Ascendance of a Bookworm (LN) - Volume 2.3 - Chapter 10

Rumtopf and Shoes 

Although the calendar said it was now spring, all that meant was fewer blizzards; the cold was still unforgiving enough that it felt like anything but spring outside. That said, fewer blizzards meant that Tuuli could come visit me more often. I was getting closer to returning home every day, and I couldn’t wait. 

One day, Tuuli brought a small jar with her. 

“So, Myne. Weren’t we supposed to eat this in the winter? What should we do with it now? We just kinda left it where it was since you weren’t there. Mom asked me to ask you what to do with it.” 

She set the jar on the table and opened it up. The sharp scent of alcohol immediately rushed into my nose. Inside the jar was droop fruit soaking in wine—it was the rumtopf jar I had been letting stew back at home. I let out a squeak, having entirely forgotten how hard I worked to jam fruit in these back in the summer. 

“Gaaaah! We’ve got sugar and honey here, plus the jam I made, so I completely forgot about this stuff!” 

“...I knew it.” 

The rumtopf—a mix of various fruits soaked in wine—was completely ready. The sharp corners of the fruit had rounded as it started to melt into the wine. It was ready to eat right away, but what would be the tastiest way to eat it? 

“This is hard. At the time, I was thinking of making (ice cream) or (pudding) for it, but parue cakes are the easiest sweets to make at home.” 

That was back in the summer, before I found out that I’d be spending all winter in the temple. My plan had been to bring sugar and the rumtopf to Lutz’s place for them to cook. They would share their eggs, milk, and labor for my ice cream and pudding recipes, which could then be eaten with the chopped-up rumtopf fruit sprinkled on top. But that plan was ruined now that I couldn’t go to Lutz’s place. I would need to think of a simple way for my family to eat it at home. 

“We can just eat these on top of parue cakes?” Tuuli asked. 

“You cut the fruit up into tiny bits first. I think Dad will be happy if you and Mom eat the fruit, but leave him the wine that’s left over. And if you want to put it on something other than just parue cakes, it’s nice on French toast too! We made that together once before, remember? There’s also, um... There’s also...” 

Rumtopf was usually eaten with stollen, a traditional German fruit bread, but our home lacked an oven we could bake bread in. 

“Myne, calm down. What can we make here that we can eat it with? We can’t use parue cakes, right?” 

“...Right.” 

I wanted to avoid Ella learning about the parue cake recipe if possible, which meant that we couldn’t make parue cakes if we wanted the help of a chef. But there also wasn’t enough rumtopf to feed everyone if we involved the orphans and used the kitchen in the girls’ building. 

“This is tricky. (Stollen) is a classic, but it takes a little too much time to make for us to eat today. Hmm... Maybe I’ll have Ella make (crepes) instead?” 

“...You don’t mind making that recipe public?” Tuuli, knowing that my recipes were valuable both for the Italian restaurant and for selling to Freida, looked a little cautious. 

“It should be fine. I’ve already seen some things similar to (crepes), so...” 

I was referring to the galette-esque meat pies I had seen, which were simple combinations of meat, mushrooms, cheese, and so on baked in buckwheat dough. They were sold as a light meal at eateries. However, there weren’t any desserts based on those galettes. Not as far as I was aware, at least. It all came down to the fact that people in the lower city prioritized getting full over eating tasty sweets. 

“Fran, how long would it take you to prepare cream?” 

“Given how cold it is, not long at all. How much do you need?” 

I turned around and saw that Fran already had his diptych out, ready to take notes. 

The fat in unprocessed milk naturally separated from the liquid if kept somewhere cold, so as long as you had milk, it wasn’t too hard to make cream. Though you had to be a little careful, since it would turn into clotted cream if it lost too much water. 

“A cup’s worth of cream and a cup’s worth of milk will do.” 

We could have made galettes using the buckwheat flour in the kitchen’s pantry, but I personally preferred plain wheat crepes. 

