prologue in the midst of a cool mint spring Breeze Tulie was out and about shopping with her mother EA and her childhood friend Lots it was a tradition in Aaron Fest for girls to switch from knee length to Shin length skirts upon reaching 10 years of age which meant she needed to prepare clothes for her upcoming Birth season The Apprentice contracts that started at the same time as one's baptism also tended to end when one became 10 a child would thus need to decide whether they wanted to renew
their contract at the same Workshop or move to an entirely new one it was a significant Crossroad to say the least once her contract ended Tulie would be joining gre's Workshop as an apprentice let her the very goals she had been working toward for the past 2 years it was currently only a verbal agreement meaning they had yet to sign any contracts but there was no way that the gilberta company or Karina's Workshop could go back on their word when she was the personal hair stick crafts woman for
lady rose mine the archdukes adopted daughter thus She Was preparing for the move without worrying too much about it next summer I'll be a lurl just like Luts it would mean saying goodbye to all the friends she had worked with over the years but Tulie was walking on air having come one step closer to her dream she briskly reached the city's Central Plaza before turning back to look at EA and Lutz who were following behind so Luts where to now she asked we be ordering your Workshop clothes as wel
l as a gilberta company Apprentice outfit since you'll occasionally be accompanying them to the temple as lady rosem Personnel it'll be easier for us to place these orders first as that way we don't have to carry the other clothes we are buying today around with us that's why we'll be starting with Gina's workshop at beno's request Lutz was accompanying Tuli today she thought it was really impressive that he was always looking after others and helping them like that thanks for helping with this
Luts I know you didn't have to come no worries Master Beno asked me to and I've got to get my summer clothes as well Lutz took the lead starting to explain where they were headed once they had passed through the plaza and entered the north part of the city the atmosphere became noticeably more high class the passers by were wearing visibly more expensive clothes and their tones were much more polite as she noticed her mother looking around hesitantly Tulie came to realize that at some point she
herself had simply gotten used to going to the north part of the city while she still felt nervous going into Karina's Workshop walking around outside wasn't stressful at all anymore she giggled to herself looking around as she continued to follow after Lutz I wonder if other people mistake me for a northerner now what's with a grin Tulie Luts Mrs Kina personally invited me to join her Workshop so that I could make lady rosine's hair sticks isn't that amazing any Apprentice knew what a proud ach
ievement it was to have another Workshop specifically ask you to work for them Lutz congratulated her with an amused smile but e looked a little exasperated Tulie you shouldn't say things like that in public other crafts people would certainly empathize with how significant it was for Tulie to be scouted and her co-workers always made a point to celebrate the apprentices moving to New workshops but she was a poor Southerner moving to a rich Northern Workshop something that barely ever happened i
t was likely that she would attract more Envy than sincere praise for her good fortune and in such a cramped City it was much easier to live if you avoided attracting unnecessary resentment Tulie puffed out her cheeks in response I know I know but what's the problem nobody around here even knows us she instinctively knew that this wasn't something she should openly talk about even to her friends which was why she had refrained from bragging no matter how much she wanted to when people asked what
her plans were all she could do was respond with vague answers Lutz has already joined the gilberta company so I should at least be able to talk to him about this it's not like I mention it around the neighborhood how could I go on about joining Mrs Karina's Workshop when Laura is upset that she might not even be able to stay at our current one everyone in tuli's current Workshop knew that she was often invited over by Kina to make hair sticks so they could surely piece together where she was m
oving if they thought about it for a second but even then she had tried to avoid outwardly saying it to anyone besides her family yeah lural contracts are a big deal to anyone who's worked hard for them but you can't really talk about M when others are having a hard time just getting their current contracts renewed since I'm already a lurl and won't be changing stores I can't say I understand how rough the Envy gets for people who are changing work shops but I get that you've been working hard T
ulie Lut spoke without a trace of resentment and his words helped to ease tuli's heart just a little she had always kept her silence when people started talking about their contracts but even then they often looked at her with jealousy the fact that Lutz was treating her the same as always was a relief you might not know how hard it is to change workshops but you still really struggled at first right Tulie asked right after his baptism Lutz had joined a big store in the north part of town as an
apprentice Merchant without his parents introduction or any experience in the business to rely on Tuli was getting confused from all the differences just moving to another Workshop in the same industry and yet Lutz had been thrust into a new world at a much younger age without anyone to guide him you know Luts if you hadn't gotten into the gilberta company then I wouldn't have thought it was even possible for me to join Ken's Workshop you really are incredible hey that's all thanks to mine I onl
y got in because she negotiated with Master Beno and having access to her Workshop in the temple gave me a chance to prove my worth to the store Lut said casually as he looked at Tuli my place as a ll is only secure right now because I'm their connection to the archduke's adopted daughter I mean sure I work hard as well but yeah aren't you in the same boat though you were able to become a hairstick Craftsman because mine taught you how to make them yourself and now that she's asking for your hai
r sticks as the archduke's adopted daughter the gilberta company's desperate to get their hands on you you're working hard to make the best hair sticks you can for sure but mine's the one who paved the road ahead for you normally nobody would entrust the crafting of a hair ornament meant for the archduke's daughter to an apprentice who wasn't even 10 years old yet everyone wanted to personally work for the archduke's family so adults would snatch that kind of work away from kids by saying they w
eren't ready for it or something along those lines the only reason the gilberta company hadn't done that was because they understood that mine wanted to see her family and Lutz was making it clear that Tulie was only in a position she was thanks to her little sister preferring hair sticks right that's true she replied Tulie could remember back when mine had collapsed all the time barely been able to help out and frequently ended up bedring with fevers and these memories were so deeply ingrained
in her mind that she initially found Lutz's words hard to accept but her current situation really had only been possible thanks to mine that's why I'm not going to let anyone beat me when it comes to Printing and paper making you've got to do the same and hone your skills so that nobody can make better hair sticks than you there are eventually going to be adults coming out of the woodwork who are better than you and if their hair sticks are way more impressive than yours you'll end up losing her
business were the gilberta company to sell the arch Duke's adopted daughter inferior hair sticks while other Noble women had access to better ones it would be seen as a disgraceful form of mockery Tully do you know what'll happen if your hair sticks end up looking worse I won't be able to see my anymore right nah Karina and master Beno would never risk entering Mine by doing something like that you'd still go to deliver the hair sticks of course but they wouldn't be yours you'd have to give her
ones made by someone else all while pretending that you made them yourself you wouldn't want that would you Tulie shook her head that was the last thing she wanted she once again stealed her resolve to keep working hard determined to keep working for l rose mine why if it isn't L and Tuli Beno told me that you'd be arriving soon a familiar crafts woman said as they entered Ken's Workshop Lutz you can handle the paperwork while Tulie and I go to the changing room to get her measurements done you
have other urgent errands that you need to finish today don't you the crafts woman swiftly guided Tulie and effa to the changing room in the back there were several seamstresses there who instructed Tulie to remove her clothes so that she could be measured it feels so strange making work clothes for you after all this time I mean you've been coming here for two whole years now one seamstress said to Tulie once she was in her underclothes effa smiled sensing that Tulie was already welcome in the
workshop we'll be coming to sign her contract at the end of spring everyone please take good care of my daughter oh we will she's been coming here to teach us how to make hair sticks for years but now we'll finally be working together I'm sure it'll be wonderful Tulie could feel her nerves starting to fate as everyone welcomed her with open arms and the lingering fear that her Joy was sure to be met with tragedy slowly began to ease you'll need a gilberta company Apprentice outfit for when you
deliver Goods to the temple right we'll go ahead and measure you for that as well then as measure after measure was placed against her body Tulie couldn't help but feel a little strange she had helped to measure mine and Bridget in the past but this was her first time getting made to order clothes from a workshop as a seamstress herself she was excited to finally be on the other side for a change given how fast Tuli has been growing we should make the clothes a little too big for her eff said to
a seamstress otherwise she'll soon grow out of them and we'll need to order new ones shall we make the skirt a little on the longer side then a seamstress replied Tulie put her clothes back on while her mother was busy talking to the seamstresses and once the order was done they exited the changing room all done getting measured Tulie see Mir then the Shoemaker here Lut said no time was wasted before Tulie was seated in a chair and measured again this time for leather shoes she desperately stru
ggled to hold back her laughter as her ticklish feet were touched all over mine said that getting measured was rough now I understand why once Tulie had finished ordering the clothes she needed Lutz Tulie and EA went to the high-end used clothes store that they had visited several times since mine first bought clothes for her there today they were looking for things to be worn in a north of the city namely a bodice and a shin length skirt suitable for a 10-year-old girl I've got to buy some clot
hes of my own so let's split up and each get what we need said before promptly heading to the boys section Tulie moved to the girls section with effa who looked visibly worried about buying clothes from such an expensive place so Mom is this long enough Tulie asked showing her the skirt she had just put on effa bent down to get a closer look then stood back up with an amused smile that should work it looks a little long on you right now but come Autumn Youk be glad to have that extra length watc
hing Tulie try on one skirt after another seemed to have made her a lot less tense now we need to get you a bodice how does this one look Tulie took the bodice from her mother it was like a vest except the front was fastened together with lace and girls started wearing them at 10 years old to give them a prettier figure she began to put it on tightening the Garment until it was pressed firmly against her body I think I'll need a bit more practice before I can do it perfectly Tulie mused as she T
wisted from side to side in a mirror feeling a little more like an adult than before in her own opinion she actually looked pretty good as Tuli smiled to herself effa tapped a finger against the lace of the bodice there's a act to tying these so they don't come undone what you've done here will come loose before the end of your workday you'll need to practice before summer comes but in any case is this the one you want mm I think this other one's cuter what do you think Tulie asked holding up an
other bodice that had caught her eye earlier F's face clouded over slightly it's definitely cute but don't you think it's a bit much to wear to work the two agonized over the choice for a while before eventually spotting Luts dumping the clothes he had picked onto the counter Tulie called out and started to wave him over Luts Luts which of these would be be better for a gilberta company Apprentice since you're going to be a lurl you should probably get both both but I don't need that many I can
make do with one Tuli replied but Lut shook his head as a lurl you won't just be going to the north part of the city whenever Karina calls you you'll be living there you're going to want a few changes of clothes especially with Summer coming up it was true that Tulie would need several pairs of clothes suitable for her new living Arrangement but the thought of just how expensive that would be made the blood drain from her face she gloomily cradled her head while eff stood in place looking visibl
y shaken who could blame them these clothes were far more expensive than the ones they usually bought oh you don't need to worry about the cost we've got a pretty big budget here thanks to everyone's favorite money bags Lut said pulling out a guild card from somewhere beneath his shirt it turned out that mine had given him her entire savings from before she became rose mine telling him to use it to keep her connected with her family and to help Tulie achieve her dreams hold on let just how much
did mine end up making seems like she's stealthily been adding money from her more recent earnings to it so I can't give you an exact amount either way she's making a ton more now that her Works expanding in scale Lutz replied averting his gaze as he placed the two bodes is onto the counter anyway don't sweat it just buy what you need so you don't end up embarrassed when it's time to work I'm thinking you'll need one more skirt and another bodice probably two or three blouses two at that Tulie a
nd effa hurriedly went to fetch what Lutz had said they'd need the small mountain of clothes on the counter was only getting taller but Lut seemed completely unfaced casually asking the cashier to have it all brought to the gilberta company let's keep going there's a lot more that we need to buy Lut said before once again walking ahead Tulie was surprised enough that he was leaving the store empty-handed despite how much they had bought but she was even more surprised that there was apparently m
ore to buy why a lot more she asked her eyes widened but we got all the clothes we needed I just remember that you're going to need new work tools and stationer you're going to get a room now that you're a lurl right that means you'll need plates and stuff too we could put this off until you've moved there since that's when you'll actually need it but you can only use this card when I'm with you so we might as well get it done now Lut took them to all sorts of stores all the while thinking back
to what he had needed to buy when he moved into his room at the gilberta company they ended up with pens ink boards plates to be used with other leurs and so on these were all things that Tuli never would have thought to buy on her own we owe you so much Luts all this preparation really was beyond me effa said shaking her head with a tired expression she was glad that her daughter's dream to work at Karina's Workshop in the north part of the city had come true but it was completely unlike workin
g in a poor Workshop both in terms of the clothes they wore and the tools they used as a result she hadn't known what Tulie would need how much she should be paying for her supplies or what the other apprentices would be using she was nothing but grateful for beno's consideration both in sending Luts over to help and looking after the money that mine had left them I never thought Tulie would be leaving home so soon F amused the reality of the situation only just setting in now that they had boug
ht so many household goods for the move once summer came her daughter would be living in entirely different life first mine and now Tully her children kept leaving the nest and a little sooner than she would have liked I'm a little scared about leaving home but I'll be fine as long as Lutz is there Tulie said patting her mother on the arm to console her isn't that right Lutz but much to her surprise Lutz crossed his arms and frowned a little I don't know we might not be able to stick together fo
r too long but why are you going to quit Tuli asked both her and E looking at him with white eyes what was he even saying lurs couldn't just leave their jobs Lutz glanced around then lowered his voice can you to keep a secret Tully I'm only going to say this cause I know you're joining the gilberta company as an apprentice soon after swearing them both to secrecy multiple times Lutz paused continuing only once they had gotten back to the poor part of the city where those related to the gilberta
company rarely ever went Master beno's planning to step away from the gilberta company to make a new store that deals in paper and books as it turned out the gilberta company was making too much money from Printing and paper making when it was supposed to be a clothing and accessories store and since these thriving new Industries had been actively started by the arch Duke's adopted daughter it was clear that they would only keep growing over time lady Rose mines caused the industry to grow way t
oo much since she was adopted plus she's already proposed some original clothing designs that'll probably end up starting new fashion trends hasn't she Karina was still desperately finalizing the clothing design that Ros mine had given her for Bridget's outfit and in a case that it became popular with Nobles the gilberta company's status would be boosted even higher Tuli understood that the other stores are pretty desperate to get in on these new Industries and master Beno sure got a Stern talki
ng to during the last meeting of all the large store owners he's going to have to start a new store for printing and paper making so that he can split the profits and protect the gilberta company's share in the clothing Market mm it isn't good that he's making lots of money Tulie asked visibly confused she didn't really understand why Beno had to protect his store when it was doing so well making moneyy is great and all but when it causes other stores to start getting envious of you that leads t
o problems it's the same reason why even though your move to a new workshop is good you've had to keep reasonably quiet about it Lutz explained which made everything click into place it certainly was important to avoid making other people jealous plus he continued Master benos planning to take his new store and stick with Lady Ros mine no matter what happens or where she ends up going she's funding the entire printing industry right now and she's his biggest customer so nothing will start or mov
e forward without her her passion for printing is more important to him than sticking in his home duy Nobles often move to other duchies for the purpose of marriage and the same fate could very easily befall rose mine since Aaron Fest was fairly weak compared to other duchies it was entirely plausible that she might one day need to leave for political reasons in such a case Beno was prepared to join her personnel and relocate his new printing store to wherever she ended up but he wouldn't be abl
e to do that with a gilberta company Lutz explained they've got existing customers connections and a trusted reputation they can't just throw these things away for lady Ros mine's sake Karina in particular really cares about staying in her hometown which means that if Lady rosemine does end up moving somewhere else the gilberta company won't be following her but I want to go with her Tulie exclaimed she knew that the Gilbert the company couldn't give up everything it had worked so hard to establ
ish here in Aaron Fest but she was signing with him specifically so that she could keep being lady rosine's Personnel not following her if she left would defeat that purpose entirely I guess I should sign as a Le hang instead since lurs are tied to their store nah nah nah that's not what I'm saying here we don't know for sure if she'll end up moving to another duy this is all just a maybe plus you'll really want to sign as a lurl if you can it'll totally change how you're treated and that's impo
rtant for poor people like us who don't have any real backers to support us everyone will look at you differently Lutz had gone from being a lean to a leur Apprentice so there was no denying that what he was saying was the truth Tulie grit her teeth I mean I want to sign as a Lal too for sure but my dream isn't to join the gilberta company it's it's to become a top class seamstress and to make her clothes for her Sunday I promised her I would What mattered to Tulie more than anything was the pro
mise she had made to mine right before the arch duuk adopted her a gentle hand patted her on the back and she turned to see EA looking down at her with a slight smile Tulie there's no point worrying about these things on your own you need to talk to Mrs Karina about this we haven't signed a contract yet so let's think hard about what will be best for you she said warmly at that Tulie nodded letting out a quiet sigh as they walk back home together never in her life had she thought she would need
to debate on whether or not to sign a leral contract a New Dress lady rose mine shall we go to the orphanage director's Chambers Fran asked Monica has gone ahead and prepared to welcome the gilberta company they had acquired some cheap cloth that would be pinned on to Bridget and then cut into a mockup dress in a process known as draping it might have been my imagination but she seemed a little excited as we made our way to the chambers I was excited too since Tuli would be coming with Kina I ge
t to see Tuli in Lots again he he good morning everyone thank you for waiting by the time we got there the gilberta company had already arrived Beno Lutz Gina Tuli and several other seamstresses were in the front hall we had talked about who would be coming ahead of time but I was still surprised by how packed the room was in all honesty it felt a bit cramped once we had finished exchanging the standard greetings I glanced over at Monica let's move so that we can begin adjusting as soon as possi
ble Fran I shall leave you to look after the men I went to the hidden room with Bridget Kina and Tuli as well as the seamstresses carrying their bundles and tools following clothes behind please come inside you may join us as well Monica As You Wish since this was a fitting for a noble woman only women were allowed into the hidden room as Bridget stripped down and prepared to be measured the seamstresses busily moved about spreading a large piece of cloth across a screen by the entrance so that
nobody would be able to see inside when the door opened Bridget had returned her light armor to the shape of a face tone and with the help of the seamstresses undressed down to her underclothes she then transformed one of the face tones she had brought with her into something of a tight bodysuit it would allow the dress to be cut without them needing to worry about the needles poking into her skin this serves as the basis for night armor made from face tones all students learned to make them upo
n entering the Royal Academy Bridget explained gesturing to her her new attire even Knights who seem to be entirely unarmored are in truth wearing one of these beneath their flashy clothes it seemed that Nobles always wore what was basically a Kevlar vest beneath their clothes in less peaceful duchies it was standard for even Scholars and attendants to wear them to protect against surprise attacks the fact that I wasn't required to wear one despite being a member of the archal family showed just
how peaceful Aaron Fest really was do I guess you don't really need br and stuff when you've got a tight bodysuit like that I hadn't really spent much time alone with any older women since becoming a noble so I wasn't sure what the underwear situation was for adult women but if everyone was wearing tight face tone bodysuits then I could guess that they didn't need much support in the way of underwear commoners probably had more advanced clothing in that department especially seeing as they alre
ady wore things like tight bodices mm I don't know this feels a bit off it wouldn't be very sexy to have a metallic face tone hardened over your upper body with a pair of drawers underneath these thoughts were entirely founded in my time spent as or no but long-legged Beauties look best in gter bels not fluffy drawers the thought had never occurred to me since I was too young for sexy lingerie and even in my earn old days I had never thought about wearing any but now I was confident that this wo
rld needed an underwear Evolution 2 seriously the thought of such hot full-bodied babes wearing lame old drawers is just plain depressing but for now my battle would be making sure female Knights had skirts that didn't flip up when they moved as this was precisely why they found it necessary to wear such long Bland drawers in the first place there was no point in me inventing sexy underwear if wearing it made them unable to fight practicality or sexiness this true truly is a question for the age
s anyway while I was deeply pondering other people's underwear in my own little world Gina and her seamstresses started pressing the cloth against Bridget they folded it according to the designs drawn on the boards then began snipping away and pinning Frills were required meanwhile Tulie handed them pins fetched what they needed and carefully watched everything they did I silently cheered her on happy to see that she was trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible I was pretty curious to see
Bridget's dress starting to be made before my eyes but I couldn't just stare at the seamstresses the entire time the process would take a while and I could simply check up on them later when they were almost done Monica would you inform me when the cutting is over I must discuss other matters with Beno As You Wish Monica opened the door for me and I exited the hidden room it was only Beno Lutz Fran Gil and D waiting for me on the second floor which meant I could act a bit more like myself withou
t needing to worry I shall join your discussion until the cutting is done I said sitting down and gesturing for Beno to continue as I sip the tea that Fran had prepared for me first I would like to express my deepest gratitude Beno began thanks to your assistance lady Ros mine I am doing more business with Nobles than ever before well that was what he said out loud but the look in his dark red eyes seemed to actually say I'm freaking busy as hell now and it's all your fault as a merchant he was
probably happy to have more sales and connections with Nobles but it was also probably true that he was a step closer to death from overwork listen Beno any euphemisms are going to go completely over my head if there's something on your mind please don't feel you have to mince your words I said dropping the noble act while looking old over everyone in the room Beno Ed Fran and dble slowly dropping his act too yeah I've been getting the impression that I'm loading way too much work onto the gilbe
rta company lately if you think it's too much for you I can distribute some elsewhere hey watch it I don't need that kind of pity plus you'll just make everyone think you're dropping us idiot Are you seriously going to make the same mistake you just made with Ino all again you want to jeopardize the future of the gilberta company too absolutely not I'm not going to let anyone else have this work no matter how busy we get get that into your skull and don't forget it as it turned out lessening ben
o's workload wouldn't help at all the last thing the gilberta company wanted was a rumor spreading that they were being cut off I understand that everyone here shares history but please do try a little harder to keep up appearances France said with with a frown Beno and I exchanged looks then Shrugged lady Ros mine I asked that you continue to Grace the gilberta company with your patronage but of course now about today's business lady rose mine while we were in h you said that you wish to networ
k with jiler may I ask for more details Beno asked his eyes narrowed slightly a sudden wave of unease washed over me it was a look that clearly said Are you seriously trying to load more work onto me but there was no helping it now that he had warned me not to give these jobs to any other store I had no choice but to load more onto him it turns out that ier is a mountainous region with an abundance of wood and there are many species of tree there that I am unfamiliar with I would like to visit t
he province to experiment with making new kinds of paper in other words you intend to make paper in iller yes I wish to bring Lutz Gil and several great priests for the purpose of making paper will that be at all problematic Beno deeply furrowed his brow very we can send Luts on a trip this important without someone else from the gilberta company going with him but no viable options come to mind I personally can't go on such a long-distance Journey given our increasing business with Nobles and n
either can Mark since he's the only other person who can handle that kind of work by himself his other employees weren't yet capable of properly conducting themselves in front of a landowning noble and while I wasn't too familiar with the gilberta company's State of Affairs I could assume they were low on Manpower given that they had needed to borrow the help of priests when selling things in the castle is Otto not capable of doing business with Nobles a letter from dad had mentioned that once O
tto had completed this year's budget work he would be quitting his job as a soldier to return to being a Merchant given that spring prayer was over and we were now halfway through the season chances were that had already happened aotto is perfectly suitable when it comes to his business knowledge but he has not yet been trained in the mannerisms necessary for working with Nobles he should be fine interacting with L Noles though right even when he was working at the gate he was entrusted with let
ting Nobles through the most important thing is just getting used to the new environment he could start with lay Nobles and work his way up even dad was able to speak properly to the Nobles passing through the gate Nobles would certainly expect more from a merchant than a guard but I was certain Otto could do the job once he'd gotten used to it why not start by pairing up Mark and AO you can provide support when necessary and even bring other trainees around I suggested by this point even I had
managed to learn enough Noble mannerisms to get by if a got serious about it he'd probably be able to act like an arch Noble within a single season of practice well assuming he also had a proper teacher that is Beno looked between Fran and me his brow lowered in thought could you train Otto and his assistant Theo to understand poite mannerisms just as you trained Leon to be a waiter Fran your thoughts I asked he had been involved with training Lon and since the only people in the temple who Coul
d Teach the mannerisms necessary for dealing with nobles were the Great priests who had been trained by Ferdinand a member of the archducal family he and Zayn were the only ones out of my attendance suited to the job well I should be able to make some time for it since Zayn will soon officially become your attendant Fran mused I already intended to teach Nia and Monica proper etiquette and it would not be a problem for Otto and this Theo gentleman to join them in the orphanage director's Chamber
s though I will only be able to teach them etiquette and nothing more Beno gave a light shrug in response the etiquette is the part that's important commoners have no real opportunities to learn how to greet speak to or handle things around Nobles in the past Beno had mentioned how tough it had been to find someone who could teach him Noble manners not even piling up a load of money would necessarily help in finding one thus as payment for providing such a Priceless instruction I asked for the h
elp of two Priceless helpers myself now as payment for this I ask that you send Mark and Lut to iller with me once Otto and Theo have learned their Noble mannerisms dot as you wish and so Fran accepted the duty of training Otto and Theo we would let them know through Luts when we were ready to start one last thing Beno said Lutz Gil give your reports to lady rosemine yes sir they both replied sharply turning to look my way they then exchanged a pleased grin with one another before reverting back
to their serious Expressions to deliver the reports the new printing press designed by Zach and created by Ingo and Johan has been completed wow I exclaimed almost leaping out of my chair at the news but Fran quickly placed his hands on my shoulders to stop me he pushed me back down with a smile and directed me to remain seated sorry I got so excited that for a second I completely dropped the refined lady act we would like you to observe the trial run lady Ros mine what would you recommend we p
rint first as much as I wanted to rush off and see it right away everyone was indirectly stopping me instead they simply wanted me to provide the Bas text for something to be printed does anything in particular come to mind lady rosemine Lutz asked again urging me to answer I lean forward the new printing press exists not for picture books but books that are filled to the brim with letters thus I would like to focus on text Heavy books for children who have outgrown their picture books I would u
se the tales about Knights commonly told among Nobles to write cool easy to understand stories that showed kids what kind of work they did and while I was at it I would have Wilma draw wonderful illustrations with Ferdinand as a model to bring in female customers practically killing two birds with one stone all I needed to do was add the classic disclaimer at the start this is a work of fiction any similarity to actual persons living or dead or actual events is purely coincidental it was an iron
shield and I wasn't afraid of Ferdinand objecting he could take it up in fantasy court has inle finished the letter type cases the type setting stand the composing stick and the Interline space spacers what about Johan has he completed the furniture and setting rule I asked wondering about the smaller tools that were just as important in the printing process Lut nodded proudly all finished we've also ordered more than enough ink as soon as we have the manuscript we can get started yippi praise
be to the gods what fantastic news I said cheerfully I must teach you to use the press and metal letter types as soon as possible you may find that the letter type cases are quite hard to move I shall go to the workshop and teach you all at once lady rose mine that is a bit Fran began trying to stop me but I shook my head at him I want to use this opportunity to go from type setting to printing all the way through at least once I understand that I mustn't do any work myself but I've been working
toward toward the creation of a printing press for so long now I want to be the first to touch it I declared balling my fists in determination Fran eventually caved shaking his head back at me in defeat Gil Shrugged knowing there was no stopping us now while Lut simply crossed his arms I think Fran and Sir domal should allow only a select few into the workshop granting lady Ros mine an opportunity to do as she pleases lets proposed either way she need to teach us how to use it sooner or later L
uts I knew it you understand me better than anyone I clasp my hands together moved by his kindness only to hear him add that letting me do this would calm me down before I did anything crazy n g maybe he knows me too well once I have the manuscript ready we can begin testing the printing press at once please calm down lady rose mine at this rate you'll surely collapse if we start printing right away I wonder if we can have a volume ready by the summer starine ceremony calm down you're seriously
about to collapse and if you collapse now they are never going to let you touch the printing press Luts warned he had switched from his polite language to his usual rough way of speaking when he realized that I wasn't listening and needed to be properly threatened I gasped sensing that he was serious ious anything but that as I took deep breaths to collect myself the face tone by the hidden rooms door lit up lady Ros Mine Monica is signaling for you France said very well I shall check up on them
I stepped into the hidden room and passed the makeshift screen to where Bridget was the cheap cloth wrapped around her figure was filled with tiny pins but it was certainly in the shape of a sleeveless gown and perhaps due to to it being a singular undyed color it looked entirely like she was wearing a wedding dress why how wonderful it looks incredible on You Bridget the dress was on another level entirely from the one she had worn last year I walked around her examining it from top to bottom
it mostly matched the design I had provided but there were a few awkward areas that caught my attention probably due to this being the first time Karina had ever made something like this let's see Karina pinch the dress up around here to better Define the chest you'll also want the back part to look a little more like this I explained as Ken and took out several pins and adjusted their positions to alter how Bridget's figure was presented the actual dress would be cut out from fabric with these
pieces as a basis so everyone had a serious look in their eyes the cloth clung tightly to Bridget's upper body wonderfully accentuating her curves from her chest down to her hips Frills had been sewn by her waist leading to a long skirt that used plenty of cloth since Bridget was a KN the design needed to emphasize being easy to move around in so it was deliberately light and thin for how much cloth was being used Bridget is the dress uncomfortably tight anywhere I asked not at all I like that t
he lack of cloth covering my shoulders makes it easy to move my arms Plus in emergencies I could simply cover them with a face tone despite how lovely it looked she was focusing entirely on how convenient it would be during battle I wasn't sure whether I should praise her for that or beg her to treat the situation at least a little more romantically as much as I wanted her to use this dress to pin down a wonderful husband she didn't seem to be thinking about that at all do may I invite DL inside
I think that the dress suits you like a dream Bridget but I would like to hear the opinion of a nobleman as well certainly I would also like to ask about other female Knights wearing this Bridget replied she didn't seem opposed to the idea so I exited the hidden room again DL would you come with me for a moment may I ask why we would appreciate the opinion of a man please tell us what you think about Bridget's dress if you would DL merely blinked in response visibly confused I know that Bridget
would wear the dress no matter her own thoughts since I designed it myself but there is no point in us making something that does not appeal to nobleman I would like to hear your Frank upfront opinion as a man soul that we may move forward without any such fears we cannot allow Bridget to bring shame upon herself simply as the result of my own potentially unusual taste and fashion don't you agree at that point D will stiffened before nodding in agreement in in a sense he had seen many of my Ram
pages up close and personal he knew that I was usually out of sync with the rest of society if my actions were about to publicly embarrass Bridget then I'd much rather he stopped me now DL is here may we come in Bridget yes I'm ready I entered the hidden room once more this time with Dil following behind me but the moment we circled around the Partition screen he froze letting out a small gasp hearing the noise I turned around and looked up at him DL he didn't respond his eyes were open wide in
shock his gaze so fixed on Bridget that he was practically boring holes into her then a quiet exhale escaped his slightly Agape mouth he blinked a few times as though he had seen something so dazzling that he was unable to believe his eyes and his mouth slowly formed a smile do I think I just witnessed the very moment someone fell in love even Gina and the seamstresses had caught on that the motionless DL was completely L struck and they started looking at him with amused eyes I could practicall
y hear them say spring certainly is the season when love blooms my urge to grin alongside them mixed with my desire to push DL forward in my eyes his feelings were so obvious that he might as well just confess them so Dil what do you think why i e r Dil staggered the moment I pulled on his cape shooting me a surprised look and blurting out a response he then quickly turned his gaze back to Bridget AEM it's hot it's quite nice I think don't get all embarrassed now you need to be more direct or yo
ur praise won't get across come on you can do it I tried silently cheering him on but deep down I already knew Dil was kind of a wimp he averted his gaze unable to look directly at Bridget and said nothing more everyone else watched on waiting for him to say something but his mouth remained shut the only things that moved were his eyes as they wandered anxiously around the room lady rosemine designed this specifically for me but do you think it would be suitable for other female Knights as well
Bridget asked looking down at her dress maybe I think well DL mustered a vague answer before trailing off eventually resorting to a small nod I wanted him to be clearer with his feedback but love had melted his brain so thoroughly that it didn't seem like he would be of much use here it seems the dress has passed a test so we shall go with this design DL please vacate the room so that we may complete the fitting I said deciding it was best to give up on him for now and shooing him out once the d
oor was closed I turned around and anxiously looked at Bridget his true feelings had been so obvious there was no way she hadn't noticed as well um Bridget she gave a small embarrassed smile dul certainly is easy to understand isn't he that was the first time a man has ever looked at me like that so I must confess to feeling a little flustered right now nah nah nah you're genuinely stunning Bridget and men have definitely looked at you like that before you just never noticed because they weren't
so obvious about it she probably hadn't noticed because she was too busy thinking about her family her Province and things to do with combat or perhaps she only had eyes for the person she was engaged to it was bound to be one or the other if you ask me Bridget about DL I think he is a fine man man with an overall diligent personality he isn't overly uptight no doubt due to him being a second son and lacking a title himself and I do not believe he would even consider attempting to control ler f
urthermore lady rosemine the simple fact that he is one of your favorite guard Knights makes him a valuable asset to iler she replied as I blinked in surprise at how positively Bridget thought of DL she gave me a bright smile but the gap between our Mona capacities is simply too vast I am not even considering being with him she had flat out rejected him and with a pretty smile at that but her words reminded me Ferdinand had mentioned once before that in order to have children together two people
need to possess similar quantities of Mana for that reason I wouldn't have been able to marry anyone as a commoner it seemed that in Noble Society romance was predicated on Mona capacity so a gap too vast would end a romance before it had even begun do DL fell in love with Bridget and she rejected him almost immediately this is just too sad I knew that my blessing was gradually expanding dl's mono capacity but I wasn't sure how much it had grown nor how much it would need to grow for Bridget to
change her mind was it possible that he could earn Bridget's consideration by working hard I thought it over but I had zero experience with romance and a weak grasp on Noble culture at best the chances were that nothing good would come from me butting my head into the love lives of others so I would just have to silently cheer him on in my heart DL if you can somehow close the Mona gap between you and Bridget you might just have a chance do the best you can the new printing press is trial run n
ow then what story should we start with I wondered aloud everyone from the gilberta company had since left and I was now at my desk in the high Bishop's Chambers I needed to blast out a manuscript as soon as possible so that we could try making a text filed book using the new printing press there were several tales about kns among the collection of stories I had written down over the winter and by using those as a base it wouldn't be too hard to put something together maybe I should start by pri
nting something short with our goal ultimately being to create a collection of night stories Gil responded with an affirmative nod given that this is a trial run I think starting with a small manuscript would be best after talking it over with him a bit more I settled on writing a story with a happy ending in it a night would hunt a f Beast before gifting its face tone to his beloved a few days later I completed the reasonably thin night short story come seventh Bell it was time for me to listen
to my attendance reports on the day so I took this opportunity to tell Gil and Fritz that I was done Gil Fritz the manuscript for the short story is now finished we shall do the type setting in the afternoon on a sunny day to limit the children's access to the work shop please pass this information on to Lutz furthermore please decide with Fran who is going to be present in the workshop to observe the trial run as you wish Gil replied promptly Fritz momentarily fell into thought then softly cri
nkled his calm dark brown eyes Gil I imagine that you wish to participate in a type setting as well so I shall take the children to the forest please listen closely in my place as you will need to learn the process well enough for the both of us you can count on me lady Ros mine are the illustrations completed to as this printing session will consist entirely of text there is no need for us to wait on illustrations we'll be using mograph printing for them as we already have been oh but I do inte
nd to ask Willl if she can begin the new illustrations you may send her a messenger so that she knows about this ahead of time the next afternoon I excitedly headed to the orphanage with a completed manuscript in hand planning to ask Wilman to draw the accompanying illustrations Wilma I would like you to draw illustrations for this night story using ferdinand's face as a reference do lady rose mine I believe doing that will only lead to you earning the high priest's ire once again wilus said wit
h worried look but I had an ancient unbreakable blade at my disposal passed down through my family for Generations there is no need to worry we are only using him as a reference after all the knight in the story is someone entirely different from the high priest for one they do not have the same name it will also be clearly stated in the book that its contents are mere Fiction with any similarity to actual persons living or dead or actual events being purely coincidental oh my you always have a
trick up your sleeve don't you Wilma asked her eyes widening in complete awe she then looked up to the ceiling and thought in that case I will modify the hairstyle and the like so that he appears different enough thank you ever so much Wilma think nothing of it I have such a delightful time drawing the high priest that when he banned our illustrations I was more impressed in anyone my partner in crime said with a giggle I had successfully secured the pictures I needed we'll print them as usual o
nce we've finished printing all the text plus we are going to be using an entire page for the illustration so there's no need to think about size or where to put the letters you don't need to hurry either since the pictures won't be added right away understood I stood up having finished my conversation with Wilma which which encouraged the kids playing in the corner of the dining hall to come rushing over lady Ros mine are you making a new picture book what's it about the picture book about the
Autumn Gods had been completed while I was attending spring prayer and the workshop was presently in the middle of making one on the winter gods they were curious therefore what my next one would be about it seemed that my plan to raise the orphans into bookworms was going off without a hitch ahahaha once I've finished the book about the winter Gods I will be making a collection of night stories but I'm not sure you all will be able to read it since it's going to be filled with text we'll make s
ure we can learning new words is so much fun The Collection shall be based on stories that I've gathered from Noble children I am very much looking forward to all of you one day writing new stories for me too we'll practice so we can get good at writing the orphans said their eyes brimming with motivation the sight warmed my heart I wanted them to keep up this enthusiasm in hopes that it would drive them to make books of all kinds themselves when they grew up teaching the orphans their letters a
nd the Art of enjoying reading was all an investment so that I myself could have more books in the future the day had finally arrived I completed my morning work eager to type set for a movable type printer for the first time and plan to tear through lunch so that I could get to the Workshop as soon as possible Fran I said as he served my food I would like to wear throwaway clothes since I might be getting dirty at the workshop this afternoon he furrowed his brow at my request my sincere apologi
es lady rose mine but under normal circumstances the daughter of the arch Duke would never engage in the work herself for that reason you do not own any throwaway clothes wait what but the ink stains will most likely be permanent will that not be a problem I asked pinching the white sleeves of the high Bishop robes I usually wore and holding them up to him getting Black Ink on this white cloth would be a major issue and I couldn't imagine it was acceptable for the high Bishop to go around wearin
g dirty clothes there are still several robes in the orphanage director's Chambers from your days as an apprentice Shrine Maiden might I suggest using those the only consideration is that you will need to change in the director's Chambers and you should attempt to stay in your high Bishop robes as much as possible while in the temple the only clothes in this closet were those suited to the high bishop and the archduke's adopted daughter I had gone to the orphanage director's Chambers many times
since becoming High Bishop but as I wasn't allowed to open its closets and the like myself I hadn't known that my old clothes were still in there in fact my assumption had been that they were burned or something to hide my commoner origins. I had no idea they were still in there thank you ever so much Fran and so I headed to the orphanage director's Chambers with Monica and Dil to change into something from my days as mine amid the several sets of clothes in the closet I found my gilberta compan
y Apprentice outfit that I used to wear and my heart immediately twinged with Nostalgia I shall change into these after all these are the only clothes without frilly sleeves Monica looked over the out fit then nodded they are certainly the most suitable for work I pushed my arms Through The Apprentice clothes feeling an even stronger wave of nostalgia wash over me they were a little tight on me but nothing that I couldn't wear plus the fact that they were tighter meant I was actually growing to
some extent though that too emphasized how much I had changed since being mine which was sad in its own way Gil finished his lunch just as I finished changing and Cain to join us in the director's Chambers Monica I shall head to the workshop with Gil you may use this time to help Wilma I imagine she is fairly busy right now due to the illustration job I have given her as you wish you may leave it to me after sending Monica to the orphanage I went to the workshop with Gil and DL I've sent everyon
e outside so you can go a little crazy with a type setting if you want Gil said proudly puffing out his chest Fritz had taken everyone to the forest so that I could handle things in the workshop myself it was their first time going there for paper making this spring so they had all left in a rush of excitement dul gave a small smile having been dragged along to all this I would rather you make it so that she doesn't go crazy at all when books are involved you would need the power of mesora the g
oddess of wisdom to keep lady rosemine contained do you have such power at your disposal sir DL Gil asked indirectly suggesting that he had absolutely no idea how to control me there was no way I was going to hold back in the face of a new printing press and it seemed Gil understood that as well as Luts now I see in that case I suppose I should pray to mes joral later on dul said quickly giving up on containing my Rampage himself and instead resorting to praying to the gods for help well if you
are going out of your way to pray to mesor you might as well ask her for some Insider tips on how to further Advance Printing technology we reached the workshop soon enough I spotted Luts already lining up the necessary tools so I called out to announce our arrival Luts we here mine Lutz exclaimed turning around with white eyes he then slapped a hand against his cheek and shook his head no that's wrong wrong knowing that he was surprised to see me wearing The Apprentice outfit I spun in place an
d struck a pose what do you think Lots brings back memories doesn't it it's more confusing than anything I mean come on I even messed up your name there where's something else next time he replied with a pout these were the only clothes with sleeves appropriate for working in you might as well give up because I'm going to keep using them I replied already heading over to the type setting stand I grabbed the lowermost letter type case and grinned at the sight of the gleaming metal within Luts Gil
where are the composing sticks and the Interline spacers all the small pieces that Ino and Johan made are on this shelf Lutz replied revealing crisp rows of sticks and spacers I let out an emotional sigh words couldn't even begin to to explain how beautiful the pieces looked and the thought of printing with them genuinely moved me but when I started checking all the drawers of the type setting stand I noticed something really bad oh no I can't reach the top Gil please fetch me something to stan
d on actually let's begin maybe we should just line up the letter type cases on a worktable that way we can all go through the process together I nodded in agreement at which point Lutz and Gil started moving the cases it was too bad though I'd wanted to look all cool working in front of the type setting stand okay time to start type setting let's see you did some before when you were printing the text for the picture books right this is basically the same but since the books we are printing thi
s time are filled with letters we need to make the length of each line and the spaces between them uniform so the text will be easy to read I explained handing the manuscript to Lutz and Gil Lutz you type set this page and Gil you take care of this one I placed the manuscript on the worktable then handed them each a composing stick these sticks were slender wooden boxes small enough to be held in one hand and they were where the several rows of metal letter types would be assembled first place a
n Interline spacer in your composing stick yes I'm referring to the thin long pieces of wood now add as many letters as you can fit this will determine how long each line is so make sure there aren't any sticking out once that's done add another Interline spacer and then put a setting rule on top hey what's the setting rule for anyway Lutz asked holding up the thin piece of metal and looking it over with a confused expression I put an Interline spacer and then a setting rule in my own composing
stick before starting to search for the first letter I needed the setting rule helps the metal letter types slide easier than they would on top of wood and it helps to keep all the letters aligned neatly in place a there's the first letter got it I grabbed the first letter from the case made sure it was flipped vertically then set it in the composing stick with a clink always start from this side of the stick okay got it after that nothing but the sound of clinking metal filled the workshop when
we finished each line of letters we would set down an Interline spacer take out a setting Rule and then lay that down on top once that was done we would begin lining up the next row of type type setting was very repetitious work mm where's the next one oh there it is it was my first time doing this so it took me a long time to find each letter I noticed that Lutz and Gil were hunting for them with squinted eyes too once we had several lines of text arranged in our composing sticks we'd carefull
y move the pieces to the galley along tray for holding types and then start adding letters to the now empty composing stick all over again as I said it was repetitious work this sure takes a lot of time lets observed we'll get faster as we get used to it I quickly got used to the process meaning I was able to speedily line up my I Rose but my energy quickly started to WAN and by the time I was halfway done with my page I was already exhausted squinting at the rows of tiny letter types had really
tired my eyes out when we had initially begun I was enjoying myself and making good progress but when we were finally finishing our pages I was going the slowest out of everyone with the pages done we delicately tied the arranged types together with types setting string so that they wouldn't fall out of place I was so drained that I couldn't actually manage to do mine so Luts had to handle it in my place and that completes the galley the type settings done so next up is making the galley proof
this stage will require us to use the printing press so we might want to send word to Ingo Zach and Johan either way for now I'll explain how to work the gys into the printing press I brought the filled up Galley over to the printing press then put it in place the printing press itself perfectly matched the blueprint we had agreed on though that much was to be expected given that it had been made by Johan it had been arranged so that we could print double page spreads that is both the left and r
ight pages of an open book together so let's set the second filled up Galley next to it we then arranged furniture around the gleys to create the margins before setting everything in place with a wooden frame that marked the end of our preparations now we just need to rub on the Inc do a test print see how there are marks on the frame line the paper up with those marks then press this board down it was set so that when the paper was being held down by the cover it could be folded such that it wo
uld be positioned right above the galy I compared the printing press blueprints with a real thing while continuing to explain how it worked I'm pretty sure turning this handle will move the stand yeah let me see it I wasn't strong enough to turn the handle myself but Lutz and Gil could both manage it on their own the stand moved just according to my specifications which was incredible to see as we were utilizing the principle of Leverage this new printing press hopefully wouldn't require as much
arm strength as the previous version making it easier and less taxing to use so you can print by moving that handle it won't actually print right now since we haven't put any ink on the types but try turning it anyway it should be a lot easier to move than the earlier press the old press had needed the strength of two adults but Lutz and Gil were managing to operate this new one by themselves waa that wasn't tough at all if we can start picking up the letter types quicker this should make print
ing take no time at all Lut said his green eyes sparkling with excitement meanwhile Gil was writing instructions for the entire process onto his diptic once they both had everything down our work for the day was done do okay I understand now Gil said looking up from his diptic we can bring Engle and the others to the workshop tomorrow then do the trial run Lut speared over his shoulder at the diptic then nodded yeah and while they here you'll be watching and only watching like a good high Bishop
did our work today scratch that itch for you just a little enough for me to stay stay calm tomorrow do though it's less that I've calmed down and more that today's work will probably leave me too exhausted to move much at all Ino Zach and Johan came over to the workshop the next day they were all wearing their work clothes in preparation for the printing test so I alone stood out with my clean High Bishop robes now Then Shall We Begin the trial run for the new printing press Gil lets please beg
in they both nodded then started putting together the galley proof as we had discussed rubbing on the ink putting the paper into place and setting down the frame Lutz turned the handle while Gil pushed the stand beneath the press as it moved and everyone watched on with interest and nervousness the Craftsman in particular observed the process with serious glares and furrowed brows pushing the handle and using leverage to move the Press made the Press board itself move with a loud banging sound L
utz and Gil pulled out the stand and undid the frame covering the paper paper then remove the sheets from the press the small mograph printer could only print one page at a time but here we had printed two at once few they done real good quality to so that's printing I don't know what those pages actually say but I'm impressed with a trial run of success the Craftsman all let out size of relief I smiled upon seeing them all finally freed from the stress that came with having to deliver a working
product thanks to you three combining your talents we have improved the printing press into something truly wonderful I announced I shall direct the gilberta company to handle the rest of your payment and report your success to the guilds winter was a stressful time was it not where exactly did you struggle the most the stress-free Craftsman went on to explain their respective struggles to me well lady Ros mine I was busy all winter thanks to you call calling me one of your gutenberg's Johan mu
rmured with a sigh I placed a hand on my cheek and tilted my head busy all winter you say should I take that to mean you have found a new Patron if so I truly am Overjoyed for you and would be more than willing to remove you from the guten bgs comfortable in a knowledge that doing so will not deprive you of work n g at that Johan awkwardly averted his gaze having clearly not found a new Patron yet beno's request with a galy proof done we need to compare it with a manuscript and correct any mista
kes the more people doing this the better since there are going to be mistakes no matter how careful you are once the typo checking was done the gallies were corrected and another proof was printed only once all of the mistakes were confirmed to have been fixed would we begin printing in bulk and this process of type setting and correcting any mistakes formed the repetitious bulk of printing I am very s satisfied with a sprinting press I would like to order an identical one to send to H th thank
