Ascendance of a Bookworm

Chapter 147: Discussions on Winter Preparations (122.2)

"Master Maine, Ella has offered to stay during the winter if there is room."

As a result of Fran's efforts, Ella would cook for us during the snowing winter months, and some of the children from the orphanage would be chosen as assistants.

"Rosina, Wilma has been making soup for the orphanage. Ask her who is fit to be Ella's assistant. Also, Fran, Lutz has gone to the Gilberta Company, so please take me there."

"As you wish."

Rosina and Fran answered in unison. Behind me, Delia looked distraught, as if she had been waiting for us to finish our discussion. Seeing that our discussion was finally over, she began to fire off questions as she helped me change my clothes.

"Master Maine, where shall we shop? Will you buy my share? Shall I help you choose? How many will you buy?"

"Delia, you're too excited to sleep tonight."

Under her questioning, I could only smile helplessly. Her watery blue eyes sparkled and said without hesitation:

"How could I not be excited! This is going shopping!"

"Delia, Fran is waiting. Concentrate on your work."

Only when Rosina reminded her did she come to her senses and rush through my dressing.

"Then tomorrow let us go shopping for winter clothes. If Wilma doesn't want to go out, do not force her. Those who want to go meet at the third bell at the Gilberta Company."

I followed Delia down the stairs and told her about the next day. She happily opened the door and turned to me:

"The third bell? As you wish, Master Maine. Take care, I look forward to your early return."

Fran and I laughed when we saw how excited Delia was. We walked out the door, discussing the winter items I had listed on my writing board. There was a chill in the evening streets, and I could hear the footsteps of winter.

"Fran, tell Gil to bring five picture books to the Gilberta Company tomorrow."

"… at your command, but why?"

I had said firmly, "I want these picture books as textbooks!" Fran knew about it, so he asked me with a wink. Fran oversaw everything in the Dean's Office, so I'd better tell him why.

"Because I don't have money if I don't sell them."

"… what?"

"The Head Priest asked me in such a relaxed tone to stay in the temple for the winter, but I never thought to prepare myself. I must place an order with Mr. Benno now, but I don't have enough time to make a second batch of picture books and sell them. The paper and pigment will also be used for subsequent picture books, so I can't sell them… I've run out of money. "

As if he didn't know how to respond to my honest confession, Fran stiffened. He looked exactly like the Head Priest when he was perplexed, I thought, looking up at him. Recovering himself, he shook his head.

"Well, er… what happens if you don't have money? I don't quite understand what it's like to be without money, but I guess it means not being able to buy things… Right?"

Having grown up in the orphanage and once served the Head Priest who was rich enough to bring as many as five books to the temple, Fran had never heard of "no money". He said that he learned after serving me that sometimes not everything that people want can be obtained, and that money should be earned through work. If there was no money, even the master had to endure a poor life.

"Stop worrying, Fran. I'll make new picture books to sell as soon as possible, I also have the confidence to rely on handiwork to make money. I'm just lack of money for the time being. You must not let others know the truth. Just say that Mr. Benno likes these picture books so much that he would like to buy them at any rate. It would be a pity if the others could not do their shopping with pleasure."

"… at your command."

By the time I had finished talking to Fran about my secret, the Gilberta Company was visible ahead. There was a figure in the doorway. The figure saw us and waved. It was Lutz.

"Lutz, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"Let's go home."

"Thank you, Fran, it's getting dark earlier than before, so go straight back to the temple. Please help me with what I just told you."

When I said that, Fran nodded his head with a complex expression. He saluted me and walked off in the direction of the temple.

Lutz and I set off for home, and on the way he told me about the outcome of his discussions with Benno.

"My master has promised me to send someone to consult with the villagers. But it all depends on the leasing of the smokehouse."

"Well, if only we could make gelatin before the blue-robed priests come back…"

"Can I make it…?" I muttered. Lutz shrugged, as if noncommittal.

"This is not the time to think about gelatin, Maine. You should worry more about pork processing. We're all new to this. It's still some time before the Company begin preparing for winter, so even if we go to the villages for help, it's almost impossible to find anyone with experience. Although my master said to send the butcher to help, it will be a mess if most people are inexperienced."

We had expected to make winter preparations with the Gilberta Company, but now the preparations for the orphanage had to start earlier, so we went our separate ways. As a result, we had few experienced helpers. Most of us had never been involved in pork processing, so we didn't have a clue. I was the best example to prove that an inexperienced person was of no use at all.

"I'll ask Dad and Turi about it, but it's hard to say when we're not going to start yet."

My mother was having a hard time being pregnant, and I couldn't let her do the heavy work, but I was hoping that my father and Turi could help. It was just that the date hadn't been decided yet and it was hard to ask them.

"Well, yeah… and are you sure you'd be all right? Your father would be mad if he knew you'd have to live in the temple for the winter."

That was right. After dinner today, I would have a long-lost family meeting. Although I had to convince my family, I could imagine their faces, so my stomach was aching before I could see them.

