I'm
I just felt relieved that my little sister Mine had been allowed to attend the
The day after Father and Mother were summoned to the Temple, Mine went to
Before, only Mine had been invited and I'd had to stay behind, but this time she was going to ask if I could come along.
Oh, I'm so excited! My Mine is such a good sister who thinks about me! I'm going to brag to my workshop friends about visiting Corina's house. Hee hee.
Corina has had her own workshop since she came of age, and she's so amazing that she even takes orders from nobility to make clothing. For an apprentice tailor like me, she's a figure far more distant than the blue sky above, and I always think I'd love to become someone like her someday. She's the person I admire.
The story of how she received a passionate proposal from her wonderful husband has been passed around among my tailor friends like something out of a minstrel's tale. The rumor goes that he gave up his life as a merchant and abandoned all the wealth he'd built up to propose to her. Corina is so loved and cherished that she's the embodiment of every girl's ideal.
What kind of person is Corina, I wonder? Mine always said she's kind and beautiful.
"I'm home, Tuuli! Corina said she'd love for everyone to come — she was really insistent. She said to come by tomorrow afternoon!"
Mine burst through the front door, still catching her breath as if she'd hurried back. After beaming at me with that full-faced smile, she collapsed right where she stood.
"Mine!?"
"Ugh… I wanted to tell you right away, Tuuli, so I might have pushed myself too hard. Sorry."
"It'd be a problem if we couldn't go tomorrow. Sit down and rest for a bit."
Mine slumped against the table, looking completely drained, and sat down. Her glossy dark-blue hair cascaded down.
Mine keeps trying new things and has been building up a little stamina, but she never seems to get any stronger or bigger. No matter how much time passes, she still looks about four years old, and it worries me to no end.
Standing next to
Mine isn't weak because of her Self-Eating — even after it was cured, she stayed just as frail. Lutz told me the other day that she's different from Frieda, who has the same illness.
"…Hmm, maybe I'm feeling a little better?"
Mine rubbed her temples and slowly got to her feet, starting to move around sluggishly.
She carefully folded her festive clothing so it wouldn't get dirty, wrapped it in cloth, and placed it along with a hair ornament and a fine crochet hook into the bag she'd made herself. Realizing it was for tomorrow's preparations, I asked Mine a question.
"Mine, what about me? What should I prepare?"
"Hmm, not much really… But since we have the chance, why don't we wash our hair with the hair rinse to look nice?"
"Sure!"
I used the hair rinse I'd made to wash Mine's hair with her. We hadn't washed it this often before, but recently I'd started thinking we needed to look presentable.
At the workshop, the people who greet customers or serve as conversation partners are always the ones who look clean and polished.
"You know, Mine, something happened today. I was put in charge of guiding a customer for the first time!"
"Really? That's great, Tuuli!"
"It's all thanks to you."
I don't remember exactly when, but one time I complained to Mine that only the pretty-looking people ever got assigned jobs facing customers. She'd told me from a merchant's perspective, "In business dealing with customers, first impressions are everything. That's something any merchant naturally pays attention to. If you're just working behind the scenes making things, that's one thing, but if you want to put your face out there for customers, you should pay more attention to your appearance too, Tuuli."
She also told me to wear work clothes I wouldn't mind being seen in by customers, and if I didn't want to get them dirty, to wear an apron with full sleeves — that I could take it off before guiding someone, and it would still look neat.
After taking Mine's advice, I started getting assigned jobs where I actually met customers.
"Welcome home."
As Mother returned while we were telling each other about our days and carefully drying our hair, she saw the two of us there — one drying, one combing — and her eyes went slightly wide.
"Oh, you're using the hair rinse? …Could it be?"
"Yeah. We decided to visit Corina's place tomorrow."
Upon hearing Mine's words, Mother immediately shoved the cooking duties onto us and began washing our hair with great enthusiasm and a serious look in her eyes. We both completely understood the desire to look as polished as possible before meeting Corina, so Mine and I just shrugged and let her take over.
"I'm going to wear my new summer outfit — the one she just made for me."
"That's nice. It's cool and cute."
The leftover fabric from making Mine's festive clothing became my summer outfit. Unlike Mine, I grow quickly, and my clothes stop fitting in no time.
