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Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.1 - Chapter 14




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Secret Talk With the High Priest 

I had decided to save the orphans, but there wasn’t much I could do on the way home. After talking things out with Lutz and Fran, I decided to do my work carefully, with the key point being “save lives.” 

I wasn’t sure how well the starved orphans could handle food, so I started by making light soup with chunks of bread in it, which Lutz delivered to them through the back door. Fran had said that if he delivered divine gifts to the front door while Gil stealthily delivered the soup from the back door, we could feed the small kids without anyone noticing. 

“Gil is the one most worried about them, so he should take this work very seriously.” 

“I’ll give Gil some of my clothes and tell him to use them when he’s doing dirty work,” offered Lutz. 

That was all I could do today, but I felt better knowing that at the very least it meant that they wouldn’t starve to death overnight. But in contrast to my relief, Fran looked at me with a stiff expression. 

“Sister Myne, please be careful around Delia. It is very likely that the High Bishop will be opposed to saving the orphans.” 

“...And the High Priest won’t?” I thought that the High Priest was fairly opposed to it as well, but I wasn’t sure what Fran was thinking. His eyes widened a bit in surprise at my question. 

“I will discuss this matter with the High Priest. I know that he is just as frustrated as you are with the abandonment of the orphanage and the treatment of gray priests and shrine maidens.” 

“What? It certainly didn’t seem that way to me.” I tilted my head in confusion and Fran lowered his eyes regretfully. 

“Do you remember what Delia said? The High Bishop has ultimate authority within the temple. For this reason, the High Priest hides his true feelings and intentions behind a well-composed mask so that they are not detected. It may be exceedingly hard to notice, but he is very frustrated with the High Bishop right now.” 

“...I didn’t realize that at all.” What kind of detective would it take to realize from our prior conversation that the High Priest was frustrated with the High Priest? Could Fran read the High Priest’s mind? I fell into thought, baffled, and Lutz shrugged his shoulders. 

“Sounds like you gotta tell the High Priest that Myne’s not understanding him.” 

“Indeed. Sister Myne will need to study the roundabout, euphemistic ways of the nobility.” The two of them looked at me with the kind of pity a teacher might look at a failing student with. Ouch.

Over the next few days, Fran and I discussed how best to approach the High Priest while Gil continued to stealthily deliver the food. Since the Myne Workshop would be involved I even wrapped up Benno in this, who grimaced and complained about me sticking my head into trouble again. I wanted to get the High Priest’s permission as soon as possible so I could start working on improving the orphanage, but Benno yelled at me for being thoughtless again. 

“Don’t just charge straight to your goal like that! It might be annoying to deal with nobles properly, but preparing ahead of time and laying the groundwork before meeting them is essential! Really, you could say the outcome of a meeting is decided before it begins. Nothing good will come from you just rushing to meet him without a plan.” 

“Master Benno is correct. Sister Myne, you always act as soon as you make a decision, but when it comes to important discussions, it is normal to communicate your requests and what you know to them before arranging a meeting. When discussing matters with nobles, one must not be impatient. Take as much time as you can to lay the groundwork that will ensure as favorable of an outcome as possible for you.” 

Fran informed me that me meeting with the High Priest right after seeing the orphans and repeatedly asking for his help on an emotional basis was, in reality, enormously rude and a blatant violation of polite manners. Things would not go well for me if I didn’t give the High Priest enough information and time to prepare. 

“This will be a good opportunity for you, Sister Myne. Please observe and learn how to arrange a meeting with a noble and prepare for it ahead of time. This will be very important to you in the coming years.” 

As the result of several conversations on the matter, I decided to accept the position of orphanage director and use funds earned by the Myne Workshop to improve the orphanage on the basis of establishing a branch there. 

First, we would wash up the pre-baptism children and have the older kids clean every inch of the orphanage. Once that was done, they would establish the workshop in the basement of the boys’ building and bring in the tools, hearth, and so on necessary for cooking and making paper. 

I had three main groups in mind for splitting the work up: a paper-making slash forest-gathering group, an orphanage chores group, and a temple work group. They would rotate once monthly and get experience in all forms of work. Then, I would ask about them their individual preferences and place them accordingly. One could choose their own jobs at will. 

