The Writing Board and Karuta

After leaving the blacksmith workshop and heading to the carpentry workshop. Both were on Artisan Way, so they were close by.

The door three workshops down — with a design of an adze and a saw crossed against a great tree carved into it — was opened, and Benno carried me inside.

"This is Benno of the Gilberta Company. Is the master in?"

"I'm sorry, the master isn't here... wait, Mine!?"

"Oh, so this is Sig's workshop?"

The person in the shop was a familiar face. Sig, Lutz's second oldest brother, was standing at just the right height to meet my eyes while Benno held me in his arms, his mouth hanging wide open.

"...You know each other?"

"He's Lutz's older brother."

Benno set me down, and only then did Sig seem to notice Lutz in his line of sight. I heard him murmur softly, "...That's Lutz, isn't it?"

Lutz had changed at the room borrowed from the Gilberta Company, so Sig must have been seeing him in apprentice clothes with his hair neatly combed for the first time. Lutz at work looked completely different from the Lutz who usually wore everyday clothes and carried a basket into the forest.

"Hm. Lutz's brother, huh? ...I have something I'd like to order. Is that alright?"

"W-wait just a moment, would you? I'll go get the assistant."

Sig hurried to the back, and after a moment a well-built man came out.

"Hello, Benno. Welcome. What would you like us to make this time?"

"Lutz's."

"Yes. Here it is."

Lutz took out the writing board being made for Fran and set it on the table. Benno pointed at it and placed his order.

"I'd like you to make this same size, but just the wooden part. Carve our shop's crest on the front and my name on the back."

The assistant took out a measuring tape and measured here and there while sketching the dimensions onto a wooden tag.

As they discussed the type of wood, the crest, the spelling of the name, and the lettering style, Sig emerged from the back — apparently curious about how Lutz was doing.

"Sig, can I place an order too?"

"You, Mine? ...Sure, I guess?"

"I want thin, stiff boards. The sizes need to be consistent, about this big..."

When I showed the size with my hands, Sig hurried over with the measuring tape. We determined the exact length and width, and settled on the thickness too.

"Make 70 of the same thing."

"70!? What on earth for?"

"Ufufu~ I'm making 'karuta' with the 35 characters of the basic alphabet."

Both Gil and Deria, my attendant apprentices, couldn't read yet. Attendants sometimes helped with documents and even wrote letters on their master's behalf, like Fran did, so being able to read and write was apparently a necessity.

If I only gave a present to Fran, Gil would obviously get jealous. When I thought about getting something for Gil too, I wanted something that would help him learn letters in a fun way.

If I made karuta out of wooden boards, the orphanage children could play together too. Once they grew up, they'd have to learn the letters anyway, so learning through play from a young age was the best approach.

"Karuta? Are you making something weird again?"

"Yep. When do you think they'll be ready?"

"...Since it's just cutting them to a uniform size..."

"Just cutting isn't enough. You have to sand them properly so the surfaces and corners are smooth."

"Like that hairpin?"

When I nodded vigorously, Sig scratched his head roughly. Sanding each one would take time, but the karuta boards weren't something that needed to be rushed.

"The other items I ordered will be ready in about ten days, so as long as these are done by then, it's fine."

"Then there's plenty of time."

"How about double the price from last time?"

"You'll have to ask the assistant about that. I don't really understand pricing."

When Sig said that, the assistant — who had apparently finished his discussion with Benno and had been listening in for a while — popped his head around toward us.

"The previous order you're referring to is?"

"During Winter Preparations, Sig helped me make a hairpin. It was one medium copper coin."

"So this time it's two medium copper coins. ...I think that would be fine for a personal commission, but it's a bit low for workshop work."

The assistant said this with a grin, but I hadn't intended to set such an outrageous price. I already knew the cost of wood from the lumberyard when I made paper. I also knew the wages craftsmen typically received.

Lutz probably felt the same way. He narrowed his eyes beside me, staring at the assistant.

"If we assume the workshop's handling fee is the same three-point cut as the store's, and factor in the wood cost and the craftsmen's wages, I think Mine's offer is actually a rather generous price. And this isn't an order for just one piece — it's for seventy."

Lutz smiled a smile very much like Mark's, as if to say, "You're completely underestimating her because she looks like a pre-Baptism child, aren't you?" The assistant's face tightened.

"Lutz! What do you think you're doing!?"

"I'm doing my job."

Sig's voice had the same force as when he yelled at Lutz at home. But Lutz didn't avert his gaze from the assistant.

Lutz had clearly been trained hard by Benno and Mark, as he held his own against the assistant with his chest puffed out. The growth was remarkable — just a year ago, Lutz could barely read the numbers on market price tags and had been delighted to finally write his own name.

"Sig, Lutz is in the middle of negotiating with the assistant, so you mustn't interfere. You were the one who said you didn't understand pricing, weren't you?"

When I stopped Sig, he looked back and forth between Lutz and me with a troubled expression.

"Mine... But Lutz, like that..."

