Published: July 26, 2025
“Lutz is still a minor. If he’s going to work overnight in another town, parental permission is absolutely necessary. Taking him out without permission would be considered kidnapping.”
Benno exhaled slowly and began explaining the situation. Since the only task listed was “persuade Lutz’s parents to get permission for him to go out,” getting an explanation was helpful.
“I sent Mark to get permission, but they wouldn’t grant it. Whether it’s a difference in common sense between merchants and craftsmen, or Lutz’s father is particularly stubborn, I want to hear your opinion.”
“Even if you say you want my opinion… That basically means you're asking if there’s a way to get permission to take Lutz out, right? But that really is something Lutz, you, and Lutz’s parents need to discuss. Even if we’re childhood friends, I’m a complete outsider.”
Benno wants to take Lutz out for work, Lutz is the one going out, and then there are Lutz’s parents who give permission. Those are the parties involved. I don’t think it’s my place to interfere.
When I said that, Benno scratched his head vigorously and glared at me.
“That’s why I want your opinion. The more information, the better. If Lutz knows you best, then you must know Lutz best, right?”
Benno is meticulous about preparation. Before negotiating with Lutz’s parents, he probably wants to gather information. If it’s work-related, that’s one thing, but when it comes to his daily life, I probably know Lutz best after spending so much time together.
“Why was the permission denied even though it’s for work?”
“That’s what I want to know. According to Mark, it was a flat ‘No.’ I heard a little about Lutz’s difficult family situation when we rented the attic, but what exactly is going on?”
Now that I think about it, I haven’t really told Benno much about Lutz’s living environment.
Since Lutz announced he wanted to become a merchant apprentice, the atmosphere at home got worse, and he stopped sharing much about what happens there. I feel like he vents to his superiors Mark and Benno more, so he’s even less likely to tell me.
“Lutz’s family originally opposed him becoming a merchant at all.”
“What? So it’s not just the traveling merchants they opposed, but the town merchants too?”
Benno’s eyes widened in surprise, and I nodded slowly.
“My dad works in construction, and Lutz’s older brothers are all apprentices in construction or woodworking. They wanted Lutz to become a craftsman too. They think skilled work like that is more stable and reliable than the ups and downs of being a merchant.”
“Craftsmen aren’t necessarily stable either, are they?”
There are workshops that close when they lose customers, so craftsmen aren't always stable. But if you’re skilled, other workshops in the same trade will hire you, so you don’t end up running a store and getting into debt.
“I’ve heard from Lutz that his family said they would never allow him to be a merchant.”
I heard harsh words from Lutz about merchants — that they just skim off the top without producing anything and that you have to be ruthless to survive in that line of work. It sounds like he had some terrible experiences with unscrupulous merchants.
“…Lutz really became a merchant despite that.”
In this town, children usually enter family trades through their parents or relatives, so Lutz might be unusual. But since he works enthusiastically, I think his choice wasn’t wrong.
“If his parents never allow it, Lutz planned to become a live-in apprentice. Aunt Carla… Lutz’s mother at least recognized how serious he was, so he’s currently commuting from home.”
“Live-in apprentice? Does that mean things aren’t going well with his family?”
Benno blinked. No child would willingly enter such a harsh environment unless things were really bad. Deciding to become a live-in apprentice means you think that harsh environment is better than your own home.
“I don’t know if it’s bad right now because Lutz won’t say. But I’m concerned that his older brothers aren’t very supportive of him.”