you very much Ino and Johan replied with nervous Smiles Zach however looked somewhat unsatisfied likely because he hadn't been involved in the actual construction don't worry Zach I have a lot more schematics for you to make in any case by spreading the things I wanted around the world at once I was causing some serious repercussions in all sorts of places my influence was more significant than I ever would have thought and that influence would undoubtedly create Fierce competition between work
shops which wanted to make as much profit as possible as a result the gilberta company would get even more work as they served as my representative and an intermediary between me and the Workshops the problem is I can't just choose one Workshop to give my exclusive business to I let out a sigh Zack ma creativity and skill when it came to drawing up blueprints was very important to me but so was Yan's technical ability that flawlessly brought those schematics to life there was no way to avoid giv
ing work to them both but the inevitable conflict this would cause between workshops was pretty rough it would be so much easier if they just combined their workshops into one I contemplated the idea for a moment then looked over at Zach what would I need to do to make you the foreman of a new workshop Z Z what Zack immediately looked at me with white eyes while Ino and Johan regarded me with bewildered stares as though I had morphed into some kind of talking F Beast it seemed pretty clear that
my suggestion was a little out of the ordinary so I hurly explain my thought process I simply figured that Zach and Johan establishing a workshop together would make it a lot easier for me to order things from them both since I couldn't just give one of their workshops my exclusive business my my idea had been to establish a Smithy containing only my personal Craftsman Zack and Johan are from different smithies so taking orders and distributing the pay has been a bit of a pain right well Zach is
sociable and has a bright Act of imagination so I think he would be well suited to becoming a foreman while Johan could provide his excellent skills to complete the ultimate Workshop hold on hold on Johan and I are both leurs which means that while we can inherit our current workshops assuming our respective Foreman choose us after we've gotten our bar of certifications of course we can't become the foreman of new workshops wait really Zack and Johan went on to explain that while the contracts
signed by Le hangs were generally for three years of work those signed by leurs tied them into a lifetime of employment with that particular Workshop this was done to help the workshop grow but it also meant that leurs couldn't go on to own workshops themselves in other words no matter where you went people wanted to keep skilled workers to themselves a leur can have their contract nullified if they are deemed useless or cause too many problems but Zach and Johan are making a lot of money for th
eir workshops Ingo added providing the perspective of a foreman with a workshop I doubt their Foreman are going to let them go Ino had apparently aimed to become a foreman since he was a kid having been confident in his skills from a young age and given some amount of support from his parents he declined the lural contracts offered to him and instead signed on as a leang with various workshops to hone his talents I see so that means it wouldn't be feasible for me to establish a Smithy exclusivel
y for my gutenberg's I lamented at which point Johan repeatedly nodded in agreement it's a shame though there were many large projects that I'd wish to start on and I thought that having my own personal Smithy would make giving the orders much easier but I suppose that simply isn't an option do large projects Zack asked hesitantly I nodded indeed would you care to design a hand pump for me so that we might draw water from the wells much more easily I am willing to buy the schematic from you with
out hesitation my intention is to give said schematic to the smiing guild for safekeeping as this way anyone will be able to make hand pumps for themselves in the future but why because the invention will earn more profit than a single Workshop could ever use and I would much rather it spread across the world at once the struggle of drawing water is experienced universally is it not still I don't understand why you would publicize the schematics Zack replied you should always try to monopolize a
s much of the profit as you can he and all the other Craftsmen look positively baffled they they were so used to prioritizing earnings for their own workshops that they simply could not understand my desire to begin circulating convenient Quality of Life Products well if all commoners think the same way about this maybe I should figure out a way to earn profit from it just so the Craftsman can understand me better maybe I could use this as an opportunity to popularize the concept of a royalty fe
e while I shall allow the smiy and Guild to manage the schematics I won't be releasing the hand pumps for free I intend to sign a magic contract to the effect that for each one made Zach and I will be paid a small fee for Designing the product and inventing it respectively I that'll get you some profit while spreading the product around for sure inle replied nodding a few times while stroking his cheek Zach also nodded in understanding now that I was talking about being paid what exactly is this
thing that you're talking about lady Ros mine I can only guess it's as weird as everything else you've come up with well yes you're right it's pretty weird I explained the theory behind the hand pump's operation as best and as simply as I could back in my or no days I had researched the subject during a social studies class in which we compared life in the past and present my group had tasked me with heading to the library and doing the research which was somewhat of a treasured memory since I
was so rarely trusted with things that said I hadn't actually made a pump myself the best I could do was draw out a rough illustration and provide a broad explanation but Zach listened on regardless his gray eyes shining with competitive light so when you move this part here these parts move and open the valve okay I think I get it I'll try drawing up some designs dear best Noble Gutenberg I tap guil card with Luts to pay the remaining fees for the printing press the cost of the new printing pre
ss that would be sent to H and the down payment for the hand pump schematics I would leave dividing the money between the Craftsman delivering the reports to the guilds and so on to the gilberta company lady Ros mine Master Beno was entrusted with this Lut said handing a letter to Gil who then gave it to me I opened it right then and there and inside was a brief message stating that Hugo wished to become a court chea it seemed that he had finished training his successor in the Italian restaurant
if possible he would like to receive your introduction Luts added It ultimately fell on the arch dukee to decide who to hire as a court Chef Sylvester had previously given him a direct off the Record invitation but no formal documents had been shared or signed without me throwing an award for him he probably wouldn't even be able to enter the castle or the nobl quarter again in the end he didn't find a new partner before the star festival. o right his girlfriend rejected him or something what w
ith Hugo and dble it feels like every guy around me has been getting turned down recently feeling sad about how unsuccessful everyone around me was with romance I look toward Lutz please tell Beno to send Hugo with you next time so that we might discuss this in person as you wish 3 Days Later Beno and L's visited the orphanage director's Chambers with Hugo and toe he had been made to wear his best outfit and was practically shrinking in fear as his eyes frantically surveyed his surroundings it w
as honestly kind of funny seeing him like that he had never come up to the second floor when he had been working here as my chef so I could tell that he felt out of place after we finished exchanging our greetings and had taken our seats Fran came over to pour our tea like a proper Noble I sip my tea te first and took a demonstrative bite out of the new sweets that Ella had prepared she had put her all into making them upon hearing that Hugo would be coming long at chat separated by cream and ja
m made from seasonal fruit she really had been burning with motivation to show her former teacher just how much she had grown Nica had told me this information laughing all the while here you are these are new sweets prepared by Ella in an instant Hugo's small anxious expression morphed into that of a chef he straightened his back and examined the suits with narrowed eyes before picking one up giving it a closer look from various angles and placing it in his mouth as he swallowed his expression
turned into a frown God she's improved too fraking much he murmured vexed it seemed that Ella's allout attempt to make the best sweets ever had successfully wounded Hugo's Pride so Hugo wishes to be become a court Chef now I asked broaching the subject Beno nodded I am told he received an invitation from the Archduke himself but no formal documents were provided we hope that you might send word of his decision for us lady Ros mine is the Italian restaurant prepared to lose Hugo what did the co-o
wner Freda have to say about this I asked as it turned out both Beno and Freda had agreed that an Italian restaurant Chef going on to become a court Chef in the castle would bring nothing but good publicity for them I see in that case I have no quams about sending word that Hugo may become a court Chef Beno sighed in relief then crossed his arms in front of his chest with a word of gratitude Hugo did the same I gave them a Brisk nod then glanced at Hugo for some final confirmation please underst
and though we will receive entirely different accommodation from when you were staying in a castle to teach the other court chefs my recipes you will not begin as a teacher but rather as an entry-level cook is that acceptable to you at the moment you hold the prized position of head chef at the Italian restaurant becoming a court Chef will send you back to the bottom even so this is what I want Hugo replied determinately clenching his fists in his lap furthermore the recipes that I have taught y
ou up until now have been protected by Magic contracts you will no longer be able to spread new recipes once you are hired as a court chef and I cannot predict how the other chefs will treat you master benos said that too but I still want to do this Hugo said his resolve was as firm as iron he wanted to become a court Chef no matter what position it put him in this is also important but if you enter the Noble's quarter as a court cheaf you will no longer be able to return to the lower City witho
ut your boss's permission you have a family do you not are you okay with being separated from them have they agreed to this Beno lowered his eyes a little knowing that I had been forced to leave my own family but Hugo was unfaced he simply responded that he desired to become a court Chef even if that meant leaving his family why do you so strongly wish to become a court Chef I'm curious since you did didn't seem so invested in the power that the position offered before are you unsatisfied with t
he Italian restaurant you may tell us if you are having any particular issues as a chef so that we might correct them for both you and the others no I don't have any problems with a workplace it's just well it's kind of a personal reason and Hugo trailed off uncomfortably at which point Beno started to explain for him his serious expression Bel in the amusement in his eyes it turned out that Hugo's ex-girlfriend had started dating one of his neighbors and seeing them acting all lovey doy every s
ingle day had driven him to want to leave his home and become a court Chef as soon as possible oh so it didn't just end with him getting rejected that's that's honestly pretty sad if you wish to find a new special someone it would be much wiser to continue working in the Italian restaurant I am certain you are much more likely to find someone else there as you surely know already the court chefs are almost exclusively men I had researched the Castle's kitchens out of concern over Ella going ther
e so I already knew what the male female ratio was like my observation made Hugo grunt uncomfortably then firmly shake his head I've already decided to dedicate my life to cooking it is your life Hugo as long as you don't make a choice you will regret I am happy to assist but if you wish to become a court Chef solely to escape your current home and workplace I am willing to hire you with room and board as my personal chef how does that sound I asked with a smile Hugo's eyes bulged at the offer a
s far as I was concerned it would be a waste for a chef as skilled as him to be stuck doing low-level manual labor in the kitchen not to mention as he was going to be leaving the Italian restaurant either way I would much rather get him under my wing to avoid having to teach my recipes to yet more people I was considering hiring more personal chefs as Ella is struggling to manage everything on her own you two have already spent much time together and I know that your skills are more than satisfa
ctory you also won't have to start at the bottom in my kitchen ER but I told my family that I'm going to become a court chef and I'm quitting the Italian restaurant too backing down now would just be kind of lame and laughable to anyone who heard in short his pride as a man was at stake becoming my personal chef would mean following me as I travel between the castle and the temple which from a lower City perspective is practically the same as being a court chea Hugo blinked froze for a moment an
d then shook his head ah he's uncertain good good time to pile on a pressure and make him Bend plus you would not be wasting any of the knowledge you previously acquired your position would allow you to make all the recipes you have already learned as well as potential new ones I intend to send new recipes to the Italian restaurant as well after all oh and not to mention in my service you will have access to the newest cooking utensils before anyone else Hugo's eyes flicker to and fro his intere
st drawn to the new cooking utensils Beno who was sitting beside him watched on silently with an amused grin creeping onto his face you may also request to go to the lower City while I am staying at the temple that would surely bring Comfort to your family would it not Hugo's head was swaying side to side as if mirroring his wavering heart one more push would do it not to mention my kitchen has Ella Nia and Monica often work there as assistants too would you not rather work in a kitchen full of
cute girls than a stuffy man filled one in a castle lady Ros mine I think I'll take you up on your offer he finally folded with a deadly serious look on his face signing the contract through Beno who was holding a hand over his mouth to contain his laughter and thus Hugo to became my personal chef I'll have your room prepared by tomorrow so have your things ready Monica take Hugo to the high Bishop's Chambers and show him the kitchen he need only see where he is going to work as you wish Hugo pl
ease follow me at that Monica let Hugo out of the orphanage director's Chambers in stark contrast to when he had come in he looked so pleased that I thought he might even start humming along the way after watching Hugo disappear down the stairs I turned to Beno I've settled on a date for training Otto and the others the training would be done while I was at the castle during the arch Duke conference my temple attendance were permitted a fair amount of flexibility while I was away so that would b
e the perfect opportunity for them to instruct others meanwhile I would be reading as many books as I wanted in a castle book room or at least I deeply wish that was the case Ferdinand had instead instructed me to join Wilfried in performing monor replenishment while the arch dukee was absent and attending the conference I thank you greatly for your consideration during these busy times Beno said glancing toward the hidden room he probably wanted to talk about something else in there so I gave a
prompt knot and stood from my seat DL Gil we are moving to the other room and so I entered a hidden room with Beno Gil and Dil taking a seat once we were inside Beno sat down as well and met my gaze at which point he dropped his superficial Merchant smile to reveal a sharp scowl did something happen Beno you know I've been doing more business with Nobles lately right yes Luts tells me about your complaining through Gil all the time I replied it turned out that Alvar approaching him while we wer
e selling Learning Materials at the castle had led to the gilberta company getting an immediate surge in Noble connections and they had been up to their elbows in work ever since I'm getting more and more inquiries about the Learning Materials made by your Workshop not not just from Nobles either from Rich comers as well and that's made the owners of other large stores run complaining to the guild about how the gilberta company's supposed to be a clothing store Beno said scratching his head with
a sigh I've spread too far out he continued other stores normally wouldn't get up in arms about something like this but you're involved with it all and every new business I step into is raking in obscene amounts of profit people are being increasingly obnoxious about how much business I have with Nobles now when combined with Freda and the Guild Master getting involved the fact that Beno wasn't really visiting the Italian restaurant much had given other stores the impression that he was merely
another investor but even had this not been an issue beno's decision to stay involved with me had gotten him increasingly more work in the printing industry and thus more noble customers leaving the other large store owners clamoring for a piece of the pie barely any of my new Noble customers even realized that the gilberta company is a close clothing store which is going to make it harder for Kina and ranata to take over that's why once you've finished training Auto my plan is to split off from
the gilberta company and make a store solely for the printing business this can hopefully be done before that new fashion Year trying to spread hits the scene beno's plan was to divide the store in two so that the profits he was earning from me weren't concentrated on a single business I wasn't sure whether that would actually work but I wasn't an expert on inter Merchant relationships and didn't really have a reason to disagree so you Mark and Lutz are going to start a new store specifically f
or books yeah all the big store owners who want in on this new industry that the archdukes started are each going to be sending a let hand to this new place he explained as it turned out the real reason he was splitting the store was because he didn't want those Outsider Le hangs in the gilberta company but I didn't understand why he was being forced to accept them in the first place place truly the world of merchants was a mysterious place what do you need me to do then I need a name could you
think something up that makes it clear to everyone that the news store has your backing Beno explained that the gilberta company's founder had started by requesting a store name from a noble they were told to use the name gilberta which the founder actually adopted as their own name as well um does that mean the new store's going to be called the rosemine company is your new name going to be rosemine too Beno I'm not taking the name and if you are going to give me one at least make it mail but t
o answer your question no it doesn't have to be your name you can come up with whatever you want unperturbed by beno's Outburst of anger I started considering ideas I had already used Gutenberg as a title for people but there was nothing stopping me from using the name of someone else involved with the printing industry and of course I knew more than a few such names it would be confusing for the store to have the same name as the Ros mine Workshop so what about going with a planon company inste
ad dot where' that name come from it's a secret I said with a pleased smile knowing full well that he wouldn't understand the reference even if I explained it to him Kristoff planton was a man who had dedicated his life to printing books and notably produced the plon polyglot incidentally plon printing Workshop in Belgium was considered a world heritage site the plon mortis Museum was actually located there and I had wanted to see it with my own eyes Sunday plon well I'll just be glad you didn't
go with Gutenberg again they come from a similar place but more importantly Beno I really think you should start going by the name plon now never he shot me down instantly but on second thought it would be confusing to actually have him change his name like that so this was fine with me the more important thing was learning from planton example and advancing the printing industry such that we could have 20 printing presses working at Full Throttle all at once Beno Beno let's make as many books
as we can and sell them at the planon company I want a workshop that can fit 20 whole printing presses inside I would be fine with either a new printing Workshop or expanding the existing Ros mine Workshop to fit more printing presses but my most purest of Dreams only made benog hard then flick me on the forward didn't the high priest tell you to learn some patience oh right he did got to contain myself or actually can I just stay like this I'd much rather go nuts of course you can't idiot Beno
Unleashed his Thunder and as he started grinding his knuckles against my head a sense of peace and nostalgic Solace washed over my heart oh how I'd miss these days Doby but I wouldn't mind him being a little more gentle not grinding so hard would be nice too please staying home during the arch Duke conference Fran I entrust you with training beno's men while I am at the castle Zan help him as much as you can I needed to supply monitor Aaron fest's Foundation while the Archduke and Arch Duchess w
ere staying in a sovereignty for the Archduke conference so I would be living in a castle from today until the spring coming of age ceremony Ros mine it is time to go Ferdinand called out I gestured for Ella Hugo and Rosen to climb into my high Beast Bridget would be riding shotgun as always and D would be guarding our rear while we followed after Ferdinand Hugo let out a pretty pathetic shriek the moment we began to ascend but he quickly shut his mouth when Ella started laughing at him she was
used to flying by now PFF Youk be fine Hugo there's nothing to scream about Ella said we all got used to flying in no time I found it amusing that while she spoke very matter of factly her voice seemed a little brighter than usual maybe she was having fun teasing Hugo I was as shocked as you the first time I flew Rosen added but now I find the experience more comfortable than riding in carriages your reaction is quite normal Rosen right Ella switched seats with her Hugo said sounding openly move
d I knew he was just glad to have a beautiful woman like Rosen in his corner but wow talk about being blatant nobody's allowed to change seats while lady Ros mine's flying her High Beast so too bad Ellen shot back back turning her head away with a pout Rosen let out an amused giggle I wish that I were back there having fun too welcome home lady Ros mine and welcome back once again Lord Ferdinand we have already prepared for your arrival Norbert greeted us when we arrived I wasn't sure what prepa
rations he was talking about but Ferdinand gave a calm knot as he put away his high Beast Norbert looked over my three personnel one they had exited my panabo then immediately started giving them orders chefs please head to the kitchen attendants carry their things odly take the musician to Lady rosine's room as a note DL and Bridget you will not be permitted entry to where they are headed so you may change places with Cornelius and take some time off yes sir DL and Bridget both took a step back
and then kneeled me meanwhile Hugo and Ella went with the attendants carrying their belongings to the kitchen as instructed while Rosen followed odly to the northern building with her harsh peel lady rosemine please prepare your high Beast we shall be walking through the main building for quite sometime it seemed that we weren't heading straight to my room I morphed lesie into a one-seater and got inside please follow me I drove behind Norbert and Ferdinand and my one woman pandabus art and Cor
nelius were following as guard Knights while riara accompanied us as an attendant together we entered the main Castle Building through the back entrance then climbed some steps to the arch Duke's Office Old Baron Fest lady Ros mine and Lord Ferdinand have arrived waiting inside were the arch Duke and Arch Duchess their guard Knights and attendants willfried lamp wck and Oswald Sylvester stood up as soon as we reached the door ah there you are letun go no sooner had Ferdinand and I entered and la
mp wrecked and art stepped outside as guards planting their feet firmly in place and crossing their arms the attendants then closed the door behind them after which Cornelius and a guard Knight who served florena similarly guarded it from the inside what in the world is going on I asked Ferdinand tugging on his sleeve the sudden tension in the air was making me a little intimidated he looked down at me and raised an eyebrow did I not explain you are going to pour Mana into the foundation's magic
ferdinand's explanation had ultimately been fairly brief and I was pretty sure that he'd said it wouldn't be any different from offering Mana to the Divine instruments or pouring it into the chal Isis for the dedication ritual whoever could have guessed that it was actually something this serious and closely guarded do I didn't expect there to be so many guards this matter concerns the magic that forms a and fest's very Foundation Ferdinand replied no amount of security can be considered exorbi
tant it seemed that the only ones still present in the room were the archducal family and Arch Nobles closely related to them by Blood Sylvester jutted out his chin directing riara and Oswald to undo the tapestry behind his desk once it had been removed I saw that there was a small door behind it the entrance was fairly small so much so that even I of all people would need to duck my head to pass through basically it was more of a smish window than a door on its front were seven round holes four
of which were filled with face tones that resembled marbles rose mine Wilfried grip these and register your mono with them Sylvester instructed handing us each one of the marble likee face tones I dyed mine turning it Al like yellow while Wilfried clutched his to do the same then once we were done Sylvester fitted our monofil face tones into two of the slots you can both go through the door now he said follow me the archducal couple removed their gloves handing them to their respective attendan
ts Sylvester then held his hand before the door prompting it to swiftly grow in size until it was tall enough for even Ferd and to walk through normally he opened the enlarged door but there was a rainbow colored barrier of some kind that blocked me from seeing what was inside Sylvester entered first then florena I looked around to see who would step through next at which point Ferdinand placed a hand on wilfred's back and urged him forward go on Wilfried quickly turned around a surprised look o
n his face Wilfried my boy it's time for you and lady rosemine to serve as the arch Duke's children for the first time Riis said with a kind smile trying to ease the nerves that had Frozen him in place it'll be hard work but we shall pray that everything goes just fine for you shall we enter wif freed I asked or would you like me to go first no I'll go first with that wilfrey took a deep breath shut his eyes tight and stepped through the door Ferdinand signaled with his eyes for me to go next I
pushed past the rainbow field which was like trying to move through a sticky net and enter the room Beyond the Door woow it's so fantasy I cried out silently I had seen a lot of magic related things over the past few years but this entire room was just classic fantasy it was Pure White without any carpets or tapestries and floating in the center was a face toned slightly larger than a watermelon spinning steadily around it were intricate magic circles that had been woven together with a bands of
shining Mona forming complex letters and designs in an interlocking pattern it all made the face tone look like some sort of celestial Globe albeit without a stand holding it up rose mine you are in the way keep moving forward Ferdinand said with a glare as he entered last I hurriedly moved to the side Ferdinand what in the world is this room the hall in which Mana replenishment is performed the pouring of Mana into Aaron fest's Foundation it is made such that only the arch Duke and Arch Duches
s can enter along with any members of the archducal family who have their monor registered with a door at the moment only a few people could enter the room the Archduke and Arch Duchess their children willfried and I the previous archduke's son Ferdinand and finally Bona Faus Kat's father my grandfather and the son of the arch dukee two generations ago the face tone registering Veronica's Mana had been removed upon her arrest that makes sense we really wouldn't want her causing any problems here
this face tone is connected to the foundational magic does that mean it's not the foundational magic in itself correct that is located elsewhere in a place that only the arch dukee can enter Sylvester nodded before adding on to ferdinand's explanation the location is hidden so that daughters who get married away sons who become retainers and spouses from other duchies don't learn where the foundation is only the ruling Arch duke or Arch Duchess can rolls it directly the arch Duke was just the o
nly person who knew where the foundation was the tight security surrounding it made sense since it was quite literally the foundation that the entire duy was built on Ros mine Wilfried you will pour Mana into the foundation here while florena and I are at the arch Duke conference Sylvester announced surprising the two of us more than anyone I looked between him and Ferdinand just the two of us how have you been managing before now last year Mother and Ferdinand carried the burden for us the inci
dent occurred Midway through it and my uncle Bona Faus picked up the slack for us it had been during last year's Arch Duke conference that the previous High Bishop was arrested and Sylvester's mother imprisoned for criminal acts I was subsequently assigned to be the new high bishop and Ferdinand ended up having to take on over half of my work in addition to his own as high priest he was hardly in a position to be frequently leaving the temple and as a result they were in quite the bind when it c
ame to performing Mona replenishment this year it wasn't normally something to be done by kids who hadn't even entered the Royal Academy but with a current Mona shortage Extreme Measures needed to be taken the process of supplying the Mana will prove largely similar to what you already do with the Divine instruments Ferdinand said I thus determined that it would be more efficient to send you to the castle than for me to frequently leave the temple do I don't know how to do Temple paperwork or pr
operly deal with Nobles yet so well that was definitely the right call as I nodded in agreement to myself Sylvester pulled out a face tone about as large as a pingpong ball from The Leather Pouch on his hip he handed it to Wilfried for the Mana replenishment I entrust you with this a face tone filled with Mana draw out the Mana inside and pour it into the foundation Wilfried proudly took the face tone which closely resembled the ones ferdin and had given Camp fur and free Tac during the dedicati
on ritual I could more or less guess whose mono was inside but he probably had no idea what was going on it seemed unlikely that they were planning to tell him either Ferdinand certainly wasn't saying anything I'm going to leave this bag here Sylvester continued keep using these face tones for the monor replenishment and put any drained ones into this other bag at that that he placed the two bags one filled with face tones and the other empty in the corner of the room leaving them here was appar
ently the best security one could ask for we are all going to be filling the foundation with Mona today so it should last until the end of the arch Duke conference but I don't want to return to find it almost entirely empty it is also important for you two to learn the supply process in the event of extraordinary circumstances as practice spend each day filling the foundation with small amounts of Mana Sylvester said walking directly beneath a face tone floating amid the spinning magic circles h
e knelt and placed his hands upon the floor and in an instant both the floor and walls lit up shining patterns and letters appearing on them in a similar fashion to the magic circles come rose mine this is your position kneel in place and pour your Mana into this specific location every time Ferd and instructed pointing at a magic circle on the ground in its Center was a symbol representing the goddess of wind I did as instructed at which point Ferd and walked over to another Circle and kneeled
as well Wilfried was kneeling in a third circle with florena doing the same beside him to teach her son how to use the face tone we ended up in a triangle of sorts with Sylvester in the Middle with everyone in place we placed our hands firmly against the ground Ferdinand checked that everything was in order then gave Sylvester a small confirming not I am one who offers prayer and gratitude to the gods who have created the world Sylvester in toned his voice echoing pleasantly through the ritual H
all it was the same prayer that I had heard many times before during the dedication ritual and so I repeated the chant without any problems at all Almighty king and queen of the Endless Skies Almighty Eternal five who rule the Mortal realm oh goddess of water flut oh God of Fire Light and sha oh goddess of wind shits Ara oh goddess of Earth gal oh god of Life widle EBA we honor you who have blessed all beings with life and pray that we may be blessed further with your Divine might I could feel m
y Mana being sucked out of me and it was easy to see where it was going thanks to the flow of light coursing through the entire room the magic circles surrounding the face tone moved with increasing energy and I looked around with my Palms still on the floor until Sylvester eventually called out enough signaling for us to stop I removed my hands from the magic circle and stood up to my side I could see florena peering down at Wilfried as he remained on the ground are you well Wilfried I'm fine m
other but despite his Assurance it was clear that Wilfried had overexerted himself he looked sick and his shoulders sagged with exhaustion it was the first time he had used such an enormous quantity of Mana all at once this much was to be be expected though even the blue priests in the temple had ended up drained from the dedication ritual so of course a child such as Wilfried would as well Sylvester scanned the room his eyes widening in Surprise as he reached me you certainly look well rose min
e i' thought a sickly girl like you would be the first to collapse I do this every day during the dedication ritual so I've gotten used to it whether I like it or not plus it's not like using monor require physical strength so you're used to this Ferdinand just how hard are you working rose mine remind me who was it that gave us more chalices to fill and sent us around the entire Central District to boost the duchies Harvest I am not the one working Ros mine to the Bone here I am giving her more
leeway than I have to and I am giving her potions ferdin and said holding up his head and glaring at Sylvester as far as I was concerned having tions that the already didn't make it okay to completely overwork me but you know wow everyone really has been working me to the Bone I did kind of notice it myself but it's shocking to hear someone else say it for once with a mon replenishment complete I was instructed to rest in my room until supper I gladly did just that having riara fetch me a book
Mady reading books can hardly be called rest can it I feel most at peace while reading there is no greater rest for me in what felt like the blink of an eye it was time for supper Wilfried was already at the dinner table when I arrived still seeming rather tired the same sickly expression from before was clear on his face in retrospect that was probably how I looked when I was being broken to Pieces by my devouring heat and looking at him reminded me of the days when I would end up bedden from e
xhaustion each time my mono went on a rampage do I sure have gotten stronger as I reflected on just how long a road I had walked to reach this point ferdan and suddenly expressed his frustration are you listening to me rose mine not at all may I ask that you repeat yourself Ferdinand massaged his temples as the archducal couple held back their laughter I blinked innocently in response at which point he simply let out a sigh and continued you shall stay in the castle supplying Mana until the spri
ng coming of age ceremony I assume you know this already but I wish to emphasize that you are not to cause trouble focus on your business here and take care not to do anything unnecessary of course fear not I'll stay in the book room and cause no problems whatsoever I won't do anything but read I said with a big nod finally in my element Sylvester started to say that with me in the book room they really didn't have anything to fear but Ferdinand interrupted him with a firm headshake Sylvester th
ere can be no relaxing with her she truly intends to do nothing but read that is why we must continually give her tasks to complete NG GH he saw right through me you're too cruel Ferdinand would you truly deny me my blessed reading time silence maintaining a balanced life is even more important for one as weak and sickly as you we must assign rarded to keep a constant watch on you to ensure that you dedicate time to monor replenishment your studies and exercise without fail there is nothing more
dangerous than giving you too many books after finishing supper with us Ferdinand instructed rarded to monitor me closely then returned to the temple I could see my reading time vanished before my very eyes curse you Ferdinand why do you have to be so mean goodbye father mother Wilfried in toned we wish you a safe journey I added following his lead 3 days after my arrival at the castle it was time to see off the archducal couple and carat the KN commander on their way to the Archduke conference
several guard Knights attendants and Scholars had already been sent on their way with the only remaining family being Wilfried Alvar my brothers and me alvir I entrust things to you in my absence indeed caret you may count on me while my family was saying their goodbyes caret and alvarro looked over which was my signal to intrude into their Circle I wish you well at work father indeed be sure to fulfill your duties well rose mine AEM my father remains at the castle should anything happen you ma
y ask him for help he would never refuse a request from his granddaughter it seemed that in the absence of the archal couple bonifatius would be the one ruling Aaron Fest I didn't know too much about him since I had only briefly greeted him during my baptism and winter socializing but the way he was built made him immediately identifiable as a muscle head just like carad and my brothers he hadn't joined us in saying our goodbyes as he was already in the middle of performing his Beauties as the a
cting Arch dukee that'll be all Sylvester said stepping onto the teleportation Circle I'm counting on you too don't slack on your studies now wif freed florena added following suit with carat the circle Shone and with a flash of light they were gone it was such a quick farewell that I was a little taken aback just as the loneliness was starting to set in elvir turned my way Rose mine I feel it has been quite some time since we last spoke like this it has been hard for us to meet lately would you
like to talk for a bit mother I interpreted her words as an indirect request for me to invite her to tea and so I did just that she nodded in satisfaction which meant I had guessed correctly and so riardo prepared drinks for us in a nearby waiting room I would be having my tea with Alvira here rather than in a Northern building as with the archducal couple gone there was no one available to permit her entry once our tea had been poured at my request we were served some of Ellis sweets with Alva
r only reaching for some after I had taken a demonstrative first bite she then sipped her tea regarding me with a steady gaze rose mine there is something I must ask you yes mother I summoned the gilberta company to our estate yesterday and I was informed of something most interesting ing during their visit it seems you have designed a new style of dress for one of your female nights she said her intense smile seeming to add you did not inform me about this I inhaled sharply th the style current
ly in fashion didn't suit her very well so I simply designed something that would I um did not think it was necessary to inform you of this mother alvarro let out a sigh show me the dress if you would so that I might see what style you intend to popularize mother I don't intend to start a new trend with this outfit. again Alvar asked placing a hand over her mouth and widening her eyes in disbelief um well any given fashion has some type of person it doesn't suit don't you agree all I want is for
this style of dress to be available to those who have been excluded by the current Trend I don't intend to popularize it among all the women of Aaron Fest if the sleeveless gown I was making for Bridget ended up becoming the predominant fashion there would inevitably be some prim and proper ladies worrying about it not suiting them nobody could control the EB and flow of current trends But ultimately I just wanted everyone to have the freedom to wear the clothes they look best in Rose mine who
in the world does the current fashion not suit I think it looks wonderful on smaller more slender women but not muscular more athletic women like my guard night Bridget the dresses look too white on them and make their broader shoulders even more pronounced than usual alvir paused and thought for a moment no doubt envisioning Bridget then nodded quite isn't it unfortunate that women like her have to participate in a star bind ceremony wearing clothes that don't suit them all I want to do is give
the mother options not start an entirely new trend elvir shook her head in response looking at me with a Stern expression that simply will not do if we do not establish that you are creating a new trend in fashion everyone will simply perceive Bridget's new dress as strange and out of place it was apparently important to inform Noble society that I was designing a new style of dress for my guard night such that everyone else in attendance would regard her with Envy I didn't really understand No
ble Society too well yet so I decided it would probably be smart to follow alvar's advice here after after all it would completely defeat the purpose if my efforts did nothing but bring shame to Bridget I will examine this new fashion of yours the fitting has already taken place yes when will the temporary sewing be completed I informed the gilberta company that there was no rush given that I will be absent from the temple for some time I imagine they will finish sometime after the spring coming
of age ceremony that is much too late instruct them to hurry and and summon them to the castle the dress would be unveiled to alvar's faction in its temporary sewing state so that everyone could see what kind of new fashion we were putting into place here I was told that it would be best to invite several women of a similar Bill to Bridget who would thus be especially interested in a style earning the Envy of all those present establishing Trends sure seem to be a lot of work I don't mind the t
emporary sewing being done at the castle but could you send word to them for me mother I won't be able to contact them without returning to the temple very well I shall contact the gilberta company myself sorry Beno and Kina seems like this just turned into a rush job payment and unveiling the dress life in the castle was comfortable after waking up I would read until breakfast and since mornings weren't rushed like they were in the temple I actually got a lot of reading done it really was nice
truly waking up early is a virtue after breakfast will freed and I would head to the orders training grounds each day he practiced swinging a wooden sword shaped stick but that was too much for me I needed to focus on moving around and building up enough stamina that I wouldn't collapse out of nowhere so instead I did what was essentially radio calisthenics a series of warm-up exercises performed to guidance from a radio broadcast from memory under Art's supervision is that all can do rose mine
just so you know radio calisthenics can get really exhausting really fast if you take it seriously I kept my head held high despite the shocked looks of all those around me then walked a lap around the training grounds to complete my morning exercise routine it may not have seemed like much but by the time I was done I was totally drained third Bell marked the end of training at which point we moved to wilfred's room for our morning lessons together as he could read and do a little math now geog
raphy and history lessons had been inserted into his schedule without me noticing no fair I exclaimed you don't even care about new books so why did you get to read them first Wilfried had received a head start with geography and history but It ultimately only took me a couple of days to catch up to him now it was his turn to pout how do you learn things so fast rose mine it takes me forever to memorize anything I have an advantage since I've traveled through much of the duy for the Harvest Fest
ival and spring prayer the tax official who accompanied me at the time taught me all about their respective exports hence why I'm already so familiar with them and so we continued our studies at each other's throats the entire time we were currently in the middle of studying the important events in Aaron fest's history starting from the point where Sylvester and wilf Freed's Direct ancestor became the arch dukee it was pretty interesting stuff Sylvester was the seventh of his line to assume the
role since then and his family had around two centuries of History here in a duche once morning studies were over Wilfried and I ate lunch together har peel practice Then followed in the afternoon after which Wilfried returned to his studies and I started needle work I was being made to do lace work and embroidery likely to pave the way for my eventual marriage yarda might I avoid learning to sew and knit by simply deciding not to get married Mady what has gotten into you you must get married th
ere is no question about it do I suppose so I was mostly just complaining out of boredom but riardo really blew up at the idea after a few days I gave in and just did my best with a lace and embroidery if only I was as skilled as Mom and Tulie fifth Bell marked Mark the start of our free time Wilfried often took this opportunity to see his younger siblings in the main building of the castle something he had gotten permission to do from his parents before they left he had previously invited me to
join him but according to riari that authorization wouldn't extend to me since we weren't siblings of the same mother I must go to the book room but you may read one of my picture books to them in my place will freed do your best to raise them into book loving children I would say to him before speeding to the book room there I spent my time blissfully surrounded by books but it was never long enough always seeming to go by in an instant come sixth Bell riardo would tear me away from whatever b
ook I was reading to eat dinner after which Wilfried and I would go to perform Mona replenishment the reasoning for us doing this so late was that we needed to wait until the scholars had left the arch Duke's office Bona Faus was there waiting for us and while he did provide Wilfried with support we were the only ones who did the actual replenishing the acting Arch dukee needed to preserve their mana and thus it was best for him to leave the process to us once the Mona replenishment was over I w
ould take a bath and read until rard barked at me to put my book down and go to sleep this concluded a peaceful day in the castle Earth days were my days off meaning I wouldn't have to study train or do anything else I could simply do whatever I wanted which was a big change of pace from the temple where every day was the same old routine that didn't mean I could spend all day reading books though Angelica came home from her supplementary lessons on Earth days so we would borrow a room in the ma
in building and hold a study group Angelica how are your lessons going I've passed 80% of my classes just a little more to go she replied her Bright Smile suggesting she had a little more confidence in herself now she was working hard each and every day and it was showing in her results thanks to you lady rose mine I think I might actually graduate now unbelievably enough Angelica had been so bad at her classes that she was approaching them with the Assumption she wouldn't graduate at all it see
med that my guard KN was in an even more dangerous spot than I expected Dil and Cornelius would tell Angelica what she needed to learn next then break the lessons down and explain them in a manner that was easy to understand you certainly are a good teacher DL written lessons are my one strong point not to mention we have a lot of resources here he replied pointing to the stack of documents that Cornelius had brought with him they were all resources for Royal Academy lectures that art was kindly
lending us he had been passing through the night dorms one day while Dil was using Jan to teach Cornelius and offered to let them use his study materials from his student student days now we no longer needed to rely on D's memory and some simple notes written on boards if only I were wealthy enough to preserve this much Dil said with a sigh it seemed parchment was so expensive that he hadn't been able to buy any for recording notes he would always write down the most important information on bo
ards shaving them down after tests so that they could be reused the end result was him not having much in the way of study materials left over from his student days keep up the excellent work Angelica right I'm going to get your Mana for sure lady rose mine after many comfortable days I received an ordinance from alvara she had contacted the gilberta company and settled on a date for the temporary sewing to be done it was then that we would hold a tea party in my name gather the women of her fac
tion and debut the new style of dress given that floreno was absent I the archduke's adopted daughter had to be the one to host it in the castle I prepared for the Tea Party while Consulting riara and Alvar but I couldn't help but feel that my reading time was diminishing by the day with slumped shoulders I wrote out the letters of invitation check that we had everything we needed planned out which sweets would be provided with Ella and Hugo and hone the skills that a fine young Noble woman such
as myself needed to exhibit when hosting a tea party do I care about any of this no I just want books please but sacrificing my reading time ultimately bore fruit and when the day to hold the tea party/ dress Deb came we were ready the changing area would be right beside the Tea Party Room the windows of which afforded a sweeping view of a spring garden lady rosemine the gilberta company have arrived you may let them in Bridget alvara and I lined up to welcome the gilberta company with riyaa an
d our attendants standing behind us Beno entered first followed by Otto and Gina then finally the seamstresses they all knelt before us Lady rosemine Lady Alvar we are honored beyond words to have been invited to the castle to serve you on this fine day Beno began greeting us on behalf of his group once he was done he turned to Otto and said allow me to introduce my store's successor Otto stood up from behind Beno Ste forward and then healed again his movements resembled France so closely that I
could immediately tell just how strictly he had been trained in a temple during my absence Lady rosemine Lady Alvar blessed be the waves of flut of the goddess of water who guided us toward this serendipitous meeting it is an honor to meet you both I am Otto future head of the gilberta company May our dealings be long and fortuitous do o right this is my my first time meeting him as rose mine I shall give you a true blessing from the heart I said pouring some Mana into my ring May the gilberta
company be blessed by flut of the goddess of water as soft green light spread through the room aotto blinked at me in surprise either due to not having expected a Noble's blessing or not believing I could actually give them I informed Beno and Karina of our plans for the day first the Tea Party would begin with Bridget where her dress from last year and standing beside me as I greeted our guests I would then announce that I was making a new outfit at which point the two of us would head to the c
hanging room there Bridget would change into the new dress and have the temporary sewing done before returning to the tea party this would really make the difference in Styles more apparent so are we going to be waiting in a changing room then Karina asked indeed please be ready to change Bridget's clothes as soon as she arrives I replied Beno andto you shall join the Tea Party during her temporary absence you may sell your goods while she is getting changed Beno and Otto had brought boxes conta
ining hair pins and bottles of Ren sham which I didn't mind them selling while Bridget was changing into her new dress this might also be a good time to inform everyone that the planon company is being established as an offshoot of the gilberta company I agree thank you the noble women had gathered at the Tea Party and I could see that several female knights with deep connections to alvar's faction were there as well I lined up with Alvar and Bridget to welcome them thank you all for coming here
today I began giving a noble greeting and recommending the sweets we had prepared I then took a deliberate sip of my tea at such Gatherings nobody could drink before the host had done so Ellis sweets proved very popular and I soon learned that many people had been eagerly awaiting today's tea party if you asked me I was doing a good job creating Trends as the arch Duke's daughter lady Ros mine your Chef truly is excellent one Noble lady said they always make sweets that I have never seen nor ea
ten before Oh My but I do believe I have tasted this particular kind before during one of Lady alvar's tea parties another added I give my mother special early access to my recipe te I replied so began my peaceful tea party complete with refined laughter and elegant tea sipping this is pound cake is it not another Noble woman asked I quite adore Pound Cake when I still lived in a temple I received much assistance from Gustav of the ammar company and his granddaughter Freda as thanks for their he
lp I rewarded them with my pound cake recipe Gustav's Chef is very skilled and has invented many new flavor I very much look forward to eating her pound cakes when the opportunity presents itself oh my what a fascinating history I traveled along the tables dividing my time between our guests as equally as I could once that was done it was time for the main event there is an outfit that I would like to show all of you today I said calling Bridget over to stand beside me I explained how the curren
t trends didn't suit women like her and that I would consequently be creating a new fashion of dress today a new outfit of such a fashion will be adjusted to fit her I would also like for all of you to consider what else might be done to make Bridget look even more attractive with that I took Bridget with me to the changing room next door and after making sure the seamstresses were all ready to get her changed I nodded Karina I leave the rest to you Odie come and inform me when Bridget is ready
shall we we go Beno Otto as you wish and so I exited the changing room with Beno and Otto both of whom were carrying boxes filled with products when we returned to the tea party I informed our guests that the gilberta company had originally dealt exclusively with clothing and apparel going on to announce that they intended to return to these roots by establishing the plan in company which would be handling their learning materials and books from here on out the noble women watched on with intere
st I gave them the name plant in myself so that they might continue to sell my books and learning materials I concluded Shifting the topic to studying hearing this the ladies got quite actively involved it seemed that their younger children had quickly learned their letters and math through Roseman brand Learning Materials inspiring heated competition with their older brothers and sisters they learned to read so quickly with those car that their teacher could hardly believe it one lady said oh m
y the same happened with yours I suppose there truly is something special about lady rosine's materials the children had so much fun competing in the winter playroom that they all left motivated to win next year I said with a polite smile circling the tables as planton and gilberta goods were sold I am making yet more new picture books and it would please me greatly if you were to buy them around the star buying ceremony or during the next winter socializing it was at this point that Alvar chime
d in oh yes that reminds me Cornelius has been ever so invested in his studies lately in the past he said that he only wished to learn the bare minimum expected of an arch Noble but now he is fervently reading books on tactics and collecting study notes he plays dwin with caret and asks at heart all about what he learned in the Royal Academy what has inspired this fervor I wonder is it thanks to your materials she asked glancing my way competition in inspires one to try their hardest so that the
y can beat their opponents from what I saw in the playroom this is especially true for men I said once again putting on my courteous Smile as I provided the most surface level explanation possible I couldn't exactly say that all of my guard Knights were gathering together as part of the raay Angelica's grade Squadron to hold their own study groups and such nor could I divulge that Dil had in fact been unloading a lot of work onto Cornelius since he didn't have the time to prepare for Angelica's
return on Earth days when following me to the temple and of course revealing that Cornelius was working so hard because I had promised to give him one original recipe from an unpublished list if we got Angelica to pass her classes before summer was completely out of the question all I could do was smile and deflect oh my and this is a hair ornament just like lady Rose mindes indeed I order all of my hair sticks from the gilberta company these flower ornaments do not just serve as hair pins they
can decorate clothes as well would anyone like to order some I asked leaving Beno andato to take care of the rest while I speedily return to the changing room Kina do we have any spare hair sticks I asked as she was making the final adjustments to the back of Bridget's dress it appeared that they were almost done we certainly do but why do you need them I would like for you to remove the flower parts and use them to Adorn a dress such as on the cloth heavy parts around the waist just like this I
took two hair sticks and demonstrated by pressing them against Bridget's dress Karina blinked several times then nodded I will begin right away by the way Karina my apologies for rushing you despite saying that you would have plenty of time to spend on this mother's letter must have come as a shock Karina shook her head with a smile I was already already prepared since Beno warned me that this was exactly what would happen Otto was the one who really struggled here what with having to pass frie
nds lessons before today it seemed that Beno had been fully aware that informing Alvar of the new dress I was making would result in the schedule being moved forward once again I had to gape in a at how good he was at predicting the future oh and here you are lady Ros mine Beno wanted me to give you this Gina said sending me a letter which I briskly schemed it contained a lot of lengthy Noble euphemisms but the overall message was clear you got to lay the groundwork before introducing new things
you absolute idiot he had mentioned this back when I was going to be an apprentice Merchant and now he was having to teach me the same lesson once again EP sorry thank you for saving my bacon once again by the time I was done reading the letter Karina had finished removing the the flowers from the hair sticks and sewing them onto the dress she examined a newly decorated waist nodded then called me over lady Ros mine how is this it's wonderful Karina everyone I thank you ever so much you have do
ne well today odly is the tea ready leaving Gina's squat to relax I returned to the tea party with Bridget thank you for your patience everyone this is the new dress that I designed for Bridget does she not give off an entirely different air from before my my my it is like she has been reborn lady Ros mine she looks much more feminine than she did in the previous dress elvirus said with surprise initiating a wave of Praise as the other Noble women began to comment on how much better Bridget look
ed the current fashion made her appear ungainly but this new dress hugged her curves down to the waist and gave her a much more femin appearance really though it all came down to highlighting her sizable chest and toned well-trained body Bridget is tall with a lean figure so I had the upper half cling to her tightly while using an excess of cloth on the lower half I explained the cloth used is lightweight and I deliberately kept the shoulders exposed so that it would be easier for her to move as
a knight if necessary the ideas seemed to be even more of a hit with the female knights in the audience given how they were leaning slightly forward in excitement as they looked over Bridget do perhaps the sleeves would look better if moved upward a little one lady suggested it might also be wise to tighten up the underarm area another observed we received recommendations to start the sleeves at the forearms rather than right above the elbows and to adjust a dress around the armpits to fully hi
de the face tone bodysuit beneath overall however Bridget's new outfit was a massive success with nobody completely rejecting the design Bridget and I walked between the tables to hear everyone's thoughts and potentially incorporate their ideas during the temporary sewing stage the dress looks wonderful on You Bridget do you think they could prepare something similar for me next year one female Knight asked giving the dress a serious look over this was most likely one of Bridget's co-workers see
ming to be a little older than her her build was similar and she had apparently been having a bad time with the current popular fashion trend since it didn't suit her at all but perhaps it would be best not to decorate the upper half so much she continued musing aloud once they see your unadorned chest Bridget I'm certain that men will flock to offer you all the face tones they own ahahaha I'd rather you not tease me here Bridget shot back pursing her lips it was rare to see her acting like this
as I watched on the female night noticed my gaze and stiffened up a bit lady Ros mine thank you ever so much for Designing this wondrous fashion I am certain that a man will fall for Bridget now one already has though she did not even consider reciprocating his affections I replied thinking of DL Oh My My My is that so the female Knight asked her lips curling into an amused grin shall we move on lady rosem we proceeded to the next table at Bridget's urgent prompting where one of the younger gir
ls let out a refined squeal upon seeing the flowers decorating the dress to think that the flowers from your hair ornaments could be used to Adorn dresses as well this is simply wonderful up until now it was normal for outfits to be decorated with embroidery with actual flowers being used for any physical embellishments it took a fair amount of money to sustain the beauty of a living flower however meaning it was was difficult for L Nobles to Adorn their dresses with too many and given the curre
