Published: August 3, 2025
I had resolved to make ink, but that didn’t mean I could make it immediately. First, I had to go to Sieg’s woodworking workshop and have the master introduce me to another woodworking workshop.
When I arrived at the woodworking workshop, the assistant who had been there earlier was doing some detailed work at the counter. She looked up and gave me a friendly smile, as if she had just remembered something.
“Hey, Benno, Sieg’s younger brother.”
“Call the master,” Benno said.
At Benno’s words, the assistant immediately turned and went inside. After I heard a faint shout of “Master!”, a burly, bearded man with thick right upper arms appeared slowly, brushing wood chips off his clothes.
“Hey, Benno. Sorry, but the wainscoting still isn’t finished,” he said.
“Ah, today I wanted you to introduce me to another woodworking workshop.”
“...What do you mean by that?” The master’s eyes sharpened as if fired up.
Watching his expression, Benno shrugged lightly.
“It doesn’t mean we’re cancelling the contract. Our orders are running behind schedule. We probably can’t accept any more work, right? Is there a woodworking workshop connected to you where I could send some jobs? I want to place an order for this young lady’s work.”
As Benno said this, he pushed me forward a little. The master’s expression relaxed as if relieved. Then, he scrutinized me from head to toe while stroking his scruffy beard.
“Hmph. Then I’ll send you to Ingo’s place. Let’s go.”
The master said this and decided to take me to the workshop of a man named Ingo. The reason the master was going with me personally was to make it clear who the original client was by introducing me directly. It seemed that there were various power dynamics between workshops.
Ingo was apparently a young master who had recently become independent. Although young, he seemed slightly older than Benno. Considering that most masters looked to be over forty, anyone in their thirties would be considered quite young.
“We can’t take this job ourselves. Ingo, how about you?”
“Right, you’ve got that big job anyway. You want a piece of this one too?”
“Of course not. Your client is this little young lady here. The rest is up to you.”
With that, the master from Sieg’s workshop left. Ingo looked down at me and obviously looked disappointed. I was a little annoyed, but since I still looked like a child who hadn’t even had a baptism ceremony, it was understandable.
“I want to prepare the boards for winter handcrafts. So please make sure the delivery deadline is absolutely met.”
I specified the size of the boards and placed the order.
This year, the orphanage’s winter handcraft projects would be making Reversi and playing cards. For Reversi, the board would be a thick piece of wood with lines drawn on it using the ink I made to create the grid. The stones would be small pieces of board painted on one side with ink. As long as they fit within the grid, they didn't have to be perfectly round—it was nice that the game wouldn’t be affected.
If I also made chess pieces, they could play together on the same board. However, chess pieces are complex to shape, so I rejected that idea. It would be too advanced for the “First Woodworking Class” planned at the orphanage. Instead, I would use shogi pieces. Since I only had to write the names on the board, making them would be much easier.
Are shogi and chess different? No one would know, so both the moves and names could be decided arbitrarily. Yes, I would make the rules.
I also thought about making playing cards out of paper, but the cost of boards was cheaper than paper. Besides, the washi paper made at Myne Workshop would need modification or processing to be suitable for playing cards. Thin boards would be tough enough to withstand rough handling by the children.
The colors and marks might be okay as they were, but I should consider how to handle the J, Q, and K cards. Drawing pictures would be too difficult.