Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 1.1 - Chapter 6

Neighborhood Boys 

Mom went to work, leaving Tuuli and I alone at home. Naturally, that meant Tuuli was the only source of information available to me. 

“Tuuli, do you know where (paper) is sold?” 

“What’d you say, Myne?” 

“I said (paper)... Ah!” 

Tuuli tilted her head, braid shaking, in a gesture that felt very familiar. She was making the same expression that she did when my words ended up as Japanese and she didn’t understand. I didn’t know how to say “paper” in this place’s language. 

Oh no...! I should have asked that pawn stand guy what paper is! “Um, Tuuli, you don’t know what (paper) is...?” 

“Sorry. I don’t. The word sounds kinda funny though.” 

My shoulders slumped and I let out a heavy sigh. In truth, finding a store that sold paper for books wasn’t my only problem. I didn’t know where to get pens or pencils either. Judging from my home and the anachronistic state of the city, I doubted I would find any ball-point pens or mechanical pencils anywhere. It was very possible fountain pens didn’t even exist yet. 

What, then, should I use as a writing utensil? And how could I get my hands on such a utensil? Either way, my most immediate hurdles were my lack of money and the physical strength necessary to go searching for materials. Things weren’t going to be so easy for me. 

“Aaaah! I can’t believe Dad forgot this!” I heard Tuuli cry out from the kitchen and went to investigate. She was holding a wrapped up... something. 

As I recall, Dad had sleepily asked Mom to “get it ready for me, I need it at work,” which ticked her off since she’s always so busy in the mornings and he hadn’t warned her at all. She went out of her way to find it for him, and he had forgot it. My blood ran cold just thinking about how mad Mom would be if she found this out. 

“Tuuli, Mom’s definitely going to get mad, right? Shouldn’t you go get this to Dad?” 

“You think so too...? But, I can’t leave you all on your own, Myne...” 

Leave me in my room to go clean dishes, I’ll sneak out of the bedroom and start sobbing. Go to the market with Mom, and I’ll pass out. My family’s faith in me had hit rock bottom and apparently Tuuli wouldn’t even consider leaving me home alone. 

“But Dad will get in trouble without this, won’t he?” 

“...Myne, can you walk all the way to the gate?” Tuuli decided to take me with her rather than leave me on my own. I was a little nervous, considering what happened when I went to the market, but I was more scared of how mad Mom would be. 

I clenched my fist and pumped the air to show my determination. “I-I’ll do my best.” 

“Let’s go, then.” 

I put on several layers of clothes, just like I had done when shopping with Mom, and left with the bundled something. The layers of clothing weren’t me trying to be fashionable; it was entirely an effort to stave off the cold. Incidentally, to list all the clothes I owned: two pairs of underwear, two wool dresses, a wool sweater, two woolen trouser-esque pants, and two woolen socks. When going outside, I wore all of them. 

“Tuuli, this is so heavy I can barely walk.” 

“But you need to wear all of them to cover up all the gaps. Who knows where wind will blow from? You get fevers really fast, Myne, so you need to wear everything you can.” 

I had hoped that Tuuli would be more forgiving than Mom was, but her strong sense of responsibility prevented her from letting me go outside without as warm an outfit as possible to keep me safe. I gave up and put everything on, but it really did make it hard to move. 

Tuuli didn’t put on nearly as much since she was healthy. Not to mention that she had a lot of stamina thanks to her frequent trips to the forest with other kids and all the chores Mom gave her to do around the city. 

I lacked both stamina and speed. All I had was the weight of my clothes.

“Are you okay, Myne?” 

“Haaah, haaah... If, we take, it slow...” Just like last time, I was out of breath by the time we reached the bottom of the stairs. That said, I continued to walk at my own pace. I’d just make things harder for Tuuli if I forced myself to go fast and subsequently passed out. It was important that I slowly build up trust with her. 

...Seriously though, it’s really hard to walk on cobblestone. It was bumpy and I’d fall right over if I didn’t watch my feet. I took Tuuli’s hand and let her guide the way while I directed all my attention to my feet. 

“Huh? Hey, it’s Tuuli! What’re you doing here?” 

I lifted up my head after hearing a boy’s voice sound out from somewhat far away. Three boys were racing up to us, carrying baskets alongside bows and arrows. Their hair formed a colorful rainbow of red, gold, and pink, respectively. It was kinda hard to look away from their heads. 

Their clothes were all light gray, stained with mud and bits of food. The faded design on them showed that each of them were wearing hand-me-downs, and judging by how similar they looked to what we were wearing, I could guess that we were all equally poor. 

