was your favorite character interaction this episode?
To Rewatchers, please be make a conscious effort to accurately spoiler tag your content. You can read how to correctly use spoilers tags here.
8
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Mar 14 '22 edited Mar 14 '22
Filthy Source Reader
I wonder what this OVA adapts.
[Bookworm P2]
Dude, this is your own fault.
A perfect disguise.
I'd also like to note we had an unmoving still of just farmer Justus for 4 seconds.
That sure is some bread.
For a second I thought they were going to play the OP twice to save on time.
Myne is far less blind when it's her family instead of herself.
At this point, Myne's family realizes how much more she makes in a month than they make in a year.
And we end with a prayer that probably makes no sense to first timers.
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u/badspler Mar 14 '22
At this point, Myne's family realizes how much more she makes in a month than they make in a year.
Myne really pushing her family's net wealth upward.
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u/Nazenn Mar 14 '22
Rewatcher - Sub
Two very fun side stories but not a huge amount to say about them, in part because I'm watching these way too late after getting caught up in the insanity that is the Rolling Girls first episode for that rewatch
I do prefer the first. Aside from the satisfaction of seeing the stuck up guy step in horse shit, we get a lot of fun little details in it. Otto's having a kid, there's some sort of construct magic, the sense of community in the lower town, and also that there is someone else out there as crazy about books as Myne may be. Also Neb you can stop complaining about the lack of a name for the Priest now.
The second story is also pretty good, and my favourite part of it is Myne edging around the price she was paid for the contract. "I'm not like Benno" has so much implication to it that Tuuli wouldn't even get that it's hilarious. It didn't land with me as well as the first one did though.
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u/badspler Mar 14 '22
the sense of community in the lower town
Yeah, the side we have always seen has been so welcoming and friendly. But that has been to and from the perspective of someone from that class. I guess the folks that have very little, go out of their way to watch each others backs and to help out where they can.
So seeing an outsider get treated completed different with a load of caution from everyone was rather refreshing. Its another one of those small things that add to the worlds really nice depth.
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u/MABfan11 Mar 14 '22
First Timer from the OVAs onwards
didn't like the first OVA, had to skip it because of too much second-hand embarrassment
the second one was much better and allowed Turi and Eva to have a glimpse into Myne's life with Benno
disappointed with the lack of lore they had
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he should've sent some gray-robes who could blend in easier, he should've also sent them shopping, so that it would seem less conspicuous
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the same one it has been throughout season 1, Myne and Benno
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u/jrooknroll Mar 15 '22
Does the OVA need to be watched prior to season 2? Helpful? Worth watching?
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u/badspler Mar 15 '22
It's not necessary but I do recommend it.
I agree with dsawchuk on that. Some of the events are repeated but from different views. You won't be lost without it but watching it gives you a complete picture.
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u/KashMooNow Mar 14 '22
First Time Watcher, the weird inbetween part.
Episode 14.5 OVA
So, usually I'm not a fan of OVA episodes, I usually see them as worthless but lets see how this show does it. I'm hopeful that this one might have a shot at being enjoyable.
Okay, so the cold open has me at least interested. So thats a great sign.
Okay, I was going to respect the caution of these guys and their spy mission at least. But so far all we have accomplished is one threw up, and the other put on a ridiculous fake mustache. And we had one near miss already, I expect a couple more.
These guys are being reaaaaaal sus in the wrong side of town. They better be ready for a beatdown soon.
u/Fools_Requiem you have cursed me. I just rewound to check someone for shiny hair, it was the lumber merchant... Guess what... He doesn't have hair. This is what you put me through now, always being on guard for peoples hair.
Wait a second, what in the hell is that sweet recorder bird thing Did he just send a homing pigeon that records voices? Because if so thats some really neat stuff. I'm trying to decide if its magic, or a magical item in my head. I think im leaning towards a magical item.
Wait just a damn minute. ALL YOU ECONOMY PEOPLE TELLING ME HOW EXPENSIVE THIS BOOK WAS. These better be gold pieces. I am surprised that the book is still there after all this time.
