Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.1 - Chapter 24

Family Meeting at the Temple 

The date of the meeting arrived after three days of anxious waiting. I hurriedly went to the temple, changed into my blue robes, and headed to the High Priest’s room. Lutz, who had been staying in one of my attendant rooms, was wearing his apprentice clothes. He stayed with me instead of in the orphanage at the High Priest’s instructions, in order to prevent the real orphans from developing pointless hope. 

“Man, I’m nervous.” 

“...This has gotten way too big for a simple family discussion.” 

By the time Lutz and I arrived at the High Priest’s room, word of Benno and Mark arriving had already been delivered and a gray priest was guiding the two of them there. 

Lutz’s parents arrived just as Benno was finishing the long, verbose greeting made necessary by the presence of a noble. Just as I had heard, Lutz’s father had the muscular build of one working in construction, though he wasn’t particularly large. His skin was deeply tanned and he had the look of someone who worked themselves sweaty outside. He had deeply furrowed brows and sharp jade eyes that reflected his obstinate personality well, while his almost white blonde hair made him look a little old. 

Lutz’s father glanced at him, gave a snort, and then briefly introduced himself to the High Priest. Karla followed him to the seats offered to them, and jerked in fear upon seeing Mark and Benno sitting on the opposite side. 

...Seriously, Mark, what’d you do? What’d you say? Have you already blackmailed her? 

When everyone was gathered in the High Priest’s room, the loud sound of third bell rang above us. The High Priest was standing beside me. As he stated his greeting, I looked at the small magic tool in my hand. It was a sound-blocking magic tool made to prevent eavesdropping. When holding it only a specific person could hear you, and the High Priest was using it today such that only he could hear me if I tried to speak. In short, he was telling me to shut up and not interfere. When I protested (so that I could help Lutz), he had this to say: 

“What I need to make clear here are the thoughts and feelings of the parties involved. A third party such as yourself will only complicate the situation by getting involved. Especially since you are biased in Lutz’s favor and thus not neutral. You’ll get in the way.” 

He was so blunt that I wanted to crack a joke about where all his euphemisms and aloofness had gone. The condition for me joining the meeting was carrying the magic tool, so all I could do was sit in my chair like a doll. Frustratingly enough, both Benno and Mark had agreed with the High Priest. 

The table was in the center of the room and our chairs were placed on either side of it. The High Priest and I sat on the side furthest into the room, Lutz sat opposite to us, his parents sat on the left, and Benno and Mark sat on the right. After finishing simple greetings and introductions, the High Priest explained Lutz’s position and his request. He had talked directly to Lutz and thus spoke of things that even I hadn’t heard about. 

“...And such is Lutz’s position. Is that right, Lutz?” The High Priest looked at Lutz, who nodded while looking self-conscious about his parents’ presence. I internally shouted my support for him. He clenched a trembling fist and opened his mouth. 

“No matter how hard I work, they don’t accept me. Dad fights against every one of my dreams, and—” 

“DON’T BE A BABY!” Lutz’s father, Deid, clenched his fist and shouted at Lutz. His shout was so loud I actually jumped in my chair. He was probably used to shouting instructions to his coworkers. His bellowing voice felt loud enough to echo throughout the entire Noble’s Quarter, to say nothing of the High Priest’s solitary room. I felt my heart tighten with fear. 

He’s so scary! Oh my god! My heart can’t take this! 

And it seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Everyone tensed up and looked at Deid. Benno often thundered at me, but his volume and weight couldn’t compare to the voice of a worker shouting outside all the time. 

“You work hard? We don’t accept you? How about you stop being a baby.” He worked his shoulders and leaned forward toward Lutz, glaring at him so hard I could feel the pressure from here. His voice was loud and deep even when he wasn’t shouting, so much so that it was scary to hear even on the sidelines. 

Lutz paled after being shouted at in front of everyone, and since I was sitting in front of him I could tell he was gritting his teeth hard to hold back tears. I bit my lip with frustration, unable to speak to him no matter how much I wanted to, and the High Priest stood up from his seat beside me. He spoke in a calm voice that carried throughout the room despite its low volume, contrasting with Deid’s bellowing voice. 

“Deid, what exactly do you mean by ‘don’t be a baby’? Please explain.” 

“Huh? What don’t ya get? Lutz is being a baby, ain’t he?” Deid crossed his arms and shook his head, failing to understand the High Priest’s question. His grimace implied that he had expected his statement to end then and there without anyone questioning it. 

“Lutz feels frustrated that his hard work isn’t being recognized, and you consider that being a baby. But I do not understand how exactly that is being a baby, as I have little relation with craftsmen and the ways of the lower city. Please explain so that I can understand.” 

“Ah, yeah, you wouldn’t get it. Eh... Kinda hard to explain.” 

