Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 1.1 - Chapter 16

Long Live Mesopotamian Culture 

Today is the first day I’m going to the forest, on my own two legs. 

Rather than my usual tote bag and stone slate, I had a basket (somewhat smaller than everyone else’s) on my back and a spade for digging into clay, though it really just looked like a wooden spatula. I got the feeling that the wood spatula thing would be less reliable than a children’s toy made of plastic, but maybe that was just me. 

As I swung the flimsy spade around, expecting it to break any second, Dad grabbed onto my shoulders. He was no doubt about to repeat the same lines I had heard a thousand times since he decided to let me go to the forest. 

“Myne. Today you’re gonna go to the forest, and come back. Nothing else. Everyone’s gonna be tired and weighed down. You need to rest in the forest and aim to come home with everyone. Understand?” 

“I understand.” 

Either because my answer wasn’t enough for him, or because he could tell how annoyed I was getting by his repeated warnings, Dad looked at Tuuli with a grim expression. “Tuuli, I know it’s gonna be rough, but I’m counting on you. Talk with Lutz and make sure Myne will get home before the gate closes.” 

“Right. I’ll make sure we leave early today.” Tuuli’s always been overflowing with a sense of responsibility, and Dad’s reliance on her was igniting her determination. She would probably be a bit strict today. 

We went outside and met up with several other kids, all carrying similar baskets. There were about eight of them, some about as small as me, some big and tall like Tuuli and Fey. The pink-headed Fey took the lead while Tuuli watched the back. I started off walking at the front, but by the time we reached the gate, I was in the back. 

“Alright, Myne. Let’s go. Walk as slow as you need.” I could walk to the gate on my own easily, but it was my first time walking all the way to the forest. Thus, Lutz was following along as my pacer. 

Over the three months that he walked beside me from the gate to home, Lutz had apparently memorized the best speed for me to walk without pushing myself too far. The fact I could walk so far lately was largely thanks to his help. And today, Dad was actually paying him a little to keep his eyes on me. 

“Thanks, Lutz.” 

“Hey, it’s the least I can do to pay you back.” 

Lutz’s house had recently taken care of all the parue remnants they still had. Parues could only be harvested in the winter, and apparently they went immediately bad once it got warm. As a thanks for all their help, and as a sign I wanted to keep up our cooking relationship, I taught them how to make a not-quite okara hamburger, known as a parue-burger. I took a pome, which was a fruit that looked like a yellow bell pepper at a glance but tasted like a tomato, and turned it into a sauce which I then covered with a layer of cheese. The combination brought out the parue’s gentle sweet flavor so well, even I ended up surprised. 

Incidentally, first Lutz, and then all his older brothers actually cried afterward. They were sincerely thankful for how I had not only given them delicious food, but more food than they normally got to eat. Even their mom Karla was extremely thankful, since my recipes were easy on their budget. I could imagine that their Engel coefficient was off the charts with four hungry boys clamoring for food. I’m just glad I could help them. 

“Why didn’t you tell us about those parue burgers during the winter?” 

“You need fresh meat to mince it like that, right? And it was really hard to mince it in the first place. Who knows what would have happened without all your help...” 

“Aaah, yeah, that was pretty rough. But we’ll do anything for your food, Myne.” 

I didn’t have the strength to keep chopping the meat until it was all minced up, and I couldn’t ask Mom to do it knowing how difficult it was. I hadn’t been able to eat anything like a hamburger in so long, I felt really lucky that Lutz and his brothers were willing to make some with me. 

We walked all the way to the forest while chatting. It was so much fun that I managed to walk such a long distance without stopping, but the exhaustion after we got there was overwhelming. I sat on a somewhat large rock and just focused on recuperating energy while everyone else went gathering. 

Worried about how heavily I was breathing, Lutz patted my back. “Remember, Fey and Tuuli’s baptisms are coming up. You gotta get used to walking to the forest real soon.” 

“...Why?” I knew Tuuli’s baptism was soon given how we’d spent the winter making clothes and her hair ornament, but I didn’t understand what specifically would change after it happened. 

“Once a kid gets baptized, they start apprentice work, right? That’ll mean for about half of each week, you’ll be the only one in your family who has time to go to the forest, Myne.” 

I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Tuuli starting apprentice work meant that I would have to help around the house more in her stead. 

“Wh-What should I do...? I didn’t think about that.” Past Myne managed to live this long without doing anything since Tuuli was such a good older sister that took care of her. Without Tuuli, I probably wouldn’t be able to survive. 