There wasn't enough fabric for a whole outfit for me, so the hem of the skirt was pieced together like patchwork, with several different kinds of sewn-together fabric adding to the length. It ended up looking like a decoration, and it's actually quite cute. It's my favorite.
I wonder if Corina will think it's cute too?
The next day, we left early enough to make sure we arrived on time, even accounting for Mine's slow pace.
Once we crossed the Central Plaza and headed north, the clothes on the people around us became increasingly colorful, and we started seeing people wearing garments with generous amounts of fabric. We rarely ever came to the north side, so I glanced down at my own outfit and worried about standing out.
Mother seemed just as self-conscious as I was. Only Mine was completely relaxed and full of energy. She was walking slowly, though.
"Corina's house is right above Benno's shop."
When she said that, it clicked. I'd heard about everything secondhand at home, so it hadn't felt real, but Mine regularly walked around this area with Lutz. No wonder she wasn't nervous.
"Oh, what on earth should I say when we meet her?"
"Well, first you say 'It's nice to meet you,' right? Then maybe 'Thank you for the invitation'? As for 'My daughter is always in your care,' that's more of a Benno or
Mine rattled off an answer to our nervous Mother without missing a beat. Since these weren't greetings we normally used, the fact that they came to her so readily must mean she'd picked them up at the Gate or the shop. She showed not a shred of hesitation.
"Mine, what about me? What should I say?"
"You just need to smile cutely, Tuuli. When you say you were looking forward to it, there's nobody who wouldn't be happy to hear that from you."
Mine laughed as she said it.
Mother and I practiced our greetings as we walked. Mine, wearing her apprentice clothes and striding along, looked so cheerful watching us — unlike us, she blended right in around here.
I felt a strange mix of anxiety and frustration, realizing there was a side to Mine I didn't know.
"Corina, hello~!"
With each step up the stairs, Mother's tension mounted until she was trembling, and my own legs had gone stiff with awkward steps. But Mine knocked on the door as though she'd done it a hundred times.
Wait. I'm not ready yet!
"Welcome, Mine. And welcome to Mine's mother and older sister. I'm Corina. Please, come in."
Before I could finish bracing myself, the door opened to reveal a woman who was absolutely adorable and endearing. She was much younger and more beautiful than I'd imagined.
Her hair was a delicate cream color, as if it had gathered moonlight, and it shone with a soft luster. Her slender, silvery-gray eyes looked incredibly gentle. She gave off an overall impression of soft pastel colors and delicacy, yet her figure was stunning — her curves pronounced in all the right places, with a waist that nipped in elegantly. It was the ideal silhouette.
"Corina, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Mine's mother,
Mother delivered the greeting she'd been practicing, bending her knees slightly and lowering her hips as she spoke. I did the same and introduced myself.
"It's nice to meet you, Corina. I'm Tuuli. I was really looking forward to this. I'm so happy to meet you."
"I was looking forward to it too. Even from a distance, Mine's festive clothing was so striking and lovely — I absolutely had to see it up close. I apologize for being so selfish."
Corina's warm, gentle smile drew me in, and I couldn't help smiling back. It was a smile as warm as a spring sunbeam.
"Please wait here. I'll have tea prepared for you."
The room Corina led us to also appeared to be her workspace. It was filled with beautifully embroidered fabric and sample garments she had made. The walls were decorated lavishly — it was a truly magnificent room. There were two tables: one for conversation and another in the back, presumably for working. Our home, where we did everything in the kitchen, couldn't even compare.
How gorgeous!
Mother and I were mesmerized by the clothing and colorful tapestries lining the walls. I never imagined I'd get to see such beautiful things.
I looked around slowly, savoring each piece one by one. Every garment was crafted with meticulous care, the colors vivid, and the designs of the displayed clothing were entirely different from what I was wearing. I let out an awestruck sigh as I stared.
"So beautiful… How do you learn to make something like this? I could never come up with a design like this. It must be practice, right?"
"Skill matters, but to come up with ideas, it's just as important to see lots of good things."
Having settled into a chair by herself, looking somewhat fatigued, Mine dangled her legs and turned her golden eyes toward me. I whirled around in surprise at her unexpected words.
"Mine, what do you mean?"
