Starting the day after I went out to buy clothes, the work of hauling
About half of it was for my room, but there were also supplies for the orphanage. On top of that, tools and equipment needed for the pork processing day kept being carried in.
"Myne, where should I put this?"
"I asked
"The basement? ...Wait, did they pry it open?"
The orphanage had a door in the floor that led to a basement, but it had been sealed shut with boards nailed across it. When we'd done the big cleaning of the orphanage, I'd noticed the existence of the basement, but I hadn't felt the need to pry off the boards.
However, when you needed storage space, it was a different story. The tools I'd purchased for winter handicrafts had arrived, so we went ahead and pried it open.
I'd been tense, wondering if something dangerous might be inside, but it was just unused, and nothing came out. Honestly, I was relieved.
"Open the deliveries here, and hand off the items going to Myne's room to
Fran checked each shipment as it arrived from the cart, assigning everything to its proper location.
The cargo was divided this way because the women's building basement was being used for soup-making and the men's building basement served as the Myne Workshop.
As for the food, Wilma, who managed the women's building, would also take charge of it. A lock was installed on the pantry so no one could use it without permission, since this would be precious food for winter and everyone would be in trouble if it ran out partway through.
The gray priests and shrine sisters carried goods to their respective basements, and the children helped with the hauling, laughing and chattering excitedly.
Lutz, watching the bustle, suddenly turned his gaze toward me.
"My family's going to help too."
"Huh?"
"With the orphanage pork processing. He wasn't super clear about it, but I think Dad feels grateful to the High Priest or something."
Lutz said this with a small smile. Stubborn, artisan-minded, and tight-lipped, Dad apparently appreciated the High Priest for arranging the mediation talks.
"But, you know, the High Priest is a noble, so there's no real way to thank him directly, right? So Dad said something about helping out at the orphanage as a way of repaying him. And now the whole family's been roped in."
" The whole family... Uncle isn't going off the rails again, is he?"
Lutz's family had four brothers, all male, so having them show up for this kind of work was a huge help. But I was genuinely curious whether the whole family was actually on board.
"It's fine. My brothers all had this 'oh well, what can you do' look of resignation, but Mom's all for it."
"Good. If your family's helping, we should be able to pull it off. I'm getting excited for the pork processing."
"Heh heh," I giggled, and Lutz narrowed his eyes, watching me get all giddy before letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Myne, you're obviously staying behind, right?"
"Huh?"
My bubble burst, and I blinked several times.
"Obviously. You always get a fever around this time of year. Last time you collapsed in the back of a cart and had to be carried all the way to the gate, remember? You can't come along this time when we're leading a bunch of complete beginners."
"W-well, that's true, but... Mom's pregnant, and
I'd finally gotten to the point where I could watch the butchering without crying and even help dig out the organs. And now I couldn't go to the pork processing?
I'd been planning to do a dry run at the orphanage's pork processing so I could properly help out at the neighbors' processing this year.
"No way. If we're taking the orphanage kids, you wouldn't be able to work anyway. If you stand around outside watching all day, you'll definitely get a fever. And then you won't be able to do the follow-up work—was it glue?—that comes after."
I was bombarded with one reason after another for why I couldn't go. The annoying thing was, I couldn't argue back.
"Myne stays behind. While you do, use that brain of yours for money-making ideas. What was it? That thing you said before—putting the right person in the right place?"
"Ohh..."
On the morning of pork processing day, Dad, Lutz's family, and my family gathered at the well square to finalize the arrangements, and I ended up going to the orphanage with Dad and Tuuli. I would be minding things at the orphanage while Dad and Tuuli handled hauling goods and leading the children from there.
Lutz, acting as an apprentice of the Gilberta Company, would head to the butcher and then go with the craftsmen to the village, while Lutz's family and my mother would head to the village first to prepare the smoking shed and draw water.
"Now then, with this division of labor, let's get to work. The pork processing team will push the handcart, and the mind-the-store team will clean the temple, clean the orphanage, and prepare soup for dinner," Fran announced.
