"Hey, Mine. Why do you always deposit one small silver coin at the guild? Why don't you bring it all home?"
On the way back from the commercial guild, walking along with
"You deposit one too, don't you?"
"Only because you do. I thought it must mean something, so I tried copying you. I always thought you bring all your earnings home, so I kind of feel bad about it..."
For commoners living paycheck to paycheck, the concept of saving is virtually nonexistent. At most, they might tuck away a few coins in a dresser come early autumn for Winter Preparations, but depositing money at the commercial guild? Never.
Naturally, what parents do becomes the default for children, so kids too would bring home all their wages and spend every last bit.
"I save mine for the initial expenses next time."
"Next time?"
Lutz tilted his head curiously, so I used our own experience to explain.
"When we wanted to make paper but had no tools, no money, and no adults willing to help — remember how hard it was just to get a single nail?"
"Yeah..."
It wasn't that long ago that we'd asked
"Benno happened to buy the Simple-chan Rinshan recipe for us and covered all the initial costs, but you know how expensive it was just to gather the tools, right? Everything costs money."
"Pots, lumber, ash, thread, bamboo work... now that I think about it, that stuff was crazy expensive."
Recently, Lutz had been going around to various shops to procure supplies. He'd started to understand the quality and prices of goods sold in proper stores versus stalls, and now he was turning pale at the cost of the initial investment for papermaking.
"That's why I save. Benno told me the initial investment was done once we had a prototype, right? But from now on, if we want to add more papermaking tools or start something new, it all costs money. Even if we end up making lots of paper and books, we'll need new tools."
"So, for the next time..." Lutz said, looking half convinced and half not.
I watched his expression carefully. Lutz had a more pressing reason to save money than I did, but he didn't seem to realize it. Hadn't it occurred to him?
After a moment's thought, I spoke slowly.
"I don't want to say this, and I don't want to think about it either, but... if your parents don't allow you to become a merchant even after the
Hearing my question, Lutz's face twisted painfully. Then, in a small, weak voice, he murmured.
"...I'm thinking of asking Benno to take me on as a live-in apprentice."
"Yeah, if you want to become a merchant, that's the only way, isn't it? I'm glad you didn't say you'd give up."
When I smiled, Lutz let out a breath of relief. At his age, running away from home required serious resolve, and I figured he still had his doubts. But Lutz was trying to move in the direction he wanted to go. And for that, he definitely needed money.
"But Lutz, think carefully. When you leave home and become a live-in apprentice, you'll need money for living expenses until your first paycheck, and for proper apprentice clothes. Whether or not you have free money after leaving home makes a huge difference."
"Oh..."
Lutz looked up, startled.
"There's nothing wrong with saving money you earned for yourself. I know you might feel guilty since everyone pools their money to live together, but honestly, Lutz, you're not even supposed to be working age, and you brought home thirteen large copper coins in less than five days? You're handing over more money than
"Really... I earned more than Ralph, huh?"
Lutz grinned proudly.
Ralph, who'd just started his apprenticeship, could probably earn somewhere around eight to ten large copper coins a month. So the amount we'd earned was considerably more.
"Mine, thanks. I feel way better now."
"Good."
When I smiled, Lutz suddenly turned his back to me and crouched down.
"What's wrong, Lutz?"
"I'll carry you."
"Huh?"
"You went all over the place today. You must be exhausted. Your face looks pale."
At his words, I instinctively touched my own face. I didn't feel feverish, so I didn't think I had a temperature.
"...My face looks bad?"
"Not terrible, but you've got another afternoon call tomorrow, so you shouldn't push yourself. My number one job is managing your health, you know."
"...Okay. Thank you for your concern."
The truth was, being shuttled around to different places all day had completely drained me. If Lutz said I shouldn't push it, I was probably in worse shape than I thought.
Lutz carried me all the way home on his back. I did climb the stairs by myself, of course, but when I nearly collapsed halfway up, he took my hand and helped me the rest of the way. He was a lifesaver.
Honestly, the stairs right in front of the house are the worst part.