nt mon shortage even Arch Nobles struggled somewhat to justify wearing them would you accept orders for just the flowers the girl asked but of course Beno UT this fine lady wishes to use the flowers of the hair ornaments for her dresses I trust you to work out the details Beno immediately strolled over at my request wearing a peaceful smile on his face and another young Noble woman beside us let out an envious sigh a now I earn for a new dress as well lady rose mine might I ask you to introduce
me to the gilberta company too do I can introduce you but I believe you would be better suited to dresses of the current fashion I replied I thought up this particular design to suit women who were excluded by current trends and since those already compliment you just fine I cannot guarantee that this new style will as well the girl was short with a slender dainty figure a dress like this would honestly just make it seem as though she lacked any assets at all especially given her very very modes
t chest we all appear more attractive when we emphasize our strengths and mask our faults I continued it is for this reason that certain builds and bodies are better suited to certain Fashions just because a particular style is the newest it does not necessarily make it the best you should instead focus on what suits you most dot would you think of a dress that suits me as well lady Ros mine a slightly chubby girl asked placing a hand on her stomach it would be best for you to discuss this with
a seamstress but as a starting point I would suggest a dress with a wide open neckline to make the area around your collar bone look prettier while using distinct colors and materials for the Torso and skirt of your dress a tight darker colored torso paired with a fluffy lighter colored skirt should create contrast that makes your stomach area appear leaner thank you ever so much I shall discuss this with my personal seamstress we had many other discussions but in the end I was mostly just empha
sizing that they shouldn't wear the fashion I was introducing purely because it was new there wasn't much a person could do if a particular style didn't suit them and I strongly believe that the clothes they wore while looking for a marriage partner at the star Bine ceremony should be the ones that made them look the prettiest not whatever was the most popular at the time I returned to the changing room with Bridget where we listed the concerns expressed To Us by the other Noble women and sugges
ted adjustments for the finished dress its debut in our attempt to secure public approval of the new fashion had gone off without a hitch as the end of spring approached I learned through an emotional and gratitude filled letter from Angelica's parents that she had returned from the Royal Academy and would be rejoining my guard nights starting tomorrow that's great it was all worth it I said with a relieved sigh when I told my guard Knights that Angelica had passed her supplementary lessons DL a
nd Cornelius fist pumped the air shaking out of sheer emotion they had pushed themselves to the limit to teach her and she was perhaps the slowest learner any of us knew so they both felt like teachers witnessing their own student graduate I was already in the process of making Bridget's dress so I decided to go ahead and reward the two of them for their effort as promised I gave DL a small gold coin in payment I thank you deeply lady Ros mine now I can repay my brother for the money he lent me
he said rejoicing as he clenched the coin in his hand a cold sweat ran down my back that debt is from when he had to partly pay for my ceremonial robes right I ended up barely wearing them at all since I became the high Bishop almost right after they were made I was even thinking about having them altered into another outfit just so the cloth doesn't go to waste so um should I give Dil some other reward too it'd be sad for him to have worked this hard just to pay off a debt but despite thinking
over potential ideas nothing in particular sprang to mind I decided that I'd give him whatever gift seemed appropriate at a later date then moved on to giving Cornelius the paper with a recipe on it here you are Cornel I this is a recipe for Mont Blanc which is made with a cream of a tan he liked a chestnut as tanes that grew in the Autumn so I guessed that he would love to know how to make Chestnut Cream the cream of a tany wouldn't that taste good inside of a crepe too oh certainly a crepe wou
ld taste doubly good with both whipped and Tanny cream inside I replied with a nod cornelius's grin widened and he gripped the recipe firmly determined to take it to the family estate's head sha as soon as possible but despite the anticipation shining in his eyes spring had only just ended oh you can't make it right away I said tanes grow in the Autumn remember I can't wait that long I need a solution rose mine Cornelius demanded but I had no answer for him nothing could be done about tanise bei
ng out of season this is just awful we all worked hard but I'm the only one not getting anything for it he exclaimed glaring at me with tearful eyes I scoured my mind for an answer W well um you might not be able to make mon Blanc with Tanny cream right now but why not try making it with other kinds I'm sure there are some spring creams you would like there that's it Cornelius fist pumped again this this time even more enthusiastically he would get the recipe to the head chef tonight and have hi
m make some as soon as possible tomorrow I believe I shall also reward Angelica by giving her that Mana I said aloud Bridget nodded smiling as she watched cornelius's and dl's celebrations I too am excited to see how her monoblade will evolve Angelica's monoblade after breakfast I started heading from my room to the night's training grounds where I would work on my stamina as part of my daily routine since moving here I had been opting to walk instead of riding lesie but this meant Wilfried was
blasting ahead and leaving me behind DL was the only one accompanying me there today since the schedule was such that my other guard Knights that is Bridget and Cornelius were to arrive ahead of me to begin their own training I truly do envy your Mona capacity DL murmured as we Trot along slowly I looked up at him wondering whether this was his lovesickness seeping through I think it largely comes down to training Ferdinand told me that I have this much Mana because I compressed it a ridiculous
amount desperate to survive by any means necessary at that I cautiously scanned our surroundings to make sure nobody else was nearby when I had confirmed that we were alone I gestured for Dil to crouch down lowering my voice and continuing once we were at eye level with each other before entering the temple I survive without the magic tools given to Noble children I was constantly on the verge of death due to the Mana overflowing from my body and so I repeatedly compressed my Mana out of pure in
stinct to survive not even realizing what I was doing that is why my Mana capacity became so great I said deciding to say no more on that particular subject and resume walking DL stood up and followed I believe your Mona capacity is still growing am I right I asked if you are jealous of mine DL then I suggest you remove all of your magic tools and instead compress your Mana while skirting death do I apologize for speaking so thoughtlessly Dil conceited he must have remembered that he knew me fro
m my commoner days and that unlike normal Noble kids I obviously wouldn't have grown up with magic tools available at all times his expression weakened and he apologized with his brow furrowed miserably G I wheezed finally here shall we go to the break room walking from my room to the grounds was already plenty of exercise for me so I gave myself some time to rest once I had collected my breath I would do a few stretches and that would be the end of my training for the day do if only as much as
I wanted that to be true the harsh reality was that I would be training until it was time to return to my room I thought I would at least call aart over so I could start my stretches but when I asked a knight to fetch him for me his expression clouded over art is presently away on other business my sincerest apologies but may I ask you to wait until he returns certainly I thank you ever so much for informing me I couldn't train without aart there to watch over me which in turn meant that Dell ha
d to continue guarding me rather than moving on to training himself without it heart I suppose I won't even be allowed to walk around the grounds I used the loud correct all sorts of projectiles were launched into the air when the knights trained with magic and there was no guarantee that DL would be able to block them all for that reason it was much too dangerous for me to wonder about during Art's absence noticing that DL was still uncomfortable from our conversation before I started to ponder
he was a l Noble and I knew that that he was torn up over his lack of Mana I was also aware that his small Mana capacity was the reason that Bridget refused to even consider being with him but I had already given him a blessing there was nothing else I could do his only way forward was to work hard on his own so DL I heard that kids are taught to control their Mana upon entering the Royal Academy including through mon compression but my methods May differ from Noble ones in the same way that I
learned the names of the gods differently from everyone else when it came to controlling Mana the most important thing was having a clear mental image to focus on by teaching DL what I had pictured myself perhaps I could help him out a little I looked around the break room spotting some leather bags and a wooden box DL would you mind opening the box and stuffing your cape into it ER okay confused dul removed his cape bald it up and went about packing it into the box his stuffing attempt was poor
with some material still visibly sticking out consider the box to be your body and the cape your Mana at the moment your Mana is entirely uncompressed what would you do if you wanted to compress it and thus increase the amount of space inside of you DL silently folded his cape and placed it back in a box there was now a bit more space than there had been when it was messily balded up good when picturing mon compression imagine repeatedly folding capes to increase how many you can fit inside the
body does that make sense yes I never considered it visually like this but the analogy is very easy to understand well it might please you to know that I took inspiration from your own teaching methods where you used TN pieces to demonstrate tactics domil clapped his hands together in realization one's mental image was crucial when it came to controlling Mana so I had concluded that giving a visual demonstration would be easier to understand than explaining verbally now in a similar fashion try
folding your mana and compressing it inside of yourself understood with that dul shut his eyes drawing his brows together in concentration as he started moving his Mana I waited silently for a moment when an inspired look washed over his face and his eyes opened again brimming with Fascination I did it lady Rose mine I was able to compress my Mana far more than I ever have before I see excellent I do not know how long it will take for your Mana to grow but I imagine there are few opportunities
for you to use it while guarding me in a temple I suggest allowing it to build up and compressing it as much as you can which should ultimately improve your capacity I suggested Ferdinand had told me that getting used to containing a large quantity of mono would improve how much a particular vessel could accommodate now then DL would you fetch me one of those leather bags and lend me your cape HRM very well I also wish to demonstrate the method I personally use to compress my Mana which goes som
ething like this I said taking both items from him I folded the cape and placed it inside the bag in a similar fashion to what I had already shown him then sat on the bag to force out the air completely flattening it the result was the cape taking up even less space than it had while just folded upon seeing this dl's jaw dropped you are also welcome to use that as inspiration if you wish I said taking out the compressed Cape that was now covered in deep creases as dul cradled his head desperatel
y trying to smooth out the wrinkles a small bell rang from behind the door you may enter in came Angelica her light blue hair swaying behind her head in a securely contained ponytail I am back lady Ros mine starting today I will resume service as your guard night thank you for all your help welcome home Angelica you've finished all your lessons I've heard your hard work has been rewarded Angelica had needed to give greetings and deliver reports all over the place before finally being able to com
e to the training grounds Bridget and Cornelius had come as well intending to switch with her and dble to give them a chance to train as I am unable to leave this room until AAR comes for me Angelica I was thinking that I could use this opportunity to pour my Mana into your Mana blade or would you rather We Begin another time letun do it now please Angelica responded at once everyone else agreed that they wanted to see how the monoblade would change when my mono was poured into it they were part
icularly curious since it was apparently rare for some someone to actually give their Mona to another's monoblade I admittedly know nothing about Mono blades so would you be so kind as to teach me I asked I also wish to see what your monoblade looks like here it is Angelica said drawing the sword from her hip the sheath that had been stored in was of a similar size to that of a dagger but the monoblade when pulled out ended up being about 50 cm in length that's certainly longer than I expected I
said blinking in Surprise Angelica nodded happily the blade grows based on how much money you put into it it started off even shorter than a knife she said going on to explain that it had gotten this big over several years of gradual effort longer blades are better for fighting fa beasts so I wanted to grow as fast as possible I also wanted to get aptitudes that I don't have what are aptitudes I asked tilting my head in confusion at the new term Bridget was the one to answer since she knew that
having Angelica try would take twice as long she is referring to Mona aptitudes which are Elemental affinities that you are born with it is easier to get Divine protection from the primary Gods depending on which ones you have can you not receive their Divine protection without them you can but it is difficult to catch the attention of the Gods and earn their Divine protection without having something to Aid the process bring it continued it turned out that while having the right aptitudes made
it easier to get Divine protection it was also possible to receive it without them Angelica wanted to get the Mana of others so that her Mana blade would obtain their aptitudes and thus secure her the Divine protection of various Gods what are your aptitudes Angelica I asked I have aptitudes for fire and wind though in the end I couldn't get scoot sar's Divine protection H it's possible to not receive a God's Divine protection despite having the aptitude for them Bridget frowned uncomfortably t
hat could possibly happen in rare instances perhaps she said I could guess from her tone that having the right aptitude normally guaranteed Divine protection I asked everyone else what their aptitudes were thereby learning that Bridget had aptitudes for fire and Earth while Dil had an aptitude for wind Cor IUS said that he had aptitudes for light water fire and wind which took me by surprise at first but he promptly explained that this was normal for an arch Noble clo to the archducal family Arc
h nobl always had more plentiful mana and a broader range of aptitudes what are your aptitudes lady Ros mine Bridget asked in return all I could do was shake my head though it seemed like she expected me to know but I certainly didn't I have haven't a clue where might I find out did Lord Ferdinand not tell you when your Mano was registered for your baptism Cornelius asked the registration medal should have changed to the Divine colors of the Gods you have aptitudes for dul added what colors did
you see their barge of questions left me faltering as I tried to remember I seem to recall it turning seven different colors at which point Ferdinand said as expected but he hadn't bothered explaining Mana aptitudes or anything like that and then the realization hit me would it really be okay for me the daughter of a third wife to say that my metal was seven colors when my older brother Cornelius has only had four I wasn't sure whether that was something I should publicize perhaps Ferdinand had
intentionally refrained from explaining what it meant to help ensure it was kept a secret um I do remember there being several different colors but as I didn't understand their significance at the time I can't recall exactly which ones I saw Ferdinand put the metal straight into the box so Dil raised a thoughtful eyebrow given that you can grant blessings from angri with ease you surely have an aptitude for fire and you can use scoar as Shield so you must have an aptitude for wind as well Bridge
t added what other spells had I used in front of other people I searched my memory do I performed the restoration of the earth after the dromas ceremony if that means anything you used flut as staff from the temple for that and the Divine instruments themselves have their own Elemental infusions with no relation to the aptitudes of their users if one needed particular aptitudes to use them would the priests and Shrine maidens not struggle to perform Divine rituals you have a point it would cause
a lot of problems if the temple wasn't able to perform spring prayer or heal traay damaged Earth due to lacking a priest with an itude for water the fact that you could Infuse elements into the magic tools themselves surprised me and as I was nodding to myself Bridget [ __ ] her head to one side and thought the Springs Manor reacted so well to your song on the night of flut lady rose mine that I was certain you had an aptitude for water as well water fire and wind she sure shares a lot with Cor
nelius Angelic observed at which point DL nodded with a smile no doubt due to them being siblings one's aptitudes are always heavily influenced by their parents oh interesting so what impact does mana aptitude have on Mona blades I asked Angelica answered this question gently stroking the hilt of her sword all the while Fabs have aptitudes as well and it can be easier or harder to beat them depending on what elements your monoblade has that's why I want to get as many elements for it as I can si
nce she herself only possessed two aptitudes she was increasing her Mana blades Earth infusion by feeding it face tones from defeated fa beasts but this process was extremely slow goinging as I nodded again processing all the information I had just been fed my guard Knights started discussing how my Mona should be used to grow the Mona blade as one might expect given their profession this was a subject they were all very interested in shouldn't we focus on patting out the elements that Angelica
doesn't have since that's what she wants Bridget asked I think we should instead use the Mona to extend a blade as this has the greatest impact on the amount of damage done D will proposed in response she can worry about elements once the monoblade is at a proper length isn't it most important to reach a state where it's effective in battle you would be right if this were anyone else's monoblade dble but Angelica shows no motivation to fix her own weak points we must use this opportunity to do t
hat for her Bridget interjected this is like her grades all over again she needs the assistance of others to cover for her flaws rather than bolster her strengths Cornelius agreed I looked at the sword while listening to their conversation what do you want to do Angelica Bridget's right I'm not good at compensating for my weak points so I want them fixed up so I should think about strengthening those weaknesses while I pour my Mana into the blade as everyone advised me to fill the Mana Blade wit
h the elements angelical act I touched the face tone embedded in its Hilt my guard Knights stressed how crucial it was that I did not exceed the total amount of Mana Angelica had added herself so I started by pouring in small amounts do if you ask me all this element business is pretty secondary what Angelica really lacks is brain power her mind is pretty much already built for highspeed battles so if we want to address her weak points our best option would be to give the sword intelligence and
you know what this is a fantasy world overflowing with unbelievable things so surely that's possible let's just operate under the assumption that it is okay let's make it intelligent enough that it can listen to and remember what people say bark out Corrections whenever Angelica messes up and give her advice since she's lacking in knowledge wait that wouldn't even be a sword it'd be another Ferdinand what are you all doing crowded up over there Y at heart I cried literally jumping in place as my
thoughts were suddenly interrupted well uh Angelica brought her Mona blade for me to pour Mana into so absolutely not art shot back shutting me down mid- sentence growing a Mana blade is no simple matter give it Mana only when Ferdinand is here and observing the process I glanced at the sword having already poured Mana into it oh no there's no future where I don't get yelled at now at heart dear brother this is rather difficult for me to say but I have already given it my Mana he flinched then
instantly sprang into action whipping out his stap in one hand and a yellow face tone in the other striking the lad while shouting or anons when the Ivory bird appeared he faced it and clearly spoke ferdinand's name reporting that I had poured my Mana into someone else's Mana blade before swiping his stap through the air to send the ordinance flying off unease built up inside of me as I watched it Zoom away in a straight line is it really that bad at heart the quality and quantity of your Mana i
s on an entirely different level from that of a medal it is impossible to say how the monoblade might evolve why Angelica cried anxiously reaching to grab her sword don't touch it Angelica art shouted with a sharp glare causing her to gasp retract her hand and then clench it against her chest we must keep our distance until Lord Ferdinand arrives to investigate the ordinance returned in a blink of an eye then promptly delivered ferdinand's response a Brisk I will be there in a palpably angry voi
ce there was no avoiding the fact that wherever he was right now he was absolutely ticked off he's going to lecture me so hard I'm genuinely terrified at heart's side the tension draining from his expression a little now that he knew Ferdinand was on the way he then immediately glared at cornelus why did you not stop this I learned in the Royal Academy that Mona exchanges are okay so long as both parties involved agree with it so I assumed that as long as Ros mine was happy to participate there
wouldn't be an issue Cornelius explained the other guard Knights nodded in turn they all shared the same perspective on the matter so nobody had even considered trying to stop us but aart shook his head remember that rosemine has yet to enter the Royal Academy in other words she knows nothing of Mana she may be used to the process of pouring Mana due to her involvement in rituals but she has no grasp on the techniques necessary to control the quantity being moved nor does she know to select a pa
rticular element of Mana to use do under normal circumstances children do not use Mana prior to entering the Royal Academy aside from during greetings Ros mine has performed rituals in the temple and blessed a night's order so it is easy to forget this but she has not been formally educated on these matters and thus has no understanding of Mona control you must not think of her as a student as all of my guard Knights faltered looking around with dazed expressions as though they had indeed forgot
ten that I wasn't a learned student of the Royal Academy Ferdinand flew in on his high Beast he landed on the training grounds before jumping down from his high beast and turning it back into a face tone his gaze then fixed on us and he immediately began striding this way given that he had come to the castle in his priest robes he must have been pretty peeved rose mine I believe I instructed you to do nothing Reckless am I mistaken I I am sorry first show me the monoblade in question at that Fer
dinand picked up Angelica's sword and gave it a firm look over pouring in a little bit of Mana himself to determine what influence my own was having on it it seems nothing has happened yet he concluded it becomes more difficult for one to control their Mona blade when it contains too much Mana from another person and you have an absurd capacity for Mana to begin with rose mine it would be Unthinkable for you to have the precise control necessary for an operation such as this what would you have
done if ownership was transferred from Angelica to you you um in that case I I'd just tell the monade to obey Angelica it listened to me since I'd be its Master right Angelica's face lit up you're so smart lady Ros mine that way even I could use a strong monoblade you're all fools F and exclaimed clearly exasperated he set the monoblade back down onto the table then began lecturing not just Angelica and me but all the guard Knights present the lecture went on for so long that I thought Ferdinand
might run out of air he talked about Mono blades the meaning of putting your Mana into face tones and Magic tools so that only you could use them the benefits of doing so the flaws of doing so and indeed everything one needed to know about two people exchanging Mana rose mine do you now understand the dangers of what you attempted to do yes and you Angelica I certainly do I think hold on I recognize that look all we grizzled Veterans of the raay Angelica's great Squadron knew from experience th
at the face she was currently making was a sure fire sign that she didn't actually understand at all Ferdinand seemed to pick up on this as well his eyebrow twitched but when he Unleashed his Fury fool why were you not listening dun's second voice cried out in Unis in one that also sounded exactly like him what even Ferdinand was taken back and that was when Angelica's monoblade began to lecture her in that same eerily familiar voice you do not understand at all my master though to be more preci
se the voice was emanating from the face tone on the Mana blades Hilt Ferdinand remed looking down at the face tone in disgust then turned his gaze to me rose mine why would you ever this is a false charge I would never do something like this a I see forgive me a monoblade lecturing its master was so bizarre that the only conclusion I could draw was that you were involved Ferdinand replied rubbing his temples as the monoblade gleamed in the light and you are correct the monoblade responded I was
born from the Mona and wishes of Lady rose mine the master of my master what all eyes fell on me I stared at the face tone blinking rapidly at which point it continued talking in ferdinand's voice you wished for a sword with intelligence one that listens to and remembers what people say barks out Corrections when its Master does something incorrectly and gives her advice since she's lacking in knowledge and you made this wish while clearly picturing Lord Ferdinand now that you met mention it I
did while I was pouring my Mana into the blade I concluded that knowledge was what angelical act the most so uh I mean I never thought this would happen I explained desperately trying to plead my case Ferdinand glared at me I knew you were responsible what was that about a false charge lady rosine's wishes were not the only cause of my existence however it was also due to your Mona coursing through me Lord Ferdinand the Mona blade declared it had apparently adopted ferdinand's voice and personal
ity upon receiving his Mana meaning he was at least partly responsible for the creation of this artificial sword intelligence see you were the one who pushed it over the edge Ferdinand that is clearly not my fault you are the one to blame for this n g it was true that I had thought about giving the sword intelligence and I had poured Mana into the blade without really considering the consequences in the end I had to take responsibility for my actions I'm sorry Angelica I never considered that yo
ur weapon might evolve in such a negative way if you don't want to be lectured by this grumpy sword I will take full responsibility and accept it as my own burden to bear it is quite the opposite lady rosemine there is no better sword for me than one that will remember things on my behalf and tell me all sorts of useful information I will treasure this monoblade for the rest of my life I was really happy when it called me its Master she replied picking up the monoblade from the table and strokin
g its face tone indeed I will compensate for the knowledge my master LAX in that case I'll leave all the thinking to you Angelica said happily it seemed that they were already on good terms but in a way that was honestly kind of terrifying do Angelica are you sure about this I am stricken with a feeling that this sword might never shut up I said with a FD and only capable of speaking at my sight all day and every day I couldn't imagine ever being able to relax oh is that so Ferdinand asked in a
dark voice EP I sense that I've made a mistake of some kind Ferdinand pinched my cheek between his thumb and forefinger and started pulling it looking down at Angelica all the while if you are content with that monoblade you may continue to use it however I hereby forbid Ros mine from pouring in any more Mana I would not like for it to evolve in any other strange ways everyone there agreed with big nods that is everyone except for Angelica who instead hung her head in disappointment let's print
more stuff several days had passed since the world was cursed with a birth of Angelica's lecture blade but it turned out to be quite the interesting little thing while it acted and spoke like like Ferdinand it was completely lacking in knowledge it was supposedly meant to absorb information through its surroundings and by having its Master Angelica teach it things but this meant she was stuck getting lectured by a sword that knew even less than she did so it lectures you but nothing much comes f
rom it that sounds terrible I muttered on the inside the monoblade gleamed in response what my master must first do is imbue me with knowledge it declared in a Hotty tone resembling ferdin and an attitude alone well then Angelica I suppose you will need to study in order to help your monoblade accumulate knowledge I observed Sten Luke will actually remember things unlike me so the time spent teaching him will undoubtedly be worth it Sten Luke Angelica smiled that's his name she said stroking her
monoblade given its intelligence she had apparently decided naming it was necessary DL who had been looking down uncomfortably at the monoblade as it spoke in ferdinand's voice shifted his gaze to Angelica and crossed his arms in that case I suppose you will want to go through a crash course on fourth year lessons to prepare your weapon he asked adding under his breath it should be much easier this time since we won't have to repeat ourselves over and over again for you to understand Cornelius
nodded in agreement right my brother had some notes on fourth year lessons among the study materials he gave us preparing in advance so that you weren't knocked off your feet again would indeed be wise Bridget added Angelica listened to everyone's opinions while nodding solemnly then suddenly looked up with a glint in her blue eyes she faced DL and held out the sword DL I leave the rest to you good luck Stan Luke my master you yourself must do the studying the monoblade exclaimed I cannot hear t
he voices of others without Mana flowing through me and if all the lessons are to be taught to me then your Mana will certainly not last it seemed that angelical act Theona to keep the sword animated all day which would be necessary if she wanted it to take lessons in her place her eyes widen like saucers as she gripped the monoblade in shock so I'll I'll never be able to escape from studying of course not you fool the sword barked in a very very familiar fashion it was so similar to Ferdinand t
hat I was honestly a little impressed this was some monoblade hopefully it could keep up the good work and actually get its Master to study I suppose I should compose a study plan so that Angelica and Sten Luke can learn together DL mused aloud thank you for your efforts I said while DL and Cornelius got to work writing up a plan for Angelica I started digging into the pile of study materials myself sure they were only lesson guides and classroom notes but they were lines of text that I hadn't r
ead before and since my very purpose in life was to read I had to delve in at once I read through the fourth year materials that atart had given us reminiscing about how Blissful it had always been to start a new school year and be given a ton of unfamiliar textbooks it looked like art had often asked Ferdinand for help while he was staying at the Royal Academy judging by the comments and explanations written in his handwriting here and there amid the documents my brown knitted in thought so Bri
dget do you think I could sell study resources to students using ferdin and enk hars materials as a base I asked even in my Oro days the notes of top students had been worth a lot of money surely these resources would be especially valuable considering this world didn't have textbooks quite like ours with lessons seemingly being based around lectures I do believe they would sell well however Bridget glanced over at DL Amusement visible in her amethyst eyes I followed her gaze to see that he was
frowning anxiously do you have a problem with this Dil writing out notes on boards to sell and attending classes for others in order to transcribe lectures for them are some of the few ways for L Noels at the Royal Academy to earn disposable income if you started to distribute study resources based on Lord Ferdinand and Lord Art's nodes I am certain there are many students who will end up losing out I couldn't just go and quash a valuable source of money for poor students before I went about sel
ling study resources myself I would need to find an alternative for them I thought it would be a good way to boost the education level in Aaron Fest but I see that I will need to think about it more carefully first thank you as we continued our discussion an ordinance flew in for Bridget the ivory bird flapped its wings landed on her wrist and then began speaking in ferdinand's voice it seemed that the plon company had requested a meeting with me there was something they wanted to discuss before
summer came since I had Earth days off there was enough leeway for me to return to the temple I had Bridget make a reply or denans which I then spoke to this is rose mine once I have completed fruit day's monor replenishment I shall return to the temple until water day when I am required for the next one please inform Gil that I would like to meet the planting company in the morning on water day there is work here for you to complete on Earth day as well Ferdinand responded in turn come to my r
oom at third Bell and with that my entire week and disappeared I had been spending so much of my time in the castle casually reading lately that I would probably have a hard time readjusting to this new schedule that night at dinner I informed Bona Faus and Wilfried of my weekend plans I will be absent from the castle after Mona replenishment on fruit day to check the workshop and orphanage in the temple I shall return in time for monor replenishment on water day I see do not overdo it Bona Faus
said with a nod being a man of relatively few words he looked a lot like carad quite broad-shouldered and rather musclebound for someone his age though he was much more blunt and often had a sharp gleam in his eyes I even found him a little scary but I had been assured by Cornelius that he actually had an enormous soft spot for me which was impressive given that it was apparently rare for him to show any concern for the well-being of others when my brothers got sick he would normally just bark
at them for being frail and weak in my case Bona Faus had been warned by caret that so much as a shout could cause me to literally drop dead and after realizing how sickly I really was from my multiple fainting episodes in the castle he was doing his best to keep his distance terrified about being anywhere near a child who would collapse from something as minor as getting struck by a single fateful snowball that explained why he always seemed to be avoiding me to some degree you'll really be oka
y traveling to the temple by high Beast after performing The Manor replenishment you're strong in the weirdest of ways rose mine running arounds enough to almost kill you but somehow you can handle Manor replenishment without batting an eye Wilfried grumbled with a frown just moving Mana from the face Tes was enough to exhaust him so he found it hard to believe that I could travel to the temple right after performing the replenishment Mana and stamina are two very different things I replied turl
y it helped that I was used to moving Mana around my body and since I used Mana for things all the time I never ended up with too much buil up inside of me compared to my commoner days where I was forced to endure my Mana always swelling to bursting Point life was good and so came fruit day I returned to the temple after finishing the usual Mona replenishment by which time it was late enough for seventh Bell welcome back lady Ros mine my lined up attendance greeted me I was suddenly overwhelmed
with Nostalgia like it had been ages since I last saw them I have returned has anything changed in my absence when I returned to my Chambers I was led straight to an already prepared bath then once I had been washed it was time to receive my pre-bed reports France served me some tea before joining Zayn to speak first since they had managed the high Bishop's Chambers while I was gone and together with Monica they reported no notable changes aside from going to the high priest's Chambers rather th
an the high Bishops to do work that said while your Chambers remain unchanged the temple as a whole has been transforming little by little Fran began now that brother kfer and brother Frac are highly valued by the high priest for their assistance several blue priests have begun to show an interest in administrative work Zayn continued the blue priests who had previously found themselves in a neutral position reportedly observed camper and freac then approached Ferdinand to join them he had subse
quently determined that there was no harm in recruiting them considering their former neutrality and began training them as well these priests had spent most of their lives doing nothing even close to resembling work so they were being put through the ringer in a same way as camper and freac who watched the new recruits with warm eyes while remembering having endured the same hellish trials themselves the high priest has been brimming with life lately he also consumes dramatically fewer of those
potions you were so worried about him relying on France said no doubt due to the fact that he can now entrust his work to others it feels as though he finally has some breathing room in his schedule Ferdinand being able to complete his work without relying on potions meant that his successors were being trained at a reasonable Pace I could imagine the blue priests were having a rough time due to his brutal training methods But alls well that ends well Gil Fritz how goes the workshop I asked my
eyes drawn to the new picture book in Gil's hand with Fran and Zay done it was their turn to give reports and what I wanted to know more than anything was how printing was advancing in the workshop noticing my gaze Gil grin and held out the book we have finished the picture book on the winter subordinates he announced I took the book and stroked its cover which was covered with scattered red petals and looked very fancy red was of course the Divine color of winter I then brought the book to my f
ace and rubbed my cheek against it inhaling the sharp scent of ink that pierced my senses it was a Heavenly smell that made me melt right then and there after enjoying that brief moment I lined one of each picture book stored in my Chambers on the table there was one book for the king and queen alongside the Eternal five then one for each of the individual Seasons subordinate Gods the children's Picture Bible set was complete and an emotional sigh unconsciously escaped my lips a there's nothing
quite so pristinely beautiful as a complete set of books how splended shall we pray to the Gods in honor and appreciation of my gutenberg's praise be toes order the goddess of wisdom and conal the goddess of art I declared shooting both arms into the air Gil gave a big nod his deep purple eyes shining proudly I knew you would like it lady Ros mine well done Gil well done I am blessed to have such fine workers as attendance now what shall we print next we must keep up the pace and produce an ever
growing catalog of books hat Fran sighed with exasperation placing a gentle hand on my shoulder lady Ros mine you are getting too excited please contain yourself Zam and Fritz are becoming unsettled even though I had only let out a sliver of my true feelings both Zan and Fritz were visibly uncomfortable wearing stiff Expressions as they averted their eyes both of you this is how Lady rosemine normally reacts when presented with books Fran explained please get used to it sooner rather than later
ignoring that I stacked up the picture books and hugged them to my chest carrying them over to the nearby bookcase where I delicately started lining them up the fact that I could step back and admire a full row of books in my own room was enough to make me sigh with bliss a it's so wonderful could there be anything better than both the book rooms and my own Chambers simultaneously filling with new books how should I express my joy Jo at more and more being brought into existence I would like to
share this Bliss with everyone in the world I'm used aloud won't you be doing that by selling the books after the star Bine ceremony Gil asked you know what that's a great way to put it I looked up with glistening eyes indeed I will share it with everyone but I would also like to use this opportunity to create more books as well Gil do you think you would be able to finish the collection of night stories before the star Bine ceremony Gil tilted his head and thought counted something on his finge
rs then shook his head regretfully we've finished three of the short stories but I don't think we have enough time to print them all both types setting and proof reading takes a significant amount of time so we could perhaps finish two more short stories at best Fritz added taking out the half finished collection lady Ros mine how would you re recommend we bind these together would you have each story bound individually or all of them combined into one please advise I schemed the three available
night stories while considering the best way to sell them given that each individual customer would be ordering whatever covers they like regardless of what method we chose there would almost certainly be no problem with us binding the short stories individually plus it was possible that someone might only be able to afford a single story rather than the entire collection bind each short story individually if you would I shall sell whatever we have ready by the star bind ceremony As You Wish la
dy rosemine now that the picture books are finished the mograph printers are available again is there anything else you would like to print if there is something you need we shall make sure it is done Gil said very heroically I pulled open one of my desk drawers and took out my list of potential books that I wanted to make text Heavy books look neater and overall more visually appealing when produced with letter Press Printers so we should use the mimeographs for books that predominantly contain
illustrations charts and the like I wonder what I should print then I pondered aloud if we were going to be selling whatever I decided on after the star buying ceremony then I would want to produce something that met the needs of adults in contrast to the products I had sold in the winter playroom perhaps I could print the recipe books and sheet music that I had previously considered putting off until I had more leeway recipes and Sheet Music are well suited for mograph printing but I should di
scuss this matter with Ferdinand before anything else I didn't have that much time to spend in the temple and trying to complete everything that I wanted to do meant that I was going to be exceedingly busy I needed to help Ferdinand in his Chambers from third Bell tomorrow anyway so I decided to use that opportunity to ask about about the recipes and Sheet Music once I had voiced these plans to Fran while writing them down in my dick I slid into bed had I been in a castle this Earth Day would ha
ve been a wonderful day off spent hold up in a book room but it was always the same old routine in the temple at third Bell I promptly headed to ferdinand's Chambers excuse me Ferdinand ah there you are now allow me to introduce you to the blue priests who have since gun working here Ferdinand said as he glanced up from his paperwork a few blue priests I had barely ever seen before stop their own work to knel they seemed to be the ones Ferd and was in the middle of training since they were curre
ntly battling through Stacks upon stacks of boards with their calculators just as I had done in the past once Ferdinand had finished introducing me to the blue priests he asked about life in the castle which meant I could finally get to the point I excitedly leaned over the desk and began began to talk about the books I wanted to make I've finished all of my picture books about the gods so I was thinking of using the mograph printers to create collections of sheet music and recipes next may I pr
int and sell a book of the songs you played at the concert I asked while I had of course been the one to introduce those songs to this world in the first place it was Ferdinand and Rosa who arranged my humming into sheet music that could be played on the harsh peel Ferdinand gave a light shrug they are not my songs so as long as you do not couple them with any unwelcome illustrations you may do with them as you like oh but I was going to put your name in the credits as the composer I'm yet unabl
e to write sheet music and it's thanks to you that the song is playable on the harsh peel at all I merely arranged your humming I did not compose any songs and thus should not receive such recognition Ferdinand replied firmly but I didn't want to identify myself as the composer either I was simply remembering the songs from my oral days so I certainly couldn't claim to have composed them how can I call myself a composer when I cannot even play the songs I sigh composing and playing are two entir
ely different actions if you are to include credits keep them accurate my plan had been to push the showy position onto Ferdinand but he blocked me entirely it was no issue though I would simply list Ferdinand and Rosen as the arrangers in big letters then credit myself as the inspiration in much smaller letters beneath them incidentally I would also like to make a book titled Ros mine's ravishing recipes is there anything I should know in advance you may print a book of recipes but wait until n
ext winter to put it up for sale you would also do well to sell them at a time when all Nobles are gathered together draw their attention with new recipes this star Bine ceremony then spread rumors of the recipe book and its price it should be an expensive product unlike your other books I hadn't yet settled on a final price for the recipe book it would probably be wise to meet with Beno to decide whether I should keep it in line with how much Sylvester had paid for the recipes or sell limited e
ditions to give a premier feeling and jack up the price in that case I shall prepare to print the sheet music and recipe book would it be okay for me to have Rosen write out the sheet music indeed she will most likely be perfect for the job Ferdinand said granting his permission immediately he had seen rosen's work firsthand when arranging my humming with her so he knew that she had both beautiful handwriting and a strong grasp on music theory is that all you have to report if so begin your work
there is quite a lot of math that has built up and so I faced my my first mountain of boards in a long time scrawling away at a slate as I work through them meanwhile the new be blue priests wh their eyes and mutter that I was simply too good it seemed they weren't yet working fast enough to satisfy Ferdinand do not just watch her you are already slow enough the least you can do is work without such unnecessary pauses ferdin and chastised not even looking up from his own work the blue priests i
nhaled sharply and quickly got back to moving their calculators they still weren't used to using them and their movements were clumsy enough that I could guess it would be quite some time before they actually started speeding up fourth bell rang soon enough signaling that it was time for lunch I returned to my Chambers having finished my calculating work and quickly approached Rosen who was playing harpel Rosen I would like to entrust you with writing out sheet music I said Ferdinand has already
given me his permission she paused mid strum blinked several times then slowly tilted her head as always she moved with such Grace that even the simplest gestures appeared utterly breathtaking what sheet music might I ask sheet music for all the songs that Ferdinand played at his har peel concert I am going to sell them as a book so I ask that you transcribe them as carefully as you can please also write the song titles and arrangers names in beautiful letters as you wish I shall draw the fines
t sheet music I can so that I may live up to what is expected of me as your personal musician Rosen gracefully accepted the job which was unsurprising since she generally loved to do anything involving music I asked her to include Ferdinand as the arranger putting my name as the inspiration in small letters beneath it might I also add more sheet music for songs of my own arrangement she asked placing a thoughtful hand on her cheek and momentarily averting her gaze I of course accepted the sugges
tion with open arms absolutely the more books we have the better once you have completed the sheet music please pass it all to Fritz and Gil I have informed them to begin printing as soon as everything is ready I understand that you are excited lady Ros mine but please eat lunch before discussing printing matters Fran interjected dousing my excitement with cold water in a way he sounded like my mother from my Orno days she was always equally exasperated when I ended up so absorbed in my reading
that I forgot to eat I suppose you're right I said with a light shrug before taking my seat at the table that was when Nia came in carrying our food lady Ros mine lunch is more elaborate today due to Hugo's assistance he competed with Ella by preparing many of the new recipes he learned for the Italian restaurant I am quite looking forward to the leftovers she said happily as she lined up the plates that reminded me there was something that I wanted to ask her Nia I have decided to make a recipe
book for my favorite foods oh my a recipe book nicoa replied clapping her hands together in excitement I can't wait for more people to get to enjoy this delicious food I proceeded to ask her to tell Hugo and Ella to write out the recipes I had taught them this would have been a lot simpler had I been able to speak to the chefs myself but it wasn't easy for the adopted daughter of an arch Duke to just wals into the kitchen I would like to discuss this with Hugo and Ella in more detail but first
they need to finish writing down the recipes furthermore I wonder whether they could separate the relatively traditional easier to make foods from the more unique complex ones that require more preparation once we've decided on the exact recipes we can lady rose mine as I said please wait to discuss sprinting until after lunch Fran repeated gripping the pitchure of water in his hand with an icy cold smile that isn't good my apologies I shall begin eating at once I said picking up my Cutlery nico
a sensing friend's wrath quickly retreated to the kitchen while talking about preparing the next course no sooner had I taken my first bite of a seasonal salad and started then yet another thing came to mind Monica forgive me for only just remembering this but please go to the workshop and borrow the needles and thread necessary for binding books lady Ros mine printing talk must wait th this isn't printing talk it's bookbinding talk or um rather preparation for my afternoon plans I replied heard
ly attempting to justify myself Fran started rubbing his temples he really was similar to Ferdinand who I was certain would be launching some sharp rebukes my way right about now had he been here maybe this likeness had become so much more evident lately because while I was staying at the castle Fran was doing his work in ferdinand's Chambers after seeing Monica out of the room I continued my meal actually staying quiet this time only once I was finished could we finally start book binding I bou
nd the collection of Mom's stories that I had been gradually piecing together since winter the cover art of which was a family illustration I had drawn myself it had been done in a cartoony style which I wasn't sure the people of this world would look upon too fondly but I had no other choice since I didn't have any photos to use do once I finish this one of a kind handmade picture book I'll have Luts deliver it to my family meeting with a planting company today I would be having a discussion wi
th a planon company at third Bell I left the high Bishop's Chambers with letters for my family and the completed collection of Mom's stories trala trala I get to meet Lut today I when I arrived at the orphanage director's Chambers Beno Mark Lutz and even Otto were already on the first floor waiting for me drinking tea served by Monica thank you for your patience I announced once we had finished exchanging the usual lengthy formal greetings we climbed the stairs and went straight into the hidden
room y I Luts Luts Luts I've missed you so much how's my family doing is everyone okay I asked leaping onto him as soon as we were inside Luts caught me having expected this entirely and patted my head with a grin your family got real nervous when I told them you'd be stuck in the castle until summer while the arch Duke's away they thought for sure that you'd mess something up somehow so mean I've been doing my job there just fine I was stunned by how little faith everyone had in me the legend o
f me being a saint had really been taking root among the Nobles lately so it was possible that my family trusted my capabilities less than literally everyone else and I worked so hard to make this book for Tulie too that book yeah she turns 10 this summer right it's my gift to her could you Del it for me here when children turned seven they were baptized and taken on as apprentices these contracts lasted 3 years and ended when they turned 10 so in many ways this was a pivotal age kids either ren
ewed their contracts signed ones with new workshops or got taken on as leurs due to their talent in addition to this the skirt length for girls changed from knee to shinai you really couldn't treat them as complete kids anymore in Earth terms it was like graduating elementary school to become like middle or high schoolers instead they were still underage but not exactly children for tuli's 10th Birth season I was giving her a collection of Mom's short stories as a present oh that reminds me Tuli
e was talking about wanting to move to Karina's Workshop when she turned 10 but how did that turn out is she going to join I asked looking around at the members of the planon company while continuing to hug Luts Beno glanced over at Otto before answering that's what we are here to talk about we want your thoughts on it what at Beno and Mark's prompting I released my grip on Lutz and sat down at the table Beno and Otto were seated opposite me with Mark and Lut standing behind them you're up Otto
the gilberta company's not my store anymore so you've got to handle this one yourself Beno said giving him a like nudge with his elbow Otto looked at me but his eyes quickly began to wonder ER I can't call her mine anymore right should I just go with Lady rose mine man that feels so weird he muttered to himself before taking a deep breath you know tuli's lean contract ends this spring right she's got to decide on her next workplace by summer so I asked Beno to set up this meeting it seemed that
the main topic of discussion was tuli's future workplace but I didn't understand how that involved me why did my opinion matter here Tulie on the road to signing with a gilberta company and we consider her a very important asset he continued not many people know the circumstances behind all this but since she has connections to you the archduke's adopted daughter she'll be the most important hair stick crafts woman we have Tulie was working hard to think up new flowers and ways to make them and
right now I was only buying hair sticks from her and Mom the gilberta company wanted to sign a let heral contract with Tulie to secure connections with me since I was one of the most profitable customers possible up until recently Kina has let Beno handle the work that's outside of her realm of interest but now he's started the planting company taking Mark and Luts with him meaning she's lost all the people connected to you see what I mean so that's why you want Tulie in the gilberta company exa
ctly Karina wanted Tuli in her Workshop to strengthen the connection between me and the gilberta company I nodded feeling somewhat detached from the whole situation when Beno interjected we not just talking about hair sticks here either you thought up that new dress for your night yeah that thing's important enough that Ken is trying to stay connected to you in any way she can oh I see see very interesting you don't really sound like you care about this Luts observed I responded with a big nod t
o me this seemed like the most pointless conversation of all time just know this if you exploit Tulie for the store's gain and make her cry I'll make sure you suffer for it I said firmly but right now it appears that she wants to join Gina's workshop and Gina wants her what's the problem why does my opinion on any of this matter they could simply have her sign a leral contract and be done with it Otto gave a troubled frown everyone involved wants Tulie to join Karina's Workshop so that's natural
ly what we're working toward but the question is whether she should get a leur or a leang contract I knew from Lutz's circumstances that apprentices were treated differently based on their contracts but since I could hardly call myself an expert on the matter I looked to Beno for d details the treatment she receives will vary based on which one she signs right right right leurs are fundamentally treated better than Le hangs but they've got less Freedom too Le hangs could get experience at a vari
ety of different workshops by changing location every 3 years they could improve their skills and establish a wider range of connections but there wasn't much in the way of job security if their work wasn't satisfactory they weren't guaranteed to receive a recommend ation for a new workshop or have their existing contract renewed and if they couldn't find a new workplace they really would struggle to survive let HS on the other hand live where they worked didn't have to hunt for jobs and receive
better treatment overall in return however they were chained to one store for their entire lives just as Zach and Johan had said they couldn't go independent and they couldn't move to other workshops Lutz and Mark had followed the planon company when it split from the gilberta company which was acceptable enough at the time but they couldn't go back now that it was an entirely new store assuming Tulie does sign a leral contract with a gilberta company the strongest chain tying her down will be
you Rose mine wait me I exclaimed slapping my hands against my cheeks and gasping in shock how would I be tying her down never would I have thought that I'd be the one holding back my big sister as especially considering all she had done for me a casual discussion wasn't enough something needed to be done and quick as I leaned forward the blood draining from my face Lutz laughed and dismissively waved his hand nah nah you've got the wrong idea it's not that you're literally holding her back the
problem is that she wants to be able to follow you wherever you go what do you mean I asked not really following his point after looking at Beno Lutz gave a small knot and continued the plon companies prepared to follow you to another city if we have to and that means both Master Beno and me if we're going to be Printing and selling books we're best off sticking with someone who loves them as insanely much as you do it seemed that as I was the printing industry's wealthiest supporter the plantin
g company were willing to accompany me wherever I went to spread both the plant paper Guild and the printing Guild they would be very strong allies for me and when I mentioned this to Tulie she said that she'd want to come with us too Luts explained up until now both he and Tulie had assumed everything would be fine once she joined Gina's Workshop in a gilberta company she could stay connected to and meet with me simply by following Lutz and Beno but now the planon company had split from the gil
berta company with one dealing in printing and the other in clothing and accessories if she became a lurl for the gilberta company she wouldn't be be able to leave the store and since they were an Aon Fest based company through and through they weren't going to follow me anywhere I went mm so Tuli wants a leang contract just in case but I mean here I am in Aaron Fest Ferdinand said that Sylvester would never let me go and as far as I'm aware my future will most likely be spent wet to his success
or I said that prediction was mostly just based on what I'd heard from Ferdinand but with my St Legend and the printing industry spreading as quickly as they were it was hard to imagine Sylvester ever sending me to another duy but that's just what the archduke's hoping for right Beno asked there are plenty of duchies stronger than Aaron Fest out there if some political forces throw their weight around it's not hard to imagine you being forced into an arranged marriage that's true I whispered in
reply now that I thought about it while I had learned learned a lot about Aaron fest's geography I barely knew anything about the world Beyond it at most I was aware from my retainers that we were somewhere in the middle of the rankings in the Royal Academy where Nobles from all across the country gathered it wouldn't be surprising for beno's Fears to become a reality if you're going to stay in Aaron Fest forever there won't be any problems however Beno continued glaring at me with gleaming dark
red eyes what worries me more than any political power is you going on a rampage I can already see you demanding to change your betrothal to whoever has the biggest book stash just like you rush to join the temple the moment you found its book room n g i could hardly argue back when I'd already set such a daming precedent maybe due to how long he'd known me Beno had a good grasp on how I thought and acted there was nothing I could say to convince him that I wouldn't do something like that if yo
u do lose control we have no way ofct predicting where you'll end up Beno concluded well neither do I really back in the day the plan had been for me to think up inventions to sell while doing work at home but I had gone on one of my aforementioned Rampages after finding the book room during my baptism and subsequently ended up as an apprentice blue Shrine Maiden considering the other unpredictable events that had followed resulting in me becoming the high bishop and archduke's adopted daughter