“Ah, Ralph! Hey Lutz, Fey!” Tuuli seemed friendly enough, so Myne might have spent some time with them in the past. I rubbed my temples and went deep into thought, searching her memories. Mmm... Ah, there they are. Huh. I guess they live in our neighborhood. 

Ralph was the same age as Tuuli. He had red hair and was the tallest of the three. He was something of a leader to the other kids, many of whom viewed him as a sort of older brother. 

Fey was also as old as Tuuli. He had pink hair and the face of the most mischievous prankster in the world. Likely due to fear of accidentally hurting the weak and sickly Myne, he usually kept his distance from her. She didn’t have many memories of him. 

Lutz was Ralph’s younger brother and had golden blonde hair. We were the same age. He usually tried to act like a tough older brother around Myne, which I thought was super cute. Like a kid stretching to look taller. 

Tuuli generally went to the forest with them, and apparently they had brought Myne along a few times. Those sparse memories were a lot more clear than the other ones. 

While I was digging through my memories, Tuuli was excitedly talking with Ralph. “Dad forgot something, so we’re walking to the gate. Are you three going to the woods, Ralph?” 

“Yep. Let’s stick together ’till the gate.” 

Tuuli’s beaming smile as she talked to Ralph made it clear that taking care of me was a big burden on her. Which made sense; going to the forest with everyone was definitely more fun than babysitting me. 

Um... Sorry for being such a bad little sister. But my fever’s been gone for the past few days, so I think you’ll be able to go outside soon. By which I mean, go outside and help me look for a store that sells paper, if you would be so kind. 

Tuuli’s walking pace shot up the moment she joined Ralph and the others. Since we were holding hands, she basically dragged me behind her until I tripped. 

“Oh no no no!” Tuuli stopped in front of me, so I didn’t fall completely over, but I did end up on my knees. 

“Sorry, Myne. Are you okay?” 

“...Uh huh.” I wasn’t in pain, but it was hard to stand up after getting on the ground. I wanted to just go ahead and take a nap. It’s kinda hard to breathe, I thought before someone stuck out a hand. 

“Hey, Myne. Want me to carry you?” 

...Lutz, you’re such a good kid! I searched Myne’s memories and saw that since Ralph and Fey always treated him like a little kid, he tried acting like a tough older brother around Myne despite being the same age. He would carry her stuff, protect her whenever she ended up exhausted, and do all sorts of things that made him seem like a fine young gentleman with a bright future. Not to mention that I was much more familiar with blonde hair than pink or green hair, so being around him was mentally calming in a way. 

“Myne, you were sick again recently, weren’t you? It must hurt. I’ll carry you.” I appreciated Lutz’s good intentions. But although I was smaller than him, he was still my age. I’d feel bad making him carry me, and I was worried he might collapse under me. My internal debate over whether or not to accept was soon interrupted by Ralph sighing and taking off his stuff. 

“We’ll never get to the forest with Lutz carrying her. Here, Myne, I’ll carry you. Lutz, take my bow. Fey can carry my basket.” 

“Ralph...” Lutz glared at Ralph with a little frustration. Maybe he felt like his good deed was being swiped away. 

“You worried about me sooner than anyone, Lutz. You’re really nice. Thank you. It made me happy.” I smiled brightly and gave Lutz’s hand a squeeze while showering him with praise. 

Lutz, seemingly satisfied that someone had recognized what he had done, smiled a shy smile and quietly took Ralph’s bow. 

“Alright, c’mere.” 

“Uh huh. Thanks, Ralph.” I walked up to Ralph and crawled onto his back, which was somewhat larger than Tuuli’s. It was sad that a boy knew had to carry me, but Little girls such as myself had no need for shame. No need! 

Ralph began walking firmly ahead with me on his back. The city looked a lot different with an extra forty or so centimeters to my height. To be more specific, I was previously spending almost all my time watching the cobblestones beneath my feet, but now I could see ahead and look at all the distant buildings. Not only that, but since he was walking at his own pace rather than my slow one, the buildings were passing by much faster. 

“Wow, so hiiigh! So faaast!” 

“Don’t get too excited, alright? You’ll get sick again.” 

“Uh huh. I’ll be careful.” 

Still though, boys who have to carry firewood home sure end up strong. He’s got a lot of muscles for a kid his age. None of my Japanese classmates in elementary school looked anything like him. Though that wasn’t a fair comparison considering our different living environments and whatever genetic differences separated them. 

It was also important that I didn’t compare the city to Japanese locations. I shouldn’t judge these people for the filth flowing through the gutters, or how their donkeys are pooping while they walk through the street... H-Hey, it’s not like I want to look at all this disgusting stuff! It’s all just so different from what I’ve seen in Japan that my eyes are drawn to it! 