"I'm home, Mom."
"Oh my, Lutz. What a surprise, you coming all the way here? Is Mine's condition bad?"
"I was only planning to show her hair ornament to Benno today, but the Guild Master wanted to see us, so we ended up coming over. She asked for it to be delivered directly. So Mine's probably pretty tired."
"Oh, thank you as always. You're a huge help."
Saying that, Mom pressed a medium copper coin into Lutz's hand.
Seeing that money jogged my memory.
"Oh, right. Mom, here, let me give you this before I forget."
"Mine, what on earth did you do?"
When I placed five large copper coins in her palm, Mom turned pale.
She clearly hadn't expected the hair ornament to be worth that much. Her eyes went wide and she just froze.
"It's the money from making Frieda's hair ornament. I told you, they'd pay a lot because it's rare, remember?"
"I heard, but I never imagined it would be this much..."
Sorry, Mom. The truth is, I already tucked away one small silver coin for myself as a referral fee and commission, but there's absolutely no way I can say that.
"Is that true, Lutz?"
"I'm not lying,
Lutz showed his own share of large copper coins to Mom. Only then did she finally believe it, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Excuse me, Mom? You don't trust your own daughter at all?
"Actually, Benno wants me to come to the shop again tomorrow afternoon. So please try to let me rest as much as possible."
"Thank you so much, Lutz."
After seeing Lutz off and shutting the door with a click, Mom turned to me with her eyebrows slightly raised and deposited me onto the bed.
"You mustn't overdo it. Still, they paid quite a lot, didn't they?"
"Yeah. Frieda is wealthy, and she used high-quality thread too. On top of that, instead of the usual single ornament, I made two. And she cut me a break on the price because it's such a busy time with Winter Preparations. So if anyone else commissioned one, it wouldn't cost nearly as much."
"Oh, so they were considerate because of the busy season."
In Mom's mind, the Guild Master and Frieda had become generous, gentlemanly rich people who were kind even to the poor. Since Mom would probably never meet them again, there was no need to shatter the illusion.
Relieved after learning why her daughter had come home with a fortune, Mom left the bedroom to start preparing dinner.
Alone in the room, I realized that the strain on my body had been considerable. The moment I lay down on the bed, I started dozing off. Without even eating dinner, I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, it was morning.
Since I was supposed to go to Benno's shop in the afternoon, I was told to rest during the morning. Half-forced.
Maybe because I'd been going out a lot lately, my body felt heavy even though I'd slept well. As faint warning signs of a fever flickered, I was promptly dumped back into bed by my family deep into their Winter Preparations.
"Mine, stay put. You've been pushing too hard lately. Trying to earn more than your father?"
That's what Dad said while checking the wooden shutters, while Turi and Mom, who'd started spreading out winter futons and carpets to air, told me: "You're going to Benno's again today, aren't you? If you don't rest in the morning, you'll collapse."
"Mine is practically useless during Winter Preparations, so put your energy where it counts."
And just like that, I was forbidden from leaving the bed.
With nothing to do, I burrowed under the futon and watched my busy family move about.
This year, unlike last, I actually knew what went into Winter Preparations, so I thought I might be some help this time...
I think my family's overprotectiveness stemmed from what happened yesterday — I'd brought home five large copper coins, handed them to Mom, then fallen asleep without eating dinner.
I, who could barely help with a single thing around the house, had earned thirteen large copper coins in less than five days and then passed out before dinner. In my family's minds, I must have performed some backbreaking labor.
But I had been going all over the place for several days, and it really had been hard work for me.
The fourth bell of midday rang, so I bundled up to stay warm, grabbed my usual tote bag, and headed out.
"Off I go!"
Going downstairs and meeting Lutz, he frowned slightly.
"Mine, you don't look great. Wouldn't it be better if I just went alone?"
"I've been busy lately, yeah. But Benno said he was going to decide on the winter handicraft prices today, so I'm going. I can leave carrying the thread to you, but I want to be there for setting the prices."