I could hardly call beno's worries unfounded I gave Beno a big smile trying to look as cute as possible as an impromptu distraction but that just made him narrow his eyes this isn't something to smile about idiot with that I quickly averted my gaze and turned to Otto eager to change the subject so um the gilberta company wants to secure Tuli with a lural contract but she wants to be a leang so she can follow me wherever I might go correct correct any ideas mm how about you sign her on as a let h
erl and in the worst case scenario open a franchise to move her elsewhere a what now like build a second gilberta company in another city and have her work there a second gilberta company so not an entirely new store right employees of the gilberta company can come and go as they please and communication wise it would be treated as the same store that way Tuli can continue working as a lurl for the gilberta company in another city despite my attempt at an explanation everyone present most notabl
y Beno Mark and OT looked utterly lost chain stores didn't exist here and few people who lived in cities went out of their way to move to another there were cases where the owner of one successful store might end up marrying someone who also owned a store but in a city where you could walk from one one end to the other without much issue there was no point in establishing more than one shop for any particular business I couldn't blame them for not understanding store franchises when they weren't
even really a concept yet well putting aside all that complicated stuff I don't think it would be a major problem to give her a leang contract I said franchising was ultimately a compromise and my main priority was ensuring Tulie could take whatever path she wanted I supported her joining in's Workshop since she looked up to Karina and wanted to work with her but I didn't see the need to bind her to the gilberta company for life you want to secure Tuli as a lurl for your own sake not hers right
I asked well if she intends to follow me I can prepare a workshop for her at the snap of my fingers I would be happier with her having more freedom as a leang I had no plans to leave Baron Fest unless I was forced to marry someone from another Dutch and even in such a case with mine savings and the money I had now I could afford citizenship a home and a workshop for Tuli wherever I moved and in the event that I did stay in Aaron Fest forever she was skilled enough that she could use my support
as the arch Duke's adopted daughter to start up her own Workshop once she got older there were plenty of ways for me to support her even if she didn't become a lurl do yeah you do have the money and power to help her all on your own now Otto murmured his tone somewhat bitter he had spent his entire life walking the tough road of a traveling Merchant it had taken all his savings to purchase citizenship and secure his marriage to Karina well with all that said if we assume that I am going to be st
aying in Aaron Fest it would be best for Tulie to sign a lural contract with Kina this way she'll receive the best treatment and have a better quality of life I said earning me a knot from Otto but at the very least suggest franchising to Karina and see what she thinks about it all right I'll pass this all on to Tulie as well the franchising stuff and that you'll set up a workshop for her if you have to let said and with that our discussion on the matter came to an end after shaking his head to
clear his thoughts Beno leaned forward all right that's enough about Tuli I've got a request for you as head of the plon company I've made all the preparations to send Luts to iler could you make the arrangements with jiler are you going to be okay doing business with Nobles I seem to recall that he'd had so much more business with Nobles recently that he didn't have enough people to meet with them all leaving him unable to send Luts off on a trip Beno scratched his head and gave a vague grunt f
rom behind him the previously silent Mark spoke up his dark green eyes crinkling in a smile the leang s sent from various stores to work for the plon company are all the best of the best he explained which is allowing us to handle business with Nobles more easily than before we now have a few hands to spare it seemed that the Le hands sent to redistribute beno's Monopoly among their own stores were so extremely competent that even Mark was impressed thing is the pl and store doesn't have many pr
oducts Beno continued the more new Goods we have that'll catch the attention of nobles the better and when it comes to getting info out of you to make new things there's no person I want there more than our Le her lots I'm the best person they have for researching new types of paper since I've made so much already I promised to make everything you thought up didn't I Lut said puffing out his chest with a printing press complete and the picture books getting finished up it's true that now is as g
ood a time as any to start thinking of new products I'll be able to speak to jibar some some time around the next star Bine ceremony do that sooner than I expected I thought we'd have to wait until winter socializing at least jiler was informed that Bridget would be debuting a dress I designed at the starb ceremony and decided to come to Aaron Fest to see the reveal I believe I should be able to use that opportunity to send the pl and Company to iller to start researching new potential materials
for paper iler was personally invested in this matter since he wanted to strengthen his connection with me and secure more export opportunities given our respective statuses he couldn't refuse my request regardless but he certainly wouldn't want to all I needed to be careful of was making sure I didn't accidentally force him outside his comfort zone by misusing my authority all right I'd assumed you could only talk to longdistance Nobles in the winter but if this is happening in a summer I'll n
eed to hurry up with the preparations that said iler is so far away that if we are going to be doing research over there we won't be able to return to Aaron Fest for some time I'm used are you sure the plon company will be okay for that long without Mark and Lutz no matter how skilled those Le hangs were surely it would be hard for Beno to manage things all by himself hearing my concerns Beno gave a bitter smile and shook his head Mark be staying behind to help run the store in his place I'll se
nd one of the Le hangs capable of dealing with no does such a person exist I wondered fur o my brow as I failed to think of anyone who could take Mark's Place who are you sending we be traveling to iller on my high Beast will they be able to handle that that won't be a problem he actually knows who you are already in fact he was saying that he's seen and spoken to you before at that Beno Mark and Luts all exchanged exhaust it looks hearing that this person had supposedly met me already just conf
used me even more I barely knew anyone back when I was a commoner especially not an apprentice Merchant capable of dealing with Nobles I have no idea who you're talking about who is it Damien freda's older brother the ever profit hungry ofar company had sent Damien to the planting company as a Le hang it seemed that Freda had lit a fire under her brothers demanding to know why they wouldn't do everything they could to get involved with Lady Ros mine's new business if they claimed to be good Merc
hants oh right I did meet him once during freda's baptism ceremony in fact I met most of freda's family when I stayed at the guild Master's place that one time she has two older brothers but I barely remember what either one looks like what I do remember though is that they were all very assertive people who didn't listen to what others said at all and you're exact L right he's got a sharp nose for profit and is about as pushy as can be judging by beno's expression Damen was probably working in
the shadows more than anyone else to maximize his own profit within the planon company everyone said that Freda resembled her grandfather The Guild Master most of all but her older brother Damen was no slouch himself Lutz will you be okay with him you won't let Damian talk you into a corner I asked my worry now directed at him I wasn't sure whether he would be able to resist daman's manipulativeness on his own and it seemed that he was just as concerned rather than puffing out his chest with con
fidence he let out a dry laugh and shot Beno a worried look I'm concerned about Lutz as well but removing Daman isn't an option Beno said why not he's one of the best when it comes to dealing with Nobles he knows how to hold back on something to make more money down the line and most importantly he cares more about the invention of new products than selling existing ones I also can't turn down that old gizer he and the other stores are forcing Damian on us to keep an eye on things plus he's been
oddly Cooperative lately I bet I'll need to return the favor a little to keep things that way I'm going to come with you on the first trip to iller to establish the plant paper Guild and sign some contracts as its representative I'll leave Lutz and Damian there then accompany you when you return to Aaron Fest no nothing we can do from there but lay some groundwork and prepare please prepare whatever you can for L's sake okay from there we discussed the money that would be made from producing pl
ant paper in iller we wouldn't be able to negotiate with a jib if we didn't have it all worked out beforehand I wrote down how the profits would be divided between us notes for our stay in iller and what demands and conditions to bring to the table okay so we sure that Lutz and Damien will be going to iller with us right I asked looking over my dick once everything had been settled Lut raised a hand into the air uh I kind of want to bring a few greay priests used to working in the Ros mine works
hop with us as well is that an option I can't really make paper on my own and I'd suffocate working alone with Damian we can prepare the tools ourselves we just need the Manpower my official reason for visiting iler is to research plant paper though of course I'll bring some of my workers you and Gil can decide on whom that's good to hear Lut said with a genuinely relieved sigh I'm the one who wants new paper researched so I really should be going there to do it myself I appreciate you and Gil w
orking hard in my place so if you have any requests don't hold back I'll do whatever I can for you too thanks but don't worry about it too much heck I'm just looking forward to going to iller at all Lut said with a laugh the tension draining from his shoulders I let out my own sigh of relief it is a special occasion isn't it I hope we can find some new types of wood as well as alternatives to eile fruit and shm bugs yeah it'll be nice if we can make new paper and get more products Lut said flash
ing a Merchants grin Beno nodded adding that they really did need new things to sell oh I'll definitely be making more products for you that is more and more books I have plans in place to print sheet music and come winter you'll have a copy of Ros mine's ravishing recipes I said proudly puffing out my chest but then I remembered something right right we still in the middle of determining what price the recipe book should be I'm used aloud I'm not sure whether we should base the price on what we
charged father and Sylvester or whether we should make it a limited edition version so we can jack up the price isn't that obvious go for the limited edition version Beno replied raising his eyebrows as though saying that I shouldn't have even needed to waste his time with such a basic question mark smiled and nodded from behind Beno while he continued Hugo mentioned this before but your recipes require pretty skilled chefs given that they are a real pain in the neck and takes so many steps to
make Plus they are all completely new of course the recipe books should be expensive don't make it cheap unless you want to spread the recipes everywhere and lower their value keep it premium and gouge the heck out of them Beno said a glint of enthusiasm in his eyes as always putting a high value on my otherworldly wisdom seemed to be the right call and there was no reason for me to deny the advice of my teacher in anything business related anyway he continued a recipe book pretty sure you'll be
able to sell it to that old Geyer if you put in some recipes that lies doesn't know make as much Bank as you can hear just so you know Beno you have a downright evil look on your face right now the archducal couple returns several days had passed since I concluded my meeting with a planon company and returned to the castle Angelica was called outside wilfred's room while he and I were taking our afternoon lessons then promptly returned to say something to riyaa and Oswald lady Ros mine Lord Wil
fried o Baron Fest shall be returning quite soon riara announced let us go and greet him despite having heard what she said loud and clear I simply continued reading and gave a halfhearted okay I father and mother are back Wilfried exclaimed excitedly as Riis snatched the history book out of my hands with a fear-inducing smile studying can continue when we return come come with us Mady at ri's prompting Wilfried and I made our way to the teleporter room the knight's standing guard opened the doo
r to let us inside once we arrived no sooner had we entered and a teleportation Circle began to shine the complex patterns of the magic circle appeared and a second later Sylvester florena and caret were standing at top it Wilfried immediately rushed over to welcome them back we're home Wilfried rose mine did you keep working diligently florena asked of course mother we completed every monor replenishment right rose mine right Wilfried worked hard to get used to moving all that Mana every day I
see I'm very proud of you both I couldn't ask for better children florena said stepping forward with a kind smile on her face it seemed that they needed to leave the room quickly since the scholars would soon be coming in behind them I left floreno with Wilfried who had a bunch he wanted to tell her and instead went over to caret he was rotating his arm in an attempt to stretch his shoulder Welcome Home Father his eyes widened in surprise for a moment then crinkled in a soft Smile as he looked d
own at me it's good to see you well rose mine how have things been but before I could even respond Sylvester poked my cheek out of nowhere he looked exhausted his eyes were Hollow and his face had a ghastly palar to it I is something the matter Sylvester I asked with a tilt of my head his expression went unchanged and he continued poking my cheek with his dead fish-like eyes until I eventually figured out what he wanted do p this is all your fault he said he stopped poking my cheek at that that
point but I still had no idea what was going on what did he want from me I looked up blinking in the mement when he abruptly flipped my forehead with his pointer finger ow we need to talk about the temple come to my office at fifth Bell okay I rubbed my stinging forehead as I said my goodbyes then left with wilfrey to return to our lessons we continued studying until fifth Bell which rang while I was parway through Reading you're going to see father rose mine I'll be drinking tea with mother and
our younger siblings Wilfried replied seeming Overjoyed at finally getting to spend time with his parents again he packed his things away almost immediately after the bell rang and dashed out the room to the main building I had business with Sylvester so I climbed into my pandabus and headed to his office almost everyone was used to seeing lesie by now so barely anyone gave me any shocked glance as he pattered by oh Baron Fest lady Ros mine has arrived announced a guard let her in I entered the
room to find attendants preparing tea and Scholars sorting through paperwork they had brought back with them once I had taken the seat offered to me Sylvester cleared the room of everyone except carat his guard Knight wait elsewhere until I summon you all again only carad is to stay as you wish the scholars stopped working at once exiting alongside the attendance like a wave receding from the shore only once everyone had gone and their footsteps could no longer be heard did Sylvester let out a
slow sigh he dropped his Majestic Arch Duke act almost immediately and plopped his head against the table this is all your fault rose mine I understood this was a side that he only showed to his family but I still wasn't really sure how to react what had I done what exactly was my fault I had no idea and when I looked to carad for help he simply nodded in support of Sylvester A lot happened carad said um okay Sylvester what was it about the temple that you wish to discuss he raised his head slig
htly just enough to look at me without lifting it off the table and glared at me resentfully with his dark green eyes so you told my older sister about the death of my uncle I have no idea what you're talking about you're really going to play dumb sorry but I really don't Sylvester narrowed his eyes further as though my words had just confirmed something he suspected I decided to try to extrapolate what I could from his accusation well I know that your uncle is the former High Bishop but I don't
know who your older sister is I've only ever been told about her in passing she was married to fen's older brother the arch Duke of friend belag to the West right is that who you're talking about no that's the younger of my older sisters I'm talking about my oldest older sister Sylvester replied waving his hand she was married off to erens boach down south well I certainly haven't heard of her I don't even know your exact number of siblings I was so clearly disengaged with this whole discussion
that Sylvester found found it necessary to pull himself up and start wrapping his fingers against the table in frustration my sister said that the new high Bishop informed her surely you remember telling her about this last winter the temple received many letters directed to the old high bishop and we replied to them all saying that he had passed on maybe one of those was from oh wait did she send that magic letter I wrote a reply after the dedication ritual and it turned straight into a bird a
nd flew away it really took me by surprise I said recalling the magic letter from way back when that's it Sylvester declared pointing a sharp finger my way his face Shone with excitement at us finally understanding one another but it was short-lived a few seconds later he slumped his shoulders back down right right you don't know about my older sister well my uncle loved to do on her and it turns out they stayed in contact even after she got married during the entire Archduke conference she kept
calling me cruel for not telling her about his death for almost a whole year it seemed that Sylvester was so exhausted because his older sister had antagonized him about this during the entire conference and then it hit me wait is this perhaps the much older sister that everyone thought would be the previous archduke's successor before you were born she hated that you stole the position from her and your father had her married to another duchy since he predicted Aaron Fest would know no peace o
therwise right yeah where' you learn all that well I guess she wasn't Bez once secret lover after all it's a good thing I didn't spread any rumors about that the letters were just a niece complaining to her uncle not long-distance lovers sending each other romantic messages there were letters about it in a box that Bez once kept hidden they must have been really close to keep in touch even after she moved to another duy my older sister takes after my mother in many ways so she ended up my uncle'
s favorite and it seemed that his sister had really given him hell for not disclosing Bez once's death himself with her instead having to hear the news from the temple Sylvester was the arch dukee so while he likely had his reasons for keeping silent given that crimes were involved he still hadn't done what was expected of him as far as I was concerned he was hardly in position to complain about her being bitter anyway point being she'll be coming at the end of summer to visit my uncle's grave s
he also said that she wanted to meet and thank you for informing her about his death okay it's nice that she'd go through the effort to thank me like that she must be a genuine Earnest woman you don't know what you're talking about Sylvester replied shaking his head if she figures out that you're the reason my uncle got caught in the first place you'll never hear the end of it she'll antagonize you so relentlessly that her words will be like daggers piercing through your heart I'm going to keep
as quiet as I can about the details surrounding Bez want ARR rest but my sister's own information networking Aaron Fest is still alive and well all it'll take is one Noble telling her the truth and you'll be stuck suffering alongside me what just consider yourself lucky she can stay here forever my sister sister holds a mean Gage wrong her once and she'll never let you forget it it turned out that she wasn't a kind person at all in fact she was quite the opposite hateful and apparently a pain to
deal with the blood drained from my face as I thought about having to put up with her too which made Sylvester give a nasty grin misery loves company and now I would need to endure the torment with him erbach the duty my sister was married off to ranks higher than Aaron Fest so taking her off could cause diplomatic problems be careful not to make this an even bigger mess than it already is no this has turned into such a big deal somehow I slumped my shoulders in Despair and stood up assuming th
at this was the end of our conversation but Sylvester gestured for me to sit back down we not done yet I want to use this year's starine ceremony to bring Ferdinand back into Noble Society what are your thoughts on this as the high Bishop well I think it's a good idea if you want the temple to collapse overnight I replied honestly causing caret to burst out laughing Sylvester in contrast cradled his head that's not what I meant you've been the high Bishop for a year now so you know that the cent
ral district has seen an increase in its Harvest Right now the entire duy lacks Mana which means both citizens and Nobles alike want to see those with Arch Duke blood running through their veins working for the sake of the duy that sounded like nothing more than a convenient excuse to me but I nodded in agreement anyway not to mention it's been a year since mother was arrested there's no longer anyone who would complain about ferden and coming back from the temple I thinking about having him ret
urn to Noble Society than formally assigning him to the position of high priest similarly to what I did with you it was a move with solid political justification and I had no complaints so long as Ferdinand would be continuing his work as high priest but I glared at Sylvester anyway you just want to do that so you can work Ferdinand to the bone in the castle as well don't you I would be quite unhappy with you stealing away his time right now he hasn't finished raising his successors yet nobody h
ad mentioned returning Ferdinand to Noble society when Veronica was arrested so it seemed to me that this was only coming up now because I had gotten him to focus on his work in a temple rather than frequenting the castle to help there Sylvester faltered at my distrustful accusation it's certainly true that there aren't many members of the archducal family who can work in the castle right now and his help would be much appreciated Sylvester but more importantly I don't want to leave Ferdinand as
he is now Sylvester lowered his eyes do you know why Ferdinand is in the temple he asked quietly I had heard scrap of information from alvir caret Bez Wan and Ferdinand himself but nobody had given me the exact details based on what I've been told I'd say that you sent him there to protect him from your antagonizing mother but I don't know much more than that that's good guess work Sylvester replied nodding with a bitter frown it was at this point that carad filled me in a little more Veronica
was always harsh on Ferdinand but toward the end of the former Arch Duke's lifespan her malice for him became so great that it put his very life at risk she was convinced that he wished for the arch du's death and was aiming to secure the position for himself talk about being delusional why would Ferdinand ever want such a tedious job when he'd spent his entire life being told not only to live for the arch Duke's sake but that useless people had no reason to be alive especially when this mindset
was so deeply ingrained into him that he refused to show any signs of weakness at all forcing himself to drink potions just to keep going Ferdinand is the son of a mistress not a proper wife and since mother refused to adopt him he legally couldn't become the arch dukee the position would only go to him if every other member of the archal family died mother knew that but even so she antagonized him more with each passing day becoming crueler and crueler before our eyes this didn't change even a
fter father died and I became the arch dukee I told Ferdinand to flee to the temple just to get him away from her it seemed there had been a period of unrest after Sylvester took the position and he didn't want there to be any overt problems right away his assumption had been that once he was settled in as the arch duuk his mother's persecution complex would calm down but instead she began ferociously opposing any attempt to get Ferd and back to the castle I never intended for Ferdinand to stay
in the temple as long as he has sylvest F concluded do I understand where you're coming from but right now Ferdinand is having the time of his life raising his successors and he uses far fewer potions than he used to his health is improving dramatically and I don't believe changing his environment would be for the best right now I replied all my progress would be undone if Sylvester started working him to death in the castle again carat chuckled to himself as I resisted giving up Ferdinand when
you put it like that it's hard to tell which of you is the guardian here yep it almost sounds like she's his mother Sylvester smirked before quickly hiding his mouth behind his hand and glaring at me rose mine even looking at this from the angle of Ferdinand being your guardian in a temple it'd be better for him to return to Noble Society not to mention once he's assigned to the position of high priest as my brother rather than as a blue priest he'll be able to visit the temple with Scholars and
his guard night retainers just like you won't that make his work there even easier among ferdinand's retainers were a heart and Justice I could remember at heart demoing his inability to serve as his guard in a temple given that Ferdinand had moved there of his own volition rather than being a signed there like I had been I'll discuss this with Ferdinand But ultimately I think his opinion should take priority here I said firmly do right with the conversation now actually over I exited the room
the castle was brimming with life full of Scholars busily moving around due to the return of everyone the archducal couple had brought with them to the Archduke conference and with them back my job here was done I could return to the temple without spending my days worrying about performing monor replenishment the spring coming of age ceremony was fast approaching and from there summer baptism would be right around the corner the next day I visited Ferdinand after returning to the temple we natu
rally entered entered his hidden room to discuss this matter so as to not send the other priests into a panic I could tell that Ferdinand now had much more time on his hands given that there were rows of vials containing strange liquids on his desk and research papers spread out all over the place it seemed he was making good progress on researching magic tools a subject of great interest to him after moving aside some documents I sat on the same bench I always did Ferdinand took out his chair a
nd sat down as well and once we made eye contact he prompted me to begin what did you and Sylvester discuss it seems he would like to return you to Noble Society I began going on to give him the gist of what Sylvester and I had spoken about Ferdinand side is he still torn up over that what a pain I think he's right though there are a lot of advantages to doing this and many detriments that I am sure he deemed it best not to to mention Ferdinand said with a bitter smile before furrowing his brow
a little and tapping his Temple I could imagine that most people in the temple would be overjoyed at the opportunity to return to Noble Society but Ferdinand seemed to find this more of an inconvenience than anything else sensing his unwillingness I clenched my fists in determination what do you want to do if you'd rather stay here I'll tell Sylvester not to bother there is no need for that you stand only to gain from this so long as I secure a promise that my position as high priest will not ch
ange and you should consider it wise not to protest the decisions of an archd unless the situation truly demands it furthermore as Sylvester said I will be better served by having more men to Aid me and perhaps most importantly of all at heart and Justice are earning what is rather pointless ey for remaining by my side and returning to Noble society would restore their honor I couldn't find it in myself to interrupt Ferdinand as he dryly listed off every benefit to his return when he was done I
pursed my lips and glared at him he was speaking entirely as though this didn't concern him who cared how much it benefited e heart Justice or me this was his life we were talking about here I'm not asking how your return will serve others I'm asking what you want to do Ferdinand he widened his eyes as if stunned by my words blinked a few times then slowly shook his head regardless of whether or not I return to Noble Society I will be called to the castle to help with paperwork thus it is best f
or me to choose whichever option provides the most benefits to everyone else I was asking to hear what he wanted to do not what he thought the best course of action was but it was hard to imagine Ferdinand budging here if he was set on making the decision that brought the most overall advantages then I would just have to respect that it seemed seems that Sylvester will announce your return to the Nobles gathered for the star Bine ceremony you'll return to Noble Society be reassigned to the posit
ion of high priest at his orders and then formally become my guardian I said Ferdinand nodded along with my explanation but when I mentioned him becoming my guardian he raised an eyebrow and gave an amused smirk Your Guardian perhaps I spoke too soon and what exactly do you mean by that is being my Guardian such a huge detriment that it outweighs all those benefits you were talking about I asked shooting him a Steely glare Ferdinand scoffed his golden eyes narrowing in Amusement that is exactly
correct you do nothing but introduce unpredictable problem after unpredictable problem serving as Sylvester's Aid is already equally as difficult as being your guardian as much as it annoyed me I really couldn't argue with that dot still to think Ferdinand considers me as much of a the Troublemaker as Sylvester this is the first time I'm hearing about this I'm kind of offended that he thinks I'm on the same level as someone who pokes people's cheeks at random to make them say py the dress debut
in ferdinand's return Upon returning to the temple I was faced with a barge of extremely busy days I needed to prepare printed Goods for the next round of sales in the castle arrange the time and place for said sales look over Bridget's completed outfit and check up on H as the starb ceremony approached the temple internally prepared for the ceremony that would signal ferdinand's return to Noble society and word was spread that he would promptly return as the high priest once it was over in the
final few days leading up to the event the doors to the high priest's Chambers were kept closed and entry was forbidden Ferdinand no longer had a place in the temple now that he was being called back so he was going to be staying in a Noble's quarter for the time being Camp fur free Tac I expect you to continue prepar ations for the starine ceremony is instructed ferdin and said as you wish Ros mine performed the ceremonies as you have been regardless of my absence you need only do the same as l
ast year so I cannot imagine there will be any problems but do not get careless understood only after listing off a long string of warnings that made his unease more than a parent did Ferdinand leave the temple for the Noble's quarter I would have to perform this years starine ceremony without him keer and freac were entrusted with his duties while he was gone and I could sense how anxious they were about it already don't worry you too all you need to do is read the stories straight from the Bib
le there's nothing to be anxious about I said reassuringly hi Bishop we are not worried about speaking of the Gods during the ritual we are worried that brother Egmont and the other blue priests will not follow our instructions Egmont and the former High Bishops other lackes were all from high status families that is families that were of a higher status than campers and Fry attacks in this regard it would be tough for the two of them to deal with non-compliance issues if anything of the sort ha
ppens please inform me at once I shall deal with him using my authority as high Bishop it pains us to rely on someone as young as yourself but your assistance will be much appreciated they both agreed with gentle smile miles if the blue priests wanted to use status as an excuse to slack off then I simply had to crush that excuse with my own Hammer of authority and if that wasn't enough a little actual crushing would no doubt silence any further opposition keeping them under control wouldn't be a
n issue at all the star bind ceremony is called the star Festival in the lower city right Hugo told me all about it nicas said while dressing me in my ceremonial robes I nodded that's right after the ceremony in the temple everyone across the city throws T fruit at one another I imagine the children in the orphanage are going to be heading off very soon to pick up some for themselves and I believe goodar is going along with them Lutz had said that he wouldn't be able to accompany the orphans tod
ay the newly established plan and Company really had to put in work during the star Festival to get recognition in the area so Beno had told him to mingle with a leang and the stores they came from the life of a merchant was not an easy one Hugo won't get to participate in a star festival's main event this year either given that his partner broke up with him ellot told me all about it but since he's so busy preparing to move to the Noble's quarter and work as a helper in the Castle's kitchen he
isn't upset about it at all well that's what he said at least he had a really frustrated look on his face when he told me nicas said with a laugh both of my personal chefs were busy today since they would be heading to the Noble's quarter right after lunch I'm relying on you to make dinner Nia you can count on me I've grown a lot too there would be one ceremony in the temple this morning than another in the castle during the afternoon this year was especially busy because this second ceremony wa
s where we would be debuting Bridget's dress Bridget must be extremely busy right now DL mused aloud as he rode to the castle and lesie with my other Personnel he was sitting in a passenger seat since Bridget wasn't here she had today off and had spent the entire morning preparing for the debut she would normally get changed in night dorms but as she was going to be wearing a dress I had designed myself she was being dressed in a castle instead I'm sure she's really anxious to especially since s
he has Lady Alvar accompanying her while you're busy at the temple that' be like me spending all morning with a night Commander Dil continued placing an uneasy hand on his stomach as though he was feeling Bridget's pain first hand since Dil had to participate in the starb ceremony as well he headed straight to the night dorms once we arrived at the castle during my time here my guard Knights would be two miners Cornelius and Angelica time to get you ready M lady RI said Rosen advised Monica and
nicoa as to what hairstyles are popular in the castle so unlike last year I don't believe much additional preparation will be needed what do you think riara she looked me over from head to toe with narrowed eyes examining me from every angle then after adjusting my robes at the hip ever so slightly she gave a nod that should just about do it now let's get you to the room where Bridget's waiting I believe she's almost ready by the time we arrived Bridget was already surrounded by Karina and sever
al seamstresses all of whom were busily moving about beneath alvar's watchful eye mother I thank you ever so much for agreeing to my request I appreciate you looking over Bridget today of course rose mine you may entrust address's debut to me and focus on your duties as high Bishop I was attending the starb ceremony solely to perform my duties as high Bishop since I was a minor I had to leave one they were over to that end alvarro would also be accompanying Bridget to ensure the debut went smoot
hly a job she had accepted with Glee due to the high praise the dress received during its initial unveiling the reality was that Alvar had been unhappy about having nothing to do since neither aart nor lamp wck were looking for partners this year they had both ended up personally thanking me for drawing her attention away from them it looks wonderful on You Bridget thank you lady Rose mine the halder dress hugged her upper body making her chest down to her waist look as beautiful as can be it's
light emerald green fabric did an excellent job emphasizing both her dark red hair and the similarly colored flower decorations adorning her skirt while the hair ornament she wore sported pure white flowers and bouncing leaves that matched her dress the ornament used a long hair stick similar to the ones I wore so that anyone could immediately identify she had my personal support the beauty of the dress alone would be enough to Garner interest but it was none other than rosemine herself who desi
gned it I imagine that many ambitious men with a lust for power will approach you for political means Bridget so please take care alvro warned but Bridget shook her head with a defeated smile I am a woman who canceled an engagement prior to this I had given up all hope of ever finding another partner should lady rosine's dress attract a man who will bring Good Fortune to iller then there is nothing nothing more I could ask for I mean I'm more concerned about them being good for you than for iler
I thought but since I didn't understand the exact impact of cancelling an engagement in Noble Society there wasn't much I could say a man who is good for iler alvro wondered aloud that may still prove rather difficult your connection to Rose mine is clear to all and if your Province does not appeal to others it seemed to me that starting a new papermaking business in iller would make it easier for Bridget to find a good marriage partner I'll do my best with the negotiations for both her sake an
d mine now then we must depart for the grand hall rose mine please return to your room for now elvirus said before leaving with a fully prepared Bridget IUN be watching from the stage I called out causing Bridget to return a small embarrassed smile once the door was closed I turned to Gina who was busy cleaning up thank you for all your work here Karina the efforts of you and your seamstresses have help Bridget to blossom into the beautiful woman she deserves to be I am certain that her new dres
s will draw the attention of all those present tonight and the gilberta company's name will surely spread like wildfire we are grateful beyond words for your patronage Karina said as she knelt down the other seamstresses followed suit as well now if you will excuse me I must attend to other matters odly I trust you to handle the rest as you wish lady rose mine now that I could use my high Beast inside the castle I arrived at the grand hall right on time without having to be rushed Along by reard
like last year I speedily put away my panabo and after having rarded check my clothes for wrinkles stepped into the Hall the high Bishop has arrived in tone a speaker the ceiling of the grand Hall reached as high as that of a gymnasium and stretching down the center of the room from the entrance to the stage was a black gold hem carpet I started to walk along it with everyone's eyes watching me just as they had the year before had I gotten any faster no this way Rose mine on stage were Sylveste
r florena and carat with several other guard Knights standing behind the arch ducal couple I took a seat beside Sylvester just as I had done last year prompting Cornelius and Angelica to stand behind me you sure made one heck of a dress that Knight hardly even looks like the same woman as last year Sylvester said in an impressed tone while looking down at Bridget she was currently in one corner of the hall surrounded not only by men but also women interested in her new outfit my guard night sure
is a beauty isn't she yep she'll receive more marriage proposals than she'll know what to do with Sylvester responded with a nod he had been fairly harsh on Bridget last year but now he was giving her full marks it seemed to me that he was exclusively staring at her pronounced bust but I was kind enough not to point that out I didn't want to say anything that might harm his reputation in florencia's eyes that said she's basically advertising that she has your full support here she's going to be
hounded by ambitious men who Lust For power you better warn her to be careful my mother already did but Bridget simply responded that she didn't mind so long as she could secure a good partner to help iller she had given up on marrying anyone of worth due to having cancelled her previous engagement I do hope she can find a good husband but I trailed off pursing my lips unhappily Sylvester raised an eyebrow hard to say what kind of marriage the world has in store for her but whether it's good or
not will depend on jiler hopefully they don't draw another dud well I won't consider myself responsible if they do I'll Trust Bridget and jiler to make the right decision here I replied I didn't know what kind of person would be good for iler nor what Bridget wanted in a marriage I'm just pleased that everyone now understands Bridget is a beautiful and Charming woman I also hope that it becomes fashionable for women to wear clothes that suit them rather than them being restricted to whatever's
trendy so we were thinking about more than just starting a new trend here Sylvester asked his eyes widening a little in surprise but my ambitions here weren't that lofty I just wanted people to be free to wear clothes that look good on them all of a sudden I heard the high-pitched squeals of many fine Noble women rise above the chatter I looked over to see what all the fuss was about and realized that Ferdinand had entered the hall women thronged the door to catch even a passing Glimpse though t
hey didn't dream of standing in his way everyone kept clear of the gold hem carpet as though they had agreed to do so ahead of time there you are Ferdinand Sylvester called out Ferdinand reached the stage with no obstructions climbed up the steps and sat next to me on the opposite side from Sylvester behind him stood art who was unable to hide the smile on his face being able to serve as first 's guard night apparently brought him more joy than searching for a new wife you seem happy about this
eart indeed I had thought a day where I could once again serve Lord Ferdinand might never come Justice is just as glad as I am quite he even said that he would now like to visit the temple as much as possible though it seemed to me that his eyes fell on someone other than myself Ferdinand added shooting me a weighty glance da are you inferring that Justice wants to visit the temple to see me an outright answer may lead to unwelcome rumors about his romantic proclivities but considering his obses
sion with collecting information there is no mistaking that you are a source of great interest to him Ferdinand replied confirming my suspicion despite having in the same sentence expressed his desire not to it turned out that justice found me and my Antics to be both surprising and intriguing to no end take care not to mention this carelessly ferden and repeat it making sure I understood right by the way your return to Noble society means you can get married again right shouldn't you be down th
ere looking for someone I asked it seemed to me that rather than sitting up on the stage he should be with the other available men calling out to a fine Noble woman or two but Ferdinand glanced down at the hall dismissively there would be no point not a single woman there has enough Mana to match my own his flat response took me by surprise I was already aware from the situation between Bridget and Dil that a considerable difference in Mona capacity was enough to kill any chance of a relationshi
p but was he really saying that every single woman of marriageable age in the hall didn't have enough Mana for him um not a single one not among the unmarried women of Aaron Fest no wait really but haven't you courted a girl before mother mentioned that it didn't last long but it was hard to imagine there being any mistakes in the deep ferden and lore that I'd heard from Alvira especially considering that it largely originated from art who had witnessed It All Happened firsthand I shot him a qui
ck glance which was enough for Ferdinand to deduce the true source of my information what in the world have you all been wasting your time talking about he asked with a Grimace good grief either way that happened when I was attending the Royal Academy there were girls taking the arch Duke candidate course alongside me whose Mona capacity was large enough to match my own and to be clear if we included married women in Aaron Fest then there would be one who is compatible I was relieved to know tha
t the number of women wasn't literally zero but I also couldn't help but Wonder considering this is purely about Mana would that married woman he's referring to be florena I guess not even Aaron fests are Nobles have a large enough capacity for Ferdinand it must be rough only being compatible with members of the archal family I said upon hearing me speak about the matter as though it didn't concern me whatsoever Kad gave a amused frown in that case Ferdinand perhaps you should marry rose mine he
r Mona capacity will equal yours once she's grown correct his abrupt suggestion caused both Ferdinand and me to gase with white-eyed horror you would have me look after this problem child for my entire life just how much do you wish for me to suffer carat Ferdinand is exactly right being stuck with a perpetually unhappy lecture Factory like him would be nothing but torment for me would you ever want to marry him father even knowing how talented he is I didn't think so you two sure are peas in a
pod Sylvester chimed in his lips curling into an especially smug smirk my cheeks started to Twitch with frustration he always made that face when he was causing problems for other people Sylvester I began planning to say that he should drop the idea before I dropped him but Ferdinand stopped me before I could all that will achieve is amusing him further he said it made perfect sense we couldn't let ourselves react the way Sylvester wanted us to I nodded in agreement at which point Ferdinand plac
ed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a serious look rose mine you will find more nobles with a mon capacity equivalent to yours in the Royal Academy than anywhere else use that time to find the best partner you can I do not mind if doing so requires you to leave Aaron Fest you have my express permission hide your true self and do everything in your power to find a partner understand I will put in the effort of find someone with a larger book collection than anyone in Aaron Fest but really you're
the one who should be putting in the work here Ferdinand you're approaching a more dire age for this than I am as we advance the conversation Along on our own Sylvester hurriedly leaned forward to stop us hold it you to those are some serious political decisions you are trying to make Ferdinand you don't have the authority to give her permission for that think again again Sylvester have you forgotten that I am soon to be her guardian my my Sylvester and a guardian is much like a parent are they
not I asked both Ferdinand and I sharing the same subtle Victorious smile Sylvester fell silent completely aast that would probably be enough to stop him from butting it again satisfied with the Counterattack we had landed I began scanning the hall for DL just as I had done last year but once again I couldn't find him perhaps he had finally found a cute girlfriend or maybe he was too L struck with Bridget to even search for one at seventh Bell Sylvester smoothly stood up from his chair and took
a step forward his cape Rippling behind him now Begins the starb ceremony newly WS come forth once the Newly Weds in the hall were lined up Sylvester gave his speech the couples then and signed their marriage contracts one pair at a time and when those were all done I gave them a blessing Almighty king and queen of the Endless Skies oh god of darkness and goddess of light hear my prayers may you grant your blessings to the birth of new unions may they who offer their prayers and gratitude to th
ee be blessed with thy Divine protection I pray to the king and queen Gods while pouring Mana into my ring causing black and golden lights to swirl around before shooting up to the ceiling the lights merged together overlapped and then exploded tiny specks of glistening dust scattered throughout the room raining down on a newly WS to the cheers of the audience you my work here is done the announcement of ferdinand's return to Noble Society was apparently happening next but I had to leave as soon
as my blessing was given I would have to wait and hear the details from alvir during our tea party plan for tomorrow afternoon mother how was the recep for Bridget's dress I asked I made sure to take the first sip of tea and try one of the prepared sweets before gesturing for her to do the same elvir gently raised her own teacup to her lips letting out a wistful sigh with a blissful look on her face last night she was simply H simply wonderful she began her eyes sparkling like those of a young
girl with radiant dreams what followed wasn't a discussion on how the dress was received however but a love story starring Bridget she had spent the previous year's ceremony clad in clothes that didn't suit her but this year she wore a new outfit so stunning that she attracted the attention of all those present the dress had of course been designed by the arch Duke's adopted daughter and as men found themselves drawn to both Bridget's Beauty and her powerful political sponsor one man stepped for
ward from the crowd with a smile the very same man she had previously ended her engagement with I am willing to offer you another chance getting engaged to me again will repair your reputation more than any other marriage could he said brazenly extending a hand for her to take but then D will stepped forth with several fellow Knights getting between Bridget and her former fiance in an attempt to protect her honor DL knelt before Bridget and declared wait one year for me and I shall have develope
d enough Mana to earn your hand in marriage it was like watching a night story developed before our very eyes and even obser ing from the sidelines was enough to make my heart pound with emotion if only a man would Pine for my love with such fervor Alvar concluded with a breathy sigh dot what the heck I can't believe I missed that lunch meeting and business day it was 2 days after the star Bine ceremony and the book sale was being held this afternoon word had spread during the ceremony resulting
in more Nobles staying behind in a Noble's quarter than last year but this also meant there was plenty of time for rumors surrounding dl's proposal to circulate through the castle now all sorts of people were teasing him women were fairly fond of the event since it had been like watching a story book romance unfold before their very eyes but men thought it impossible for a l Noble like dble to get enough mon to match a medn like Bridget they were mocking him for clinging so hard to doomed love
but even then they did Praise Him for defending her honor from her ex-fiance on occasion I even saw some slap him on the back and say can't wait to see what happens next year with broad grins on their faces Bridget herself was saying that regardless of whether or not Dom will manage to build up enough Mana over the next year she was grateful for him protecting her honor the look on her face made it clear that she thought he would never actually achieve his impromptu promise and that it had been
made only to protect her in a moment just one year DL do you believe you will make it I asked everyone's Mona capacity increased at a different rate and while I had taught him my compression method I wasn't sure how helpful it would ultimately be in fact I didn't even know how big the difference was between him and Bridget I don't know but I'm just glad to have more time dul replied his resolve stealed now that he had given himself a deadline his firm expression was pretty cool compared to his u
sual let's face at Lane demeanor on this busy sales day I was also having a lunchtime meeting with jiler he had asked for some of my time to thank me for the dress I made Bridget which was perfect timing for me I already wanted to discuss my trip to iler and introduce him to the planting company so scheduling on the same day as the book sale was more than convenient Ferdinand jibar it is a pleasure to see you both today I said as I entered the dining room now that Ferdinand was officially my gua
rdian he was participating in meetings related to the printing industry to ensure I didn't cause any bizarre problems or get dominated in conversation by other Nobles as my adopted father Sylvester was my primary Guardian but the Archduke obviously didn't have the time to attend every meeting I was involved in my secondary Guardian was caret my actual father as it were but since he was the archdukes guard Knight he couldn't attend every meeting either that left Ferdinand as the only man for the
job and you'd better believe he was already grumbling about how he should never have rejoined Noble Society in the first place well you have my sympathy Ferdinand after exchanging our long Noble greetings lunch was served I naturally took the first bite allowing Ferdinand and jibar to pick up their Cutlery as well no sooner had jibar taken a bite himself than a heartfelt smile spread across his face I was shocked by the delicious flavors of your recipes when I first enjoyed them last winter lady
rose mine Bridget often brags about getting to eat your food so I have been eagerly awaiting this lunch meeting Bridget shot him a Stern glare her cheeks tinged red with embarrassment at her Secrets being revealed jiler smiled back at her before getting straight to the point lady rosemine I am grateful beyond words for you gifting my little sister a new fashion of dress for this starb ceremony your kindness has restored her honor and given her New Hope for Mar he continued glancing over at DL f
rom the subtle mirth in his grin I could guess that he had witnessed the famed Proposal firstand with that I also glanced toward dul who was standing behind me as my guard Knight I exited as soon as I completed my blessing and was thus regrettably unable to see the proposal what happened exactly I asked prompting jiler to elaborate he went on to tell me what happened from his perspective as Bridget's brother making it sound a lot more like a hero striking down a villain than a love story it was
pretty entertaining to hear how much his narration differed from alvar's interpretation of events once he had finished lunch came to an end I know not whether this is enough to repay you lady rosemine but iler is ready for your visit at any time we would like to prepare as much wood from as many trees as possible for your sake jiler said as we sipped our postmeal tea I was going to pounce on the opportunity but Ferdinand raised a hand to stop me rose mine be aware that jiler intends to use your
visit to show Bridget's former fiance that they have your full support thereby discouraging him from causing any further problems please keep this in mind as you respond there is a considerable chance of you becoming embroiled in their conflict ferand explained quietly eyeing him but I had been fully prepared to back up Bridget from the moment I designed that dress I didn't have any problem with jiller exploiting my interest to benefit his Province as I too do not wish for Bridget to marry anyon
e who would cause her harm I have no quals with my influence being used to intimidate her former fiance being able to research plant paper and iler is of great use to me and I do not mind assisting iler in turn jib iler wanted my political support and I wanted 's wood and Hospitality for research purposes we both serve to benefit from this op ation which meant I could send the planting company there without any worries research plant paper you say jiler asked indeed paper is an essential compone
nt in printing I must establish plant paper workshops before I can spread the printing industry throughout Aaron Fest and you will be entrusting that to iller he asked blinking in disbelief I was offering him an opportunity to join the duchy new business from the very start there there would be no better way to show other Nobles that he had my support and meanwhile I would be able to research plant paper to my heart's content I shall of course share with you how to create plant paper as research
on new varieties progresses within iller you will be able to invest in the printing industry before any other province with forestry I thank you Jer said his expression softening as he realized my support here was genuine I smiled back at him but capitalizing on the opportunity wouldn't be trivial paper making took work jiler I will have you support merchants of the plon company as they established workshops and conduct research in your Province you have buildings for housing priests during spr
ing prayer and the Harvest Festival correct assuming those are ready and supplied we can begin at once at once you say jiler repeated surprised I nodded with a broad smile I have been studying geography as of late and if my memory serves me correctly I believe biller is one of Aaron fest's most southern provinces its climate is such that its rivers do not freeze even in Winter and if this is true you may be able to turn paper making into winter handwork that would be a very appealing Prospect th
e planon company will provide more information on how the paper profits are to be distributed since shipping costs will presumably be involved I imagine your workshops will not make exactly the same amount as mine odly I believe the plon company should have already arrived at the sales room please summon Beno for me the planon company was in another room preparing for the upcoming business discussion and after a brief wait Beno arrived alongside a young man whom I didn't quite recognize blessed
be the vibrant summer rays of light and sha the god of fire who guided us toward this serendipitous meeting I am Beno of the plon company it is an honor to meet you may the plant and Company be blessed by light and Shu the god of fire jiler responded spawning the lights of a blessing which floated to both Beno and His companion with the greetings done I explained to Beno why I had summoned him there wasn't a trace of panic in his expression since I had told him ahead of time that he was very lik
ely going to be called in during my meeting with jiler even I've grown a little by now Beno I was discussing the paper research with jiler when will the planting company be ready to depart as soon as you wish lady rose mine we have prepared both the tools and the men we need Beno replied I praised the speed and quality of their work before looking over at jiler lady rosemine if we need only open the doors of our buildings for them then we are ready for you at any time but may I ask how long they
expect a visit the priests will need the building bus when they arrive for the Harvest Festival and there is much more we will need to prepare if your Merchants intend to stay over the winter they are due to stay until 's Harvest Festival I shall visit and perform the ceremony myself using the opportunity to hear the results of their research and bring the planting company back along with a workshop workers this approach would preclude any significant problems and by breaking my pattern of mere
ly performing ceremonies in a central district I could make my alliance with iler even clearer Ferdinand please take care to schedule me for iller during the Harvest Festival I shall make it so Ferdinand said with a nod voicing no objections we will depart as soon as my workshop is prepared Bridget can inform you of the precise dates by ordinance when the time comes understood I will await your arrival jiler replied and with that Beno asked for permission to speak Lord Ferdinand lady Ros m jibar
may I introduce a plant and Company Merchant who will be heading to iler you may his name is Damian he is the grandson of Gustav Guild Master of the Aaron Fest Merchants Guild it is my understanding that he met lady rosemine once several years ago he announced Damen who was standing behind him smoothly crossed his arms and knelt he had lighted chestnut colored hair and Amber eyes and was about as tall as Beno the fact that he was remaining calm in the presence of so many Nobles despite looking
as though he had just come of age a few years ago showed that he was from a rich and Powerful family his introduction erased all possible doubt that he was freda's older brother but I couldn't unsee him as a roughly 10-year-old kid he hadn't been this tall back then nor was he an adult I did meet him once while in the care of Gustav and Freda but he looks quite different from what I remember yes he went through a growth spurt that changed his appearance entirely in the span of a single year Veno
explained with the introduction finished I took out my diic to read out the important details for our stay in return for instructions on how to make plant paper we entrust the preparation of meals to iler we shall instruct one greay priest to help with the cooking each day would you care to discuss with Beno the specifics of the plant paper sales and distribution of profit once work in iller has begun from there the conversation proceeded mainly between iler and the planon company I mediated an
d occasionally proposed amendments to ensure that each side received a fair amount and beno's Merchant perspective was understood in full Ros mine it is almost fifth Bell you must depart for the sales room Ferdinand warned having probably looked at something to determine the time Beno and Damen promptly exited the room after which I said my farewells to jiler his verbose statements could be summarized as do take care of my little sister now that she's the center of attention when I headed to the
sales room I found that many Merchants were there already I didn't recognize any of them except Beno and Mark who were walking around and giving instructions the others were probably the leang sent from other stores they all moved and spoke with well-trained Grace I think Lots might need a little more training in places like this to reach their level preparations for business had mostly been completed and products were lined up on each table there were the books on the seven primary Gods the on
es on their subordinates representing the different seasons a selection of the night short stories not yet bound into a single collection and the sheet music for six unique songs all thanks to the hard work of those in the orphanage and H Workshop we were also selling Cara playing cards and reverse SE sets that had been made as winter hand work lady rose mine Beno said upon seeing me he knelled and and the other Merchants quickly followed suit no need for any greetings given that we just saw one
another how are the preparations going the customers will be arriving soon we are almost ready Do You observe anything that is lacking he asked meanwhile the merchants swiftly stood up to finish the last of their work they moved smoothly and the final touches were steadily completed before my eyes Beno have you prepared what we discussed earlier I asked shooting a meaningful glance his way he grinned and nodded of course business would begin at fifth Bell but Nobles began arriving a little earl
