As soon as dinner ended, Father went to sleep because he had an early shift. Quiet handiwork that wouldn't disturb his sleep was perfect for killing time until we went to bed ourselves.
Father headed to the bedroom and started getting ready to sleep, so I brought up the idea of winter handiwork to Turi and Mother.
"Today, the hair ornaments I made for Frieda were a hit, and people want some, so
"...It's not impossible, but..."
Mother and Turi exchanged a glance, then furrowed their brows skeptically. It wasn't impossible, but moving up winter handiwork would be far too much trouble — that much was written all over their faces.
As I'd expected, I reached into my tote bag and, as if presenting evidence, lined up two medium copper coins on the table with a cheerful clink.
"I got a small advance from them, so once you make one, they'll pay the full price."
The next instant, Mother and Turi stood up with a start, and the two of them dragged the table closer to the slightly brighter hearth.
"Huh? What?"
I could only sit there in my chair like a fool, dazed and left behind.
In the meantime, Turi fetched three thin crochet hooks from the sewing box, and Mother brought a basket overflowing with yarn from the storage closet.
Their movements were so perfectly in sync that I was overwhelmed as I climbed down from my chair. As I noisily dragged my chair over to the table, Mother's voice came flying.
"Mine, where's the sample to reference?"
"Huh? I gave it back to Turi?"
At my words, Turi sprang into action and pulled the hair ornament out of her wooden box.
When I heard Turi rummaging around looking for the hair ornament, Father's voice called out, "What's going on?" and Mother answered from the kitchen, "It's nothing. Good night,
By the time I'd moved my chair to the table and settled back in, the handiwork preparations were fully laid out.
"Mine, what color should we make them?"
Mother asked while rummaging through the basket of yarn, but no specific color had been designated. I'd only been told to match the design of Turi's hair ornament.
"They don't know the customer's hair color or favorite color, so they want lots of them in different colors. Choose three colors the same as Turi's hair ornament, and make the same number of flowers."
"Got it. How about white, yellow, and red?"
"That's cute, I like it."
The moment Mother heard my answer, she started knitting furiously. She'd made Turi's hair ornament before, so she knew the method — fast, incredibly fast. Small flowers that took me about fifteen minutes each to make, she finished in around five minutes.
She'd make four small flowers in each color, and then bundle them into bouquets.
"It's nice to have lots to choose from, right? I think I'll go with white, yellow, and blue — the same colors as my own hair ornament. What colors are you picking, Mine?"
Turi giggled as she picked out her favorites from the wide array of colors. She seemed to really love the hair ornaments I'd made her, which made me happy too.
"I think I'll go with pink, red, and green. The green flowers look like little leaves — I think that'd be cute."
"Yeah. Cute. ...Hey, hey, Mine. How do you make them?"
Turi must have figured Mother, who was knitting without looking up, wouldn't be much help, because she scooted her chair noisily up beside me. The sample hair ornament had been made for Turi, so Turi herself hadn't made one.
"It's not that hard. Like this, and then like this..."
While showing Turi how to crochet, I taught her how to make the small flowers. Since they were far simpler than Frieda's roses, Turi picked it up right away.
"Got it. Thanks!"
Turi noisily moved her chair back to its original position and quietly began knitting away.
After a while, when I'd finished three small flowers and looked up, there was an overwhelming difference in the flowers we'd produced.
Mother already had nearly enough small flowers for a complete hair ornament, and six finished flowers sat in front of Turi.
Wow, as expected of the sewing beauties.
Both Mother's and Turi's hand movements were incomparably faster than mine. They finished one after another in the blink of an eye.
Coming from the school of home cooking artistry, I could never win in either speed or beauty of the finished product. At the very least, I resolved to work carefully so that when my hair ornaments were compared to theirs, they wouldn't look obviously inferior at first glance, and I kept moving my crochet hook.
