Effa

*See Myne's Family Tree.*

**Effa** (エーファ, *Eefa* ) is Myne, Tuuli and Kamil's mother, the wife of Gunther, and matriarch of Myne's lower city family. She is a dye shop worker living in the lower city of Ehrenfest.

# Appearance

After Myne awakes from her fever, she describes Effa as woman in her mid-twenties with jade-colored hair and fine features. She has green eyes. Otto refers to her as "a real beauty, totally wasted on the captain".

# Personality

A good-natured and hard-working woman, Effa is a loving wife to Gunther and a supportive mother to Tuuli, Myne and Kamil. She is respected by her neighbors in the lower city as a skilled textile worker and seamstress.

Effa has a lot in common with her oldest daughter, Tuuli. Both are creative designers, who have a knack for working with thread and fabric, and both are kind, considerate, and practical by nature. While Effa is generally even-tempered, she sometimes becomes exasperated at Myne and Gunther’s eccentricities. She also dislikes when people are wasteful.

Like the rest of her family, Effa is deeply protective of her loved ones. Although Myne was frequently bedridden with illness and often threw tantrums, Effa cared for her tirelessly and was overjoyed when her condition improved. Later, she risked execution by defying a noble to protect Myne.

# History

Effa is the daughter of a former commander of the gate in the city of Ehrenfest. Through her father, she met her future husband Gunther, who was a apprentice soldier under her father's command. Gunther pursued her with enthusiasm, and eventually won her consent and the blessing of her father for the marriage.

The two would later raise three children: her oldest daughter, Tuuli, her second daughter, Myne, and her youngest son Kamil. Effa also had two miscarriages, and their first son died shortly after he was born.

Effa works at the Heuss Workshop as a dyer. She is also an excellent seamstress, although she does not sew for a living. By commoner standards, which place a high value on health, strength, and household skills, she is considered a “beauty”. In addition to her work, Effa spent a lot of time caring for Myne, who was a very sickly child.

# Skills and Abilities

* **Sewing.** Effa is a very good seamstress. Her self-made outfits like Tuuli's baptism dress were the envy of the neighborhood. She also picked up crocheting from Myne from just watching her for a short time.

# Trivia

* Effa admires Benno's younger sister, Corinna, for her ability as a seamstress. Corinna is an influential member of the seamstress guild, so Effa becomes very flustered when Corinna asks to see her sewing work on Myne's baptismal dress.
* Many of the neighborhood women still can't believe Effa agreed to marry Gunther. Effa was considered a very desirable marriage candidate with many options, while Gunther was considered very goofy and a dreamer.
* The line that made Effa fully fall in love with Gunther was: "I became a soldier because I genuinely want to protect this city and my family. You didn't laugh at that, Effa, and I love you for it. I want you by my side."

# References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ascendance of a Bookworm. Fanbook 1. Q&A with Miya Kazuki
2. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 5 Volume 6. Epilogue
3. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 1 Volume 1. Chapter 1: A New Life
4. ↑  Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 1 Volume 1. Epilogue
5. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 4 Volume 5. The Road to Exclusive Business
6. ↑ Ascendance of a Bookworm. Part 1 Volume 2. Gossiping by the Well