Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 4.8 - Chapter 6

Returning to the Temple and the Meeting with the Gutenbergs

Ferdinand had instructed me to climb into my Pandabus and take the time-stopping magic tool containing the fish back to the temple. I gleefully prepared to do just that and turned Lessy into a family-sized car, as per usual, only to have Ferdinand tell me that wasn’t big enough.

“Rozemyne, the tool will not fit inside a highbeast of that size,” he said. “Make it as large as you would when carrying the Gutenbergs.”

“Is the time-stopping tool that big?” I asked, looking at him questioningly. Either way, I did as instructed and made Lessy about as large as a bus.

“Look there,” he replied, directing my attention to several male servants carrying a box easily big enough for an adult man to lay inside and stretch his legs.

“And that thing is filled with fish?”

“Some of it has already been used, so I cannot imagine it is completely full.”

Judithe was acting as my guard knight, so she climbed into the passenger seat of my Pandabus. After confirming that my scholars were with me as well, I made for the temple. Roderick looked tense, as this was his first time going there.

“Welcome back.”

“We have been eagerly awaiting your return, Lady Rozemyne.”

As usual, my temple attendants were there to greet me when I arrived. “Fran, Zahm, Gil, Fritz—please take this box to the kitchen,” I said. “And feel free to request the help of others if it proves too heavy for just the four of you. After that, bring Hugo and Ella to my chambers. I wish to discuss the new ingredients with them.”

Fran called several gray priests over to help them carry the tool. Meanwhile, my retainers put away their highbeasts and waited. They were all used to the temple—aside from Roderick, who looked entirely perplexed.

“You summon chefs to your chambers, Lady Rozemyne?”

“My attendants do not approve, but direct communication is crucial to avoid any misunderstandings,” I explained. Back when we had needed to discuss the Italian restaurant and their becoming court chefs, among other things, Fran had used to grimace whenever I asked for servants to be brought to my chambers. Now that he had seen me do it so many times, however, he seemed to acknowledge that it was necessary.

“You would do well to embrace this too, Roderick,” I continued. “The sooner you adjust to my methods, the better. Now that I have your name, there is a good chance that you will one day become my closest retainer.”

“I will do my best,” Roderick replied with a nod.

Philine offered a gentle smile. “Lady Rozemyne also invites commoner merchants to discussions of the printing and paper-making industries, and she even asks for their opinions, so you mustn’t allow such minor revelations to surprise you.”

I put away Lessy while Fran and the others finished moving the luggage, then entered the temple. Nicola greeted me with a bright voice when we arrived at my High Bishop’s chambers. She had already prepared tea, and the accompanying aroma of sweets made me feel truly at home.

“Philine, start explaining the nature of temple work to Roderick,” I said. “Damuel, speak with the others and determine in what order you will guard me. I only need two guard knights in the temple; having five in these chambers is entirely unnecessary.”

“Understood.”

I sipped my tea and enjoyed this year’s last batch of parue cakes while giving out instructions. Soon enough, Hugo and Ella arrived, looking especially nervous. Their eyes were flitting between my retainers.

“Now, please tell me about these new ingredients,” I said to the chefs.

“It was a struggle,” Hugo replied, a distant look in his eyes. “Ahrensbach ingredients are not easy to work with at all. In fact, they can be exceptionally dangerous if not handled and dissected properly.”

After removing the fish from the time-stopping magic tool, the chefs needed to put them in a covered pot, secure the lid with weights, and immediately light the fire; even the slightest hesitation would result in the fish taking flight and attacking everyone.

Apparently, the magic tool contained many, many strange creatures. Preparing one of the fish required the chefs to prod it with a wooden stick to make it spit out all its stones, which came out with such force that potlids had to be used as shields. Another fish needed to be very carefully dissected, but not even the court chefs knew where to start. The kitchen had essentially turned into a war zone—which wasn’t much of a surprise in a world where mushrooms danced and vegetables grew violent.

Well, the fish tasted normal, but I suppose they’re actually far from it.