I would need to list up the clothes and tools we needed, not to mention buy them through Benno. To get the funds for everything, I had Lutz and Ralph carve wooden hangers. They were hangers I was well used to, with rounded shoulders. I explained to Benno that they damaged clothes less than the cross-shaped hangers I had seen before, and he jumped on them with gleaming eyes. Thanks for the business, as always. 

“What’s the ultimate goal of the Myne Workshop Orphanage Branch?” asked Benno, sizing me up. If I couldn’t give him a proper answer, he would call me an idiot again. So I told him the answer I had long settled on by now. 

“To earn enough funds to pay for the orphanage’s food. I would like for them to be capable of independently earning the money necessary to pay for food when just divine gifts aren’t enough.” 

“Food? That’s all?” 

“The temple gives them most everything they need, like clothes and shelter, so I’m fine as long as it earns enough profit to cover their food.” 

Lutz said they could just gather food in the forest if they didn’t have money, but given the size of the orphanage, it wouldn’t be sustainable to send them for food out every day. There wouldn’t be enough food in the forest to go around. Once we knew if the workshop there could earn money, I could temporarily pay for their food until the workshop was earning enough for them to cover it themselves. 

As I answered Benno’s questions, Lutz wrote out the price of paper and the price of food to do some math. “...Looks like it’ll be surprisingly easy to cover just the food. But if you’re gonna pay, Myne, why bother teaching them to gather?” 

“I want them to learn to gather while they’re making paper. That way, worst-case scenario, they’ll be able to get food for themselves before starving to death. Without the right knowledge, they’ll just pick up poison mushrooms like I used to.” 

“You sure did pick a lot of poison mushrooms...” 

Once we had a clear goal with all the relevant steps outlined, Fran stealthily discussed the matter with the High Priest, and although it wasn’t public yet, he approved of me becoming the orphanage director and establishing a branch of the Myne Workshop in the orphanage. On top of that, he permitted a meeting to make things official. 

It seemed that you had to write a letter several days ahead of time when formally requesting a meeting, so I wrote one after being taught the proper format. ...Dealing with nobles sure is a pain. 

By the time the letter of invitation arrived from the High Priest, the kids in the orphanage had already gotten a lot better thanks to Gil’s efforts. Gil said that they could eat harder foods in addition to their soup now, and they were bit by bit getting more energetic. They were healthy enough that they could survive being bathed while their waste-filled rooms were cleaned. 

When third bell arrived and signaled it was time for our meeting, I went to the High Priest’s room with Fran. Gil and Lutz were standing at the ready in my chambers, prepared to start work at any moment. 

“Thank you very much for taking the time to meet with me.” 

“Myne, noble women do not speak like that.” 

According to the High Priest, noble women would say “I thank you ever so much” instead. There was a period in history where it was popular for women to make themselves sound a bit more dramatic, and various vestiges of that era remained to this day. I had mostly learned my polite language from the Gilberta Company and guards at the gate, so I probably had more exposure to male speech patterns than female speech patterns. 

“It seems you will need a gray shrine maiden to instruct you on language as well. But that can wait. We have more important matters to discuss today.” The High Priest had cleared the room before I arrived, leaving only Arno. I started to walk toward his desk, but then the High Priest suddenly walked in the opposite direction, toward his bed. 

“High Priest?!” Arno let out a cry of surprise. Fran also looked shocked. 

I just followed after the High Priest, not really sure what was going on. He parted the curtains surrounding his bed, some distance away from the frame itself, and beckoned me forward. I tilted my head in confusion, then saw that there was a door built in the wall beside his bed. 

“We will talk in here.” The High Priest pressed his hand on the door and immediately a sparkling blue magic circle arose, making the gemstone of a ring on his finger shine bright red. The ring’s red light did a lap through the magic circle, then faded. 

“Not even my attendants can enter this room. Come, Myne.” The door opened with a click and the High Priest entered with neither Arno nor Fran. The dark room was scary enough that I looked back at Fran with worry. He gave a light nod, prompting me inside. 

