Ascendance of a Bookworm

When I woke up, it was a full course of sermons. Starting with Lutz and Benno, Fran and Gill, then, Dermuel and the Cleric Chief. I don't know why, I feel like more and more people are preaching.

... but please don't preach what you call a sympathy when you're feverish and asleep. Let me sleep.

The longest and hottest part of this sermon was Dermuel. He was terrified that I, the subject of escort, would once again be judged by the chief cleric as a knight who could not obey the instructions of his superiors because I fell batshit. "I really didn't feel alive when I thought it might be the time to be executed this time," he said in tears.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I apologize first, but I'm going to start printing in earnest, so I think similar things happen more often."

"Aren't you reflecting at all, witch apprentice!

"We need to build strength so we don't fall, I'm reflecting."

"Different things to reflect on!

Everyone preaches that it was too hard, so the metal typography excitement didn't last much and the fever dropped faster than I thought it would.

But even after the fever drops, the sermon repeats itself. I'm getting fed up with the status quo of being told the same thing all the time, and I wanted to get home early. Little by little the snow is melting and the carriage is starting to move, and I think it's time to go home.

"I want to go home now..."

In order to return home, I must first write to the Clerical Chief a letter of visit. If I thought so, the clergyman sent me a letter requesting an interview. When I say a request for a visit, it's an invitation for the clergyman to listen to a convenient date and time, not to come to my room.

"Fran, I'm sure you're in a hurry because it's rare to get to you from the Chief Cleric. I'd like to see you as soon as possible, but when should I answer? I'm fine now, though."

"Exactly from now on, you will have trouble serving to prepare for your pick up. Tomorrow, they'll be fine."

Fran said so with a bitter smile, "Tomorrow will be fine," I wrote in reply to the letter.

"Should I take some souvenirs? You must have seen him, too.

In honor of his sympathy, the Chief Cleric brought me a large amount of food. The snowmelt is starting, so it's time for me to go home, something I don't need anymore. I'm thinking of moving to the basement of the orphanage about half the time I get home.

"You should probably bring the treats you're making here. Chief Cleric liked cookies a lot."

"Then what about the pudding I made during this time?

I tried pudding and ice cream when Touri came to see me. As a result, I still thought ice cream was something to eat when it was hot. The ice cream eaten in the torch was tasty, but the feeling of "cold" was stronger than "yummy" even if eaten in front of the fireplace, and my body was just cold.

"Right. … the pudding will taste good if you get used to that touch, but I know it's not very suitable for handicrafts for first-timers because I'm a little hesitant to put it in my mouth"

There doesn't seem to be much steamed food here, and I was very surprised by Ella when it came to making pudding. The final rating was high because everyone who tried it told me that it was strange to feel tactile or that it was gone and unreliable before I chewed it, but it was sweet and tasty.

"Now let Ella bake the cookies that the clergyman liked"

Souvenirs were determined by cookies. Decide to prepare two types of cookies to be made by mixing plain cookies with tea leaves. It's my taste.

I have also decided on a handicraft, so I will not worry about working on the blueprint for the printing press. Originally, it was supposed to be the early printing press that was made by modifying the grape pressing machine for making wine, so I think it's still relatively easy to make it here. But the trouble is that I do not remember the fine dimensions or structure.

"Uh, you do have tools for painting ink, don't you? It has a handle like this, and the skin is stretched here... This is how the place for putting this is on the side, and this is how the place for putting paper... This is what the place to put the typeface you put together looked like...?

I try desperately to dig up my memory, but it's too vague to be as much of a blueprint as it is. Even if I can explain it by mouth, I can't even remember to measure it. I'm actually going to have to write it down while I measure it.

"Chief Cleric, I was wondering if you could use some magic equipment to explore that memory?

Towards the desk, yeah, yeah, roaring. Around me, the sidekicks were putting their energy into each job.

"Good morning, Chief Cleric."

In addition to my greetings, I offer you a token of my sympathy and give you a souvenir. I didn't know if he was really happy because the look on the clergyman's face he receives while saying "I'm sorry for bothering" changed little.

"Arnault"

Arnault comes out with a plate and puts it on the table at the chief cleric's call, and Fran opens the cookies on the plate and serves them. Fran took the cup he had brought from the room, and Arnault poured tea from the same pot into my cup with the chief cleric.

"Go ahead, Master Mine"

Sucky Arnault brought a plate of cookies before me. I turn my gaze to the Chief Cleric, not sure what he's asking for.

"It is noble etiquette for the guests to eat and show themselves what they bring when they open it at the hands of the guests on the spot. I thought it would be better if I told you because it's a habit you're not familiar with."