“As we did not know what ingredients you would need, Lady Rozemyne, everything that was left over in the castle was returned to the magic tool to be brought here,” Ella said. “The court chefs have warned that some of these ingredients are better thrown away, as commoner chefs would struggle to safely dissect them. Even the most violent fey creature will die without water, and as these are fish, it seems we can simply leave them atop some earth and wait for the inevitable.”

I firmly shook my head. “We will not be throwing anything away. I will ask the High Priest how to dissect them and do it myself.”

“You’re likely to struggle with your, erm... delicate arms,” Hugo noted with some reluctance. Ella was nodding in agreement beside him, but I was confident in my fish filleting skills. Surely I could manage with my schtappe turned into a knife.

“No matter your thoughts, do not discard anything before I have consulted the High Priest.”

“Understood.”

Having finished their post-battle report, the chefs proceeded to give Nicola papers describing how to dissect the remaining ingredients.

“You need not begin right away, Nicola, but start by trying to understand the recipes,” I said. “At this early stage, I assume you won’t be able to tell me which fish is used in zanbelsuppe, for example. Once you understand the recipes, attempt to follow them using our own methods.”

“I will do my best.”

After the chefs exited the room, I wrote to Ferdinand asking him to teach me how to dissect the fish. I was sure he was capable; he was such an expert on fey creatures that he even knew how to defeat rare species that only lived in Ahrensbach.

“Zahm, deliver this letter to the High Priest. Fran, you may begin your report on what happened while I was away.”

“Understood.”

I was updated on the situation, but it didn’t seem like much had changed in my absence. The children in the orphanage were doing well, and Konrad was now able to read and do simple math. I could see Philine listening carefully as Wilma gave her report.

“Playing with the children of the lower city while accompanying Lutz to the forest in autumn did wonders for him,” Wilma said. “They promised to play in the forest again when spring comes, so he has been striving to learn all the karuta before then.” It was good to know that the orphans and the children of the lower city were steadily getting closer.

“I wish to decide on a date to meet with the Gutenbergs,” I said, “but when might a good time be? Both the winter coming-of-age ceremony and the spring baptism ceremonies are right around the corner.”

“Indeed they are,” Fran replied, “and after the baptisms is Spring Prayer. If you intend to send the Gutenbergs on another long trip, I would advise that you speak with them before the coming-of-age ceremony.”

“The workshop will also need time to prepare, so we’ll need to know the leaving date well in advance,” Gil added.

We casually agreed that we would come up with some suggestions and ask the Gutenbergs which they preferred, and it was then that Zahm briskly returned from the High Priest’s chambers. “My apologies, Lady Rozemyne,” he said. “The High Priest wishes to ask the Gutenbergs some questions, so he is going to be attending the meeting as well. Here are the dates that work for him.”

The atmosphere in the room changed in an instant; Ferdinand joining us meant we couldn’t do things as we normally would. We would need to summon the Gutenbergs on a date we decided, and we would need a properly prepared room. The Gutenbergs would also need to dress up.

“But there’s only one date that the High Priest can do before the coming-of-age ceremony!” I exclaimed.

“Then that will need to be the date,” Zahm said. “Please write the letters of summons to the Plantin Company and the Gutenbergs.”

I went over to my desk straight away, penned the letters, and then turned to Gil. “Send these to the Plantin Company! Explain the circumstances to them as well.”

“At once!” Gil replied, rushing out of my chambers. There was much to be done, so Fran and Zahm started discussing the tea and sweets we would provide while the guard knights planned out their schedules for the day.

“Lady Rozemyne, as there are going to be more nobles in attendance this time, let us use a meeting room in the noble section of the temple,” Fran suggested. I was going to be bringing more retainers with me than usual, and Ferdinand would naturally be bringing his. The orphanage director’s chambers would end up being too cramped, and more people were bound to complain about how the furniture wasn’t appropriate for someone of my high status.

I nodded at Fran and asked that he reserve a meeting room for us, while Zahm left to inform the High Priest that we had settled on a date.

Gil must have sprinted the entire journey to and from the Plantin Company because he returned not long after Zahm did, desperately gasping for air. “The Plantin Company agreed to the date, but they want to know when to bring the completed mattress. Will during this meeting do, or should they arrange it for another day?”

