Ascendance of a Bookworm

"Look, Kamil. Hurry!"

"Hurry up, isn't it because Dad didn't quite wake up!

I yelled at my father as he ran down the stairs with his luggage. On a good, sunny winter's day, we pick Paru. Yet my father didn't quite wake up this morning, and my mother and I desperately woke him up.

"Enough, Kamil, get in the sleigh"

"Dad, but..."

"Come on, hurry up, or we'll lose Paru."

When my father rushed me and I couldn't help but ride the sleigh, my father pulled and ran out. I swell my cheeks as I grabbed onto the sleigh to avoid being shaken off.

... even though I can already run.

I know it's a little late to leave, and I can't help but run all the way to the woods at the same speed as my father. But I want to get off before I see someone I know. I'm sure everyone around me would laugh if they found out I was being put on a sleigh with my luggage and pulled.

... It's like a baby I can't do anything about. Even though it was my father who slept with me.

"Hey, Gunter. Are you busy picking Paru? That's tough."

"Have you ever changed?

When he gets to the south gate, his father starts talking to the gatekeeper. I have to hurry, but I look up to the two of you. They're telling me not to interrupt my father's story at the gate because it's about work.

"... there were a lot of unfamiliar faces to the orphanage kids going to pick Paru. I let Rutz and Gill through because they were together, but have you heard anything?

"I think it has to do with a top-secret assignment from the lord. I'll see you in the woods."

My father is busy even though it is winter. The usual winter is just hard on snowmen and drunk opponents because the snow is deep and fewer people come and go in, but this winter the lord told me I had an important job and the soldiers at North Gate said they had a great deal more work.

... Does orphanage mean Dirk and Konrat are also in the woods? Looking forward to it.

Last fall, when Lutz and I first went to the woods, I met Dirk and Konrat. They're both orphanage kids, just about the same age. The orphanage had all the picture books and toys I could do at the Rosemaine workshop, and the two of them figured out whatever I was talking about. I was so happy to be able to talk about the toys I was always playing with because they said I shouldn't tell the kids around me about the Rosemaine workshop toys Lutz would bring me.

I already have a dead sister named Mine, and she has something to do with the temple of death and nobility. The merciful temple chief who grieved over it is giving me a toy made in the workshop. I just don't know where and how it affects me when I engage with nobility. So you can't talk about Mine, about the nobles in the temple, about the toys you're giving me.

I don't remember when I first heard about Mine. It's just, "Mine's" and "Mine's" and my mother and sister and Lutz talked so happily, I said, "Who's Mine? The only thing I remember clearly is that everyone stopped talking about Mine after I heard it. I found out in the air that we really shouldn't talk. I promised my father, too, and I'm not going to talk to him.

When I first went to the woods with Lutz, he said, "It's good to talk about toys with the orphanage kids, but no talking about Mine," but I don't know Mine, so there's nothing I can talk about.

The next time I promised to meet Dirk or Konrat in the woods, I took the carta and played carta with him in the woods. I beat Dirk or lost, but I beat Konrat. In the spring, the contort was getting stronger and I lost. I regret it, so I also practice with my mother so I can be stronger, and compete with Touri, who comes home once in a while.

"Konrat, Dilk!

When we arrived in the woods, as we heard at the gate, the orphanages were also here to collect them. There are a lot of other kids I don't recognize besides Dirk and Konrat. Gil and Lutz are with us and teach a lot of kids how to pick Paru. Apparently there are a lot of kids picking Paru for the first time.

"Yo, Lutz! Gil! Why don't you pick it with me today? You're offering to Master Rosemayne, aren't you?

When my father said that, Lutz shook his head, "Master Rosemayne won't be back this year..." They say Rosemaine, who returns to the temple about the end of every winter from the middle of the year, will not return this year.

"No, but I'm going to put the paru in the ice room and have it preserved and served. Lady Rosemaine is looking forward to every year."

Gil laughed nicely when he said that. Master Rosemaine loves Paru Cake and she looks forward to eating it every year. There's a place in the temple that's like winter all year, so even in the spring, we leave Paru there unharmed.

... There's something unusual about the temple that Paru can't solve.

"Kamil, you should come pick Paru with the orphanage kids. I need to talk to Gil for a second."

"Okay."

Maybe we'll talk about work again. Dad leaves the spot with Gil. I turned to the orphanage children with Lutz. There I saw Dilk and Konrat teaching the new kids how to pick Paru.

"So here's how you pick it while you take turns."

