Published: August 3, 2025
I clasped my head in frustration as Johan knelt before me, begging, in the bustling square where many people were preparing for winter. The stinging gazes around us pierced through me. I could hear whispered voices saying, "Oh my, what is this?" and "I wonder what happened?" It was unbearably awkward.
"Um, Johan. There are too many onlookers here, so it's very difficult to talk. Would it be alright if we went to your workshop?"
"No. If you want to talk, do it at my shop."
Just as I was about to suggest going to Johan’s workshop, Benno insisted that Johan come to the shop instead. I thought it might be better to stay away if Johan had mistaken me for the daughter of the Gilberta Trading Company, but Benno wouldn’t allow it.
"You should know what you’re sticking your nose into this time. Talk in front of me and Lutz."
"Understood. Johan, could you come to the Gilberta Trading Company?"
When I told Johan to stand up, his face lit up and he rose eagerly.
"Of course. It’s only natural for a father to worry if his daughter goes to the workshop alone."
"We're not parent and child!"
Benno and I said in unison.
Taking a step forward in front of the stunned Johan, who stared at us with mouth agape, I looked up at him.
"My name is Myne. Benno has been very kind to me, but we aren’t parent and child, nor am I an apprentice of the Gilberta Trading Company."
"Huh? But you wore the Gilberta Trading Company’s apprentice uniform before, and you even have a Merchant Guild card..."
Johan's face quickly darkened as he nervously listed reasons why he thought we were parent and child, then muttered in disbelief, "Not parent and child?"
"Myne is the workshop master I’m guardianship over. At your age, you have that trial, right? I’ll hear you out."
"Y-yes."
Benno sighed reluctantly, picked me up, and began walking determinedly. This behavior was why people mistook us for parent and child, but Benno clearly hated adjusting his pace to mine and refused to change.
Johan hurried to keep up, and Lutz broke into a light jog.
"Hey, those two really aren’t parent and child?"
"No. Master Benno is single."
Johan’s voice sounded like he couldn’t accept it, and Lutz responded with an exasperated tone. Benno clearly heard their quiet exchange and gave Johan a sharp glare.
I could see Johan flinch from Benno’s glare, as I watched from Benno’s shoulder.
Once inside the back room of the shop, we sat at the table. Lutz was escorted by Mark upstairs to prepare tea.
Johan, a blacksmith’s apprentice, had probably never been allowed into the owner’s office of such a large shop. He looked around nervously as he was led to a chair and sat down. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had shouted in the square, "Please be my patron!"
"Benno, what’s this trial?"
I climbed onto the chair with effort and leaned forward to ask. Benno immediately directed his gaze to Johan.
"Johan, this is your matter. Explain it."
"Y-yes!"
Johan straightened up under Benno’s stern look. After glancing between Benno and me, he searched for words and began slowly.
"Well, at the blacksmith association, when an apprentice—called a dapura—turns adult, there’s a task to be recognized as fully fledged."
Johan wasn’t very eloquent, speaking quietly and haltingly as he explained.
He said the trial was to find a patron among customers who recognize his skill and invest in him by the coming-of-age ceremony, and to make something the patron requests within a year.
The patron’s request could be a weapon, a daily item, or something else, but the most important part was finding a patron willing to invest in his skills.
The quality of the finished product and the patron’s satisfaction mattered, as did the type of patron, since they were needed to maintain the workshop in the long term. This all factored into the evaluation.
Failing this trial meant losing the apprentice contract and being demoted to an employee apprentice contract.
"Johan, isn’t your skill good enough to find a patron easily?"