Benno’s Lecture
The High Bishop and High Priest looked so intense that I ended up meek and timid. The High Priest must have noticed my fearful twitching and brought the bible over, offering to read it to me until someone came to get me. I appreciated the thought, but I felt some kind of weird pressure from him, like a determination to prevent me from escaping so intense I could feel it radiating off him. I really wanted to run away.
“A boy named Lutz has arrived at the gate, claiming he is here for Myne.” A gray priest came to the room not long after fifth bell.
I sighed in relief since that meant I could finally leave. “Well, now that Lutz is here, I have to get going. High Bishop, High Priest, thank you for spending so much time with me today.”
“Before you go, Myne. Take this and give it to your parents.”
The High Bishop gave me a letter of invitation. That was bad, since a letter of invitation from the High Bishop was the same thing as a letter of summons you couldn’t refuse. The date was third bell, the day after tomorrow. I swallowed hard and took the board from him.
“Luuutz! Thank you so much for coming to get me!” The moment I left the temple and saw Lutz, I felt an indescribable sense of relief flowing through me. I actually jumped into his arms and hugged him to show how glad I was. He stumbled a bit, but stayed upright without falling. I rubbed by head against his shoulder and he sighed.
“What’d you do this time?”
“...I don’t really know, but I think this is the biggest self-destruction I’ve ever done.”
Lutz patted my head and grinned. “Well, don’t worry. Benno’s waiting for you with a big smile and a bulging forehead vein.”
“Um... Can I go home now? I’m feeling really tired.”
“He told me to drag you there if I have to, and you look fine right now, so yeah. You’re coming with me.”
“Aaaaaah...” I was mentally exhausted from the temple, but Lutz was dragging me to be slammed by another one of Benno’s lectures. I felt as if my one ally had betrayed me. I followed him to the Gilberta Company like a fearful lamb to the slaughter. Benno was waiting for us and we were taken to his office immediately.
He told me to sit in the usual spot. Benno was in front of me, Mark was standing behind Benno, and Lutz sat next to him instead of me.
“Been a while, Myne.”
“...U-Uh huh.”
“Alright. There’s a mountain of things I wanna say, but...” I stiffened up, expecting his lecture to last a very long time. But Benno just sighed. “First, a message from Corinna. She wants to see the dress and hairpin you wore at the baptism. That was some weird fashion. You drew a lot of attention to yourself. Why’d you pick an outfit like that?”
“They were just remade hand-me-downs from Tuuli. There wasn’t any deep meaning to it. I don’t mind showing her my clothes, but she’ll have to ask my mom about how we made it, since she did all the work.”
“Alright. Go ahead and ask her to drop by sometime,” said Benno casually before clasping his hands together above the table and leaning for a bit, glaring at me.
“Alright. Just spit it all out. Depending on what happened in that temple, what I say here and your future are both gonna change a lot.”
“Wha? Didn’t you hear about it from Lutz?” Several days had passed since the baptism ceremony. I would have thought that Lutz would have talked to him by now.
“Hearsay always twists information. Why would I ask Lutz what happened when I could just ask you instead? Not to mention, who knows what information you hid from him.” He glared at me like a carnivore who had found its prey, making me gasp a little. I could guess that he wouldn’t be letting me off easy.
“...Where should I start?”
“After you collapsed in the ceremony. Say everything that happened after you left Lutz. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
I collapsed, left the room in search of water, and wandered into a zone for nobles. A shrine maiden found me and took me to a book room. When I reached that point in the story, Benno’s eyes opened wide.
“A book room? Didn’t think there was one of those in the temple...”
“You didn’t know about it, Benno?”
“Normal people don’t risk their lives by wandering into an area for nobles. Wake up and realize what an idiot you are. What do you think’s gonna happen if you keep walking into danger yourself like that?”
“Ngh...” It was true that most people weren’t allowed to go there. Benno was right. Though I was glad I had wandered in there, since I wouldn’t have found the book room otherwise.
“The shrine maiden told me only people affiliated with the temple could go into the book room, so I decided to become a shrine maiden and went straight to the High Bishop to ask for his permission.”
“You idiot! Think for just one second before you pull this garbage, come on!”
“Ow, owww!”
Benno leaned forward to pinch my cheeks and pull. Mark and Lutz watched calmly, making no move to help me. I rubbed my stinging cheeks and Benno urged me on, looking very frustrated.
“So? What’d he say?”
“He said I could be an apprentice shrine maiden if my parents permitted it and I donated money.”
“And? Did you donate?” Benno furrowed his brows with a strict look in his eyes. I could tell immediately he was worried that I had donated money then failed to get my parent’s permission. In order to calm Benno down, I puffed out my chest with pride and told him what happened.
