Ascendance of a Bookworm

Although I had decided to help the children, there was little I could do on my way home. After discussing with Lutz and Fran, we agreed to quietly act today with the motto, "Life is precious."

Since I wasn’t sure how much the children there could digest, I made bread porridge by tearing bread into the top layer of soup to soak it, and arranged for Gil to sneak it in through the back door.

Fran said that if she brought the divine blessing from the front and Gil secretly delivered food from the back, the little children could probably eat without anyone noticing.

“Gil cares about them the most, so he should take the initiative,” Fran said.

“I’ll give Gil one of my clothes and tell him to use it for dirty work.”

This was all that could be done today, but just knowing that the children wouldn’t starve to death tonight eased my mind a little.

While I relaxed and smiled, Fran’s expression tightened as she looked at me.

“Myne-sama, the head priest will likely object to saving orphans, so please be very careful with Delia.”

“…What about the high priest?”

I thought the high priest would also show strong reluctance, but I wondered what Fran thought about that.

“I will speak to the high priest myself. He shares the frustration about how the orphanage is run and how priests and shrine maidens are treated.”

“Eh? I didn’t get that impression at all.”

When I tilted my head, Fran looked surprised and then reluctantly averted her gaze.

“Did you listen to what Delia said? The head priest is stronger. The high priest hides his true feelings deeply to avoid being caught out, so he’s hard to read, but he is frustrated with the current state of the temple.”

“…I don’t understand it at all.”

I wondered where in that discussion I could have seen that the high priest was frustrated. Did Fran also hear his inner thoughts?

Confused, I twisted my head, and Lutz shrugged lightly.

“We’ll have to report to the high priest that Myne didn’t get it.”

“That seems so. Myne-sama must also study the noble tendency for indirectness.”

The warm, pitying gazes from the two of them as if looking at a hopeless child felt very painful.

For several days, while Gil secretly brought in supplies, Fran and I discussed how to report to the high priest to get our request accepted more smoothly. We also listened to Lutz’s opinion, and since it concerned the Myne Workshop, we included Benno, who made a displeased face saying, “More troublesome things.”

I wanted to get official permission from the high priest as soon as possible so I could start reforming the orphanage, but Benno scolded me, saying, “Don’t charge straight ahead! When dealing with nobles, detours and groundwork are essential, even if it feels troublesome. Everything depends on that. You can’t even be sure they’ll see you if you rush in.”

“As Master Benno said, Myne-sama tends to act immediately once she decides. But for important matters, it’s customary to inform some information and requests beforehand and make an appointment. Nobles don’t require haste; it’s better to prepare behind the scenes to your advantage.”

Fran advised me that trying to appeal directly to the high priest because I was shocked by the orphans’ condition was a breach of etiquette. The high priest side needed time to prepare and receive information properly.

“This is a good opportunity. Myne-sama, watch closely and learn how to make appointments and groundwork with nobles. It will be necessary going forward.”

After much discussion, we decided that I would first become the orphanage director and use Myne Workshop’s assets to reform the orphanage under the guise of workshop improvements.

We would wash the children who hadn’t been baptized and thoroughly clean the orphanage. Then, we would convert the basement of the boys’ dormitory into a workshop, installing hearths and bringing in tools for both cooking and papermaking.

People in the orphanage would be divided into groups: papermaking and forest gathering, housekeeping, and temple work. For about a month, they would rotate through all groups to gain experience. Afterwards, they could choose their preferred group freely.