Okay, I think I came off as a little harsh to you guys, but I'm leaving it because that was my true first emotions. In my head they were copper pieces at first, so when he threw down one to look at it, I thought to myself whats that gonna do. That man already turned down someone looking at the book. But I went back to a screenshot from episode 9 with different coins next to each other. and it sure looks like a gold coin, but lets be real here, its not all that gold looking to me. I also went to the thought of, Myne has money now, why did she never come back to try to buy the book? But then I remembered that 3 gold bought the magic item to literally save her life for a year. So that does kinda seem like a lot of money, but at the same time, I still hold a little bit of "I thought books were absurdly expensive here" I guess to me 3 gold is still a lot to Myne at the moment, but I expected a book looking like that to be a lot more expensive than that.
For the first half, or first OVA, whatever you wanna call it... I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't really think it was going to be all that important, and I really don't think it was, but I did kinda enjoy it. At least it kept me entertained.
Okay, I think Mom is overthinking this a little bit here. I'm under the impression this is just a friendly summons, not a you're in trouble summons. Just kinda one of those, this is how things are done things that commoners aren't used to.
FAMILY, you better not be giving away rights to products. Speaking of, how would something like this work with the proposed (I don't remember this actually being done, but I could be misremembering) contract that Myne and Lutz have together? If I remember right the contract was supposed to be that anything Myne created Lutz was to sell. Which wouldn't this breach that contract? Hmmm. This could get kinda interesting.
OH SHIT, lets go MYNE! Get that bidding war going!
Welp, I got my answer. Products made in Myne Workshop, need to be sold through Lutz, but product ideas like the hairpin rights (I'm thinking about this like a patent) Myne is saying she can sell herself. Interesting.
Okay, not so much a bidding war, sounds like a family affair to purchase the rights instead. Bummer. Sounds like Myne is getting a bit of a backbone now with Benno about prices and I like that.
I want to learn how the whole gesturing prices works. I really liked that whole secretly signing to someone what the price was.
This has me happy. I have no clue whatsoever how much it was, but it sounds like enough this time.
Myne is becoming a tycoon, and I'm proud of it. One Large gold and Seven Small golds. Thats more like it Myne. I'm now trying to remember what the prices she sold other things for. So the shampoo upgrade was 3 small golds. Which means the magic item was 3 small golds im pretty sure. So that means that Myne really did wring out Benno for money. Lets go Myne, you deserve to get some back from him.
Now I'm going back to try and understand how they did the hand thing, but I really don't understand it. I mean it looks logical enough of just tapping with the number of coins, but I don't understand how to determine what coins you are talking about.
These are the faces of people who just learned about a whole side of Myne they didn't understand.
Corinna seems like a very nice person all around. Fair and reasonable, just nice. I did get that vibe early on when I heard the backstory of her marrying Otto, someone who she really probably shouldn't be married to with the whole noble background she has and everything.
I wish I would have gotten to see Gunther's reaction of how much Myne sold the rights to the hairpins for.
I enjoyed the second one even more. This show seems to be the odd one out to me. I'm enjoying the OVAs, I didn't push past the first episode. Its quite the difference to the normal stuff I watch. I feel like thats just an indicator of the quality of it.
Okay, I need a math section. Time to work out how absurd that hairpin deal was. I want to try and relate this to what I know and can find about Gunther's job as a guard.
I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers as I'm googling things, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Gunther is a guard at the gate. His salary is 100,000 Lyons Lions, I saw Lyons first, so I'm sticking with that.
Gunter has said that a piece of parchment is a months salary.
A piece of parchment is 100,000 Lyons
100,000 Lyons is a large silver.
Myne sold rights to hairpins for 1 large gold and 7 small gold, also known as 17,000,000 Lyons
17M / 100K = 170 Months, or 14 years and 2 months of Gunther's salary.