"Why am I doing this..."

"Oh, no! Beltram, off the food of the unworkable, you always say!

All the new kids seem kind of great. You're teaching me how to do it, but you look like you're stepping back with your feet shoulder-width apart.

... He doesn't even seem to want to hear this, I wish I'd let him go.

"Konrat, Dilk looks kind of tough."

"Oh, Kamil. Long time no see. We got so busy because we got more people at once. Dirk and Delia are always mad at me for doing that. We're both angry a lot."

It was Dirk and Konrat who said they had less pre-baptism kids and just the two of us playing, but now they seem to have a lot more kids and it's tough. I've got about ten kids I've never seen, and some of them are still leaving messages at the orphanage.

... Where did so many come from?

"It's a shame because I can't do carta on the snow. Because we're all practicing, and now Kamil can't beat us."

It's rare and strong that I always pointed my lips to lose anyway. If you've been practicing with this many people, you must be getting very strong with both the Konrat and the Dilk. I just had a little bit of a crisis.

"But even I'm getting stronger. You beat Renate."

"Who's Renate?

"Gilberta, she's a lady from the Chamber of Commerce."

"Konrat, Kamil! Why don't you show everyone an example?

That's what Dirk and Lutz told me, and I went up to the palu tree to teach the new kids how to do it.

I met Renate not long before winter arrived. Touri took me to the Guilberta Chamber of Commerce. I went north for the first time wearing clothes as beautiful as Thuri's sunny clothes. The city was much brighter than the neighborhood we live in.

"This neighborhood is so beautiful, isn't it? This is because a lot of the paint disappeared with the dirt when the lord cleaned the city at the same time, and I repainted it. Uncle Deed has too much work to do! So, I was angry, don't you remember Camille?

Touri told me about the northern streets laughing with Couscous.

Where we live, the roads and stone sections turned shiny white, and the wooden walls became clean, but the rich people lived in the north where some of the paint they used to paint peeled off and it was hard.

"I heard it was hard to get it ready by the time the other merchants arrived. It's like my dad's been looking around for a long time..."

I don't remember much of the dirty city in my memory, but it was a very dramatic change, everyone says with their mouths shut. The truth is, I remember Dad and his soldiers looking around saying that if we weren't careful not to get dirty because Rosemayne stopped the lord from kicking out all the residents of the lower town and trying to completely rebuild the city.

"This is the Gilberta Chamber of Commerce. It's the shop where I work.... Be polite with your words from here."

Touri says so and goes up the stairs beside the store. "It's Touri. I'm back right now," he greeted, entering through the door where the downwork opened for me. Touri's movements and tone are completely different from what you see at home. I also stretched my spine exactly as Lutz and Touri taught me.

"Are you Kamil? Welcome."

My husband at the Gilberta Chamber of Commerce welcomes me and introduces me to my family. Corinna, the exclusive needle of Master Rosemaine, whom Thuri reveres, Renate and Knut, his children. Then, Mr. Plantan Chamber of Commerce husband and Mr. Marc, who happened to be here today to educate Renate.

I was told to play carta and cards with Renate and Knut, and my husband and Marc from the Plantan Chamber of Commerce also played with me. Kunut hasn't been opponent yet, and Renate and I have about half the wins and losses.

"So, did I tell you? Not because I'm an adult, but because Renate herself is still here."

When her husband at the Plantan Chamber of Commerce said so with a ni laugh, Renate swelled her cheeks slightly and looked at me.

"Camille, join the Gilberta Chamber of Commerce. So I will fight until I win completely. What do you say?"

"... Huh?

What do you say? I don't care if they say so. As I blinked, my husband, Otto, laughed and solicited me.

"Oh, that's Renate. That's a good idea. Kamil, would you like to be our Dalua?

My husband invited me straight away, and I saw Touri. Touri is at the Guilberta Chamber of Commerce as a hair decorator dedicated to Master Rosemaine. Recently, I've been tasked with designing costumes and choosing cloths. This is an amazing birth, and few people around us have ever been born that much before adulthood. Touri is an amazing sister who can be seen with admirable eyes from around her.

... When I get into the Gilberta Chamber of Commerce, can I be as amazing as Thuri?

My heart moves a little. "Would you be a soldier with your father to protect the city? He asked me out, but I thought it might be more interesting to work with Touri than with the soldiers.

At the next moment, the husband of the Plantan Chamber of Commerce reached out bah.

