Ascendance of a Bookworm

Once I finish attaching the pin parts of the hairpins that Lutz made to the parts that I had made, I can’t help but breathe a little sigh of self-satisfaction at our accomplishment. The hairpins we made for Freida came out absolutely gorgeous, far more than I was expecting. Each one has four miniature red roses arranged on it, surrounded by a spray of tiny flowers, styled in the image of baby’s-breath, with the shape of green leaves poking out here and there from behind.

“…Hey, Maine,” says Lutz, his face twitching as he sees the pin. “Isn’t this way different from Tory’s hairpin? This is super pretty.”

The reasons are simple. First, we used a thread of much higher quality. Since the flower are made from a thinner, smoother thread, they are much finer and glossier. Secondly, the level of skill that went into them is very different. Unlike Tory’s hairpin, where the vast majority of the flowers were made by my pin, about eighty percent of the flowers on Freida’s hairpins were made by my mother and Tory, so they’re much more detailed and elaborate.

“When you think about what her dress is made of and her general atmosphere, don’t you think that this suits her a lot better than Tory’s would?”
“I have zero idea what you mean when you keep asking if something suits or doesn’t suit someone,” he says, shaking his head.

I cross my arms, deep in thought. “Hmmm,” I say, “that’s something you’re going to need to learn too, since it looks like Mister Benno is starting to carry a lot more things that are marketed to the nobility.”

Lutz lets his eyes wander off to the distance, perhaps because he doesn’t really want to look at something he’s bad at.

“Heyyy, Maine. Now that we’re done, what do we do?”
“I think that we should show it to Mister Benno first, and then deliver it to the guild leader. How about we try heading to Mister Benno’s shop now?”
“Sounds good.”

The finished hairpins have been placed in a small box, the top of which is covered by the nicest handkerchief in my house so that nobody can see what’s inside.

“Maine, you hold the box. I’ll carry that bag for you.”

With my slate, slate pencils, and ordering set in my tote bag, it’s gotten reasonably heavy, by my standards. Grateful, I quietly hand it over to Lutz, and receive the small box in exchange.

“Ah,” says Mark when he sees us arrive, “what brings the two of you here today?”

“We’ve completed the hairpins. I thought that it would be a good idea if, before we delivered it to the guild leader, we showed it to Mister Benno first, maybe…”
“Oh? Show me,” says Benno, unexpectedly, from right behind me. Startled, I jump slightly in place.

When I turn around, I see that he’s standing behind me, dressed impeccably in magnificent clothes, perhaps having just come back from visiting the nobility.

“Welcome back, Master Benno,” says Mark.
“Hey,” he replies, nodding. He looks down at me and Lutz. “…Come along, you two.”

We follow him as he heads into his room, deeper in the shop.

“So, then,” he says as he sits down at the table, “where are these completed hairpins?”

I hold out the small box for Benno to see, removing the handkerchief that covers it.

“What do you think about pins like this?”

“…Maine, you… did not need to charge half price for the second one of these.”
“Um? I still think that we’re massively overcharging even after that… since the only real materials cost is the thread, we’re making about three small silver coins worth of profit, right?”
“You’re going to have to learn how much things are worth. Every single thing you’ve brought to me has been a luxury good. If you don’t know how to correctly price high-quality luxury items like these, you’ll throw the market into absolute chaos.”
“…I’m sorry.”

I’m well aware of how my own intuition does not mesh at all with how goods are priced in this world, so I can very much appreciate how Benno has had to become a breakwater against the tide of chaos I might bring to the town’s market. I already knew that clothing and decoration were high-priced goods, but since I don’t have the strength to walk around the town from store to store to do any research, I don’t have a sense for what kinds and qualities of things are being sold for what prices. On top of that, given my age and my bearing, I’d likely be refused entry to any shops that dealt in those kinds of high-priced goods.

…Even still, luxury goods, huh? Simple shampoo, paper, and hairpins all used to be obvious stuff I’d find all around me, after all.

I know, in my head, that the Middle Ages I read about in my books didn’t have any of these things, but in my heart I still don’t accept it. If something doesn’t exist, I keep searching for ways that I could find some sort of substitute or make it for myself.