Sweets which used sugar were generally eaten by nobles, and if I was going to use the kitchen in my chambers, it would probably be better to aim to make noble food rather than mimic things eaten in the lower city. We were going to make crepes with whipped cream and chopped up rumtopf. 

Fran went to the noble zone of the temple to get cream from the large ice room he assured me was there, and while he was gone, I got to work writing down the crepe recipe. Ella would have to make the crepes going entirely off my instructions. 

“So, Tuuli. There’s this food that people make by, um, mixing buckwheat flour with water and salt to make batter, which they then cook with ham and cheese. Do you know what I’m talking about?” 

“Oh, buchlettes?” 

“That sounds about right.” 

Now knowing what they called galettes here, I wrote “cook thin like a buchlette.” 

As I finished up the recipe, Fran returned with two handled pitchers containing milk and cream respectively. He set them down in the kitchen before coming up to the second floor, where I showed him the board with the recipe written on it. 

“Fran, please direct Ella to make these. Tell her that they are cooked like buchlettes, and that I only want her to cook the batter—that is, with nothing inside of it. That will probably be enough for her to understand. Please bring them up on a plate once they are done.” 

“Understood.” 

I handed the recipe to Fran, at which point Tuuli stood up, holding the rumtopf jar. 

“Um, Fran. Can I watch her cook? I’ll help if I can!” 

It was clear that Tuuli really wanted to see a pro chef at work, so I stepped in on her behalf. 

“Fran, Tuuli is quite used to my recipes and won’t get in the way. Try asking Ella if she wouldn’t mind working with her. I would like to go myself, but I know that would just make everyone too nervous to work properly. I will wait here while you take care of Tuuli.” 

Making sweets together was very girly and just seemed really nice, if you asked me. All winter Ella had been cooking with Nicola and Monika as her helpers, and even during their breaks they sounded like they were having a ton of fun as they chatted away. I would have liked to go cook with Tuuli, but as an apprentice blue shrine maiden I had no choice but to sit back. 

“Rich girls actually have it rough, huh?” Tuuli looked at me with sympathy, knowing that I wasn’t truly free even in my own chambers. 

I gave her a firm nod. Here in the temple I was the weird one with a different upbringing, so it was really nice to have someone who could sympathize with my plight. 

“Uh huh. Everyone cares so much about appearances here.” 

“...Appearances, like your socks?” 

Tuuli and I both looked down at my feet. Then we made eye contact and laughed. Acting like a noble rich girl really was rough. 

“Sister Myne, what was that about your socks?” 

After Tuuli and Fran left for the kitchen, Delia walked up with her eyes full of gleaming curiosity. I couldn’t help but smile; Delia always slid over when the topic moved to clothes or hair. 

“We were just joking about how cold these socks are.” 

My socks were made of thin fabric and long enough to go halfway up my thighs, held up by string since there wasn’t any rubber in this world. Every morning when getting dressed in the temple, I first had a cloth belt tied around my waist. Then I had socks pulled up my legs, which were tied to the belt using long strings. It was basically like a simple garter belt. 

I then put on something like a pair of culottes, which were thin and went down past my knees. Strings were threaded around the cuff by my knees, allowing me to tighten them around my legs. It wasn’t exactly the best underwear I could ask for—it was a lot more breezy down there now than it was in my Urano days. Finally, after all that, I put on a shirt. 

But no matter what, my bare legs weren’t allowed to be visible. Showing one’s bare legs was considered shameful in the upper classes, especially among nobles, so men and women always wore socks without fail. It was a matter of personal grooming and courtesy, such that anyone not wearing socks was seen as embarrassing. 

I started wearing socks once I was given the Gilberta Company apprentice clothes, and now in the temple even gray priests and shrine maidens always wore socks. 

“...Sister Myne, what do you mean the socks are cold?” 

“Unlike here, the socks of the lower city are made with practicality in mind.” 

