"This is..."
The Guild Master froze as soon as he uttered those words.
Turi had only ever used this hair ornament at her
The Guild Master has completely frozen. Is he going to be okay?
Unlike me, who was worried, Benno briefly let a predatory, lip-licking expression cross his face before breaking into a black grin.
"Isn't this the kind of hair ornament the Guild Master was looking for?"
"You're selling this!?"
The Guild Master's eyes flew wide open, and he looked back and forth between Benno and me. The intensity of his bare, hungry stare terrified me, and I let out a small, frightened gasp.
...
I tried to sneak behind Benno as well, but he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me forward.
"Ah, it's going to be a winter project."
"Winter work... Then, could you sell me this right now?"
The Guild Master reached for Turi's hair ornament in my hands. His eyes blazed with such intensity that I was sure the ornament would never come back if I let him have it, so I quickly stuffed it into my bag.
"No. I made this for Turi. It's not for sale."
"I'll offer this."
He thrust three fingers at me in a sharp gesture. It probably represented a price, but I had no idea what it meant.
Panicking, I looked to Benno, who was grinning even wider.
"Hmm, yes... If you could add a bit more color, I think we could prioritize making them. What do you think, Mine?"
"I— I agree with whatever Benno says."
There was no room for objection. I forced a smile and deferred to Benno.
"If you start now, there'll be plenty of time before my granddaughter's winter Baptism Ceremony. Right, Mine?"
"Yes, that's fine."
...Ah, I see. The Guild Master's granddaughter had seen Turi's hair ornament at the summer Baptism Ceremony and told him she wanted one too.
Benno's words finally made the situation clear.
As the Guild Master of the Commercial Guild, he should have been the best-informed person in the city when it came to everything that circulated here, yet he couldn't find this hair ornament.
My family had only made it for Turi — it wasn't merchandise. Similar ornaments weren't sold anywhere either. And the winter Baptism Ceremony was fast approaching. He must have been at his wit's end.
"There's only about a month left, but can you make it?"
Come to think of it, Mother had said that making small flowers took a surprising amount of time and thread. While winter, when we'd be snowed in with nothing to do, would be fine, the current season was too busy to work on it. But if it was a paid job, we could devote ourselves to it without a problem.
It would take some time to procure thread and hear the granddaughter's wishes, but even so, we could easily finish before the winter Baptism Ceremony.
"Yes. This isn't a product for sale, but making a new one wouldn't be a problem. Right, Lutz?"
"Yeah, we can do it."
Lutz and I nodded firmly to accept the job. Benno, who had been listening from beside me while nodding along, flashed a sly grin and added: "It's a shame, though, that since neither of you is registered, even if you make it, you won't be able to complete the transaction..."
"Grr... Then, let's place the order after temporary registration..."
It seemed the contest between Benno and the Guild Master had been decided without much fuss.
Without any major objections raised, and without revealing information about the paper, Benno was in excellent spirits over the successful temporary registration and moved to leave the Guild Master's room.
"Shall we head back downstairs, then?"
"Wait. The children can stay here and wait for their guild cards to be made. I'll be placing an order too."
Benno clicked his tongue lightly at the Guild Master's words, then turned around with a smile.
"If I leave the kids alone, who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into, so I'll wait here with them."
"Oh no, they seem to be very well-behaved children. They should be fine without Benno here, don't you think?"
The Guild Master's smile looked gentle on the surface, but it gave off the sense that he was plotting something. I felt like I'd get manipulated before I knew it, so I instinctively grabbed Benno's hand.
"I— It's my first time here, so I'd like Benno to stay with me."
"So she says."
Benno sat down on a hard, sofa-like chair in the Guild Master's room with a triumphant grin. He lifted me up effortlessly and set me on his lap, then whispered "Good job" and ruffled my hair. He seemed to be in a very good mood.
After that, I moved to a seat beside Benno, and Lutz sat next to me. The Guild Master sat across from us, and the negotiations over the hair ornament began.
"I'd like to order one hair ornament. Please have it ready before the winter Baptism Ceremony."
"Um, what color flowers would you like? Whatever color your granddaughter likes, or something that matches her hair..."
"I'm not very knowledgeable about such things. Something similar to that will be fine."
The Guild Master pointed at my tote bag as he said this. But being told something so matter-of-factly didn't help me figure out what to do.
Benno had probably set a steep price, so at the very least, I wanted to make a hair ornament that would bring a smile to the granddaughter's face. After all, the grandfather who had gathered information for his granddaughter's sake would surely consider his granddaughter's smile to be priceless.
"Um, if it's possible to speak with your granddaughter, would you mind letting me hear her wishes directly? I think that would make her happier."
