Ascendance of a Bookworm

The snow in the forest had begun to melt, and it seemed that buds were sprouting here and there. Tulli, who had gone to the forest, said so.

The fact that the children could now go gathering in the forest meant that the winter retreat, which gave me the experience of having too much time on my hands without being able to read, was coming to an end.

Finally, I could make clay tablets!

I wanted to go to the forest and make clay tablets too.

Tulli said there was still a lot of snow left, the footing was bad and hard to walk on, and there weren’t many things to gather. But for me, whether there were many or few things to gather didn’t really matter.

What I wanted was clayey soil, and if I dug, I would find it.

As long as I could get to the forest, it would be my victory.

Of course, there was no way I would be allowed to go to the forest alone, so I needed Tulli to act as an escort.

First, I decided to snuggle up close to Tulli and act sweet to ask her.

“Please, Tulli. I want to go to the forest too, and get along with everyone. Take me with you.”

“Myne, you can’t walk, so it’s impossible.”

Tulli’s reply was exactly the same as before. She still didn’t trust me, but if I gave up here, it would be game over.

“I’ve built up some stamina. If I can’t go, I’ll wait at the gate. Please.”

Tulli hesitated, but I had been doing radio calisthenics every day, paying close attention to my food, and even going with Tulli to the well to wash dishes, trying my best to improve my stamina. I thought I could finally go.

“...If father says it’s okay.”

Tulli gave up trying to turn me away herself and left the decision to my father.

In reality, if I lacked stamina and had to wait at the gate, it would be inevitable to inform father, so it couldn’t be helped.

Next, I tried to persuade my father.

“Father, can I go to the forest too? I don’t seem to get fevers as often now, right?”

“Hmm... well...”

During the winter, I had been very careful about my health, so I only caught a fever and collapsed five times in total.

Oh, that’s not many! It had really decreased.

Even my family praised me, saying “Amazing, amazing.”

Because I didn’t get fevers often, I could eat proper meals more often. Naturally, my nutritional condition improved and my body got a little bigger. I still wasn’t up to the average for my age, but probably my stamina had increased too.

“If it’s really impossible, I’ll rest at the gate. Okay? Okay?”

Father was thinking deeply. Since he didn’t reject me outright, unlike Tulli, there was still hope.

I desperately pressed on to get his permission.

“If I get used to it, I can manage. There are children as young as three being taken to the forest, right? So there’s no way I can’t go.”

“Ah, well, there is such a child... but that three-year-old is a wild child who can’t stay still at home, so they let him outside.”

“...So, if I misbehave, you’ll let me go?”

“You don’t need to misbehave. Don’t think stupid things.”

I had to get permission from father no matter what. With spring coming, soon mother’s work would start again, and then I’d probably be left with Grandma Gerda again.

That was mentally tough. I seriously hated it. I absolutely didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to see children being left alone.

“Father, you’re worried because I have no stamina, right? What do I have to do to be allowed to go to the forest? What would make you feel confident I’m okay?”

“Hmm...”

Father closed his eyes lightly and thought.

I waited quietly for him to come up with an answer.

“...Go to the gate for a while.”

“To the gate? How long do I have to do that?”

“Until you can walk to the gate alone. If you can keep up with everyone’s pace, then you can go to the forest.”

As expected, he wouldn’t allow me to go to the forest so easily. It felt like my ambition to make clay tablets had slipped a little further away.

But walking to the gate, where father worked, to build stamina was probably the biggest concession given to someone like me who had low trust.