I sewed together the hairpin part
The hair ornament I'd made for Frieda had turned out far more luxurious than I had expected.
Four deep-red miniature roses were arranged on it, with small white flowers meant to evoke baby's breath encircling them and making the red pop. And beyond the white flowers, green leaves peeked out here and there, providing a lovely accent.
"…Hey, Mine. Isn't this way different from
Lutz's face twitched the moment he saw the finished hair ornament — that was how impressive it was.
The reasons were simple. First, the quality of thread was different. Since I'd used fine, lustrous thread, the finished flowers were detailed and gleaming.
Second, the skill level was different. Unlike Tuuli's hair ornament, which I'd made most of myself, this one was about eighty percent my mother and Tuuli's handiwork, so the stitching was even and meticulous.
"Just considering the materials and atmosphere of the outfits it'll be worn with, don't you think this suits Frieda way more than Tuuli's ornament?"
"Whether it suits someone or not — that's not something I get."
Lutz shook his head as he answered, and I crossed my arms in thought.
"Hmm, that's something I need to study too. It seems like the goods
As if trying to escape from his weak points once again, Lutz's gaze drifted vacantly into the air.
"Ah, Mine. What are we gonna do with the finished one?"
"I think we should show it to Benno first, then deliver it to the Guild Master. Want to head over to Benno's now?"
"Sure."
I placed the finished hair ornament into a small basket, covered it with the comparatively cleanest handkerchief in our house, and hid it from view.
"Mine, you carry the basket. I'll carry that bag for you."
The bag held the Slate, stone stylus, and order forms, and it was fairly heavy for me, so I was grateful. I thanked Lutz sincerely and handed over the tote bag, keeping the small basket in my hand.
"Oh my, what brings you here today?"
"The hair ornament is finished. I thought it might be better to show it to Benno before delivering it to the Guild Master…"
"Let me see it."
Benno's voice came suddenly from behind, and I let out a small yelp, jumping slightly.
When I turned around, he must have just come back from visiting some noble — Benno stood there, immaculately dressed in lavish clothing without a wrinkle out of place.
"Welcome back, sir."
"Mm. …Come along, both of you."
Benno gave Mark a light nod and headed for the back room, so we followed after him.
"So, where's the finished hair ornament?"
As soon as I sat down at the table he'd addressed me, I removed the handkerchief draping the small basket and gently held it out before Benno.
"How does it look?"
He picked one up, gazed at it for a while, then placed it back in the basket and let out a deep sigh.
"…Mine, you didn't need to discount the second one."
"Huh? I still think it's pretty overpriced… The only material cost was thread, so the profit should come out to around three small silver coins, right?"
"Study the value of goods more carefully. Everything you bring in is a luxury item. If you don't know how much high-end luxury goods sell for, you'll cause chaos in the market."
"…I'm sorry."
I knew well enough that my sense of pricing didn't match this world's, and I understood that Benno was acting as a breakwater to prevent market disruption.
I also understood that clothing and accessories were expensive, but without the stamina to freely wander through the shops in town, I had no idea what kind of things sold for what prices. Especially shops dealing in high-end goods — they'd turn you away based on appearance and age, which made it even harder.
…Still, luxury goods, huh. Whether it was Simple-chan Rinshan, paper, or the hair ornament — they were all things that were just naturally around me.
I knew intellectually that they barely existed in the medieval worlds I'd read about in books, but my instincts just couldn't catch up. If something didn't exist, I couldn't help but wonder if I could substitute it with something else or make it myself.
"Benno, I'd like to deliver this to the Guild Master. How should I go about it? I want to arrange an appointment to meet with the Guild Master."
"That's right. Let me teach you since we're at it."
He took out the order form set and wrote on a board that he had an appointment reserved with the Guild Master, along with my name and purpose.
"Just hand this in at the reception on the third floor of the Guild. Once the meeting time is set, a Guild staff member will return this board with the appointment time written on it."
"Then should we head over to drop it off?"
"…Ah, wait. If the two of you go alone, you'll be devoured on the spot. I'm coming with you."
I thought it was overkill for just dropping off a reservation slip at reception, but…
We went to the commercial Guild, where I presented my own card this time and headed for the upper floors.
At the counter I handed over the reservation slip, and feeling accomplished, I was about to leave with Lutz when the receptionist called out to us.
"Please wait a moment."