We must have been passing through a craftsman’s street, since unlike the stores near the market, I couldn’t see at all into the first-floor stores. Those that just sold goods had glass windows to show off their wares, but the stores around here just had a single signpost hanging around the door and nothing else. Not only that, but all the buildings looked similar and were the same color. If not for that, the filth wouldn’t stand out so much and my eyes wouldn’t have been drawn toward it. It’s not my fault! 

“Ralph, are you okay? Myne isn’t too heavy?” asked Tuuli, looking back and forth between Ralph and me with a worried look in her eyes. 

Ralph shook himself a little to adjust my position on his back before somewhat curtly looking away. “I’m fine. Myne’s so small and light I barely notice her. And you’d get in trouble if she got sick from walking, right?” Judging by his embarrassed expression and tone of voice, he probably wanted to help Tuuli out. Or in other words, he wanted Tuuli to feel gratitude toward him. 

Ohoho, my sweet young Ralph. Are you after my Tuuli? They do say that if you want to take down the general, you must first defeat his horse. Mmm, I don’t mind being the horse. Keep on growing, young romance! Of course, that could have just been my imagination. 

But Ralph then took Tuuli’s braid and smelled it, then said, “Tuuli, I dunno why, but you smell pretty good.” 

What are you, the protagonist of a shoujo manga?! I couldn’t help but tease them on the inside. I mean, Tuuli replied by saying “Really? Thank you...” while blushing. Who could blame me? 

They were both so young I doubted they were actually in love, but in a world without books as entertainment, I’d like you to forgive me for fantasizing a bit in my head. I hadn’t experienced a trace of romance in my life despite being close to graduating college, and yet there was six-year-old Tuuli radiating youthful romance. I couldn’t help but have a little fun fantasizing about it. 

I know what you’re thinking, but don’t say it. “Maybe you’d be more popular with boys if you didn’t just read books and live in fantasies all day.” My family and even my neighbor Shuu said that exact same thing to me. I don’t wanna hear it. Shuu’s just a big dummy. Duuuummy. 

While I was in the middle of remembering the frustrations I felt back as Urano, Tuuli and Ralph’s childhood romance morphed into a more advanced love triangle. 

“It’s true. You do smell good.” 

“Lemme see.” 

Fey and Lutz both leaned toward Tuuli’s braid and sniffed. If they were all boys and girls of the appropriate age, they would be about three steps away from battling to the death for Tuuli’s heart. 

“Your hair’s really silky too. What’d you do?” 

Eheheheh. Riiight? Right. Satisfied by the looks of surprise on their faces, I nodded repeatedly. 

I was in the process of improving the cleanliness of my home. I dried nice-smelling flowers and put them in our clothing boxes, I had Mom boil the water we used for food before using it to cook, I wiped down Tuuli’s body when we “bathed” together, and I brushed her hair after using herb oil on it. It seemed the fruits of my labor were already starting to show. 

Although I had gotten a little used to everything smelling bad in this city, Ralph and the others still stunk a bit. I wouldn’t say it out loud since Ralph was going out of his way to carry me, but I really wanted to scrub everyone down with soap. It was a shame that our home only had animal soap for use in cleaning furniture and clothes, no plant soap for washing bodies and leaving a nice smell. Aaah... I want some nice-smelling soap. 

While I was in the middle of dreaming about a world that didn’t stink, Lutz took my hair. He inhaled deeply, as he had done with Tuuli’s. “You smell nice too, Myne.” Lutz smiled warmly while looking directly at me with his jade green eyes. 

Oh... Oh no! Lutz has a powerful color scheme! Golden blonde hair and jade green eyes alone make him look like a super cool, handsome guy! 

“Plus, you look a lot cuter now that you’re pinning your hair back and I can see your face better.” 

Hyaaaah! A finishing blow! Even though he’s a little kid, I’m feeling super embarrassed! I know he’s not doing it on purpose, but goodness! Please, stop! I may be kinda old, but I’ve never experienced anything like this! I don’t know what to do! 

I was the only one frozen in place and freaking out. Everyone else was already talking about what they wanted to find in the forest, or how long it would take for snow to start falling. The fact that Lutz was bragging about getting better at archery despite freaking me out like this ticked me off. Tuuli managed to just thank him, but I could only freeze in surprise. My heart was still pounding. 

...Is it normal for five-ish year old kids to do things like that here?! Um, what’s with this world?! I’m a fine young Japanese maiden with a shy heart, this is way too much for me!