At the Lord's words,
Then, after a moment of hesitation, Benno turned back to the Guild Master and Frieda. They had nothing to do with the orphanage inspection, but they would absolutely need their cooperation when establishing the
"Miss Frieda, please step out. Guild Master, I would like you to remain and listen to our discussion."
"...Benno, why keep him here?"
"Gustaf is the Commercial Guild's Guild Master. He has connections to even larger shops than I do, so I thought it would be better to keep him informed about the industries that may emerge from this town— that way, we can respond more quickly."
In other words, he had stayed behind to make sure the Guild Master was firmly entangled the next time the Lord made an unreasonable demand. It seemed the old man would have to push himself to work even harder. What a shame... He seemed to have energy to spare, so he'd probably be fine.
"Hmm, very well.
"Yes, sir!"
When the Lord issued his orders to the row of escort knights lined up before the door, only Eckhart remained in the dining hall, while the three of them and Frieda were ushered outside. In their place,
The door was shut with a snap, and silence fell. In the tense atmosphere, the Chief Priest turned his gaze toward Benno.
We had thought through the various unreasonable demands and prepared countermeasures of our own, but the opponent was
"Then, your report."
"Yes."
Benno delivered his report to the Lord— the same content he had already presented to the Chief Priest. He described the orphanage's condition, the surrounding economic situation, and his concerns that things could fail depending on the assigned civil official's actions.
Sylvester had clearly already heard this from the Chief Priest. He showed no surprise, merely nodding lightly as he listened. This was merely a formality, a chance for the Guild Master to hear the gist of things.
"
Once Benno's report concluded, Sylvester turned his gaze to me. I briefly met eyes with Benno, then turned back to Sylvester.
"While it will require time and money, I believe we need a new orphanage and workshop. For the workshop, I would like those working there to follow my methods, and negotiating with the town's influential figures would also be troublesome."
"Oh?"
At this point, I explained the differences between the
"Currently, the Temple has few Blue Priests and many Gray Priests to spare. So, I plan to send several Gray Priests and Gray Priestesses to the new orphanage and workshop to teach the orphans my methods in both work and daily life. Therefore, I would be grateful if I could come and go to check on things, and if a small chapel could be attached for the Gray Priests to live in."
Building a new orphanage would inevitably require time and money. The money was honestly problematic, but the time was welcome news for Benno. He wanted to buy as much time as possible to prepare for the expansion of the printing industry.
"If we were to build the orphanage and workshop from scratch, it would require both money and time, but thinking about the future, I want something new."
To prevent interference from the town's influential figures, to protect the orphans, to have the orphans follow our methods, and to make their lives and work run smoothly— building a new facility was the way to go.
As I described what I had discussed with Benno numerous times, the Lord glanced at him.
"If you build the workshop, will the tools be ready right away?"
Benno had already placed orders for tools and had preparations underway, so that even if they were told to rent a space for the workshop alone until the orphanage could be built, everything would be fine. He nodded firmly.
"Preparations are already fairly advanced. However, considering the number and ages of the orphans, I believe printing would be too difficult due to insufficient strength."
"Then, would it be a workshop for making paper?"
"Yes, Lord Adoptive Father. That's exactly right. If we want to print, we can never have too much paper."
I also voiced my agreement with Benno's opinion.
Sylvester stroked his chin with a "Hmm," then broke into an unpleasant grin.
"Very well. Then, I will accept Rozemyne's request, and we shall build a workshop, an orphanage, and a Small Temple with a chapel."
"You honor us."
I hadn't expected the request to be approved so easily. I was just exchanging nods with Benno about which construction workshop to commission and how to divide the orders, when Sylvester suddenly pointed to the Chief Priest.
"
"I have no objections, but what do you plan to do about the defensive magic?"
"You can leave that to Rozemyne."
I felt as though some incomprehensible conversation was just moving along without me. Tilting my head with a question mark floating above it, the Chief Priest let out a soft laugh and nodded.
"As you wish."