"Huh!?"
"I've been told that if anyone calling themselves Mine and Lutz arrives, they should be shown in."
We really were escorted to the Guild Master's room. When Benno saw us shuffling about after being told to come to the room, he muttered, "Just as I thought."
Oh, Benno, you were absolutely right! Thank goodness you came along.
We were led to the Guild Master's room, where the Guild Master welcomed us in with Benno, wearing a slightly sour expression.
"What is it today?"
"The hair ornament is finished, so I've brought it."
"Then let me see it."
I took out the small basket, pulled back the handkerchief, and thrust it straight toward the Guild Master. I'd gotten Benno's OK, so it should be fine, but I couldn't stop my heart from pounding.
The Guild Master peered into the basket, pulled out one hair ornament, and furrowed his brow as he examined it. Then his eyebrows shot up and he looked at me.
"…This is quite different from what you showed me before, isn't it?"
"It's a special edition made to match the price. Perhaps the one I showed before was better? I talked with Frieda and tried to make it suit her hairstyle and outfit…"
My face blanched at the thought that he might not like it, but the Guild Master hurriedly shook his head.
"No, I'm simply surprised — I didn't expect it to turn out this wonderful. It would certainly suit Frieda very well."
"Oh, that's a relief."
Relieved that I hadn't been turned away, I relaxed slightly — and then the Guild Master's eyes gleamed.
"Mine, why don't you let me—"
"Mine, the business is done. Let's go."
Before the Guild Master could finish, Benno grabbed both my and Lutz's arms and stood up. Since the matter was settled, I figured it was fine to excuse ourselves, and I obediently followed Benno — but the Guild Master desperately tried to stop us.
"No, wait. Since you're here, I'd like you to deliver it directly to Frieda herself. She was absolutely delighted to hear she'd made a friend her own age. It's the first time I've ever heard of Frieda having a same-age friend, and I'm truly moved."
Huh, so Frieda made her first friend. Good for her.
I thought about this with detached calm, as if it were someone else's story, but as I listened to the Guild Master's heartfelt emotion, Benno crouched down and whispered in my ear.
"…Did you actually become friends?"
"Huh!? Me!? …Um, I'm not sure?"
I knew she'd taken a liking to me on her own, but I didn't think that made us friends. However, it was hard to flatly deny it in front of the Guild Master who was so overjoyed that his granddaughter had made a friend.
"She must have made sweets and is waiting for you to come visit anytime."
"…Sweets?"
I reacted involuntarily, and Benno flicked my forehead with a sharp snap. I understood he was telling me not to show any weakness, but I couldn't help responding to the temptation of sweets.
"Right then, I'll take you to see Frieda."
Perhaps he'd carried Frieda around before, because the Guild Master effortlessly lifted me up and carried me out of the room.
Benno and Lutz, eyes wide at being snatched away right in front of them, hurriedly chased after us.
"Hey, wait. I'm coming too."
"If Mine's going, then so am I."
Somehow it seemed like going was already decided, but the Guild Master's house was near the City Wall, which was even farther from our place than Benno's shop. Honestly, if I went all the way there, I wouldn't have the energy left to walk back home.
"…Guild Master, I don't have much stamina, so I really can't walk any farther today."
"There's no need to walk. We'll use a carriage."
"A carriage!?"
The idea of a vehicle had never even occurred to me.
The traveling merchants and farmers on the main streets used carts and wagons, but in our living area, having one wagon per family was enough, and only adults could use them.
Naturally, there were no rubber tires, so even adults had to exert considerable effort to pull a loaded wagon. It wasn't something children could use. More to the point, children wouldn't be allowed to use the precious family wagon — of which there might be only one. Transportation meant your own two feet. That was just how it was.
Besides, horses were expensive. Donkeys were relatively omnivorous, but horses ate grass that cost a fortune to feed, so the maintenance costs were supposedly outrageous.
Ugh, rich people.
While I was sulking over the Guild Master's wealth, we'd arrived at the commercial Guild's ground floor and I'd already been loaded into the Guild Master's carriage.
When I snapped back to awareness, both Benno and Lutz had climbed in too, and it was settled — we were all delivering the ornament to Frieda's place together.
My first time in a carriage.
I'd ridden in a wagon once during last winter's preparations, but this was my first time in anything pulled by an animal. Lutz and I were looking around curiously, and the Guild Master gave us a wry smile.
