Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 25

Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 25

Trombe and Battles

It looks like my prediction that Myne was going to be kidnapped by Schicicoza of the knight order was incorrect. I really thought it was going to happen considering the whole kidnapping flag has been raised numerous times and this was the first time Myne was “alone” with a noble who seemed like he would do it.

Of course, it could still happen at some point later on in the series, but I don’t believe Schicicoza would have anything to do with it if it does happen. I wouldn’t say that he’s learned the error of his ways, but he’s definitely learned not to mess with Myne.

I’ll come back to Schicicoza in just a bit, but I want to first discuss the new information we’ve learned about trombe. Well, the new information isn’t really about trombe, but more about Myne and her connection to the mana-absorbing plant.

Myne captured by a trombe from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm season 2
Myne captured by a trombe

We still don’t really know what a trombe is. However, it seems to be implied that trombe aren’t a plant that exist on their own, but rather spontaneously appear due to high levels of mana. We first saw this when Myne turned a fruit into a trombe simply by picking it up and putting mana into it.

This week, that theory seems to have gained more traction, with Myne’s (mana-filled) blood causing a trombe to burst out of the ground. Ferdinand makes it seem like a trombe was hibernating in that location, but I think the blood actually created the trombe.

And we’re also told that all of Myne’s bodily fluids contain concentrated mana. Not only can her blood produce a trombe, but her tears can too. I wonder if the blood of children with the devouring was ever collected by the church.

Who Holds the Highest Rank?

The best part of the entire episode was seeing Sir Ferdinand flex on all the knight order plebeians (nobles). Last week I discussed how Ferdinand appeared to be a much higher ranking noble than anyone in the knight order based on how they followed his lead, and now that’s been confirmed.

I actually think Ferdinand is from an even more important family now than I did previously. And the reason for this is due to how he spoke about the knights being punished by their lord for failing in their duties.

At first, when Ferdinand mentioned their lord, I thought he meant Lord as in a deity. This seemed to be the case when he first mentioned how Myne was chosen by their lord to serve the church on account of her vast mana reserves. However, upon further inspection, this doesn’t really add up.

Sir Ferdinand from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm season 2
Sir Ferdinand

There are multiple gods and goddesses in this world, so would Ferdinand really be referring to a singular Lord? It’s possible since there is a king of the gods. But what I think is more likely based on his continued reference to the lord punishing the knights is that he’s actually referring to the lord of the region.

We haven’t heard anything about how the region is actually governed and there’s been no mention of a royal family of any kind. So perhaps this region is controlled by a powerful lord instead.

And if that’s the case, could it be possible that Ferdinand is actually a member of the lord’s household? We know he is exceedingly wealthy, is highly educated, wields a vast amount of mana, and holds the highest rank of anyone we’ve met so far (other than the High Priest within the context of the church).

Disgraced Knight Order

We know that the knight order has disgraced itself by failing to adequately protect Myne after Ferdinand ordered them to. But what does this mean for the series going forward? Are the knights really going to be punished? And if so, won’t that cause them to bear a grudge against Myne?

I don’t think the knights are actually going to be punished. At the end of the episode, Ferdinand mentions that Myne needs to show the knights her true value by finishing her duties and putting an end to the trombe fight. This seems like a setup to bring the knight order over to her side.

The knights will be shown Myne’s value and will be indebted to her for their transgression against her. So the “punishment” that they’ll probably receive is that they’ll be called upon at some point in the future to help Myne when she needs it.

The knight order bowing to Sir Ferdinand from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm season 2
The knight order bowing to Sir Ferdinand

When Ferdinand mentions the fact that the knights will be punished, he also fails to specify the nature of the punishment or when it might occur. He simply states that their lord will punish them at some point in the future. This also seems to be setting up the idea that the knights will be called upon to help Myne at some point.

But why would Myne need the help of the knight order?

I think Ferdinand is plotting to take down the church, and he’s going to use Myne to achieve this goal. We know he has a secret reason for joining the church, and I had previously predicted that he planned to reform it from the inside. But perhaps his plans are greater than mere reformation.

If Ferdinand truly is from the lord’s household, then the lord could call upon the knight order in the future to repay their debt to Ferdinand and Myne by helping them overthrow the church.

Conclusion

What do you think of Ascendance of a Bookworm season 2 episode 11? Do you think trombe are spontaneously created by mana? Is Ferdinand a member of the ruling family? And what do you think the knight’s punishment will entail? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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