They were for warmth, not fashion. Nobody wore them in the summer. When winter came, we stuffed our feet into what were essentially bags woven out of wool, which we then tightened with string. They only went up to our ankles though, which meant we also put on wool-woven leg warmers to cover up to our knees. Add on layers of pants to that and it was as warm as could be. 

“But Tuuli’s socks aren’t fashionable at all,” Delia complained. 

“Indeed. But there are times where one prefers warmth to fashion.” 

“...If you’re worried about warmth, why don’t you just buy long boots?” 

Nobles were so concerned about fashion and appearances that they didn’t use wool leg warmers. Instead, they wore fur-lined boots that reached all the way up to their knees. Those boots would definitely be warm. 

But I hadn’t realized we weren’t allowed to wear leg warmers in the temple, and I was already so broke that I didn’t bother ordering fur-lined boots. Instead, I was using the short leather boots that Gilberta Company apprentices wore, designed with mobility in mind. 

“If only I were an adult and could hide them under a long skirt...” 

Thin socks did nothing to stop the cold when I was walking through the temple, but when I tried to put on leg warmers, Rosina stopped me; my skirts only went to my knees, so any leg warmers I put on would be completely visible. I let out a disappointed sigh, and Delia’s eyebrows shot up as she gave me a sharp look. 

“Geez! You can’t slack on fashion, even if nobody can see!” 

Wow... Delia’s girl power really is off the charts. 

I cared more about warmth than fashion, but I was in Rome and had to do as the Romans did. 

“I will remember to order longer boots for next winter. I would not like to suffer through this cold again.” 

“That would be for the best.” 

“Sister Myne,” interjected Rosina, having found a break in her work, “you must order some new shoes soon. You do not have a single pair of fashionable, fancy shoes that a proper lady should be wearing. I believe it would be wise for you to ask Master Benno to summon a shoemaker.” 

She advised me that, with the Spring Prayer coming up, I might find myself in trouble if I only had a pair of plain shoes. 

“There is still enough time for them to finish before Spring Prayer if you order them soon.” 

“Rosina, tell me about things like this sooner so I have time to prepare.” 

“Yes, I shall be more proactive from now on. I just was not entirely aware of all that you lack, Sister Myne.” 

Rosina had never even considered that I might actually only have one pair of shoes. She had assumed that I always appeared to be wearing the same shoes because I had multiple pairs, and only once I began living in the temple over the winter did she realize the shocking truth. 

There were two kinds of shoes used in the lower city: the sabot-esque wooden shoes that poor people wore, and the leather shoes worn by the rich. Those who didn’t even have wooden shoes either wrapped rags around their feet or just walked barefoot, which wasn’t particularly rare. 

I had always worn wooden shoes up until I was given my Gilberta Company apprentice clothes, and it never occurred to me that I might need to buy new shoes before I had worn out my existing ones. My new surroundings had changed my perspective on shoes even though I had owned several pairs for different occasions back in my Urano days. 

I opened up my diptych and wrote “Ask Benno to order shoes” on it. 

“So, Sister Myne! What kind of leather will you use? Horse leather? Pig leather? Oh, what about ordering a pair of cloth shoes as well, just in case?” Delia’s eyes were sparkling. She really was quick to bite when fashion was involved. 

But sadly for her, I had absolutely no fashion knowledge. There was no way I could make informed decisions on what shoes to buy when I didn’t know what designs were popular or what materials were most commonly used or anything like that. My plan was to let Rosina choose and learn from her example. 

“I will entrust the designing of my shoes to Rosina. Please order the ones I will need most in the near future. If I were to order my own shoes, I would just end up ordering what I already have.” 

“Understood. You may count on me.” 

Rosina began to explain which kinds of shoes were expected to be worn in which kinds of situations, and before long Fran and Tuuli came up from the kitchen with plates. One had freshly beaten, pure white cream while the other had chopped-up rumtopf. 

“Delia, please prepare the tea.” 

“Understood.” 

