Published: August 3, 2025
The snow that had covered the town was half melted, and the sunlight was gradually becoming warmer. The winter retreat was over, and everyone had started removing the snow and preparing for spring. Tulli’s work had resumed, but the days she came to visit the temple had become every other day.
All the winter handcrafts prepared at the orphanage were completed and sold through Lutz to Benno. Thanks to that, the orphanage’s budget was quite healthy. Since there was still a lot of snow left in the forest, in a little while, we would go back to the forest to gather materials and make paper.
Until then, it was considered an education period. A former attendant, the gray priest, was assigned to teach the children etiquette. Because I wandered around the orphanage, it was necessary to ensure they showed no disrespect to the blue shrine maiden apprentice, and also, they must not treat other blue priests with the same rude attitude — that was the reasoning.
Right now, the lessons were taking place in the orphanage’s dining hall, so the workshop was empty except for me, Lutz, and the guard, Darmel.
“I want to try using the printing press just for printing the text next time.”
“Using it is fine, but how are we supposed to make a printing press?”
“Well, um, I’m thinking of modifying a press machine…”
I took out the blueprint and showed it to Lutz.
The early printing press Gutenberg made was apparently a modified press machine originally used for pressing grapes in winemaking. I felt I could somehow make an early model, but recreating it from memory was surprisingly difficult.
“You put the types this way, apply ink, place the paper, then press it like this, tightly…”
Demonstrating the action of using the press machine that was just out of reach, I explained to Lutz what the printing press was like. Since I couldn’t leave the temple, ordering parts or explaining things at the workshop would be Lutz’s role.
“In that case, this… typesetting? We need to decide this size properly.”
“We can just measure the picture book we made before; that’ll tell us quickly.”
While discussing the printing press with Lutz in the workshop, we measured various parts with a tape measure and jotted down notes on the blueprint.
I added notes like attaching the platform for placing the paper at a slight angle, or putting a box containing ink here—the blueprint filled with all the ideas I could think of made Lutz shrug his shoulders.
“Hey, Myne. For now, can’t we just add the extra stuff later?”
“Extra stuff? I only wrote down what’s necessary.”
If anything, I think there are more things missing or forgotten than included, given my memory.
“Well, sure, places to put paper and ink are necessary, but what you’re struggling with is how to attach them to the printing press, right? At first, wouldn’t it be fine to just put a table next to the press machine?”
Lutz was right. If the typesetting could be fixed under the press machine, even if the process was troublesome, the minimum printing could be done.
“You think too hard because you have the finished product in your head. Even paper-making was full of trial and error and substitutes at first. Like that, we just need the absolutely necessary functions for printing.”
“...Yeah. Actually, it’s more important to figure out how a few kids can operate the press machine together, right?”
While talking like this, the design was completed. We decided to build the simplest version and ordered it through Benno from Ingo’s woodworking workshop.
“We’ll also need small items, right?”
Just as we were about to discuss small things like typesetting and the printing stick, Gil burst into the workshop in a hurry.
“Myne-sama!”
“What’s wrong, Gil? Is it already time to go to the high priest’s room?”
Today, the female attendants were all busy preparing for the prayer ceremony, so Fischpiel practice was canceled.
“Rosina is angry.”
“Huh?”
“She said the preparations for the prayer ceremony aren’t finished yet, but you’re spending all your time on the printing press, so she asked if you could be called. She’s really angry, but quietly.”