When we arrived at the castle's magic training grounds,
"Well then, as a review of last time, try changing the size. Be careful not to imagine anything that might break."
"Yes."
I took the magic stone from its ornament and gripped it in my hand so it wouldn't fall. Imagining something sturdy like a bowling ball rather than a balloon, I began changing its size. Before long, the Chief Priest's voice came with approval: "Very good."
"Next is practice in fixing the shape. Once you've flowed magic power to the size you imagined, stop there. You simply need to stop the magic power of your own will, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you."
I'd been flowing and stopping magic power of my own will during the offerings to the divine instruments, too, so as the Chief Priest said, it wasn't that difficult. Once I'd reached the point where I could freely change the size from a ping pong ball to a bowling ball, the Chief Priest's voice came: "Good."
"Now, let's move on to training in changing the shape."
I tried changing the round magic stone into a triangular pyramid, a rectangular prism, something spiky like a sea urchin, the shape of a book, the shape of a pen, and various other forms.
At first it took a while to create each shape, but as I got used to it, I was able to quickly transform it into whatever I imagined.
In a voice mixed with admiration and exasperation, the Chief Priest praised me: "You really are a fast learner." That was rare.
"
Being told to think of an animal vehicle, the first thing that came to mind was the animal ride-ons at amusement parks—the kind where you put in a coin and it moves for about three minutes.
"Once the shape is set, cut off the magic power to fix it in place... What is this?"
"Um, it's a 'panda' ride, I think."
It was quite small—single-rider size. Rather than an amusement park ride, it had turned out more like one of those toys where a toddler straddles it and scoots along with their feet. Way too cheap-looking.
Just as I was thinking I'd failed, the Chief Priest looked down at the panda ride with an extremely skeptical expression.
"Is this supposed to fly?"
"I... think that might be a little difficult."
"It doesn't look like just 'a little' difficult to me."
The Chief Priest pressed his temples and muttered, "You may be a fast learner, but you have no common sense." I'd made exactly what he'd asked for—an animal vehicle—so being called nonsensical was hard to accept.
"Understood. Next time, I'll make it bigger so it actually looks like a vehicle."
"No, forget the size—let's settle on the shape first. Can you make this lion?"
With just a smooth stroke of the magic stone, the Chief Priest produced his own riding beast. Having tried it myself, I could appreciate how refined the motion was, and I sighed. Getting to that level would require a lot of practice.
"The emblem of Ehrenfest is a lion, and the Lord rides a three-headed lion. The Lord's children basically use lions as well. Of course, it's not mandatory, but..."
Given that it was
Apparently, as the Lord's adopted daughter, I was also permitted to use a lion.
"Understood. A lion, then."
The Chief Priest's riding beast was so realistic it was scary, so I wanted mine to be a cute lion.
I imagined a lion I could actually ride, nodded once, and flowed magic power into the magic stone.
"...Your aesthetic sense is truly catastrophic. Why is it that when you make a lion, something like this comes out?!"
"Huh? Strange? I think it's pretty cute, though?"
I'd made a lion ride just like he asked, but apparently a stylized version wouldn't do.
It took the shape of a lion and grew considerably in size, reaching a proper amusement-park-ride scale.
"Can you ride it?"
"I'll try. Heave-ho."
I got on and grabbed the handle protruding from its back instead of reins—that much was fine. But once I was on, it wouldn't move the way I wanted. No—that wasn't right. It could only move the way I imagined. My lion lifted its legs in a jerky motion and trundled along slowly.
Having my riding beast fly through the sky when I'd clearly imagined an amusement-park toy was fundamentally impossible.
But this was a problem. Honestly, whenever I tried to imagine a flying vehicle, I just couldn't form a detailed, precise image with an animal. I couldn't imagine it flying at all.
"A lion that looks like a vehicle I could actually ride, and that could zoom through the sky..."
It wasn't a cat, but a lion—so I tried making it bus-shaped. If I went with the image from that video of buses hopping along overhead wires, I felt like it could fly through the sky. It looked fast, and like it could race through the air.
What actually came out—probably because the cat-bus image was too strong—was a lion bus that looked like a cat wearing a jagged shampoo cap. But, well, whatever.
"What is this?"