Lutz cackled and rubbed his nose as he saw the blood drain from my face. “Hey, don’t sweat it. I’ll always protect you, Myne, whether Tuuli’s there or not. Cause you’re so small and weak.” 

Lutz was too kind. He’s had that kind of manly attitude ever since I first met him as Myne. “Thanks, Lutz. I’ll be counting on you.” 

“Yeah. I’m gonna go gather firewood. Sit there and rest while I’m gone, alright? You don’t wanna be too tired to go home.” Lutz left it at that and went to get firewood. Once his footsteps faded into the distance and there was nobody around me, I grabbed my wannabe-spade and started digging a hole. 

My goal for today was “Go to the forest and get home. Try not to catch a fever.” I knew that. But although I felt bad for Lutz and my family, could I bear coming to the forest and then just leaving without doing anything? No, I couldn’t. 

...Dig, dig! Dig as far as you can! I wanted sticky clay, but who knew how much I could get. Assuming the ground layer here was similar to Earth’s, I’d need to dig fairly deep to find sticky clay. 

“Hyah!” I thrust the spade into the ground, putting all my strength into it. But the flimsy branch my family called a spade didn’t even go a single centimeter into the ground. 

...So hard! Bwuh? Is it even possible to dig into this? It felt like trying to dig into the packed dirt of a sports field. I had expected the ground of the forest to be moist and soft, but reality couldn’t be more different. Was it the ground’s fault, or the spade’s fault? The answer was simple. 

Yep... It’s the spade. The spade I was holding was a far cry from the ones I was used to. If only it were at least made of metal, not wood. But alas. Regardless of the spade being wood, regardless of how hard or soft the ground was, giving up wasn’t an option for me. I just had to keep digging bit by bit, even if my progress ended up being pathetic. 

Scratch scratch scratch... 

The flimsy branch of a spade scraped the ground away bit by bit. It took a lot of strength and determination to dig out sticky clay. It would take a lot more than a single day to finish this. Somehow, I got the feeling making tablets out of the clay would be hard too. I could only pray that it would be easier than making faux-papyrus. 

Scratch scratch scratch... 

After digging about five centimeters into the ground, I heard someone approaching. 

“What are you doing, Myne?” Lutz, both hands filled with gathered twigs, opened his eyes wide in shock after seeing me sitting on the ground digging with a spade. “Didn’t you promise not to do anything that would tire you out?!” 

I remembered the promise we made after I left home, but I couldn’t resist digging for the clay that was right in front of my eyes. I had intended to stop before Lutz came back, but it was hard to quit after getting started. 

...Wh-What should I say? I could fool Dad with a hug and a smile, but Tuuli had specifically assigned Lutz to watch over me. There was no fooling him. If I tried, he’d just narrow his eyes and interrogate me further. I knew that from experience. 

“U-Um... Well, Lutz.” 

“...Well what?” Lutz furrowed his brows, put his hands on his hips, and looked down on me. The interrogation had started. “I told you to rest. Why aren’t you? What are you doing?” 

“...U-Ummm, digging a hole!” Lutz’s intimidating pose and aura of anger overwhelmed me such that I accidentally let the truth spill out. I-I mean, Lutz is scary when he gets mad. If things go bad, I won’t make it home before the gate closes. 

“I can see that. Why were you digging?” I thought answering honestly would do the trick, but Lutz’s anger just multiplied. I felt his gaze get a lot, lot colder. Groaning fearfully to myself, I looked up at Lutz. 

“Ummm, well, I want (sticky clay).” 

“Huh? You want what?” Lutz tilted his head a little bit in confusion. It seemed like the confusion had dimmed his anger somewhat. 

“I want, um... ground that’s heavy, bad at draining water, and all clumped together. Sticky.” 

“...If that’s what you want, you’ll find more of it over there, where there’s not much grass or trees.” 

It was true that it’d be more efficient to search for ground where plants weren’t growing, since too much water actually made it harder for them to grow. 

“Good thinking, Lutz! Thanks!” 

“Hey! Stop, Myne!” I tried moving over there immediately, but Lutz grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me back. He was incomparably bigger and stronger than me, so I had no way of escaping him. 

“Your job today is to rest, remember? Did you not hear me? What’s so important that you gotta dig for it right now?” Lutz followed up his neck grab by pulling my ears. I wailed while flailing my arms around. 