For ordinary winter handiwork, you'd normally do it while snowed in, with nothing to do, chatting away merrily. But tonight, because of the cold hard cash lined up on the table, neither of them said a word and just knitted away with absolute focus.
"Done! What do we do next?"
At the sound of Turi's voice, bright with delight, I looked up to find twelve small flowers lined up in front of her.
"Turi, you're fast! That's amazing. Okay, next we sew them onto a scrap of fabric — ah, scraps of fabric! That's not in the cost calculations!"
"Most of the materials for handiwork are prepared by us anyway, so just use what we have at home."
Mother was already sewing small flowers onto scraps of fabric she had at home, finishing them into proper hair ornaments.
"...I'll either charge Benno for the material costs later or request fabric. One of the two."
"You're getting two medium copper coins for just this one piece — you don't need to go that far."
...Huh? How terrible are the handiwork jobs she normally does?
I made a mental note to have the cost of fabric scraps factored into the calculations once the serious winter handiwork started, and picked up a scrap that Turi had retrieved from the storage closet.
"Watch how Mother's doing it and sew them on so that flowers of the same color don't bunch together. If you attach them so the fabric underneath barely shows, the clustered flowers will look like a little bouquet."
"Yeah, I got it."
When Turi's hair ornament was completed, we called it a night and went to bed.
In the end, I'd only managed about half, but Turi had finished one, and Mother was roughly eighty percent done with her second.
"Okay then, I'll do the pay-ments now!"
"Woohoo!"
I paid each of them two medium copper coins, and put the finished ornaments away in my wooden box.
"Alright, you two, go to sleep."
"What about you, Mother?"
"I'll finish these half-done ones and then sleep."
Mother pointed at the roughly eighty-percent-complete hair ornaments and smiled sheepishly.
At Mother's speed, she'd probably finish them in no time. Turi and I quietly slipped into the bedroom, being careful not to wake Father.
And yet, why was it that when I woke up the next morning, two completed hair ornaments were sitting on the table? ...You stayed up late working on them, Mother. Turi, who'd gone to bed with a lingering sense of reluctance, was upset.
"It's so unfair that you stayed up and did them all by yourself, Mother!"
"Sorry, Turi. I'll be more careful. Now, off to work you go."
Mother apologized to the pouting Turi and urged her to head out. Still looking unconvinced, Turi declared, "When I get back, I'm making a whole bunch myself," and darted out the door.
Once Turi was gone, I put away the two ornaments Mother had made and took out four medium copper coins in their place.
"I'll give you the money before you leave for work so you don't forget. Then, I'm heading over to Benno's today. I need to finish the hair ornaments together with
"Got it. Be careful out there. Say hello to Benno for me."
Mother tucked the medium copper coins into her purse and headed off cheerfully, declaring, "I'll work hard again tonight!"
The door closed with a click, and I heard the lock turn. I kept smiling and waving until her footsteps faded, then let out a heavy sigh.
This is bad. The power of cash is too strong.
I never expected things to speed up this much.
Mother pulling all-nighters was completely unforeseeable.
If I didn't finish and sell the hair ornaments and replenish our cash, things would get dire tonight in a hurry.
"Well, today I'm peeling Trombe skin first."
Since I didn't know when Lutz would arrive to pick me up, I should prepare so I could leave at any moment.
First, two karfe potatoes — potato-like as they were.
Then, my Slate, stone stylus, and Calculator so I could study while the potatoes steamed. Since I was planning to visit Benno's, I also packed my order form set without forgetting.
On top of that, the crochet hook and yarn I needed to finish the hair ornaments I was working on. Seven completed small flowers, a scrap of fabric. Then, needle and thread for sewing onto the scraps and the Hairpins.
I figured I'd sit and knit small flowers while waiting for Lutz to arrive, and started working away at the crochet hook.
Just as I'd made two small flowers, there came a knock on the door and Lutz's voice called out, "Mine, you in there?"
"Good morning, Lutz. Hey, do you have any of the Hairpin parts finished?"