"My my. Is this your first time in a carriage, Mine?"
"I've seen them passing through the Gate and along the main street, but nobody around me — Lutz or me — owns one."
It was really a carriage designed for two adults, so it was quite cramped. Two proper seats were taken up by adults, and Lutz and I could barely perch on what was essentially a cargo platform with our backsides. We only fit because we were children, but it was a tight squeeze.
"…This is cramped. Benno, get out."
"If you're going, take Mine along too."
Benno and the Guild Master glared at each other for a while, but in the end, the carriage slowly started moving with everyone still crammed in.
"Whoa whoa whoa!"
The swaying was terrible, and there was no way I could sit still. Lutz was safe, gripping the handle used for getting in and out, but I had nothing to hold on to, and with every lurch and bump I nearly launched off the seat.
"Mine, come here."
Unable to watch, Benno pulled me onto his lap, wrapped an arm around my stomach, and held me down so I wouldn't fly off. Even so, whenever the carriage swayed my bottom would lift up, and if I let my guard down, the back of my head was in danger of delivering a blow to Benno's chin.
I knew carriages without suspension would sway, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.
Carriages were absolutely not elegant.
"Frieda, Mine brought your hair ornament."
"Oh my, Mine. Welcome."
Frieda appeared with a gentle, serene smile, her fluffy cherry-blossom-pink hair swaying.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"Miss Frieda, how do you do. I'm Benno. I've heard about you from Mine."
"Oh my, and what exactly did Mine tell you about me?"
Her greeting was warm and cheerful, yet it sent a chill down my spine.
As my spine shivered at the exchange between Benno and Frieda, Lutz squeezed my hand. I glanced at him and noticed he had gone somewhat pale.
Neither Lutz nor I could yet participate in the invisible battles between merchants. Would we someday be able to exchange words with smiles on our faces while sparks flew?
"Frieda, I have business to discuss with Benno. You receive your hair ornament from Mine and pay them their fee."
"Understood, Grandfather."
With that, the Guild Master led Benno away to his room, and Lutz and I were shown into the reception room just like last time.
At the same moment, sweet drinks and sweet snacks were brought in, and the table was enveloped in a delightfully sugary aroma.
"Girls love sweet things, so I always have treats ready for whenever you come to visit. Mine, come by whenever you have free time."
"Yes!"
When I answered with an over-the-top beaming smile, Lutz pinched my hand under the table.
Right, right. I mustn't give in to the temptation of sweets. Mustn't give in. Mustn't give in… *sniff sniff*, so happy~ A treat that looked like a thin pizza dough topped with honey-glazed nuts and baked was cut into portions and served.
"Now, Mine and Lutz, please help yourselves."
"Itadakimasu."
*Munch munch.* The generous amount of honey was sweet and delicious. What a luxurious treat. Was this heaven?
Reminiscing about the nut tarts I'd eaten in
"Thank you for the meal. It was absolutely delicious."
"I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'll let the cook know."
Wow, she has a cook, ma'am.
So when she said she was making sweets and waiting for me, it meant the cook made the sweets and Frieda was just waiting. What was this class disparity?
"Now then, may I see the hair ornament?"
"Yes. Oh, and before that, I'm returning the leftover thread."
"Oh my, it was yours to keep."
No way, no way — I couldn't accept such expensive thread. Talking with the Guild Master and Frieda made me realize from the bottom of my heart that nothing was scarier than free things. You mustn't accept things carelessly. You mustn't get swept up by flattery.
"Here it is. Frieda's…"
"Mine, we're friends, so please just call me Frieda."
Being told that with a lovely, beaming smile by such a cute young girl — there was no way I could say "We're not friends." I stammered, scrambling for an escape.
"Huh? But you're a customer…"
"Well then… that concludes the customer part."
Frieda smiled sweetly and pulled the basket with the hair ornament toward herself. In its place, she lined up six small silver coins between me and Lutz.
"I've accepted the product, and I've paid for it. Now we can be friends without any reservations."
"…Yes."
Completely cornered with no escape, and under an atmosphere that wouldn't take no for an answer, I gave in and nodded.
When I thought about it this way, Frieda was a strange friend guilty of appearance fraud, so maybe it was fine for me to be a little weird too. I'd look on the bright side and be happy.
Her name was Frieda — I'd call her by her first name. Maybe I should loosen up my speech a little too?