“Ow! Ow! It’s something I really, really want...! But it’s not something we can eat or anything, so I can’t ask Tuuli to get it for me!” I glared at Lutz with tears in my eyes while rubbing my ears, which made him falter a little. He must not have expected me to argue back, or maybe he was just surprised to see me get so stubborn about something when I usually didn’t. 

My raw instincts told me not to let this opportunity slip me by. “Are you saying you’ll dig for me if I rest?!” 

“...I’ll dig for you once I finish getting enough firewood. So c’mon, Myne, rest.” His unexpected answer made me freeze up. I could only stare at him, stunned. Although I had led the conversation in that direction, I had to wonder if Lutz understood what he was saying. Rather than helping me make my clay tablets, he should focus on gathering as much as possible for his family. 

“Lutz, um, I appreciate the thought, but shouldn’t you, um, focus on yourself?” 

“You’re too weak to dig up clay. So, I’ll do it. But in return, tell me what you’ll use the clay for. What you want to do with it.” 

“...Why?” 

“I can save time and avoid wasted effort if I know what you want to do. ’Cause I mean, look, you were digging in the wrong place for what you wanted.” 

Ngh... I can’t argue with that. It was true that even with a clear goal in mind, I struggled a lot due to not knowing what things were called in this world, not noticing that things looked different here from what I had seen in my Urano days, and not having access to the tools I needed. Thanks to Lutz firmly pointing out my error, I knew that he hadn’t said he would help without thinking, but I didn’t know why he was willing to help. It made me feel weird. 

“Why are you willing to help me, Lutz?” 

“Huh? I mean, you made those parue cakes for me when I was real hungry, right? That day I decided to help you with whatever you needed. No matter what.” 

...Bwuh? Just that? He’ll help me dig out clay just for that? To be honest, it was hard for me to understand Lutz’s willingness to perform hard labor for me, but maybe he was just the kind of person who cared a lot about repaying gratitude. If he wanted to help, that was fine with me. I felt kinda bad about it, but when it came to matters of strength, I would leave everything I could to him. 

“...Okay, Lutz, I’ll leave it to you. I can just wait here.” 

“Alright. I’ll be back in no time.” Lutz really did finish picking up firewood in no time. He then led me to ground with poor water drainage. It was a lower point in the forest, with slanted ground surrounding it. 

“Should be around here.” Lutz took the twig-like spade I brought with me and started digging with it. “Myne. Y’know, thinking about it, why’d you even bring this spade with you? You never intended to keep our promise, huh?” 

“Ah?! U-Um, that’s, well... I was just so excited to go to the forest. I just accidentally brought the stuff I needed with me.” 

Lutz flinched a bit, and thrust the spade hard into the ground as if to release his burning emotions. “Sheesh! You look all nice and sweet on the outside, but I can’t let my guard down around you!” 

“Actually, I think you should let your guard down a bit more... Why do you have to be smarter than Dad?” 

“Mr. Gunther is just too soft on you!” 

I could only watch silently as Lutz used his anger to dig. Somehow, the twig was steadily making progress through the ground. Unlike my scratching, the ground was getting flung away chunk by chunk. It was so weird, I couldn’t understand it. Is he just that much stronger than me? Is he holding the spade differently? Is there some trick here? 

“Wait, is it just me or is the ground a different color now?” After Lutz dug about fifty centimeters into the ground, it changed color. “Is this the stuff you want?” 

I grabbed some of it and tried squeezing it in my hand. It was cold, heavy, and changed shape inside of my hand. This was definitely the sticky clay I had been looking for. “This is it! It would have taken me days to dig this far! You’re amazing, Lutz. So strong.” 

“There’s not a guy alive who’s not stronger than you, Myne.” Despite sounding peeved, Lutz kept on digging up the sticky clay. 

Giddy with excitement, I brought chunks of the clay and set them on top of a large rock, bit by bit. I wonder how many clay tablets this will make. That alone made me grow terribly fond of this clay, as silly as that sounded. 

“So, what do you need this stuff for?” 

“Eheh. I’m gonna make (clay tablets) with it.” 

“(Clay tablets)?” 

“Uh huh.” 

I took the clay, acquired through Lutz’s hard labor, and squished it into the shape of a thin tablet. I then grabbed a nearby, tiny stick and started carving in a Japanese bedtime story that my old mom had told me. I would have preferred to write in the language of this world, not Japanese, but Otto was only teaching me words that had to do with work. I could write the basic template for a letter of introduction, and I could write out various things related to noble offices, but I couldn’t write words related to my basic daily life. 

