Published: August 15, 2025
The sales event ended successfully, and while secretly supporting Mother as she began planning various things, I returned to the temple.
Once back at the temple, I had to organize the transfer team to Ilkner. I summoned Lutz and Gil to the secret room in the orphanage director’s office and asked them to select the gray priests and prepare daily necessities and such.
“Gil, don’t forget to prepare clothes. We need ones for summer and autumn, so be careful. It gets quite cold around the harvest festival, right?”
“Yes.”
“Lutz, I want you to prepare some clothes for the gray priests to wear when they go outside. They don’t have to be expensive, but they should be suitable for wearing outside the workshop. Unlike at the temple, they probably can’t wear the usual loose robes.”
“Understood. I’ll pick them out after selecting the people.”
Watching them write on their respective tablets, I thought of other necessary items.
“Make sure to bring tableware. With so many new people at once, we won’t have enough, and the gray priests have never eaten without cutlery before, so it would be very troublesome if it’s missing.”
Lutz knows about eating with hands at downtown eateries and sharing dishes, but the gray priests, being raised in a noble environment, are different. Just as Hasse’s orphans were confused at the temple, the gray priests going to Ilkner will likely be stiffened by cultural differences.
“I should tell the husband and Damian to prepare as well. How long will they be in Ilkner?”
“I’ll come to pick them up at the harvest festival… probably after the autumn material gathering.”
After last year’s failure, while replenishing Lutz’s share and whining tearfully, I was comforted. Remembering that, Lutz shrugged his shoulders and looked down at me.
“Don’t mess up this year.”
“Ugh… It’ll be fine this year since the high priest is accompanying us.”
The high priest said he plans to borrow Father—who is the knights order commander—from Foster Father during the few days before and after this year’s Shutzelia night. Knowing last year’s situation, with the high priest and Eckhardt Brother arranging things, I think we’ll be fine.
Before that, there’s the summer material gathering.
“Also, a report from our side: from now on, Damian will be coming in and out of the workshop. After all, you can’t negotiate with Gibe Ilkner without knowing how to make paper.”
“If Benno-san allows it, that’s fine. But he’s only allowed in the workshop, like the craftsmen. Make sure he doesn’t accidentally wander into the noble district.”
At my warning, Lutz shrugged, saying, “It’s not like anyone other than you would wander into the noble district.” Since he is the Guild Master’s grandson and handles noble matters naturally, we have to be careful about losing profit, but he knows what is acceptable when dealing with nobles.
“Oh, by the way. Before the dispatch to Ilkner, the Guild Master said he wants to greet you. Can you make time?”
“It’s fine if he comes to see me off on the day we leave, but it’s difficult to make time just for that. There’s a lot to do before going to Ilkner, and besides…”
Honestly, I know I already have more authority than him, but he comes across as pushy, so I still can’t shake my unease.
“Since it’s a tight schedule, I’m afraid he’ll throw unreasonable demands at me.”
“No, you nobles have more unreasonable demands.”
I immediately got a retort from Lutz. Sorry for piling on more work. Sorry for pushing things forward.
“…Well, fine. I’ll tell the Guild Master he can come to see you off.”
And so, four gray priests were selected by Lutz and Gil to head to Ilkner, and tools for making paper were brought into the workshop for use there. At the same time, Damian started coming in and out of the workshop, but since I rarely go there, I never see him.
In the head priest's office, frequent correspondence occurs between Brigitte, who seems a little happy to be in contact with her family, and Gibe Ilkner. Ordnance shuttles back and forth to coordinate schedules, and the date for the trip to Ilkner was set.