"So, um, Frieda. May I have you look at the hair ornament?"
"Of course, I'd love to."
Gently, Frieda pinched one with her fingers and moved the handkerchief aside.
She took one hair ornament from the basket and her eyes went round.
"How wonderful! I'm having my
"I'm glad you like it."
Come to think of it, Tuuli had originally said she wanted to use nearby flowers for the decoration. If that was the case, hair ornaments might actually sell better in winter.
"Try it on. I want to see how it looks in your hair."
"I don't know how to put it on. Mine, would you put it on for me?"
"Sure. Hold still."
I tucked the hair ornament into the ribbon of her twin tails.
The deep-red small roses looked absolutely stunning against her pale cherry-blossom-pink hair, further enhancing Frieda's refined and mature aura.
Roses were definitely the right choice.
"It's beautiful, Frieda. You look like a flower fairy."
"You flatter me. I look like Grandfather."
Frieda giggled and tried to brush it off, but this was no exaggeration. If I didn't know her tastes, she'd be cute enough to be kidnapped at any moment.
"I'm not flattering you. You're cute, and it suits you. Lutz thinks so too, right?"
"Yeah. When I just saw the ornament, I didn't think it would suit someone this well. But Mine made it specifically to match Frieda, so it makes sense. I think it's incredible."
"…"
Frieda's cheeks flushed slightly and she puffed them out — she was clearly not used to receiving compliments. It was immediately obvious that she had no siblings or friends.
In this world, compliments were exchanged quite frequently between family members and friends. I praised Tuuli constantly, and Tuuli praised me. Lutz praised me whenever I accomplished something, and I'd gotten better at giving compliments myself.
I'd gone from freezing up in surprise at first to being able to pass them off as social pleasantries these days.
"But still, to think you can make three-dimensional flowers like this with thread…"
Frieda gently removed the hair ornament and, just as Benno and the Guild Master had done, studied it intently. Her eyes had turned completely merchant-like.
"It's not that hard. Even I can do it."
"…The fact that you discovered how to make this is what's truly important, Mine."
"Huh?"
Frieda let out a soft breath and looked at me with a surprisingly serious expression.
"Upper-class noble ladies and young misses sometimes wear colorful veils densely covered with embroidery, or adorn themselves with real flowers preserved through magic. But they've never worn solid ornaments like these."
Perhaps because nobles who could afford luxury goods also had magic at their disposal, this type of ornament had never developed.
As I hummed thoughtfully, Frieda explained to me what was so remarkable about this ornament.
"This house has plenty of fabric with embroidery, but none of it is three-dimensional. These three-dimensional red flowers made entirely from thread — they're truly revolutionary."
Only after hearing that did I finally understand what Benno meant by saying he didn't need to discount the second one. This was equivalent to a brand-new technology. I felt like I'd stuck out in a very dangerous way.
Wait — had I done something pretty bad after all?
My blood ran cold, but Frieda grabbed my hand firmly.
"You really don't know a lot of things, do you, Mine? Then I'll teach you all sorts of things. So next time, I want you to come not for work, but just to chat. I'll prepare plenty of sweet treats, and we can enjoy a nice girls' chat."
"Oh, that sounds…"
Before I could answer that I'd love to, I felt a sharp tug on my hair. I turned around to see Lutz shaking his head with a stern expression.
Oof, dangerous. I'd almost agreed to a girls-only chat.
If I agreed, there was a real risk that both Lutz and Benno would be excluded. Unable to find the right words, I was saved when Lutz spoke up.
"We'll be busy from now on, so unfortunately, we won't really have the luxury of coming to visit."
"Oh my, I wasn't asking you."
Frieda said this with her smile still in place, but my going out was basically at Lutz's discretion.
"Mine's family won't even let her go out without me present. There's no way Mine would come here without me around."
"…Ah, that's right. Then I suppose there's nothing to be done. Lutz, you should come along too."
Frieda seemed to quickly grasp my situation — probably because she understood what it meant to be Self-Eating — and nodded.
But Lutz didn't nod. He refused to soften his refusal.
"That's why I'm saying we're busy."
"Busy with what?"
"Real Winter Preparations are about to start in earnest. The whole family works together to get ready for surviving winter, so there's really no time to go out chatting. And once the snow starts falling, we won't be able to go outside at all, right?"