“Mister Benno,” I say, “I’d like to deliver this to the guild leader; what would be the best way to do so? I think I’d like to make an appointment to meet with him.”
“Good idea. Now’s a good time, how about I show you how to do that?”

He takes out an ordering set, writes out a request to meet with the guild leader, then fills in our names and the purpose for the meeting.

“Now you can deliver this to the third floor of the guild. When they decide on a time for the appointment, a staff member will fill in the details here, then deliver it back to the shop.”
“So, should we deliver it on our way home?”
“…Ahhh, wait. If it’s just the two of you, you’ll be easy prey in that place. I’ll come along too.”

He might be exaggerating the danger of just delivering a meeting request, I think.

We go to the merchant’s guild and ascend to the third floor, Lutz and I using our own cards this time. After delivering the request card to the service counter, Lutz and I turn to head home, happy about a job well done, when the receptionist calls out to us.

“Please wait one moment.”
“Um?!”
“I’ve been instructed that, if two people named Maine and Lutz were to arrive, that I show them in immediately.”

Sure enough, we’re being let through. As I stumble about in flustered confusion, Benno glances down at me and murmurs, “do you see now?”

Whoa, Mister Benno, you were absolutely correct! I’m so glad he came along with us.

The guild leader shows us in when we arrive at his office, although his expression is a little less than agreeable when Benno comes in along with us.

“What can I do for you today?”
“We’ve finished the hairpins, and have brought them here for you.”
“Well then, let’s take a look, shall we?”

I take out the small box I brought with me, remove the handkerchief, and hold it out, as far as I can, towards the guild leader. Since Benno has already given his OK, I think everything will be fine, but I still can’t stop my heart from pounding.

The guild leader peers into the box, then picks out one of the hairpins. He frowns as he inspects it closely, then looks over at me, eyebrows raised.

“…This is very different than the one you showed me last time, is it not?”
“I took extra care to ensure that the product was worth the price you were paying for it. Was the item you saw previously perhaps more to your liking? I had thought to make hairpins that would fit Miss Freida’s hairstyle and clothing better, after speaking with her, but…”

As my face goes pale, wondering if he’s unhappy with it, the guild leader hurriedly shakes his head.

“No, no, I’m merely surprised; I hadn’t expected such an excellent product. I think they really will suit Freida quite well.”
“Ah, really? That’s good to hear.”

As I reassure myself that there’s no way he could possibly reject it, the guild leader’s eyes suddenly gleam.

“Maine, wouldn’t you like to work at m…”
“Maine, it looks like we’re done here. We’re leaving.”

Before the guild leader could even finish his sentence, Benno seizes Lutz’s and my arms and stands up. I contemplate if it’s best for us to leave now, since our business here is done, and quietly follow along behind him. Frantically, the guild leader blocks our path.

“No, wait. Now that this is finally ready, I’d like you to deliver it to Freida yourself. I’m so happy that she’s made friends with another girl. When I hear that she made a friend the same age as her, I was overjoyed!”

Oh ho, Freida’s made a friend? What a joyous occasion!

As I so carefreely contemplate somebody else’s problems, Benno, having heard how moved the guild leader sounds, leans down next to me and whispers quietly in my ear.

“You’ve… become her friend?”
“Um! Me?! …Ummm, I, I wonder?”

I knew that she had been quite pleased with me, although it was rather one-sided, but I wouldn’t really call this a friendship. However, it would be very difficult for me to deny it out loud in front of the guild leader, who is so obviously overjoyed that his granddaughter has made a friend.

“I hear that she’ll be having sweets ready so that you can come over to play any time you’d like.”
“…Sweets?”

Benno flicks my forehead for letting that reaction slip. I know that I shouldn’t be showing any weakness, but I couldn’t stop my self as soon as the topic of sweet things came up.

“Good! How about I take you to her right now?”

The guild leader picks me up effortlessly, perhaps like he may have picked up Freida before, and brings me out of the room. Benno and Lutz stare, wide-eyed, as I’m abducted literally right from in front of them, then frantically chase after us.