“No, not yet. I just told them that I had enough money to donate about one large gold as payment for letting me use the book room, but I haven’t given it to them yet. I’m not dumb enough to pay for something before they guarantee I can have it.”
I intended to calm him down, but first Benno, then Mark and Lutz all held their heads in pain as if I had given them all headaches.
“That price is so stupidly high, I don’t even know what to say.”
“I mean, they treated me really well thanks to it, so...”
“Obviously!”
I had expected that my donation offer was a little high, but apparently it was so high that even a highly successful merchant got a headache thinking about it.
“Anyway, I went home to talk to my family about becoming a shrine maiden and they got really mad about it. They said only orphans become shrine maidens.”
“They have a point, y’know.”
“The High Priest said that there are noble children there too, though.” I tilted my head, not understanding why Dad had gotten so mad. Benno scratched his head and explained how the temple hierarchy worked.
“You remember how some priests had blue robes and some had gray robes, right? The blue-robed priests and shrine maidens are nobles, while the gray-robed ones are orphans. Gray-robed priests and shrine maidens get worked to the bone for no pay, usually serving as the attendants or servants of the blue-robed priests and shrine maidens,” revealed Benno, making me gasp. I had thought the color just signified the difference between apprentices and full-fledged workers. I never dreamed that there was such a big difference between them.
“You’re not a noble, so if you join the temple you’ll end up as a gray shrine maiden. What kind of parents would allow that?” he said, to which I nodded. Now I understood why Dad had got as mad as he did. I definitely wouldn’t be able to last doing that kind of work, and any loving father would oppose their daughter being worked like a slave for no pay.
“So. Lutz said you were going there to turn them down. Did you actually manage to do it?”
“...Umm, after I mentioned that I had the Devouring, they brought in a golden chalice that a statue in the chapel had been holding. It shined when I touched it and they gave me a letter of invitation to give my parents,” I explained. Benno rubbed his temples hard and let out a heavy sigh.
“...Yeah, you’re stuck with them now. Just be glad you get to survive now. You’re lucky.”
I didn’t understand why he called me lucky when I was stuck going to the temple. Benno didn’t address my confusion and instead started thinking about something. Then, he shot his head up and looked at me firmly with a hard look in his eyes.
“Myne, how about we sign another magic contract? One about how the products you make will be managed.”
“...Why?” I ended up defensive after he brought up magic contracts out of nowhere.
Benno rubbed his chin and kept looking at me. “It won’t happen immediately, but you’re going to end up dragged into the world of nobles sooner or later. Contract magic is the best tool we commoners have for dealing with nobles on equal terms.”
“...Have you been expecting me to get wrapped up with the nobility ever since our first magic contract?”
“At first it was mainly just insurance for me. I didn’t know what kind of kid you were at the time and contract magic keeps things firmly in place. But... I did know that you might have the Devouring. If you did, you’d need to sign a contract with a noble to survive. I knew that a magic contract would be useful for dealing with that noble.”
The reason Benno had signed a magic contract with Lutz and I despite us being kids was simply because he had expected nobles to get involved, potentially years in the future.
“But I have no intention of signing a contract with a noble.”
“You’ve managed to live on your own terms up until now because you haven’t met any nobles, but that’ll be over once the temple drags you to them. You have to act on the assumption that you’ll get involved with nobles sooner rather than later. There’s not a noble in the world who won’t try to get their hands on a Devouring girl with revolutionary product ideas like yours. Especially now.”
“What do you mean, especially now?” I asked. Benno lowered his voice, and, after making it clear this was information he had only recently gotten his hands on, explained.
“This region ended up mostly unaffected since our Archduke kept a neutral position and didn’t get involved, but a lot of larger regions got wrapped up into a fierce political war with the Sovereignty. Large scale political purges were held all over the country and there are a lot fewer nobles alive now than there used to be.”
That sure got really violent really fast. I tried thinking back to what I remembered about world history, but I didn’t know exactly what time period this world was in, and even with a frame of reference I couldn’t guess what would be happening in the future. I lacked information and without a bird’s eye view of this mess I was as good as blind.
“Naturally, the gap left by those dead nobles needs to be filled. The survivors are mobilizing. They’re reaching out to branch families, adopting, marrying more, seeking out new connections and power. People, money, and products are moving faster than ever before. There’s so few nobles that those forced into the temple as blue-robed priests and shrine maidens during internal struggles are flooding back to their homes en masse. What do you think that means for the temple?” Benno glared at me and I tilted my head. I looked to Mark and Lutz for help, but Mark just smiled and Lutz was just as confused as I was.