"I want to surprise her with a secret gift."
There it was! An inconvenient surprise!
A secret gift only truly brings joy when you know the recipient's tastes and wishes inside and out and give them exactly what they want at the perfect moment.
For a grandfather who couldn't even tell me his granddaughter's favorite color, that was going to be quite difficult.
"Um, but the hair ornament needs to match the outfit too, and if it doesn't suit her hair color, or if she's already prepared a different accessory, she might be quite troubled to receive it?"
"Is that so?"
If the winter Baptism Ceremony was approaching, the outfit should already be prepared. It was even possible that the granddaughter and her mother had already picked out something to wear in her hair.
"Since we're making it from scratch, I think she'll treasure it far more if it matches her preferences than if it doesn't. Don't you think a happy face is more wonderful than a surprised one?"
"Hmm, I see..."
The Guild Master stroked his beard and looked up, thinking.
"Your name was Mine, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Would you like to come work at my shop?"
"Absolutely not!"
Benno shot down the offer even faster than I could have reacted.
"My shop is larger, and I've been in business for longer. The conditions are better. Besides, you haven't completed your Baptism Ceremony yet and officially become an apprentice, so you could still become my apprentice. What do you say?"
Even if he asked me what I thought, I had no intention of committing such a betrayal after receiving so much support.
"I owe Benno a debt I can't possibly repay."
"Hmm, I'll repay it in your place then."
"Huh? Um..."
I thought I'd turned him down, but I apparently hadn't. As I floundered under the Guild Master's aggressive pushiness, Benno's mood plummeted.
Furrowing deep wrinkles between his brows and tapping his temple lightly with a finger, Benno glared daggers at me.
"Mine, give the Guild Master a clear answer. Tell him, 'I decline.'"
"I— I decline!"
"Hmm, a pity. I suppose I'll give up this time. With such a fearsome guard watching, you can hardly speak your true feelings."
This time!? What does he mean, this time!?
I think I've been speaking quite honestly!
"Would tomorrow be all right to come hear from my granddaughter Frieda? It's better to decide sooner rather than later, wouldn't you agree?"
"Um, is it all right if Benno comes too!?"
The lesson of today — "Never meet the Guild Master alone" — had been firmly etched into my heart. Meeting him without anyone who could handle him would be dangerous.
But the Guild Master shook his head.
"Unfortunately, both Benno and I have meetings tomorrow. When two girls of the same age are meeting, there's no need for a rough-looking old man to accompany you, is there?"
"...I suppose not, if it's just children."
In the midst of the ongoing battle between Benno and the Guild Master, I had been picturing a scene of hearing Frieda's wishes and was thoroughly exasperated. But at the words "two girls of the same age meeting," I nodded involuntarily.
I had just agreed with the Guild Master's suggestion, and beside me, Benno clicked his tongue.
Wait! Did I say something wrong!?
I compared Benno's furrowed brow with the Guild Master's restored smile and realized I had made a careless reply. If I had agreed to "just children," I couldn't ask
What do I do? My mind raced at full speed as I looked to both sides and then had an idea.
"Um, since we're making it together, it's fine for Lutz to come, right? W- We're just children!"
Going in alone was far too terrifying. When I suggested involving Lutz, Benno's expression softened slightly.
"Well, I suppose that works. Then, how about tomorrow at the third bell at the Central Plaza? I'll have Frieda come to meet you."
"Yes."
As if he had been waiting for the conversation to wrap up, a staff member came in holding our temporary membership cards. It seemed the temporary registration had been completed successfully.
"This is your Commercial Guild temporary membership card. It's also a type of Magical Tool. You'll need it for all business negotiations. For details, ask Benno. Since both of your cards are equivalent to shop apprentice cards, you'll be able to access upper floors as well."
It was a mysterious card made of thin metal that reflected a rainbow of colors when held to the light. The difference between this and the materials I was used to handling was staggering. It looked fantastical from every angle, and the more I learned about it, the more impressed I became. I could only blink at the wonders of Magical Tools.
"Now, finally, each of you press your own blood onto your card to register it with your identity. That way, no one else will be able to use it."
"Ugh!? Blood!?"
Was blood always required for magic? I still vividly remembered cutting my finger for the Blood Seal during the Contract Magic.
"Give it up, Mine."
"Lutz..."
"Just hold out your hand already. ...You can't do it yourself anyway, right?"
"Ugh..."
Reluctantly, I held out my hand, and Lutz pricked my fingertip with a needle. The welling drop of blood was pressed against the card and soaked in.
In that instant, the card glowed.
"Wha—!?"
