Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.1 - Chapter 3

Not Like the Other Blue Robes 

“Luuuutz!” The moment I saw Lutz’s face, I felt the relief of being back in a world I was familiar with flow through me. I raced down the stairs and jumped into Lutz’s arms, hugging him tightly as I rubbed my head against him. “I’m already so tired, Lutz.” 

“Aaah, yeah, you’re looking a bit under the weather. Good work today.” Lutz patted my head and praised me for my hard work. 

I mainly just read today, but my attendants were apparently required to stay near me as part of their job. There was always somebody near me, watching everything I did. It was normal for me to stop paying attention to my surroundings once I got absorbed in a book, but it was bad for my heart to notice someone watching me every time I came back to reality. The emotional baggage of being stared at was heavy enough to tire me out. 

...Nobles were impressive, actually. How long would it be before I got used to this kind of thing? Maybe I had it easier than them since I could go home and sleep unattended. I would probably go crazy if I was watched constantly from “Good morning” to “Goodnight.” 

“Hey, Lutz. I want to go see Mr. Benno right now if I can. Was he at the store?” 

“He got back when I was leaving, so probably. Why, what happened?” 

I shook my head at Lutz as he started worrying. “I need to get money from the Merchant’s Guild and bring it to the High Priest as a donation. Sooner is better, so...” 

“Hmm. Alright, let’s go.” We started to walk in that direction, but for some reason my trio of attendants began to follow us. Inside the temple was one thing, but I definitely didn’t want them following me outside. I didn’t want them watching me at all times. 

“...You three don’t have to come.” 

“I am afraid that I must, as your attendant.” 

“That’s right! Meeting someone without your attendants is just ridiculous, don’t even think about it.” 

Fran and even Delia were both so opposed to me meeting Benno without them that I could guess normal blue-robed priests always brought their attendants with them to meetings. I’ll have to make a mental note of that. 

“Hmph. Well if I don’t gotta go, I’m not gonna. I’m too hungry for it.” Gil, who probably didn’t know much about attendants either, gave me a kinda hateful glare and spun around to leave. But the other two didn’t do the same. 

I felt better without attendants around. I was going to a place I was used to visiting, and with Lutz around the attendants would be dead weight anyway. Well... What’s the harm in driving them off, then? 

“Hey, Delia. Could you go tell the High Priest that I’ll be back with the donation once I settle things with Mr. Benno? I’ll be in big trouble if he doesn’t hear about this. I’m counting on you.” 

“Oh, you’ll be in big trouble? I understand. I’ll be sure he hears about this.” Delia gave a wide, transparent grin. She would either fail to deliver the message, or give it to the High Bishop instead. Delia turned around and entered the temple with the most excited smile I had seen on her the entire day. 

I let out a sigh of relief at having brushed Delia off, which made Fran grimace a bit while looking at Delia go. “Sister Myne, if you have messages for the High Priest, I can deliver them. Please go with Delia.” 

“Fran, I asked Delia to do that. If I need an attendant with me, you can come with me yourself.” 

Fran gave a blatantly unhappy frown and shook his head. “But there is no telling if she will actually deliver that message to the High Priest.” 

“I’m with Lutz right now, so you can go deliver it to him yourself if you want. I’ll be in trouble if no one else does, definitely.” I left it at that and walked off, holding hands with Lutz. 

Fran wavered for a bit at the temple entrance, but ultimately decided to prioritize delivering the message to the High Priest. He turned around and entered the temple. 

“You sure that was the right thing to do, Myne? Aren’t they supposed to be learning to manage your health?” Lutz turned back and looked at the now-vacant temple entrance. 

Oh yeah, they were supposed to learn to do that, I thought to myself while sighing heavily. “...Mmmm. One of those three attendants assigned to me should be learning to do that, but I don’t think it’ll happen. He just doesn’t have the motivation for it.” 

“Huh?” 

“He wants to serve the High Priest, but he was probably told to serve me instead. No matter what he’s doing for me, he doesn’t seem happy about it. Things might change if he starts considering me his master more than the High Priest, but that’s basically never going to happen, ever.” 

“You as a master, Myne...? Yeah, can’t see it. You don’t have the kind of majesty or dignity that demands respect,” said Lutz in a teasing tone with a laugh. I laughed with him. It was good to be back with someone I could trust. 

“Hi, Mr. Mark. Is Mr. Benno here?” I saw Mark while Lutz was opening the door, so I waved at him like usual. His eyes widened and he paled the moment he saw me. 

“Myne, come inside. Quickly.” 

“Bwuh?” Mark, looking more unsettled than I had ever seen before, hurriedly urged me into the store. He immediately opened the door to Benno’s office and gestured us inside, without getting his permission and having us wait in the store like he usually did. 

“Master, Myne has arrived at the store. I am letting her in at once.” 