"As you can see, it's a 'Lion Bus.'"
When I stood in front of it, just as I'd imagined, the windows stretched open wide into a gaping mouth that served as the entrance. It really did move exactly as I'd envisioned, which was so exciting that I eagerly climbed aboard.
Once inside, there was a steering wheel and even a driver's seat. This part was probably from my car memories. Perhaps because I'd held a driver's license in my previous life, the area around the driver's seat was surprisingly detailed compared to the exterior. For the record, I could only drive automatic.
There was a proper seat to sit in, complete with a seatbelt for safety. This way, there'd be no worry about falling out, and it wouldn't be cold either.
"That's a waste of magic power. Make it smaller."
At the Chief Priest's voice from outside, I changed just the size. The microbus-sized Lion Bus shrank down to a single-person car. The exterior still looked like a lion.
"Rozemyne, it's quite an odd shape, but does it actually move?"
"I'll try."
I sat in the driver's seat, buckled the seatbelt, gripped the steering wheel, gradually fed magic power in, and stepped on the accelerator. The lion's legs began to move.
"Amazing! It moved!"
Lurching along like a student driver, I moved across the magic training grounds. Thinking "fly!" as I tilted the steering wheel, the lion's face angled upward, and like an airplane taking off, my body was pressed against the seat as I gradually gained altitude.
"Wow! It flew!"
My Lion Bus could indeed fly through the air based on the angle of the steering wheel, and I raced up nearly to the ceiling of the magic training grounds.
"How is it, Lord
I climbed down from the Lion Bus and puffed out my chest with pride, but the Chief Priest just gave me an indescribably bitter expression.
"You seriously intend to ride something like this?"
"Yes!"
It shrank down for solo riding, and I could make it bigger by feeding in more magic power. From single-rider size to microbus size, it was completely flexible. Plus, there was no risk of falling off, making it safe.
I thought my lion was far more high-performance and much cuter than the Chief Priest's terrifyingly realistic one.
"Then change that animal to something else. I don't want you using the emblem lion for something so strange."
"Huh? But it's cute!"
When I looked at the Lion Bus, the Chief Priest was frowning deeply, his gaze fixed on it, and he flat-out criticized it.
"It is not beautiful."
"I see. ...Well then, since we're at it, let me make it even cuter."
"That's exactly what I'm saying—your idea of 'cute,' with your warped aesthetic sense, is not needed."
What a harsh way to put it over just a slight difference in taste. Being told that only made me want to make it even cuter.
"...What is this? A magical beast? It looks like a large Grün. If you must, make it a Schmir. That would at least be more accepted by those around you."
"What's a Schmir? I've never seen one, so I can't. Besides, it's not a Grün—it's a 'Lesser Panda.' Don't you think this charming face and this big fluffy tail are adorable?"
"Not in the slightest."
Apparently this world had some kind of magical beast that resembled a Lesser Panda, but I really wished they wouldn't lump it together with something that scary.
Dismissing my protests entirely, the Chief Priest had been staring at the Lesser Panda Bus, and he suddenly pointed at its tail.
"That tail is nothing but a nuisance. At least make it half that length."
"No way! Don't say such horrible things about cutting Little Lesser's tail!"
"It's a waste of magic power. You'd be better off without it."
After a brief staring contest, the tail was forced to about half its original length, but as my riding beast, I refused to budge on the bus design, and the Lesser Panda Bus was finalized.
"Well then, let's head back to the
After practicing indoors, we would ride our beasts back to the Temple. Since falling would be dangerous, we'd fly at low altitude through the Noble District.
"Rozemyne, that's too slow."
"Yes! ...Waaah!?"
I slammed magic power in and hit the accelerator, and the speed surged with a roar! Panicking, I took my foot off the accelerator, which seemed to stop the magic power—the brakes slammed on hard.
"Eeek!?"
Since it ran on magic power, it didn't work exactly like driving a car, and adjusting the magic power was surprisingly tricky.
Before I could gradually build up the magic power and reach a stable, consistent speed, we'd already arrived at the Temple.
The two guards, who had been following at a distance with their glowing schtappes at the ready to keep the Lesser Panda Bus from causing trouble and to protect themselves in case anything went wrong, looked relieved as they dispelled their schtappes and their riding beasts.