Unlike Frieda's house, where all the firewood could be purchased with money, our Winter Preparations involved gathering massive amounts of firewood and candles, which was an enormous amount of work.
Frieda didn't seem to be unfamiliar with how difficult Winter Preparations were, so she didn't push any further and let her shoulders drop.
"…So I'll have to wait until spring?"
"When spring comes, you'll be an apprentice, won't you? Will you be all right?"
"That will be fine. Apprentice work isn't every single day. When spring comes, I'll have plenty of treats ready, so do come visit."
By spring, we might be busy with Papermaking, but since Benno was hiding it from the Guild Master, I couldn't let that slip.
I nodded enthusiastically and then glanced at Lutz.
"Come to think of it, Lutz, you didn't react much to the sweets. Normally you jump right at food — why not this time?"
"Benno told me to keep a close eye on things, and besides, the Paru cakes and meals you make taste better. Between the occasional treat and your everyday cooking, I'd rather have the regular meals. It'd be more of a problem if you got taken in."
For Lutz, who was always hungry, everyday food that filled him up was more important than the occasional sweet treat. In that case, maybe I should bring a new recipe and go to Lutz's house instead.
"Oh my? Paru cake — I've never heard of that before. If it's something Mine made, I'd love to try it too."
"Huh? That's a bit…"
I couldn't very well serve a young lady from a house like this a treat made from Paru press cake — the leftovers used as bird feed. Her grandfather would probably fly into a rage, and the cook in charge of her nutrition would probably flip.
"Lutz gets to have it, but I don't?"
When Frieda knit her brows in a hurt expression, I felt like I was bullying her and panicked, but Paru cake really wasn't something you could serve to a young lady.
"The ingredients are the reason… I can't serve something like that to a lady like you, Frieda."
"That's not fair. Only Lutz gets to have it."
Frieda pouted. She actually pouted with her lips pushed out.
Even if she pouted that cutely, impossible was impossible. We didn't have anything at home that would be suitable to serve to Frieda.
Besides, making sweets required manpower. The tasks I could actually do were, in truth, very few. The reason we made so many new recipes at Lutz's house was that there were four boys who wouldn't spare any effort if it meant getting to eat something.
Without ingredients and manpower, you couldn't make sweets. I was currently Self-Eating, and Frieda was a former Self-Eating girl — expecting physical strength or stamina from either of us was the wrong approach.
"…So, how about this — next time, when spring comes, we make sweets together using this house's ingredients? With the help of the cook here. That way, we don't have to worry about ingredients, there are people who can do the work, and your family would feel at ease. What do you think?"
"Oh, wonderful! It's a promise!"
While we were settling things over the idea of making sweets together, there was a knock at the door, and the Guild Master and Benno came in.
"All right, about time to go. Let's head back."
"Yes. Um, Benno, this money…"
The payment from Frieda was six small silver coins — a lot of money. Honestly, it was scary to carry it myself. When I offered it to Benno to hold onto, he spoke to the Guild Master.
"Sorry, but could I borrow the reception room for a moment? I'd like to settle up before we leave."
"I was the one who dragged you here on a whim. Use it."
We waited for the Guild Master and Frieda to leave the reception room, and then Benno took the small silver coins and lined them up on the table.
"Three small silver coins, after material costs and fees — that's your share. If you hadn't cut the second one in half, you would've gotten two more."
"…This is more than enough. If I made any more profit off a single hair ornament, I wouldn't want to make the next discounted one."
At my words, Benno snorted and took out his purse.
"What about the money? You taking it all home?"
"I'll deposit one small silver coin at the commercial Guild and take five large copper coins home."
"Me too."
As if he'd known I'd say that, Benno took out a guild card and five large copper coins.
We combined cards, settled up, and wrapped the five large copper coins in a handkerchief before placing them in the tote bag.
"The Guild Master says he'll have the carriage take us back to the commercial Guild. Get in."
"What about you, Benno?"
"I'll walk to the shop. That carriage is too small. Come by the shop tomorrow afternoon. The thread should arrive, and I need to set the price."
"Yes."
I wondered what he'd discussed with the Guild Master. Benno's wariness had thinned considerably compared to before.
The delivery of the hair ornament was a success.
Frieda was sure to turn heads at the winter Baptism Ceremony — no question about it.
Next time: winter handiwork and Winter Preparations.