"I made five, I guess?"
"Bring all of those. I've got needle and thread. I need to finish them while the potatoes steam and then go sell them at Benno's."
When I muttered that I'd already finished four last night, Lutz's eyes went wide.
"Wait, isn't that too fast!? Those flowers are supposed to be really tedious and time-consuming..."
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting them to go this fast either, so honestly I'm the one who's panicking."
"...Got it. I just need to bring the Hairpin parts, right? Anything else?"
Today, there was one thing Lutz absolutely must not forget.
"How about the butter? Is it ready?"
"So that wasn't a misunderstanding... I'll go get it. Lock up and head down first."
It seemed he hadn't prepared it after all. I'd nearly missed out on potato butter.
I watched Lutz turn and head down the stairs, then gathered my prepared belongings and stepped outside.
"Cold..."
The warehouse, devoid of any sign of people, was freezing cold — so cold that even the outdoors felt warmer by comparison, thanks to the sunlight. There was nowhere inside the warehouse to use fire, so I'd have to steam the Trombe for about the length of one bell and peel the black skin right out front.
I set my things down in the warehouse and stepped back outside, where Lutz was stacking stones to set up the pot.
I arranged the Trombe in the Steamer. The inside filled up in no time.
"Lutz, I think I need another tier for the Steamer."
"I'll get it."
The first time we'd made it, it had been a trial run, so we hadn't needed to steam many. But this time, I had to steam all the raw materials we had here. Since I'd already prepared the Steamer to handle two tiers from the start, I sent Lutz to grab another from the warehouse.
"Can I set the pot now?"
"Yeah, it won't take long to arrange the wood."
While Lutz secured the pot, I arranged the remaining Trombe.
Then I cut cross-shaped slits in the potatoes with a knife so they'd cook through more easily, arranged them alongside, and put the lid on. Steam these for about twenty minutes, and we should have delicious potato butter — technically not potatoes, but close enough.
Sitting in front of the pot warming myself by the fire, I started making small flowers. Since it took me roughly fifteen minutes to make one flower for the hair ornaments, factoring in cleanup time, this was just about right for the wait while the potato butter steamed.
"Hey Lutz, while we wait, could you make thin bamboo skewers from the bamboo left in the warehouse? The kind with pointy tips."
"Huh? Why?"
"Why? To check if the 'potato butter' is done, obviously."
"Huh? Mine, what the hell are you doing?"
"If I'm using the Steamer, I want to eat the food inside... Don't you, Lutz?"
"Of course I'm gonna eat it! Jagabutter is food, right!?"
Ah, right. The name "potato butter" hadn't landed.
There were dishes like butter-sautéed potatoes, so it should be perfectly edible. But the moment Lutz realized there was food inside the Steamer, he eagerly set to work making bamboo skewers.
"Hey, Mine. Is that jagabutter any good?"
"I like it a lot. You've probably eaten enough of them to know the taste, though?"
Because the pot was so large, it took longer than expected for the steam to start billowing, so I measured the rough timing by making two small flowers.
Time to check on the potatoes.
"Alright, Lutz, lift the lid!"
I stood on a makeshift platform made from one of
"Mine, don't get your face so close!"
The moment Lutz lifted the lid, a great plume of white steam erupted outward. I waited for the hot white mist to clear, and once my vision opened up, there they were — the Trombe, with the slightly yellowed potatoes inside, steaming away.
I gently poked one of the potatoes with the bamboo skewer in my right hand. It slid through smoothly without deforming — they'd turned out nicely.
I switched the bamboo skewer in my right hand with the cooking chopsticks in my left, and this time held the chopsticks ready.
"Lutz, I need a plate!"
"There's no plates around here!"
"Just grab that Flat Board over there. And I need the butter too!"
"You should've prepared that before making ornaments!"
"My bad..."
I lifted a potato out with the cooking chopsticks and set it on the board, then immediately had Lutz put the lid back on the Steamer.