“There are many ceremonies in spring, and the Gutenbergs must prepare to leave, correct? Having them bring the mattress on the same day sounds ideal, but”—I turned to look at Fran—“would that be too soon? Shall we prepare the High Bishop’s chambers for guests?”

“It does not matter how soon it is,” Fran replied emphatically. “It is the job of attendants to make these preparations in the time frame given. There is no need for you to worry, Lady Rozemyne.”

“From our viewpoint as guards, it is better for the commoner craftsmen to settle this in your chambers while you are attending the meeting,” Damuel added, while Cornelius nodded in agreement. And so, it was decided that the Gutenbergs would deliver the mattress on the same day.

I can’t help but wonder—what does Ferdinand even want to ask them?

The date of the meeting had arrived, and the room was almost overflowing with people. Ferdinand and I were naturally here, as were our retainers and temple attendants. There were also Benno, Mark, Damian, and Lutz from the Plantin Company, as well as the rest of the Gutenbergs, who were visibly anxious despite being well-trained enough to visit the temple. Josef, one of our ink craftspeople, was particularly on edge. The look on his face seemed to say, “Going to the orphanage director’s chambers is bad enough; how do you think I feel about being here in the noble section?”

“Lady Rozemyne, there is something I wish to introduce you to before the meeting begins,” Benno said. “This is a chair, the seat of which incorporates the same innovations as your mattress. Would you like to accept it in addition to your order?”

Ingo and Zack brought a fancy-looking chair into the meeting room. Its legs and armrests were nicely decorated, and the seat was upholstered with dyed cloth. It was a beautiful piece of furniture clearly designed for a woman.

“This is a chair we made while experimenting for your mattress,” Benno continued. “The wooden parts were made by Ingo’s carpentry workshop and the mattress by Zack’s smithy. The necessary dyes were courtesy of the ink craftswoman Heidi, while the actual dyeing was done by Effa, your Renaissance.”

I decided to test it out and found that it was harder than the sofas from my Urano days—although this was probably to be expected, considering that it was more or less just coils covered in cloth. Still, it was leagues above wooden boards, and it didn’t hurt my butt to sit on. If paired with a nice cushion—or a blanket in the case of the mattress—it would probably be really comfortable. The most important thing about the chair to me, however, was hearing that the Gutenbergs had all worked together to make it.

“Yes, I quite like this chair. I shall purchase it alongside the mattress.” I took out my guild card and tapped it against Benno’s to pay him.

“What is all this, Rozemyne?” Ferdinand asked with a glare, breaking the silence he had maintained thus far. “I do not believe you mentioned anything about a ‘mattress’ in your reports.”

“Erm, well, this was a personal purchase, and the product is still rather experimental,” I said, hoping that he would allow me this one indulgence. I wanted the Gutenbergs to focus on the printing industry for now, so I was planning to wait until all their traveling across the duchy was complete before making mattresses public. “I intended to quietly introduce it to you once all the trial and error was complete, so—”

“I could not care less about your personal circumstances,” Ferdinand snapped, his eyes narrowed. “I want an explanation of your strange new product.”

It was clear that I didn’t have a choice in the matter, so I ultimately conceded. “A mattress is designed to make beds even more comfortable—and as Zack noticed, they can be used for chairs as well. I won’t need any for my Pandabus, but they will make carriages far more tolerable to use.”

Benno and Zack glanced up without a moment’s hesitation, wearing the mercantile expressions of two men who had just spotted a profitable enterprise. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that they planned to take the guildmaster for all he was worth.

“Rozemyne, allow me to sit there,” Ferdinand said. “If this chair is as comfortable as you suggest, I shall order one myself.”

“If you teach me how to dissect fish, then certainly.”

I had already asked Ferdinand once in my recent letter to him, but his response had said only that he planned to attend this meeting. I hadn’t forgotten about the fish, though, and I wouldn’t let him fool me. I stared up at him, making it clear that I wasn’t going to budge on this matter.

Ferdinand frowned at me, then let out a defeated sigh. “Very well.”

