"Once the trial print is done, we'll proofread it by comparing it against the manuscript to check for errors. When you're just getting started, it's better to have multiple people proofread. It's easy to miss things."
We'd check for typos and other mistakes, apply corrections, then do another trial print. Once everything was confirmed to be fixed, we'd print the whole run in one go.
Printing was just that process repeated.
Unlike the small stencil printing we'd done before, which could only handle one page at a time, this machine could print a two-page spread simultaneously, making it far faster. Today was just a test run, though, so we wouldn't be printing the full batch.
"I'm extremely satisfied with how this printing press turned out. I'd like to install a printing press at
"Oh, thank you very much."
There were plenty of things I wanted Zak to design, but if I revealed them all at once, the ripple effects would be enormous. And depending on who profited where, the competition between workshops would turn quite fierce. In the end, the
…The problem is that we can't designate an exclusive workshop.
I let out a quiet sigh. I held Zak's ideas and design ability in high regard, and I equally valued Johann's skill in bringing those designs to life with perfect fidelity. I'd inevitably have to split work between them, but the profit disputes between workshops were apparently quite intense.
…If they were all in one workshop, it would be so much easier.
Hmm, I mused, then turned my gaze to Zak.
"Hey, Zak."
"What is it?"
"What would Zak need to do to become the master of a new workshop?"
"Haah!?"
Zak's eyes went wide as he stared at me. Ingo and Johann also looked at me with stunned expressions, wondering what I was talking about.
"I thought that if Zak and Johann partnered up and built a workshop, it would make placing orders with them much simpler."
Since there was no workshop I could designate as exclusive, I'd simply thought: why not just build a forge workshop for my purposes? It was as straightforward as that.
"Right now you're each in separate workshops, so dealing with profit distributions and order logistics must be a real hassle, right? I figured that if we put the personable, energetic, and imaginative Zak in the master's role and had Johann do the crafting, we'd have the strongest workshop possible."
"Hold on a second. Both Johann and I are daplars, so we can't become masters."
"Oh? You can't?"
According to the craftsmen, unlike three-year-contract darrua, daplars signed lifetime employment contracts to support and sustain the workshop. Everyone wanted to keep talented people under lock and key — that much was universal.
"If a daplar proved exceptionally incompetent or caused problems, their contract could be terminated, but both Johann and Zak are the top earners at their respective workshops. Their workshop masters wouldn't let them go."
That was what Ingo told me.
Ingo had confidence in his skills and had accumulated some savings toward opening his own workshop, which was why he'd been aiming to become a master himself. Even after being offered a daplar contract, he'd continued signing darrua contracts with various workshops, honing his craft.
"So my
Johann nodded seriously at me several times as I slumped in disappointment.
"I had several large projects I wanted designed, so I thought it might be better to have a dedicated forge workshop to handle my orders. But if it's impossible, then it can't be helped."
"…Large projects?"
I nodded to the skeptical-looking Zak.
"Yes. Could you design a 'hand pump' to make drawing water from wells easier? I'll purchase the design. And I want the forge guild to manage the designs so that anyone can build one."
"For what purpose?"
"The profits are too large for a single workshop to monopolize, and I think it's better for the hand pump to spread widely all at once. Everyone struggles with drawing water, don't they?"
Even so, the craftsmen all tilted their heads, unable to understand why we'd release the designs. The workshop craftsmen, focused on monopolizing profits, couldn't grasp my desire to spread something useful as quickly as possible.
In that case, perhaps I should take my profits clearly in a way that craftsmen could understand too. And while I was at it, I'd help popularize the concept of something like patent fees.
"O-of course, I'll entrust the forge guild with managing the designs, but that doesn't mean the hand pump will be distributed for free. I intend to form a contract with the forge guild using Contract Magic so that every time a single hand pump is produced, money flows to me as the original proposer and to Zak as the designer."
"…I see. That way, you really can spread the product while still securing profits."