"You need to observe carefully what kinds of clothing wealthy people prefer and what's currently in fashion — otherwise you'll never come up with ideas. Corina was born into wealth, so she was naturally surrounded by beautiful things. That's why she has such a refined eye."
"Then you're saying there's no hope for me?"
I slumped my shoulders, feeling as though I'd been told all my effort was futile, but Mine shook her head.
"Going to the forest on your days off is important too, but if you can, try taking walks from the Central Plaza northward. Wealthy people stroll around there, and there are tons of shops that cater to them, right? All sorts of people with all kinds of clothing. Comparing things and researching what colors and designs are trending would be really helpful, I think."
I'd gone to the forest on my days off, but never to the north. I could count on one hand the number of times I'd been north of the Central Plaza. If I went where the wealthy were, I could learn about what was in vogue among them. I hadn't even thought of that.
"Also, the patterns on these tapestries and the embroidered flowers here — they're all things you can find in the forest, right? Keeping an eye on things like that is really useful when you're thinking about designs."
"…Got it. I'll try."
Mine seems to look at clothing and decorations from a completely different angle than I do. The gap between her and me — me getting all giddy over how pretty everything is — might be the difference between an artisan and a merchant.
I held back my excitement a little and started looking more carefully at Corina's work, trying to see if there was anything I could learn from even at my current level.
"Oh my, Tuuli. It's a little embarrassing to be stared at so intently."
Corina said this with a smile as she entered the room accompanied by one of her assistants.
"The type of clothing you're looking at isn't really in my repertoire, so it's very rare. I'm an apprentice tailor, but they haven't let me work on anything as big as a full garment yet…"
Recently, I'd finally started being allowed to sew the less prominent parts of smaller items, but actually making clothing of my own was still far off.
"Practicing the basics is important. If you can't line up your stitches and sew neatly, you'll never produce beautiful clothing."
"I'll do my best. Corina, if I may — how is this part attached?"
"This is…"
While her assistant brought tea and sweets and set them up on the table, Corina explained the construction of each garment. Before I knew it, Mother had drifted over to listen as well. Only Mine remained at the table, seemingly not that interested, just sitting there.
"Please, help yourselves."
"Thank you."
At Corina's invitation, I took a sip of tea. Unlike our tea at home, the fragrance was incredible. It seemed to bloom and spread throughout my mouth.
"Delicious!"
"I'm glad you like it."
At the sound of my voice, Corina smiled warmly. When I looked to my side for confirmation, Mother had an expression that said "It's good, but I can't stop thinking about how much it must cost," while Mine had her eyes softly closed, savoring the taste with a blissful look.
"Please try these as well."
She gently pushed a plate of sweets toward us — a thin pastry topped with fruit and honey. I picked up one of the pre-cut pieces and popped it in my mouth.
Hmm, it's good, but the sweets Mine taught me to make are better.
Mine had recently learned how to make certain dishes from Frieda, and in exchange had received sugar. She'd taught me how to make crepes and compotes and cookie-like things — treats I'd never heard of — and we made them together.
She said she wanted to make a custard pudding once the weather got a little cooler, but since it needs to be chilled, it wasn't suitable for summer.
She was also soaking sugar, fruit, and liquor in a jar, making something she said would become a winter treat packed full of the flavors of summer. I was already looking forward to it.
"It's sweet and delicious. I'm really jealous that you can use so much honey so freely," Mine said as she ate.
Corina smiled wryly at that.
"If you set your mind to it, you could afford it. Benno was making a bitter face about it, you know."
"My allowance and the workshop's funds are separate things."
After the sweets, we got down to business and spread out the festive clothing. Mother and Mine showed the garment and explained the repairs. Corina picked it up, studied it carefully, turning it over and examining the hem, inspecting every detail.
"I was surprised you made repairs like this."
"It's much simpler than ripping everything out and resewing from scratch," Mine explained.
As Mine spoke, Corina was writing something down on wooden tags. She looked just like Mine does when she writes on slates or paper. I had a vague thought that maybe I should learn to read after all. It seemed kind of cool.
"This is the hair ornament. I've never seen a decoration quite like this."
Corina murmured softly as she picked up Mine's hair ornament. The small white flowers swayed gently.
"I made the larger white flower."
"Really? It's beautifully done, Tuuli."