“Hey, wait,” says Benno. “I’m coming with you.”
“Where Maine goes, I go!” says Lutz.

It seems that it’s already been decided that we’re going, but the guild leader’s house is close to the castle walls, even further from my house than Benno’s shop is. To be perfectly honest, if I go, I don’t think I would have enough energy for me to return home.

“…Sir,” I say, “I’m not very strong at all, and I don’t think I can walk any farther today.”
“There’s no real need to walk. We’ll be taking my carriage.”
“Carriage?!”

I hadn’t really thought of those as something I could ride on. I’ve seen traders and farmers using wagons and carts, of both the horse- and hand-drawn varieties, along the main streets, but in my sphere of existence, each family is likely to have just one hand-drawn cart, and only adults are able to use them.

This goes without saying, but things like rubber tires do not exist here, so when a cart is loaded with baggage, even an adult has to put quite a lot of effort into pulling it. It’s not at all the kind of thing that a child could use. On top of that, a child would most certainly not be allowed to use such an important item of which the family only has one. We must use our own two feet to get around. That’s that.

Even more, horses are expensive. Donkeys are comparatively omnivorous, but since the hay that horses eat is expensive, even the maintenance costs are unattainably exorbitant.

Tch. Rich people.

As I stew in my envy of the guild leader’s wealthy status, he brings me down to the first floor of the Merchant’s Guild building, and puts me up into his carriage. Lutz and Benno, having come to their senses, catch up to us, getting onto the carriage as well, and all four of us get ready to depart, heading towards Freida’s place to make the delivery.

This is my first time in a horse-drawn carriage.

I’ve been on a hand-drawn cart before, during last year’s winter preparations, but this is my first time riding something that’s pulled by an animal. Lutz and I look around constantly, and the guild leader smiles wryly at us.

“Heh. Maine, is this your first time riding a carriage?”
“I’ve seen them going through the gates and driving on the roads, but neither Lutz nor I have anyone in our families that own one.”

This is a vehicle that was intended to pull two adults, so it’s rather crowded. The two adults fit exactly on the seats, so Lutz and I are stuck, with apologies, on our butts on the shelf in the back, where luggage is supposed to go. Since we’re children, we’re somehow able to fit, but it’s rather dangerous.

“…It’s cramped in here. Benno, get out.”
“If I do, Maine comes with me.”

Benno and the guild leader glare at each other for a little while, but eventually, the carriage starts slowly moving forward.

“Whoaaoaooaaa!!”

The cart jostles violently as it moves, making it impossible for me to stay still on my seat. Lutz has found safety by clinging desperately to the railing that’s intended to help people get on and off, but I have nothing to grab onto. With every bump of the road, it seems like I’m about to fly entirely out of my seat.

“Maine, come here.”

Benno sits me on his lap, one arm around my stomach, pinning me tightly so that I won’t fly away. Even still, each shake of the cart sends me almost floating off my butt, and if I’m not careful, the top of my head might slam into Benno’s jaw. I knew that a cart without any suspension would be a bumpy ride, but I had no idea it was going to be this awful.

Horse-drawn carriages are not at all elegant vehicles.

---

“Freida,” calls the guild leader, “Maine’s brought your hair ornaments!”
“Well, Maine! Welcome.”

Her cherry-blossom hair swaying airly behind her, Freida greets us with a gentle smile on her face.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” I reply.
“Madam Freida, it is nice to meet you. My name is Benno. I’ve heard much about you from Maine.”
“Well, I wonder what kind of things she might have said?”

They’re so politely greeting each other, yet this sends shivers down my spine.

Lutz grabs my hand tightly, trembling as we listen to the two of them introduce themselves. I quickly glance over at him, and see that he’s gone pale. Neither of us are at all ready to join in the invisible battle between fellow merchants that’s happening right now. I wonder if the two of us will actually be able to someday send sparks flying with a smile like that?

“Freida,” says the guild leader. Please handle receiving the hairpins from those two and pay them what they’re owed.“
“Yes, grandfather.”