With that, he took out paper and pen. Using a magical tool pen that required no ink, the Chief Priest began writing something with swift strokes. Leaning forward would be unseemly, so I sat still, but I desperately wanted to peek at what he was writing.
"Rozemyne, is the workshop to be the same size as the Temple? How many rooms does the orphanage need?"
"The workshop can be the same size. For the orphanage rooms, even if the number increases later, I think half that amount would be sufficient."
"Indeed. Considering the town's population, that should be enough. The chapel doesn't need to be particularly large either. Should I make it with separate boys' and girls' wings, the same as the Temple's orphanage?"
The Chief Priest nodded "Hmm, hmm" while scribbling various notes on the paper. I had no idea what he was writing or what he was thinking.
"Both wings need a basement for food storage and goods. The ground floor of the boys' wing should be the workshop, the ground floor of the girls' wing should be the kitchen, and the first floor of the girls' wing should be the dining hall."
"Then, the first floor of the boys' wing will be the chapel, with the corridor and stairs positioned here. Both boys and girls will have their rooms on the second floor. Rozemyne's room should be one that requires magic power registration to enter, and normally kept locked for safety. Let's make it accessible from the chapel. You have both male and female attendants, after all."
I could see the color draining from Benno's and Mark's faces as the situation increasingly slipped out of their control. I didn't understand what was happening either.
All I understood was that this wouldn't be commissioned to a construction workshop in the merchant quarter— the Chief Priest would be taking the lead.
"Hmm, this should do. ...How does this look?"
The Chief Priest quickly handed the hastily sketched paper to the Lord. After glancing it over, Sylvester narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
"As quick as ever."
"Since we're using the Temple as a basis, it doesn't require much effort."
"Then, let's go. Eckhart, call the escort."
As Sylvester rose to his feet in one smooth motion, the Chief Priest and Father stood as well. Benno and the Guild Master also rose, and Eckhart opened the door and called out to the escort knights.
I slid off my chair a step behind everyone else. Without attendants, I simply couldn't move gracefully.
"Lord Adoptive Father, you said we're going, but where exactly are we going?"
"To
"R-right now?"
"Yes."
Escort knights filed in and lined up before the door.
"Eckhart,
"Yes, sir!"
Though they nodded reflexively precisely because it was a Lord's command, the knights wore expressions that clearly said they didn't understand. Good— I wasn't the only one who found Sylvester's sudden actions inexplicable.
"Eckhart, take Benno. Cornelius, take Gustaf. Damuel, take his attendant. Hurry!"
By the time Father issued his swift instructions, Sylvester was already heading for the hall. Afraid of being forgotten and left behind, I hurried after him.
"Out of the way— you're in the path."
The Lord's authoritative voice rang out, and the attendants and servants waiting in the hall scrambled to the walls, eyes wide with alarm. I noticed Frieda looking at me as if asking for an explanation, but I didn't understand what was happening either.
"Ferdinand, go!"
"Yes, sir! Open the doors!"
When the ordered attendant threw open the large double doors, the Chief Priest's white riding beast materialized right there. Not sparing a glance at the shop staff who were stifling screams with their hands pressed over their mouths, the winged white lion charged into the sky.
Following that, Sylvester summoned a riding beast resembling a three-headed lion— like Cerberus— scooped me up, and leaped on, setting off at full speed.
People on the street screamed and dove out of the way as the riding beasts came thundering out of the shop. I'm sorry, I'm sorry— I tried to apologize, but we were moving at magic-powered speed faster than any animal, so they almost certainly couldn't hear me.
I tried to keep my composure in front of the Lord, but I couldn't help recalling the Guild Master, whose eyes had gone wide and blank; Benno, whose face had gone stiff; and Mark, who wore the same expression.
...The Guild Master had worn a bewildered expression throughout the meeting, unable to keep up with the rapidly changing situation. I hoped he'd be okay. It would be terrible if he had a heart attack from riding a riding beast.