“Ummm, is there a problem with there not being enough nobles in the temple? I can’t think of anything since I don’t know what goes on in the temple or how anything works there. Isn’t it a good thing, since there will be fewer people to overwork the gray priests and shrine maidens?”
“First of all, they’ll get fewer donations. Second of all, without nobles to give them work, they’ll end up overwhelmed with unemployed orphans. It’ll be harder for the orphans to survive there.”
“That’s awful!” I let out a shout and Benno sighed, shaking his head.
“That’s not the worst part. Remember that chalice you said you touched? Those temple guys call it a divine tool, but it’s actually a magic tool. Blue-robed priests and shrine maidens pour their mana into it so that it can be used during the spring blessing ceremony. But without nobles, there’s no mana. That’ll mean less crops to harvest.”
“Whaaaat?!” I hadn’t expected the chalice to be involved with such an enormous ritual. It shining surprised me, but I had thought it was just a fancy ornament meant to show off the power of the gods or whatever. In reality, it was an essential tool for survival directly connected to how many crops our farmers could harvest. If less food was grown in this region, poor people in the city like me would be the ones to suffer the most.
“Before this political shift, there were too many noble children to deal with. Those with the Devouring were just annoyances to nobles, who want to keep the power of mana all to themselves. But now that there’s fewer nobles and using magic tools properly is a lot more difficult, kids with the Devouring are extremely useful and important to the temple.”
“Um, what does the Devouring have to do with mana?” I asked, which shocked Benno so much his jaw dropped and he held in his head in absolute disbelief.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t realized this yet. The Devouring refers to the state where someone loses control of the mana inside of them.”
“Whaaat?!”
“You regain control of your mana by moving the excess into a magic tool.”
“That’s the first time I’m hearing of this.” Wow... I guess I’m like a witch or something. I guess I can beat my foes with bursts of mana and use all sorts of crazy magic! But um... Who are my enemies? My mind raced with the possibilities this new information had revealed and Benno thumped my head, telling me to pay attention.
“This is how nobles are separated, roughly. Laynobles tend to have low amounts of mana while Archnobles have a lot of mana. Poor nobles without much money can’t afford magic tools for all of their children. It’s common for them to entrust the future of their family to the kid with the most mana and send the rest of them to their region’s temple.”
In other words, the blue-robed priests in the temple were nobles abandoned by their families. They were necessary for the region to prosper, but at the same time, them being there was kind of sad.
“The temple has survived this long with weak nobles through sheer numbers, but now those numbers are going down. Each noble has to work a lot harder. It’s possible they don’t even have enough nobles right now. How many blue priests were there at the baptism ceremony?”
“About ten.” I could still remember busting my gut at the sight of all of them making the Gl*co Man pose.
“They normally have over twenty, but now they have ten. And since the ones getting called back are those with mana, you can imagine how weak the remaining ones must be. There’s no mistaking that they would kill for a Devouring kid overflowing with mana. But that’s just now we’re talking about. It won’t be long before new nobles are born and this gap gets filled up. Don’t think you have much time there.”
“Hmm.” I wouldn’t mind working for the temple and offering up my mana for a short period of time. I wonder if they would let me enter the book room in return for my mana. I fell into thought about it and Benno, who had at some point gotten behind me, started grinding his fist against my head.
“Are you listening to me?”
“Ow! Ooowww!”
“You have mana, money, and knowledge worth even more money. Wake up already! Realize just how much nobles are going to want you for themselves!” His voice was so serious that I instinctively sat up straight. He sighed and took his fist off my head to wave his hand in exasperation. “And that’s why it’s in your best interest to sign a magic contract now before you get wrapped up with nobles.”
“...What kind of contract?”
“A contract that the things you make will be sold by Lutz.”
“Bwuh? But why?” I had no idea what that had to do with the Devouring and the church. Did he just want to exploit the situation to gain profit for himself? I tilted my head in confusion and Benno sat back in his chair before beginning his explanation.
“For now, it’ll just be insurance. It won’t be long before a thoughtless idiot like you falls for a noble’s plot and gets dragged to the other side of the wall. This will let us contact you after that happens. Think about what situation you’ll be in after you’re forced to sign a contract with a noble. Commoners need permission to go to the other side of the inner wall. You know that, right?”
I worked at the gate sometimes, so I knew one needed permission to go through the inner wall. I nodded and Benno grimaced a little.
“The guildmaster’s granddaughter will still be able to meet her family after going to the other side of the wall. Makes sense, because her family consists of merchants approved by nobles. But what about your family?”
I could only answer in silence. I had specifically chosen not to sign a contract with a noble because it meant not meeting my family. If I got dragged to the other side of the wall, I might never meet them again.