Ingo stroked his chin and nodded, and seeing that profits were being taken, Zak also looked convinced.
"What does the hand pump look like? If Lady
"…Yes. It is something unusual."
I explained the principle of the hand pump as best I could — or rather, as much as I was able to explain. It was something I'd researched as part of a group project in social studies class during my time as
That said, I hadn't built one myself, so I could only draw diagrams and give a rough explanation. But Zak narrowed his gray eyes with a challenging glint and stared intently at the drawing.
"If you operate this, that moves and the valve opens. …I think I've got the general idea. I'll give it a try."
"Yes, please take on the challenge."
I settled the outstanding balance for this printing press along with a deposit for the new printing press and the hand pump designs, using both
"Lady Rozemyne, the master asked me to give you this."
A letter passed from Lutz through
I rustled the letter open. Inside, it said that
It seemed his training of the
"If possible, he'd like your recommendation, Lady Rozemyne."
Whether to hire him as a court chef ultimately fell to the Lord's judgment. Hugo had been verbally offered a position by the Lord, but no formal documents had been exchanged. Without my putting in a good word, he'd probably have difficulty even entering the castle or the Noble District.
"So in the end, he didn't find a new lover before the Star Festival…"
…Come to think of it, Hugo had also been dumped by his girlfriend. Between Hugo and
Shoulders slumping at the high heartbreak rate of those around me, I looked at Lutz.
"Understood. I'd like to speak with Hugo in person, so please ask
"Very well."
Three days later, Benno and Lutz arrived with Hugo in tow. The interview would take place in the orphanage director's quarters.
Dressed in his Festive Clothing, Hugo shrank his sturdy frame down timidly — a somewhat amusing sight. I could tell he was tiptoeing nervously around the second floor, a place he'd never visited during his time cooking here.
After the greetings were done and he was offered a seat, I had
I took my time sipping the tea and sampling the sweets Elra had made, then offered some to Benno and Hugo.
"Please, help yourself. These are new sweets Elra made."
Having learned Hugo was coming, Elra had thrown herself into making new creations — Langue de chat cookies with cream and seasonal fruit jam sandwiched in between. Apparently, she'd been burning with the desire to show her former master how much she'd grown. That was what
Hugo, who had been tensed up and shrinking in on himself, transformed into the face of a craftsman confronting cuisine. He straightened his back, studied the sweets with a stern eye, then picked one up. He examined it from various angles before putting it in his mouth.
After a single bite, Hugo furrowed his brow. "Dammit, she's gotten better," he muttered bitterly under his breath, which meant Elra's finest creation had successfully struck at Hugo's pride.
"Now, about your desire to become a court chef…"
When I brought it up, Benno gave a firm nod.
"I understand the Lord has given his verbal blessing, but since there are no formal documents, we would like your recommendation, Lady Rozemyne."
"The Italian Restaurant will be losing Hugo — is that acceptable? What did Frieda say?"
Having a court chef come from the Italian Restaurant would enhance the restaurant's prestige, so if Hugo wanted to go, he should — that was apparently the consensus between Frieda and Benno.
"Very well. Then I have no objection to putting in a word to help Hugo become a court chef."
"You have my deepest gratitude."
Benno crossed his hands in front of his chest, visibly relieved. Hugo mimicked the gesture.
I nodded lightly, then turned my gaze to Hugo.
"However, the treatment you'd receive would be entirely different from when you stayed at the castle to teach recipes. You wouldn't be serving in a teaching role for recipes — you'd be starting from the bottom as an underling. How do you feel about that? You hold the position of head chef, yet becoming a court chef means starting over from the very bottom."
"I'll take it regardless," Hugo said firmly, clenching his fists on his knees.
"Also, something I've been wondering about — the recipes I've taught you until now are protected by Contract Magic. Even if you're hired as a court chef, as long as new recipes don't leak, I have no idea how you'd be treated among the other chefs."
"Benno's master said something similar. But I…"
Hugo's resolve was ironclad.