"...Yeah, the prices. I still don't really get that stuff."
Right — Lutz still didn't understand numbers well enough. I couldn't leave pricing to him just yet. Today, I wanted to go myself and negotiate with Benno at least somewhat on what to charge for the hair ornaments.
"Fine, at least let me carry you there."
"What? I can't. You carried me home just yesterday..."
"But today I'll be carrying the thread on the way back, so I can't carry you too. Don't waste your energy right now."
"Ugh, but I slept all morning, so I'm fine."
"Your 'fine' at times like this is never reliable."
I thought to myself that Lutz was stubborn at times like these and absolutely wouldn't budge, then leaned against his back.
I'd barely grown at all, but Lutz seemed to have gotten bigger again. Even accounting for my illness, having this much of a gap at the same age was a little frustrating.
"Lutz? You're carrying Mine — is she not feeling well?"
Mark was hyper-sensitive about my condition. I'd collapsed right in front of him before, and it must have been quite traumatic. I really felt bad about it.
"...She's been going out every day lately, visiting all sorts of places. She's starting to wear down. I think she'll probably be bedridden starting tonight. So we want to get our business done quickly."
"Understood."
Mark nodded once and led us to the back room.
"Sir, Mine and Lutz have arrived."
"Send them in."
Mark pushed the door open with a grunt and came into the room with us.
"Lutz reported that Mine isn't feeling well. I'd appreciate it if we could handle the matter as efficiently as possible."
"Got it. Sit down, both of you."
"Yes."
The moment we took our seats at the table, the discussion about winter handicrafts began.
Benno showed me the prices for the thread he'd procured. I estimated how many hair ornaments could be made from that quantity, and we decided on the pricing.
"Benno, I don't want to set the selling price for this hair ornament too high. Since you bought cheap thread, could you set it at a price that as many people as possible can afford?"
"I understand your feelings, but we can't start by practically giving them away. Once they start circulating in large quantities, the selling price will naturally drop over time. For the beginning, three large copper coins should do."
If it was for a special occasion, a family could manage that price by stretching a bit. It was a touch steep, but if sisters shared the cost, they could manage. Considering it would gradually come down from there, I thought the price was reasonable.
"That sounds about right. Understood."
When I nodded, the conversation moved to our share.
"Per hair ornament, after subtracting the commission and material costs, your share is five medium copper coins. Since this is a new handicraft with no other commissioning clients, I've set it a bit higher."
"Five medium copper coins is the high setting!? So Frieda's hair ornaments really were overpriced!"
With Benno's pricing, if we'd made two, our share should have been five small silver coins. The difference was about a hundredfold.
"That was basically the old man's whim, so it didn't matter."
"...So what's the normal pricing like?"
Last winter's handicraft had been helping Turi make baskets, but we never received any money for it, so I'd never paid attention to per-unit pricing.
"For winter handicrafts, us merchants take our commission, and the workshop masters take theirs. By the time it actually reaches the hands of the person making them, getting even one medium copper coin per piece is a blessing. You guys got a good deal because you bypassed the workshop masters."
"What!? Not even one medium copper coin? That cheap!?"
After my initial shock, I remembered that even in
If I recalled correctly, even something like a beaded strap was only a few dozen yen per piece. Thinking about it that way, one medium copper coin per ornament wasn't surprising at all. The five medium copper coins we were receiving was a steal.
"Only the master can buy and sell goods at the workshop, basically. It varies a bit depending on how much commission the master takes, you know? Don't you have experience with this, Mine?"
He was asking because I'd started making hair ornaments as winter handicrafts, so surely I had some experience. I thought back to last year's work.
"Last year I helped my sister Turi with her handicraft. But I didn't know anything about costs, commissions, or shares — and the money never came to me anyway. Oh, wait — now that I think about it, don't you need guild registration to sell the things you make? Was my mom registered?"
Turi and I had made baskets, and Mom was the one who took them to sell, but I'd never heard anything about her going to the commercial guild. She used to listen with curiosity when I talked about my visits there.