ier than that to get greetings out of the way I was of course forced to oblige lady rosemine thank you ever so much for granting my request I have yearned for books of each season for so long now one Noble child said I had announced this book sale ahead of time in the winter playroom so students and their parents were rushing to buy picture books on the subordinate gods of each season in any case their greeting wased over me and I instead Ed the opportunity to recommend my products according to
my guard night reading these picture books will make third-year courses significantly easier I wish you luck in your studies the girl hugging the picture books on the subordinate Gods to her chest pointed at another product with a silhouette of a man playing the har Peele on the cover what is this might I ask that is har peel sheet music I replied those with a woman on the cover are practiced songs for children arranged by my personal musician while those showing a man are songs debuted by Ferdi
nand during his concert I believe those who attended will find those songs in particular quite nostalgic the songs written by Rosen were Arrangements of school anthems I had sung and played for her printing for them was all already complete by the time I returned to the temple following the arch Duke conference oh my you wrote the songs yourself lady Ros mine I would not go that far no I simply humed songs for Ferdinand and my musician to arrange that is still quite impressive the girl replied s
electing a fairly difficult piece from the selection of children's practice songs to buy a medable or perhaps a l Noble Woman Soon came over her young son eagerly pulling her hand he just wants playing cards ever so much I have heard great things about them during tea parties so I believe I shall be buying a set now she had apparently bought some car last winter to help her son learn to read and now he was dying to have a set of playing cards too they help one learn math and since Victory is rew
arded with sweets everyone is desperate to improve perhaps with these you will win next winter I said to the boy I study as hard as I can and get the sweets for sure he replied with a happy smile victoriously holding up the playing cards next came a noble on the Fairly older side Oho so these are all printed he asked while peering down at the cover art of each book with great interest indeed these are printed Goods the products of an industry that is soon to become a central pillar of airon Fest
you may pick them up and look inside if you would like unlike during our sale at the winter playroom we weren't prioritizing children this time so both Nobles interested in printing and those attempting to form connections with me were in attendance the older nobleman flipped through the pages of one book curious about what printing was and ultimately bought the text Heavy night stories oh my this is the sheet music for the songs Lord Ferdinand played at his concert consider them sold and you w
ouldn't happen to have any more illustrations like those you sold back then would you another young lady asked in a hushed whisper unfortunately I do not I responded clearly before gesturing with a smile for Beno to bring me what we had discussed earlier this night story is a work of fiction any similarity to actual persons living or dead or actual events is purely coincidental while these may look familiar I can assure you they are not who you think they are Mark handed me a file made from thin
wooden boards which I opened in front of the young woman Inside were the illustrations for the night stories since you could only see the covers when browsing the lined up books I had made this collection of selected art it very helpfully allowed customers to pick which story to buy based on the illustrations they like the most since beneath each one was the title of whatever tale it was based on I had considered putting them up on the wall like posters or making stands to hold up the illustrat
ion behind the books but I was afraid that Ferdinand would notice and forbid their sale entirely so I was keeping it somewhat secreted for now lady Ros mine might I purchase this collection of illustrations it is unfortunately not for sale but the stories certainly are after staring at the illustrations to her heart's content her eyes positively sparkling as she examined the pictures the young woman bought one of the night stories once the transaction was complete I handed the file straight back
to Mark the young woman must have immediately gone off and told all her friends about it as we were soon struck by a wave of young women clamoring to buy copies themselves they all wanted to see the file too hat good good this is what I like to see by the time the book sale came to an end we had sold a ton with Ferdinand sheet music ultimately being our best seller more noble wives and young women than I ected had wanted the songs particularly since they had only ever been performed once during
the concert and were Originals that couldn't be heard anywhere else some wanted to practice them on their harsh peel while reminiscing about the concert While others wanted to listen to their personal musicians play them a few men had even purchased the sheet music hoping the songs would help them Court women which was pretty funny to see the night stories sold better with women than men just as I expected the most popular one was the tale where the Knight defeated a faist and offered up its fa
ce tone to the princess his sweet smile as he proposed to her had apparently stolen the heart of all the women who read it while the night may have been modeled on Ferdinand the wifer had turned him into an entirely different person Ferdinand never gave sweet considerate Smiles like that he gave scary venomous ones it truly is a shame that you cannot sell the illustrations on their own elvirus said with a Melancholy sigh after having bought every single night store story I share your pain since
they sell better than anything else we have available but Ferdinand was quite clear when he forbade me from printing them but the world yearns for them is there nothing that can be done she asked glancing my way but the matter was out of my hands out of my hands I shot my head up unfortunately mother there is nothing I can do nothing I can do I repeated placing deliberate emphasis on my words elvir gasped her eyes beginning to Sparkle as she placed a hand on her cheek in sudden realization oh my
of course indeed indeed there is simply nothing that you can do unfortunately so as much as it pains me my hands are tied it seemed that my intentions were adequately conveyed I smiled brightly and Alvar smiled back in turn rose mine it would be right of me to say that OB Baron Fest himself wishes for printing to be spread yes of course mother he wishes to spend the coming decade or two spreading it across the entirety of Aaron Fest as an important industry then I shall ask my older brother jib
Halen zel if he would be so kind as to help his beloved niece with her work will you assist me in discussing matters with him this winter absolutely it was the of the arch dukee that printing be spread throughout the duy and he would have no quams with more Nobles getting involved with the establishment of additional workshops and were those new workshops to theoretically begin printing illustrations of Ferdinand well that didn't have anything to do with me Alvar and I exchanged conspiratorial
grins her eyes shining as she began plotting out her next moves starting with finding her own illustrator post haste heading to iller with a sales day having ended prosperously I made my way back to the temple while thinking of more ways to stealthily assist alvarro with her scheme upon my return I immediately needed to get to work preparing the squad for their trip to iler I summoned Luts and Gil to the hidden room in my orphanage director's Chambers asking them to select which gray priests wou
ld accompany them and prepare the daily Necessities they would need Gil be careful when choosing clothes okay you'll need outfits for both Summer and Autumn I think it will be fairly cold when I come to get you during the Harvest Festival understood Lutz please have the gilberta company prepare several sets of clothes for the great priests to wear while going out in iller they don't have to be very expensive but they need something for when they are not working in the workshop unlike in the temp
le I don't think they'll be able to wear loose clothing there all right I'll have that sorted once we've picked who's coming with us as I watch them both right things down on their dicts I rack my brain for what else they might need definitely don't forget table wear I can't imagine they'll have enough for this many people and since the great priests have never eaten without Cutlery it would no doubt be a major issue to not have any Lutz was used to grabbing food with his hands and sharing Cutle
ry in lower City eateries but greay priests were raised to serve Nobles and actually receive relatively fancy upbringings as a result they would probably freeze up from cultural shock and Ure just as H orphans had struggled to adjust a life in a temple I'll ask Master Beno or Damian to get the silverware and all that I know we'll be staying in iller until the Harvest Festival but when is that exactly do probably after I gather My Autumn ingredient we'll be doing that on the night of shits Arya w
hen the moon turns purple so sometime after then Lut had consoled me when I was all weepy about my failure last year he must have remembered that as he started scratching the back of his head awkwardly ER well don't mess up this time ngh it'll be fine this year Ferdinand is coming with us Ferdinand had mentioned that he planned to borrow carat commander of the knight's order from Sylvester for this year's Knight of shutz Arya with both him and art thoroughly planning around the rush of Fabs we h
ad encountered last year it was hard to imagine that anything would go too wrong but before that we need to gather my summer ingredient anyway this is a report from the planting company Lut said Damen is going to be visiting your workshop for a bit he can't really negotiate with jiler if he doesn't know how to make paper that's fine so long as Beno gave his permission for it just remember that like the Craftsman he can only go to the workshop be sure to very firmly tell Damian that he shouldn't
want into the Nobles section of the temple who do you think he is another youu normal people don't wander into Noble territory lot shot back his eyes narrowed into a glare Damian was the guild Master's grandson doing business with nobles was like breathing to him so he knew exactly what he should and shouldn't do around them even if the work he was doing here was largely for the planting company's benefit oh right The Guild Master said that he wanted to meet with you before every one leaves for
iller think you can make time for that I don't mind him coming to see everyone off when we leave but scheduling any time before then won't be easy there's a lot I need to do before going to iller plus I feel like he'll probably try to load some work onto me even though I'm already busy I kind of don't want to see him while I was now of a higher status than a Guild Master his pushiness really left an impression on me but as I thought about how wory I still was about him Lut shook his head in exas
peration nah nah nah it's you Nobles who pushed way too much work onto people not him n g sorry for giving you all so much to do and that things keep getting accelerated anyway that's fine Luts continued I'll tell the Guild Master that he can come to see us off Lutz and Gil selected the four Great priests to join them in iller then brought the paper making tools they would need to the workshop Daman was going to be visiting them as well now but since I rarely went there myself we never saw one a
nother back in the high Bishop's Chambers Bridget sent an ordinance to iler seeming a little elated to be conversing with her family and we settled on a date for our departure and so came the morning we were due to leave all the stuff we needed to bring was piled onto the ivory Stone Pavement in the Temple's Back Garden from the lower City side it was close to the workshop and sizable enough that I would be able to take out my high Beast good morning lady rosemine good morning is everyone ready
I asked looking around at the great priests and pl and Company workers helping to move everything in preparation among the crowd I saw that Freda and the Guild Master had already arrived take a step back if you would I am taking taking out my high Beast I continued before forming lesie into a coach sized pandabus to contain all the luggage I could see Beno immediately ordered the workers to begin loading things into alessie while Freda looked on in a days lady Ros mine what in the world is that
my high Beast we'll be using it to travel to iller cute isn't it Freda looked between lesie and me several times then tilted her head High Beast this looks very different from any High Beast I know I was used to getting weird looks by now what surprised me more was that Freda seemed familiar with high beasts at all you didn't really see them outside the Noble's quarter that often while everyone else was getting ready Freda and I spoke about how the Italian restaurant was holding up and she gave
me her Outsider perspective on the planting company she had heard about the book's sale in the castle from Daman as well I heard that you the one who referred Damian to the planting company Freda indeed I was the printing industry began with you lady Ros mine and is being spread with the arch Duke's full support is it not an obvious decision to participate in something with such guaranteed success please work my older brother to the Bone he will surely prove useful to you I faltered a little at
Freda being as direct and true to her Merchant senses as always at which Point Damien slid in between us Freda you may have lady rosine's permission to do so but I suggest you not speak so casually with her she is not the same as she was prior to her baptism a do forgive me I will take more care going forward Daman must have noticed that I was hesitating somewhat he pulled us apart while warning frea that she wasn't acting appropriately toward the archduke's adopted daughter get inside once the
loading is done Beno called out everyone who's written in this thing before teach those who haven't how to use the seat belts the group of people going to iller was as follows Beno Lutz and Damien from the planting company Fran Gil Monica and Hugo from my attendance and Personnel DL and Bridget from my guard Knights and finally four great priests from the orphanage Bridget climbed into the front passenger seat looking happy to be returning home for the first time in a while whereas DL who would
be leading the group on his high Beast looked rather tense he was probably planning to leave as good of an impression on her family as possible which was heartwarming to be sure but I thought it best that he relax rather than get so tense that he might mess up when the time came off we go then I said with a wave before flying Lessie up into the air catching a glimpse of Freda and the Guild Master dropping their jaws as they witnessed the sight my pandabus flew through the sky taking only a short
break for lunch along the way iler was covered with forests and mountains just as I had heard from Bridget and learned during my geography lessons Rivers flowed from the mountains and into lakes dotted with various houses along the way I eventually saw a broad Ivory mansion in the middle of what was the largest settlement so far that was 's summer Mansion several villagers were looking up at the sky and waving to us as though they had been awaiting our arrival are they perhap perhaps calling fo
r You Bridget do they all are like family to me she replied looking down at iler with a nostalgic smile unlike in Aaron Fest walls didn't separate the nobles's mansion from where the commoners lived and the fact that they were waving and calling out to Bridget really showed how close commoners and Nobles were here I understand this may be unsettling to you lady rosemine we e RM iler is quite different from Aaron Fest so you may think the commoners are acting out of place but it is not done out o
f malice she explained worried about the citizens earning my dis favor her concerns were likely based on what she knew about the situation in Hass but I shook my head you don't need to worry while I'm sure Ferdinand would be quite displeased with this I was raised in a temple often visiting the orphanage and sneaking out into the lower City to meet merchants and Craftsmen commoner being close to Nobles does not offend me me whatsoever especially when they all so clearly admire you Bridget and I
continued in a quiet voice did I not eat normally with commoners during H Harvest Festival Bridget blinked several times then broke into a cheerful grin it was a genuine smile something that was rare to see from her since she normally kept to herself maintaining a strict expression and speaking very few words honestly she looks so cute right now that I wanted to brag to Dil about it once we had all climbed out of lesie a dozen or so commoners gathered around us according to Bridget they were the
commoners who work not only in the forest and Fields but as servants in the summer Mansion as well welcome home lady Bridget thank you for coming lady Ros mine the commoners all had warm looks in their eyes overflowing with love and respect for Bridget she greeted them with an equally warm smile on her face that I almost never saw while she was was on duty I'm finally back everyone this is my mistress lady rosemine the archduke's adopted daughter take care to pay her the proper respect she said
ah so you're serving a member of the archducal family we need to be careful then an older man said at which point the other villagers began chiming in one after another well well seems like our tomboy has grown into one fine lady maybe she's found a lover she always spent more time running around the mountains with a knife than learning etiquette but now she's such a proper woman they were all talking about Bridget's past naturally she hurly intervened to stop them that's enough say the talking
for later and take us where we need to go my brother is waiting to see Lady rose mine right right shall we go the cackling villagers guided us to the building separate from the main mansion and opened the door for us I could feel those in our party who were only familiar with common Noble relations back in Aaron fast stiffen up and pale Unsure how to react to all this ERM lady rose mine Fran began making the same face he always did when he was getting ready to protest about something I waved my
hand dismissively Fran the culture here is different from an Aaron Fest so long as there is no danger there is no need for us to say anything I ask that you accept the way things are and understand that not everywhere is the same but if you feel particularly overwhelmed express your discontent first to jiler or Bridget not the commoners themselves damaging our relationship with them now will cause problems for the pl and Company and the great priests who are to be working around them benol obse
rving that I took no issue with the behavior of the commoners and usus wouldn't be raising a fuss started or ordering his merchants and the great priests to carry our stuff out of my pandabus we would have nowhere to sleep if they didn't prepare the rooms in time Bridget would be staying at the summer Mansion of course and since Dil and I were also Nobles we had rooms prepared there as well Monica would be staying with me and Fran with dble Gil who would be working with a planting company on thi
s trip and Hugo couldn't enter my Chambers since they were both men and as such they would be sleeping in a detached building once all the luggage had been taken out I put away Lessie and followed Bridget into the iler Mansion unlike in Aaron Fest the Furnishings inside were not made by artist Craftsmen of the highest caliber competing to make the fanciest product possible but were rather simple and rustic Goods with a comforting handmade feel to them lady Ros mine welcome to iler I thank you ev
er so much for your invitation jiler jiler was waiting for us with his family in a parlor for visitors his wife their kids and Bridget's mother were all there may I pray for a blessing and appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the vibrant summer rays of light and sha the god of fire you may I was subsequently introduced to the family jil's wife and Bridget's mother both offered me their greetings after which jiler gestured to the prepared tea would you care for some tea while th
e attendants are preparing your room we have much to discuss Bridget was serving as my guard Knight and thus couldn't greet her family which jiler was treating as a matter of course but the rest of the family were clearly itching to speak to her I looked between Bridget and the others before eventually speaking up Bridget I entrust a duty of guarding me to dble you may take some time off until it is time for us to leave she looked at me in disbelief then shook her head I must continue Contin ser
ving as your guard I appreciate having the company of someone as familiar with iler as you are but I have many questions that I would like to ask you as you are you cannot participate in this discussion Am I Wrong a guard Knight who prioritized anything over protecting their charge would usually be seen as having abandoned their Duty as one would expect Bridget in all her diligence hardly ever spoke while on a job furthermore you are finally home again after after such a long time I want to give
your family time to speak with you as well Bridget this is an order get changed and have tea with us dot as you wish she conceited kneeling down with a defeated smile and Crossing her arms in front of her chest she then exited the room to get changed as ordered seeing this jiler frowned a little in confusion you certainly are a strange one lady Ros mine I must say that you are entirely unlike any other Arch Noble I know as you are aware jbar unlike most normal Arch Nobles I was raised in the te
mple while there I conversed with orphans and met with the likes of merchants and Craftsmen in the lower City the culture here suits me much more than that of the capital I replied the air and scenery here were nice and the town's folk came off as genuinely kind-hearted people I felt as calm as I did while in the lower City which couldn't be said for the castle with its many scheming inhabitants do though the book room honestly does make up for most of that my apologies for the wait Bridget said
having quickly finished getting changed we all drank tea together and discussed our plans for the days to come eventually Monica came in to tell me that my room had been prepared lady rose mine shall we get you changed indeed if you'll excuse me everyone one Bridget could probably talk with her family more directly once I was gone I exited the Parlor and closed the door behind me immediately hearing an enthusiastic welcome home Bridget as I started walking away the familial love and their voice
s really made me want to go home myself to my home in the lower City I changed out of my outfit for visiting Nobles and into one for walking around a farming town at which point Fran and Gil came to see me according to them dl's room was also ready and the others had largely finished preparing the detached building everyone has a place to sleep tonight for now we are identifying where by the river the workshop shall be constructed and setting up our tools the pl and Company wishes to speak with
jiler about the plant paper Guild as soon as possible they would like for you to be present as a mediator to ensure both sides can reach a fair deal we knew from our earlier discussion in a castle that since people primarily just Bartered within iller their revenue would be better secured if we established a guild here that would help them to sell the paper they made at the proper market price it would probably be wise to arrange the talks soon given that meetings with Nobles always took forever
to schedule so I wrote a swift request for one which I had Fran deliver meanwhile I told Gil the plans for tomorrow that we had ironed out over te moments ago tomorrow a knowledgeable member of the community will guide us around the area I would like to gather any kind of wood that seems good for making paper so prepare baskets and knives alongside clothes for traveling through a forest As You Wish furthermore it seems that tonight's dinner will be local meat and vegetables grilled on iron grid
dles they really are going all out to welcome us please tell Hugo to assist them in preparing the food as I listed out everything that was important for them to know Fran returned with clear worry on his face is something the matter Fran do jiler has said that he would like to speak with you now when dealing with Aon Fest Nobles one needed to send letters and arrange meetings several days ahead of time out of consideration for them having any existing plans but it seemed that jiler had said ther
e was no need to wait so long when we both already knew that our schedules were free that was fine with me since it saved us both time and effort but Fran was so used in Noble Society in a city that he simply wasn't comfortable with how this Backcountry Province did things Fran there is no need to think so deeply about this Beno can spend too long away from his store So the faster he finishes his business here the better that may be true but I had Gil go to fetch Beno then went to jer's office w
ith Fran despite his persistent frown Beno and Damen were both surprised at how quickly the meeting had been arranged but they were so used to to Nobles rushing things at their own convenience that they weren't at all upset jiler we thank you for your time Beno spoke with jiler as a representative of the plant paper Guild while I simply sat back and watched as a mediator Damian would be staying in iller as a representative of the plon company and thus wanted to see the exact wording of the signe
d contract himself we had already finished ironing out most of the details back in a castle so the contract was written up and signed in no time il's Bridget dinner was a massive barbecue alongside the local commoners prepared on several large metal griddles that each grilled a bunch of food at once I hope everything suits your taste Monica said while serving me a dish these vegetables are unlike what I am used to perhaps due to this province having a different climate than Aaron Fest but the in
gredients are all fresh and new to me so I am sure they will taste more than delicious even just cooked with salt I replied taking a bite of some something that was apparently called a red such it looked similar to a plum but quite coincidentally tasted just like a zucchini I looked around while I chewed there were proper seats for Nobles but everyone else was sitting all over the place on solid knocked over logs or sizable rocks which made it hard to find anyone in particular I had no idea wher
e the gray priests or the plant and Company were do eventually I found the gray priests Frozen in with their plates from the temple in hand so used to eating based on status and dividing food equally that they had no idea what to do the worry was clear on their faces as they struggled to determine whether it was okay for them to begin and if so how much they were actually permitted to eat load some food onto those plates I indeed some locals seemed to notice their hesitancy and called out words
of encouragement but the priests were much too used to food being distributed equally among them they had never gotten to Dish up their own meals before so the cautious frowns on their faces didn't ease in the slightest Monica would you kindly call Luts for me but I must continue serving your food lady Ros mine I have plenty before me at the moment you need only hurry as you wish she promptly hurried off and found Lut who had planted himself in front of a griddle and was devouring as much meat a
nd as many vegetables as he could when she came back with him he looked a little unhappy to have been ripped away from all the food lady Ros mine you called for me my apologies but could you teach Gil and the other great priests how to eat here they have only ever been served food at the orphanage and it seems they are struggling to figure things out you serious ERM excuse me your wish is my command Lutz had spent his childhood having to constantly fight his brothers for food so the idea of not
just grabbing whatever was in front of you and okay to eat was simply incomprehensible to him still he knew how strange Temple culture was so after an exasperated headshake he walked over to where the great priests were still frozen come on the food won't last forever he said to Gil piling meat and vegetables from the metal griddles onto his plate you just got to grab what you want and eat it that's how it works lady rosemine herself wants you all to participate Gil looked at his now full plate
then at me then at everyone around him only then did he finally start eating the great priests observed this and put the same amount of the same things onto their plates before beginning to eat as well mm will the great priests really be able to survive here now I'm worried that they won't last until the Harvest Festival that was when I noticed that neither nor Fran who was serving Dil had eaten anything themselves since the people here didn't take turns to eat based on status they would have no
dinner at all unless they joined in Fran Monica I ask that you eat with us as well I am afraid you will get nothing otherwise there are no Divine gifts here like there are in a temple but we must serve your food Fran replied I looked around and saw that both jiler and his family were taking their plates to the commoners in charge of cooking and getting their food directly from them I can get my own food too I began absolutely not Fran and Monica responded in unison rejecting me on the spot I sl
umped my shoulders Monica at the very least ask Hugo to set some food aside for the both of you but who will serve you in the meantime she asked with a sincere look I was at a loss for words to her serving me was genuinely more important than eating while I found her dedication heartwarming and cute I wanted her to care about herself too I will inform him Bridget said standing up and walking over to the cooks with her empty plate she chatted with the locals who called out to her along the way dr
ank the beer she was offered and laughed with everyone she came across she eventually reached Hugo who was at the griddle cooking load after load of meat and vegetables with the locals at which point she passed on my instructions while there I also saw her pile more food onto her plate this must be the real Dame Bridget Fran murmured with a stunned expression having been caught entirely off guard by how differently she was acting she is with her own family here after all I think Bridget is far m
ore wonderful when she is smiling and so at ease though if this were Aaron Fest she would certainly be called unladylike I used before turning to look at d who was just as Frozen in shock as Fran dul you were raised in a Noble's quarter of Aon Fest what do you think about Bridget right now are you disillusioned with her now that she is acting nothing like a noble I'm H surprised to see her acting so unlike her normal self but e um I think she's very pretty like this he replied quietly scratching
his cheek and averting his eyes I see I shall be sure to tell her that please don't my Goodwill was rejected instantly but I graciously complied with dl's request after all I didn't enjoy bullying him that much very well then I shall keep it a secret for you thank you he replied with a sigh of relief I couldn't help but smile though he didn't even notice the fact that I was far from the only one in earshot I don't have to say anything anything to Bridget because I'm certain her grinning family
will take it upon themselves to tell her the next day the supposedly wisest old man among the locals walked with us to the mountains more full of energy than one might expect from someone his age I was in my high Beast wearing my gathering outfit with my magic knife at hand fully equipped to harvest whatever I needed DL and Bridget were wearing light armor but their gear was lighter than usual to make walking up hills and such easier it's been too long since I've hiked through the mountains Brid
get said with visible excitement she was off duty again today but had decided to travel with us nonetheless having apparently hiked up mountains all the time before entering the night dorms as an apprentice Beno was staying behind at the detached building to do some pressing work with Damen helping him everyone else was accompanying us with Lutz Gil and the great priest shouldering baskets and wielding knives like they always did when gathering in the forest HRM HRM y be looking for tall trees w
ith thin soft fibers like vren wood then that's right and the younger the tree is the better does anything come to mind Bridget was in the lead as we went up the mountain trail with dul and toe the old man and I were walking side by side behind them followed by Lutz and Gil and finally the great priests you got your Rin your Sky Ras if you don't mind fit plants there are NBS and eons around these parts too I agree with his assessment Bridget said from the front we should spend a day cutting down
NBS and Fons the old man went on to tell us all about the trees that didn't exist back in Aaron Fest there were a ton of names that I didn't recognize but there were apparently four different kinds that immediately came to mind as being particularly young and soft Lut and Gil desperately rode them down and the ways to identify them NBS and eons are F plants that thrive in this season so we should encounter several of them today even the local commoners can cut them down without much issue if th
ey know how Bridget said with a contented hum explaining to the great priests which fruits and mushrooms were edible which were poisonous and so on we walked along while Gathering edible food like always when the old man suddenly stopped in place he narrowed his eyes glancing to the there me lady one of them NES you want that tree is walking the old man was pointing toward a KN high tree that was literally walking across the ground its roots mve like feet to push it steadily forward slow enough
that I could catch up to it myself but the fact that it was moving at all was bizarre if NBS could walk on their own wouldn't that make them animals not plants it's looking for a healthy nutrition filled tree upon finding one it will wrap its roots around it and plant its seeds into its base these parasitic seeds suck out the trees nutrition then peel away its dead bark before walking a new they are parasite trees Bridget explained as she firmly grabbed one of the NBS chopping its moving Roots o
ff with a knife and tossing them into a bag as they continued to wriggle since these roots absorb all the nutrition be sure to retrieve them when cutting down NBS she told the Great priests who all nodded in response me lady there's a big dead tree over there I'm guessing there's a lot more NBS around here can you get M for me certainly you sit and rest Bridget replied with a bright smile before running off with her knife in hand I'll join too they walk so slowly that even I can cut them let's s
ee who can gather the most wood lady rosemine dul exclaimed no doubt infected by my enthusiasm Luts and Gil ran off with her knives as well I raced forward and lesie Dil following behind us with a baffled look on his face there's one despite them being so short the fact that NBS walked about meant they easily stood Out Among the trees I climbed out of my pandabus and grabbed one with both hands Bridget could manage this with a single hand but that was too much for me and to make matters worse it
seemed there was some knack to grabbing them that I didn't know the Nan I had caught was flailing its roots so aggressively that I couldn't keep it in place at all Eep Eep I cried dropping it before I could even grab my knife no sooner had it touched the ground than DL quickly grabbed it himself DL no I found that one I complained glaring at him as though my prey had been stolen he sighed it's yours I was intending to hold it still for you while you remove its roots perfect I poured Mana into m
y magic knife then cut off the nb's roots and stuck them in my bag much like with Bridget they continued to squirm about even after being severed yay I did it too DL there's another one over there letun go oh but please use your high bees to move with the help of my trusty guard Knight I was able to cut up three NBS at which point I heard a weird sing song voice it wasn't the beautiful singing of a siren luring a ship to its demise but rather a throaty screaming reminiscent of extreme rock and r
oll was someone really practicing here of all places what is that I asked I'm not sure let's not get close to things we don't understand and instead ask our guide what's going on but the singing was getting louder and louder I needed to know what it was I had to go and find out and now that it was louder I could tell that it wasn't just one singing voice there were several DL can we just take a little Peak absolutely not who knows what could happen he responded with a glare and so having no othe
r choice I returned to where the old man was at his feet was a small Mountain of about 10 NBS that Bridget had harvested I told her about the singing We had heard while she chugged water from a flask after which she instantly nodded in recognition those are eons they are loud and annoying but pose no real threat it seemed that they sang fairly quietly when on their own but when several were within singing distance of one another they grew louder and louder as if they were competing what in the w
orld though if you heard that many voices we must must hurry and harvest them as quickly as we can Bridget continued they get very loud we waited in place for the great priests to gather together so that Bridget could teach them what to do all at once but as we did the singing became more and more audible the screams were quickly getting louder annoying ain't it me lady the old man chortled together we all headed toward the source of the noise I was the only one riding in a high beast but I was
just glad that I could keep up with people for once without being left behind my pandabus truly is something else as we continued the singing was soon accompanied by a rustling from among the trees but there wasn't much wine blowing at all when we eventually arrived the screams were so deafening that I surely would have been covering my ears had I not been driving wow it sure is enthusiastic the rustling hadn't been caused by the wind after all as singing Fon was fervently swinging its branches
about in a headbanging motion everyone watched the bobbing Tree in a days hot all of a sudden it let out a scream so loud that I yeled and covered my ears I could see the gray priests doing the same out of the corner of my eye an impossibly loud noise was echoing out of the Apparently Hollow hole in a tree Center I thought it had been singing a song due to how Rhythm Michel itself sounded from a distance but as it turned out this was purely coincidental the sound it was making lack any Cadence w
hatsoever an instant later another Fon reacted to the loud screaming and started bobbing even more intensely oh oh oh oh oh oh there must have been a lot of Fons growing in the area as we could hear various cries of wo W all over the place as each one asserted its presence to describe it as annoying would be an understatement the sound pollution was so bad that it was actually disruptive to life calling eon's harmless fit plants was absolutely a mistake if you ask me lady Ros mine will this one
make for good paper Bridget asked having inched toward me I looked up at the Fon which was even bigger than her and shook my head I think the tall ones have grown too large to be used for paper the small ones over there might be good though then we shall aim for the face tones in the larger eons DL you take care of the ones over there I can handle these they both whipped out their staps and morphed them into the halber likee spear axed things I had seen before though they weren't black this time
due to not having the god of darkness' blessing cast on them oh God of War angriff of the God of Fire Light and shs exalted 12 I began I pray that you grant Bridget and dble your divine protection with that blue light Shone out of my ring and flew up into the air subsequently raining down onto their heads DL tightened his grip on his Halbert and glared at the Fons while Bridget scanned the area with her amethyst eyes priests stand back very few people were afforded the opportunity to watch Knig
hts In Action and the shock waves of Mano were a big reason for this it was exceedingly dangerous for those without Mana to be anywhere near Knights engaged in combat I will pretend everyone with a windshield you may fight without worrying about us thank you lady Ros mine the two of them nodded at which point I promptly told Gil and Lutz to gather everyone around me oh goddess of wind shits Arya protector of all oh 12 goddesses who serve by her side please hear my prayer and lend me your Divine
strength grant me your Shield of wind so that I might blow away those who mean to cause harm a metallic clink resounded and we were soon enveloped in an emol Dome the heck is this so this is scoot sar's Shield I had heard about it from Fran but this is my first time seeing it myself the old man fell backward onto the ground incapable of comprehending what had just happened Lut looked up in much more contained surprise while Gil excitedly clenched his fists with sparkling eyes a few moments later
I noticed a couple of the Great priests helping the old man back to his feet DL the face tone is located inside the hole making the noise Bridget yelled no doubt due to her previous experience hunting Fons she was the first one to act letting out a loud cry as she swung her halard with considerable force her attack struck the largest one and a resounding boom rang out as it promptly exploded raising a sizable cloud of dust and sending fragments of bark flying every which way they weren't able t
o break through the shield but everyone let out shrieks and reflexively covered their heads dul readied his halber next matching Bridget's determination as he dashed toward a large jeffon that continued to sway about and scream he slammed his weapon against it with an impassioned battlecry of his own but perhaps due to him having less Mana than Bridget that wasn't enough to make it explode instead his attack only left a deep gash in its trunk n g he grunted glaring at the gash with anguished bef
ore swinging his Halbert again then again his third attack seemed to finally expose the face tone which he quickly stabbed with the tip of his weapon and yanked out in one clean move the Fon continued to scream as it wielded away normally even the large eons are cut down by Lumberjacks using normal axes but it would have taken much too long to gather them today and with d will here it was faster to Simply take them down using Mana Bridget said going on to explain that The Lumberjacks would appar
ently stuff their ears to block out the singing before rushing in it should be easy for any of you to cut down the smaller ones follow me at that she headed off to harvest more eons with Lutz Gil and the other great priests I stayed behind with the old man who was now sitting down to let his hips recover and DL who was serving as my guard I'm just not getting stronger my Mona capacity is growing by the day but I'm just pathetic DL muttered looking down at the small face tone he had just harveste
d I tilted my head you want to boost your attack power DL of course I do I assumed you were simply holding back to preserve more of your Mana I didn't realize you weren't doing it on purpose I said he merely furrowed his brow and confusion so I went ahead and explained what I meant you used as much Mana in those attacks as you usually do more mono won't make you stronger if you don't use it right dot wait what DL blinked in Surprise having apparently not expected that explanation he really hadn'
t noticed what he was doing at all I placed a hand on my cheek then gave him a word problem consider the following DL has 30 Mana he uses five MAA per attack which allows him to make six attacks in total lately he's increased his capacity to 35 Mana allowing him to now make seven attacks but he just isn't getting stronger and doesn't understand why now what should DL do to boost his attack power DL looked at me his eyes wide in realization before gazing down at the face tone in his hand is it no
t that you are too used to fighting while conserving your Mana in my eyes you seem skilled at using only one to five Mana at a time but you don't know how to use use say 20 to 30 at all if you want to boost your attack power perhaps Begin by learning to use more Mana at once DL was a lay Noble with a pittance of Mana but he always fought alongside people who had far more than him in practice he left the powerful foes to them and instead focused on buying time taking down the small fry and provid
ing support he had developed a deeply ingrained habit of minimizing his money usage so that he could fight for as long as feasibly possible but by having him focus on using more Mana at once his attack power would surely Skyrocket you have my thanks for the advice dul said his mopy expression Vanishing as he put the face tone into his bag his eyes were now briming with determination and I was glad to see he had set his sights on a new goal we got a ton of wood lady rose mine Gil Cried Out waving
to me as he ran back over the baskets that the priests were shouldering were indeed filled with wood these are the degal leaves that Dame Bridget was talking about when you soak them in water they turn the water sticky which might be able to replace the eile fruit Lut said while showing me the contents of his bag there were plenty of other plants that couldn't be found around Aaron Fest in there too I shall be returning to Aaron fest with Beno tomorrow but with this many new materials I believe
you can get started as early as tomorrow right Gil and the others replied with smiles and nods and so we began our descent down the mountain Bridget took the lead alongside the old man the great priests following closely behind as they helped him to stay up then came Gil and Lutz with DL and me guarding the rear good luck I whispered to Lutz from inside my high Beast speaking quietly enough to be drowned out by everyone else's voices he glanced my way with a grin hey you're the one who needs lu
ck here your potion ingredients can only be picked once a year right I won't be able to cheer you up like last time if you mess up again n g I'll be fine as I said Ferdinand is going to be with us I'll do my best so that I can tell you it all went perfectly when I come to get you during the Harvest Festival same I'll I'm going to work hard so that when you come back back I'll have all sorts of new paper waiting for you that night we served Hugo's cooking to jiler and his family then made plans t
o return to Aaron Fest early the next morning joining me on the Journey Back were Beno Fran Monica Hugo and my two guard Knights everyone else was staying behind to work on developing new types of paper lots of towns folk gathered to see us off jiler knelt at the front as their representative and I used this opportunity to speak to him one last time iler has many kinds of trees not present near Aaron Fest if the wood found here can indeed be made into new paper then that paper will no doubt beco
me a valuable export for your Province I ask that you provide my workers with your full support it will be done I then turned to look at Bridget who was standing behind me wearing her dead pan serious night expression Bridget you may say your farewells speaking with one's family is important and once we have departed it will be quite some time before you return brother Mother everyone I'll be back stay strong Bridget and serve lady rosemine well with that the seven of us climbed into Lessie all
those gathered kneeling and crossing their arms before us as we soared up into the air Mount lenberg one day had passed since my return from iller I made my way to Ferdinand Chambers at third Bell to assist him as usual and upon my arrival I spotted eart it seemed that he now had the hang of serving as a guard Knight in a temple but rather than standing in front of the door as my guard Knights did he was being made to help out like everyone else judging by how unfaced the blue priests and attend
ants all were this was already a common sight here Ferdinand should you really be making a heart do paperwork isn't he your only guard Knight you rose mine require a guard beside you at all times especially with the increased activity of priests as of late but I have no such need myself I can make do on my own even in the case of a surprise attack you on the other hand collapse without even needing someone to attack you could the difference between us be any clearer there was nothing I could say
to that I really did collapse on my own so having someone Watch Over Me was crucial My Hope had been that Dil could do scholar work even on days where Bridget was absent but Ferd and quickly shot that idea down justice should be coming later this morning finish your work before then so that we can discuss this season's ingredient Ferd and said right with that I worked my way through the load of math that had built up over my several days of absence Upon returning from ilar Fran had commented wi
th a weak smile that he hadn't expected a simple change in environment to be so exhausting thankfully now that we had returned to the temple it appeared he was beginning to recharge just as Ferdinand said Justice arrived at the temple in no time at all a good deal sooner than fourth Bell his eyes Shone with excitement as he walked up to ferdinand's desk with a skip in his step looking Every Which Way for something of note good morning Lord Ferdinand and welcome back lady rosemine how was iler di
d you perhaps stumble upon anything interesting while you were there he asked sounding rather giddy he then went on to express his excitement about our upcoming lunch having a chance to speak with me and getting to see the workshop for himself I would rather you not make my plans for me I intend to visit the orphanage today not the workshop May I tour the orphanage then I am deeply curious to visit this place blessed enough to have received your compassion from what I remember the orphans can al
l read and write is this true Justice asked with an unfaltering smile he was a noble so he knew full well that my response had been meant as a complete albeit indirect refusal had I continue to follow the social script like a proper Noble woman I would have conceded here and Justice would have invited himself into the orphanage but I didn't want to get stuck changing my plans for him I dropped the euphemisms and this time refused him out right you may tour the workshop and orphanage when Ferdina
nd is available to accompany you but until then you must wait I feel that you are otherwise likely to wander around on your own and cause problems for me oh is there anything there you don't want me seeing he asked intrigued I shot him a firm glare a forceful guy like justice barging into the orphanage to satisfy his curiosity would only make Wilma androphobia worse due to aggressive of blue priests there are gray Shrine maidens in the orphanage who have grown to fear men entirely men are not al
lowed to enter the girls building as a result but I am aware that you are not one to obey such rules I see I see Justice murmured nodding along while looking not at all dissuaded so I could go inside as long as I'm dressed like a woman I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was serious that he was fully prepared to crossdress if doing so would get him into the girls building I shook my head and crossed my arms in the shape of a large x no I hereby forbid you from entering the orphanage a
t all what that's nothing short of cruel he wailed but I had no intention of allowing a weirdo who would dress up like a woman to get into the girls building anywhere near the orphanage who knew what kind of negative influence he might have on a children it just wasn't safe for me to let Justice's curiosity run rampant as the high Bishop and orphanage director I needed to protect the orphans no matter what as I stealed my resolve Ferdinand let out an exaggerated sigh and waved his hand to silenc
e us save this nonsense for later we have more pressing matters to discuss at that he cleared the room of attendance the priests left silently leaving only those who would be participating in my gathering guard Knights included Ferdinand pointed at a southern Mountain on a spread out map our next destination is to be Mount lenberg the summer ingredient shall be at its most monage 5 days from now and for this reason we shall be leaving in 4 days time it seemed that had I not been well enough to p
romptly return from iar ferand had been prepared to come and pick me up Ferdinand what are we gathering this time a Rees F egg Rees Fox are birds said to ease the wrath of light and sha the god of fire an egg from the will be your ingredient wait what if these Reese Fox are able to Comm a God doesn't that make them a holy bird or something and we are stealing their eggs I feel like that must be heretical I mean really I'm used the loud only for Ferdinand to shake his head fear not Reese Fox are
not particularly holy Birds they are simply a species of fa Beast we will also have means of dealing with light and shk Wrath he said then his expression turned quizzical why are you so hesitant about this did you not kill aerm for its face tone in the winter if one considers the Taff risks in the spring and Zanes in the Autumn a mountain of Fabs have already been slain for your ingredients why would a single egg bother you now you have a point I replied the road to my jev was already paved with
Fabi corpses and went thinking about it like that stealing a single egg was hardly something to kick up a fuss about that said if we do not take care to keep the Fabi on Mount lenberg alive while retrieving the ingredient Lena's wrath will burst refraining from killing them will prove to be the most challenging aspect of this season's Gathering what happens exactly when his wrath isn't kept under control ah yes in such a case the mountain will explode with fire that's called an eruption isn't i
t does this mean Mount lenberg is a volcano if so what does killing fists have to do with it erupting re F eggs hatch by absorbing the mono within the mountain ferden and continued a shortage of eggs will consequently lead to an excess of Mana Justice nodded providing his own explanation when too much Mana builds up lighten shof grows irate and begins shooting out fire you can trust us here I previously gathered too many eggs at once and nearly made it happen excuse me I exclaimed I assumed for
a second that I had misheard him but it seemed this wasn't the case Ferdinand rubbed his temples and let out a heavy sigh that was not a pleasant day indeed at the time I truly thought all hope was lost eart added with that both ferdin and andart looked incredibly distant Justice had apparently put them in quite a terrible situ ation he was Top Class when it came to gathering information but in most other areas he was genuinely dangerous in more ways than one now now Justice interjected let's no
t forget that our experience back then is proving useful to us here I do not wish to experience that ever again thus I am being as thorough as possible with our preparations ferden and shot back I could trust that he would use that unpleasant incident to ensure we didn't have a similar problem when Gathering my ingredient I shall leave the preparations to you Ferdinand thank you once again 4 days passed after finishing lunch we immediately prepared to depart for Mount lenberg via High Beast Ferd
inand art DL and Bridget were going to be accompanying me Justice had wanted to come along as well but his hopes were quickly dashed Ferdinand harshly shut him down and used his connection with the Castle's Scholars to push an enormous load of urgent work onto him there is no end to the problems that Justice causes wandering over to whatever interests him and paying no heed to the impact his actions may have he has already caused one such issue on Mount lenberg in the past he is too risky to hav
e with us especially when this is a Race Against Time Ferdinand said bluntly making no attempt to hide his frustration there were no towns near the Gathering Spot this time so time really was of the essence none of us were bringing attendance and the Knights were treating this as seriously as a military March our meals would be composed of field Russians we were to bathe exclusively via the use of cleansing magic and I would be forced back to health with potions if at any point I grew sick the m
ost I could do in terms of getting a decent meal during our trip was ask Ella and Hugo to make a pack lunch for me I consulted Ferdinand on ways to keep the food from going bad on the journey at which point he lent me a small Magic Ice Box it seemed there was already a pack lunch inside and I put mine in alongsid it before storing the ice box in lesie Ferdinand had told me to minimize my luggage so that I could make lesie as small as possible but thanks to him I was having to carry extra regardl
ess do not that it really matters I still find it annoying for some reason though please take care lady rose mine we sh I'll ensure your bed is prepared and Potions are available for your return come back as soon as you can France said before we left making it clear that he expected me to be bedden by the end of all this he was probably right but I was hoping to get through this Gathering session having drank as few potions as possible and so with my worried attendance seeing us off we departed
for Mount lenberg atar took the lead I followed behind with DL and Bridget on either side of me and and Ferdinand stayed at the rear it had been unbearably hot the past 10 days as one would normally expect in the summer it felt as though I was melting beneath the sun's rays and Flying high in the sky on my high Beast only made the heat worse I was the only one who felt that way though as the knights were all wearing magic armor the effectiveness varied a little based on the individuals Mana but
those wearing it could apparently barely feel the heat or cold it seems like it' be so hot inside those full sets of armor that I start to melt just looking at them but they actually negate the heat completely I don't think that's fair at all we raced on and on to the South passing over the central district with its many farms to reach land with more forests and Hills eventually we began seeing more and more Mountains and another short while passed before we saw an especially tall mountain that
stood out even among the others connected to it is that it first and did say Mount lenberg was the tallest mountain of its mountain range a verdant Forest of towering trees stretched out from the base of the mountain perhaps due to previous eruptions this was reduced to only small sturdy trees and grass from about halfway up near the summit there were no traces of plants at all leaving only a bare and Rocky surface thankfully there was no smoke or anything to indicate an eruption coming anytime
soon at Hart's High Beast a wolf Wings began descending toward the ground and so I did the same with lesie when we arrived at the base of the mountain the Summer sun was beginning to set our work begins early tomorrow morning and the Gathering will ideally be performed when the sun is at its brightest as for tonight rose mine we will all be sleeping inside your high Beast enlarge it once you and Bridget have cleansed yourself with magic Ferdinand explained I would not like a repeat of what happe
ned during the Spring his last statement came out exceedingly bitter it seemed he was ashamed of previously having let us girls sleep in the high beast on our own given that it led to us getting kidnapped and thrown into a risky situation he had been unable to do anything about as we discussed our plans for tomorrow Ferdinand and I ate our pack meals while the other three had their rations then once everyone was done Bridget and I climbed into a Le seat to cleanse ourselves now then lady rosemin
e I will perform the cleansing spell Bridget said before whipping out her stap and chanting something under her breath I hadn't been sure when it would take effect which meant I was engulfed by a massive droplet of water before I could even hold my nose hug am I going to drown cleansing magic posed no real danger to anyone since the process only took a few seconds as much as I knew that in the moment I truly thought I was going to die when you couldn't breathe the a few seconds seemed to last fo
rever are you all right lady Ros mine my sincerest apologies n g I'm okay I just didn't know when to hold my breath Bridget hurriedly apologized a look of sheer horror on her face but the water had already vanished and I was completely fine it was a little weird for all the water blocking my nose to have disappeared in an instant but other than that my whole body felt clean and refreshed please do get back on track Bridget we must summon the men when we are done I Haled Bridget's Apologies by re
minding her that we were in a hurry then enlarged lesie so that we could all fit inside once Bridget was done cleansing herself I opened up the door so that the others could carry their things in ah so this is Ros mine's High Beast art muttered to himself he looked around and touched a seat commenting on how soft it was out of surprise I believe sleeping in here should be much better than sleeping outside not only are the seats comfortable but you will have space to stretch your legs so Ferdinan
d isn't my Lessie amazing the word that comes to mind is bizarre why does he have to be so hard-headed why can't he see the glory of my pandabus I silently cursed Ferdinand as he looked around inside with a Grimes even though he appreciated how efficient lesie was he was annoyingly reluctant to change his opinion on him he needed to fix his stubbornness if you ask me as I watched the nights settle on which order they would perform Night Watch Ferdinand noticed me and started Shing me away Ros mi
ne there is no need for you to watch us tomorrow will not be easy rest well so that you are not dead weight to us he said and since he was several times scarier than RI yarda I heard hurried off to bed Bridget woke me up just as the sun was about to rise I sat up in a days and climbed out of my pan OBO where I found the knights preparing their rations these seem kind of bland I commented after trying some naturally they are made from powdered grains and vegetables soaked in salt and wine drained
of water and then hardened into balls ferand replied well I think they would last longer and taste better if you added a bit more salt to them the night rations were Brown balls about the size of pingpong balls and they were eaten after being soaked in warm water for a bit their nutritional value and long- Lasting Nature Made Them desirable to have but they were far from delicious in situations where one does not have the time to soak them it is possible to fill your stomach by simply biting in
to one and washing it down with water adding more salt would make that less feasible you only have yourself to blame for so sming yours in too much hot water we left as soon as we had finished breakfast mounting our high beasts and traveling up to what looked like a gabing wound in a sight of Mount lenberg that was wide enough for an adult to climb through without issue since normal high beasts needed to keep their wings spread out there wasn't enough space inside to keep riding them meaning the
knights were forced to walk instead I would need to shrink less see as much as I could and follow behind NG GH it stinks I had been anticipating the smell ever since learning Mount lenberg was a volcano but it seriously took no time at all for the overpowering stench of sulfur to hit us we hadn't even entered the chasm yet and the Griese DL was wearing spoke to just how bad the smell was complaining is pointless you will get used to it soon enough Ferdinand replied there was a potion that DED o