Hearing Corina praise me, my face broke into a wide, dopey grin. Her slender white fingers traced along the petals.
"This hair ornament is lovely. …I'd like to make something like it as an order in my workshop. Would that be all right?"
Corina smiled gently and tilted her head.
I never imagined she'd like it enough to want to produce it in her own workshop, and I was enveloped in shock and delight. I was about to light up and say "Of course!" when Mine, faster than I could speak, shook her head.
"That would depend on the conditions."
"W-Wait, Mine!?"
I couldn't believe Mine was putting conditions on Corina's offer, and my eyes went wide with surprise, but Mine raised a hand calmly to stop me.
"The hair ornament is a crucial winter craft and a source of income, so I can't just give away the rights casually. If you really want to make them, you'll need to purchase the rights — otherwise we'd be in a difficult position."
Mine's words cooled my head instantly. She was right — the hair ornament was a huge source of income. Having raked it in over the winter myself, I no longer had any desire to try to stop Mine.
"Then please speak with Benno about it."
Corina rang a bell, and one of her assistants appeared and went to fetch Benno. I soon heard footsteps ascending the stairs.
"Corina, you called for me? What's… Ah, Mine's family. Nice to meet you. I'm Benno, Corina's brother."
So this was the Benno that Mine was always talking about.
He had wavy, light-colored hair like milk tea, a gentle face, and reddish-brown eyes. Benno's friendly smile bore a resemblance to Corina's, and my first impression from his greeting was that he seemed like a warm, pleasant person.
"I'm Mine's mother, Effa. My daughter is always in your care."
"I'm Tuuli. Nice to meet you."
I hurriedly introduced myself after Mother. Benno kept smiling and gave a slight nod. Then he looked down at Mine and raised an eyebrow.
"So, what is it this time, Mine?"
"Corina made a request. She wants the rights to the hair ornament. How much will you pay for them?"
"Negotiating, are we?"
"Yes, we are."
At Benno's single nod, his expression shifted instantly and became intimidating. The moment his merchant face came on, the whole atmosphere changed. He threw himself into his chair with a rough motion and fixed Mine with a glinting gaze.
"How about this?"
Benno held up several fingers, and Mine let out a soft scoff through her nose.
"That amount isn't going to cut it. You'd be better off selling to Frieda."
Even watching from the side, Benno was terrifying, but Mine's expression didn't change at all. She took it all in stride — no, she seemed to be positively enjoying the challenge.
"Anything made in the Mine Workshop is supposed to be sold by Lutz, isn't it?"
"Anything made in the Mine Workshop, yes. But the rights and recipes aren't included, are they?"
"Now hold on!"
Benno roared in a fury, and the sheer force of it made Mother and me — sitting at the same table — flinch. Mine, however, just smiled sweetly and tilted her head.
"Oh, by the way, Benno — how much did the hair rinse end up selling for? Frieda mentioned that when you sell the rights to something new that doesn't exist anywhere else, the going rate starts at large gold coins? You've been letting go of it at quite the bargain until now, haven't you? Hee hee~"
I'd heard stories, but this was the first time I'd actually seen Mine in merchant mode. Seeing it was nothing like hearing about it — I was dumbfounded watching my little sister go toe-to-toe with a scary adult in this kind of atmosphere.
Oh no. My little sister is scary.
At home she's completely listless, runs a fever the moment she overexerts herself, and her help with chores is as useless as ever. Seeing her like this was a first for me. Honestly, I was stunned.
She'd said she wanted to be an apprentice merchant at Benno's shop but was giving up because her body couldn't keep up. But deep down, she probably always wanted to do this. It really seemed to suit her.
"This is going to take a while, so why don't you come over here."
"Huh? What?"
Corina stood smoothly and walked toward the table at the back of the room.
Mother and I exchanged glances, then quietly stood and followed her. I was worried about Mine, but it was clear from the atmosphere that this wasn't a situation we could step into.
"Benno looks like he's having so much fun, so it's going to be a long one. …And yet, Mine really is something. To think she can negotiate business with my brother like that."
Corina glanced at the other table with a dazzled expression and murmured. For the first time, I understood how amazing Mine truly was.
I'm her big sister, and I never even knew.
"Let's leave the business talk over there and chat about sewing instead. Earlier, we were talking about skirt shapes, weren't we?"