“E-Excuse me.” The moment I went inside and the door shut, a window appeared in the once-dark room and allowed a bright stream of light to pour inside. It was very sudden, as shutters had been opened very quickly. 

“Bwuh?!” As I covered my eyes and waited for them to adjust, I could hear the High Priest moving around. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that the once pitch-black room was actually a study, resembling a college lab room to some degree. 

There were all manner of scrolls and parchment scattered across a desk and shelves, not to mention a stack of several books. One of the shelves had tools I had never seen before lined up next to each other, but I could tell they were related to science somehow. The corner of the room seemed to be a rest area with a cushioned bench, but there were documents covering it too. The room, unlike the one kept clean by his attendants, was entirely his own. I was in the High Priest’s private, personal study. 

“This room is built such that only those with mana above a certain quantity can enter. I believe that you are the only other person in the temple that is capable of entering it. There is no better place for a private talk.” 

“This is a really cool hidden room. It’s like, just what I’d expect from magic...” 

The High Priest looked at me while cleaning the documents off the bench. “...Your chambers have a room just like this.” 

“They do? I didn’t know that.” I had never parted my bed’s canopy, especially since the bed was just a frame without a mattress. Considering how often I collapsed, it would probably be smart to get a mattress at some point. 

“Though as it requires a mana registration to use, you won’t be able to get inside at the moment..” 

“Mana registration?” 

“We can discuss the process another day. Let us get straight to the point. Sit.” The High Priest cut the conversation on that subject short and pointed to the bench he had just cleaned off. He himself brought over the chair by his desk to sit on. When he looked up, he wasn’t wearing a blank expression like the one Fran often wore. His brows were furrowed and his mouth was bent into a sharp frown. 

...Is he going to lecture me? Over the past few days of being critiqued by Fran, I could imagine what the High Priest was going to say. He had probably taken me to this room so he could lecture me where no attendants could see. And since we were alone, I couldn’t ask for Fran’s help. I was on my own. 

“U-U-Um, High Priest. Why are we talking here in this room?” 

“Because Fran advised me that you did not understand how nobles communicate.” He glared at me. 

In general he had the face of a somewhat cold, expressionless person, so seeing him furrow his brows in clear displeasure was very frightening indeed. Unlike Benno dropping thunder, the High Priest’s anger was icy cold and made me feel like ice was steadily freezing me from the bottom up. 

“And sure enough, the day before you spoke of important, reckless things without thinking first. On that day, one of the High Bishop’s attendants was in my room on business. Did you notice?” 

“I didn’t notice at all.” 


“I suppose, then, you didn’t understand that you were criticizing and insulting the High Bishop in the presence of his attendant while I practically perished on the inside, agonizing at every word that came out of your mouth.” 

“...I-I’m sorry.” I had thought that I was helping the High Priest understand the horror of the situation, but in reality I was just criticizing the High Bishop’s method while the High Priest, his attendants, and basically everyone there had broken out in a cold sweat. 

“At the very least, you must learn the names and faces of every blue robe, in addition to the faces of their attendants. How do you intend to survive when you know nothing of your enemies? You are too careless.” The High Priest’s exasperated expression looked a lot like the one Benno made. It seemed I was fated to be lectured and berated no matter where I went. 

 

“...Mr. Benno often calls me a thoughtless idiot.” 

“Now that you mention it, I do recall him saying that you trust others too easily, and that you never learn despite being tricked. I fully agree with Benno’s assessment. If you are to stand with nobles as a blue shrine maiden, you will need to learn the ways of the nobility.” 

The High Priest’s rebukes all came from a place of worry for me and my precarious position. It was just as Fran had said. He had hidden his intentions and true feelings so deeply I hadn’t noticed them, but in truth, the High Priest had been protecting me from the High Bishop. 

“You seem uninterested in picking up on hidden signals and intent on openly stating your feelings on everything, but that will get you killed in noble society. Consider me uninterested in dying over your ignorance. Since it is impossible for me to tell if you are understanding my signals, I have decided it is best to talk with you here when I do not wish for our conversation to be heard by others.” 

“I’m really, really sorry.” I would only understand the High Priest if he stated his thoughts directly, so he had taken me to the one place where he could do that. It was inconvenient, but a big help for me. 