"But it is your job to render the magic. I think it would be better for you to stay in the temple. To be honest, the temple rooms are definitely warmer than your own, and you would not catch cold easily there. Besides, Fran knows your condition well."

"Thank you, Lutz. I'll quote that to my family, because they believe you more than I do."

"Cheer up!" Lutz encouraged me. After saying goodbye to him at Well Square, I walked slowly up the stairs to my house.

"What do you want to discuss, Maine?"

As I had imagined, the faces of my family suddenly changed when I said, "I have something to discuss with you." I had little life left, I was about to enter the temple, I had an invitation to the temple… In retrospect, everything I had wanted to discuss so far was unnerving, and no wonder they were braced for it.

"Well, actually… today, the Head Priest told me that there was an important ceremony to be held in winter, and he was afraid that I would not be able to go to the temple because of the storm, so he asked me to stay at the temple all winter…"

"What?! Didn't we say that Maine was going to stay at home?"

Just as I thought, father slapped the table and shouted excitedly. Not only did Turi and mother not stop him, they even nodded in agreement.

"That's true, but the Dedication is important. It's a ceremony to infuse magic into the sacred tools. If the magic isn't enough, the next year's harvest will be affected. A bad harvest will worry a lot of people, won't it?"

"Huh? Is the temple responsible for doing that?"

Turi asked in surprise, and I nodded. Before I became a trainee priestess, I also had no idea what ceremonies would be held at the temple. The people in the temple hardly came to the commoners' quarter, and the commoners could saw the priests and priestesses only when they went to the temple for baptism and coming-of-age ceremonies. Moreover, the work of the temple would not be introduced to them, so the commoners did not think much of the temple.

"Your health is more important! What if something happened to you while you were alone in the temple?"

"As Lutz has said, Fran knows my condition well. Besides, the Head Priest has promised that my family can visit me. That's the best he can do."

Father clenched his teeth. Although he understood the importance of the ceremony, and the concession of the Head Priest, his reluctance betrayed itself. For a moment, a wave of sadness came over me.

"What is your own decision, Maine?"

Mother asked me. As if trying to calm herself down, she was gently stroking her belly. I had promised the Head Priest and asked many people to help me prepare for the winter. So, there was only one answer.

"… I will live in the temple. Because it is my job to participate in ceremonies."

"Maine!"

Father gave a loud roar, but I just shook my head at him.

"Dad, I am also the head of the orphanage. I have the responsibility to look after orphans. Moreover, I was able to enter the temple because my magic was needed. Thanks to the sanctuary of the temple, I put on the blue robe and got rid of the hard physical work."

Father bit his lip, as if to swallow the words that came to his lips.

"The Head Priest has given me the best possible conditions, so I must be present at such a ceremony which requires magic. And I have seldom fallen ill from the eclipse, since I have begun to render my magic. Being in ceremonies is actually good for me."

Without the magic tools, I would have died. I had lived until now because I could render my magic to the sacred tools in the temple.

'What if you were ill?"

"I have a bed and attendants in my room, and I won't be left alone at the temple. But I need Turi to instruct my attendants on how to take care of me when I get a fever."

"That bed looked soft, I love it…" "Muttered Turi, who had been to the Dean's Office.

"I'll do it. Since they'll be taking care of Maine during the winter, I must go and say hello…" Mother spoke.

"Mom, don't force yourself."

"It doesn't matter. Pregnancy is not illness, and my morning sickness is not so bad now."

It seemed that she had made up her mind that when she was better she would come and see my room in the temple and say hello to my attendants. I had decided to live in the temple, and my mother was on my side. After all, it was impossible to overturn the decision of the exalted temple. Father scratched his head and finally gave up.

"… can the family visit you?"

"Of course, I will be lonely, so do visit me."

"I have not only to be a sewing teacher, but also to learn to read, so I'll often go to the orphanage in the winter. I'll drop in on Maine then."

Turi talked happily about what she expected to do when she went to the orphanage. At this, father turned a heavy face and stared at me.

"Why did you only ask your sister for help? You can count on Daddy more."

Father was visibly upset when he found that his daughter did not count on him, so I quickly thought of some suitable jobs for him.

"Er… Dad, could you go to the orphanage and teach the children carpentry? It would be too hard for Lutz to teach alone."

"Sure, leave it to Daddy. Anything else?"

Although he was not a carpenter by trade, my father was very skillful with his hands, so it would be most suitable for him to be a carpentry teacher. As expected, he agreed with a smile. Since I could count on him and he was willing to help, I wanted to ask him a lot of things.

"There's more, there's more. Although the date hasn't been decided yet, I want Dad to help the orphanage process the pork. There's no one in the orphanage who's experienced in this, but we have to do it because the pork is our winter food."

"I must help you in this matter. When you set a date, I'll make time for you."

"By the way, I would like to know what I need for the winter. I had a fever every time you were preparing for the winter, so I never know what you have done. In fact, I have no idea what I lack in my room in the temple…"

So my family began to talk about things to prepare and pay attention to during the winter. Most of what they said was nagging about my health, but I could only write them down while listening.