He could have blown Lutz off by saying that he should understand what he meant already, but that wouldn’t work with the High Priest. Deid stroked his chin and searched for an answer, probably not used to saying more than a few words at his line of work. 

“He got a job we told him not to get. Of course he’s gonna work hard. Not even a season’s passed since his baptism, what’s there to accept? My stupid son’s the one who picked a job he wouldn’t get any help with. He knew what he was getting into. He knew he’d have to work so hard he’d spit blood and maybe never even make it to full time work. So I’m saying, why’s he complaining about it now? Does that make sense?” 

“Yes, that is much more clear. From that perspective, he certainly is being immature. Lutz, do you understand as well?” 

Lutz gritted his teeth with frustration and lowered his eyes. On the other hand, Deid looked a little relieved that his position had been understood. This meeting had been forced to happen entirely thanks to the High Priest’s status as a noble, but now that people were talking, I knew that Deid had — arguably — a reasonable position of his own. That wasn’t something I could have learned just by talking to Lutz. 

“Lutz, do you have a rebuttal? Or will you accept Deid’s position as justified?” The High Priest quietly urged Lutz on. He slowly lifted his head to look at his parents. 

“I’m not saying you have to appreciate how hard I’m working. But at the least... But at the very least, can’t you accept that I’m gonna be a merchant?!” 

“...Pretty sure I already told you to do whatever you want.” Deid furrowed his brows as if he didn’t understand what Lutz was saying. He scratched his head, then jutted his chin up and looked at Lutz. It didn’t really look like he was still opposed to Lutz being a merchant. 

“Do what I want... Huh? Wait, does that mean...?” Lutz shook his head in confusion and Karla explained what he meant with a sigh. 

“Your dad’s saying he does accept your work, in his own way.” 

“Wait, Mom?! If you know, tell me!” 

“How would I know? This is the first time I’m hearing him say that,” said Karla with a shrug. It seemed that his family had communication issues not only between brothers, but between husband and wife as well. 

“How am I supposed to know that if you don’t say it...?” said Lutz, hanging his head weakly. I agreed with him. But thinking about it, Lutz didn’t really say much about his position at home either, so maybe they really were just a family of people who kept their thoughts to themselves. 

“Deid, may I take that as you not being opposed to Lutz working as a merchant?” asked the High Priest. Deid nodded, looking like he wished he didn’t have to explain every little thing he said. 

“I think merchants are scum and I dunno why he wants to be one willingly, but he’s a man and he chose this line of work on his own. He can use his guts to follow his dream whatever it takes, even if it means being a live-in apprentice. But whining and running off to the orphanage? It’s pathetic,” he said with a scoff, then crossed his arms and leaned back to signal that he had said all he had to say. 

On instinct I shouted “No, that’s wrong! This all happened because of me! Lutz isn’t trying to run away!”, but nobody heard me. Nobody even looked in my direction. I turned to look at the High Priest, since he at least should have heard me, only to discover that he wasn’t even touching the magic tool hanging from his wrist on a chain. From the very beginning he hadn’t intended to hear a word I said. Mean. 

“Dad, no, all this about the orphanage was just My...” Lutz began to say the same thing I intended to, then hurriedly shut his mouth. He squeezed his lips together, then shot his head up and glared at Deid. “Then why won’t you let me go to other cities for work?!” 

Lutz finally brought up the core reason why he had run away from home: his parents not permitting him to leave the city. That was unbearable for Lutz since he had become a merchant specifically to leave the city, but even so, he was once again shot down with a single sentence. 

“You would know if you thought about it for a second!” shouted Deid, but Lutz had ran away from home precisely because he didn’t understand. 

The High Priest shook his head with a sigh and spoke once again. “But he doesn’t understand, so please explain yourself.” 

“...Again?” Deid, looking worn out, slapped his forehead. Then, after mumbling that he was bad at these kinds of things, spoke while furrowing his brows. “You becoming a merchant and you leaving the city are two different things. It’s dangerous outside those walls. There’s bandits and ferocious beasts. It’s no place to be taking kids.” 

“That’s right! It’s way too dangerous out there.” 

Deid and Karla’s explanation floored me. I had only gone to the forest close to the town, so I never really knew this, but it was apparently very dangerous outside of the city. It was normal here for kids to go outside the walls to gather at the forest; we went so casually that it might as well have been part of the city, so I never thought that the outside was so dangerous that parents wouldn’t want their kids leaving the city. 

Not to mention, traveling minstrels and merchants were so common that even Lutz could meet them on a regular basis. The inns in the east were filled with travelers going to and fro. That led to me associating the difficulties of travel purely with the walking distance or the inconvenience of horses and carriages. It didn’t help that I had frequently seen Benno, the adult closest to me that wasn’t my parent, leaving for other cities to set up workshops and handle other business. I never really felt like the outside was that dangerous. 