"Lord Adoptive Father. Going to Hasse all of a sudden is rather abrupt, don't you think?"
"It's all according to plan on our end. Just as you all have been discussing among yourselves, we have been discussing as well."
We sped over the heads of the panicked, screaming, pointing people, crossed the Outer Wall, flew over farmland and a small forest, and there was Hasse. According to what
"Rozemyne, what kind of terrain would be suitable for the workshop?"
From above Hasse, the Chief Priest looked around as he asked. I too scanned the area, searching for a place suited to a papermaking workshop.
"It would help if there's a nearby forest for gathering wood, and a river close by."
"Then, over there."
Sylvester looked down and pointed near the watermill.
"Ferdinand— on the opposite bank, at a distance that won't affect the watermill."
"As you wish."
The Chief Priest surveyed the area, nodded once, and began to lower his riding beast's altitude. I had expected this group to barge in and intimidate— or rather, persuade— the town's influential figures, but the only one who descended was the Chief Priest.
When the Chief Priest halted his riding beast at a height just above the treetops, Sylvester began moving to a position slightly away from him.
"Everyone, increase your distance a bit more."
Following Sylvester's instruction, all the riding beasts pulled back. They stopped at a distance where the Chief Priest appeared to be about the size of my little finger.
Once he confirmed that our movement had stopped, the Chief Priest took out his usual glowing baton. In his other hand, he held some kind of glowing powder. The Chief Priest waved the baton as if conducting a musical performance, and the glowing powder began to move as though it had a will of its own. It was too far to hear his voice, and I couldn't tell what he was doing.
But then, the gently floating glowing powder formed a magic circle and began to spin.
"Lord Adoptive Father, what is the Chief Priest doing?"
"Building the Small Temple, of course. What else would he be doing?"
"Huh?"
A large magic circle rose into the air, and the moment it was filled with blinding light, the Chief Priest swept the baton downward. At the same time, the magic circle slowly descended toward the ground.
Wherever the light of the magic circle touched, the forest trees turned into white, glowing powder. From the top down, the leaves vanished, the branches vanished, and the great trunks vanished. The grass and flowers growing at the base of the trees transformed into the same white powder. Within the magic circle, massive quantities of white powder alone began to swirl.
"W-what is that?"
"Something rarely seen. It is the magic of creation, permitted only to a lord and a lord's child. You, who have become a lord's daughter, will eventually study it at the Noble Academy. Watch carefully."
The slowly descending magic circle touched the ground.
The instant it did, the color of the earth changed. It turned white, seemed to warp and twist, then began to move sluggishly like a liquid.
The Chief Priest took out the paper from earlier. The sheets fluttered and flew as if caught by the wind, then burst into golden flame at the center of the magic circle.
Under the Chief Priest's direction, the white, glowing substance shifted and changed shape as though it were concrete moving of its own accord. A hole appeared with a thump, then the white earth swelled and rose up, forming thick pillars. Between the pillars, the white earth stretched outward like curtains being drawn.
The moment the white earth's movement seemed to stop, there was a brilliant flash— and there stood the Small Temple. It lacked the noble quarter and was smaller in scale, but there was a familiar building of pure white stone, with a circular stone-paved area the same size as the magic circle.
A perfectly unnatural, beautifully white Small Temple standing in a spot between the forest and the river— it was quite surreal.
"Now we can set up the workshop right away, can't we?"
Sylvester looked pleased with himself— "Heh heh"— while Benno and Mark's faces had turned ashen. Who could have imagined that the new workshop, which was supposed to buy them time, would be completed in an instant?
Sylvester began descending on his riding beast.
"Go take a look inside. Come."
"Is it safe to stand?"
I stepped down in front of the Small Temple and lightly tapped the stone paving with my toe. The white earth that should have been wobbly had become the familiar white stone seen in the Temple and Noble District, and it was perfectly solid to stand on— just ordinary stone.
The Small Temple was, as it looked, perfectly built. For some reason, windows were already in place, and there were doors at the entrances. But when I stepped inside, there was no furniture or doors. It was completely empty.