"Yes! Please!"
Over at the other table, business was being conducted. At ours, we drank tea and animatedly discussed sewing. Corina told us about the clothing and accessories currently in fashion among the nobility.
It turned out there were all sorts of different stitching techniques, and just hearing the names, I couldn't immediately picture what kind of skirt they produced. The sewing vocabulary kept flowing from Corina's lips — things that never came up even when I talked with my fellow workshop apprentices.
"What does that mean?"
Whenever I asked, Corina would explain gently. I was grateful, but also a little humbled.
It had been a year since I started my apprenticeship, but I'd never realized how much I didn't know. Just listening, I could feel how inadequate my knowledge of sewing was. I knew I'd need to practice and study more — otherwise I'd never be entrusted with making clothes for customers.
"This is the shape of the dress that's just starting to become popular now."
Corina said this and showed us a dress she was working on specially. Apparently it was for a noble's tea party. The sheen of the fabric, the fineness of the thread, the exquisite embroidery scattered across it — I let out an admiring sigh.
"It's so beautiful. But I can't believe there's a specific dress for each occasion. It seems like such a waste to me."
"Well, yes. But think about it — when we sleep, go out, or do dirty work, we all wear different clothes, right? It's the same thing, just broken down even further because they have the money for it."
"Huh…"
While we were talking, there was a loud clunk as someone stood up from a chair at the other table.
I turned in surprise and saw that both Benno and Mine had risen and were facing each other, a short distance from the table.
"You've lost all your cuteness."
"That's all thanks to your training, Benno."
"Seriously, I can't believe all those unneeded tips I gave you…"
"Gathering information from multiple sources and verifying its accuracy — that's the basics of being a merchant, right?"
While saying things like that, the two of them were shaking hands with smiles that said far more than their words. I had the strange impression that something dark was oozing from behind each of them, each one posturing against the other.
Yeah, I could absolutely never be a merchant.
While I was thinking this as I watched them, Mine spotted us looking around and came scurrying over.
"It's settled, so show Mother how to make the hair ornament."
With that, Mine came over to our table. She thanked Corina for the cold tea she'd prepared and reached for it.
"Haah, I'm parched."
"Good work. So how much did you settle on in the end? That'll affect our pricing over here too."
Mine glanced at Mother and me, then held up several fingers for Corina to see. Corina took a small breath and stared at the fingers.
It must have been some kind of merchant's signal. Not understanding the meaning, I found it maddening.
"She wants to produce hair ornaments year-round in a section of Corina's workshop, and apparently she negotiated exclusive sales rights."
"Still, to get that much out of Benno — she's quite impressive."
Corina looked at Mine with admiration. The finger movements had apparently indicated a sum, just as expected.
"Hey, Mine, how much was it?"
Curious about just how much the rights to the hair ornament were worth, I asked. Mine looked at me with a deeply troubled expression, then looked at Mother, then at Corina, and let out a small groan.
"Is it some secret amount?"
"It's a fair price, and I'm not exactly forbidden from saying it, but I'd rather not…"
When I pressed her repeatedly with "Tell me, tell me," Mine finally muttered in a small, reluctant voice, making no attempt to hide her reluctance.
"…One large gold coin and seven small gold coins."
"Wha—!? Did you say gold coins?"
I'd assumed even a high price would be around a large silver coin, so the sheer difference in magnitude hit me like a punch to the head. My mouth twitched. Mother stared at Mine with a shocked expression.
"It sounds like a lot, but considering it's a rights transfer, it's a fair price. I'm not Benno — I'm not going to swindle anyone. Besides, this is the Mine Workshop's money, not my personal allowance."
Mine waved her hands frantically, stringing words together in a desperate attempt to explain, but I simply couldn't fathom the composure it took to handle that kind of money so calmly.
But still — a large gold coin! She says it's not personal money, but how much does Mine actually have!?
Wait — could it be that Mine is actually incredible!? Maybe the Temple really would have been better than the merchant path after all?
Overwhelmed by my own ignorance, the vastness of sewing, and my sister's astonishing abilities… the home visit came to an end.
This was the home visit from Tuuli's perspective.
I was startled by the merchant side of Mine, which I'd only heard about secondhand.
Next time: a sweets tasting party, from Ilse's point of view.