Fran divided the children into two groups. The gray priests suited for heavy labor had all been assigned to the pork processing team, minus the supervisors.
"Dad, make sure you bring back just the skin, okay? We need it for making glue. I can accept it if the bones and organs are all used up, but please, you have to protect the skin. Guard it with your life."
After emphasizing my request for Dad to bring back the skin, he laughed and lightly bonked me on the head.
"Got it, got it. You stay quietly in your room, okay? Be careful not to catch a fever. Lutz said the work after this is important, didn't he?"
"Yep."
After finishing my plea to Dad, I went over to Tuuli, who was loading goods onto the cart with the other children.
"Tuuli, please look after
"I know. Let's do our best."
When Tuuli turned to Delia and smiled brightly, Delia frowned and glared at me.
"Myne-sama, why do I have to go? Honestly!"
"I want you to see the world outside the temple, Delia."
My personal attendants were
She didn't seem to have much interaction with the orphanage children, but she and Tuuli had gotten along while shopping, and Gil and Fran would be there, so she wouldn't be alone.
"What are you going to do while staying behind, Myne?"
"Making the new picture book. Rosina and Wilma will be with me. Both of them have beautiful handwriting, and I need them to help with illustrations."
Rosina was my fechspiel teacher as well as having a well-deserved reputation for her beautiful calligraphy. She was going to help me make the next picture book.
Wilma would be sending out all the male attendants, so she planned to work on the picture book in my room today. On the side, she was also bringing two girls skilled at cooking to train them in the kitchen for winter.
"Work hard on it, okay?"
"Yeah. Take care of everyone."
I saw everyone off with Rosina, then returned to my room. I was practicing the fechspiel when Wilma arrived with two girls in tow.
"Please practice hard so you can make delicious food."
"Yes!"
I encouraged the nervous pair, then had Rosina lead them to the kitchen.
"You have my thanks, Myne-sama."
"Wilma?"
"During the Harvest Festival, the blue priests are basically all away, so the divine gifts become extremely rough. Some priests bring a cook with them, and since the priest knows he won't be eating it himself, some cooks cut corners. If we can't make our own soup, those ten days or so become terribly miserable."
Wilma's words sent a chill through me.
With the reduced number of blue priests, I was the only one who stayed in the temple throughout the Harvest Festival. The rest were dispatched to various villages—some far, some near, but all of them somewhere. If every blue priest took their cook along, there would be no divine gifts at all.
"In the past, there were so many blue priests that even when half of them left, there were still plenty of divine gifts. And no cook would dare cut corners with the other blue priests watching—bringing shame upon their master was unthinkable. But now..."
Wilma furrowed her brows and exhaled. She lowered her gaze for a moment, then slowly opened her brown eyes, a gentle smile returning as she looked at me.
"Thanks to you, Myne-sama, we can make it ourselves. The young children can go without hunger. I truly appreciate everything you've done to prepare the orphanage for winter as well. So please, tell me if there's anything I can do to help."
With that, Wilma went upstairs and immediately began spreading out the tools for drawing on the table.
"Is this the next story?"
"Yes. It's a story called Cinderella."
As Wilma began reading through the story, I picked up my fechspiel again and started practicing. It was the third assignment from the High Priest and the free piece.
For this season, the free piece was "Kogitsune"—Little Fox. I'd substituted the name of a local animal, so it was actually a little rabbit instead of a little fox, but I didn't mind.
"That's a nostalgic tone."
"Can you play the fechspiel too, Wilma?"
"To a very basic degree. Compared to listening to Rosina play, Myne-sama, my playing must sound dreadful."
Wilma chuckled as she said it, but she was bound to be better than a beginner like me.
"Rosina's so good that I can't even tell what 'basic' means anymore. Let me hear you play too, Wilma."
"Truly, it's just the basics?"
Even so, she seemed happy to be touching an instrument after a long time, and with a slightly blissful expression, she picked up the larger fechspiel.