"Furthermore — and this is important too — once you enter the Noble District as a court chef, you won't be able to return to the lower city without your employer's permission. You have family, don't you? Would it be all right to be separated from them?"
Benno, who knew I had been unwilling to leave my own family behind, lowered his gaze slightly. But Hugo said he wanted to become a court chef even if it meant leaving his family behind.
"Why do you want to be a court chef so badly? Do you have that much of a grievance with the Italian Restaurant? If there are serious complaints — even on behalf of the other chefs — I'd like to hear them."
"No, it's not that I have complaints about my workplace… It's more of a rather personal reason…"
As Hugo hesitated, Benno, wearing a deadpan expression with an amused glint in his eyes, explained the situation for him.
Apparently, Hugo's ex-girlfriend had started dating a neighbor, and he was being confronted with their happy-couple act every single day. He wanted to become a court chef as soon as possible to get away from home. Poor guy.
"If you wanted a girlfriend, wouldn't you have more opportunities to meet someone if you just stayed at the Italian Restaurant? Aren't the castle chefs almost entirely men?"
Hugo sucked in a breath sharply, then shook his head vigorously.
"I live for cooking."
"Well, that's your life, Hugo, and as long as you don't regret it, that's fine. But if your reason for wanting to be a court chef is simply to get away from your current workplace and home, I could also hire you as my personal chef with room and board provided, you know?"
"…Excuse me?"
Hugo's eyes went wide. I gave him a bright smile.
Having someone of Hugo's caliber working as an underling was a waste, and since he already knew my recipes, if he was going to leave the Italian Restaurant, I wanted to secure him for myself.
"I'd been thinking about adding more personal chefs since having only Elra is quite demanding. If it's Hugo, you already know Elra well, and I'm well aware of your skills. You wouldn't have to start over from the bottom."
"Well, but…" Hugo murmured. If he'd declared he was becoming a court chef and then left the Italian Restaurant, only to fail at actually becoming one, that would look bad.
Ah yes — male pride.
"If you become my personal chef, you'll be commuting between the castle and the
Hugo's eyes widened slightly. After a brief pause, he shook his head vigorously.
…Ah, he's wavering. Good, good — time to press the advantage.
"Besides, in my kitchen, you can cook every recipe you already know, and you'd be in the prime position to learn new ones. I've been sending new recipes to the Italian Restaurant, after all."
I added that he'd also be the first to get his hands on new cooking tools, and that seemed to pique his interest as a chef — his eyes wavered.
Sitting beside Hugo, Benno watched the proceedings with an entertained grin.
"When you're at the Temple, if you submit a request, you can return to the lower city. That should put your family a little more at ease, don't you think?"
Hugo's head swayed gently, as if reflecting how his heart was teetering. One more push.
"Also, my kitchen has Elra. Nicola and Monica come in regularly as assistants. Wouldn't you prefer a workplace full of lovely girls over the grimy, all-male kitchen at the castle?"
"Lady Rozemyne, I'll be in your care."
Hugo's expression sharpenened as he surrendered.
Through Benno — who was covering his mouth with his hand to suppress a laugh — I arranged the exclusive contract. And just like that, Hugo became my personal chef.
"I'll have your room cleaned tomorrow, so please bring your belongings in. Monica, please take Hugo to the kitchen in the High Priest's quarters. Today, just showing him where everything is will be enough."
"Understood. Hugo, right this way."
Hugo followed Monica out. Unlike when he'd arrived, he was so cheerful he looked ready to break into a hum.
I watched Hugo descend the staircase, then turned my gaze to Benno.
"Benno, the date for
The training would take place while I was at the castle. When I was away, my Attendants had relatively more free time, so the training was scheduled during those periods.
I would have unlimited reading time in the castle Library. …That was a lie. The Chief Priest had instructed me to provide Magic Power alongside
"I'm terribly sorry to trouble you during such a busy time."