At Fran’s order, Delia headed to the kitchen. Tuuli and Fran then lined up cutlery before returning to the kitchen, coming back with a plate holding two round, freshly cooked crepes. One for me, one for Tuuli. 

“I apologize for the wait, Sister Myne.” 

Fran set the plate in front of me. The crepes looked exactly like the ones I remembered. A sweet scent tickled my nose and made me break out into a smile. 

“I helped cut these!” Tuuli said, proudly pointing at the plate of rumtopf. She then told me how skilled Ella was and how hard her helpers had worked. 

“Fran, my apologies, but could you bring some honey as well? Also, please ask Ella to come up here if possible.” 

“For what purpose?” 

“I wish to show her how to properly plate these sweets. In the future, she will make them from beginning to end in the kitchen.” 

I knew that Fran would not be fond of bringing a chef up to the second floor, but I didn’t want Ella to think that the process of making a crepe was done once you’d cooked the batter. 

“I can teach her the final steps, Sister Myne, so I believe you need only show me what to do next.” 

“Then watch carefully, Fran.” 

While everyone’s eyes were on me, I scooped up cream with a spoon and slathered it on one-sixth of the closer half of the fan-shaped crepe. I then spooned up some of the chopped rumtopf to sprinkle on top. 

“Spread the cream across the closer half of the crepe such that it forms a triangle. It is best for the layer of cream to be somewhat thin. Then sprinkle the rumtopf on top of the cream—the more the better here. Rumtopf can be swapped out for whatever fruit is in season, so it isn’t necessarily required.” 

I poured a little honey on top of the rumtopf as I explained, then folded the crepe before rolling it up. 

“Doing this allows you to eat the crepe with your hands. If you want to use cutlery like a noble, then you can just keep folding it without rolling it up. Then you just have to decorate it with cream, fruit, and honey to finish it off.” 

I unrolled the crepe on top of the plate and added some cream beside it, along with some cute rumtopf and honey decoration. 

Fran blinked in surprise several times at the sight of the completed crepe. 

“...This certainly would be presentable to nobles.” 

“Wow, it’s so cute! I bet it tastes great, Myne!” Tuuli, brimming with excitement, started preparing the crepe on her plate. 

Delia was watching on, filled with curiosity, but she had to wait until we were finished eating. I thought it was sad that I couldn’t eat with my attendants, but it was a strict rule I had no say in. 

“All done!” Tuuli announced, sounding very much satisfied as she looked at her plate. She had done a pretty good job considering she had zero experience decorating plates like that. 

“O mighty King and Queen of the endless skies who doth grace us with thousands upon thousands of lives to consume, O mighty Eternal Five who rule the mortal realm, I offer thanks and prayers to thee, and do take part in the meal so graciously provided.” 

I cut off a mouthful from the part of the crepe without any cream on and plopped it into my mouth. The crepe was soft, faintly sweet, and very lightly crisped around the edges. Then I cut off a part with cream. The cream itself, accompanied by the crepe’s somewhat springy bread, wasn’t that sweet, but the honey I poured over it added just the right amount of indescribable sweetness. 

After savoring the taste for a while, I finally tucked into the rumtopf. The second I bit into the melted fruit, my mouth was filled with the sharp taste of alcohol and an intense sweetness. 

“What do you think, Tuuli?” 

“It tastes great, Myne!” Tuuli beamed me a full smile, cream dotting her mouth. 

“Tuuli, your mouth is covered in cream.” 

“That’s ’cause these are hard to eat.” 

It took some dexterity to properly eat crepes using cutlery. I smiled at Tuuli’s battle with the crepe ending with cream all over her mouth, thinking about how food tastes a lot better when you can eat it with someone else. 

“This is perfect. I want to eat (caramel custard) next time. Maybe we can make it next time you visit, Tuuli?” 

“New sweets? Yay! I can’t wait!” 

With all my heart, I hoped to go home as soon as possible so I could share these tasty sweets and this indescribable happiness with my whole family again.