As the guild leader leads Benno to his own room, Freida leads Lutz and I to a similar sitting room as last time. Meanwhile, sweet drinks and sweet snacks have been brought out, and an entrancingly sweet smell drifts from the table.

“Girls love sweet things, so I have some prepared so that you can come by to play any time! Maine, whenever you’re free, please come to play.”
“Yes!” I answer, with a transcendent smile.

Lutz pinches my hand under the table.

Argh, that’s right. I cannot let myself succumb to sweet temptation. I mustn’t succumb, I mustn’t s… sniff, sniff, ah, bliss~!

Honey-soaked nuts have been layered on top of a thin pizza dough, baked, sliced, and set out for me.

“Come! Maine, Lutz, please enjoy!”
“Thank you!”

Nom, nom. The ample honey makes it deliciously sweet. What a luxurious confection. Is this heaven?

For a while, I just let myself eat my fill, recalling memories of nut tarts I had in Japan. Sweet things really do bring happiness.

“Thank you very much. It was quite delicious.”
“I’m very happy you thought so. I’ll be sure to convey that to the chef.”

Wow, madam, you have a chef. So, she said she had prepared sweets for us, but her chefprepared them for us, and all she did was bring them out. What a stratified society.

“Now then,” she says, “would you perhaps like to show me the hairpins, now?”
“Certainly. Ah, before that, let me return the remaining thread.”
“…Oh my, you don’t really need to.”

No, no, I can’t actually keep an expensive thread like this. When talking to the guild leader or to Freida, I know deep in my heart that there’s nothing more terrifying than getting something for free. I can’t accept things from them so freely. I can’t give into temptation.

“Miss Freida, here are―”
“Maine, the two of us are friends! Please, just call me Freida.”

When such a lovely, cute little girl says something like that with such a dazzling smile, there’s no way I can just say “we aren’t friends, though?”. Flustered, I fumble about for a way out.

“Um? But, you’re a customer…”
“Oh my. …Well, with this, I’m not anymore!”

Smiling broadly, Freida takes the box containing her hairpins from me, and in exchange, places a stack of six small silver coins in front of Lutz and I.

“I have received my order and paid the bill. Now there’s nothing in the way of our friendship!”
“…Very well.”

With all avenues of escape closed, and in a situation where I can’t just say no, I defeatedly nod my head in acceptance. Depending on how you think about it, she’s a friend whose appearance does not match her personality at all, so it won’t be a problem if I’m a little weird myself. Let’s take this as a good thing.

If she’s fine with me just calling her “Freida”, I wonder if I can speak a little more casually?

“Umm, then, Freida. Would you like to take a look at the hairpins?”
“Of course! Don’t mind if I do.”

Freida gently pinches the handkerchief between two fingers, then pulls it away. When she takes one of the hairpins out of the box, her eyes grow wide.

“Well! How magnificent! Since my baptism is in the winter, snow will have started falling by the time the ceremony comes around, so there won’t be any flowers or berries to use as hair ornaments, you know? I’ve been terribly envious of the children whose ceremonies were in the spring and summer. In a season where all the plants are withered, being able to clad myself in brilliant flowers and green leaves makes me so happy!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

Now that I think of it, Tory had initially said that her hair decorations were going to be flowers that she could pick nearby. In that case, these hairpins should sell very well during the winter.

“Try putting them on,” I say. “I want to see how they look in your hair.”
“I don’t quite know how to do that. Maine, might I trouble you to?”
“Sure! If you could give me those…”

I take the hairpins from her, then insert each of them into the base of her pigtails, where they’re tied off with string. The small, deep red roses stand out beautifully against her light, cherry-blossom pink hair, further enhancing her general air of maturity.

Roses were definitely the right choice.

“You’re very cute, Freida! Like a fairy of the flowers.”
“You flatter me too much!” she says, daintily covering her mouth as she bashfully giggles. “You’re just like my grandfather.”

This isn’t flattery. If I didn’t know anything about her personality, she’d be the kind of little girl I’d want to kidnap and run away with.