“Are those letters you’re writing?” 

“Uh huh, basically. If I write something down here, I can remember it later just by reading. Written records are amazing, don’t you think? And books are just filled with these written records, so they’re even more amazing.” 

“Wow...” 

“Lutz, thanks for digging up this clay. You really saved me. If you still need to gather stuff, go ahead. I’ll be sitting right here and writing.” 

“Alright. You better stay still.” 

I was writing a story aesthetically similar to “The Elves and the Shoemaker: Isekai Edition.” It was such an epic tale that even if I packed each clay tablet with letters, I would need ten to tell the whole story.

“Yaaay! I finished!” Upon writing the last word and settling things with a climatic “Fin,” I was struck with a sense of overwhelming accomplishment. Wow! Clay tablets! I finished the clay tablets! Oh great and mighty Mesopotamian culture, may you live forever! 

I would be finished for real once I heated the tablets on our hearth, such that they wouldn’t break. I squeezed my stick and turned around to see the other finished tablets I had stacked on top of one another. 

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!” I slapped my hands on my cheeks and screamed in a way that made me the spitting image of Edvard Munch’s The Scream. What I saw before me was so unbelievable my mind went white. 

Lutz, holding his gathering basket, rushed back to where I was. “What’s wrong, Myne?!” 

“Fey stepped on them! He messed them up! ...UWAAAH!” The first half of the story I had put all into writing — more than half really — had turned into mush beneath Fey and his friends’ feet. The tablets had crumbled apart and the footsteps covering them made the text unreadable. 

“I-I had finally finished them... So mean! Uwaaah! How hard do you think I worked to come here?! How hard do you think it was for me to make this weak, sick body stronger...?! I even wrapped Lutz and Tuuli into this to finish them, and yet! GAAAH! STUPID DUMB IDIOOOTS!” 

I glared at Fey and the others as hard as I could, choking back sobs as tears streamed down my face. Rage coursed through my body as if to set my blood boiling, but somehow, my mind was frighteningly calm. I knew on the inside I was being immature, but I couldn’t calm myself down. 

Fey and his friends flinched from my glare and slowly backed away, trembling in fear. 

...I was almost there! I was one step away from getting a book, and now it’s all a mess! How are they going to make up for this? As I began thinking of ways to cool my rage over my clay tablets being messed up, Tuuli came running over with a terrified look on her face, probably having heard my scream. 

“Myne, what’s wrong?!” She peered over to see my face and immediately her expression twisted into one of fear, just like Fey’s. “...What happened? You look really, really mad.” She averted her eyes from me and looked around to assess the situation while consoling me. “Myne, you can’t let yourself get that mad. I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, right?” 

Whether or not they meant to hurt me, the ruined clay tablets wouldn’t be coming back. My rage over all my efforts being wasted couldn’t be calmed by Tuuli’s words alone. 

“Whatever! I’m never gonna forgive them!” With tears and snot trickling down my face, I glared with all my might at Fey and his friends as they quivered in terror, before suddenly Lutz patted me on the back. 

“I remember you saying you spent three months building up strength just so you could go to the forest and make (clay tablets). I get why you’re mad. I get why you don’t want to forgive them, I really do. But no matter how mad you get, what’s done is done. The only thing you can do is make them again. And uh, yeah, I’ll help you.” 

“If we start right now, we can make it to the gate before it closes. I’ll help, Myne. Okay? Fey and the others feel bad about what they did, so they’ll help too. Right?” 

“Yeah, definitely! We didn’t think they mattered that much to you. Sorry, seriously.” Clinging to the lifesaver thrown to them by Lutz and Tuuli, Fey and the others nodded their heads hard and hurriedly reached to the tablets they had been stepping on. Fey’s apology and the assurance that we could make new ones before the gate closed made the anger drain out of me. Staying angry wouldn’t be as productive as getting to work making new tablets. 

“...Okay. I’ll make new ones.” I had more or less managed to finish writing the story on the old tablets, so my approach in making them wasn’t flawed. I had to be satisfied with how much easier they were to make than papyrus. 

But I didn’t forget to drive the point home to Fey and his cronies. “Don’t think any of you will get a second chance.” 

Apparently, I reigned as the queen of the rumored “Top People You Should Never Make Angry” rankings for some time.