The invitation to
"Of course I can't answer this by myself. I'll have to ask my mother..."
Sending an invitation to a child before their baptism was ridiculous, no matter how you looked at it. Wouldn't you normally send it to the parents? After all, attendance had to be confirmed through the parents.
When I said that, Otto raised his eyebrows slightly and shook his head.
"You're the only one in the family who can read properly, you know. Besides, you really can't refuse this invitation. If you do, your mother and your sister might lose their jobs."
"What!? W-what do you mean!?"
Corinna apparently came from a wealthy merchant family as her background and was quite capable in her own right, holding a high position in the Tailoring Guild.
After a lengthy explanation, I came to understand it this way: if Turi, as an apprentice tailor, held a position like that of a regular employee or part-timer, and Mother, who worked in dyeing, held something like a section chief's position, then Corinna was on the level of a board member.
Status-based society. Terrifying. Can't refuse, huh. Yeah.
If this had been an invitation from Otto rather than from Corinna, Father apparently could have used his authority to decline it. Quite the dilemma.
"On top of that, I thought this would be a good opportunity to study invitation etiquette."
"I see. I'll be in your care."
I studied how to write invitations and their replies together with Otto, looking over the invitation as we went.
"An invitation from Lady Corinna!? What? Mine!? Why!?"
"Otto told me she wanted to try out Simple-chan Rinshan."
"Oh my! How wonderful!"
When I brought the formal invitation home, Mother panicked.
Seeing her so flustered, I asked, "Should I have refused?" which earned me a wide-eyed glare and an angry rebuke.
"Refuse!? Absolutely not! You must be on your best behavior!"
"Yes! I'll be careful."
Apparently this was less an invitation and more like a summons.
Mother immediately set to work sewing a new apron for me. Apparently it would be rude to wear my usual clothes when visiting Corinna's place.
As she sewed, she drilled me with every possible piece of advice she could think of, emphasizing that there must be no mistakes when being entertained by the wealthy.
All I'd intended was to teach Corinna how to use Simple-chan Rinshan, but somehow things had escalated into a huge production.
"That's not fair, only Mine gets to go... I'm the one who made it."
"Turi, can she come too, Mom?"
"Absolutely not. She wasn't invited."
I may have been the one who came up with Simple-chan Rinshan, but Turi was the one who had been making it all this time.
I thought Turi deserved to go too, but it turned out that bringing an uninvited person along was considered rude here as well, no matter how much Turi begged. She was stuck with house-sitting.
I arranged to meet Otto at the Central Plaza at the third bell, same as last time.
I wore my usual clothes with the new apron Mother had made, and headed to the Central Plaza with Father. I carefully packed the small jars of Simple-chan Rinshan and a comb into my tote bag.
Otto was already waiting near the fountain in the Central Plaza, and I was handed over from Father to Otto.
"Don't worry, I'll take full responsibility. Well then, shall we go, Mine?"
"Mm. I'm heading out, Dad."
"After that, Otto started walking toward the City Wall.
Otto's house was apparently in a location close to the City Wall. The closer you got to the City Wall where the Nobility lived, the higher the rent, which meant Otto's house was in what you'd call an upscale neighborhood.
"Otto, you live near the City Wall even though you're a Soldier?"
"A room was prepared for me above Corinna's family home. My brother-in-law couldn't bear to let his cute little sister go and wanted me to live nearby."
"Ah, I see..."
Come to think of it, I vaguely recalled hearing that Otto was something like a married-in son-in-law. Sure enough, with a low-ranking Soldier's salary, he couldn't have afforded to live in a place like this without support from his wife's family.
He'd mentioned spending his entire fortune to buy Citizenship, so perhaps when they first married he was completely broke and his wife's relatives were pulling their hair out.
The people around me were gradually shifting away from my usual social circle. The patches on clothes disappeared, and designs using flowing, airy fabrics became more common.
The shops lining the ground floor changed too. The shops themselves grew larger, more employees appeared, and more customers came and went. Horse-drawn carriages increased on the main roads while donkey carts decreased.
The fact that such a clear class divide existed within the same city I could walk around in was shocking.
I'd read about it in books and vaguely knew it as knowledge, but seeing it with my own eyes was nothing like imagination. I blinked repeatedly as I observed my surroundings.
"This is the third floor."
"Third floor!?"
Otto's home was on the third floor of a seven-story building.