“What’s with you, Mark? Why’s Myne visiting got you all...” said Benno in a teasing tone as he looked up, having heard Mark close the door immediately. But the second he saw me, his eyes opened wide and his eyebrows shot up in anger. 

“GRAAAH! Myne! You IDIOT!” 

“Eek!” His sudden shouting surprised me so much that I fell back and covered my ears. Even Lutz gasped and jumped a little. 

“Bwuh? Wha? Why are you so mad, Benno?!” 

“You thoughtless idiot! Why did you come here wearing that?! Did you really walk all the way here from the temple wearing that?!” 

“...I did, but what’s the problem with that?” I looked down at my outfit, tilting my head in confusion. Lutz did the same. Seeing that neither of us fundamentally understood the problem, Benno scratched his head and Mark rubbed his temples. 

“Myne, you’re wearing a blue shrine maiden outfit. Normal blue shrine maidens are nobles. Nobles travel by carriage. They never just walk around the city. Do you understand why?” 

Benno’s question confused me. I thought back to the few times I had ridden carriages myself. They were bumpy and uncomfortable. But since commoners rarely if ever got to ride them, they became a symbol of status and were a fast way of impressing them. Back in my Urano days, I only used a car when I knew I would be bringing a lot of stuff back, when the destination was a long way away, or when the weather was bad and walking would be annoying. 

“Ummm... Because they want to show off and walking is a pain?” 

“No! If nobles just walked around, they would be kidnapped and held hostage for a ransom! Never wear that outside the temple unless you want to get kidnapped!” 

“Y, Y-Y-Y-, YES SIIIR!” I immediately started taking off my apprentice shrine maiden robes. I was wearing my apprentice merchant clothes beneath them, so all I had to do was undo the sash and pull the robes over my head. 

...I thought the blue robes are basically like a school uniform, but to other people they’re like a sign saying: “I am a noble. I have money.” I never even considered that someone might kidnap me for money. 

Benno watched me fold up the robes with a conflicted expression on his face, then sighed heavily with exhaustion. “Anyway, what’re you doing here? I doubt you came here just to give us heart attacks.” 

“Right, I have a request for you. Mr. Benno, could you come with me to the Merchant’s Guild, and then go to the temple?” 

“What for?” Benno blinked in confusion. 

“I want you to help withdraw and carry five small golds to the temple for a donation. I’ve been handling large money exchanges with my guild card up until now, but the High Priest doesn’t have one, and I’d be scared of walking around with that much money. I asked the High Priest about this, and believe it or not, he just told me to have my attendants do it.” 

Benno furrowed his brows at my complaints. “What do you mean, ‘believe it or not’? That’s what attendants do. It’s their job.” 

“...I don’t know how anyone expects me to have the courage to trust that much money with people I barely know. People who don’t even like me,” I said, pursing my lips. Benno’s dark-red eyes opened wide and he blinked in surprise. 

“There are people out there that someone as thoughtless as you — someone who’s been tricked by the guildmaster more times than I can count, someone who keeps trusting and trusting him after that — can’t trust? What in the world is wrong with them?” 

“Ummm, one of them is a spy sent by the High Bishop, and one of them is a spy sent by the High Priest. The last one is a troublemaker assigned to me out of spite. I can deal with them following me around the temple, but no way can I trust them with my money.” 

“You know, I figured as much, but wow... They really hate you over there, huh?” Benno’s accurate assessment made me groan a little. 

“Guuuh... When this all started I thought I wouldn’t care about anything as long as I could read books for the last months of my life, but this is going to be awful if it never stops.” 

“Yeah, the situation’s different now. Your only choice with the spies is to build up a good relationship with them, even if it’s just a superficial one. Look for things you can trust them to do without putting your full faith in them. As for the troublemaker, well, train him like you would a wild animal.” 

Framing Gil as a wild animal made me think of a baby monkey playing tricks in a tree while screeching noisily. “But animals and people are different.” 

“Not as much as you’d think. If they don’t listen to you, hit’m with a stick. If they listen to you, give them a reward. Beat into them who their master is.” 

Putting aside matters of trust, it seemed I would need to make them obedient either way. “...I’d rather use that time to read books.” 

“Don’t be lazy! It’ll be worse if you end up in noble society without attendants you can use!” 

“Ngh... I’ll try to be optimistic.” 

Benno sighed and shook his head to get back on track. “We got off topic here. So, when’re you supposed to be bringing this donation?” 

“I was going to decide on a date after hearing about your plans. I asked one of my attendants to tell the High Priest that I’ll bring the money when you’re ready, so—” 

Hearing that made Benno jump out of his chair. “That’s the same thing as saying you’ll be bringing it immediately! Mark, get ready! We’re going to the temple!” 

“Understood!” Mark, looking pale, dashed out of the room. 

“U-Um, okay, let’s go to the Merchant’s Guild then.” 

“That’d be a waste of time. No need for us to go. Hold out your card.” After tapping cards with me, Benno said to put my blue robes back on, then used the inner door to race up the stairs to the next floor. 