"What, did your mother run a stall or something?"
"No, she normally does dyeing work."
"Then it was probably work allocated by her workshop. If the master just collects the work that was distributed, the craftsperson themselves doesn't need to register with the commercial guild. Only the master who handles the selling and buying on their behalf needs registration."
At craft workshops, the boss handled all the buying and selling, so individual artisans didn't need merchant registration. Instead, each had registration with their respective artisan guilds.
Huh, I'd learned something new for the first time.
So if I wanted help making hair ornaments, I'd have to wait until the workshop's quota was finished.
"So last year's handicraft was something allocated through Mom's workplace, which Turi took charge of, and then I helped with, right?"
"What did you make?"
"I made this."
I held up the tote bag with a flourish. For some reason, Benno pressed his fingers to his temples with a pained expression.
"What's wrong?"
"...You again."
"Huh?"
You again? Now that I thought about it, I had seen that pained look a few times before. Had I done something without realizing it again?
"I recalled that some time around the end of spring, a few baskets were sold that contained elaborately decorated bags. Handicrafts are all about volume — the more you make, the more you take home. In a sea of rough, rushed work to earn quick money, those stood out like a sore thumb."
"Ohhhhh!"
I'd gotten carried away with spare time and added some fancy decorations, even teaching Turi how to do them, but I never imagined they'd stood out at the Market.
"I could trace it back to the workshop, but there was no way to identify which individual artisan had made the handicrafts that were all collected together for the winter batch."
"Phew. Glad I couldn't be traced..."
I was aware I was different and tried to keep a low profile, but it didn't seem to be working.
"Over the past six months, every unexplained object I've encountered seems to have originated from you, Mine. The decorated bags, the hair ornaments, Simple-chan Rinshan, paper..." He counted them off on his fingers, and I wanted to bury my head in my hands. Hearing it from Benno's perspective, none of this sounded like the work of someone trying to stay hidden.
Feeling somewhat cornered, I mumbled a small apology.
"...Sorry about that."
"Well, it's fine. More importantly, it seems like you have a tendency to get elaborate when you're bored. The hair ornament design is the same as the one you made first. Don't change it arbitrarily. This is non-negotiable. Got it?"
"Understood. I'll make color variations, but I'll keep the design consistent."
I never would have guessed that the baskets and bags I'd made last year stood out, and I didn't want to attract attention the way I had with Frieda's. Keeping the design uniform should avoid the problem.
"That covers everything we needed to discuss. Oh, right. You said you wanted to study during winter, didn't you? I'll lend you this — read through it when you get home."
"What is it?"
As I reached for the wooden tablet Benno handed over, he pinched my cheek.
"Read it when you get home! Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Honestly... Return it after your fever goes down. Go home early and get some rest. Lutz, don't take your eyes off this idiot. She'll probably trip and get into an accident reading that tablet on the way home."
My mind flashed back to my student days as Ryoune, when I'd been hit by a car while walking home from school with my nose in a book. I clamped my mouth shut and looked away.
On the way out, Mark had prepared a basket filled with the thread we'd ordered, and Lutz carried it home. We set off while Mark watched us go with a deeply worried expression.
Strolling home at a leisurely pace, I discussed with Lutz something I wanted to settle before I ended up bedridden.
"Hey, Lutz. About our share of the hair ornaments..."
"What?"
"The flower part takes much more time than the hairpin part, so could we split it into two medium copper coins and three?"
"Sure. Given the time involved, it could even be one and four."
Effort-wise, Lutz was right — that would make more sense. But there was a reason I wanted to split it two and three.
"That way the math is easier for you, so let's go with two and three."
"Math?"
"Right. This time, let's set our own commission at one medium copper coin per piece — two for the flower part and one for the hairpin part — and try commissioning the work to our families."
"Huh? Our families?"
Lutz tilted his head in confusion, and I continued.
"Hmm, looking at my speed for making the flowers, I don't think I can make more than about thirty per month. It'd be a problem if the hairpin parts kept piling up, so let's start by having our families make thirty hairpins per month, and we'll practice taking commissions as merchants."
