Each Side of the Story

"Wilma, thank you for everything up to now. Please go back."

"But, Lady Mine..."

Wilma glanced over toward Fran and Delia. However, if she stayed here until she'd heard everything the two had to say, it would likely cause problems back at the orphanage.

After sending Wilma back to the orphanage, I headed upstairs. Rosina, who had apparently been roused from a nap, rose unsteadily from her chair with a dazed air about her.

"Welcome home, Lady Mine."

"Rosina, do you know what's going on?"

"No. I was awakened by Delia's voice, so I don't have the details."

She'd been taking a nap for some rest and had the whole thing interrupted. Rosina's words had grown terser than usual, and though she didn't show it on her face, she was almost certainly in a terrible mood.

"Please rest in your room a while longer."

"If you'll permit it."

Rosina tottered off to her room with unsteady steps. After watching her go, I headed to the table and asked Delia to prepare tea. I held a faint hope that the process of boiling water and carefully, slowly brewing the tea might calm her down even a little.

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand any of this at all. Fran, please tell me the details."

Once Delia had quietly headed to the kitchen, I decided to hear the full story from Fran first. Fran gave a small nod and began to speak.

"It seems Arno, who was bringing a message from the Chief Priest, ran into Delia on her way back from the orphanage, and the two returned to the room together. At the time, I was on break, but Delia called for me, so I hurriedly got ready and met with Arno."

It sounded like Fran had been napping just like Rosina and had been woken up to deal with Arno, then got dragged into a shouting match with Delia on top of it.

If I'd been in the room, we could have handled things with Delia without having to wake Fran.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"No. Even if Lady Mine had been here, if Arno arrived with a message from the Chief Priest, I would still need to be called. It would be a problem otherwise."

Fran shook her head lightly. If it was a message from the Chief Priest, she apparently felt she had to be present and hear it properly.

"Besides, Arno's errand really was just the message, so there was no trouble there. What was unexpected was Delia flying into such a rage."

Fran glanced toward the kitchen and let out a quiet sigh. That alone told me just how difficult it must have been to weather Delia's outburst.

"So what was the message, then?"

"It seems the Chief Priest looked into finding a family to adopt Dirk, but it looks like it's going to be difficult."

According to Fran's explanation, the Chief Priest had apparently been searching for an adoptive family for Dirk. While the result was unfortunate, he'd sent word through Arno not to lose heart and to continue raising him at the orphanage.

...The Chief Priest is too conscientious.

When I'd been told that adoption for a boy would be difficult, I'd essentially given up, and I'd been planning to enter into a Contract with Dirk once I became a noble's adopted daughter. That was why I'd practically forgotten about the search for an adoptive family.

Delia, who had finished preparing the tea and placed a cup in front of me, raised her eyebrows and glared at Fran.

"Why on earth would anyone talk about giving Dirk up for adoption!?"

From what I'd gathered from Fran, neither Arno nor Fran seemed to possess the information that Dirk was Self-Eating. Indeed, Delia's anger was focused entirely on the fact that adoption negotiations had been progressing behind her back without her knowledge.

I quietly lowered my gaze. The Chief Priest had told me to keep secret the information that Dirk was Self-Eating. But how could I explain the reason for seeking an adoptive family—his Magic Power—without revealing that?

"Lady Mine and her family, me and Dirk—the Chief Priest just loves tearing families apart, doesn't he!?"

"That's not it at all. The Chief Priest has his own reasons."

It seemed that in Delia's mind, the Chief Priest had become a villain who liked separating families. It was no wonder that Fran, who respected the Chief Priest, was getting fed up and her tone was growing sharper.

"Delia."

I let out a slow, deep breath and looked at Delia.

"There's no Gray Priestess here who can raise children, so I asked the Chief Priest if perhaps someone out there wanted to adopt Dirk. If there was, then maybe Dirk could be happier that way."

"Wha—!? Lady Mine, you want to separate us too!?"

Delia's wrath swung around toward me. I shook my head in denial.

"No. Delia, at first you didn't want to take care of Dirk either, did you? I thought that if nobody wanted to look after him..."

Delia's eyes widened as if remembering her own words, and she stuttered slightly.