“In any case. According to Fran, you have decided to become the orphanage director. Are you certain that this is what you want? You said before that you would not bear that responsibility.” The High Priest gave me a steady look, his piercing eyes leaving no room for secrecy. 

I straightened my back. My resolve to save the orphanage had long since been steeled. I returned his look head-on, hoping to at least convey how determined I was. “To be honest, I’m still afraid to have that much responsibility. But anything is better than leaving them like that. I want to help them if I can.” 

“I see. If you have the resolve necessary, I have no issue with it.” He approved my request so casually that I couldn’t help but look at him with my shock written on my face. 

“Really? You’re fine with it?” 

“Did I not reply with my approval through Fran?” 

“You did, but you’re being so different from the last time we talked, I just don’t know what to say...” 

“What do you expect? You would not understand me if I spoke indirectly.” 

“Awww... I’m sorry.” As I apologized yet again, the High Priest went and got several pieces of parchment. After running his eyes over them, he showed them to me. 

“Fran explained your plan to me in general terms, but I did not grasp it in full. It seems that Fran didn’t quite understand it either. He said that the discussion had proceeded with silent understandings and peculiar phrases unique to merchants. Please explain what exactly it is that you intend to do after becoming the orphanage director.” 

“I will make the orphanage part of the Myne Workshop. First, I will work to improve the diet of the children who will be my workers, have them clean the orphanage which will be their workshop, and then bring in the tools necessary for them to do their job. After that, I plan to teach them how to cook for themselves. If they become capable of cooking soup, they will be able to make divine gifts last longer in a change that will drastically improve their food situation.” 

“I see. What is the meaning behind you wanting to make all those in the orphanage your attendants?” asked the High Priest, glaring at me. 

“...I want to send them outside the temple, which means they need to be attendants.” 

“That is not necessary. If you did that, we would not have attendants ready when future blue robes arrive, and there would be needless friction. As director of the orphanage, you will have the authority to send apprentices outside of the temple at will.” 

“Understood.” If the children could go outside, I had no reason to make them all my attendants. I nodded in understanding. 

“What will you do once the children are well fed?” 

“I will have them make plant paper. In the past Lutz and I made it by ourselves, so any child should be able to do it with proper instruction.” 

“Plant paper, hm...” The High Priest glanced at the stacks of parchment on his desk. That reminded me that he had liked the plant paper the most out of Benno’s gifts. 

“The paper will be sold through proper channels, and the Myne Workshop has already signed a magic contract stating that we will sell our goods through the Gilberta Company, so you won’t be able to take the paper away even if you wanted to.” 

“A good decision, befitting a merchant. If the High Bishop will likewise be incapable of stealing the operation, I have no problem with it. What do you intend to accomplish by selling paper?” The High Priest advanced the conversation, his eyes narrowed slightly with disappointment.

“I want them to be able to buy food for themselves when they don’t have enough. That way I won’t have to buy their food myself, and they won’t be at risk of starvation from blue priests leaving.” 

“What reason do you have for doing this? You wouldn’t work so hard for no personal gain, would you?” The High Priest’s gaze hardened, making it clear that was his most important question so far. I returned his gaze without faltering. 

“Obviously, so I can enjoy my reading without feeling guilty.” 

“Come again?” His eyes widened in complete disbelief. 

“It’s impossible for me to not worry and feel bad when there are kids starving to death so close to me. I can briefly forget while focusing on reading, but the memories resurface when I’m done and the guilt is unbearable. It just makes me feel horrible.” 

“So in short, you will become the orphanage director and run a branch of your workshop here simply to remove an obstacle to your reading?” 

“That’s right.” I gave a big nod, and the High Priest rubbed his temples. 

“You are... more of a fool than I thought.” 

“I get that a lot.” 

“...Enough of that. What is your time frame? How long will it take the orphanage to stabilize after you assume your position?” 

“Most of the preparation work is done, so given the season, it should only be a month before we’ve made and sold enough paper to buy a decent amount of food.” 

“Oh? I see you prepared well beforehand this time,” murmured the High Priest. 