The first floor was shops, and the second floor above was typically where the shop owner's family lived. Floors three through six were rented out, and the seventh floor was often where the live-in apprentices and employees had their rooms. The closer to the street and the well, the higher the rent. Our place was on the fifth floor near the Gate on the other side — read into that what you will about our income.
Having a room prepared above his wife's family home meant that his wife was the daughter of this large shop.
...How did he ever get permission to marry her? That was surprising. A Traveling Merchant and a merchant's daughter seemed like quite the mismatch in social standing, but maybe it worked differently in this world.
"I'm home, Corinna. I brought Mine over."
"Welcome, Mine. I'm so glad you came. I'm Corinna, Otto's wife."
"It's nice to meet you, Corinna. I'm Mine. Otto has always been very helpful to me."
Corinna, whom I was seeing for the first time, was an astonishingly lovely and charming woman.
Her pale cream-colored hair, as if it had gathered moonlight, was softly arranged, accentuating her slender neck. Her eyes were a gray that bordered on silver, and her overall coloring was so delicate she looked almost ethereal.
And yet — ample bosom. Everything that was supposed to stand out did so emphatically, while her waistline cinched in tightly.
Otto, you shallow man!
I was led into a sitting room, and I let out a soft breath at the patchwork tapestries on the wall and the decorated pieces that were clearly Corinna's work.
This was the first time since arriving in a household with decorations that I'd seen anything like it.
You could tell from the ornamental arrangements — made from a profusion of clothing and fabric scraps — that this room was likely where clients were received to discuss work. The tastefully arranged room, adorned with colorful fabrics, had a comforting atmosphere.
Even so, it was far more modest than what I'd imagined for a wealthy merchant's home. Both the round table and chairs were simple pieces with visible wood grain — nothing carved or polished to a glossy sheen.
Come to think of it, the reason Northern European-style furniture tended to be simple was probably so you wouldn't get tired of it and could use it for a long time. In this region, where winters locked everything under snow, they might be making furniture with that same intent.
"Thank you for coming all this way. When I heard you'd help make my hair beautiful, I was so looking forward to it."
As she poured herbal tea, the gentle quality of her voice radiated the refined upbringing of a young lady, and her serene demeanor was the soothing type that awakened protective instincts.
"The pleasure is all mine. I'd heard about you from Otto, and I was very much looking forward to meeting you. You're not just beautiful and lovely — the taste in this room and the clothing displayed here exceeded everything I'd heard."
"My, what a perfectly mannered young lady you are. And just as I'd heard, truly beautiful hair. Do you think I could ever achieve something like this?"
Corinna murmured dreamily as she touched my hair.
To boost the product's perceived value, I'd started using Simple-chan Rinshan last night, and it had taken the combined efforts of both Mother and Turi to polish my hair. Today, I was even shinier than usual.
"Shall we get started right away?"
I pulled the jars from my tote bag, and Corinna's face lit up.
She was such an endearing person with her openly sincere reactions. No wonder Otto adored her.
"To wash your hair, I'll need to set things up for a water bath. Could you please prepare a basin with water, and a cloth for drying the hair?"
"A water bath?"
Not Corinna but Otto was the one who gaped in shock, his voice cracking.
"...I'm only washing the hair, Otto. While you're getting that ready, Corinna, could you change into clothes you don't mind getting wet?"
"All right."
"...So, clothes stay on then?"
She wasn't little
I put Otto to work, since heavy lifting was supposed to be a man's job, and had him prepare the water bath.
We laid out a cloth in the bedroom and he brought the water, so I set out the cloth for drying hair and lined up the small jars.
"...This. What are you going to do with this?"
Otto examined the jars with eager curiosity — shaking them, peering inside, sniffing them.
I had a strong premonition that if Otto stayed here, he'd start interfering once the washing began, poking his nose in, and generally making things very troublesome by slipping into his own little world with Corinna.
"No men allowed. Once you're done setting up, please wait in another room, Otto."
"Huh? I'm her husband, you know."
"If you're her husband, then you should especially wait and see only the finished, beautiful result and shower her with compliments. Don't be so unrefined as to watch the process."
"That's right, Otto. Please wait in another other room."
Corinna and I teamed up to evict Otto from the bedroom, where he'd been fully intending to stay put.
I could hear his footsteps pacing outside the door, but I ignored them, picked up a jar, and began pouring it into the basin in front of Corinna.