... I'm scared of poison.

Since it is what I have taken, I can speak without hesitation, but when I hear such talk, I fear eating and drinking in the margins.

"Hands on tea only after the inviting lord has spoken"

After the chief cleric has put his mouth on the cup put in from the same pot and I have eaten one cookie, he will reach out to each one of his favorite things.

As Fran said, the chief cleric seems to really like cookies. The expression didn't change, but the reduction in cookies was a bit faster than anything else.

Talk about the weather, orphanage reports, etc. for a little while. And after enjoying a cup of tea, we're going to cut to the chase. I would also like to think that I have become accustomed to the habits of the aristocracy.

"Um, Chief Cleric. Me, it's time to go home..."

I said, "Are you sure?," the clergyman who placed the cup immediately dismissed it before speaking to the end.

"No."

"... Huh?

I leaned my neck, not knowing what it meant to be rejected home, even though the snow was coming apart a little bit.

The chief priest makes a cathartic noise and gets up. And once I looked around the room, I headed toward the bed.

"Come."

He doesn't even want to be heard by the sidekick. I also softly stood up with my cup on the table and went into the door that the chief cleric would open.

I sit in my usual bench, and so does the chief cleric.

"Do you also have trouble being asked to serve?

"... right. I think it's better not to be known."

After saying so, the Chief Cleric breathed in slowly.

"Actually, news came in the other day that Wolf had died suddenly. I asked Calstead to find my client, Wolfe, on the arrow tip."

I accidentally swallowed my breath with the word dead. I just couldn't figure out what was at stake, and I lean my neck slowly.

... Who's Wolf?

"You have no idea who you are."

"Um, Chief Cleric. I'm sorry to bother you, but who is Mr. Wolfe? It's a name I heard somewhere, but I don't remember..."

I don't think it's a big acquaintance because hearing the name doesn't bring my face to mind. I'm supposed to be an important person, but I have no idea, because the chief cleric knows and talks as normal.

The chief clergyman sighed heavily after opening his eyes to say he couldn't believe it.

"... Wolfe is the president of the Ink Society"

"The president of the Ink Association is that suspicious person, isn't he?

Speaking of the president of the Ink Association, the very reason I was to be caged in the temple for sniffing around my information or getting tangled up in the Lutz.

"... Huh? Is he dead!? Why!?"

"It's late!"

Like examining me, it seems that the chief clergyman and Calstead were exploring who the hell the noblemen ordered Wolf to be, and how far the black rumors were true. But where up to a few candidates have been narrowed down, Suddenly Wolfe says he's dead.

"Wolfe seems to have heard from somewhere that a civilian witch apprentice is working as a workshop manager"

From somewhere, the chief cleric says, emphasizing the part that Speaking of which, I thought you said my identity was surprisingly unknown to the nobles. The people you know are limited.

"It seems that the workshop manager was exploring to get all sorts of information about whether there really was a connection with Benno and what he looked like. But you soon got caged in the temple. Besides, you were originally weak and didn't seem to have much to do with your surroundings, did you? The results didn't seem very fragrant."

My heart bounces on the word of the chief cleric. The nobility asked me to gather information to explore it, but the results were not fragrant, and the chief clergyman and Calstead began to examine the connection. If it's the death of that arrowhead, I have a bad feeling about it.

"... Was it the nobility who caused Mr. Wolfe's death?

"Probably."

The chief cleric nodded slowly, but without hesitation.

Dispose of anything you think is out of the way immediately. Civilians are not equivalent to nobility. I knew, but too abruptly I was stuck in front of my eyes as a matter of course, and I was relieved. I rub my goosebumped arms holding my body like a hug to myself.

"… am I being targeted by the nobles?

"I'm sure they're after you from various nobles, but few know exactly who's after you for what purpose"

I trembled slightly at the word of the chief priest.

"The nobles who keep the countryside are moving together for the upcoming Spring Prayer Ceremony. The most troublesome thing is that you will be taken out of the city. Keep them caged in the temple until some nobility is scattered. If the number of aristocrats in this city decreases, it will be easier to see their trends"

"... Yes"

It's not like you'll ever make it home. That is how I comforted myself and accepted to stay in the temple until the Spring Prayer Ceremony.

"Then I have to talk to your family about extending your stay and about your adopted daughter. Give me this."

"... Yes, sir."

There's no way I can tell Tulli or my father, who came to help me, an important story about just being an adopted daughter of nobility, like some kind. I've been meaning to talk properly since I got home, but it looks like the clergyman will talk to me before I go home.