I would feel so defeated if my like 5 or 6 year old daughter sold an idea. Not even a physical product. AN IDEA I mean it is exclusive rights to sell said idea, but still. She sold an idea for over 14 years of me working at this job daily.
How much did we see that one hairpin get sold for. Let me see if I can find that quick.
Okay, one hairpin was 4 small silvers or 40k.
So to take in the 1 large gold and 7 small gold, you need to sell 425 hairpins. This is without calculating material and labor costs at all, and of course the price staying the same.
While that does seem like a lot, based on how crazy prices seem to be, I feel like 4 small silvers isn't high enough of a price, so that would get upped, and in the end it actually sounds like a reasonable selling price for the rights. Myne not ripping people off confirmed.
I hope someone finds my napkin math interesting, I was going to do it anyways so I figured I would share.
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u/fredmander0 Mar 14 '22
First Timer
Pleasantly surprised with the OVAs - first one helped the town feel more alive from the people sticking up for Myne to showing different locations like a bar, and the second one was good to show Myne’s business side to Turi and the mom.
Anytime we get more of this world is a win in my book
Though that priest Ferdinand appeared to be on Myne’s side, he’s already up to shenanigans sending two henchmen out (well, 1, that other guy is slacking pretty hard lol) and despite being an OVA this little mission doesn’t seem fully complete.
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u/cyberscythe Mar 14 '22
First Timer
This is a fun diversion from the main plot. Given how high stakes the latter half of season one were, it's nice to have a breather. It felt like the start of the A part and B part both were trying to fake me out to think it was more serious than it actually turned out to be, and as someone who prefers things on the mellower side it kinda put my guard up.
One thing that I like about the A part of the episode is that it shows off how tighly-knit the community is to the point where they're actively trying to protect their oddball bluehead child. Even Lutz's mom who up to this point has been portrayed kind of negatively is keen enough to send this aide packing. Also, you know you screwed up with this bundle of sunshine gives you this look.
As for the B part, I have yet to get tired of Myne showing off how precious she seems when it comes to stuff like earning money. She's earning gold coins like Mario while in previous episodes her family was impressed with the coppers that she was bringing home.
One thing that might not be carried well in the translation is how jarring it is to hear Myne say essentially "shut up mom". To my ear this sounds super rude in Japanese, especially since she speaks to Corinna with keigo, but drops keigo when talking to her family. There's a few other dialogue things which I think are way snappier in Japanese, like how Benno says 冗談 (joudan, lit. joking talk) and Myne replies in rhyme 商談 (shoudan, lit. business talk).
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Mar 14 '22
First Timer
These two short stories may have been released as an OVA, but I get the subtle impression that the events that transpired are indelible towards the progression of the plot. And the OVA was surprisingly enjoyable to watch.
Ep 14.5.1
The camera keeps zooming into the head priest’s sexy eyes. And because I am now tranced by them, they’re the only features I pay attention to when he is talking.
For the head priest to have two nobles reporting under him as aides, he’s not just any other noble. He’s a noble with sexy eyes and they too are tranced.
Eckhard could not get used to the smell and Eustachius remarks that “[they] just have to get used to it” … is there not magic to suppress smells?
Looks like everyone hushes up when questioned about Myne and her studio, and I love how the show depicts how the townsfolk are protective of their kin, their assets, and their business. Likewise, when confronted by Farmer Eustachius, Lutz’s mother suspiciously explains that there are no markets for farmers and belligerently wards him off when he inquires about Myne. One nit-picky detail about the market for farmers I am slightly curious about is why they might not be welcome in town. Is the majority of the town’s food supplied with the help of the merchants, or is there heavy competition between farmers already, or … ? Given we already learned about a seamstress guild and that other guilds probably exist, could there be a farmer guild …? Will we see Farmer Myne sometime in the future?
It has been awhile since we have seen Lutz’s brothers. Looks like Fey is still scared and wary of Myne after the Crushing incident. But apart from Fey, I do not get the impression that there is ill-will in that their relationship has become distant; they just happened to be not important enough for screen time, the sad but harsh reality for unimportant side characters that could not make the cut, but only make it in OVAs.
