Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.3 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue 

As Delia was carrying water from the well up to the second floor, Gil came back from the workshop early. The only time he ever came back to the chambers before Myne arrived was when he had a message from Lutz, so Delia immediately concluded that Myne had gotten sick again. 

...Geez, Sister Myne, what are you thinking?! You finally got to go home and you’re already sick! 

Complaining to her sickly master on the inside, Delia asked Gil whether Sister Myne would be absent for the day. He jerked in surprise, then looked up to where Delia was on the staircase. 

“She’s, uh... gonna be gone for a few days. Ah, Fran! Listen...” Gil gave a hasty reply and then, upon noticing Fran, ran off to him as quickly as he could. 

“There is no need to run, Gil. And please take care to use proper language when giving your report.” 

Delia went back to climbing the stairs, water in hand, while listening to Fran give Gil the same warnings he always did. When she reached the second floor, she saw that Rosina was tuning the harspiel, having finished the paperwork given to her by Fran. Her beauty shone through as she gracefully tuned the instrument with practiced hands; she kept her nails cut short so that she could play the instrument properly, but otherwise Rosina had the smooth, white hands of one who did no manual labor. She was a music tutor who handled paperwork—physical work like carrying water was outside of her purview. 

...Different roles, different expectations. Of course we wouldn’t be given similar jobs. That’s why I need to learn to do lots of different things, so that the High Bishop will grace me with his nighttime affections! 

Delia’s resolve strengthened each time she saw the clear gap between her and the other gray apprentice shrine maidens. She had managed to survive her time in the miserable orphanage cellar as the other kids died one by one beside her, and now her life goal was to earn the favor of the highest authority in the temple, the High Bishop, and then live under his protection while receiving more of his love than anyone else. For that reason, she needed to learn from Rosina’s example and behave as elegantly and sophisticated as possible. 

...After all, Jenni was receiving the High Bishop’s affection, and she used to be one of Sister Christine’s attendants too. 

Those were Delia’s thoughts as she picked up a water jug and headed to the bathing room. Once there, she hefted up the bucket she had already brought in and poured water into the jug. Carrying water to the second floor was important for both cleaning and for relieving oneself when nature called, and getting the bucket all the way up there from the well was the most physically demanding of Delia’s chores. 

“Mm, I guess one more bucket will do?” 

Less water was needed on days where Myne was absent. Delia checked how much was in the jug before leaving the bathing room carrying the empty bucket. There she found Fran instructing Rosina to go and find cloth of certain measurements. 

“Want me to search for it, Fran?” 

“I would guess that you have not finished carrying the water yet, Delia. Please prioritize that,” said Fran with a gentle smile. 

Delia would be able to find the cloth Fran needed much faster, and yet he was going out of his way to ask Rosina. In other words, something had happened that they didn’t want the High Bishop to know about. 

...I wonder what that might be? Delia wondered. She didn’t ask, though; she knew that Fran wouldn’t give her a clear answer no matter what she tried. Her best move, then, was to go with the flow. Rather than alerting him to her intentions by inquiring directly, she could just casually ask Rosina about it later. 

“What will the cloth be used for, Fran?” Rosina asked. 

“Wrapping meat,” he replied, “It does not need to be high-quality cloth.” 

...Wrapping meat? 

The empty bucket swung as Delia climbed down the stairs, now straining to hear their conversation. Rosina’s voice grew too quiet to hear, but was quickly replaced by Gil’s from the kitchen. Odd. She had expected him to go right back to the workshop after delivering his report. 

“We want it to be, like, Sister Myne thanking everyone in the lower city who’s helped her,” he said. 

“That’s fine with me, but how much do you need?” Hugo asked. 

“Er... I don’t really know too much about that stuff. You can just do whatever seems right, Hugo. Fran said not to give too much that it’d stick out in the lower city, so...” 

“Aaah, so it’s gotta blend in in the lower city,” Ella said, jumping into the conversation. Her voice was loud enough to travel through the kitchen’s open door and easily reach the chamber’s main hallway. “If it’s a celebration, it should be enough to just give them a lot of deer and say it’s a gift from the workshop.” 

...I wonder what they’re celebrating? 