The sound that flowed from the plucked strings matched Wilma's personality perfectly—soft, leisurely, and very pleasant. Combined with her gentle voice, like a lullaby, I honestly felt like I might fall asleep.
"Wilma's sound is just as gentle as always."
"Perhaps it's because, unlike Rosina, I lack technique, so I always choose slow pieces?"
Watching the two chat happily, I was stunned by the high level of skill expected for what was considered "basic." Noble children really were quite artistically accomplished.
"...This is the basic level? Which means Rosina is good at drawing too?"
"If 'basic' is the standard, then I was trained accordingly."
Given Wilma's basic level of musical skill, I could roughly imagine Rosina's painting level. The fact that Lady
The third bell rang, ending my fechspiel practice, and next was making the Cinderella picture book. I discussed with Wilma, who had read the story, about what kind of illustrations to include.
"It's difficult to convey Cinderella's beauty. We can't change the skin color, and..."
"What about creating a contrast by giving the stepmother and stepsisters different body types?"
"A noblewoman who becomes the second wife of a middle-ranking noble would surely be beautiful, wouldn't she?"
Being confronted with that kind of realism regarding the stepmother and stepsisters, who were supposed to contrast with the beautiful Cinderella, put me in a bind. As I went "hmm" and pondered, Rosina, who had been watching our exchange closely, tilted her head slightly.
"Myne-sama, wouldn't it be better to redo the children's scriptures, since the content is already decided?"
"Rosina?"
"I believe it's too early for you to write noble stories, Myne-sama. Shouldn't you wait until you're more familiar with the inner workings of the temple at the very least?"
The High Priest had told me the same thing, and now Rosina was also pointing out that I didn't know enough about noble society.
"I wanted to make Cinderella to see whether an ordinary story would be accepted, but..."
"Myne-sama, that's the kind of thing someone who can write ordinary stories should say."
Rosina slowly shook her head with a sigh. "Rosina, you've said too much," Wilma cautioned from the side. In other words, Wilma also thought Cinderella was no ordinary story.
"...Cinderella isn't an ordinary story?"
"Ordinary stories are founding myths, tales of the gods, or stories of knights. I've never heard of a story like Cinderella."
The stories she'd heard while serving Lady Christine had apparently served as the basis for works of art. There were paintings, music, and poems based on story themes. If I wanted to make a picture book that the nobility would accept, I'd need to study those.
"Which would the noble class accept more readily—the children's scriptures or Cinderella?"
"Without question, the children's scriptures. They contain essential knowledge for cultivation, and it's been summarized very clearly."
When told that so decisively, I felt confident in giving up on Cinderella. It was better to create something that would definitely sell than to make a picture book I already knew wouldn't be accepted.
"All right, I'll give up on Cinderella and redo the children's scriptures this time. ...Rosina, could you tell me one of those ordinary stories next time? I'll make that into a picture book."
"They're knowledge necessary for cultivation. I'll be happy to teach you anytime."
I took apart one of the children's scriptures, cutting it in half and separating the text pages from the illustration pages. I layered the illustrations on top of the thick paper I'd prepared for Cinderella's printing plates and began cutting away the black parts. This way, I should end up with exactly the same pictures as before.
"Myne-sama, please cut the text pages, just like last time."
I nodded when Rosina, smiling sweetly, assigned me my share of the work. I apparently was much clumsier than the two of them. They'd quickly concluded that I wasn't suited for the delicate work of cutting illustrations.
...Rosina was more skilled and cut things more cleanly than I could anyway.
Rosina and Wilma brought the cutter Lutz kept in the workshop and diligently cut out the illustrations. I took charge of the text, carefully cutting away.
Before the sixth bell rang, dinner was ready to be delivered to the orphanage, and the two girls who'd assisted for the first time came out of the kitchen with exhausted expressions. I told them Fran would deliver the food when he returned and had Rosina dismiss the cooks as well.
"You're late."
"Pork processing takes a lot of time. They'll be working right up until the gates close at the sixth bell."