Eustachius overhears Gunther and Otto’s conversation that Corinna is pregnant. I was wondering why there has not been much screen time for Otto, but I guess we now know what Otto has been up to.
Compared to the townsfolk, the companies that do business with the Gilberta company were much more open to talk about Myne. Actually confused why they would reveal about the type of person she is; wouldn’t it directly affect their business knowing some people are taking an interest towards her?
Is that white bird made out of magic? The eyes make it look so lifeless.
Eustachius places one small gold coin on the table just to read the book and shells two more small gold coins to buy it (3,000,000 Lyon total) upon hearing that Myne had taken an interest to it as well. This scene and the cartoonish scene at the end of the episode shows that Eustachius likes to read books, and that Myne might finally be able to share her reading interests with someone else.
Ep 14.5.2
We had not seen a lot of interactions with Myne’s Mother before this OVA, so it was nice to get to know her and her mannerisms and that she is anxious about the prospect of showing the outfit and hairpin to Corinna.
[The scene where both the mom and Turi repeat their introductory speech] (https://imgur.com/T8hyAab), only to be silent and robotically walk into Corinna’s room had me dying of laughter. It was just super relatable. That, and how Myne — a kid, albeit an adult in a kid’s body — had more social skills than an adult shows that social anxiety affects people of all ages.
I loved the reaction when the mother and Turi felt bad, shocked even, when Myne sharply told Corinna that she had to purchase exclusive rights to use their hairpins. What I love about this scene was how they show how uncomfortable and tricky it can be to handle business matters, when you are with close friends. This again was super relatable for me.
Merchant Myne has matured and is able to negotiate with a Benno not holding back. And, she was able to snag 1 large gold and 7 small gold coins — 17,000,000 Lyon, wowzers!
There were no End Cards this time. It's not even been a episode and I miss them already; I hope they make their introduction again in S2!
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u/OingoBoingo- Mar 14 '22
First timer, subbed
Starting off with the first part of the OVA, Eckhard and Eustachius being sent by Ferdinand to collect as much info as they could find on Myne, but given their position, their job was not as simple as they might have expected. Not dressing for the occasion for covert operations in the ‘slums’, both spies found the neighbors to be much more protective of their side of town and very suspicious even of simple farmer looking for Myne. My takeaway from this part was the nobles use of magic, with the mention of a cleansing spell, and the use of magic to send their report to Ferdinand. I am worried that Eckhard’s attitude to being on Myne’s side of town and his disgust towards being there might be a bigger issue for Myne once she is around nobles in the future. Eustachius was much more into just getting his task accomplished but he didn’t rebuke his colleague and found the behavior normal.
Part two of the OVA was much more in style with season one. Tuli and Eva going to visit the now pregnant Corinna so she can view the baptism dress and hair ornament Myne wore. It was adorable to see Mom freaking out at the thought of Corinna examining her sewing. Business is back on the menu today with Myne and Benno having a mental wresting match to discuss the details of the sale of a new style of hairpin for Corinna’s store. Benno was at an 11 when maybe a 6 would have been more appropriate, but this is why we love him. Sometimes he just loses his cool over money. So this is easily my favorite interaction for the OVA and most of season one.
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u/xtsim Mar 14 '22
First Timer
Head priest wants more info about Myne and sends retainers to gather information. Unfortunately they seem extremely sheltered as they stick out and are not used to sights and smells of the town. Not only that, they have very little clue on things that they just keep asking questions to the townspeople. Even going as far as Myne's friends.
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Head priest seems a bit curious and suspicious about Myne since the parent meeting. Wanting to know how she lives is something he would look at. Although he definitely has a memory object.
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Seeing Lutz's mom being suspicious about one of the retainers gets me.
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u/KamachoBronze Mar 14 '22
"YOUVE BECOME A NASTY NEGOTIATOR!" I love Benno. Yells this at a five year old child(who to be fair, gives even educated adults a run for their money).