"Lutz has been working really hard as a merchant apprentice. Just like you've been learning the skills of a craftsman, Sig, Lutz is gaining the knowledge and skills of a merchant."

In a place where information was passed almost exclusively by word of mouth, very few people succeeded in taking up a trade outside the family business their parents had taught them. Sig had probably only ever denied Lutz's choice of becoming a merchant at home — this was likely the first time he'd actually seen Lutz at work. Sig looked at Lutz with a complicated expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"Sig, please acknowledge Lutz's efforts, even just a little?"

"..."

After discussion between the assistant and Lutz, the price was settled at what I had originally offered.

Benno, who had been watching Lutz's growth with a grin, picked me up with one arm and ruffled Lutz's hair with the other hand as we left the carpentry workshop.

Through Benno's shoulder, I could see Sig frowning deeply.

Ten days later, the iron stylus and the boards for the karuta were ready. Of course, the writing board Benno had ordered was finished too. Cradling the luxurious writing board, Benno happily went to the wax shop to have the wax poured in and completed.

"So, Mine. How do you use this?"

Back at the Gilberta Company, Benno took out the writing board in high spirits. Lutz, who had his own writing board clutched to his chest, peered in with interest too.

"This is for taking notes while out. You use the iron stylus hanging from this ring to write on this wax surface. One side is sized to be held in one hand, and unlike paper, the board is stiff so it's easy to write on, right? The real appeal of a writing board is that you can write without someone holding an ink pot nearby."

Benno immediately tried writing on it while holding it. The iron stylus carved thin lines, leaving white marks behind.

"...I see. The writing stays on the wax."

"Yes, and once you close it, the writing doesn't disappear like it would on a slate. Though since it's for taking notes, you have to copy everything onto paper or wooden tablets for safekeeping when you get home. After copying, you can smooth the wax flat with this flat side and use it again... I think."

I hadn't actually used one myself. I'd only read about it. In the old days, tax collectors used writing boards to take notes while mounted on horseback.

"Even if the wax inside gets beat up, you can scrape it out and replace it. ...Do you think this could be a product?"

"...It's only for merchants and nobles who can read and write. Considering the clientele, we'd need to secure a workshop with wood carving ability and have the frames decorated like this. But the fact that no ink is needed and you can write immediately is certainly convenient."

Benno gave his assessment while stroking the name and shop crest carved into his.

"Do you think it'll sell?"

"I think merchants would buy it, but nobles are iffy. They have attendants who always carry pen and ink. ...Actually, it might be more useful for attendants."

"That's exactly what gave me the idea after seeing Fran's situation. If attendants are using them, you don't need gaudy decorations, so the price can be kept down."

"Alright, I'll buy the rights."

I sold the rights to Benno. Since the iron stylus needed to be made, it was impossible for the current Mine Workshop to produce writing boards, and I wanted the money up front.

"By the way, Mine. What are those boards for?"

Benno pointed at the boards scattered loosely inside my bag and asked. There was no bagging service here. It was standard to carry things home in your own bag. Once the karuta was finished, maybe I should ask Father to make a box for easier storage.

"This is 'karuta.' It's not finished yet. I still have to write on them."

"Write?"

"Half of these are picture cards. I'll draw the basic alphabet characters and pictures of things that start with each letter. For example..."

I opened my own writing board and made a makeshift picture card on one side and reading card on the other. I drew the letter "te" and a picture of an iron stylus, and on the other half I wrote on the reading card: "Iron stylus. Used for writing on a writing board."

I proudly showed it to Benno, who looked at me with an utterly bewildered expression.

"...Don't tell me you're writing all of them yourself?"

"That's right, why?"

I couldn't entrust the karuta to someone who didn't know what it was. I intended to finish Gil's present myself. When I declared this with my chest puffed out, Lutz put his head in his hands.

"Mine, get someone else to do it. Especially the pictures. Nobody will be able to tell what you're drawing. Poor Gil won't know what to do with them."

"Your writing is fine, but you're terrible at drawing."

At their merciless words, I choked back my frustration. It wasn't that I was bad at illustrations. At least, no one had ever called my drawings bad during my Reina days.

"...Hmph, I'm not bad at them! They might look a little stylized, but that's just avant-garde! Eventually the world will catch up to me, so it's fine."

"I don't understand what you're saying, but face the facts. You're getting someone else to do the pictures. Got it?"

...Hmph, I'm not bad at them.

Not sure whether Benno and Lutz were right, the next day I asked my attendants for their opinion in my room at the Temple.

"That's what Benno said, but..."

As I showed the pictures I'd drawn on my writing board and explained, Deria's eyes went wide.

"Isn't it just as Benno says? It's really quite... something. Has Mine ever looked at any paintings?"

"There are all sorts of things on the way to the Chief Priest's room, so it's not like she's never seen any. She's just not good at it, that's all."

Deria's and Gil's words pierced my heart. When I turned to Fran, he furrowed his brows uncomfortably and looked slightly away.

"Yes. Let's say it's very unique."