I picked up the robes I had just taken off and put them back on. After tying the sash, I hung my head. I hadn’t expected any of this to happen. I just said that to get rid of my attendants, but it put both Benno and myself in a bad situation. 

“...What should I do, Lutz?” Everything, down to the meaning of just a few words, changed dramatically based on where you were and who you were talking to. Words meant different things for different groups. I thought I understood something that simple, but I didn’t. 

Lutz patted my head gently. “No surprise here, we don’t know anything about nobles. You couldn’t help making a mistake this time, but you gotta work to improve your flaws.” 

“My flaws?” I tilted my head in confusion, and Lutz gave a big nod while looking at me with somewhat stern eyes. 

“I know you love books more than anything, and you just want to keep reading books forever. But before that can happen, you need to learn to talk to the people around you and learn how to live properly. I don’t know anything about the world of merchants. Things everyone around me knows, I don’t. So I’m listening to everyone I can. Picking up all the information I can. The other apprentices, Mr. Mark, everyone’s teaching me. If you ignore people just ’cause they’re annoying to deal with, you’ll never learn how to live.” 

Lutz’s words cut deep into my heart. I knew that he, as the son of a craftsman that jumped headfirst into the world of merchants, was working his absolute hardest to fit into the store. But me? Although my motivations were different, I had jumped into the world of the temple just like Lutz, but I wasn’t making any effort to get used to living there. 

“I’m working hard because I want to live as a merchant. If you want to read books, you gotta learn to live in the temple. Don’t worry. I know you can do it. ’Cause you’re smart, Myne.” 

“I’m not smart. I never think before doing anything. You’re way smarter than me, Lutz.” No way was I smart. I was a thoughtless idiot, just like Benno said. No matter how much I learned in either life, it never helped me calm down and think ahead. 

“Thoughtless or not, you always run straight toward your goal, right? If your goal is to read books and be happy, what’s gonna stop you from doing just that? Work hard, Myne, so you can relax and read books.” 

“Ngh... You know me too well, Lutz.” Just as my heart was lifting up with optimism, footsteps came echoing down the stairs. The inner door creaked open and Mark, wearing a long-sleeved outfit of a single color, walked back into the room. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Instead of his usual butler outfit, Mark was wearing a loose-looking, long-sleeved garment that strongly resembled a kimono. It was green with blue embroidery, and the garment reached all the way down to his knees. Beneath it was a tightly fitting pair of white pants, in contrast to the loose upper garment, which reminded me of how I had made my baptism outfit look fancier. The cloth was visibly high quality, and it was obvious that the outfit was for dealing with nobles. 

“Finally done.” Benno came into the room after Mark. He was wearing a white upper garment with sleeves even longer and larger than Mark’s outfit and a hem that went down to his ankles. The embroidery was so much fancier than Mark’s that they couldn’t even be compared, and he was even wearing a lightweight cloak on top of it. The cloak had blue gemstones on the shoulders and was clasped with a golden brooch. He was holding something that looked like flowers. His milky-colored hair was slicked back with something like pomade, making him look like an entirely different person. 

The fact that one was expected to wear an outfit this different just to talk to nobles at all made me gasp. I was once again reminded that I had jumped into an entirely different world, and it terrified me now more than ever. I never should have said something that wrapped Benno or anyone else into this. 

“Mr. Benno, I’m sorry. I got you wrapped into this because I didn’t think hard enough...” I said, running up to him. 

Benno pointed at the flower hairpin he was carrying, saying that it was their newest one, and then slipped it into my bun next to my hair stick. Then he gave me his usual invincible grin and said, “Don’t sweat it so much. My motto is that you find the best opportunities at the worst of times. If we hand your donation over fast and treat this like a noble would, we’ll give the Gilberta Company a good impression. Let’s go.” Benno’s confident declaration didn’t seem to be dishonest. 

I didn’t know what kind of command structure existed within the store, but by the time Benno and Mark finished changing and left, they had a small box packed with small golds, a rolled up piece of cloth, a small jar, and three somethings bundled up in cloth all prepared. Outside of the store was a carriage large enough to fit four adults, with a well-dressed driver waiting for us. 

...When did all this happen?! As I stood there surprised, Benno picked me up with far more respectful reverence than usual and politely carried me to the carriage. After being sat in the clearly expensive carriage, I looked up at Benno with a worried look on my face. He flicked my forehead. 

“You’re a noble right now. I’m used to this kinda thing and I’ll take care of it, so you just sit there and smile. Don’t panic, no matter what happens. Be bold. Never lower your head or stare at the ground. Does all that sound possible?” 

“...I can do it.” 

I saw Lutz through the window of the carriage. He mouthed “good luck,” and I nodded hard. 

Mark got inside, shut the door, and off went the carriage. My heart shook along with the bumpy carriage as it took me to my first real encounter with noble society.