The only celebratory events in the life of a gray shrine maiden were their baptism ceremony and their coming of age ceremony—there was nothing else. But Myne wasn’t the right age for either of those. Something else must have happened in the lower city. Something worthy of a celebration. Delia considered what that might be as she exited the chambers. 

By the time Delia had returned, the hurried atmosphere had dissipated. Gil had left with the meat needed for the celebration; Fran was doing work while wearing his usual, flat expression; and Rosina was helping him since Myne wouldn’t be coming. The door to the kitchen had also been closed. 

Whenever Myne didn’t come to the temple, Delia’s schedule was wiped clean; she didn’t need to serve anyone food, and she didn’t need to make tea during breaks. There were no baths to help with, no clothes to change, and when it came to dishes and laundry everyone just did their own in a matter of minutes. 

Fran was busy even when Myne wasn’t around. And now that Rosina could help him quite a bit with his work, the same was true for her, though she took breaks to play harspiel whenever the opportunity arose. Gil spent most of his time in the workshop and the orphanage these days; the workshop had to keep functioning even when Lutz’s work meant he had to be absent for long periods of time. Gil really was dedicating himself to learning as much as he could about all sorts of things. 

In contrast, Delia wasn’t given any new work. The reason was simple: she had connections to the High Bishop, and nobody wanted her involved in Myne’s important work. Delia couldn’t help but feel a little sad about being excluded, but at the same time, having connections to the highest authority in the temple was a great source of pride to her. 

“I shall be with the High Priest,” Fran announced shortly after third bell rang; he went to help the High Priest with his paperwork even when Myne wasn’t around. 

Rosina, finally free from paperwork, reached for the harspiel. There would be no work done in the chambers until fourth bell. 

Delia left the orphanage director chambers and went straight to the High Bishop’s room. 

“It’s me, Delia. I’m here to give my report to the High Bishop,” she said to the gray priest standing in front of his door, and after a short pause, the door opened. 

Jenni welcomed her in with a smile. 

“I’m sorry, Delia. The High Bishop received an invitation from a giebe and is presently absent.” 

“Didn’t he bring the chalices to the Noble’s Quarter at the end of winter? Surely he’s finished by now. Is there any other reason the High Bishop would need to leave the city now that Spring Prayer is over?” Delia asked, thinking back to the High Bishop’s schedule which she had memorized while in his room, learning to be an apprentice. 

Jenni replied that she did not know, but that a southern giebe had invited him over. It seemed a land-owning noble had business with the High Bishop. 

“Therefore, I will receive your report in his stead,” Jenni said. 

Delia told Jenni that there was a celebration in the lower city somehow related to Myne, and that they gave her a gift of wrapped-up meat. Jenni took notes on a board and, once she was done, looked up at Delia and gave a warm smile. 

“Delia, you move so much more elegantly and gracefully now than you did before.” 

Delia often received compliments on her efforts to improve from Myne and Rosina, but hearing praise from Jenni made her so much happier. After all, Jenni was living Delia’s dream of receiving the High Bishop’s affections. 

“I’m learning to carry myself like Rosina. I want to become the High Bishop’s mistress.” 

“Yes, that’s a very good thing to aspire to. How nostalgic... I wonder what Rosina is doing right now?” 

Delia went on to detail everything she knew about Rosina, and how she spent her time as Myne’s attendant. She took this opportunity to talk about Wilma from the orphanage as well. 

Jenni listened with a bright, beaming smile. “Polish your beauty well, Delia. There will be a noble visitor coming very soon, I believe.” 

“Would the High Bishop allow me to welcome them? Oh... But Fran would get in the way. He would never let me come.” 

For a moment Delia’s light-blue eyes shone with excitement, but then she remembered her current position and slumped over in disappointment. Jenni watched her with a gentle smile. 

“I am told this noble is quite fond of children. Everything will be just fine. The High Bishop will no doubt call for you, Delia.” 

If that noble took a liking to Delia, she might not become the High Bishop’s mistress, but rather the mistress of a noble. She might be able to leave the temple. Having realized that this was a real possibility—albeit a very unlikely one—Delia’s heart pounded in her chest as she left the High Bishop’s room. She was so excited over how bright her future was about to become that she missed Jenni’s last whisper. 

“The noble is searching for a child who has the Devouring, it seems.”