"This is called 'Simple-chan Rinshan.' Fill the basin with this much water, and add about this much of the liquid."
"Like this?"
"Submerge the hair in this and wash it. Could you let your hair down?"
Corinna let her hair down and cautiously dipped it into the basin. It seemed she hadn't bathed that long ago, since her hair wasn't nearly as dirty as I'd expected.
To make sure her scalp was thoroughly clean, I washed it by repeatedly pouring the liquid over it again and again.
"Please pay special attention to this area."
"...Having someone else wash it feels so nice. I never knew."
"I'm sure Otto would do it for you if you asked."
Rather, I got the feeling he'd jump at the chance even without being asked.
"Oh, but isn't watching the beauty process unrefined?"
"...I was just worried he'd slip into his own little world with you right in front of me."
"My! Fufufu, to think even such a young child would say something like that to me — what must Otto normally be saying?"
Washing her was harder than Turi since her hair was longer and more voluminous, but depending on how satisfied Corinna was, the number of nails I'd get from Otto would surely vary. I put extra care into washing it thoroughly.
"...Hey, Mine. May I ask you something?"
"Sure?"
Corinna's voice sounded a bit stiff, and I instinctively tensed up.
"How is Otto at the Gate?"
"...Huh?"
I'd braced myself, thinking she might ask about how to make Simple-chan Rinshan, so this unexpected question threw me off.
Seeing me tilt my head in confusion, Corinna's expression clouded and she murmured: "Because of me, he had to give up being a merchant, so I've been wondering..."
"There's no need to worry. He's a merchant through and through at the Gate."
Despite claiming to be busy, he took on all the accounting-period work single-handedly, squared off against merchants delivering supplies, and leveraged his position as a gate guard to the maximum for information-gathering. Otto's motivations were entirely those of a merchant.
"Huh? ...He's being a merchant at the Gate?"
"Yes. Especially when he's going toe-to-toe with vendors making deliveries, or haggling over prices when placing orders — he comes alive with this dark merchant's smile. It's really something."
"Fufufu, to you, Otto looks like a merchant. Yes, that's exactly right. ...I feel like a weight has been lifted off my heart."
The more I dried Corinna's hair with the cloth, the more it took on a lustrous sheen, her cream-colored locks gleaming. Once I carefully worked a comb through, it began to shine like pearls.
I'd thought the same when I washed Lutz's golden hair — it was so beautiful, I was jealous. I really wished I could have hair like this.
"For the comb, I'd recommend using a wooden one if possible. The more you use it, the more the wood absorbs the liquid, making it easier to bring out the shine."
"I'll keep that in mind. ...It really does become incredibly beautiful."
She ran her fingers through her own hair, murmuring in admiration.
"Your natural color is already lovely, and your hair seems to have been well-maintained, so it only took a small amount to bring out a remarkable shine. I'd recommend washing with this about once every five to seven days."
I pointed to the jars that still had contents left and explained the frequency, which prompted Corinna to tilt her head.
"Can I really keep this? That's too kind. Let me give you something in return..."
"It's perfectly fine. I'm receiving payment in nails from Otto."
"...Nails? What? He didn't haggle you down? Is that really all right?"
Even if he haggled somewhat, I hadn't taught him the recipe, I'd get the nails I wanted, and every time Corinna wanted more Simple-chan Rinshan going forward, I planned to request something different in return. So there was no real issue.
"Um, Mine. My clothes got a little wet, so I'd like to change. Could you and Otto wait together for me?"
"Sure."
As Corinna announced she was changing, I went to leave the bedroom and opened the door to find Otto pacing back and forth in front of the room like a starving bear waiting for food to appear.
"Corinna!?"
"I need to change because my clothes are wet. Otto, please take care of entertaining Mine."
She peeked just slightly through the doorway with a sweet smile as she said this.
Her still-damp hair, not yet fully dry, slid smoothly over her wet clothes, and her bashful mannerisms carried an inexplicable allure.
"Sorry about showing you this state. I'll change quickly."
Corinna shooed me out of the bedroom and promptly shut the door.
I glanced over at Otto, and he was standing there, staring blankly at the closed door.
Seeing him completely oblivious to my existence, I pumped my fist in victory in my mind. He had absolutely fallen for her all over again.