I gazed at the invitation I had deposited from the chief cleric and sighed.

"I know, but don't tell anyone about Wolf or his adopted daughter. Your service is not all you can trust."

I couldn't argue with that.

I had the Cleric Chief's invitation handed to my parents via Lutz. "What the hell did you do with the call from the chief cleric?" Rutz told me, "but it's not something I can easily say. I lay low on my adoptive daughter and sighed.

"Until after the prayer ceremony, I couldn't go home. It's about that."

This is a good story to publish. Instead, if we don't talk properly about side service, we have trouble living our daily lives.

"Well, what do you do with the food?

"It's time for the city to stand, and there will still be something to pay tribute to from the clergyman, won't there?

He was concerned that the food the chief priest had brought at the time of his visit would be caged in the temple even in the spring.

Three days after Lutz asked me to take the invitation home, my parents came. Waiting in the waiting room near the gate, I met my mother for a long time.

A grin that doesn't change and a stomach that grows so big that whenever you're born it's not strange, something gushing and hot comes in.

"Mother..."

"Master Mine, this is not your room. … I know how you feel, but consider your position"

Hold my shoulder like Fran is in trouble. My mother, stretching out her hand, gently lowered her hand and held my mother's shoulder so that my father could comfort her.

"I'll show you"

Fran takes the lead, and I follow. My parents are after that.

He was gently stroked in the head as he walked as he felt like looking back. My cheeks loosen to a soft feeling unlike my father's. When I tried to look back, I just said, "Stay forward," and my fingers put force into it.

The silent touch with Fran's hand, which is pulled softly on the verge of looking back, is fun. The silent touch continued until he reached the Cleric Chief's room, taking turns with his occasionally large and grubby hands.

"Good morning, Chief Cleric."

"We are here by invitation. What are you talking about this time?

When my father turned to the soldier's salute, the chief priest nodded lightly and recommended a seat. Across the table, two long chairs and two individually seated chairs are prepared. Normally, it would be my parents who would sit in a bench, and me and the chief cleric would sit in each chair.

My father softly helped my big belly mother sit on the bench looking a little bitter, and the two of them sat down.

Stand down, all of you.

The clergyman paid for the tea as soon as it was carried. On top of that, use magic equipment that specifies the range to stretch things like soundproofing junctions.

My father looked around creepy.

"Hey, what?

"This keeps my voice from leaking outside. Mine, I paid you, so you can sit between your parents. You put up with this far, didn't you?

The chief cleric, while explaining the kingdom to the Father, pushed me toward my parents, who could not decide where to sit.

"Thank you, Chief Cleric"

When I give thanks with a full smile, I sit between my parents. I held my mother softly after alternating between my father and my mother's faces.

"Mom, it's been a long time. I missed you. Besides, you're big enough not to freak out when you're born anymore, right?

"Not yet. It's gonna get a little bigger."

"Really?

I stroke my grown mother's stomach, my mother hugs me, ha, and exhales satisfactorily.

"... Seems satisfied, can we start talking?

"Yes."

I turn my face to the clergyman sitting in the front, and sit back.

"Then skip the roundabout greeting and get down to business. All right?"

With what he has done to my opponents, the Chief Cleric seems to understand that it is useless to greet the civilian population, thus completely skipping the aristocratic exchange.

"Mine shall keep the Temple until the end of the Spring Prayer Ceremony"

"Wait a minute. Why is that? You promised it would only be during the winter."

To the father who embarks on himself, the chief cleric opens his mouth with a cold looking expression.

"Because now is the most dangerous time."

By being answered quietly and briefly, my father apparently realized that the situation was not delicious. I held my fist on my lap with a good look on my face again.

"What's at stake?

After the chief clergyman puts aside "never speak out", he gives an account of the various aristocratic sides that concern me, which have been around since autumn and spring. That's all I've been hearing.

"Mine had more magic than I expected. It's a precious magic for this city that lacks magic. That's why some nobles want it, and some nobles are neglected."

The complexion of my parents, heard to be targeted by the nobles for various purposes, is bright blue, and I can see the hands that are spinning on my back trembling small.

"I have the hardest time getting Mine out of the city right now. For this reason, there must have been various alterations in the gates about the entry and exit of nobles. Gunter, if you were a soldier guarding the gate, you'd know that, wouldn't you?

To a story so unexpected, my father stares at the Chief Cleric as he rounds his eyes.

"... I know. There has been a significant alteration in the movement of the nobility, and the knights of the nobility..."