I had shown my plan to Benno and Fran multiple times to make sure it would be fine both from a merchant’s perspective and from the nobility’s perspective, so it was hard to imagine it having any sizable holes. They said the most unreliable part of the plan was me, which cut deep and remained fresh on my mind. 

“Very well. You have my permission.” 

“Thank you. Fran said that you would be understanding if I communicated more properly. Mr. Benno also said that you have a good look in your eyes, and I should talk to you when I’m worried about something. High Priest... why are you different from the other priests?” I asked, knowing that it was a question that would get me yelled at if we were outside. And just as expected, the High Priest sighed and told me not to ask that kind of thing outside of this room. 

“I don’t intend to tell you my life story, but I was not raised within this temple, just as you were not. I was raised in noble society and entered the temple due to personal circumstances. Which is exactly why, despite my distaste for the High Bishop and his methods, it is not yet wise to stand against him. You would also do well to avoid angering him more than you already have.” 

“...Me running the orphanage won’t make him angry?” The orphans making money for themselves ran in exact opposition to how the High Bishop had been running things. I timidly asked for confirmation and he gave a derisive laugh. 

“It’s a bit late to worry about that. I do intend to claim I forced the role on you, but don’t overreach. You are so unfamiliar with the ways of our culture that I cannot even fathom what you might do unattended. Report everything you do to me first. And listen well to Fran’s advice. Understood?” 

After firmly emphasizing the importance of clear communication, the High Priest took me out of the room and I returned to my chambers with Fran. Gil and Lutz welcomed us with their eyes full of hope. 

“How’d it go, Myne?” 

“He got really mad at me. He told me to study noble culture more. He said I was thoughtless, reckless, and all sorts of things...” 

“Does that mean he won’t let you be the orphanage director?” Lutz and Gil’s faces clouded with worry. I hurriedly shook my head. 

“No, he gave his permission. I’m the orphanage director now. The Myne Workshop will be fine. It’s just, I feel like I’m destined to make people mad wherever I go...” 

“That’s just who you are, Myne.” Lutz plopped a hand on my head with a laugh. 

There was one more thing I had to do before I could start fixing the orphanage for real. I had to talk things out with Delia. Her job was to leak information about me to the High Bishop, and I needed to stop that from happening. It would be impossible for Delia not to notice everything going on in the orphanage, with Lutz and Benno arriving frequently, the servants running around, and so on. But I didn’t want the High Bishop interfering before the workshop stabilized. 

Delia said she wanted me to help the orphans if they could be helped, so she was probably personally in agreement with my plan. There was no chance that she would say they’d be better off dead now that I had all the preparations made. 

So, I decided to just open up to Delia and ask her directly. She had warmed up to me enough to mention she was meeting with the High Bishop’s attendants, so it would probably be better to just be upfront rather than hide my request in signals and euphemisms. 

“Um, Delia. I’m trying to save the pre-baptism kids. I don’t want the High Bishop getting in the way of me helping them. It would be very helpful if you didn’t tell him what we’re doing. You want to save the kids too, don’t you? Can I ask you to do this for me?” 

Delia fell silent for a while, then shut her eyes tightly and shook her head as if remembering something. “...I don’t want to go to the orphanage. I don’t want to remember, and I don’t want to get involved.” 

“Yes, I know. All you’ll need to do is stand in the kitchen and keep an eye on the chefs. Just pretend you don’t know what’s going on. Can I ask you to do that?” It was important to always have someone watching the chefs and managing the food, so at least one of my attendants had to stay in my chambers at all times. If I selected Delia to be that one attendant, she wouldn’t have to go to the orphanage. 

“Certainly, I’ll keep quiet. But this isn’t for your sake, Sister Myne, it’s for the kids. Don’t think you’ve won me over.” Delia, while looking away from me with a frown to hide her relief, promised to keep quiet about what we were doing. 

I let out a relieved sigh of my own and gave Delia a promise too. “Thank you, Delia. I will save them, no matter what.” 

“I-I didn’t ask you to do that or anything. But if you’re going to try, well, don’t even think about failing.” 

...Her attitude’s kind of harsh, but I guess I can interpret that as her having faith in me? 



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