It only lit up for a moment, and afterward the card looked exactly the same as before. No bloodstain, no fingerprint — it was perfectly clean, unchanged in every way.
Magical Tools might be convenient, but they were scary.
Perhaps because Lutz had watched me cower at drawing blood and panic at the card's glow, he completed the procedure with an air of calm efficiency.
"That concludes the registration."
"Thank you for your help."
I chased after Benno as he left the room, clearly finished with his business there, and the three of us departed from the Commercial Guild.
Just registering had left us completely exhausted.
"Welcome back. Your registration appears to have gone smoothly."
When we returned to Benno's shop, Mark was waiting for us. He occasionally let that merchant's black grin surface, but Mark was fundamentally on our side, and his smile was comforting.
"Mine, thanks to you today was a total victory."
"Oh my, that's unusual."
"That old fossil took a liking to her, though."
"...Sounds like that could be troublesome."
Mark's impression of the Guild Master seemed to be just as wary.
I wholeheartedly agreed.
"This way, please. I've prepared everything for the prototype settlement."
"Then let's get this done quickly."
Mark opened the door to Benno's room and ushered us inside. When I heard "prototype settlement," I immediately raised my hand.
"Yes! I have a request. Could you teach me about money?"
"Huh?"
Benno frowned as if he didn't understand the question. Mark tilted his head the same way.
"Um, I've never handled money before... I can read numbers, but numbers and money aren't really connected in my mind. For example, if something costs 5,640 rion, I have no idea which coins to use or how many to pay with."
"What!?"
Not just Benno, but Mark and Lutz all let out startled cries.
"Never touched money before... Well, for a child that age who isn't a merchant, it's not that unusual, is it? No, actually, it is unusual, right?"
"...Come to think of it, Mine has never even run an errand. She'd pass out."
"Ah..."
At Lutz's words, everyone let out a murmur of understanding.
"At the Gate, I've done calculations, but I've never actually seen the exchange of money with a merchant. When I went with Mark to place an order, we only submitted the order form and never actually exchanged money. And when I went to the Market with Mother, I did see her pay with small coins, but I don't know what they were."
At my words, Mark stepped forward with a money pouch and spread coins across the desk with a jingle.
"Then let me start by teaching you about the different types of money."
There were three types of brown, copper-colored coins, along with silver and gold coins of varying sizes.
I could tell that Lutz swallowed hard as he stared at the gold coins on the desk.
"This small copper coin is worth 10 rion. The medium copper coin with the hole is 100 rion, the large copper coin is 1,000 rion, and the small silver coin is 10,000 rion. After that, you have the large silver coin, the small gold coin, and the large gold coin."
I just needed to remember that ten of the smaller ones made one larger one, which made it much easier to keep track.
As I nodded in understanding, Lutz let out a small groan beside me. It seemed that once the numbers got into the higher digits, he was completely lost.
We'll study hard in the winter.
Once we were handling money ourselves, we'd have to learn the calculations whether we liked it or not, so it would probably be fine.
Benno brought six sheets of prototype paper and laid them out on the desk.
"One sheet of Parchment is one small gold coin. A contract at the standard size is one large silver coin. For something around this size, it'd be about two small silver coins."
Two small silver coins for a letter-sized sheet...
I knew paper was expensive, but seeing it laid out next to the coins really drove the point home. Come to think of it, hadn't Benno said the contract-sized sheet was worth a month of Father's salary?
"This time, we're setting the price based on Parchment. Forin paper is two small silver coins, and the higher-quality Trombe paper is four small silver coins. From there, we deduct 30 percent as a handling fee. Then, the upfront investment needed to create the prototypes and the Screen Frames we'll need going forward are separate. The cost of the Screen Frames will be deducted in installments. That comes to 50 percent of the base cost."
"Yes."
Now that the prototypes existed, going forward, when we ordered tools and raw materials, they would be properly factored into the cost.
When I nodded, Benno gave a sly grin.
"How about you two take 20 percent this time? If the wood used for raw materials is sourced from the lumber merchant, or if prices drop as paper circulates more widely, we'll need to renegotiate, but..."
"That works for me."
When I nodded and looked to Lutz, he nodded as well with a confused expression that said he didn't really understand the details.
Benno plonked the Calculator down on the desk and shoved it in front of Lutz.
"Lutz, can you figure out how much three Forin and three Trombe comes to?"
Lutz moved the Calculator a little and managed to input three Forin, but when he tried to add the rest, he extended and curled his fingers, only to slump and shake his head. He could do single-digit calculations, but once the numbers or types of items increased, he was lost.
"Mine?"