ne's sense of smell but using it would apparently make it harder for us to notice any approaching F beasts Ferd and entered first despite wearing a similar pain expression to the rest of us Bridget followed then me dble and finally a heart everyone slowly traveled down the side of the chasm finding footholds on its uneven Rocky surface while I casually hoop down and lesie do not wand off ahead of us fool who knows what might be down there sorry soon enough the light trickling from the surface fa
ded everything went dark making it hard to see where we were putting our feet the ventilation became a lot more restricted to with the air becoming thick and damp as the slope evened out there is no more light ahead use this Ferdinand said taking out a potion once everyone had reached the flat ground he dripped some into his eyes like eye drops then handed the potion to eart who did the same soon enough everyone had done it except me Rose my open your eyes ferden and said reaching the potion tow
ard me I um I do not like ey drops very much they are necessary when walking about down here whether you like them or not is irrelevant at heart hold her down my eyes were forced open and the potion dripped into them something inside it made my eyes tingle a sharp smell built up in the back of my nose and a bitter taste spread through my mouth go I hate eye drops please make these taste better as well what manner of eye drops have a flavor Ferdinand remarked enough nonsense we moving on it's not
nonsense they do have a taste as heated as his response made me I was aware that only some people could taste eye drops and he evidently just wasn't one of them this was an area where we would never be able to understand each other the eye drops were apparently a magic tool used to see in the darkness and Ferdinand was right when he said they were necessary for moving about down here my vision was covered with a dark orange filter like the area was being lit by a dim light bulb in the middle of
the night but at least I could see after advancing for a bit we came across a spring where we set up camp to rest much like the rest of the chasm it stank of sulfur which led me to assume it was just like a natural Hot Spring I wanted to try sticking my hands into it Ferdinand would it be okay for me to put my hands into the spring now is not the time to play around fool what would you do if a faist were residing inside and what is the point of doing so in the first place if you wish to wash yo
ur hands ask one of the knights to perform cleansing Magic on you well it's not that I want to wash my hands I just thought it looked warm and would feel feel nice I mean who wouldn't want to get into a hot spring but my suggestion was shot down with a condescending scoff why would you ever want to enter such a foul smelling spring you will come out wreaking as much as it does if you really are so eager you may be pleased to hear that the Rees foock eggs are located in the spring deepest within
the chasm meaning you are going to have to climb into one whether you like it or not wait really the eggs are being incubated in a hot spring so like they are hot spring eggs as the name suggested hot spring eggs were eggs traditionally slow cooked in the waters of a hot spring this gave the wine a nice custody consistency while simultaneously making the yolk firm yet creamy in an instant my objective shifted from stealing an ingredient that calmed the wrath of a God to obtaining a tasty snack F
erdinand could it be that Reese eggs taste incredibly delicious I asked out of curiosity only for him to look at me with utter bafflement what they are an ingredient for potions you pour Mana into them to turn them into face tones they are not food oh oh right of course a too bad I wanted to try eating some after a short break we continued our Advance the temperature steadily increasing as we went deeper into the cave the heat and humidity was initially comparable to a summer's day after rain th
en to a bathroom right after a hot shower and finally to the middle of a large commercial hot spring it sure is hot I observed during our next break naturally Ferdinand replied coolly still wearing the armor that negated all the heat even though I was riding inside lesie I seemed to be more exhausted than anyone wrap a towel from inside the ice box around your neck Ferd and said right I wiped my face with a cold towel we had prepared the night before then wrapped it around my neck the chilly sen
sation cleared my foggy mind a little we had reached an area that was almost entirely a hot spring and the air was thick with steam I even spotted some Reptil looking things sleeping in the water which made me realize that ferdinand's warning earlier hadn't been unfounded so long as they do not attack us we may leave them be it is important that we kill as few Fabs as possible here why is that exactly the Fabs draw Mana from Mount lenberg as well hunting too many will cause Mona to build up with
in a mountain which will in turn cause fire to shoot out in an expression of Li and Sha's wrath I could guess that Justice had killed a bunch of fists while getting the eggs last time there was no way Ferdinand would be this informed otherwise the Rees fock eggs absorb Mana much like the fa beasts this along with the heat causes them to hatch we have brought one fire face tone of equivalent size to the egg as well as several other fire face tones of various sizes all of which are empty in terms
of mana ferdin and said glancing down at a Leather Pouch on his hip I could guess from how lumpy it was that the face tones were inside what purpose will empty face tones serve when put in elementally Rich locations empty face tones draw Mana from the environment we shall exploit that behavior to steal an egg so we need something that will drain just as much Mana as the egg does indeed Ferdinand replied offering a nod before starting to move again it was apparently time to continue our journey I
put the now warm towel back into the ice box before pulling out a cold replacement to wrap around my neck again we walked for a bit longer the intense heat and humidity making it increasingly difficult to breathe my nose had gotten used to the sulfur stench such that it no longer bothered me but there was no adjusting to the temperature at this point it was definitely more like walking through a SAA than a bathroom even inhaling was painful as the hot steam filled my lungs the spring is beyond
that hole we shall wait here for the mother bird to leave Ferdinand said pointing at a dark hole nearby this Gathering would be a Race Against Time in which we needed to grab the egg in a brief window when the motherb bird went to hunt for food I was a little nervous since I already lacked speed and stamina and the heat was just draining me further as we waited worries about how I would do swirled around in my head it was hot enough that even staying in one place was physically exhausting but we
kept quiet so as to not disturb the fists around us I honestly couldn't say how long we waited it felt like forever but perhaps it hadn't been long at all I came back back to my senses when I heard a loud flapping noise come from deeper within the cave it gradually faded into the distance at which point F and smoothly stood up it is time the moment we started dashing toward the hole however the surface of a nearby hot spring rippled and something left out even with the orange I Dro filter over
my vision I could see that it was a blazing red entirely as though it was covered with burning fire it was as tall as Ferdinand looking like make a mix between a giant salamander and a frill neck lizard and was blocking our way in an attempt to protect its own eggs I would really appreciate you moving I cried we not here for your eggs of course Fabs couldn't understand language and the creature was already in a fighting stance I knew it would be easy enough for Ferdinand or a hard to take down e
specially considering all the much larger and deadlier fists we had fought in the past but here we needed to be careful about how many we killed at heart you know how to gather the egg DL keep watch for the r as FAS return Ferdinand said fixing the lizard with a glare while removing the pouch on his waist and tossing it toward a heart I will capture this faast without killing it you all can hurry and retrieve the egg we need yes sir the Reese Fu egg at heart briskly tied the bag from Ferdinand o
nto his waist the face tones inside audibly knocking against each other rose mine d will prepare to move the moment Lord Ferdinand captures the ID Rod he said in a low voice we both nodded I tightened my grip on Les's steering wheel as I watched Ferdinand withdraw his stap and aim it at the eyot but the instant he did the Fabi opened its mouth wide and belched fire Eep I shrieked shutting my eyes tight and reflexively raising a hand to protect my face the fire spewing from its mouth didn't reach
very far its range ultimately being about as short as that of a street fire performer but it certainly succeeded at making it appear threatening gety YT a split second later I heard a loud metallic clang accompanied by a throaty choke from the ey rot I hesitantly lowered my arm and opened my eyes to see that it had been knocked back several meters now hurriedly attempting to regain its footing it had apparently intended to tackle ferdin and while blowing out more fire but he had produced scoot
saw his shield faster than it could charge him he then turned the shield inside out to capture the ID rot as it attempted to tackle him a second time this was exactly the same method I had used to imprison the Golda last year during the night of shutz Aria but Ferdinand was evidently much better at controlling his Mana than I was as the shield was steadily shrinking in size go he ordered we immediately raced past Ferdinand as he maintained a shield the ey dra rampaging inside as we sprinted towa
rd the innermost spring Ferdinand there's another one coming I cried turning my head a little upon spotting another idro reflected in my rearview mirror that will not be an issue came his reassuring reply and with that I knew he would be fine without us we passed through a narrow passageway and into a slightly more open area that looked entirely different from all the caves we had traversed in a world died orange by the ey drops only the spring before us faintly shown a pale blue color white ste
am Rose from its surface distorting my vision a little and making everything seem even more Fantastical I could tell from the bubbling sound that the hot water was rising from deep underground and the complex patterns wavering on its surface were a sure sign that the spring originated from various sources as I peered down at the shimmering water I could just barely see the faint outline of some eggs it was hard to tell since their outlines came in and out of sight but there seemed to be about 10
bunched up in total those are the Rees F eggs art said while pointing into the water you must gather one yourself so as to avoid monoc contamination the same as the other ingredients I imagine that you understand this by now I do I replied with a nod but am I going to have to dive into the spring it looks really hot I couldn't give any exact figures since I didn't have a thermometer but the heat coming off the water was enough for me to know it was much hotter than the baths I usually took not
as it is now of course eart said amusedly removing his gauntlets and tossing them to DL before putting on some leather gloves for blocking Mana he then reached into the pouch ferdon and had thrown to him and took out a bag-shaped net tight shut inside of which were many face tones likely the empty ones Ferd and had spoken of previously at first glance they looked a lot like those ores you'd see bunched together in meshed bags at grocery stores aart wrapped a string dangling from the top of the n
et around his wrist then pulled out a face tone slightly larger than a fist from within and tossed it toward the eggs I heard a thunk at which point he started walking into the spring with a bag of face tones still tied to his wrist at heart the face tones are absorbing the heat you should be able to enter now come rose mine I experimentally dip my fingers into the springing etic heart's encouragement lo and behold it was now about as warm as an extra hot bath wowe face tones sure are something
else the Springs temperature will only remain lowered while the face tones are absorbing the Mana once they are filled the temperature will rise again I stood in place hesitant to enter while still wearing my clothes which prompted AAR to heft me up and climbing himself the water got up to my head in no time and as I couldn't feel the ground beneath me I started clinging to e heart I have to say a the heat actually feels pretty good the temperature was perfect but my floating clothes were gettin
g in the way of me letting out A Satisfied sigh a part of me wanted to strip naked to do this but my social status wouldn't exactly allow that plus the heat rising again once the face tones were full of mon meant that I probably couldn't stay inside the spring for very long anyway what a shame we waited close to where the eggs were the water now reaching at heart's shoulders rose mine I will duck down and pull you underwater grab the egg the moment you can okay take a deep breath and a second la
ter art crouched bringing me all the way down to his feet I was completely engulfed in the hot water it was whitish and a bit cloudy forming a hard to see through Haze but I was still able to reach reach out and grab the egg closest to me it felt about as big as I assumed an ostrich egg would be meaning I needed to use both hands to hold it on inspection the eggs seemed to be marble colored and definitely didn't look like something I would want to eat not that they were food anyway okay Gatherin
g complete I turned around and nodded at har who tensed his hands beneath my arms and started pulling me back to the surface that was when I spotted something approaching us underwater it seemed to be following me up when my head was above the water and I could breathe again I saw a small monkey timidly swimming over looking at us with wide docel eyes a baby monkey just as I was starting to think it was cute however its eyes flashed and its arms shot toward the Rees foock egg in my hands rose mi
ne at har yelled pulling me up just in time for the monkey paw to miss that is known as a bat off this time do whatever you can to stop the egg from being stolen it is hardly a strong fa beast but we cannot kill it here he repeated scooping me up under his left arm while using his right to push aside the water as he strolled back toward the edge of the spring bat Hoffs travel in groups if you see one assume there are 30 nearby wouldn't that make them like my arch nemesis from my or no days the n
uclear resistant bugs of evil and horror Art's warning made my disgust toward bat hofs explode and at the same time I remembered how the Rell fruit filled with my Mana had been stolen in the past I'm not giving this up it's my very own hot spring egg I tightly hugged the egg to my chest while glaring at the bat half its face Twisted with anger at having failed to snatch it from me and it started swimming toward at heart and me while nashing its teeth not a shred of its former cuteness remained s
cre scre it shrieked trying to sound as intimidating as possible as it violently clawed at the water to reach us the fact that it wasn't giving up just made me more and more frustrated this one's mine the batoff let out another hostile Screech and reached out its arms yet again but this time it wasn't aiming for the egg it was trying to attack me I protectively hugged the egg and allowed my anger to flare hitting the faast with my mana and crushing it perhaps it hadn't anticipated the surprise a
ttack or a Mana attack at all for that matter as its eyes shot wide open in response I could tell from its frozen expression that my victory was assured surprised well I'm something of a fighter myself and don't you forget it I smugly looked down at the bat half only to see that it was now floating on its back and frothing at the mouth oh no did I go too far I anxiously scanned our surroundings and saw a group of enraged bat hofs bearing their teeth as they leaped into the hot spring from an ent
rance opposite the hole we had come in through an even closer look revealed there were also multiple Shadows under the water racing this way atart there's a swarm of bat hofs coming I expected as much Lord art the ree fock has returned dul shouted pointing up from where he was keeping watch I followed his finger to see if fairly large predatory looking bird rapidly descending from a hole high up in a Chasm it had legs that were unusually thick for a bird its size dagger-like Claws and sharp eyes
that were locked onto it spray us the Rees ful diving at us seemed far more deadly than the idot ferden and was holding back or the bat hofs rushing our way and since I had its egg in my hands it had identified me as an enemy I swallowed hard as it lunged straight toward me n g akart let out a loud grunt swinging his free right hand to grab a bat off and throwing it at the Rees fock as hard as he could wall I splattered as I was still under Art's arm the sudden movement simultaneously resulted
in me being dunked under the water the ree ful had dodged the bat off and flown back up for safety though so I wouldn't hold it against him not that I was really in a position to complain in the first place the inside of my nose really stings but you know what I'm willing to forgive him the Rees Fox stared down from its position high in the air comparing at heart and me who were now safely on land with a shrieking bat hofs kicking and splashing on the water's surface as they began their Retreat
it sight soon locked on the bat offs aiming for the other eggs and it began its descent once again once he was back on land egart tossed me into my high Beast while I coughed with water leaking from my nose along with a fe Stone coning mesh purse and his leather gloves no sooner was I inside that He barked run and dashed away himself putting back on the gauntlets DL had brought to him this wasn't exactly the time to sit still and rub my hurting nose so I stuffed the egg into my own leather bag a
nd hurriedly grip the steering wheel again my seat belt could wait time was running out Bridget gestured for us to follow her back into the narrow Corridor which she had been guarding for us in the meantime and we rushed through to return to Ferdinand he was now maintaining multiple shits Aria Shields to contain five Bots at once and it appeared that those stuck inside the same Shield were attacking one another it had required my complete Focus to capture a single gold sub back in a day but here
he was containing five separate fists at once with a cool composed expression status Ferdinand asked having noticed us running his way Bridget who was in the lead immediately responded that the mission had been a success the Rees ful returned to the spring we fled after determining that its attention had shifted to the batoff stealing its other eggs but it did see Ros mine with one eart added once he had caught up there is a possibility it will come after us upon hearing that Ferdinand furrowed
his brow and turned his gaze to the corridor it is all but guaranteed that it can smell the Mana from all of these shields we would be wise to retreat at once before it comes to investigate I shall remain here and contain the idats until the very last moment go yes sir art said with a nod taking the lead and dashing for the exit Ferdinand would be guarding our rear after keeping the idots contained we had taken several small breaks on our walk here but now we would have to Sprint back without a
ny at all that wasn't an issue for me since I was riding in my high beast but nobody else was quite so fortunate they had to run themselves VES since the corridors were too narrow for me to expand my high beast and let them in will you be okay Bridget I wish I could let you ride with me I am beneath your worry my lady enough chatter you are only wasting your energy ferden and bark from behind us Bridget and I exchanged a quick glance then promptly shut our mouths and kept running to the exit onl
y when we had nearly escaped did Ferd and determine that we were safe from being followed and allow us to stop while I was blowing my nose and wiping my face everyone else decided that if we were going to rest anyway we might as well press forward a little longer and eat lunch outside and so we washed the eye drops out of our eyes with cleansing magic and continued heading for the exit the knights were all Breathing heavily which was no surprise considering how far they had run without any break
s once outside the color of the world changed dramatically the bright Sun illuminated a dazzling stretch of green as far as the eye could see with a sky above similarly bursting with color it was still a hot summer day but the air was crisp without the stench of sulfur overpowering our senses that alone was more than I ever could have asked for now that we were no longer restricted by the tight space inside the chasm everyone summoned their High beasts and we flew to Camp when we arrived I nappe
d in my pandabus while everyone else was preparing rations and boiling water for our slightly late lunch it seemed that thanks to me having stayed in my wet clothes during our long Escape I had caught a cold in the blink of an eye my head was all fuzzy and while Bridget used cleansing Magic on me and changed my clothes my chili shakes weren't going anywhere my neck twitched and I could feel Goosebumps spread across my entire body here rose mine eat you cannot drink potions on an empty stomach Fe
rdinand said holding out more of the rations we had eaten that morning I wasn't particularly hungry but I knew that I wouldn't get better without a potion so I took a defeated bite for some reason it tasted better than it had earlier it was somewhat like thick porridge and maybe due to how terrible I was feeling at the moment it was actually delicious strange these RS taste better than they did this morning did I not say that you used Too Much warm water your rations were half the size of ours a
nd yet you use the same amount as us of course the flavor would be diluted oh that's what you meant that's why I was so confused I was sure I'd use the same amount of water as everyone else I guess the reason it tastes good now is because you the one who made it Ferdinand I thank you ever so much I said with a Dopey smile he offered no more than a tired sigh in response and started eating his own food aw this is not a problem I anticipated that you would get sick Ferdinand said as he took out th
e excessively bitter potion and forced me to drink it as far as I was concerned something being expected didn't make it not a problem but I didn't have the energy to protest I was just too tired now looking so sickly that anyone could surely see I had a fever at a glance I made Lessie big enough for everyone to sleep inside him with that done I promptly reclined the driver's seat and collapsed onto it does this help at all Lady Ros mine Bridget asked with a worried expression placing a towel tha
t had been chilled in the ice box across my forehead her kindness washed over me like a gentle wave a thoughtful act like that was something neither Ferdinand with his potions nor Bona Faus with his barking about weakness would ever thing to do at heart where is the leather bag Pardon Me Lord Ferdinand and it is right there Ferdinand retrieved the gloves and small face tone pouch that were inside lesie then tossed them to eart and told him to clean them up his eyes then came to rest on my leathe
r belt which was resting on the passenger's seat he undid the Gathering bag from it and held it toward me you will be unable to move until the potion takes effect for this reason you might as well clutch the ree fock egg while you sleep considering the monich environment your high Beast produces it shouldn't take long at all to die I took the bag from Ferdinand sighing at the fact that he would demand efficiency even from a sick person and remove the egg from it I guess this just leaves the Rell
fruit in Autumn Ferdinand letun get it for sure this time I said frowning a little in frustration as I remembered last year's failure Ferdinand returned to Griese himself and glared at me of course I will not fail a second time time rest well now so that you are prepared for when the time comes we cannot do anything until you have recovered right good night that night I fell asleep while hugging the ree fock egg and pouring my Mana into it when I awoke my fever was gone and the Egg had turned i
nto a blue face tone hand pumps having completed the summer gathering without issue we returned to the temple where I stayed in bed until my fever finally went down when I discussed my schedule with Fran the next morning he delivered the bad news that there was a ton to do both Ferdinand and me being away for so many days on top of me ending up bedridden had resulted in a load of work piling up it's unfortunate that just a few days of absence leads to such a buildup I said with a sigh hopefully
it won't be long before camper and freac are able to handle ferdinand's work for him DL shook his head with a bemused smile lady Ros mine I I believe that is Too Tall of an order not even other Nobles can easily accomplish what Lord Ferdinand does true I definitely wouldn't be pleased if someone told me I needed to take his place somewhere covering for Ferdinand obviously wasn't something a single person could do which was why we needed to train a group of people who would divide the workload am
ong themselves such that the temple could operate without us and now that Ferdinand had returned to Noble Society it was clear as day that he would be leaving the temple more often than ever to do things like visit the castle Beno and Mark were coming from the planon company today so I went to the orphanage director's Chambers with Fran Monica and nicoa right after lunch it was only when I placed my hand on the door pouring Mona into it so that preparations could be made inside that I realized s
omething terrible oh no Gil isn't here out of all my attendance only Gil and Fran knew about my commoner past and relationship with beno's Squad meaning they were the only ones I could drop the noble Woman Act in front of Fran however seemed to have some very bad memories of the Hidden room and stiffened whenever we got near it I knew he would steal his resolve and enter if asked but I didn't want to put him in that situation lady Ros mine will we not be preparing the hidden room he asked curiou
sly when I drew back my hand I faltered for a moment then disguised my hesitation with a smile I was just thinking you know why not Converse out here today do I will accompany you inside and Gill's place I appreciate the thought Fran but you don't need to force yourself I replied with a shake of my head but Fran continued with a compad that made it clear he was indeed going to force himself lady Ros mine this may inconvenience you but I ask that you help me conquer my fears you are doing your be
st to be the arch Duke's adopted daughter and and as your head attendant I cannot allow myself to remain stuck in my ways forever I wish to overcome my trauma had Fran been insisting for my sake I could have just ordered him to stop but now that he was asking for my help well I couldn't say no in that case I shall help you but if you begin feeling unwell I ask that you tell me immediately you need not force yourself it wouldn't be too much of an inconvenience for us to hold our meeting outside t
he hidden room as you wish France said nodding with a faint smile Nica cackled behind him it's like your roles are somehow reversed here to ensure I wasn't in the way while the hidden room was being cleaned I was served my tea at a table outside and facing away from the door some documents had been prepared as well so it seemed there was work for me to do in the meantime but I glanced back to take a peek every time I sip my drink Monica pushed the door wide open and stepped through with NI of fo
llowing Clos behind Fran however stopped just outside as expected he really didn't look too good I anxiously continued to watch him when all of a sudden he turned back to me perhaps having felt my gaze he gave a slight smile when our eyes met I believe I shall be just fine lady rose mine Fran looked stiff and pale as he stepped into the hidden room himself but once inside his normal expression returned he cleaned and started preparing tea looking totally calm all the while but I knew he was good
at hiding his emotions maybe he was just desperately masking how much he was hurting inside I leaned over the back of my chair to watch him as he cleaned and broen sweets eventually we made eye contact again this time he smiled like he was holding back laughter I truly am fine he's not forcing himself is he is he I narrowed my eyes and kept watching him suspiciously but before I knew it Fritz who had been standing by at the gate was guiding Beno and Mark into my Chambers once we had exchanged N
oble greetings and were making our way into the hidden room I turned my head to check on Fran but he simply placed his hands on my shoulders and said you must keep looking ahead that was how he always acted mm I guess he really is okay he served tea to Beno and the others his expression remaining unchanged despite being inside the hidden room when I sipped my own tea it tasted the same as always no imperfections born from fear or anxiety this is just a message from Zach Beno began but he's finis
hed the prototype for that well pumped thing I don't know what it's for but I'm guessing it's another one of your weird inventions wait he finished the Prototype not just the schematics I asked blinking in Surprise Beno rubbed his chin allowing his eyes to wonder a little as he tried to remember exactly what Zach had said he designed it using the principles you told him about but he wasn't sure whether it would actually be able to draw water so he just up and made one I hear he's already put it
on the Verde workshops well and has made a few revisions that must mean it won't take long at all to spread the hand pumps everywhere I want to share the schematics with the SMI and Guild so that all Smiths everywhere can make them it bring in too much profit for a single Workshop to monopolize and drawing water sucks for everyone so I want there to be a pump on every well in the lower city as soon as possible I had asked Zach to make the schematics as simple as he could there was still one part
so precise that only Johan could make it but in general unless the hand pumps were quick and relatively easy to make they wouldn't catch on at all you're seriously doing this again come on think of the profits oh but I am I may be trusting the schematics to the smiy and Guild but I won't be letting them spread the hand pumps for free I intend to sign a magic contract with him such that Zach and I get paid for each one him for Designing it and me for coming up with the idea the contract will als
o say that the smiy and Guild has to pay a similar fee if the schematics are every used without permission all right so the plans to have the smiy and Guild take total responsibility for the pumps throughout the city Beno said sounding satisfied now that he knew I wasn't just giving the pumps away implementing a system where I charged a fee for the use of my schematics would also help pave the way for the copyright system I intended to put into place later I have my own secret plots and Ambition
s you know and that's that Ben know can I ask you to make the magic contract with a smiing guild for me I'll cover the costs of course Beno blinked at me in utter confusion then massaged his temples as if attempting to ease a splitting headache hold on a second that's one large scale magic contract it doesn't make any sense for me to handle it when I'm not even involved here I suppose but you're the only person I know who's used to making magic contracts Beno had sorted out every magic contract
I had signed thus far he was the only person I could go to about making the one I needed for my business don't ask me ask your adopted father Sylvester all magic contracts have to go through the arch Duke first anyway not to mention if you want to popularize something new you'll want to start at the top of the social hierarchy right wouldn't things end badly if Nobles found out you started this Trend among commoners good point I replied I could already imagine Alvar getting matad and Sylvester p
oking my cheek asking why I had hidden something so interesting from him if you're going to take the lead with this you'll want to go with the duty wide magic contracts that Nobles use not the Citywide ones we Merchants use this will help intimidate the smiy and Guild into cooperating things will also go a lot smoother if you give a pump to the arch Duke first that should give him a good impression of Zack and the smiy and Guild Beno explained it seemed that he had offered up some plant paper to
Sylvester for this very reason when reporting the magic contract if that's how Merchants do things then I think I should follow your advice okay go ahead and tell Zach to make a hand pump for me to give to Sylvester and while you're at it you might want to give the SMI and Guild some notice about this since its head will need to come to the castle to sign the contract if everything goes to plan I'll schedule an audience with Sylvester through Ferdinand Zack and Johan started working on a new pu
mp as soon as they heard about our plans from Beno apparently Weeping at the thought of making something directly for the arch Duke meanwhile I reported that the hand pump prototype had been completed to Ferdinand who promptly took me to his hidden room and scolded me to no end demanding to know why this was the first he was hearing about them I was going to tell you once the sche atics were complete but they went ahead and made a prototype on the spot it won't have much to do with Nobles direct
ly since it's just a tool to make drawing water easier but I think commoners will really appreciate it I covered for myself even further by explaining my plan to profit from the pumps and the details of the magic contract I had just discussed with Beno then I asked him to arrange a meeting with Sylvester for me Beno told me that using a Noble's Duty white magic contract instead of a Merchants one would make it easier to spread the pumps so I would like to schedule an audience with Sylvester the
plan is for there to be four signatures mine for obvious reasons yours because you're my guardian Zach's because he designed it and the head of the smithian guilds because he'll be managing the schematics this certainly does seem to be significantly large scale but before I speak of this to Silvester I would like to see for myself just what kind of tool this is instruct the smiy and gild to show me a prototype before progressing things further okay no sooner had I passed this request onto Beno t
han it was decided the secondary prototype planed to be attached to the well by Yan's Workshop would be brought to the temple right away Zack and Johan were apparently going to explain how it worked while putting it into place now then this is the well you are going to install the pump onto I said at which point the group of Smiths sent from The Guild silently got to work setting it up everyone looked too afraid to speak I grabbed Yan's arm as he tried to slide away into the group and took Zach'
s trembling hand as he stood Frozen in place with a schematics Ferdinand these are two of my Gutenberg they are Smiths who have designed and crafted many tools essential to the printing process I said puffing my chest out with pride the two smiths in question immediately froze in place fear and confusion plastered onto their white-eyed faces as Ferdinand looked down at them with an exceedingly sympathetic look do I imagine the road ahead will not be easy with rosemine dragging you about but stay
strong you too why yes sir I believe she said you have the schematics show me Zack spread open the schematics with still trembling hands and explained to ferdin and the principles behind the hand pump's operation he was trying his best speaking as politely as he could manage though he had to keep biting his tongue and messed up his grammar a few few times in the process Johan an even worse speaker used that opportunity to slide away and quietly help the other Craftsmen with their work fascinati
ng moving this lever like so will cause this valve to open then how does that work Ferdinand asked since he was a researcher at heart the previously unknown physics principles at work in this new tool were making him livelier than ever Zach continued to stammer his way through the questions but it wasn't long before he became overwhelmed ERM it's important to make a well lady rosemine used the term vacuum here so you need to make a vacuum and you see she explained it all to me and um she told me
to make it as simple as possible this one part can only be made by um someone with Yan's level of skill since there can't be any gaps but anyway I think you'll need to ask ask lady rosemine how it really works it seemed that he had finally given up instead throwing the ball into my court not that I had enough knowledge to withstand ferdinand's barge of questions either it's ready lady Ros mine a right add the priming water and work the pump Johan did as instructed and started pumping the handle
after several pumps water began gushing out of the spout and into the bucket oh ferdinant seemed to be impressed this will make drawing water much easier and while we're here let's have a girl try using it Monica draw some water using the pump if you will you understood right away Monica looking a little nervous now that everyone's eyes were on her stood behind the pump and gripped its handle this time water poured out almost immediately on the first downstroke she let go in surprise her eyes w
hite as she looked between the bucket the pump and her hand then looked at the Craftsman with visible awe and respect I can't believe it comes out so easily this is incredible drawing water is just so easy seeing that Ferdinand gave a nod I see this is a splendid invention one that the arch Duke will certainly need to hear about craft a hand pump worthy of being gifted to him in the meantime I shall arrange the audience he said his tone conveying more Force than praise Zack and Johan already fee
ling the pressure nodded over and over again before leaving the temple with pale faces once we had settled on a date for the audience I sent a message through Beno to the smii and Guild in it I said that on a day they would need to come to the temple after second Bell when the workshop opened the fact that I was going to be with the high priest would probably make them nervous but there wouldn't be any unreasonable Scholars there to force demands on them they could relax and come without having
to worry about their Futures the message went through and on the day of a nervous looking Zach and an older looking man thee of the smii and Guild came wearing their best clothes with them were several equally anxious looking Craftsmen here to attach the pump made for the arch duuk it looks a little too large to be carried comfortably in a carriage I said shall we use my high Beast High beasts exist for travel not for car carrying luggage but I imagine nothing I say will change your mind Ferdina
nd said exasperatedly in any case I suppose that transporting it in your high Beast would not be the end of the world since this is a high-quality product being offered to OB Baron Fest he was the last person I wanted to hear complain about putting Luggage in a high Beast especially given how much he'd loaded into my Pand obus during our trip to mount lenburg I decided to let it slide though now that I had ferdin an's permission I brought out lesie and had the Craftsman put the pump inside I dec
ided to let them all ride with me as well and after uneasily looking my high Beast over they climbed in with fearful Expressions I can guess it's scary to ride with a noble but just hold on for a little while Fran walked through the pandabus instructing the Craftsman how to fasten their seat belts before climbing out farewell lady Ros mine farewell high priest I await your safe return and so we flew to the castle with Dil taking the lead on his high Beast as we were visiting for an official audi
ence this time rather than me returning home I traveled low over the road for carriages and landed at the front entrance we are here for the audience with o Baron fast this thing we have is an offering for him have them set it up by the well closest to the arch Duke's office Ferdinand instructed The Scholar official waiting for us right inside since Ferdinand had made the arrangements himself as the arch Duke's half brother we were taken straight to the waiting room while the accompanying Crafts
man took the pump and followed the scholar to the well you two just need to kneel quietly during the audience I said to Zack in the head of the smiy and Guild Ferdinand and I will do all the Talking as you wish they replied placing their hands on their chests in relief I could sympathize with their Terror as Craftsman would never have an audience with the Archduke himself under normal circumstances but they needed to be here for the magic contract we couldn't exactly call the arch dukee down to
the lower City it'll all be over soon I promise we were led into the archduke's office without having to wait long at all Sylvester welcomed us with a very Stern Arch duuk like expression but his dark green eyes were sparkling with curiosity and excitement over this new invention I definitely wasn't imagining it I heard you have an offering for me yes Ros mine and her Personnel known as gutenberg's would like to offer up a hand pump ferand explained likewise speaking in a polite and formal tone
it is a tool that makes drawing water significantly easier and as we speak one is being set up by one of the Castles nearby Wells this was a surface level exchange being made purely for the sake of appearances as Ferdinand had reported this all to Sylvester already if possible I would like to spread these pumps all throughout AAR and fast I said as a magic contract for merchants would not be enough to accomplish this I asked to use one of yours Old Baron Fest do you are none other than my own ad
opted daughter but even then I must see this pump for myself before I make a decision I shown no favoritism not even to family Sylvester replied with a small frown in reality his eyes were just demanding that I heard hurry up and show him the pump well I don't mind but I wonder what everyone else thinks in truth it was incredibly rude to send the arch duuke to the well it was located in a cranny on the ground that required one to pass through the basement which was not a place for Nobles to go w
hile that wasn't really an issue to Sylvester who had once snuck out of the Nobles quarter to hunt in the lower City's Forest it was still important that he maintained the air and dignity of an arch dukee I glanced over at Ferdinand who nodded to signal that he had expected this before voicing his own thoughts I believe you will understand why this magic contract is essential once you see the pump we apologize greatly for the rudeness oh Baron Fest but we humbly ask that you accompany us to the
well if you insist I shall Dain to accompany you and see this tool firsthand take me there at once Sylvester said he looked thoroughly displeased at the idea of walking there himself but the subtle spring in his steps suggested otherwise we all headed to the castle well with Sylvester's guard Knights and Scholars following along behind here is the pump my Lord by the time we arrived the Craftsman had finished putting the pump into place and we could see Castle servants crying out in Surprise whi
le working the handle these servants scattered like baby spiders upon seeing us while the Craftsman stepped back and kneeled Sylvester stood in front of the Craftsman and looked at the pump is this it it is Zack show him how to use it if you would Sylvester leaned forward with Fascination as Zach gave a demonstration no doubt dying to try out the pump himself but as the arch dukee he absolutely couldn't be seen drawing water we were already significantly pushing it just having him come out to se
e how it was used and confirm its value he knew this and so despite the impatient look creeping onto his face he didn't even ask do I determine your request for a magic contract to be well and true dedicate yourselves to spreading this pump mechanism throughout the duy Sylvester eventually said his Restless frown instead coming across as a deeply thoughtful look of consideration for a second he actually looked like a wise Arch Duke and judging by how move Zack and ahead of the smiing guild seeme
d to be they had been completely fooled once we had completed the magic contract Sylvester and I signed our names with a pen that used Mana while Zack and the head of the smii and Guild used the special ink that was standard for merchant magic contracts before stamping their signatures with blood no sooner had Zach stamped his name than a magic contract was enveloped in Golden flames and disappeared his eyes opened wide and he yelled in shock before hurriedly covering his mouth the magic contrac
t is now in place I announced I hope the hand pump spreads throughout the duy and makes it easy easier for everyone to draw water and so it came to pass that every pump made henceforth would have my and Zach's names engraved onto it to clearly identify us as the creators the necessary development due to the contract stating we were to be paid a fee for each one made George Jean's visit third bell rang signaling the end of my harsh peel practice I packed up and went to help Ferdinand with his wor
k as usual but as soon as I entered his Chambers he looked at me with an exceedingly Stern frown Rose M yes I asked tilting my head gracefully Ferdinand jutted his chin toward the Fearsome lecture room I couldn't recall doing anything that would anger him but the look in his eyes and his silent gesture were nothing if not expressions of cold anger I was struck with the urge to apologize on the spot or really the urge to bolt right out of the room I slowly looked up at Fran for help my neck almos
t audibly creaking with fear only for him to sadly shake his head head no someone anyone help me as I tearfully entered the lecture room literally everyone avoided meeting my gaze the moment Ferdinand and I were seated facing one another he glared at me with his golden eyes he was not pleased at all I inhaled sharply and straightened my back now then Ros mine you told me nothing of this but it seems that Sylvester's older sister will be arriving from aon's boach at the end of summer H oh did I n
ot tell you no you did not despite this being exceedingly important n GH I'm sorry I went ahead and told Ferdinand what Sylvester had told me upon his and fen's return namely that my response announcing the former High Bishop's death to a letter I received had resulted in Sylvester getting harassed all throughout the Archduke conference and that his older sister would now be coming to Aaron Fest to visit her uncle's grave hold it why was she at the Archduke conference what do you mean why she's
the older of Sylvester's two sisters and the one who married Arn Bach's Archduke right florena went with Sylvester so doesn't it make sense that his older sister would come from aon's Bach I asked not understanding the question Ferdinand slowly shook his head she became the third wife of arens bacha's arch dukee and and as the Archduke conference is always attended by First Wives it is unusual that she would be there I do not believe she attended last year which is precisely why we were able to
conceal the bewan incident from her despite it having happened during the conference it seemed to be that only the arch Duke's first wife was allowed to assist the Archduke and get involved in political matters second wives and Below could at times help the first wife assuming they were on good terms but they couldn't get involved in politics M themselves these Customs were in place to avoid there being too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak oh I see I said that makes sense you don't understa
nd at all do you no I do I understand what you're implying here up to this point Sylvester's older sister had been unable to get involved in aens Bach politics due to being the archduke's third wife but her attending the arch duuk conference this year was a sign that she had somehow supplanted the arch Duke's first wife do I'm just not sure how the situation will change because of that and that is why I said you do not understand at All For Better or Worse direct familial ties hold significant i
nfluence in politics an archducal couple is always liable to be swayed by their family Sylvester's other sister was married into friend belag in the west and florena hails from friend belag herself as both rulers of the duy and Elder siblings they have recently had a considerable influence on our own archducal couple you are aware of this I believe yes they pushed a number of small chalices onto US I replied recalling that our Arch dual couple were weak to friend bag's archducal couple that is t
heir older brother and sister but the situation with friend belag is far from terrible ferden and continued they suffered massive losses from being wrapped up in a civil war and since we are offering them our support we are putting them somewhat in our debt Aon Bach however is another story it is a greater duy a large and populous duy compared to medial and lesser duchies that shows the winning sight of the Civil War if Sylvester's oldest sister is now the first wife of arens bak's arch Duke we
will receive significantly more political pressure from them Not only would it be incomparable to the sway friend Bel tag has on us but we would be in no position to refuse them he murmured it seemed that Ferdinand was much more focused on the problems that lay ahead than I was I knew a little more about the power balance between us and the surrounding duchies now but I still didn't quite grasp what exactly would change within Aaron Fest what kind of person is Sylvester's eldest sister exactly I
don't even know her name her name is georan before Sylvester was born she was widely expected to become the arch Dess of Aaron Fest I know that much she wrote all about it in the letters that Bez W had stashed away do I do not recall being told about such letters Ferdinand said glaring at me while rubbing his twitching Temple um well I thought they were love letters so I decided it'd be best to leave them be I replied falteringly fool do not hide the Affairs of convicted criminals do you wish t
o be charged along with a as a co-conspirator I'm sorry Ferdinand immediately Unleashed his fury on me love letters were apparently even more important for me to report I slumped my shoulders sadly as I was lectured at length about the dangers of me being charged for hiding evidence and so on and so forth good grief to my knowledge Georgine was W to Erin's Bach because Sylvester's grandmother on his mother's side was the daughter of an arch Duke there truth be told I know little about Georgine h
erself she was already wet and gone by the time I started Living in a castle according to what I knew from Sylvester she was the kind of person to hold a grudge and antagonize others over matters that had taken place years and years prior I knew she was the poster child for why one should truly avoid getting wrapped up in sibling rivalries but I wasn't sure whether she was only like that toward Sylvester because he took the seed of arch Duke from her or whether she was like that to everyone I ha
ve seen her once it was during father's rather during the previous archduke's funeral she attended but I saw her only from a distance and we did not exchange any greetings wait really but why I asked blinking in Surprise Georgine had come as the wife of another duchies Arch Duke and a daughter of the deceased I had to go through countless formal greetings at every event just as the archdukes adop Ed daughter so as her half brother I expected that Ferdinand would have at least greeted her I enter
ed the temple due to Sylvester's mother shortly before the prior archduke's death and thus attended the funeral as a member of the temple I was not there as a family member and naturally her status put her above greeting a mere blue priest that is all there was to it Ferdinand said Dry I could imagine him having to watch his father be buried from afar unable to attend as a family member it pained my heart and I baled my hands into tight fists on my lap doesn't that mean you didn't even get to pa
rticipate in your own father's funeral as his son yes what of it Ferdinand replied raising an eyebrow like it was nothing at all how can you act so indifferent about this I shouted unable to help myself you feel so disconnected from the rest of your family but you called him father the previous Arch Duke had to have been someone really important to you Ferdinand and I know it why are you acting so calm you have the right to be angry about not being allowed to visit the funeral as his son you hav
e the right to cry about it DOC putting aside whether or not I have the right to be annoyed why are you yourself angry it has nothing to do with you Ferdinand said rubbing his temples as he muttered I cannot comprehend why you are mad I mean because it's just sad it's too sad and one day the same thing will happen to me but I have the right to be mad to cry about it now that my family could no longer be my family I wouldn't be called to attend their funerals in the lower City worst case scenario
I might not even be informed of their deaths I was completely excluded and I wasn't even sure whether I could pray for their happiness from where I was calm yourself rose mine please do not cry now of all times it will look terrible when you leave is now really the time to be worrying about appearances show at least a little compassion here try to calm me down or let me cry until it's all out of my system or something I shouted abruptly standing up and demanding kindness good grief you are a ha
ndful Ferdinand murmured reaching out and picking me up he sat me down on his lap gave a brief hug and then scoffed that should be enough yes his hotty smirk was completely unfounded and this hardly felt like him consoling me no it's not enough this doesn't feel kind or warm-hearted at all you appear to have stopped crying though and that is enough for me get off not only did he ignore my frustration but he promptly removed me from his lap as sigh escaped me as all the energy drained from my bod
y no matter how mad I got Ferdinand wouldn't ever understand me I climbed back onto the bench feeling indescribably fatigued but it seemed that I wasn't the only one who had lost their inertia the anger ferdin and had been exuding a moment ago had vanished completely and he was now tapping his Temple as if trying to remember what we had been talking about we have wandered too far off topic he said Sylvester informed me that she is an exceedingly Troublesome person and thus I suggest you stay on
guard when she is here what should I specifically be doing first never be alone remain with your attendants and guards at all times go nowhere except the feast you are required to attend and stay within the temple as much as possible Ferdinand said I cannot offer any more detailed advice as I do not know the woman myself I sighed he wouldn't open up about his family problems at all but he was more than happy to talk at length when it came to warning me about Nobles he was overprotective sure but
nowhere near kind or caring enough somehow I think I can guess why ferdinand's one romantic relationship didn't last on a day toward the end of summer the Noble's gate opened wide and several carriages passed by the temple to enter the Noble's quarter this happened all the time near the end of autumn as winter socializing approached but it was an exceptionally rare sight this time of year I saw it through a window in the high Bishop's Chambers and that was how I knew Georgine had arrived I made
sure to tell Ferdinand about it when I went to his Chambers to work it seems that lady Georgine is here yes I know I just received an ordinance from Sylvester the welcoming Feast is to be held 2 days from now and he wants us to gather at the castle make sure you are prepared Ferdinand said with a very displeased tone before instructing his attendants on what to do in his absence likewise I gave orders to my attendance and began preparing to go to the castle come now my lady what outfit do you w
ant to wear riara asked launching into preparations for the feast as soon as I arrived at the castle she was supposedly giving me a choice but her eyes were already locked on one in particular that she had clearly set her heart on you prepared these outfits for me didn't you riyaa as I've never been to a welcoming Feast for a noble from another duy before I would like you to choose the best one for me if you wouldn't mind as you wish you can count on me since we were nearing The End Of Summer Sh
e selected an outfit that was the Divine color of Summer adorned with ornaments of Autumn's Divine color my hair ornament wasn't a hair stick covered with fanciful flowers like usual but rather a light veil with neat embroidery that covered my intricately braided hair women from eron boach must always wear a veil when presenting themselves in public veils were introduced into Aaron Fest fashion by Lord Sylvester's grandmother who married into the duy from Aaron's Bach at the time there was a siz
able boom of nobles wearing them riara said with a nostalgic Smile as she locked the veil into place using pins if you don't mind riara may I ask what kind of person lady Georgina is she froze in place her hands Midway through setting the pins and gazed around the room as she searched for the right words do she is a very very hard worker she ultimately said with audible hesitance it seemed to me that she sounded a little sad too soon enough the welcoming Feast began we would be eating Georgine's
old favorites and standard erand boach dishes today with my own personal recipes being banned during the event she and Sylvester still seemed to be on bad terms so I wondered whether this was just him hiding the new recipes from her the Nobles gathered in the hall were largely wearing what seemed to be aon's boach fashion just as riara had said the majority of the women were wearing veils while the men were wrapped in large thin cloaks instead of their usual capes once the archducal family incl
uding Ferdinand and I were in position georan finally entered as the guest of the evening she walked boldly with a level of Grace that made her High status immediately apparent and while her hair and eye color visible through the thin veil resembled Sylvester's her face was entirely different she was a beautiful woman with sharp pointed features and sculpted cheeks maybe it was because Sylvester had warned me about her resentful personality or because riara had faltered when talking about her or
even because I expected her to speak to me about what happened to Bez W but whatever it was with each step georan took toward us my stomach painfully tensed up wif freed rose mine greet the first wife of aon's Bach Sylvester prompted at which point we both step forward to meet her she was the daughter of the previous Arch dukee and now first wife of a duy that was higher ranked than Aaron Fest so we were performing the greetings to her rather than the other way around I am Wilfried son of OB Ba
ron Fest I am rose mine adopted daughter of OB Baron Fest may we pray for a blessing and appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the vibrant summer rays of light and shof the god of fire we asked together after having introduced ourselves Wilfried had complained about how hard it was for him to memorize and repeat the greeting that up until now he had only ever received instead of given you may georan replied her Crimson lips curving into a smile we poured a bit of Mana into our R
ings finished the blessings and then stood Georgine's green eyes immediately fell on Wilfried and she looked him over carefully oh my you truly truly do resemble Sylvester when he was younger I look like Father Wilfried asked happily Georgine nodded with a smile oh yes quite I could almost mistake you for him but despite her speaking in such a kind-hearted tone I got Goosebumps all over I subconsciously started rubbing my wrists was I the only one who felt uneasy about this as I looked around I
saw that the only other person looking uncomfortable was Sylvester he was wearing a Stony expression that showed no emotion whatsoever which was very rare for him everyone else was warmly watching the conversation between georan and Wilfried even Ferdinand of all people you look very beautiful Auntie just like grandmother Wilfried said with an innocent smile he didn't seem the least bit perturbed but I was sure that Georgine's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at his comment oh my is that so I b
elieve I've heard that mother doed on you considerably that's right an instant later florena stepped forward with a calm smile moving such that she was now shielding Wilfried allow me to greet you as well lady Georgine she said before kneeling down Sylvester his eyes lowered somberly also came forward to stand beside florena he then gestured for Wilfried and me to step back so we promptly cleared some space for him despite both Sylvester and Georgine wearing calm Noble Smiles the air between the
m was Heavy I could feel the friction between them even from a fair distance away and I couldn't help but swallow nervously Sylvester briefly made eye contact with georan then slowly knelt as well her green eyes narrowed slightly beneath a thin veil as she closely watched him and as he crossed his arms in front of his chest as sign of humility given to one's higher ranking Superior her lips curved into a very satisfied grin we are pleased beyond words that drar the goddess of time has woven our
threads of Fate tightly together and allowed us to meet once again he said the archducal couple then continued their greetings expressing their Joy at her arrival and their hopes that her first visit home in such a long while would be a comfortable one once they were done Georgine beckoned me over are you the high Bishop who so kindly replied to my letter she asked my heart pounded in my chest and I nervously stepped forward yes that was me oh I'm very grateful that you informed me she said with
a truly graceful smile so strikingly beautiful that it made her seem on another level compared to all the other women present Sylvester has always been a lazy man if not for you sending that letter I am certain I would have lived out the rest of my life without hearing about this and you are adopted I hear am I right to assume he is utterly failing you as a father to think he would force a fragile young child such as yourself to serve as the high Bishop he surely has no understanding of just ho
w Troublesome it is being raised as a symbol you have my sincerest sympathies even as she was dissing the heck out of Sylvester her graceful smile didn't falter for an instant maybe that was acceptable though since she was his sister and that much was usually expected among family I mean there were some parts of what she said that I could agree with a little but he was protecting me a great deal by keeping me as his adopted daughter so now seemed like a good time to back him up it certainly is d
ifficult serving as the high Bishop but he assigned Ferdinand to help me as my guardian he is very considerate and has done much in the way of supporting me my I to think he would abandon his parental duties and entrust a child to another so soon after adopting them I must say I truly am ashamed to be related to him it seems that his childhood tendency of doing nothing and forcing his work onto everyone else has not changed in the least sorry Sylvester my backup didn't help at all did he at leas
t assign a competent Guardian to you Gods above forbid that he she trailed off leaving what I could assume was forced an incompetent buffoon to take up the position unset and instead just directing me a sympathetic look in her mind I had probably been targeted for my abundance of Mana forced into an adoption and then worked to the bone as high Bishop with an incompetent Guardian barely helping out at all her tone of voice and the look on her face were enough for me to pick up on that Lord Ferdin