The words of an attendant raised in the Temple, surrounded by religious sculptures and paintings in the prayer hall, gates, and corridors, and artwork displayed in the Blue Priests' rooms, were quite harsh. Anything that wasn't realistic and refined apparently didn't count.

"Mine, why don't you leave the drawings to Wilma? She received art tutoring from the Blue Priestess she served before."

"Huh? Art tutoring? Attendants can do that too?"

"The abilities required of an attendant vary greatly depending on what their master needs."

Once orphans completed their Baptism Ceremony, they became gray apprentices doing menial tasks like cleaning the prayer hall and corridors, and doing laundry. Based on their diligence and resourcefulness at that time, attendants would decide whether to take them on as their successor attendant apprentice.

When they became attendant apprentices, their residence moved from the orphanage to the Noble District. While doing work that wasn't much different from menial labor, they'd be drilled by their seniors in everything they needed to know to become attendants.

"For that reason, the manners for receiving guests are always taught once you become an attendant, but the actual work varies completely depending on which priest or shrine maiden you serve."

"Some shrine maiden apprentices are taught to offer flowers, while some priest apprentices specialize in calculations."

As I listened to the explanation with an "oh, I see," I turned to Gil. After all, Gil's opinion as the recipient of the present was the most important.

"Gil, what do you think? Should I ask Wilma?"

"Huh? Me? Why?"

I told the puzzled Gil the reason for the reward.

"...You were sneaking food to the orphanage children every day, weren't you? This is a reward for you, Gil, who worked the hardest for those kids."

"A reward? Hmm..."

After saying that, Gil began to worry.

After a while, for some reason, his face got redder and redder until he buried his head in his hands. "No way. It's too embarrassing to say," he muttered. Groaning "Ugh" and "Ahh," he started pacing in circles.

Could Gil have some happy feelings toward Wilma? Was it embarrassing to go ask her? While I watched Gil's strange behavior with a lukewarm smile, he raised his face as if he'd made a firm resolution.

"...I don't care about the pictures. If Mine doesn't have time, it's fine to ask Wilma. ...But I want Mine to write the words. Mine's handwriting is so pretty, so... uh, ahhhh!"

Unable to bear the embarrassment, Gil ran downstairs. Bang! The sound of the door slamming shut echoed loudly. He had probably locked himself in his room, trembling with mortification.

"...Mine, what would you like to do?"

"Gil, who isn't used to praising anyone, was trying so hard to compliment me while blushing, and it was so adorable that I want to throw myself into making the reading cards with everything I've got."

"Then I'll ask Wilma for the picture cards."

With Fran's words — delivered while he struggled to suppress a smile — it was decided that the picture cards would be entrusted to Wilma.

As the conversation reached a natural pause and Fran moved to get back to work, I hurriedly called out to him.

"Fran, wait. This is for you."

"...For me?"

I took out the writing board made for Fran. It was sized to fit his hand comfortably, so while it was a different size, it was a matching set.

"You have the most work, don't you, Fran? With only one attendant and me having taken on the role of orphanage director on top of everything else, coordinating everything must be exhausting every day. I'm truly grateful for how hard you've been working. This is your reward."

I explained how to use the writing board to Fran and told him the idea had come to me when I saw him struggling at the gate. Fran narrowed his brown eyes and smiled happily.

"To think you would have something made for me on a whim like this... I hope to manage my physical condition perfectly in order to continue meeting your expectations."

"Please do."

I noticed Deria watching with envy as Fran gently took the writing board in his hands. She was as easy to read as ever.

"Deria, this is for you. Since you didn't go to the orphanage, you worked hard here doing the first-floor cleaning while Gil was away and handling visitors when Fran wasn't here."

"This is...?"

"It's a slate and a stone stylus. Practice your letters with these. An attendant needs to be able to write letters on their master's behalf, doesn't she?"

I wrote Deria's name on the slate and handed it to her. She stared at the characters with an intense gaze. Unlike Gil, I thought Deria might know at least a few characters, but perhaps the High Priest's residence had never taught her any writing at all.

"This is Deria's name. First, you need to learn to write your own name. Okay?"

After a while, Gil finally seemed to have calmed down and came out of his room, so I gave him a stone stylus. Immediately, Deria and Gil started competing with each other to study the characters, so I began carefully writing the karuta cards with the utmost attention, serving as their model. The content of the reading cards was all about holy scriptures and gods — things that would be easy for Wilma, who was raised in the Temple, to illustrate.

When Benno saw the finished karuta — my writing and Wilma's illustrations — he immediately wanted the rights, but I was planning to make karuta for the children at the Mine Workshop too.

The basic deal was exclusivity for Benno, but I included a clause allowing the Mine Workshop to produce them as well, and negotiated three percent of profits as an idea fee. This way, I'd receive a little money every time karuta sold.

With my finances improving, I breathed a small sigh of relief, thinking ahead to how educational toys and entertainment goods might sell quite well too.

I ran into Lutz's brother Sig at the workshop.

And with that, the writing board and karuta were complete.

Next time, it's preparations for the Star Festival.