"This will be the chapel. It will need a statue of the gods and a carpet. When can those be done?"
"I was told the statues of the gods would take about three months. A carpet, I'm afraid, cannot be made right away."
Benno answered, relaying information that Mark had quietly told him from behind. Since I had expressed a desire to include a chapel, Mark had apparently already inquired about the time and cost required to commission god statues from an art-related workshop. As expected of a capable man. Truly wonderful.
"Rush them and have it ready in two months. It needs to be done for the Harvest Festival."
"Yes."
"The Temple should have had quite a surplus of carpets. For a chapel this size, it should be more than enough. We'll transfer one, so come pick it up."
Chapels needed seasonal carpets, and preparing them took considerable time. Having one donated would be a genuine help.
"Thank you, Chief Priest. That is very helpful."
"Oh, don't worry about thanks. I'm transferring the existing ones, so you'll need to deliver the newly made ones to the Temple."
...That sly Chief Priest.
But it was true that new ones wouldn't be ready in time for the Harvest Festival. We'd gratefully accept the existing ones.
"What about interior doors and furniture? If those aren't ready by winter, the orphans will have a hard time."
We climbed the stairs in the corridor beside the chapel to what would become the boys' rooms. A row of stark white spaces gaped where doors should have been.
"If we want it ready for the Harvest Festival, the chapel doors and altar are the top priority. As for furniture— dining hall tables and chairs, a cupboard, and beds for the orphans, I suppose?"
The Chief Priest counted off items on his fingers, and Benno scribbled them down vigorously on his writing board.
"If we use my exclusive, Gustaf's exclusive, and my exclusive woodworking workshops, we can shorten the construction period. If we also distribute work to the woodworking workshops in this town to bring in money, it should improve the Temple's reputation somewhat."
My exclusive woodworker,
"With this, we can start running the workshop."
"Lord Adoptive Father, please don't make unreasonable demands. This is different from the Temple's orphanage, where a living infrastructure already existed and people were already living there— we only had to set up the workshop."
At the Temple's orphanage, the Gray Priests and Priestesses followed the words of me, a Blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice, listened carefully to the elder Gray Priests, everyone worked diligently, and food and compensation were shared equally. Whether we could immediately put people to productive work here was another matter.
"We need to move in furniture and provide daily necessities before anyone can even live here. We can't just bring tools into the workshop and start running it immediately."
"Fine. I'll wait a bit, but since we've gone to the trouble of building it, make it as quick as possible."
"Yes."
Benno, Mark, and the Guild Master gathered and began discussing something. They were probably talking about work distribution and deadlines.
I looked between Benno's group and Sylvester's party. No matter what you do, you need capital upfront. Hasse had few orphans, but starting from absolutely nothing meant the initial costs would inevitably be high.
I recalled that the Chief Priest had said this would become a lord-led enterprise, so a budget would be allocated. Perhaps we could negotiate for a higher subsidy?
"We need a subsidy for the initial costs, Lord Adoptive Father."
"The Small Temple used it all up. Gather the rest yourself."
Not only did he refuse to increase the subsidy amount, he cut it off entirely. Apparently, that glowing powder had been expensive. That made sense— I'd heard that the paper used for merchants' Contract Magic was quite costly as well. A magical tool capable of creating a Small Temple couldn't possibly be cheap.
But even paying a deposit on the workshop would require an enormous sum of money. Being told to "gather it yourself" was no help at all.
"I can't possibly prepare all the costs myself."
"That's what your position is for. Solicit donations."
He was telling me to use my position as the Lord's adopted daughter to collect money from the nobles. I could see how that might yield some results.
"So, I'd walk around the castle holding a donation box?"
When I said that, recalling the people soliciting donations in front of the train station during my life as Honobono Reina, Sylvester pressed his temples and shook his head.
"...Ugh. Karstedt, have
"In that case, to teach you the practical side of how to solicit donations, Rozemyne, you should stay at our home for a while."