"You have a lot of magic power, so the fine adjustments needed for riding a beast will be difficult until you get used to them. But you'll just have to keep practicing until you can handle it freely by the Harvest Festival."
"...Yes."
When I sighed over how poorly things had gone, the Chief Priest gave a light cough.
"Ahem! Your progress was faster than I expected. You should have some time for reading over the next few days."
"Really!?"
From then on, I went about my daily life practicing riding, organizing the Library, being made to practice the feyspiel with
Occasionally, an Ord would fly in, and a "rehearsal meeting"—which was really just a lunch gathering—would be held.
My mother, as the concert's chief organizer; Brother
Father was eating at the castle with the Lord, so I heard he was enjoying
Brother
If only the head chef's cooking training would finish soon—my Attendants couldn't rest easy until it did. Looking at
On an evening five days before the Chief Priest's concert, while I was in the Library creating an index and sorting through materials,
"Rozemyne-sama,
I stopped work on the index I'd been in the middle of, tidied up quickly, and headed to the Workshop right away with Gil and Damuel.
I told the Gray Priests to continue their work, then called out to
"Good day, Zack. I hear your waxing machine is finished."
"Here it is."
Sitting on the workbench was a machine about large enough for an adult to hold with both hands.
Lutz already had everything set up to melt the wax. Trombe paper was prepared nearby as well. Remarking inwardly at how impressive
"Rozemyne-sama, there's already a fire going and it's hot, so please be careful not to touch it. ...The wax is melted here. Apparently, you move this part like this to apply the wax."
Lutz looked up, gave a proper noble's bow, and explained the machine in an exaggeratedly polite tone. He had a dead-serious expression, but I was sure he was having fun.
"Then, please cut the base paper to about the size of my writing board and try applying the wax."
Lutz and Gil divided the work and began cutting the Trombe paper to roughly A6 size.
While they prepared, I moved over to where
It was larger and more complex compared to Zack's machine. But I could see it was shaping up to match the design drawing I'd seen of Zack's before. When it came to building something to specification, Johann's skills really were the best.
"How's your machine coming along, Johann?"
"Ah, Rozemyne-sama. Still... it'll take a few more days. But I think it'll be a great piece that lives up to your expectations. Zack's design is amazing."
As he said this with passionate eyes, Johann earnestly assembled the parts he'd brought.
Realizing Johann was completely absorbed in his work, I quietly withdrew so as not to disturb him.
"Rozemyne-sama, everything is ready."
They sandwiched the paper in the roller and, rather than using a handle, turned the roller directly by hand to apply the wax to the paper. The center was made of wood, so even though hot wax touched the metal roller, the part you held didn't get hot.
Zack glanced at the waxing machine Johann was building and said, "For the paper size used in this Workshop, this should be plenty."
Since Zack would be turning his waxing machine by hand, making it too large would probably make it too heavy to operate. But as Zack said, all the paper used in this Workshop for making picture books was currently standardized at around A4 size, so the base paper didn't need to be that large either.
"Well then, let's try the wax Lutz and Gil prepared one by one and find the best blend."
The smaller machine had a smaller roller, so it didn't require much wax to be melted, and the waxing proceeded smoothly.
The wax that Gil and Lutz had prepared up to today was numbered and ready. There were three types of wax, each with the amount of pine resin mixed in varied across three levels, for a total of nine varieties.
"All right..."
They must have done this several times already. With practiced movements, Lutz and Zack operated the machine to apply the wax. Once two sheets were done, they cleared away the old wax and prepared the next batch.
The waxed base paper was presented to me. It was my job to do the final check on the finished product and make the judgment.
Gil set a file and an iron stylus in front of me. I began cutting the completed base paper.
"This one looks usable. ...This one won't do. It's hard to carve. ...This one's no good either—there seem to be some cracks. ...This one feels nice."
As expected, applying wax with a roller gave it a uniform thickness and a beautiful appearance. And when pine resin was added, it seemed to increase the flexibility—some sheets could be carved without cracking the base paper. Among those, I decided to have them make the one that was easiest to use.
"Then, Lutz. Please make the wax using this ratio. ...Prepare about twenty sheets of base paper the same size as the picture book. Tomorrow, I'll call
"Understood."