"Th-that was way at the very beginning, wasn't it?"

"Yes, and my consulting the Chief Priest was also way at the very beginning."

Delia clamped her mouth shut, her anger losing its momentum.

"There's no Gray Priestess here who can raise children, so I didn't know how to take care of him. Even if we wanted to hire a wet nurse, nobody would come to the orphanage. The burden on Fran and Rosina, who look after him at night, is enormous too. I thought it would be best if someone would take him as their child."

We were managing now, with nap time and increased hours for Delia to look after him, but during those first few days when everything was fumbled through in the dark, the burden had truly been immense.

Seeing that, Delia—who knew firsthand—glared at me resentfully but merely chewed her lip without putting it into words.

"The Chief Priest conscientiously searched for an adoptive family. He'd told me from the start that it probably wouldn't work out, so I wasn't holding out much hope. But he did his very best."

"...Is that so?"

Delia relaxed her shoulders as if satisfied.

"I never expected Delia would take care of Dirk this much, so now I think it's for the best that the adoption talks fell through. Arno brought the message to continue raising him at the orphanage, right?"

"Yes. The Chief Priest said to raise him with spirit and not lose heart."

At Fran's added words, Delia blinked several times, then peered into my face with an expression that said she wanted to dispel the last of her worry.

"...So, Lady Mine, you won't be separating me and Dirk?"

"Yes. I can see very well that you care deeply about Dirk, Delia, and I know all too well the feeling of not wanting to be separated from family."

"...Thank goodness."

Delia pressed a hand to her chest and let out a breath of relief.

"I don't want to be separated from Dirk. He's my first... my family."

After Delia was satisfied, about ten days passed.

Of the things I'd commissioned Johann to make, the iron was apparently the easiest to grasp—or perhaps it had sparked his creative drive—because he delivered it ahead of everything else. So before starting to print the second picture book, I had the printing plates wax-treated to reinforce them. Since we'd be carving them, a thicker coat of wax wasn't a problem.

"Now we can print as many as we want!"

I puffed out my chest proudly before the wax-treated printing plates with their enhanced durability. Lutz crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"...Hey, Mine. Didn't the Chief Priest tell us to make things in small quantities?"

"If we wax-treat them, they can be reused. That way, we can make them in small quantities and use them for a long time."

"Stop avoiding the question!"

Lutz scolded me, but I wasn't about to budge on the picture printing plates. The text could eventually be handled with movable type, but the pictures would have to be redrawn.

"It's to reduce Wilma's workload. If we can use them several times, that's better, isn't it?"

Lutz, who knew exactly the effort Wilma put into drawing and delicately carving those images, pressed his brow with the expression of someone chewing on a bitter bug.

"...Fine, since it's just the pictures."

I had only the picture printing plates wax-treated, then handed them over to Gil. The printing at the Mine Workshop could now be left entirely to Gil and the Gray Priests.

With Gil able to manage the Workshop, Lutz's hands were a little freer. So I alternated between days going to the Workshop and Gilberta Company with Lutz and Damuel, and days visiting the Temple.

The Italian restaurant, where doors and window frames were starting to go in, was nearing completion, so I went to look at it with Benno. I also went to the Ink Workshop to hear Heidi's research results and organize them for presentation. It was busy.

"Mine, you suddenly went quiet. What are you thinking about?"

"Camil."

"Again?"

What filled my busy mind was making a toy for Camil.

The wooden rattle I'd hollowed out was a hit with Dirk, but apparently he kept trying to hold it himself and dropping it on his own face, crying loudly every time. If a wooden toy fell on Camil's cute face, it would hurt, so I wanted to make him a toy that wouldn't.

"Lutz, I want a 'bell.'"

"Where did that come from?"

"If I had one, I could make a plushie-type rattle that you hold in your hand."

There were metal bells that made chime or bell-type sounds, but I'd never seen the round jingle bells common in Japan here.

It might be difficult to make one that produced a beautiful sound, but the structure wasn't complicated, so I'd ask Johann.

"Alright, let's go to the blacksmith workshop."

The blacksmith workshop wasn't far from the Ink Workshop. I headed there with a spring in my step.