...I still don’t really understand this world too well. About two years had passed since I first came here, but I was still as ignorant as could be. As I sighed heavily, the High Priest blinked once in confusion. 

“I won’t say there is no danger at all, but Benno would be going to a city only a half day carriage ride away from the east gate. Walking would be one thing, but I do not see the need to worry about such a short carriage ride.” 

“He doesn’t need to go,” stated Deid flatly. 

Lutz flushed with anger and glared at him. “I’m telling you, it’s part of my job!” 

“Calm down, Lutz. Deid, what do you mean by that?” The High Priest stopped Lutz with a gesture and asked Deid for an explanation. By this point Deid naturally expected that, and looked at Benno and Mark without pausing. 

“This guy said he wants to bring Lutz so he can help make a workshop.” 

“And?” 

“Why’s he wanting a lehange, and an apprentice at that, to learn that kinda stuff? It’s not necessary.” 

A lehange apprentice was the practical equivalent of a three-year internship back in Japan. The focus would be on teaching them the fundamentals, the simple manual labor and the like. One might send a lehange to another city to work at a newly opened store, but they wouldn’t be involved in establishing a new store or setting up a workshop. 

I knew that Lutz’s dream was to go to other cities, so I had just been glad he was accomplishing that, but from a normal perspective it really just wasn’t a lehange’s job to do that kind of thing. It was the job of a leherl, or a successor. Not something Lutz needed to do himself. Deid’s position that it wasn’t necessary for him to risk himself going outside the city to do work not in his contract made perfect sense. 

The High Priest and I both looked at Benno simultaneously. He sighed and looked at Deid. “As I told you the other day, after thinking about Lutz’s abilities and my future plans for opening stores, I conclude that I would like to raise Lutz into my successor. Showing him the creation of workshops in another city is one part of that, and it is also why I would like to adopt him.” 

“Hmph, don’t even think about it.” Deid shot down Benno’s suggestion on the spot. He then looked around at everyone and murmured “That needs an explanation too?” 

The High Priest confirmed that it did indeed need one, backed up by a nod from Benno, who said, “I would like to hear your reasoning. If you’ll forgive my rudeness, you will be of no help to Lutz’s career due to your lack of involvement in business. Me adopting Lutz will be good not only for my business, but for his future as well.” 

Benno’s words made Deid lower his eyes briefly. He then shot a glare straight at Benno. “You don’t have any kids, yeah?” 

“...Yes, which is why I am considering Lutz as a potential successor.” Benno furrowed his brow, not understanding what him not having kids had to do with anything. He would have no reason to adopt Lutz if he already had kids. 

“That’s not what I meant,” Deid said, giving a heavy sigh. “You’re right that I can’t help Lutz, and I’m grateful that you think highly of him.” His eyes wavered as he searched for words, until finally he looked back and forth between Lutz and Benno. “You’re good at running a business and I’d bet you’re a skilled merchant. You’ve even got the heart to forgive all the trouble Lutz’s given you. But you wouldn’t be a good father.” 

He wasn’t insulting Benno or slandering his name. But still, he was rejecting him. For some reason he thought he wouldn’t be a good father. 

“Please explain why you think he wouldn’t be a good father. Does Benno have a bad reputation or something of the sort?” asked the High Priest, to which Deid nodded. 

“This would be easier if he did,” he said, then looked Benno head on. “No matter how good at your job you are, you’re trying to adopt a kid not for his sake, but for your business. Nobody like that would be a good father. Parents can’t think about everything as pluses and minuses. Am I wrong?” 

Benno opened his eyes wide in surprise, then gave a bitter smile. “I see. You are correct. I am certainly prioritizing the profits of business above all else.” 

Benno was considering adopting Lutz because it would be the most beneficial thing for him and his business. Naturally Lutz’s personality and other qualities helped, but when it came to a successor for his business, future profits mattered above all else. That was normal for a merchant, but it would be hard for Benno to protest a parent finding fault in it. 

“I understand why you rejected the adoption. However, I am utterly serious about Lutz’s future potential. Would you find a leherl contract more agreeable than an adoption?” 

If lehanges were like part timers, then leherls were like managers that could eventually be trusted with the operation of a business. The security, payment, and work offered by the employer changed drastically. 

“I’m thinking it’s too early for that.” 

“Too early?” This time, Deid didn’t even try to hide his annoyance at the High Priest’s question. He shrugged with a frown and explained. “Normally, leherls are signed after you watch’m work as a lehange for a few years. Hasn’t even been a single season since Lutz’s baptism,” he said, earning him a raised eyebrow from Benno. 

“It hasn’t been long since his baptism, but I have been doing business with Lutz for an entire year now.” 

“That a fact?” 