and is my guardian lady Georgine and he is very skilled Ferdinand I feel as though I have heard that Nam somewhere before Georgine said turning her eyes to Sylvester I could practically hear her say you never introduced me Sylvester still as stone-faced as before shot Ferdinand a glance before courteously introducing him sister this is Ferdinand my half brother he entered the castle after you were wed to ain's Bach so I do not believe you two ever met Ferdinand smoothly stepped forward to stand
in front of georan then when their eyes met he smiled dot What the freaking heck Ferdinand was smiling legitimately smiling his expression was brighter than anything I had ever seen from him before as he knelt before and greeted georan may I pray for a blessing and appreciation of this serendipitous meeting ordained by the vibrant summer rays of light and shof the god of fire ferand asked eventually standing back up when he was done georan asked him a few things about me and his experience being
my guardian which he answered with a smile that was now bordering on radiant I didn't even know what to say he looked three times Kinder and gentler than he usually did with his sirly frown so much so that it was hard to imagine him and his normal inexpressive self were the same person the ferdinant I was seeing here looked almost exactly like how Wilma Drew him it's strange he's smiling so much but somehow it feels like he's actually lothing this georan having finished being greeted by the arc
hducal family began walking around the hall to converse with the other Nobles it appeared that she had many Associates here having been born in Aaron Fest how do you do lady georan one Noble woman asked my my if it isn't Gloria how truly nostalgic it is good to see you well I plan to hold a tea party while you are here and I would be honored if you were to attend why of course I am quite looking forward to it she was first surrounded by a group of women but then there were men speaking to her as
well it seemed that it was the Nobles older than 40 who knew her and were especially pleased to see her again lady georan you are as beautiful as ever one man said oh my and you are as much of a smooth talker as ever aha georan wore the most Elegant Smile as she moved through the crowd of nobles staying at its Center and effortlessly maintaining conversations in a striking display of social skills that truly fitted the first wife of a greater duchies Arch Duke Dirk's mana and submission contrac
t once Georgine's welcoming ceremony was complete Ferdinand and I promptly returned to the temple Wilfried was going to be staying inside the northern building for the most part so as to minimize contact with other Nobles and while I could have done the same it was decided that I would have an easier time staying at the temp and resuming my usual work besides being stuck in a Northern building would have meant being unable to even go to the book room and I mean the temple has a book room too Geo
rgine's presence meant more traffic going in and out of the Noble's quarter and as we didn't want to give weight to the various rumors and messages being passed around I wasn't allowed to visit H nor was I allowed to summon the plon company or the gilberta company to the temple but even with these restrictions I was having a better time than I would have been having in a castle in fact the days following Georgine's arrival were so normal that I barely even thought about the fact she was here in
Aaron Fest I practiced harsh peel till third Bell then helped Ferd and up until fourth Bell one day when I returned to the high Bishop's Chambers for lunch after fourth Bell I found Fritz waiting for me with a somewhat serious look on his face a contrast to his usual calm demeanor it was rare for him to be in my Chambers at noon when would normally be in the workshop so whatever he needed to talk about it was serious has something happened Fritz yes lady rose mine there is something I must tell
you about Dirk at once he said anxiously all of a sudden the realization hit me I had basically forgotten about Dirk's Mana for an entire year we had stealthily sucked it all up using TOS last year but that wasn't a permanent solution his mono would simply overflow again and it would continue doing so until we did something about it I needed to speak with Ferdinand about what to do with Dirk going forward it wasn't something I could discuss too openly due to the submission contract he had been f
orced to sign with count bind Y and trying to help him on my own would no doubt result in me getting yelled at again Fran please request a meeting with Ferdinand As You Wish Fran conveyed in his message that we were in a rush and surprisingly Ferdinand scheduled a meeting for fifth Bell the next day it would normally be 3 days after he received the message why tomorrow mm could it be that Ferdinand has tons of spare time right now since he's stuck here in the temple watching over me at fifth Bel
l on the day of I exited the high Bishop's Chambers with Fran Fritz and dble walking down the hallway just in time to see a heart hurry out of the high priest's Chambers and toward the front entrance it looked like Ferdinand had sent him off on some urgent business now that I think about it I've barely seen aart in ferdinand's room lately has he been busy with some other work it must be rough serving such a demanding Master when we entered Ferdinand welcomed us with a Kurt well what is it you se
em to be in a rush he didn't even look up from his paperwork ferand could you please clear the room I wish to have only DL Fran and Fritz with us for this discussion Ferdinand looked over those I named then sighed and muttered not anything positive then as he waved his hand his attendants all stopped at once putting away their work and pushing the tea cart over to Fran before quietly leaving the room Fritz closed the door once they were gone now then Ros mine what happened Ferdinand asked taking
a sip of the tea Fran had poured for him I glanced over at Fritz who gave a nod before answering in my place I was told this by Wilma but it seems that Durk Mana has been growing rapidly as of late she wishes for your help Durk Ferdinand asked his brow furrowed I quickly interjected to explain Durk is the devouring baby C bind you old sign a submission contract with a I suppose his Mana is close to overflowing by now he replied now understanding why we were here that's right I said with a nod w
hat should we do make him offer up his Mana allowing it to build up too much could kill him so I want this settled as soon as possible indeed Ferd and concurred we do need as much Mana as we can get right now he smoothly stood up slid his Mona blocking leather gloves on then took a black face tone out of a cabinet dropping it into a leather bag which he then handed to me as we cannot allow a pre-baptism child to leave the orphanage he cannot directly offer his Mana to the Divine instruments inst
ead you will need to drain it using this face tone it will suck your Mana out as well if you touch it so take care to avoid doing so have your attendants handle it they need only touch it against the baby's skin for his Mana to be sucked out thank you ever so much Ferdinand here you are Fran I said immediately passing the bag to him it would be much safer in his care than mine also you could say I'm really here to discuss something else which is well was durk's submission contract ever nullified
like we talked about it had already been a year and a half since count bind Yu was imprisoned so things had naturally settled down enough for us to discuss this matter a Ferdinand drew his brow into a frown and drummed his fingers against his Temple as he fell into thought completely losing sight of everyone else up to this point we have paid it no mind but I suppose now is the time to do so we cannot leave things be any longer considering what is about to happen perhaps we could change his mas
ter to you but that would only create another weakness to be exploited um Ferdinand that's not what I was talking about I asked whether the contract was nullified I said inter erupting his murmuring he looked down at me his brow still furrowed it was best to leave the contract B why we do not need to worry about another Noble signing with him when he is already under a contract so there was no need to nullify it and create more problems to worry about no Noble would take a baby sign with a Crimi
nal from another duy and it was easiest to Simply leave him in the orphanage where he would be taken care of without issue I see then then why do we need to reconsider the situation now Ferdinand silently took out a sound blocking magic tool and only once he had confirmed that I was grasping the other end did he answer georan I knew she was an Aaron Fest but what did that have to do with anything she didn't have any connection to Durk we did not expect her to become the first wife of aon's Bach
and it is certainly not good for us that she has Ferd and continued for now she is is likely to be overwhelmed with the work expected of an archduke's first wife but once she has more time on her hands she will no doubt investigate Aron Fest and discover the incident with count bind U count bind Yu was from Aaron's Bach I asked on reflection I did seem to remember someone mentioning that he was very influential somewhere in the south of Aaron Fest indeed he was georan was the third wife at the t
ime of the incident and judging by how she was not even informed about Bez Wan's death we can imagine she was told nothing of what happened Arn Baka Arch Duke would not want it widely known that a noble from his duchy invaded and caused problems within Aaron Fest as that would give us a political advantage that said First Wives are heavily involved in politics and she is now in a position to find out about these things there is much she will surely learn through investigation I nodded as though
I understood what Ferdinand was getting at but in all honesty I was completely clueless how would Georgine learning about Durk and count bind U change anything this should not be so hard for you to understand it is known to all that you are the high bishop and the orphanage director Geor may use the contract with count bind uul to force us to hand over Durk or otherwise use it as an excuse to investigate the orphanage would the first wife of a greater Duchess Arch Duke really do all that for a d
evouring orphan you truly have no talent for gathering information do you Ferdinand said shooting me a glare but well I was being kept away from the other Nobles it wasn't fair for him to criticize my information gathering skills or lack thereof the person georan hates and resents above all else is Sylvester the one who stole the position of O from her you should know this given that you read those letters Bez Wan was concealing sorry I apologized silently maintaining a serious expression on the
outside I understood that she felt that way at the time but I didn't think her Grudge would endure 20 whole years and now there's you a girl whom Sylvester favored enough to willingly adopt that alone is enough to make you a Target not to mention the fact you are partially responsible for the death of Bez Wan a family member so near and dear to her heart that she maintained contact with him for years upon years after her marriage she learned of your involvement M just earlier on this very visit
wait what how do you know that how could ferdin and know what georan was doing during her stay here when he was stuck in a temple making sure I didn't do anything unsupervised he scoffed at my surprise eart and Justice are providing me with a steady stream of information I am in a temple partially to keep an eye on you but also so that those two will not need to be chained to my whereabouts art was being told about tea parties that mother was holding at her estate while Justice was going all ov
er the place to gather information directly as it turned out Sylvester was even summoning Ferdinand in the middle of the night so that he could complain about the struggles he was having to endure the faction containing those most connected to erens boach lost a considerable amount of power when Sylvester's mother was arrested so they are currently attempting to regain as much influence as they can through Georgine now that she has the weight of a greater duy behind her as we speak they are acti
vely strengthening their connections with her and it was at a tea party held with that intention where VI count dool told Georgine many many things I listened to ferdinand's explanation about Noble politics and while I didn't really understand what he was talking about I needed to at least ask about that name I didn't recognize Ferdinand who is VI count as dool the mother of that foolish Knight who forsook his duty as a guard and harmed you allowing the trauma B we fought to grow a new patch wai
t does he mean shik's mother Gaia that's terrifying I didn't want to know about this no matter how important it is for my safety I shuddered as I remembered sh's cold eyes as he thrust a knife toward me talking about gouging out my eyes because I was just a commoner she has not openly contacted you as part of an oath she made to the arch duuk following her son's execution in return turn however she curses you endlessly at tea parties and volunteers all she knows to those present it is quite the
annoyance as she does this only at tea parties attended exclusively by her allies making it difficult for members of the lies gang faction to confirm exactly what is being said she had gone so far as to beg Bez once and Veronica for shik's punishment to be lessened so it only made sense that she would be in a faction opposed to Alvar and florenes it also followed that she would rejoice at Georgine's visit hold a tea party and then use that opportunity to tell her all about how Bez W had died bec
ause of me dot that's scary I am glad that even one as hopelessly carefree as yourself can identify the danger you are in here if georan proceeds to take Veronica's Place supporting the faction as the first wife of a greater Duchess Arch Duke then she will possess a significant amount of influence in Aaron Fest and in the midst of all this it will be hard for us to resist if she claims that a devouring child signed to count bind Yu belongs to Aaron's Bach remember that Aaron Fest is but a medial
Duty it seemed that Dirk could be stolen away by a number of people through many different means there was the pressure from aon's Bach the family of C bind Yu who could claim ownership over him and the Nobles and Cahoots with Georgine it is possible that the saint myth we have constructed around you may be tarnished merely by her taking the orphan and framing you and your orphanage in a negative light at least that is something I could accomplish quite easily in her position we cannot predict
what she will do at the moment but she has destructive options in that case we really should nullify his submission contract with count bind Yu and establish a new one with me as his master no other Noble could take him away once he's signed to the archduke's adopted daughter right you did mutter something about doing that earlier this approach would make it a lot harder for anyone to publicly go after Durk and it would certainly be much easier to keep him safe when he wasn't fair gain to so man
y people I didn't want to keep him in such a dangerous position we could sign him with you which would no doubt be the best move in terms of protecting him but doing so would also turn him into a weakness of yours exploitable by any who wish to earn your favor or harm you Durk is like family to me by this point so heun's already a weak point focus on protecting him I said the light of my blessing had flown to Dirk when I prayed for him to be helped so the connection between us was more than clea
r ferdan and closed his eyes tightly just how many people does this fool intend to consider family he cursed under his breath signing the contract to protect him would be simple but your circumstances have changed considerably since then doing this will make you his guardian and a child with a guardian cannot stay in the orphanage you will thus have to raise him yourself and where exactly do you intend to do that when Dirk first signed with count bind Yu he was taken out of the orphanage and mov
ed to the high Bishop's Chambers he was only being raised in the orphanage now because bzw had died and his master was imprisoned leaving nobody to raise him having durk's sign with me naturally meant that I would need to take him into my care but an unbaptized baby couldn't work in a castle as a servant and while he would officially be considered family I couldn't ask ired to raise him when she had nothing to do with him the most realistic option was for me to look after him in the high Bishop'
s Chambers but that would just increase the burden on my attendance do not tell me you intend to hire attendance exclusively for raising a baby n g now that you mention it I would want to keep him in the orphanage for as long as possible the most important thing to consider was that me taking custody of Durk would mean ripping him away from dilia who wasn't allowed to leave the orphanage she cared for him like a little brother so I didn't want to tear them apart until I absolutely had to at the
very least I wanted them to be together until he was baptized and moved to the boy's building mm could we move his contract over to me in a way that won't force him to leave the orphanage no such convenient method exists or no wait perhaps one does seriously you really can do everything Ferdinand I exclaimed clapping my hands together in Joy Ferdinand gave an exceedingly displeased remas I cannot say that I enjoy copying Sylvester's methods here but you could entrust him with a pre-signed contra
ct and then have those in the orphanage stamp his blood on it only when danger befalls him thereby delaying it for as long as possible that would allow him to stay there would it not H I guess it would while I hadn't given it much thought before now Sylvester's magic tool contract thing had really come through when it counted that whole ordeal felt like ancient history now though I shall nullify his contract with account and prepare a submission contract for you to sign have someone you can trus
t in the orphanage keep it ready for dirk thank you ever so much I signed the contract that Ferdinand made and folded it up it was just a piece of parchment so I could guess he hadn't thought it necessary to make an entire magic tool for dirk to wear when we were only dealing with a plain old submission contract I had signed Dirk's name for him and it would take effect only once his blood was stamped onto that signature thank you for the help I repeated once everything was sorted I'll keep you u
pdated on his mana and regularly drain it with a face tone with our conversation over I exited ferdinand's room and immediately started heading to the orphanage judging by Fritz's expression when he had come to see me Dirk was probably in a really bad State no sooner had I arrived than wil McCain rushing over lady rose mine I thank you ever so much for visiting us today durk's face has recently started to Bubble a little whenever he cries and Wilma I just discussed this matter with the high prie
st everything is going to be fine just bring Dirk to me I said stopping her anxious explanation and glancing toward Fran he stepped forward with a bag containing the black face tone As You Wish wil replied deia deia please bring Dirk here at once I could hear a voice say okay from farther inside the dining hall and soon enough I noticed deia walking over while holding hands with Durk he had grown fairly large since the last time I saw him now big enough to run along with his diapers swaying behi
nd him his steps were rather wobbly though enough that I was expecting him to to fall over at any moment is camel about this big now too I wondered I had spotted him for afar during the spring coming of age ceremony but Tulie was hugging him from behind to stop him wandering off so I hadn't actually seen him run about or anything do Durk certainly has grown oh yes his growth amazes me more by the day he truly is a bundle of surprises Wilma said with a giggle before her eyes clouded over with wor
ry again Wilma there is nothing to fear I have borrowed a face tone that absorbs Mana from Ferdinand Dirk symptoms will vanished once I Ed it on him as she sighed in relief Dirk finally reached us and grabbed onto her leg he looked up at her with big round eyes as if demanding she Praise Him goo gooo it was like I was seeing camel which immediately warmed my heart I squatted down a little to look at Durk but the moment we made ey contact he stopped holding on to Wilma and ran away from me instea
d clinging to deia while fearfully shaking his head it reminded me of the way camel used to cry every time I held him why why it is good to see you lady rose mine please take care of Dirk for me dilia said kneeling before me and hugging him as he clung to her I nodded and looked at Fran he took out the face tone and knelt in front of Durk who heard ly hid behind diaa and began to wail goodness Durk don't cry your face will get all bubbly end dilia began but when she saw the black face tone in fr
iend's hand her expression changed she held Dirk protectively probably remembering the time bezan had forcibly sucked out his Mana her reaction made her look more like a tiny mom than an older sister it's okay deia this Stone won't put him him in any danger so long as you weren't trying to suck out all his Mana like the previous High Bishop did what's important right now is that his Mana is overflowing something that's very dangerous would you like to be the one to hold the face tone seeing as D
urk seems to be afraid of Fran that way you'll be able to keep an eye on how he's feeling as his Mona drains deia glared at the black face tone being held out to her then hesitantly took it and pressed it against durk's hand with a worried look on her face face he let out a confused noise looking up at her while blinking curiously his Mona must have started flowing out and I knew how that felt all too well it was a surprisingly good sensation almost like your entire body was getting lighter Dirk
must have been enjoying it given how he was happily reaching his hands toward his big sister I think that should be enough Dum muttered noticing Dirk turned his head away with an uncomfortable look on his face she removed the face toned from his skin and returned it to Fran with a bright smile I thank you ever so much lady Ros mine now we don't have to worry anymore I nodded in response though my expression was Stern deia I just discussed Dirk submission contract with the high priest would you
and Wilma mind discussing it with me deia's eyes widened in Surprise and she quickly straightened her back Wilma meanwhile nodded with a serious expression Durk submission contract with Cal bind Yu has been nullified I continued from this point onward he will stay in the orphanage as a normal devouring child did you hear that Durk isn't that nice however it is possible that an Aaron Fest Noble seeking Mana or someone associated with C bind y will attempt to take him for themselves at this news b
oth dilia and Wilma stiffened up with deia protectively pulling Dirk toward her just as my family had once done with me my heart aching with love and Bittersweet Nostalgia I held out Dirk's new submission contract for them to see this is a submission contract between Durk and me once it is signed he will no longer be able to remain in the orphanage it will however prove essential in protecting him I entrust this to you dilia what do you mean you entrusted to her Wilma asked blinking in Surprise
she didn't understand why we weren't just signing it outright I consider deia to be Dirk's older sister so dilia should the time ever come when he must be protected even at the cost of leaving the orphanage you may at your discretion stamp his blood against this signature doing so will complete the contract and if such a time comes I promise to protect him in your stad as his master dilia looked at me closely clearly surprised her eyes wandered from the contract to Durk and then back to me then
following a pause she slowly nodded a Sentimental smile on her lips do I know that you keep your promises lady rose mine I won't doubt you or allow myself to be manipulated by someone again she said looking at me head on her light blue eyes were filled with a sense of trust that hadn't been there a year and a half ago and the thought that she wouldn't be chained to the orphanage right now had I managed to earn this Faith back when she was my attendant made my heart twinch with regret but at the
same time I knew that I would be able to build a new stronger relationship with her going forward georan departs one day while helping Ferdinand in his Chambers an ordinance arrived from Sylvester Ferdinand listened to it then turned to me and said that Georgine was being seen off tomorrow finally I muttered without thinking whatever faction it was that opposed Alvar and our allies had been working doggedly in the shadows and while I didn't want to be rude to our guest I seriously just wanted th
em gone as soon as possible it felt as though I had been deprived of seeing the gilberta company and the plon company for a surprisingly long time not to mention it had been forever since I last visited H everyone we are heading to the castle right after breakfast tomorrow to see off our guest I announced to my attendants and guard Knights Upon returning to my Chambers while we were discussing our plans an Ord for Bridget flew in given the time it was probably familiar and as expected the bird s
poke a message Thrice in jil's voice it seems the new type of paper is ready but they do not know how to test the ink on it Bridget said they will therefore be sending completed samples to the castle for you so that those in the workshop May test it for themselves and decide whether to proceed with mass production clasping my hands together I responded with an impressed whistle I had expected it to take them a lot longer than a single month to discover the right balance of ingredients so Lutz an
d Gil must have been working hard lady Ros mine how shall I reply Bridget asked creating an ordinance descendant response I faced the bird and spoke you have already finished the new paper I would expect nothing less from my gutenberg's I have business in the castle tomorrow so I shall collect the paper at once we arrived at the castle much sooner than third Bell riardo was there waiting for me immediately whisking me away to change my clothes redo my hair and put a veil on me I was then escorte
d to a waiting room where I would be stuck until it was time to see off Georgine when I stepped inside I found Ferdinand in a change of clothes with work spread out before him despite having returned to his estate in a Noble's quarter you're working now Of All Times Ferdinand there is still time before georan is due to leave why would I not use it productively anything less would be inefficient he said while directing a hard around should I work as well then I have a package familiar to fetch bu
t I'm not sure where to go for it could you tell me one of my most important jobs is checking the quality of their new paper after all I received no such report fromer Ferdinand said with a glare I gave a big nod I knew that you would want to hear about this so rather than asking rarded to pass the message on I thought I would simply tell you myself this is new paper made with new ingredients you know don't you want to see it before anyone else I know I do not to mention I helped you just recent
ly by transporting all of your luggage and lesie so you should return the favor and help me with my work I said putting my all into securing his assistance no matter what Ferdinand remed then stood up as he gave his response very well but only if you continue to carry my luggage moving forward as well that wasn't an issue at all especially considering that he probably would have tossed his luggage into a Lessie either way my pandabus was just too useful and he knew it I thank you ever so much Fe
rdinand it seemed that the main building of the castle had a store room for boards paperwork and the lik sent from provincial Nobles separate from the one used for storing collected taxes scholar officials managed the mail as well stacking up everything received through the teleportation circles and then separating them based on their contents it instantly made me think of the post offices back on Earth Lord Ferdinand we did not expect you to come here directly is something the matter one surpri
sed scholar asked walking over as we arrived it seemed that Ferdinand normally sent his own Scholars to collect his mail and that this was not at all somewhere members of the archducal family usually visited themselves has there been any maale familiar address to Rose mine yes we just recently received a parcel for her here you are Ferdinand smoothly took the box and checked the address card attached to it with string before opening it inside was the newly made paper a letter and a small metal c
ard that he promptly took out rose mine right your name on this card it will serve as a record that you receive this parcel I signed my name on the metal card using a monop pen that Ferdinand let me borrow he glanced over it before putting it back in a box which he then returned to the scholar now we are done here right thanks for your help and so I climbed into my one person Pand obus with a letter and new paper held securely against my chest I had only touched the paper a little but it was fir
m and felt silky smooth if we were able to prin ink on it well enough it would be perfect for playing cards I need to contact Heidi through Beno she'll definitely love having new paper to work with I hum cheerfully on our way back to the waiting room getting straight to reading the letter once we were inside it was from Lutz and Gil saying pretty much the same thing as the ordinance they wanted me to deliver the paper to Heidi so that she could research which ink would pair with it best they als
o mentioned that the great priests were actively making paper and having an allaround good time as there was still some time to spare I decided to tear one of the new sheets of paper into tiny squares that we could use when testing the ink this could usually be done by folding the paper and then ripping along the newly formed creases but would paper this firm fold cleanly enough for that if not I would need to go through the effort of drawing out straight lines and then using a Precision knife t
o cut along them I started off with a single Mountain fold and despite How firm the paper was it bent just fine without breaking or cracking then I repeated a sequence of valley and mountain folds to make a wave likee shape oh now it looks like a Harrison huris were large paper fans typically used to hit people over the head in Japanese comedy routines the paper was just firm enough to maintain the fan shape and when I experimentally slapped it against my palm it made a pretty satisf fying flx s
ound rose mine what is that what is its purpose Ferdinand asked having been distracted from his work as he watched me swing around the harrisan with a confused look on his face IG hat you use it like this hi springing into action I swung the harrisan straight down at ferdinand's head but despite my attempted surprise attack he deafly raised his left forearm to block the fan before using his other hand to snatch it away then he promptly struck me over the head with it Eep a I see so that is what
this is used for Ferdinand said slapping the haran against his hand with a satisfied grin he looked so pleased with himself that it actually irritated me n g h give it back you can have it back when we return to the temple now stop playing around and help me with my work he replied and so I was stuck doing math until it was time to see off georan I tied up my sleeves with some cord that I asked rarded to fetch for me so that my long sleeves wouldn't get dirty and after working for a while wilfre
y joined us in the waiting room Ros mine what are you doing over there he asked I'm helping Ferdinand with his work just like I do at the temple would you care to join us no I need to practice my farewells to Auntie I'll have to help use some other time as we continued our work Oswald taught wilfrey to lengthy Noble farewell that went like so I pray that you live well with the Divine protection of the Gods until drer the goddess of time weaves the threads of our Fates together once again put sim
ply it meant I hope to see you again and it was used to politely say goodbye when you had no immediate intention of making an agreement to meet again soon eventually Norbert came to inform us that Georgine was departing we all headed to the front entrance of the castle Ferdinand getting a heart to carry me there since he didn't want to risk her seeing my high beast and kicking up a fuss by the time we arrived at the gate ferdinand's expression had morphed from a Stony Poker Face to a polite hand
some smile one that remained for the entire duration he spoke to georan I pray that you live well with the Divine protection of the Gods until drer the goddess of time weaves the threads of our Fates together once again I said speaking the same farewell without so much as wavering once everyone had finished Wilfried must have had a sudden thought as he broke formation and ran up to Georgine we didn't get to talk much this time auntie I hope we can spend more time together soon everyone had caref
ully cultivated an atmosphere that made it clear georan wouldn't be coming back for a long time but with a single sentence Wilfried had torn it to shreds florena looked down at him her Indigo eyes opened wide with surprise while his attendants were covering their mouths with their hands I could feel an especially icy order radiating from Ferdinand that same handsome smile was still on his face but just standing next to him had me quaking in fear despite the shocked reactions of everyone around h
er Georgine appeared to be figting ignorance I see I had no idea that you wished to speak with me more she said with a small happy smile bending down to meet wilfred's gaze in that case perhaps I should return next year at around this same time yes please I can't wait while Wilfried rejoiced gleeful innocence in his dark green eyes georan elegantly turned her head to look at florena it would not be a bother for me to accept this invitation would it the proper response would probably have been di
d you not hear what literally everyone else just said to you but nobody seeing her off was even close to being a high enough status to get away with saying something like that florena having failed to predict her son's spur of the- moment action had only one answer to give not at all we would love to see you again soon and so it was decided that georan would return to Aaron Fest next year ferdinand's smile vanished the instant Georgine's Carriage was out of sight giving way to a deep scowl his g
olden eyes Shone with cold anger as he glared down at wilfrey the only one present who looked at all pleased do it rose mine he said holding out the harison he had previously confiscated from me why did he bring that here I wondered but as much as I wanted to know the idea of actually asking right now terrified me so I simply nodded and took the fan from him Wilfried had shocked his parents put his attendance through Agony and angered Ferdinand far be it from me to not exploit this opportunity I
raised the haisan high into the air then brought it down on wilfred's head with a sharp crack you big idiot you shouldn't have said that learn to read the mood his eyes widened in shock why did you do that that's what I should be asking you how big of an idiot do you have to be to give georan an excuse to come again next year I shouted spotting Sylvester and Flor renin nodding in agreement out of the corner of my eye what all I said was that I wanted to speak with her more and that's the proble
m what farewell were you taught today when is that particular farewell used and why do you think your parents the archducal couple chose that farewell of all farewells Wilfried blinked in confusion but Oswald had already explained all this to him in the waiting room rose mine we can continue this discussion inside Ferd and chided and do not get so excited you will collapse with that he began walking off I followed after him swallowing the urge to ask and who was it that gave me the harison in th
e first place Sylvester promptly took the lead bringing us to a small meeting room that was closest to the main building's front entrance we took our seats and for some time nobody offered anything except the occasional sigh all fixing Wilfried with cold quiet eyes eventually Wilfried couldn't take it anymore with his brow furrowed he hesitantly broke the silence I've thought about it but I still don't understand I wanted to speak to Auntie more but I guess mother and father don't at this litera
lly everyone's site including the mother and father in question of course correct Sylvester replied we don't want archdukes from other duchies and their first wives in a castle even if we are siblings it's precisely because we are related that it's hard for us to figure out what information they are getting where they are getting it and how they plan to use it we taught you that particular farewell for a reason florena added you must not act on your own before higher status individuals as doing
so creates openings that can be exploited in ways we don't always understand it seems we will not be able to send you to the Royal Academy until you have learned a bit more about the world the royal Academy was attended by Nobles from both larger duchies and higher ranked duchies than Aaron Fest not to mention Royal children from the King's family who directly ruled the sovereignty those were people Wilfried would need to Bow and be endlessly polite to but up until now he had only ever needed to
Bow his head to his parents but even with his mother openly expressing her worry about his future Wilfried still didn't seem to comprehend the idea of someone being higher in status than him Sylvester crossed his arms someone of a higher status than Wilfried Bona Faus is the only guy who comes to mind but Wilfried had already been respectful to Bona Faus who had cared for him during the last Archduke conference that defeated the point Wilfried you aren't very polite to Ferdinand even though he'
s an older member of the archducal family I interjected I've always thought that was a bit rude maybe you should call him uncle and be more courteous to him just like you called Georgine ande and were courteous to her you can learn to kneel by paying your respects to him at this suggestion Wilfried looked at me white-eyed rose mine Ferdinand isn't my Superior grandmother told me all about him being beneath me Ferdinand has since returned to Noble society and he is of a higher status than you wit
hin the archducal family what about that does not make sense to you but grandmother said wilfrey over a year has passed since your grandmother was imprisoned as a criminal why are you still paying any mind to the things she told you his expression was suddenly overcome with shock at which point Oswald hurly stepped between us lady rose mine we were planning to disclose that information to Lord Wilfried when he is a little older Oswald did the events of autumn last year not teach you what happens
when Wilfried is kept from reality it took me a second to fully comprehend what Oswald had meant and when I looked around I noticed that Sylvester was shutting his eyes tightly as if wincing at me having revealed the truth I gazed at him and florena Ferdinand had long been drilling complex Noble social rules into my head and I wasn't even their successor why were they letting Wilfried stagnate like this the thought made my heart and mind grow icy cold we were previously able to beat everything
Wilfried needed to know into him right before his win debut but procrastinating until the very last moment should not be the norm My adoptive mother and father would not be so foolish has to repeat the same mistake by not teaching him until right before he is due to enter the Royal Academy would they I hope that everyone would forgive my Sharp tone but it was because wilfred's Grandmother Had forged documents to get count bind ued into the city that I had ended up separated from my family she wa
s also the one responsible for Ferdinand being forced into the temple having abused him so much that he truly believed his life was in danger to be honest even though I hadn't ever met the woman I hated her with a passion Wilfried I won't tell you to stop acknowledging your grandmother but I don't approve of you disrespecting my guardian just because she didn't like him Ferdinand is a member of the archducal family if anyone here does not know their place it is you Sylvester made a deliberate sh
ow of nodding in agreement Ros M's right here Ferdinand was clearly of a lower status before when he was a priest but now he's back in Noble society and he's my half brother Wilfried you shall henceforth respect him as your uncle father you can't be serious Wilfried protested but Sylvester simply ignored him and looked at Oswald Oswald you will need to teach Wilfried how to be respectful from the ground up Ros mine got any ideas for the best way to raise him here I think it would be best for you
florena and his attendance to think about that yourselves as I have mentioned before I am busy with many other things and thus do not have the time to dedicate to educating Wilfried once again a great deal of work has piled up while lady Georgine's visit was restricting my movement the last time this was a problem I had offered my assistance out of sympathy for Wilfried thinking it unfair that he was being disinherited when it was his environment that was at fault and wanting florena to regain
control over his education but his debut was now over and his parents were overseeing his schooling again so I didn't see why I should have to dedicate any more of my already precious time to him I need to contact the plon company get the new paper to Heidi call the gilberta company over to get tuli's latest hair stick I used listing off everything I hadn't been able to do because of Georgine Ferdinand would it be problem atic at all for me to visit H now I asked suddenly suggesting that we aban
don this meeting and return to the temple he understood my intention at once immediately standing up from his chair not in the least so why do you wish to go to H Ferdinand asked once we were back at the temple and en rude to his Chambers I recently received a letter from Hass asking for a meeting with me mentioning that they were hoping I could purchase some orphans to fund their winter preparations as they did not receive a blessing during spring prayer their Harvest was notably poor compared
to last year so they are hoping to build up as much funding as they can as far in advance as possible Ferdinand nodded I will need to accompany you then set the meeting for the afternoon The Day After Tomorrow we do oh and can I send some great priests to H this winter to what end exactly well the truth is the the letter they sent me was very crudely written I think they would have only themselves to blame if they sent something similar to another Noble and ended up getting scolded for their rud
ess I wasn't even referring to their handwriting being bad this time they had actually used Noble euphemisms writing very fancily and even using the phrase We Shall prepare offerings of sweet fruits and beautiful flowers to you oh servant of the Gods and ask only that you hear our needs in return but that actually meant we'll give you women beer and money if you just please do what we want which really wasn't appropriate to say to a little girl such as myself it seems very likely that they are u
sing set phrases adopted over Bez Wan's long tenure as high bishop and I doubt anyone in has knows exactly what they are saying would it not be wise to tell them I don't believe there are any commoners who know what that really means do I see such a Brazen attempt at bribery would certainly shock any new Associates of theirs Ferdinand said tapping a finger against his Temple this was a headache inducing situation for him to exactly and that's why I want to send two or three great priests to H's
winter Mansion this year could we not just claim it's to keep an eye on them like we are making sure there aren't any lingering signs of treason or something like that such an excuse would indeed hold weight during winter this year in that case I would like to use this opportunity to have the great priests teach the new mayor Rick and anyone else who might be writing letters how to properly do paperwork and what Noble euphemisms actually mean truthfully that is not a bad idea I would not like to
receive any such letters myself Ferdinand said granting his permission with an exasperated look with that I triumphantly clenched my fists you I need to write my response to H right away when when I returned to the high Bishop's Chambers I wrote a letter to Rick detailing the date of our meeting and one to H's Monastery telling them to prepare rooms for the incoming orphans Monica please contact Wilma I require enough living Necessities for five people to be taken from the orphanages spares in
preparation for the afternoon the day after tomorrow I imagine H has enough that they could provide these themselves but it is better to have extra than not enough as you wish I will go to the orphanage at once Fran I need someone to contact the planting company in Gil's absence do you think Fritz is suitable for the job he paused for a moment in thought then nodded I believe he is capable could we ask the plan and Company to visit tomorrow afternoon then I would like to give them the new paper
I just received from iller now that Georgine was gone I no longer had any restrictions holding me back I gave order after order making my way through all the business that had piled up while I was restricted to the temple and perhaps because I had barely met the woman during her stay I was already forgetting about her in no time at all her presence had entirely faded from my mind epilog the sun was setting sooner every day Autumn was the busiest season for jibs as it was the season when tax offi
cials came and the Harvest Festival was performed so all those who had gathered in a Noble's quarter to welcome georan from aand now needed to hurry back to their respective provinces vicount dulf was once such Noble had his Province been nearby it would have been best for him to return by Carriage alongside his luggage but he was in a hurry and traveling by high Beast was a much faster option Gloria my apologies but there is much work at home that only I as the jib can do could you ride home to
dool with the carriages while I return first by high Beast of course have a safe trip dear VI Countess Gloria replied with a smile she would have preferred to hurry home on a high Beast too but she understood the importance of getting their luggage back safe and sound thank you I simply don't want to leave Jeremiah's home alone for too long I'm counting on you jeremias Gloria lowered her eyes a little upon hearing the name he was the son of her husband's previous first wife and while she had pl
otted to have him disinherited and her own son take his place as successor this had ultimately ended with shik's execution she masked the pain and despair searing her heart with a small smile certainly you may count on me after watching her husband and his numerous attendants fly off Gloria left the packing of their luggage to the attendants and servants who managed their winter Mansion Gloria climbed into a carriage loaded with luggage and began her trip home to do doll there wasn't much to do
as it bounced and rattled along the path and so she gazed aimlessly out the window and let thoughts of the past run through her mind the world was unkind to her and she hated it more than she could ever say all I want to do is aveng shik's death but I am not even allowed that one Comfort soon after Gloria had married VI count dulf as his second wife and given birth to their son shika they found that the child lacked the Mana necessary to be called a medable her husband us presented her with thre
e choices make him a servant of the estate offer him up to L nobl for adoption or send him to the temple in the end she decided to send him to the temple convinced that doing so would give her an opportunity to converse with Bez wans the high Bishop at the time and through him form a connection with the archduke's mother Veronica it was especially important to cultivate a good relationship with Bez once so that they could ask him to prioritize dulf when it came to Distributing mon and so Gloria
made contact with Veronica doing everything she could for shika through Bez once she was desperate to keep her son as someone important to dulf I struggled considerably at the time but it was all worthwhile her efforts ultimately paid off she strengthened her bond with Veronica and brought prosperity to dulf while the death of Jeremiah's mother led to her becoming the first wife the Civil War in the sovereignty also happened at about the same time and the extraordinary repercussions permitted sh
ika to enter the Royal Academy it was a blessing Unthinkable in normal times her child went from being a blue priest to a noble recognized as the son of VI count Al's first wife all that remained was to disinherit jeremias and make shika our successor that was the only thing left to do and yet M days after successfully convincing Veronica to support this transfer of power shika was executed because of an apprentice blue shrine maiden of commoner birth Gloria future vanished in an instant as thou
gh it had been swallowed by the goddess of chaos leaving her in complete darkness why wasn't the commoner executed instead why was my Noble son forced to guard that filthy lesser being she pleaded to everyone she could asking for their support but shik's charges were already set in stone both his and his family's honor were protected due to the death Being Framed as having occurred on duty on the condition that they never bother the shrine Maiden again but Gloria wasn't satisfied in the least se
ething hatred for all those involved festered in her heart growing stronger by the day she hated the commoner Shrine Maiden for what she had done to her son Ferdinand for having ordered him to protect such a filthy commoner in the first place and Sylvester for decreeing that he be executed and yet any opportunity for Revenge vanished when her husband ordered that she never approached the commoner Shrine Maiden when winter socializing came around she searched for anyone else invested in harming t
he girl who had so Gravely wronged her but nobody was willing to actively work against someone who had been placed under the high priest's protection nobody except Veronica that is because she too hated Ferdinand her support would ultimately be given as a way of antagonizing him though Gloria didn't mind so long as it meant the shrine Maiden would suffer as well but she was denied even that small satisfaction a crucial blunder resulted in mon getting arrested after inviting Cal bind Yu into Aaro
n Fest while the commoner child who was supposed to have been kidnapped was instead baptized as the night Commander's daughter for some unfathomable reason she was even adopted by the arch Duke right after but why why was a commoner Apprentice Shrine made and baptized as the night Commander's daughter why was she adopted by the OB himself and given the honor of joining the archducal family putting her above even me and status to Gloria there was was nothing more intolerable than that it was an a
trocity that Dishonored every noble in Aaron Fest she was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that both the OB and the night Commander had plotted to execute her son for some heinous reason perhaps even the OB is being manipulated by Ferdinand Veronica often spoke about how dangerous that man is after all Veronica had been the only one to consider ferdin and dangerous after he entered the temple and now Gloria knew that she had been right all along had lady Georgine become Old Baron Fest instea
d of Lord Sylvester she never would have done something as foolish as adopting a commoner into the archducal family Gloria still resented beyond words that the previous Arch dukee had chosen Sylvester to be his Heir lady georan was much better suited to the title Not only was she beautiful but she was a master at orchestrating clever schemes if she had become the OB the lies gangs would have been eliminated in no time at all and her return to Aaron Fest must have reminded countless other Nobles
of that truth many in Aaron Fest still believed it with all their hearts even now a decade after her departure Sylvester had severed his primary support Base by imprisoning his mother Veronica and as far as Gloria knew that meant georan now had more supporters among the nobility than he did as Gloria stood in her hate a white bird phased through the wall of the carriage transforming into a letter before dropping onto her lap it was a form of ordinance often used when the correspondence was Best
Kept private so she picked it up and began to read the message was from Roa the wife of vial gerlock revealing that she had received a letter from Georgine so important that it would shape the very future of Aaron Fest she wished to discuss it with Gloria and was thus inviting her to gerlock in an instant the waves of ardent frustration crashing against Gloria heart calmed when she had bemoaned her suffering to Georgine at a tea party during her visit the woman had merely responded with a sad sm
ile saying that although she was the first wife of Aon Bach and wanted to help she could not risk interfering in Aaron Fest politics so directly what in the world had changed her mind perhaps that reply was only lip service in case a spy from the O was listening considering how cautious she was that would make perfect sense Georgine was the one woman Gloria considered worthy of dedicating her heart and soul to she was her one true mistress and if she had important plans concerning Aaron Fest the
n she would put all else aside and speed to gerlock as soon as possible but once she was back at dulf she couldn't simply leave again now was her best opportunity while she was still traveling alone by Carriage oh my I do believe I've fallen rather ill perhaps the shaking of the carriage has proven too much for me to handle right now you make the necessary arrangements for me to stay few nights at a nearby Inn Gloria instructed one of her attendants planning to sneak off to gerlock on high Beast
upon arriving at gerlocks summer Mansion Gloria was taken to a guest parlor where she found about 10 Nobles engaging in relaxed conversation they were all allies who likewise considered Georgine their mistress and so she promptly spoke the greeting for reunions to them Hello Lord Grom lady Roa drer the goddess of time has answered my prayer and woven the threads of our Fates together once again never did I think it would happen so soon indeed lady Gloria not even in my wildest dreams did I expe
ct to receive a letter from Lady Georgine so soon Roy said with a happy Elegant Smile as she offered her a seat it seemed that georan had sent the message before crossing the duchy southern border gate and having her Communications blocked if only she had come directly to gerlock so that we could discuss matters further she continued with a sigh here we can speak freely without having to worry about spies from the arch dukee unlike in a Noble's quarter Grom patted his wife on the back and laughe
d I can hardly blame her for being so secret of this is grave enough that she can't even let those in aon's boach know about it lady Georgine has always been a careful one they were both in such a light-hearted mood that whatever the news was it must have been good Gloria thus asked about the letter deep down envying Roa for having a husband who understood her so well lady Roa might I ask you to share the joy with us I'd rather you not keep lady Georgine's news between you and your husband wait
just a moment I shall Reddit now Royer replied causing everyone present to fall silent and listen intently if one were to remove all the colorful decorative language the message could be described quite simply as thus it seems that I've happened upon a path to Aaron fest's Foundation whatever shall I do is that even a question lady Georgine must use this opportunity to obtain Aaron fest's foundation for herself Gloria declared all those around her nodding firmly in agreement observing this royla
smiled and hugged the letter to her chest indeed everyone here feels the same way as us lady Gloria but nearly 20 years have passed since lady georan was W to aon's boss she has spent too much time away no matter how fervent our wishes the other Nobles simply lack our passion and Lady Georgine would never be allowed to return to Aaron Fest under normal circumstances growon nodded and stood up his fists tightly clenched but now things are different he said looking over his guests with blazing ho
peful Eyes Lord Sylvester's support base was expected to be Ironclad once the previous o climbed the Towering staircase but that could not be further from the truth the political situation in Aaron Fest is volatile and unstable why because lady Veronica was imprisoned last spring he no longer has the firm pillar of support that he once did and in these unpredictable times lady Georgine has discovered the path to Aaron fest's Foundation this must be the Divine guidance of the Gods his heated spee
ch stirred glorious heart Veronica adored Sylvester and if she had remained in a position of power it was true that georan would have had no opportunity to return but now that she was imprisoned Sylvester's support base was wavering they now had a chance a window of opportunity in which Georgine had discovered the very path to the foundation such splendidly good fortune could not be a mere sequence of coincidences the gods wished for lady Georgine to become o baren Fest and all those present had
the belief carved deeply into their minds lady Georgine is cautious she will not make a move unless her success is guaranteed royla continued it is for this reason that we must show her ourselves that her return is feasible now is our greatest opportunity to shake Aaron fast to its core luckily for us it was written in her letter that she will be returning the summer of next year thanks to an invitation from Lord Wilfried everyone immediately Lean Forward discussing what they might do to destab
ilize Aaron Fest and encourage Georgine's return how stable is Lord Sylvester's rule what openings are there to exploit Grom mused aloud experimentation will certainly be necessary at first but if we can show the other Nobles how brittle Lord Sylvester's Central support base is it will put us in a much stronger position to convince the neutral Nobles lady georan will certainly enjoy that let us Begin by testing the quality of the archducal family the skills of their retainers and Lord Sylvester
ability to control the aftermath of a disaster we can report our findings to Lady Georgine and perhaps that will influence her decision come next summer at the moment nobody knew whether Georgine would move to seize control of the foundation or whether she would determin it safer to hold back but either way it would not be simple for her to return to Aaron Fest as its new o not only did she need to be freed from her position as ens bak's first wife but she also needed more supporters obtaining t
he support of the Veronica faction will be the simplest method to grow her support base perhaps we could exploit Lord wilfrey to that end we trick him into dishonoring himself then save him and earn his favor which should make him more susceptible to manipulation in the future royla continued marrying him to Lady Georgine's granddaughter would be a simple way to keep other Nobles in check to and if we ever run out of use for him he can very easily be eliminated it was well known that Veronica ha
d doed on Wilfried and so getting him on their side would possibly lead other Nobles to follow suit and join him Lord Wilfried is certainly worth exploiting but what about that commoner child rose mine Gloria asked much more invested in eliminating her I doubt lady Georgine considers her important to her plans she couldn't help but feel that if they would just kidnap rose mine she could torture the girl to her heart's content and finally bring peace to the r that tormented her so sensing Glory a
s wrathful emotions growl some weight a hand to calm her down in order to prevent the resistance of the lies gangs and make it known to all how foolish it was for them to make rose mine the hope of their house it is necessary that we publicize her commoner Origins and restore Bez W's honor then once that is done we may treat her like any commoner who has deceived Nobles deserves to be treated and by that you mean growon narrowed his gray eyes and slowly stroked his chin before speaking in a mono
nymous fairly disinterested tone we can chain her up and continually drain her of the Bountiful Mana that secured her position as the arch Duke's adopted daughter seal her away in the temple as a breeding cell for producing children with high quantities of Mana train her as a devouring Soldier the possibilities are endless and each one would certainly be deserved plus if she ever breaks we need only turn her into a face tone with that Roy clapped her hands together in sudden realization OD lady
Georgine said that ain's Bach was struggling a little with Mana due to matters related to the Civil War perhaps we could hand her over to them that would at least partially compensate for lady Georgine's return if everything went well an excellent member of the archducal family would be returning to Aaron Fest Aaron's Bach would surely need some Mana support to fill the Gap she left behind Grom nodded we will need to ask lady Georgine her thoughts first but that is not a bad idea at all there ar
e some obstacles to overcome however that child holds herself up in a temple and rarely leaves and Lord Ferdinand a man so extraordinarily competent that Veronica has spent the past decade fearing him above all others is personally protecting her not even other members of the lies gang faction can easily approach her despite supposedly being part of her family we cannot even be certain how much truth there is to the rumor about her ill health it could be that they are merely claiming she is weak
to minimize her contact with a nobility one Noble said we simply lack too much information here his arms crossed growon drummed a finger against his triceps as he always did when deep in thought an unusual sense of determination was clear in his eyes likely due to this being a rare opportunity to work for Georgine's benefit if what we have heard from Lord Sylvester's retainers is correct then Lord Ferdinand is as exceedingly dangerous as one would expect from an individual who maintained first
place in the Royal Academy throughout his entire time there he eventually said I myself have rarely spoken to him so I am uncertain how true these rumors are but it is very likely he will interfere with our plots and put a stop to any that come to his attention welcoming Georgine back to Aaron Fest would mean de throning Sylvester and as Ferdinand fully supported the current Arch dukee there would be no avoiding his opposition perhaps we should make our move when they are both forced to leave th
e temple for some religious ceremony or another that should limit what Lord Ferdinand can do against us Roa cocked her head thoughtfully the Harvest Festival is coming up soon I imagine that with how few blue priests there are at the moment both Lord Ferdinand and lady rosemine will need to leave the temple to personally oversee it themselves hold on but then we'll be stuck in gerlock Grom replied with a slight grimas he wanted to help georgin so much that anything holding him back cut deep and
those present couldn't help but smile a little at how dedicated he was Lord Grom another Noble interjected I am not a jib and thus I will be able to move freely during the Harvest Festival our goal here is to observe how the OB and his supporters respond to what we do so we can keep things small correct with that in mind I believe it would be best if if only those of us who live in a Noble's quarter act that will minimize how much can be traced back to Lady Georgine doing anything that would put
Sylvester and his supporters on guard too much would not be ideal while Georgine's intentions were still up in the air they needed to make whatever they did look like as much of an accident as possible all while leaving an extremely minimal connection to her Grom gave another nod indeed our goal is to harm the OB destabilize his faction and show that there is an opening to exploit such that lady Georgine steals her resolve to return it is not necessary for us to implement any life or death trap