"No. Kamil is better suited to Dalua of the Plantan Chamber of Commerce. I would be more interested in Plantan Chamber books and toys than in hair decorations and cloths and phosphors handled by the Gilberta Chamber of Commerce?

That's what my husband said immediately, and my heart moved grally towards the Plantan Chamber of Commerce. It's Lutz who's born as much as Thuri around me. Lutz, who went from architecture and woodworkers' houses to big store dapla, is as amazing as Touri.

I love the many pictures and toys Lutz brings, and it seems more familiar to me than hair decorations and cloth. Cloth and hair decorations are more of a woman's area.

"Lutz told me that Camille wants to go to different places, like Lutz, or work in an orphanage workshop, right?

I wanted to go to the orphanage workshop because I thought I might be able to meet Dirk and Konrat, but I'm very concerned about how the picture books and toys are made. Thinking about it, it seemed more appealing to me than to the Guilberta Chamber of Commerce. I'm also looking forward to Rutz saying he can read the best book he's ever done.

"Whoa, whoa! Give me a break. How come Benno always pulls out the talent I've got eyes on!? With Lutz would be enough!?

"If you're going to say that, it'll be enough because there's Thuri over there! This is the right material!

My two husbands started a bickering while I was worried. Besides, "Make up your mind quickly, Camille," Lennate rushes you from side to side. They can't finish these two arguments unless they decide.

I looked up to Touri for help. Touri, who noticed my gaze, stops by and gently strokes my head with a small laugh.

"Camille, you don't have to look like that. You still have time until the baptism, so you just have to think about it slowly. You have to think carefully and decide for yourself which profession you will take up, because it will greatly affect your life. It's good to refer to other people's opinions, but if you don't use it as an excuse ingredient because someone said this, you'll regret it, and you won't be able to work hard just to blame people in hard times"

Touri stopped the words there, smiling nicely at her two husbands.

"So, both of you. Don't rush, wait for Kamil's answer."

"Haha, that was a disaster. Because neither husband will pull off."

Lutz laughed and worked hard at what he told me while warming his cold hands to the fire to pick the fruit of Paru. I want a brother like Lutz who always encourages me while pounding my head lightly, I think.

"... Lutz is going to marry Thuri? Touri's gonna be an adult in a little while, right? Something's going on around me."

By the time she grows up, more or less girls will be looking for a dowry or moving toward marriage. Touri and I are always with Lutz, and no matter how many big stores he comes from, they are both former slum dwellers. It is conceived between the two houses that Touri and Lutz are just fine given the coming marriage where the relationship between the house and the house is heavily involved. I don't think my parents will be able to welcome my partner from the big store.

"Well, I know the surroundings are booming, and I know that's easy, but what do you think? I think it's gonna be hard for a while. Touri, I just broke my heart."

"Yeah!?

"... oh, this is a secret"

"I care, Lutz! Because Touri works so well sewing..."

I mean, no, there can't be a man who doesn't turn to that touri. I may be familiar, but I really thought so. But, like my parents were talking about. Does that mean my parents and origin are going to be a big part of my marriage?

In the end, no matter how much I asked, Lutz didn't tell me just to shake my head.

"I want to hear more about Kamil than about Thuri. You've already made up your mind, haven't you? You look like that."

That's what Lutz said and raised the edge of his lips. I also look up at Lutz and laugh nicely.

"I like the Plantain Chamber of Commerce. Because I prefer books and toys to selling hair decorations and cloths rather than protecting the city."

"... Did you grow up to be a book lover just as you were aiming? That's Mine."

"Huh?"

When I couldn't hear Lutz well enough to hear him back, Lutz shook his head again and said, "Nothing." Lutz surprisingly has a lot to hide.

"If you're serious about wanting to join the Plantan Chamber of Commerce, it's time for the blizzard to stop, and you can get your Uncle Gunter's permission to educate him at the Plantan Chamber of Commerce."

"Education?"

"I think it's just as hard for Kamil, the soldier's son, to be a merchant as I was struggling to be a merchant. I'll keep it at the Plantain Chamber of Commerce for about ten days and educate you to become a merchant."

Even if you can do fine with picture books and toys for reading letters and doing calculations, they don't know many parts of your mind and common sense as a merchant without touching it. You should listen to Lutz's advice on going ahead.

"I'll talk to Mr. Marc and his husband, but Camille will probably be fine"

"Really!?

Lutz nodded with a laugh.

