Ascendance of a Bookworm

“If you don’t gain practical experience as a civil official apprentice, you can’t become a civil official. Your goal is to be a librarian, right? Prioritize your work in the printing business.”

The high priest advised me to first finish my own tasks before interfering in each family’s problems, meddling to upend the social system, and causing chaos.

“Start with the upcoming book sale at the castle. Have you finished notifying the Plantin Trading Company?”

“It’s all set. Fran informed me that the workshop is ready.”

While I was asleep, Charlotte and Darmel spoke with the high priest, and it seems the Plantin Trading Company has held annual book sales at the castle for years—it’s become a tradition.

This year, many customers showed up and purchased books.

Most likely, the person who left the strongest impression on everyone was the former Count Reizegang, who occupied the front row in the order of purchase. The count who collapsed recently after my blessing had recovered. Remarkably, he arrived with a caregiver, walking gingerly with a cane all the way up to the Plantin Trading Company and bought one copy of every single title.

I could see Benno and the others’ eyes widen momentarily at the sight of such a huge sum being spent upfront. Back when the product variety was limited, it might have been believable, but now that the selection had grown, no customer would buy everything in one go.

“Richarda, great-grandfather is quite wealthy, isn’t he?”

“So far, since the book authors are the princess and Lady Elvira, he wanted to buy his own great-grandchildren’s books himself. He just recovered recently, so Count Reizegang was quite worried about him.”

…Geez, great-grandpa, you’re pushing yourself too hard! You’ll collapse again!

As I anxiously watched, waiting for him to falter at any moment, I realized I understood well how those around me felt keeping an eye on me.

…This is bad for the heart. I bet he’s going to scold me, ‘That’s enough, behave yourself.’ I’d better find that self-restraint I threw away.

After that tense time passed, newly baptized children wanted karuta or playing cards, and adults came to buy books. Most customers were women, and the most popular story was a romantic knight’s tale written by my mother.

The noble academy’s love stories were also a hit. Since my mother wrote them based on stories she heard from ladies of various ages at tea parties, customers would say things like, “Isn’t this about that person and that person?” or “I’ve heard this story before,” smiling nostalgically. There seemed to be something lively to discuss in every generation.

The highlight item this year was the “Rosemine’s Special Recipe Collection,” which sold the most among all products. Ella and Hugo selected recipes based on ease of cooking and fundamentals, Nicola diligently wrote the recipes, Wilma illustrated them, and Heidi developed the ink for the first-ever color book. By the way, the last page contained an advertisement for an Italian restaurant.

The first color printing was done using stencil printing. Compared to single-color black, it took significantly more time and cost. Guild reported that the workshop’s print staff were exhausted. Aligning the layers perfectly was incredibly difficult.

The thin book contained ten recipes but was the most expensive so far. Still, because it included recipes like consommé and pasta dishes, nobles who tasted meals prepared by the castle’s exclusive chefs during the Winter Social Season all eagerly wanted it. By the way, since the method for making natural yeast wasn’t included, the fluffy bread was still only available at the castle.

Of course, cooking methods differed greatly from before, so it was unclear if the chefs could perfectly follow the recipes. Ella and others said mastering fire control and cooking times would take some practice.

“Well then, after breakfast tomorrow, return once to the temple. It’s only for a meeting with the Plantin Trading Company, so prepare with the mindset to be back at the castle by dinner.”