"Um, 'three times two is six and three times four is twelve,' so eighteen small silver coins. And since our share is 20 percent of that, three small silver coins and six large copper coins would be Lutz's and my share. Each person would get one small silver coin and eight large copper coins."
Benno stared at me, blinking slightly, and Mark, who was standing behind him, smiled ruefully.
"That's correct. To be able to calculate that instantly without even using the Calculator is truly impressive."
In my case, since I couldn't use the Calculator, I'd need to practice with Lutz over the winter. I wanted to fit in as much as possible with everyone around me.
"Now then... the cost of Lutz's Slate and stone stylus — that's collected from the individual. Two large copper coins will be deducted from Lutz's share."
Lutz had two large copper coins deducted and received several Slates and stone styluses in return.
"You can be paid in cash, or if storing it is a concern, you can deposit it with the Commercial Guild. What would you like to do?"
It seemed the Commercial Guild also functioned as a kind of bank.
Carrying around a lot of cash was frightening, and I wanted to save up to buy books someday.
"I'll take the large copper coins. I'll give them to Mother. I'll deposit the small silver coins."
Using my first paycheck to do something for my family — that had been a dream of mine from the Honobono Reina days. Maybe I could fulfill that dream here.
"Understood. What about you, Lutz?"
"Same as Mine."
"Very well."
I received eight large copper coins and pressed my card against Benno's card. After a sound like a plucked string, the card was returned to me, but nothing had changed about it.
"With this, you can now withdraw your money from the third floor of the Guild. You'll need to practice doing that eventually."
"That's right."
Benno smiled wryly as I twirled the card around, and Mark nodded in agreement.
Lutz also pressed his card together with Benno's and then received six large copper coins. The cool weight in his hands made his heart soar.
"This is my first time holding money."
"We earned this ourselves, didn't we?"
I thought back over all the failures we'd gone through to arrive at paper we were satisfied with, and looking at the money, my heart was filled with emotion.
"When spring comes, let's make lots of paper and sell lots of it."
"Yeah."
Still gazing dreamily at my first money, I looked up at Benno, filled with a sense of accomplishment.
"That's everything, right?"
But Benno made a sour face at my words and flicked my forehead with his finger.
"Don't say something so foolish. Your real battle is tomorrow. Without any adults around, you're going to have to face off against that old fossil's granddaughter! Do you look like someone who can afford to be relaxed!?"
"Huh? But she's just a child, and a girl, isn't she?"
I didn't think it would be anything like a battle. I was just going to hear Frieda's wishes, the Guild Master would be at his meeting, and what kind of confrontation could there be?
"According to rumors, she's the granddaughter that old fossil dotes on the most, and she apparently resembles him more than any of his other grandchildren."
"Sh— She looks like the Guild Master!?"
I tried to imagine a girl with the Guild Master's face, but I couldn't picture it at all.
"Well, it's a good thing you can bring Lutz along. Don't get swept up in it. Lutz, you don't have to force yourself into the conversation, but if Mine looks like she's about to be lured away like she was today, you absolutely must intervene. You never know where that old man's traps are hidden. Got it?"
"Understood."
Lutz nodded firmly with a serious expression, but was it really necessary to go that far? After all, the other party was just a girl before her Baptism Ceremony.
As I tilted my head, the coins in my hand clinked together.
"...Come to think of it, how much did you charge for Frieda's hair ornament? I couldn't read the Guild Master's finger signal."
"The old man's offer was three small silver coins. With the added color, four small silver coins."
At Benno's words, I was taken aback. Even considering the cost of thread, that was way too much for a single hair ornament.
"W— Wh— What!? That's highway robbery!"
"You'd better deliver a perfect product. It'll double as promotion for winter projects, and the quality will affect whether we get more orders."
"Um, could we possibly adjust the price..."
My last shred of hope was instantly scattered by Benno's glare.
"Do you really think I'm going to take on that old man?"
"No, not at all."
After answering, I slumped in defeat.
We had to create an ornament worthy of four small silver coins, so the pressure on our end was immense.
"Even after my referral fee, the handling fee, and the raw material costs, your share should come out to about 50 or 60 percent. Put your effort into it. It'll be fine. The fact that they finally found what they were looking for, combined with the fact that you didn't sell the ornament you already have, should make it seem even harder to obtain. On top of that, this is the price for the guilt of squeezing it into their busy Winter Preparations ahead of schedule, and for the premium of wearing it at a winter Baptism Ceremony that no one else has yet. Don't worry too much about it."
No matter how many reasons he gave, it was still robbery, plain and simple.
Seriously, give me a break.
You robbed me blind, Benno.
Mine is getting a stomachache.
Next time, the Guild Master's granddaughter.