"It's hard because the store will be busy in the spring and we've decided to travel to Kilnberga next, but we can afford it during the winter months. I'm a minor and I can't go up to the castle."

At the end of winter, my husband and the other Dapras seem very difficult because I'm going to sell books to the castle. But Rutz's work ended when he had all the books and materials to take to the castle at the Rosemaine Workshop.

"Kamil also needs practice because of her language, posture, and standing behavior."

When I was shown what I had to remember, I was so happy to see that the path was wide open for my future.

"Talk to your uncle and aunt properly and get permission. Education starts with that."

Because it's tough without parental support, Rutz narrows his eyes to remind him of something. But I'm fine. Your father and mother will understand if you talk.

"Lutz, me, I'll do my best"

"Oh, come on."

When I said that, there was a sound of Paru falling over the snow. So is Dirk and Konrat, but the new kids in the orphanage drop paru unusually fast compared to us.

"Why are you so early?

"I don't know. Look, over there. Uncle Gunter's waving. Camille, take turns."

"Yeah!"

I climb a palu tree to take turns with my father. "Almost there. Nice to meet you later, Kamil," my father said and went down. As I was taking off my gloves and grabbing the base of the paru and warming it up, Dilk turned this way, warming the paru up in the same way with a branch just around the corner.

"Kamil, you're in such a great mood. Hands, aren't you cold?

"My hands are cold... Dirk, me, I might be able to go on a tour of the Rosemaine workshop at the orphanage once it's spring. If you're willing to join the Plantain Chamber of Commerce, Lutz said you'd apply to Master Rosemayne for a tour permit."

"Really? Wow, you're looking forward to it"

Gives me a happy smile so Dilk can welcome me. I may be able to work with Dirk and Konrat in the future. That was a very nice thing.

When the light begins to plug from the top into the forest, the time for collection is over. Paru leaves reflect light like glitter gems, shaking out like trees are willing to sound the sound of a leaf rub called shara shara.

I got right off the Paru tree and stared at the Paru tree disappearing. The orphanage children, who see Paru for the first time, look up to the strange Paru tree with amazement.

When the tall, tall, stretched Paru trees wave their branches and fly their fruits, and they grow smaller and disappear, everyone who was coming to collect walks out for the gate.

Put the fruit of the harvested Paru in a cage and put it on the sleigh, and we started to go home. Me and my dad are with the orphanage kids on the way home. Dad said he would talk at the gate so he could get through without a problem. Because gatekeepers are tougher when entering the city than getting out of the city, and since duty is changing in the morning and noon, it is more likely that children with unknown faces will eat the stops.

"This is a bit of a difficult time, so it's tough on Gil and Lutz alone. Now let's talk this way for once. It's a little accommodating."

"Thank you, Uncle Gunter"

The fact that my father talked to the gatekeeper allowed all the children in the orphanage to return to the city without any problems. Through the gate, the orphans walk out for the orphanage.

Father offered one fruit of Paru, toward Gil.

"Gil, give this to Master Rosemayne"

"Oh, I'll save it in the ice room and make sure it's served"

"I asked."

Even though it's so hard to pick one Paru, Dad always entrusts it to Pong and the orphanage people for Master Rosemaine. The same goes for Dirk and Konrat, but I think all my family members who are blinded by Master Rosemaine like Master Rosemaine too much.

... Oh, my paru is down.

That night, when I finished my meal, I told my father and mother, "We need to talk". After the two stare at each other with their faces stretched for a moment, their father sits back with a serious, tough face, and their mother brews tea with an anxious face.

Cotton, taking the cup placed with the cotton, my father took a bite, sipped tea as if to dampen his mouth and looked at me.

"What's the story, Kamil?

I can feel my father's voice a few steps lower than usual. With anxiety suddenly spreading across her chest that she might be opposed, I stared at both of them with all my strength in my fist.

"Father, mother. I want to make a book with Lutz! I want to make a new book and spread it out."

When I asked for it, my father and mother looked like they were going to cry for some reason. I thought they might disagree, "Why aren't you going for soldiers? I thought they might ask," but I don't know why you look like you're about to cry.

"... we both disagree after all?

When I tilt my neck, my mother gently wipes her eyes as she says, "It's nothing." And when he got up and came next to me, he slowly stroked his hair with a grin that looked terribly complicated.

"If Camille decides, my mother won't disagree. I'll be there for you. Do it right."

My father also nodded and gave me permission to go to the Plantan Chamber of Commerce to study.

... I'll make a book too and be like Lutz!