Ascendance of a Bookworm

It's raining. There's no mistaking it—it's rain.

I slouched my shoulders as I ate breakfast, listening to the sound of raindrops pattering against the window shutters. Just as Frieda had smiled brightly and Benno had muttered in low tones, the rain had come.

It can't be helped. Now that it's certain I have to go to Frieda's house, I want to do my best to gather even a bit of useful information.

Since Lutz is coming along too, it should be fine.

I chewed on the coarse multigrain bread, softened with leftover soup from dinner, munching noisily. After wiping my plate with bread, I finished breakfast, looked around our house, and sighed.

"I want to bring a gift, but there's really nothing suitable to take to that house..."

Our home has nothing to offer as a gift for Frieda's house, which seems to have everything—items collected from noble mansions.

After taking a sip of water, Tulli looked at me and tilted her head.

"What about Kan Yi Chang Rinshan? You brought it before and they were happy, right?"

"Hmm, since it's starting to be sold now, Benno told me not to hand it out casually—better if I just make enough for myself."

"I see. And since it's raining, you can't go picking flowers either. What a problem."

Tulli said this while washing dishes using a little water from her water jug. After washing, she busied herself preparing to leave for work.

Mother has already left, and Father was on the night shift and is asleep. I washed the plates quietly using water from the jug, careful not to make loud noises.

"If only the plan had been made a few days ago and there had been a sunny day, I could have gone to pick fruit in the forest..."

Benno often accommodates Lutz and even suggested Myne Workshop to me for developing new products. Because of that, I always try to avoid doing things that would make him angry.

Although I sometimes accidentally blurt things out or give in to my desires and make things, it’s never on purpose. I don't want to be scolded.

But in trying to avoid Benno’s anger, Rinshan is a no-go. Anything related to paper is also off limits. If I brought a new recipe for sweets, Frieda and Ilse would surely be happy, but Benno would definitely be upset.

Well, since I stopped being an apprentice, I suppose it’s my freedom to share the recipe wherever I want, but it would probably cause trouble.

Lost in thought, there was a knock on the door. Tulli, who was about to go out to work wearing a thick canvas-like cloak treated with oil and wax for waterproofing, looked up and went to the door.

"Hello, who is it?"

I thought maybe Lutz had come early as I put away the dishes I had just washed, but then Tulli’s surprised voice echoed through the house.

"Frieda?! What's wrong!?"

I turned in astonishment and found Frieda standing outside the door, accompanied by her attendant. Despite the rain, Frieda was dressed in her best clothes, and the attendant wore a neat uniform. The contrast with our poor home background was striking, making our poverty stand out even more.

"I’ve been looking forward to this since I woke up. I couldn’t wait and came to pick up Myne."

She smiled sweetly, but her words sounded like “You’re not escaping,” sending a chill down my spine. I wanted to turn around and run but couldn’t leave Tulli behind.

Tulli smiled back warmly at me and said, “She’s so excited she came all this way in the rain just to pick you up.”

Tulli is truly an angel. Please don’t ever lose that innocence.

“It’s raining, so I can’t let the fragile Myne walk outside. I’ve had a carriage waiting on Main Street.”

Frieda must have thought I wouldn’t want to go out in the rain for fear of catching a fever. I couldn’t help but admire how well she made arrangements.

“Wow, a carriage!? That’s so nice, Myne.”

Carriages are vehicles that poor people like us would never get to ride. Seeing Tulli’s innocent envy, Frieda tilted her head slightly.

“Oh? Does your older sister work?”

“Yes. She has to go soon.”

Tulli said regretfully, and Frieda briefly looked upward thoughtfully, then clapped her hands together with a meaningful smile.