s here we should prioritize setting multiple cunning ones that when strong together are quite unbreakable he said an amused grin spreading across his lips he was no doubt running several potential plots through his head at that very moment and Roa could hardly remember the last time she had seen her husband so Lively is Lord Wilfried our Target this time she asked gracefully tilting her head once more I imagine destabilizing Lord Sylvester's faction through his biological son will have a much gr
eater impact than using his adopted daughter Lord Sylvester has always been weak to those precious to him being put in danger growon said with a laugh attack him directly and he remains steadfast but Target his family and he is much more likely to bend more opinions were shared and plans were slowly woven together Gloria of course wanted to participate in the plot against Sylvester since he had ordered shik's execution but as the first wife of a jib it would be hard for her to leave dool I suppo
se I will need to continue waiting before I can hurt the commoner then that's a shame but now I'm one step closer than before when I could do nothing at all and once Sylvester is dethroned there will be nobody to protect that commoner Shrine Maiden H how I pray that my dreams will soon come true tea party Charlotte mure I am going to work now listen well to your Nanny and be good children yes Mother bye-bye I spoke to my children in the morning as always hugging them both before standing up and
reluctantly leaving the room every time I saw their cute smiles the fact that I could not do the same for Wilfried sent a Pang of regret through my chest test cursed be his grandmother the very moment two seasons had passed a time period during which it was considered essential for mothers to feed their children directly Veronica had snatched Wilfried away to raise him herself from then until his baptism Wilfried had been in a position where I could only hug him at dinner I suppose I should be g
rateful that I regained the ability to raise him at all I'm used I had Rose mind to thank for that she was the reason that Veronica the woman who had ant onized me from my wedding day complaining that Sylvester was supposed to have taken his first wife from ain's Bach was imprisoned plus she had produced such an endless stream of popular trends that shifting the allegiances of noble women in a subsequent Fallout became simple work but not even that was the most important thing rosemine had done
for me she had also saved Wilfried from being disinherited after he failed to receive the upbringing necessary of a member of the archducal family in my eyes she was less the saint of Aaron Fess and more my very own Saint My Savior I had doubted my ear when Sylvester said that he would be adopting a daughter from carat considering it could hardly be said that he was raising his own children properly but Ros mine's extraordinary qualities became obvious as soon as I met her she was beautiful had
an immense quantity of Mana astonishing quick thinking skills a knack for conceptualizing new inventions that instantly became Trends the motivation to actually create those inventions and a deeply Compassionate Heart she also was so feeble that she seemed to end up on the verge of death if one so much has looked away from her for a moment working quickly to secure and protect her for the duchy sake was a rare instance of Sylvester making a very wise decision in my opinion today I would be havin
g a tea party with Georgine our visitor from aon's Bach Sylvester had begged me to attend alongside him and while I agreed I could hardly say I was was particularly enthusiastic about it I already struggle to face her because of how much she resembles Veronica and not to mention I am quite concerned about the smile lady georan gave Wilfried during her welcoming Feast it simply will not leave my mind you're right to be nervous about it florena I'm going to make sure wilfrey doesn't see her again
so seeing her off will be the last time they meet same goes for rose mine too of course it concerned me that Sylvester was so on guard against Georgine considering how soft he usually was on his family I still could not believe how long he had allowed Bez W and Veronica to wreak havoc Sylvester why is it that you are so guarded against georan I don't want my children to go through what I did he said going on to explain that while he was struggling with the intense upbringing demanded of the next
o his older sister Georgine had tormented him endlessly looking back I can understand how she must have felt when her whole life was taken from her and all her efforts disrespected but from when I moved to the northern building after my baptism to when she departed for aon's Bach she never stopped antagonizing me while Sylvester was outwardly maintaining his calm I could tell that the years of Torment had left gaping wounds in his heart the trauma from his childhood had yet to fade goodness thi
s man he truly is an overgrown child having been raised with his mother's distorted love but never given help when he truly needed it take this and follow us Sylvester instructed an attendant gesturing toward a box he then stood up prompting me to stand as well guess I've got to speak to Geor jeene about Bez Wan and mother this isn't going to be fun I know only a fraction of the circumstances and having an outsider such as myself intervene in Family Matters will simply throw the discussion into
chaos this duty is yours and yours alone Sylvester but I will be there with you so please stay strong with that I gave Sylvester a kiss on the cheek hoping to raise his spirits as much as I could we made our way to the tea party arm in- arm sitting next to one another when we arrived and with Georgine seated across from us the proceeding began Silvester did not wish to reveal Aaron fest's growing assets to Aaron's boach and so we were serving traditional fellow old Honey Pies as sweets they were
made with honey soap fell old filling and when cut into they would often fall apart in a way that made them visually unappealing Nobles used this opportunity to show off just how skilled their attendants were having them expertly slice the sweets in a way that preserved their beauty before serving them eating them gracefully was equally as important being an essential skill for any fine Noble woman rosemine would have her chefs make them in bite-sized pieces to begin with but but this was its m
ore traditional form focusing on my hands I deely cut into the pie with my Cutlery before taking a demonstrative bike for Georgine doing so actually made me feel a little nostalgic since I had quite regularly been enjoying Ros mine's recipes as of late Sylvester you do know that I came here to visit our uncle's grave correct how long do you intend to make me wait before taking me there georan asked shooting him a stern look with an elegantly furrowed brow as she sipped her tea Sylvester briefly
glanced over at me for assistance but then clenched his fists and looked Georgine head on our uncle was executed as a criminal count Grell the patriarch of his home family has said that they are in no way responsible for someone who had been removed from their family for the temple so many decades ago their refusal means he has no grave executed you say Georgine asked she had been informed of Bez W's death by a letter from the temple but knew no more than that we had of course hidden such detail
s during the arch Duke conference since it could hardly be made public that one of our family members had waited for the ob's absence before deliberately stirring up trouble georan clenched her fists fixing Sylvester with a harsh glare that made it clear she was demanding answers he stiffened grinding his teeth at a sight before taking a deep breath and putting on a Stern expression of an arch dukee he disobeyed my orders and prompted my mother to forge official documents allowing a noble of ano
ther duy into the cityan act that devolved into violence and caused conflict I could see his fist shaking on his lap as he spoke I slid my hand over his turning it over so that I could intertwine our fingers Sylvester everything will be okay as I stroked his hand with my thumb I could feel the tension drain from him ever so slightly I am confident that as the first wife of aon's Bach you must know how grave of a crime it is for the arch Duke's seal to be used while he is absent for the Archduke
conference Sylvester continued please I want you to understand georan lowered her eyes let out a thin sigh and then slowly raised her head despite my sorrow I understand that you had no choice but to execute him did you save any of his belongings Sylvester I have much under my possession you may take whatever you like yes I believe I shall it appeared the Box Sylvester had made his attendant carry contain Bez Wan's former belongings the Box inside also contains the letters you sent him he stored
and treasured every single one in the temple ferdin and sent them to me the other day oh my you read those how embarrassing georan gave a small smile before before taking out the box of letters and an ornately decorated ink bottle goodness to think Uncle used this until the very end she whispered judging by her response it was safe to say that she had gifted Bez wans the ink bottle before being married away to Aron's boach her eyes crinkled nostalgically as she looked over it and the look on he
r face as she touched the bundled up letters gave her the countenance of an exceptionally loving woman the kind smile she wore appeared so genuine that it made the cold she had given Wilfried and the abuse she had forced upon Sylvester almost come across as uncharacteristic mistakes of some kind I only ever met with a high Bishop during ceremonies and despite bezan not even being a noble he had joined Veronica in lecturing me at length about the duties of a wife so it was safe to say that my fee
lings toward him were by no means fond ones he was considered such a disgrace that even his own family rejected his remains following his execution so at the very least it was believing to know that someone in the world cared for him he committed the crime by enlisting mother's help then where is she now I thought it strange that she was not present during the welcoming Feast but it would not have been proper to ask about her there she's being imprisoned for the same crime right now she's in the
forest's Ivory Tower I would like to meet with her Sylvester's scowl deepened as he shook his head those who had committed treason against the archd were not allowed visitors to prevent both escape and murder she committed treason you can't see her I am not suggesting that we speak to one another I simply wish to see with my own eyes the conditions she is living in surely you understand that a child would naturally want to see their mother would you not make the same request if you were in my p
osition Geor jeene asked glaring at him I am the first wife of aon's Bach she made may be my mother but I would not help a criminal charged with such a grave crime to escape nor would I ask for her punishment to be lessened do I will permit you to see her but only if you wear stap sealing bracelets stap sealing bracelets were magic tools put on Nobles who had committed crimes and as the name implied they sealed away one's stap such that they could not cast magic Sylvester was indirectly refusing
georan by saying that she would need to undergo the same restrictions as a criminal but she merely gave him a cool smile and extended her shapely wrists very well then with a bitter frown Sylvester secured a bracelet around each of Georgine's wrists he might have been remembering the time he put them onto his own mother and so we took georan to the Ivory Tower it stretched above the Nobles Forest existing to seal away Nobles who had committed treason against the arch dukee upon our arrival we h
eaded for the door that was farthest inside aside from the bars the room behind it was just like that of any other Noble with Veronica sitting inside wearing a pair of stapa cealing bracelets just like the ones on Georgine Veronica looked up at the sound of the opening door then abruptly got to her feet and raced over to the bars Georgine despite being imprisoned she was still the archduke's mother so she wasn't being mistreated in the slightest both her clothes and hair were finally done like a
lways you must return Sylvester to his senses Georgine tell him to let me out Ferdinand is manipulating him please geene save me georan listened quietly to her mother's desperate please then turned away her promise had been to see Veronica without saying a word and she kept it do that will be enough Sylvester Sylvester nodded silently and started to walk away with Georgine and me following behind him but Veronica's cries did not stop georan georan she wailed soon enough georan stopped and turned
around meeting my gaze with a smile I am just glad to have seen my mother again my apologies for forcing this onto you florena think nothing of it I understand how concerned you must be her eyes then shifted slowly to Veronica who was continuing to scream and the smile on her lips changed ever so slightly this smile was far from one of relief and the sight alone sent a chill down my spine thank you for coming today I was having a tea party with Alvar who had been entrusted with playing the role
of Ros mine's mother she had given me much support since I first married Sylvester back in the day I knew little about Aaron Fest when I married into the duy from friend belag but she taught me much of the culture here allowed me to enter her faction and protected me throughout no matter what happened though I would never tell Sylvester that I find alvir to be more reliable than him he would get ever so jealous once the tea and sweets were prepared I sent away our attendance and extended a soun
d blocking magic tool to elvir since we absolutely could not risk anyone hearing us I silently brought my tea to my lips took a sweet and then offered one to my guest who likewise sipped her drink this is about lady Georgie I imagine she said with a gentle smile after setting down her teacup it is I imagine you know a lot more about this matter than I do Alvar my apologies for always relying on you so heavily oh there is no need to apologize after all our faction exists to help its members I mus
t say though lady Georgine has been quite active during her time here just yesterday she attended a tea party held by the for former lady Veronica faction she said with an exasperated though somewhat impressed sigh Veronica's faction had rapidly lost influence following her imprisonment but Georgine's visit was Reviving their momentum rapidly and without warning her faction abounds with Nobles connected to aon's Bach correct they are all desperate to deepen their bonds with Lady Georgine and if
she intends to exert her influence here meeting with old friends is going to prove essential the connection between Aaron Fest and aon's Bach had weakened considerably with Veronica's arrest so it was possible that Georgine was looking to strengthen her connections with houses that would support her now that she was her duchy's first wife it seems that VI count dulf told her many things indeed at yesterday's tea party elvire said I must say I am worried for rose mine VI count dool the mother of
the Knight executed about 2 years ago for disobeying orders indeed Lord Ferdinand ordered a knight to protect rose mine an apprentice blue Shrine Maiden at the time but he instead wounded her with a stap and threw the entire situation into chaos he was a fool and she is his unfortunate mother the vi Countess had spread rather malicious rumors about rosemine that was what Alvar had been told by one of her lay Noble allies do you remember that VI count as dulf was quite close to the former High Bi
shop who asserted to all who would listen that rosemine was a commoner yes I seem to recall her often asking bewan for assistance after her son entered the temple bzw was Lady Veronica's only brother from the same Mother after all elvir frowned in concern if there were nothing more to all this then the disobedient night would clearly be at fault and there would be nothing for us to worry about she said lowering her eyes before speaking again rosemine is deeply connected to the death of not only
VI count as dal's son but Bez want as well o Baron Fest is firmly denying all rumors that she is a commoner but there is no way to hide her involvement in Bez once's death I have no idea whatsoever how this knowledge will make lady Georgine feel nor what she will decide to do about it as sigh escaped me as I remembered how georan had looked while holding Bez W's belongings it was hard to imagine her eventual emotional outpour not being directed at rose mine so Alvar I did attend the Royal Academ
y while lady Georgine was there briefly but when it comes to people from Aaron Fest I must admit that I only remember Constance from your perspective what kind of person is Lady Georgine there were Gatherings for Arch Duke candidates within the Royal Academy so while I had certainly crossed paths with Lady Georgine before I barely remembered anything about her perhaps that was due to the age difference between Juniors and seniors or because constan had so thoroughly doted on me after becoming ro
mantically involved with my older brother she is prideful and a hard worker but perhaps due to sharing lady Veronica's blood she shows no mercy whatsoever toward those she deems her enemies it was for this reason that she mercilessly tormented Lord Sylvester when he was young in an attempt to ostracize him such behavior is of course not uncommon among siblings who are fighting for the seat of arch Duke but even so Lord Sylvester at a young age was given the position purely based on his gender wh
ich led to Lady Georgine's engagement being cancelled and her getting married off to Erin boach as a third wife I can only imagine how humiliating that must have been and I understand her feelings entirely but the hatred she Unleashed Upon a Child who had only just been baptized was nothing but cruel Lord caret struggled much when dealing with her indeed ruling archdukes are generally preferable to ruling Arch deesses I replied it was important for a mother to preserve her man to ensure that her
children had a bountiful Supply themselves and for this reason they were required to refrain from using Mana as much as possible while pregnant this was the explanation behind an arch Duke being able to marry any woman he wished so long as they possessed an equivalent Mona quantity while an arch Duchess absolutely needed to marry an Archduke candidate tradition and circumstances will in no way ease whatever emotions lady Georgine feels right now we must exercise the utmost caution for Lord Wilf
ried who so greatly resembles Lord Sylvester and rose mine who ultimately caused Bez W's downfall whether it was in self-defense or not lady georan is the type to immediately home in on any weakness she sees Alvar explained her description truly did remind me of Veronica I could imagine that they had quite similar temperaments so we must be on guard against lady Georgine wielding her power as ens Bach's first first wife against us indeed that would be wise she did not return home to Aaron Fest a
single time while third wife but the moment she gained power she descended Upon Our duy once again no matter how powerful of a greater duy aon's boach was a third wife did not deal in politics and would be of a lower status than Aaron fest's Archduke alvarro was insinuating that lady Georgine had returned specifically because she was now a first wife making her powerful enough that even Sylvester had to kneel before her I was immediately reminded of how his fist had trembled just from facing an
d speaking to her I must stay strong as well after staying in Aaron Fest for a week it was finally time for lady Georgine to return to aon's boach we all lined up to see her off rosemine and Wilfried included then began our lengthy farewells I must thank you for having me here Georgine said if your visit brought any peace at all to to your heart lady Georgine then I am Overjoyed beyond words I had been cautious for so long that I honestly felt a little relieved at the thought she would finally b
e gone and as if to exploit the one moment when my guard was down wilfrey dashed forward with a smile we didn't get to talk much this time auntie I hope we can spend more time together soon he had Le from my blind spot moving so fast that I had no opportunity to stop him George lips curved into a grin at the suggestion I see I had no idea that you wished to speak with me more in that case perhaps I should return next year at around this same time yes please I can't wait wif freed no whyever woul
d you say that I was struck with the urge to scornfully pinch his cheek but now was neither the time nor place for that instead I CL CLP my hands together and somehow managed to keep a smile forced onto my face at which point lady Georgine looked at me and gracefully tilted her head it would not be a bother for me to accept this invitation would it she asked in truth I wish to reply it would be quite the bother indeed but I dared not speak so frankly in a public setting such as this there was on
ly one answer I could possibly give not at all we would love to see you again soon will freed you Foolish Boy once Georgine's Carriage was out of sight I spun around and saw that Ferdinand was already glaring down at him the gentle smile that was previously plastered on his face having disappeared entirely he handed some strange fan made out of white paper to Ros mine do it rose mine in an instant she brought the fan down on my imprudent son's head with a pleasant cracking sound you big idiot yo
u shouldn't have said that learn to read the mood I applauded her in my heart for she had said exactly what I planned to say myself for the sake of Aaron fest's future Perhaps it is time I deeply consider having Wilfried and rosemine Mary dilk proposal as the starine ceremony came to a close lady Ros mine having given a beautiful blessing as the high Bishop gracefully exited the hall when the doors closed behind her the atmosphere immediately became more more adult those who had already determin
ed their Partners introduced them to their parents and wider family while those still searching received introductions from their guardians or grouped up with friends to meet new people it was largely those inheriting their houses who received such introductions from their Guardians while second sons and such spent this time with their friends I personally needed to stay with Lady alvir to debut the dress lady rosemine had designed for me so I didn't have the opportunity to spend this time casua
lly with my friends they had clamored with excitement over my new outfit before I saw them off with well wishes May the goddess of marriage bless you all and may you be blessed as well Bridget but as I started making my way out the voice of O Baron Fest reverberated through the hall silence I have an important announcement to make today I looked over just as the archd duuk announced that Lord Ferdinand who was standing on the stage beside him would be returning to Noble Society it was just as la
dy rosemine had informed us this news excited a commotion among the nobility lady Veronica had forced Lord Ferdinand into the temple after years of pushing for his expulsion so the O alowing his return signaled that he was willfully ignoring her wishes those who had also earned the woman's ey gleefully raised their staps in support while those who had supported her raised their staps as well albeit while facing the floor and wearing tight frowns seeing the relative power of the faction changed s
o drastically before my eyes caused a gasp to escape my lips at which point lady alvir smoothly stepped behind me Bridget straighten your back and smile she warned with a quiet whisper the Nobles in the Veronica faction will dramatically lose influence with this announcement and the confirmation that Lord Ferdinand is now Ros mine's Guardian they will need to search for new higher status Nobles to support them which means that many will approach you with the intention of getting closer to Rose m
ine you must not allow their pressure to overwhelm you nor should you concede to them I scanned the hall to see countless eyes already fixed on me from among the crowd the Nobles my age who had just moments ago looked upon my dress fondly now had cold calculating stairs there was more attention on me than I had ever experienced before as I stood in place taken back by the sudden change a young man began making his way over a familiar voice called out but it was addressing lady Alvira not me a ch
ill ran down my spine and I spun around just in time to see him bow his head as he started to greet her do has height it was my former fiance he was at first glance a genial young man with a bright smile but in truth his eyes showed no such kindness his expression was just as I remembered it and the sight alone made my hair stand on end it seems that the goddess of time has woven the threads of bridg and my fate together once again I ask for your blessing on this day enriched with a king and que
en God's Divine protection he said trying to weasle his way into a Blessing by speaking solely to Lady Alvar but while she was currently serving as my guardian she was purely supporting me with my dress de view she was in no position to discuss marriage on my behalf not even the goddess of marriage plays her tricks on a night protected by the king and queen Gods lady Alvar responded indirectly St stating that she would permit him to speak to me but only under her strict watch she then took a ste
p back positioning herself such that she could watch us carefully has height was limited in what actions he could take with her so close by and that alone gave me a great deal of strength I carefully looked around to see that gossip loving nobles were all gazing our way and in the distance I spotted my brother weaving his way through the crowd to reach us please don't brother I speedily raised a hand to stop him as was obvious from the result of my previous engagement being cancelled were my bro
ther the jib to fail at dealing with hash High properly here it would be our province that suffered the consequences and outcome that needed to be avoided at all costs now that we were on the cusp of getting lady Ros mine's support after confirming that my brother had stopped despite his worried expression I faced my former fiance directly Lord has height what business might you have with me Bridget areen you acting rather cold toward the man who on the night of the star binding just asked your
guardian for permission to speak with you when the threads that the goddess of marriage wo together for us were so tragically torn asunder my heart froze over as though the god of blizzards had struck me himself has height maintained that I had ended our engagement without even giving him a reason breaking his heart for some selfish purpose but in truth I had ended it because he and his family were plotting to remove my brother from his seat and take the position of jiler for themselves and now
here he was lowering his gaze with a pained expression to draw the sympathies of our audience his boldfaced lies just made me Furious Lord has height You Bridget no sooner had I opened my mouth to rebuke him then lady Alvar called out from behind snapping me back to my senses while she was watching us quietly she was standing proudly with a composed smile that exuded control her warning for me to keep my back straight and continues smiling flashed through my mind dot right I must not be overwhel
med I must not fall victim to his Ploy a new found commonness swiftly washed over me getting emotional here in public with so many onlookers would only give has height a weakness to exploit were all of noble Society to learn that my brother ajib had been tricked and exploited even more opportunistic Nobles would come after iler everything I had done to protect it thus far would have for not and so I mimic lady alvar's smile masking the anger that was stirring inside me Bridget despite all the bl
ows you have landed upon me my Rael has not yet Fallen I still see you as gal the goddess of Earth as I always have while his words may have sounded like I still love you despite how much you've hurt me to those watching on has height was actually saying that he was still after iller even now he was mocking me using euphemism that hid his intentions from everyone else he was deriding my Province for having dropped in power when countless Nobles left us following my canceled engagement calling me
a fool who had missed her chance to seize the position of jib from my own brother while scorting him as an incompetent failure who had been so easily fooled but Ure will not remain in its current state not now that lady rosemine is giving us her support oh how I earned to rub his face in that fact but it was still days before lady Rose mine would formally request for paper to be made in iller from the perspective of other Nobles our Province was not receiving any support from her and such infor
mation about this new industry was not mine to share no matter how frail and emaciated gal becomes wi Le EBA the god of life never ceases to long for her touch but it is only he who desires her no one else it is unlikely that lady Ros mine your goddess of water will continue to protect you for much longer has height said maintaining his fake Noble Smile as he continued his stealthy barage of abuse he was saying that no other man would ask for my hand in marriage now that iller was struggling wit
h fewer Nobles and I was seen as prone to ending engagements and while I served as lady Ros mine's guard Knight and had her support now I would need to retire upon getting married as all female Knights do even considering that I had served her for a year now few expected the archducal family to continue associating with me for very long after my retirement hashid spoke with the aim of discouraging those Nobles who were seeking me for a connection with Lady Ros mine but I knew that she was not su
ch a dispassionate person she cared even for the orphans in the temple and she treated both her attendance and common her Merchants well Bridget I ask that you once again accept my Rael so that I may restore your wounded honor I have no interest in receiving any so-called honor from you but no matter how strongly I wanted to to voice such thoughts I couldn't allow my true feelings to show revealing them here would ruin the fashion debut that lady rosemine had entrusted me with but I couldn't thi
nk of a good way to refuse has height in polite Noble language all I could do in response was press my lips together and clench my fists oh were you always such a poor Theologian Lord has height came a mocking voice as several male Knights stepped out from the crowd I recognized them as dl's friends a group who had found the ra Angelica's great Squadron so amusing that they agreed to help out by joining us for Jen and watched on as they quickly positioned themselves between hasite and me there w
ere many who continued to yearn for gel no matter how emaciated she became NE I even mention that not only the goddess of water but the god of fire goddess of wind and even the king and queen Gods themselves worried for the goddess of Earth and set out in search of her indeed despite your bold assertions the truth is quite the opposite another night continued there were more Gods who thought of gal when she was in poor health than not you have no need to fear for Bridget's sake Lord has height y
ou are not the only man who finds her attractive go on DL now's your time to shine the knights pushed DL to the front of the group in an instant at which point his gaze wandered anxiously through the crowd despite me doing my best to hide my emotions it seemed they had picked up on my dissatisfaction I instinctively placed a sheepish hand on my cheek there was nothing more embarrassing than accidentally allowing others to see how frustrated I was hashkee seeing dul now standing between us let ou
t an exasperated sigh you have no place here L Noble Bridget is a medable you wen't getting cocky simply because lady rosemine took you on as a retainer are you no your place D will had had been awkwardly scanning his surroundings but the moment he heard those last words a bright glint lit his gray eyes he straightened his back and faced has height head-on with a cool gaze I was once punished for knowing my place and standing down but as a knight I must stand firm when there is someone to protec
t and never again shall I turn my back on what is my duty with that he turned around kneeling before me and extending a hand my fate crossed yours at the guidance of the king and queen Gods who rule the heavens far above I wish for you to be my goddess of light Bridget The Proposal came as such a shock that I could do nothing but blink in Surprise it was Unthinkable for Dil to ask my hand in marriage both in terms of status and mon quantity I was aware he had developed feelings for me to at leas
t some degree but he was no fool he knew that it was simply not possible for us to be together and him not voicing his affections before now was more than proof of that that and yet here he was proposing in a public setting of all places I had no choice but to refuse given the disparity between us an official marriage proposal simply could not survive but as I looked down at him in a days he flashed a smile do I understand that receiving this proposal from Alay Noel will only be unsettling to yo
u thus I Proclaim that by next year I will have developed my Mona quantity such that it is a proud match for yours all I ask is that you accept no other proposals until then a so he is doing this to save me from my current situation dul had himself addressed the Mana imbalance between us and by asking me to wait one year he had given me enough leeway that I didn't need to refuse him I could spurn has Height's proposal and be free of this mess my sincerest apologies Lord has height it seems that
there are indeed other men who would yearn for the emaciated adult the goddess of time will unfortunately never weave the threads of our Fates together again but I nonetheless pray that you live well with a Divine protection of the Gods I said quashing his chances of ever speaking to me again I then placed my hands over dbls your proposal has brought much joy to my heart I shall be here waiting one year from now an impressed stir ran through the crowd nobody believed that a l no such as Dil coul
d develop his Mona quantity enough to make him comp ible with a younger sister of a JY such as myself but my accepting his proposal sent a message to all those watching that I had firmly rejected hasik for the rest of time with dl's hand in mine I stood up and walked over to Lady Alvar I wish to go and speak with jiler if you would allow me but of course she said A Satisfied smile on her face you have just accepted a man's yearning love my duty as your guardian is now complete I shall keep an ey
e on on has Height's response for you go forth to jiler it seemed she had appraised my behavior as suitably graceful for a guard night serving lady Ros mine which was a considerable relief lady Alvar I owe you much think nothing of it I simply look forward to next year she teased with a refined Giggle and so with a group of knights protectively circling us I led DL by the hand over to my brother even from a distance I could tell he was a little relieved Bridget brother forgive me for acting on m
y own there I said I had stopped him from getting closer when he was visibly concerned and accepted dulk proposition on my own ignoring the will of my House's head both times it's quite all right things ended better than they would have had I jumped in he said accepting my apology he then looked toward DL you have my gratitude for bringing a peaceful end to that conflict and for protecting my sister's honor indeed you truly saved me there DL I thank you ever so much as my brother and I thanked h
im DL floundered so much that it was hard to imagine he was the same man who had just so boldly faced has height his eyes flitted all over the place ER well I did have a lot of help I could only stand there because I had my friends with me so um I'll be taking my leave now then as if to say that his job here was done D will spun around and sped back to his friends they teasingly jabbed him with their elbows as they walked away if only he were a medable do you not think the same Bridget goodness
brother dul said all that only to assist me I chided the gossipy Nobles seemed Beyond excited to see how this would turn out next year but I strongly doubted he could actually increase his Mona quantity enough to make a marriage between us possible when the star binding was over pretty much every person I knew teased me endlessly but DL himself showed no signs of pursuing a romance and so I returned to my normal life without taking his proposal very seriously at all that is until we made our jou
rney to iler lady rosemine had selected iller as the first province in which she would develop the paper making industry and so I returned home as her guard Knight once there she considerately gave me temporary leave of Duty to spend time with my family though our stay would be brief the next day I was serving as lady Ros mine's guard night accompanying her to the mountains so that we could gather materials then back at the Mansion I welcomed her as a member of the jibs family it was when night
fell that one of the servants assigned to Dil came to me with something to say lady Bridget I do not know why but Lord DL has gone outside despite the late hour it was already sometime past 7th Bell the young lady rosemine was already asleep of course and it was late enough that the generally early to bed and early to rise residents of our Province had all retired why exactly would Dil be going out at this time of night it wasn't something that I was exactly proud of but there were so few Nobles
in iller that there wasn't exactly much one could do if it was his intention to caused trouble then as a knight I needed to stop him before anything happened I clad myself in light armor and stepped onto the balcony iler was beneath the control of the god of darkness and with only the moon and stars providing light I could easily see dl's Ivory High Beast and the glow of Mana radiating from it I chased after him on my own high Beast DL Bridget what brings you out at this hour this may be your h
ome Province but woman shouldn't be out alone I had followed after Dil uneasy about what he may have been planning but he responded so casually that it made any tension immediately drain from my body one of the servants told me you left what exactly are you doing out here H my apologies I didn't mean to worry you the truth is lady rosemine gave me some combat advice this afternoon when we were hunting the Fons I want to train a little so with that he trailed off awkwardly averting his gaze I wid
ened my eyes in Surprise lady rosemine wasn't even a KN and yet she had given him advice on how to fight what advice was that exactly it was about money usage I'm a l Noel so I'm used to supporting other Knights my job is usually to fight the smaller enemies while everyone else gets the big ones or buying time for my my allies to heal that kind of thing and providing support like that means I've gotten used to using as little Mana as possible so that I can fight longer I'd never even considered
a fighting style where I use a lot of Mana at once but lady rosemine said that I should learn so here I am it made sense that Dil would have a combat style focused on fighting for as long as possible while conserving his Mana matching our Mana usage to our enemy was also the first thing we Med Knights were taught to do if that's your goal then you should practice filling your stap with a swell of Mana that's what Apprentice midnights learn in a night's order and so I landed my high beast in the
Forest Clearing and trained with dble but something took me by surprise it somehow felt as though he had more Mana than before is something wrong he asked it seems that your Mana quantity has grown a little has it dul hesitated for a moment his eyes wavering only once he had checked to make sure nobody was listening did he shily answer as it turns out my Mona growth period is lasting a bit longer than most the commander told me that it continues to develop even now never had I expected this one'
s mono capacity generally stopped increasing in size once they came of age and stopped growing themselves could it be DL are you sincerely intending to match my Mona capacity by next year I asked had his proposal on the night of the star binding been genuine and not simply a show to force hashid to stand down in response DL gave something of a weak smile I know you didn't take my proposal seriously and I'm still not sure whether my Mona capacity will grow enough to match yours but I don't want t
o give up he said exhaling beside me as we trained I glanced in his Direction and what I saw immediately stirred my heart when he turned to face me I found myself unable to look away from his deep gray eyes and that's why I want to ask you again if our Mona capacities do match will you accept my proposal I want to prepare myself before you refuse me in public my heart pounded in Earnest as I was caught up in his deadly serious gaze but at the same time warning Bells were ringing in my head I kne
w not to trust men so easily and the things has high had once told me soon began to run through my mind iler has nothing at all going for it and yet you refuse to change that what man would want to marry you when the seat of jib is right there and you aren't even trying to take it and you personally worthless there'd be nothing good about marrying into your family do you seriously think any man would want to marry into such a country bumpkin Province that's hilarious his words reminded me of the
way everyone had reacted when I canceled our engagement to protect ier my breath caught in my throat the memories were suffocating Bridget DL what do you think of iler I asked fixing him with a scrutinizing stare did he see any value in marrying into my province that was the most important question of all to me and I refused to accept any white lies or deflections that's a very sudden question he said his gaze wandering for a moment a smile then touched his lips and the look in his eyes seemed
to soften I think it's a great place the people are kind and genuine the jib has a good heart too A lot of people say there's nothing here but you now have lady rosine's support and it's only a matter of time before the paper making industry blooms I'm sure has Height's going to be cursing himself soon enough Plus I can feel how much more lively you are here Bridget you're even ER you're even cuter here than you are in a Noble's quarter even in the darkness I could tell how embarrassed he was an
d the feelings somehow seemed to carry over to me too AEM DL cleared his throat well I answered your question will you answer mine I'm still waiting on an answer he hadn't mocked ill for being a country Province and he accepted me for who I was here plus he was genuinely working to expand his Mona quantity over the next year what more could I ask for I pressed a hand against my chest to contain my racing heart and extended my other toward him your proposal brought me much happiness DL I will be
waiting for you at the night of next year's star binding and this time I'm not saying it for appearance's sake staying in ill your the ringing of a bell resounded through the air it must have been designed so that the sound would travel far distances because it was much louder than the one I was used to hearing at Aaron fest's Temple the bell at the farmers winter Mansion rang in turn as if responding to the jibs and so my day in iller began with a distant and a nearby Bell chiming together morn
ing Luts is Damien up yet I asked Damen was so used to being woken up by attendants that first wasn't always enough to get him out of bed Lut chuckled when's the last time he overslept he's been getting up at first Bell with us for days now it's when you get too used to things that you let your guard down and that's when you're most likely to mess up lady rosemine warned me about that herself oh yes Gil she always did say something like that whenever you messed up Salim interjected I shot him a
glare in response and with that we headed for the river with our wash basins in hand a short climb down a hill beside the jibs Mansion led us to a smallish River where we washed our faces cleaned ourselves and overall got ready for the day despite it being summer the sun had only just risen so the water was pretty cold Lutz was always like why not just wait until the afternoon but in a temple it was an important tradition to take care of such matters in the morning all right that's done Damian y
ou've still got bubbles on your stuff you've got to scrub harder once we were clean and ready we used our wash basins as buckets for scooping up water just like in a temple our first job of the morning was to fill the water jugs in a side building's kitchen otherwise we would need to walk all the way to the forest every time we wanted to wash our hands morning Outsiders seems like today's Fisher Harvest is going to be a good on hope you're looking forward to it one villager said to us residents
of the nearby farming town were here drawing water as well so we exchanged some idle chitchat as we went about our work nice I'll ask the chef to hunt for some jail you are to go with them sounds good thanks the jibs going to love to hear that we're having jur tonight oh and you big guy you're going to spill half your water on the Journey Back if you keep wavering like that H the farmers all laughed as Damen wobbled around with his bucket of water he had lived something close to the life of a no
ble with so many servants at his family home which meant he had no experience when it came to cooking cleaning or washing clothes he was having a harder time living in iller than anyone initially daman's plan had been to spend some of his own money to hire a servant in iller but all the town's folk turned him down they had their hands full with their own jobs and now learning to make paper so they didn't have time to take care of someone else too on top of that the trading of goods here was gene
rally done through bartering which meant the average citizen neither had nor needed such money in the first place well that's what happens when there aren't any stores here I was real shocked when I heard that traveling Merchants just do business with a jig who keeps everything stored in his mansion and so Damian unable to hide servant due to how differently people viewed money here had no choice but to care for himself during his first 3 days he was so incompetent that all the town's folks star
ted to wonder how he was even still alive sure they were currently laughing at him for being all wobbly but the fact they were doing that instead of just outwardly feeling sad for him was genuinely a huge Improvement seems like we just need one more bucket I said noie you know what to do Lim Damian let's go fill everyone's flasks with drinking water we used the river for a lot of things but we didn't drink from it instead we filled our leather flasks that we brought to the workshop with a much s
weeter Mountain Water from a spring behind the Mansion Damen sighed with relief the spring was closer than the river and no amount of poor form could make water spill out of a capped flask we grabbed enough flasks for everyone then started making our way there with Salim since it would be time for breakfast when we finished drawing water I decided it would probably be smart to have someone start preparing the food I went ahead and tossed out the orders folk go slice some bread Luts Barts could y
ou grab some milk for us Lutz who had been filling water jugs with us responded with a nod he dropped his now empty wash basin and ran off to the workshop where some fresh milk should have just been delivered there was no breakfast anilar without milk oh mighty king and queen of the Endless Skies who doth grace us with thousands upon thousands of lives to consume ohmighty Eternal five who rule the Mortal realm I offer thanks and prayers to thee and do take part in the meal so graciously provided
the others followed my example and spoke their prayers before grabbing some hard Bread breakfast was a quick meal consisting of any leftovers from the previous day's supper and that wasn't just because we were visiting and hadn't had any food prepared for us even the jib and his family usually ate leftovers for breakfast since their servants had farm work to do as well BL I miss lady Ros mine's leftovers in the temple iler baked all its bread in batches once every 10 days which meant what we we
re having now was hard and dry to the point that it was completely inedible without first being soaked in a liquid of some kind every morning we spent here I was struck with the urge to pray and thanks for the milk that came with it this truly makes me yearn for lady rosemine soup noie murmured since it was served everywhere back home at the temple the plon company and even the ofar company everyone here was dreaming of the same delicious soup too bad we can't just make it here that had mean lea
king the recipe it's unfortunate yes but we must be grateful that we can eat here rather than in the main building folk added I gave a hard knot in agreement we initially had our food in a with a jib servants so that it wouldn't need to be brought out to us but Lutz had managed to negotiate for us to eat in a side building by saying that we didn't want to wrap the locals up in the temple eating customs during these negotiations he had said that I needed to eat before anyone else as one of Lady r
osine's attendance that really annoyed me at first since it came across like I was being selfish I wasn't going to demand that iller Mimi Divine gifts and lots knew from our time gathering in the forest that I didn't mind eating with everyone else so I really hadn't been able to understand it but when he explained that he wanted to avoid us fighting over food with the town's folk everything made sense in my eyes il's way of eating kind of sucked so I was really glad about not being dragged into
it anyway today we need to work on the inner bark folk Barts and Salim can explain the process to everyone be sure to teach them to peel off the outer bark while the inner bark is boiling with the ash understood as we ate we discussed who would be doing what today unlike in the temple Workshop here in iller age was important when it came to giving orders the adults wouldn't listen to me or Luts since we were still young so teaching the locals what to do was up to the great priests I would simply
give them instructions ahead of time then work with Luts on developing new types of paper using wood local to the province changing the amount of toror used and keeping it all recorded wasn't possible for the illiterate Town's folk after finishing breakfast and washing the dishes we cleaned the side building and workshop they weren't nearly as large as the temple meaning the whole process was finished relatively quickly and as second Bell was now coming up it was time for the person on food dut
y to head into the kitchen Damian you're on food duty today yeah seems like they harvesting some fish it today and they want J to go with it good luck I said cheering him on but Daman just grimaced he hated food Duty more than anything else why oh why doesn't iller have any stores it would be so much easier to just buy ingredients at the opar company he groaned the most important job of a person on food Duty was gathering ingredients for that day's meals since there weren't any stores around tha
t they could be bought from the mountain had plenty of vegetables and fruit since it was summer and hunting animals would give more than enough meat it was surprisingly easy to fish in the river too and unlike the fish that could be caught near air and fast they didn't stink at all the fact that it was so easy to get a full day's worth of ingredients was shocking to us since we were so used to buying most of ours with money preparing food your style was also pretty simple you just chopped whatev
er stuff you had and cooked it this was then flavored with salt at most and while that kind of made us want to scream since we had so many incredible recipes in our heads that we had to keep secret it at least meant that the meals didn't take much work to prepare would you shut up Damian we go through this every time you're on food Duty I mean we get it your grandpa runs a huge food store but he's the one who forced us to take you here if you've got time to complain go out and start Gathering al
ready you'll be working like a great priest in no time Lut said forcing a basket and knife into his hands this is going to be a full day of work all right be sure to look for anything that might make good Tora or paper too with that Damen slumped his shoulders and sadly exited the workshop he'd probably come back exhausted after getting mocked to death by aer's children but that too would be a good experience for him well not much he can do but try his hardest we were just as surprised about how
different iller was from Aaron Fest but we had at least spent the past 2 years gathering in the forest and making paper in the workshop Daman had no such experience to draw from we here what are we going to do today car exclaimed bringing several towns folk with her to the workshop after third Bell she was a female servant working in a jibs Mansion having been assigned to take care of us by jiler himself but rather than being our mate or anything like that she mainly served as a line of communi
cation between us and the town doing things like informing the jib when we needed improvements in the workshop Damian had in fact tried to hire Kara to be his servant but she shot him down hard the heck do you think you are commoner boy you're an adult you can take care of yourself she did at his request asked the other Town's folk whether anyone would be willing to serve him but the other responses he got weren't much different today we'll be boiling the inner bark in Ash to bring out its white
ness that'll take about one Bell so in the meantime we are planning to peel off the black outer bark did you all bring knives folk and Barts went to fetch the tools and Ash while Salim started explaining the process to the five towns folk Cari included as this went on Luts NY and I made progress on a new paper occasionally glancing their way Luts NY how' it go I asked they grabbed the paper samples that had been drying outside and started lining them up on the table we were experimenting with us
ing de gral leaves in place of e dials and shm bugs and it seemed to be working well we touched the finished sheets and wrote on them with ink to see how they fared this is a good mix for the ven paper renen will need a bit more de grova added in and Sky rase no good again looks like it just doesn't work with deg Gran at all Luts reported despite all the other types of wood turning into paper just fine the sky erase alone simply broke apart before it could solidify tweaking the recipe wouldn't m
atter the materials just weren't mixing well as I poked at the slightly yellowed blob of transparent de grat NY gathered it up alongside the bits of Sky rase shall we give up on making it work with de grova and simply experiment with e dials and shb once we return to Aaron Fest using eals and shm bugs might solve it yeah but didn't lady rosemine say the paper needed to be made using stuff we can find in iller pretty sure she did I said with a sharp frown given that we were setting up the worksho
ps here the materials needed to be found locally we didn't have the money to import them from other provinces let's crossed his arms I was talking to Damian about this earlier the white bark can be preserved once it's ready and you can pack a ton of the stuff into a single crate making the papers easier and erron Fest so the bark itself might end up a hotly traded commodity for iller so you're planning to sell the sky Ras bark as a product on its own yeah it'll naturally have to wait until we've
made sure it works with eals and shm bugs but there's a chance it'll end up becoming a key product for provinces that don't have suitable trees to make paper from it might not have worked with degat but so long as it could successfully be mixed with other ingredients Sky rase bark could become an important product for iler to sell my eyes widened I hadn't considered it from that angle at all wow so Damian can be useful at times after what we've seen I never thought I'd see the day he's hardly s
elf-sufficient but he is the son of a very successful store owner he's got a Keen Eye for new products and can spot ways to make make a profit in no time at all we could learn a lot from him Lut said glancing out the window he almost sounded a little frustrated okay we'll take Damian's advice here for now we'll just use Sky erase wood for the new bees to practice with Noti try and narrow down the Rin grar ratio a little more could you do the same thing as yesterday but gradually add some more de
grova make sure to note down how much that changes things understood at my request ndi stood up and made his way to the Shelf with a dead on it Gil how about we experiment with the tropas next Lut suggested that old guy brought us a bunch that were ripening early right the old man who had hiked the mountain with us when lady rosemine was here had given us some white troas which ripened at the end of summer and apparently weren't edible you could get a sticky Juice by crushing them I'm just look
ing forward to working with some new stuff I replied to think we going to be one step closer to the new paper yeah but it's not so fun when you think about how long it'll take us to get the recipe right Lut and I continued talking as we crushed the tropas the process took a surprising amount of strength thanks to their tough outer layer of skin enough that I realized we should have gotten niy to help out since he was a lot stronger than us but all we could do was regret our mistake while crushin
g one fruit after another and with each one we got stickier and stickier guess that should do it these really are sticky though get the cloth Luts Luts grab the cloth we filtered the juices through and picked out the tiny chunks of skin and fruit that were stuck in it we then mixed our fiber water with Val in the wood we were most used to working with and swished it around in the smallest suc dot which we kept around for when we were doing these experiments with paper we started off with a small
amount of choola using a big spoon to gradually add more until we had created five different sheets of varying thickness we would select the best paper from among them men used that to narrow down the recipe even further as we always did fourth bell rang right as we finished laying the fifth kind of paper onto the drying bed it was time for lunch no eating until we done cleaning up I yelled it was important to make that clear otherwise the iller towns folk would abandon their duties and rush ou
t of the workshop on the spot we know we know enough with a shouting already we get it karya said her cheeks puffed out unhappily but it wasn't that simple she had been ordered by the jib to come to the workshop each day to learn the paper making process but everyone else casually dropped in when they didn't have any other work to do they were the ones I was calling out to Once those had practically tried to Spring from the workshop finished cleaning up I locked the door and we all headed to the
jibs Mansion as it turned out locking doors wasn't something that was really done in iller I'd asked karya how else she was going to stop people from stealing things but she just blinked at me in confusion and said there aren't any thieves here like what would they even do with the stuff they took I couldn't even argue back since our perceptions of what was normal were just so different but we still always lock the workshop door just in case plus it might not have been an issue here but getting
ourselves into a habit of not locking doors would prove to be a big problem when we went back to Aaron Fest Gil may I have folk carry my things so that I can go and assist Daman noie asked sounding worried I looked up and spotted Daman in a distance wobbling over on shaky legs everyone's lunch was in his hands and his arms and legs looked as though they were about to give out I instantly understood that Niti was afraid he would drop all our food so I gave a knot and permitted him to go and help
hey Luts you really think it's a good idea to put Damian on food duty this evening too up to this point we'd put different people on food Duty for lunch and dinner this morning Lutz had said that Damien would need to do both himself but it was pretty clear from a glance that this might not have been possible for him let's raised an eyebrow Merchants are always scheming to make things go their way he may look exhausted but there's more composure in his expression by the day it's proof that he's
got energy to spare don't fall for his tricks there's no need to go soft on him and so we had our lunch of salted vegetable soup with hard bread and fresh fruit from the mountains then returned to the workshop after sending Damian back out for dinner Hey Gil come look at this aren't these drying way too quickly Lutz asked directing me to the drying bed the paper laid out on the board to be squeezed dry was already going stiff let's try taking them outside for a bit like not to stick them onto th
e board one by one to dry but just taking the whole drying bed outside I want to see what happens if we leave it out there until the evening noticing that the paper made with tret dried unusually fast Luts and I took the drying bed with the experimental sheets on it outside the paper started to whiten Under the Sun and we could see it hardening before our very eyes with the sheets made using more cheret drying the fastest Luts and I exchanged looks seems like it won't even take until the evening
we should probably keep our eyes on it yeah we can't even risk looking away I've got a feeling the paper will turn into something else entirely if we just leave it here we grabbed and can some boards to write down any changes as they happened the sheets started to turn all silky as they continued to dry becoming so white that they even began reflecting the sunlight ER Luts is it just me or is this one shrinking looks like the first and last sheets are totally different sizes out of the five she
ets of paper the one with the most Tropa was visibly shrinking as it hardened the others would all cave and slightly when poked leaving a small indent but this one didn't warp in the slightest its surface was already firm if this is a quality exclusive to troply then it's going to be an ill your export for sure let's try it out with some different types of wood tomorrow Lut and I continued to carefully watch the Tropa paper transform until fifth Bell by which point it seemed completely dried out
hey lets should we try peeling it off the drying bed just be gentle you felt how hard the surface is it might break apart like messed up V and paper might not be dry underneath either keeping Lutz's warnings in mind I took the sheet made with the most Tropa and delicately peeled it away it was hard and smooth but it came right off without snapping it's not breaking Lutz muttered impressed he attempted to bend a new type of paper and it curved beautifully without signs of any breakage we then tr
ied writing on it with in which didn't really stay on the paper with the most Tropa in it but came out perfectly fine on all the other prototypes there wasn't any blotting on the sheets either it was paper just paper that felt weird eer Gill this stuff ended up pretty strange you think it'll be any good for books Lutz asked filling the air with a strange fluttering noise as he flipped through the sheets that wasn't a question I could answer yet so I simply Shrugged who knows our job is just to m
ake new paper we can let lady rosemine worry about how it's going to be used good point Lut said with a chuckle continuing to Le through the pages letun ask jiler to get this to Lady Ros mine as soon as possible then I want to see what she ends up making with it and I definitely want Heidi to find out what ink suits it best I stretched out a sheet of paper holding it over the setting son in that moment I felt as though I could already hear lady rosemine say good job Gil you're incredible
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