I hopped down from the platform, pried open the cross-shaped cut with my knife, and immediately shoved in a pat of butter. The smell of butter melting from the heat was heavenly.
While my excitement was soaring higher and higher, Lutz's mood had been sinking ever since the moment he laid eyes on the potatoes that came out of the Steamer.
"...They're just karfe potatoes. I expected better since it was your cooking, Mine."
He seemed thoroughly disappointed from eating them too often.
Karfe potatoes were a common ingredient around these parts — they showed up at the dinner table regularly. He was probably sick of them. For a labor-intensive dish, maybe, but in a state where they still had the skin on, I could understand why his expectations were low.
"Yeah, yeah. There are tons of dishes that wrap karfe potatoes in butter, right? So you don't need any, Lutz?"
"...I'm eating it."
I left Lutz to his puffed-up, sulking face and peeled back a bit of the skin from the top, then wrapped the potato in my apron to avoid burning my hands. I opened my mouth wide and bit into the still-steaming potato.
The surface had cooled just right from the cold outdoor air, but inside it was hot, melting apart softly on my tongue. Since it had been steamed together with Trombe, it had taken on a woody, almost smoky aroma, and combined with the butter, it created a flavor you simply couldn't get at home.
Mmm — I held my cheek and writhed in deliciousness while Lutz, beside me, let out a sigh mingled with a white puff of breath and bit into his karfe potato.
The next instant, his eyes went wide. He stared at the potato, looked back and forth between me and the potato with a strange, almost betrayed expression, tilted his head, and took another bite.
"...It's good! How!? It tastes completely different from boiled potatoes at home!"
"It's the steaming. When you steam them, it locks in all the nutrients and flavor. And since I steamed these together with Trombe, they've got this wonderful smoky aroma too — it really makes you feel like you're treating yourself."
While I ate the hot, fluffy, delicious karfe potatoes, I told Lutz about making the ornaments last night.
"...So yeah, last night Mother and Turi were incredible. And tonight they're raring to go again. It really drove home how useless I was, not even finishing a single one."
"Don't get cocky."
"What about you? How'd it go?"
Lutz finished every last bite of his karfe potato, reluctantly licked his fingers, then shook his head with a grim look.
"Everyone acted like they had zero interest in what I was doing. I asked for help and they just pretended they didn't hear me."
"Sorry. Well, how about I cast a little magic at your house today?"
"Magic?"
"Yeah. After I pick up money from Benno's, I'll head to your house. Look forward to it."
Once we'd finished eating, I had Lutz draw water from the well so I could wash my hands and rinse my mouth.
Then I took out the Calculator I'd brought and set it in front of Lutz.
"Okay, four hair ornaments were completed today. Since Benno already paid for one in advance yesterday, the reward for today is three ornaments' worth, which comes to eleven medium copper coins per hair ornament. Now, how much total?"
I posed the problem with the Calculator in front of him, and Lutz furrowed his brow and began using his fingers.
"Thirty-three coins!"
"That's right. Very good! Next question — Lutz, you need to make twenty Hairpins total. You made five yesterday. How many more do you need to make?"
As expected, calculations involving carrying and borrowing were still beyond him even with the Calculator, and Lutz was completely stumped. Until he could do single-digit addition reflexively in his head, using the Calculator would take too much time. So I had him set it aside and we started with addition practice, writing numbers on the Slate.
"Memorize these. You need to remember them so you can rattle off the answer right away."
While Lutz muttered and recited to himself, I worked on completing the hair ornaments.
By the time my hair ornaments were finished, it was past noon, and the Trombe had steamed up nicely.
"Lutz, once the water's in, step back for a second."
I placed the Trombe one by one with the cooking chopsticks into the well water I'd drawn into a tub. After giving them a quick rinse in the cold water, Lutz fished them out and set them on the board beside us. Since it wasn't running river water, the water in the tub warmed up fast.
"The water's getting warm. Hold on."