As I said this, I gazed out the window. The sun was starting to set, and it was gradually growing dim. The neighbors' pork processing wouldn't happen until it got a bit colder, so our family wouldn't return until well after dark.
"I'm home!"
Delia burst in, breathing heavily. Her cheeks were red as apples—it must have gotten cold outside.
"Welcome back, Delia. Did they make a lot?"
"Oh yes, with that much, we'll be fine for the whole winter."
Delia, whom I'd been worried about, had come back in high spirits, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Delia had come back first to help me change clothes, while the others were still busy carrying the processed pork into the basement.
"There were these huge pieces of meat hanging up, being smoked. It's fascinating how smoke keeps things from rotting. And then..."
As she helped me change, Delia excitedly described how the sausages had been made, the butcher's impressive knife work, and more.
It seemed that going outside to do the pork processing with everyone had been a good experience for Delia. I hoped she'd continue to build connections with the orphanage children at this pace.
"Myne-sama, Lutz would like to ask you about the pig skin. When you're done changing, would you mind coming to the workshop?"
I heard Fran's voice from downstairs. Already changed, I headed down the stairs.
"Gil, please show Myne her way."
"Got it."
On the way to the workshop, I spotted everyone carrying food from the handcart into the basement of the women's building. I could see Dad and Tuuli too. Suppressing the urge to go over there, I continued on to the workshop.
"Myne, how should we store this pig skin?"
The moment he spotted me, Lutz pointed at the rolled-up hide and asked. I scanned the workshop and pointed at a pot.
"For now, should we just put it in that pot?"
"Is the prep ready?"
"I plan to soak it in lime water to remove the hair, but I don't know how long to leave it in, so I think we should check on it as we go. It's getting late today, isn't it?"
"Can't risk wasting it," Lutz said as he pulled out a writing board. He glanced at me with stylus in hand. Taking that as my cue, I began explaining how to make the glue.
"First, to remove the hair, we soak it in lime solution. Then we separate the outer skin from the inner skin for tanning purposes. You can do that, right, Lutz?"
"I'm not that great at it."
Lutz shrugged, then urged me on with his eyes.
"The inner skin becomes the raw material for the glue. The outer skin isn't used for glue, so you could tan it and use it for book covers, I think. What do you think?"
"And who's going to tan the skin?"
Lutz shot me a sharp look, and I tilted my head.
"...Could we ask a leather workshop?"
"If we had the money."
"Guh..."
He'd hit a sore spot, so I looked away and continued the explanation.
"Then you soak the inner skin further in the lime solution and leave it until it swells up and becomes soft. The 'proteins' and 'fats' and such in the raw material get removed naturally, so you can just leave it alone. After that, rinse the lime off the skin, then boil it in hot water over low heat for about two bells' worth of time."
"Two bells. That's pretty long."
Lutz noted that as he ran his stylus across the writing board.
"This is the tricky part, but if you leave it undisturbed at roughly the temperature of tea, the impurities will either sink or float, and the middle layer becomes clear. We use that clear middle part."
When I paused, Lutz looked up from his writing board and tilted his head.
"...How do you use only the middle part?"
"I've never actually done it before, so it'll be trial and error?"
"Seriously? Then we'd better pour it into a smaller pot, just in case."
I knew you were supposed to gently skim the impurities off the top, but how to do it, and how much to remove—I wouldn't know until I tried.
"Then you pour the glue solution into a wooden box, set it by a window where the cold northern winter wind blows in, and let it cool and solidify. That's it."
"Huh. Since the soaking and boiling take so long, I guess we could make the candles at the same time."
Lutz looked over the writing board and concluded.
"Then tomorrow, we'll make the glue and the candles together. Stinky work—let's get it all done at once."
"Okay!"
Excited about making glue for the first time, I threw my hand up high.
Cinderella was rejected not only by the High Priest, but by Rosina as well.
Lutz had accepted it normally, so it'll go on the back shelf until literacy rates improve among the commoners.
Next time: winter preparations at the orphanage—making glue, candles, preserved food, and all sorts of things.