"Nh, fufufu, don't you think Corinna looks incredibly beautiful? Her cream-colored hair is gleaming like a gemstone..."
"! Corinna!"
"She's changing!"
The moment Otto started moving, he suddenly tried to charge into the room, and I hurried to stop him.
Of course, my strength alone was no match. The only one who could stop a rampaging Otto was Corinna.
"Otto, do you intend to parade my changing figure in front of Mine?"
The quiet question from the other side of the door stopped Otto cold, like a doll whose batteries had died.
After a moment of silence, Otto slowly turned around, and with an almost frighteningly beautiful smile, he clamped a hand firmly on my shoulder.
"...Mine, can't you remember some urgent business?"
Translation: he wants to canoodle with his newly redone wife, so please leave immediately. I understand.
"Depending on how many nails I get, I might or might not remember."
I looked at the bag of nails sitting on the kitchen table and gave a bright smile.
Otto looked back and forth between the bag of nails and me, his eyebrows shooting upward. You could practically see the merchant's calculations and his love for his wife seesawing on a scale.
"..."
"If I take all of them, I think I'll be able to come up with a good excuse to Father too."
Otto, who'd sworn to take responsibility for me, shoved every last nail from the area into my hands with that smile, so I obediently took my leave.
...You lovebirds, just explode already!
I'd gotten far more nails than expected, so whatever. You two do your thing.
Clutching the bag of nails, I set off trudging home by myself.
The nails were heavy. A single one was light, but once the numbers piled up, they weighed a lot. After just a little walking, my arms started shaking.
No good. I needed a rest.
I wasn't going to make it home like this. I decided to sit down and rest at the Central Plaza fountain.
My arms ached.
I was shaking and rubbing them when I spotted what looked like Lutz returning from somewhere, marching briskly across my field of vision.
"Huh? Lutz? What's going on?"
"Mine!? What are you doing here? And alone!?"
My usual walking range was basically the Gate and the forest. I only ever took the shortest route, so I never passed through the Central Plaza. And the idea that I — who could collapse at any time and place — was out here alone made Lutz's eyes go wide.
"Hm? I'm coming back from Otto's place. I got a bunch of nails. They're heavy, and it's a pretty long walk, so I was taking a break."
"I'll carry them for you, give 'em here. Why didn't he send you home properly?"
Lutz grumbled as he took the bag of nails. What was heavy enough to make my arms tremble apparently wasn't much of a burden for Lutz.
"Thanks, Lutz."
Walking home with Lutz, I reported everything that had happened today.
When I told him I'd gotten nails in exchange for Simple-chan Rinshan, Lutz said he'd been going around asking people who knew the forest and people who dealt in lumber about wood that would be easy to turn into paper and things that might work as Tororo.
For making Japanese paper, you'd normally use Hollyhock, but when it came to slimy liquid in this world, the first things that came to mind were Edil fruit or the bodily fluids of Slarumo bugs.
Ugh, ugh — I'd much rather use Edil fruit than bug bodily fluids. Bugs were available year-round, I supposed.
Just thinking about extracting fluids from Slarumo bugs made my head shake involuntarily, so I changed the subject.
"Now that we've got the nails, we can make the Steamer."
"Hm? What size? Didn't you say you'd match it to the pot? Did your aunt say you could use her pot?"
A Steamer for steaming wood didn't need to be huge at first, but ideally I'd want it to match the pot's size.
However, every household only had one pot for cooking. Even if I asked to borrow it, they'd never agree.
"...No. If anything, she got angry and said, 'Don't put anything but food in there!'"
The one time I'd tried to put dried goods in, Mother had blown up. There was no way she'd lend out the pot for steaming or boiling wood for papermaking.
"That won't work, then."
"Nope. ...What do we do?"
"I mean, I definitely can't make a pot."
Pots were expensive. Extremely expensive.
They were the kind of thing you repaired over and over and kept using for life.
It wasn't something we could get our hands on easily even if we wanted one, and since they involved metalwork, making one was equally difficult.
"Yeah, I guess... How about we make the Screen Frame first? I've already got a rough idea of the size, so I can make that."
"...Guess we gotta make what we can make."
We'd gotten more nails than expected, and we'd found some promising leads on Tororo ingredients, so at least we'd moved one step forward... right?
Mine cleaned up Corinna and got nails.
Lutz did some legwork and got info on paper and Tororo ingredients.
Next time,