“It’s not flattery! It’s a really cute look, and it suits you. Lutz, you think so too, right?”
“Yeah. When I was just looking at the pins, I didn’t think that they were going to fit you so well. Maine made these to just to match you. You’re super cute.”
“……”

Freida, whose face is growing red and whose cheeks are growing puffy, is clearly not used to being praised like this. I can instantly see from her reaction that she really doesn’t have any siblings or friends.

In this world, it’s common for friends and family to be constantly praising each other. I’ve been extolling Tory’s virtues, and she’s been praising me in return. Lutz praises me whenever I do something, and I’ve started to grow accustomed to praising others as well. It was startling to me at first, to the point where I’d shy away from it, but lately I’ve been able to go along with this kind of constant lip service.

“Even so,” she says, “to be able to build such solid shapes out of thread…”

Freida has extracted the hairpins from her head and has started studying them in careful detail, like Benno and the guild leader had done before. Her eyes have completely become like those of a merchant.

“It’s not all that difficult,” I say. “Even I can do it!”
“…The discovery of this construction method is a very big deal, Maine.”
“Huh?”

Freida sighs lightly, then looks at me with a far more serious expression than I was expecting.

“The wives and daughters of the upper nobility are fond of wearing brightly-colored veils of unblemished embroidery. They also wear decorations made of real flowers that have been frozen in time via magic. However, nobody has any ornaments with shape like this.”

The nobility who use ornaments like this use magic to do so, so perhaps decorations like this were never actually developed? As I hum thoughtfully to myself, Freida continues to explain the magnificence of these decorations.

“There is so much fabric in this house with so much embroidery, but not a single piece of it has this kind of shape. To be able to make a solid object with nothing but thread is completely groundbreaking!”

When she says it like that, I finally get it. This is why Benno said there was no need to sell the second pin at half price. This is, essentially, a new technology. I suddenly feel extremely conspicuous.

Have I, perhaps, done something really, really terrible?

I can feel my face going pale. Freida reaches out grabs my hands tightly.

“Maine, you know a lot of unexpected, unknown things, right? If so, I have a lot of things I can teach you too. So, next time, I want you to just come and chat, not to work! I’ll have plenty of sweets prepared for you, so let’s have a nice long chat, with just us girls!”
“Ah, that sounds―”

Great, I was about to say, but I feel a sharp tug on my hair. I reflexively turn my head, and see Lutz looking at me with a grim face, shaking his head.

Argh, that was close. I almost carelessly agreed to have a nice, long, girls-only chat.

If I’d let that slip, then I’d run the risk of having both Lutz and Benno completely excluded. I’m at a loss for words, with no idea how to actually answer the question, so Lutz steps up in my place.

“We’re going to be very busy from now on, so unfortunately we don’t have much time to come over and play.”
“Oh my,” she says, smiling peacefully, “but I didn’t ask you, did I?”

She may say that, but my ability to go out is fundamentally dependent on Lutz.

“Maine’s family doesn’t let her go out if I’m not going to be there with her. So, if I’m not here too, Maine won’t be able to come.”
“…Ah, that’s right. There’s no helping it, then. Lutz, you are welcome to come as well.”

Is it because she had this devouring disease as well? Freida immediately understood my situation, then nodded in agreement. Lutz, however, isn’t nodding. He stands unwavering in his denial.

“Like I said earlier, we’re busy.”
“Busy with what?”
“We’re starting to get serious about winter preparations. The entire family needs to work together to prepare ourselves for the winter, so there really isn’t any free time for us to come and chat. Also, once snow starts falling, we won’t be able to go outside, right?”

That’s right, unlike Freida, whose family can just buy all the firewood they need, preparing the huge quantity of firewood and making all of the candles we need is extremely difficult. It seems like even Freida knows how difficult winter preparations are, so she just slumps her shoulders, not pressuring us any more.

“…So we can’t see each other until the spring?”
“Aren’t you going to be doing your apprenticeship in the springtime? Is that going to be alright?”
“That’ll be just fine. It’s not like my apprenticeship will have me working every day of the week. I’ll have plenty of sweets prepared come springtime, so please do come by to play!”