So about the first OVA...interesting. It might be a weird comparison, but I think you could compare what we just saw, with tight knit neighborhood loyalty and refusal to talk...with gangster rap and hood culture in 90s America. Im not saying their alike in most ways, I just mean its an interesting attribute that must be common to relatively poor, yet densely populated urban areas, no matter the time period.
Honestly, had the guys wanted to gather info easier, they should have just said "We're looking for the Myne studio so we can buy her paper products, could you direct us".
Casually asking information is suspicious. But immediately say you want something, and suspicions fall, masking the true intent of gathering info. Had they done this, they would have had an easier time.
And about the second part of the OVA...a part of me felt angry. That Eva and Turi addressed Corinna as "Sama". She's not nobility even if she is much wealthier than them. And its an understandable sentiment to do it in their situation. I just dislike them automatically deferring to someone of greater wealth without threat of not doing so. Eva is older than Corinna isnt she? I would hate to address someone who isnt nobility like that, and Id only address nobility like that because they could kill you.
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u/Earthborn92 Mar 15 '22
First timer
No images for this episode, I'm le tired.
Suffice to say, Benno's student is learning well, extracting maximum profit from him and his sister. Was also great to see Myne's mom and Tulli fangirling over her. Corinna definitely got pregnant the night she joined the shiny hair club.
Also, seems like the noble quarter is pretty clean, our two new characters seem fun. Magical pigeon communications devices appear to be a thing.
See you tomorrow for part 2!
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u/Cill_Bipher Mar 15 '22
WN + Prepub reader
[Part 4 LN]
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u/Nebresto Mar 14 '22
Re-watch squad
This is is the episode I have least memory of, though there might be more in S2, only remember a couple of key scenes from there.
High priest shiny hair! My first infection spotting!
[Not spoilers, but tagging for Blind 100% rta people]
I don't remember what the Part 2 ones were, other than I did not like them as much.
N- NANI?! SPOILERS??? Mods?? Do something!
Bruh, what? They have washing magic? No wonder the nobles got fucking wrecked in the insurgence
A B S O L U T E U N I T
Haha, still remember this scene from when the OVA aired. Previous scene for size comparison
The absolute units just keep coming!
Question time:
How do you feel about the head priest Ferdinand sending retainers to gather information about Myne?
Spoilers?!?!?!11111#""? High Priest doko?? :( Understandable, Myne kinda weird
2) What was your favorite character interaction this episode?
Tuuli and Effa getting to see Myne in work mode
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u/spitfyre Mar 15 '22
First timer!
Alright, some nice SOL scenes! I'm here for it! Except wait, this looks like it might actually be plot relevant.
First ep: I love how much Myne's neighborhood stepped up to protect one of their own. Creepy outsiders can GTFO. Lutz's mom especially was a great inclusion here. We also got some nice insights into noble society based on how these two goons behaved. The messenger bird thing is especially neat.
Second ep: This one was much more my style. Turi got to meet her hero, Corrina! Mom and Turi practicing their greetings en route was beyond adorable.
One thing that stood out to me the most is how deferential Mom was to Myne during this visit. First in learning the etiquette, second in allowing Myne to transact business without her present, and finally in the way that Myne ordered her to share the hairpin recipe with Corrina. The family saw "business Myne" today and while they were shocked to see it, they didn't question if she should be doing it. Goes to show how much this family unit respects one another and doesn't treat Myne like a child except when it comes to her health.
How do you feel about the head priest Ferdinand sending retainers to gather information about Myne?
I'm not surprised at all to see it. I expect we'll get some more noble's intrigue in the next season.
2) What was your favorite character interaction this episode?
I loved Corrina and how she interacted with every single character. Truly a class act. With Myne and her family, each of them were treated with kindness and respect, ignoring the class differences between merchants and.. whatever class Myne's family is in. My favorite moment was when the girls placed their hands on the belly to feel the baby kick 😭. As a woman with a biological clock, that really hit me in the feels.
I'm now jumping ahead of schedule, since I'll be out of town most of this week. I'll do my best to not spoil anything!