Father said this with a gentle smile. The way noble women solicited donations was something I'd likely need to know in the future. It would be best to learn it properly from the start.
"Father, th—"
"No, that won't do. Invite Elvira to the castle and have her work with
I was about to thank Father and accept his kind offer when Sylvester immediately rejected it. Now that he mentioned it, this was indeed a lord-driven project, so perhaps conducting it at the castle was more appropriate.
"But please, reconsider. At the castle, who knows who might be eavesdropping or planting spies. I believe my home would be safer in terms of preventing information leaks."
"No, no, no— Rozemyne must learn to prevent information leaks and to maintain a constant sense of vigilance around her. Wasn't that what you said?"
Above my head, opinions that were outwardly calm but with eyes gleaming fiercely were being exchanged.
I quietly took a step back and tugged gently on the sleeve of the Chief Priest, who was watching the whole thing unfold.
"I think both of your arguments are valid, but why are you two glaring at each other so intensely?"
"They're saying reasonable things, but the real point of contention is where your chef will be staying."
An unexpected issue had emerged. They were going back and forth under the guise of practical matters, but at heart, they were fighting over where my chef would stay. I truly could not care less.
"...This is such a hassle."
"Indeed. When food is involved, these two become truly troublesome. So why doesn't Rozemyne simply commute from the Temple? With escort knights and riding beasts, it wouldn't take much time."
"True. If she goes to both places, neither side wins."
What a great idea— just as I clapped my hands in delight, both Sylvester and Father placed a hand on the Chief Priest's shoulder.
"Ferdinand, cutting ahead of us won't do."
Another troublesome person who wore a cool expression.
Though outwardly composed, the three of them exchanged looks that were anything but calm— I slipped away quietly and headed over to Benno's group. Honestly, I didn't care where I stayed. I just didn't want to be dragged into this pointless fight.
"The Harvest Festival? We don't have nearly enough money or time."
"This is beyond what we expected. What do you plan to do, Benno?"
I stood between the head-clutching Benno and the Guild Master and looked up at the two of them.
"I'll solicit donations from among the nobles, so the money is handled. But the time is a problem."
At my sudden appearance, Benno, Mark, and the Guild Master all looked down in surprise. Then, casting cautious glances toward the Lord's party— There were escort knights standing near the entrance, and the three nobles could be seen having some kind of discussion. Fortunately, they were at just enough of a distance that the content of their conversation couldn't be heard.
"Lady Rozemyne, is it all right with those gentlemen?"
"They're currently discussing where I'll be staying. It seems their aim is to bring Elra wherever I stay."
When I said it was essentially a fight over the chef, Mark narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Master, instead of furnishing the entire orphanage, we could use wooden boxes and baskets to hold belongings, and for now lay straw-stuffed futons on the floor to sleep on— that should work until winter. We can gradually bring in beds as time allows. How long would it take to bring in the workshop tools, minimum daily necessities, food supplies, and move the priests?"
At Mark's question, Benno scratched his head vigorously, deep in thought.
"Even if we split the work between my shop and the old man's, we'd need at least one month."
"Mm, that sounds about right. Honestly, I'd want even more time."
The Guild Master also furrowed his brow and groaned. The fact that both had given roughly the same answer meant it would take about one month to get the orphanage to a minimally presentable state.
Benno and the Guild Master glanced at Sylvester in response to their own conclusion and clutched their heads.
"Would they really wait a whole month?"
The person who had suddenly erected a Small Temple in a single day and said "Now you can set up the workshop" didn't seem like the type to patiently wait a whole month.
Mark, who had been scribbling something on his writing board, let out a soft chuckle.
"Leave it to me. I'll make sure we have enough leeway that no one complains, and I'll raise the initial funds within one month."
A Small Temple had appeared out of nowhere. Thanks to that, Benno looked like he was going to die of overwork again.
Don't give up, Benno. Hang in there, Guild Master. The light of hope is in Mark's hands.