After saying that, Benno cast a brief glance toward the hidden room. He wanted to talk about something there.
I gave a slight nod and stood up.
"Damuel, Gil, we're heading to that room."
"Yes."
I entered the hidden room with Benno, Gil, and Damuel and took a seat.
Once I was seated and our eyes met, Benno's merchant's smile faded into a grim expression.
"What happened, Benno?"
"You know how my dealings with nobles have increased lately, right?"
"Yes."
Apparently, when my mother had approached me while I was selling educational materials at the winter castle, my connections with the nobility had exploded, and I'd been running around like a headless chicken ever since. I'd heard Lutz's complaints through Gil.
"The inquiries about educational materials made at the
Benno scratched his head vigorously and let out a slow sigh.
"If it were just that, maybe no one would've said anything. But you're connected to everything, and we're raking in enormous profits. Our noble transactions also increased all at once, so the jealousy has been terrible."
The Italian Restaurant involved the Guild Master and Frieda too, and Benno had actually been less involved recently, so he'd given the impression of being merely an investor.
Even so, because of his connection to me, printing-related work had surged, and noble customers were flocking in at a staggering rate. The big shop owners were desperately trying to claw back some of those profits.
"Also, among the newly acquired noble customers, few know that the Gilberta Company is a clothing store. If this continues, it'll be difficult for Corina or
He intended to split the shop and divide the profits to reduce the jealousy as much as possible. I wasn't sure if that would actually work, but as someone who didn't know much about business, it wasn't my place to interfere.
"So will the new shop for book-related business be started by you,
"Yeah. And the big shop owners, who are desperate to get a piece of the Lord's new venture, will each be sending in one darrua."
The real reason for splitting the shop was that he didn't want outside darrua being inserted into the Gilberta Company. I didn't really understand the merchant world's logic about why they had to accept darrua in the first place.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"I want a name. I want you to give a name to the new shop so people know it has your personal endorsement."
The founder of the Gilberta Company had apparently received a name from a noble in the same way and started the shop. He'd been told to call himself Gilberta, and the founder had done just that.
"Um… does that mean the new shop would be called the Rozemyne Company? And you'd be going by Benno Rozemyne?"
"I won't be using that name! Just give it a new name."
He snapped at me, furious at the suggestion that he take a woman's name, and I mulled it over. Gutenberg was already being used as a title, so I needed a different name related to the printing industry. One came immediately to mind.
"Since there's already the Rozemyne Workshop, having the company share the same name would be confusing. How about Plantan Company?"
"…Where did that name come from?"
"That's a secret."
I giggled. Even if I told him, there was no way he'd understand.
Plantan was the name of a man who had devoted his life to printing — he'd been put on trial for heresy for printing the
"Plantan, is it? Well, as long as it's not Gutenberg, I'll accept it."
"…It has a similar origin, but never mind that. More importantly, Benno, since you have the chance, why not go by Plantan?"
"Absolutely not."
He refused on the spot.
Well, if his name actually changed, I'd probably be the one getting confused, so leaving things as they was fine.
"Benno, Benno — as the Plantan Company, let's make books and sell them like crazy! I want a workshop big enough to fit twenty printing presses!"
I wanted to follow in the footsteps of Plantan, who had run twenty presses at full capacity and printed at a furious pace, and develop the printing industry.
When I declared my ambitions, Benno made an absolutely disgusted face, then flicked my forehead with a sharp snap.
"…Didn't you just get told to stop being so hasty?"
"That's right. Restraint, restraint… May I throw away my restraint?"
"Of course not, you idiot!"
Benno struck me with a thunderous scold, and as I was enjoying the familiar rhythm — ah, this feels just right — he grabbed my head and ground his knuckles into it. That hurt.
My dedicated forge workshop hadn't worked out, but Hugo had become my personal chef.
And soon, Benno would be breaking away from the Gilberta Company as the Plantan Company.
Next time, I'll be watching over the Lord's Conference.