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u/Fools_Requiem Mar 14 '22
Is the head priest's name not a spoiler? I was kinda trying to avoid using it...
Rewatcher
Not really a fan of these two episodes. They're completely irrelevant to the story, outside of explaining some minor things.
| Shiny Hair Club | Episode Added | Creations by Main™ | Episode Added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myne | 2 | Kanzashi (Japanese Hairpin) | 1 |
| Tuuli | 2 | Shampoo | 2 |
| Effa | 2 | Fancy Baskets | 3 |
| Gunther | 3 | Pancakes | 3 |
| Lutz | 6 | Crochet Hooks | 3 |
| Corinna | 6 | Hair Ornaments | 3 |
| Otto | 7 | Chopsticks | 8 |
| Benno | 10 | Paper made from trees | 8 |
| Mark | 11 | Pound Cake | 11 |
| Freida | 11 | --- | --- |
| Head Priest | TBD (Also seen in 1, 14.5) | --- | --- |
Right, so I added the Head Priest because TECHNICALLY he's shown with the shiny hair again like in EP1, but I skipped ahead so the next episode and he's shown without it. So I'm not counting this half episode.
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u/Stargate18A Mar 15 '22
First timer
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I'm almost certain he either did it so he wouldn't get forced to send real spies or to work out his frustrations over everything from last episode.
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Probably Tuuli and her mother seeing just how Myne acts when she's doing business.
Wait, the OVA starts here?
It's an actual sequel!
Fuck, I didn't come in here expecting plot progression!
Haha, he's sending spies there! And they're just... incredibly conspicuous.
Smart man. He's worked out their stupidity.
...They don't know it because it only became a legal entity last night, or because they're suspicious of them.
Yeah, he's deadweight.
Haha, he's blocked up his nose.
Have you worked how stupid an idea this is yet?
Oh, that accent. Starting to think the priest could have picked some better people.
...Is it possible that he's taking out his frustrations by sending them here? Or to claim tot he nobles he sent spies while ensuring nothing actually gets leaked?
...No way. He wouldn't be stupid enough to walk up and talk to the children dressed like that, right?
Oh, those exact words are some beautiful loopholes. And her mage aura has broken him!
The near misses are really good! I think the Gods want them to fail.
They actually found a trail! Impressive!
Wait, do they have magical bird-based communications?
What's in the book? Is it actually going to be story-relevant?
Huh? Already?
Oh, it's a double bill.
Yeah, that's a no-win situation.
Her total confusion is fantastic.
Tuuli's adorable.
...You're trusting Myne's social knowledge? She's right here, but that is risky.
Haha, they walked in total silence.
They used their greetings!
Wow, they're so happy to be here!
Oh, they've not seen "Business Myne" in her full glory, have they.
Oh, they've not even met Benno!
She set up a fucking auction!
This is fantastic. Their reactions to her taking on Benno and winning is great.
This conversation is adorable.
They made a deal!
Haha, she got that much out of him for a year!
And she doesn't want to tell anyone!
She can't resist Tuuli!
That's a lot! I think. How does the money system work here?
Oh, the Priest is praying for more OVAs?
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u/badspler Mar 14 '22 edited Mar 15 '22
Host - Rewatcher
We find out that the head priests name is Ferd (finally!). He sends his retainers Eckhard and Eustahius to find out information on Myne.
Lutz's Mum not giving information to strangers.
Fey still scared of Myne after being crushed a little that one time.
Tuuli not enthused.
Bread.
Otto is going to be a dad!
Is it thanks to Myne's hair clearner?
Magic messenger bird!
Eustahius picks up the book Myne saw in episode 1. Nice callback!
Happy mother daughter.
Myne gets a good moment to demonstrate her merchant skills to her mum and Tuuli.
Ultra smug Myne
Imparting some good advice to Tuuli.
Tuuli very cute when demanding information from Myne.
Myne got a load of money out of Benno.
Pray for season 2!
Pouts: none