"Hello."

"Welcome! Hey, Gutenberg! Lady Mine is here!"

A craftsman I'd never met before called out toward the back with a perfectly straight face, "Gutenberg's here!" It had become so thoroughly ingrained that it wasn't even a joke anymore. When Johann came out and weakly protested, "Don't call me Gutenberg," he just got a casual "Yeah, yeah" brush-off.

"Lady Mine, what brings you here today? The iron pens aren't done yet."

I'd ordered several types of iron pens for carving, so apparently it would be a little longer before they were ready.

"Well, I want you to make this 'bell.' You can pass the work on to other apprentices if you'd like."

I started sketching a design for the bell on the spot, and Johann peered in with interest. As expected, they only made chime-type bells—there were no round ones.

"Lady Mine, are these slits decorative?"

"They're necessary for the sound to resonate. The shape doesn't have to be exactly this, but please make sure to include slits. And make it just large enough that the inner ball won't fall out."

I thought that the sound would vary quite a bit depending on the size of the slits, the thickness of the metal, and the size and material of the inner ball, but I didn't know enough to be that specific. As long as it looked right, it should make a sound. Then I wanted a smaller bell made with the inner ball inside, and a slightly larger bell made around that. A double bell produced a really nice resonance.

"...Sure, this isn't too difficult. Is this also for printing?"

"No, I'm planning to use it as a baby toy."

I pouted my lips as if to say, See, I do occasionally order things that aren't books or printing related. Johann smiled with genuine delight.

"This is the first order that has nothing to do with books or printing, isn't it?"

He said with some relief that he'd thought I was only interested in books. I was currently preoccupied with Camil, but fundamentally, I was only interested in books. Since he looked so happy, I was thinking of letting him enjoy this for a while, when— "Mine is only interested in books. If you think you can escape the Gutenberg title, you're dead wrong."

Lutz shut Johann down with a single blow.

Johann visibly deflated and lamented, "I know, but can't I cling to a little hope?" To which Lutz piled on further by saying, "Johann, you need to get used to dealing with Mine too."

"That's right. Lutz is an accomplished Gutenberg who's an expert at handling me, after all."

When Lutz heard my words, he deflated right along with Johann. I'd meant it as a compliment. I couldn't figure out why it hadn't landed.

"Well then, I'll be heading straight home today."

Leaving the blacksmith workshop, I was about to head directly home when the emergency bell started to ring—clang, clang, clang, clang. Moments later, a red light rose above the East Gate, like a rescue signal from a Magical Tool.

The first to react to the bell and light was Damuel, who was a knight. He furrowed his brow, gave the red light above the East Gate one hard look, and immediately hoisted me onto his back.

"Hurry."

That was all Damuel said before sprinting down the road toward home. Whether from his recent experience escorting me around the lower town, he navigated the winding alleys without a moment's hesitation.

Lutz ran after us, eyes spinning in confusion, but following Damuel nonetheless.

"I know the way from here. You go home or back to the shop—do whatever you want."

Damuel tossed that over his shoulder to Lutz and ran off.

Normally, we'd part ways at the well plaza, but today Damuel carried me straight up the stairs and pounded on the front door.

"Yes, who is it—Mine!?"

Damuel half-pushed my mother aside and stepped into the house, then set me down. He then looked back and forth between my mother, who was blinking in surprise, and me with a stern expression.

"It seems a situation requiring the Knight Order's assistance has arisen at the East Gate. I'll remain here until the Shrine Maiden Apprentice's safety is confirmed."

Mother had been stunned by the sudden arrival of a knight, but seemed to grasp the situation and quickly nodded.

"Please take care of Mine."

Damuel immediately positioned himself in front of the front door. Camil started crying, so Mother headed to the bedroom. I drew some water for Damuel, who was a bit out of breath.

"Ah, Shrine Maiden Apprentice. Sorry about all this."

Damuel gulped down the water in one go, then slowly caught his breath.

Lingering around Damuel any longer would only be in the way, so I went to the storage shed to look for fabric. I wanted to know what kinds of fabric we had to make the bell plushie rattle.

"There's a lot of white—I'll make it a rabbit."