When spring comes around, Lutz and I will likely be very busy making paper, but since Benno is still keeping that business hidden from the guild leader, I keep my mouth shut.

I give Freida a big nod, then look over at Lutz.

“Now that I think about it, Lutz, you didn’t react much to the sweets, did you? You usually leap right onto whatever food’s in front of you, so why?”
“Master Benno told me to keep a good eye on you, and also the parucakes and the other things you make are way tastier. I like food I can always eat more than occasional sweets. I’d be in trouble if you got taken away.”

It seems that Lutz, who is always hungry, considers maintaining the richness of his current eating habits far more important than eating the occasional sweet. If that’s the case, then I should head to his place with some more new recipes, I think.

“Oh my, I haven’t heard of parucakes before. I would be very interested in trying food you’ve made as well, Maine.”
“Um? That’s, well…”

I couldn’t possibly feed confections made from squeezed-out paru fruit, which would usually be considered bird food, to the pampered daughter of a family like this. Her grandfather would get so angry veins would pop out on his head, and the chef who probably manages their nutritional requirements would go berserk.

“You’re saying that Lutz is good enough to eat your food, but I’m not?” she says, teasingly, wearing the saddest frown.

I may be increasingly flustered, but there’s still no way I can bring parucakes in front of a rich girl.

Lutz chimes in. “The ingredients are… not something we could feed a young lady like yourself.”
“Lutz, you’re so mean!”

Freida pouts. With lips pursed, she pouts. No matter how cutely she may be pouting, though, what’s impossible is impossible. There’s nothing at my house that’s fit for Freida to eat.

Besides, making sweets requires help. There really aren’t many things that I can prepare entirely on my own. At Lutz’s house, I’ve introduced so many new recipes that I always have four boys who will spare no effort to help in order to eat good food. I can’t make anything without ingredients or assistance. Not only am afflicted by the devouring, but I don’t think that Freida, who was not only also afflicted but is also a pampered rich girl, would have much in the way of physical strength nor stamina.

“…Umm, so, how about next time, when it’s spring, we make something together with the ingredients you have here? Your chef could help us too. If that’s the case, we don’t need to worry about the ingredients, and there will be people to help us, and your family can have a little more peace of mind? How about it?”
“Well, that’s marvelous! That’s settled, then.”

As soon as we decide on making sweets together, a knock comes at the door shortly before the guild leader and Benno enter.

“Hey,” says Benno. “You almost finished? We’re leaving.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply. “Umm, Mister Benno. Could you…”

The six small silver coins that Freida gave us in remuneration are quite a lot of money. To be frank, I’m too scared to carry it myself. As I hold it out for him to look after, he glances at the guild leader.

“Sorry, but do you mind if I borrow your parlor for a moment? I’d like to settle up with these two before we head home.”
“Ahh, you wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t dragged you all out. Please, be my guest.”

Benno waits until the guild leader and Freida have left the room, then takes the coins from me and lines them up on the table.

“The materials cost and my commission comes out to three small silver coins; the remaining three are yours. If you hadn’t charged half price for the second one, you’d have earned two more.”
“…This is enough. If I’d sold these hairpins for any more, I’d feel bad about making the ones we’ll sell more cheaply.”

Benno snorts, pulling out his coinpurse.

“What do you want to do with the money? Are you going to bring it all home with you?”
“I’d like to deposit one silver at the guild, and bring five large copper coins home with me.”
“Me too,” says Lutz.

As if he already knew what we were going to say, Benno has already pulled out his guild card and a handful of copper coins. With a touch of our cards, our accounts are settled. I wrap my five copper coins in my handkerchief and place them in my tote bag.

“The guild leader said he’d bring you back to the guildhall in his carriage. Go with him.”
“What about you, Mister Benno?”
“I’ll walk. That carriage is pretty small. Come to the store tomorrow afternoon. Your thread should have arrived by then. We have to decide on a price as well.”
“Yes, sir.”

What could Benno have been discussing with the guild leader, I wonder? He seems far less exceptionally wary than he did before.