I stood up with a grin and offered my chair to Ferdinand. He sat down, touched the seat several times, and then tried it with and without a cushion on it.

After quite some time, Ferdinand gave his verdict. “I will order a bench made with this mattress after the meeting. Gido, prepare the necessary form.”

His attendant replied with a dutiful “Understood” and swiftly exited the meeting room. Based on the fact that Ferdinand was ordering not just a regular chair but an entire bench, I assumed that he was quite taken with the mattress.

Wait... Don’t tell me he intends to put that in his workshop and use it as a bed.

I tried not to dwell on the thought and instead turned to the Gutenbergs. “Now, I must request your winter reports.”

Benno provided a summary of the book sale at the castle and a comparison of Groschel, Haldenzel, and the Rozemyne Workshop. We could reduce our prices thanks to the use of plant paper, but books were still expensive. Ehrenfest also had a very finite number of customers to appeal to, and increased competition had resulted in a decrease in sales overall.

“I am told that printed books are being debuted in the Royal Academy next year, and I am eager to see how the market grows,” Benno continued. “We are also making steady progress with the stationery that you requested. It is proving very convenient for organizing documents written on plant paper.”

Benno and the others were working hard to realize my ideas, including the old-fashioned folders that secured papers in place with string and the filing cabinets used to store them. There were a few miscellaneous pieces as well—items that one would normally find in a one-hundred-yen shop.

“Deliver twenty or so to the High Bishop’s chambers, with the Rozemyne Workshop crest on them,” I said. “We’re going to be using this stationery more and more, so we’ll also need machines that can poke holes in paper in a more uniform fashion and machines that can cut sheets to a uniform size.”

In other words, I wanted hole punches and guillotines. I was starting to consider staplers as well when Johann twitched. His fears were very much justified; this was going to be his job, after all.

In any case, Johann gave a report on the proliferation of pumps and the Groschel craftspeople he had been working with over the winter. “Almost every well from the north end to the center of town has a pump now,” he said. “As you suggested, Lady Rozemyne, we prioritized putting them where the merchants from other duchies are expected to stay. We intend to continue our work along Craftsman’s Alley and then start in the south part of the city.”

It seemed that Johann’s disciple, Danilo, was making excellent progress, meaning Johann had someone to share his workload with. Everyone at Zack’s workshop had similarly spent so much time making mattress coils that they could complete Ferdinand’s order themselves.

“And the ink?” I asked. “How is that coming along?”

Josef started his report on ink made from Groschel ingredients. Heidi was sitting this one out, since there were so many nobles in attendance, but her research results were on another level. She had made so many more colors than I expected.

“Heidi very much looks forward to the next long trip when she can obtain new ingredients,” Josef concluded.

“I see; I shall send these research results to Giebe Groschel. And do tell Heidi that the Gutenbergs are going to Leisegang in the spring. You will once again be accompanied by scholars and archduke candidates, and while I am sure that sounds unnerving to you all, I trust you to do well.”

Josef nervously raised a hand, seeking my permission to speak.

“Yes, Josef?”

“My sincerest apologies for speaking out of turn, but for this next trip, we were hoping that you might allow us to stay in the lower city, as we did in Groschel, rather than in a noble’s estate.”

Heidi needed to be present for their ink research to see any progress, but Josef would have a heart attack trying to live with her in a noble’s estate. Given how she tended to act, that was something I could understand.

“If you believe that is for the best, I shall negotiate with Giebe Leisegang for you to have residence in the lower city.”

“Thank you.”

It appeared that Josef wasn’t the only one pleased about this news; Zack and Johann looked just as relieved.

Like last year, we would be leaving for Leisegang after the Central District part of Spring Prayer was over. I asked all those gathered to be ready to leave by then, and everyone nodded without a change in expression, having become accustomed to the process after so many long-term trips. That concluded the winter reports and our discussion about Leisegang—but there was still one more thing to cover.

“Ferdinand, did you not have something that you wished to ask the Gutenbergs?”

He glanced up and said, “Ah, yes,” putting every single Gutenberg in the room on edge. “Does Ehrenfest’s lower city have a store that deals in feystones?”