While Lutz drew fresh water from the well and refilled the tub, I sat down and peeled the black skin off the Trombe. Once the water was refreshed, I fished out more Trombe. And repeat.
Once I'd pulled everything out of the Steamer, I peeled the black skin off at full speed while they were still hot, and Lutz cleaned up the pot and Steamer in the meantime.
Then I hung the black skin from the nails inside the warehouse, and the day's work was done.
"Finished!"
"Alright, cleanup's done too!"
Peeling hot black skin had left my fingertips stinging with heat even after I'd hung them up. The cold air felt wonderfully soothing.
I filled my lungs with the cold air.
"...Huh?"
It wasn't despair. It wasn't anxiety.
It was just the relief and release of finishing a job.
And yet, the Self-Eating heat surged inside my body, trying to rampage.
I instinctively tensed my whole body, trying to suppress the Self-Eating heat.
"Hey, Mine!?"
I must have frozen in front of Lutz, because he shook me in a panic.
"I'd say 'don't shake me, it breaks my concentration,' but I can't talk with my teeth clenched like this." I extended my right hand and grabbed Lutz's hand, and he clasped my right hand firmly in both of his.
"What is this!? Your temperature just spiked out of nowhere! Mine, are you okay!? Can you hear me!?"
I focused on my tightly gripped hand and tried to force the heat down, like I'd done so many times before.
The image I'd always used — surrounding the heat and driving it to the center — had worked until now, but this time there was a small burst of heat that broke through the encirclement.
Get back in there!
Forcing every last flicker of emerging heat back into the center took longer than it ever had before.
Once the heat receded, an overwhelming exhaustion crashed over me — so intense I couldn't even speak. My legs gave out and I collapsed where I stood. Lutz, still holding my hand, was pulled down and crouched beside me.
"Huh? The heat went down? What the hell is this!? Hey! Mine, are you alright!?"
"...Self-Eating. Frieda mentioned it before, remember?"
I answered between heavy breaths, and Lutz furrowed his brows, troubled.
"Wait a second. You didn't show any of the usual warning signs beforehand!"
"It comes on suddenly. Before, it was triggered by really intense emotions, but lately it's been reacting to even minor emotional fluctuations... Ah, that startled me."
In truth, "startled" was a laughably inadequate word for what I'd just felt, but with Lutz on the verge of tears and still clutching my hand, I wanted to put him at least a little at ease. So I narrowed my eyes and quirked the corner of my lips upward.
"Can't you do anything about it?"
"...Frieda said it, remember? It's really expensive. Benno said the same thing."
The color drained from Lutz's face in an instant, turning deathly pale.
"So, how about we head to Benno's shop to earn a little something?"
I kept the honest truth — that if this kept getting more powerful, I'd really be in trouble — locked inside my chest and smiled instead.
Lutz clenched his teeth hard, let go of my hand, and turned his back to me.
"I'll carry you to the shop on my back. ...It's the only thing I can do."
"That's not the only thing — you do all sorts of things for me, Lutz."
"Just hurry up and get on!"
Lutz's voice sounded like it was trembling.
I pretended not to notice and leaned against his back, but I could feel drops of water falling onto my arm that extended past his shoulder.
You really are too much, I thought from the bottom of my heart.
Back in my days as Reon, when I'd spent my whole life buried in books, I'd never had a friend who'd cry for me like this. I'd read so many books, yet I still had no idea what the right words to say were.
You're too kind, Lutz.
No matter how useless and burdensome I am, you stay with me.
You know I'm not the real Mine, and yet you forgive me anyway.
"Even if Self-Eating makes me collapse, Lutz, it's not your fault. It really does just come on suddenly. ...Besides, I haven't lost yet. I haven't made my book."
I heard a muffled sniffle, but Lutz didn't answer.
The Self-Eating heat has reached a dangerous level.
Lutz is in complete panic, and Mine is panicking alongside him.
Next time — an interlude from Lutz's perspective.