Ascendance of a Bookworm

Right now, I’m being carried by Benno as we head towards the Merchant Guild.

At first, I was walking on my own, but Benno got irritated by my slow pace and yelled, “Too slow! What a waste of time!” before effortlessly picking me up.

Since then, he’s been lecturing endlessly about the importance of time, and I can’t even protest.

“By the way, Benno, what exactly is the Merchant Guild?”

It’s best to ask in detail about things I don’t understand, especially when I don’t know how it differs from what I’m familiar with.

“What, you don’t know?”

“I’ve never been there. Lutz, do you know?”

“Isn’t it where merchants go?”

I asked Lutz, thinking any kid in this town would know, but all he said was something I could understand too.

Benno sighed lightly and began to explain.

“Well, yeah. Their main job is to issue permits needed to open shops in this town and to punish those who engage in shady business. You can’t open a shop or set up a stall in the market without permission from the Merchant Guild. Everyone involved in commerce must register, and if you do business without registering, you’ll be severely punished.”

Listening to Benno, I guessed it’s like a government office related to commerce. You can’t open a shop without permission, and since apprentices need to register too, that’s probably not far off.

“It sounds like a pretty powerful organization.”

“Yes. Powerful and money-hungry. If you have apprentices, there’s a registration fee; if you want to expand into new business, there’s an expansion fee; and they charge you service fees for anything you do.”

It seems everywhere in the world, you have to pay for everything. For poor people, it’s a frustrating world.

“In any case, once you’ve completed your baptism ceremony and become a merchant apprentice, you’ll be registered. Everyone who works in a shop has to be involved in buying and selling. In your case, until the baptism ceremony, you’ll be provisionally registered, but if you don’t register, you won’t be able to trade paper or hair ornaments… or any goods.”

“So that means, today, Benno needs the registration to buy the paper?”

“Exactly.”

I realized that Benno was hurrying to register in order to buy the prototype.

As I nodded to myself, Benno’s brows furrowed sharply.

“I hope the registration goes smoothly, but that damn old man will probably find some excuse to cause trouble.”

“Excuse?”

Those words didn’t sound peaceful at all. I thought Benno was a big shot in the Merchant Guild, but maybe not. Or perhaps it’s some sort of factional struggle?

“My shop is the one rapidly growing right now. The Guild Master just can’t wait to squeeze some money out of me. You two, don’t say anything unnecessary.”

“Understood.”

Lutz and I answered in unison. We had no intention of meddling in the cat-and-mouse game between savvy merchants.

“Oh, Myne, about the hair ornament you brought.”

“This one?”

I opened my tote bag slightly and showed the hair ornament. Benno nodded slightly, then looked at me with sharp reddish-brown eyes.

“How long would it take to make this?”

“If all the materials are ready and Lutz has made the wooden parts, then when I’m feeling well… um, just this flower part, I could probably manage it in one day…”

Depending on the amount of small flowers, it’s a day’s work at my speed. My mother, who’s good at sewing, could probably make it in two bells.

“How about Lutz?”

“Since it’s just carving and polishing wood, I think it would take about one bell.”

“Hmm, that’s good.”

Benno said in a cheerful tone, but his eyes gleamed sharply.

“What’s good about it?”

“That’s a surprise for later.”

With a carnivorous predator’s smile fixed on his target, Benno glared toward the Merchant Guild building.

The Merchant Guild is a large building standing prominently on a corner facing the Central Plaza. That alone shows it’s a wealthy organization, and apparently, the entire building is owned by the guild—no part is rented out.