The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3, "Ominous Developments," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
We're building up to the climax of season 3 as events start to pile up on each other. The high priest and his allies have finally started to make their move, and that spells danger for Myne and her friends and family.
While the series has so far been mostly about slice-of-life situations, it has also had a lot of drama and danger, especially when it came to Myne's mana and powers. However, the current situation is most definitely the most dangerous that Myne has ever found herself in, and she might not get out of things unscathed this time.
"Ominous Developments"
Continuing from the last episode, Delia is in the middle of confronting Myne about Dirk's possible adoption. Fran explains that Delia ended up receiving a message meant for Myne that it would be difficult to find a proper noble to adopt Dirk. Delia demands an explanation, but since Myne cannot tell her about the Devouring, she simply claims to find someone to adopt Dirk so that he can be happy. Delia is upset that Myne did not tell her about the adoption, but Myne sidesteps the issue by saying that she is just happy to see Delia care so much for Dirk. Since Dirk won't be adopted anytime soon, Delia is relieved that she won't be separated from him yet, as he is the closest thing to family to her.
As time passes, Benno opens his Italian restaurant while Gil and Lutz finish making the fixing agent for the inks. They bring them to Heidi and Josef, and to their satisfaction, the inks do not change color when dried, and they do not turn black when the different colored inks overlap. However, Heidi remains unsatisfied, as the reasoning behind why certain inks reacted in certain ways was never discovered. Myne then offers to keep giving them money so that they can continue doing their research, which delights Heidi. She also offers them the title of Gutenberg due to their part in the process of bookmaking.
While going to prepare a tablet and stylus for Gil, Myne's group witness a Rot spell being cast into the sky. Damuel immediately rushes Myne back to her home and tells her not to leave until they know it is safe. Myne's father eventually comes home and explains that a noble attempted to enter the city without authorization from the lord, not knowing that Ferdinand had changed the rules to protect Myne. While Myne is stuck at home, she makes a stuffed animal for Kamil with Tuuli. Lutz comes by with a bell made by Johann, and Myne attaches it to the stuffed animal and presents it to Kamil. Kamil enjoys the new toy, but he still cries when he sees Myne.
At the cathedral, Ferdinand explains to Fran and Damuel that the noble who attempted to enter was invited to the city by the high priest. He also explains that since the lord in charge of authorizing permits is not in town, he will not be able to grant any permits and Myne can return to the cathedral while he is away. When Myne returns, she asks about Dirk, only to find out that the high priest had him adopted by a noble while she was gone. Since the lord's permission is not needed for adoptions by nobles from other domains, they were able to adopt Dirk quickly.
After explaining the whole situation to Myne, Fran tells Myne that she should release Delia as an attendant, due to being both untrustworthy and disobedient. Myne first asks Fran to summon Delia, intending to discover her motivations for telling the high priest. Delia explains that after she told him about Dirk and explained his odd condition, the high priest decided to have him adopted immediately. He even offers to keep Dirk by his side until he is of age, and Delia can live with him until then. Myne is suspicious of the high priest and his motives, but since she cannot accuse him of anything, she decides to simply release Delia of her duties so that she can focus on taking care of Dirk. Despite this, she still worries about her, since she has been her attendant for so long. After Delia leaves, Fran tells Myne to be careful about the high priest, as he has suspiciously expressed interest in meeting her despite avoiding her all this time. He then tells her what Ferdinand had told him earlier about the noble who tried to enter being a friend of the high priest.
Tuuli, Lutz, and Gil arrive to take Myne home, which bothers Damuel since it actually makes his bodyguard duties harder. While going home, they meet Otto, who explains that a carriage with a false permit was let into the city. Realizing that trouble is brewing, Damuel casts a Rot spell to alert the other knights, but while he is distracted, Myne and Tuuli are kidnapped by unknown forces.
Nearing The Climax
The high priest has finally made his move, and now Myne is in more danger than she ever has been before. Although Ferdinand and his allies have done their best to keep Myne out of danger, a moment of weakness was enough to completely turn the tides against them. In addition, Dirk being adopted by the high priest's ally makes things worse, as it can result in his mana being manipulated for malicious ends.
With only two episodes left to go, it is almost certain that this will be the final conflict between Myne and the nobles targeting her. It's uncertain exactly what Myne will have to do in order to get out of this situation, but thankfully she still has some allies on her side. Damuel is sure to do his best to protect Myne, while Ferdinand is certain to do all that he can. Still, this is an incredibly perilous situation for Myne, and it's not certain exactly what will transpire.