“Yes. I imagine you are aware of the financial burden an employer shoulders by hiring an apprentice. When I first met Lutz, I had no intention of hiring him. With that in mind, as a test to assess his skills, I gave him a task to complete that most would find impossible. However, he succeeded with flying colors, far beyond what I had expected.” 

“Oh...?” Deid was listening as if he had never heard any of this. If I remembered correctly, at the time Deid had told Lutz to just become a paper-making craftsman instead of a merchant. Maybe he didn’t ask Lutz why he was making paper. Maybe Lutz just didn’t tell him. 

“Lutz has shown himself to have the determination and endurance necessary to overcome the disadvantages that his lack of a merchant upbringing has given him. I want to secure his employment before another store does, and the sooner I begin raising him to potentially be my successor, the better. I value his work ethic, but he has a long way to go.” 

“Alright then.” Deid nodded and then, after glancing at the High Priest who was starting to stand up, explained what he meant. “No matter how much I want to help him, I don’t know nothing about being a merchant. If you’re thinking you want to trust a whole business to him, that contract will do him a lot of good.” 

“In that case,” said Mark with a smile, “I suggest that we immediately fill out the paperwork at the Merchant’s Guild.” 

Deid grimaced, looking thoroughly displeased. “You merchants and your...” 

“...Dad.” A whisper leaked out of Lutz’s mouth. His dad cutting himself off mid-insult was the cherry on top of the cake that had shown Lutz just how much he loved him. Tears dripped out of his jade-green eyes that looked just like Deid’s. 

Karla was quietly sobbing too, and Deid looked extremely uncomfortable stuck between them. He averted his eyes from them and scratched his head. His expression made it clear that he was finally feeling the embarrassment of saying everything he usually left unsaid. 

“Lutz! Apologize!” shouted Deid out of nowhere. It was hard to tell from his tanned skin, but his cheeks look a little red. 

“...Deid, you must explain if you want him to understand,” pointed out the High Priest with a sigh. 

Deid grimaced, faltered for a second, then yelled at Lutz. “You going crazy with your misunderstandings got this many people wrapped up in this mess. Apologize with all you’ve got!” 

Deid’s words stabbed a spear into my chest. Lutz hadn’t gotten this many people involved — I had. 

“I-I’m sorry!” Lutz and I apologized together, though nobody could hear my apology. Lutz’s parents were looking at Lutz, but the High Priest, Benno, and Mark were all staring directly at me. 

“C’mon. We’re going home, you brat.” 

Lutz rushed up to Deid, who gave him a solid chop on the head. Despite wiping his tears away with a grunt of pain, Lutz looked really happy as he stood beside his father. 

“Guess I should say something too. Er... Guess I wasn’t being clear enough. You helped us out. Thanks.” Looking somewhat embarrassed, Deid thanked the High Priest before turning around and leaving the room. Karla took Lutz’s hand and they walked off together. 

“Master Benno, let us go to the Merchant’s Guild.” 

“High Priest, I truly thank you with utmost sincerity for today. It seems that everything has been resolved peacefully.” After giving a long-winded thank you, Benno left the room. He was probably chasing after Lutz and his parents so they could get the leherl contract sorted out at the Merchant’s Guild. 

The moment Benno and Mark left the room, leaving only the High Priest and me behind, some gray priests came inside to clean up the chairs and such. 

“Take care to hear all sides of a story before making a decision. The truth will always be distorted if you listen only to what one person has to say.” 

“Understood,” I said in an inaudible voice with a nod, after which the High Priest gripped the magic tool chained to his wrist. 

“Thankfully, it seems their family will be doing just fine.” 

I blinked in surprise at his sudden words and looked up at the High Priest. Upon seeing my confusion, his emotionless, expressionless face twisted in a slight grimace. 

“Did you not say so yourself? Your ideal resolution would be resolving the problem and returning Lutz home to his family,” he said, reminding me of Lutz’s happy, tearful expression. The thought of Lutz, who had been frustrated with his family problems for almost a year, crying happy tears while going home with Deid and Karla made my eyes tear up too. 

“Mhm, it’s perfect. It really is...” Things had gotten twisted because none of them really talked to each other, but they still had love for each other. I was really glad Lutz got to fix things with his family. 

“Myne, stop crying. People might misunderstand and think I am the one making you cry.” The High Priest, having noticed the gray priests glancing our way, made a much more clear grimace this time. 

“It’s fine, these are happy tears.” 

“Good grief, Myne.” 

I tried to wipe my tears with my blue robe, but the High Priest grabbed me and told me not to wipe my face with my clothes. But I didn’t have a handkerchief, and Fran, who probably did, seemed busy. 

Upon seeing me following Fran with my eyes, the High Priest lent me his own handkerchief with a very unhappy expression. His name was embroidered on it, and for the first time I learned that the High Priest’s name was Ferdinand.