Benno and Mark blinked a few times, seemingly unsure. The craftspeople, however, clearly knew what Ferdinand was talking about. They didn’t know how to answer without potentially coming off as rude, so they each looked at the others, trying to push the job of answering onto someone else.

Ferdinand was getting annoyed about the lack of a response when a lone voice cut through the silence. “As a lowly servant, I apologize for the discourtesy of asking at all, but might I receive permission to speak?” It was Lutz, who was standing behind Benno. He was the perfect person to answer this question; he had been raised in the same environment as the craftspeople but had also been studying how to speak to nobles at the Plantin Company.

Ferdinand raised an eyebrow, then permitted Lutz to speak.

“There is a store in the lower city that buys the feystones made when one fails to dissect a feybeast in the forest,” Lutz explained. I never went hunting myself, so this was all news to me, but making a mistake when cutting up a feybeast produced a feystone worth anything from a middle copper to a large copper. The store that bought them was by the west gate, near where the market was held.

“And what feybeasts do you hunt?” Ferdinand asked.

“Primarily shumils, but feystones from eifintes and zantzes fetch a higher price, since they are harder to obtain.”

Shumils are like small versions of Schwartz and Weiss, right? They hunt them?

It was a shocking revelation, but I knew what life was like in the lower city and understood that it couldn’t be helped. I would simply put it out of my mind.

“I see,” Ferdinand said. “Scrap stones, then. Do you know whom the purchased feystones are then sold to?”

Lutz shook his head. “Only the workers of the store or those of the Merchant’s Guild would know that.”

“I see...”

Ferdinand seemed to be deep in thought, so I turned to Benno. “How is the Klassenberg merchant doing? I could not ask before due to the giebes being at the castle.” I thought it was very mature of me to have waited until now to ask, but Benno’s eyes hardened in response. He was still wearing a smile, but I could tell that he didn’t want to talk about it while Ferdinand and the other nobles were here. Unfortunately for him, it was unlikely that we would ever meet again without this many nobles around, Ferdinand notwithstanding.

“She is a skilled lehange,” Benno said. “I believe that all one needs to know about her is being detailed in letters.”

“Her name is Karin, correct? I found her information about the state of affairs in Klassenberg and other duchies to be very interesting indeed, but I am finding it difficult to judge what kind of person she is. Furthermore, I would like to know how much she has been learning about us and sending home in turn. As the one responsible for her, Benno, I think you are best suited to enlighten us.”

Benno endured my stern glare for a brief moment before averting his gaze, having been beaten by my persistence. “As we understand it, she had no reason to expect that she was going to be left in Ehrenfest. She comes across as stouthearted for the most part, but there are times when she just looks uneasy. We were concerned that she would try to make contact with some outside source to feed them information, but she doesn’t seem to have attempted anything of the sort since the end of autumn.”

“So, what do you intend to do about her?”

Benno stroked his chin. “For now? Nothing at all. I see no issue with us treating her as a normal lehange and then ending the contract when the time comes.”

Aw, what? You’re not going to marry her?

“I see...” My hopes had certainly been raised, since Corinna had mentioned their relationship changing at the end of winter, but it seemed that nothing had happened in the end. It was unfortunate, to say the least. “Otto and Corinna gave me the impression that I might be blessing you during the next Starbind Ceremony.”

“That would never happen,” Benno replied, his dark-red eyes boring into my soul as he willed me to stop messing around. I gulped, thanking my lucky stars that there were so many guard knights around me. If anyone deserved his anger it was Otto, Corinna, and the guildmaster, since they were the ones trying to get Benno to marry Karin. I wasn’t involved whatsoever.

“We will primarily need to be on guard against Karin from the end of spring to the summer,” Benno continued, “since that is when her father is due to return for her. That said, this is a problem between merchants; we will not trouble you or the archduke, High Bishop.”

I gave a careful nod; it was clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was resolved to settle this matter himself, no matter what that entailed. “I trust your decision and your resolve, Benno—but if you are ever in need of my power, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“Thank you,” Benno said politely. He then gave a confident grin that seemed to say, “Heh, look at you getting all cocky. I can handle this myself, idiot.”