"Oh, it's probably those who belong to the aristocracy who take Mine away. of this territory, or the nobility of another territory moves, or at this stage we have no idea. That's why I worked my lord from the Knights and asked him to place restrictions on the access of nobles"

During the winter, the clergy chiefs and calsteads seemed to be moving around a lot, moving the knights, placing restrictions on noble access.

"No way, is that alteration for Mine?

"There are a few other reasons, but the only reason I can make it public to you is to secure Mine. Besides, that's all you need to know."

My father snorted cocklessly, pulling out just a little physical strength.

"The nobles of this territory also head to their respective lands for the Spring Prayer Ceremony. In that case, there will be less nobility from this city and a little more attention to detail. Until then, I want you to be patient that you're going to live away.... to protect your daughter."

The word of the Chief Cleric is sincere and caged in strength. Should I say that I am used to following people and moving them? My father, accustomed to following as a soldier, responds with salute to the clergyman, who was also in the position of those who could obey men in the Knights.

"Thank you for your extraordinary consideration. But why so much for Mine...?

"I told you. We need magic now. I wouldn't have needed this kind of trouble if Mine would have accepted to be adopted by the aristocracy"

Ha, and the clergyman exhales deliberately. My father opens his eyes like a little, and the power cages in my mother's hand.

"Adopted daughter!?

"Gunter, what do you think about turning Mine into an aristocratic adopted daughter right now?

……

The sound of my father eating up his teeth with gibberish echoed. I am gripping painfully when I let go of my hand. Even if I didn't say anything, the answer was obvious.

"Are the answers the same for all parents and children..."

"I thought if you let me go from my parents, I'd give up a little..." the chief shrugged.

"Mine said in the same way that he really didn't want to leave his family, so until he was ten, he would give him respite, but he would be adopted by the aristocracy at the age of ten because Mine's magic was too high for the civilian eating. This is a matter of decision."

"Become..."

Without parental consent or anything, the parents, who were told it was a matter of decision, stretched their bodies as if they had been struck. He did not seem to know what attitude to take towards the chief clergyman who, on the one hand, said that he would defend me and, on the other hand, arbitrarily adopt me as an aristocrat.

"Too much magic to control is only dangerous to him or his surroundings. Mine will be disposed of if it is determined to be dangerous to keep on this land"

"Disposal!?

"Eliminating dangerous things is natural as a city protector, isn't it? You, the soldier, would know."

The Father couldn't possibly think that his daughter was such a dangerous person, and he looked at me as confused. My mother frowns sadly again, too.

"To avoid disposition, Mine must learn the art of controlling magic. Adoption for that matter. Until the age of ten, when you have to enter the House of Lords, you can spend time with your family. But after that, it's useless to say anything. I'll be either the adopted daughter of a nobleman, or executed."

"... ten years old"

Two years and a little, the Chief Cleric exhales slowly to his father, who is slashed and grunts like a groan.

"My adoptive daughter is a nobleman whom I am cordial to. I won't let you treat me unhindered. I promise you that."

To the words, my mother raised her face as if haphazardly. After staring straight at the clergyman, he nods cocklessly.

"... ok. I'm going to leave mine with the Chief Cleric."

"Efa!?

I don't mind my father's voice as I was surprised, my mother kept her eyes open, staring at the chief cleric.

"When I was to be caged in the temple this winter, I didn't think Mine's physical weakness would make me do that very much. But thanks to everyone's help, Turi tells me that Mine is fine. Thanks to the Chief Cleric's concern."

My mother, who was forbidden to go out to the temple, could only listen to me from my father and Thuri. Still, I say that I have slept all the time and cannot fulfill my duties, and that I survived the winter because I took good care of my surroundings.

"Aefa, you...... That's why my adopted daughter..."

My mother reached quietly into my father's mouth, trying to argue, blocking the words. After laying your eyes down for the first time, shake your head slowly.

"No, Gunter. Think about it. If you were ten years old, as a Dapla, some kids would start living in extra space, wouldn't they? I prefer that Mine be disposed of as dangerous. I think it would be more life-threatening to be grabbed by a nobleman who doesn't know much about Mine. The Chief Cleric has always been honest with me. If we leave our hands, we will at least entrust them to someone we trust."

That's what my mother said, turning to the clergyman, she crosses her hands in front of her chest.

"Regards, Chief Cleric, Mine"

To my mother's words, after my father dropped his shoulder, as he also observed, he saluted by tapping his left breast twice with his right fist. Now it has been decided with parental approval that I will be adopted at the same time as I am ten years old.

"I don't want to be ten years old..."

Even though I know it's for me, indescribable loneliness pokes my chest. I wanted to shake off the feeling of solitude that surrounded me, and I held onto my mother for a while.