"Is this about becoming a merchant?"
Lutz recalled our earlier conversation about the difference between merchants and artisans. It seemed he understood what I was trying to do.
"Yeah. Let's start by imitating Benno, right? To become an apprentice merchant, you need to study, don't you? You can't just be making hairpin parts all the time. I mean, if your family makes them, I think it's fine for them to keep the money for the work they do personally."
Taking money from family felt uncomfortable — I felt the same way — but if you start playing favorites with your own family after becoming a merchant, you wouldn't last long in the business.
After hearing my explanation, Lutz glared at the ground for a while. Then he looked up firmly.
"...I'll try it."
I decided to keep the thread at my house since I'd be making the flower parts, so Lutz carried the thread home for me.
Naturally, the family was shocked to see him arrive with such a large quantity of thread, and they dropped their Winter Preparations work to gather around.
"Lutz, what's with all this thread?"
Why do you ask Lutz instead of me, your own daughter?
A little miffed at the difference in trust levels, I explained.
"It's thread for making hair ornaments. Benno agreed to buy the finished pieces instead, and we get to keep the thread. It's materials for my handicraft, so don't use it without asking."
"Got it. Lutz, thank you. Here, have some of this if you like."
Mom handed Lutz a small jar of freshly made jam. His face lit up as he accepted the jar, and he headed off with a spring in his step.
"I'll put this in the storage shed. Mine, go to bed."
Dad took the basket full of thread to the storage shed, and I was herded back to bed.
"Ugh, at least let me wash up. I didn't clean yesterday either, and I went out today, so I feel gross."
"The water just started boiling, so that works. I wanted to clean up too. I'll bring it for you."
"Thanks, Turi."
For about a year now, Turi and I had been doing sponge baths together. Lately, Turi said she felt the need to wash every three days or so.
In the warmest spot behind the stove in the bedroom, we prepared for our bath. As we wiped ourselves down, Turi spoke in a wistful tone.
"It's amazing, isn't it? Last year you were doing all sorts of weird stuff, and this year you're bringing in work on your own."
"Are you making baskets again this year too, Turi?"
As I wrung out a towel in the basin, I asked Turi.
Turi pushed back her braid, wiped around her neck, and told me about her plans.
"The handicraft at my workplace pays less than Mom's workplace. So I'm planning to go cut wood for basket-making and peel the bark."
"Oh, really? The workshop handicraft isn't mandatory or anything?"
They weren't assigned by the workshop master after all? I'd assumed there was a quota based on what Benno had told me. When I tilted my head in confusion, Turi gave a small laugh.
"It's pocket money, so it's optional. Some people make a lot, and some people are too busy making clothes for the family to have time for handicrafts. It's not mandatory."
"Ah, everyone's situation is different."
I'd been planning to ask for help after the workshop quota was done, but if there wasn't really a quota, then there was no problem asking Turi to help with my handicraft from the start.
I glanced at Turi and smiled.
"What I'm making is the same hair ornament I made for you. You get two medium copper coins for each one you make."
"Whaaat!? That's so much money! Can I help too?"
"Yeah, let's do it together."
When I said that, Turi excitedly perked up, her eyes sparkling at the thought of making lots and earning pocket money.
"Hey, hey, Mine! What do I need to prepare?"
"Benno prepared the thread for me, and Lutz is making the hairpin parts, so you don't need to prepare anything special. A small crochet hook will do."
"Not even any prep work needed — that's so easy!"
Turi had been giggling happily, but suddenly her smile froze. She blinked and pointed behind me.
I turned around to find Mom standing there, one hand on her cheek, her brow furrowed. She was staring intently at something with a very serious expression.
"Hey, Mine. Once I finish your Festive Clothing, I can do this too, right?"
Lutz, what do we do?
Mom's been sparked to action.
Looks like we'll need extra hairpins.
Mom's apprenticeship has begun. (lol) I'll be earning with handicrafts this winter.
Next time, Lutz's education plan.