After finding fabric that looked soft to the touch, I was cutting pattern templates on the kitchen table when a Magical Tool bird I'd seen before phased through the wall and flew in.

I was startled by the bird that had suddenly appeared in the room. Damuel held out his arm toward it. The bird fluttered down to perch on his arm and opened its beak.

"Damuel. After escorting the Shrine Maiden Apprentice to the Temple or her home, rejoin the Knight Order."

A deep male voice repeated the same words three times, then the bird crumpled and reverted to a yellow magic stone. Damuel produced a glowing baton from somewhere, just like the Chief Priest had done, and tapped it against the stone while chanting something. The magic stone transformed back into a bird.

"Currently stationed at the Shrine Maiden Apprentice's home. I'll return immediately."

Damuel flicked the baton, and the bird vanished as if absorbed into the wall.

"Shrine Maiden Apprentice, I need to rejoin the Knight Order to gather information. Do not leave this house under any circumstances until I come to fetch you."

"Understood."

Damuel made sure to emphasize that I shouldn't even go out to the well plaza, then left the house.

I had no idea what kind of emergency this was, since I had absolutely no information, but if Damuel was being called to rejoin the Knight Order, I had a feeling it might be related to me somehow.

"Mine, did the knight leave?"

Mother emerged from the bedroom with a worried expression after finishing Camil's feeding. With a knight present, she'd been able to feel at ease. Now the only people in the house were Mother, Camil, and me. If anything happened, there was nobody to deal with it.

"He was called back by the Knight Order. If they decided there was no need to keep Lord Damuel here, it probably means the crisis has been averted."

Mother smiled with a measure of relief at my words.

"So it's over, and he went home. That's good."

Before any message could arrive from Damuel, Father brought the information home that night. Since spring, Father had been working at the East Gate, so he'd been right at the center of the day's commotion.

"Father, what exactly happened today?"

"I should probably tell you about it."

After dinner, Father sipped his drink slowly and let out a long breath.

"A noble from another domain kicked up a fuss demanding to be let into the city."

The emergency that had occurred today was apparently a foreign noble trying to force his way into the city.

Since spring, various rules regarding noble entry had changed. One of them was that no noble could enter without the Lord's permission. Before, nobles had gotten in through mutual introductions among the nobility, but that was no longer allowed.

The nobles of this domain had heard the Lord's words directly at the winter gathering, but nobles from other domains had no idea the rules had changed. Apparently, the foreign noble had exploded with rage when stopped by the commoner gate guards.

"Apparently, this kind of situation had been anticipated from the start, so when trouble involving nobles arose at the Gate, the Knight Order would be dispatched."

"Huh, the Lord really does think of everything."

It was apparently Father who had activated the Magical Tool rescue signal that had been entrusted to the Knight Order. It was a hammer with a red stone embedded in it—when the red stone that had been given to them was struck, a rescue signal was sent up. It was probably the same kind of Magical Tool that had been placed on the carriage during the Spring Prayer.

With commoners, you could do whatever you pleased, but when dealing with the city's nobles, foreigners were at a disadvantage. The foreign noble was told by the Knight Order that he couldn't enter without the Lord's permission, and apparently grumbled complaints before finally leaving.

"Noble problems are best solved by nobles. Honestly, it was a huge help."

"Even so, he had an invitation from a noble of this domain, didn't he? Why would they send an invitation if you need the Lord's permission to enter?"

"Who knows."

Maybe it meant they'd been holding an invitation from before spring. I tilted my head, but there was no way to know the right answer.

Father turned a serious expression toward me as I tilted my head.

"Mine, be very careful about your surroundings. Remember what the Chief Priest said before? That a foreign noble might be targeting you."

I nodded solemnly at Father's warning.

"To keep dangerous nobles out, we'll call the Knight Order the moment anyone tries to force their way in. I'll be guarding the Gate. And Mine—make sure you don't stray from your escort."

Father's words about protecting the Gate, the city, and his daughter made me happy, and despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile.

After Delia was convinced, things moved at a rapid pace.

The gate-guard father and the recently inconspicuous escort Damuel did their best.

Next time: the two who disappeared.