“I doubt your family will be able to go past the wall to see you. So at the very least, shouldn’t you make a magic contract that lets you see Lutz now, before all this happens? We’ll be able to use that contract as an excuse for Lutz and me to come see you. Not even nobles can defy contract magic.”
I looked at Benno with wide eyes. I then looked at Lutz. We made eye contact and nodded at each other.
“With Lutz as an intermediary, you can send letters, messages, and so on to your family. You’ll be able to stay up to date on how they are too. And most importantly, your family will be able to relax more, knowing that they can make sure you’re safe through Lutz. But I won’t mind if you want to sign a contract with me instead.”
“You won’t be able to keep me updated on my family, Mr. Benno, so.” I didn’t want to think that I would get wrapped up with nobles, but if that did happen, it would be a good idea for me to preemptively give myself the ability to see Lutz. Freida had said that seeing her family was enough to give her strength. But... Did I really want to wrap Lutz into this too?
“What do you think, Lutz?”
“I wouldn’t mind checking out the noble quarter if I can, and passing messages is no big deal. I’d be more worried if I had to leave you alone over there. My head hurts just thinking about what you might do.”
Lutz himself was already on board with signing the contract, but we were talking about an anti-noble contract here. Considering how much of a dangerous burden it would place on Lutz, I couldn’t be too enthusiastic about signing it.
“I don’t think this contract is something we should take too lightly. Won’t Lutz end up in bad, sometimes dangerous spots? And doesn’t this put your profits in danger, Mr. Benno? If Lutz gets pulled out of the equation, that’s it for you and me doing business, isn’t it?” I pursed my lips, pouting, and Benno let out an exasperated sigh.
“You’re not in a situation light enough to be worrying about others. Just be glad that Lutz benefits from this too.”
“How does this benefit Lutz?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Just think about what will benefit you. I’m going to be honest. You already have a letter of invitation and that means we barely have any time to prepare or do anything.”
Benno had more information and a broader perspective than me, so he was more on edge about this than I was. He listed out all the things we needed to do before the temple got a hold of me.
“First of all, we need to officially create the Myne Workshop and register you as its forewoman so you can retain an avenue for making and selling products. If money can improve your situation, you’ll want to negotiate with the temple to put you in circumstances where you can make money. That shouldn’t be impossible, since they want money too.”
It was true that wealth was a strong source of power. They treated me extremely well after merely suggesting a high donation amount. The more money I had the better when it came to protecting myself. But if the temple took control of all the products I made, they would keep all the profit for themselves. I needed a reliable avenue to sell products. Benno had tricked and tested me in a few ways, but right now he was the most reliable person I knew.
I nodded, and Benno nodded back.
“Remember that the life of a commoner means nothing to nobles. Stay on guard. Prepare as many escape routes and avenues for survival as possible while you can. Get your hands on anything that can work as insurance and protect yourself.”
The temple had treated me well, letting me sit on the High Priest’s lap and read the bible, but there was no harm in preparing insurance and escape routes just in case. Better safe than sorry. The fact I knew so little about this world that I didn’t know exactly how to prepare was really frustrating.
Benno looked at me carefully and continued, “You said there’s still ten nobles in the temple, right? Find one of them that you can exploit for your own benefit as they exploit you, rather than just letting yourself be exploited one-way. If you’re going to be kidnapped and enslaved either way, you’re going to at least want to open up your options for a slightly better future. Look carefully. Pick carefully. Think carefully. Don’t just sit in a daze and go with the flow. Flail as hard as you can to survive.”
“Mr. Benno, why are you going this far for me...?” It wasn’t a simple matter to gather all this information and give me such thorough warnings, not to mention helping me prepare a workshop. I didn’t understand why he would do all that for me when I wasn’t even going to be an apprentice at his store.
“The longer you survive, the more new products you can make. If I can keep my store connected to you, that’ll mean profit for me. That’ll be good for the both of us, right? That’s all there is to it.” Benno furrowed his brows and Mark laughed softly behind him.
“The master is merely worried about you. You are always putting yourself in danger and causing unexpected problems, it is truly poor for our health.”
“Shut it, Mark,” said Benno, turning around, but Mark continued on with his slight smile.
“Apprentices here tend to learn the fundamentals of trade at their own home, so the master had not met a child he needed to take so dearly care of himself before now. I will refrain from saying you are like a daughter to him, but you are like the daughter of a brother and he worries about you as if you were a family member. Of course, I do as well.”
“Thank you very much! Mr. Mark!” I let out an emotional thank you and Benno spat out “Why Mark?” Mark and I looked at each other and laughed.
“Thank you too, Mr. Benno. I’m really grateful to you both. And... I’ll do it. I’ll sign the magic contract and register the workshop with the guild.”
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