Leaving things to Lutz and Gil, I looked up at Zack and gave him a bright smile.
"Zack, I recognize you as a
"Y-Yes!"
Zack's face lit up bright, and he knelt on the spot. But the next moment, he tilted his head. His gray eyes looked at me blankly.
"...Um, Rozemyne-sama. Together with everyone?"
"Of course—all my Gutenberg comrades. Johann and Zack from the Smithy Workshop,
Zack gaped and looked at Johann. Johann let out a sigh that said, "I really can't escape this, can I..." Zack looked back and forth between me and Johann in a panic.
"W-Wait a second. Huh? It's not just a title?!"
"It is a title I bestowed upon you. You're welcome to call yourself a Gutenberg from now on, Zack."
I had no intention of letting talented people slip away. I was their patron. As I said this to the bewildered Zack, I returned to my room. Behind me, I could hear Lutz laughing and Gil gleefully shouting, "I'm a Gutenberg too!"
...Mhm, mhm. Everyone, keep up the good work.
Then I sent Monica to the orphanage to relay tomorrow's schedule to Wilma.
Once the carving was done, it would finally be time for woodblock printing. I wrote the carving procedures and precautions on wooden plaques to prepare for the next day.
"Good morning, Rozemyne-sama."
Since Wilma said the tables in the orphanage dining hall were easier to work with than the Workshop's workbenches, files and iron styluses had been brought to the dining hall first thing in the morning.
Lutz read aloud from the instructions I'd written, explaining to Wilma how to use the tools. "Place the base paper over the sketch and trace lightly with the iron stylus. If you trace lightly, a white line should appear."
Once the sketch was transferred to the base paper, it would be placed on the file and the paper carved away. The file was fitted into a wooden frame, and thin nails were used to secure the base paper to the frame. In my previous life, I'd used tape to hold it in place, but since there was no tape here, this was the form it took.
"Then, if you'll allow me."
Wilma took the iron stylus with a nervous expression and began tracing the sketch. After that, she secured it to the file and started carving with the stylus.
"These white parts will become black when printed. We have iron styluses in several thicknesses, so please use them as appropriate."
"Yes."
It was a picture of the Chief Priest sitting and playing the feyspiel. Since it included the instrument, it was drawn from the knees up, but unlike the full-body cutout, it looked larger. And the facial features were rendered in quite fine detail with delicate lines.
The sound of the file scratching against the base paper echoed steadily. At first, the Gray Priests watched with keen interest, but gradually they returned to their Workshop tasks. Some of the children went to the Workshop, others watched Wilma's work intently—it was a mix.
"Lutz, please go check if the printing preparations are ready."
"Understood."
When I called out to Lutz just as he was nearly finished, he gave a light nod and headed to the Workshop.
"How does this look, Rozemyne-sama?"
Wilma looked up with a satisfied expression. In her hands was a beautiful image with varying shades created by different line thicknesses and densities.
"I think it's going to be wonderful. Let's go, Wilma."
"Yes, Rozemyne-sama."
Back at the Workshop, printing preparations were underway, and everyone was waiting for Wilma's printing plate.
With practiced movements, Lutz positioned the printing plate and paper, applied ink to the roller, and began printing.
"The lines are fine, so apply the ink carefully."
"You can count on it."
The inked roller pressed across the grid with a crisp sound. When the frame was carefully lifted, a beautifully printed image lay beneath.
"It's a success, Rozemyne-sama."
My chest tightened with emotion at the completion of the woodblock printing. This would expand our range of expression in one fell swoop. Not just illustrations—music scores, which had been difficult to cut from printing plates with a cutter, could now be easily printed as well.
Lutz flipped up the printed image and grinned.
"Well, Rozemyne-sama. We went through quite a bit of expensive paper to get here—do you think it'll turn a profit?"
With illustrations this beautiful, it was sure to be profitable.
I looked at Lutz, then swept my gaze across everyone in the Workshop, and the corners of my lips curved upward.
"Yes, of course. I intend to live up to everyone's expectations."
And so, the riding beast and the base paper were finally complete.
Rozemyne's riding beast would henceforth serve as a bus to transport Gutenberg across the lands of the territory.
Next time: The feyspiel concert.