Published: August 3, 2025
I am Johan. I just came of age this autumn, fifteen years old.
Today, to receive an evaluation of the task given to me as an apprentice, I am heading with my master, carrying a heavy, solid box toward the Gilberta Trading Company in the northern part of town.
“Don’t look so miserable, Johan.”
“Yeah, but… everyone helped me out, and what if the evaluation is low...?”
My work often gets low marks from customers. Because I ask detailed questions, I'm told this much should be a given, and no matter how faithfully I fulfill orders, the satisfaction scores aren’t high.
If the patron's evaluation is low, naturally, the blacksmith association’s assessment also drops. Whether the customer is satisfied is the most important thing, yet my scores are always low.
This time, my patron is young lady Myne, still a little girl. She said she’s the workshop master of the Myne Workshop after her baptism ceremony, but she looks so small it’s hard to believe she’s been baptized.
Though young in appearance, Myne’s words and actions are far from childish. Her answers to questions during the order, the blueprints she hands over, and the way she spends money on required materials are not what you'd expect from a child.
She’s on such good terms with the owner of the Gilberta Trading Company that I mistakenly thought she was their daughter. I wondered what their relationship was, but recalling the array of eccentric items she’s ordered, it made sense. For the shrewd merchant Benno, she must be a valuable asset who brings in money.
I don't know what exactly this valuable person is seeking with this task. The craftsmen in the workshop also tilt their heads, wondering what it's all for.
“Welcome.”
“Hey, Mark. Please take me to Benno’s place.”
Feeling nervous, when we arrive at the store, we are led to a back room we’ve been to before, and tea is served. This is a room for important clients bringing profit to the store to negotiate deals. The spacious room, decorated with luxurious carpets and tapestries, makes me feel out of place, as someone like me would normally never enter here.
“Benno, is the young lady here yet?”
Benno, the owner of the store, and my master seem on friendly terms. Unlike me, stiff with tension and unable to lift my cup, my master sits beside me, drinking tea without a hint of nervousness.
Benno glances at the empty chair next to my master while holding his cup.
“Ah, the carriage is on its way. She’ll be here soon.”
“Carriage? Whose young lady is this?”
I secretly breathe a sigh of relief at my master’s offhand remark. Myne doesn’t seem to be the daughter of the Gilberta Trading Company, but she is definitely a wealthy young lady.
“Master, young lady Myne has arrived.”
A store clerk called Mark opens the door and respectfully invites her in. Behind Mark, a small girl walks in delicately, followed by three attendants.
“Thank you for waiting.”
Myne looks like a noble’s daughter, dressed in colorful, warm clothing with fluttery long sleeves. Her demeanor now is completely different from when she wore the Gilberta Trading Company apprentice uniform. I open my eyes wide in surprise at how unlike the patron who placed the order she now appears.
Doubting if she’s really the same person, I stare blankly as Myne takes a seat directly in front of me, only to be glared at fiercely by a weapon-bearing attendant standing behind her.
...Scary!
After greetings, I take out the box of metal movable type that I had placed at my feet. My arms tremble with nervousness, causing the metal type inside to rattle sharply.
I nervously wonder if I’m about to make a mistake, but Myne gazes at the box with a dreamy expression.
Despite her skin being pure white, as if never touched by sunlight, only her cheeks are flushed, and her moonlike golden eyes sparkle with stars.
“I’m surprised you finished so much faster than I expected. I never thought it would be done this quickly…”
She presses her hand to her chest and exhales lightly—a gesture like a girl in love, radiating a maturity that belies her young age.